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The lodge at the Four Springs Retreat, located at 14598 Sheveland, outside of Middletown, was reported to be on fire shortly before 8:30 p.m. Monday, according to South Lake County Fire Battalion Chief Scott Upton.
Upton said the fire in the 3,000-square-foot building, which included seven bedrooms, dining facilities and a conference room, was spotted by an individual on Highway 175 in Middletown.
“They reported seeing smoke and flames,” Upton said.
As Upton was driving up Highway 29 toward the resort, he said he could tell it was a heavily involved structure.
When firefighters arrived, “It had fire coming out of every window and every door,” Upton said.
He said eight fire units – including engines, water tenders, utility vehicles and a medic unit – responded to the secluded resort.
It took firefighters about 20 minutes to contain the fire, Upton said. “There was nothing we could do but protect the surrounding structures, which we did.”
He said the fire's heat scorched the paint and melted plastic gutters on some of the resort's nearby cabins.
There were a minimal threat of the fire getting into nearby wildland, but there were some power lines involved, Upton said. The resort's swimming pool was used as an additional water resource.
Some firefighters were left to help guard the site overnight and keep it secure, according to Upton.
He said there were no injuries, as no one was on the scene.
The lodge was a total loss, said Upton. It had been remodeled in 2005 and was valued at $800,000. He said it was reportedly filled with antiques, instruments and art.
“It was a real loss,” he said, noting the owners “were very upset about it.”
Upton said the fire's cause doesn't appear to be arson.
He said it's under investigation, with investigators narrowing in on a final cause.
The retreat's Web site, www.foursprings.org, explains that it has operated as a retreat since 1956, and in addition to the main lodge has numerous small cabins, meditation and seminar rooms, an arbor and trails.
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Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said Ronald Alan Gustafson was found on Monday afternoon after he had been injured in a motorcycle wreck.
On Sunday, May 29, at approximately 10:30 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to a vacation home in Lower Lake to investigate a missing person, Bauman said.
Helen Gustafson reported that her husband, Ronald Gustafson, had failed to return from a day ride he had taken on his dual-sport motorcycle to visit friends at a cabin in the “Board Camp” area of the National Forest in Colusa County, according to Bauman.
Ronald Gustafson had left their vacation home on Swedberg Road in Lower Lake at approximately 11 a.m. Sunday and was due to return by 7 p.m. Bauman said Helen Gustafson had last heard from her husband at approximately 4 p.m. as he was leaving the cabin to return to Lower Lake.
Sheriff’s deputies spent several hours before dawn on Monday morning searching for signs of Gustafson or his trail, Bauman said. Despite checking four different forest service roads and venturing as many as 12 miles into the forest, deputies were unable to locate Gustafson.
At approximately 8 a.m. Monday sheriff’s Lt. Chris Macedo began coordinating a Search and Rescue operation to locate Gustafson, Bauman said.
As further information was gathered from Helen Gustafson, Bauman said Search and Rescue volunteer ATV teams and a SAR volunteer logistical team established a base camp off of Elk Mountain Road.
He said that by late morning, a fixed-wing California Highway Patrol airplane had responded to the area from Redding to assist with the search. A U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer also responded to assist.
At approximately noon on Monday, Search and Rescue authorities determined that Gustafson had been found by two unidentified motorcycle riders on forest road 17N04 near Crabtree Hot Springs, Bauman said.
Gustafson had reportedly wrecked his motorcycle and was injured. Bauman said the two riders, who had found Gustafson shortly after 11 a.m., had apparently stayed with the injured man until another unidentified party driving a pickup truck happened by and managed to get Gustafson into the truck.
As Search and Rescue authorities were preceding to the area of the wrecked motorcycle, they crossed paths with the pickup truck just as Gustafson was being driven from the site, Bauman said.
He said a REACH helicopter was dispatched to the area and after finding a landing zone, Gustafson was transported to the air ambulance and subsequently flown to the U.C. Davis Medical center with a possible fractured leg.
It was later determined that Gustafson had wrecked his motorcycle on the forest road at approximately 5 p.m. the previous evening and was stranded the entire night where the bike went down, Bauman said.
Sheriff Frank Rivero expressed his deepest gratitude to Macedo, the Search and Rescue volunteers who contributed to the operation, the CHP air crew, the REACH air crew, the U.S. Forest Service, and to the civilians who found Gustafson and expedited his rescue.
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Over the last few years, there has been mounting concern about the possibility of adverse health effects resulting from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, such as those emitted by wireless communication devices.
The number of mobile phone subscriptions is estimated at 5 billion globally.
From May 24-31, a working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries has been meeting at IARC in Lyon, France, to assess the potential carcinogenic hazards from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
These assessments will be published as Volume 102 of the IARC Monographs, which will be the fifth volume in this series to focus on physical agents, after Volume 55 (Solar Radiation), Volume 75 and Volume 78 on ionizing radiation (X‐rays, gamma‐rays, neutrons, radio‐nuclides), and Volume 80 on non‐ionizing radiation (extremely low‐frequency electromagnetic fields).
The IARC Monograph Working Group discussed the possibility that these exposures might induce long‐term health effects, in particular an increased risk for cancer.
The group said this has relevance for public health, particularly for users of mobile phones, as the number of users is large and growing, particularly among young adults and children.
The IARC Monograph Working Group discussed and evaluated the available literature on the following exposure categories involving radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: occupational exposures to radar and to microwaves; environmental exposures associated with transmission of signals for radio, television and wireless telecommunication; and personal exposures associated with the use of wireless telephones.
International experts shared the complex task of tackling the exposure data, the studies of cancer in humans, the studies of cancer in experimental animals, and the mechanistic and other relevant data.
The evidence was reviewed critically, and overall evaluated as being limited among users of wireless telephones for glioma and acoustic neuroma, and inadequate to draw conclusions for other types of cancers.
The evidence from the occupational and environmental exposures mentioned above was similarly judged inadequate.
The working group did not quantitate the risk; however, one study of past cell phone use (up to the year 2004), showed a 40 percent increased risk for gliomas in the highest category of heavy users (reported average: 30 minutes per day over a 10‐year period).
Dr. Jonathan Samet of the University of Southern California, overall chairman of the working group, indicated that “the evidence, while still accumulating, is strong enough to support a conclusion and the 2B classification. The conclusion means that there could be some risk, and therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer risk.”
“Given the potential consequences for public health of this classification and findings, it is important that additional research be conducted into the long-term, heavy use of mobile phones,” said IARC Director Christopher Wild. “Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands‐free devices or texting.”
The working group considered hundreds of scientific articles; the complete list will be published in the monograph.
The group said it is noteworthy to mention that several recent in‐press scientific articles resulting from the Interphone study were made available to the working group shortly before it was due to convene, reflecting their acceptance for publication at that time, and were included in the evaluation.
A concise report summarizing the main conclusions of the IARC Working Group and the evaluations of the carcinogenic hazard from radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (including the use of mobile telephones) will be published in The Lancet Oncology in its July 1 issue, and in a few days online.
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William Kim, 37, was caught in the surf and swept away, according to a report from Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
On May 28 at approximately 3:30 p.m. Kim and two other subject went diving for abalone in the ocean in the area of Mitchell Creek, Smallcomb said.
A short time later, one of the other divers caught his limit of abalone and then went towards shore. Smallcomb said the diver observed Kim and the other diver caught up in the breaking surf.
He said one of the divers with Kim told the other to go to shore and call for 911 as the water was too rough for them to return to shore.
A boat was able to rescue one of the divers, but Kim was not recovered, Smallcomb said. A short time later a portion of Kim's dive tube washed upon the shore on Pine Beach.
Smallcomb said a search effort was conducted with the assistance of Mendocino County Search and Rescue, United States Coast Guard and other emergency personnel without success.
He said search efforts have continued without success. Mendocino County Search and Rescue along with other emergency personnel will continue to monitor the waters in a continuing effort to recover Kim from the water.
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This significant change to CDCR will eliminate more than 400 headquarters' positions and save the state $30 million in General Fund dollars.
“This is a long overdue action to make CDCR more efficient while cutting costs,” said Governor Brown.
“The new executive structure is designed to create a leaner organization, clarify functions and responsibilities, delegate decision-making authority and eliminate duplicative functions,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate.
Over the last 18 months, more than 1,000 headquarters' positions – approximately 25 percent – have been eliminated.
These cuts have resulted in essentially the same staffing levels as in 2005, with headquarters' staff now accounting for less than five percent of CDCR’s total work force.
As part of this restructuring, 32 executive-level positions will be cut, including the chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and five chief deputy secretaries.
More than 100 manager and supervisor positions will be eliminated, increasing responsibilities in many areas for those remaining. This round of cuts affects more than 90 personnel classifications.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Monday's Memorial Day commemorations around the county focused on sacrifice and remembrance for veterans of all eras.
Ginny Craven, founder of Operation Tango Mike – which sends care packages to troops overseas – and one of the most dedicated chroniclers of local veterans, captured these image on Monday, Memorial Day.
Memorials were held at cemeteries around the county, as well as the Lake County Veterans Memorial Bridge in Kelseyville, where wreaths of flowers in honor of the sacrifices of veterans were laid on Kelsey Creek's waters.
At the Lower Lake ceremony, the face of a younger generation of veterans emerged.
Brian Martin, who served five years in the US Army, and who today is a lieutenant in the Lake County Sheriff's Office was the guest speaker.
Martin emphasized thanks for those who served, explaining how no speech and no commemoration can ever cover the sacrifice of so many.
On hand at the event was Christopher Wilson, father of Lance Corporal Ivan Wilson, who was killed in July 2008 by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
On Monday he had received a letter about his son from a member of the military, and asked Martin to read it, which Martin did. The letter spoke about Wilson's service and expressed gratitude for his sacrifice.
Martin said it was the first time he had spoken at a veterans event. He said he expects more younger veterans to begin to take an active part in veterans events and organizations.
For some younger vets, he said, it still may feel too soon, and they need time away from their service before they feel ready to get involved.
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