LAKE COUNTY
Lake Links awarded AARP Community Challenge Grant
Lake Links, the non-profit community transportation provider serving Lake County, has been awarded a $15,000 Community Challenge Grant from AARP to start a new volunteer driver program “Ride Links”. Ride Links will use volunteers driving their own cars to provide escorted rides for seniors who have few other transportation options. The mission of the AARP Community Challenge grant program is to “make communities more livable for people of all ages with tangible improvements that jump-start long term change.” In 2022, AARP is investing $3.4 million among 260 grantees across all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands.
Lake Links is a 501(c)3 non-profit that currently operates two transportation programs for seniors and persons with disabilities in Lake County: The Pay-Your-Pal program which allows eligible riders to find their own drivers to necessary destinations (medical, shopping, etc.) who are then paid a mileage reimbursement; and Medi-Links, operated in partnership with Lake Transit, which provides low-cost trips to out-of-county medical appointments.
Ride Links will feature a pool of screened and trained volunteer drivers in their own cars who will be matched with eligible riders. Lake Links is currently recruiting for a Program Manager to lead the Ride Links launch, and Ride Links will launch in the next several months. Interested volunteer drivers may contact Lake Links at (707) 995-3330 email: info@lakelinks.org to be put on a waiting list to drive. Mileage reimbursements will be available for those drivers who request it.
14420 Lakeshore Drive, Suite C, PO Box 3001, Clearlake, CA 95422 707-995-3330, Email: Info@lakelinks.org Website: lakelinks.org
—Submitted
LAKEPORT
Supervisors appoint Pace as Public Health Officer on interim basis
At their regular meeting Tuesday, the Lake County Board of Supervisors considered an extra item on their agenda to appoint a temporary Public Health Officer in the wake of last week’s sudden resignation by Erik McLaughlin who served in that position only a little over three months.
“After your board accepted the resignation of PHO Erik McLaughlin, I was informed by the Health Services Director Jonathan Portney that there was an urgent and immediate need for a public health officer to provide services and to comply with state regulations,” said County Administrative Officer Susan Parker.
Parker told the board that she was still evaluating the county options at the posting of the meeting’s agenda and to ensure continuity of services, she had temporarily authorized the appointment and contract of previous Public Health Officer Gary Pace until July 31, 2022.
Parker added the county was going to begin a search for McLaughlin’s replacement. The motion to approve the urgency item was made by Tina Scott and was approved by a 5-0 vote by the board. An agreement for recruitment services to conduct a search for a permanent public health officer was passed as part of the board’s consent items and calls for Mosaic Public Partners to conduct a search to fill the position at the cost of $29,000 with additional consulting trips invoiced at $1,500.
In other actions, the board voted to deny the appeal of WeGrow LLC, a proposed cannabis cultivation project above Clearlake Oaks which the Planning Commission held a hearing for in February 24 of this year. The commission declined to adopt a mitigated negative declaration for the project originally due to “insufficient environmental review of the project as it relates to the removal of 130 oak trees and as to the treatment of the soil and drainage.” The board found and cited several reasons to deny an appeal Tuesday, including the environmental impacts of the proposed tree removal and that the project would have “a significant effect on the environment.”
—Ariel Carmona, Lake County Record-Bee
