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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a new group of dogs available for adoption along with the four Sulphur fire dogs waiting to be reclaimed.

The dogs taken in from the Sulphur fire are at the top of the featured listings; they will not be up for adoption to the general public until mid-November in order to give their owners the opportunity to reclaim them.

The dogs in the general shelter population available for adoption this week include mixes of Chihuahua, German Shepherd, pit bull, retriever, shepherd 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”).

SULPHUR FIRE DOGS

Border collie mix

This female border collie was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 12.

She has a medium-length black and white coat and is not spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 8, ID No. 8730.

German Shepherd mix

This young male German Shepherd mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.

He is unaltered and has a medium-length black and brown coat.

He is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8693.

Labrador Retriever-poodle mix

This female cream-colored Labrador Retriever-poodle mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.

She is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 8694.

Female pit bull mix

This female pit bull mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake Park on Oct. 13.

She has a short red and white coat. She is not spayed.

She is in kennel No. 2, ID No. 8736.

OTHER DOGS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

Pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short blue and white coat.

Shelter staff said he was tested with a female dog and got along great with her.

He is in kennel No. 3, ID No. 8817.

Female shepherd

This female shepherd has a short brown and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 6, ID No. 8819.

Female Chihuahua

This young female Chihuahua has a short tan and black coat.

She’s in kennel No. 9, ID No. 8806.

‘Marley’

“Marley” is a female pit bull terrier mix with a short tan coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 8857.

‘Pedro’

“Pedro” is a male shepherd mix.

He has a short tan and white coat.

Shelter staff said he gets along with other dogs.

He’s in kennel No. 17, ID No. 8746.

Male German Shepherd

This male German Shepherd has a medium-length tan and brown coat.

He’s in kennel No. 19, ID No. 8798.

Female shepherd

This female shepherd has a short brown and white coat.

She is in kennel No. 22, ID No. 8816.

Female German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd has a long black coat.

She’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 7872.

‘Jody’

“Jody” is a female German Shepherd with a short black and tan coat.

Shelter staff said she is good with other dogs.

She is in kennel No. 27, ID No. 8814.

Male retriever

This male retriever has a short brown coat.

He’s in kennel No. 29, ID No. 8841.

Male terrier

This male terrier has a short red coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 31, ID No. 8842.

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.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

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.

NASA is preparing to launch the Joint Polar Satellite System-1, or JPSS-1, satellite on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide essential data for timely and accurate weather forecasts and for tracking environmental events such as forest fires and droughts.

JPSS-1 is the first in NOAA’s series of four, next-generation operational environmental satellites designed to circle the Earth in a polar orbit.

The JPSS program is a partnership between NOAA and NASA that will oversee all the satellites in the JPSS series. NOAA funds and manages the program, operations and data products.

NASA develops and builds the instruments, spacecraft and ground system and launches the satellites for NOAA.

The mission is scheduled to begin at 4:47 a.m. EST (1:47 a.m. PST), Nov. 10, 2017, with JPSS-1 atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket lifting off from Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Built by Ball Aerospace of Boulder, Colorado, the satellite will pass over the equator about 14 times each day, covering the globe twice every 24 hours.

As it works, JPSS-1 will gather measurements of atmospheric, terrestrial and oceanic conditions, including sea and land surface temperatures, vegetation, clouds, rainfall, snow and ice cover, fire locations, atmospheric temperature, water vapor and ozone.

With these varied observations, JPSS will give environmental experts more accurate warnings in advance of hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards.

During its planned 10-years in orbit, JPSS-1 also will aid in assessing hazards such as droughts, forest fires, poor air quality and harmful coastal waters.

Preparations for the launch JPSS-1 rocket have been under way for more than a year. The first stage of the Delta II rocket arrived at Vandenberg's NASA Hangar 836 on April 4, 2016. Later in the month, the Delta II interstage and second stage also reached the West Coast launch site.

On July 12, 2016, the first stage of the ULA Delta II rocket was transported to SLC-2 at Vandenberg and positioned on the launch pad. The rocket's second stage was hoisted into the pad's gantry on April 11, 2017, and mounted atop the first stage of the rocket.

The JPSS-1 satellite arrived at Vandenberg on Sept. 1, 2017, for preflight preparations in the Astrotech Processing Facility. Following checkouts, the spacecraft was encapsulated in its payload fairing and moved to SLC-2 and mounted atop the Delta II rocket.

JPSS-1 will follow the joint NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, which was launched in 2011.

Originally planned as a research and risk-reduction mission in the JPSS series, NOAA has been using Suomi NPP as its primary operational satellite for global weather observations since May 2014.

After it reaches orbit 512 miles above the Earth, JPSS-1 will be known as NOAA-20. Future satellites planned for the JPSS constellation include JPSS-2, scheduled for launch in 2021, JPSS-3 in 2026 and JPSS-4 in 2031. The series of four JPSS satellites are expected to span 20 years.

The U.S. government will make data from the JPSS system available to domestic and international users in support of U.S. commitments to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

Bob Granath is with NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – It’s once again time to “fall back.”

Daylight saving time, which began March 12, ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5.

The US Naval Observatory reports that civil clocks in most areas of the United States are adjusted ahead one hour in the summer months and returned back one hour in the winter months by act of Congress.

Beginning in 2007, daylight saving time goes into effect on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, dates established by Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the observatory reported.

Hawaii and most of Arizona do not use daylight saving time, and Indiana has adopted the use of daylight saving time, officials reported.

It’s not just time to turn clocks back by an hour, but also a good opportunity to check important safety features in homes.

Cal Fire urges people to use daylight saving time as a reminder to check smoke alarms – including changing the batteries.

The agency emphasizes the importance of smoke alarms – which should be installed in all sleeping rooms, hallways that lead to sleeping areas, basements and each additional level of the home – because most fatal fires occur at night.

For more information about smoke alarms visit Cal Fire’s Web site at www.fire.ca.gov or contact your local fire department.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A second suspect wanted for the brutal beating of a Clearlake man was arrested this week in Oklahoma, while the victim in the case is in the midst of a lengthy recovery.

Elijah Cain Ward, 38, was arrested in Tulsa on Wednesday, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Ward was arrested for the assault of 24-year-old Cody Myrick outside of Maynard’s Bar in Lower Lake in late August.

Word of Ward’s arrest came as welcome news to the family of Myrick, who is in the midst of rehabilitation from his injuries, according to his mother, Shannon Mason.

She said her son was hospitalized for two and a half weeks, with about a week of that time spent in a medically induced coma.

“His skull was fractured,” she said.

Authorities said Ward and Lorenzo Reyes Cespedes, 44, of Lucerne attacked Myrick late on the night of Aug. 25, as Lake County News has reported.

A deputy patrolling the area found Myrick unconscious on Main Street in front of the bar, officials reported.

Paulich said in a previous interview that bar patrons provided deputies with descriptions of the assailants, with a deputy locating Cespedes and Ward – both of them intoxicated – a short time later at Twin Pine Casino in Middletown.

Both spoke to deputies, with Cespedes later coming in to give a statement. He was arrested on the morning of Aug. 27 on felony charges of assault with great bodily injury and battery with serious bodily injury.

Ward told deputies there was an altercation between Myrick and Jennifer Ashley Thach, 39, of Lower Lake.

Thach has not been arrested in the case. Paulich said the surveillance video the sheriff’s office had obtained in the case did not show Thach taking part in the assault.

Mason said one security video showed her son and Thach walking together before he was attached by Ward and Cespedes.

“He doesn’t remember anything that happened that night,” she said.

In the days after Myrick’s assault, the sheriff’s office got an arrest warrant issued by the Lake County Superior Court for Ward’s arrest.

While they had a local address for Ward, Paulich said at the time that they couldn’t locate him and believed he had left the area.

That turned out to be the case, but authorities caught up with Ward on Wednesday.

Ward is being charged with assault on a person with force likely to cause great bodily injury and battery causing serious bodily injury. His bail is set at $100,000, Paulich said.

Paulich said Ward will be extradited back to Lake County. “I’m not sure how long that process will take.”

Outside of Ward’s arrest, Paulich said there are no new developments with the case.

Oklahoma arrest records show Ward has had other brushes with the law there, including an October 2015 arrest in Tulsa County for domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon and threatening a violent act.

Cespedes has pleaded not guilty in the case and is expected to return to court in the case later this month.

Mason said her son already has overcome a great deal, from having to be kept in the coma to fighting pneumonia because of needing a breathing machine in the hospital.

Then there is the ongoing physical rehabilitation. He continues to work on strengthening the muscles on the side of his face in order to have them once again be symmetrical, she said.

Myrick, who works as a server at Main Street Bar and Grill, is ready to get back to work, and has retained his sense of humor, his mother said.

She called his progress “pretty amazing for what happened.”

Mason said her son has touched a lot of hearts in the county, and he’s gotten incredible support in return since his injury.

“This community really came together,” she 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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for parts of Northern California including Lake County due to storms expected to impact the region into early next week.

The agency said a couple of early season storms are on track to impact interior Northern California through Monday.

Forecasters said an early season Pacific storm system will be moving through Northern California this weekend.

The main cold front, heaviest precipitation and strongest winds will occur through Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

Precipitation is forecast to wind down from west to east Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, according to the forecast.

The National Weather Service said there will be a brief break on Sunday, followed by a weaker frontal storm system that’s expected to bring more rain and mountain snow to the region Sunday afternoon and Monday.

In Lake County, forecasters are predicting strong chances of rain through Sunday night, clearing on Monday and during the day on Tuesday, before chances of rain are again in the forecast on Tuesday night and continuing through into next weekend.

Winds ranging up to 8 miles per hour also are forecast through the weekend.

Temperatures are expected to range from the high 20s at night to the low 60s during the day in the coming week, based on the forecast.

Rain fell steadily throughout Lake County on Friday.

National Weather Service observation stations reported the following rainfall totals, in inches, for the 24-hour period ending at 1 a.m. Saturday:

– Bartlett Springs: 0.36;
– High Glade Lookout (above Upper Lake): 1.29;
– Indian Valley Reservoir: 0.16;
– Lake Pillsbury: 0.60;
– Lakeport: 0.19;
– Lower Lake: 0.13;
– Lyons Valley: 0.60;
– Upper Lake: 0.50;
– Whispering Pines: 0.52.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Three Lake County residents were involved in a Friday morning crash in Mendocino County that injured two of them.

The California Highway Patrol’s Ukiah Area office said the crash occurred at 7:30 a.m. Friday on Highway 20 west of Road A near Redwood Valley. It was raining at the time of the crash.

The CHP said Lakeport resident Monica Ivicevich, 49, was driving a 2000 Honda Civic westbound on Highway 20 at an undetermined speed.

Ukiah resident Robert Whelan, 47, was driving a 2016 Mercedes Sprinter van eastbound on Highway 20 in the left lane west of Ivicevich, while Anthony Bloyd, 22, of Lucerne, was driving a 2005 Toyota Camry westbound behind Ivicevich, with William Crandal, 18, of Lucerne as his passenger, the CHP said.

For reasons that are as yet undetermined, the CHP said Ivicevich lost control of her car and swerved to the left, over the double-yellow center lines, and into Whelan’s path.

Whelan attempted to stop and move to the left to avoid Ivicevich, who at nearly the same time attempted to regain control of her car and swerved back toward the westbound lane, which caused her and Whelan to collide head-on, the CHP said.

The CHP said Whelan continued off the north side of Highway 20, overturning down the steep hillside, with the van coming to rest on its left side.

Ivicevich’s Honda spun out of control in the westbound lane. Bloyd couldn’t avoid the car and his Toyota collided head-on with Ivicevich’s Honda, the CHP said.

The CHP said after the collision, Ivicevich’s Honda was blocking the westbound lane and Bloyd’s car came to rest on the westbound highway shoulder.

Due to the extensive damage to her car, Ivicevich was trapped in the driver’s seat, the CHP said. The Redwood Valley/Calpella Fire Department responded to the scene and extricated her from the vehicle.

Ivicevich was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of major injuries, the CHP said.

The CHP said Bloyd was taken to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley for treatment of moderate injuries. Whelan had minor injuries and Crandal was uninjured.

All four individuals were wearing their seat belts, the CHP said.

Caltrans responded to the scene and assisted CHP by establishing traffic control in the eastbound lanes. The CHP said Highway 20 was reopened at approximately 9:30 a.m. Friday.

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.