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LUCERNE, Calif. – A project to improve water flow and stop seasonal flooding of a Lucerne creek is under way.
The Victoria Drainage Channelization and Culvert Upgrade project began this week on Victoria Street in Lucerne.
According to the county's project description, the work to be done includes reshaping and excavating approximately 1,000 cubic yards over 675 linear feet of drainage channel and replacing two culvert crossings with Contech con/span structures with headwalls.
The project so far has involved removing a part of the street and a small bridge and culvert.
The end of Victoria Street that intersects with Country Club Drive will be closed until July, according to Steve Phillips, a Lake County Public Works construction engineer.
The area along what's known as Victoria Creek, where it intersects with Victoria Street and Kensington Way, has been known to flood during the winter rainy seasons, with water pooling in the streets.
The flooding was particularly bad on New Year's of 2006, causing concerns for nearby homeowners.
“It builds up with gravel, mainly because the flow capacity of the existing culvert structures were too small, so we' re upsizing the culvert size at Victoria Street and also Kensington Way,” said Phillips.
Increasing the culvert size is expected to mitigate flooding problems, said Phillips.
Because the county is performing a hazard grant mitigation project at the site, the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave the county grant funding to cover the work, according to Phillips.
Phillips said the total project cost currently is estimated at $262,000, which he said is paid for entirely by the FEMA grant.
“The construction should be completed by the end of July,” said Phillips.
Next Monday, Phillips said, demolition of a portion of street around the existing culvert on Kensington Way will take place.
Concrete for the footings for the new culvert on Victoria Street will be poured on Friday, he said.
Phillips said the county has already extracted gravel upstream of the Victoria Street crossing, and the contractor on the project, Bouthillier's Construction Inc., will conduct gravel extraction from the Victoria crossing down to Country Club as part of the project, Phillips said.
Bouthillier's Construction Inc., based in Willits, submitted the winning bid for the project last year, according to county records.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Representatives of agencies from one end of Lake County to the other assembled late last month to draft a mission statement for a coalition to serve local youth.
Their meeting at The Harbor on Main on Lower Lake's Main Street is envisioned as the first link in the formation of a youth organization that will serve as both the advisory committee to Harbor on Main as well as an advocacy and planning youth coalition with active youth participation.
The Harbor on Main, an affiliate of Redwood Children's Services Inc., only recently celebrated its first year in operation. But it has made exceptional progress in that time under Redwood Children’s Services' Program Coordinator Jolene Chappel's direction.
The youth-led and designed resource center lists Lake County Behavioral Health, Lake County Office of Education, Department of Rehabilitation, Carlé Continuation High School and Yuba College as partners.
“The formation of this youth coalition will afford us the opportunity for systems expansion within the county,” Chappel said in a written welcoming statement to the representatives in attendance. “You are being invited because of your expertise as a youth provider and/or youth advocate.”
The meeting was perhaps the first on a countywide basis to bring a majority of youth providers and advocates together in one conference room to unite in a common cause
In addition to Chappel, those present included Ida D. Morrison and Aimee Jackson, both members of the Executive Council of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake; Brian Martin, assistant chief of Lake County Probation; Valerie Mick of the Lake County Department of Social Services; Carolyn Holladay of Lake County Public Health; Jamey Gill of Mendo Lake Credit Union; Linda Aldridge of Lake County Behavioral Health; and Nura Brown, who represented the youth.
“I'm excited. I knew this needed to happen to address more individuals from different agencies locally and coming up with a plan,” said Mick.
The formation of a coalition, said Chappel, will help the center expand its services for youth throughout the county. The center served 200 predominantly south county youth in its first year.
“It's good for youth on the Southshore, but youth on the Northshore can't get here as easily,” Chappel said. “We don't have answers for transportation. So there's currently a lack of knowledge of what's going on and what services are available or where we're lacking. The goal is to oversee the activities that we do in the The Harbor and recommend changes or increase services.
“Right now we only serve a small portion of the youth, but we appeal to all the youth in the community and we're all here together to make that happen,” she added. “What I want to see is an increase of youth served through any youth-serving program, and I also want to see the self-sufficiency and the resiliency of the youth throughout the community increased.”
The purpose of the coalition, Chappel said, is to determine “how we can collaborate to expand programs for youth in the community.”
The agencies involved in the formation of the coalition are scheduled to meet again on Friday, Aug. 23, at The Harbor on Main to finalize their mission statement.
They agreed that the document they adopt must cover “recovery, prevention and self-sufficiency for youth.”
Email John Lindblom at
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The 11th annual EcoArts: Lake County Sculpture Walk will hold its opening reception this Sunday, June 9.
The reception will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Middletown County Trailside Park.
This year’s festivities will include art, music and poetry.
Parasols will be available to stay out of the sun while touring this year’s 24 art works “in dialog with nature.”
The Lake County International Charter School will once again sell cool refreshments to help beat the heat.
In the music tent, charter school teacher James (Sheamus) Kennedy and his students will sing and play the ukelele. The W’Nacdi drum circle will be with us too, and encourages you to bring a drum and join in.
Supplies are provided in the always popular art tent to learn origami or paint a picture.
This year they will be joined by 2012-2014 Lake County Poet Laureate Elaine Watt, along with Russell Reza-Khaliq Gonzaga, poet laureate emeritus of Lake County 2010-12, and Julie Adams and Diane Tulley (Aquiana), who will share their work.
Now in its 11th year, the Sculpture Walk is a free, long-term public art exhibit that draws over 3,000 viewers each season.
The Sculpture Walk will be open from dawn till dusk until mid-October.
There is a free self-guided tour book at the entrance to the center trail and docent tours can be arranged by appointment.
EcoArts of Lake County is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the visual arts, visual art education and ecological stewardship for artists, residents, and visitors to Lake County.
For more information email
CLEARLAKE PARK, Calif. – After a three-hour fight in steep terrain, firefighters contained a wildland fire that burned on the hills above Clearlake Park late Wednesday afternoon and into the evening.
The Lake Fire, as the blaze was dubbed by state fire officials, was first reported shortly after 4 p.m. in the 11000 block of Patterson Drive at Lakeshore Drive.
Just before 7 p.m., officials at the scene reported that the fire was fully contained. The last size estimate put it at 30 acres.
Lake County Fire Protection District, Cal Fire and Northshore Fire were among the agencies on the scene of the fire, which was first reported at around 4 p.m.
The fire rapidly moved uphill, which made it necessary to hit it from the air. Also complicating fire suppression efforts was the fire's movement under nearby power lines.
At the height of the incident, three Cal fire air tankers dropped retardant and two of the agency's helicopters made numerous water drops on the fire, as bulldozers worked nearby, according to reports from the scene.
At one point, a new fire spot appeared up on the hillside, which a Cal Fire helicopter knocked out, based on scanner reports.
Although structures are in the area, there were no reports of damaged or burned buildings, or injuries to firefighters or anyone else in the fire area.
The last of the aircraft used to fight the fire were released from the scene after 7 p.m., based on radio reports.
The portion of Lakeshore Drive located in the fire area was closed to through traffic while firefighters were on scene. Fire officials said the road could be reopened at around 7:30 p.m.
Fire personnel were expected to be on scene until between 11 p.m. and midnight in order to mop up.
Information on a cause wasn't immediately available Wednesday evening.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE PARK, Calif. – Firefighters are battling a wildland fire in the Clearlake Park area.
The fire, dispatched just after 4 p.m., is reported to be located in the 11000 block of Patterson Drive at Lakeshore Drive.
Shortly after 5 p.m. the fire was estimated to have reached 25 acres, according to reports from the scene.
Just after 6 p.m., Cal Fire officials at the scene were estimating the fire had reached 30 acres and was 75 percent contained.
Lake County Fire Protection District, Cal Fire and Northshore Fire responded, according to radio reports.
The fire is reported to be moving rapidly uphill. Structures are reported to be in its path. The right flank of the fire is under power lines.
A total of three air tankers and two helicopters were reported to be assigned to the incident. A bulldozer was working the ridgeline.
The fire's large column of smoke was moving eastward over the city of Clearlake, resulting in numerous 911 calls reporting additional fires. However officials are reporting that it is the same fire.
County road officials responded to shut down Lakeshore Drive to through traffic as the firefighting effort continued.
Fire resources were anticipated to be on scene until between 11 p.m. and midnight.
Additional details will be posted as they become available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Wednesday the California Highway Patrol issued a report on a Monday evening crash that injured two valley men.
The report said the crash victims were 27-year-old Anthony Hodges of Fair Oaks and Tyler Demeola, 31, of Sacramento.
Hodges was driving a 2007 Chevy Silverado pickup westbound on Highway 20 west of Cache Creek with Demeola as his passenger when the crash occurred at approximately 7:19 p.m., the CHP said.
The CHP said Hodges' pickup veered to the right and onto the dirt shoulder before striking a large tree. The pickup came to rest in a pasture north of Highway 20.
Both front airbags deployed, and Hodges and Demeola were both wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, according to the CHP report.
Hodges was flown to UC Davis Medical Center by a CalStar air ambulance, while Demeola was transported by REACH helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Both men had moderate injuries, the CHP said.
The CHP said alcohol is not suspected to have been a factor in the wreck, which is still under investigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at