How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.
The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.
These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.
The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.
Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.
The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103, or emailThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.
The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.
These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.
The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.
Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.
The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103, or email
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Child Care Planning Council, a program of the Lake County Office of Education, invites you to nominate an Early Childhood Educator that has made a positive impact in Lake County.
Nominations will be accepted through March 9.
Winners will be announced at the 11th annual Early Childhood Educator Awards Night on May 4 at Konocti Growers in Kelseyville.
“Early Childhood Educators contribute significantly to our communities. Quality early childhood education dramatically impacts high school graduation rates, keeps our communities working, and helps Lake County develop productive, effective citizens of the future,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
“Many of these educators have devoted decades to their profession. The goal of the Early Childhood Educator award program is to recognize them for their quality work,” said Local Planning Council Coordinator Angela Cueller-Marroquin.
Nominations are being accepted in the following categories:
– Preschool teacher;
– Infant/toddler teacher;
– Leaders in the field;
– Child advocate;
– Any other notable person who works in early education.
Nominations can be made online at www.LakeCountyChildCarePlanning.com or www.LakeCoe.org. You can also email any nomination toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Please call Local Planning Council Coordinator Angela Cuellar-Marroquin at 707-262-4162 for more information.
Ceuller-Marroquin reminds people to be as detailed as possible in their nomination form. “Incomplete nomination forms will not be considered for award recognition.”
Awards will be based on nomination forms and detailed interviews with the nominees.
Nominations will be accepted through March 9.
Winners will be announced at the 11th annual Early Childhood Educator Awards Night on May 4 at Konocti Growers in Kelseyville.
“Early Childhood Educators contribute significantly to our communities. Quality early childhood education dramatically impacts high school graduation rates, keeps our communities working, and helps Lake County develop productive, effective citizens of the future,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
“Many of these educators have devoted decades to their profession. The goal of the Early Childhood Educator award program is to recognize them for their quality work,” said Local Planning Council Coordinator Angela Cueller-Marroquin.
Nominations are being accepted in the following categories:
– Preschool teacher;
– Infant/toddler teacher;
– Leaders in the field;
– Child advocate;
– Any other notable person who works in early education.
Nominations can be made online at www.LakeCountyChildCarePlanning.com or www.LakeCoe.org. You can also email any nomination to
Please call Local Planning Council Coordinator Angela Cuellar-Marroquin at 707-262-4162 for more information.
Ceuller-Marroquin reminds people to be as detailed as possible in their nomination form. “Incomplete nomination forms will not be considered for award recognition.”
Awards will be based on nomination forms and detailed interviews with the nominees.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The county of Lake is now seeking community members interested in serving on a number of advisory boards and commission.
The following is a list of vacancies. Memberships on all of the listed boards and commissions are voluntary.
If you have questions regarding a vacancy on one of these advisory boards, please contact the clerk of the Board of Supervisors at 707-263-2368.
Applications are available at the Lake County Courthouse, Clerk of the Board Office, Room 109, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, or online at www.co.lake.ca.gov on the Board of Supervisors page.
Vacancies:
Animal Control Advisory Board: Four vacancies – one representative from supervisorial Districts 2, District 3, District 5 and members-at-large.
Big Valley Groundwater Management Zone Commission: Seven vacancies – one member-at-large, four agriculture users category and two water district category.
Building Board of Appeals: Five vacancies – one representative from supervisorial Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Child Care Planning and Development Council: Seven vacancies – two consumer, one public agency, one community representative, two discretionary appointee and one child care provider.
Countywide Parks and Recreation Advisory Board: Five vacancies – one representative from supervisorial Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Emergency Medical Care Committee: Nine vacancies – one community college district, one California Highway Patrol representative, two EMT representatives, one private ambulance company, one fire department and three consumer interest group.
Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee: One vacancy – Supervisorial District 2.
Heritage Commission: Seven vacancies – one representative from supervisorial Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and two members-at-large.
In Home Support Services Public Authority Advisory Committee: Eight vacancies – four senior consumer, one disabled community representative, two provider and one senior community representative.
Kelseyville Cemetery District: Two vacancies – general membership (must live within the district boundaries and be registered to vote in Lake County).
Library Advisory Board: Two vacancies – supervisorial District 2 and District 3.
Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Advisory Board: Two vacancies – general membership.
Mental Health Board: Three vacancies – one member-at-large, one family member of a present/past consumer and one consumer member.
North Bay Cooperative Library Advisory Board: One Lake County representative.
Public Defender Oversight Committee: One vacancy – one member of the general public.
Solid Waste Appeals Panel: Two vacancies – one public member and one technical expert.
Solid Waste Task Force: Two vacancies – one public representative and one other.
Upper Lake Cemetery District: One vacancy – general membership (must live within the district boundaries and be registered to vote in Lake County).
Western Region Town Hall: One vacancy – member-at-large.
The following is a list of vacancies. Memberships on all of the listed boards and commissions are voluntary.
If you have questions regarding a vacancy on one of these advisory boards, please contact the clerk of the Board of Supervisors at 707-263-2368.
Applications are available at the Lake County Courthouse, Clerk of the Board Office, Room 109, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, or online at www.co.lake.ca.gov on the Board of Supervisors page.
Vacancies:
Animal Control Advisory Board: Four vacancies – one representative from supervisorial Districts 2, District 3, District 5 and members-at-large.
Big Valley Groundwater Management Zone Commission: Seven vacancies – one member-at-large, four agriculture users category and two water district category.
Building Board of Appeals: Five vacancies – one representative from supervisorial Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Child Care Planning and Development Council: Seven vacancies – two consumer, one public agency, one community representative, two discretionary appointee and one child care provider.
Countywide Parks and Recreation Advisory Board: Five vacancies – one representative from supervisorial Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Emergency Medical Care Committee: Nine vacancies – one community college district, one California Highway Patrol representative, two EMT representatives, one private ambulance company, one fire department and three consumer interest group.
Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee: One vacancy – Supervisorial District 2.
Heritage Commission: Seven vacancies – one representative from supervisorial Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and two members-at-large.
In Home Support Services Public Authority Advisory Committee: Eight vacancies – four senior consumer, one disabled community representative, two provider and one senior community representative.
Kelseyville Cemetery District: Two vacancies – general membership (must live within the district boundaries and be registered to vote in Lake County).
Library Advisory Board: Two vacancies – supervisorial District 2 and District 3.
Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Advisory Board: Two vacancies – general membership.
Mental Health Board: Three vacancies – one member-at-large, one family member of a present/past consumer and one consumer member.
North Bay Cooperative Library Advisory Board: One Lake County representative.
Public Defender Oversight Committee: One vacancy – one member of the general public.
Solid Waste Appeals Panel: Two vacancies – one public member and one technical expert.
Solid Waste Task Force: Two vacancies – one public representative and one other.
Upper Lake Cemetery District: One vacancy – general membership (must live within the district boundaries and be registered to vote in Lake County).
Western Region Town Hall: One vacancy – member-at-large.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A former community college dean who was convicted in a local elder abuse case in 2005 and in September was sentenced to jail in Sacramento for identity theft cases involving his grown children is now facing a new criminal case for embezzling from a Lake County company.
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson said a case was filed on Feb. 7 and an arrest warrant issued by the Lake County Superior Court the following day for George Tanner McQueen II, 61, who formerly lived in Lake County and now lives in the Sacramento area.
Documents included in the filing show that the sheriff’s office forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office a complaint of embezzlement against McQueen in September after investigating a case involving a local couple and their construction company.
In a declaration, the couple said they had hired McQueen’s company, McQueen and Associates, to do their bookkeeping, payroll and tax returns, with payments made to McQueen for his service by check, not wire or other kinds of automated bank transfers.
Altogether, McQueen transferred more than $103,000 from their accounts – $60,000 from personal accounts and $43,000 from a business account, according to case documents.
One of the victims said he had known McQueen for 45 years and McQueen had been their accountant for 25 years.
In an August interview with detectives, the couple said they found McQueen had been wiring money from their business and personal accounts into his own account. When they confronted McQueen, he claimed it was a mistake. However, bank statements showed that the funds were transferred over the course of several days and different transactions that occurred in August.
When a sheriff’s detective called McQueen to ask how the couple’s money got into his accounts, he also claimed it was a “glitch.”
Although McQueen had promised the couple that he would return the money, it wasn’t returned to their accounts, according to the investigation’s findings.
The couple discovered the missing funds just weeks before McQueen was sentenced in Placer and Sacramento counties for separate cases of felony identity theft involving his adult children.
On Sept. 6 in Sacramento County he was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of formal probation for one count of felony identity theft in a case involving the use of his son Nathan McQueen’s personal information.
Then, on Sept. 7 in Placer County he pleaded no contest and was sentenced for one felony count of identity theft for using the personal information of his daughter, Sarah Cunningham.
In the Placer County case George McQueen received four years of formal probation, was ordered to pay $10,891.06 in restitution to the victims and received 120 days in county jail to run concurrently with the one-year sentence he received in Sacramento County, officials said.
Lake County News published a full account of the cases involving his children in September: http://bit.ly/2CxrYKN .
In 2005 McQueen – who at one time had served locally as a Yuba College dean and had worked for the Lake County Office of Education – was arrested in Lake County for forgery, elder abuse and grand theft after it was discovered that he had stolen funds from the trust of a friend who had named him executor that were intended for the man’s elderly mother. The funds were used by McQueen for personal uses, including expensive family vacations.
He later would reach a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office in which he was convicted of elder abuse. He was sentenced to a year in jail and required to to pay $185,000 in restitution.
Abelson, who prosecuted McQueen’s original case in Lake County, had confirmed to Lake County News in September that, because of McQueen’s ongoing business ties to Lake County and the potential for local identity theft and fraud victims, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Lake County District Attorney’s Office had begun an investigation.
So far, she said just the two victims included in the complaint filed this month have been identified in Lake County.
“I suspect that there’s more in the Sacramento area,” she said.
Since publishing a story about McQueen’s sentencing in September, Lake County News has received inquiries from other potential victims and former clients from outside of Lake County who reported issues including getting fines from the Internal Revenue Service after McQueen filed their taxes.
McQueen has been serving his most recent jail sentence in Sacramento County’s Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center since September. Jail records show that he is due to be released on March 3.
Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said that before the Sacramento County jail releases McQueen next month, they’ll check his records.
At that time, the newly filed Lake County warrant should pop up and instead of being released McQueen will be transported to Lake County to face this latest case, Paulich said.
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.
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson said a case was filed on Feb. 7 and an arrest warrant issued by the Lake County Superior Court the following day for George Tanner McQueen II, 61, who formerly lived in Lake County and now lives in the Sacramento area.
Documents included in the filing show that the sheriff’s office forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office a complaint of embezzlement against McQueen in September after investigating a case involving a local couple and their construction company.
In a declaration, the couple said they had hired McQueen’s company, McQueen and Associates, to do their bookkeeping, payroll and tax returns, with payments made to McQueen for his service by check, not wire or other kinds of automated bank transfers.
Altogether, McQueen transferred more than $103,000 from their accounts – $60,000 from personal accounts and $43,000 from a business account, according to case documents.
One of the victims said he had known McQueen for 45 years and McQueen had been their accountant for 25 years.
In an August interview with detectives, the couple said they found McQueen had been wiring money from their business and personal accounts into his own account. When they confronted McQueen, he claimed it was a mistake. However, bank statements showed that the funds were transferred over the course of several days and different transactions that occurred in August.
When a sheriff’s detective called McQueen to ask how the couple’s money got into his accounts, he also claimed it was a “glitch.”
Although McQueen had promised the couple that he would return the money, it wasn’t returned to their accounts, according to the investigation’s findings.
The couple discovered the missing funds just weeks before McQueen was sentenced in Placer and Sacramento counties for separate cases of felony identity theft involving his adult children.
On Sept. 6 in Sacramento County he was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of formal probation for one count of felony identity theft in a case involving the use of his son Nathan McQueen’s personal information.
Then, on Sept. 7 in Placer County he pleaded no contest and was sentenced for one felony count of identity theft for using the personal information of his daughter, Sarah Cunningham.
In the Placer County case George McQueen received four years of formal probation, was ordered to pay $10,891.06 in restitution to the victims and received 120 days in county jail to run concurrently with the one-year sentence he received in Sacramento County, officials said.
Lake County News published a full account of the cases involving his children in September: http://bit.ly/2CxrYKN .
In 2005 McQueen – who at one time had served locally as a Yuba College dean and had worked for the Lake County Office of Education – was arrested in Lake County for forgery, elder abuse and grand theft after it was discovered that he had stolen funds from the trust of a friend who had named him executor that were intended for the man’s elderly mother. The funds were used by McQueen for personal uses, including expensive family vacations.
He later would reach a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office in which he was convicted of elder abuse. He was sentenced to a year in jail and required to to pay $185,000 in restitution.
Abelson, who prosecuted McQueen’s original case in Lake County, had confirmed to Lake County News in September that, because of McQueen’s ongoing business ties to Lake County and the potential for local identity theft and fraud victims, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Lake County District Attorney’s Office had begun an investigation.
So far, she said just the two victims included in the complaint filed this month have been identified in Lake County.
“I suspect that there’s more in the Sacramento area,” she said.
Since publishing a story about McQueen’s sentencing in September, Lake County News has received inquiries from other potential victims and former clients from outside of Lake County who reported issues including getting fines from the Internal Revenue Service after McQueen filed their taxes.
McQueen has been serving his most recent jail sentence in Sacramento County’s Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center since September. Jail records show that he is due to be released on March 3.
Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said that before the Sacramento County jail releases McQueen next month, they’ll check his records.
At that time, the newly filed Lake County warrant should pop up and instead of being released McQueen will be transported to Lake County to face this latest case, Paulich said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Ever since 2003, Ginny Craven of Kelseyville has been rallying volunteers to help her nonprofit organization, “Operation Tango Mike,” send up to 100 care packages per month to soldiers who are stationed in battle zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
In the military, “Tango Mike” is radio signaling jargon which means “Thanks much.” It is used as a sign-off phrase like the more familiar, “roger,” “copy that” or “over and out.”
Craven named her nonprofit Operation Tango Mike because the care packages send a “thanks much” message to our soldiers who are putting their lives on the line for us.
American soldiers overseas always appreciate correspondence from home; whether it’s in the form of cards, letters or care packages which contain snacks, toiletries or other useful and thoughtful items.
“If for only one day, their mood is lifted, I’m good with that,” Craven said.
Craven holds a “packing party” on the third Thursday of each month at Umpqua Bank, 805 11th St. in Lakeport. The next one is on March 15.
“We need helping hands. Give us an hour once a month. All ages attend the packing parties. Children are given the job of decorating the packages with colorful stickers. Kids are the world’s best decorators,” Craven said. “These kids will be the next generation of humanitarian volunteers.”
Since she began fifteen years ago, 20,000 care packages have been sent at a cost of about $43 per box.
To learn about fundraising events or how to make material or cash donations, Craven can be reached at 707-349-2838 or go online toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
In the military, “Tango Mike” is radio signaling jargon which means “Thanks much.” It is used as a sign-off phrase like the more familiar, “roger,” “copy that” or “over and out.”
Craven named her nonprofit Operation Tango Mike because the care packages send a “thanks much” message to our soldiers who are putting their lives on the line for us.
American soldiers overseas always appreciate correspondence from home; whether it’s in the form of cards, letters or care packages which contain snacks, toiletries or other useful and thoughtful items.
“If for only one day, their mood is lifted, I’m good with that,” Craven said.
Craven holds a “packing party” on the third Thursday of each month at Umpqua Bank, 805 11th St. in Lakeport. The next one is on March 15.
“We need helping hands. Give us an hour once a month. All ages attend the packing parties. Children are given the job of decorating the packages with colorful stickers. Kids are the world’s best decorators,” Craven said. “These kids will be the next generation of humanitarian volunteers.”
Since she began fifteen years ago, 20,000 care packages have been sent at a cost of about $43 per box.
To learn about fundraising events or how to make material or cash donations, Craven can be reached at 707-349-2838 or go online to
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – An American Canyon resident said he is joining the race for the House of Representatives seat held by Congressman Mike Thompson.
Jason Kishineff, 48, representing the Green Party, said he is running for the Fifth Congressional District seat as part of a mission to get corporate influences out of the United States electoral system, a goal he and other progressives plan to accomplish through a constitutional amendment prohibiting corporate campaign contributions and making elections publicly funded.
Kishineff believes that the planet is at risk from climate change, fracking, military pollution and an ever-growing network of oil pipelines.
He believes that health care, college education and housing should be considered human rights, that policing should be demilitarized policing, that our water is contaminated in many places and should be cleaned up, that wars for profits and oil should be be halted, and that no one who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty.
Other priorities for Kishineff include addressing the growing gap between rich and poor is largely responsible for a great deal of crime.
Kishineff is refusing all donations from corporate super PACs, which gives him a financial disadvantage that he is embracing.
He said Democrats like his opponent, Mike Thompson, have failed to represent labor, failed to represent the environment, failed to represent immigrants, failed the anti-war movement and failed the American people as a whole.
Kishineff is endorsed by Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution group, Lt. Governor candidate Gail McLaughlin, Napa Valley College Trustee Amy Martenson, the Sonoma County Green Party, the Solano County Green Party and has been working closely with the Napa County Green Party. He has spoken at the marijuana forum at the Napa library in January and has appeared on KPFZ radio in Lake County.
He has signed the Contract For American Renewal and has signed an agreement to co-sponsor a term limits bill. He's also ready to answer any and all of your questions.
Kishineff can be reached through his Web site at www.kishineff.org.