LAKEPORT, Calif. – The next free household hazardous waste dropoff event will be held Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, at Lake County Waste Solutions Transfer Station and Recycling Yard, 230 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport.
 
Hours will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Households can bring up to 15 gallons of toxic items free of charge. Fees will be charged for amounts over 15 gallons.

Items that are accepted include paint, solvents, fuels, five-gallon propane tanks (empty), pool chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, batteries, fluorescent light tubes (up to 60 linear feet) and other toxic materials that cannot be put in the trash.

Items that cannot be accepted include televisions, computer monitors, ammunition, explosives, radioactive materials or infectious wastes.

To learn how and where to properly dispose these items, please visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us or contact the recycling hotline at 707-263-1980.

Household hazardous waste dropoff services are provided to Lake County residential households by the Integrated Waste Management Division of the Lake County Public Services Department and the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).

Businesses also are welcome to use this convenient service to properly dispose of hazardous waste and protect our environment, however, businesses must pay for this county-funded service and first make an appointment. Business appointments can be made by calling Lake County Waste Solutions at 707-234-6400.

Ask about receiving a free puncture-proof sharps container at one of these events to use for free sharps disposal.

Free recycling options for residents and businesses:

· Recycled paint is available to both residents and businesses at Lake County Waste Solutions and South Lake Refuse and Recycling Center first-come, first-served basis in five gallon containers. Colors include tan, brown, gray and pink.

· Used motor oil and cooking oil can be dropped off by businesses and residents, at Lake County Waste Solutions, South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center, and the North Shore Fire Protection District station at 6257 Seventh Ave. in Lucerne. Visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us for more locations.

· Electronics (e-waste) can be dropped off at Lake County Waste Solutions and at South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center.

Lake County Waste Solutions
230 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport
888-718-4888 or 707-234-6400
Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
www.candswaste.com

South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center
16015 Davis St., Clearlake
Open daily, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
707-994-8614
www.southlakerefuse.com

The free Household Hazardous Waste drop off program is subsidized by the Lake County Public Services Department, Integrated Waste Management Division and CalRecycle as a public service to Lake County households.

For more information about recycling, reusing and reducing, visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us , call the recycling hotline at 707-263-1980 or like Lake County Public Services on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LCPublicServices?fref=ts .

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Anita Crabtree, Lake County’s most eminent genealogist, will be speaker for the Fireside Chat at Gibson Museum Saturday, June 10.

Her presentation will be enjoyed by those already practiced in tracing their family ancestry, as well as people who’ve thought genealogy might be interesting but haven’t known where to start.

She will offer a variety of tips for beginners and share her experience and methods of getting through the “brick walls” that can be a challenge in tracing back a family line.

Crabtree first delved into her own family history 20 years ago, shortly after the death of her husband and while she was housebound in caring for her mother.

In no time at all she was hooked and not long after agreed to be Lake County coordinator for the national GenWeb site, http://www.cagenweb.com/lake/ .

She still posts to the site, which is a great boon to local historians as well as to local family researchers.

The Crabtree family came to Lake County in 1856; she calls herself “not local, having been here only 63 years.”

Fireside Chats are free of charge, although donations to support Gibson Museum are welcomed.

The talks begin at 3 p.m. the first Saturday of each month. Questions are welcomed after the speaker’s initial presentation.

Gibson Museum is located at 21267 Calistoga Road (Highway 29), across the street from Middletown Square.

For further information, phone 707-809-8009 or visit http://www.cgibsonmuseum.com/ .

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or CDFW, is now accepting proposals for habitat restoration projects within the California watersheds most impacted by unregulated cannabis cultivation.

Contingent on the Budget Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-2018, a total of $1.5 million in Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration funds will be made available through CDFW’s Cannabis Restoration Grant Program.

The program will focus on the North Coast watersheds extending from Sonoma County to the Oregon state line, as they have been most heavily impacted by cannabis cultivation.

“Existing damage to our watersheds due to unregulated cannabis cultivation is at crisis levels in terms of threats to habitat for aquatic and wildlife species,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “While many grow sites have been abandoned or shuttered, the infrastructure and ongoing damage remains. We are poised to initiate this critical and missing step in the process of decommissioning unwanted grow sites.”

California’s fish and wildlife are severely impacted by unregulated cannabis cultivation practices including unlawful water diversions for irrigation, conversion of lands, and prohibited herbicides, rodenticides and other environmental contaminants.

The most impacted areas require immediate action. Assembly Bill 243 (Wood, Medical Marijuana) provides direction to CDFW to restore watersheds impacted by cannabis cultivation.

“Our beautiful, pristine North Coast forests have become havens for these rogue grow sites,” said Assemblymember Jim Wood, who represents five of the county areas eligible for these grants. “These sites have been ravaged by lethal chemicals, often-banned rodenticides which are used to keep animals away, but remain in the ground and eventually run off into rivers and streams, destroying everything in their path, including endangered fish species such as coho salmon. I am grateful that the Governor and CDFW are making these funds available for this much-needed cleanup.”

The FY 2017-2018 Proposal Solicitation Notice, application instructions and other information about the Restoration Grant Program are available at www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Watersheds/Cannabis-Restoration-Grant .

Proposals must be submitted online at https://soar.resources.ca.gov/ .

The deadline to apply is Friday, June 30, at 4 p.m.

Transporting unsecured loads is unsafe, illegal, and pollutes California’s roads and waterways.

Caltrans wants motorists and commercial vehicle operators to make sure their load is secure before driving.

Vehicle-related debris can create unsafe conditions for motorists, contributes to litter on highways and could lead to pollution in waterways.

“This is a safety, environmental, economic, and aesthetic issue that is 100 percent preventable,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “We spent more than $67 million last year picking up litter and debris. By properly securing your load before you head out, you can help keep our roads clean and safe, and also protect our waterways from being contaminated.”

A load is secure when nothing can slide, shift, fall, or sift onto the roadway.

Here are some tips on properly securing a load:

• Tie it down. Large or heavy items should be secured with solid straps, rope, bungee cords, or netting. Make sure your tie down materials are appropriate for the weight they are securing and can withstand highway speeds.

• Cover it up. For loose items like grass or tree clippings, a tarp or netting can be used to keep items in place.

• Don’t dispose of litter in pick-up beds. Litter in pick-up beds can fly out when the vehicle reaches highway speed. Dispose of litter properly.

• Re-check your load. Loads can shift and settle during a trip. If safe to do so, re-check your load during your trip. Tighten straps that may have loosened and adjust your load if necessary.

Litter and debris can clog stormwater drains and may end up in waterways.

Caltrans’ Protect Every Drop campaign educates Californians about the sources and pathways of stormwater pollution, and to change behaviors of the public to reduce stormwater pollution in and around the state highway system.

Search #ProtectEveryDrop on Twitter or go to www.protecteverydrop.com for more information.

According to California vehicle code 23115 (a) - “No vehicle transporting garbage, swill, used cans or bottles, wastepapers, waste cardboard, ashes, refuse, trash, or rubbish, or any noisome, nauseous, or offensive matter, or anything being transported for disposal or recycling shall be driven or moved upon any highway unless the load is totally covered in a manner that will prevent the load or any part of the load from spilling or falling from the vehicle.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In order to support beneficial uses of Clear Lake, the Lake County Department of Water Resources is providing defined areas around the lake free of noxious plants.

The areas include certain:

• Shoreline lanes parallel to the shoreline, starting from lakeward ends of structures in the lake and extending 50 to 100 feet lakeward;

• 100 foot-wide boat lanes perpendicular to the shoreline, starting from the shoreline lane and extending for 1,000 feet to 2,000 feet into the lake. Boat lanes will be marked with green and red buoys to be used with the 3R rule of boating – red, right, return.

• Recreational areas for swimming or fishing.

The specific treatment areas are posted on the county’s Web site at www.nolakeweeds.com .

Your property may be close to one of these managed areas. Management of aquatic plants entails use of aquatic herbicides.

If you use lake water for irrigation or personal use, please call Water Resources at 707-263-2344 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out about water use restrictions during the treatment.

All aquatic plant management in Clear Lake requires a permit; only licensed aquatic herbicide applicators are authorized to chemically control weeds in Clear Lake. Permits may be obtained from the Lake County Water Resources Office.

For additional information pertaining to County of Lake aquatic plant management activities please visit www.nolakeweeds.com or contact the Water Resources Department at 707-263-2344.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Lake County Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will hold a meeting in Middletown on Wednesday, June 7.

The meeting will convene at 9 a.m. at the Middletown Community Center, located in the same building as the Middletown Library and senior center at 21256 Washington St.

The public is invited to attend.

All county parks throughout the county will be discussed, however, the main discussion will center around Middletown Trailside Park and the revitalization of the park in the wake of its destruction in the 2015 Valley fire.

As part of this meeting there will be a trip out to the park, which is located at Dry Creek Road and  Highway 175.