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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A free community disaster preparedness expo will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, in Lakeport.

The expo will be held between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mendo Mill Home Center and Lumber Co. at

2465 S. Main St.

The focus of the expo is to provide local residents with information on ways to prepare for a disaster should such an event ever occur.

Representatives from a number of city, county and state public service agencies, along with representatives from private business, will staff booths to motivate residents on how to prepare for potential disasters by providing information and educational materials and sharing resources.

The objective is to inform and motivate the public on how to become and stay prepared, develop a plan and build an emergency resource kit for any local disaster that might affect them.

Recent disasters around the country, including floods, wildland fires, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, earthquakes and acts of terrorism, have underscored the need for citizens to be prepared at all

times.

Studies show that most Californians, including people in our local area, are not adequately prepared for a significant disaster that could occur close to their home or work.

Free hot dogs and bottled water will be available for the first 200 expo attendees.

The expo is co-hosted by Mendo Mill Home Center and Lumber Co. and the city of Lakeport, and is supported by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and Bruno’s Shop Smart.

Agencies, organizations and businesses confirmed for the event include Cal Fire, California Highway Patrol, Lake County Public and Environmental Health, Lake County Vector Control District, Vietnam Veterans of American Chapter 951, Lincoln-Leavitt Insurance, LEAF, Pacific Gas & Electric, Lake County Fire Safe Council, American Red Cross, Timberline Land Management, Ukiah Oxygen Company, DFM Car Stereo & Cellular, Lakeport County Fire District, City of Lakeport, Lakeport Police Department and Dennis Fordham, attorney at law.

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SACRAMENTO – A 37-year-old man and an 86-year-old man, both from Kern County, are the first reported fatalities from West Nile virus this year, the California Department of Public Health reported Monday.

“These unfortunate deaths remind us of the potential danger from mosquito bites and West Nile Virus,”

said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health.

To date in 2011, 88 human cases of West Nile Virus from 18 California counties have been reported, the agency said.

Last year 111 cases and six fatalities were reported, according to California Department of Public Health numbers.

Health officials said West Nile Virus is most commonly transmitted to humans and animals through a mosquito bite.

The risk of serious illness to most people is low. However, some individuals – less than 1 percent – will develop serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis.

Individuals 50 years of age and older have a higher chance of getting sick and are more likely to develop serious symptoms. Studies also show that those with diabetes and/or hypertension are at greatest risk for serious illness.

Chapman said that the most effective way for individuals to prevent exposure to mosquito bites and West Nile virus is to remember the “Four D’s”:

• DEET – Apply insect repellent containing DEET, picaradin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 according to label instructions. Repellents keep the mosquitoes from biting you. DEET can be used safely on infants and children 2 months of age and older.

• DRESS – Wear clothing that reduces the risk of skin exposure to mosquito bites.

• DAWN AND DUSK – Mosquitoes that carry WNV bite in the early morning and evening so it is important to wear repellent at this time. Make sure that your doors and windows have tight-fitting screens to keep out mosquitoes. Repair or replace screens with tears or holes.

• DRAIN – Mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water. Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property, including flower pots, old car tires, rain gutters and pet bowls. If you have a pond, use mosquito fish (available from your local mosquito and vector control agency) or commercially available products to eliminate mosquito larvae.

California’s West Nile virus website includes the latest information on West Nile virus activity in the state.

Californians are encouraged to report all dead birds and dead tree squirrels on the Web site or by calling toll-free 1-877-WNV-BIRD (968-2473).

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Sixty-six percent of the most seriously wounded soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have “invisible” injuries of brain trauma or post-traumatic stress, which their families and society will be dealing with at great cost for decades, said Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff.

“The truth is, because we don’t see these injuries … they don’t receive the same level of attention as amputations, burns, shrapnel injuries,” Chiarelli said. “There is simply a bias – and I really mean that – there is a bias either conscious or subconscious toward invisible wounds and injuries … It exists everywhere including in the medical community.”

Chiarelli made his remarks Sept. 26 at Defense Forum Washington, a one-day conference on support for wounded warriors and families as they struggle to heal and regain stable lives.

The annual event is co-sponsored by U.S. Naval Institute and Military Officers Association of American.

Before Chiarelli spoke, April Marcum, wife of retired Air Force Sgt. Tom Marcum, described for attendees how her husband saw that bias from the medical community when he returned wounded from Iraq in 2008.

A combat arms training and maintenance specialist with 12 years in service, Tom Marcum had been in charge of an armory on Ali Air Base Iraq when a mortar round fired by insurgents exploded 35 yards away, knocking him unconscious.

When he could, Tom called April to say that, except for a headache, he was OK. A medic told him he should rest a couple of days before returning to duty. But when Tom’s tour ended several weeks later and he returned to Moody Air Force Base, Ga., April could tell he wasn’t himself.

“He still had the same headache. He was confused at simple things. He had short-term memory loss. The last straw for me was the day he called me on his way from work … and said, ‘I can’t remember how to get home,’ ” April recalled, tearing up. Tom, at her side, let April speak for the family.

“The local medical community, including the Air Force medical clinic doctor, seemed to be reluctant to help,” April continued. “Tom’s primary care doctor implied Tom was trying to get out of work. This was a slap in the face to both of us” considering that, with two boys to raise, neither Marcum had ever complained during any Tom’s various deployments.

“Then the doctor made this statement: ‘I’ll write you a prescription for Motrin but you really need to suck it up and go back to work,’ ” April said.

They pressed for an appointment with the medical group commander. Eventually Tom got a thorough evaluation at the poly-trauma unit of the VA Medical Center in Tampa, Fla.

Doctors diagnosed traumatic brain injury with an orbital wall blowout fracture behind an eye. A shoulder required surgery. Tom also had hearing loss, vision deficit and post-traumatic stress disorder.

He spent months in Tampa and “received outstanding medical treatment,” April said. He was medically retired from the Air Force in May 2010.

Three years after returning from war, Tom Marcum remains on the temporary duty retirement list awaiting word on whether the Air Force will retire him permanently. April said she had to quit her teaching job to care for her husband and raise their sons.

While living on 70-percent disability payment from the Air Force, and Social Security Disability Insurance, the Marcums have exhausted their life savings, she said.

Chiarelli, after his own remarks, took a question from April about how the Army conducted some tests on her husband and the Air Force later would not accept the results because they appeared on an Army evaluation form.

“I honestly believe it relates back to the stigma” tied to these invisible wounds of war, Chiarelli told her. “The medical community is as much stigmatized by these injuries as anybody.”

For example, Chiarelli said, he believes post-traumatic stress “is a no-kidding injury. But if you were to get 10 psychiatrists and psychologists over here you would have maybe six … who agree with me and the other four would say, ‘General you’re nuts. How dare you even say that if you haven’t studied this as long and hard as we have.’ The stigma is everywhere. It’s throughout the service … It’s throughout civilian [life].”

As vice chief, Chiarelli said, his top priority “is the health and well-being of the force,” which explains his focus on “the signature” wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many soldiers and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries aren’t yet receiving care because their injuries haven’t been diagnosed and might not be discovered for years.

The National Institute of Health, he said, has estimated that the average length of time in this country between when an incident occurs that causes post-traumatic stress and the illness gets diagnosed is 12 years.

“And lots of bad stuff happens in that 12-year period,” he said, which can have lasting impact on individuals, their families and their careers.

Symptoms of both post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury can include difficulty concentrating, irritability, personality changes and memory impairment.

Yet the physiology behind these types of injuries still is not well understood, Chiarelli said. Advocates at the forum said oftentimes only a family member can spot symptoms and arrange needed medical help.

“The reality is that we as a department and as a nation will be dealing with the symptoms and effects of these injuries for decades to come. And make no mistake, this is where your money will be spent,” Chiarelli said.

About 20,000 soldiers are going through Army’s disability evaluation process, which takes on average 373 days. Another 20,000 are non-deployable for medical reasons. That 40,000 soldiers are removed from Army active end strength at any given time is “what happens when you have one percent of the population fight a 10-year war,” the vice chief said.

Fortunately, he said, much has been achieved from studying invisible injuries from these wars toward more timely diagnoses and treatment. For example, researchers are perhaps just a year away from developing a biomarker to detect conclusively whether a patient has suffered a concussion, using a device similar to what diabetics use to test blood sugar.

“Do you know how huge that will be?” Chiarelli asked.

Yes. Many in this audience, comprised mostly of wounded warrior caregivers and advocates, did indeed know.

To comment, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111 or visit: www.militaryupdate.com.

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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Thanks to the generosity of local Corvette enthusiasts, children at Lake County's domestic violence shelter will have a place to play.

On Thursday, Sept. 29, members of the Corvettes of Lake and Mendocino Counties presented a check for $3,000 to Lake Family Resource Center Executive Director Gloria Flaherty.

The gift will help build a new playground for children at Freedom House.

The donation was a surprise for Flaherty, who had been in an orientation meeting for new board members at Lake Family Resource Center's business office, located at 5350 Main St. in Kelseyville, on the same property as the shelter.

Flaherty was asked to step out into the parking lot, where several newer Corvettes, as well as a vintage Corvette owned by John Yde, were parked.

Members of the club then presented Flaherty with the check for $3,000 to support her plans for the playground.

Flaherty, who was caught off guard by the gift, was brought to tears.

“I'm so excited,” she said.

A playground for Freedom House's children had been at the top of Flaherty's wish list. She said children who are housed at the shelter haven't had a place to go outside and play.

Before the Corvette club's donation, she had begun exploring grants and funding to make it happen. The total estimated cost is $7,500, and the $3,000 gift will lay the groundwork for raising the remainder of the playground funds through matching grants and other donations.

Corvette club members noted that supporting the playground was a natural fit for them, as they're all kids at heart.

This isn't the first sizable donation from the club to Lake Family Resource Center.

In June 2010, the club gave a $3,000 gift to the Barbara LaForge Memorial Fund, which supports Freedom House, as Lake County News has reported.

Support from groups like the Corvette club are integral to fulfilling Lake Family Resource Center's mission of offering support to those in need, according to Flaherty.

“We live and die on our relationships in the community,” she said.

Community members can make tax-deductible donations to support the playground project. Donations can be sent to Lake Family Resource Center at 5350 Main St., Kelseyville, 95451.

For more information call 888-775-8336 or visit www.lakefrc.com.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

 

 

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly was found in possession of drugs and syringes in violation of his probation terms.

Brian Thomas Pearson, 44, was arrested for misdemeanor possession of crystal methamphetamine, felony possession of hypodermic syringes and violation of his felony probation.

Sgt. Tim Hobbs said that on Saturday Clearlake Police officers responded to a residence in the 14000 block of Austin Drive to conduct a probation search at Pearson’s residence.

He said officers assigned to the community oriented policing beat in which Pearson's home is located have received ongoing reports of suspected illegal activity at the residence.

During the search Pearson was found to be in possession of crystal methamphetamine and hypodermic syringes, Hobbs said.

He was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail, where he remained on Sunday night on a no-bail hold due to the probation violation, according to jail records.

Hobbs said Clearlake Police officers had previously arrested Pearson at his home on Aug. 27 for possession of a controlled substance and violation of his felony probation.

 

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The second annual Oktoberfest offered a day of food, vendors and fun in downtown Lakeport on Saturday, but the real stars of the day were of the four-legged variety.

The Dachshund Derby, which began races at noon following a costume contest, featured several heats of determined Dachshunds of all sizes and shapes, from smooth-coated minis to standard-sized wire-haired dogs.

The crowd hugged the race track, located near the Courthouse Museum, as Tony Barthel announced the races.

There was furious clapping and laughter as the races unfolded.

Photographer Ed Oswalt captured the featured images. Below is a video of some of the day's highlights.

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