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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol is asking for the community’s help in locating the driver who fled the scene after being involved in a solo-vehicle crash that injured a Middletown woman early Wednesday morning.
Suann Gates, 54, was injured in the wreck, which occurred at about 1 a.m. Wednesday on Highway 29 north of Spruce Grove Road South, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The name of the driver hasn’t yet been released. CHP Officer Kory Reynolds said it’s believed that Gates knows who the man is and investigators are working to confirm his identity before releasing it to the public.
They’re also trying to work out how it was that the male driver was behind the wheel of the 1998 Toyota Tercel involved in the wreck; the CHP said the vehicle belonged to Gates, who was riding as the passenger.
At 1 a.m. Wednesday the man was driving the Toyota southbound on Highway 29, north of Spruce Grove Road South, when he made an unsafe turning movement and failed to negotiate a turn in the roadway, the CHP said.
As a result, the Toyota went off the roadway and traveled down a steep embankment. The CHP report said that when the vehicle reached the bottom of the embankment it continued to travel in an open grassy field until the front of it hit a barbed wire fence. The Toyota came to rest approximately 150 feet west of Highway 29.
Following the crash, the driver fled the scene, the CHP said.
“He took off and left her there, injured,” Reynolds said.
Gates, who was sitting in the front right passenger seat of the Toyota, had been wearing her seat belt. The CHP said she sustained minor to moderate injuries with a complaint of back pain.
She initially was transported to Restoration House in Lower Lake, a transitional housing facility run by Adventist Health Clear Lake, before she was taken by ambulance to the hospital, the CHP said.
Reynolds said investigators are hoping someone saw the man walking from the scene or may have given him a ride and can offer help in locating him.
Any witnesses not contacted by the CHP at the scene or anyone with information regarding the crash are asked to call the Clear Lake Area CHP office at 707-279-0103.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Suann Gates, 54, was injured in the wreck, which occurred at about 1 a.m. Wednesday on Highway 29 north of Spruce Grove Road South, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The name of the driver hasn’t yet been released. CHP Officer Kory Reynolds said it’s believed that Gates knows who the man is and investigators are working to confirm his identity before releasing it to the public.
They’re also trying to work out how it was that the male driver was behind the wheel of the 1998 Toyota Tercel involved in the wreck; the CHP said the vehicle belonged to Gates, who was riding as the passenger.
At 1 a.m. Wednesday the man was driving the Toyota southbound on Highway 29, north of Spruce Grove Road South, when he made an unsafe turning movement and failed to negotiate a turn in the roadway, the CHP said.
As a result, the Toyota went off the roadway and traveled down a steep embankment. The CHP report said that when the vehicle reached the bottom of the embankment it continued to travel in an open grassy field until the front of it hit a barbed wire fence. The Toyota came to rest approximately 150 feet west of Highway 29.
Following the crash, the driver fled the scene, the CHP said.
“He took off and left her there, injured,” Reynolds said.
Gates, who was sitting in the front right passenger seat of the Toyota, had been wearing her seat belt. The CHP said she sustained minor to moderate injuries with a complaint of back pain.
She initially was transported to Restoration House in Lower Lake, a transitional housing facility run by Adventist Health Clear Lake, before she was taken by ambulance to the hospital, the CHP said.
Reynolds said investigators are hoping someone saw the man walking from the scene or may have given him a ride and can offer help in locating him.
Any witnesses not contacted by the CHP at the scene or anyone with information regarding the crash are asked to call the Clear Lake Area CHP office at 707-279-0103.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Erica Boomer, agriculture teacher and Future Farmers of America adviser at Upper Lake High School, has been named the 2018-19 Lake County Teacher of the Year.
Boomer is an alumna of Upper Lake Union High School and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, holding a Bachelor’s of Science degree in agricultural education.
As an alumna of Upper Lake High, “Erica has a connection with the students and the greater community that she uses very well,” said Upper Lake High School Principal Lloyd “Sandy” Coatney.
“Boomer’s accomplishments in the area of agriculture education in Lake County are impressive,” added Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
Boomer was very active in 4-H, and spent most of her time on the family ranch raising cattle, sheep, hay and walnuts while attending Upper Lake Union High School in the late 1990s.
She was hired with overwhelming community and administrative support to start the ag program at Upper Lake High in 2005, following graduation from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Within a two-month period, Boom applied for several grants, created a curriculum and course outlines, and revamped the ag mechanics shop to prepare for the start of the 2005 school year.
Boomer immediately spearheaded the drive to establish a California Partnership Academy in Alternative Energy and Sustainable Agriculture with the California Department of Education at Upper Lake High School, and succeeded.
In the years since then, she has successfully advocated for the construction of the school ag barn, improvements to the ag barn, the addition of an ag truck and stock trailer, the creation of a Career Tech Education Agriscience, and she serves as the FFA Advisor.
“Through her classroom and community involvement, Erica has a huge impact on our students, at school, after school, over the summer and all year long,” added Coatney. “She teaches them practical, hands-on lessons that the students eat up.”
Five Lake County District Teachers of the Year competed through an application and interview process for the distinction of Lake County Teacher of the Year 2018-19.
In addition to Boomer, they are:
– Ana Goff, Lakeport Unified School District;
– Keely Antoni, Kelseyville Unified School District;
– Kathleen Hayes, Konocti Unified School District; and
– Shaun Roderick, Middletown Unified School District.
It’s Boomer though, who will be moving forward to contend for the title of California Teacher of the Year 2019.
Boomer’s state application is due at the end of July. The State Selection Committee will review applications and make site visits in early fall. The California Department of Education will announce the California Teachers of the Year in October 2018.
The Lake County Teacher of the Year is a program administered through the Lake County Office of Education, and the California Department of Education.
For more information about Erica Boomer, please visit www.lakecoe.org/recentnews.
This story has been updated.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A couple arrested two weeks ago has been charged with new counts in an evolving human trafficking case as new set of alleged victims who have come forward to authorities.
On Wednesday morning, Sam Lindsey Massette, 37, and his wife, Krystina Marie Pickersgill, 27, appeared together in Lake County Superior Court for a preliminary hearing on charges of human trafficking, pimping, pandering and conspiracy concerning, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.
The couple, arrested on June 5, originally was charged for one victim, known as “T.P.” or Jane Doe 1 in court documents.
They are accused of having taken the young woman to San Francisco in late September, rented a hotel room and used Internet ads to hire her out as a prostitute over the course of two weekends, as Lake County News has reported.
However, since the original criminal complaint was filed, Anderson said his office has been contacted by numerous other potential victims as well as community members who had information about local trafficking activities.
The result was that before the Wednesday morning preliminary hearing began, Anderson said his office served Massette and Pickersgill with an amended complaint alleging three other victims.
Massette’s attorney Tom Quinn said the preliminary hearing has been held over and will be reset.
The amended complaint alleges to Massette also trafficked a minor female, identified as Jane Doe 2, for the purposes of prostitution. Anderson said that case dates back to 2006, when the victim was 17 years old.
If convicted of that newly charged offense Massette could face a sentence up to 15 years to life in state prison, Anderson said.
Anderson said Massette and Krystina Pickersgill also are both charged with human trafficking, pimping and pandering involving two other women who are identified in the new complaint as Jane Doe 3 and Jane Doe 4.
Massette, who has a degree in psychology that he received in 2016 from Marymount California University when it had a Lake County campus and has worked as a counselor, remains in custody in the Lake County jail with a bail of $1 million, with Pickersgill’s bail also set at $1 million, Anderson said.
The couple is scheduled for arraignment on the amended complaint on Tuesday, June 26, according to Anderson.
The case began in April, when Anderson was contacted by the initial victim, T.P., at a production of the play “Jane Doe in Wonderland” at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.
The play, about human trafficking, helped the young woman to realize she had been a victim of the crime, and afterward she told Anderson of her experience.
He said he launched an immediate investigation, which led to the arrests of Massette and Pickersgill this month.
Since the couple’s arrests and news of the case broke, Anderson said several other women have come forward, identifying themselves as victims of human trafficking for prostitution.
He said his office is aware of still other victims in this case and additional charges may yet be filed.
Anderson said that his entire investigative unit is committed to uncovering the human trafficking of women in Lake County.
“It is very troubling that some sophisticated criminals are coming into our neighborhoods and schools recruiting teenager into a life of prostitution, either to be a willing or unwilling victim,” he said.
“Our office is currently prosecuting four defendants in this year alone for human trafficking for prostitution,” he said. “We know there are other victims out there currently working for other traffickers and that several other women and teenagers are being recruited for this purpose. We are asking anyone with information about human trafficking or soliciting teenagers for prostitution to please contact the District Attorney’s Office.”
The Lake County District Attorney’s Office can be reached at 707-263-2251.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A local woman suffered minor injuries after her vehicle was hit by a semi that later caught fire on Tuesday afternoon.
The crash occurred at 4:55 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 29 south of Main Street in Kelseyville, according to the CHP’s Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said the drivers in the collision were Joshua West, 48, of Richmond and KC Patrick, 78, of Lakeport.
West was traveling northbound on Highway 29 in a 2008 Freightliner semi while Patrick was traveling southbound in a 2002 Subaru, the CHP said.
As West was passing by Patrick, the CHP said he lost control of the semi, allowing it to cross into oncoming traffic. As a result, West’s semi collided with the left side of Patrick’s Subaru, sending the Subaru out of control and down an embankment.
The CHP said West’s semi also continued out of control along the embankment, hitting a fence and multiple trees.
Following the wreck, Patrick was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. West was unhurt, the CHP reported.
Both Patrick and West were using their seat belts, the CHP said.
At 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, as the semi was waiting to be towed, the CHP said it caught fire, prompting Highway 29 to be closed completely.
Fire personnel responded and quickly gained control of the fire, the CHP said.
The CHP said Highway 29 was partially reopened to one-way traffic control at 7:15 p.m. and the road was completely reopened at 8:20 p.m.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The crash occurred at 4:55 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 29 south of Main Street in Kelseyville, according to the CHP’s Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said the drivers in the collision were Joshua West, 48, of Richmond and KC Patrick, 78, of Lakeport.
West was traveling northbound on Highway 29 in a 2008 Freightliner semi while Patrick was traveling southbound in a 2002 Subaru, the CHP said.
As West was passing by Patrick, the CHP said he lost control of the semi, allowing it to cross into oncoming traffic. As a result, West’s semi collided with the left side of Patrick’s Subaru, sending the Subaru out of control and down an embankment.
The CHP said West’s semi also continued out of control along the embankment, hitting a fence and multiple trees.
Following the wreck, Patrick was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. West was unhurt, the CHP reported.
Both Patrick and West were using their seat belts, the CHP said.
At 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, as the semi was waiting to be towed, the CHP said it caught fire, prompting Highway 29 to be closed completely.
Fire personnel responded and quickly gained control of the fire, the CHP said.
The CHP said Highway 29 was partially reopened to one-way traffic control at 7:15 p.m. and the road was completely reopened at 8:20 p.m.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTH COAST, Calif. – On Wednesday, ahead of the news that the president would sign an executive order to stop the policy of separating migrant children from their families at the border, Congressman Mike Thompson along with 25 faith leaders from around California’s Fifth Congressional District released a statement condemning the policy.
Text of the statement, including signatories, is as follows:
“In May, this Administration initiated a “zero tolerance” policy for undocumented families entering the United States. Under the new policy, parents are arrested and detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and separated from their children who are detained separately by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Children may be placed in facilities thousands of miles away from their parents, with no means of communication.
“This policy has inflicted lasting psychological trauma on children. That is cruel and immoral. Because the causes and effects of this trauma are both well known and avoidable, they must be intentional: the Administration is actively perpetrating child abuse for the purposes of deterring entrance to the United States.
“Almost without exception, undocumented children arriving in our country have already experienced traumatic events, defined by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) as a ‘frightening, dangerous, or violent event that poses a threat to a child’s life or bodily integrity.” They have suffered violence, poverty or instability in their country of origin, and a treacherous journey to the U.S. border. Such experiences are considered ‘refugee trauma,’ and affect “mental and physical health long after the events have occurred.’ In a study of U.S. foster children, who face similar levels of trauma, Casey Family Programs found that relative to the general population, a disproportionate number of kids ‘had mental health disorders, including a post-traumatic stress disorder rate similar to that of U.S. war veterans.’
“Federal law recognizes children who arrive at the U.S. border alone require intensive care and services. Extensive regulations govern how HHS must treat unaccompanied minor children, and the federal government provides significant resources focused on mitigating negative responses to trauma that include ‘intense and ongoing emotional upset, depressive symptoms or anxiety, behavioral changes, regression or loss of previously acquired skills, attention and academic difficulties…and physical symptoms.’
“Previously, the federal government applied the same principles to custody of unaccompanied minors as govern the U.S. foster care system – whenever possible, children should be with their parents or other kin, so long as it is safe; foster placements should be temporary and high quality; and institutional settings should be a placement of last resort.
“The evidence to support these principles is not controversial. It served as the basis for the aptly named Family First Prevention and Services Act, the most significant overhaul of our foster care system in decades, passed into law in February of this year. In its justification for legislative action, Congress warned of the ‘longer-term costs that society incurs because of the developmental risks associated with child maltreatment, trauma, and family disruption,’ and bipartisanly held that ‘the intense emotional trauma associated with entering foster care,’ drives ‘great interest in identifying ways to promote family stability, reduce foster care entries and lengths of stay, and facilitate reunification.’
“There will always exist unaccompanied childhood arrivals for whom federal custody is the most appropriate placement. Yet in the case of children who’ve been rendered unaccompanied by DHS, the federal government has neglected the central tenant of its own foster care system: the best option for a child is for us to ensure that they can be safe in the guardianship of their parents. Instead, DHS has chosen to separate children who arrive at the border from their parents, no matter their age, thereby intentionally inflicting trauma and violating the principles of our nation’s child welfare system.
“The effects of such policy are incontrovertible and heartbreaking. Research shows that infants and toddlers have dramatically different needs than their older counterparts; young children in periods of rapid brain development are more sensitive to caregiving than at any other point in their lives. They stand at greatest risk of adverse effect from trauma, and a substantial evidence suggests that the disruption of critical relationships has significant negative long-term impacts on social-emotional health.
“Though young children are especially vulnerable through family separation, no child is immune to negative consequences. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, separating children from their parents ‘can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child's brain architecture and affecting his or her short- and long-term health. This type of prolonged exposure to serious stress - known as toxic stress - can carry lifelong consequences.’
“Adding insult to injury, DHS has flooded an institutional system designed to care for unaccompanied immigrant minors old enough to travel to the border alone with younger children carried to this country by their parents. In separating children from their families and placing them in institutional settings, this Administration has compounded a foundation of trauma to manufacture a worst-case scenario that precipitates harmful, lasting and even dangerous results.
“Moreover, this Administration’s policy of separating undocumented minors from their parents undermines the government’s ability to care for children whose only option is federal custody. Recent reports indicate that more than half of ‘the 550 children currently in custody at U.S. border stations had spent more than 72 hours there, the time limit for immigrants of any age to be held in the government's temporary facilities.’ Border facilities fall far short of federally mandated standards for shelters. The denial of basic care to incoming children because shelters are filled to capacity with minors who should be with their parents is a disgusting perversion of immigration law.
“Add the uncertainty of whether parents deported subsequent to their incarceration will be sent home with their children, and what results is a horrific interpretation of federal policy that runs counter to our most sacred American values.
“The Administration’s cruel family separation policy has intentionally inflicted trauma on children of all ages. This policy stands in diametric opposition to our nation’s child welfare policy, which prioritizes keeping families together whenever it is safe to do so. In addition, this policy is putting undue pressure on our nation’s integral system to assist unaccompanied minors. ‘Zero tolerance’ is a violation of human rights and dignity, and it must end.”
Signed,
Mike Thompson
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Muhammad Anwar
American Muslim Society of Napa
Napa, CA
Father Eliseo Avendaño
St Joan of Arc Catholic Church
Yountville, CA
Rev. Christopher Bell
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Santa Rosa, CA
Rev. Lynda Hyland Burris
Napa Covenant Presbyterian Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Dr. Blake E. Busick
Pastor, First United Methodist Church
Santa Rosa, CA
Fouad Atef Elkadi
American Muslim Society of Napa
Napa, CA
Pastor Dale L. Flowers
First Presbyterian Church
Santa Rosa, CA
Pastor Bill Francis
Morello Hills Christian
Martinez, CA
Rev. Gordon Kalil, ret.
St. Helena Catholic Church
St. Helena, CA
St. Johns the Baptist Catholic Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Kevin Goss
Sonoma Valley Church of the Nazarene
Sonoma, CA
Rev. David J. Hamilton
Napa Valley Lutheran Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Anne Hoffmann
First Congregational United Church of Christ
Santa Rosa, CA
David L. Hoffman
Chair, Interfaith Council of Sonoma County
Sonoma, CA
Pastor Chadwick King
Promise Center Church
Santa Rosa, CA
Father Ismael Mora
St. Johns the Baptist Catholic Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Lee Neish
Napa Methodist Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Dr Steve Nesheim
Kelseyville, CA
Father Angelito Peries, Pastor
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church
Calistoga, CA
Rev. Dr. Dante Quick
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
Vallejo, CA
Rev. Dr. Curran Reichert
First Congregational Church Sonoma, United Church of Christ
Sonoma, CA
Pastor Terry Riley
Creekside Open Bible Church
Martinez, CA
Pastor Ryan S. Rindels
First Baptist Church of Sonoma
Sonoma, CA
Deborah Smith
Warden, St John's Episcopal Church
Lakeport, CA
Pastor Wendy Komori Stager
Community Presbyterian Church
Vallejo, CA
Rev. Julie Webb
Napa Valley Lutheran Church
Napa, CA
Text of the statement, including signatories, is as follows:
“In May, this Administration initiated a “zero tolerance” policy for undocumented families entering the United States. Under the new policy, parents are arrested and detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and separated from their children who are detained separately by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Children may be placed in facilities thousands of miles away from their parents, with no means of communication.
“This policy has inflicted lasting psychological trauma on children. That is cruel and immoral. Because the causes and effects of this trauma are both well known and avoidable, they must be intentional: the Administration is actively perpetrating child abuse for the purposes of deterring entrance to the United States.
“Almost without exception, undocumented children arriving in our country have already experienced traumatic events, defined by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) as a ‘frightening, dangerous, or violent event that poses a threat to a child’s life or bodily integrity.” They have suffered violence, poverty or instability in their country of origin, and a treacherous journey to the U.S. border. Such experiences are considered ‘refugee trauma,’ and affect “mental and physical health long after the events have occurred.’ In a study of U.S. foster children, who face similar levels of trauma, Casey Family Programs found that relative to the general population, a disproportionate number of kids ‘had mental health disorders, including a post-traumatic stress disorder rate similar to that of U.S. war veterans.’
“Federal law recognizes children who arrive at the U.S. border alone require intensive care and services. Extensive regulations govern how HHS must treat unaccompanied minor children, and the federal government provides significant resources focused on mitigating negative responses to trauma that include ‘intense and ongoing emotional upset, depressive symptoms or anxiety, behavioral changes, regression or loss of previously acquired skills, attention and academic difficulties…and physical symptoms.’
“Previously, the federal government applied the same principles to custody of unaccompanied minors as govern the U.S. foster care system – whenever possible, children should be with their parents or other kin, so long as it is safe; foster placements should be temporary and high quality; and institutional settings should be a placement of last resort.
“The evidence to support these principles is not controversial. It served as the basis for the aptly named Family First Prevention and Services Act, the most significant overhaul of our foster care system in decades, passed into law in February of this year. In its justification for legislative action, Congress warned of the ‘longer-term costs that society incurs because of the developmental risks associated with child maltreatment, trauma, and family disruption,’ and bipartisanly held that ‘the intense emotional trauma associated with entering foster care,’ drives ‘great interest in identifying ways to promote family stability, reduce foster care entries and lengths of stay, and facilitate reunification.’
“There will always exist unaccompanied childhood arrivals for whom federal custody is the most appropriate placement. Yet in the case of children who’ve been rendered unaccompanied by DHS, the federal government has neglected the central tenant of its own foster care system: the best option for a child is for us to ensure that they can be safe in the guardianship of their parents. Instead, DHS has chosen to separate children who arrive at the border from their parents, no matter their age, thereby intentionally inflicting trauma and violating the principles of our nation’s child welfare system.
“The effects of such policy are incontrovertible and heartbreaking. Research shows that infants and toddlers have dramatically different needs than their older counterparts; young children in periods of rapid brain development are more sensitive to caregiving than at any other point in their lives. They stand at greatest risk of adverse effect from trauma, and a substantial evidence suggests that the disruption of critical relationships has significant negative long-term impacts on social-emotional health.
“Though young children are especially vulnerable through family separation, no child is immune to negative consequences. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, separating children from their parents ‘can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child's brain architecture and affecting his or her short- and long-term health. This type of prolonged exposure to serious stress - known as toxic stress - can carry lifelong consequences.’
“Adding insult to injury, DHS has flooded an institutional system designed to care for unaccompanied immigrant minors old enough to travel to the border alone with younger children carried to this country by their parents. In separating children from their families and placing them in institutional settings, this Administration has compounded a foundation of trauma to manufacture a worst-case scenario that precipitates harmful, lasting and even dangerous results.
“Moreover, this Administration’s policy of separating undocumented minors from their parents undermines the government’s ability to care for children whose only option is federal custody. Recent reports indicate that more than half of ‘the 550 children currently in custody at U.S. border stations had spent more than 72 hours there, the time limit for immigrants of any age to be held in the government's temporary facilities.’ Border facilities fall far short of federally mandated standards for shelters. The denial of basic care to incoming children because shelters are filled to capacity with minors who should be with their parents is a disgusting perversion of immigration law.
“Add the uncertainty of whether parents deported subsequent to their incarceration will be sent home with their children, and what results is a horrific interpretation of federal policy that runs counter to our most sacred American values.
“The Administration’s cruel family separation policy has intentionally inflicted trauma on children of all ages. This policy stands in diametric opposition to our nation’s child welfare policy, which prioritizes keeping families together whenever it is safe to do so. In addition, this policy is putting undue pressure on our nation’s integral system to assist unaccompanied minors. ‘Zero tolerance’ is a violation of human rights and dignity, and it must end.”
Signed,
Mike Thompson
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Muhammad Anwar
American Muslim Society of Napa
Napa, CA
Father Eliseo Avendaño
St Joan of Arc Catholic Church
Yountville, CA
Rev. Christopher Bell
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Santa Rosa, CA
Rev. Lynda Hyland Burris
Napa Covenant Presbyterian Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Dr. Blake E. Busick
Pastor, First United Methodist Church
Santa Rosa, CA
Fouad Atef Elkadi
American Muslim Society of Napa
Napa, CA
Pastor Dale L. Flowers
First Presbyterian Church
Santa Rosa, CA
Pastor Bill Francis
Morello Hills Christian
Martinez, CA
Rev. Gordon Kalil, ret.
St. Helena Catholic Church
St. Helena, CA
St. Johns the Baptist Catholic Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Kevin Goss
Sonoma Valley Church of the Nazarene
Sonoma, CA
Rev. David J. Hamilton
Napa Valley Lutheran Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Anne Hoffmann
First Congregational United Church of Christ
Santa Rosa, CA
David L. Hoffman
Chair, Interfaith Council of Sonoma County
Sonoma, CA
Pastor Chadwick King
Promise Center Church
Santa Rosa, CA
Father Ismael Mora
St. Johns the Baptist Catholic Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Lee Neish
Napa Methodist Church
Napa, CA
Rev. Dr Steve Nesheim
Kelseyville, CA
Father Angelito Peries, Pastor
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church
Calistoga, CA
Rev. Dr. Dante Quick
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
Vallejo, CA
Rev. Dr. Curran Reichert
First Congregational Church Sonoma, United Church of Christ
Sonoma, CA
Pastor Terry Riley
Creekside Open Bible Church
Martinez, CA
Pastor Ryan S. Rindels
First Baptist Church of Sonoma
Sonoma, CA
Deborah Smith
Warden, St John's Episcopal Church
Lakeport, CA
Pastor Wendy Komori Stager
Community Presbyterian Church
Vallejo, CA
Rev. Julie Webb
Napa Valley Lutheran Church
Napa, CA
The summer solstice marks the official start of summer. It brings the longest day and shortest night of the year for the 88 percent of Earth’s people who live in the Northern Hemisphere. People around the world observe the change of seasons with bonfires and festivals and Fête de la Musique celebrations.
Astronomers can calculate an exact moment for the solstice, when Earth reaches the point in its orbit where the North Pole is angled closest to the sun. That moment will be at 6:07 a.m. Eastern Time on June 21 this year. From Earth, the sun will appear farthest north relative to the stars. People living on the Tropic of Cancer, 23.5 degrees north of the Equator, will see the sun pass straight overhead at noon. Six months from now the sun will reach its southern extreme and pass overhead for people on the Tropic of Capricorn, and northerners will experience their shortest days of the year, at the winter solstice.
The sun’s angle relative to Earth’s equator changes so gradually close to the solstices that, without instruments, the shift is difficult to perceive for about 10 days. This is the origin of the word solstice, which means “solar standstill.”
This slow shift means that June 21 is only about 1 second longer than June 20 at mid-northern latitudes. It will be about a week before there’s more than a minute change to the calculated amount of daylight. Even that’s an approximation – Earth’s atmosphere bends light over the horizon by different amounts depending on weather, which can introduce changes of more than a minute to sunrise and sunset times.
Monuments at Stonehenge in England, Karnak in Egypt, and Chankillo in Peru reveal that people around the world have taken note of the sun’s northern and southern travels for more than 5,000 years. From Stonehenge’s circle of standing stones, the sun will rise directly over an ancient avenue leading away to the northeast on the solstice. We know little about the people who built Stonehenge, or why they went to such great effort to construct it – moving multi-ton stones from rock outcrops as far as 140 miles away. All this to mark the spot on the horizon where the sun returns each year to rest for a while before moving south again. Perhaps they, like us, celebrated this signal of the coming change of seasons.
Stephen Schneider is professor of Astronomy,
University of Massachusetts Amherst.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.