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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A search warrant service last week in Kelseyville led to five arrests and the seizure of several hundred marijuana plants, along with the discovery of methamphetamine and heroin.

As a result of the search warrant service Kelseyville residents Jaime Manzo, 52; Enrique Cortesmolina, 19; Angel Milanez Perez, 29; Jeffrey Ariel Ponce, 24; and Dora Melia Wills, 45, were arrested, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Lt. Corey Paulich.

On Friday, Oct. 5, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Narcotic Unit served a search warrant in the 1300 block of Bell Hill Road in Kelseyville, Paulich said.

At that time, they contacted and detained all five subjects at the residence, according to Paulich.

Paulich said that during a search of the residence and property, detectives located and seized more than 16 ounces of Methamphetamine, 3 grams of heroin, 96 pounds of processed marijuana, 501 growing marijuana pants and two firearms.

Detectives found that the marijuana was being grown within 40 feet of Adobe Creek, a felony violation of the Health and Safety Code and significant risk to the environment, Paulich reported.

Paulich said the detectives also determined based upon the investigation, that the location was being used and maintained for the purpose of illicit narcotics trafficking.

Manzo, Cortesmolina, Perez, Ponce and Wills subsequently were arrested for their involvement in the possession of methamphetamine for sales, cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sales and maintaining a residence for the purposes of narcotics sales and booked at the Lake County Jail, according to Paulich.

All suspects were released after posting bail with the exception of Manzo, who remains in custody with bail set at $500,000.

Manzo’s bail was increased as he was found to be armed at the time of the warrant service.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Now in its second year of bond-funded projects, the Kelseyville Unified School District is constructing state-of-the-art facilities for students that expand educational opportunities, and increase safety and accessibility.

Voters in the Kelseyville Unified School District passed the $24 million Measure U school bond in June of 2016.

“We're on budget. We're on task,” district Superintendent Dave McQueen told the Measure U Citizens Bond Oversight Committee at its meeting last month.

Of the original total amount, about $8 million is left over, said McQueen.

This is the first bond measure he’s dealt with, and McQueen said it’s been amazing how fast the district has been able to move on its master plan, which includes major projects from replacing portable classrooms to a new shop building, multiuse building, and track and field facilities.

McQueen, along with district director of maintenance and operations Kyle Reams, consultant and project manager Mike Adams and chief architect Alexis Persinger, president of Persinger Architects, met with the Measure U Citizens Bond Oversight Committee at the last of its quarterly meetings of the year on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the district office.

Adams gave the group an update on the bond projects.

He said they’ve been working on six projects, two of which are 100-percent complete.

The completed projects include the Riviera Elementary parking lot, which he said was a tremendous improvement on the flow to traffic, making it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, improving parking overall, removing a gravel area in the middle of the bus dropoff area and installing a new sign at the site.

“It just really dresses up the facility very nice,” said Adams, noting that it’s much safer and creates a situation in which parents dropping off or picking up students don’t conflict with buses and other traffic.

Another project involved moving a portable building down from Cobb to the district grounds, where it’s being used for the Kelseyville Learning Academy, the district’s home school program, Adams said.

Adams said there are four other projects in various stages of progress.

They include three projects at the high school: a group of new modular classrooms that is virtually complete, an ADA-compliant walkway at the front of the school along Main Street and a huge new shop building where the framing has been going up.

“That project’s going quite well,” Adams said. He said the date for the shop’s completion on the contractor’s schedule is Jan. 18, although winter rain could delay it.

At Kelseyville Elementary School, a new multiuse room is being built; at that time, Adams said the concrete was about to be poured. He said it will give children a place to go during lunch on rainy days and also will have a stage for performances.

District officials said the building will have full-size high school basketball court, bleachers, a scoreboard, water fountains and a concession area. It will be Mountain Vista Middle School’s primary place for basketball games. Adams said that new multiuse building should be open and available next fall.

McQueen said that the district has managed to be ahead of schedule on all of its projects.

The effort has been guided by a master plan document that is the result of advance planning the district began in 2014, well ahead of Measure U’s passage.

McQueen said in 2014 Kelseyville Unified’s leadership went through the entire district to determine what needed to be done. He said they concluded that all of the projects would total $40 million, an amount they couldn’t qualify for; instead, they got approval for the $24 million bond.

He said the district board voted on the projects that are the highest priority and they’ve followed that list. Those projects are listed below.

In an effort to bring in more funds to complement the bond, McQueen said the district is applying for Proposition 51 funds and a career technical educational facility grant. If they receive the $3.5 million grant for which they’re qualified, they could put them back in the bond fund.

The career technical grant application should be done at the end of October, with notification by November, McQueen said.

Adams said the district has received a tremendous amount of support from the community for it’s ag-related programs, which always have had a large enrollment. He said they have community members writing support letters for the grant application. “That’s been pretty rewarding.”

McQueen said they’re moving into the next phase in which they will work on Mountain Vista Middle School.

Persinger showed a short video with modeling of how that campus will be improved, with eight buildings to be relocated and renovated once school is over. A bathroom project is slated for the Christmas holiday, along with gym bathrooms and the gym floor.

The work will open up the flow of the campus and its layout, Persinger said.

Reams said a civil engineer already has been out to the site, where plans include installing large drains behind classrooms in order to divert rainwater away from the campus quad.

Adams said tariffs have had an impact on the district’s projects.

When they were bidding out the shop and multiuse buildings, the threat of tariffs arose. Both of those projects called for steel roofing and siding, but tariff concerns caused the bidders to increase their prices on steel tremendously, Adams said.

Rather than pay those higher prices, Adams said the district proactively made changes to its projects. The plans now call for using cement-based Hardy board siding and a more traditional composition roof instead of steel. He said there is no downside to making the siding change, and the district could later change the shop roof to steel, as was done on the gym.

The district also is working with Jendi Coursey on outreach methods to district voters to keep them informed about the bonds, with plans including working with traditional media, social media, mailers, posters, letters and signage.

The bond oversight committee will next meet early in the new year; Adams suggested they look at gathering at the start of February after the shop building is completed.

MEASURE U PROJECTS LIST

Project totals are most recent estimates updated from April 2018.

Summer 2017 projects: $521,366

Gym HVAC, $226,051

Shade structures, #295,315

Summer 2018 projects: $14,235,319

New Kelseyville High School shop: $3,510,513

New gymnasium/multiuse building, to be shared by Kelseyville High, Mountain Vista Middle School and Kelseyville Elementary: $5,823,125

Replacing portables more than 20 years old: $4,363,505

Portable relocation to district office: $236,205

Site improvements: $301,971

Summer 2019 projects: $4,117,781

Renovate portables: $4,117,781

Summer 2020 projects: $4,104,100

Site building improvements: $205,934

Site building improvements: $603,941

Track and field improvements: $3,294,225

Total estimate for all bond projects: $22,978,566

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – This week the Clearlake Police Department welcomed its newest police officer.

On Tuesday, Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White swore in new police Officer Shane Audiss.

Officer Audiss was raised in Sonoma County, where he played football and track while in high school.

He decided that he wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement and enrolled in the Santa Rosa Public Safety Center’s Basic Police Academy, graduating in 2015.

Officer Audiss looks forward to learning about the city of Clearlake and working with the community.

“We continue to add quality officers to our police department and we are pleased to have Officer Audiss join our Clearlake team,” said City Manager Greg Folsom.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council’s next meeting will include presentations of proclamations for the month of October as well as several public hearings, most of them for abatement order appeals.

The council will meet in closed session beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, to discuss a potential case of litigation and property negotiations at 14130 Tuli Lane before the open session of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

At Thursday’s meeting the council will present proclamations designating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The council has planned several public hearings for its Thursday night meeting.

They include hearings regarding the adoption of a resolution revising the City Master Fee Schedule pertaining to penalties for parking violations and late payment penalties, and separate abatement order appeal hearings for property at 14170 Konocti St., 3602 Ciwa St., 3275 14th St., 16076 25th Ave. and 16326 34th Ave.

Under business, council members will consider the first reading of Ordinance No. 214-2018 adding section 3-4.16 to the Clearlake Municipal Code to provide information bidding procedures under the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act.

The council also will get an update on the Enterprise vehicle leasing program and discussion and possible approval of entering into a fuel purchase program through Enterprise Fleet Management.

On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are warrant registers; consideration of continuation of a local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; results of the 2018 League of California Cities annual conference resolutions; consideration of a resolution approving participation in the state and federal surplus property program; award of bid for demolition of buildings located at 2971 Sixth St., 3292 Ninth St., 3114 Eighth St., 2944 Fifth St., 3182 Park St. and 3373 11th St.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Fire Prevention Week kicked off Sunday, Oct. 7, and runs through Saturday, Oct. 13, and Cal Fire is planning open houses at its Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit stations as part of the week’s activities.

The Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association to promote this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign: “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.”

The campaign is working to educate the public about basic but essential ways to quickly and safely escape a home fire.

Remember these three easy things when making your home safe:

• Look for possible fire hazards in your home and eliminate them. Are your outlets overloaded? Check the circuit loads of your electrical appliances and devices and unplug when not in use. Inspect your appliance cords. If any are torn, ripped, or damaged in any way, replace them immediately. If a cord or plug ever feels hot, unplug it.

• Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm. Know that you may have only minutes to get out if a fire starts.

• Learn two ways out of every room. Exits should be easy to access and free of clutter. After leaving the home, go to your family’s designated meeting spot that was created when you set up your home fire escape plan.

Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Chief Shana Jones invites the public to visit a local Cal Fire station on Saturday, Oct. 13, where the community will have the opportunity step into a firefighter’s world.

Guests will view where firefighters train, work, eat and sleep when they are not responding to a local or statewide emergency incident.

Fire prevention educational materials to homeowners and families will also be available.

Participating stations are listed below.

Lake County

Station 31: 15522 Lake St., Middletown
Station 34: 8948 Highway 175, Kelseyville
Station 40: 140 Springs Road, Clearlake Oaks

Napa County

Station12: 7401 Solano Ave., Yountville
Station 25: 1820 Monticello Road, Napa
Station 26: 3535 St Helena Highway, Calistoga

Sonoma County

Station 43:12604 River Road, Guerneville
Station 49: 1001 Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale
Station 44: 960 Annapolis Road, Sea Ranch
Station 41: 2210 W. College Ave., Santa Rosa
Station 42: 3100 Acreage Lane, Occidental
Station 46: 14000 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen
Station 47: 655 Lohrman Lane, Petaluma

For more information regarding Fire Prevention Week visit, www.firepreventionweek.org or www.readyforwildfire.org.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Upper Lake High School’s agriculture teacher has been named a California Teacher of the Year.

On Tuesday State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced that Erica Boomer was among the five 2019 California Teacher of the Year honorees.

Upper Lake Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Giovanni Annous was overjoyed by the news of Boomer’s award.

“I am in awe. I am so excited,” he told Lake County News after the district’s board meeting on Tuesday night.

Annous said he had heard last week that Boomer was being considered. However, as of Tuesday evening the district hadn’t received formal notification from the state.

It was during the regular Tuesday evening board meeting that staffers began receiving texts letting them know that Boomer had won.

As soon as he got back to his office on Tuesday night, he confirmed the news and sent out an email to staff and board members announcing the honors for Boomer.

“She exemplifies what we all strive to be as educators – her level of compassion and ethics, drive and education,” Annous said.

Lake County News was unable to reach Boomer on Tuesday evening.

However, in Torlakson’s announcement of the California Teacher of the Year winners, Boomer is quoted as saying, “One of the most important aspects of education is the challenge of appealing to the varying styles of learning that are unique to each student. My biggest goal is to help students reach their individual potential.”

Boomer was given the distinction along with Rosie Reid, who teaches English to ninth through twelfth grade students at Northgate High School, Mount Diablo Unified School District in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, and who Torlakson nominated as California’s representative for the National Teacher of the Year competition; Kim Holz, a fourth grade multi-subject teacher at Opal Robinson Elementary, Manhattan Beach Unified School District in Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County; Michael Henges, a 12th grade government and economics teacher at Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach Unified in Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County; and Angel Mejico, a seventh and eighth grade art teacher at El Cerrito Middle School, Corona-Norco Unified School District in Corona, Riverside County.

“These five remarkable teachers deserve thanks and admiration for their deep commitment, hard work, and creativity,” Torlakson said. “They make profound differences in their students’ lives and provide students the tools they need to succeed. They’re an inspiration and an example of the exceptional work going on in California schools.”

In June, Boomer was named 2018-19 Lake County Teacher of the Year and also was the 2013-14 Lake County Teacher of the Year, as Lake County News has reported.

She is the third California Teacher of the Year awardee from Lake County, joining Alan Siegel, a history, civics, economics and media teacher at Konocti Unified School District’s Carlé Continuation High School who won the honor in 2005, and eighth grade physical science teacher Jennifer Kelly of Middletown Middle School in Middletown Unified, who was honored in 2011.

Building a program

Raised on a ranch in Lake County, Boomer was active in 4-H and attended Upper Lake High School in the late 1990s before going on to receive her Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

After her graduation from college, in 2005 she was hired at Upper Lake High School, where she started the agricultural program.

Under Boomer’s leadership, the program has grown and flourished. Thanks to her advocacy, a school barn was constructed, an ag truck and stock trailer were acquired and Career Tech Education Agriscience was created.

School officials said she also created a school farm and brought in a California Partnership Academy program related to sustainable agriculture and alternative energy so that students can have hands-on, career technical education opportunities.

Boomer serves as FFA advisor, teaches agriculture, wood and metal shop, and science, and mentors new agricultural teachers.

“Her students clearly know objectives when they come into the classroom every day and are ready to work, whether it’s in the shop, at the farm, or in the lab,” the award announcement said. “Boomer creates a personal connection with students and uses humor to help them feel more comfortable and less pressure, so that they’re ready to interact with the lessons and other students. Each period of the day brings with it a different type of lesson, a lab, or activity, and then hands-on interactive lessons.”

Over the past decades, as cuts have been proposed to agricultural education, Boomer also has lobbied state officials to protect those learning opportunities.

She’s been lauded by colleagues and administrators for her efforts and her work with the community and especially with students.

“Beyond the knowledge, the best teaching practices, the rigorous standards – Erica loves her students,” said Angel Hayenga, English Department chair at Upper Lake High School. “You can hear it in their voices when they call her ‘Boom,’ and you can see it in their eyes when they look at her in wonder, cradling a baby chick in their palms.”

The California Teachers of the Year Program began in 1972 to honor outstanding teachers and encourage new teachers to enter the profession. It’s presented by California Casualty and the California Teachers of the Year Foundation.

County offices of education nominate California Teachers of the Year winners through their county-level competitions.

A state selection committee reviews candidates' applications and conducts site visits to evaluate the teachers' rapport with students, classroom environment, presentation skills, and teaching techniques.

The teachers are interviewed by the California Department of Education. The state superintendent then selects the five awardees.

Torlakson, who launched a “Make the Switch: Become a Teacher” campaign this year, said these teachers will be great ambassadors for the profession. Due to California’s teacher shortage, he said, it is important to get the word out about the rewards of being a teacher.

"Great teachers are the backbone of our education system. Teaching is a commitment to your community, your students, and most of all, a commitment to the future,” he said.

The 2019 California Teachers of the Year, finalists, and semi finalists will be honored by Torlakson at a gala to be held in Sacramento on Dec. 10.

Ahead of that, Annous said the Upper Lake Unified School District will plan to celebrate Boomer’s honor.

“We’re going to throw a big celebration. It’s something to be extremely proud of,” Annous said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.