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California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith reported that California is experiencing an increase in norovirus cases, commonly referred to as stomach flu or winter vomiting disease.
CDPH has confirmed 32 outbreaks of norovirus in California since Oct. 1 – likely resulting in hundreds of reported sicknesses in the state.
These outbreaks far exceed the number reported at this time in 2014.
“One of the most important things you can do to avoid norovirus and other illnesses this holiday season is to wash your hands frequently with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds,” Dr. Smith said. “This is especially important after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and before preparing or eating food. Hand sanitizers are not effective against norovirus.”
Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes gastroenteritis, an illness that usually involves vomiting and diarrhea.
It is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States, and is responsible for approximately 20 million illnesses each year, with 570 to 800 deaths reported annually.
The virus can spread quickly in closed and crowded environments such as hospitals, nursing homes, daycare centers, schools, cruise ships and food service settings like restaurants.
People with norovirus are very contagious and can easily spread the illness from person to person. The virus may be found in both stool and vomit and ill persons can still be contagious up to two weeks or more after recovery.
People can become infected in several ways, including: having direct contact with another person who is infected, eating food or drinking liquids contaminated with norovirus, or touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching your mouth.
It is particularly important for ill persons to practice good handwashing and to avoid preparing food for others while they are sick and for at least 48 hours after symptoms are no longer present, as to prevent norovirus from spreading.
Food workers should not work while they are sick and for 48 hours after symptoms stop. Persons caring for someone who may have norovirus disease should be particularly careful about handwashing and cleaning contaminated surfaces and materials.
Symptoms usually begin 12 to 48 hours after the person has been exposed to the virus and last for one to three days.
The most common symptoms include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramps. Other symptoms may include low-grade fever, headache and body aches.
Norovirus symptoms can lead to dehydration, especially in young children, older adults and people with other illnesses.
Safe food handling practices can prevent the spread of norovirus and other infectious diseases. In addition to washing your hands after every bathroom visit, this includes washing fruits and vegetables before eating, cleaning and disinfecting food preparation equipment and surfaces, and thoroughly cooking all meats, fish and poultry.
The CDPH Web site – www.cdph.ca.gov – has more information about norovirus.
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – On Tuesday, the new Upper Lake Unified School District Board held its second meeting since board members were sworn in earlier this month, with the main business taking place behind closed doors as the board members deliberated the superintendent selection process.
Board members include President Mel O’Meara, Clerk Diane Plante, Keith Austin, Don Meri and Claudine Pedroncelli.
They were selected for the new board by Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg after the State Board of Education approved waiving the election process early last month, as Lake County News has reported.
The official date of the new district unification will be July 1. At that point, the separate Upper Lake Union Elementary School District and Upper Lake Union High School District will formally cease to exist and will be replaced by the new district.
At the board's first meeting Dec. 15, Falkenberg had suggested four options for selecting a superintendent for the new district, including hiring current administrative staff, a temporary superintendent or a consultant, or having Falkenberg himself act temporarily as district superintendent while continuing his duties as county superintendent.
The board at that time appointed a subcommittee composed of Falkenberg, O'Meara and Plante to determine the next steps in the superintendent selection process.
Falkenberg told Lake County News after the Tuesday meeting that the subcommittee met over the weekend to determine the guiding questions for interviews that were held in closed session.
He said two candidates were interviewed during the Tuesday night closed session.
Lake County News independently confirmed that the two candidates the board interviewed were Patrick Iaccino, principal/superintendent of the Upper Lake Union High School District, and Wally Holbrook, the retired county superintendent of schools and Falkenberg's predecessor.
Considering the various options and interviewing the two candidates kept the board in a closed session that lasted close to three hours and 45 minutes.
The board met briefly in open session beginning at 4:30 p.m. before going into closed session in a smaller room adjacent to the main meeting room in the Upper Lake High School library.
During the brief open session at the meeting's beginning, Buddy Thomas, a member of the Upper Lake High School Maintenance Department, spoke to the board as part of public comment.
Thomas read a letter, on behalf of his entire department – which also includes Stanley Aarington, Bob Hemken and Rommell Ellerbrock – welcoming the new board and saying they looked forward “to working with you now and into the future for the benefit of the students and school district.”
However, the main message of the letter was a statement in support of hiring Iaccino as the superintendent of the new district.
“We have been working under his direction and guidance for the past decade and wish to continue doing so. His past hard work and exceptional leadership speaks volumes for what he has done and can continue to provide the new district,” the letter Thomas read explained.
The board also received a letter of support for Iaccino on Monday from the Upper Lake Teachers Association.
The association, led by President Gary Madison, also began its message congratulating the new board. “We look forward to the coming challenges and to your leadership in beginning this new era in Upper Lake education. Everyone has worked so hard in the last few years to unify and create a single district that can improve education for all students along the north shore.”
The letter explained that the association's members voted unanimously to write to the board in support of appointing Iaccino, whose leadership they have valued over the last 11 years.
“Mr. Iaccino has perhaps an unprecedented amount of support from this faculty. More than most superintendents could even hope for,” the letter explained. “Every one of the teachers has come to respect and appreciate both his leadership, his unbelievable energy, and his candor in approaching all aspects of the educational process.”
The teachers feel they've been fairly treated and respected, and that Iaccino led the school successfully during very trying economic times, the letter said.
“Under his leadership we stayed fiscally sound in a economic crisis, we shined repeatedly in the accreditation process, we withstood a 'bubble' of declining enrollment, we were one of the few schools to stay out of mandated Program Improvement the longest by improving our test scores each year and we were led by him to this juncture of the historic unification of the schools in Upper Lake,” the letter continued.
The association also said that one of Iaccino's legacies will be the unification itself. “He helped achieve what many, many before him said they wanted to do, but he helped pave the way for it to actually happen.”
The board remained in closed session while about half a dozen teachers and administrators waited in the library to find out the outcome of the deliberations.
Shortly after 8:15 p.m., the board emerged from behind closed doors and reconvened in open session, with O'Meara announcing that the board had taken no reportable action.
Falkenberg and the board members offered no reports and the meeting adjourned shortly afterward.
The board will next meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12.
Falkenberg said he does not anticipate the subcommittee meeting again before the full board has its first meeting in January.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – While debris removal and cleanup continues in the Valley fire area, property owners who have not begun the cleanup process or signed up to have it done by state crews have been sent notices of nuisance and orders to abate.
The cleanup in Anderson Springs, Cobb, Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown is necessary to protect Lake County watersheds and to prevent environmental damage from toxic substances left behind in the burned materials, according to county officials.
The county has urged property owners to take advantage of CalRecycle's debris cleanup program, which requires that they sign a right of entry agreement to allow CalRecycle crews to come onto their property.
Alternately, property owners are required to submit an application to have a private contractor clean their properties.
Property owners who have failed to take either step recently were sent the notices of nuisance and orders to abate, according to Ray Ruminski, director of Lake County Environmental Health, the county agency overseeing the cleanup.
The Lake County Community Development Department has sent out about 290 of those notices, Ruminski said.
The property owners who receive the notices will have 30 days from the date of the notices to either submit a right of entry form to participate in the cleanup program or a private contractor application. Ruminski said the CalRecycle program is still readily available for those who want to participate.
The county reported that it will arrange for lots to be cleared to county environmental standards if property owners don't submit the required forms within the 30 days required in the notices. The property will be assessed for the cost to abate the nuisance, and a lien will be placed on that property.
Ruminski said the county will begin that abatement process – utilizing CalRecycle crews to do the debris removal – in the first week of January.
Cal Fire's damage assessment concluded that the Valley fire destroyed 1,955 structures, including 1,281 homes, 27 multi-family structures, 66 commercial properties and 581 other minor structures.
Altogether, Ruminski said between 1,600 and 1,700 properties need to be cleaned up.
Ruminski said more than 1,300 properties are registered for the CalRecycle cleanup program. By Christmas, the goal is to have 800 of the lots cleared. Once debris removal is complete, soil sampling takes place to ensure that toxic substances have been fully removed.
Nearly 50 crews remain in the field working on the cleanup, with additional crews doing community service projects such as erosion control, lot scraping and creek clean out, according to a status summary Ruminski provided to Lake County News.
He said the work taking place to clean up is “phenomenal.”
The amount of removed materials totaled more than 61,000 tons as of Dec. 15, based on the status summary.
Ruminski added that all lots from the Rocky and Jerusalem fires that were registered for the CalRecycle program have been cleared.
Valley fire property owners who believe they've received a notice of nuisance and orders to abate in error are urged to contact Lake County Environmental Health at 707-263-8929, Extension 103.
The right of entry is a two-page form that takes five to 10 minutes to complete. The completed form should be submitted to the Lake County Environmental Health Department in person at 922 Bevins Court, Lakeport; by email to
The ROE can be obtained by contacting Lake County Environmental Health or online under the debris removal section at www.LakeCountyRecovers.com .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – It’s hard to look at the burned properties on Cobb Mountain or in Middletown without feeling the urge to do something – anything – to bring back an ever-so-small semblance of the former glory of a mature tree canopy.
Since it's Christmas season, it seems like a no-brainer that buying a living Christmas tree and planting it after the holidays would be a great way to celebrate a holiday tradition and turn it into a first step toward “reforestation.”
This can certainly work under the right conditions. Here is what those “right conditions” would look like:
1. The tree is a species that’s either native to Lake County and found on Cobb, or has been observed to do well there in the recent past (under drought conditions).
2. It is kept in good shape over the holidays, in a relatively cool room or outside, and the root ball kept from drying out.
3. It is planted outside as soon as possible after the holidays, watered deeply after planting and watered regularly for at least the first year after planting. In spring, that means about once a month and in summer about once a week.
4. It is protected from any still-occurring logging or construction operations nearby with a fence or by other means.
Unless these conditions can be met, the tree is not likely to survive and will not only be an additional eyesore, but a waste of funds and another disappointment for people who’ve suffered enough disappointments.
If the tree is meant for a property that burned, the infrastructure – including water lines, wells, etc. – might be gone.
There may be nobody living on the property for the next couple of years, considering how long it will likely take to rebuild and given that the property in question can even meet the requirements for rebuilding (such as many parcels in Anderson Springs), and the owners are willing and interested.
How is water going to be supplied to the tree for the coming year or two during the dry months? Since this tree didn’t grow in its spot from a seedling, it doesn’t have the root system to survive a California summer, native or not.
Properties that didn’t burn usually don’t need more trees. The number of trees per acre on Cobb was already very much in excess of what the local ecosystem – especially given the drought conditions – can support.
This excess of water-stressed trees encourages bark beetle infestations and uncontrollable wildfires. We don’t want to recreate the same conditions that led to the problem in the first place.
So here is a word of caution to all the Christmas tree donors and planters out there: Only plant what you’re confident you can take care of until it’s ready to survive without your help.
Donating a tree is a wonderful act of generosity, but somebody needs to adopt it for a year or two, otherwise you’re donating a soon-to-be-dead tree. Make sure you find that somebody.
Most of the burnt oak trees will resprout after fire and have the advantage of an extensive root system to feed the new growth.
The seeds of many native shrubs and conifers have survived the fire and will sprout after the rains. So will most of the native wildflowers.
Creating and maintaining conditions for desired flora to survive is more challenging and time consuming than sowing seeds or planting trees.
This can include judicious thinning out of thousands of conifer seedlings to leave the most robust and well-placed specimens, a process that stretches over several years and requires sustained effort.
This ongoing dedication is the necessary ingredient for success.
For a list of recommended native trees (and other native plants) for Lake County, visit http://celake.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener/Gardening_in_Lake_County/ .
Gabriele O’Neill and Karole Ward are members of the University of California Cooperative Extension Lake County Master Gardeners Program, headquartered at the Lake County Agricultural Center, 883 Lakeport Blvd. in Lakeport. Contact the office at telephone 707-263-6838 or e-mail
In this Caltrans News Flash, you’ll go behind the scenes at Floodcast 2015, a simulated flood event that served as a statewide disaster preparation drill.
Based on a megastorm-style weather event, Floodcast 2015 gave Caltrans staff a chance to refine and analyze their efforts to keep the state’s transportation system accessible and open during a statewide crisis.
The skills and experience gained during Floodcast 2015 are especially critical and applicable to Caltrans’ mission, given the expected impacts of the coming El Niño this winter.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris and the California Department of Consumer Affairs on Tuesday announced the universal launch of the new Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (“CURES 2.0”), a state-of-the-art overhaul of California’s prescription drug monitoring program that will allow health providers and pharmacists to more effectively flag at-risk patients and curb prescription drug abuse.
“This innovative prescription drug database ensures that California continues to lead the fight against our country’s prescription drug abuse epidemic,” said Attorney General Harris. “Through the use of new technology, CURES 2.0 will save lives and improve public health while also providing a vastly improved user experience for healthcare professionals, regulatory boards, and law enforcement.”
Starting Jan. 8, 2016, current CURES users logging in with up-to-date and secure web browsers will be automatically redirected to the new 2.0 system.
In anticipation of the launch, Attorney General Harris also sent a letter to members of the medical community urging them to only use secure software to access confidential and sensitive patient information.
“CURES 2.0 will give California’s health care professionals who prescribe and dispense potent prescription drugs a powerful tool to better access and utilize patient information to help them identify individuals who are abusing these drugs,” said Awet Kidane, director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. “It is a direct result of the hard work and collaboration between the Department of Justice, the Department of Consumer Affairs, and the regulatory boards funding this project.”
The online CURES database enables health care providers to review a patient’s medication history before prescribing new drugs, storing prescription records for all controlled substances classified as Schedule II, III, and IV. More than 5.5 million such requests have been processed so far in 2015 alone.
In addition to providing users with faster and more reliable access to patient activity reports, the upgraded 2.0 system features cutting-edge analytics for flagging at-risk patients, allowing medical professionals to prescribe wisely and helping to prevent abuse or diversion of controlled medications such as opioids.
“CURES 2.0 is without a doubt the most effective tool for doctors and pharmacists to help curb prescription drug abuse. Many lives will be saved in California,” said Bob Pack, a patient safety advocate.
By law, all health practitioners licensed to prescribe or dispense scheduled medications are required to sign up for CURES by July 1, 2016.
The launch of the new 2.0 system will also include the release of a new streamlined registration process, which will allow users to apply for access and verify their credentials entirely online using secure web browsers.
CURES 2.0 was implemented through Senate Bill 809, legislation authored by former California State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier and sponsored by Attorney General Harris in 2013.
“The U.S. claims less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but consumes roughly 80 percent of the world’s opioid supply. Each day, 44 people in the U.S. die from an overdose of prescription painkillers. By launching CURES 2.0 and requiring all prescribers and pharmacists to enroll, California will be on the cutting edge of addressing this crisis. I am proud to have authored this law in the memory of the countless sons and daughters who were lost to this epidemic. I thank Attorney General Harris and Governor Brown for their years of work to ensure the modernization of CURES is a success,” said Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11).
To learn more about CURES 2.0, visit https://oag.ca.gov/cures-pdmp .