KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Lake County Relay for Life will hold its survivor dinner to celebrate cancer survivors and their caregivers on Saturday, March 21.

The dinner will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. at Moore Family Winery, 11990 Bottle Rock Road.

Presale tickets are available for $15 per person or $20 at the door.

The event is free for all cancer survivors, who are encouraged to bring a caregiver for free.

The ticket includes dinner and wine with live entertainment.

Performers will include Briana and Rylee Mix, Shelly Mascari from the Funky Dozen, and the neo-Flamenco duo Austen & Owens.

To purchase tickets and RSVP call Katrina at 707-349-1179.

Visit www.relayforlife.org/lakecountyca for more information.

SACRAMENTO – Caltrans this week published its third issue of “The Mile Marker,” a periodic reporting of areas where the department is excelling and where further improvement is needed.

“As a government department that touches the lives of nearly everyone in the state every day, it is incumbent on us to provide factual information in a narrative that is easily understandable,” Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty wrote in the report’s welcome letter.

According to the 2015 first-quarter report, pavement rehabilitation accounts for nearly half (46 percent) of the state’s transportation upkeep needs. The next largest demand (18 percent) is for bridge reconstruction projects.

Together, pavement and bridges take up almost two-thirds of upkeep needs.

According to the report, while the state’s bridges are safe, Caltrans has a $19 billion 10-year unfunded need for bridge work.

The Mile Marker is one of Caltrans’ steps to improve its transparency and accountability by making the department’s work more accessible and understandable to the public.

Its intention is also to quantify and measure the department’s performance – what’s working, what’s not and what could be improved – based on consistent markers.

The Mile Marker features an at-a-glance chart showing the department’s progress from the previous report, where it’s reaching its goals and where it needs to improve.

The report includes Caltrans’ progress in improving as a department; a rundown of its response to the 6.0-magnitude Napa Earthquake on Aug. 24, 2014; a close look at the planning process for San Diego’s ambitious and forward-looking North Coast Corridor Program; and an update on projects funded by the Trade Corridor Improvement Fund, a program stemming from the 2006 voter-approved Proposition 1B.

The Mile Marker is distributed to the Legislature, local government agencies and transportation professionals statewide and around the country.

Copies of this issue of The Mile Marker are available at http://www.dot.ca.gov/ctjournal/MileMarker/2015-1/index.html .

Caltrans also releases 23 statutorily required reports on a periodic basis on subjects including project delivery, finance, fish passage, state rail and highway maintenance. These reports are located at http://dot.ca.gov/reports-legislature.htm .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 90th annual Lakeport Rotary Easter Egg Hunt will take place on Sunday, April 5.

The hunt will be held at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St.

The popular event, which hosts hundreds of children and their families each year, is free to the public.

There will be three age groups for children up to age 12.

Gates open at 1:15 p.m., with the hunt beginning at 1:30 p.m.

The eggs go quickly, so be sure to be there ahead of time.

The event takes place rain or shine.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The North Coast Opportunities Governing Board will meet on Wednesday, March 25.

The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. at the North Coast Opportunities office, 850 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport.
                   
Timed items are as follows:

3 p.m.: Call to order, roll call, introductions, approval of agenda.
3:05 p.m.: Public input.
3:10 p.m.: Consent agenda.
3:15 p.m.: Introduction of guest Eunice Rivera.
3:20 p.m.: Food Hub presentation by John Bailey.
3:40 p.m.: Land, capital, connections sponsorship.
3:45 p.m.: Guidance regarding fundraising partners.
4 p.m.: January Financials.
4:10 p.m.: Update on Human Race.
4:15 p.m.: PPC Update.
4:20 p.m.: Executive director evaluation.
4:25 p.m.: Executive director report.
4:35 p.m.: Approve changes to NCO/RCCC parent and provider handbooks along with policies created due to MB 14-03a and 14-04 mandated by CDE.
4:45 p.m.: Policy changes regarding California sick leave.
4:50 p.m.: Brief reports and announcements.
4:55 p.m.: Parking lot (presentation of topics for consideration/agenda for future     meeting).
5 p.m.: Adjourn to closed session.

For information, or if you need disability modification or accommodation in order to participate in this meeting, please contact the NCO executive secretary 48 hours before the meeting at 707-462-3200, Extension 201.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides funding for a number of local programs under a county’s “Continuum of Care” (CoC).

The Lake County Continuum of Care is in the process of forming, and will be a collaboration of agencies and individuals working together to serve those experiencing homelessness in Lake County.

The CoC will oversee any HUD funding that is granted to the county, and will be led by North Coast Opportunities as the collaborative applicant.

The Lake County CoC will be charged with providing a coordinated and strategic approach toward working to meet the needs of any individual experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including those with mental or physical health ailments.

This includes performing a community needs assessment, gathering and tracking data, and working together through a coordinated effort to ease the burden of homelessness in Lake County.

Agency representatives and community volunteers are needed to help form the Lake County CoC and comply with HUD guidelines so Lake County can be positioned to apply for funding in October 2015.

The Lake County CoC will request a long-term commitment from its members, and must include at least one homeless or previously homeless individual.

If you would like to be a part of the Lake County Continuum of Care, join them at their next meeting on Thursday, March 26, at 3 p.m. at the DSS Conference Room in Lower Lake.

If you have any questions, please contact Lake County CoC Lead Coordinator Traci Boyl at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In any given week, Sharon Weeks and Annina van Voorene may find themselves delivering birthday flowers, arranging for a repair to a home wheelchair ramp, making travel arrangements, counseling a family whose loved one is dying, filling out forms or researching dog-friendly cruises.

Weeks and van Voorene are social workers. They are committed to bringing positive change to people’s daily lives.

Social work is a unique calling that stretches beyond hours of the day and days of the week and a list of job duties. Social work is a commitment to caring. It is great work for a higher purpose.

Weeks and van Voorene work for Hospice Services of Lake County. They are part of the team of professionals that surround hospice patients and their loved ones.

Within 48 hours of a patient’s admission to hospice, the patient and family receive a visit from one of the social workers.

The social worker talks with the family to learn what assistance might make a difficult situation better. Does the family need a resource for legal counsel or financial advice? Would they benefit from available community resources? Would counseling help the family members cope with anticipatory grief? Do they need help resolving problems with their insurance?

Each family is different and has its own unique situation. The job of the social worker is to identify the needs, make connections to the appropriate resources and take action to get those services in place. They are tenacious and persistent in their drive to help solve problems when many others can’t.

Weeks has worked for Hospice for over 25 years. She says the greatest skill a social worker can have is to be a good listener and be fully present while listening. Social workers are also counselors.

She and van Voorene take time to listen to the fears and anxieties of the caregivers and the family members.

“We offer suggestions, respect their wishes, and help them find balance,” Weeks stated.

She is quick to praise the caregivers, reminding them that the act of caregiving is a precious gift that they give to their loved one.

March is National Social Work month. Hospice Services of Lake County honors Weeks and van Voorene for their compassion and commitment to helping hospice patients and families get through difficult times.

For more information about hospice services, which is fully funded by Medicare, or to request a confidential consultation, call 707-263-6222.