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Here is a roundup of Halloween happenings from around the county. {sidebar id=20}
Spooky story time
Wild About Books in Clearlake will host a day of Halloween stories on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Stories will include a mix of the scary and the funny, according to Lori Peters of Wild About Books.
Those who come in costume will receive a treat, Peters reported.
Wild About Books is located at 14290 Olympic Drive, Clearlake; telephone, 707-994-9453. Visit the store online at www.wildaboutbooks.net.
Popular children's parade returns
In Lakeport, the Lakeport Elementary School Halloween Parade will take place beginning at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, said Trish Wiggs, the school secretary.
Lakeport Police will close off a portion of Main Street, allowing first, second and third graders to parade from Natural High School down to Museum Park and back down the other side of the street to their starting point, said Wiggs.
The parade should last about a half hour, Wiggs said.
Leading off the parade will be the Clear Lake High School Marching Band, followed by the school children in their costumes, said Wiggs.
“This has been a tradition for years and years,” she said.
The parade, which Wiggs said has been taking place for more than three decades, draws a lot of people from around the community, and is an annual favorite.
“People really look forward to it in the community,” she said, noting that the school starts getting calls in the weeks before the parade from people making sure it's taking place.
Following the parade, the children will return to the school where their classrooms will hold Halloween parties, said Wiggs.
Halloween party in Clearlake City Hall
Clearlake City Hall is once again extending an invitation to children and parents to come and visit its Halloween party, scheduled from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Mayor Judy Thein reported that city hall's corridors will be transformed with decorations for the occasion, with city staff dressed in costume.
The event will feature tasty goodies conjured up by city staff, and children will receive reflective trick or treat bags featuring the words “Don't be tricked – drugs are no treat!” to help celebrate Red Ribbon month in conjunction with local schools, Thein said.
Clearlake City Hall is located at 14050 Olympic Drive. For more information call 707-994-8201.
Other happenings in Clearlake include a haunted house at the Lake County Fire Protection District Fire House, 14815 Olympic Drive.
Church hosts harvest party in Hidden Valley
Hidden Valley Lake Community Church has a fun evening planned for the whole family on Wednesday.
The church's 17th annual Harvest Party will feature lots of games, candy, a fun mystery house, contests, puppet show, chili cookoff, raffle prizes (including a new bicycle) and more, according to church member and Lamar Morgan.
Visitors can come in costume or regular clothes, according to Morgan.
The party begins at 6 p.m. and last until 8:30 p.m., said Morgan. It's free and open to the general public, and families with small children are encouraged to attend.
People interested in attending this party are encouraged to RSVP by going to www.squidoo.com/HVCC, clicking on the Evite invitation and following the instructions, Morgan reported.
The church is located at 18160 Spruce Grove Rd. Ext., across from the Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course.
For more information call the church office, 707-987-3510.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The Clearlake Highway Patrol's incident logs reported that the vehicle-versus-cow collision occurred at 7:32 p.m. on southbound Highway 29, two miles north of Middletown.
The black cow was reportedly dead at the scene, found on the road's west shoulder, according to the CHP.
A rancher who may have owned the cow and Caltrans were reportedly on their way to the scene to remove the animal, CHP reported.
No information was available about the vehicle involved.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKE COUNTY – Two fires on different ends of the county called on local, state and federal firefighters Sunday.
Two small fires along Ridge Road on Cobb ignited just after 2:30 p.m., according to Cal Fire.
Engineer Brion Borba of South Lake County Fire Protection District's Cobb Fire Station said the Ridge Road fires were caused when a tree came down into some power lines, causing them to arc.
The biggest of the two fires burned about an acre, said Borba.
Cal Fire reported that the second fire was about a quarter-acre in size.
The fires threatened two structures in the immediate area, said Borba. One fire backed up to one of the homes and was headed toward another.
Borba said South Lake Fire sent three fire engines and a bulldozer to the fire. Cal Fire also sent three engines, a hand crew and a helicopter, which was canceled but sent its crew anyway to help on the ground.
Between the two agencies there were a total of between 15 and 20 firefighters on scene, added Borba.
Borba said the last engine left the scene at 7:30 p.m.
He said conditions on Cobb are very dry.
“It's burning just like it would in the summertime,” he said. “If we had had wind on this fire it would have been a lot worse.”
South Lake Fire encourages people to be careful due to the dry conditions.
Another fire hits Bartlett Springs
Cal Fire reported that a structure fire on Bartlett Springs was reported at 5:53 p.m.
The fire, according to Cal Fire, was on Mendocino National Forest land, with the US Forest Service as the lead responder. Cal Fire sent one engine, and firefighters remained on scene until Sunday evening.
Mendocino Forest officials could not be reached Sunday for more information on the fire.
Over the summer, Bartlett Springs was the site of two other structure fires, both believed to be arson, as Lake County News previously reported. A fire in late July claimed the third Bartlett Springs Resort Lodge, while a September fire destroyed the rebuilt Bartlett Springs Resort gazebo.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The college is considering a 31-acre parcel located at 2565 Parallel Drive in Lakeport and owned by Tom Adamson, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based developer who has proposed building a 130-lot subdivision on the site, as Lake County News reported in July.
In July, College Superintendent and President Kathy Lehner wrote to Adamson to express interest in the site.
Lehner told Lake County News in a recent interview that the college is still talking to Adamson about the land. In addition, the college's Board of Trustees held a closed session discussion on the property at its Oct. 10 meeting.
The immediate concern, said Lehner, is getting a new appraisal on the property, which Lake County Assessor's Records value at $1.5 million.
Lehner said the college's board wants to get to a point where they can agree to a price and make an offer.
The purchase process, which would be supervised by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, will be conditional upon a California Environmental Quality Act review and seismic testing, said Lehner.
Earlier this month, Mendocino College officials met with Lakeport City Manager Jerry Gillham to identify alternate Lake Center sites in case the Parallel Drive location doesn't work out, Lehner said.
“My intent is to identify something by the end of the year, Dec. 31, because we would like to get the final project proposal done by next July, and in order to do that we have to have the site,” said Lehner.
Measure W, passed last year by voters, gave the college $67.5 million in bond funding for 30 construction and renovation projects, including a permanent Lake Center.
The first Measure W Bond Program Quarterly Status Report, issued earlier this month, reported that, with the addition of state and other matching funds, the Measure W program has a total projected budget of $97.4 million.
Mendocino College's current Lake Center is located at a rented facility at 1005 Parallel drive.
The center serves about 300 “full-time equivalents,” which translates into more than 300 students when counting part-time enrollees, said Lehner.
The enrollment, she said, includes a “big mix” of adults seeking additional education and first-time college students.
Lehner said the bond measure sets aside $15 million for the land purchase, improvements and the start of building for the Lake Center.
“We may not be able to get everything we want at Lake in our first go around,” said Lehner.
If the land is secured, Lehner said the college will put up the buildings it can afford, which could include portables.
Lehner said the new center will allow the college to fulfill its plans of expanding services to Lake County.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – Two people escaped a fire that completely destroyed their house Saturday morning.
Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells said the fire was reported at about 5:45 a.m. at a Sixth Street home.
Two people in the rented single-story home woke up to find it fully involved in fire, said Wells, and were able to escape.
Wells said 10 firefighters from Lakeport Fire, two from Kelseyville Fire Protection District and a total of three engines responded to the fire.
Firefighters were on scene until about 11:30 a.m., Wells said.
The cause of the fire, said Wells, is a cigarette. One of the home's residents had fallen asleep while smoking.
The home is a complete loss, Wells said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH LOCATION INFORMATION.
KELSEYVILLE – An older model single-wide mobile home was gutted Friday night after a fire broke out in the living room area.
The fire broke out at about 8:10 p.m. in the trailer, situated in Space 50 at Live Oak Trailer Park at 5935 Live Oak Drive. The trailer was the home of Bob Roy, who neighbors at the park said is in his 80s.
A neighbor’s Ford Bronco, parked in Roy’s driveway as a courtesy to discourage strangers from parking there, suffered moderate damages in the blaze.
The neighbor and owner of the restored Bronco, Linda Cole, said she has known Roy since 1998, the year she first moved to the park.
Roy had not been able to afford regular propane deliveries and just recently purchased a second portable electric heater which he frequently moved about the home as needed, said Cole.
Kelseyville Fire Protection District Chief Howard Strickler would not speculate nor offer any theory as to the cause of the fire.
Strickler indicated that the fire crew would remain on scene for at least one hour after the blaze was extinguished.
There was no word on the condition of Roy, who was reportedly in the home when the fire started.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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