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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has two cats ready for adoption this week.
One male and one female tabby both are in need of new homes.
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.
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”).
Male gray tabby
This male gray tabby is 2 years old.
He has a short gray and white coat, weighs nearly 10 pounds and has been neutered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 19, ID No. 37398.
Female gray tabby
This female gray tabby is 6 months old.
She weighs nearly 4 pounds, has a short brown tabby coat and has been spayed.
She's in cat room kennel No. 29, ID No. 37410.
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
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – The Mendocino National Forest is currently locating and taking action to suppress fires started by lightning during a series of storms from Thursday evening through Saturday.
The forest received more than 200 lightning strikes over that three-day period, according to a Sunday report from forest spokesperson Tamara Schmidt.
Schmidt said the forest has identified four fires on the Upper Lake and Covelo Ranger Districts on the west side of the forest and two fires on the Grindstone Ranger District, located on the east side of the forest.
All four fires on the Upper Lake and Covelo Ranger Districts are small and have been contained at less than an acre, Schmidt reported. The Mickey Fire, which was identified Thursday evening in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness is out.
On the Grindstone Ranger District, the Wallow Fire was discovered Friday and contained at one-tenth of an acre Saturday, according to Schmidt.
The Crocket Fire is currently burning on the north end of the Snow Mountain Wilderness and is approximately 10 acres, she said.
Schmidt said it is burning in heavy slash, brush and some timber in the same area as the 2001 Trough Fire. It is expected to be contained on Sunday, but smoke will still be visible for the next several days.
Fire managers are asking the public to avoid the Crocket Fire Area due to increased fire traffic – both on the ground and in the air – as they work to achieve control of the fire.
As conditions continue to dry out and warm up, forest firefighters anticipate discovering more lightning fires in the coming days. As a reminder, Schmidt said the forest is currently under fire restrictions.
To report a fire, please call 911.
For more information, please contact the Mendocino National Forest at 530-934-3316, or visit www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino .
Updates also are available on Twitter @MendocinoNF.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In the last of his eight years of soliciting funds as AIDS Walk coordinator for a San Francisco law firm, Keith Wentworth raised the princely sum of more than $100,000.
In his first year as client services representative for the Lower Lake-based Community Care HIV/AIDS Program, or CCHAP, the goal for Wentworth and Rachel Robison, Lake County's AIDS Walk coordinator, is considerably more modest.
Their objective is $16,000, which would double the amount the Lake/Mendocino counties CCHAP raised in 2012.
The monetary gap, of course, is consistent with the vast differences in population base and per capita income rankings.
Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties rank one through four among California's 53 counties in per capita income and the overall Bay Area population base is somewhere in the millions. Lake County is 40th in population and 44th in average income.
But, says Wentworth, Lake County is well up on the chart in its spirit of giving.
“The fact that this agency raised nearly $10,000 is significant. The community has been incredibly generous,” he said. “It might be considered a poor county, but that doesn't mean there isn't wealth here – there is.”
CCHAP is hoping that a new team concept for the sixth annual Lake County AIDS Walk – which takes place Saturday, Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Clearlake's Austin Park – will redouble the county's spirit of giving.
The concept is called “The Power of Ten.” Essentially Power of Ten encourages potential donors to form teams of 10 walkers, who engage sponsors, or backers.
The formula is similar to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which has been fairly successful raising funds in Lake County, partly because it generates friendly team competition.
“It's all about team-building,” Wentworth said. “We want to get employers energized to form a team. If you have a team of 10 walkers, and if each of those walkers has 10 sponsors, and if each one of those sponsors only gives $10, it's a thousand dollar team.
“The Power of Ten doesn't hit anybody particularly hard,” he added. “Everybody knows 10 people. If we spread the program throughout the county we should be able to have a successful drive.”
To enhance the possibilities of meeting its objective in donations, CCHAP also is seeking to increase the number of walkers, which, according to Robison, numbered 30 last year.
“I would like to see 100,” she said.
Wentworth's heart is in raising funds for AIDS/HIV because he has seen friends die form the disease.
Although from all outward appearances he shows no signs of it, he, himself, was diagnosed with AIDS a decade ago.
Some people, he acknowledges, have a prejudice for AIDS victims because of misconceptions about the disease.
Does that make it a hard dollar to raise?
“I don't think so,” he replied.
Progress toward a cure for AIDS, Wentworth added, has been slow.
“All it is is a manageable chronic disease,” Wentworth observed. “There is still a high percentage of long-term survivors. But it's no longer automatic death if you take care of yourself.”
The most recent research in 2010 established that there were about 1.8 million deaths from AIDS yearly, down from 2.2 million in 2005.
Individuals, groups or firms interested in contributing to the AIDS Walk's Power of 10 can obtain packets at the CCHAP offices, 8050-A Lake St. (zip code 95457) in Lower Lake, or call 707-995-1606 (fax number 707-995-0309.)
For more information, log on to https://www.facebook.com/LakeCountyAidsWalk .
Deadline for entry of a team is Sept. 2.
The AIDS Walk will feature live music, food and a silent auction.
CCHAP says that all of the event's proceeds will help it continue to provide services to residents of Lake County and maintain the highest level of well-being.
Email John Lindblom at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Kelseyville man died after his pickup went off the road and hit a utility pole and a tree on Saturday afternoon.
Daniel Lua, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred at 3:35 p.m. on Saddle Road, east of Spur Road, near Kelseyville, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said Lua was driving a 2001 GMC pickup eastbound on Saddle Road at an unknown speed, with a 17-year-old juvenile from Kelseyville riding as his passenger.
Lua did not slow down enough as he was going through a slight righthand curve and he ran off the north roadway edge. The CHP said the left side of the pickup hit a utility pole, with the GMC continuing on until the left front hit a large pine tree.
The vehicle came to rest facing in an easterly direction, north of Saddle Road's north roadway edge, according to the CHP report.
Lua was extricated from the vehicle but he died before he could be transported by helicopter to a regional trauma center. The CHP said the juvenile was flown by air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Alcohol is not considered a factor in the crash, said the CHP.
The report did not state if Lua and his passenger were using safety equipment.
The crash remains under investigation, the CHP said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The Perseid meteor shower, an annual celestial event beloved by millions of skywatchers around the world, returns to the night sky this week. And because the Moon will be just past new, no moonlight will hinder the view.
Sky & Telescope magazine predicts that the Perseid shower will be at or near its peak late on Sunday night (late on Aug. 11 and early morning on Aug. 12) and on Monday night (August 12-13).
"The nearly moonless sky this year means the viewing will be excellent," noted Alan MacRobert, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope.
Although an occasional Perseid meteor might catch your attention shortly after evening twilight ends, the prime viewing hours are from about 11 p.m. or midnight (local time) until the first light of dawn.
This is when the shower's “radiant,” its perspective point of origin, is high up in your sky. The higher the radiant, the more meteors appear all over the sky.
To enjoy the Perseids, you need no equipment but your eyes. Find a dark spot with a wide-open view overhead. Bring a reclining lawn chair or a ground cloth so you can lie back and watch the sky in comfort. Bundle up in blankets or a sleeping bag, both for mosquito shielding and for warmth; clear nights can grow surprisingly chilly under the open stars (due to radiational cooling).
“Relax, be patient, and let your eyes adapt to the dark,” said Robert Naeye, Sky & Telescope's editor in chief. “With a little luck you'll see a ‘shooting star’ every minute or so on average.”
Perseids can appear anywhere and everywhere in the sky. So the best direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest, usually straight up. Faint Perseids appear as tiny, quick streaks. Occasional brighter ones may sail across the heavens for several seconds and leave a brief train of glowing smoke.
When you see a meteor, track its path backward. If you eventually come to the constellation Perseus — which climbs the northeastern sky as the night progresses, as seen at right — then a Perseid is what you’ve just witnessed.
Occasionally you may spot an interloper. The weaker Delta Aquariid and Kappa Cygnid showers are also active during Perseid season, and there are always a few random, “sporadic” meteors. All of these track back to other parts of the sky.
Any light pollution will cut down the numbers visible. So will the radiant's lower altitude if you’re viewing early in the night.
But the brightest few meteors shine right through light pollution, and the few that happen when the radiant is low are especially long — skimming the upper atmosphere and flying far across the heavens.
In fact, a recent NASA analysis of all-sky images taken from 2008 to 2013 shows that the Perseids deliver more bright meteors (those that outshine any star) than any other annual meteor shower.
How and why
Meteors are caused by tiny, sand- to pea-size bits of dusty debris streaking into the top of Earth's atmosphere about 80 miles up.
Each Perseid particle zips in at 37 miles per second, creating a quick, white-hot streak of superheated air. The nuggets in Grape Nuts cereal are a close match to the estimated size, color and texture of typical meteor-shower particles.
These particular bits were shed long ago by Comet Swift-Tuttle and are distributed all along the comet's orbit around the Sun. Earth passes through this tenuous "river of rubble" every year in mid-August.
More about the Perseids and how to watch them appears in the August issue of Sky & Telescope magazine and at www.SkyandTelescope.com/Perseids .
Anyone can download Sky & Telescope's new free ebook, “Shooting Stars,” at http://media.skyandtelescope.com/documents/meteors-free-ebook.html .
For more skywatching information and astronomy news, visit www.SkyandTelescope.com or pick up Sky & Telescope, the essential magazine of astronomy since 1941.
This story begins with a simple question: Who from Lake County died in World War II?
The answer is complex, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say the answers are complex.
When I asked this question of Lake County’s Veterans’ Service Office, Nancy Mitchell responded with two lists compiled by the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA).
One list shows Army personnel and the other lists the Navy personnel. There are 28 names between the two lists.
The NARA’s Army list provides these names: Clement W. Anderson, Duane L. B. Anderson, Varges Anderson, Donald H. Barnes, Hubert D. Bell, Joseph T. Beuter, Wayland R. Clem, Thomas C. Ferron, Ralph M. Gallette, Lester D. Grigsby, Lawrence E. Harris, A. M. Hendricks Jr., Charles A. Mach, Merwin McKee, Willard G. Megown, Harvey R. Mosher, Charles F. Nordahl, Louis F. Patriquin, Robert W. Pinckney, Edward F. Simons, Donald G. Simpson, Kenneth L. Steadman, Stephen L. Stockton, Charlie C. Williams and Herbert N. Wilson.
From NARA files come the names of Lake County’s Navy, Marine and Coast Guard casualties: Charles H. McBee, Eric C. Peterson and Merrill C. Rannells.
With these names and this information, what else can be learned about these men and their families? Who were their parents, their siblings, their wives and children? Where had they lived in Lake County? When were they born and where did they go to school?
The censuses for 1940, 1930, 1920 and 1910 are available online and filled in pieces of many puzzles.
The Index to Births, Marriages and Deaths in Lake County Newspapers shows that local newspapers published obituaries for the men. More names turned up in the pages of old Lake County newspapers on microfilm at Lakeport Library.
More research shows that the simple original question becomes complex. Some of these men don’t seem to have lived in Lake County at all. Some seem to have had relatives here and used Lake County as a home of record.
Other names are not on the NARA lists because some men had left Lake County and used other homes of record when they enlisted, but the local newspapers published obituaries about them.
Some names not on the NARA list appear in the Clear Lake Union High School’s Cardinal and Black memorial sections during WWII.
Lake County men who died during the war but who are not on the NARA lists are: James E. Butler, Ray Ege, Donald Fish, “Teddy” Flodberg, William S. Harrison, Ted Martin, Sydney Stokes and Donald Woods.
Clerical errors may account for some of the discrepancies. Hubert D. Bell appears on the NARA Army list with Lake County, Calif., as his home of record.
In the 1930s a man named Hubert Edwin Bell, born in 1917 in California, lived in Lake County, Calif. He is probably the Hubert Bell who enlisted in 1942 in San Francisco. He died in 1979 in Lake County.
A Hubert Dale Bell, born in 1924 in West Virginia, is probably the man on the NARA list because the serial numbers match. To add to the fun, another Hubert Bell, born in 1922 in Alabama, lived in Lake County, Florida, in 1940.
Local newspapers tell more of the stories about Lake County’s casualties, who died around the world, in all theaters of the war and in the United States.
Tom Ferron died in the crash of training flight in New Mexico. Sydney Stokes died of “polio of the throat” in an Army hospital in Texas.
Lake County lost Joe Beuter, Charles Mach, Ted Martin, Merrill Rannells and Donald Woods in the South Pacific, from New Guinea to Iwo Jima. The war in the Philippines claimed Donald West, Lester Grigsby and Archie Hendricks.
Others died in Europe, some on the ground, some in the air over Germany, Italy and Belgium. Some were prisoners of war and others were missing in action, their fates not known for many months.
Some are buried in Lake County, others in military cemeteries on foreign soil.
They served in the infantry, the Marines, the Navy and in the Air Corps. Archie Hendricks, an expert horseman, taught cavalry warfare in the Philippines as a member of the 26th Cavalry. Donald Simpson served in the famed 10th Mountain Division.
This story is still a work in progress. For some of these men there is much information both online and in other sources. For others, almost nothing has yet been found. Perhaps other names have not been found yet.
There are more chapters to write in this story.
Jan Cook has lived in Lake County for about 40 years. She works for the Lake County Library, is the editor of the Lake County Historical Society's Pomo Bulletin and is a history correspondent for Lake County News. If you have questions or comments please contact Jan at