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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Emergency crews fighting fires in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness have set up an incident base camp at the Paskenta Community Park where the Nome Cult gathering was previously scheduled to be held. The Nome Cult gathering has been moved to the nearby Elkins Elementary School, 2960 Elkins Road, in Paskenta. All times and activities remain the same as previously announced.
Next week, on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 15, the Round Valley Indian Tribes will sponsor a gathering at the Round Valley Reservation in Covelo to mark the completion of the 12th annual retracing of the original 100-mile trek.
Descendants of Native Americans who took part in the original relocation and other supporters will walk all the way from Chico to Covelo starting Sunday, Sept. 9, descending down into Round Valley on Sept. 15.
The theme for the walk and gatherings is "Honor Their Memory … A Path Not Forgotten." All events are free and are open to the public.
The Paskenta gathering will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Paskenta Community Park with a program of historical presentations, followed by musical performances and a lunch. During the afternoon there will be performances by Native American dancers and singers, cultural demonstrations, and information on Passport in Time (PIT) excavations at sites on the Mendocino National Forest. Native American arts and crafts vendors will participate. Throughout the day there will be horseshoe and softball tournaments.
At the Covelo event, there will be presentations by the walkers and a meal, starting at about 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Tribal Building, 77826 Covelo Road. From Sept. 9 through 15 the walkers will retrace the original trail, camping out each night along the way. The tribes welcome the public to join them for all or any part of the walk and for the gathering in Covelo on Saturday afternoon.
The National Forest requests that people traveling the forest roads along the trail route be careful of the walkers to ensure their safety.
The removal of Indians from Chico to the Nome Cult Reservation in 1863 is one of the many forced relocations following the establishment of reservations in Northern California in the 1850s. Several different tribes were moved to the Nome Cult Reservation after it was established in Round Valley in 1856.
In September 1863, 461 Indians were marched under guard from Chico to the Nome Cult Reservation, nearly 100 miles across the Sacramento Valley and rugged North Coast Ranges. Only 277 Indians completed the journey. Some were killed, a few escaped, and others were left behind, too sick to go on.
Although the path itself has disappeared, this route is now called the Nome Cult Trail. The most grueling part of the trail passed through what is now the Mendocino National Forest. The Forest Service has marked places where the Indians and their military escorts camped by placing interpretive signs along the route. The Forest Service has also prepared a free brochure and trail map which is available from Mendocino National Forest offices for persons who may want to travel the route.
This year the walkers, many of whom are descendants of those who made the trek in 1863, will begin west of Chico at at the Irvine Finch Park at River Road and State Highway 32 at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9. They will walk west on State Highway 32 and camp at the Buckhorn Campground at Black Butte Lake the first night. For the remainder of the week they will walk across the Mendocino National Forest, following the Nome Cult Trail.
Their planned schedule is:
Monday, Sept. 10, camp at Paskenta (evening gathering at Grindstone Rancheria).
Tuesday, Sept. 11, camp at Black Bear Campground.
Wednesday, Sept. 12, camp at Log Springs.
Thursday, Sept. 13, camp at Wells Cabin Campground.
Friday, Sept. 14, camp at Eel River Campground.
Saturday, Sept. 15, walk into Round Valley.
The Round Valley Tribes will welcome the walkers with a gathering and potluck dinner at the Tribal Administration Building in Covelo on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 15.
For further information on the September 8 Paskenta event, please contact Kim Freeman, Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians at (530) 680-3842; or Phebe Brown at the Mendocino National Forest, (530) 934-3316, TTY (530) 934-7724. For further information on the Covelo event and the re-enactment walk, please contact Alberta Azbill at (707) 983-6126, Rema Lincoln at (707) 983-6188, EXT 30, at Round Valley Tribes; or Arlene Ward, Chico Mechoopda Tribe, at (530) 899-8922.
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- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
On Friday afternoon, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill to help the state battle the light brown apple moth.
The bill, SB 556, the Light Brown Apple Moth Act of 2007, was authored by Sen. Patricia Wiggins.
When the light brown apple moth was discovered in the Bay area in late February 2007, it became the newest pest to make its way into the state.
Wiggins represents two counties – Napa and Solano – where the presence of the light brown apple moth has been confirmed, according to a statement from her office.
The light brown apple moth has not been found in Lake County, state and local officials report.
A second light brown apple moth discovery was made in Napa late in August, according to California Department of Food and Agriculture officials. The first moth was found in May in a residential area; Napa County agriculture officials said this second moth was found in a winegrape producing area.
In recent months agriculture officials have been working on eradicating the moth in Napa and Contra Costa counties by using pheromone treatments.
The US Department of Agriculture in August dedicated $15 million to aid California's eradication effort.
Originally from Australia, the moth has spread quickly across California, resulting in a multi-county quarantine by Food and Agriculture. The moth is considered a threat to 250 host species of native and ornamental plants, fruits, and vegetables.
Wiggins' bill would create the Light Brown Apple Moth Program in the CDFA, along with an LBAM account, from which the department may allocate funds to local agencies for activities to eradicate the moth, her office reported.
“LBAM destroys, stunts or deforms young seedlings, spoils the appearance of ornamental plants, and injures deciduous fruit tree crops, citrus, and grapes,” Wiggins said in a statement. “This pest poses a very serious threat to California agriculture, nurseries and related industries, and my bill will help ensure that our state and local agencies have he tools and resources they need to eradicate the LBAM before it can do any more damage.”
SBl 556, according to Wiggins' office, is patterned after the state’s Pierce's Disease/Glassy Winged Sharpshooter program, which was enacted several years ago in response to the pest's introduction and threat to the state's wine grape and table grape industry.
Exotic pests and diseases create environmental and financial havoc, not only to California's agricultural industry, but to the environment, as well. Due to increased global travel, relaxed federal inspections at ports of entry, and lack of funding for agricultural inspection stations, California has battled exotic pests and diseases with an increasing frequency, Wiggins' office reported.
The CDFA, in collaboration with county agricultural commissioners, inspects products and shipments entering the state, but due to the increasing volume and limited financial resources, not all products and shipments can be inspected, Wiggins reported.
State quarantine programs are coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which Wiggins' office said recently acted to restrict the interstate movement of nursery stock, cut flowers and greenery from affected California counties and the State of Hawaii.
Due to this discovery and quarantine, both Canada and Mexico have prohibited certain shipments of flowers, fruits and other products within the quarantine zones and require inspections and phytosanitary certifications to accompany a variety of products from non-quarantine areas within California, according to Food and Agriculture.
The light brown apple moth already has caused significant economic harm to agricultural producers within the quarantine areas, as well as added costs and new regulatory pressures to all California producers who grow potential the moth's host commodities, Wiggins' office reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
On Sept. 7, Victor Junior Lovato, 32, was sentenced to six years in state prison for failing to register as a sex offender, according to a report from the District Attorney's Office.
Lovato has been required to register pursuant to Penal Code section 290 since he was convicted of four counts of felony child molestation in 1994, when he was sentenced to twelve years in prison.
Failing to register as a sex offender carries a maximum prison sentence of three years; however, Lovato also admitted to having been convicted of a prior felony strike offense, which served to double his prison commitment to a maximum of six years, the District Attorney's Office reported. Lovato will not be eligible for parole until he completes 80 percent of his prison sentence.
Detectives Martin Snyder and Richard Towle of the Clearlake Police Department investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney John R. DeChaine.
Lovato had last registered on Nov. 14, 2005, but failed to update his registration in November 2006, prompting the investigation.
Lovato has been in custody on this charge with bail set in the amount of $60,000.00 since July 23.
The Honorable Judge Steven Hedstrom presided over the taking of the guilty plea as well as the Sept. 7 sentencing hearing.
Lovato's picture and description are available on the Megan's Law Web site, www.meganslaw.ca.gov.
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- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CHP Officer Adam Garcia said CHP dispatch received a call about 8:30 a.m. from some boaters who said they saw a motorcycle down an embankment just off Highway 20, west of Bruner Drive in the Kono Tayee area.
Garcia said the CHP's preliminary investigation indicates that the motorcyclist was riding at a high rate of speed heading westbound on Highway 20 and failed to negotiate a curve in the road.
The rider and motorcycle flew over the road edge and landed in a rocky area of Clear Lake's shoreline, said Garcia.
Garcia said it appeared that the rider – whose name has not been released pending family notification – died on impact, but the final determination will be made by a coroner's report.
The investigation, Garcia reported, is continuing, led by CHP Officer Brian Engle.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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