KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – So you have a telescope and you are unsure how to use it – bring your scope to the Taylor Observatory telescope workshop.

The workshop will take place from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19.

Learn about the types of telescopes, how to properly align a telescope and start enjoying the dark skies of Lake County.

The cost is $30 per person. There is a limit of 15 participants.

The deadline for registration is Sept. 12.

Register at http://www.lakecoe.org/calendar/details/taylor_observatory_telescope_workshop/2012-09-19 .

Taylor Observatory is located at 5725 Oak Hills Lane, Kelseyville.

LUCERNE, Calif. – A local family is seeking its missing pet.

“Boog” is a friendly male mixed breed with red and white coloring.

He recently went missing from his home in Lucerne.

Anyone with information about him is asked to call 707-349-7099.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Branch 168 of the Sons In Retirement (SIR) held its monthly luncheon on Friday Aug. 10, at Lakeside Lanes and Family Fun Center in Lakeport.

Frank West, the golf chair, reported that the tournaments were being well received and that those scheduled for August were fully booked. The next openings were for the Sept. 5 tournament at Rob Roy.

West also reported that there were only five openings for the Monterey tournament that is scheduled for Sept. 25-27.

Travel Chair Bob Specht reported that the bus trip to see “Fiddler on the Roof” was sold out.

Specht distributed fliers for the branch sponsored bus trip to Reno to see “Jersey Nights.” This is a three day, two night trip, Nov. 13-15. The cost is $149 per person. Anyone interested in going should call Specht at 707-279-0187 or Bill Magoolaghan at 707-277-8846.

Specht also announced the State SIRs’ 55th anniversary cruise to Alaska. This is an 11-day cruise that leaves San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2013, stops at various Alaskan ports and returns to San Francisco on Sept. 7, 2013. Specht had a limited number of fliers for this trip and promised to bring more for the next meeting.

The Big SIR, Dean Faris, had some sad news to share. During the month two of our active members, George “Bob” Neilson and Bill Storey passed away. Both will be missed.

Faris announced that he was keeping the business portion of the meeting short so that several members could attend a memorial service for Bill Storey. A memorial service for Neilson is set for Sept. 15.

Sons In Retirement is a social organization for men of retirement age who are pursuing the goal of enjoying their later years. It has 142 branches with 18,000 members throughout the state.

Anyone interested in learning more about Sons In Retirement is encouraged to contact Larry Powers, chair of the membership committee, at 707-263-3403 or visit the state Web site at www.sirinc.org .      

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Amy Patton will demonstrate easy bread making for parties and gatherings during a program at the Lakeport Library on 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8.

Patton’s demonstration will cover making pizza dough in a food processor, making hamburger and hot dog buns with a mixer, and making gluten-free pizza dough.

Light refreshments will be served.

As with all library events, this program is free and no library card is required to attend.

For more information, Patton can be reached at 707-263-8817, Extension 17105 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Lakeport Library is located at 1425 N. High St. It is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesday, noon to 8 p.m.

Visit the Lake County Library Web site at http://library.co.lake.ca.us or at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .

NORTH COAST – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.
        
LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– Construction of a roundabout at the Route 20/Nice-Lucerne Cutoff Road intersection will continue. Temporary all-way stop signs are in place. A shoulder closure will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists are advised to drive with caution through the area and may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Nice-Lucerne Cutoff Road is closed at Route 20; a detour is available. Contractor – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

– PG&E of Ukiah has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility work from Island Drive to Shady Lane. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 5-minute delays.

Highway 53

– Pavement repairs from Wilson Street to 40th Avenue will continue. Nighttime work hours are 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday evening through Friday Morning. One-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Daytime work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. A shoulder closure will be in effect, and motorists are advised to drive with caution through the area and may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – Teichert Construction of Davis.

– Highway widening and rehabilitation from 40th Avenue to the junction of Routes 20/53 will continue. Work hours are 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Teichert Construction of Davis.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– AT&T of Fort Bragg has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility work near Creamery Lane beginning Tuesday, Sept. 4. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Replacement of the Greenwood Creek Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Golden State Bridge Inc. of Martinez.

– The city of Fort Bragg has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit to hold the Paul Bunyan Days Labor Day Parade between Madrone Avenue and Elm Street on Monday, Sept. 3. Event hours are 9 a.m. to noon.  A full road closure will be in effect. A detour will be available.

Highway 20

– A pavement repair project from Forestry Station Road to Three Chop Road will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Argonaut Constructors of Santa Rosa.

– Paulson Excavation of Albion has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for fuel spill cleanup 1.3 miles east of Three Chop Road. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

– A pavement repair project from Road 300 to Three Chop Road will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Granite Construction of Ukiah.

Highway 101

– Caltrans will perform slide repairs near the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge (near Frog Woman Rock). Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

– Crosswalk improvements at Gregory Lane will continue. Work hours are 5 a.m. to noon, weekdays. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – Cal Electro Inc. of Redding.

– Shoulder widening and installation of rumble strips from just north of Ryan Creek Road (south) to just south of Big Trails Drive will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Legg Inc. of Livermore.

Highway 128

– PG&E of Ukiah has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility repairs from Philo Greenwood Road to Indian Creek. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Paving from Con Creek to Robinson Creek will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will  be  in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Argonaut Constructors of Santa Rosa.

– Pavement repairs from 1.9 mile west of the Ornbaun Creek Bridge to 0.3 mile west of Elkhorn Creek will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – OC Jones and Sons of Berkeley.

Highway 175

– Beckstoffer Vineyards of Talmage has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit to pave a commercial driveway beginning Tuesday, Sept. 4. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 253

– Metal beam guardrail repair at various locations from Singley Cattlepass to Robinson Creek Road will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Coral Construction of Wilsonville.

– Culvert repairs at various locations from Cattle Pass to 0.5 mile west of Slide Creek will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Team Ghilotti of Petaluma.

– Slipout repairs about 5.6 miles west of Butler Ranch will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Mendocino Construction Services of Willits.

Work on all these projects is weather permitting and subject to change. Caltrans advises motorists to drive with caution when approaching work areas and to be prepared to stop at traffic control stations.

The Caltrans Traffic Operations Office has reviewed each project and determined that individual project delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.

For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).

SACRAMENTO – A bill by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) to protect California’s renowned big-game wildlife has passed both houses of the Legislature with bipartisan support and is on the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown.

“Poaching of trophy wildlife has become a big problem in California.” Chesbro said. “AB 1162 ensures poachers pay back the full value of the wildlife resources they take from the public. This legislation is modeled after laws in other destination hunting states, such as Montana and New Mexico.”

AB 1162 directs the California Fish and Game Commission to develop a new scale of fines for poaching trophy deer, elk, antelope, wild turkey or bighorn sheep based on size and characteristics of the species.

It establishes a new criminal penalty for the poaching of trophy game to between $5,000 and $40,000 or up to one year in county jail, or both.

Wild turkey is also considered trophy game but the penalty for poaching would be between $2,000 and $5,000.

The penalty for illegal bear poaching would be $10,000 per bear part.

“AB 1162 targets the worst types of poaching, such as those that involve the intentional wasting of game meat, the use of artificial lights or taking game out of season,” said Mark Hennelly, vice president of the California Waterfowl Association. “The bill would not only significantly raise fines but also authorize equipment seizure and license forfeiture, all of which should provide an important deterrent.”

“We are pleased to again work with Assemblyman Chesbro to enact legislation that helps our game wardens apprehend poachers who use illegal means to prey on our magnificent wildlife,” added Jerry Karnow Jr., president of the California Fish and Game Wardens Association. “If signed into law, it will be a significant tool to combat wildlife crime.”

The governor has until Sept. 30 to take action on the bill.