CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Cache Creek Vineyards will be hosting two events in January.

The first one will be Wednesday, Jan. 7, and will feature the January installment of its Cozy Kitchen Supper series.

Beginning at 6 p.m. they will serve chili, cornbread, salad and wine for dinner in an intimate family-style setting.

To round out the evening of coziness, s’mores will be served for dessert.

Tickets are $25 for wine club members and $30 for nonmembers.

On Saturday, Jan. 17, you are invited to cure your cabin fever from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at the tasting room.  

Join the Cache Creek family for an afternoon of warm beverages, classic rainy day games, wine glass decorating and desserts.

Bring your friends and get out of the mid-winter slump.

Craft supplies will be provided and the cost of your ticket includes one wine glass to decorate.

Guests are encouraged to wear their coziest flannel shirts to the event. Fuzzy slippers are welcome, if you really want to feel like you’re at home.

Tickets are $15 for wine club members and $20 for nonmembers.  

Reservations are required for both events. Please call 707-998-1200 if you would like to attend either one.  

Situated on 590 acres, the winery is home to a roaming herd of tule elk that inspired Bill Van Pelt in his dream of creating a beautiful vineyard.

The Van Pelt Family invites you to stop in, taste wines and participate in the festivities.

Cache Creek Vineyards is located at the corner of Highway 20 and New Long Valley Road, east of Clearlake Oaks.

For more information visit www.cachecreekvineyards.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Approximately 200 children and their families experienced the joy of Christmas due to the generosity of donors to the 2014 Wish Tree program.

Coordinated each year by Lake County’s Department of Social Services (Child Welfare Services) and the Umpqua Banks of Lakeport and Kelseyville, the Wish Tree program has provided an opportunity for members of our community to share the spirit of the holidays.

Umpqua Bank offered thanks to Bass Masters, the Lakeport Fire Department, Becky Ornellas, Marilyn Buckner, as well as all of the members of our generous community for making this happen.

“This year, there were so many tags on our tree, we had no room to add ornaments,” said Paula Bryant of Umpqua Bank. “By Dec. 15, the trees at both stores of Umpqua Bank were completely bare of tags and the area under the trees were filled with gifts. The generosity of the people of Lake County never ceases to amaze me.”

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around the North Coast during the coming week.

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

In observance of the New Year’s holiday, Caltrans crews and contractors will not be performing any activity on state highways that would include lane closures from through Sunday, Jan. 4.

However, Caltrans will respond to emergency situations with traffic control as required.

Caltrans wishes everyone a happy, healthy and safe holiday season.

LAKE COUNTY
 
Highway 175
 
– AT&T has been granted a Caltrans encroachment permit for utility repairs just south of Estates Drive beginning Monday, Jan. 5. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

MENDOCINO COUNTY
 
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.
 
– Emergency roadway repairs just south of Ridgewood Ranch Road will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Emergency slide debris removal from 0.5 to 0.3 miles south of the Haehl Overhead Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.
 
– Pavement repairs from the Bear Pen Undercrossing to Piercy will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.
 
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).

LAKEPORT, Calif. – At noon on Friday, Jan. 23, the Lake County Bar Association will welcome the Hon. Donald F. Miles of the State Bar Court, Los Angeles, who will address professional responsibility in the legal profession.

Members of the Bar will earn 1.5 hours of mandatory continuing legal education for attending.

The seminar will be held on the second floor of the Courthouse Museum, directly in front of the current courthouse on Forbes.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Miles to the State Bar Court in 2006.

Judge Miles is a former member of the California Legislature’s Joint Committee on Tort Law and served as a member of the California State Bar’s Attorney Civility Task Force.

He has been an adjunct professor at Hastings College of the Law, teaching evidence and advocacy, and he has taught trial practice programs for Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), NITA, Hastings Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy, and the Federal Practice Program for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Miles is now a frequent lecturer on the professional obligations of attorneys, and also is the author of numerous publications.

Cost for attorneys is $10 for members of the Lake County Bar Association and $30 for nonmembers. Cost for paralegals is $15.

This seminar is only open to attorneys, paralegals and private fiduciaries.

Annual membership in the Lake County Bar for 2015 is $35.

HOPLAND, Calif. – At noon on Monday, Jan. 5, and Tuesday, Jan. 6, the Cal Fire Mendocino Unit will conduct another vegetation management control burn on privately-owned land in the Pieta Creek watershed in the southeastern portion of Mendocino County.

The prescribed burning conducted under this Vegetation Management Program project will be done to meet a specific objective and conducted under specific climatic conditions to ensure control and minimize air quality and biological impacts.

These conditions will mimic conditions under which natural wildfires occur to maximize the positive effects of fire on vegetation.

The primary goal of this prescribed burn is to reintroduce fire as a natural element of the ecosystem. 

A second goal is to improve wildlife habitat by inducing new shoots from sprouting species to increase forage production, with islands of unburned fuel left within burn units to provide shelter for small mammals.

A third goal is to reduce overall fuel loading to decrease the chance of catastrophic wildfires in the future.

Historically, chaparral fuel beds experience fire every 15 to 20 years.

Portions of the project site have not seen fire for over 25 years, allowing fuels to reach maximum volume. 

This has greatly reduced the ability of wildlife to move through the area and has reduced the flow of waters from creeks and springs.

This project burn will be conducted under strictly controlled weather and fuel conditions.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission/Parks and Recreation Committee, set for Tuesday, Jan. 6, has been canceled.

The next scheduled meeting will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.