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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Highway Control confirmed Thursday that the man whose pickup went off Highway 20 and into Clear Lake on Wednesday night has died.
The name of the 40-year-old victim was not released by the CHP Thursday.
A CHP report said that the driver was headed eastbound in his 1991 Chevrolet S-10 pickup on Highway 20 east of Rosemont Drive between Lucerne and Clearlake at 6:20 p.m. Wednesday when the incident occurred.
The driver – for reasons the CHP is still investigating – allowed his truck to go off the south roadway edge where it overturned and came to rest upside down in the water, the report said.
Lake County News received information from a witness that the driver may have been pulling off the road to let other drivers pass him.
The man was reportedly trapped upside down underwater. Northshore Fire reported that he was extricated using the jaws of life.
A Northshore Fire ambulance transported the man to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, according to Battalion Chief Steve Hart.
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Transition Lake County – or TLC – will host the event from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Clearlake's Redbud Park, 14655 Lakeshore Drive.
In case of rain, the event will move to the Clearlake Community United Methodist Church, 14541 Pearl Ave.
The celebration will include an afternoon of local music, a potluck barbecue and a chance to network with other active citizens and celebrate the great work being done all around the county to build a healthier, happier and more resilient community.
Oct. 10, 2010, is a worldwide day of action – part of www.350.org’s “Global Work Party” – intended to decrease the contribution to climate change.
TLC supports building local resilience, which has the effect of decreasing the use of fossil fuels. For example, by having a more localized economy, less gas is used and the products people want travel a shorter distance from the producer to the consumer; and supporting local organic farmers results in less pesticide and gas usage.
The key to developing that local resilience is building local networks – essentially, linking people who otherwise might not have connected even though they share similar interests.
There are amazing skills and resources here in Lake County, and also great need. If everyone works together to link up resources and needs, the county will be able to create greater health and happiness for everyone.
This 10-10-10 event is both a chance to celebrate the work done to improve the community and a chance to build a network and amovement toward true sustainability.
If you are part of a local community organization that is interested in building local resilience and have done some work to improve the world, come prepared to celebrate that contribution and to share and network with others.
Groups and individuals are welcome to bring a table or booth, information about their interests, and willingness to connect and co-create.
If you’d like to set up a table, please contact Karen or Nils at 707-928-0159.
To learn more about this event and all the great work-days actions leading up to Oct. 10, visit www.transitionlakecounty.org .
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The event, will which begin at 1 p.m., will feature Congressman Mike Thompson and other local dignitaries.
The new clinic is located at 15145 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake.
Beginning earlier this year, the building underwent a complete remodel to prepare it for its new use as a clinic. Previously, it had housed county mental health services, as Lake County News has reported.
The VA reported that the new clinic will have approximately 8,600 square feet of clinic space and will offer primary care, mental health services and limited specialty care through tele-health technology, linking the clinic with specialists at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and Santa Rosa VA Outpatient Clinic.
The Clearlake VA Clinic will officially open for patient care on Nov. 1.
Veterans who are interested in receiving care at the Clearlake Clinic may register at the San Francisco VAMC or any of its outpatient clinics.
In addition, veterans can register at www.va.gov or www.sanfrancisco.va.gov or contact the VAMC Eligibility Office at 415-750-2015.
For more information about the Clearlake VA Clinic call Ken Browne at 707-468-7704.
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Sixteen-year-old Janea Armstead, who is developmentally disabled, had last been seen Tuesday night and Clearlake Police put out a request for help from the community to find her, as Lake County News has reported.
However, the young woman returned home on Wednesday night, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Tim Hobbs.
Hobbs said the teen was fine and said she had wanted to spend the previous night out on her own.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A pickup truck went off Highway 20 and into Clear Lake Wednesday evening in a crash that officials indicated may have ended in a fatality.
The single-vehicle crash occurred just before 6:30 p.m. on Highway 20 at Pepperwood Cove, between Lucerne and Clearlake Oaks, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Reports from the scene initially indicated trouble extricating the driver from the pickup, where he was said to be trapped underwater and upside down.
Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Steve Hart said firefighters were able to get the man out using the jaws of life.
Hart said the man – whose name wasn't immediately available for release – was transported by Northshore Fire ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
It was not clear what the man's condition was late Wednesday.
The CHP had reported a possible fatality and Lake County News received witness reports that cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started on the man at the scene and that he later died.
However, a CHP officer had reportedly been sent to Sutter Lakeside Hospital to pick up a blood sample from the driver.
Northshore Fire sent two ambulances and four engines, Hart said. Along with CHP, reports from the scene indicated that the Lake County Sheriff's Office also responded.
Fuel from the pickup leaked into the lake, with Northshore Fire bringing in booms to surround it, according to radio reports. The wind was said to have aided bringing the fuel back to shore.
Less than five gallons of fuel got into the lake, Hart said.
Because of the spill, the local Office of Emergency Services and Lake County Environmental Health responded to the scene, Hart said. Fish and Game also was called but did not go to the crash site.
The CHP reported that the tow company was still responding to the scene just after 8 p.m. to remove the totaled pickup. Hart was still on the scene with firefighters shortly before 9:30 p.m., and the roadway was completely opened and cleared by 9:47 p.m., according to the CHP.
A radio report stated the booms were left in the water overnight.
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Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley said that her staff delivered absentee ballots for the Nov. 2 general election to the Lakeport Post Office on Monday.
Approximately 16,072 vote-by-mail ballots went out, she said.
Fridley – who noted she got her own absentee ballot in the mail on Wednesday – said voters should have the ballots no later than next week.
Her office already is getting some completed ballots back from voters, she said.
It's also still possible to register to vote. The deadline to vote in the Nov. 2 primary is 15 days before the election.
“We received quite a few registrations today,” she said on Wednesday.
Sample ballots for county voters went out in the mail from a Sacramento vendor on Wednesday morning, according to Fridley.
An addressing glitch on the vendor's end caused a delay, said Fridley, noting that she likes to have the sample ballot and vote by mail ballots go out at the same time.
Missing from local mailboxes is the state's voting information pamphlets, said Friday.
“We're waiting for the state to give us a schedule,” she said, noting that Lake appears to be one of the counties that hasn't received the pamphlets.
For the general election, there are 32,098 registered voters, Fridley said. That's down from the 32,763 voters registered at the time of the June 8 primary.
In the primary, 6,279 precinct ballots were cast, for a 19.2 percent voting rate, as opposed to the 9,280 vote by mail ballots cast that time, a 28.3-percent return, based on county election records. Overall, 47.5 percent of the county's registered voters cast ballots in the primary.
There were 14,167 Democrats registered to vote in the primary; of that group, 7,628 cast ballots for a 53.8 percent voting rate, records showed.
Democrats cast more ballots by mail than at precincts, with 4,493 absentees, or 31.7 percent, versus 3,133 ballots, or 22.1 percent, cast at polling places.
The county's registered Republicans, 9,574 in all for the primary, also favored absentee voting, with 3,526 absentee ballots case, a 36.8 percent return rate, and 25.6 percent, or 2,546 voters, casting their ballots at precincts. Overall, 6,072 Republicans cast ballots, amounting to 63.4 percent of the registered voters for that party.
The two major parties had higher turnout rates among their own voters than the American Independent, Green, Libertarian, and Peace and Freedom parties, according to the Registrar of Voters Office. For a full rundown, see www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/ROV/Final_Election_Results.htm.
The last general election, which was the 2008 presidential election, “was rather unique,” said Fridley, with high voter interest and turnout.
“The turnout and interest always seems to be greater in a presidential election than a general election,” she said.
A better comparison for looking at potential voter turnout in the November election is to look at the November 2006 election, she suggested.
However, there are still marked differences between this year and 2006, when the District 3 supervisorial race was heavily contested, but the sheriff and district attorney's races – which this year are producing the most interest – were single-man races.
In November 2006, there were 31,564 registered voters in the county, slightly less than the 32,098 voters so far registered for this November, according to Fridley.
In the general election four years ago, actual voter turnout was at 62.6 percent, with 10,316 absentee and 9,441 precinct votes cast, said Fridley.
Fridley said county residents can still request absentee ballots through the mail, with the deadline set at Oct. 26. Voters needing a vote by mail ballot after this date must appear in person in the Registrar of Voters Office on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
In order to be counted, ballots must be received at the Registrar of Voters Office by 8 p.m. on Election Day – Tuesday, Nov. 2.
However, Fridley recommended that voters return ballots no later than Oct. 27.
She said vote by mail ballots returned close to Election Day – including ballots dropped off at the polls – will be processed and counted during the 28-day official canvass following Election Day.
For candidate statements for the races for Congress, state Senate, Lake County district attorney, Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees, and council races for the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, visit www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/ROV/2010statements.htm .
For additional information about absentee voting or the upcoming election, the Registrar of Voters Office can be reached at 707-263-2372.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at