Last day of work at Lake County Record-Bee

Cat memorabilia given me by co-workers at the Record-Bee

Feb. 28, 2013 was my last day of work at the Lake County Record-Bee. The month’s close marked the end of a professional association that lasted 15 years.

Friday cat blogging: Doctor writes about his 19-year-old cat

Honestly, I didn't plan that cats would be so prominent among the pages I built today for Saturday's Lake County Record-Bee. Now online and also appearing on tomorrow's health page, here is Dr. Matthew McQuaid honoring his venerable 19-year-old cat Eve. The column is a sweetly loving tribute and deserves to be read, whether online or in print.

Friday cat blogging: Portrait of Eloise by Ruth Morgan

Portrait of Eloise by Ruth Morgan

Just in time for Friday cat blogging: here is Portrait of Eloise by artist Ruth Morgan. Her work will be on display in March at the Lake County Wine Studio in Upper Lake, Calif. A reception takes place March 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. and March 2 from 4 to 7 p.m.

The reception features Tricycle Wine releases from Lake and Napa county vineyards.

Lake County Wine Studio is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake. For more information, call 707-275-8030 or 707-293-8752.

The March 2 reception is an appetizer course for a three-course winemaker dinner at the Tallman Hotel, located at 9550 Main St. in Upper Lake. For more information, visit www.tallmanhotel.com/winemaker-dinner or call 707-275-2244.

Beat my bowling average all three games

During league bowling last night at Lakeside Family Fun and Event Center, our opponent, the Wilde B's, won all three games and won pin count. Congratulations, ladies.

Nathan DeHart, Jonathan Donihue and I bowled for the "Killer Bees."

Last night was a good night for me; I beat my average of 79 during all three games: with scores of 86, 78 and 109. One of the ladies on the Wilde B's commented that my average will now go up.

Imagination Library expands reach in Lake County

Good news compounded: Imagination Library has expanded its reach in Lake County, Calif., as highlighted in recent communications from the Lake County Office of Education (LCOE)

A Jan. 25 eBlast from LCOE indicated that Imagination Library has the potential to involve more than 400 children and their families in reading a “book a month” together in the first year of a five-year initiative.

Shelly Mascari in the LCOE provided additional details: The Lake County Literacy Task Force allocated $2,500 to sponsor the first 100 participants.

“We gave those subscriptions to children under 18 months old enrolled in Early Head Start, The Hillcrest House state funded infant child care center, Migrant Head Start, ASPIRE teen parenting program, Lake Family Resource Center teen parenting program, and the Tribal Home Visiting program,” Mascari said.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital will sponsor the first 100 children born at its Family Birth Center, as stated in an earlier press release from the LCOE. The eBlast indicated, St. Helena Hospital, Clear Lake will sponsor the first 175.

Mascari said the program also received sponsorships from people and service clubs. A Feb. 15 eBlast from LCOE highlighted a $250 donation from the Lakeport Early Lions Club.

Dolly Parton launched Imagination Library in 1996, to benefit children in her home county in East Tennessee. Parton announced in 2000 that she would make the program available for replication to any community that was willing to partner with her to support it locally.

Imagination Library is one of four initiatives this year by the Lake County Literacy Task Force. Additional initiatives include the Lake County Big Read with volunteer reading and tutoring programs.

Annual sponsorships for Imagination Library cost $25 per child. The goal of Lake County’s Imagination Library is to sponsor each child from birth through 5 years according to the Literacy Task Force. Children will receive a book in their home each month. “The final book each child receives sends them off to kindergarten with an exciting book about starting school.”

For more information about Imagination Library, contact Mascari at smascari@lakecoe.org. To learn about Literacy Task Force initiatives, visit http://www.lakecoe.org/news/details/the_lake_county_literacy_task_force_selects_new_initiatives_for_2012_2013.

Published Feb. 19, 2013 in the Lake County Record-Bee