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LAKEPORT – Calling all quilters!
The Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild (LLQG) invites entries for its 15th Annual Falling Leaves Quilt Show.
The LLQG is inviting entries now to give quilters time to complete works in progress before the October show.
The deadline to submit entry forms and photographs of the quilts is Aug. 13. Entry forms, instructions and details are available from the LLQG Web site at www.llqg.org/quilt-show.html , or contact Linda Morrison at 707-263-4504 or
The guild loves seeing what others are doing with their quilting. Quilters may choose to have their quilts judged for $8 or to enter quilts for $1 without judging.
All levels of quilters may find it beneficial to have their quilts judged, learning much from an impartial evaluation. The judges are very positive and constructive with their comments, so this is not a scary process.
The judges will award ribbons for first, second and third places in each category, best of category, judge’s choice, and best of show. Honorable mention ribbons will be awarded at the Judges’ discretion. Members of the community will give VIP Awards. The Viewers’ Choice quilt, as voted by the show attendees, will receive $50.
Show organizers expect to display more than 200 quilts in this show, which will be held at the Lake County Fairgrounds Oct. 1 and 2.
This year's featured quilter, Tami Benevedes-Graeber, is a hometown girl.
Graeber is a winner of national and international quilting awards, a published author specializing in original art and painted surface designed quilts. Graeber will be displaying some of her works and giving demonstrations throughout the weekend.
Among the quilt show’s other attractions will be vendors, demonstrations, prize drawings, a silent auction, theme basket raffles, opportunity quilt drawing and the Country Store boutique.
LLQG welcomes all quilters, prospective quilters, and quilt lovers to its meetings and events.
For more information about the quilt guild, contact Betty Fessler at 707-279-5009 or visit the Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild Web site at www.LLQG.org .
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has recently completed the release of the 2016 allotment of kokanee salmon fingerlings.
This year’s allotment included 634,430 kokanee released into 13 lakes and reservoirs throughout the state.
Kokanee were introduced into California waters to provide diverse recreational angling opportunities for anglers and have become an extremely popular sport fish.
They are typically smaller than the landlocked Chinook salmon with the average size about 12 inches.
Due to the continuing drought conditions making it difficult to obtain kokanee eggs within the state, this year’s allotment was supplemented with eggs provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“Anglers can expect excellent fishing opportunities in these waters two years from now, when these fish reach a catchable size,” said Kyle Murphy, Senior Environmental Scientist and project leader of CDFW’s Landlocked Salmon Program. “The stocking of fingerling-sized fish is a very cost-effective way to maintain this popular recreational fishery.”
The landlocked version of the sockeye salmon, the kokanee (pronounced coke-a-nee) spends its entire life in fresh water. Instead of migrating to the ocean, adult kokanees inhabit large lakes before returning to their natal streams or gravelly shorelines to spawn.
Like all Pacific salmon, kokanee die after spawning, the whole life cycle taking from three to seven years.
CDFW worked closely with volunteers at the California Inland Fisheries Foundation, Inc. and Kokanee Power, Inc., especially during the 2015 kokanee egg take operation.
The careful planning and coordination between these two organizations, the American River Fish Hatchery, the San Joaquin River Fish Hatchery and the Silverado Fish Planting Base have made this year’s kokanee salmon releases a huge success.
The fish were planted in the following waters, with county of location and number of fish planted included:
– Boca Reservoir: Napa, 25,042.
– Bullards Bar Reservoir: Yuba, 70,140.
– Donner Lake: Nevada, 25,042.
– Hell Hole Reservoir: Placer, 25,042.
– Lake Tahoe: El Dorado, 138,099.
– Little Grass Valley Reservoir: Plumas, 15,052.
– Stampede Reservoir: Sierra, 60,027.
– Union Valley Reservoir: El Dorado, 49,995.
– Lake Berryessa: Napa, 50,111.
– Bass Lake: Madera, 50,064.
– Don Pedro Reservoir: Tuolumne, 19,980.
– New Melones: Tuolumne, 55,524.
– Shaver Lake: Fresno, 50,312.
CDFW typically stocks between 800,000 – 1,000,000 million fingerlings annually in 18 waters statewide.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Napa County Sheriff's Office said a second man wanted in connection to a Tuesday afternoon bank robbery and shooting in Sonoma County has been taken into custody.
Two men were reported to have robbed the Chase Bank in Windsor shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday, shooting an armored car guard in the process and then fleeing the scene, as Lake County News has reported.
A Calistoga Police officer later spotted a vehicle matching the description of the dark-colored SUV witnesses saw leaving the scene, which resulted in one of the men being taken into custody.
Authorities had ordered community members to shelter in place while the manhunt for the second individual took place in the area of Highway 128 and Petrified Forest Road.
Shortly before 7:45 p.m., the Napa County Sheriff's Office said the second man was taken into place and lifted the shelter in place order.
Anyone with information pertaining to this case is asked to call the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office Investigations Tip Line at 707-565- 2185 or submit information on the Silent Witness form on our Web site, http://www.sonomasheriff.org/silent-witness/ . Witnesses can remain anonymous.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Authorities have taken one suspect into custody and are searching for the second individual wanted in connection to a bank robbery and the shooting of an armored car guard that took place early Tuesday afternoon in Windsor.
Sgt. Cecile Focha of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said that at 1:50 p.m. Tuesday a 911 call came into the agency's dispatch center reporting that the Chase Bank in the town of Windsor had been robbed by masked gunmen.
Another person called and said the guard from the armored car company had been shot, and a dark-colored SUV was seen speeding away, Focha said.
Deputies arrived within two minutes. They found one adult male, an armored car employee, who had suffered a gunshot wound, according to Focha's report.
Focha said the deputies quickly learned that a car came toward the armored truck when it stopped at the bank. Two men got out of it, confronted the guards and started shooting, and then fled with an undetermined amount of money. They then got into another car and made their getaway.
“We immediately contacted neighboring law enforcement agencies to ‘Be On The Lookout’ for the car containing the armed and dangerous suspects. We issued an alert to the residents of Windsor to avoid the area of the Lakewood Shopping Center and locked-down the businesses,” Focha said in the report.
As people learned of the crime, the sheriff's office received many tips from people in the area, Focha said. Detectives from the agency's Violent Crimes, CSI, Narcotics, Property Crimes and other investigations units responded and began interviewing witnesses and processing evidence.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation also came to the scene, as is protocol in bank robberies, Focha said.
Meanwhile, Focha said an observant officer from the Calistoga Police Department saw a car that matched the description containing the men who robbed the bank.
After a pursuit one of the men was in custody and another remained at large early Tuesday evening. Focha's report, issued shortly before 7 p.m., said at that point that a manhunt was under way in the Calistoga area for the outstanding armed and dangerous individual.
“We cannot comment on the details regarding an activity in Napa County. We do have members of our SWAT team and other resources dedicated to that scene to assist their agencies,” Focha said.
Separately, the Napa County Sheriff's Office reported that it was involved in the manhunt in the area of Highway 128 and Petrified Forest Road near Calistoga.
Napa officials said they were looking for a Hispanic male adult who is 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with long dark hair and wearing a black shirt. Any witnesses with information about his whereabouts were asked to call the Napa County Sheriff's Investigations Unit at 707-253-4591.
Focha said the case is open and continuing to unfold, adding that detectives are hard at work piecing together the evidence at the scene and interviewing countless witnesses.
No photos of the two men are available, Focha said, adding that it was reported that the men were armed with long guns. Whether not this meant a shotgun or rifle is not known as of yet.
Focha said authorities are not releasing information about the caliber or type of weapon at this time.
The armored car guard was conscious when he was rushed to the hospital. There is no information about his current medical status, Focha said.
She said the agency appreciates the public’s patience and understanding as serious crimes and scenes of this magnitude take considerable personnel many hours to complete. “We cannot release details that might interfere with the investigation of the case.”
Anyone with information pertaining to this case is asked to call the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office Investigations Tip Line at 707-565- 2185 or submit information on the Silent Witness form on our Web site, http://www.sonomasheriff.org/silent-witness/ . Those with information can remain anonymous if they wish, Focha said.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new bill signed by the governor will help communities across California – including Lake County – address the needs of the homeless by providing funds for housing and other services.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the “No Place Like Home Initiative” on July 1.
It's being hailed as a landmark bipartisan legislative initiative that will provide housing and services for homeless Californians.
State Sen. Mike McGuire, whose district includes Lake County, was part of the State Senate team who brought forward and drafted the initiative.
McGuire said the bill will provide communities – big and small – resources for desperately needed permanent supportive housing, and mental health and drug and alcohol treatment services.
McGuire praised the governor for signing the legislation, noting that homelessness is a growing crisis across California, in cities and rural areas alike, with communities lacking the funding to implement the necessary programs.
“This investment is the largest in a generation and it will give communities up and down the North Coast the ability to create and fund local housing programs that meet their unique needs,” he said.
The initiative re-purposes bond money from Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act, and will leverage billions of additional dollars from other local, state and federal agencies according to the initiative's Web site, http://focus.senate.ca.gov/homelessness .
No Place Like Home will offer a $2 billion bond to construct permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless persons with mental illness.
In addition, $45 million – already included in the recently enacted state budget – will provide supportive housing in the shorter-term as well as rent subsidies while permanent housing is constructed or rehabilitated.
Another $22 million, also included in the new 2016-17 state budget, will provide specific support for two special housing programs targeting families: The “Bringing Families Home” pilot project, a county matching grant program to reduce homelessness among families that are part of the child welfare system, and the CalWORKs Housing Support Program, which provides housing and support services for CalWORKs families in danger of homelessness.
The legislative package also will provide for additional work to stop people from becoming homeless in the first place, with $75 million in the new budget to go toward that homelessness prevention effort.
Another $45 million in the budget to be used for a one-time investment to incentivize local governments to boost outreach efforts and advocacy to get more eligible poor people enrolled in the SSI/SSP program.
The legislation's Web site notes that the federal government covers 72 percent of the total costs of the SSI/SSP program, so state and local benefits are multiplied significantly for each newly eligible recipient.
McGuire said the No Place Like Home Initiative has been among his top priorities this year.
Earlier this year, McGuire hosted a first-of-its-kind homeless services roundtable with leaders from throughout the North Bay and North Coast as well as representatives from the state to discuss their unique challenges, ideas and programs to tackle homelessness.
He told Lake County News that communities across the state will be able to apply for assistance from the initiative.
Rural areas like Lake, that over the last several decades have had to compete with larger metropolitan areas for funding, won't under this initiative, McGuire said.
“From the beginning we have been advocating that rural counties have their separate pot of funds,” he said.
The initiative will be one of the first bonds to have separate funds for rural areas, and separate funds for suburban and large communities, he explained.
“Lake County will be able to apply for these funds with like-sized counties and they will not have to go against large counties – San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa Clara or Los Angeles,” McGuire said.
That's critical because, he added, “We're seeing a growing number of individuals who are homeless and small counties don't have the resources to be able to invest, whether it's in services or housing.”
In Lake County in recent years the homeless problem has become more visible, and appears to be growing.
The situation led to the Lake Ministerial Association hosting a warming shelter at the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church from January through the start of April, as Lake County News has reported.
McGuire said there is “a lot of freedom” for communities in how they choose to pursue the funds, but one critical part is that the county will have to develop a homeless service plan as a basis for applying.
“That's the really important part of this,” he said, adding that Lake County already has been doing a lot of legwork on such needs, which will mean state funding can be implemented more quickly.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development will run the program on behalf of the state. McGuire noted that the agency “is very involved in Lake County already because of the Valley fire recovery and rebuilding efforts.”
McGuire said he will host a workshop/town hall in the fall in Ukiah that will focus on the No Place Like Home initiative. All the specifics related to the application processes in the various funds will be explained.
All community members, elected officials, nonprofit and local government leaders from throughout the district will be invited to participate, McGuire said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Planning Commission will meet this week to review two applications and get an update on pending projects.
The meeting will take place beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
On the agenda is James and Cindy Shuell's application for a shoreline development permit, use permit and fence permit for a single family dwelling in the R-5 or Resort High Density Residential area along the shoreline on a half-acre vacant parcel located at 2468 Lakeshore Blvd.
The commission also will discuss and consider Lake County Tribal Health's application for a minor minor architectural and design review for a temporary trailer to be located in the rear of the Lake County Tribal Health building at 925 Bevins Court.
Also on Wednesday, staff will give the commission an update on the current projects pending planning department approval as of July 7.
Email Elizabeth Larson at