Meet at the dam parking area at 9 a.m. Bad weather cancels the cleanup.

Remember: Please bring and haul your own tools. Loppers, handsaws, chainsaws, pickaxes, shovels, McLouds, rakes – they never know what will be needed.

There is a possibility that this may be a catered event. Please RSVP and keep in touch.

In honor of the holiday season, the group offered this special poem:

Twas two weeks before Christmas, when checking each trail,

Not a rider was working, so decided to (e)mail

To all riders and hikers and make them aware,

In hopes that more workers soon would be there.

Their horses were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of clear trails danced in their heads.

These riders and hikers all thought perhaps

Those wonderful, clear trails just happen like that!

They spoke not a word but went straight to their work,

And cleared all the trails, then turned for a look.

And we heard them exclaim, “way to go, man, out’a sight!”

“Happy Trails to all, and to all a good night!”

For more information about the event and the group's efforts, call Kim Riley, 707-245-7468 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; or Karen Sullivan, 707-349-1559, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A craft workshop at Lakeport Library on Saturday, December 17, 2011, will show how to convert a CD case into a frame for a favorite photo. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St., will present a craft workshop on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 2 p.m. for teens or anyone else wanting to create a fast and inexpensive holiday gift.

Amy Patton of the library staff will demonstrate converting CD jewel cases into photo frames, shadow boxes and photo albums.

The library will supply CD cases and craft supplies, and participants are invited to bring photos no larger than 3 inches by 5 inches so they can create their own projects.

Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, Patton’s phone number is 707-263-8817, Extension 17105.

The Lake County Library website is http://library.co.lake.ca.us, and the library is on Facebook.

Do you have too many photos for a frame? An album might be the answer. CD cases can be transformed into albums. Courtesy photo.

The AIDS Celebration of Life Remembrance service will take place at 4 p.m. at Clearlake Oaks Community Methodist Church on The Plaza.

Join the commemoration in the spirit of community. There will be opportunities to get valuable information and to personally honor those who have gone before.

You are welcomed to bring photographs, mementos and stories, ask questions, or to be in silent meditation. Everyone is welcome.

This year’s theme for World AIDS Day is “Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.”

This year’s World AIDS Day is anticipated to see renewed activism as Dec. 1 falls only six months before the International AIDS Conference takes place in Washington, D.C.

World AIDS Day is the moment of the year when millions of people come together across the globe to commemorate people who lost their lives to HIV, applaud progress made in responding to the epidemic and recommit to ending the epidemic.

Last year’s Challenge Day at a local high school was attended by 100 students who were asked to imagine a line in the room. Those youth whose lives have been impacted by HIV were asked to cross the line, or remain if not affected. Eighty percent of the Lake County youth crossed the line.

There is still a lot of work to do, especially for youth and all our citizens. We can do things like having HIV discussions in our schools, attending the Community Care HIV/AIDS Program's annual AIDSWalk and other local events such as World AIDS Day.

Please contact Community Care HIV/AIDS Program 707-995-1606 for more information.

Yvonne Barnette, an employee at the Blue Wing Saloon restaurant in Upper Lake, Calif., will be honored at a fundraiser event on Saturday, December 3, 2011. Barnette is fighting cancer and recently underwent surgery.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – This Saturday, Dec. 3, the Blue Wing Saloon Restaurant in Upper Lake will help to raise funds for one of its most outstanding servers, Yvonne Barnette, who has recently undergone serious cancer surgery and is recovering in a San Francisco hospital.

Barnette was one of the first employees hired by the Blue Wing when it opened in June 2005. She has been extremely popular with customers and co-workers ever since.

She worked for many years at Renee’s Restaurant in Lakeport and has built up a loyal fan base among her many customers over the years.

Friends of Barnette are invited to stop by the Blue Wing for lunch on Saturday. The restaurant will donate all of the gross proceeds of the lunch to a fund to help defray her medical and other expenses.

Blue Wing servers have volunteered to donate the tips they make that day – including the dinner shift during the Upper Lake Light Parade – to the Yvonne Barnette fund.

The restaurant will maintain a contribution box for Barnette through the following week for friends and guests who may wish to contribute.

Those wishing to contribute by mail should do so by addressing a check to Yvonne Barnette, c/o Ms. Kelly Yoemans, Tallman Hotel, 9550 Main St., Upper Lake CA 95485.

Flotilla 88 Vice Commander Gary Dromi, District Vice Commander Harold Hauk and USCG CWO Don Miterke hold the special Thanksgiving cake at a Thanksgiving lunch served at Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg, Calif., on Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Courtesy photo.

FORT BRAGG, Calif. – On Wednesday, Nov. 16, several members of Flotilla 88 of Lake County traveled to the United States Coast Guard station at Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg to once again prepare and serve an early Thanksgiving lunch for the personnel stationed there.

Also, participating were members from Flotilla 87 of Mendocino County.

Three turkeys were cooked and served with mashed potatoes, yams, gravy, dressing, salad, cranberries and dinner rolls.

Soft drinks were provided and a large decorated sheet cake with a Happy Thanksgiving greeting was presented for dessert.

Flotilla 88 and Flotilla 87 have made this a traditional occasion for the past several years.

It is always a great privilege to serve the Coast Guard personnel, known as Coasties, who give so much to our country by patrolling our shores, answering distress calls for help and assistance, and much, much more.

They stand by their motto, Semper Paratus.

Chow time for United States Coast Guard personnel at Noyo Harbor station in Fort Bragg, Calif., on Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Courtesy photo.

Christmas in the Country takes place from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, in downtown Kelseyville.

Becca Brookes is a 17-year-old senior at Kelseyville High School.

She has lived in Kelseyville all of her life and loves this country town.

Ever since she was a little girl she loved the Christmas in the Country celebration.

She has enjoyed seeing the decorations go up around Thanksgiving week, but has been troubled by the “candlestick” ornaments hung on the telephone poles with broken lights and unorganized colors.

This year her dream of seeing these decorations in good working condition and strung with the proper colors and long lasting, energy saving LED lights, has come true.

Brookes' goal brought together three generations in the project of rewiring, attaching wires and plugging in the proper colored lights.

Her grandfather, Russ Porterfield, gave his expert knowledge, tools and perfect work space at his hangar. He spliced the wires and tested all of the connections.

Becca Brookes determined the color pattern for the candlesticks and carefully screwed in every LED light.

Her little sister, Blair, a sophomore at Kelseyville High, attached the strings of lights to the candlesticks with zip ties and literally worked until she had blisters on her hands.

The girls' mom, Lynn, helped to organize the project, ordered the supplies and took off the old wires.

The Kelseyville Lions Club and Kelseyville Business Association supported the project. The Pear Festival Committee and the Brookes family covered the costs.

The Brookes family hopes to assist with keeping these decorations in proper working condition for years to come.

Merry Christmas and let your light shine this holiday season.

For more information about Kelseyville Christmas in the Country, call Mary Morse, 707-279-8559.