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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control is now offering for adoption cats rescued from the Valley fire area that have not been reclaimed.
Eight cats of varying age are available as the week begins. That's down from the 27 cats that were available when adoptions to the general public began on Oct. 28.
In addition to spaying or neutering, cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
Male domestic short hair mix
This male domestic short hair mix has an all-black coat.
He was found at the intersection of Dove and Quail in Cobb.
He's in kennel No. 33, ID No. 3834.
Female domestic short hair mix
This female domestic short hair mix has a black coat.
She was found on Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake.
She's in kennel No. 38, ID No. 3696.
Female domestic short hair mix
This female domestic short hair mix has an orange tabby coat.
She was found on Oak Street and Gifford Springs in Cobb.
She's in kennel No. 68, ID No. 3848.
Male domestic short hair mix
This male domestic short hair mix has a tuxedo cat.
He was found on Gifford Springs Road in Cobb.
He's in kennel No. 84, ID No. 3833.
Domestic short hair mix
This young domestic short hair mix cat of undetermined gender has a black coat with white markings.
The cat was found on Dove and Quail in Cobb.
The cat is in kennel No. 87, ID No. 3839.
Female domestic short hair mix
This female domestic short hair mix has an all-black coat.
She was found on Oak Street in Cobb.
She is in kennel No. 103, ID No. 3835.
Female domestic long hair mix
This female domestic long hair mix has an all-black coat.
She was found on Oak Street and Gifford Springs Road in Cobb.
She is in kennel No. 122, ID No. 3838.
Female domestic short hair mix
This female domestic short hair mix has a brown tabby coat.
She was found in Middletown.
She's in kennel No. 142, ID No. 3797.
Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .
Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Several dogs that remain unclaimed following the Valley fire are now among those being offered for adoption this week.
The five fire survivor dogs are all pit bulls – three males and two females. All are said to be friendly dogs.
In addition to them, there are dogs available this week that include mixes of Chihuahua, dachshund, Labrador Retriever and terrier.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier is a Valley fire survivor, found behind the Middletown gas station.
Has has a short gray and white coat.
He's in kennel No. 5, ID No. 3720.
'Buddah'
“Buddah” is a male Labrador Retriever mix.
He has a short black coat with white markings.
She's in kennel No. 6, ID No. 3826.
Male pit bull mix
This male pit bull terrier mix has a short gray and white coat.
He's in kennel No. 7, ID No. 3458.
'Digger'
“Digger” is a male terrier mix with a short tan coat.
He was found on Lakeview Drive in Nice.
He's in kennel No. 8, ID No. 3693.
Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier mix is a Valley fire survivor, found on Gifford Springs and Pine Summit in Cobb.
He has a short black and tan coat with white markings.
He's in kennel No. 10, ID No. 3617.
Female pit bull terrier
This female pit bull terrier mix is a Valley fire survivor, found on Teklas in Lower Lake.
She has a short black coat with white markings.
She's in kennel No. 15, ID No. 3508.
Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier mix is a Valley fire survivor found, on Point Lakeview in Lower Lake.
He has a short brown and white coat.
He's in kennel No. 16, ID No. 3675.
Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier mix has a short brown and white coat.
He was found in Clearlake Oaks.
He's in kennel No. 17, ID No. 3719.
Chihuahua-dachshund mix
This female Chihuahua-dachshund mix has a short multi-colored coat coat, with blue merle-type markings.
She was found on Big Valley Road in Finley.
She's in kennel No. 20c, ID No. 3869.
Female pit bull terrier
This female pit bull terrier mix is a Valley fire survivor, found on Bottle Rock Road in Kelseyville.
She has a short gray coat with white markings.
She's in kennel No. 21, ID No. 3504.
'Buddy'
“Buddy” is a male pit bull terrier mix with a short gray coat.
He was found on Lakeview Drive in Nice.
He's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 3694.
Female pit bull terrier
This female pit bull terrier mix has a short gray and white coat.
She's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 3851.
Female pit bull terrier
This female pit bull terrier mix has a short black coat with white marking.
She was found on Morgan Valley Road in Lower Lake.
She's in kennel No. 33, ID No. 3879.
'Oreo'
“Oreo” is a male Chihuahua mix.
Shelter staff said Oreo was surrendered by his owner, who couldn't afford to take care of him.
Oreo is described as a spunky little guy who is looking for some attention. He is housebroken, gets along with other dogs, both small and large. Come in and spend sometime in the play yard with him.
He's in kennel No. 34, ID No. 3790.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Four community members who want to serve on the Lake County Fire Protection District for the next four years shared their ideas on leading the district and addressing its unique needs at a Thursday forum.
Retired Judge Richard Freeborn moderated the event, which took place on Thursday night at Clearlake City Hall.
Participating were board incumbents Michael Dean, Jacqueline Snyder and John Spriet, and challenger Bud Moore.
The district election will be on the ballot Nov. 3.
In just over an hour the candidates answered seven questions that had been prepared for the event, along with three more from the audience.
Below is a list of key points in the video, including opening and closing statements, and the questions. The times for the statements and questions are noted also in order to easily find them in the video.
– Opening statements (5:48).
– Question No. 1: What is your overall impression of the Lake County Fire Protection District? (12:40)
– Question No. 2: What are the challenges facing the district and how do you consider funding these? (15:41)
– Question No. 3: Where do you see the district in five to 10 years from now? (21:53)
– Question No. 4: What ideas do you have to increase staffing for the district over the next five years? (27:08)
– Question No. 5: What ideas do you have to increase the district infrastructure to include existing and additional facilities? (30:25)
– Question No. 6: Where do you think you are best able to benefit the district and the communities it serves? (35:34)
– Question No. 7: Any final thoughts or comments regarding the district? (41:05)
– Question No. 8: Where do you believe the Lake County Office of Emergency Services should be? Should it be a part of the sheriff's office or a standalone office? (46:47)
– Question No. 9: Are you willing to ask the community for new technologies and new ideas? (52:15)
– Question No. 10: Is there anything being done in terms of fuel management in the area? (57:05)
– Closing statements (1:01:30).
LUCERNE, Calif. – A Susanville man was arrested early Friday on suspicion of driving under the influence after he crashed his pickup into a fence and power utility equipment in front of Lucerne Elementary School.
Holdyn Gray Guthrie, 22, was arrested in connection to the crash, according to the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said that at 2:30 a.m. Friday Guthrie was driving his 2000 Dodge Ram pickup eastbound on Country Club Drive east of 17th Avenue at an unknown speed.
For reasons that are still under investigation, the CHP said Guthrie lost control of the pickup and veered off the south side of the roadway, hitting a utility pole and transformer box.
After hitting that equipment, Guthrie's pickup continued in a southeasterly direction, hitting Lucerne Elementary School's chain-link fence and a second utility transformer box, the CHP said.
Due to the crash with the first pole, the CHP said live power lines from a utility pole on the north side of the road fell across Country Club Drive and onto the school's chain-link fence.
Guthrie, who was wearing his seat belt, had a laceration to his chin and minor cuts, and was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, the CHP said.
The CHP said alcohol appears to have been a factor in the crash, and Guthrie subsequently was arrested for misdemeanor driving under the influence.
Jail records showed that Guthrie's bail was set at $5,000. He later posted the required portion of bail and was released.
Officer Ryan Erickson is investigating the crash, the CHP said.
Lucerne Elementary Principal/Superintendent Mike Brown estimated that damages from the crash could total as much as $25,000, with three of the school's classrooms not expected to have power until the middle of this week.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County history is peppered with its share of crime stories.
Lakeport Library’s microfiche newspaper files from the 19th century report the stage robberies, murders and petty crimes of the time.
Thanks to the Copeland family, I can relay the story of George Coburn, which was written for the Historical Society of Southern California by a former Lake County resident, Helen Rocca Goss.
In 1895 George W. Coburn was a young man, in his 20s, who lived on a farm north of Middletown with his parents.
It was during this time that the hard-working folks of Middletown began experiencing numerous thefts. Items of all description were reported missing: One person’s alarm clock, another’s derby hat and a sewing machine.
Whips and robes were stolen from someone’s buggy at one residence, while a sidesaddle was reported missing from another. One evening the books from the schoolhouse were stolen.
Conversations around town buzzed with the mystifying misdeeds. Who could be taking all of these things? Why were items of relatively little value targeted? When would it end?
Someone offered, “Could be Buck English!”
“Nah,” another countered, “he only steals cattle and horses.”
References to other well-known crooks and misfits were bandied about, but the outcome of the conversation always ended in a question: Who was the thief?
Then, a flurry of reports revolving around the sighting of a woman, walking near Middletown after sunset, attired in all-white apparel occurred.
Stories flew like Halloween ghosts with regard to the strange vision. Some folks said they heard her weeping and wailing. It was an eerie situation, to be sure.
Then, in November of 1895 a local resident was out on a routine hunting expedition when he discovered a hoard of items of all description, about three miles north of Middletown near the George Coburn residence. This was getting to be a very curious situation.
Sure as buckshot, Coburn was finally arrested!
The June 26, 1897 issue of the San Francisco Examiner explained that it took a wagon pulled by two brawny horses to haul all of the booty to Middletown. There, it was put on public view where the locals congregated “to view this remarkable collection which surpasses the famous ‘Old Curiosity’ shop.”
People found their musty, rotting buggy whips, books and even the white outfits worn on those mysterious moonlit evenings.
Throughout George Coburn’s life he was regarded as an odd individual. Now, however he was a known kleptomaniac, who could not help but to be tempted by other’s belongings.
It wasn’t that he needed the items, he simply wanted to take what didn’t belong to him to build a hefty cache.
It was discovered later that he had hiding places for the stolen items all over the woods. He preferred storing stolen goods in holes he had dug into the ground, and choose hollow trees as well. He was careful to place a blanket of dirt and leaves over his hiding spots.
The Middletown “Independent” newspaper dated July 3, 1897, stated, “Stolen property will continue to be found on this ranch for the next century, for in all probability Coburn himself does not remember where he has hidden more than one-fourth of his plunder …”
In one case Coburn was charged with burglary, and bond was set at $500. Another case that was mentioned in the newspaper’s archives states that he was accused of “grand larceny for stealing a side saddle and a sewing machine” with bond set at $250.
The March 7, 1896 issue of the “Independent” reported that Coburn was sentenced to three years in Folsom Prison. Before the case could be decided by the California Supreme Court, he escaped from the Lakeport jail.
From that time on, Coburn’s story took on a mythical or legendary quality. The phrase, “George Coburn must be back” was uttered whenever an item, no matter how inconsequential, was missing from a residence or place of business.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.
For an astronomer, discovering a comet can be the highlight of a lifetime. Great comets carry the names of their discoverers into history.
Comet Halley, Comet Lovejoy, Comet Hale-Bopp are just a few examples.
Imagine the frustration, though, if every time you discovered a comet, it was rapidly destroyed.
Believe it or not, this is what happens almost every day to the most prolific comet hunter of all time.
The ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory has discovered more than 3,000 doomed comets that have passed close to the sun.
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, better known as “SOHO,” is a joint project of the European Space Agency, or ESA, and NASA.
Orbiting the sun at 1.5 million km, or 932,000 miles from Earth, the distant observatory has just discovered its 3,000th comet – more than any other spacecraft or astronomer. And, just about all of SOHO’s comets have been destroyed.
“They just disintegrate every time we observe one,” said Karl Battams, a solar scientist at the Naval Research Labs in Washington, D.C., who has been in charge of running the SOHO comet-sighting website since 2003. “SOHO sees comets that pass very close to the sun – and they just can’t stand the intense sunlight.”
The overwhelming majority of SOHO's comet discoveries belong to the Kreutz family. Kreutz sungrazers are fragments from the breakup of a single giant comet thousands of years ago.
They get their name from 19th century German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz, who studied them in detail.
On average, a new member of the Kreutz family is discovered every three days. Unfortunately for these small comets, their orbits swoop perilously close to the sun.
“There's only one Kreutz comet that made it around the sun – Comet Lovejoy. And we are pretty confident it fell apart a couple of weeks afterwards,” said Battams.
Although SOHO’s comets are rapidly destroyed, they nevertheless have great scientific value. For instance, the comets’ tails are buffeted and guided by the sun’s magnetic fields. Watching how the tails bend and swing can tell researchers a great deal about the sun’s magnetic field.
Prior to the launch of SOHO in 1995, only a dozen or so comets had ever even been discovered from space, while some 900 had been discovered from the ground since 1761. SOHO has turned the tables on these figures, making itself the greatest comet hunter of all time.
But SOHO hasn’t reached this lofty perch alone. The spacecraft relies on people who sift through its data. Anyone can help because SOHO’s images are freely available online in real time. Many volunteer amateur astronomers scan the data on a daily basis for signs of a new comet. The result: 95 percent of SOHO comets have been found by citizen scientists.
Whenever someone spots a comet, they report it to Battams. He goes over the imagery to confirm the sighting and then submits it to the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, which gives it an official name.
And the name is … you guessed it: “SOHO.”
While comets spotted from the ground are named after the person who first discovered them, comets first observed by a space-based telescope are named after the spacecraft. The 3,000th comet discovered was named “SOHO-3000.”
Naturally, it has already been destroyed. SOHO doesn’t mind though. The Greatest Comet Hunter Ever has already moved on to the next sungrazer.
“SOHO-4000,” anyone?