How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – There is another wide array of cats available for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control this week.
Little black cats, big gray cats, tiny tabbies, a lovely calico, orange tabbies and white cats with distinctive markings are ready for new homes.
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”).
Domestic short hair kitten
This female kitten has a short gray coat, and an adventurous attitude.
She's in cat room kennel No. 10a, ID 2591.
Domestic short hair kitten
This male kitten has a short gray coat, and he loves to play.
He's in cat room kennel No. 10b, ID 2592.
Domestic short hair kitten
This male kitten has a short black coat, big yellow eyes and plenty of energy.
He's in cat room kennel No. 10c, ID 2593.
Domestic short hair kitten
This female kitten has a short black coat and yellow eyes, and enjoys time with people.
She's in cat room kennel No. 10d, ID 2594.
Female domestic medium hair mix
This female domestic medium hair mix.
She has a white coat with gray markings and blue eyes, and a Siamese look.
She's in cat room kennel No. 13, ID No. 2512.
Domestic short hair mix
This lovely cat has a short coat with calico markings.
She's an affectionate and loving cat who has been waiting for a caring family to come along and sweep her away to a new home.
She's in cat room kennel No. 27, ID No. 2213.
Domestic short hair mix kitten
This male kitten has a short white coat with gray and orange markings, and he likes to play in boxes.
He's in cat room kennel No. 34a, ID No. 2553.
Gray tabby kitten
This male kitten has a short gray tabby coat.
He enjoys lounging around or playing – he's comfortable with either activity.
He's in kennel No. 34b, ID No. 2556.
Domestic medium hair mix
This young male domestic medium hair mix cat has a gray tabby and white coat, and a rather charming expression.
He's in cat room kennel No. 34c, ID No. 2634.
Domestic short hair mix
This young female domestic short hair mix cat has an all-gray coat and green eyes.
She's in cat room kennel No. 83, ID No. 2687.
Domestic short hair mix
This male domestic short hair mix has a gray tabby and white coat.
He loves ear rubs and would enjoy a home where he gets them regularly.
He's in cat room kennel No. 88, ID No. 2496.
Domestic short hair mix
This young male domestic short hair mix has an orange tabby coat and white paws, and likes to hang around office chairs, which makes him a good companion for work or home.
He's in cat room kennel No. 95, ID No. 2612.
Domestic short hair mix
This handsome male cat has a short, all-gray coat, and big, lovely green eyes.
He's waiting to meet you in cat room kennel No. 100, ID No. 2688.
Domestic long hair mix
This young female domestic long hair mix has an orange coat with very distinctive tabby markings.
She's in kennel No. 105a, ID no. 2614.
Female domestic short hair mix
This young female domestic short hair mix is has an orange tabby coat with white markings.
She also loves to play, with cat toys being one of her favorite distractions.
She's in cat room kennel No. 105b, ID No. 2615.
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
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendocino County officials have arrested a 19-year-old Laytonville resident who they said stabbed two people to death and injured two others in an early Sunday morning attack that the county's sheriff called a “mass tragedy.”
Talen Clark Barton was booked into the Mendocino County Jail on Sunday afternoon for two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of false imprisonment.
“We don't know what his motive was,” Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman told reporters in a Sunday afternoon press conference.
Allman said all of his agency's detectives – along with the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office and the California Department of Justice – are continuing to process the scene of the attack, which was at a home on south Meadow Lane two miles northwest of the town of Laytonville.
The names of the victims – all of whom lived at the home or were visiting family members – have not yet been released, said Allman, as the notification process is under way.
With some of the victims being Canadians, Allman said his agency was working with the Canadian Embassy on making notifications to next of kin.
Barton was not from Mendocino County and had been staying at the home for an unknown period of time in what was a possible foster care situation, Allman said.
Allman said the incident began at about 12:15 a.m. Sunday, when Barton left his bedroom, retrieved a 12-inch knife from the kitchen and went into the bedroom of a 17-year-old male, who he stabbed.
A 54-year-old female came to the 17-year-old's aid and also was attacked, but the woman – while wounded – survived, said Allman.
Allman said Barton then attacked and mortally wounded a 52-year-old male, stabbing him multiple times in the head and neck before chasing the wounded woman down the home's stairs.
The woman's screams awoke two juvenile female teens staying in the home, as well as another 52-year-old male who Barton stabbed in the chest but who survived, Allman said.
Following the stabbings, Barton told the two young female teens that they were not to call 911 until 8 a.m., after he had arranged to get transportation away from the scene, according to Allman.
At that point, Barton cut a charger code from a phone charger and had one of the teens tie up the dead 52-year-old man and tie up herself, Allman said.
One of the teens ultimately talked Barton into calling 911; Allman said that call came into the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Dispatch Center at approximately 12:46 a.m.
“Our dispatchers were able to keep him on the line during the time that our deputies were responding,” Allman said.
It took deputies around 25 minutes to get to the scene, Allman said, with Long Valley Fire, Cal Fire, the District Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice ultimately joining officials on scene.
Allman said while Barton was waiting for deputies to respond, he changed out of all of his blood-soaked clothing.
Upon the deputies' arrival, Barton admitted to them that he was a heavy marijuana user – staying high during his waking hours – and that while he was on the phone with dispatchers he had smoked quite a bit of marijuana “knowing the deputy sheriffs were on their way,” Allman said.
Allman said Barton also told authorities he hadn't intended to hurt the two juvenile females.
Deputies found the wounded 54-year-old woman still alive, with one of the deputies applying pressure to the wounds on her neck, an action Allman credited for helping to save her life.
She subsequently was transported by ambulance and then helicopter to a hospital, as was the surviving 52-year-old male stab victim. Allman said both were listed in critical but stable condition and are expected to survive.
Allman said the investigation so far has led to information that over the last two weeks Barton had been discussing with a friend his desire to kill someone.
“None of this information was brought to law enforcement's attention” before the Sunday morning incident, Allman said.
Allman said the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office had one criminal contact with Barton in January of 2013, but because Barton was a juvenile at that time Allman said he couldn't discuss specifics.
Authorities have been in contact with Child Protective Services to provide emergency housing for the two juvenile females until their parents can be notified and respond, Allman said.
“This is a tragedy. It could have been worse,” said Allman, acknowledging the efforts of the first responders to save the lives of the wounded.
Allman said additional details of the crime, as well as the names of the victims, will be released once family members have been notified and he has consulted with investigators.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A local organization is offering a unique program to help women address substance abuse issues while keeping their families together.
The Health Opportunities in Mothering Experiences – or HOME – Program, a drug rehabilitation service for mothers, has now been open long enough to see some of its first beneficiaries graduate.
The program is located at Redwood Community Services in Lower Lake and provides mothers suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction intensive outpatient rehabilitation services and childcare classes aimed at nurturing more healthy parental relationships.
Redwood Community Services staff hint at some success stories even though not everyone who participated in the program’s inaugural cohort has completed treatment.
Due to the confidential nature of treatment they can’t give too many details.
In order to enroll in the program, supervisor Jillian Barna said, “They need to be mothers who have children who are 17 and under or pregnant.”
She wants prospective applicants to know that mothers don’t necessarily have to have custody of their children in order to be eligible.
“They can be working on regaining custody of their children,” she said.
Participation in the program requires four months of one-on-one counseling and includes group therapy and experiential learning.
It is the kind of care that many outpatients facing substance abuse issues need but it is hard to come by in Lake County.
Before HOME opened its doors, Lake County had no program to meet the needs of this complex population: women with young children facing the dissolution of their families because of substance abuse.
Barna said the program’s beneficiaries are often dealing with addictions to alcohol or illegal drugs that are too advanced for them to handle on their own but not bad enough to require inpatient rehabilitation.
At that point it could be too late. Mothers could be looking at jail time or putting their children into foster care.
HOME is designed to help mothers before it’s too late and offers comprehensive assistance so that they can complete the program requirements.
The program provides childcare and transportation assistance where needed. “We want to make sure that women that would benefit from the service aren’t deterred by those barriers,” said Willow Anderson, who works in communications and outreach at RCS.
The program is covered through most major insurance policies carried in Lake County but offers enrollees assistance applying for health insurance if necessary.
“We have done this already,” said Barna. “We’ll take them over to Social Services. We’ll walk them through the process of doing the paperwork that they need to do to get their medical.”
In addition, Barna said, “If they don’t qualify for medical … then we will help them get somebody that can provide services to them.”
When the program first started Barna reached out to the community for toy donations for participants’ children to play with while they attend counseling and parenting classes.
While the toys are still needed, Anderson and Barna suggest a need for something much more significant: allies.
Barna said, “I think there’s a lot of stigma that carries through with these women… so it’s helpful to know that there are places in the community that are willing to embrace the fact that they’ve gone through a very good program, are making positive choices, and are willing to give them a try.”
Anderson emphasized that businesses within the community willing to accept work referrals from the program would be the most helpful.
“When we have a mother who is in need of housing, in need of employment, having connections throughout the community to be able to come here and go through treatment, we then want to be able to connect them to positive resources and give them a hand up so that they’re able to be successful,” she said.
The HOME Program is located at 16170 Main St., Suite F, in Lower Lake.
For more information call 707-994-5486.
Email Shari Shepard at
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County once had a Catholic mission, near Kelsey Creek.
Although our county's mission was not part of the chain of 21 Spanish missions, sadly, there is a Lake County tie-in to the California mission chain.
A June 10, 2015, Santa Rosa Press Democrat story made note of evidence recently uncovered by Sonoma County dentist and historian, Dr. Peter Meyerhof, which points out that there is most likely another Indian graveyard near the mission in Sonoma.
Currently there is a stone memorial outside Mission San Francisco Solano, also known as the Sonoma Mission, with the Christian names of nearly 1,000 Indians – 200 of which were children – who were buried there.
The names on the memorial plaque include those of many Wappo, Patwin, Pomo and Coast Miwok Indians, some of whom were from what is now Lake County.
During the Mission Era many Indians were kidnapped and forced to work on the missions. Some may have come voluntarily, just out of curiosity, not understanding that there was no going back to their homelands.
Mission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823, by Fr. Jose Altimira, and named for St. Francis Solano, missionary to Peruvian Indians. The mission was secularized in 1834.
There was a high mortality rate for Indians during those times, due in large to a smallpox epidemic.
According to State Park's archaeologist, Breck Parkman, the neophytes, as the Indians were called were not always treated well after their deaths, either, and were sometimes stacked into mass graves.
Lake County historian Henry Mauldin wrote, “On the shores of Clear Lake, three miles north of Kelseyville and one half mile northwest of Kelsey Creek,” a basic building there functioned as both a church and school.
In 1867 Father Luciano Osuna began his missionary work there on 100 acres of land which was purchased from Tom O'Brien. The mission was called “Mission of St. Turibius.” It wasn't long before the mission property swelled to 235 acres.
Indians came from Big Valley and the surrounding areas, constructing their homes with lumber supplied by the mission. This site soon became known as the Rancheria of St. Turibius Mission, where they were instructed in the Catholic ways.
Eighty acres were set aside for the Indians to plant crops. There were anywhere from 60 to 100 Indians residing at the mission. The site included a school for the Indian's use as well.
Mission of St. Turibius was the headquarters for Father Luciano, but his profession took him to Burns Valley, the Lower Lake area, and into Mendocino County where he baptized hundreds of Indians until 1878 when he left the mission.
Then, other Franciscan Fathers worked there until about 1881, with the next round of religious leaders arriving from the Fathers of the Holy Cross, succeeded in 1883 by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
After the Society for the Propagation of the Faith departed, Franciscan Fathers took charge once again, until the abandonment of the mission in 1893, when a new church and monastery was constructed. These new facilities included a vineyard with a wine cellar nearby.
In 1914 the U.S government instituted the Big Valley rancheria near Finley. The mission Indians relocated to the rancheria and the mission was closed when the Franciscan Fathers' move repositioned themselves to Lakeport.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Puppies and adult dogs, little canines and big ones, are waiting for new homes at Lake County Animal Care and Control this week.
Dogs available this week include mixes of border collie, boxer, Chihuahua, German Shepherd, husky and pit bull.
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”).
Terrier mix
This female terrier mix has a short black and tan mix.
She's in kennel No. 2, ID No. 2597.
Terrier mix
This female terrier mix has a short tan coat.
She's in kennel No. 3, ID No. 2599.
Terrier mix
This female terrier mix has a short tan coat.
She's in kennel No. 4, ID No. 2598.
Border collie puppy
This male border collie puppy has a short black and white coat.
He's in kennel No. 5a, ID No. 2473.
Border collie puppy
This male border collie puppy has a short black and white coat.
He's in kennel No. 5b, ID No. 2517.
Female German Shepherd mix
This beautiful female German Shepherd mix has an all-black coat and big brown eyes.
She's in kennel No. 11, ID No. 2663.
'Meeko'
“Meeko” is a male pit bull terrier mix who has a short black and white coat.
Shelter staff said Meeko can't get enough of playing with tennis balls.
He's in kennel No. 15, ID No. 2639.
Pit bull mix
This female pit bull terrier mix has a short gray and white coat.
Shelter staff said she is very affectionate and loving.
She's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 2536.
Female terrier mix
This female terrier mix has a short white and tan coat, with brown and blue eyes.
Shelter staff said she has had a hard start in life, having been abandoned along with her brother and other family members. She had to be trapped to afraid to come to humans.
However, shelter staff said she is very sweet and will be a very loyal companion for the person willing to give her a home.
She's in kennel No. 26, ID No. 2636.
Husky mix
This male husky mix has a medium-length gray and white coat, with blue eyes.
He's in kennel No. 28, ID No. 2595.
Pit bull terrier mix
This female pit bull terrier mix has a short brown and white coat.
She's in kennel No. 29, ID No. 2701.
Female boxer mix
This female boxer mix has a short brown and white coat.
She's in kennel No. 31, ID No. 2703.
Male Chihuahua mix
This male Chihuahua mix has a short white coat.
Shelter staff said he has a cute face and loves affection.
He's in kennel No. 32b, ID No. 2321.
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
So far, exoplanet surveys have been most sensitive to planetary systems that are populated in their inner regions by massive planets, down to a few times the mass of the Earth.
This contrasts with our Solar System, where there are small rocky planets in the inner regions and gas giants like Jupiter farther out.
According to the most recent theories, the arrangement of our Solar System, so conducive to life, was made possible by the presence of Jupiter and the gravitational influence this gas giant exerted on the Solar System during its formative years.
It would seem, therefore, that finding a Jupiter twin is an important milestone on the road to finding a planetary system that mirrors our own.
A Brazilian-led team has been targeting Sun-like stars in a bid to find planetary systems similar to our Solar System.
The team has now uncovered a planet with a very similar mass to Jupiter, orbiting a Sun-like star, HIP 11915, at almost exactly the same distance as Jupiter.
The new discovery was made using HARPS, one of the world's most precise planet-hunting instruments, mounted on the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.
Although many planets similar to Jupiter have been found at a variety of distances from Sun-like stars, this newly discovered planet, in terms of both mass and distance from its host star, and in terms of the similarity between the host star and our Sun, is the most accurate analogue yet found for the Sun and Jupiter.
The planet's host, the solar twin HIP 11915, is not only similar inmass to the Sun, but is also about the same age.
To further strengthen the similarities, the composition of the star is similar to the Sun's. The chemical signature of our Sun may be partly marked by the presence of rocky planets in the Solar System, hinting at the possibility of rocky planets also around HIP 11915.
According to Jorge Melendez, of the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, the leader of the team and co-author of the paper, "The quest for an Earth 2.0, and for a complete Solar System 2.0, is one of the most exciting endeavors in astronomy. We are thrilled to be part of this cutting-edge research, made possible by the observational facilities provided by ESO.”
Megan Bedell, from the University of Chicago and lead author of the paper, concluded: “After two decades of hunting for exoplanets, we are finally beginning to see long-period gas giant planets similar to those in our own Solar System thanks to the long-term stability of planet hunting instruments like HARPS. This discovery is, in every respect, an exciting sign that other solar systems may be out there waiting to be discovered.”
Followup observations are needed to confirm and constrain the finding, but HIP 11915 is one of the most promising candidates so far to host a planetary system similar to our own.