LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Clearlake Police Department chaplains along with counselors, pastors and therapists from around the lake are coming together to offer workshops on healing and resiliency in the aftermath of the fires.

The workshops are absolutely free and offer resources to help people find balance.

Although spirituality can be an important source of strength these workshops are not religious in nature.

Who should come to the workshop?

· Anyone who would like to learn tools for healing and resilience in the aftermath of trauma;

· Anyone who felt anxious during the recent fires;

· Anyone ready to be empowered to help rebuild our community.

A workshop will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at Middletown United Methodist Church, 15833 Armstrong St. A free community dinner will take place at 5 p.m. Please RSVP to 707-987-3379.

There also will be a workshop from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at United Christian Parish, located at 745 North Brush St. in Lakeport. UCP will also be offering a free meal for the community at 4 p.m. for those who RSVP. Please RSVP to 707-263-4788. Child care is available.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Lupoyoma Parlor No. 329 of the Native Daughters of the Golden West will meet on Thursday, Oct. 9, for a membership social and organizational meeting.
 
They will meet at 5 p.m. for social time and 6 p.m. for the business meeting at Round Table Pizza, 821 11th St. in Lakeport.

If you were born in California and are over age 16 you are a Native Californian eligible for membership in the Native Daughters of the Golden West Organization.

The Native Daughters is a fraternal and patriotic organization founded in 1886 on the principles of:

– Love of home;
– Devotion to the flag;
– Veneration of the pioneers;
– Faith in the existence of God.

All Native Daughters are welcome to attend.
 
For more information contact Parlor Worthy President Carla Dore, 831-524-5588, or Dee Cuney, 707-235-2902, or visit the group's Facebook page.

For information about Lake County Konocti No. 159 Chapter of the Native Sons of the Golden West contact Tony Braito at 707-245-7663.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Assembly candidate Don Saylor will be the guest speaker at the Lake County Democratic Club meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the social hall of the Lower Lake Community United Methodist Church, 16255 Second St.

Saylor, running for the open seat in the Fourth Assembly District – currently held by Bill Dodd, who has indicated he will run for the State Senate – will discuss his platform. Time will be allotted for questions and answers.

Lake County Democratic Club meetings are open to the public. Membership is open to all registered Democrats.

The Lake County Democratic Club is an officially chartered club of the Democratic Party of Lake County.

Visit www.lakecountydemocraticclub.org or contact the club at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Boy Scouts of America Packs of the Redwood Empire Council are coming together with the American Red Cross to build 4,000 sifter boxes for the residents affected by the Valley fire.

Agwood Mill and Lumber in Ukiah is generously donating all of the lumber and pre-cutting it to size.  Local Coldwell Banker agents are making financial donations.

Lowe’s has generously discounted the rest of the needed supplies and is providing transportation of the materials. Amy's Kitchen is kindly providing their parking lot as a space for the Boy Scouts to gather and to build.

The Boy Scouts began building the sifters on Wednesday and Thursday, and will continue on Sunday.

California Department of Public Health advises residents of recently burned areas to use caution in cleaning up ash from recent wildfires. The ash from trees burned in forest fires is relatively nontoxic and similar to ash that might be found in your fireplace.

However, ash from burned homes and other items will likely contain metals, chemicals, and potentially asbestos, items that can be considered toxic if breathed in or touched with wet skin.

If the ash is inhaled, it can be irritating to the nose, throat and lungs and may cause coughing. Exposure to airborne ash may trigger asthmatic attacks in people who already have asthma.

People should seek medical care if they experience health issues such as chest pain, chest tightness or shortness of breath.

In order to avoid possible health problems, the following steps are recommended:

· Do not allow children to play in the ash. Wash ash off toys before children play with them. Clean ash off pets.

·  Wear a mask, gloves, long sleeved shirts and long pants and avoid skin contact. Ash may be irritating to the skin, especially to those with sensitive skin.

·  If you do get ash on your skin, wash it off as soon as possible. Some wet ash can cause chemical burns.

· If you have a vegetable garden or fruit trees, wash the fruits or vegetables before eating them.

· Avoid getting ash into the air as much as possible. Do not use leaf blowers or take other actions that will put ash into the air.

· Shop vacuums and other common vacuum cleaners do not filter out small particles. They blow such particles out the exhaust into the air where they can be inhaled.

· The use of shop vacuums and other non-HEPA filter vacuums is not recommended. HEPA filter vacuums could be used, if available.

The Valley Fire is currently the third largest in California state history, covering more than 76,000 acres and destroying nearly 2,000 structures, including more than 1,200 homes.

On Tuesday night, nearly 200 people found a safe place to sleep and break from the heat and smoke in Red Cross and independent community shelters in California. The Salvation Army, Southern Baptist, Red Cross and many community groups are distributing food and relief supplies to support people as they return home.

The difficult recovery from these fires makes this a frustrating and emotionally draining time for everyone involved. Community and Red Cross mental health volunteers are available to help. Red Cross caseworkers are meeting one-on-one with people to create recovery plans, navigate paperwork and locate help from numerous partner agencies.

People affected by the Valley fire are encourage for register for FEMA assistance by calling 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Online registration is also available at: www.DisasterAssistance.gov .

For other recovery information, call the Valley Fire Resource Line at 1-888-564-2787 or visit www.lakecountylac.com .

People affected by the Valley fire also can call 855-224-2490 to learn about Red Cross services available.

The Red Cross and many community partners are working to ensure that the right resources and support are provided to those who have been affected by this disaster:

· Shelter: Twin Pine Casino, 22223 Highway 29, Middletown.

· Lake County Local Assistance Center: Middletown Senior Center, 21256 Washington St., 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

· Red Cross Client Assistance Center: Middletown Community Methodist Church, 15833 Armstrong St., Middletown, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” asked Charlie Brown.

Well the U.S. Postal Service knows the holiday season very well and Charlie Brown will be happy to know that the Postal Service will be dedicating the Charlie Brown Christmas Forever stamps in Santa Rosa.

The official dedication ceremony will take place on Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa at 9 a.m.

The event is free and open to the public and the stamps will be available nationwide that day.

Customers may pre-order the stamps now for delivery shortly after Oct. 1. Peanuts fans are encouraged to share their excitement about the stamps on social media using #CharlieBrownStamps.

Oct. 2 marks the 65th anniversary of the “Peanuts” comic strip and December marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most popular holiday TV classics of all time — “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Scheduled to join Postmaster General Megan Brennan at the ceremony are: Schulz’s wife Jean Schulz; Schulz’s son Craig Schulz; Emmy award-winning “A Charlie Brown Christmas” Executive Producer Lee Mendelson; U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Acting Chairman James Bilbray; Charles M. Schulz Museum Director Karen Johnson and Snoopy.

“We will visit millions of addresses to connect Americans to one another this holiday season, and to enable the sharing that reinforces family and friendship throughout the country,” said Brennan. “In so many ways, ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ especially on its 50th anniversary, delivers the spirit of the holidays, by bringing people and generations together to share in a beautiful and simple story.”

“'A Charlie Brown Christmas’ continues to resonate with fans because everyone can relate to Charlie Brown and his quest to find the true meaning of Christmas,” said Jean Schulz. “It will be a great joy to see these iconic images when I open my mailbox this holiday season.”

“No fictional character has so captured the interest of the American public like Charlie Brown,” said Mendelson, a multi-Peabody and eleven-time Emmy award recipient who collected stamps as a child. “Everybody identifies with him, as we all have our ups and downs. What we like about Charlie Brown is that he keeps coming back and keeps trying no matter what. The ‘wah wah’ of Charlie Brown’s school teacher has becomes part of our daily speech. I am truly honored that the Postal Service is honoring this timeless Christmas classic.”

The stamp images include: Charlie Brown holding the sapling that eventually becomes his Christmas tree; Charlie Brown and Pigpen with a snowman; Snoopy and children ice skating; the cast of the program gathered around the Christmas tree; Linus kneeling by the sparsely decorated Christmas tree; Charlie Brown checking his mailbox for a Christmas card; Charlie Brown and Linus leaning on a snowy brick wall; Charlie Brown and Linus standing by the Christmas tree; a frustrated Charlie Brown standing in front of Snoopy’s doghouse; and, Charlie Brown decorating the tree in front of the prize-winning lights display on Snoopy’s doghouse. Art director Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, VA, designed the stamps.

The early October release of the stamp coincides with the “Peanuts” comic strip debut in seven newspapers on Oct. 2, 1950: The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Allentown Call-Chronicle, The Bethlehem Globe-Times, The Denver Post, and The Seattle Times. When Schulz announced his retirement in December 1999, the “Peanuts” comic strip was syndicated in more than 2,600 newspapers worldwide, with book collections translated in more than 21 languages.

This is not the first time Peanuts has been celebrated on a stamp. The Postal Service issued a Peanuts Commemorative stamp in 2001.

The Charlie Brown Christmas Forever stamps provide youngsters with the perfect start for getting into stamp collecting. For more information on this educational hobby the entire family can enjoy, visit www.learnaboutstamps.org and the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum’s stamp collecting Web site. 

The Christmas classic

“A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the first animated special featuring “Peanuts” characters aired on CBS Dec. 9, 1965. Over the years, the ode to the holiday season has become a tradition. 

Work began on “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in the spring of 1965 when Schulz met with producer Lee Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez. Instead of hiring adult actors, the group decided to take the then-unusual step of having children provide voices for most of the characters.
 
Schulz insisted that the program should not have a laugh track, which he considered cynical and unnecessary. “Let the people at home enjoy the show at their own speed,” he said, “in their own way.” Composer Vince Guaraldi contributed a memorable jazz score. “Linus and Lucy,” a lively piano tune that plays in the film, is still synonymous with Peanuts.

Schulz’s script focuses on Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas. All around him, his friends are enjoying themselves, but he is bothered by the season’s commercialism. “I just don't understand Christmas, I guess,” he tells Linus. “I like getting presents, and sending Christmas cards, and decorating trees and all that, but I’m still not happy.”

At Lucy’s request, Charlie Brown agrees to direct their school’s Christmas play. The production is temporarily derailed when the other children laugh at him for choosing a small sapling — not a shiny aluminum replica — as a Christmas tree.

When Charlie Brown wonders if there’s anyone who knows what Christmas is all about, Linus says that he does, and proceeds to recite a rendition of the biblical Nativity story. When he’s finished, he picks up his blanket and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Encouraged, Charlie Brown rushes home to decorate his small tree, only to be disappointed again when it collapses under the weight of one ornament. His pals, however, come to the rescue, turning the sapling into a glimmering masterpiece.

Watched in more than 15 million American homes, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was a smash hit. It won the George Foster Peabody Award and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” is being issued as Forever stamps that will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.
 
Ordering first-day-of-issue postmarks, first-day covers

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail.

They may purchase new stamps at local Post Offices, at The Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24.

They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others) and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

A Charlie Brown Christmas Stamps
Special Events
PO Box 7838
San Francisco, CA 94120-7838

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, the price is 5 cents each. All orders must be postmarked by Nov. 30, 2015.

The Postal Service also offers first-day covers and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation.

Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog, online at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:

U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Presbyterian Women will be hosting their rummage sale this Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3.

The sale will be held at the church, located at 5340 Third St., from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Clothing, furniture, holiday and craft items, and all sorts of miscellaneous items too numerous to mention. You don't want to miss it.

There will be a bag sale on Friday afternoon and Saturday all day. Come stuff a bag with goodies for $1.

Hot dogs and chili will be for sale as well.

All proceeds go to the Presbyterian Women local outreach programs.