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Sheriff's deputies arrested Thomas William Miller, 37, of Cobb late Sunday night after searching for him throughout the weekend following his alleged abduction of girlfriend Sally Martin, 30.
Capt. Jim Bauman said sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call at 9:45 p.m. Friday reporting a physical fight between a man and woman near a Parnassus Drive residence in Cobb.
Bauman said Miller was reported to be assaulting Martin. While deputies were responding to the scene, Miller allegedly threatened others who tried to intervene with a handgun before dragging a barefoot Martin – whose face was bleeding from the assault – into his pickup and leaving the area.
When deputies arrived on the scene, witnesses told them that Martin had tolerated ongoing abuse by Miller and had been on the verge of seeking help from a domestic violence shelter, according to Bauman.
Deputies stayed at the Parnassus Drive residence to process the scene and gather information while another group of deputies who were responding to assist with the investigation found Miller's pickup near his Sugar Pine Drive residence, Bauman reported.
An extensive search of the home and the surrounding area was conducted throughout the night, but Bauman said there was no sign of Miller or Martin.
With an armed Miller still at large, on Saturday the sheriff's office issued a telephonic public safety alert to warn 3,200 Cobb and Middletown area residents, Bauman said. The call urged residents not to approach Miller, who was considered extremely dangerous, but to call 911 immediately if he was spotted.
At the same time, deputies continued to canvass the Cobb community for information and worked leads as to Miller's and Martin's whereabouts throughout the weekend, Bauman said.
Thanks to leads developed through the community, deputies received information that led them to a Whispering Pines area residence on Sunday at about 10:30 p.m., according to Bauman. Miller – along with several other people, including Martin – was believed to be at the home.
As they were conducting surveillance on the home, Bauman said deputies encountered a male adult approaching the house who ran when they attempted to detain him. Following a brief foot chase, the subject was arrested and positively identified as Miller.
With Miller in custody, Bauman said deputies searched the home they were watching and found Martin inside, relatively unharmed, along with several others, including 22-year-old Corey Lee Burnezky of Cobb.
Bauman said Burnezky also was arrested as he had provided false information to deputies and aided Miller’s concealment throughout the weekend.
Miller was booked into the Lake County Jail on felony charges of kidnapping, spousal battery and threats, and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia, brandishing a firearm and a misdemeanor out-of-county warrant. Bauman said he remains in custody with a combined bail of $258,000.
Burnezky, who was booked for felony accessory to a crime, has since been released on a $10,000 bond, Bauman reported.
Bauman said the case remains open pending further investigation as to the motive for the kidnapping and assault.
The sheriff's office has had numerous contacts with Miller going back to 1991, said Bauman, but all are traffic-related with the exception of a 2006 arrest for driving on a suspended license.
Cobb residents reported Monday that they received an “all clear” message regarding Miller's capture from the sheriff's office through the telephonic alert system.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – Many people call them seaplanes. Others refer to them as float planes.
Call 'em planes on floats if you wish. Break them down further and you find floatplanes and amphibious planes. One type lives on the water and in the air. The other can call the good earth home as well.
Throughout the weekend the waters and air space around Clear Lake and specifically that which is just offshore of downtown Lakeport were the temporary home to about 30 of the above-mentioned type of aircraft for the 29th annual Clear Lake Splash-in.
Ranging in size and style, from small ultra-light single- and two-seat aircraft on up to the very large 20-passenger, 68-foot-long, 97-foot wingspan behemoths of the 1940s, they all have one thing in common – well, two for that matter.
First, they all fly and, large or small, they all take flight from, and return to, water.
Splash-in coordinator and seaplane pilot Chuck Kimes said 35 pilots and owners had completed the registration process – including the quagga mussel certification required by all boat owners and operators on Clear Lake – in order to take part in the festival. Of those, 30 planes came for the event.
Kimes expected that the total number of aircraft participating will increase. Last year's event was hampered by an unexpected change in the weather. Then, many of the larger aircraft canceled just hours before their expected arrival due to poor weather conditions.
Returning for his third splash-in, co-owner Randy Fiorini and pilot Rob Davids of Turlock brought their twin engine 1959 Piper Apache.
The aircraft was completely restored four years ago. The four-seat airplane has been given all new avionics, new engines and sports new paint in the original design with the same factory colors. Sierra Seaplanes primarily use tail number 34DA for multi-engine seaplane training in San Andreas County. It is believed that this is the only Piper Apache on floats anywhere in the world.
One of the larger aircraft returning was the 1964 Grumman Widgeon owned and piloted by Todd Dickey. Based in Arizona, Dickey's plane can carry 10 passengers and a large compliment of gear.
Still larger are the Mallards. John Fuller from Los Gatos brought his 48-foot-long twin engine 1946 Grumman amphibian with its 66-foot wingspan into Lakeport.
The smaller Grumman aircraft have wingspans that allow the planes to ramp out at the Natural High ball field.
The Mallards, the Grumman Goose and their big brother the Albatross have wingspans that prohibit these planes from exiting the water at the narrow confines of downtown Lakeport. They could, however, at Lampson Field for service and refueling.
It was a treat to see a Grumman Albatross in action. The huge flying boats measure just over 60 feet long with a wingspan of 97 feet, and are powered by a pair of 1,460 horsepower radial engines. They can carry 12,000 pounds of cargo at just over 200 miles per hour, for up to 2,800 miles before refueling.
The planes began service in 1947, and just a couple of hundred at most still survive with many owned by private parties. Many have interiors outfitted, as would be the finest oceangoing yachts. A load of fuel cost roughly $6,000; the two huge radial engines burn 110 gallons an hour between them.
Besides the Albatross, there were plenty of aircraft to admire.
Steve Lantz flew in from Carson City, Nev., with his beautifully restored Corvette-powered Republic SeaBee.
Ray “I wear a kilt to stay comfortable” Arceneaux flew his turbo charged Cessna 185 Skywagon for an unprecedented fifth splash-in in a row. Arceneaux also frequents the Burning Man event on the Nevada desert, providing thrills for those not expecting a seaplane on the desert floor.
Seaplane rides also were offered for a fee, besides the festival that took place in Library Park on Saturday.
The festival ran Saturday, with most of the planes taking to the skies and heading to their respective homes on Sunday.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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The Lake County Office of Education's College-Going Initiative, in collaboration with all county high schools, is sponsoring Higher Education Week, which will include individualized workshops for juniors and seniors and evening events for parents and students of all grade levels on Wednesday, Sept. 24, and Thursday, Sept. 25.
Parents and students will be able to visit with a variety of college representatives and ask detailed questions about planning for college, the application process, financial aide and pose any other questions they may have.
If parents and students are unable to attend the evening event at their local high school, they are welcome to attend an event at another high school.
Participating college and university recruiters include Yuba College, Mendocino College, Santa Rosa Junior College, Pacific Union College, Cal State East Bay, University of California at Davis, Sonoma State University, UC Santa Cruz, Humboldt State, UC San Francisco, Empire College, Wyo Tech and Universal Technical Institute. Community organizations and school programs participating include AVID/Upward Bound and Mendo-Lake Credit Union. UC Berkeley, Sacramento State and California Forestry Foundation are unable to attend but information about them will be available.
Daytime workshops will take place at the following locations and times:
‒ 9:50 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, Kelseyville High School;
‒ 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, Upper Lake High School;
‒ 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, Lower Lake High School;
‒ 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, Middletown High School.
Afternoon and evening meetings for all students and parents will take place at the following places and times:
‒ 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, Upper Lake High School (Upper Lake will combine this event with their Back-to-School Night and a dinner from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.).
‒ 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, Clear Lake High School (Clear Lake will combine this event with Junior Parent Night from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will have break-out sessions for parents).
‒ 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, Middletown High School (Middletown invites all interested parents and students to visit with the college reps immediately after their high school day).
‒ 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, Lower Lake High School (Lower Lake will combine this event with their Back-to-School Night).
The Lake County College-Going Initiative is a partnership between University of California and the Lake County Office of Education. The initiative sponsors a variety of college-going events, including the Summer Algebra Academies, Higher Education Week I and II, 10th grade college trips for families, SAT/ACT test prep, college application and financial aide workshops, and the University Admittance Reception.
For more information about Higher Education Week please contact Lake County College-Going Initiative Coordinator Jamey Gill at the Lake County Office of Education, 262-4123, or call the
following high school counselors: Kris Andre and Paul Larrea at Clear Lake High School, 262-3010; Jill James and Sue Samota, Kelseyville High School, 279-4923; Amy Osborn and Kathy Simpson, Lower Lake High School, 994-6471; Phil Mascari and Kevin McInerney, Middletown High School, 987-4140; and Karen Riordan and Greg Smith, Upper Lake High School, 275-2338.
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Thomas Miller, 37, allegedly kidnapped 30-year-old girlfriend Sally Martin from her Parnassus Drive home on Saturday, sheriff's officials reported.
Miller, who is armed and considered extremely dangerous, was seen on foot dragging a barefoot and injured Martin into the Boggs Mountain area, according to officials.
On Saturday evening, the Lake County Sheriff's Office used a telephonic warning system to alert residents in surrounding areas, including Middletown and Cobb, of the situation.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell told Lake County News on Sunday afternoon that Miller and Martin have not yet been located.
“The suspect and victim are not married, to our knowledge, but they have been together a very long time,” he said.
Mitchell said he was reluctant to release anything about potential motive at this point.
Miller is described as being just under 6 feet tall, with heavy tattoos on both arms. He also is missing three fingers.
Martin is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and about 130 pounds, with red hair and blue eyes. She was last seen without shoes and is reported to be injured.
Officials warn that anyone who sees Miller should not approach him but should call 911 immediately.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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MIDDLETOWN – The first feature film to be filmed in Lake County in decades was screened in Middletown this weekend to rave reviews. {sidebar id=97}
The independent film “Sherman's Way” was shown Friday and Saturday during the Coyote Film Festival at the Calpine Visitors Center.
Karen Turcotte-Williams, the festival's creator, arranged for the film's local debut. As an added treat, “Sherman's Way” made its trip to Lake County in completed form accompanied by its director and co-producer, Craig Saavedra of Los Angeles, and lead actor and co-producer, Michael Shulman of New York, two down-to-earth artists who took part in a question-and-answer session following the showings.
“We had so much fun making this film here in Lake County,” Saavedra told the audience.
“Sherman's Way” is a heartfelt story about an uptight Ivy Leaguer, Sherman Black (Shulman) whose carefully ordered and meticulously planned life one day begins to fall apart, leading to an accidental journey of self-discovery.
The film's backdrop includes numerous locations around Lake County, including Library Park, downtown Kelseyville and Butts Canyon Road, and dozens of local residents who were extras.
Saavedra's directorial skills capture the beauty of the county, from small and delicate details like mist on the lake to the county's eye-popping expanses.
Originally, the film was meant to be set in Napa County with Lake Berryessa as a location, said Saavedra. However, he explained, “Napa was so much more beautiful in my mind.”
So they looked around, and Shulman came across Lake County on the Internet. He called up the county's chief administrative officer, Kelly Cox, who – along with Debra Sommerfield of the county's marketing program – showed the men around Lake County and helped them scout locations.
“We just couldn't imagine shooting anywhere else,” said Saavedra. Shulman added that finding Lake County “was a blessing.”
The men said Lake County offered an incredibly welcoming atmosphere, which is a major departure from Los Angeles. There, Saavedra said, people will see filmmakers at work and will honk their car horns incessantly until they're paid to stop. Those kinds of bribes have to be worked into the movie budget, he said.
Lake County, Saavedra told the audience Saturday, made “Sherman's Way” what it is.
The film was shot in 19 days over a four-month period, with other locations outside of Lake County including Los Angeles, San Diego, New York and New Haven, Conn., at Yale University.
Saavedra and Shulman gave big credit to Sommerfield – who Shulman called “amazing” – for her help on the project. “She did the work of 10 location managers and a film office,” said Saavedra.
A unique, optimistic film
What sets the film apart most may be what it conspicuously lacks – no car chases, explosions or assassins, which seem to be the requisite elements in today's big movies.
Rather, the focus is on crafted dialog – with people actually talking to one another – realistic relationships and struggles that would be familiar to most people.
Another of the film's traits is its optimism – which is a characteristic Saavedra said once made American-made films stand apart, but which now is often missing.
Sherman is the sheltered son of an overbearing mother, Evelyn Black (Donna Murphy) who also is a successful lawyer running for the U.S. Senate. Evelyn tries to protect her son from everything while herding him toward a law career. But when he heads to California to visit his girlfriend, Marcy DeLang (Lacey Chabert), he finds she's got another guy.
In an uncharacteristically spontaneous move, Sherman decides to hitch a ride with Palmer Van Dyke (James LeGros), a washed up Olympic alpine skier driving an MGB Roadster.
The two men can't stand each other at first. Over time, however, they begin to learn from each other, with support from DJ (Enrico Colantoni) and Addy (Brooke Nevin), a free spirit who helps Sherman forget Marcy's betrayal and learn to loosen up a little bit.
The independent film is Saavedra's debut as a director of feature films and the first film made by Starry Night Entertainment LLC, the company he and Shulman formed in 2005, the year after Shulman graduated from Yale .
Saavedra, 44, has directed TV movies; he met a 14-year-old Shulman on the set of “Rhapsody in Bloom,” and the two became friends.
Before becoming a director, Saavedra produced TV and film projects. On “Sherman's Way,” Saavedra and Shulman also are co-producers.
At 26, Shulman already is an acting veteran. He began his acting career as a child in Broadway's “Les Miserables” and in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's “The Assassins.” He acted in M. Night Shymalayan's 1998 movie “Wide Awake” and in “Little Man Tate” with Jodie Foster, but he may be best known for a recurring role on the TV show, “Party of Five.”
The art in “Sherman's Way” does imitate life in some ways, especially when it comes to the similarity in the relationship dynamic between Sherman and Palmer and Shulman and Saavedra. For one, Sherman and Palmer share an age difference with the creators.
As the story develops, the boundaries of age fall away and Sherman and Palmer begin learning crucial lessons from each other; for Sherman, it's about being a better son, for Palmer, a better father.
Realizing the lessons that life has to offer you is a key to the story, said Saavedra in an interview with Lake County News Saturday evening. “That's really the heart of 'Sherman's Way' – it's never too late to learn from books or life.”
While the film features aspects of the the Great American Road Trip – which has been the subject of many a film – Saavedra and Shulman point out that the characters spend 90 percent of the movie in one place, staying with DJ at his lakeside home, painstakingly restoring the classic red MGB Roadster.
Much of the journey is truly an internal one, they say, and is far more important than the destination.
The car, said Saavedra, is a metaphor for tearing down Sherman. “We needed to tear Sherman down to rebuild him.”
Saavedra and Shulman receive hundreds of scripts, but it has to be a special project to make the cut. “We won't do a project we both don't absolutely believe in,” Saavedra said.
The film – which received big applause from Lake County audiences this weekend – also is receiving great reviews at film festivals around the country.
Although “Sherman's Way” was filmed two years ago and officially opened earlier this year, Shulman and Saavedra are currently on the festival circuit with the film, where it's grabbing the awards.
So far, it has won audience awards at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose and the Newport International Film Festival in Newport, Rhode Island; opening night selection honors at the Newport Beach Film Festival; and was made an official selection at the Jackson Hole Film Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
The story behind the story
The movie also has a humorous and quirky back story that touches on everything from cars to cats.
Three MGB Roadsters were used in the film, including one Saavedra bought locally and took home, plus one in mint condition that was on loan from a Pasadena MGB club member. That car, he said, had to be shipped by Federal Express, which turned out to be the movie's biggest expense.
Palmer's black and white tuxedo cat, dubbed “Sparky” in the film – named after a tabby cat that liked to play fetch that Saavedra had as a child – originally was supposed to be played by two trained calico cats.
However, those cats got a last-minute commercial deal and left the film. So the black and white cat was brought in, but its training was so bad that some scenes had to be shot later, after it had grown substantially bigger. Saavedra and Shulman said they also used a mechanical cat in some scenes.
When it came to catching a broad, sweeping shot of the county's vineyards, Saavedra brought in a helicopter – at a cost of $5,000. Because they got started late on the shoot they could only do one take, whereas normally a director might do 20 or more takes to get the perfect shot. Even so, Saavedra managed to catch a vineyard vista in the golden hour of a summer evening.
For Shulman, a lifelong Manhattan resident, filming in Lake County gave him the summer he never had as a kid, where he was able to swim, get a tan, learn to climb a tree – not much need for that in Manhattan – and even learn to drive a stick shift, much as his film character does.
“Sherman's Way” had many important contributors, one of them being writer/producer Tom Nance, who drew from his own experiences with his biological father in crafting a believable scene between Palmer and the son he's abandoned. He also appeared in the movie as a car salesman who hires Palmer for an ill-fated publicity stunt.
Nance was supposed to make the trip to Lake County with Shulman and Saavedra, but here the story has a sad end.
With the money he made from the movie, Nance bought himself a motorcycle. Last week, he was killed when a truck hit him while he was riding the motorcycle through Los Angeles.
More projects ahead
Saavedra and Shulman say their partnership has been a great one, and they have much more planned ahead, including a movie and a play project off Broadway.
When it comes to Lake County, both enjoyed their time here, and have fond memories of the experience, which is why they came back this weekend.
“The reason why we're both here is we want to stay thank you to Lake County,” said Shulman.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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1. You can’t see the bride on the wedding day
2. You can’t go fishing the morning of your wedding (Trust me, I know this one personally!)*
3. The couple gets a slow cooker among the gifts.
The name “Crock-Pot” was trademarked in 1971 by Rival Industries and now belongs to Sunbeam, so using the term “slow cooker” keeps me from having to send them a royalty check at the end of every sentence. The main purpose of a slow cooker is to throw a bunch of items into it, turn it on, and come back several hours later to a fully cooked, delicious braised meal.
Technically people have been braising foods (cooking foods in a liquid for long periods of time) for millennia, while the slow cooker is a product of the past century.
The main thing that started me using the slow cooker was that I knew on occasion I wouldn’t make it home in time to make dinner yet wanted to have something waiting for my family that didn’t come out of a box. I also like the fact that it uses less energy than an oven or stovetop, and it doesn’t heat the house up and counteract the air conditioning during the summer.
As I became more involved in the cooking for the family I started learning more about using the slow cooker. The thing that makes it so great to work with is not only does it take almost no work to use, but it works best when using the cheapest cuts of meat so it’s great for the wallet too.
When you first start using your slow cooker you should expect to have an anti-honeymoon period while you learn the settings. You will burn this and undercook that, but don’t become disheartened because all slow cookers are different and it takes a little time to feel out your slow cooker’s personality.
My slow cooker has high, low and keep warm settings. I like to start the process on high, and when the liquid bubbles I switch it to low for the remaining cooking process. Most slow cookers maintain a temperature between 175 (on low) and 200 degrees Fahrenheit (on high).
While you can just throw a raw hunk of meat into a slow cooker and it will cook just fine, searing the meat on all sides in a frying pan before placing in the cooker will make for better-tasting results. Meats that work best in a slow cooker are usually high in fat and with lots of connective tissue. These dissolve during the slow cooking process and create a lower fat, tender, moist and unctuous finished dish.
Using lean meats in a slow cooker doesn’t produce good end results since they don’t have the fats or connective tissues to baste them during the process. They wind up with good flavor, but with a hockey-puck texture and no moisture content.
The meats your slow cooker will work best with are pork shoulder, beef chuck, and chicken or turkey thighs and drumsticks. Dairy products tend to curdle when kept too long in a slow cooker, and seafood gets tough and chewy, so they should be avoided, or added in the last hour of cooking at the most.
Since slow cookers don’t lose much moisture during the cooking process like, for instance, soup does, you can use less liquid in a recipe that wasn’t meant for a slow cooker and still have great results.
WARNING! Some raw beans (including fava and kidney beans) contain a toxin called PHA (phytohaemagglutinin, if you prefer) that is destroyed once the beans are cooked at high temperatures, like by boiling (212 degrees). Slow cookers may not heat high enough to destroy this toxin and can even raise the toxicity of the beans, so either cook your beans before adding them to a slow cooker or use canned beans to avoid harming your diners.
I came up with this recipe just the other day when I wanted to find a use for the leftover tortilla chips that are always found in the bottom of a bag after everyone has used the whole chips for dipping. While utilizing the leftovers of a bag of chips and a jar of salsa, it results in a very enchilada-like flavor.
Pork shoulder with tortilla sauce
1 pork shoulder (seared)
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups leftover crushed up tortilla chips
1 cup salsa
3 tablespoons green Tabasco sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Add all of the ingredients except the cheese and sour cream into your slow cooker and, depending on the settings, start it on high. After a couple of hours set to low (although leaving it on high won’t affect much). At serving time, remove the pork and whisk the sauce remaining in the pot until smooth. Serve the pork and pour over the sauce and sprinkle on the cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
*My wife married into a fishing family - so much of an enthusiastic fishing family that when she announced our wedding date as being the day fishing season opened, calls came in asking if this announcement was some sort of joke, and relatives hemmed and hawed for weeks deciding if they could even attend an event that coincided with such an important day (Fishing Opener, of course). And my wife had nightmares for weeks before the wedding of me showing up to the church, late, in tuxedo shirt and vest and waders, with a fish in each hand and asking “Do I have time to clean these?” So men, just for the record, No fishing on your wedding morning! If my family could handle it, yours can. (Mumbling under my breath: “Although I still don’t understand why I couldn’t ... what’s the big deal? ... shheeessss!”)
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
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