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UPPER CACHE CREEK WATERSHED – March was a productive month for three of the county’s local watershed groups, along with the citizens who live in the Kelsey Creek, Middle Creek, and Scotts Creek watersheds. April may be even better!
The residents of these watersheds proved that they have much more in common than they have differences. Common concerns voiced by citizens in all three watersheds were water quality, fire safety, flood damage, erosion, wildlife habitat, invasive weeds, the preservation of the Clear Lake hitch, development concerns and sustained agriculture land use.
More information is needed on these issues, and who better to provide the answers than the residents of these communities?
Thanks to a grant awarded to the West Lake Resource Conservation District, studies are being conducted in these three watersheds which allow the groups to gather information about both the historical and current conditions of the natural resources in these areas.
These watershed assessments will be used in making management decisions and obtaining funding for restoration, fuel load management, habitat improvement, water quality and various other projects in the future.
The assessments also will contribute current information to the Clear Lake Basin Management Plan; another much-needed document that will be updated and completed, under this grant.
These studies are all essential documents for planning and resource management in our communities. Along with other important uses, they’re a necessary tool for obtaining funding for projects in these watersheds.
They also provide information that will help volunteers plan and complete the tasks they want to accomplish. The grant provides support for the watershed groups in the Upper Cache Creek Watershed.
This grant opportunity is specifically designed for the citizens in each of these watersheds to participate in the process, and help in developing the information that goes into these assessments.
In order to put together the most comprehensive documents possible, it is vital that the local communities participate in these studies. At the March meetings, citizens of these watersheds did just that, and there’s more to be done.
The three watershed groups in the participating areas will be holding meetings in April, and citizens in these areas are once again urged to attend. Now is your chance to share your opinions, your concerns, and your knowledge of the area you live in.
If you reside in the vicinity of Kelsey Creek from Forest Lake on Cobb Mountain to Clear Lake itself, you live in the Kelsey Creek Watershed, and are encouraged to attend the Big Valley CRMP meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, at the American Legion Hall, corner of 2nd Street and Gaddy Lane, Kelseyville.
If you live in the vicinity of Clover Creek, Sam Alley Creek, the town of Upper Lake, or the areas near the East Fork and West Fork of Middle Creek to Rodman Slough, you reside in the Middle Creek Watershed. Please make it a point to attend the next meeting of the Middle Creek CRMP at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, at the Upper Lake Fire House, 9420 Main St.
If you live in the areas of Saratoga Springs, Witter Springs, Bachelor Valley, Blue Lakes, Scotts Valley, Cow Mountain and Tule Lake to the confluence at Rodman Slough, you live in the Scotts Creek Watershed. The date to mark on your calendar is 6 p.m. Thursday, April 19. The Scotts Creek Watershed Council will host the meeting at the Scotts Valley Women’s Clubhouse, 2298 Hendricks Road, Lakeport.
Greg Dills, watershed coordinator for East Lake and West Lake Resource Conservation Districts, will also be on hand to answer questions and guide the watershed groups through the assessment process.
For clarification’s sake, the term “assessment” has nothing to do with taxes – it is simply an inventory of the current conditions of the watershed.
What do you want your watershed to look like in five, 10 or 50 years? Now is your chance to have a say in the future of your own community, so don’t miss this opportunity to get involved.
Are you interested in helping, but hate going to meetings? There are other ways you can contribute information and support for this project, so don’t hesitate to call.
For questions or additional information on how you can help, call Dills at 263-4180, Extension 12, or Linda Juntunen at 263-4180, Extension 16.
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COBB – More than 200 people gathered in Cobb on Saturday at a place not far from the home of Karlie Breeden, who died on March 1 of an inoperable brain tumor.
The memorial for Karlie included prayers, verbal remembrances of the much-loved daughter of David and Renada Breeden, a seemingly inexhaustible stream of videos and slides of the lively little blonde, and even the singing of Karlie's favorite Christmas song, "Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer," by all in attendance.
The amazingly large crowd included neighbors, friends, relatives and many others who had kept the vigil for Karlie through her illness, diagnosed in April 2006. There were numerous children.
Karlie's shoes in front of her photo lent a somber note and there were tears. Among them were those of grief-stricken Kyle Gibson, a 9-year-old neighbor and playmate of Karlie's, being comforted by his mother, Jen.
"They were growing up together," Jan Gibson explained.
Other parents, with their own tots of Karlie's age, such as Jill Pressley of Sonoma with her 3-year-old daughter Emma, showed their empathy for David and Renada in their loss.
The Breedens, though, had not intended the memorial for their daughter to be a wholly sad affair.
And, indeed, as they remembered the wiles and antics of this 4-year-old girl, more than a few people laughed.
E-mail John Lindblom at
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LAKE COUNTY – If you couldn't resist planting tomatoes or other tender annuals this weekend, be prepared for the possibility of frosty mornings the next few days and take precautions.
The National Weather Services (NWS) in Sacramento is warning of a cold storm moving towards Lake County Monday and Tuesday which will bring unsettled weather with the possibility of thunderstorms and hail – and even tornadoes in some Central Valley areas.
Snow levels on Monday night will drop to 3,000 feet with the west winds 10 to 20 miles per hour with temperatures in the low 40s, according to NWS.
On Tuesday, NWS says there's a slight chance of thunderstorms and unsettled weather - but lows should remain in the upper 30s.
But the Weather Channel is predicting that temps will drop near freezing on Monday night and below freezing on Tuesday night.
So, just in case, take precautions and cover any tender plants and get your ice scraper back out.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
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LAKE COUNTY – Lake County's February home sales were down 19 percent compared with the same period a year ago, and the median price of a home decreased 3.5 percent according to information gathered from the Lake County Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Statewide home sale activity decreased 12.6 percent, according to the California Association of Realtors (CAR).
Closed escrow sales of homes in Lake County totaled 51 in February, according to the MLS.
The median price of a home in Lake County during February 2007 was $275,000, a 3.5 percent decrease from the $285,000 median for February 2006, the MLS reported.
The February 2007 median price increased 10 percent compared with January's $250,000 median price.
“The unsold inventory of existing homes jumped to 21 months in January,” said Phil Smoley, owner, broker of CPS Country Air Properties. “There was a slight increase in statewide listings last month, which is characteristic of the start of the year. However, listings remained near the long-run average. As such, the increase in the unsold inventory index – the ratio of listings to sales – was driven primarily by the sales decline.
“Homes that are priced competitively are the ones that are selling,” continued Smoley. “In this current market sellers do have to realize that prices are no longer climbing. If anything, they have flattened or are lower than they have been in the past year.”
CAR provided the following state real estate market statistics:
– State's median home price in January: $559,640.
– State's highest median home price by C.A.R. region in January: Santa Barbara South Coast $1,150,000.
– State's lowest median home price by C.A.R. region in January: High Desert, $317,380.
– California First-time Buyer Affordability Index, Fourth Quarter 2006: 25 percent.
Freddie Mac reports the following mortgate rates information:
– Mortgage rates for the week ending March 15: 30-year fixed, 6.14 percent; Fees/points, 0.4 percent; 15-year fixed, 5.88 percent; Fees/points, 0.4 percent.
– 1-year adjustable: 5.42 percent; Fees/points, 0.7 percent.
Realtor Ray Perry is a member of the CPS/Country Air Kelseyville office. Visit his Web site at www.rayperry.com for more information about local real estate.
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LAKEPORT – About 250 people turned out for Mike Thompson’s 16th annual ravioli feed Saturday night.
Brad Onorato, Thompson’s aide, said the annual event is an important fundraiser for the First District congressman.
Mike Thompson, D-Napa, thanked the crowd, which honored him with a standing ovation after he updated it for about 20 minutes on changes in Washington D.C.
“I’m much more excited this year at pasta time,” Thompson said, calling Congress “no longer a place where great ideas go to die.”
He briefed the audience on the latest round of Iraq bills, summarizing that “the Iraq supplemental debate isn’t over.”
Thompson said he was “cautiously optimistic” about immigration reform and said he hopes Congress will tackle the other “big issues” of health care and education before the “political nonsense of 2008” takes over.
He expressed concern that the Bush administration wants to privatize Social Security.
Thompson also spoke briefly about his recent appointment to the House Intelligence Committee, after which he was named chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Human Intelligence.
He described the meetings he attends six times a week as cloaked in secrecy in a lead room from which nothing can be removed – no notes, nothing.
“We need to be doing the right things in the right places,” he said of the intelligence work.
In recent months Thompson has worked closely with presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama on legislation to end the Iraq war. Thompson introduced the House companion bill to Obama's legislation in the Senate.
So, with Obama in the race for president, is Thompson in the running for a vice presidential nod?
In a private interview during the event Thompson denied he was on Obama’s short list for a vice presidential candidate.
E-mail Maile Field at
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UPPER LAKE – A single-vehicle rollover early Saturday morning left two people injured.
The California Highway Patrol's incident logs reported a traffic collision occurred at about 1:50 a.m. on Elk Mountain Road, with the driver and passenger both injured.
Officer Kevin Domby of the Clear Lake CHP office said that M. Seyms was driving a 1997 Ford F-250 pickup truck northbound on Elk Mountain Road and north of the airstrip early Saturday when he lost control of the vehicle and traveled off the road to the east.
Domby said the front of the pickup subsequently hit a dirt embankment.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF), CHP, Lake County Sheriff's deputies and CalStar responded to the accident, the CHP logs reported.
Seyms was seriously injured at the scene, said Domby, suffering severe head trauma. His passenger, K. Nyholm, suffered a serious neck injury, Domby added.
Officials took a blood sample from Seyms before both he and Nyholm were transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment, according to the CHP incident logs.
Domby said Seyms was arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence.
No further information on Syems and Nyholm, including ages and cities of residence, were available from the CHP before publication.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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