How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A young Clearlake man was arrested this week for his involvement in an alleged hit-and-run collision with a bicyclist in Sonoma County, with his brother and friend also arrested for fleeing law enforcement.
Taylor Kudrna, 19, was arrested on Thursday after he turned himself in at the Clearlake Police Department, along with his brother, Seth Dandridge, 28, also of Clearlake, according to the California Highway Patrol's Santa Rosa Area office.
Their friend Clay Clarke, 33, also of Clearlake, was arrested the previous day, the CHP said.
On Wednesday, Kudrna, Dandridge and Clarke were riding their motorcycles northbound on Highway 101 through Santa Rosa at high speed when CHP Officer David Spencer attempted to make an enforcement stop, the CHP said.
The three men allegedly failed to yield to Spencer and exited the freeway at mark West Springs Road, according to the report.
Clarke, the lead rider, lost control of his motorcycle at the end of the off-ramp and hit the rear of another vehicle. The CHP said Clarke was immediately arrested.
Kudrna and Dandridge continued to flee eastbound on Mark West Springs Road, where the CHP said the men failed to stop for a red light at the Old Redwood Highway intersection.
The CHP said Kudrna collided with a bicyclist in the intersection and laid down his motorcycle. Kudrna then allegedly picked up the motorcycle and fled.
The bicyclist, 20-year-old Joel Aguayo of Windsor, suffered moderate injuries and was transported to a local hospital by ambulance, the CHP said.
The CHP's followup investigation led to Kudrna and Dandridge, who the next day turned themselves in.
The CHP said Kudrna was arrested on suspicion of causing a hit-and-run collision with injuries and evading arrest, and transported to the Sonoma County Jail, where he was booked.
Dandridge was cited for evading arrest and riding with a suspended license and released in Clearlake, the CHP said.
All three motorcycles were impounded by the CHP, the agency said.
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A dirt bike rider had to be flown to a regional trauma center on Thursday after he was injured in a crash on a forest trail.
An initial incident report from the California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred shortly after 1 p.m. in the area of Elk Mountain and Middle Creek roads.
It involved a 32-year-old male subject who was riding a dirt bike. The rider's name was not immediately available.
Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters responded, according to Fire Chief Jay Beristianos, who also was on scene.
Beristianos said the motorcycle rider was on Forest Trail No. 10 when he was injured.
A Forest Service employee transported the man on a quad motorcycle to Elk Mountain Road, where Northshore Fire picked him up, Beristianos said.
Beristianos said firefighters then took the man to Howard Mill Station, where an air ambulance met them.
The crash victim was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with moderate injuries, Beristianos said. The CHP indicated that the mans' injuries may have included a punctured lung.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Clearlake Oaks man was injured Thursday when a fire broke out in his home.
Firefighters responded to the fire in the doublewide mobile home at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday, according to radio reports.
Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said the home was located on Henderson Drive, with the fire out by the time firefighters arrived thanks to neighbors using garden hoses to put it out.
He said the home's resident was cooking, left the room and came back to find something had caught fire on the stove.
The man tried to carry a pan outside and may have dropped something from the pan that caught a chair on fire, Beristianos said.
Beristianos said the man had burns on his hands and was taken to the hospital.
The home had moderate damage, mostly from smoke, Beristianos said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Giants' World Series trophies to visit Lakeport Feb. 28; event to support local Junior Giants League
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Baseball fans will get a chance to see the San Francisco Giants' World Series trophies up close later this month.
The trophies will visit Lakeport on Thursday, Feb. 28.
Terrace Middle School and the local Junior Giants are hosting the public viewing, which will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Marge Alakszay Center, 120 Lange St.
This will be the second public trophy tour held in the past three years and will feature both the 2012 and 2010 trophies, crafted by Tiffany & Co.
The Giants organization said the tour's focus is to share Major League Baseball’s Commissioner’s trophy with Giants fans in Junior Giants communities throughout Northern California.
“It was really important to our organization to create a trophy tour which allowed us to connect with our fans and the more than 20,000 kids who participate in our Junior Giants baseball program,” said Larry Baer, Giants president and chief operating officer.
Dan Camacho, commissioner for Lake County's Junior Giants, successfully applied to the Giants organization to have the trophies visit Lakeport.
The visit, he said, also will serve as a fundraiser for the local Junior Giants program.
The viewing is free to the public with a suggested donation of $2 per person to the Lake County Junior Giants League, according to a Giants statement. Bank of America will match contributions to the Junior Giants program, up to $10,000.
Camacho said fans with a cell phone or digital camera can have a picture taken with the trophies for free. In addition, a professional photographer with Giants Fan Photos will be available to take pictures which later can be purchased online.
During the event the Terrace Middle School Parent Teacher Organization will have a snack bar open and will conduct a raffle with baskets of Giants memorabilia as prizes.
Because the Marge Alakszay Center is located next to Clear Lake High School, Terrace Middle School and Lakeport Elementary, community members are advised that school gets out at 3:15 p.m. and buses depart at 3:30 p.m. It's requested that those planning to see the trophy not arrive before the buses leave with students for the day.
After leaving Lake County, the trophy tour will continue on through California and will end in Medford, Ore., on March 26. To find out about other stops on the tour visit http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/fan_forum/trophy_tour.jsp .
Camacho said the Junior Giants have been in Lake County around 14 years. The group is overseen by the Sheriff's Activity League, and is based at Mountain Vista Middle School in Kelseyville.
About 100 children from all over the county take part, although Camacho said about 65 percent are from Kelseyville. They're trying to expand more into the Clearlake area.
The free, noncompetitive league starts at the end of June and runs for eight weeks, Camacho said.
Baseball is the hook, but Camacho said Junior Giants have many other offerings, including programs to support reading and ending violence.
Junior Giants is the flagship program of the Giants Community Fund, which the Giants organization reported serves more than 20,000 boys and girls in 80 underserved communities in Northern and Central California and Southern Oregon.
For more information about the Lake County Junior Giants League, call Camacho at 707-349-2484.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Incidents of con artists targeting the elderly are increasing in numbers and severity in Lake County and throughout the state, and Lake County's district attorney is urging seniors to be on the alert.
Anderson said that in recent months several local seniors have been the victims of fraud and financial crimes by con artists, resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars.
Among the reasons seniors are targeted by con artists is that they have built substantial assets, are trusting and like to talk to people, they are easy to find at home, and they can be swayed by fear and fast talking, Anderson said.
Often times the scammers are criminals posing as legitimate businessmen, government officials or trusted people and companies, he explained.
Anderson said the following are just some of the most common scams that not only target the elderly but all consumers into giving up money property or valuable personal information:
– Prize or lottery frauds: The consumer will receive a call informing them they have won a prize or lottery, all they have to do is send money to pay for fees, taxes, shipping and handling or other charges. Of course the consumer has not won anything.
– Charitable donations: Con artists disguised as charities collecting donations or money when in actuality they have no connection to a legitimate charity.
– Friend or relative in distress: The caller or Internet con artist will contact you posing as a friend or relative that is stranded in another state or country. They ask for you to wire them money so they can get home. This is frequently used against seniors by the con artist, who poses as a grandchild.
– Counterfeit checks: The consumer would sell an item over the Internet and the buyer will send a fake or counterfeit cashier check for an amount over the purchase price. The con artist would then ask the consumer to send or wire the difference back to them.
– Medicare Scam: The caller will promise to help seniors enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan that does not exist; all the senior has to do is pay them a fee for this service.
– Bereavement scam: The con artist will call a senior who has recently lost a spouse saying that the deceased spouse has a debt outstanding. The caller asks for a blank check or credit card to pay off the debt.
– Online dating or social networking: In this scam the con artist will contact you on the Internet and develop an Internet relationship. Once the relationship is developed he will ask you to send him money for various reasons, in the name of love.
– Facebook or Craigslist scams: Items are placed on Facebook or Craigslist for sale using big bold letters, such as free computers. However, after reading the fine print the item often costs a lot more than expected.
– Need your help scams: Here the caller poses as a police officer or bank officer asking for help investigating a possible fraud. They ask you to withdraw cash from your account or provide your banking information.
– Foreign government officer: In this Internet scam the con artist will report he is a former government official from another country and ask the target to deposit millions of dollars into their account. The con artist will ask the person to send money necessary to complete the transaction or ask for their banking information.
– Make money from your home: The advertisement will read that the consumer can make a lot of money from the comfort of their home. However, once into the scam it may cost the consumer a lot of money without any profit.
– Home improvement scams: Someone calls or knocks on your door offering to fix your roof, driveway or car, but never returns after receiving a deposit.
– House rental scams: The consumer will answer an ad for rental houses, often time seeing pictures of beautiful homes at low rent. The consumer will send them money for deposits or rent. However, either the house does not exist, is not for rent or the call is not the landlord.
These are some of the hundreds of scams being used on seniors and consumers on a daily basis, said Anderson.
“We urge seniors and consumers to never send or wire money to anyone unless you are sure of the source, especially if the money is to be wired to another country or state,” he said. “People should be extremely skeptical of anyone wanting personal or financial information from you. If the call or offer seems too good to be true, it probably is a scam.”
Anderson said he strongly suggests that people keep the line of communication open with their senior family members. “Have conversations with your parents and seniors about how they are managing their money and the calls they are receiving.”
He encouraged anyone with questions or concerns about these scams to call his office at 707-263-2251 and speak to an investigator.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The spring-like weather that Lake County residents have enjoyed the past few days will continue through the weekend, but winter weather will return again early next week – so get outdoor fun and chores done this weekend.
According to forecasters, the high-pressure system that helped to warm temperatures around the county yesterday will continue again today, but will be slowly displaced by a cold weather system as we move through the weekend and into next week.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento predicts abundant sunshine today and throughout the weekend, with today's high temperatures topping out again near 70 degrees with a slight cooling trend as the weekend progresses.
Highs are forecast to stay in the upper 60s until the President's Day holiday on Monday with overnight lows near or above freezing.
As the new week begins, Western Weather Group Lake County forecasts that high clouds will begin to move into the county on Monday and a big change of weather will be here on Tuesday, with cold and wet weather on tap.
A cold trough is forecast to move in from the Gulf of Alaska on Tuesday, bringing with it a good chance for much-needed rain, along with much cooler daytime highs, which will only reach into the low 50s, according to Western Weather Group.
The rain should only last during the day on Tuesday, and if skies clear into the evening, Western Weather Group states there's a possibility of overnight lows dropping well below freezing.
Higher elevations may see a dusting of snow on Tuesday with much-cooler daytime highs throughout the week and overnight frost and cold temperatures predicted.
Email Terre Logsdon at