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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Twenty local individuals, organizations and businesses received recognition for their contributions to Lake County at the Stars of Lake County Community Awards ceremony on Saturday.
The 17th annual Stars of Lake County Community Awards took place at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.
Students, advocates, artists, volunteers, businesses, nonprofits, local heroes, great ideas and humanitarians were honored at the event.
The full list of winners follows.
STARS OF LAKE COUNTY 2014 WINNERS
– Marla Ruzicka Humanitarian of the Year: Sharon Dawson, Middletown.
– Senior of the Year: Shirley Crawford, Kelseyville.
– Volunteer of the Year: Angie DeMaria, Lakeport.
– Student of the Year – Female: Linda Tuell, Clearlake Oaks.
– Student of the Year – Male: Everado Chavez, Lower Lake.
– Youth Advocate of the Year – Volunteer: Children’s Museum of Art & Science.
– Youth Advocate of the Year – Professional: Wendy Gattoni, Middletown.
– Agriculture Award: Diane Henderson, Kelseyville.
– Organization of the Year – Nonprofit (has paid staff): Redwood Children’s Services.
– Organization of the Year – Volunteer (all volunteer staff): Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum, Kelseyville.
– New Business of the Year: Cheese’s Game Shop, Lakeport.
– Small Business of the Year: The Lodge at Blue Lakes, Upper Lake.
– Large Business of the Year: Mendo Lake Credit Union, Lakeport and Clearlake.
– Best Idea of the Year: The Hero Project.
– Local Hero of the Year: Forrest Seagrave (posthumously).
– Joshua Blair Memorial Arts Award – Amateur: Suna Flores, Kelseyville.
– The Arts Award of the Year – Professional: Sherry Harris, Clearlake.
– Woman of the Year: Barbara McIntyre, Lakeport.
– Lifetime Achievement: Charlie Jolin, Lakeport.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has five cats ready to go to new homes this week.
The cats – four females and a male – range from tabbies of different colors to calicoes and tuxedo cats.
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”).
'Mommy'
“Mommy” in an adult female domestic short hair mix cat with a gray and white coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 43a, ID No. 1164.
'Sugar Pie'
“Sugar Pie” is an adult female domestic short hair mix cat with tuxedo markings.
She is in cat room kennel No. 64b, ID No. 1163.
'Bella'
“Bella” is a female adult domestic medium hair cat with a gray tabby coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 66b, ID No. 1168.
'Tinker Bell'
“Tinker Bell” is a female adult domestic short hair mix with calico markings.
Find her in cat room kennel No. 80, ID No. 1082.
'Goldie'
“Goldie” is a male domestic short hair cat with a yellow tabby coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 90, ID No. 1106.
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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.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
LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lucerne man was fatally shot early Sunday after he charged two deputies with a knife.
The shooting occurred shortly after 12 a.m. in the 6400 block of 16th Avenue.
District Attorney Don Anderson said deputies responded to the residence on the report of a domestic dispute involving a married couple.
When the deputies arrived at the home, the husband charged them with a knife, “and they shot and killed him,” Anderson said.
Anderson said the fatal confrontation occurred in the front yard of the residence.
Reports from the scene early Sunday indicated the man had been shot in the chest. Medics were called but canceled shortly afterward.
Anderson said his office is handling the criminal investigation as part of the county's critical incident protocol, which is used in cases where members of law enforcement are involved in fatal incidents or other situations resulting in injury.
The protocol requires the sheriff's office to conduct a separate internal affairs investigation, Anderson said.
Anderson on Sunday was not yet prepared to release the names of the two male deputies involved or the man who died.
Law enforcement officials were on the scene of the shooting until about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, processing evidence.
A neighbor, who had been asleep at the time of the shooting, told Lake County News that he was awakened by his wife and witnessed the scene as authorities arrived to conduct the investigation.
The man said the street “looked like a parking lot for police cars,” and sheriff's personnel and district attorney staff arrived at the scene.
As the scene was processed, the body of the man who died remained in the yard behind a wooden fence, while an equipment cart sat in the street covered by a tarp, according to the neighbor.
John Jensen contributed to this report.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Kelseyville High School is in the midst of making a quantum leap ahead in its agricultural program.
By February students in the school’s Future Farmers of America chapter will be learning about virtually all forms of livestock in an up-close-and-personal exposure provided by a new state-of-the-art barn on their campus.
“It’s a pretty fantastic structure,” said Kyle Reams, director of maintenance at Kelseyville High. “It will have its own feed storage, nice dry hay and a washroom for animals with stalls so that the kids are safe and the animals are safe while they’re washing them.”
Donelle McCallister, who has served 27 years as ag instructor at the school, called the new barn “a gift from the community to the Kelseyville Union School District.”
McCallister specifically thanked district Superintendent David McQueen, high school Principal Matt Cockerton, the district office staff and the board of education for their respective roles in creating the building.
Funding for the barn, a 60-foot by 60-foot premanufactured metal structure, came from money set aside for the project and donations. No fundraising campaign was needed.
Working with a company in Middletown, McCallister and Reams custom designed the barn in a modular way so that three quarters of it can be reconfigured to accommodate any form of livestock – from chickens to bovines.
Its design calls for large doors at either end and a cupola and metal panels on the sides for ventilation and to keep air moving.
“Eventually the building is going to have water, electricity and lights,” said Reams.
The floors will be covered in some areas and unimproved in others, depending on the animals’ needs.
The most significant thanks came from the students who will be able to study the animals housed in the barn more closely. Up till now, McCallister kept them in her personal barn.
“Quite a few students live on properties where they can’t have animals,” said Jared Smith, a junior in the FFA. “So this will open doors for us. We’ll be able to raise and care for an actual animal and develop skills along those lines.”
Said McCallister: “Eventually we would like to have chickens, pigs and goats in the barn. We’re hoping the kids will be able to use the facility right away.
“A whole bunch of trucks started bringing in fill this (Friday) morning,” she added. “We’re hoping that the barn will be here by the end of this month and that we’ll have it up by February. Landscaping and all of that will happen over time.”
Middletown and Upper Lake high schools also have student barns.
Email John Lindblom at
LUCERNE, Calif. – Law enforcement responded to the report of a shooting in Lucerne early Sunday morning.
The incident, reported shortly after midnight, occurred in the 6400 block of 16th Avenue, according to radio reports.
At least five gunshots could be heard several blocks away.
A sheriff's deputy on scene called in to report a male had a gunshot wound to the chest.
Medics responded but were canceled shortly afterward, while more sheriff's units were dispatched to the scene.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Many of us here in Lake County have a California black bear story or two.
During one winter a sorrowful sight south of Middletown, along Highway 29 and Hilderbrand Road, was a deceased, frost-encrusted bear which undoubtedly met his end by being hit by a large vehicle.
Also in the Hilderbrand Road vicinity a black bear was “shopping” around a resident's porch, dining on a bin of pet food which had been left outside the home.
A more recent bear sighting in Lake County occurred near the Lower Lake end of Spruce Grove Road.
With a home range of eight to 60 square miles for male bears, and one to 15 square miles for females, no wonder bears thrive in our wide and wonderful county.
Black bears are the only bears that dwell in California. They are the subspecies Ursus americana altifontalis, or northwestern black bear, and ursus californiensis or California black bear which both inhabit California.
Grizzly bears ranged in California until they were hunted out in 1920.
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, our state's black bear population has been increasing over the last 25 years, with more than 30,000 bears statewide.
Black bear and deer, or big game hunting season began farther north, in Humboldt County Oct. 11. As of Oct. 19, there were 737 bears “harvested.”
The season closes on Dec. 28 or when 1,700 black bears have been taken.
Black bears are not always black. They can sport a variety of additional fur colors including brown, red and sometimes even blonde.
Black bears can live up to 30 years in the wild. The weight of a female is in the 275 pound range, and the male's weight can rise to 500 pounds.
Bear tracks in the wild are distinct, with five toes and claws. Those unique claws aid them in gathering food and also help them climb. They are quite dexterous, using those same claws just like fingers while consuming their prey.
The bear's habitat includes forested areas, with large trees. However, their range includes brushy and grassy areas which gives them an array of food sources. Bears are omnivores. Depending on the season, bears will dine on berries, acorns, pine nuts, grubs, beetles and other insects, fish, small mammals and carrion.
Bears are both good runners and swimmers, and their cubs learn these habits quickly.
Black bears are usually timid and nonaggressive. In our area bears do not hibernate, but “den” instead, utilizing anything from a large brush pile, large trees, beneath large rocks or sometimes simply on the bare ground.
Another term for their seasonal slumbering is “seasonal lethargy.” During this time their unique adaptations allow them to live off their fat and high winter cholesterol levels. They do, however drop a considerable amount of weight then.
An additional feature bears possess is that they lose only a small amount of muscle at this time.
Additional information on bears for homeowners, and how to stay safe in bear country can be found at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=57522&inline=1 .
For the Department of Fish and Wildlife's American black bear range map, visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/bear/range.html .
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.