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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a new group of big and little dogs waiting for homes.
Breeds including mixes of heeler, terrier, Chihuahua, pit bull, American Eskimo dog, beagle, pugs, hound, Shar Pei and Labrador Retriever are represented in this week's roundup of available dogs.
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”).
Male Chihuahua mix
This male Chihuahua mix is 2 years old.
He has a short coat and brown eyes, and has been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 2, ID No. 39500.
'Chocolate'
“Chocolate” is a 1-year-old beagle-fox terrier mix.
He has a short brown and white spotted coat, weighs 31 pounds and has been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 3, ID No. 39610.
Beagle-pug mix
This female beagle-pug mix is of undetermined age.
She weighs 32 pounds, has a curly white and brown coat, and has been spayed.
Find her in kennel No. 6, ID No. 39493.
Labrador Retriever-Shar Pei mix
This male Labrador Retriever-Shar Pei is 7 months old.
He has a short black coat and brown eyes, and has been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 7, ID No. 39540.
Hound mix puppy
This male hound mix puppy is 13 weeks old.
He has a short chocolate and white coat, and has been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 24, ID No. 39567.
Hound-Shar Pei mix
This female hound-Shar Pei mix puppy is 14 weeks old.
She has a short red coat and has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 25a, ID No. 39408.
Hound-Shar Pei mix
This male hound-Shar Pei mix puppy is 14 weeks old.
He has a short chocolate-colored coat and has been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 26, ID No. 39407.
'Midnight'
“Midnight” is a 6-year-old male Labrador Retriever mix.
He has a short black coat, weighs 62 pounds and has been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 28, ID No. 39579.
Manchester Terrier mix
This female Manchester Terrier mix is 2 years old.
She weigh 13 pounds and has a short black coat. Shelter staff did not report if she has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 29a, ID No. 39632.
Female red heeler
This female red heeler is 3 years old.
She has a short red and white coat, and weighs nearly 39 pounds. Shelter staff did not report if she has been spayed.
Find her in kennel No. 29b, ID No. 39633.
Female pit bull mix
This female pit bull terrier mix is 3 years old.
She has a short blue coat and cropped ears, and has not been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 39675.
'Nemo'
“Nemo” is an 8-month-old male Eskimo dog mix.
He has a short white coat and has not been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 34, ID No. 39671.
'Sparky'
“Sparky is an 8-month-old male Eskimo dog mix.
He has a short white and tan coat, and has not been altered.
He's in kennel No. 34, ID No. 39670.
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
The head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, Dr. Bill Cooke, often lets cameras do his sky watching for him.
He and his colleagues operate a nationwide network of automated fireball observatories that capture anything that burns into Earth’s atmosphere.
On the morning of May 24, however, he plans to go out in person.
“There could be a new meteor shower, and I want to see it with my own eyes,” said Cooke.
The shower is the May Camelopardalids, caused by dust from periodic comet 209P/LINEAR.
No one has ever seen it before, but this year the Camelopardalids could put on a display that rivals the well-known Perseids of August.
“Some forecasters have predicted more than 200 meteors per hour,” said Cooke.
Comet 209P/LINEAR was discovered in February 2004 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research project, a cooperative effort of NASA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, and the US Air Force.
It is a relatively dim comet that dips inside the orbit of Earth once every five years as it loops around the sun.
Two years ago, meteor experts Esko Lyytinen of Finland and Peter Jenniskens at NASA Ames Research Center announced that Earth was due for an encounter with debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR.
Streams of dust ejected by the comet mainly back in the 1800s would cross Earth's orbit on May 24. The result, they said, could be a significant meteor outburst.
Other experts agreed, in part. There is a broad consensus among forecasters that Earth will indeed pass through the debris streams on May 24.
However, no one is sure how much debris is waiting. It all depends on how active the comet was more a century ago when the debris streams were laid down.
“We have no idea what the comet was doing in the 1800s,” said Cooke.
As a result of the uncertainty, “there could be a great meteor shower – or a complete dud.”
The best time to look is during the hours between 11 p.m. May 23 and 1 a.m. May 24. That's when an ensemble of forecast models say Earth is most likely to encounter the comet's debris.
North Americans are favored because, for them, the peak occurs during nighttime hours while the radiant is high in the sky.
“We expect these meteors to radiate from a point in Camelopardalis, also known as 'the giraffe', a faint constellation near the North Star,” he continued. “It will be up all night long for anyone who wishes to watch throughout the night.”
Indeed, that might be a good idea. Because this is a new meteor shower, surprises are possible. Outbursts could occur hours before or after the forecasted peak.
In case of a dud, there is a consolation prize.
On May 24 the crescent Moon and Venus are converging for a tight conjunction the next morning, May 25. Look for them rising together just ahead of the sun in the eastern sky at dawn.
“That's a nice way to start the day,” said Cooke, “meteors or not.”
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Authorities are investigating the death of a Lake County Jail inmate that occurred Saturday morning.
The identity of the male inmate was not released in a Saturday evening report from Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
At approximately 9:05 a.m. Saturday a correctional officer conducting routine cell checks inside a housing unit at the facility noticed something was wrong with the inmate and contacted medical staff, who immediately responded to the location, Brooks said.
An assessment conducted by medical staff determined that the male subject was not breathing and did not have any vital signs. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started by medical and correctional staff, Brooks said.
Brooks said Central Dispatch notified the Lakeport Fire Department, which responded to the facility with rescue personnel.
Rescue personnel continued CPR for several minutes, but were unable to revive the subject or detect any signs of life. CPR was discontinued at approximately 9:30 am., Brooks said.
Brooks said Lake County Sheriff’s detectives and an investigator from the Lake County District Attorney’s Office were called out to the scene, along with members of the sheriff’s command staff.
Both the sheriff's office and District Attorney's Office are conducting parallel investigations as to the circumstances leading up to the death, including the cause, Brooks said.
District Attorney Don Anderson confirmed to Lake County News that his office was involved in examining the case, noting that he had two investigators at the jail for much of the day Saturday.
Brooks said the inmate was housed alone and foul play does not appear to be a factor in the cause of death.
The exact cause of death is still under investigation and pending the results of an autopsy, which will be scheduled for early next week, Brooks said.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Paloma Colacion, graduating senior at Middletown High School, has been recognized as a member of the National Hispanic Recognition Program.
The National Hispanic Recognition Program, or NHRP, identifies academically outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students.
Each year, the NHRP honors more than 5,000 of the highest-scoring students from over 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
These students are from the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands, as well as U.S. citizens attending schools abroad.
Approximately 200 of the top-scoring Prueba de Aptitud Académica, or PAA, students from Puerto Rico are also included.
Although the NHRP does not provide a financial award, being named is an important academic recognition.
Colacion will be attending the University of Arizona on a full ride academic scholarship. She will be studying engineering in the honors program.
Middletown High School Principal Bill Roderick said Colacion's recognition is “a big deal” for her and her family, as well as for the school.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Kelseyville man arrested last month in connection to a cannabis oil lab pleaded guilty to hazardous waste-related charges this week.
On Tuesday, John Joseph Darnell, 27, pleaded guilty to manufacturing a controlled substance and unlawful treatment or storage of hazardous waste, both felonies, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.
Darnell was arrested on April 25, along with Paige Polley of Kelseyville and Charles Knipp of Chico during a sheriff's office search warrant service at a Kelseyville residence, as Lake County News has reported ( http://bit.ly/1iwZDm8 ).
The three were alleged to have been manufacturing cannabis oil, more commonly known as honey oil, from a processing station inside the residence, officials reported.
Honey oil is a thick sticky substance derived from cooking marijuana using cylinders, filters and butane, Anderson said.
This kind of honey oil processing operation is very dangerous and has caused numerous fires and explosions, Anderson said. Frequently, people including children, are injured or have died due to the process of manufacturing honey oil.
Anderson said the defendants had processed 1 pound and 5 ounces of the honey oil with a street value of $29,700. The defendants also had in their possession 216 marijuana plants.
Darnell's case is being handled according to the District Attorney’s Office policy of strict enforcement of environmental crimes related to marijuana and drug crimes, Anderson said.
Anderson said his office is making every effort to prosecute environmental crimes, especially related to marijuana grows and illegal drug manufacturing, with the resources available. He said Darnell's case is being handled accordingly.
Darnell's sentencing is scheduled for June 2. Anderson said the maximum sentencing for these crimes is eight years in prison and a minimum fine of $5,000.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – During the past week the Lake County Sheriff’s Office – with the assistance of the U.S. Marshal’s Service and State Parole – was able to locate and arrest three sex offenders who were in violation of their sex registration requirements.
Sheriff's Lt. Steve Brooks said 43-year-old Aaron Abner Ludtke of Cobb, 42-year-old Flash Blanton of Lucerne and Monty Willis Timmons, 34, were taken into custody.
On May 1, the sheriff's office had requested assistance from the public locating Blanton and Timmons, as Lake County News has reported.
On Tuesday, detectives from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit contacted Ludtke at his residence in Cobb, taking him into custody for failing to register as a sex offender, Brooks said.
Brooks said Ludtke was on parole for a 2012 conviction out of Lake County for violating his registration requirements.
On Friday Ludtke remained in custody at the Hill Road Correctional Facility on a no-bail parole hold and for failing to complete his annual registration, with bail for the second charge set at $25,000, Brooks said.
On Wednesday, Blanton turned himself in at the Hill Road Correctional Facility and was booked into custody. Brooks said Blanton currently is being held on a no bail warrant for violation of probation and failing to notify law enforcement of a move, with the second charge carrying a bail of $15,000.
On Thursday, sheriff’s deputies and detectives from the Major Crimes Unit along with several U.S. Marshals located Timmons at a residence on Collier Avenue in Nice, Brooks said. Timmons was taken into custody without incident.
Brooks said Timmons was booked into custody at the Hill Road Correctional Facility on a no bail parole hold and for failing to complete annual registration. Bail for the second charges is $115,000.