KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Kelseyville American Legion Tredway Post 194 will host a barbecue on Wednesday, July 4.

The event will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at the post, located at Second and Gaddy Lane.

The menu will include barbecue beef and chicken, beans, salad and garlic bread.

The requested donation is $8 for adults, $4 for children age 12 and under.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Community Food Bank, a collaborative effort of the Kelseyville United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Community and Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, is seeking food donations to help feed the hungry in Lake County.

The food bank is open the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

It is located at the Kelseyville United Methodist Church on Main Street in Kelseyville.

At the giveaway on Tuesday, June 26, they served more than 113 people, and are out of food.

Please consider helping them with donations of items listed below. They serve the Kelseyville area, so they are helping your neighbors.

This week their food list includes: peanut butter, cereals, powdered milk and soy milk, microwave popcorn, family size cans of food  and juices, small bags of rice, pasta, Rice a Roni, any variety of canned fruit and fruit cups, any variety of canned vegetables, soups, Ravioli, Beef a Roni, macaroni and cheese, diced tomatoes or tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, refried beans, jelly, meat products, tortillas and canned tuna.

For the summer, cans of lemonade, Kool-Aid or iced tea, as well as any extra garden produce would be welcomed.

They can always use extra hands. They prepare and bag on the Monday before the giveaway at 10:30 a.m. at the Methodist Church, and they are ready to serve their guests at 3:30 on Tuesday.  

Donations are gladly accepted daily from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Kelseyville Presbyterian Church or on Sunday mornings at any of the participating churches. All nonperishable items are greatly appreciated.

The food bank is urgently looking for organizations to collect food for us.

If your nonprofit or event could help them with collection, it would be greatly appreciated. If they could find six organizations to host a canned food drive for them, it would keep their pantry stocked.

If you have any questions, or would like to help us with a food drive, call Julie at the KPC office at 707-279-1104.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The next meeting of the Redwood Empire Civil War Roundtable will take place Monday, July 2, at 6:15 p.m. at the Tallman Hotel in Historic Upper Lake.  

The presentation will be by Phil Smoley, president of the Lake County Historical Society, and one of the founding members of the roundtable.  

Smoley will cover Civil War events that occurred in July 1862, including the Minnesota Sioux Indian Uprising and the signing of the Pacific Railroad Act. He also will review the military campaign statuses at that point in the war.

The roundtable began in December 2010 to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.  

The monthly meetings review what occurred that month 150 years ago, in the military, political and social sides of that time period.

A number of local amateur (and one professional) historians have made presentations, which are often followed by robust discussions by the group.

There is no cost to attend, and everyone is welcome.  

The presentations strive to be informative and entertaining, allowing the expert and novice to enjoy.

For more information, contact Phil Smoley at 707-264-4905.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Central Committee will meet on Thursday, July 5.

The monthly meeting will take place in Clearlake Oaks at the United Methodist Church beginning at 7 p.m.

The agenda will contain reports from the elections, finance, issues and elections committees.

Voter Registration Chair Wanda Harris will give a short presentation on the latest voter registration form.

Also on the agenda will be reports from representatives for Congressman Mike Thompson, Assemblyman Wes Chesbro and state Sen. Noreen Evans, as well as reports from the Stonewall Democratic Club Chair Mark Wickhamshire and representative from the Lake County Democratic Club Paula Mune.

There also will updates on the campaigns of Congressman John Garamendi, Assemblyman Mariko Yamada.

The annual legislator's barbecue, scheduled for Sept. 22, at Clearlake Senior Center will be discussed and tasks assigned.

Meetings are open to the public and committee membership is open to all registered Democrats.

The Lake County Democratic Central Committee is the official governing body of the Democratic Party in Lake County.

Contact the Democratic Party of Lake County at 707-533-4885 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The UC Lake County Master Gardeners group held its inaugural Spring Garden Event on Sunday, May 6, at the Lake County Agricultural Center in Lakeport.

More than 100 people attended the festive occasion, which featured garden-related talks and hands-on presentations, and offered plants grown by master gardeners, along with a selection of gently-used garden items.

Approximately $1,300 was raised through donations for the plants and garden items. The funds will be used to support new and existing Master Gardener Program educational activities in Lake County.

Free mini-G.R.O.W. (Growing Resources on Wheels) demonstrations on various gardening topics were presented throughout the day.

Virginia Leber, Bradley Taylor and Janet Berrian explained the critical role of soil preparation, including how to amend typically less than ideal Lake County soils.  

Cornelia Sieber-Davis, Heather Peterson and Richard Colbert demonstrated how to get seeds off to a good start, followed by April Lynch, Shannon Harris and Judy Undercoffler who took it to the next step at their transplanting demo table.

Sid Roberts, Susan King and Suzanne Lee introduced the often daunting topic of drip irrigation.

There also were five indoor garden-related talks with full question and answer sessions.

Tanya Striedieck, owner of Star Gardens Nursery in Middletown, presented a slide show presentation on native plants for landscaping, which led seamlessly into Master Gardener Lorna O’Kelly’s talk about drought tolerant planting.

Master Gardener Virginia Leber gave a presentation on the still-underestimated importance of fire safe landscaping.

Local specialty crop grower Sky Hoyt spoke about the challenges of vegetable gardening in Lake County and Master Gardener Gabriele O’Neill addressed how to deal with typical Lake County insect and disease control problems.

Judy Cortesi and her team Sherrye Schwarz, Diane Kaufman and Michael Curreri garnered many compliments on the robust seedlings the Master Gardeners had raised for the occasion. Many visitors seemed to be interested in vegetable seedlings, but the ornamentals found their fans too.

Cheryl Dabney, assisted by Julie Nodine, headed the “gently used gardening items” table, which was a great hit. Barbara Starke and Bert Agustinovich gave tours of the Serpentine and “Mound” Demonstration Gardens, while Dennis Hall, Charlene Daniel, Pat Denning, and Bill Perkins staffed the Help Desk/Plant Clinic.

Terry Dereniuk, Marva Brandt and Wendy Krieger were our charming greeters; Hans Dobusch announced presentations and gathered survey data. Jane Jacobs and Richard Nodine served as cashiers; Pete Germenis assisted customers, and Paul Lynch and Richard Willard were in charge of security.

Lake County 4-H, headed by Nanette Christensen, entertained the kids with sock chia plantings and kept everybody’s blood sugar up with popcorn.

Amidst it all, Event Chair and “floater” Barbara Haddon made sure that everything was going according to plan, helping out wherever the need arose. Thanks to Haddon for all the work that went into planning this event.

Special thanks also goes to Janet Berrian for live music, Jim Aldrich and Bill Haddon for taking great pictures, Craig Weatherbee for doing an awesome job preparing the event area, Stephanie Rick for publicity, Shirley Morse and Nicole Gentry for helping with countless preparations in the weeks preceding the event, Rachel Elkins, master gardener advisor, for her sage advice at the right moment, and all the remaining master gardeners not specifically mentioned, who contributed in their own special ways to make this event a success.

They look forward to the second annual Spring Garden Event in 2013.

Stephanie Rick and Barbara Haddon are master gardeners with the UC Cooperative Extension in Lakeport, Calif.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Furniture and teen clothing sections are now open at St. John's Basement Boutique thrift shop on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the corner of Clearlake Ave. and N. Forbes Str. in Lakeport.

The special teenage fashion section is staffed by 4-H members and youth from Clear Lake High School on Thursdays from 10 to 2 p.m. and hopefully, in the near future, Saturdays.

St. John’s Basement Boutique staff is busy creating outfits appropriate for middle and high school- aged shoppers. Summer and fall outfits include tops, shorts, jeans, lingerie, jewelry, hats and footwear.

All are welcome at St. John’s Episcopal Church Sunday services at 10 a.m., 1190 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.  

The presence and ministry of  The Episcopal Church in Lake County since 1877, St. John’s is a visible, welcoming family of Christ, resolved to deepen our relationship with God.

For further information, please call Parish Priest Fr. Leo M. Joseph, O.S.F. at 707-349-6563 or see St. John’s Web site www.saintjohnslakeport.org .