How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
The California Department of Water Resources will conduct this winter’s first snow survey on Wednesday, Jan. 2.
A traditional center of attention will be the manual survey scheduled for 11 a.m. off Highway 50 near Echo Summit.
This and other manual and electronic readings up and down the state will determine the amount of water in the early winter snowpack.
Thanks to early season storms, electronic readings indicate that statewide, the current snowpack water content is 137 percent of normal for the date.
The snowpack normally provides about a third of the water for California’s households, farms and industries as it slowly melts into streams, reservoirs and aquifers in spring and early summer.
In addition to boosting snowpack readings to above normal, early storms have replenished the state’s reservoirs.
Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project’s principal storage reservoir with a capacity of 3.5 million acre-feet, is at 70 percent of capacity, 111 percent of normal for the date.
Shasta Lake north of Redding, the federal Central Valley Project’s principal reservoir with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet, is at 71 percent of capacity, 113 percent of average for the date.
The Department of Water Resources and cooperating agencies conduct manual snow surveys around the first of the month from January to May.
The manual surveys supplement and check the accuracy of real-time electronic readings.
Electronic snowpack readings are available on the Internet at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/DLYSWEQ .
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The family of a missing Northshore woman is asking for the community’s help in finding her.
Kimberly Marie Hazelwood, 23, of Nice has been missing since Sunday night, as Lake County News has reported.
Hazelwood’s mother told Lake County News on Wednesday evening that family had conducted a ground search for her earlier that day, and that sheriff’s officials were scheduled to search Thursday.
Her family is continuing to circulate fliers, such as the one that can be viewed below, asking for help in finding her.
Hazelwood is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. She has long brown hair to the middle of her back and brown eyes. She has been fighting cancer for some time and her family said she is in need of medical care.
Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the report of her disappearance at 9:15 p.m. Sunday, according to a Monday sheriff’s report.
Hazelwood was last seen by family members at a residence in the 10000 block of Rancheria Road near Upper Lake earlier that evening, at which time she was described as being emotionally distraught, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff’s officials said her family members had found some of her clothing and personal belongings while searching for her nearby.
About a half hour before the sheriff’s office responded to the report of Hazelwood’s disappearance, Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters had been dispatched to the 9100 block of Bridge Arbor North on the report of a person in nearby Middle Creek, which was running at high levels due to recent rains.
Northshore Fire and REACH air ambulance searched the area down to the Rodman Slough, Fire Chief Jay Beristianos told Lake County News on Monday.
It was during that initial search that firefighters were notified of another person possibly being in the water about two miles north on Middle Creek. Beristianos said they weren’t sure at that point if they were dealing with two people or only one.
Based on a mapping of the creek, the chronology of the reports and the fact that no second person has so far been reported missing, it appears that both reports involved Hazelwood, who had disappeared by the time Northshore Fire was dispatched to Bridge Arbor North.
By Monday morning, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported that it had taken over the search for Hazelwood with the aid of Lake County Search and Rescue, Mendocino County Search and Rescue, Willits Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team, a California National Guard helicopter and aircrew from Mather Field and the California Department of Fish and Game.
The family asks that anyone who has information on her whereabouts call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-263-2690, or her family at 707-245-2772, 707-900-1401 or 707-900-1946.
Community members interested in helping with the search also may contact the family at the listed phone numbers above.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested early Wednesday morning in connection with an incident on Christmas night involving gunfire in a neighborhood that struck a home.
Ivan Rodriguez, 20, was arrested for resisting arrest, participating in a criminal street gang, possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a controlled substance while armed and shooting at an inhabited dwelling, according to Sgt. Nick Bennett of the Clearlake Police Department.
Bennett reported that at approximately 11:42 p.m. on Christmas Clearlake police officers responded to a report of several gun shots being fired in the area of Lilac Street and Olympic Drive.
He said that one resident who resided on Olympic Drive reported her home had been struck by a bullet.
Sgt. Rodd Joseph was in the area when the call was received and was immediately joined by Officer Bobi Thompson and Officer Tomas Riley, Bennett said. Locating the residence that had been struck by a projectile, the officers were able to follow the trajectory of the round and determined it had originated from a neighboring residence.
The officers then located a bullet hole in a window screen in the neighboring residence which matched the trajectory toward the victims’ residence. Bennett said the officers made entry into the home and made contact with the occupants.
One occupant, later identified as Ivan Rodriguez, was lying on a mattress covered with a blanket. Officers noted expended cartridges on the floor next to the mattress, Bennett said.
When the officers began to remove the blanket from Rodriguez, he immediately began fighting with the officers. Bennett said the officers observed a revolver under his body and it appeared he was making an attempt to reach for it.
The officers finally gained control of the weapon and completed the arrest of Ivan Rodriguez after subduing him. Also arrested in the residence was Martin Rodriguez, believed to be a cousin of Ivan Rodriguez, Bennett said.
While inside the Lilac Street residence officers observed numerous items associated with the possession and sales of illegal substances as well as what appeared to be methamphetamine, according to Bennett.
Detectives prepared and executed a search warrant on the residence which had been signed by a Lake County Superior Court judge. Bennett said several items were taken as evidence.
Ivan Rodriguez was being held on a no bail hold due to a probation violation, according to jail records. He is scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court on Friday.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Forecasters are predicting that snow could fall in Lake County’s higher elevations on Wednesday.
On Christmas day the National Weather service issued a hazardous weather outlook for areas of Northern California including Lake County, warning of another winter storm moving over the region into Wednesday.
It is expected to bring more rain, along with mountain snow and gusty winds through Wednesday evening, with frost forecast for Thursday, chances of rain Friday and Saturday, and clear conditions for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
In the higher elevations in the northern part of Lake County, snow showers are forecast for Friday and Saturday, with clearing expected on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Over the coming week, nighttime lows are anticipated to be in the mid 20s, with daytime highs in the mid 50s.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – This big sleek black cat, with some nifty stripes and big gold eyes, is waiting at Lake County Animal Care and Control for a new home.
During a recent visit he showed himself to be a friendly, attentive fellow. It’s been this writer’s experience that black cats are among the very nicest of felines, and make great pets.
He’s 3 years old, and has been neutered and vaccinated, so once an adoption application is approved he can head right out to his new home.
He is in cat room kennel No. 81, ID No. 35041.
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
A new report points to the need for continued efforts to prepare public health agencies across the nation to respond to public health emergencies, both natural and manmade.
In the 10th annual “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism” report, 35 states and Washington, D.C. scored a six or lower on 10 key indicators of public health preparedness.
The report, issued by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), showed that California scored a seven out of the 10 key indicators.
It found that while there has been significant progress toward improving public health preparedness over the past 10 years, particularly in core capabilities, there continue to be persistent gaps in the country’s ability to respond to health emergencies, ranging from bioterrorist threats to serious disease outbreaks to extreme weather events.
In the report, Kansas and Montana scored lowest – three out of 10 – and Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin scored highest – eight out of 10.
“In the past decade, there have been a series of significant health emergencies, including extreme weather events, a flu pandemic and foodborne outbreaks,” said Jeffrey Levi, PhD, executive director of TFAH. “But, for some reason, as a country, we haven’t learned that we need to bolster and maintain a consistent level of health emergency preparedness. Investments made after Sept. 11, the anthrax attacks and Hurricane Katrina led to dramatic improvements, but now budget cuts and complacency are the biggest threats we face.”
The Ready or Not? report provides a snapshot of the nation’s public health emergency preparedness. Its indicators are developed in consultation with leading public health experts based on data from publicly available sources, or information provided by public officials. Some key findings from the report include:
- 29 states cut public health funding from fiscal years (FY) 2010-11 to 2011-12, with 23 of these states cutting funds for a second year in a row and 14 for three consecutive years. In addition, federal funds for state and local preparedness have decreased 38 percent from FY 2005-2012 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds, adjusted for inflation).
- States are reporting that gains in public health preparedness achieved in the past decade since September 11, 2001, are eroding, and since 2008, budget cuts have resulted in more than 45,700 job losses at state and local health departments;
- Only two states have met the national goal of vaccinating 90 percent of young children, ages 19-36 months, against whooping cough (pertussis). This year Washington state has seen one of the most significant whooping cough outbreaks in recent history;
- 35 states and Washington, D.C. do not currently have complete climate change adaptation plans, which include planning for health threats posed by extreme weather events;
- 20 states do not mandate all licensed child care facilities to have a multi-hazard written evacuation plan; and
- 13 state public health laboratories report they do not have sufficient capacity to work five, 12-hour days for six to eight weeks in response to an infectious disease outbreak, such as novel influenza A H1N1.
“Public health preparedness has improved leaps and bounds from where we were 10 years ago,” said Paul Kuehnert, MS RN Director of the Public Health Team at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “But severe budget cuts at the federal, state and local levels threaten to undermine that progress. We must establish a baseline of ‘better safe than sorry’ preparedness that should not be crossed.”
The Ready or Not? report provides a series of recommendations that address many of the major gaps in emergency health preparedness, including:
- Reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA);
- Assure sufficient, dedicated funds for public health preparedness to ensure basic capabilities to respond to threats public health departments face every day and also to have the trained experts and systems in place to act quickly in the face of major, unexpected emergencies;
- Provide ongoing support to communities so they better cope and recover from emergencies;
- Modernize biosurveillance to a real-time, interoperable system to better detect and respond to problems;
- Seriously address antibiotic resistance;
- Improve research, development and manufacturing of medical countermeasures;
- Increase readiness for extreme weather events; and
- Update the nation’s food safety system.
For the state-by-state scoring, states received one point for achieving an indicator or zero points if they did not achieve the indicator. Zero is the lowest possible overall score, 10 is the highest. The data for the indicators are from publicly available sources or were provided from public officials.
- 8 out of 10: Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin;
- 7 out of 10: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota and Virginia;
- 6 out of 10: Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wyoming;
- 5 out of 10: Alaska, Arizona, Washington, D.C., Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia;
- 4 out of 10: Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada and New Jersey;
- 3 out of 10: Kansas and Montana.
The full report can be seen below.
For more information, visit http://www.healthyamericans.org/ or http://www.rwjf.org/ .
December 2012 Ready or Not report