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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The chase took place around 9 p.m. Friday, leading from Ukiah to the Blue Lakes area, as Lake County News has reported. Law enforcement was in pursuit of a stolen white Ford Focus registered out of Eureka.
Capt. Justin Wyatt of the Ukiah Police Department said the pursuit began just south of the city limits, and continued eastbound on Highway 20.
Ukiah Police officers were joined by one Ukiah-area CHP officer, said Wyatt. Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies also were reported to be involved in the pursuit.
Wyatt said the subjects in the Ford Focus hit a deer near Lake Mendocino but kept going.
Once in Lake County, Lake County Sheriff's deputies responded to assist, according to reports from the scene.
Also responding were local CHP officers, said CHP Officer Adam Garcia.
“Our officers went out and helped out with the perimeter and search for them,” said Garcia.
Wyatt said the vehicle chase ended at Le Trianon Resort, where the subjects abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.
“We don't have the people in custody so it's still under investigation,” said Wyatt.
A be-on-the-lookout alert was issued to law enforcement to look for the suspects, but Wyatt did not offer any more information about the situation, including descriptions of the people being sought, due to concerns about jeopardizing the case.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The federal Safe Routes to School program is designed to give students in grades K-8 easier and healthier ways to safely travel to and from schools.
The City of Clearlake will receive $311,530 to close a half-mile gap in a bike lane on Dam Road. A section of Dam Road which is in poor condition will also be rebuilt and widened to accommodate the new bike lane.
Caltrans reported that these improvements will benefit students attending Lower Lake Elementary School, Oak Hill Middle School, Lower Lake High School, Blue Heron and W. C. Carle High.
The county of Lake will receive $474,480 to provide sidewalks, bulb-outs (rounded sidewalk extensions which protrude into an intersection which shortens the distance needed to cross a road, and which tend to slow down traffic), and crosswalks along sections of Route 20 in Clearlake Oaks.
Those improvements will benefit students attending East Lake Elementary School, according to Caltrans.
The City of Fort Bragg will receive $214,000 to provide, at various locations, sidewalks, bulb-outs, crosswalks, accessible curb ramps, and construct bicycle and pedestrian trails.
Also, at Fort Bragg Middle School, sidewalk barriers will be installed to discourage jaywalking.
Caltrans said the improvements will also benefit students attending Dana Gray Elementary School and Redwood Elementary School.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Now, Laird is saying goodbye to his old job as he leaves to move closer to family on the Central Coast.
Laird originally joined the division in February of 2001 as an extra help advocate before being offered a permanent position a few months later as an elder abuse advocate. He came to the agency with no experience, but quickly picked up what he needed to know on the job.
Since that time, Laird has navigated the challenges of reduced funding and a growing caseload, and dedicated untold hours of his own time to representing victims and, most recently, to building a new interview center that is dedicated to abused children.
Now, Laird is moving on – he's accepted a job with Monterey County's Resource Management Agency, a vast organization that umbrellas several departments and also oversees the natural resources of Monterey Bay.
Laird, who was raised in Gilroy and Santa Cruz, has family in the area, and has been longing to take his young daughter and two dogs and return there for some time. “It was an offer I couldn't refuse.”
But, he adds, that doesn't mean leaving was easy. “There will never be another job like this, ever,” he said of leading Victim-Witness.
Laird said Lake County's Victim-Witness Division is considered one of the best in the state, thanks to the quality of its people. “Everybody here is dedicated and solid.”
The division has more advocates even than Sonoma County, and offers a wider range of services, including help with restraining orders and working closely with law enforcement on investigations, said Laird.
“We're awfully active for a little county,” he said.
Laird said he followed the example set for him by his predecessor, Mike Blakey, who he said had a maverick approach that emphasized getting things done on behalf of crime victims.
Blakey is credited with starting the division in 1984, and over his more than 20 years of service became a widely respected advocate for victims' rights.
Laird trained under Blakey and, he said, followed his playbook. “I just continued to do the same things he did,” said Laird.
Besides making smart choices, Laird also brought personal experience to his job. As a young man he was brutally attacked in Monterey, on the night before his brother's wedding.
He said a police officer dismissed the attack as a bar brawl with several sailors who were in town. Laird, however, said he didn't know the men and was on his way home when they jumped and beat him.
Based on that, he said he knew what it was like to be dismissed by an official who has made up their mind about a case before having all of the facts. He said he let that inform his approach to the victims he has worked with at the division.
District Attorney Jon Hopkins said Laird has had “a very large impact” on the county's victim services operation.
“Not the least of which is his work on the project which successfully built the Multi-Disciplinary Interview Center (MDIC) building for interviewing children at the Victim-Witness property,” said Hopkins. “This was accomplished almost exclusively by community contributions of labor, materials, ideas and support. Rob Brown and the Kelseyville Rotary were the main players in this effort, and Sam was a crucial liaison and driving force.”
The MDIC center is certainly one of Laird's most visible and moving contributions to the community. Last year the effort to build the center got under way, with Laird, Brown and a host of community volunteers spending their weekends at work on the building behind the main Victim-Witness center.
Today, the little building on N. Brush Street is complete. A June 30 dedication celebrated the building and all of the people who made it possible. (See New interview center puts focus on safety, security of child victims.) It offers a safe haven where investigators can interview victimized children in a secure and comfortable environment.
The biggest challenge of his old job, said Laird, was getting the necessary funding.
“Since the war the funding has been an issue, and it's not going to get any better,” he said.
He also worried that the government's recent bailout package might end up impacting services like those offered by the division. “That money's got to come from somewhere.”
Even on the state level, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut out funding for numerous domestic violence and victim funds, Laird pointed out.
While the funding is the most difficult, there are other day-to-day challenges, such as the human pathos of dealing with those who have been hurt either directly or indirectly by crime.
Laird said every day is different – advocates don't know if they'll be called to the hospital or to a murder scene.
Finding qualified people who can face those daunting circumstances, and be strong enough to keep their focus in the midst of human suffering, is another challenge, said Laird.
Somehow, he managed to do it. Laird said he tried to surround himself with the best people he could, who care and want to do the right thing in advocating for crime victims. Hopkins credited Laird with assembling an outstanding team of advocates.
Laird said he's seen an increase in the division's caseload. When he began in 2001, they were seeing between 900 and 1,000 new cases each year.
Last year, that number was up to 1,400, said Laird, with more cases of drunk driving, simple assaults and domestic violence being reported.
The factors behind that increase are many, Laird theorized – including a bad economy and social unrest.
However, just as critical a factor may be the division's outreach efforts, which are drawing attention to the services they have to offer. As a result, people are getting a lot better at reporting crimes, he added.
Hopkins said Laird has worked tirelessly to obtain and keep numerous grants that fund essential prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates so that the District Attorney's Office can meet the public safety needs of Lake County.
“Sam was an integral member of the team that built our Elder Abuse Unit, and I still get glowing reports about his dedication from victims and families he worked with in that unit,” said Hopkins.
Laird said he will be assisting Hopkins in Victim-Witness-related matters until they recruit his successor, which may take several months at least. Finding the right person for a job that deals with such sensitive issues can be a challenge.
“We will miss Sam and his commitment to victims, and his contributions to the office,” Hopkins added.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
LAKE COUNTY – With the cost of fuel for heating expected to rise this winter, many Americans may seek out alternative sources of fuel, and that could increase the incidence of home fires.
The American Red Cross and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) have released results of a September survey showing the majority (79 percent) of Americans are concerned about the rising cost of heating their homes, and many will use an alternative heating source to reduce their bills this winter.
The survey identified additional behaviors related to appliance maintenance and cooking that could also present home fire hazards this winter.
This follows an extremely long and dry fire season on the North Coast. In June and July, wildfires destroyed thousands of acres, and local Red Cross groups set up four shelters to help people who were forced to leave their homes.
Now, as evening temperatures drop, local residents may be thinking of using ways of heating their homes that turn out to be deadly.
With a costly heating season set to begin, the survey results provide a critical opportunity to remind people about the things they can do to prevent home fires and keep their families safe and warm this winter, said NFPA President James. M. Shannon.
“If people use alternative heat sources to reduce energy costs, it is critical they use devices that are new or in good working order, and they turn off units when they go to bed or leave the room,” Shannon said.
According to NFPA reports, cooking and heating are the leading causes of home fires.
The survey revealed the majority of Americans are concerned about the rising cost of heating their homes (79 percent), and that 48 percent of households will use an alternative heating source to reduce their bills this winter. Alternative heating sources include portable space heaters, stoves, ovens and fireplaces.
One third (3 percent) of people with fireplaces reported they never cleaned or inspected their chimneys. The survey also found 23 percent of respondents did not consider it essential to make sure someone is home when food is cooking on the stove.
Respondents also revealed another unsafe behavior, which is disabling (37 percent) smoke alarms when they go off in a non-testing situation. More than half (53 percent) of the households surveyed have not taken any of three common actions in most home fire escape plans, which includes discussing with family members how to get out of the home, deciding on an outdoor meeting place and practicing the plan.
NFPA and the American Red Cross offer these and other safety tips:
Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling or broiling food. If you must leave, even for a short time, turn off the stove.
Give space heaters space by keeping them at least 3 feet from anything that can burn. Turn off heaters when you leave the room or go to sleep.
Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.
For additional fire safety tips visit the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org/homefires or the National Fire Protection Association, www.firepreventionweek.org.
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