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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Monday afternoon that it is continuing the search for a Kelseyville man who shot at a group of law enforcement officers, Caltrans workers and a county supervisor earlier in the day.

Joshua Caleb “Buck” Brown of Kelseyville, 43, is the suspect in the case, as Lake County News has reported.

In the Monday afternoon update, the sheriff’s office reported that at 10:30 a.m. employees with Caltrans were in the area between Cruickshank Road and Cole Creek Road on Highway 29 in Kelseyville conducting road work, assisted by the California Highway Patrol.

County Supervisor Rob Brown told Lake County News that he was with the group. He said Caltrans was putting up k-rail in the area due to an illegal road access that Buck Brown had cut in the area.

The sheriff’s report said Buck Brown, whose home is nearby, confronted the group and fired two shots in their direction.

Rob Brown said Buck Brown had first come toward them with a gun in his hand before returning to his pickup to get a rifle, which is the weapon he used to shoot at the group.

Lake County Sheriff’s units responded to assist, arriving at the location at 10:45 a.m. Shortly after a sheriff’s unit arrived on scene, Buck Brown fired another shot towards the officer’s direction, according to the report.

At approximately 10:52 a.m. Brown fired two additional shots at a State Parks officer who was at a neighboring residence assisting with a perimeter, the sheriff’s office reported.

Brown then fled on foot into an area which consists of brush and trees, officials said.

The sheriff’s office said a perimeter was established and additional assistance from allied agencies was requested.

Officers from the CHP, Lakeport Police Department, Clearlake Police Department, Lake County District Attorney’s Office, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist. California Highway Patrol and Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office assisted with air support, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said the search for Brown is continuing.

Brown is considered armed and dangerous and should not be contacted. If you see someone you believe to be Brown avoid contact and immediately call 911, officials said.

The search for Brown led to a closure on Highway 29, which officials said remained in effect to all traffic between Live Oak Drive and Bottle Rock Road. An alternate route of Soda Bay Road to Highway 29 can be used.

Live Oak Drive is also closed between Cruickshank Road and Cole Creek Road, officials 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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Law enforcement agencies from around Lake County and beyond are in Kelseyville attempting to apprehend a man who on Monday morning fired numerous shots at officers and other officials over a property issue.

Shots were first fired in the area of Highway 29 near Cole Creek Road at about 10:45 a.m. Monday, according to radio reports and the California Highway Patrol.

The suspect in the shooting is identified as 43-year-old Joshua Caleb “Buck” Brown of Kelseyville, according to Sheriff Brian Martin.

Brown, who is reported to be angry about road and property issues, shot at a group that included Caltrans workers, law enforcement officers and County Supervisor Rob Brown, who was at the scene.

Rob Brown said the Buck Brown had cut an illegal road access to his property and then dumped concrete to block access to another property owner, which created an issue for Caltrans and also was a county abatement issue.

Caltrans was on scene to install k-rail until the property cut was fixed, Rob Brown said.

Rob Brown said he was with several Caltrans workers and CHP officers on Highway 29 about a quarter-mile north of Cole Creek when the shooting occurred. Also on scene were California State Parks rangers.

“He came running down the hill with a gun in his hand,” Rob Brown said of Buck Brown.

CHP Officer Rob Hearn yelled for everyone to get back. Buck Brown then ran back to his pickup, got his rifle and began shooting, Rob Brown said.

There were four shots, all of which he believed came from the suspect, as law enforcement at that point didn’t return fire, according to Rob Brown’s account.

Rob Brown said Buck Brown then moved back onto his property behind some oak trees in order to take cover.

At 11:30 a.m. the Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued an alert to the public telling them to stay clear and that drivers should avoid the area between Kelseyville and Kit’s Corner.

The agency’s alert also directed nearby residents to shelter in place.

The Lake County Sheriff’s SWAT Team responded, and shortly after 12:15 p.m., a SWAT team from Mendocino County also had arrived, with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s helicopter Henry-1 also reported to be responding, based on radio reports.

Sheriff Martin told Lake County News shortly before 1 p.m. that Buck Brown was not yet in custody.

At that point Martin said Buck Brown had fired at law enforcement five times.

Additional details will be posted as they become 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.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Lower Lake residents and community leaders gathered on Sunday to remember the beginning of the devastating Clayton fire and also to celebrate the fire department that has protected the town for more than seven decades.

The Lake County Fire Protection District hosted the anniversary event at the Lower Lake Station 65 on Main Street.

The gathering marked two anniversaries – the beginning of the Clayton fire, which occurred on Aug. 13, 2016, and the fire district’s 75th anniversary.

Local officials in attendance included District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon, Clearlake City Manager Greg Folsom, Clearlake City Councilman Phil Harris – who acted as master of ceremonies – as well as Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg, Cal Fire firefighters and the fire board’s members.

The Clayton fire was first reported just minutes after 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016.

Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta said the fire, which began off Highway 29 at Clayton Creek south of Lower Lake, had first been reported as a 100-foot spot.

Firefighters had made progress on the blaze and had it bedded down for the night at about 1,000 acres, he said. At that point, it had appeared to be well on the way to be contained.

But the next day, Aug. 14, the situation changed dramatically as – whipped by winds and high temperatures – the fire turned into a conflagration.

It made a furious run, turning back toward Lower Lake, jumping containment lines, triggering the evacuations of thousands more residents in Lower Lake as well as in parts of Clearlake, and leading Sheriff Brian Martin to declare a local emergency.

For several hours, the fire savaged the town and its historic Main Street, destroying historic buildings – and coming just feet from burning the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum – while surrounding Station 65 itself.

Much of the damage was done in that first day, with 300 buildings – about 200 of them homes – destroyed. By the time the fire was fully contained on the evening of Aug. 26, it had burned a total of 3,929 acres, according to Cal Fire.

While Aug. 14 – the date the fire turned on Lower Lake – has cast a shadow over the town, it’s the fire department’s goal that this year it will have new meaning.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 14, Station 65 will for the first time begin regular 24-hour staffing, said Sapeta.

He said that’s the result of Measure D, the parcel tax district voters approved in March.

Sapeta said it was paramount that the Measure D funds were rolled out immediately to benefit the district and its residents.

The measure not only prevented the district from having to make staffing cuts but has allowed it to recruit and hire new firefighters. It’s also funded updates to Station 65 including new sleeping quarters and a kitchen, Sapeta said.

For the 2017-18 budget year, the station will have one person for every eight-hour shift, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Sapeta.

Then, in the 2018-19 budget year, Sapeta said that staffing will be increased to two people per shift.

Sapeta believes that having the station staffed from this point forward will play a huge part in the community’s recovery.

It also will be part of improving community protection and filling in a coverage hole, Sapeta said.

He said there now will be a five-minute response time for fire and medical calls in the Lower Lake area.

That’s important, as he said it can take from 7 to 10 minutes for units responding from Clearlake.

In addition to adding paid staff, Sapeta said the district hopes to increase the ranks of its volunteers.

He said volunteers age 18 and above are welcome; the district will train them. Interested community members can call the fire district’s main office at Station 70, 707-994-0733, or Sapeta invited them to call his cell phone at 707-489-0966.

Offering comfort; looking ahead

A woman who had played a big role in supporting the community in the days and weeks after the fire is Susie Novak, who visited the station on Sunday afternoon.

Novak ran the Brick Hall located next door to Station 65 as a “community comfort zone” for about a month after the fire.

She fixed special meals and encouraged both firefighters and community members alike to come in, sit down and do just the basics – eat, rest, drink water and talk.

“It was kind of an escape for me,” said Novak, who had worked nonstop from early in the morning until late at night during the weeks that the comfort center operated.

She said she did it because people were hungry and didn’t have a place to go. For town residents seeking to retrieve some sense of community, Novak turned the Brick Hall into a friendly, welcoming place.

Novak was accompanied on Sunday by her 1-year-old Italian Mastiff, Gelato, who Sapeta said was a staple of the comfort center.

Gelato shares the same name as the frozen Italian dessert, along with some similar traits. “He’s sweet and he’s cool and he was the ambassador of joy,” Novak said.

Gelato was just 11 weeks old at the time of the fire, and he proved popular with firefighters and community members alike. Novak said pictures of the adorable pup playing with or loving on his human friends circulated far and wide.

On Sunday Gelato – now weighing in at 100 pounds – once again got a lot of attention, including ear scratches and pats from friends both old and new.

Also showing his support for the community on Sunday was Supervisor Simon, who took office in January.

Simon, while most associated with the Middletown area, said many people forget that his district also includes Lower Lake.

The town is important to him, as he first played youth football at the nearby Lower Lake High School football field.

Simon is focused on the rebuilding effort and said he welcomed the upcoming discussion on the Board of Supervisors’ Tuesday agenda regarding staffing issues in the Community Development Department.

He said problems can’t be solved until people start talking about them.

“We’re working on the challenges and we’re going to keep working on them,” he said.

He said he is confident that the county will work out its issues in the effort to recover from the devastating wildland fires that have hit it in recent years.

“We’re going to rebuild this community,” Simon 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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Staffing issues in the county of Lake’s building department – which are having a critical impact on the pace of rebuilding the communities impacted by the wildland fires – will be the topic of an agenda item on this week’s Board of Supervisors agenda.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

At 10 a.m., the board will consider and discuss the staffing issues in the Community Development Department’s Building Division and consider a contract for chief building official and plan examiner services with Bureau Veritas of Sacramento.

Supervisor Rob Brown discussed the issues with building division staffing at the Aug. 7 Kelseyville Business Association, which prompted businessman Mark Borghesani to speak to the issue during public comment at the board’s meeting Aug. 8.

Borghesani, whose family owns Kelseyville Lumber, said the county has a “catastrophic issue” on its hands.

Being in a lumber yard with a pro department that deals daily with contractors, “We’re kinda like the bartenders of the building industry,” he said.

He asked who was accountable for the staffers who are leaving and the lack of an experienced plan checker. Borghesani also questioned where the focus of the planning department is – if it’s on marijuana or the general plan.

“Our building industry and our contractors and the people that need to get back in their homes are suffering,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, at 9:30 a.m. the Lake County Resource Conservation District will present its annual report.

The full agenda is below.

CONSENT AGENDA

7.1: Approve appointment of Michelle Scully as permanent part-time deputy county administrative officer I.

7.2: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2017-70 establishing new classifications, the effective date thereof, and amending the position allocation chart for Fiscal Year 2017-2018 to conform to the recommended Budget, Budget Unit No. 1012, Administrative Office.

7.3: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Women’s Recovery Services for Fiscal Year 2017-18 for a total maximum of $30,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.

7.4: Approve agreements between the county of Lake and Coleman Environmental for asbestos removal and demolition of structures located at (a) 12545 Lakeview Drive, Clearlake Oaks (APN 035-152-65 – John Danuck), in the amount of $15,255.00; (b) 7271 Sierra Street, Upper Lake (APN 031-142-05 – Dominique McGowen), in the amount of $11,110.00); and (c) 9661 Elliot Street, Upper Lake (APN 027-182-03- Patrick and Betty Henry), in the amount of $32,452.00); and authorize the chair to sign.

7.5: Adopt resolution approving the Lake County Health Services Department to submit acceptance paperwork and a certification clause from the California Department of Public Health Tuberculosis Control Branch for real-time allotment funding for tuberculosis cases in Lake County in the amount of $3,937 for FY 2017-2018 and authorizing the board chair to sign said certification clause.

7.6: Approve long distance travel Sept. 5 through Sept. 8, 2017, to Atlanta, Georgia for Sherylin Taylor, PHN, Public Health nursing director, Public Health Division; fully funded through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

7.7: Approve contract between the county of Lake and Lake Family Resource Center for CAPIT Services in the amount of $75,883.00, from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018; and authorize the chair to sign.

TIMED ITEMS

8.2, 9:15 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of an ordinance amending Subdivision (c) of Section 27-6 of Article 1 of Chapter 27 of the Lake County Code to revise fire mitigation fees for cases of locally declared emergencies.

8.3, 9:30 a.m.: Presentation of an annual report on the activities of the Lake County Resource Conservation District.

8.4, 10 a.m.: (a) Consideration and discussion of building division staffing issues; and (b) consideration of contract for services between Lake County and Bureau Veritas.

UNTIMED ITEMS

9.1: Consideration of the following appointments: Hartley Cemetery District Board of Trustees.

9.2: Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, consideration and presentation of the boat ramp gate feasibility study by Oscar Larson and Associates.

9.3: Consideration of agreement between the county of Lake and SCS Engineers for field investigation, engineering analyses, and preliminary design services for the Eastlake Landfill Expansion Project.

9.4: Second reading, consideration of an ordinance authorizing an extended idle speed zone near shore during high water on Clear Lake.

CLOSED SESSION

10.1: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation: Gov. Code sec. 54956.9 (d)(2), (e)(5).

10.2: Public employee evaluations title: Community Development director.

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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Unified School District Board this week will hold a discussion related to its recent decision to move forward with giving the Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse to the Lake County Historical Society.

The board will meet beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, in the district office board room, 4410 Konocti Road.

The Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse – also called the Hells Bend Schoolhouse – was built in 1871 and moved to its current location in the 3500 block of Finley Road East in Finley in 1882.

The Lake County Historical Society proposes to move the schoolhouse to the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum on Soda Bay Road.

The matter of giving the schoolhouse to the historical society had been approached at a board meeting in November, but the board took no action then.

At that time, community member, archaeologist and college professor Doug Prather argued against the move in a letter to the board, explaining that he couldn’t abide “wanton destruction of our local history.”

Prather said “historic structures often retain specific characteristics or qualities that warrant a special status in the archaeological and historical community. Those structures that
maintain certain ‘integrities’ will often qualify for the National Register of Historic Places.”

He said the schoolhouse is one of the few structures in Lake County that can still qualify for this list, noting that the main integrity for this structure is its setting.

“For more than 100 years the building has not moved. It is in its natural location. As an archaeologist, this is a rarity for me. Not only has this building not moved, but it still maintains its original shape; no additions, and no modern adaptations with the exception of the concrete front steps and the newer roof. People driving by do not mistake this structure for a modern building. It looks old and incredibly interesting. In fact, this is the oldest schoolhouse in Lake County that still retains its original character of construction. If moved to the Ely Stagestop, that integrity of setting, construction, and feeling would be immediately lost,” Prather wrote.

Several months passed with no further discussion of the matter and then Board member Gary Olson asked for it to be placed on the July agenda as a discussion and action item, said Superintendent Dave McQueen.

Olson also had asked for the matter to be brought before the board last year, at the time the board considered a letter from a group calling itself the Friends of the Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse that suggested the building be given to the historical society. Olson also signed that letter as a member of that group.

During the July 18 meeting, Lake County Historical Society members Peter Windrem and John Parker made another pitch for taking the building, with Windrem stating that the building is a liability and hazard to the district, and is susceptible to fire.

Parker, an archaeologist, also wants the district’s donation to include any physical and cultural materials in and around the site.

The board then took two unanimous votes, each moved by Olson, to direct McQueen to get separate appraisals on both the schoolhouse and the land on which it sits and to direct McQueen to begin the process of transferring the building.

McQueen told Lake County News that before the schoolhouse can be donated or moved, it has to be appraised and the board has to pass a resolution to transfer it, actions that he anticipated would take place over the course of the Aug. 15 and Sept. 19 board meetings.

He said that in speaking with the district’s legal counsel, the district can transfer the schoolhouse to a nonprofit, but there are stipulations, such as the appraisal.

The Tuesday agenda calls for the schoolhouse matter to be an action item, but does not state if the resolution or the appraisal will be considered.


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 is set this week to consider a Texas development firm’s appeal of a decision last month by the Lakeport Planning Commission to turn down a proposal for a Dollar General store.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

On the Tuesday agenda is the appeal by Cross Development of the planning commission’s July 12 decision to deny an application for architectural and design review for a 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store at 1405 S. Main St.

Cross Development has built Dollar General stores in Clearlake Oaks and Nice. Its plan for a store in Middletown has been denied by both the Lake County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors, with the firm now proposing to build a 7,500-square-foot store, which would put it under the 8,000-square-foot threshold that triggers the major use permit process.

Unlike the county, Lakeport’s planning rules don’t have thresholds for higher levels of review triggered by square footage, according to a statement from Community Development Director Kevin Ingram at the July meeting.

However, the commission denied the store proposal on the basis of concerns that it didn’t qualify for a categorical exemption from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, as staff had suggested and that the application, therefore, wasn’t complete.

Staff said CEQA guidelines allow exemptions for development on parcels less than five acres substantially surrounded by urban uses, which are consistent with the general plan and zoning, determined to have no impacts on rare, threatened and endangered species, and no traffic, noise, air quality or water quality impacts.

If the council were to grant the appeal and find that the project qualifies for the categorical exemption, it would send the store plan back to the planning commission to consider the architectural and design review application’s adequacy.

Also on Tuesday, the council will consider adopting a resolution to formally declare an end to the stage one water emergency and to address ongoing water conservation efforts by restricting wasteful practices.

In other business, the council will consider approving a Gann limit revision for a corrected appropriations limit of $11,852,201 in Fiscal Year 2017-18 and $11,463,663 in Fiscal Year 2016-2017; receive a donation from the Lake County Chamber of Commerce for the
annual fireworks show in Library Park; and hear a presentation by the promoters of the 2017 Downtown Lakeport Criterium, which was held July 15.

Items on the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the regular council meeting on July 18 and the special council meetings on July 24 and Aug. 8; the warrant register of July 24; approval of Application No. 2017-028, with staff recommendations, for the Recovery Happens event to be held Sept. 16 in Library Park; receipt and filing of the draft minutes of the July 31 Measure Z Advisory Committee meeting; and approval and authorization for the city manager to execute a professional services agreement with Polestar Computers for the provision of IT support services.

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.

081517 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd