News

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Mendocino National Forest will host a series of open houses in coming weeks for community members and partners to meet new Forest Supervisor Ann Carlson.

The open houses will take place on the following dates:

– Tuesday, May 26, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Round Valley Library Community Room, 23925 Howard St., Covelo.

– Wednesday, June 3, 3 to 5 p.m. at the Forest Supervisor’s Office, 825 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows.

– Thursday, June 4, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Upper Lake Ranger District Office, 10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake.

Carlson started on the Mendocino National Forest in April and has spent her first few months getting to know the employees and learning about the Forest.

“I’m looking forward to spending some time in our local communities, meeting new people and learning more about the area,” Carlson said.

For more information, contact the Mendocino National Forest at 530-934-3316 or visit www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Friday Yuba College Clear Lake Campus conducted its 31st annual commencement ceremony.

This year, the college awarded a total of 46 associate degrees in both arts and science as well as 111 certificates of achievement in the areas of accounting, business computer applications, business management, clerical, child development, culinary arts, chemical dependency and welding, according to Dean Annette Lee.

The college chose four student speakers to represent the graduating class of 2015.

At the morning celebratory breakfast, Alisa Burris and Samantha Ambrecht delivered inspiring and touching speeches.

Burris, a graduate of Middletown High at age 17, spoke of her quick two-year completion of the transfer course work that led to her acceptance as a junior in Sonoma State University's psychology program.

She shared her struggles as a low-income student and months of riding the bus for 45 minutes each way to reach the Clear Lake Campus. Eventually, scholarship awards enabled her to afford a vehicle and transportation to the campus.

“All the support and encouragement of the staff and faculty here made graduation a reality,” Burris said.

Samantha Ambrecht shared her experience as a high school graduate who never thought she would want or need to go to school again. She traveled and worked odd jobs until she realized she needed skills in order to support herself.

Ambrecht came to the Yuba College to acquire certificates in office skills. Her early success inspired her to work toward an associate's degree and now she has been accepted to Marymount California University where she will pursue a bachelors in liberal studies and complete a teaching credential.

At the noon certificate ceremony Chuck Howell spoke to the 90 students receiving certificates. He told his own story of stops and starts and his completion of five associate degrees.

Howell encouraged fellow students to continue their education. “You can do it,” he said. “I’m proof.”

Scott Bowman, student speaker at the evening associate degree ceremony, was also recognized with the Yuba Medal for outstanding scholarship.

A reentry student, Bowman came to Yuba College after leaving the construction industry. He took more than a full-time course load each semester while earning a 4.0 grade point average and a chemical dependency counseling associate's degree.

He has been accepted to Humboldt State University as a junior where he will earn a bachelor's and master's in the online social work program.

All of the student speakers stressed the accomplishments of their fellow graduates and encouraged all to continue on for higher education.

Lee said the number of degrees awarded since the 2007-08 school year have held relatively steady year-over-year, with a big spike of degrees awarded in 2011-12, which she said is a result of enrollment being counter-cyclical with the economy.

The same type of historical trend can be observed for the certificates awarded at the Clear Lake Campus, but this year the college had a very large number compared to the numbers of certificates awarded in the past eight years, Lee said.

“We have developed a very robust Career Technical Education program at CLC, which is partly the reason for this. Increasing demand is part of the criteria for all of our CTE programs,” she explained.

In particular, there is a lot of demand for emergency medical technician training and fire science classes, which is why those courses were added to the campus schedule, Lee said.

“Our culinary program is building quite a name for itself and is very popular right now,” she added.

The Clear Lake Campus business department awarded the most certificates this year, Lee said.

She said that this year the campus awarded nearly $18,000 in scholarships to its students. The past two years have grown slightly compared to recent years when it comes to scholarship awards.

Clear Lake Campus is currently registering students for summer classes. The summer session begins June 8.

For more information call 707-995-7900 or visit http://clc.yccd.edu/admissions/default.aspx .

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa) addressed the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation in a continued attempt secure much needed funding to help protect and improve Clear Lake.

In response, the subcommittee approved $1 million in funds to be included in the Assembly Budget for 2015-16.

“Clear Lake is a state treasurer and the fight to restore it will be a long one. We’ve come a long way in raising the awareness of this issue, which can no longer be ignored in Sacramento. People are taking note, and sooner or later we will see Clear Lake get the increased resources it needs,” Dodd said.

Dodd is pursuing multiple avenues to secure critical funding for Clear Lake.

Dodd’s petition to the Budget Subcommittee to appropriate additional funds in the state budget toward restoration of the lake accompanies his bill, AB 367, which seeks to allocate funds for water quality improvement, wetland restoration and protection against invasive species.

He has been working closely with state Sen. Mike McGuire to accomplish these goals, and the Senate budget subcommittee will consider a similar appropriation for the lake in late May.

Dodd brought Assemblyman Richard Bloom, chair of the subcommittee, to tour Clear Lake, which provided a firsthand look at the issues facing the lake.

“You cannot visit Clear Lake without getting a keen sense of its environmental and economic importance to the communities in Lake County,” Dodd said. “I’d like to thank Assemblymember Bloom and the members of the subcommittee for their support in addressing the problems of Clear Lake.”

Dodd represents the Fourth Assembly District of California, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Lake, and Colusa counties. Learn more about the district at www.asm.ca.gov/dodd .

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – John Harmyk, a manager from Hidden Valley Lake, will compete on Sports Jeopardy! May 20.

Hosted by Emmy Award-winning sportscaster Dan Patrick, Sports Jeopardy! is a new weekly 30-minute program that combines the excitement and prestige of JEOPARDY! with the rich and diverse world of sports.

For more information or to watch, visit www.SportsJeopardy.com .

NORTH COAST, Calif. – More than 350 local business leaders and guests attended the American Red Cross of the California Northwest’s 12th annual Real Heroes Breakfast held at the Doubletree Hotel in Rohnert Park on April 30.

Contributions for the 2015 Heroes Breakfast totaled more than $172,000 to benefit the American Red Cross.

“We are very thankful to have such a strong support system from our partner sponsors and the community for the Heroes Breakfast each year to ensure the Red Cross can help our six counties prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies of all kinds,” said Jeff Baumgartner, CEO for the California Northwest Chapter.

The invitation-only event allows the Red Cross to recognize local heroes while raising money to support programs and emergency services the Red Cross provides to support the communities of the six counties within the California Northwest Chapter whether it's responding to a disaster, collecting lifesaving blood, teaching skills that can save a life, or assisting military members and their families.

During this event, 12 remarkable and brave individuals who have all selflessly performed lifesaving acts or served their community in an extraordinary way were honored.

Award categories included the law enforcement hero, medical hero, military hero, rescue professional heroes, education heroes, animal hero, environment hero, heroic deed hero, humanitarian – adult hero and humanitarian – youth hero.

The event sponsors include American AgCredit, CamelBak, Kaiser Permanente, Jackson Family Wines, PG&E Corp., St. Joseph Health, Sutter Health, Merrill Lynch, Eileen Adams, Redwood Credit Union, Silver Oak Cellars, Sonoma Raceway and Keysight Technologies.

The 12th annual Real Heroes Breakfast’s honorary chair was Sally McCoy, chief executive officer of Petaluma based CamelBak. The breakfast was emceed by Debbie Abrams, a radio personality at KZST 100.1.

With office locations in Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma counties, the American Red Cross is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization that depends on the generous contributions of time and money from residents and companies to provide services and programs that help our community to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.

For more information on disaster preparedness, health and safety classes, volunteer opportunities, and financial contributions, visit www.redcross.org/santa-rosa , call 1-707-577-7600 or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Police have arrested a Clearlake man who they said severely injured a puppy.

Michael Gil Truscott, 35, was arrested on Saturday afternoon on a felony count of animal cruelty, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Nick Bennett.

At 9 a.m. Saturday Clearlake Police Officer Michael Dietrick was dispatched to the Clearlake Veterinary Clinic in response to a report of a 9-month-old dog named “Roxie” with injuries believed to have been caused by physical abuse, Bennett said.

Bennett said it was reported that Roxie had been thrown to the ground by Truscott and sustained a severely broken jaw with bones protruding from her face.

An investigation was conducted which led to the location and arrest of Truscott, who was booked into the Lake County Jail with bail set at $15,000, Bennett said.

Lake County Jail records indicated that Truscott has since posted the required percentage of bail and been released from custody.

A report on the case is being forwarded by Clearlake Police to the Lake County District Attorney's Office for review, Bennett said, with police seeking that charges be filed against Truscott for injuring the puppy.

Truscott is a convicted felon with a lengthy history of arrests in Lake, Marin and Napa counties on charges including drug possession, possession by a felon of firearms and ammunition, driving on a suspended license, larceny, petty theft and parole violations, according to previous Lake County News reports and online booking records.

Roxie is currently under the care of the Clearlake Veterinary Clinic for the injuries sustained from Truscott, according to Bennett.

He said funds are needed to pay for surgery to address the puppy's injuries, and a donation account has been established to cover her treatment and care costs.

If anyone is interested, Bennett said donations can be mailed to Clearlake Veterinary Clinic at 3424 Emerson St., Clearlake, CA 95422, or sent directly to the City of Clearlake Animal Control at 14050 Olympic Drive, Clearlake, CA 95422.