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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Focused on bringing residents the resources they need to recover from the Valley fire, the Lake County Valley Fire Recovery Task Force will begin holding public meetings on Tuesdays.
The group will meet at 6 p.m. at the Twin Pine Casino Event Center, at 22223 Highway 29 in Middletown.
The Lake County Valley Fire Recovery Task Force is a partnership of local, state, federal and tribal representatives.
These agencies are working together to provide comprehensive services to aid in the recovery of Valley fire survivors and Lake County residents.
The group was convened at the end of September immediately following the deactivation of the Lake County Emergency Operation Center.
Carol Huchingson, Lake County Director of Social Services, is leading the task force.
Huchingson looks forward to the meetings. “This is an opportunity for Lake County residents to hear firsthand about the progress being made in the Valley fire recovery,” she said. “It will also provide an opportunity for fire survivors to ask questions and provide input towards the recovery process.”
Huchingson encourages the public to attend.
The first Lake County Valley Fire Recovery Task Force meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Representatives from many agencies will report out to the public on fire recovery status.
For the latest news and information on the Valley fire recovery, visit www.LakeCountyRecovers.com .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The community is coming together to fight prescription drug misuse and abuse in Lake County.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, a coalition of doctors, hospitals, clinics, schools, law enforcement and others will come together to begin addressing the problem of prescription drug misuse.
The death rate for prescription drug overdose in Lake County is four times the state average, now exceeding deaths due to traffic accidents and gunshot wounds. Nationally, this problem has been referred to as the “opioid epidemic.”
“While the use of opioid pain medications is essential to manage pain for injuries or after a surgery, there is now conclusive evidence that long-term use of opioid medications are not effective for chronic pain and can do more harm than good,” said Dr. Karen Tait, public health officer for Lake County.
Dr. Tait is leading the local effort in Lake County to take a community approach to address the problem by working with doctors to adopt consistent prescribing guidelines, educate their patients about both the risks and benefits of opioid use and raise the awareness of the public about safer alternatives to treat chronic pain.
The conference on Tuesday is a first big step to work invite the community to join this effort.
Dr. Matt Willis, public health officer from Marin County, will be the keynote speaker at the event, explaining how other counties have organized to reduce dependence and misuse.
“Should an opioid be prescribed? If so, what is a safe dosage?” Willis said. “What is the best way to guard against dependence? What non-opioid treatments should be considered? These are questions every clinician should be asking.”
Operating under the umbrella structure of Hope Rising, Lake County, a $60,000 grant was recently awarded to the Project by the California HealthCare Foundation.
The effort in Lake County, led by Dr. Tait, is one of 10 communities in the state to receive these funds.
“We want to protect our community and especially our children, from prescription drug misuse, explained Shelly Mascari, director of Community Health with Adventist Health Care and Chair of the Hope Rising, Lake County effort. “Pills can inadvertently get into the hands of our youth who are unaware of the dangers. We want safe prescribing and to save lives.”
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Sheriff's detectives are working to locate the suspect in a Halloween night shooting in Clearlake Oaks.
The incident was reported just before 7 p.m. Saturday on Third Street, as Lake County News has reported.
Authorities said a male subject suffered a gunshot wound to the neck and was flown to an out-of-county hospital for treatment.
Sheriff's Lt. Steve Brooks said Monday that the victim – whose name has not been released – survived.
As of Monday, no arrest had been made in the case, Brooks said.
He said detectives have identified a male suspect in the shooting. That individual also has not been publicly identified by authorities.
“We are attempting to contact him,” Brooks said of the suspect.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Monday the usually busy lobby of the Veterans Affairs Clinic in Clearlake featured a celebratory theme to mark one of the facility's milestones.
It's been five years since the long-cherished dream of many local veterans came true in the form of a VA clinic in Lake County, and today the facility is thriving and looking at growing significantly in the years to come.
Getting the clinic in the county took years of effort, but when it finally opened at 15145 Lakeshore Drive in November 2010 there were big hopes that it would answer the need of thousands of veterans who call Lake County home.
From all indications, it has done just that, and also surpassed the service levels anticipated by the San Francisco VA Health Care System, which oversees the clinic.
“We exceeded all of their expectations about what our growth rate would be,” said clinic director Carol Brown.
Less than three months after opening, the clinic already had served 500 patients, Brown said.
Today, the clinic – open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – serves just under 2,000 veterans annually, she said.
For its service to the community, the clinic received a Stars of Lake County Community Service Award for nonprofit organization of the year in 2013.
In addition to traditional medical appointments and health education for patients, Brown said the clinic offers a telemedicine service that allows it to connect with more than 50 other clinics.
More than 100 vets now take part in the clinic's telehealth program. Brown said the program provides real-time monitoring of health conditions like diabetes, allowing clinic staff to check in with patients immediately – without patients having to come into the clinic.
She said the clinic tries to offer as many services as possible locally so vets don't have to travel out of county to larger facilities, such as those in San Francisco.
And while veterans may still have to travel to San Francisco for some services and programs, Brown said they can get followup care at the clinic.
Brown, a registered nurse, is a “charter member” of the staff, having been among the eight original employees who worked at the clinic when it opened in the fall of 2010.
“I started out as the only nurse,” she said.
Now, five years later, she's overseeing a staff that has quadrupled in size.
Brown said the staff today includes doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, social workers and front line office personnel. Approximately 32 out of a total of 38 positions are filled.
When the clinic opened, it had just one doctor. Today it has three physician positions. Dr. Anna Brou and Dr. Kirk Andrus are on staff, and with the recent retirement of the third doctor, Brown said they are now actively recruiting to fill that third position.
While the clinic recruits a new physician, for the first time a waiting list has been implemented. “It's not what any of us want,” said Brown of not being able to take new patients right now.
In the meantime, sister clinics in Ukiah and Santa Rosa are taking new patients, and veterans also can find a local health care provider and the VA will pay for it, Brown said.
As for what is ahead in the next five years, Brown said, “We're already looking at how we're going to expand out.”
The building currently has a 10,000-square-foot footprint. Brown said, ideally, they would like to double that, and have begun discussing a potential expansion with the building's owner.
In addition to adding more exam rooms, key areas considered for expansion are audiology and pharmacy, as the Clearlake VA clinic is one of the few clinics of its type that doesn't have pharmacy services available on site, Brown said.
To find out more about the clinic and services, or to volunteer, go to www.sanfrancisco.va.gov/ .
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lakeport man was arrested Sunday night following a lengthy vehicle pursuit with law enforcement.
Jose Guadalupe Aguilar, 22, was arrested for felony evading police with disregard for public safety, a parole violation, hit and run and driving on a suspended license recklessly following the pursuit, which lasted 40 minutes and traveled more than 28 miles, according to Lakeport Police Sgt. Michael Sobieraj.
Just after 9 p.m. Sunday a Lakeport Police officer noticed Aguilar – whom he knows from previous contacts – driving a Nissan Pathfinder in the area of the 1500 block of North Main Street, Sobieraj said.
Sobieraj said the officer knew that Aguilar had a suspended driver’s license and was on active California Department of Corrections Parole. The officer tried to contact Aguilar, who fled.
The officer initiated a pursuit in Lakeport with Lake County Sheriff’s Office responding to assist. Aguilar began driving erratically, driving through stop signs, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving at speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour on Main Street. The streets were wet and slick due to the rain, Sobieraj said.
Aguilar continued driving, making his way to Kelseyville where he reached speeds of more than 90 miles per hour, at times turning off all his vehicle’s lighting, according to Sobieraj.
While on Main Street in Kelseyville, Aguilar drove onto the embankment of Kelseyville High School, hitting two steel poles and nearly rolling his vehicle over, Sobieraj said.
Sobieraj said the California Highway Patrol joined the pursuit in an attempt to lay down spike strips which Aguilar managed to avoid by driving on side streets.
At Soda Bay Road and Big Valley Road, a Lakeport Police officer got in front of Aguilar to slow him down and warn oncoming traffic of his driving into oncoming traffic. At Soda Bay Road and Hwy 175, Sobieraj said Aguilar got onto Highway 29 northbound.
Sobieraj said Aguilar then headed back north towards Lakeport where he again reached speeds of more than 90 miles per hour on Highway 29.
Aguilar got off the highway on the 11th Street exit, and a Lakeport Police officer attempted to ram Aguilar in an attempt to stop him from getting back into town but due to slick roads was unsuccessful, Sobieraj said.
Aguilar then again drove through town, eventually pulling into the Willow Point Trailer Resort, located at 1 First St., where Sobieraj said he was arrested.
Aguilar has prior arrests and state prison time for assault with a deadly weapon, possession of controlled substance for sale and battery with serious bodily injury, police reported.
Aguilar remains in the Lake County Jail on a no bail charge, Sobieraj said.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for the areas impacted by the Valley, Rocky and Jerusalem fires.
The agency released the warning for southeastern Lake County – along with southwestern Colusa County and northwestern Napa County – on Monday afternoon after about half an inch of rain fell over the area in a 30-minute period, leading to concerns that flash flooding was about to begin.
The flash flood warning remains in effect until 4:30 p.m. Monday; a flash flood watch issued shortly before it lasts until 8 p.m.
Locations that could experience flooding as a result of the heavy rainfall include Anderson Springs, Cobb, Ettawa Springs, Hidden Valley Lake, Loch Lomond, Lower Lake, Middletown, Seigler Springs and Whispering Pines, the agency said.
A thunderstorm also was moving across the county on Monday afternoon, bringing with it heavy rain and lightning, and in some places, hail.
If flash flooding occurs, debris flows and rockslides are likely, forecasters said.
Area residents are reminded not to drive across flooded roads, to keep clear of recently burned areas and to stay away from creek beds and dry arroyos.
The forecast calls for the rain to taper off by Monday evening, leading to partly cloudy conditions, with mostly clear and sunny skies into early next week.
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