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Judge Richard Henderson sentenced Upton Adams, 22, to three years of probation, 30 days in the county jail, mandatory counseling and will be subject to a three-year criminal protective order prohibiting him from contacting the victim.
Deputy District Attorney Shannon Cox prosecuted Adams, who was represented by Deputy Public Defender Eric Rennert, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.
According to the investigation, on July 22, 2009, Adams – 21 years old at the time – was working part-time as a teacher’s assistant at Mendocino College in a summer school class attended by high school students. On that date, he and a 15-year-old student engaged in a single act of sexual intercourse.
On July 24, 2009, officials at the college were notified of this behavior via an anonymous email, officials reported.
As a result, college officials immediately terminated Adams from his position and notified the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, which interviewed both the victim and Adams. Officials said both acknowledged the encounter and both described it as consensual.
Adams allegedly acknowledged his wrongdoing to the deputy and, after conducting its investigation, the sheriff’s office forwarded its report to the District Attorney’s Office for consideration of criminal charges.
The District Attorney’s Office initially filed a single count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor as a felony. However, after consulting with the victim and the victim’s mother, it was determined that a misdemeanor plea was an appropriate resolution of the case, officials reported.
Factors considered included that Adams had no criminal history, it was an isolated incident, there was no threat of force, and Adams admitted his wrongdoing at the earliest possible stage to both law enforcement and the court, according to the report.
During sentencing, Cox argued that Adams should receive a sentence of county jail, stressing the need to send a message to Adams and the community that this type of behavior will not go unpunished.
Henderson handed down the sentence based on the position of trust Adams held as a teacher’s assistant and also taking into account the age disparity between Adams and the victim, the District Attorney's Office reported.
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Following a parade through Lakeport, fair Grand Marshal Ruby Glebe and a group of local dignitaries took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially kicked off the annual end-of-summer event.
The fair runs through Sunday evening.
The theme of this year's fair is “Fun for the Whole Herd,” with a variety of entertainment, food, exhibits, a carnival, livestock shows and a tuff truck competition in store.
On Friday evening, the fair will host the Miss Lake County Pageant and the annual demolition derby.
Fair Chief Executive Officer Richard Persons said that, with both of those events going on, they expect Friday to be a busy night.
Person said the fair board decided to offer a special “party with your whole herd” ticket package available only on Friday night of the event.
Beginning at 8:30 p.m., the fair will offer a packaged admission of four tickets for $20. Regular ticket prices are $9 for full price admission for ages 12 through 60, $6 for seniors 60 and up, and $5 for kids ages 6 through 11. Children under age 6 are free every day of the fair. Ticket sales stop at 9 p.m. each day of the fair.
Unlimited ride wristbands cost $25 per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wristbands are purchased in the carnival.
Events in the grandstand arena include the demolition derby on Friday evening, open mud drag races on Saturday evening, and the California State Finals of the WGAS Motorsports Tuff Truck and Buggy Races on Sunday evening.
All grandstand shows start at 7:30 p.m., and are sponsored by Robinson Rancheria Resort and Casino. Local participants are also encouraged in the truck pulls, mud drag races and the tuff truck races, and entry forms are available at the fairgrounds office.
Live local entertainment occurs continuously on two stages. The Enhance H2O Main Stage will host the likes of the Lost Boys, LC Diamonds, Bill Noteman and the Rockets, and the Mark Weston Band, among others.
The Gazebo Stage will host a variety of acts including Mike Wilhelm and Hired Guns, Travis Rinker, Sax-O-Rama and the Kustom Cuts.
The annual Junior Livestock Auction takes place on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 1 p.m. in the Baldwin Pavilion.
Businesses and individuals are invited to bid on the prize-winning livestock raised and exhibited by local youth. Various livestock species are displayed throughout the fair, including swine, beef, sheep, goat and horse exhibits from local 4-H and FFA exhibitors.
Small animals are represented as well, with chickens, turkeys, rabbits and cavies all residing in the barn areas.
The Lake County Fair takes place at the fairgrounds, 401 Martin St., Lakeport.
Visit the fair online at www.lakecountyfair.com/.
Teamsters Local 624 and Paratransit Services went back to the table on Wednesday at the request of a federal mediator, and the two sides reported that an initial agreement on a three-year contract resulted.
Paratransit Services operates the county's public transportation services for Lake Transit Authority.
Concerns had arisen over the past month that a strike might result if the two sides couldn't settle a contract, potentially affecting thousands of riders and the 35 workers represented by the union, as Lake County News has reported.
A statement from Randy Grove, Paratransit Services' director of operations and human resources, said the negotiations had focused on wages and working conditions for employees.
Ralph Miranda, the union spokesman in the matter, said an agreement had been reached by about 2 p.m. Wednesday. That was about four hours after the meeting started.
“The successful conclusion of these negotiations reaffirms the track record of commitment both parties have demonstrated in working together in continuing to provide safe, efficient, rider-friendly transportation services for the citizens of Lake County,” Grove's statement said.
Miranda said both sides agreed to hold off on releasing the specific terms of the agreement until the union's membership has a chance to vote on it on Sept. 12.
However, he said many of the details resemble those that were included in the discussions the two sides had on Aug. 12. As previously reported, those talks included Paratransit's offer of a 1-percent wage increase across the board and a three-year package including wage increases of between 10 and 18 percent.
“I'm very confident it's going to be ratified,” Miranda said.
He credited the work of federal mediator David Weinberg with being instrumental in bringing the contract discussions to a successful conclusion.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Thomas Lee Carter, 59, was arrested by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents on Wednesday, as Lake County News has reported.
Carter and several co-defendants were arrested in August of 2009 and later indicted for charges stemming from the government's allegations that they conspired to sell marijuana locally and through medical marijuana dispensaries in San Diego and Los Angeles, according to court documents.
From that initial indictment Carter was charged with a single count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and two counts of distributing or possessing with intent to distribute marijuana.
According to DEA Special Agent Casey McEnry, Carter was arrested on Wednesday and charged with another count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
McEnry said the new charge stems from Carter's alleged violation of his pretrial release terms for the August 2009 case.
Those release terms, she said, prohibit Carter from, among other things, committing any federal, state or local crimes.
Further details on the case and the basis of the allegations were not immediately available on Thursday.
McEnry said Carter – who had been booked into the Sonoma County Jail and held overnight Wednesday – made an initial appearance in San Francisco federal court on Thursday in answer to the charge.
She said Carter's next scheduled hearing in the case is Sept. 7, also in San Francisco.
Court documents show that the case in chief against Carter and his co-defendants – Brett Bassignani, Scott and Diana Feil, Steven Swanson and Mark Garcia – is scheduled to continue in January.
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Public scoping meetings for the environmental impact statement (EIS) will be held Sept. 9 in Lakeport at the Lake County Supervisors chamber at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., and Sept. 10 in Colusa at the Natural Resources Conservation Service office, 100 Sunrise Blvd.
Both meetings will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“We are holding the meetings to gather public comment on issues, concerns and opportunities that should be considered in the analysis of the proposed action,” said Rich Burns, BLM Ukiah Field Office manager.
“In order to provide time for the public to develop comments following the scoping meetings, we are extending the public comment period 30 days to Sept. 28,” he said.
AltaGas Renewable Energy Pacific Inc. has applied for a right-of-way (ROW) authorization covering 8,157 acres on public lands for a 70-megawatt wind energy project with an interconnection to the Pacific Gas & Electric's 115-kilovolt (kV) distribution system.
As proposed by the company, the wind project could include 29 to 42 wind turbine generators, an underground electrical collection system, a substation, a 115-kV overhead transmission line, an interconnect station, an operations and maintenance building, and access roads.
Information on the status of the proposal is available at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ukiah.html.
Additional opportunities for public participation and formal comment will occur when the draft EIS is issued.
BLM has started a potential list of issues to be addressed in the analysis at a minimum, including social and economic impacts; traffic impacts; ground and surface water quantity and quality impacts; plant and animal species impacts, including special status species; impacts to cultural resources; and visual resource impacts.
For further information and/or to have your name added to the mailing list, contact Bethney Lefebvre, Ukiah Field Office, 2550 North State St., Ukiah, Calif., 95482, phone 707-468-4000, fax 707-468-4027, or email
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This planned maintenance revealed the fragile state of portions of the pipe in the water system, according to Lake County Special Districts, which oversees the Kelseyville water system.
Recently, while working on aged and fragile pipes in the distribution system, the system experienced an interruption of water service and pressure in parts of Kelseyville and Finley, as Lake County News has reported.
On Aug. 12, low pressure started early in the morning and the full extent of the water shortage was realized later that morning.
In an effort assure the health and safety of affected customers, Lake County Special Districts and other agencies coordinated emergency response measures to safely mitigate the problem.
“In cases like this, standard procedures include notifying the California Department of Public Health which mandates specific precautionary steps be taken to ensure the safety of the water once it is restored,” said Peter Preciado, Special Districts deputy administrator.
“The Lake County Sheriff’s Department’s reverse 911 provided notifications to the affected customers along with posting boil water notices on affected homes by 7 p.m. that evening,” said Preciado.
Emergency procedures and notification are required including boil water notices any time system water pressure drops below 20 psi. When pressure is too low or less than surrounding water sources, there is a possibility that those sources – wells, groundwater – might “backflow/siphon” and enter the system, Special Districts reported.
Systems checks such as flushing lines, confirming appropriate pressure and verifying chlorine residuals are standard emergency procedures after low water pressure is experienced. The chlorine residual is an indicator that the water is adequately disinfected and there is some chlorine remaining. Laboratory analysis for bacterial contamination confirms that the water is safe to drink.
Test results take about 24 hours and the California Department of Public Health requires two tests completed consecutively with both results absent of bacterial contamination before the boil water order can be lifted. Notices in the recent situation were lifted by Saturday afternoon.
The water pipes in the area of State Street to Second Street along Main have been the source of maintenance issues and were the cause of the recent leaks and loss of pressure, the county reported. Special Districts utility workers were closing water valves in the area to isolate the water pipe to allow RAD Construction to connect a new 10-inch PVC water pipe.
“Unfortunately, the remaining pipes in their fragile state began to fail under the increased water flow as Main Street between State Street and Konocti Road was now being bypassed,” said Preciado.
He said system pressure also began to drop. The efforts and professional expertise of RAD Construction, a local contractor, assisted in restoring water service by bringing the new water main into operation ahead of time.
“We want to thank the community for their patience and cooperation during this recent water emergency,” said Preciado.
He said Special Districts recognized the precautionary measures required by the California Department of Public Health following an interruption of water service due to low pressure are inconvenient and frustrating for customers.
Every effort was made in the most recent incident to have service restored as quickly as possible, he said.
For more information about the Kelseyville Waterworks upgrades call Lake County Special Districts administrative office at 707-263-0119.
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