LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital purchased two lambs from Anderson Marsh 4-H members at the 2014 Junior Livestock Auction during the Lake County Fair in August to support Lake County youth.

The hospital donated the meat to North Coast Opportunities and to the Lakeport Activity Senior Center.

Jonathan Crooks, executive director of the Lakeport Senior Activity Center, stated, “We provide over 42,000 meals every year at the center and this unexpected donation definitely helped fill our freezer. We’re very grateful for the donation from Sutter Lakeside.”

Part of the meat was also donated to North Coast Opportunities, an organization that distributes food donations to food banks throughout Lake County.

Network Program Coordinator Tammy Alakszay said, “The meat served about 45 families. It was neat to see the reactions of clients when they heard we were offering lamb.”

Sutter Lakeside Chief Administrative Officer Siri Nelson believes strongly in contributing to local hunger causes.

“Many of our patients and their families still struggle financially to put a nutritious meal together,” Nelson said. “It felt great to not only contribute to local students’ college funds by purchasing livestock at the Fair, but to address hunger issues in Lake County, as well.”

Sutter Lakeside collects food donations for North Coast Opportunities all year round in a “Little Red Wagon” located just inside the entrance of the hospital Lobby.

To learn more about Sutter Lakeside, please visit www.sutterlakeside.org/ . 

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch will not meet in November but is next scheduled to gather in December.

The group will meet at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3.

The meeting will take place at the Lake County Agriculture Center, 883 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport.

The draft minutes from the Oct. 22  meeting are available at http://www.lakelive.info/chicouncil/pdffiles/10.22.14minutes.pdf .

For more information about the group visit http://www.lakelive.info/chicouncil .

Hollywood has an insatiable capacity for churning out movies about vampires. But here’s one angle they haven’t tackled yet: the “vampires” in our everyday appliances that suck power around the clock, even when turned off.

“Energy vampires” include the always-on remote switches and other sensors that offer convenience of not walking up to the device to push a button. They also include the many clocks that ride along with microwave ovens, radios, and other appliances in our homes.

Power strips are getting smarter as some now come with timers or occupancy sensors.

The energy efficiency experts at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory say such standby power draw can amount to between 5 and 10 percent of a typical households electricity use and account for 1 percent of global CO2 emissions.

But a recent household study in the United Kingdom concluded that “Domestic background standby consumption is much higher than previously estimated … We see that total standby consumption can amount to nine to 16 per cent of domestic power demand.”

California has taken the lead in new appliance standards that drive a silver stake into some of the vampires that suck our money and energy. But for older appliances there’s a cheap and simple alternative: the power strip. Not even vampires can overcome a turned-off power strip.

No one seems to know who invented the power strip, or when. But this invention, selling for as little as a few dollars, can save mighty amounts of energy with the flick of a switch. It can also save you money, as long as you don’t buy the $3,500 model with “quantum resonance” technology.

At home, a simple on-off strip is usually all you need. But at work, where responsibility for office equipment may be widely shared, more advanced power strips can automatically cut power to task lights, fans, heaters, computer accessories and other “plug loads” when no one is around or working.

As a recent PG&E newsletter explains, there are three main types of advanced power strips that work well in the office:

– Timer-equipped strips work well if your office keeps regular hours. These are reliable and easy to understand. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Energy found that a scheduled timer achieved energy savings of nearly 50 percent.

– Occupancy-sensing strips shut off devices after-hours by detecting when no users are present. They also help save energy during business hours when people are away from their workstations.

– Current-sensing strips have one master control outlet, up to six switched outlets, plus a few always-on outlets. When equipment such as computer workstations go into sleep mode, they trigger the smart outlet to shut down power to the switched outlets, turning off printers, monitors and lights.

A study by the General Services Administration, the federal government’s main landlord, found that advanced power strips reduced plug loads at workstations by a quarter, and in kitchens and printer rooms by nearly half. The payback period from energy savings was only about a year.

Such advanced power strips are surprisingly affordable – as little as $20 for a timed strip, a few dollars more for a current-sensing switch, and less than $100 for an occupant-sensing strip.

PG&E offers business customers a $15 rebate on occupancy-sensing switches to speed the payback period.

Find out more on PG&E’s “Ways to Save” page on power strips, https://pge.opower.com/ei/app/tip/tip059_use_power_strips .

Jonathan Marshall works for Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

UKIAH, Calif. – Mendocino College invites everyone to come celebrate El Dia De Los Muertos this week.

Come enjoy this unique celebration with us on Wednesday, Oct. 29, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Mendocino College Lowery Student Center.

The event will feature altars, food, music, Aztec and Folkloric dancers, hot chocolate, pan dulce, tamales and so much more.

Everyone is welcome.

Mendocino College is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road in Ukiah.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The U.S. Coast Auxiliary, Flotilla 8-8 of Lake County participated in the inaugural Heroes of Health & Safety Fair held at the Lake County Fairgrounds on Oct. 18 by setting up an informational table on boating safety for the public. 

The flotilla offered free life jackets for youngster and, with permission from the parents, weighed and fitted 24 youngsters with new life jackets.  

The supply was limited and by 11:30 a.m. the supply was exhausted. 

For those who had to be turned away, the flotilla advised that another free life jacket giveaway would be held next year in the early summer.

The US Coast Guard helicopter from the air station in McKinleyville with four crew members flew in and landed in the designated area alongside the California Highway Patrol copter and the REACH air ambulance.

After securing the helicopter, children and their parents were invited to inspect it inside and out. It was an exciting experience for the youngsters.

Flotilla 8-8 members Bruce Rogerson, Dane Hayward, Roberto Morfin, Corey Jones, Bob White and Bunny De Lope interacted with the people who visited the booth by providing information on how to keep themselves and their families’ safe on the water. 

Game and color books, pencils and bookmarks for children which teach them about water safety were distributed.

Boat owners were advised that the flotilla performed free vessel safety checks and safe boating classes. 

Many who expressed interest in joining the flotilla were invited to attend the Oct. 25 meeting.

Flotilla 8-8 members were encouraged by the number of visitors to the booth and look forward to participating in this event next year.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 1955 WWII comedy-drama, “Mr. Roberts,” screens at the Soper Reese Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 11, with show times at 1 and 6 p.m.

Masterfully adapted from a Broadway hit, the film stars James Cagney as the cargo ship’s despotic captain and Henry Fonda as his reluctant lieutenant, a role Fonda originated in the play. 

A young Jack Lemmon won an Oscar for best supporting actor in his role of idler Ensign Pulver. 

William Powell plays the ship’s doctor, his last on-screen role.

Entry to the show is by donation.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com .