How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – The body of a man found in the Mendocino National Forest late last month has been positively identified.
According to a statement Lt. Cecil Brown of the Lake County Sheriff's Office issued late Thursday, the man was Owen Andrew Lampman, 55, of Clearlake Oaks.
Lampman's body was found July 21 by a hunter in the Corbin Creek area of the Mendocino National Forest, near the border of Lake and Glenn counties, as Lake County News previously reported.
Glenn County Sheriff's Office deputies initially responded and found Lampman's body in the bed of Corbin Creek, near a burned up pickup truck that was registered to him, Brown reported.
Mary Beth Stanbery, administrative services officer for the Glenn County Sheriff's Office, told Lake County News in a previous interview that sheriff's deputies also found a handgun and documents at the scene.
Brown had previously reported that the Lake County Sheriff's office was contacted by Glenn County July 22, once they realized the body had been located within Lake County's jurisdiction.
Dental records were used to confirm Lampman's identity, Brown reported.
About three weeks before Lampman's body was found, Brown's report explained that the sheriff's office received a missing person's report regarding Lampman.
The man who filed the report on July 9 said he had not seen Lampman since June 25, according to Brown.
June 25 was also the date that firefighters responded to Lampman's home for a structure fire, Brown reported.
Battalion Chief Lou Dukes of the Northshore Fire Protection District's Clearlake Oaks station said Thursday that the fire was located in a storage unit a few doors down from Lampman's home on Fifth Street.
“It was a total loss,” said Dukes.
He added, “It's still under investigation. We didn't have any luck finding any cause.”
Brown said the sheriff's office entered Lampman into the Missing or Unidentified Persons System database as a missing person and initiated an investigation, which didn't identify anyone who had seen Lampman since June 25.
But the cause of Lampman's death still isn't known, Brown reported.
The sheriff's office ordered an autopsy to determined what killed Lampman, but the results aren't yet available, according to Brown.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
LUCERNE – The California Highway Patrol has closed Highway 20 between Nice and Lucerne while they conduct what they called a crime scene investigation.
Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Jim Robbins reported at 8:45 p.m. that the CHP expected the highway would be completely closed for at least another 30 minutes, and planned to open at least one lane of traffic.
Northshore Fire Protection District officials began turning back traffic traveling from Lucerne to Nice at Lucerne's west end, where Foothill Drive joins the highway.
Fire officials at the road closure said a collision involving three cars had resulted in two fatalities.
No official statement on the incident has been released, beyond that the area is considered a crime scene and that traffic will be closed while the CHP investigation continues.
Lake County News will update this story as more information is released.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
LOWER LAKE – After missing its bell tower for more than a century, the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum's new bell tower is finally ready.
“It's complete, we're just waiting for the contractor to pull the scaffolding down,” said Kim Clymire, director of the county's Public Services Department, said Tuesday.
Since then, the scaffolding has come down to reveal the tower, restoring the building to its original look.
The schoolhouse was built in 1877, and originally featured a bell tower which the new tower replicates.
Then, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake hit. The quake was so powerful that it rippled northward, knocking down buildings in Lakeport. The school's bell tower also was severely damaged by the quake, Clymire said.
In about 1908, the tower was taken down, said Clymire. “The structural integrity was so compromised it was dangerous.”
At one point, the schoolhouse was in danger of being torn down. But the efforts of John and Jane Weaver and the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Preservation Committee stepped in, along with the county, to keep the historic building, said Clymire.
And one of the goals was to restore the building's original look, which included the bell tower, said Clymire.
The $400,000 project was funded by a one-time allocation from the county's general fund, said Clymire. The contract went to Middletown contractor R&C Construction.
The contractor started building about six months ago, said Clymire, and had 90 days to complete the tower, with time out for inspections and concrete drying.
The tower measures 10 feet by 10 feet and is 70 feet tall, said Clymire. It consists of a steel frame with stucco siding and a metal roof.
Its base contains 80 yards of concrete, he added. A membrane was placed between the tower, which is earthquake proof, and the museum, which has yet to be retrofitted for earthquake safety.
The museum's earthquake retrofit is estimated to cost about $1.2 million, said Clymire. The county is working with Congressman Mike Thompson to find the funding for that project.
Over the years, the schoolhouse preservation committee has raised money for projects such as a new restroom facility, which was added three years ago, also by R&C Construction, said Clymire. The committee also held a fundraiser to add an elevator shaft several years ago.
The committee plans to replace the insulation in the ceiling's attic, but first they have to finish sealing up the building to keep bats out, said Clymire.
The bats are in the attics and in the second floor walls, with the occasional bat making appearances during theater productions that are held in the Weaver Auditorium, said Clymire. Bat houses have been installed behind the museum and the bats are starting to make their home there rather than the museum.
Clymire said an an official bell ringing ceremony is tentatively planned for September.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Editor
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday the House of Representatives passed the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (The CHAMP Act, HR 3162).
This historic legislation reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which provides health insurance coverage for millions of children in working families with incomes slightly too high to qualify for Medicaid.
The CHAMP Act also includes important Medicare provisions, which benefit providers and beneficiaries alike.
"Keeping kids healthy today means that the government will inherit a healthier Medicare population tomorrow," said Congressman Mike Thompson. "Investments in our children are both common sense and cost-effective."
The CHAMP Act maintains current SCHIP eligibility requirements, but it provides states with the resources needed for outreach to eligible children not yet enrolled in the program. As a result, five million new children will be able to obtain health care.
The bill also makes critical changes to the Medicare program. Without this legislation, physician reimbursement rates would be slashed by 10 percent next year, and by an additional 5 percent in 2009.
"This legislation will provide five million new kids with healthcare and millions of children already in the SCHIP program will keep their benefits," added Thompson. "With this legislation, physicians will avoid the biggest rate cut in the history of the Medicare program, which would have triggered a mass exodus of doctors from Medicare. Today, Congress took an historic step and dramatically improved healthcare for millions of Americans."
The CHAMP Act also expands preventive healthcare available to Medicare beneficiaries, and it provides critical new funding for rural healthcare.
"For many reasons, it's much harder for seniors in rural areas to access high-quality healthcare than it is for their urban counterparts," said Thompson. "This bill extends key bonus payments for rural providers, ensuring that doctors, ambulances, home health agencies and other providers will keep their doors open in rural communities like ours."
Thompson also noted that the CHAMP Act does not increase the deficit. Consistent with the Democratic Majority's commitment to Pay-As-You-Go rules, of which Thompson is a long-time advocate, the CHAMP Act is fully funded.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}