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LAKEPORT, Calif. – On a cold night in January, volunteers gather at the Lakeport Seventh Day Adventist Church to prepare for their guests’ arrival, a moment 15 years in the making.
The volunteers, who hail from churches all over Lake County, prepare for the night ahead of them, during which they will facilitate hot showers, two hot meals and a safe place to sleep for their guests: homeless members of the community.
“The idea for a warming center started fifteen years ago, when a group of pastors had a piece of property and recognized a need in the community,” said Shannon Kimbell-Auth, president of the Lake Ministerial Association and pastor of United Christian Parish in Lakeport.
Volunteers finally had the warming center ready to open. However, one major obstacle stood in the way: security.
“The team at Sutter Lakeside Hospital are our heroes. They donated $6,000, which allowed us to hire a security guard and open the warming center on time,” said Kimbell-Auth. “Our goal is sustainability, but Sutter’s donation has given us time to operate the shelter while we find a permanent solution.”
She added, “Our guests have told us that at past shelters, they haven’t felt safe. Belongings weren’t secured, and fights would break out. Our rules are simple: if you can’t bring it on an airplane, it gets locked up with the rest of your belongings.”
“We’re happy to partner with the ministerial association to meet the needs of an underserved population,” said Siri Nelson, chief administrative officer, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “The mission of the warming center perfectly aligns with our own, to improve the well-being of our community.”
The warming shelter, which is sponsored by 12 churches around Lake County, is the only shelter for adults in the area.
“A good number of the population in Lake County lives well below the poverty line,” said Taylor Johnson, MPH, who helped coordinate Sutter Lakeside Hospital’s donation to the warming center. “Warming centers provide much needed respite for unsheltered persons during intemperate weather. The primary goal of the warming center is to prevent morbidity and mortality due to exposure to the elements. We hope that we can at least help people through what promises to be a wet and possibly very cold winter.”
While statistics disagree on the exact number of homeless people in Lake County, the Lake County Office of Education suggests as many as 1,000 people are without stable housing.
“The ultimate goal is to have more substantial programming and funding to provide the type of services that could have a lasting impact on homelessness in our area,” said Johnson. “But we've got to start somewhere.”
Mendocino College searches for 10 minute scripts to be produced in 13th annual Festival of New Plays
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Local writers take note: there’s never been a better opportunity to try your hand at play writing. Mendocino College is currently seeking short plays by local authors to be produced on campus this spring.
The new semester is under way at the college, and one of the most exciting events of the college’s Spring theater season is the annual Festival of New Plays.
Once again, theater professor Reid Edelman will use short plays written by local authors to teach directing and acting students about the joys and challenges of working with new scripts.
These plays will be produced in the college’s annual festival at the end of the semester.
This production of student-written scripts is now in its 30th year, and the event has become a highlight of the college’s annual theater season.
For the past 12 years, Edelman has worked with English instructor and playwright Jody Gehrman to find and develop student-written plays. Anyone residing in Lake, Sonoma or Mendocino Counties is eligible to submit an original play.
“We clearly have an abundance of talented writers in this area,” said Gehrman, “but only a small percentage of them even think about writing a play. Playwrights aren’t born, they’re coerced by people like us to try it once. After seeing their work produced, most become addicted; it’s a tremendous high to sit in a theater and watch your ideas come to life.”
The deadline for submissions is Valentine’s Day, Sunday Feb. 14, 2016.
There are no limitations in terms of theme or content, but small casts (two to five characters) and minimal technical requirements are recommended for optimal chances at production.
Scripts should have a running time of no longer than 10 minutes. Electronic submissions should be saved as PDF files.
For more information or to submit your play, contact Jody Gehrman, 707-468-3150 or
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – The Mendocino National Forest is bringing in the New Year by offering a fee-free day at all Forest Service run campgrounds and the Red Bluff Boat Launch in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18.
The fee waiver program is in cooperation with other federal land management agencies under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.
“These fee-free days help encourage visitors to come out and see our forest. With the recent designation of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, this is a great chance to get out and see what exciting and unique opportunities await,” said Forest Supervisor Ann Carlson. “These lands belong to all of us, and we want to thank visitors for their continued support and remind them that this is a place to have fun.”
As a reminder, the Upper Lake Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) trails remain closed due to high saturation levels. Visitors are encouraged to check trail conditions by visiting www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino or calling the Upper Lake OHV message line at 707-275-1430.
With recent wet weather, and more on the way, forest roads may have been impacted. If you come across an area where the road is compromised or washed out, please report it to Forest Engineer Shannon Pozas at 530-934-3316.
For a list of campgrounds and other recreational opportunities, please contact the Mendocino National Forest at 530-934-3316 or visit www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino .
Get the latest updates and alerts easily by following the forest on Twitter, @MendocinoNF.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – More storm systems are expected to arrive over Northern California over the next several days, bringing more much-needed winter rain with them.
The National Weather Service said the next system to arrive will impact the region from Thursday afternoon into Friday morning, and will be followed by still more storms into early next week.
That follows a day of storms on Wednesday, particularly early in the day in Lake County, with the storms breaking up in some parts of the county in the afternoon.
More severe weather conditions were reported in the Sacramento Valley on Wednesday afternoon, where a tornado warning was issued for parts of Shasta and Tehama counties.
The National Weather Service reported the following precipitation totals in Lake County for the 24-hour period ending at 1 a.m. Thursday. Totals are in inches:
– Cobb: 1.77;
– Hidden Valley Lake: 1.24;
– Kelseyville: 0.98;
– Lakeport: 0.79;
– Lower Lake: 0.78;
– Middletown: 1.15;
– Upper Lake: 1.20.
The National Weather Service's specific forecast for Lake County calls for showers throughout the day on Thursday and into Thursday night, with up to three-quarters of an inch of rain possible during that time.
Rain is expected to continue on Friday, with less than an inch of precipitation predicted. Rain also is forecast through to Wednesday.
Daytime temperatures are anticipated to range into the low 50s with nighttime lows in the high 30s, according to the forecast.
The rain is quickly improving the depth of Clear Lake.
Early Thursday, Clear Lake's level had risen to 2.20 feet Rumsey – Rumsey being the special measure for Clear Lake – according to the US Geological Survey.
As the lake level continues to rise it's getting closer to its depth measured at this time last year. On Jan. 14, 2015, Clear Lake was at 2.83 feet Rumsey.
For comparison, the following are the lake level measurements for Jan. 14 over the past several years: 2014, 0.59 feet Rumsey; 2013, 5.72 feet Rumsey; 2012, 2.33 feet Rumsey; 2011, 5.52 feet Rumsey.
A full lake is 7.56 feet Rumsey.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
One California Lottery player is part of history as they will take away at least some of the record-breaking $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot drawn on Wednesday night.
The winner numbers were 04, 08, 19, 27 and 34, with 10 as the Powerball number.
The lucky ticket was purchased at the 7-Eleven located at 4092 Chino Hills Parkway in Chino Hills, located San Bernardino County.
The ticket matched all six winning numbers for Wednesday night's draw, which took place in Tallahassee, Fla.
As of Wednesday night, California Lottery officials said they did not know if this winning player will have to split the $1.586 billion with winners in other states and jurisdictions.
In addition, 12 tickets sold throughout California matched five of six numbers, missing the Powerball number, in Wednesday night's draw.
Late on Wednesday, the total amount of the winnings by those 12 fortunate Californians wasn't yet known, according to the California lottery.
While lottery officials said they didn't yet know who the California winners are, they did have information on where the winning tickets were sold:
1. Primm Valley Lotto, 15 & Stateline, Nipton;
2. 7-Eleven, 290 I St., Chula Vista;
3. Larkfield Union, 4605 Old Redwood Highway, Santa Rosa;
4. Chevron No. 1720, 404 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz;
5. Jerry's Liquor, 2923 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica;
6. Tustin Fuel & Market, 16851 Mcfadden Ave., Tustin;
7. Eden Roc Liquor, 13404 Van Nuys Blvd., Pacoima;
8. 7-Eleven, 2000 Nut Tree Road, Vacaville;
9. Quik Stop No. 4141, 601 N Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale;
10. 7-Eleven, 1601 W Redlands Blvd., Redlands;
11. Ted's Liquor Store, 18303 S Western Ave., Gardena;
12. Spot Not Auto Wash & Gas, 15612 Arrow Highway, Irwindale.
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Upper Lake resident Calvin Bennett McDonald, 26, has been arrested for murder by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Bennet is a supsect in the death of 26 year old James Flowers of Upper Lake whose body was discovered Tuesday afternoon.
At approximately 3:15 p.m. Tuesday Lake County Sheriff’s Patrol Deputies responded to a report of a deceased male located on a rural parcel of property in the Blue Lakes area.
Deputies located the victim and requested that detectives from the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit respond to the scene.
Central Dispatch provided a description of McDonald who was located at approximately 3:45 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Blue Lakes Cove and W. State Highway 20 in Upper Lake and detained.
The Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating Flowers' death as a homicide.
An autopsy is scheduled for later this week to determine the exact cause of death.
Calvin Bennett McDonald was arrested for murder, transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
McDonald's bail is currently set at $1,000,000.