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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – One man has been arrested and a second is being investigated in connection to alleged altering of checks from a local recycling buyback center.
The separate cases, involving identical crimes, arose earlier this week and involved checks from Lake County Waste Solutions' recycling center on Soda Bay Road, according to company owner Bruce McCracken.
So far, it hasn't been determined if the two incidents are related.
On Monday, a suspect went into a local bank with a Lake County Waste Solutions check that had been altered and managed to cash the check, which McCracken said was for more than $900.
Then, on Wednesday afternoon, another man attempted to cash a similar check that had been altered to read an amount of more than $1,000, according to David Toews, Lake County Waste Solutions' operations manager.
Lt. Jason Ferguson of the Lakeport Police Department said Michael Matthias Gunderson, 25, of Clearlake, attempted to cash the check at Savings Bank of Mendocino County in Lakeport on Wednesday.
Ferguson said he responded to the scene and contacted Gunderson, with whom Lakeport Police had no previous contacts.
Ferguson arrested Gunderson on a felony charge of making or passing a fictitious check, with bail set at $15,000 for that charge.
Jail records indicated Gunderson remained in custody on Friday due to a no-bail hold for a felony probation violation, with a tentative Friday court date scheduled.
On Thursday, Toews took additional evidence related to the Monday check cashing to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating that first case.
“This is kind of a new thing, which is scary,” Toews said.
McCracken acknowledged that his business has taken a hit due to the fraudulent checks activity. “We’ve had people try to alter the checks in the past, not to this extent.”
He said he and his staff are trying to figure out how to tighten up their system as one means of preventing their checks from being altered.
The other way to stop it is to warn other businesses, he said.
If it's happening to his company, McCracken added, “Who knows who it’s going to happen to?”
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As the hot, dry months approach and extreme drought grips much of the state, the California Department of Social Services announced Thursday that food banks in 24 drought-affected counties – including Lake – will be receiving shipments of food assistance.
The first $5.1 million in food assistance will begin to hit food bank shelves in early May, delivered directly to drought-impacted communities.
“Communities are feeling the impacts of the drought, and this assistance will help families put food on the table,” said CDSS Director Will Lightbourne. “As the drought persists, we’ll continue delivering assistance to where it is most needed.”
Thursday's announcement represents the first wave of drought-related food assistance which will be delivered to communities throughout California this year.
The $687 million emergency drought legislation, signed by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. last month, included $25 million in food assistance for the counties most impacted by the drought.
Shipments will be sent to counties in which the unemployment rate is higher than the 2013 statewide average and which have a higher share of agricultural workers than the state as a whole.
These counties include Amador, Butte, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, San Benito, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Yolo and Yuba.
A study on effects of the drought conducted by the University of California, Davis has been initiated and once completed will help refine the locations of future food assistance distributions.
Beginning in May, local food banks in these 24 counties will receive prepackaged boxes of nutritionally balanced, nonperishable food, designed to provide enough food for a household of four people for about five days.
Food items include canned fruits and vegetables, soup, peanut butter, rice and beans.
These food banks are developing local drought action plans for food distributions and collaborating with other local organizations who may be serving impacted families.
Individuals receiving the food box will be asked to self-certify that they live in a household where drought conditions have caused their underemployment or unemployment.
In addition to drought-related food assistance, families and individuals who are expecting long-term impacts of the drought will be offered information and assistance in applying for the CalFresh Program.
CalFresh is a federal program designed to help families add to their food budget to put healthy and nutritious food on the table.
More information about CalFresh and applications for the program are available at www.calfresh.ca.gov .
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Students at Upper Lake High School got a close-up look at the consequences of drinking and driving during the “Every 15 Minutes” presentation this week.
The event, which rotates to a different county high school each year, included local first responders and law enforcement, along with student actors reenacting a fatal drunk driving collision.
The reenactment moved from the crash scene to the hospital to the funeral home, and for the student DUI suspect to the jail and then to the Lake County Courthouse, where Judge Andrew Blum gave the suspect an eight-year prison sentence.
Above is the video compilation of the reenactment, completed by the Velocity Video team.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The annual Clean Up Downtown Day in the city of Lakeport will be held on Saturday, April 26.
The cleanup takes place from 7 to 10 a.m.
Bring long-handled brooms to reach cob webs, dust pans, weeding tools, buckets and ladders, and meet at Museum Park on Main Street.
Business and property owners, and residents are invited to take part.
Join your friends and neighbors for a morning of light work, coffee, donuts and good fun.
The event also is appropriate for children from 10 and up (with adult supervision), and can be counted as community service for high school students.
For more information visit the Lakeport Main Street Association Web site at www.lakeportmainstreet.com or call 707-263-8843 .
Caltrans is asking cities and counties throughout California to submit applications for projects that promote biking and walking that will vie for a share of $360 million in federal and state funding from the state’s new Active Transportation Program – the nation’s largest.
“Today’s transportation system is about more than just highways,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “Active transportation projects are a good investment and will help achieve mobility, safety, and greenhouse gas reduction goals for California.”
The program will receive about $120 million annually, so the $360 million figure announced today represents three-years of funding.
Last year, Gov. Brown signed legislation – Senate Bill 99, Chapter 359 and Assembly Bill 101, Chapter 354 – creating the ATP, which distributes funding for human-powered transportation projects and programs.
The new program replaces a patchwork of small grant programs with a comprehensive program that is more efficient.
Another benefit is that funds can be directed to multi-year projects to make greater long-term improvements to active transportation.
Local and regional transportation agencies have until May 21 to submit their project applications to Caltrans. Complete information can be found on Caltrans’ Web site, http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/atp/index.html .
The California Transportation Commission and Caltrans will review the projects based on established guidelines and selection criteria, and the commission will allocate funding in August and November to the most worthwhile projects.
Forty percent of the funding will go to metropolitan planning organizations in urban areas. Small urban and rural regions will receive 10 percent, and the remaining 50 percent of the funds will be awarded to projects statewide.
Caltrans’ recently released California Household Travel Survey – the largest and most complex review of its kind – underscores the need for active transportation.
The survey shows that the percentage of California residents walking, biking or using public transportation on a typical day has more than doubled since 2000.
Nearly 23 percent of household trips were taken by walking, biking, and public transportation. In 2000, that share was only 11 percent. This increase includes a dramatic increase in walking trips, which nearly doubled from 8.4 percent to 16.6 percent of trips.
To demonstrate its support for the construction of more multimodal local streets and roads, this month Caltrans endorsed National Association of City Transportation Officials’ guidelines that include innovations such as buffered bike lanes and improved pedestrian walkways.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A missing boater was found safe early Wednesday morning after he spent 11 hours on top of his overturned catamaran.
The man was found through the efforts of the Lake County Sheriff's Marine Patrol and the REACH 6 helicopter shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday, as Lake County News has reported.
Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said Marine Patrol deputies were called out at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday after the man – whose name was not released – was reported as a missing or overdue boater.
A family member said the boater left Lakeside County Park at approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday on board a 16-foot Hobie Cat-type sailboat, Brooks said.
When the subject did not return, his family became concerned and reported him missing to the sheriff’s office, according to Brooks.
The Sheriff’s Marine Patrol initiated a search of the area after speaking with a family member at the park. Brooks said the search started at the county park and they worked west towards Lakeport.
He said a helicopter request was placed with both the California Highway Patrol and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, however neither was available.
Additionally a request was made with REACH Air Medical Services to determine if their helicopter had forward looking infrared (FLIR) capability. He said they advised it did not, however they did have night vision available and assisted with the search working east from the county park.
At approximately 3:30 a.m., Marine Patrol detected an intermittent radar return approximately two miles off shore from Lakeport, Brooks said.
A request was made to REACH to check the area of the radar return and they confirmed an object in the water. Brooks said REACH directed Marine Patrol deputies to the location, where they found the missing person on his overturned Hobie Cat.
The man said his boat overturned at approximately 4:30 p.m. the previous day due to a heavy gust of wind. He said the boat was relatively new to him and he was unable to right the boat, Brooks said.
Brooks said the man, who had spent approximately 11 hours on his overturned boat, was evaluated for injury and hypothermia.
Marine Patrol transported the man back to Lakeside County Park and reunited him with his family, according to Brooks.