News

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A woman driving her vehicle in the wrong lane of Highway 29 was involved in a head-on wreck with another driver on Monday evening.

The California Highway Patrol said Bonnie Adams, 73, of Plumas Lake, suffered moderate injuries in the crash, as did the other driver, 20-year-old Roen Adams of Oakland.

The CHP said that the crash occurred at 5:30 p.m. Monday on Highway 29, south of the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff.

Bonnie Adams was reported for driving her 2010 Honda Odyssey SUV the wrong way, northbound on Highway 29, within the No. 1 southbound lane, the CHP said.

Less than a minute later, she was involved in a head-on crash with Roen Adams, who was driving her 2007 Honda Accord southbound in the southbound No. 1 lane, according to the CHP.

The CHP said both women were flown by air ambulances to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Neither drugs nor alcohol are suspected as contributing factors, according to the CHP.

Both women were wearing their seat belts at the time the crash occurred, the CHP reported.

CHP Officer Piers Pritt is investigating the crash.

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. – Two people were flown out of county by air ambulances on Monday night following a head-on collision on Highway 29.

The crash was first reported at about 5:30 p.m. Monday in the southbound lane of Highway 29 just north of the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff, according to radio reports and the California Highway Patrol.

Reports from the scene described the two vehicles involved as a black SUV and a blue sedan.

Initial reports indicated that the SUV was northbound in the southbound lane, leading to the head-on wreck that blocked two lanes of the highway.

When Lakeport Fire personnel arrived on scene they reported that two people were trapped as a result of the crash, with extrication needed.

Two air ambulances – CalStar 4 and REACH 1 – were requested to land at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in order to pick up the patients, according to radio reports.

CalStar 4 landed and picked up the first patient, transporting them to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to reports from the scene. REACH 1 landed a short time later, also taking the second patient to Santa Rosa Memorial.

Incident command requested Lake County Animal Care and Control respond to take care of a dog that had been in the back of one of the vehicles.

Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council met last week to continue to work through proposed new marijuana regulations, and approve a job classification, bonds and an equipment purchase.

The council’s special Dec. 4 meeting was largely focused on another consideration of proposed new rules for commercial marijuana, or cannabis, operations.

The proposed rules were recommended to the council by the Lakeport Planning Commission, whose members put extensive work into reviewing them this fall. The council took them up at the Nov. 21 meeting and set them for a formal public hearing at its Dec. 19 meeting, as Lake County News has reported.

Community Development Director Kevin Ingram said the rule updates are necessary to be in line with state regulations, with the state having given local jurisdictions a deadline of the end of this year to have their rules in place.

Police Chief Brad Rasmussen polled seven other jurisdictions about calls for service at their marijuana dispensaries. Only one – the city of Arcata – had responded to him by the time the meeting was held, and while he didn’t have time to sit and analyze the numbers, they did not look out of line with retail stores in Lakeport of similar size.

Councilman Kenny Parlet said it didn’t look like the facilities had large crime impacts, and helped address those types of concerns.

During public comment, the council heard from Kimberly Chilcutt, founder of a medicinal cannabis company, who pointed out what she considered was a significant hole in the rules, specifically, for small manufacturers and microbusinesses like hers.

Chilcutt said she uses nontoxic and biodegradable organic vegetable glycerin to make cannabis tinctures and topicals at her home. One of her key pieces of equipment is a crockpot.

“I do everything I can to be in accordance with the law,” she said. She added, “I don’t want to be cut out of what’s going on here.”

Mayor Stacey Mattina asked Ingram if Chilcutt’s operation fits the city’s residential policy. Ingram said no, that allowing for such operations in residences hasn’t been proposed.

Councilwoman Mireya Turner said Chilcutt’s situation is an example of the kind of caution that the council needs to use as it proceeds in creating new city rules.

Chilcutt asked the council to consider her unique situation. If the city insists she move to a commercial location, “I’m done. I can't afford it. I give too much away.”

Lakeport resident Stan Jones said he didn’t feel the city needs storefront commercial marijuana operations. He said he can live with delivery sales “but not happily,” and specifically asked them not to allow onsite consumption.

Planning Commissioner Michael Green said he didn’t see marijuana being a good fit in a residential area, period. He said the city should explore the state’s mini collective concept, but added that doesn’t belong in residential zoning, either.

Green, a marijuana industry consultant, said sole proprietors are caught in the middle of up and coming commercial operations.

Melissa Fulton, chief executive officer of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, told the council that rules the county puts in place in the unincorporated areas could alleviate the pressure in the city related to situations involving dispensaries, as the county areas could bear that business.

Lakeport Fire Chief Doug Hutchison said his agency also is watching to see the developing regulations. He was concerned about solvents, and said that so far it was hard to determine what would be needed from his department in the permitting and inspection process.

Hutchison said there isn’t a day that goes by that he doesn’t see a news story about an extraction lab that goes bad or an indoor grow in a residential area that’s discovered as the result of a fire. He recounted the discovery of a lab on Bevins Street that had used dangerous venting procedures.

Other residents brought up concerns about having storefront dispensaries in the city’s downtown and on 11th Street.

Chilcutt returned to the microphone to speak against deliveries rather than storefront dispensaries, noting, “Deliveries are very dangerous” due to the potential for robbery.

Parlet agreed that delivery seemed sketchy and brick and mortar dispensaries appeared a better way to go for distribution.

Mattina said many cities are banning commercial marijuana operations for now, and she wanted to see what the state would do with its regulations. She added that the city has been trying to find a happy medium. “We need to start somewhere.”

Turner said there are regulations at the state level that are attempting to make deliveries as safe as possible. However, she had concerns about enforceability on the local level if they tried to ban deliveries.

Green told the council that they needed to serve local patients, who he said aren’t going to show up at meetings to advocate for dispensaries.

Parlet suggested the city could make some allowance for medical marijuana dispensaries but not recreational storefronts as a sort of compromise.

In regard to concern about meeting an end-of-year deadline, City Attorney David Ruderman said that when the council holds the Dec. 19 hearing on the proposed regulations, if they make substantial changes they would need to bring them back at a regular meeting.

However, he noted that the city may have some room early in the new year to finalize its rules in order to meet state requirements thanks to new state emergency regulations.

In other news, the council took the following actions:

– Approved a new classification for police detective with a salary range earning $4,708 to $6,012 per month, and the reclassification of one police officer position to police detective in the 2017-18 budget.

– Considered and approved resolutions for the authorization, preparation and sale of wastewater revenue bonds to repay the city for project costs associated with the wastewater system improvement project.

– Authorized City Manager Margaret Silveira to sign the associated purchase order and purchase agreement for a 2017 Hamm Model HD-14-VV double drum vibratory roller for paving projects at a cost of $62,748.75.

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.

Agenda-Packet-2017-12-04---Special-Meeti-121201712207AM by LakeCoNews on Scribd

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Habitat for Humanity has dedicated another home and welcomed another family into its circle.

On Saturday, Habitat staff, family and friends gathered to celebrate the occasion with lunch and fellowship before presenting the Steffan-Alvarez family with the key to their new home on Green Street in Clearlake.

Grocery Outlet stocked the pantry and the bathroom, and provided gifts for the two children, a generous donation that Habitat and the family all appreciate

“The boys are so excited to have their own rooms in time for Christmas,” said homeowner Jaiana Alvarez. “This is such a blessing.

Her husband Giovanni Steffan agreed. “We’re so grateful for all of the work Habitat for Humanity did with us in making this happen. We wouldn’t have this opportunity without them.”

If you are interested in the Habitat for Humanity Homeownership Program and would like to know if you qualify, or if you lost your residence in one of the wildfires during the last three years, contact Deborah at 707-994-1100, Extension 106, Tuesday thru Thursday to discuss your options.

You can pick up a pre-application at the office located at 15312 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Forest Service on Monday announced that an additional 27 million trees, mostly conifers, died throughout California since November 2016, bringing the total number of trees that have died due to drought and bark beetles to an historic 129 million on 8.9 million acres.

The dead trees continue to pose a hazard to people and critical infrastructure, mostly centered in the central and southern Sierra Nevada region of the state.

“The number of dead and dying trees has continued to rise, along with the risks to communities and firefighters if a wildfire breaks out in these areas,” said Randy Moore, regional forester of the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region. “It is apparent from our survey flights this year that California’s trees have not yet recovered from the drought, and remain vulnerable to beetle attacks and increased wildfire threat. The Forest Service will continue to focus on mitigating hazard trees and thinning overly dense forests so they are healthier and better able to survive stressors like this in the future.”

Moore continued, “To increase the pace and scale of this important work, we need to fix how fire suppression is funded. Last year fire management alone consumed 56 percent of the Forest Service's national budget. As fire suppression costs continue to grow as a percentage of the Forest Service’s budget, funding is shrinking for non-fire programs that protect watersheds and restore forests, making them more resilient to wildfire and drought.”

Though California received record-breaking rains in the winter of 2016 to 2017, the effects of five consecutive years of severe drought in California, a dramatic rise in bark beetle infestation and rising temperatures have led to historic levels of tree die-off.

The Tree Mortality Task Force, or TMTF, with support from the Governor’s Office and comprised of more than 80 local, state and federal agencies and private utility companies, continues to remove hazardous dead trees.

To date, the TMTF members have collectively felled or removed over 860,000 dead trees; this includes over 480,000 dead trees felled or removed by the U.S. Forest Service.

The TMTF members are using a triage approach to this tree mortality crisis, first focusing on public safety by removing dead and dying trees in high hazard areas.

To further improve forest health, the U.S Forest Service and have increased their pace and scale of prescribed fire. The U.S. Forest Service has treated over 55,000 acres and has completed over 33,000 acres in fuel treatment projects.

By combining tree removal with prescribed fire, crews will be able to decrease overly dense stands of trees, reduce greenhouse gases, and protect communities across the state.

"Tree mortality at this magnitude takes on-going cooperation between public, nonprofit and private entities,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, director and California’s state forester. “California’s forests are a critical part of the State’s strategy to address climate change. By working together and using all the resources at our disposal we will be able to make more progress towards our common goal of healthier, more resilient forests that benefit all Californians.”

With record breaking levels of tree die-off, the TMTF has used this event as an opportunity to collaborate on several fronts: from public workshops about reforestation, public outreach in urban and rural areas, and awarding over $21 million in grants aimed to protect watersheds, remove dead trees and restore our forests.

The TMTF continues to collaborate on the efficient use of resources to protect public safety and build consensus around long-term management strategies for California’s forest lands.

“The Tree Mortality Task Force has provided an essential venue for coordination of response efforts, exchange of ideas, reporting, and accountability for the ongoing statewide response to this incident,” said Supervisor Nathan Magsig of Fresno County. “Leadership from the Governor’s Office, and Office of Emergency Services has helped to ensure county issues are heard and addressed. Monthly coordination of the 10 most impacted counties has resulted in a more effective use of resources and has allowed counties to share ideas and successes.”

The California Forest Watershed Alliance also weighed in on the news.

“These growing tree mortality numbers are not a surprise given the current state of California’s public forestlands,” said Justin Caporusso, the alliance’s chair. “They are however devastating to the landscape, threatening public resources and local communities. This ongoing epidemic underscores the importance of ecologically based forest management activities in protecting our communities and public resources.”

Caporusso said the group – which represents rural counties, farmland, forestlands, water interests and conservation – is advocating at both the state and federal level to increase the pace and scale of ecologically based thinning to improve the health of our forests, reduce wildfire risk and protect water supplies; find a fix to the fire-borrowing issue that will restore funding for proactive management, reforestation and restoration activities; and advance projects and partnerships that improve forest health on a landscape level.”

With a staggering 129 million dead trees in the state, the work of the task force is far from over. The strong foundation built will continue to be an advantage as the Tree Mortality Task Force continues to address tree mortality and its impacts.

Learn more about tree mortality and the work to restore our forests in California at the Forest Service's Our Changing Forests Web page, https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/catreemortality/home.

To learn about how to be prepare and protect your home against wildfire and bark beetles visit Ready for Wildfire, http://www.readyforwildfire.org/.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Deputy Sheriffs Association and the Bay Area Deputy Sheriffs’ Charitable Foundation will again partner together to provide a special holiday shopping event for some less fortunate children in Lake County.

The third annual “Shop with a Cop” event will take place on Wednesday at the Clearlake Walmart store.

Seventy children will receive $200 each to shop tax-free for warm winter clothes, as well as holiday gifts and other needed items on their lists. Each child will team up with a local peace officer to help them shop.

Members from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Clearlake Police Department, Lakeport Police Department, California State Parks, California Fish and Wildlife, Lake County Probation and Lake County District Attorney’s Office will be present to represent their respective agencies.

Since 2004, the Shop with a Deputy Sheriff event has fulfilled holiday dreams of over 3,600 Bay Area children who are at a disadvantage, and the numbers continue to grow. The annual event is made possible from the partnerships between the business community and law enforcement.

The shopping experience demonstrates to the children that someone cares for their welfare and development by teaming up with a deputy or a community volunteer.

The Bay Area Deputy Sheriffs’ Charitable Foundation has been fortunate to follow several children from past events. The organization said it has seen the children graduate high school and have been told by the children that the deputy sheriffs’ programs gave them the incentives and encouragement to do better in school and in life.

The foundation provides financial support for prevention programs that serve the underprivileged and vulnerable youth in the Bay Area by assisting disadvantaged children in securing school supplies and clothing, and other programs that seek to prevent youth from turning to a life of crime.

For more information visit www.deputysheriffsfoundation.org.