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California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds reported that the collision took place on Sunday, Aug. 14, at 11:40 a.m. on Morgan Valley Road.
Jeired Andrew Nedrow, 21, of Bellevue, Wash., was arrested following the crash on numerous drug charges, Reynolds said.
Nora Shipley, 19, of Bellevue, Wash, was driving a 1988 Hyundai westbound on Morgan Valley Road at an unknown speed when the crash occurred, Reynolds said.
Reynolds said that, for unknown reasons, Shipley turned her vehicle to the right causing the vehicle to leave the roadway and strike an embankment.
The vehicle overturned and caused major injuries to Shipley and moderate injuries to one of her passengers, Jed Irish, 21, also of Bellevue.
Shipley was flown by REACH to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and Irish was taken to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake, Reynolds said.
Nedrow, the third passenger, was not injured in the collision. However, Reynolds said Nedrow was contacted at the scene of the collision and was found to be in possession of a large quantity of ecstasy and a small amount of hashish.
Nedrow was arrested at the scene and booked into the Hill Road Correctional Facility on numerous felony charges, including possession charges for concentrated cannabis, marijuana for sale and a possible controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, transporting a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of destroying or concealing evidence, according to jail records.
His booking sheet indicated bail was set at $50,000 and that he remained in custody on Monday.
The incident is still under investigation by officers Mark Crutcher and Erica Coddington.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Congressman Mike Thompson announced Monday that he will seek reelection in 2012.
However, due to the California redistricting process, Thompson (D-St. Helena) will not be seeking the First Congressional District seat he was first elected to represent in 1998, as that district has been shifted away to encompass the North Coast minus Lake and Napa counties.
Rather, he will run for the reshaped Fifth Congressional District seat, which now will include Napa County and the southern portion of Lake County. The rest of Lake County will be placed in the Third Congressional District, which will include parts of the Sacramento Valley, including Glenn and Yuba counties.
Thompson's announcement came on the same day that the new California Congressional district maps, drawn by a voter approved independent commission, were certified as final and formally presented to the California Secretary of State.
The maps could be challenged in court or by voters, but most observers believe these will be the new districts, according to Thompson's office.
If these are the final Congressional district maps, Thompson said he will run from his home in the new Fifth Congressional District.
“I have had the honor and great pleasure to represent Lake County for the entire time I have served in public office,” Thompson said in a written statement. “Both the county and the people are fantastic and we've worked well together and enjoyed many successes.”
He added, “While I am sad the redistricting commission choose to split Lake County between two congressional districts, I am thankful that half of Lake County will remain in my district. I don't believe you can work for half a county, so I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of all of Lake County.”
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California health officials have confirmed the first equine case of West Nile Virus in the state this year.
The horse that tested positive for the disease was reported earlier this month in Los Angeles County, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California West Nile Virus Web site, www.westnile.ca.gov.
By this time in 2010, four horses had been reported statewide, the Web site reported.
West Nile Virus so far this year has been reported in 19 of California's 58 counties, down from 28 at this time last year, the state reported.
Lake County so far this year has had no West Nile Virus activity, according to state data.
In the 19 counties where the virus has been found this year, there have 10 human cases, 151 dead birds, 609 mosquito samples, 47 sentinel chickens and one squirrel that tested positive for the disease, based on the West Nile Virus Web site's information.
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The body of Matthew Coleman, 45, of the Albion and Little River area, was found on the night of Thursday, August 11, in the 44000 block of North Highway 1, according to an updated report from Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.
Smallcomb said sheriff's detectives learned on Monday that Coleman's cause of death was due to a fatal gunshot wound.
Coleman's body was found near his vehicle. Smallcomb said it is believed that Coleman was conducting property management at a rural piece of property north of Westport when the incident took place.
Detectives are currently trying to establish leads into Coleman's murder. Smallcomb said detectives are continuing to work with evidence obtained from the scene and are attempting to establish a suspect, or suspects, who are responsible for Coleman's death.
Anyone with information into the identification of the responsible suspects or the incident itself is asked to call the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at 707-467-9159 or 707-463-4086. Callers can remain anonymous.
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The board will hold a regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, in the board room at the school district's office, located at 4410 Konocti Road.
The school district, which for 2011-12 has a budget of $13.6 million in revenues and $13.5 million in expenditures, has been put into “qualified status” by the state because of concerns that it might not meet its financial obligations.
Earlier this year the district had to craft a financial recovery plan that included the board identifying nearly $2.3 million in cuts from the next two fiscal years, as Lake County News has reported.
Holley Luia, president of the district's chapter of the California School Employees Association, said 21 classified positions were lost due to the layoffs, including her job as a secretary at Kelseyville High School.
However, the district recently got some good news – that it was receiving $401,955 in revenue from the state that it hadn't expected for Riviera High School, which is a necessary small high school, according to district documents.
At a special Aug. 9 meeting, the board held an initial discussion on how to distribute those funds, and concluded on a plan to reestablish several positions that had been laid off earlier this year, according to
Superintendent David McQueen, who made the proposal to the board.
McQueen said the expectation of not having that money had contributed to the layoffs.
He said the state agreed to provide the funding for fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12. McQueen credited Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook with being instrumental in working with the state to acquire the funds.
Board Trustee Gary Olson said the Aug. 9 meeting was encouraging in that they could consider restoring some people's jobs.
The proposed classified position restorations that will go to the board on Tuesday, based on a report to the board from district Chief Financial Officer Tiffany Kemp, include two full-time secretary positions – one at Kelseyville High and one shared between Kelseyville Elementary and Mt. Vista Middle School; one half-time secretary at Riviera Elementary School; one full-time custodian at Kelseyville High; one half-time custodian at Riviera Elementary; and one half-time account clerk in the district office.
If the board approves the plan on Tuesday, Luia will get her job back at Kelseyville High School, which is a welcome piece of news.
“It's been a long depressing summer, I'm not going to lie,” Luia said.
However, while Luia was glad to hear about the jobs being added back – she called it a “good first step” – she pointed out that the number of jobs is small compared to the 21 lost earlier in the year.
Until custodial and other positions are restored, Luia expects to see a huge impact on schools and students. “There's room for improvement in what's happening here,” she said.
Luia pointed out that many teachers have been getting layoff notices in March on an annual basis, having to wait to find out if their jobs are being restored.
She said she doesn't want to see that process repeated with the classified employees.
“It's really no way to live through the summer,” she said.
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The Knoxville fire – which began at 2:45 p.m. Saturday off of Berryessa-Knoxville Road, two miles north of Lake Berryessa – had burned 508 acres by Sunday evening, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire said containment grew to 80 percent on Sunday, with full containment expected at 10 a.m. Monday.
No structures were threatened and no evacuations were necessary, with the terrain extremely rugged and steep, Cal Fire said.
Lake Berryessa is not impacted by the wildland fire, and the lake is open to visitors, Cal Fire noted.
The agency said the cause remains under investigation.
At the height of the firefighting effort there were 566 personnel on scene, which decreased to 253 by Sunday evening, according to the most recent Cal Fire report.
Local firefighters were taking part in the effort, with Lake County Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District and South Lake County Fire Protection District among the cooperating agencies, along with Cal Fire, Napa County Fire, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Fish and Game and Bureau of Land Management.
Resources on scene Sunday included 15 engines, 10 fire crews, three helicopters, two dozers and four water tenders, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire said firefighters were continuing to construct and improve containment lines, and had half a mile of containment line to build. They were also improving and holding fire lines, puting out hot spots, mopping up and patrolling the site.
Berryessa-Knoxville Road will be closed until noon on Monday, Aug. 15. The road is closed in two locations, according to Cal Fire – two miles north of Lake Berryessa and three miles south of the Napa-Lake County line.
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