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NICE, Calif. – A “Country Clean Up” day is scheduled for Thursday, June 25, in Nice.
The event will begin at 8 a.m., with volunteers meeting at the end of Pyle Road.
Thanks to Coach Frank Gudmundson, Upper Lake High School students will support the first of several clean up days as part of their community service requirements and in the process will get firsthand exposure to the problems associated with illegal dumping of trash, according to District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele, the event's organizer.
“Reports from citizens in nearby neighborhoods and those who enjoy spending time in the hills that form a visual backdrop for our towns want something done about the trash problems they encounter,” said Steele.
“Not only is trash unseemly on the landscape and can pose health risks, it can end up fouling our streams and ultimately our lake. In some cases, people driving into the hills to illegally dump their garbage are creating erosion problems that also contribute to the deterioration of our lake ecosystem,” he added.
Steele said that he's been working with volunteers, community leaders and government officials to curb the destructive nature of these activities. “The response to calls for help has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Anyone wishing to help is welcome. In particular, trucks to haul the garbage to the landfill are needed. Please bring your own tarps and tie downs.
All other supplies will be provided for volunteers.
To sign up or for more information contact Steele at
Californians may be experienced with warm weather driving, but the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) warns that summer presents a new set of challenges on the roads.
“Carefree summer travel requires extra care by motorists to make sure the trip is not ruined by problems,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. “Drive at a safe speed, maintain your vehicle, and be aware of the challenges of summer driving.”
Some of the hazards of summer driving:
· Leaving children or animals in a vehicle – dangerous at any time of year – becomes extremely dangerous. Be sure that all children are properly restrained in a safety seat or booster seat when driving.
· More new drivers, generally young and inexperienced, will be on the road when school is not in session.
· Visitors not only generate more traffic on the roadways, but those who are unfamiliar with an area may be distracted looking for landmarks and exits.
· High temperatures may create problems for tires and engines. Hot weather can lead to blowouts in tires that have not been well maintained.
· More bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians are on the roads. Pedestrians can be unpredictable and hard to see, especially in bad weather or after dark.
· Forest and grass fires generate smoke, reducing visibility and sometimes causing road closures. More emergency vehicles may be on the road in a fire area. Check for road reports before you leave home.
“When school is out and temperatures climb, family travel can be a happy occasion,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “We can make sure it stays that way with a little trip planning and attention to safe driving.”
OTS also reminds drivers to make safety a priority:
· Buckle up. Every trip. Every time.
· If you have a vehicle issue, drive out of traffic lanes and off the highway if possible – freeway shoulders are not a safe place for repair work.
· Research road conditions and closures before getting in the car. Visit www.quickmap.dot.ca.gov for real time highway conditions.
A few more tips for safe summer driving from the CHP:
· Vehicle care is critical: oil changes, cooling system, tires, belts and hoses, and windshield wipers and wiper fluid should all be well maintained.
· Carry a roadside emergency kit with fresh water, cell phone, first aid kit, flashlight, flares and a white flag, jumper cables, jack (and ground mat) for changing a tire, work gloves, basic repair tools and duct tape, a jug of water and paper towels for cleaning up, nonperishable food, extra windshield washer fluid and maps.
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft will reach a major milestone June 23, when it completes its 60,000th orbit since arriving at the Red Planet in 2001.
Named after the bestselling novel “2001: A Space Odyssey” by Arthur C. Clarke, Odyssey began orbiting Mars almost 14 years ago, on Oct. 23, 2001. On Dec. 15, 2010, it became the longest-operating spacecraft ever sent to Mars, and continues to hold that record today.
Odyssey, which discovered widespread water ice just beneath the surface of the Red Planet, is still going strong today, serving as a key communications relay for NASA's Mars rovers and making continued contributions to planetary science.
“This orbital milestone is an opportunity to celebrate Odyssey’s many achievements,” said Jim Green, NASA’s director of Planetary Science. “Odyssey will continue to help lay a foundation for the first humans to Mars in the 2030s through NASA’s Journey to Mars initiative.”
Odyssey’s orbital milestone translates into about 888 million miles (1.43 billion kilometers) traversed by the spacecraft. In addition to the 286 million miles (460 million kilometers) covered on its trip from Earth to Mars, the spacecraft is a high-mileage vehicle like no other, but remains in fine condition.
"The spacecraft is in good health, with all subsystems functional and with enough propellant for about 10 more years," said David Lehman, project manager for the Mars Odyssey at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
Odyssey's major discoveries began in the early months of its two-year primary mission, with gamma-ray and neutron measurements that indicated plentiful water ice just beneath the surface at high latitudes on Mars. The spacecraft's unexpectedly long service has enabled achievements such as completion of the highest-resolution global map of Mars and observation of seasonal and year-to-year changes, such as freezing and thawing of carbon dioxide.
Through its many accomplishments, the spacecraft also has aided NASA’s preparations for human missions to Mars by monitoring radiation in the environment around the planet via the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment, developed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Odyssey currently is completing an adjustment to an orbit that will position it to pass over Martian terrain lit by early-morning sunlight rather than afternoon light. In its current orbit, the spacecraft always flies near each pole and along what is called the terminator. The terminator is a moving “line” that encircles Mars and passes through any point on the planet’s surface at sunrise and again at sunset, separating the portion of Mars lit by the sun from the portion experiencing darkness, dividing day and night. The position of this line varies by time of day and time of year.
"Upcoming observations will focus on what is happening in the Martian atmosphere in the morning, such as clouds, hazes and fogs, and on frosts on the surface that burn off by later in the day," said Jeffrey Plaut, Odyssey project scientist at JPL.
The planned drift to a morning-daylight orbit began in 2012, was accelerated in 2014, and will be completed with a maneuver in November to lock in the orbit timing so that each pass over the equator occurs at the same time of day.
"We have performed many orbit maneuvers over the long life of this mission, and we will use that experience conducting the one to halt the drift," said Steve Sanders, Odyssey spacecraft engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver.
To date, Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) has yielded 208,240 images in visible-light wavelengths and 188,760 in thermal infrared wavelengths. THEMIS images are the basis for detailed global maps and identification of some surface materials, such as chloride salt deposits and silica-rich terrain. The infrared imaging also indicates how quickly regions of the surface cool at night or warm in sunlight, telling researchers how dusty or rocky the ground is.
Odyssey's three-instrument Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) suite detected significant amount of hydrogen on the planet -- interpreted as water ice hidden beneath the surface. This discovery prompted NASA to send its Phoenix Mars Lander to an arctic plain on Mars in 2008, where it examined the water ice detected by Odyssey. The spectrometer suite also mapped global distribution of key chemical elements, such as iron and potassium. The University of Arizona, Tucson, headed its development. Two GRS instruments are still active: the high-energy neutron detector from the Russian Space Research Institute and the neutron spectrometer from Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico.
As a communications relay for NASA's Mars rovers, Odyssey has transmitted to Earth more than 90 percent of the data received from the Opportunity rover. Future plans for Odyssey include relay duty for NASA and European Space Agency landers arriving on Mars in 2016.
Odyssey launched on April 7, 2001 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. JPL manages the Mars Odyssey Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft and collaborates with JPL in mission operations. Arizona State University, Tempe, provided and operates THEMIS.
For more information about Odyssey, visit http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey .
LUCERNE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol on Friday issued an initial report on a fatal single-vehicle wreck in Lucerne on Thursday afternoon.
The crash, which occurred at approximately 3:16 p.m. on Highway 20 at Grove Street, claimed the life of the female driver, whose name, age and city of residence were being withheld by the CHP until next of kin are notified.
The CHP said the woman was driving her 2007 Buick westbound on Highway 20 approaching Grove Street while traveling at an undetermined high rate of speed for the existing roadway conditions.
As she exited a sweeping left curve in the roadway, the CHP said the woman allowed her vehicle to travel across the double yellow lines, into the eastbound lane.
She then turned the Buick to the right, losing control of the vehicle, and going off the north road edge, according to the CHP report.
There, the CHP said she hit a series of tree located in front of the Sandy Beach Trailer Lodge trailer park.
After hitting the trees, the CHP said the Buick was propelled up and over a 6-foot-high wooden outbuilding and then hit two separate structures – a singlewide mobile home and a travel trailer.
Though the residents of the mobile and the trailer were at home at the time of the crash, neither were injured, the CHP said. Both structures sustained minimal to moderate damage.
The Buick was found on its wheels between the mobile, the trailer and the wooden outbuilding, the CHP said.
The CHP said emergency personnel arriving at the crash site attempted life-saving measures, but the driver – who had not been wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash – died at the scene of multiple blunt force trauma.
It's unknown if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash, the CHP said.
Officer Rob Hearn is the crash's investigating officer.
In the video above, Ray Hechim, whose singlewide mobile home was hit in the crash, describes his experience during the incident.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Hidden Valley Lake Association has signed a proposed agreement to settle a complaint filed against it by federal officials on behalf of its unionized employees.
The complaint was filed against the association by the National Labor Relations Board's Region 20 on behalf of Laborers Union Local 324.
As a result of the proposed settlement the association said it has received word that union employees who have been on strike and picketing since April will return to work next week.
However, there are still steps to follow before the settlement is finalized, according to officials from the National Labor Relations Board and Laborers Union Local 324.
“The employer signed a settlement but it's far from done,” said Kathleen Schneider, supervisory attorney for Region 20 of the National Labor Relations Board in San Francisco.
Schneider said the union has objected to the settlement proposal, and the National Labor Relations Board Region 20 has not yet approved it.
Paul Supton – attorney for the Northern California District Council of Laborers and its affiliated local union, Laborers Union Local 324 – confirmed that he filed objections to the settlement proposal.
“I thought the violations were so serious and so numerous that the settlement was inadequate in a couple of particulars,” Supton said.
HVLA General Manager Cindy Spears said the complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board alleged the association owed 13 union employees back wages due to unilateral changes to the now-expired union collective bargaining agreement and that HVLA committed certain unfair labor practices.
The two sides have reached a stalemate in recent months, with a main point of contention being a $1.95 reduction the association asked the union employees to take in order to cover health and welfare costs. “It had nothing to do with wages,” said Spears.
The association, she said, has numerous financial challenges it is trying to meet while dealing with the union's demands, including a $700,000 annual subsidy for the golf course and lake sediment issues that likely will require about $500,000 to resolve.
She said the association has to look at ways to reduce some of its costs and has asked the union to work with it in finding solutions.
A complaint hearing was set for June 15 in Santa Rosa. Two weeks prior to the hearing, Spears said the National Labor Relations Board offered the association a settlement to the union’s filed grievances.
“We received the offer as an opportunity for HVLA and the union to work cooperatively in the best interest of both parties,” Spears said.
She said HVLA’s counter settlement offer was accepted by the NLRB, allowing both HVLA and the union to save tens of thousands of dollars and what she anticipated would have been contentious hearing.
Altogether, HVLA would pay less than $1,800 to employees under the settlement, Spears said, noting that had the case moved to court, the association was facing as much as $30,000 in legal fees.
The proposed agreement doesn't require the association and union to return to negotiations at a specific date, Spears said.
Spears said every time the two sides have sat down for negotiations, the union has never shown up with a counter proposal.
Nonetheless, “We're going to go back to the table with them and try to resolve whatever we can resolve,” she said, with the association optimistic that the proposed agreement will serve as a positive step toward negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement between HVLA and the union.
As a result of this settlement proposal, Spears said the union workers have notified HVLA – through a letter from Supton – that they will return to work on Monday, June 22.
Another indication that the situation has cooled off is that a giant inflatable rat that had accompanied picketers and was meant to symbolize the association – complete with a cigar and dollar bills pouring out of his pockets – has been taken down, Spears said.
On the union side, concerns remain about the settlement proposal. Supton said he's asked that certain portions of the proposal be expanded to include all of the violations and remedies, but he hasn't heard back from the National Labor Relations Board yet.
Among his main objections is that nonwage compensation – health insurance, retirement and annuities – wasn't included in the proposal. He said that's important because the association's union employees are very low paid.
In a letter dated June 12 to the National Labor Relations Board, Supton listed his concerns, including those related to nonwage compensation.
Another key concern is entering into an informal settlement with the association, which he said has demonstrated a propensity to violate labor law, including unilaterally changing terms and conditions of employment. He also alleged that such violations have occurred even since the association signed the proposed agreement.
Other issues Supton raised include not informing employees of their right not to be discriminated against because of union activity, not addressing the association's installation of surveillance cameras and what Supton called “unlawful surveillance” of employees engaged in protected union activities.
The informal settlement proposal, according to Supton, was drafted by the National Labor Relations Board and taken to Spears to be signed before it was shown to the union.
That's a practice of unilateral action that Supton – a former National Labor Relations Board attorney who has been working in this area of the law for 30 years – said is typical.
“With this employer’s track record, it would be foolish to take an informal settlement,” Supton said.
However, he said he expects the board will confirm the proposal. That would leave Supton with the option of filing an appeal, which – based on his analysis of board decisions – are approved only in about 5 percent of cases.
Supton also is not clear about the status of additional charges against HVLA that the unions have filed. He said the informal settlement proposal only deals with about 40 percent of the charges that are still pending.
“There's another eight to 10 charges that they haven’t addressed,” he said.
Said Spears, “He may have some more out there, but so do we,” explaining that the association recently filed five new labor charges against the union.
HVLA staff was in San Francisco on Wednesday to testify to federal officials about issues involving coercion, the blocking of golf carts and garbage cans by picketers, and aggressive treatment of management as well as a board member who Spears said has been followed and photographed by union employees.
“This is just bullying,” Spears said.
Schneider said the board can take settlements unilaterally over the union's objection. “But we will consider what their objections are before taking it unilaterally.”
She said the board postponed the scheduled trial pending completion of the settlement, but added, “It's not over till it's over.”
Schneider estimated a decision on whether the union's objections are meritorious – and whether the board director will approve the deal – could come down in the next week or two.
For his part, Supton said, “I really would like to have peace with this employer like we have in the past.”
He said the union wants to get back on the right track with HVLA. “But it's hard to do.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Firefighters were able to prevent damage to a waste collection facility where a fire broke out on Thursday evening.
The fire was first reported just before 6 p.m. Thursday at the Lake County Waste Solutions transfer station, located at 230 Soda Bay Road.
Lakeport Fire Chief Doug Hutchison, who was among the first to arrive at the fire minutes after it was dispatched, said firefighters found a fire in a massive pile of garbage and recycling in the station's largest and newest building.
“We don't know what started it,” he said.
Firefighters started hitting the fire with water then switched to foam to knock it down, said Hutchison.
He estimated they had to use about 20,000 gallons of water, brought to the scene by water tenders because there are no hydrants in the area.
Soda Bay Road was closed temporarily so the water tenders could safely come and go. “It just made it easier for them to get in and out without having to deal with traffic,” said Hutchison.
Once the fire was under control, heavy equipment was brought in to break up the piles of garbage and recyclables, Hutchison said.
There had been a fire in the same building last September, as Lake County News has reported.
“There was no damage to the building itself this time,” said Hutchison, noting that while the fire this time was bigger, unlike the previous incident it wasn't up against the building's walls.
Lakeport Fire responded with three engines, a water truck and a water tender, Kelseyville Fire sent an engine and a water tender, and Northshore Fire provided a water tender and its support team, which assisted firefighters by refilling air bottles and helping with rehabilitation, Hutchison said.
About 20 firefighters – including volunteers – worked the incident, Hutchison said. There were no injuries.
The fire was under control just after 8:15 p.m., with the incident terminated shortly before 9 p.m., at which point firefighters handed the facility back over to staff, according to radio reports.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
