KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Fourth District Assemblyman Bill Dodd will host an outdoor Memorial Day barbecue event at Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill on May 23.

The event will feature music, local wines and delicious barbecue at the beautiful facility of Chacewater in Kelseyville.
 
Tickets are limited. Sponsorship and event information are available on www.billdodd.com/events , or call 707-337-5994 for more information.

Dodd represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all or portions of Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano and Colusa counties. 

He serves as chair of the Select Committee on Wine and also serves on committees representing agriculture, business and professions, rules, transportation, water, parks and wildlife, fairs, allocation and classification. You can learn more about the district at www.asm.ca.gov/dodd .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Unified School District will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new agriculture barn for the FFA program on Saturday, April 25.

The event will take place at 10 a.m. at 4410 Konocti Road.

A reception will follow at the Kelseyville High School Student Center, 5480 Main St.

Everyone is invited.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Soroptimist International of Clear Lake inducted seven new members into the club club on Thursday, March 26.

New members are Karen Agoado, Pat Grabham, Ami Landrum, Cindy Lawler, Denise Loustalot, Margaret Medeiros and Julie Moyer.

Meetings are held at noon on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at Howard's Grotto Restaurant in Clearlake.

Anyone interested in joining or learning more about the club can call Sally Munger at 707-987-0750.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On Saturday, March 21, 4-Hers from all around the county – some 60 participants and coordinators – were welcomed to the sixth annual 4-H Fling and Expo at the Presbyterian Church in Kelseyville.

Hands-on activities ranged from creating bird treats from bread, peanut butter, and bird seed, to a quiz on how well you know wildflowers, to creating homemade cards wishing those in nursing homes around the county a happy spring.

Other activities included viewing glowing germs, experimenting with stomp rockets, and judging cookies and cobblers. 

A passport was handed out at the door, and visiting at least seven of these stations, getting a stamp at each one, would result in a door prize at the end. 

Other awards were handed out for competitions such as a leprechaun trap, a themed table setting, decorated cup cakes, all sort of sewn articles and even a smoothie blend off.

One of the largest and most successful youth education programs in the United States, 4-H introduces to young people key concepts including public speaking, leadership, healthy living, community service, self growth and learning by doing.

If you are interested in more information about 4-H clubs in Lake County, contact the Lake County 4-H office (UC Extension) at 707-263-6838, visit online at http://celake.ucanr.edu/4-H_Program/ or check out Facebook’s Lake County 4-H program. 

Ethan Jones is a Lake County 4-H All Star candidate and a member of the Blue Heron 4-H of Lakeport, Calif.

GLENDORA, Calif. – California Fire Safe Council (CFSC) Executive Director Margaret Grayson will be retiring April 30 to enjoy well-earned relaxation and traveling with her husband.

She also plans to continue her volunteer service and provide nonprofit organization consulting. Katie Martel, CFSC Southern California grant manager, will serve as interim executive director.

Grayson joined CFSC as executive director in 2007, bringing 30 years’ experience in nonprofit senior management to the organization.

During her tenure of leading CFSC, Grayson led improvements in administration and management of CFSC’s innovative Grants Clearinghouse, and cultivated vital partnerships with federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Cal Fire.

Grayson has represented CFSC as various fire and disaster conferences and events throughout California and the United States.

She shared CFSC best practices for community organizing and wildfire preparedness while providing quality leadership to staff, grantees and stakeholders.

A hallmark of Grayson’s career occurred when CFSC was awarded an unprecedented $29 million in federal grants in 2009 to fund wildfire prevention projects through the Grants Clearinghouse.

She increased the organization’s staff from six to 14 adding additional grant managers and technical support staff to handle this steep increase in funding.

Through her leadership, CFSC was able to fulfill the needs of the federal granting agencies while making California more fire safe by providing much-needed funding for local fire prevention mitigation projects. 

“As a 19 year member of the CFSC Board of Directors, and newly appointed chairman, it has been a pleasure working with Margaret,” said Jerry Davies. “I have been extremely impressed with Margaret’s leadership expertise working closely with staff and the federal agencies that CFSC serves through grants.”

CFSC founder and retired Chairman Bruce Turbeville remembered, “Margaret knew the answer, or where to get the answer, for every question. She was the velcro that bound us together as a working team.”

Davies added, “On behalf of the board, we wish Margaret the very best in her retirement and consulting activities.”

Martel has been with CFSC since 2009. She started as affiliate manager and was promoted to grant manager and Firewise liaison in 2012. She has administered dozens of subgrants in the southern California region and provides technical assistance to a wide variety of organizations.

She provides training on grants management, organizational development and fire prevention programs. As Firewise liaison, Martel approves applications from communities around the state who wish to qualify and be recognized as Firewise communities. She assists community leaders through the steps of becoming nationally recognized and works with state and local fire agencies to encourage meaningful collaboration with the communities.

Martel holds a bachelor’s degree in English from California State University Los Angeles and is certified in federal grants management and nonprofit management.

CFSC is a statewide nonprofit organization. It currently receives grants from federal agencies to provide subgrants to fire safe councils and other organizations using CFSC’s innovative online Grants Clearinghouse system that began in 2004.

Recognized throughout the industry for its comprehensive programs, CFSC administers and monitors the subgrants, from application to closeout, in accordance with the federal grant regulations. CFSC staff provides unparalleled technical assistance and training to applicants and grantees. 

Since its inception, CFSC’s Grants Clearinghouse has funded over 850 subgrants totaling more than $81 million for projects to make communities across California safer from wildfire.

CFSC accepts applications annually for grants provided through the clearinghouse. The 2015 application cycle closed in February.

For more information on California Fire Safe Council and the Grants Clearinghouse, please visit the CFSC Web site at www.cafiresafecouncil.org .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Permission slips and parent information letters describing the Children’s Museum of Art and Science art and science camp on Saturday, May 2, have been delivered to all Lake County schools.

Any fourth through sixth grader is eligible to attend this free camp.

Parents also can download these documents by going to the Lake County Office of Education Web site, http://www.lake-coe.k12.ca.us/ . Click on “calendar,” scroll forward to May and click on May 2.

Two sets of documents are posted; one set for students in the Konocti and Lucerne districts, and one for everyone else.

Permission slips can be turned into your school office and are due Friday, April 17.
 
Students at the camp will enjoy a free lunch sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Clearlake, Middletown, Kelseyville and Lakeport. Morning snacks and water have been donated by Foods, Etc.
 
Students will participate in three hands-on stations at each of the two camp venues, the Taylor Observatory and the Ely Stage Stop.

These sessions will cover a wide variety of activities: dissecting owl pellets, making sand candles, folk singing and dancing, a planetarium show, and stations which demonstrate life in the 1850s.

In addition, the Redbud Audubon Society is sponsoring a one-hour raptor show. Jenny Papka of Native Bird Connections will bring owls, hawks, and falcons which have been rescued and rehabilitated.
 
Registration is limited to 120 students. All families will receive a phone call home during the week of April 27 to May 1 to verify enrollment in the camp.

Parents and adult volunteers are always welcome. Call Carolynn Jarrett at 707-994-2878 for more information.