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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
All of Lake County and much of Northern California is under a red flag warning and a hazardous weather outlook, according to the National Weather Service.
For much of Friday high temperatures are expected to continue, which the agency says is coupled with low humidity and northerly winds, creating conditions of critical fire danger. A gradual cooling trend is expected to begin Friday afternoon.
Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Bob Reynolds reported that an alert warning sensitive groups that air quality is unhealthy will continue through Friday, as smoke from the region's wildland fires continues to degrade air quality.
Fires in Mendocino and Butte counties have been largely responsible for the smoke in Lake County's air basin, Reynolds said.
Reynolds reported that air quality on Thursday was estimated to have exceeded state and federal health-based particulate standards by 175 percent.
All residents need to take special care, according to Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait. The sensitive groups of special concern include children, the elderly, and those with heart and respiratory conditions.
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- Written by: Lorna Sue Sides
Their first project to take flight was the Friday Night Farmers’ Market. This weekly market has created a gathering spot in Clearlake where families can purchase farm-fresh produce, listen to live music and browse various booths. Check out the calendar at http://lakecountycommunityco-op.wikispaces.com to discover who will be playing each week.
July has seen the launch of another LCCC project, a Buying Club. Membership is open to the public for a yearly fee of $24. Members can choose to purchase boxes of fresh, local and/or organic fruits, vegetables and herbs on a week-by-week basis. More information about the Buying Club and Community Supported Agriculture can be found at http://lakeco-op.org or by calling Patrick at 987-1987 or 987-1007.
Currently, LCCC is having a logo contest. The person who creates the logo that best represent the mission of the co-op will be presented with a weekly box of produce for four weeks, total value of at least $64. You can download the guidelines and an application for the contest at http://lakecountycommunityco-op.wikispaces.com or contact Lorna Sue at 274-9254.
Another project that is quickly taking off is the community garden site at the senior center in Clearlake. For the most current information on the community gardens, or to volunteer your time and talents, please stop by the LCCC general meeting, 10 a.m. until noon, the second Saturday of every month at the Hot Spot on Golf Avenue in Clearlake.
Most weeks, at the conclusion of the general meeting there is a short education session by an expert in current issues involving health, food safety, localization and other fascinating topics. The general meeting is open to the public. The Lake County community Co-op is looking for volunteers that are interested in joining this dynamic organization on the ground floor.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – As officials prepare to release to the public the latest report by Lake County's civil grand jury, a new group of jurors for the 2008-09 year was seated Wednesday morning.
The new grand jury was impaneled in a short ceremony in Judge Arthur Mann's Department 3 courtroom at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport.
Also on Wednesday, the 2007-08 grand jury report was released to county department heads in anticipation of its public release, scheduled for Friday.
Several county officials were on hand to welcome and congratulate the new jurors. They included Judge David Herrick, Judge Richard Martin, county Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox, Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, County Counsel Anita Grant and Auditor-Control/County Clerk Pam Cochrane.
Judge Mann thanked the outgoing jurors and their foreman, Brondell Locke, for their service.
“You perform a very important function for the county of Lake,” Mann said.
With its report filed, the group was released from service. The 2007-08 members were Linda M. Alexander, Bob Cate, Pam Clevenger, Virginia L. Cline, Sandra Damitz, Michael H. Daugherty, Steven A. Esberg, Richard Everts, Kenneth L. Fountain, Kathleen H. Harrell, Pauline Hauser, Brondell Locke, Thomas A. Marquette, Jerry T. McCormick, Ronald G. Nagy, Carol Ripplinger, Lonny J. Rittler and Elizabeth Whittaker-Williams.
Mann lauded them for their report, which he called “the most extensive” he's ever seen.
The 254-page document is nearly 100 pages larger than last year's, with outgoing jurors saying it contained 82 reports on various issues and organizations, and also explored several complaints submitted by citizens.
They could not comment on the substance of the report, which isn't to be made public until Friday.
Mann then seated the new grand jury, which included four members – Linda M. Alexander of Witter Springs, Richard P. Everts of Upper Lake, Virginia L. Cline of Lakeport and Kathleen H. Harrell of Lakeport – who had agreed to continue their service from last year's grand jury
The rest of the new grand jury included Joy K. Allred of Upper Lake, Melissa Bentley of Cobb, Terry Bissonnette of Hidden Valley, John G. Daniels, of Lakeport, Harold Dietrich of Loch Lomond, Jesse O. Firestone Sr. of Clearlake, Dave R. Johnson of Clearlake, Loretta A. Krentz of Lucerne, Carolynn Manley of Lucerne, Phillip E. Myers of Lakeport, Charles O’Neill-Jones of Lower Lake, Lawrence Platz of Lakeport, Steven Tellardin of Kelseyville and Carol M. Vedder of Lakeport.'
That still left the jury one person short. So Mann reappointed Locke to the grand jury, a move which Locke greeted with surprise.
After swearing in the new grand jury, Mann reappointed Locke grand jury foreman, which Locke told Lake County News after the ceremony had proved to be another surprise for him.
Mann told the other jurors that they would find it easy to work with Locke, who has been on the grand jury the past two years. This will be his third year in a row with the group, and his second year as grand jury foreman.
Since the grand jury also had no alternates, Mann told outgoing jurors that they may be called in the event there are openings. Mann added it's a “virtual certainty” vacancies will occur on the grand jury in the year ahead.
The incoming grand jurors then went into a closed-door session with Judge Mann, who gave them their charge so they could begin organizing for the year ahead.
During their year of service – which follows a fiscal year format, from July to July – grand jury members serve as officers of the court but work as an independent body to ensure that government is acting in the best interests of the citizens it's intended to serve.
A statement from the grand jury's office says the body's major function “is to examine county and city government and special districts to ensure that their duties are being lawfully carried out.”
In order to do that, the grand jury reviews and evaluates procedures, methods and systems utilized by government entities to determine whether more efficient and economical programs may be employed.
In recent years, the Lake County grand jury has been noted for its highly detailed investigative reports, focusing attention on, among other things, an embezzlement case at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, Child Protective Services and defense services for indigent defendants in the county's court system.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY – Lake County Sheriff's detectives have released another photograph of potential suspects believed to be responsible for a June 22 assault on a young man in Kelseyville.
Lt. Dave Garzoli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said deputies were dispatched to Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa at 1:57 a.m. June 22.
There they found a 23-year-old man who had been assaulted on the boat docks located behind the resort's bar, said Garzoli.
The young man had a “pretty substantial injury” to his face, Garzoli said. “At that time he was unaware of what happened, how it happened or who did it.”
Garzoli said detectives later received information that several subjects who had been at the Richmond Park Resort bar before going to Konocti Harbor, and who were connected with a white boat, were responsible for the assault.
“Nobody knows who they are, hence the pictures being put out there,” said Garzoli.
He said the sheriff's office secured the pictures from Richmond Park's surveillance cameras, taken around 12:30 a.m. and shortly thereafter on June 22, according to the photos' timestamps.
Anyone who recognizes any of the men in the photographs, or who witnessed the assault at Konocti Harbor, is asked to contact Lake County Sheriff’s Det. Corey Paulich at 262-4231, e-mail
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