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The new community based outpatient clinic (CBOC) in Clearlake will be located at 15145 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake. The existing facility is undergoing a completely new design and renovation process.
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.
Congressman Mike Thompson and VA officials will tour the new clinic space on April 6 at 11:30 a.m.
They will be joined by Clearlake Mayor Judy Thein and her colleagues Joyce Overton and Curt Giambruno; Lakeport Mayor Jim Irwin; Lake County Supervisors Anthony Farrington, Denise Rushing, Rob Brown, Jim Comstock and Jeff Smith; Lake County Veteran Administrator Kelly Cox, and Lake County Veterans Service Officer/Health Department Director Jim Brown.
Congressman Thompson has been a passionate advocate and longtime supporter of establishing a VA clinic in Lake County. “Our veterans deserve to be able to access care close to home, rather than being forced to travel to San Francisco or Ukiah to get health care. This is great for our vets and our entire community,” said Thompson.
The Clearlake VA Clinic is scheduled to be operational by the fall of 2010, with management and staffing the responsibility of the San Francisco VAMC. VA estimates about 8,000 veterans living in Lake County, with nearly 3,000 already enrolled with VA, many of which receive care at the Ukiah VA Outpatient Clinic.
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.
This project is under the joint supervision of Capital Partners Development Co. LLC, Vila Construction Company of Petaluma, Carpenter Robbins Commercial Real Estate and the SFVAMC’s Planning and Engineering departments.
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The lodge is located at the corner of Highway 53 and Highway 20.
County staff will provide updates on the redevelopment process, local projects and other issues.
The agenda includes an open forum to discuss issues of interest to the community of Clearlake Oaks. Parking at the Moose lodge is limited, so carpooling is encouraged.
Once again, free tables will be set up for local groups, businesses or organizations wishing to distribute informational literature.
For more information contact Supervisor Denise Rushing at 707-263-2368 or email
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Kenneth Allen Rogers, 52, was convicted last summer of conspiring with an employee, Richard Peacock, to kill Alan Simon on June 17, 2005, in Westport. Since the shooting Rogers had moved to Lake County, as Lake County News has reported.
Last Friday, Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Ron Brown denied Rogers' motion for a new trial, denied probation and sentenced Rogers to a state prison term of 25 years to life for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted murder with special findings of willfulness, deliberation and premeditation, according to a report from the office of Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott.
Rogers will not be eligible for parole until he has served a full 25 years in prison.
“Everyone can sleep better knowing a very violent criminal has been sentenced,” Simon said.
On July 22, 2009, a Mendocino County jury of eight women and four men in Ukiah convicted Rogers of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and attempted first-degree murder, in the 2005 shooting of Simon, then 53.
Simon had replaced Rogers on the Westport County Water Board in an August 2004 recall election and had then voted to fire Rogers as assistant fire chief.
The evidence at trial showed that Rogers at the time of the shooting was chairman of the Mendocino County Republican Party, and that he viewed these setbacks as hurtful to a political career in Sacramento.
The shooting occurred at 10:26 p.m. on a Friday night, when Peacock, after knocking on the front door of Simon's residence, shot through it nine times.
Simon dove to the floor, resulting in his being grazed by a bullet in the forearm and scalp. He was able to remain conscious and give the 911 dispatcher a description of the shooter's vehicle, a white Miata convertible with unique damage to the left front fender.
The next day Peacock, then a 54-year-old resident of Sacramento and an employee of Rogers with a long criminal record, was arrested in Laytonville.
In September 2006, Richard Peacock was tried and convicted for attempted murder. Because of Peacock's having “three strikes,” he was sentenced to 71 years to life.
Tim Stoen, the deputy district attorney prosecuting Rogers, called a variety of witnesses to establish guilt by circumstantial evidence.
The evidence showed that the gun discarded by Peacock had been in the possession of Rogers, that Rogers had a photo of Simon's house on his digital camera, that Rogers was so angry with Simon that “spittle was flying” at the mention of his name, and that Peacock did not know Simon and had no connections to Westport.
After the trial – in which Rogers had been represented by Lakeport attorney J. David Markham – Rogers hired new defense counsel, Kenny Giffard, from Sacramento.
On March 26, prior to rendering judgment and sentence, Judge Brown conducted a hearing on Giffard's motion for a new trial, which was based primarily on the allegation of “ineffective assistance of counsel.”
Giffard contended that Markham had made a prejudicial mistake in asking a question he did not know the answer to in advance, and had improperly advised Rogers not to testify on his behalf.
At the hearing Mr. Markham testified there was a tactical reason for asking the “blind” question so as to show Rogers was not the “loose cannon” the prosecution contended him to be. Markham also testified he had advised Rogers of his right to take the witness stand, but had recommended he not do so.
Markham said he had made that recommendation based on 22 hours of meetings with Rogers, during which he determined Rogers was unable to adequately explain important evidence, made incriminating statements with unawareness of their effect and came across as unbelievable.
Markham, who is certified by the California State Bar as a criminal law specialist, further testified he was able to keep away from the jury photos of Miracle-Gro next to water pipes in the water district headquarters which the prosecution contended showed the stealing of public water to irrigate pot plants, and was able to keep away from the jury a flier allegedly circulated by Rogers saying “Heil Simon.”
Rogers also testified at the hearing. He denied having anything to do with Simon's shooting and contended Markham had been ineffective as his counsel.
Judge Brown, who had presided over the trial, ruled that Giffard had not met his burden to show ineffectiveness of counsel and denied the motion for a new trial.
Stoen argued that probation should be denied for a number of reasons, including the sophistication of the crime.
“This was almost the perfect crime,” Stoen said. “Alan Simon is shot in his own house, separated from other houses and in a rural area, at 10:30 at night. Nine bullets go through his door … If it were not for the providential act that he ducked, he would have been killed. His body would not have been discovered until 8 a.m. or so the next day at the earliest. By then the shooter, Richard Peacock, would have been long gone from Mendocino County to his home in Sacramento, and the gun would have been thrown into the Sacramento River.
“Nobody would have remembered Richard Peacock being in Westport on the day of the shooting, since he came at night, so as to be able to identify him as the shooter,” Stoen continued. “And Kenneth Rogers would have relaxed on his property, having formulated an intent to kill and having sent his lackey to do the killing, with no physical connection to any of the empty cartridges on Alan Simon's front lawn. That, your Honor, is how close we came to have a murder on our hands which would never – repeat never – have been solved.”
Based on the probation officer's recommendation, Judge Brown denied probation. Following the Penal Code's required sentence for conspiracy to commit first degree murder, Judge Brown sentenced Rogers and remanded him into the custody of the California Department of Corrections.
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The crash occurred just after 11 p.m. on Lakeshore Boulevard at Penelope Court, according to a report from Firefighter Paramedic Brian Hajik of the Lakeport Fire Protection District.
Hajik said the Lakeport Fire Protection District was dispatched to the crash, with the initial reports indicating unknown injuries and one vehicle involved.
Shortly after Lakeport Medic Engine 5012 and Ambulance 5013 left for the scene, dispatch advised that several callers were reporting at least one patient was lying in the street with major injuries, resulting in a request for a second ground ambulance and one medical helicopter was made, Hajik reported.
Before fire personnel arrived on scene, a Lake County Sheriff's deputy arrived on scene and reported one patient with major injuries and two with moderate injuries, according to Hajik's report. A third ground ambulance and second helicopter was requested as Lakeport Fire units arrived on scene.
Fire Capt. Bob Holbrook established fire command as Lakeport paramedics began triaging patients. Hajik said paramedics found three patients, all approximately 18 years old and all ejected during a rollover inside a compact car traveling at an unknown rate of speed.
The three teenagers had various multisystem trauma injuries. Hajik said extrication tools were not required to remove them from the vehicle.
After triage, paramedics began rendering advanced life support to the most acute patients as a request for a third air ambulance was made, he said.
Due to the number of patients and lack of timely resource capabilities, a multiple casualty incident (MCI) was declared. Hajik established communications with Sutter Lakeside Hospital and established MEDCOM, the incident commander for patient transport destinations and prehospital advisory.
Working with the incident commander, Hajik said multiple landing zones were identified and secured with aid from law enforcement.
The first and most critical patient was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital helipad by Lakeport Fire at 11:27 p.m. Hajik said the second patient transported to a landing zone at the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff at Lakeshore Boulevard by the Northshore Fire Department. Patient number three was transported directly to Sutter Lakeside Hospital due to an extended estimated time of arrival for the third helicopter.
Contributing factors such as alcohol, seatbelt use, speed and others are still being determined by law enforcement and not available as of Sunday, Hajik said.
No injuries to emergency responders were reported and the incident was terminated at 12:09 a.m. Sunday, according to Hajik.
A total of two chief officers, two engines, four ground ambulances, three helicopters and several
volunteer firefighters responded. Hajik said the incident was safely and effectively mitigated with
aid from Lakeport Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District, Lake County Sheriff, California Highway Patrol, CALSTAR and REACH.
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