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Tom Koski
Jan. 14, 1955 - May 10, 2017
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Tom passed away at home surrounded by family and friends following complications from a stem cell transplant for leukemia.
Tom possessed a generous spirit and exuded kindness whenever called upon to help. He never expected any payback. He was happy to lend a hand.
Along with his big heart he had really big hands that loved the earth. He was always planting seeds, working in his greenhouse, or planting trees.
A few years ago he began planting Cedar Trees along Highway 20. If you happen to be heading over to Blue Lakes you might see them. They are really beautiful. They are a gift from Tom.
The other passions he had were riding his bike. He loved his bike and joining others on adventures.
And lastly, he was dedicated to picking up trash. His son Erik and daughter Iris as well as his wife Tje will do our best to carry on that tradition. That would make Tom happy.
Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .
Brenda DuMont
Dec. 15, 1957 - April 28, 2017
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Brenda Sue DuMont, passed away April 28, 2017, at the age of 59.
Brenda was born Dec. 15, 1957, in Fort Bragg, Calif., to Pete DuMont and Christine Thornbrugh.
She was a 25-year resident of Upper Lake. She was the third generation to live in Upper Lake. She loved the small town and being involved with the community.
Brenda had a lifelong love for cooking and baking and freely shared this passion with loved ones.
While stationed in Europe with her first husband, she attended culinary art classes allowing a passion to turn into a career.
Working as a chef throughout Northern California gave her the opportunity to win the hearts and trust of many, share her sweet and modest demeanor; and best of all culinary talent! Those touched by her faith, love, kindness, continuous laughter and persistent humor will not forget her.
She was preceded in death by her father, Pete Dumont; mother and stepfather, Christine and Lynn Thornbrugh; and sister, Betty Hathorne.
Brenda is survived by her daughters: Christina Chafin of Reno, Nev., Olivia Rubio of Lakeport, Calif. and Suzzie Chapa of the Bay Area; 10 grandchildren, BrendaSue, Edward, Baby, Danny, Cody, Mariana, Alex, Izabella, Zoe and Brooklyn; expecting her first great grandchild Julian; her sisters, Sharon Lawson and Tammy Gardner; brothers, Larry DuMont, Gary DuMont, David Gould and Mark Gardner; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – One of the organizations working to build new homes for wildland fire survivors has celebrated its first home completed in the Valley fire area.
On May 6, Habitat for Humanity dedicated the new home for the Carreker family on Big Valley Road in Middletown.
This is the 21st new home the organization has brought to the county, the second for fire victims overall and the first in the Valley fire area, according to President Richard Birk.
Birk and other Habitat staff, friends and family welcomed the Carrekers into their new home at the May 6 event, which also featured a lunch and prayers of blessing by members of the community.
“We are so blessed; I never felt we deserved something like this,” said new homeowner Jim Carreker. “God and Habitat have been so generous. We can’t thank them enough for this opportunity.”
Habitat for Humanity Lake County partners with qualified, low-income families to build safe, decent, affordable houses.
The organization may be best known for stick-built homes that involve both sweat equity from the families who qualify for the homes as well as from volunteers.
Birk said Habitat in Lake County is continuing with those construction projects but also placing modular homes in situations where they make the most sense.
Because of Lake County’s devastating wildland fires of 2015 and 2016, Habitat’s mission has expanded to include recovery and putting fire survivors in new homes.
The organization itself was impacted by fire when its headquarters office in downtown Lower Lake was destroyed in the August 2016 Clayton fire.
Thanks to the generosity of community members – including Foods, Etc. owner Dennis Darling, who made available to Habitat office space he owns behind the grocery store at 15312 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake – Habitat was able to get back on its feet and continue with its work.
“We’re settled in and going,” said Birk.
The Carrekers’ home was the second fire area home project Habitat has completed. The first, for Clearlake Oaks resident Walter Dreis who lost his home in the 2015 Rocky fire, was completed earlier this year, Birk said. That home, located in the Double Eagle Subdivision, also is a modular.
“Our target for the recovery is mostly people who were renters who got displaced, because we believe that is the gap that nobody else is paying much attention to,” Birk said.
That’s especially important now, with rentals in even higher demand due to scarce housing stock. Birk said he has heard of rents going up by 40 to 50 percent, which is having a heavy impact on low-income county residents.
He said Habitat can get them into new homes for half the cost they’re paying in rent.
Regarding fire projects, Birk said Habitat has no others currently under way, although there are applications pending.
Asked how many fire area homes Habitat plans to build, Birk said, “It’s hard to get a number of the need, that’s the problem.”
He said Habitat is holding workshops for fire survivors and has had 50 applications, with more expected. Not all will qualify for various reasons.
“We’re just going to do as many as we can as long as we have funding,” he said.
Habitat has received a $2.6 million grant under the state CalHome program, which can be used for rebuilding homes for homeowners and new homes for former renters, who will become first-time homeowners, as Lake County News has reported.
Birk explained that the organization didn’t receive a lump sum; rather, the program requires that Habitat go through a detailed process that includes submitting its expenses after projects are completed in order to get reimbursed.
At the same time, Habitat continues to work with families in need who were not impacted by the fires.
He said they have three other homes under way for families who did not lose their homes in the fires, one of which is nearing completion. The groundbreaking on a fourth is about to take place.
Birk said applications are being accepted now for low-income families seeking to own their own homes and fire survivors.
Additionally, Habitat continues to offer its very successful critical home repair program, he said.
If you or someone you know has a housing need, were affected by one of the recent county wildfires and would like to learn more, visit www.lakehabitat.org , stop by Habitat’s Clearlake office at 15312 Lakeshore Drive or call 707-994-1100 for more information or a preapplication.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall’s meeting last week hosted a discussion on the process for planning the recovery of Trailside Park and its future uses.
Lake County Public Services Director Lars Ewing spoke to the group May 11 about what’s ahead for the 107-acre park, which was entirely burned over by the Valley fire in September 2015.
“We don't have anything set in stone,” he said, explaining that he was there more for receiving input than telling community members what the park will be, as he believes the ultimate vision belongs to them.
Ewing, who formerly worked in the county’s Public Works Department, took on the director role with Public Services after the Valley fire. By that time, the park already had been destroyed.
He said an arborist assessed the trees that remained in the park after the fire and the decision was made to remove them.
The tree removal has three phases, Ewing said.
The first phase was conducted under a contract with AshBritt Inc. of Deerfield Beach, Fla. Ewing said that phase removed trees that posed hazards to the park’s existing trails.
After that phase, a majority of the park’s damaged trees were still standing. Ewing said the county received a California Department of Labor grant through California Human Development Corp. for the next phase of tree removal.
He said the third tree removal phase is now under way, and is between two and two and a half months from being completed.
That phase includes chipping trees for use as trail surfacing, he said.
The park has now been cleared as much as it can be, Ewing said.
In looking ahead, Ewing noted, “It's not going to be the park that it was.”
He said the foresters he’s spoken to – including Greg Giusti, the retired director of the University of California Cooperative Extension in Lake County – have said it won’t be a pine forest if it’s left to grow up on its own. Rather, it will be oak and manzanita and will take time to grow back on its own.
In response to a question asked later in the meeting about those trees, Ewing said the oaks and manzanitas will thrive and won’t require a specific replanting like the pines.
Ewing said his department plans to hold a public meeting about the park. At the same time, they’ve been contacted by a number of individuals with interest in that park for various uses – arts in the park, trails, bocce ball, equestrian uses, baseball fields and playgrounds.
“It's a big park,” he said, with leads to the possibility of many different uses.
There also is the underlying assumption that it's a nature preserve. Ewing said the county purchased the park land under a state Proposition 70 grant, meant to support parks and open space.
Ewing said they needed to look back at legislative intent of the funds. He said the state said the funds can be used for general park purposes, and that Proposition 70’s intent was not explicitly for the purposes of open space, nature and wildland preserves.
However, Ewing said he also doesn’t want to assume that they can do anything with the property, which is why they’ve asked the state to review the legislative intent.
He said they are dealing with a unique circumstance due to the fire. “It created a clean slate on that park.”
Now to be considered is what can be done given the conditions of that grant and in light of the new circumstances, Ewing said.
The Lake County Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will meet on June 7 to discuss countywide issues. Ewing said it will be an open meeting and a notice will be sent out. He said it’s the first time he’s convened the group in his tenure as director.
“The focus is going to be Trailside Park and the area of Middletown and Cobb, where we have the need for parks,” Ewing said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is not just handing out money, said Ewing, adding, “We're not going to get a free park.”
Ewing said the second step will be holding a public forum to look at the park’s needs.
During the meeting he was asked about a roughly 10-acre area of the park where trees burned in the fire have been left standing.
Ewing said that the intent of that area was to look at a possible memorial or natural regeneration project. He said the decision was made not to cut down that group of trees but to see what it would look like if it came back on its own.
He said he got the idea during a visit to the Grand Canyon. Ewing saw an area there where a fire had occurred about 20 years ago. It features interpretive signs showing how things came back, which he said was informative and impactful.
He added that he’s also open to not having such an area in the park if the community is against it.
Another area of the park, about 10 to 15 acres in size, is the site of the Lake Area Rotary Club Association’s tree replanting project. Ewing said an area right in the middle of the park was identified where the trees would grow.
In late March, the Rotary project, with the help of hundreds of volunteers from around Northern California, about 4,000 ponderosa pines were planted in that portion of the park, as Lake County News has reported.
Ewing also was asked about at-risk trees across from the park which currently are waiting to be removed. Ewing said those trees – about 1,000 of them – are marked and awaiting approval of FEMA. The county has a contractor lined up to do the work.
The issue of when the trails at the park will be reopened to walking and horseback riding also was raised. Ewing said he wants to wait until hazard trees are removed and it’s safe before allowing use of those areas again.
During the discussion other potential uses were raised for the park, including Robert Battaile’s suggestion of bocce courts for the Middletown Bocce League.
Battaile said the club wants to be close to the park’s restrooms and have lighting. Ewing said getting power to that area will be a challenge.
Another proposed use is for the park included a stadium and play fields for the Middletown and Cobb Little League, which a group representative said could get grants and funding for those facilities.
Ewing said the county can masterplan itself to death and then the plans get shelved due to lack of funding. He said the county is extremely strapped for cash, so he said it will require thinking outside of the box – such as that suggested by the Little League – to find ways to pay for park amenities.
However, another community remember reminded the audience that the original intent at the time the park was purchased was to keep it natural. She pointed out that, because of that condition, community members had spoken out against locating the dormitory for Hope City volunteers involved in the fire recovery and rebuilding effort at the park.
Ewing told Lake County News this week that the Lake County Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 7.
The meeting will begin at Trailside Park before reconvening in the community room at the Middletown Library, he said.
He said he expected the meeting topics to include a broad discussion of county park issues, with a focus on Trailside Park.
Ewing said the full agenda hasn’t been set yet, but will be sent out to the community ahead of the meeting.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The men and women devoted to educating the county’s youngest students were honored at an awards ceremony earlier this month.
The Lake County Child Care Planning Council hosted its annual Early Childhood Educator of the Year Awards on Saturday, May 6, at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge.
Thirteen awards were given out in a variety of categories to early educators who went above and beyond this year.
“We received 68 nominations this year and our selection committee was so blown away by nominations that they created extra categories to honor nominees,” said Planning Council Coordinator Colleen Campbell.
The 2017 award winners were:
• Opening Act Award: Amber Daugherty.
• Rock Around the Clock Award: Regina Stillman.
• Educator of the Year – Infant/Toddler: Maria Jaimes and Rebecca Bondi.
• Educator of the Year – Family Child Care Home: Debbie Nutt.
• Educator of the Year – Preschool: Aldo Rodrigues.
• Advocate of the Year: Jaleen White.
• Most Inspirational: Molly Keithly.
• Educator of the Year – Special Needs: Brian Marrier.
• Educator of the Year – All Inclusive: Edgar Ontiveros.
• Team Player: Susan Killian.
• Longevity and Dedication: Rosa Mora.
• Jukebox Hero: Darcie Schmidt.
“It is incredible to see all of this recognition on a special night where this group of people can connect and congratulate each other for a job well done. It truly is a highlight of my position to be able to put on this event,” Campbell said.
Educators and guests arrived in their best 1950s attire as they enjoyed mingling, dining and dancing.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Parks and Recreation Department said the Kelseyville Community Park will be closed to the public from May 19 through June 7 for the preparation, installation and establishment of new grass.
The agency apologizes for any inconvenience the closure may cause.
For more information contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 707-262-1618.