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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Friday, Feb. 28.
The class will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.
The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.
These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.
The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.
Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.
The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Joel Skeen at the CHP office, 707-279-0103, or emailThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
The class will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.
The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.
These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.
The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.
Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.
The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Joel Skeen at the CHP office, 707-279-0103, or email
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An elderly Kelseyville man has died of his injuries following a Thursday morning solo-vehicle crash.
The 92-year-old man has so far not been identified by authorities pending notification of next of kin.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the wreck occurred just after 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the area of Adobe Creek and Bell Hill roads near Kelseyville.
The CHP said the man was driving his 2006 Acura northbound on private property when his vehicle traveled through two wire fences, crossing Adobe Creek Road.
The Acura hit an upward sloping embankment, causing moderate damage to the vehicle, the CHP said.
The Kelseyville Fire Districts and CHP responded to the scene. No passengers were in the vehicle with the driver, the CHP said.
The CHP said the injured man was flown by a REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of major injuries.
Shortly after the man arrived at Santa Rosa Memorial, he died of his injuries, the CHP said.
The man was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the wreck, according to the report.
The CHP said alcohol was not suspected to be a factor in the crash.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The 92-year-old man has so far not been identified by authorities pending notification of next of kin.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the wreck occurred just after 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the area of Adobe Creek and Bell Hill roads near Kelseyville.
The CHP said the man was driving his 2006 Acura northbound on private property when his vehicle traveled through two wire fences, crossing Adobe Creek Road.
The Acura hit an upward sloping embankment, causing moderate damage to the vehicle, the CHP said.
The Kelseyville Fire Districts and CHP responded to the scene. No passengers were in the vehicle with the driver, the CHP said.
The CHP said the injured man was flown by a REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of major injuries.
Shortly after the man arrived at Santa Rosa Memorial, he died of his injuries, the CHP said.
The man was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the wreck, according to the report.
The CHP said alcohol was not suspected to be a factor in the crash.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Authorities have taken an Upper Lake woman into custody for assaulting two high school students on their way to class Wednesday morning.
Melissa Marie Lambert, 32, was arrested shortly after the assaults, which occurred off-campus in downtown Upper Lake, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Paulich said that at 8:50 a.m. Wednesday Lambert approached a 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old female as they were walking on Main Street in Upper Lake and began yelling at them for an unknown reason.
“Lambert pushed the male, threw coffee at him and smeared a burrito in his face,” Paulich said.
The female student grabbed Lambert and they ended up on the ground. Paulich said Lambert gouged the girl’s eyes, causing injury, and kicked her.
Paulich said the two teenage victims directed deputies to Lambert’s residence on Middle Creek Road.
Lambert denied being responsible for the assault, but matched the description provided by the victims and was later positively identified by the victims, Paulich said.
Lambert’s booking record, which lists her profession as cashier, shows that she was arrested at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, less than half an hour after the incident occurred.
Paulich said she was booked at the Lake County Jail on a felony charge of willful cruelty to a child.
She remained in custody on Thursday with bail set at $75,000, jail records showed.
Upper Lake Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Giovanni Annous said in a statement on the district’s Facebook page on Wednesday evening that the two students had been with two others on their way to class when the assaults occurred.
He said in the written statement that the two students who were assaulted suffered minor injuries but came to school later that same morning.
“The kids are fine,” Annous told Lake County News on Thursday, noting he could not offer further details due to privacy protections.
Lambert is scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court for arraignment on Friday, according to jail records.
Paulich said the sheriff’s office has had previous contact with her for a couple of warrant arrests.
Local arrest records show she was arrested in December 2018 on a warrant and in March 2017 for disorderly conduct involving alcohol.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The superintendent of the Upper Lake Unified School District said two high school students were assaulted off-campus on Wednesday before classes started.
Superintendent Dr. Giovanni Annous gave brief details of the incident in a Wednesday evening statement released on the district’s Facebook page.
Annous said it was reported to Upper Lake Unified staff that four high school students were approached and two were assaulted in downtown Upper Lake before the beginning of school on Wednesday.
“Two of our students received minor injuries, but were able to return to school that same morning,” Annous said.
He did not offer further details on what led to the assaults.
“All necessary parties have been contacted, and it is our understanding that law enforcement is dealing with the alleged suspect,” he added.
Information on the suspect in the case was not immediately available Wednesday night from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
“Through a combination of local law enforcement resources, district law enforcement resources, and our own safety measures, we want the public, students and staff to know that we take these types of events very seriously,” Annous said in his statement.
“Our students, staff and families are precious to us,” he said. “We’ll continue to work with law enforcement and supporting agencies as we do our best to keep our campuses and community safe for all. With your cooperation, our schools and our community will continue to be safe and caring places for children and staff.”
Superintendent Dr. Giovanni Annous gave brief details of the incident in a Wednesday evening statement released on the district’s Facebook page.
Annous said it was reported to Upper Lake Unified staff that four high school students were approached and two were assaulted in downtown Upper Lake before the beginning of school on Wednesday.
“Two of our students received minor injuries, but were able to return to school that same morning,” Annous said.
He did not offer further details on what led to the assaults.
“All necessary parties have been contacted, and it is our understanding that law enforcement is dealing with the alleged suspect,” he added.
Information on the suspect in the case was not immediately available Wednesday night from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
“Through a combination of local law enforcement resources, district law enforcement resources, and our own safety measures, we want the public, students and staff to know that we take these types of events very seriously,” Annous said in his statement.
“Our students, staff and families are precious to us,” he said. “We’ll continue to work with law enforcement and supporting agencies as we do our best to keep our campuses and community safe for all. With your cooperation, our schools and our community will continue to be safe and caring places for children and staff.”
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Police arrested a Clearlake man after he led officers on a pursuit that ended in a wreck.
Cody Christopher Crouch, 22, was taken into custody following the pursuit, which occurred on Tuesday afternoon, according to a Clearlake Police Department report.
Just before 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, Officer Steven Diaz was on routine patrol in the area of 18th Avenue when he observed a white Honda Accord traveling eastbound on 18th Avenue with an expired registration, the report said.
Police said Officer Diaz attempted to conduct a traffic enforcement stop, however, the driver, later identified as Crouch, failed to stop for the emergency lights and siren.
Crouch led officers on a vehicle pursuit through the residential area of Clearlake known as the “Avenues.” Police said Crouch was driving at approximately 35 miles per hour on the dirt roads. At one point during the pursuit, the front and rear bumper were torn from the suspect vehicle.
During the pursuit, police said witnesses saw Crouch throw a firearm out of the vehicle. The firearm was later recovered.
After throwing the firearm, Crouch aimed his vehicle at an oncoming patrol vehicle, forcing the officer off the roadway to avoid a head-on collision. Police said Crouch then lost control of his vehicle and struck a parked car causing damage to the parked vehicle.
Crouch led officers to a remote area west of Seventh Avenue near the Cache Creek Apartments. Police said Crouch drove his vehicle into an empty field and crashed into a pile of rocks then fled on foot.
Officers responded to the area and set up a perimeter, according to the report. Crouch was observed running in the area by Det. Leonardo Flores and Det. Steve Hobb.
Crouch was taken into custody without further incident in the area of Dam Road near Lake Street, police said.
Police said Crouch was arrested on probable cause and booked in the Lake County Jail for multiple charges including felony evading, felony evading while driving on the wrong side of the road, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, felony probation violation, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, hit and run, destruction of evidence, armed while committing a felony and driving without a license.
Crouch remains in custody without bail on the felony probation, according to his booking sheet.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that his office would be launching a new clemency initiative to pardon people who were prosecuted in California for being gay.
The move was inspired by a legislative call to pardon Bayard Rustin, a humanitarian and civil rights leader who was convicted of a misdemeanor vagrancy offense for consensual adult sexual activity.
In launching the new clemency initiative, Gov. Newsom issued Rustin a posthumous pardon.
In California and across the country, charges like vagrancy, loitering, and sodomy have been used to unjustly target lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
Law enforcement and prosecutors specifically targeted LGBTQ individuals, communities and community spaces for criminal prosecution.
“Now, as a proudly LGBTQ-allied state, California is turning the page on historic wrongs,” Newsom’s office said in its Wednesday announcement.
This new clemency initiative will allow pardons for people like Rustin who were subjected to discriminatory arrest and prosecution for engaging in consensual conduct with people of the same sex.
Californians can apply for clemency for people they believe meet the criteria for consideration.
“In California and across the country, many laws have been used as legal tools of oppression, and to stigmatize and punish LGBTQ people and communities and warn others what harm could await them for living authentically,” said Gov. Newsom. “I thank those who advocated for Bayard Rustin’s pardon, and I want to encourage others in similar situations to seek a pardon to right this egregious wrong.”
In 1975, California repealed the law which made consensual sex between same-sex adults a crime.
In 1997, the state established a process where individuals convicted for engaging in consensual adult sexual conduct could request removal from the California Sex Offender Registry. However, this does not modify the underlying conviction or constitute a pardon.
The new clemency initiative will work to identify eligible pardon candidates, and diligently process applications with the express goal of pardoning eligible individuals.
To learn how to apply for a pardon and to receive updates and information on the clemency initiative, sign up at www.gov.ca.gov/clemency .
Rustin recognized for efforts in social justice, racial equality
Bayard Rustin was a visionary champion for peace, equality, and economic justice, and was a key strategist and organizer behind the 1963 March on Washington.
Additionally, he worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to organize the March and the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was fundamental in integrating nonviolent direct action into the civil rights movement.
Rustin, a native of New York, traveled around the country and world to promote civil and human rights, and trained hundreds of people on nonviolence.
While in California in 1942, he visited Japanese Americans imprisoned in the Manzanar internment camp and reported on the camp’s humanitarian conditions.
On Aug. 8, 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, describing him as “an unyielding activist for civil rights, dignity, and equality for all.”
Rustin died in 1987.
Rustin’s pardon request was made by the California Legislative Black and LGBTQ Caucuses, whose representatives praise Governor Newsom’s action.
“I’m thrilled that Gov. Newsom is pardoning Bayard Rustin and that he acted so quickly and decisively in response to our request. I also applaud the governor for broadening this work to provide other criminalized LGBT people with a path to clear their records of wrongful convictions on homophobic charges. These actions are consistent with the governor’s deep and longstanding support for the LGBT community,” said Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. “Generations of LGBT people – including countless gay men – were branded criminals and sex offenders simply because they had consensual sex. This was often life-ruining, and many languished on the sex offender registry for decades. The governor’s actions today are a huge step forward in our community’s ongoing quest for full acceptance and justice.”
“On behalf of the Black Caucus, I want to thank the governor for granting this posthumous pardon. The Arc of Justice is long, but it took nearly 70 years for Bayard Rustin to have his legacy in the Civil Rights movement uncompromised by this incident. Rustin was a great American who was both gay and black at a time when the sheer fact of being either or both could land you in jail,” said Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. “This pardon assures his place in history and the Governor’s ongoing commitment to addressing similar convictions shows that California is finally addressing a great injustice.”
The governor regards clemency as an important part of the criminal justice system that can incentivize accountability and rehabilitation, increase public safety by removing counterproductive barriers to successful reentry, and correct unjust results in the legal system.
The move was inspired by a legislative call to pardon Bayard Rustin, a humanitarian and civil rights leader who was convicted of a misdemeanor vagrancy offense for consensual adult sexual activity.
In launching the new clemency initiative, Gov. Newsom issued Rustin a posthumous pardon.
In California and across the country, charges like vagrancy, loitering, and sodomy have been used to unjustly target lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
Law enforcement and prosecutors specifically targeted LGBTQ individuals, communities and community spaces for criminal prosecution.
“Now, as a proudly LGBTQ-allied state, California is turning the page on historic wrongs,” Newsom’s office said in its Wednesday announcement.
This new clemency initiative will allow pardons for people like Rustin who were subjected to discriminatory arrest and prosecution for engaging in consensual conduct with people of the same sex.
Californians can apply for clemency for people they believe meet the criteria for consideration.
“In California and across the country, many laws have been used as legal tools of oppression, and to stigmatize and punish LGBTQ people and communities and warn others what harm could await them for living authentically,” said Gov. Newsom. “I thank those who advocated for Bayard Rustin’s pardon, and I want to encourage others in similar situations to seek a pardon to right this egregious wrong.”
In 1975, California repealed the law which made consensual sex between same-sex adults a crime.
In 1997, the state established a process where individuals convicted for engaging in consensual adult sexual conduct could request removal from the California Sex Offender Registry. However, this does not modify the underlying conviction or constitute a pardon.
The new clemency initiative will work to identify eligible pardon candidates, and diligently process applications with the express goal of pardoning eligible individuals.
To learn how to apply for a pardon and to receive updates and information on the clemency initiative, sign up at www.gov.ca.gov/clemency .
Rustin recognized for efforts in social justice, racial equality
Bayard Rustin was a visionary champion for peace, equality, and economic justice, and was a key strategist and organizer behind the 1963 March on Washington.
Additionally, he worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to organize the March and the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was fundamental in integrating nonviolent direct action into the civil rights movement.
Rustin, a native of New York, traveled around the country and world to promote civil and human rights, and trained hundreds of people on nonviolence.
While in California in 1942, he visited Japanese Americans imprisoned in the Manzanar internment camp and reported on the camp’s humanitarian conditions.
On Aug. 8, 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, describing him as “an unyielding activist for civil rights, dignity, and equality for all.”
Rustin died in 1987.
Rustin’s pardon request was made by the California Legislative Black and LGBTQ Caucuses, whose representatives praise Governor Newsom’s action.
“I’m thrilled that Gov. Newsom is pardoning Bayard Rustin and that he acted so quickly and decisively in response to our request. I also applaud the governor for broadening this work to provide other criminalized LGBT people with a path to clear their records of wrongful convictions on homophobic charges. These actions are consistent with the governor’s deep and longstanding support for the LGBT community,” said Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. “Generations of LGBT people – including countless gay men – were branded criminals and sex offenders simply because they had consensual sex. This was often life-ruining, and many languished on the sex offender registry for decades. The governor’s actions today are a huge step forward in our community’s ongoing quest for full acceptance and justice.”
“On behalf of the Black Caucus, I want to thank the governor for granting this posthumous pardon. The Arc of Justice is long, but it took nearly 70 years for Bayard Rustin to have his legacy in the Civil Rights movement uncompromised by this incident. Rustin was a great American who was both gay and black at a time when the sheer fact of being either or both could land you in jail,” said Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. “This pardon assures his place in history and the Governor’s ongoing commitment to addressing similar convictions shows that California is finally addressing a great injustice.”
The governor regards clemency as an important part of the criminal justice system that can incentivize accountability and rehabilitation, increase public safety by removing counterproductive barriers to successful reentry, and correct unjust results in the legal system.