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NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Ukiah woman first reported missing by her son earlier this week has been found safe.
Elna Jean Koopman, 75, was found at a Vallejo hotel Tuesday, according to Lt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
Koopman, said to be suffering from the early stages of dementia, was reported missing from her Kenwood Drive home on Monday by her son, Van Patten said.
As a result, a statewide “Silver Alert” – meant for missing and endangered adults – was issued, he said.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday Koopman's son contacted the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office to report he had tracked his mother’s credit card, Van Patten said.
Van Patten said the son learned the card was used in San Jose on Monday and it was thought Koopman might be trying to fly to Dallas, Texas.
The son recontacted the sheriff's office approximately two hours later and stated he had updated information that Koopman had used a credit card to rent a hotel room at the Comfort Inn in Vallejo, Van Patten said.
The son called the Comfort Inn and spoke with Koopman, who was indeed at the hotel. Van Patten said Koopman's son responded to Vallejo and was reunited with Koopman, who was in good health and spirits when he arrived.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new state health report shows that many of California’s counties are improving their health outcomes, while Lake County was rated worst in the state from overall death rates with poor health showings in other key health categories.
The California Department of Public Health released its “County Health Status Profiles 2013,” coauthored with the California Conference of Local Health Officers, in coordination with National Public Health Week, Apr. 1-7. It’s the 20th anniversary edition of the report, which the state began in 1993.
The report showed that California has achieved important national health goals for reducing deaths due to cancer, motor vehicle crashes, homicide and suicide, and in reducing the incidence of AIDS, gonorrhea and low-birthweight infants.
“These trends point to a healthier California,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health. “However, far too many Californians still struggle with chronic diseases related to diet, physical activity and smoking. We all have a stake in building a healthier California.”
Statewide, the new report points to declines in deaths due to heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and reduced incidence of tuberculosis, while identifying increases in deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease and an uptick in the incidence of chlamydia.
The 2013 profiles provides a snapshot of key public health indicators for each of California’s 58 counties and the state and compares them to goals established by the federal “Healthy People 2020 National Objectives.”
The report showed that 56 counties and California met the national goal for AIDS cases and female gonorrhea, with death rates declining for accidents, diabetes and influence/pneumonia.
While Lake was among the 56 counties meeting the goals for AIDS cases, it didn’t fare as well in the other categories.
For Lake County – the health issues of which recently were given low marks in the nationwide County Health Rankings – the new state report pointed to clear problems.
“It is hard to sugar coat our health data,” said Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.
Based on Tait’s analysis of the latest data, Lake County’s rates have worsened in the areas of death from all causes, for which it ranked last, or No. 58, in the state; as well as stroke (No. 57); chronic lower respiratory disease (No. 56); accidents (No. 57); chlamydia infections (No. 24) and low birthweight infants (No. 32).
Lake County was listed No. 54 for firearms-related deaths, infant mortality and prenatal care begun during the first trimester of pregnancy; No. 55 for coronary heart disease and deaths due to pneumonia and influenza, No. 56 for prostate cancer deaths, motor vehicle crashes and Hispanic infant mortality; No. 57, or next to last, for suicide rate, deaths due to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis; and No. 58 for drug-induced deaths and infant mortality for Asian/Pacific Islanders.
In several ratings areas, the report stated that rates were deemed unreliable due to too few data elements.
Tait pointed out that health issues are very much tied to lifestyle choices and behaviors. “Our smoking rates continue to be high and almost certainly factor strongly into cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease rates.”
While Tait said it’s painful to see where the county stands with respect to the data in the new report, she suggested there are important perspectives to consider, among them, trends for improvement.
Areas of improvement, said Tait, included rates for all cancer deaths (No. 52), lung cancer (No. 54), births to teen mothers (No. 47), adequate prenatal care (No. 51) and breastfeeding initiation (No. 39), Tait said.
Citing data from the California Cancer Registry, she said Lake County has experienced overall improvements in both invasive cancer incidence and overall cancer mortality in Lake County since 2005.
“What this may mean is that, even though we are seeing positive changes, we are not making them as fast as other counties in California,” she said.
She said the public health department recognizes that health tends to correlate with socioeconomic factors, “and we recognize that we have our challenges here in Lake County.”
Tait added, “I think it is important to realize that poor health choices are not simply a matter of poor decision-making. It is difficult for people to be motivated toward improving their health when they are struggling and discouraged.”
She explained that socioeconomic burdens are an explanation for poor health, but not an excuse. “There are more hurdles to overcome in order to get motivated to practice healthier behaviors.”
Tait said Lake County has a strong sense of community, and she thinks it’s important for people to provide each other with the encouragement they need to be physically active, eat healthful foods, stop using tobacco and other drugs, and drive defensively.
The Lake County Health Services Department is offering its own encouragement through the “Climb to the Peak of Health” effort, which offers small steps to take in reaching better health. The assessment brochure can be found at http://health.lakecountyca.gov/ .
The new report and the data it provides are expected to have an impact on the update of the Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment, which is now under way, as Lake County News has reported.
The document looks at Lake County’s specific health challenges and priorities. The original assessment, published in October 2010, drew heavily on that year’s county health profile.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Spring has certainly been in the air – wildflowers are blooming, grasses are growing and trees are leafing out – and today more showers are forecast to return, which will continue to increase spring growth.
A small band of moderate rain showers are predicted to move through Lake County sometime early this morning, according to Western Weather Group Lake County.
After the daytime highs in the 70s seen over the past few days, forecasters say the showers will cool temperatures down into the upper 50s throughout most of the county today.
Moderate to heavy showers are forecast with this new storm front, bringing an additional one-quarter to one-half inch of rain Thursday.
However, clouds and slight chances for localized showers will remain in the forecast throughout the weekend as daytime highs climb back into the mid-60s, based on the forecast.
Overnight lows should remain in the mid- to low-40s as cloud cover will help keep daytime warming in place, forecasters said.
As the new week begins, forecast models show a chance for frost on Monday with snow a possibility on area mountains, but right now the models are leaning toward cooler and breezy weather early next week.
Email Terre Logsdon at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport has been awarded a $700,000 grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development HOME Investment Program.
The HOME Grant proceeds will be available later this year and will be utilized by the city to fund first time homebuyer and owner-occupied rehabilitation programs for low-income residents of the city of Lakeport, according to City Manager Margaret Silveira.
This is the fourth housing program grant awarded to the city of Lakeport since 2007, totaling $2.7 million, Silveira reported.
To date, numerous Lakeport residents have been assisted by the city’s various low-income housing programs, Silveira said.
Interested local licensed and insured general contractors guaranteeing high quality workmanship are encouraged to call Planning Services Manager Andrew Britton at 707-263-5613, Extension 28, or via email at
Low-income households interested in the first time homebuyer program or low-income city of Lakeport residents interested in the owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program also are encouraged to contact Britton to be placed on the waiting list.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Crescent City man accused of trying to rob two women at knifepoint in two Mendocino County shopping centers five days before last Christmas was found guilty Wednesday at a nonjury trial held in Department B of the Mendocino County Superior Court in Ukiah.
After hearing the available evidence, Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke entered guilty verdicts against 50-year-old Robert Lee White – also known as Robert Stanley – for an attempted robbery in the second degree of Royleen Eriksen on Dec. 20, 2012, outside of Lucky’s in the Pear Tree Shopping Center, and a separate attempted robbery in the second degree of Patricia DeLapo minutes later outside of J.C. Penney’s.
White also was found guilty of attempting to forcibly dissuade a witness, Steve Eriksen, from seeking White’s arrest.
The court found true that White was armed with and used a knife in each of the above three crimes.
White was found not guilty of one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of elder abuse.
The prosecutor handling the case was District Attorney David Eyster. White’s defense was directed by Deputy Public Defender Dan Haehl.
The court also found true that White had previously suffered four prior strike convictions:
- Robbery, in 1999 in the Humboldt County Superior Court;
- Robbery, in 1999 in the Alameda County Superior Court;
- Criminal threats, in 1996 in the Del Norte County Superior Court; and
- Residential burglary with the personal use of a firearm, in 1982 in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Given the mandates of the Three Strikes law, Eyster noted that the combination of all guilty verdicts and findings expose White to a state prison commitment of 98 years to life.
Eyster expressed his appreciation to the Ukiah Police Department for its quick response and thorough investigation in December.
He also thanked the victims for their willingness to come to court to provide necessary testimony, testimony that, according to Eyster, “makes sure that this very dangerous man will no longer victimize Christmas shoppers – or anybody else for that matter – now and in the future.”
White is schedule for sentencing at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 17, before Judge Behnke, Eyster’s office reported.
Water leaders gathered Wednesday at California’s first Integrated Water Management Summit to hear top officials discuss their preferred approach to solving the state’s water and flood management problems.
The summit was hosted by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to address how to effectively manage limited water resources given the uncertainty caused by climate change, environmental regulations, flood risk, changing public preferences and unstable funding.
Speakers included California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works Steve Stockton and U.S. Rep. Jim Costa.
“The water and flood management approaches that all of us have relied on for decades are no longer sustainable,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “DWR supports using an integrated approach to meeting the state's water, flood and ecosystem management challenges, and we encourage our local and regional partners to do the same.”
Integrated Water Management (IWM) is a framework for planning and implementation that incorporates objectives to improve public safety, foster environmental stewardship and support economic stability.
This approach requires planning from both short and long-term perspectives, across jurisdictional and watershed boundaries; and a willingness to move beyond traditional planning and implementation methods.
IWM is not a one-time activity, and requires unprecedented cooperation and alignment among public agencies, landowners, tribal entities, water purveyors, environmental organizations and other stakeholders. IWM calls for programs and projects that deliver multiple benefits worthy of the public’s investment.
The IWM approach promotes system resiliency to accommodate changing conditions, such as regional preferences, environmental needs, flood or drought events, and financing capabilities.
Last week’s snow-pack survey, which measured snowpack water content at 52 percent of normal, underscores the necessity of using an integrated approach to address California’s water supply and ecosystem restoration challenges.
Speakers also referenced the California’s Flood Future report, released Wednesday by DWR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a public review draft, as an example of why IWM is so important to California’s future.
The report points to the fact that 7 million California residents and $580 billion in assets – including homes, businesses and agriculture – are exposed to flood risk.
California has experienced several significant flood events on the heels of an extended drought, which points to the importance of wise long-term planning for effective flood management.
More information about the Integrated Water Management Summit is available at http://www.watereducation.org/doc.asp?id=2713&;parentID=849 . DWR plans to publish summit highlights in the next couple of months.