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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The annual California Coastal Cleanup isn't just for the ocean, and this year Lake County will once again participate in an effort to clean up Clear Lake and other local water bodies.
The California Coastal Commission's 29th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day – which it said is the state’s largest volunteer event – will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 21.
This year's theme is “Let’s make trash extinct.”
The commission reported that the event is expected to draw more than 70,000 volunteers who will combat marine debris at more than 800 locations throughout the state by removing the trash that has accumulated on California’s beaches and inland shorelines over the past year.
In the event's 29 years, more than 1.2 million volunteers have taken part, removing more than 19 million pounds of debris from California’s shorelines, the commission reported.
Last year, after a break of several years, Lake County had its first local watershed cleanup in concert with the Coastal Cleanup, as Lake County News has reported.
Carolyn Ruttan, Invasive Species Program coordinator for the Lake County Department of Water Resources, is once again acting as point person for the Lake County cleanup.
The 2012 Lake County Cleanup saw 26 volunteers at three locations – Lakeport, Clearlake Oaks and Clearlake – collecting eight bags of recyclables, 32 bags of trash and 156 tires, the county reported.
Ruttan said this year they're once again looking for volunteers and also asking the community to report which areas need the most cleanup, whether it's shoreline or local creeks and watersheds.
Within the next few weeks, she said the determination will be made about where to focus the cleanup, based in part on that community input.
Dumpsters will be set up in certain areas and trash bags will be provided, Ruttan said.
The importance of cleaning up, Ruttan said, is simple. “Trash breeds more trash.”
Last year's event was “brilliant,” Ruttan said.
“I'm hoping that this year's event will be bigger,” she said.
In addition to searching for volunteers and input on areas to clean up, Rutan said the county also is looking for event sponsors, including those who would be willing to provide water and lunch for volunteers.
To volunteer or report cleanup areas for the Sept. 21 Lake County cleanup, call Ruttan at 707-263-2256 or email her at
For those who cannot take part on Sept. 21, the Coastal Commission maintains a calendar of events taking place during the three weeks following the cleanup, known as Coastweeks.
For more information on the cleanup and the Let’s Make Trash Extinct campaign, visit www.coastalcleanupday.org .
Follow the Coastal Commission on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CaliforniaCoast and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cleanupday .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Fire Protection District has welcomed its newest firefighter.
Andrew Bergem, 27, was sworn in at a ceremony at the main station in downtown Lakeport on Aug. 13.
In a particularly meaningful touch in the ceremony, Bergem had his badge pinned on him by his father, Lakeport Fire Capt. Rick Bergem.
Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells said Andrew Bergem began his firefighting career in 2008 as an emergency medical technician for a private ambulance company in San Francisco.
That same year, Bergem joined Lakeport Fire as a volunteer, Wells said.
Wells said Bergem has attended the California Regional Fire Academy.
Bergem's position will be a firefighter/EMT. Wells said Bergem also is a hazmat specialist.
In addition to his work with Lakeport Fire, Bergem also works part-time for Ukiah Ambulance, Wells said.
When he's not busy fighting fires or rendering medical assistance to community members in need, Bergem enjoys wakeboarding, boating, music, rock climbing and fishing.
Wells said Lakeport Fire has 12 paid personnel, including himself, and 23 volunteers.
He said the department is always accepting applications from potential new volunteers.
To learn more, call Lakeport Fire Protection District at 707-263-4396.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Tickets are now on sale for a musical event planned for Saturday, Sept. 14, to benefit the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park.
The concert, featuring bluegrass favorites, will be held beginning at 7 p.m. at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre in Lakeport.
The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association is presenting the concert.
Opening the show will be Evan and Jillian Johnsen, third place winners in the Cloverdale fiddle contest, accompanied by their grandfather Randy Johnsen on guitar.
Up next will be Rafael Contreras, first place fiddle contest winner accompanied by local musician, Don Coffin.
The Anderson Family will perform before intermission, then the popular Pat Ickes and Bound to Ride will finish out the evening.
Thorn Hill Winery will be pouring wine and snacks will be available for purchase.
Tickets for this event are $25 each and are available at the Soper-Reese box office (open on Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.), The Travel Center in the Shoreline Shopping Center in Lakeport (open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake (seven days a week.)
Tickets also can be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .
All profits from the upcoming concert will go towards projects, expenses, and improvements at Anderson Marsh State Park near Lower Lake.
For more information about the park, go to www.andersonmarsh.org .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – With several great sponsors, the stages at this year's Lake County Fair will host improved talent, while also maintaining the fair's unwritten policy of supporting local acts and attractions.
The fair runs Thursday, Aug. 29, through Sunday, Sept. 1.
Thanks to help from Mediacom, Lake County Tribal Health Consortium, Calpine and Robinson Rancheria Resort and Casino, fair organizers have searched out and booked some of the best acts available in Lake County.
Nationally touring blues act Twice As Good will join other well known local bands like the LC Diamonds, playing Thursday; the Mark Weston Band, playing Friday; The Snake Alley Band, playing Saturday afternoon; and the “E” Ticket Band, playing Sunday afternoon, all on the Theater Main Stage.
Twice as Good will perform Saturday at, immediately 8 p.m., following the Lake County Talent Competition.
A fast-paced, rocking blues act, Twice As Good, is led by local father and son Richard and Paul Steward. Twice As Good has toured all over the United States, including a gig at the 2009 Chicago Blues Festival.
In 2010, Twice As Good won the “Last Band Standing Competition,” and was named the “Best New Blues Band” by the West Coast Blues Society. Charlie Musselwhite called Twice As Good “the real deal.”
Besides being well known touring musicians, Richard and Paul Steward are members of the Elem Indian Colony in Clearlake Oaks.
Sunday's major stage event, the Fiesta Latina, is presented by Robinson Rancheria Resort and Casino on the Theater Main Stage. Irma Lopez will open the Fiesta at 3 p.m., followed by Nuevos Abentureros at 5:30 p.m. They will be followed by the return of Banda la Tequilera, which will close out the evening.
Other local musical acts will play the Mediacom Stage, including Travis Rinker, who has been called “the next Eric Clapton,” Michael Barrish and the Cherry Road Gang.
Regular admission prices for the 2013 Lake County Fair remain unchanged since 2011. Prices are $10 for a regular ticket, $6 for a senior over age 60 and $6 for children ages 6 through 11. Children under 6 years old are admitted free every day.
Children through age 11 are admitted for $3 on Thursday, Aug. 29, only, for “Kid's Day.”
Visit www.lakecountyfair.com .
More than 400 young men and women of the California Conservation Corps are working 16-hour shifts supporting firefighters throughout California, according to the CCC Foundation.
At the request of Cal Fire and the U.S. Fire Service (USFS), 35 crews currently are assigned to eight different fires between Humboldt and Tuolumne counties.
Crews typically comprise 10 to 15 corps members and work 14 consecutive days without a break.
Most of the CCC crews are battling the fire behind the front lines of attack. They work to make sure needed supplies arrive on time, maintain the fire camps and equipment and help to ensure that the logistics chain operates smoothly.
Two crews at the Corral Complex blaze in Humboldt County are firefighting units.
“We are extremely proud of these dedicated and hard-working men and women,” said Tom Riley, president of the CCC Foundation. “Many come to the corps to plant trees, restore fish habitats and build mountain trails. Others respond to natural emergencies. All are paid minimum wage, put in long hours and often live in pretty rugged conditions. But for 37 years they’ve been coming through for California when called upon.”
Crews of 18- to 25-year-old corps members typically are shipped to locations throughout California.
For example, crews from Fresno, Monterey Bay, and Ukiah are working the huge Rim Fire in Tuolumne County at the edge of Yosemite.
In July, corps members provided 40,000 hours of fire response work from one end of California to the other, including work on major fires in Riverside and San Diego counties.
At the request of Cal Fire and USFS, CCC crews currently are the Corral Complex Fire (Humboldt County), Butler Fire (Humboldt/Siskiyou counties), Forks Complex Fire (Humboldt/Siskiyou
counties), Butler Fire (Humboldt/Siskiyou counties), Hough Complex Fire (Plumas County), Deer Fire (Tehama County), American Fire (Placer County), Fish Fire (Tulare County) and Rim Fire (Tuolumne County).
Once fire season winds down, corps members will still be hard at work.
On Saturday, Oct. 19, hundreds of corps members will join community and corporate volunteers for Volunteer Day, an annual California environmental project sponsored by the CCC Foundation.
Sponsored by the California Endowment, AT&T, Molina Healthcare, Raley’s and the American Chemistry Council.
Ten projects this year will span the length of California – from native planting and trail maintenance in Humboldt County to working on a community garden at Cuyumaca College in San Diego County.
The CCC Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit organization that supplements funding of CCC programs. Priorities include workforce development, education, leadership training, conservation, veterans, and emergency response. More information can be found on our website: www.cccfoundation.net .
Since the CCC was created in 1976, 110,000 corps members have provide more than 67 million hours of natural resource work – planting more than 21 million trees, improving stream and fish habitats, building or maintaining nearly 10,000 miles of trails and improving park and recreation areas. They also have spent nearly ten million hours of dedicated work in just about every large natural emergency.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Tuesday morning high speed pursuit through a residential area has resulted in the arrest of a Kelseyville man.
Mark Ewing Shields, 24, was arrested following the chase, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
On Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. deputies responded to the area of Chippewa Trail in Kelseyville for a complaint of people riding dirt bikes on the street in a residential area, Brooks said. Central Dispatch advised that one of the motorcycles was reported to be black and the other red in color.
When one of the responding deputies reached the intersection of Point Lakeview Drive and Soda Bay Road, he observed a red dirt bike traveling southbound on Soda Bay Road towards him, according to Brooks.
The driver, later identified as Shields, turned onto Point Lakeview Drive. Brooks said the deputy immediately activated his emergency lights and siren, as he turned to get behind the motorcycle.
Shields turned around to look at the deputy and then rapidly accelerated, trying to get away, Brooks said.
Shields continued to flee at speeds over 70 miles per hour in a 40 mile per hour zone. Brooks said the deputy pursued Shields until he drove around a fence in the 8000 block of Soda Bay Road, where the deputy was unable to follow in his patrol car.
Brooks said Shields was located a few minutes later at a residence, which was approximately 150 yards from where he went around the fence.
Shields told the deputy he fled because he thought he had an arrest warrant. He explained that he was arrested earlier in the month for driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Brooks reported.
The deputy arrested Shields for evading a peace officer with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property, Brooks said.
Shields was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked. He remained in custody on Wednesday evening, with bail set at $35,000.