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Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“The desired result is to save lives and make everyone’s family summer excursion, for both our community residents and those visiting our beautiful county, a safe and pleasurable memory,” Lt. Mark Loveless, CHP area commander, said Wednesday.
The sobriety checkpoint will be staffed by officers and deputies from each department who are trained in the detection of alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers.
Drug recognition experts, certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will be on site to provide on the spot assessments of drivers suspected of drug use.
The officers and deputies will also be equipped with state of the art handheld breath devices which provide an accurate measure of blood alcohol concentrations of suspected drunk drivers.
Caltrans employees will be on site providing traffic control in order to ensure the safety of officers and motorists alike.
Lt. Loveless said that, traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, or unlicensed, can be expected to be arrested.
“Our goal is to ensure the safe passage of each and every motorist by targeting roads where there is a high frequency of drunk driving,” Loveless said. “DUI enforcement patrols as well as sobriety checkpoints are effective tools for achieving this goal and are designed to augment existing patrol operations.”
He added, “By publicizing our efforts, we believe that we can deter motorists from drinking and driving.”
The Pine Fire, located near Pine Flat Road west of The Geysers Complex and east of Geyserville in Sonoma County, was estimated to be 85-percent contained by the end of Tuesday, according to Cal Fire.
Approximately 630 firefighters were on scene Tuesday, with Cal Fire reporting three injuries.
Burning in heavy brush since noon on Monday, the fire is estimated to be around 300 acres, down from Cal Fire's previous estimate of 350 acres.
Cal Fire said full containment is expected at around 8 a.m. Wednesday.
The fire's cause is still under investigation, Cal Fire reported.
Resources Cal Fire reported to have on scene Tuesday included 21 engines, 30 fire crews, seven air tankers, four helicopters, 15 bulldozers and five water tenders.
The six homes previously reported to be in danger are no longer threatened, officials said Tuesday.
Pine Flat Road also has reopened, Cal Fire said.
Firefighting costs by day's end Tuesday were estimated at approximately $922,896, according to Cal Fire.
Cooperating agencies working on the fire include Cal Fire, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Sonoma County Fire, South Lake County Fire, California Highway Patrol, Sonoma County Roads, Pacific Gas & Electric, Sonoma County Sheriff, Geyserville Fire Department and CalEMA.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
CLEARLAKE – A man who shot and killed two men as they fled from his home following an alleged December 2005 break-in has been charged, along with another Clearlake resident, with homicide in a Tuesday morning stabbing.
Shannon Lee Edmonds, 35, of Clearlake was arrested early Tuesday, along with Melvin Dale Norton, 38, also of Clearlake, according to Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain.
Edmonds and Norton weren't booked until shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday as a result of interviews going on throughout the day, McClain told Lake County News.
Bail for each of the men is set at $1 million, according to their booking information. Arraignment is tentatively scheduled for Thursday.
McClain said Edmonds and Norton were arrested for the stabbing death of a white male adult in his 30s who has not yet been identified.
Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to an area of Old Highway 53 and Clement Drive at about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday on the report of a possible assault, McClain said.
When the officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim lying on the side of the roadway. McClain said the victim was transported to Saint Helena Hospital Clearlake where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The leads developed by the first officers on scene and by detectives assigned to the case resulted in the arrest of Edmonds and Norton, both of whom are charged with homicide, McClain said.
Officer Michael Ray arrested both men at 5 a.m., according to jail records.
McClain said Clearlake Police detectives, along with Lake County District Attorney's Office investigators, were in the process of serving search warrants and collecting additional evidence.
He said the victim's name will be released by the Lake County Sheriff-Coroner's Office at the appropriate time.
District Attorney Jon Hopkins said late Tuesday that his chief deputy, Richard Hinchcliff, was working on the case with Clearlake Police.
Edmonds was at the center of a December 2005 case in which three Bay Area men allegedly broke into his Clearlake Park home and assaulted him, his then-girlfriend Lori Tyler, her teenage son Dale Lafferty and Lafferty's friend, Justin Sutch.
Christian Foster, 22, along with 21-year-old Rashad Williams and Renato Hughes, then 21, allegedly formed a “crime team” and broke into Edmonds' home in search of marijuana, as Hopkins explained to the jury in the trial in the summer of 2008. During the 2005 incident, Lafferty was beaten nearly to death with a bat and suffered permanent brain damage.
Edmonds fatally shot Williams and Foster as they ran from his home, with the prosecution arguing the men were still in the house when they were shot, and the defense saying that Edmonds shot them after following them outside.
The District Attorney's Office did not charge Edmonds in that case.
Hughes later was charged with his friends' deaths under the provocative act law, which holds anyone alleged to have taken part in a crime that could provoke a lethal act responsible for resulting deaths.
His defense attorney, Stuart Hanlon, on Tuesday called news of Edmonds' arrest on the murder charge “amazing.”
Throughout Hughes' legal proceedings, Hanlon attempted to place blame on Edmonds and demanded his prosecution.
In similar fashion, Hanlon on Tuesday called the Clearlake homicide “a murder waiting to happen,” alleging that Edmonds had essentially been given permission to kill people because he had never been charged for any of the deaths.
Edmonds also wasn't charged for an August 2007 incident in which he allegedly tried to force Tyler to commit suicide with him, making her take about 150 pills and write out a suicide note, as Lake County News has reported. The couple later drove to the hospital, but about two weeks afterward Edmonds again attempted suicide by taking pills.
“He's a troubled man, that's for sure,” said Hanlon.
However, Edmonds has a sparse local criminal record, with no previous charges involving violence.
A check of Lake County court records showed that Edmonds has only one criminal case on file locally – a January conviction on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct while under the influence of drugs and disturbing the peace.
Hanlon said his investigators found that Edmonds was charged in Mendocino County with several low-level drug offenses – but no felonies.
In Hughes' trial – held last summer in Contra Costa County, where it was moved due to pretrial publicity – Hughes was acquitted of the two homicide counts, robbery and attempted murder, with the jury hanging on assault causing great bodily injury. Hughes was convicted of burglary and assault with a firearm.
During the trial's closing arguments, Hanlon had stated Foster was shot four times in the back, one of them while he was on the ground, which Hanlon told Lake County News on Tuesday that Edmonds had testified to while on the stand.
It's a point that both Hanlon and Hopkins continue to argue.
Hopkins told Lake County News in a recent interview that he provided evidence in last year's trial that proved Edmonds couldn't have shot Foster while he was lying prone.
Hanlon on Tuesday responded to that statement with some colorful language, and maintained that the jury didn't buy that explanation.
Last December, a federal lawsuit filed against Edmonds by Williams' and Foster's families was settled. Edmonds' insurance carrier, Allied, paid an undisclosed amount, as Lake County News has reported.
In the suit, the families alleged that Edmonds was a known drug dealer, and claimed that Foster's and Williams' civil rights were violated.
That suit's defendants originally had included the county and the city of Clearlake, but a federal judge dismissed the case against the local jurisdictions.
If anyone has any information regarding this case please contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The man, whose name has not yet been released from the Lake County Sheriff-Coroner's Office, died at the scene.
He had been hang gliding in an area several miles north of Upper Lake in the Middle Creek area off of Elk Mountain Road, officials reported.
Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Pat Brown said they responded to a medical call at around 1 p.m. Saturday.
They found the man had crashed his glider, but Brown noted that the crash wasn't a hard one.
What appears to have taken the man's life was a heart attack while he was still in the air, said Brown.
Brown said firefighters were unable to revive the victim.
Tamara Schmidt, spokesperson for the Mendocino National Forest, said the incident did not happen on US Forest Service Land.
She said the forest offered to assist Northshore Fire with an engine, but it wasn't needed at the call.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The Lake County Wine Alliance put on the charity gala at the National Guard Armory in Lakeport for the first time. The black-tie event benefits various community, art, and health programs around the county.
The full receipts for this year's event aren't in. However, Wine Alliance member Wilda Shock said the live auction, consisting of 30 items, brought in $40,800.
This year's beneficiaries include the fine arts programs at Clearlake, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, Middletown and Upper Lake High Schools; Lake County Hunger Task Force, St. Helena Hospital Clearlake, and the five senior centers that provide Meals on Wheels or other nutrition programs; Stitch and Give Knitters, Lake County Chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America, Peoples Services and the Senior Law Project.
A special “fund a need” portion of the live auction benefited the Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum project of the Lake County Historical Society. Shock said those pledged totaled $4,100. The Wine Alliance anticipates participating with the society to add to this project, which will include placing a plaque at the museum noting the donors that contributed through the Wine Auction, Shock Said.
The event was very well attended and offered wine tastings from nearly every Lake County winery and hors d'oeuvre from local restaurants and catering businesses. In addition to the main tasting room, there was a Vintage Vault room which hosted reserve wines from a select group of wineries.
There were many generous donations of items made to both the silent auction and the live auction, including wine, trips to exciting vacation spots, deluxe gift baskets, winery tours, and other unique packages. These donations generated a lot of interest and raised significant funds for the event’s beneficiaries.
Shock said Andy Beckstoffer, the event chair, was the winning bidder for the single auction item that brought in the most funds, Mike Thompson's annual “Pig Out at the Pumphouse,” for $3,800.
Upon check-in at the front door, guests were presented with a gift bag, donated by Kelseyville Lumber, which contained a commemorative wine glass, hors d’ouvres plate, pen and auction bidding card. There were costumed actors at the entrance, some in flapper dresses, some in zoot suits and other periods of dress. In the main dining room the LC Diamonds provided music.
Rob Roumiguiere was the evening's master of ceremonies, with Congressman Mike Thompson the special guest. Tom DiNardo acted as Auctioneer for the live auction.
One might assume that a utilitarian building like the National Guard Armory would be hard to decorate, but it was excellently done. In the entryway, the dining room and the Vintage Vault the walls were all hung with fabric, creating a very soft appearance. In the dining room the fabric was also draped across the ceiling and enhanced with light strands. Each table was decorated beautifully as well.
In the tasting room, each vendor was duly designated by a sign placed above their table, with wine and food vendors interspersed. There was an excellent variety of foods offered, showing that Lake County has some wonderful chefs.
All the vendors were set up against the outer wall of the tasting room, and in the middle of the room was a circle of tables that held the silent auction items.
The auction was exciting, and DiNardo did a great job at generating interest and spurring on a little healthy competition over items with good grace and humor. People were very generous in their bidding.
All of the food being served was good if not great, but there were a couple of exceptional items. Lindy’s Quality Catering pulled out all of the stops with grilled prawns, grilled tri-tip, chicken yakitori, and sweet and sour pork. The smoked salmon mousse from Park Place Restaurant was great, as was the Blue Wing’s sesame tuna. There also were raves over Aromas at Yuba College’s figs with blue cheese and bacon.
Ross Christensen writes about food and wine for Lake County News; his wife, Lacy, is his editor and occasional co-author.
THE GEYSERS – A wildland fire burning near The Geysers grew to an estimated 350 acres Monday evening.
The Pine Fire was reported at around noon on Monday, according to Angie Scohy of Cal Fire.
The fire was located in heavy brush off of Pine Flat Road, west of The Geysers complex and east of Geyserville, inside the Sonoma County line, Scohy said.
By the evening it has reached 50-percent containment, with officials estimating it will be fully contained on Tuesday.
Approximately 305 firefighting personnel were on scene at day's end, with one injury reported.
Earlier in the day the fire had grown rapidly in size. In the first hour and a half it had burned 150 acres, said Fire Capt. Paul Duncan of Cal Fire.
Two hours later, Cal Fire reported the fire at 375 acres, with that estimate later rolled back to 350 acres.
Scohy said the fire had a moderate rate of spread with spotting, Scohy said, adding that winds are at five miles per hour from the east.
Six residences were threatened in the fire's area, according to Cal Fire.
Residents from around Lake County reported seeing the smoke column.
Pine Flat Road in Sonoma County was closed at Red Winery Road. High tension wires also are reported in the area.
Seven air tankers and four helicopters, seven Cal Fire engines and five local engines, five local water tenders, 15 bulldozers and 12 hand crews were on scene early Monday afternoon, according to Scohy.
No information was yet available on the cause, Duncan said.
Cooperating agencies working on the fire included Cal Fire, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Sonoma County Fire, South Lake County Fire, California Highway Patrol, Sonoma County Roads, Pacific Gas & Electric, Sonoma County Sheriff, Geyserville Fire Department and Office of Emergency Services.
Suppression costs as of Monday evening were estimated at $186,000.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at