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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A crash that occurred late Thursday morning has resulted in a temporary closure of Silverado Trail in Napa County.
The California Highway Patrol's Napa Area office said the crash occurred at 11:30 a.m.
Raymond Blasquez, 82, of Lincoln, was driving a white 2012 Mitsubishi four-door northbound on Silverado Trail at Rose Drive when, for unknown reasons, the Mitsubishi traveled off the roadway, striking a Pacific Gas and Electric power pole and landing in a ditch, the CHP said.
Cal Fire, CHP and Napa Police Department were on scene to assist in securing the roadway due to a downed power pole with live wires. The pole and wires were still blocking the roadway shortly before 12:30 p.m., according to the CHP.
Blasquez suffered injuries and was transported by ambulance to Queen of the Valley Hospital, the CHP said.
Based on the CHP report, Silverado Trail is expected to be closed until about 2:30 p.m. while PG&E repairs the power pole.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Three major county water projects have a good chance at moving forward thanks to state emergency drought funds being made available this year.
Lake County Special Districts submitted three proposals for its county service areas at Mt. Hannah, Paradise Valley and Spring Valley to the California Department of Water Resources, which opened applications for Prop 84 Emergency Drought Grant Funds this spring, according to Special Districts Compliance Coordinator Jan Coppinger.
Last week, the state issued its draft recommendations for the funds, and included all three projects. However, the final recommendations will be based on a public comment period that ends Oct. 8.
The three Lake County projects – totaling just over $2.6 million – are among 110 projects totaling an estimated $200 million that the California Department of Water Resources is recommending for funding under the Proposition 84 grants.
The grant funding is meant to help alleviate drought conditions and improve regional drought preparedness, the state said.
The proposal amounts are as follows:
– Mt. Hannah, CSA No. 22: Transmission line replacement, $270,000.
– Paradise Valley, CSA No. 16: Consolidation with Clearlake Oaks County Water District, $1,378,000.
– Spring Valley, CSA No. 2: Replace and loop distribution system, $960,000.
Once the public comment period is over, the state will put together its final funding determination, Coppinger said.
“They said we should hear something final by the end of October. I'm hoping it won't be that long,” she added.
Coppinger said the state's grant funding application window was very short – about two weeks. “It was a very short window because it was emergency funds.”
She added, “It was somewhat luck that we were able to get these three in there.”
While there may have been luck, there also was preparation.
Special Districts was able to get the applications for the three projects to the state even on short notice thanks to the fact that it had been working on them and they were close to being ready, outside of some final right-of-way and archaeological studies that were needed, Coppinger said.
“For the most part, they were all shovel-ready,” she said, adding that it just so happened that all three fit the emergency drought funding criteria.
The Mt. Hannah project includes a 900-foot transmission line from the tank to the new well, which Coppinger said was paid for through a $37,800 emergency grant from the California Department of Public Health.
The Paradise Valley project will consolidate customers from the Paradise Cove subdivision, where there are about 80 residences, as well as a planned subdivision across the highway, for a total of about 160 connections, with Clearlake Oaks County Water District, she said.
The new subdivision's developer, Brookwood LLC – which needed water supply issues addressed before moving forward with its plans – is paying the grant's required 25-percent match, totaling $375,000. Coppinger said the developer already has paid preconstruction and engineering costs.
The full match, along with the grant, will be paid by next spring, at which point the shovels should be in the ground, Coppinger said.
In the mean time, if the county receives the funds, Coppinger said all preconstruction work will continue over the winter months.
Spring Valley's project is the largest of the three. Coppinger said it will include completely replacing distribution lines and creating a looping system.
“That will be pretty huge,” she said.
With Spring Valley's $2 million treatment plant upgrade and a new storage tank completed about a year ago – also funded through state grants – the next steps will be to replace 7,500 linear feet of existing distribution lines and install 9,000 linear feet of new lines to loop the system and remove dead-ends that can cause water quality issues, Coppinger said.
Coppinger noted that one of the unique things with the state's new funding is that it has never funded distribution lines before.
However, she noted, leaking distribution lines waste water, a big issue in the current drought.
Spring Valley has needed the distribution line replacement for a long time, she added.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control's efforts to reduce cat numbers in the Kelseyville area has received a deadline extension while the agency works to meet its goal for the number of cats spayed or neutered.
The Kelseyville community cat program – which offers free spay and neuter services – is funded by a two-year, $32,880 Petsmart Charities grant which was awarded in late 2012, as Lake County News has reported.
The program's goal is to reduce the Kelseyville cat population's reproductive capacity by 75 percent, according to Animal Care and Control Bill Davidson.
Davidson said the grant requires that 650 cats be spayed or neutered over a two-year period. However, so far, about 525 cats have gone through the program.
He said Petsmart Charities is giving Animal Care and Control a new deadline of March 3, 2015, to meet that 650-cat goal.
“Community cats” don’t have specific homes. They're sometimes fed by different people in a neighborhood, usually lack vet care and are responsible for large number of kittens each year.
Spaying and neutering community cats – and returning them to their neighborhoods – has been a main component in Animal Care and Control's efforts to reduce unwanted cats and the county's high euthanasia rates.
Over the last three years, as Davidson has established the community cat programs, the cat euthanasia rate has dropped by half, as Lake County News reported in July, http://bit.ly/1qu5Mc9 .
Davidson said he's looking for more Kelseyville-area residents to bring in cats for the program, emphasizing that community participation is needed for the program to succeed.
For more information on the community cat program, call Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Dashing dachshunds, German culture, music, merriment and bicycles will return to downtown this Saturday as two of Lake County's annual celebrations take place.
The fifth annual Oktoberfest will be held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Main Street.
It will once again offer a day of music and fun, games and contests, German food, beer tasting, arts and crafts booths, and more.
A highlight is the Dachshund Derby Dash.
All doggie participants must be vaccinated, have some dachshund heritage and remain on leash unless racing. There is a $10 per-dog entry fee. First place receives $75.
There also will be a costume contest for dogs of every breed.
The daylong celebration coincides with the 24th annual Konocti Challenge bicycle ride around Clear Lake, headquartered this year at Skylark Shores Resort on N. Main Street.
The challenge offers several courses, from a 20-mile fun ride for families to the more challenging 40-, 65- and 100-mile routes that take riders around the county.
Start times begin as early as 7 a.m. for the longer courses and after 10 a.m. for the family rides.
The event will once again feature its end-of-ride barbecue to help riders refuel and relax.
For more information on the ride or to register, visit www.konoctichallenge.com . A video on the 2012 ride can be seen below.
For more information about Oktoberfest, visit http://www.oktoberfest-lakeport.com/ or call the Lake County Chamber of Commerce at 707-263-5092.
The full schedule of events is below.
Oktoberfest schedule of events
11 a.m.: Event kicks off with the first beer and the inaugural chicken dance with Festmeister Tony Barthel.
Noon to 2 p.m.: The trio “Showcase the Band” plays on the main stage.
Noon to 5 p.m.: Craft beer tasting. Cost is $20 for full tasting or $30 with a commemorative lanyard and glass.
1:30 p.m.: Beer pong and cornhole competitions in Museum Park. The entry fee per team per competition is $20. Sign up at the information booth at Third and Main streets.
2 p.m.: Doggie and people costume contests, and the famed Dachshund Derby Dash, which takes place after the costume contests in the doggie contest area. For more information on the derby or to download an application, visit http://www.oktoberfest-lakeport.com/oktoberfest-contests/dachshund-derby.html .
3 to 5 p.m.: Showcase the Band comes back to the Main Stage.
5 p.m.: Winners of the stein contest will be announced. Beer stein owners will line-up at the Main Stage with their steins with the winners pronounced.
6 to 9 p.m.: Street dance featuring the Jimi Z Band in front of the museum on the grass and vendor booths on Main Street.
8:30 p.m.: Cash opportunity drawing. Prizes are $250, $250 and $500. Winner need not be present to win. Tickets can be purchased throughout the day.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – “Carol's Camellia” is the 65th quilt block to be installed on the Lake County Quilt Trail.
The block is on the Norton building, located at Third and Main streets in downtown Kelseyville.
The 8-foot by 8-foot block is sponsored by the Norton children, Pam (Pete) Jerome, Mark (Erin) Norton and Margie (Ben) Mitten; grandchildren, Kim (Dave) Sullivan, Nick (Kami) Jerome, Shelly (Dave) Bond, Jared (Christie) Norton, Nick (Shawna) Mitten, Chris, Steven and Stephanie; and 11 great-grandchildren to honor the memory of their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Carol Norton.
Her son-in-law, Ben Mitten, installed this quilt block and custom made the frame.
The quilt block is called “Carol’s Camellia” because Carol Norton loved to garden and one of her
favorite plants was the camellia.
When her children’s school would have a bake sale, she would frost a cake white and top it with a real camellia.
She also would float them in bowls on her table and would give them to her children and eventually her grandchildren to take home and do the same. Pink camellias were her favorite.
The history of the Norton building dates back to 1923.
It was located across the street from the current location in an old livery stable and was called K-ville Garage.
In 1925, the current building was built and sometime in the 1920s the name was changed to Norton Motors. Starting as a Ford dealership, it changed to Dodge in 1938.
In 1970, Russ Norton added Chrysler/Plymouth and in the 1980s Mark Norton also took on Jeep.
Through the years the business has been run by second, third and fourth generations of the Norton family.
In 1946, Russ, Howard and Floyd Norton began working with their father, Fred. In 1960, Russ became the sole owner, and his wife, Carol, worked along side him as the bookkeeper. Daughters, Pam and Margie also spent time in the office.
Son Mark began working with his father, Russ, in 1972 and eventually was taken on as partner. When Mark’s son, Jared, became involved in the towing end of the business around 1995, it made the fourth
generation of Nortons to participate.
The Lake County Quilt Trail is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.
The quilt block was drawn and painted by the LC Quilt Trial team, a group of dedicated quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers, carpenters and a videographer.
For more information about the Lake County Quilt Trail visit www.lakecountyquilttrail.com or check out the group's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-Quilt-Trail/187014251326163 .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Thirty homes in Lakeport are under a boil water order due to a recent water main break.
The Lakeport Public Works Department issued the notice to residents on Third and Fourth streets on Tuesday.
Cyndy Ader, the department's secretary, said the 30 homes under the order are located on part of Third Street and at the west end of Fourth Street.
Those are the homes where the water supply couldn't be isolated by water main valves from the water main break area, the notice stated.
Ader said that while crews were investigating the water main break they found a cracked corporation stop – which is a type of valve – that was screwed into a tapping saddle, a kind of fitting or sleeve.
“We had no choice but to depressurize the water main and replace the tapping saddle and corporation stop,” Ader said.
As a result, the residents who received the notices are being urged to boil all tap water that's to be used for drinking or cooking as a safety precaution against stomach or intestinal illness.
The city's notice said the tap water should be boiled rapidly for at least one minute to ensure that it's safe to drink.
Alternately, for those who can't boil their water, the city said they can use eight drops or one-quarter of a teaspoon of fresh liquid household bleach per gallon of clear water or 16 drops or half a teaspoon per gallon of cloudy water. The bleach should be mixed thoroughly into the water and allowed to stand for 30 minutes before it's used.
“A chlorine-like taste and odor will result from this purification procedure and is an indication that adequate disinfection has taken place,” the city notice said.
A third option the city suggested for guaranteeing water safety is the use of water purification tablets. Manufacturers' instructions should be followed.
The city is conducting emergency water treatment, with an independent laboratory doing testing on water quality. Ader said the results are expected on Thursday.
If the test results are clear, Ader said city staff will notify residents that the boil water order has been lifted.
For more information call the Lakeport Water Department at 707-263-3578.
Email Elizabeth Larson at