News

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers are teaming up to aid in the Lake County Clayton fire recovery efforts.

Each organization will contribute $10,000 to the Konocti Unified School District, which had schools directly impacted by the fire.

The Clayton fire started Saturday, has burned nearly 4,000 acres and hundreds of structures, and caused thousands of residents to be evacuated from their homes.

The Konocti Unified School District, which serves the Clearlake and Lower Lake communities, was scheduled to begin classes on Monday but canceled all schools this week due to the Clayton fire. Lower Lake High School’s sports fields and equipment were damaged in the fire.

“The Raiders express our care and concern for those affected by the Clayton fire,” said Raiders President Marc Badain. “We salute all of those who are assisting in the recovery efforts that are already under way.”

“Our hearts go out to the people of Lake County and everyone involved in the relief efforts as they courageously fight through the terrible tragedy that is affecting their homes and their way of life,” said 49ers President Al Guido. “We are happy to come together to help them along the path to recovery.”

The funds from the $20,000 joint donation will go to support the school’s efforts to rebuild fields and restore sports equipment lost in the fire.

Fans of either team who would like to contribute to the Konocti Unified School District relief efforts should send donations to Konocti Unified School District, P.O. Box 759, 9430-B Lake St., Lower Lake, CA 95457.

General donations for Clayton fire victims also can be made at www.larca5130.org/donate/ and www.ncoinc.org/give/ .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library’s free lecture series Know Lake County will feature the Lake County Historical Society, or LCHS, on Saturday, Aug. 20.

The event will take place beginning at 2 p.m. at the Lakeport branch of the Lake County Library, located at 1425 N. High St.

Dr. John Parker, vice president of the LCHS, and Phil Smoley, a member of the LCHS board of directors, will speak about the LCHS and its programs and projects.

For the past 60 year the LCHS has published the Pomo Bulletin, a journal of Lake County history which is sent to all members.

The LCHS presents programs on Lake County history several times a year at various locations around the county. Photos from the group's large collection are available for purchase.

The society sells books about Lake County history. Lake County history books and copies of the Pomo Bulletin will be for sale at the Know Lake County program.

The LCHS Web site www.lakecountyhistory.org , has more information about the society and its programs.

The LCHS in partnership with the County of Lake operates the Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum on Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville and the Gibson Museum & Cultural Center on Calistoga Road in Middletown.

The 19th-century Ely Stage Stop ranch house was moved in 2007 from near Highway 29 to five acres on Soda Bay Road donated by Beckstoffer Vineyards. After extensive restoration, the Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum opened in 2011.

The LCHS has built a barn on the property and is currently building a blacksmith and machine shop, with plans to build two more barns to house artifacts and displays.

The Ely sponsors a monthly Fiddle Jam with the California Old Time Fiddlers Association, puts on History Day programs and conducts science camps for students.

The Gibson Museum is housed in the former Gibson Library which Chauncey W. Gibson donated to Middletown in 1930. A new larger library opened in 2013 and the old library became the Gibson Museum.

Gibson presents Fireside Chats with local historians and presents rotating displays on south-county history. Permanent displays tell the story of the land and the people of the area.

Lake County PEG TV records the Know Lake County presentations for rebroadcast on PEG TV Channel 8 and on www.lakecountypegtv.org . The presentations are also available on DVD to check out from the Lake County Library.

The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/lakecountylibrary .

For more information about Know Lake County and other library programs call 263-8817.

Jan Cook is a library technician at the Lakeport Library.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Clayton fire is on its way to being contained, the air is clearing and the Health and Wellness Fair, sponsored by Friends of Clear Lake State Park, will be held this Saturday, Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. across from the Visitor Center within the park.

Come and relax in beautiful Clear Lake State Park, bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the shade of the big trees, and browse the booths of varied businesses and organizations such as Main Street Bicycles, Zumba by Ani Soto, Senior Center, REACH, Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, Hunger Task Force and more.

Best of all, admission is free to those attending, so if you have never taken in the beauty on your doorstep, Saturday is the day to enjoy it all.

Fresh fruit, water and lemonade will be served.

For questions, please call Julie Berry at 707-279-0449.

Clear Lake State Park is located at 5300 Soda Bay Road.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County and the North Coast during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– Pavement repairs from Manzanita Road to the junction of Route 53 will continue. One-way traffic control will also be in effect from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

– The Mine Restoration Project has been issued a long-term Caltrans Encroachment Permit to allow trucks to access their worksite near the Colusa County Line. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.

Highway 175

– Valley fire recovery work between Middletown and Loch Lomond will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.
 
MENDOCINO COUNTY
 
Highway 1

– Mowing operations between the Navarro River and Comptche Ukiah Road will begin Monday, Aug. 22. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

– Highway repairs a quarter-mile north of Ocean Meadows Circle will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Mowing operations between Ward Avenue and Beach Access Road will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

Highway 20

– Cal Fire has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment Permit to perform paving work approximately 1.7 miles north of Road 350. One-way traffic control will be in effect between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Pavement marker replacement between the North Calpella Overcrossing and the Lake County line will begin Thursday, Aug. 25. One-way traffic control will be in effect overnight between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.

Highway 101

– Sign work between the junction with Route 253 and the South Ukiah Overhead will begin Monday, Aug. 22. Alternating lane closures will be in effect between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., weekdays. Motorists may encounter minor traffic slowdowns.

– Rumble strip installation between Uva Drive and one half-mile south of the Haehl Overhead Bridge began Monday, Aug. 15. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., weekdays. Motorists may encounter minor traffic slowdowsn.

– Sign work near Reeves Canon Road will begin Wednesday, Aug. 17. A southbound lane closure will be in effect between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Motorists may encounter minor traffic slowdowns.

– The city of Willits has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit to perform utility work related to their water main project between Sherwood Road and Casteel Lane. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Motorists may encounter minor traffic slowdowns.

– Rumble strip installation at various locations between Willits and Confusion Hill will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.

– Paving operations between Sherwood Road and Rattlesnake Creek will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.

– Emergency slide repairs just south of Standish-Hickey State Park will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 128

– Drainage work from 2 to 5 miles east of the junction with Route 1 will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.

Highway 162

– Pavement marker replacement between the South Eel River Bridge and The Middle Way will begin Tuesday, Aug. 23. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

– Paving operations between East Lane Road and Short Creek will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

Highway 175

– Paving operations between the junction with Route 101 and the Russian River will begin Monday, Aug. 22. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 253

– Paving operations between the Anderson Creek Bridge and Slide Creek will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 20-minute delays.

– Highway repairs from Cattle Pass to Butler Ranch will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

The Caltrans Traffic Operations Office has reviewed each project and determined that individual project delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.

For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).

Thanks to California’s big game hunters, wildlife biologists studying desert bighorn sheep will have new technology and tools to help them study deadly diseases that affect these icons of the desert.

In 2013, desert bighorn sheep populations in the Mojave Desert near Old Dad Peak suffered a die-off.

In an effort to learn more about the spread of disease and survival, scientists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Mojave National Preserve and Oregon State University launched an ongoing joint study of adult sheep.

They have captured and radio-collared about 150 adults to date, but important data about lamb mortality is still missing.

Now, in the third year of the study, a grant will enable researchers to collect the data that will unlock the mystery.

Beginning this winter, scientists will capture and radio collar bighorn ewes. As they are captured, ultrasounds will be conducted, and ewes that are found to be pregnant will be implanted with special vaginal implant transmitters, the purchase of which will be funded by the $190,000 grant.

When the lamb is subsequently born, the transmitter will be pushed out and send an alert signal. Project researchers can then go to the birth site and put a miniature radio transmitter on the lamb.

If the lamb subsequently dies, a mortality signal will be transmitted and the body will be recovered by researchers quickly enough to pinpoint the cause of death.

This real-time information gathering technique will hopefully provide answers to the mystery behind unexplained bighorn mortality – why the 2013 disease outbreak was so widespread, what factors contributed to the spread of the disease and what management efforts can be instituted to help prevent future outbreaks.

Spearheaded by the nonprofit California Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation and Oregon State University, the study will greatly benefit from the addition of the new technology, made possible by the purchase of big game tags by California hunters. 

It is one of many project funded by the Big Game Grants Program, which allots about $800,000 each year to support studies such as this one.

Joint projects are particularly critical to fund, because they help target wildlife management issues which are often beyond the normal scope of CDFW manpower, expertise or financing.

“Funds in the Big Game Grants Program support a wide range of wildlife studies and projects,” said Craig Stowers, CDFW Big Game Program manager. “We have a responsibility to see that the funding generated by hunters goes toward preserving wildlife populations. This sheep study is a great example of how hunters play a role in solving complicated and challenging research needs.”

This new phase of study is hoped to produce critical information unavailable until now.

“The desert environment is harsh and expansive. Until now, it’s been almost impossible to find and collect dead lambs in a timely manner, which is necessary in order to determine the cause of mortality,” said Daniella Dekelaita, a doctoral student and researcher at Oregon State University. “We know there have been significant lamb losses in some herds and this will give us accurate and timely information on what was the cause.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In an effort to aid those displaced by the ongoing Clayton wildfire in Northern California, U.S. Cellular will offer free powerpacks and chargers to community members.

At local U.S. Cellular stores, anyone can receive a free charger, make a phone call, charge their mobile device and access the Internet.

Locations include: 
 
– Ukiah: 1232 Airport Blvd. and 1393 N State St.
– Clearlake: 14896 Olympic Drive.
– Lakeport: 365 Lakeport Blvd.