LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week will honor an outgoing planning commissioner and appoint his successor, discuss changes to the ordinance for the Parks and Recreation Commission and consider seeking proposals for a City Hall remodel project.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb 6, for a closed session to discuss property negotiations related to 800 N. Main St., 810 N. Main St. and 910 Bevins St. before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The council on Tuesday will present a proclamation honoring Harold Taylor for his 14 years of service on the Lakeport Planning Commission.
That will be followed by the proposed appointment of Kipp Knorr to the Lakeport Planning Commission, to fill Taylor’s term, which expires Dec. 31 2018.
The council also will appoint Pamela Harpster, Dan Peterson and Andy Lucas, to the Lakeport Economic Development Committee effective immediately, with those terms expiring Dec. 31, 2019.
In other business, staff will introduce an ordinance to amend the Lakeport Municipal Code regarding the Parks and Recreation Commission.
“During the most recent recruitment for positions to the Parks and Recreation Commission, staff received feedback from interested applicants that the number of meetings was creating a bigger commitment than these volunteers were willing to make given the types of matters under discussion,” City Clerk Kelly Buendia wrote in her report to the council. “This spurred conversations about the necessity of once per month meetings and also about making meetings later in the day or in the evening which would open this opportunity to more residents who might be interested in participating. While the staff assigned to the Park and Recreation Commission could accommodate evening meetings for members, the frequency of meetings would require changes to the ordinance.
“Additionally, since the parks are enjoyed by non-residents, the proposed ordinance would allow one (1) non-resident on the board, as the Council has done with other committees,” Buendia said.
Buendia said staff is requesting that the council set the commission’s regular meetings to quarterly meetings with the ability to cancel if needed. “Special meetings can also be called when needed, to conduct more urgent business. This would create a more reliable schedule for both staff and Commission, as well as, give staff needed time to follow up on discussion items.”
In other business, Community Development Director Kevin Ingram will present a request for staff direction pertaining to the request for proposals for a remodel of a portion of City Hall to create a “one-stop customer service center” to assist in providing greater customer service to the public.
Proposed changes are meant to make the space more user-friendly for customers of the various departments – including the Finance Department and Community Development Department. The council chamber doors also are proposed to be relocated beyond the entry to the conference room to reduce conflicts between the users of those space, according to Ingram’s report.
Ingram said the city’s capital improvement projects listing includes some additional identified improvements to City Hall, “that although not budgeted, should be at a minimum considered as part of the RFP as there will likely be significant cost savings if they are made a part of this project.”
He said those improvements include upgrading City Hall’s security system, constructing a fur wall along the north building concrete wall in order to achieve greater energy efficiency within the entire building, and repairing the exterior building coating to prohibit water seepage through concrete exterior walls currently creating efflorescence in the council chambers.
Also on Tuesday, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen will take to the council a proposed resolution authorizing the conducting of criminal background checks for commercial cannabis licensing purposes.
Rasmussen notes in his report that his agency is tasked with conducting those background checks as part of the ordinance the council recently enacted to govern the licensing of commercial cannabis activities in the city.
Items on the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the council’s regular meeting on Jan. 16; the Jan. 23 warrant register; approval of Application 2018-003, with staff recommendations, for Cinco de Mayo event to be held in Library Park on May 6; authorization for the city manager to sign Contract Change Orders No. 8 and 9, as well as sign and file the Notice of Completion with Granite Construction Co. on the Lakeshore Blvd ER Project; approval of the Resolution accepting Exhibit 13-A, stating the Lakeshore Boulevard Roadway Repair project has no acquisition of right of way associated with it; and receipt and filing of the draft minutes of the Jan. 17 Measure Z Advisory Committee.
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. – Five community visioning forums the county of Lake held in January are available for viewing online.
The videos, shot by Lake County News, are below, In order of occurrence. They also can be found at Lake County News’ YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews/videos .
The Kelseyville forum took place on Jan. 8, with about 120 people in attendance. The Clearlake forum, attended by about 70 people, took place Jan. 10 and the Northshore forum was hosted on Jan. 11 with about 110 community members attending.
The Jan. 17 forum, held in Lakeport, had about 150 people in attendance, with the last forum, which crew about 160 people, taking place in Middletown on Jan. 29.
A review of suggestions and community members’ concerns that were submitted at the forums will be presented at the Board of Supervisors meeting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will hold a special meeting this week to go through the annual midyear budget review process.
The meeting will take place at 5 p.m., ahead of the regular meeting at 6 p.m., on Thursday, Feb. 8, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
City Finance Director Chris Becnel’s report for the meeting, which can be seen below, goes over the budget details and a variety of proposed changes.
Most of the significant changes come in the budgets for police and Public Works, Becnel 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.
Upper Lake High School’s Academic Decathlon team won its third competition in a row on its home turf in Upper Lake, Calif., on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Upper Lake High School on Saturday clinched the Lake County Academic Decathlon title for the third year in a row, earning a trip to the state competition along with Willits High.
In an event which focused this year on the subject of Africa, Upper Lake edged out Clear Lake High Team A.
Also competing were Clear Lake High Team B and Middletown High.
Willits High School, the only team in Mendocino County, once again made the trip in order to compete so it could be eligible to participate in the California Academic Decathlon March 23 and 24.
“Lake County students are thriving,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg in remarks ahead of the Super Quiz.
Community members looked at posters created by Academic Decathlon students at the Academic Decathlon at Upper Lake High School in Upper Lake, Calif., on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. In addition to the Academic Decathlon, Falkenberg pointed to the many other events highlighting local students’ academic excellence, including the Mock Trial competition coming up later this month, along with SkillsUSA and music competitions.
He noted at that point that there was not yet a clear winner among the competing Academic Decathlon teams.
“It is all coming down to this Super Quiz,” he said.
After the Super Quiz, Clear Lake High School Team A and Upper Lake High were tied, but once the judges were finished with all of the day’s scoring, Upper Lake once again won, and got to keep the county competition trophy.
Upper Lake High Head Coach Anna Sabalone said she was surprised by the outcome because of the fierceness of the competition.
At right, Anisha Kalan, Upper Lake High Academic Decathlon team captain, and Head Coach Anna Sabalone following the competition in Upper Lake, Calif., on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. She said that every competing team wants to represent Lake County at the state competition. “We have to stay on our toes to be able to keep the honor.”
Upper Lake’s team captain and top scorer, Anisha Kalan, 17, won the speech contest among other subjects, and gave her speech on the development of racism to the audience of about 100 people.
This is Kalan’s fourth year in the Academic Decathlon. “Every year is different. It’s a different team.”
At Upper Lake, the Academic Decathlon is a class, so the team works to prepare over time, as well as putting more intense study in before the contest.
Kalan is now in the midst of applying for colleges, among them, Yale, Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley and Davis. She plans to study political science.
Music students from Upper Lake High performed during an intermission in the Academic Decathlon at Upper Lake High School in Upper Lake, Calif., on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. Dr. Giovanni Annous, who became Upper Lake Unified School District’s superintendent in May, was delighted with the event.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” Annous said after joining the team for a picture.
He noted his students’ excitement, and also lauded the other teams and their students for their cordial and professional behavior toward each other in the course of the competition.
Annous said it’s also exciting to know that hard work pays off. He said students’ jingling medals was a great sound.
He and the coaches were preparing at that point to take the team out for a celebratory dinner in Lakeport. “They deserve every celebration possible.”
Sabalone, an Upper Lake High alumna who was herself an Academic Decathlon competitor, has coached the team for 10 years. She’s assisted by Angel Hayenga and Christal Coatney.
She said her team this year has 13 members – down slightly from past years – with four of them seniors.
From left, Upper Lake Academic Decathlon Head Coach Anna Sabalone, and assistant coaches Christal Coatney and Angel Hayenga following the competition in Upper Lake, Calif., on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. “They’re very excited,” about the competition outcome, she said.
However, they won’t jump immediately into the preparation for the state event, as many of them have to prepare for other activities – such as the Mock Trial, a music competition in Chico next weekend as well as basketball.
After the Mock Trial concludes on Feb. 12 – Sabalone also is helping to coach that team – they’ll get down to work on prepping for the state finals, she said.
Upper Lake’s coaches gave a big shout out to fellow staffers and parents – “Especially the parents,” said Hayenga – for their unwavering support.
Part of the process of getting ready will be fundraising. Sabalone said the trip to Sacramento for the state finals is estimated to cost around $6,000, half of which goes for hotel rooms, as well as $500 for registration.
For information on making a donations, call Upper Lake High at 707-275-2338.
The full results of the competition are below.
Clear Lake High School Superintendent April Leiferman, Principal Jill Falconer, Coach Kristi Tripp Team members: Brenden Allen, Kaity Avila, Carlos Bernardino, Michael Camacho, Nicabec Casido, Adrian Ceja, Luis Cortez, Zoe Cramer, Anna Del Bosco, Sereno Dominguez, Camille Donald, Anahit Govorgyan, Brent Hinchcliff, Trinitee Hoaglen, Blake Jensen, Brody Jensen, Kyle Jensen, Julia Lyon, Isabella Mattina, Courtney McIntosh, Nathan Porter, Oscar Quilala, Jessica Romero, Felix Salinas, Quintin Scott, Alexa Shepherd, Connor Simons, Kally Vinson, Shawnee Weed, Ethan Wynacht
Middletown High School Superintendent Catherine Stone, Principal Bill Roderick, Coach Jeff Mielke Team members: Makenna Brown, Taylor Harris, Steven Harvey, Austin Lapic, Colleen Schimansky, Amy Trapani, Amida Verhey
Upper Lake High School Superintendent Giovanni Annous, Principal Sandy Coatney, Coaches Anna Sabalone, Angel Hayenga and Christal Coatney Team members: Alan Balderas, William Cromwell, Daniela Estrada-Flores, Jeff Fannon, Anisha Kalan, Deeya Kalan, Jessica Lee, Kehlani McKelvey, Katlyn Minnis, Robert Porterfield, Brenna Sanchez, Seneca Snow, Maria Tinoco, Sarah Williams
Willits High School Superintendent Mark Westerburg, Principal Michael Colvig, Coach Mary Colvig Team members: Jacob Arms, Brieana Evans, Isabelle Grieve, Nicholas Hebel, Elizabeth Henning, Savanna Hofmaister, Mychaela Nowlin, Ariel Reyes, Micah Stamps, Naomi Strickland, Byron Torres, Ian Watson, Alisabeth Wilcox
TEAM PLACEMENT
Lake County
First place: Upper Lake High School, 36,838 points Second place: Clear Lake High School, 32,575 points
Mendocino County
First place: Willits High School, 33,848 points
AWARDS
Poetry contest
First place: Anahit Govorgyan, Clear Lake High Second place: Alexa Shepherd, Clear Lake High Third place: Nicabec Casido, Clear Lake High
The Lake County Arts Council provided awards of $25, $15 and $10, respectively, for the three top finishers.
Poster contest
First place: Kaity Avila, Clear Lake High Second place: Trinitee Hoaglen, Clear Lake High Third place: Camille Donald, Clear Lake High
The Lake County Arts Council provided awards of $25, $15 and $10, respectively, for the three top finishers.
Super Quiz
First place: (tie) Clear Lake High Team A, Upper Lake High Second place: Clear Lake High Team B Third place: Willits High
SUBJECTS
Science
First place: Isabella Mattina, Clear Lake High Second place: Sereno Dominguez, Clear Lake High Third place: (five-way tie) Mychaela Nowlin, Willits High; Savanna Hofmaister, Willits High; Jessica Romero, Clear Lake High; Brenna Sanchez, Upper Lake High; Sarah Williams, Upper Lake High
Economics
First place: Anisha Kalan, Upper Lake High Second place: Daniela Estrada-Flores, Upper Lake High Third place: Nicholas Hebel, Willits High; Ian Watson, Willits High
Music
First place: Brenna Sanchez, Upper Lake High Second place: Sarah Williams, Upper Lake High Third place: Ian Watson, Willits High
Mathematics
First place: Amida Verhey, Middletown High Second place: Jacob Arms, Willits High Third place: Michael Camacho, Clear Lake High
Social Sciences
First place: Zoe Cramer, Clear Lake High Second place: Sarah Williams, Upper Lake High Third place: Anisha Kalan, Upper Lake High
Art
First place: Zoe Cramer, Clear Lake High Second place: Maria Tinoco, Upper Lake High Third place: Kehlani McKelvey, Upper Lake High
Language and Literature
First place: (four-way tie) Savanna Hofmaister, Willits High; Ian Watson, Willits High; Jessica Romero, Clear Lake High; Michael Camacho, Clear Lake High Second place: (three-way tie) Kaity Avila, Clear Lake High; Zoe Cramer, Clear Lake High; Anisha Kalan, Upper Lake High Third place: (tie) Sarah Williams, Upper Lake High; Brent Hinchcliff, Clear Lake High
Essay
First place: Amida Verhey, Middletown High Second place: Maria Tinoco, Upper Lake High Third place: Nicholas Hebel, Willits High
Interview
First place: (tie) Brieana Evans, Willits High; Brent Hinchcliff, Clear Lake High Second place: (tie) Amida Verhey, Middletown High; Isabella Mattina, Clear Lake High Third place: Michael Camacho, Clear Lake High
Speech
First place: Anisha Kalan, Upper Lake High Second place: Daniela Estrada-Flores, Upper Lake High Third place: Isabella Mattina, Clear Lake High
TOP FINISHERS FOR EACH ACADEMIC LEVEL
Honors category (3.75-4.00 grade point average)
First place: Anisha Kalan, Upper Lake High Second place: Zoe Cramer, Clear Lake High Third place: Michael Camacho, Clear Lake High
Scholastic category (3.00-3.74 GPA)
First place: Ian Watson, Willits High Second place: Brenna Sanchez, Upper Lake High Third place: Elizabeth Henning, Willits High
Varsity category (2.99 GPA or below)
First place: Sarah Williams, Upper Lake High Second place: Alisabeth Wilcox, Willits High Third place: Jeff Fannon, Upper Lake High
HIGHEST SCORING STUDENTS, PER SCHOOL
Clear Lake High School: Zoe Cramer Middletown High School: Amida Verhey Upper Lake High School: Anisha Kalan Willits High School: Savanna Hofmaister
The Lodge at Blue Lakes provided $100 scholarships for each of the schools' top-scoring students, along with additional gift certificates to the lodge.
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. – The Clearlake Planning Commission will meet this week to discuss the city’s zoning interpretation manual.
The commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Planning consultant Gary Price, who wrote the manual will be in attendance for the discussion.
The manual’s introduction explains that the city is in the process of conducting a comprehensive update to its zoning code.
“This Manual was developed to provide on-going definitions of how certain regulations in the current Zoning Code are to be interpreted between now and when the Zoning Code takes effect,” the document states.
The manual also is meant to establish consistent procedures for staff to use in administering the code, and has been designed to evolve over time.
Commission members are Chair Dirk Slooten and Vice Chair Russ Cremer, and commissioners Nathalie Antus, Richard Bean and Carl Webb.
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. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has more news dogs that are now available for adoption.
The dogs offered adoption this week include mixes of Akita, German Shepherd, golden retriever, Labrador Retriever, Maltese, mastiff, pit bull, shepherd, Rottweiler and terrier.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
This male terrier has is in quarantine kennel No. 2a, ID No. 9396. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male terrier
This male terrier has a short tricolor coat.
He’s in quarantine kennel No. 2a, ID No. 9396.
This female Maltese-terrier mix is in quarantine kennel No. 2d, ID No. 9394. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female Maltese-terrier mix
This female Maltese-terrier mix has a short brown and black coat.
She is in quarantine kennel No. 2d, ID No. 9394.
This female terrier is in quarantine kennel No. 8, ID No. 9395. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female terrier
This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.
She’s in quarantine kennel No. 8, ID No. 9395.
This female German Shepherd-Akita mix in kennel No. 14, ID No. 9219. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. German Shepherd-Akita mix
This female German Shepherd-Akita mix has a short black and tan coat.
She’s in kennel No. 14, ID No. 9219.
This male pit bull is in kennel No. 15, ID No. 9383. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull
This male pit bull has a short white and brindle coat.
He’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 9383.
This female German Shepherd Dog is in kennel No. 16, ID No. 9275. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male German Shepherd
This female German Shepherd Dog has a black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 16, ID No. 9275.
“Bella” is a female Labrador Retriever-Rottweiler mix in kennel No. 17, ID No. 9375. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Bella’
“Bella” is a female Labrador Retriever-Rottweiler mix with a short black and brown coat.
She is in kennel No. 17, ID No. 9375.
This male pit bull terrier is in kennel No. 18, ID No. 9371. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier has a short tricolor coat.
He already has been spayed.
He’s in kennel No. 18, ID No. 9371.
This male pit bull terrier is in kennel No. 19, ID No. 9372. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier has a short brindle and white coat.
He’s in kennel No. 19, ID No. 9372.
This male Labrador Retriever is in kennel No. 23, ID No. 9410. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male Labrador Retriever
This male Labrador Retriever has a short black coat with white markings.
He already has been neutered.
He’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 9410.
This male terrier in kennel No. 27, ID No. 9398. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male terrier
This male terrier has a short tricolor coat.
He is in kennel No. 27, ID No. 9398.
This female terrier is in kennel No. 28a, ID No. 9399. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female terrier
This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.
She’s in kennel No. 28a, ID No. 9399.
This female terrier is in kennel No. 28b, ID No. 9400. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female terrier
This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.
She’s in kennel No. 28b, ID No. 9400.
This male pit bull is in kennel No. 32, ID No. 9369. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull
This male pit bull has a short buff-colored coat.
Shelter staff said he is a lovely boy who will sit on command and give you a handshake.
He’s in kennel No. 32, ID No. 9369.
This male golden retriever is in kennel No. 34, ID No. 9302. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Golden retriever
This male golden retriever
Has a medium-length golden coat.
He already has been neutered.
He’s in kennel No. 34, ID No. 9302.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
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.
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