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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
UPPER LAKE – Upper Lake’s community members got the chance Thursday to let county officials know the issues that matter the most to them, and also to hear the status of several town projects.
Supervisor Denise Rushing hosted the third in a series of town hall meetings in her district on Thursday at the Upper Lake High School cafeteria. Previous meetings took place in Clearlake Oaks in January and Lucerne in February.
Between 50 and 60 people attended the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, which included updates from county officials and an open forum where community members asked questions and, in many cases, got answers.
Deputy Redevelopment Eric Seely gave those gathered a report on the $2 million Main Street Gateway Project. Based on private investment made in Upper Lake’s downtown, the county decided to invest in the project, Seely explained, which is the “single largest project the Redevelopment Agency has taken on,” he said.
The plan will include an archway in downtown, extending and upgrading sidewalks, improving drainage, and installing light poles, trees and bulbouts. Bulbouts help narrow the street at intersections and slow traffic, said Seely.
Before the project can begin, said Seely, utilities lines must be placed underground. Pacific Gas & Electric has told the county that they will start that process in late fall, so the downtown project is scheduled to begin next spring.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox, who followed Seely at the microphone, said the county believes strongly enough in Upper Lake and preserving its unique character that it dedicated $2 million in county funds – not grant monies – to the downtown project.
Cox said there are many other redevelopment projects under way around the county, but that the county is dedicated to doing this major project first, all at once.
In other county projects, Cox reported that the Old Justice Court building recently got a face lift from county workers, and the building is being used by Senior Support Services. The old county road yard, he said, is now occupied by the County Parks Division, which is renovating it to look similar to the historic downtown livery stable. The county plans to have the Upper Lake Library building re-stuccoed, he said, and a new sign installed.
The county is pursuing a downtown revitalization grant, Cox said, and has hired a consultant who will identify the town’s critical historical components, recommend initial improvements to improve and preserve the town’s look, and create preliminary designs and cost estimates.
Cox said the county is looking into installing a town clock, similar to one that is reported to have once existed near the town’s bank.
He commended Rushing for having the town halls, which Cox said have helped the county gather a lot of good community feedback. He said he’s enjoying working with her. “She’s definitely representing your interests,” he added.
A major point of concern for citizens at the meeting is flooding. It was a topic of numerous questions during the open forum, and Pam Francis, deputy director of the county's Water Resources Division, attended the meeting to discuss those concerns and and some of the county’s efforts to reduce flooding.
Upper Lake, said Francis, sits in a hydrological bowl. “Flooding has been a historical problem here,” she said.
In 1959, the state, county and the Army Corps of Engineers built the area’s 14.4 miles of levees to keep flooding at bay, Francis said.
So, why did Upper Lake flood on Dec. 31, 2005? “We had an extraordinary flood event,” Francis explained.
County officials estimate that the December 2005 flood was a “250-year event,” Francis said, which means that each year there is a 2.5 percent chance of such a flood occurring.
Did the levees work? Francis believes they did, because the last flood in the town before 2005 was in 1958.
Francis said there is no way to completely control flooding. However, the county is continuing its efforts to keep flooding at a minimum, including cleaning out the creeks and levees.
In that process, she said, the community has been very helpful, with the county getting 100-percent compliance from every property owner when it came to getting access for cleanups.
A county project is under way that includes removing gravel and brush from the creeks, she said. Another phase of that project will continue this summer.
“I think we’re doing everything we can to mitigate flooding. We’ll never be able to prevent it,” she said.
The county is working on a new long-term permit through the Department of Fish and Game, which Francis said will allow them to conduct levee and creek maintenance more quickly.
During the open question and answer session, Francis also gave a brief update on the Middle Creek Restoration Project, saying it's moving forward and that the county is pursuing funding. They county doesn't have the engineering data to back it up, but Francis believes that project will help reduce flooding as well.
Other issues residents wanted the county to look at included the speed limit along certain roads in and around town and suggestions that the town needs a swimming pool.
Asked about the casino proposed by the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, Cox said the county is working with the tribe on dealing with the casino's potential impacts, and they've formed a memorandum of understanding.
“I feel very positive about this agreement,” said Cox, saying the tribe has been very up-front with the county.
Sherry Bridges, a tribal official who attended the meeting, said the tribe plans to hold similar town hall meetings to discuss their plans and progress.
A town hall is planned for the Blue Lakes community in the future, Rushing said.
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LUCERNE – The Lake County Sheriff's Office has arrested three people on first-degree murder charges in connection with the death of a Nice man.
LCSO reported Wednesday that two women and one man had been charged with murder for the death of Michael Eugene Fausnaugh, 38.
On Tuesday evening, following interviews with the suspects, Det. Brian Kenner arrested Jamie Christine Martin, 20, of Lucerne, for first-degree murder while shooting from a vehicle; and Terri Lee Kenney, 48, of Nice, for murder.
The third suspect charged with murder, Shamus Terrence Maroney, 27, of Nice, was already in jail, having been taken into custody March 23 on a felony parole violation.
Eyewitness accounts reportedly helped detectives connect the three Northshore residents to Fausnaugh.
Witnesses told investigators of seeing Fausnaugh in the company of Martin, Kenney and Maroney at the Middle Creek Campground on Elk Mountain Road in Upper Lake during the evening of March 21, according to an LCSO report.
The witnesses told investigators that Fausnaugh had what appeared to be “significant” head injuries, according to the LCSO report. The three suspects were seen placing the injured Fausnaugh into their vehicle and driving away from the scene, reportedly to seek medical attention.
His body was found the following day along the west side of Highway 29 near north Lakeport.
Detectives would later go to the campground and recover evidence that was consistent with the version of events reported by the witnesses, according to LCSO.
In addition, authorities reported that the vehicle involved has been located and impounded, and a forensic examination is pending.
All three suspects are being held in the Lake County Jail. Bail has been set for $500,000 each for Martin and Kenney, with Maroney being held on a no-bail parole violation.
They are all scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court today.
Officials say the investigation into Fausnaugh's death is continuing, with detectives looking to identify others who were at the Middle Creek Campground on March 21.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Det. Brian Kenner at the LCSO Detective Bureau, 262-4200.
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SACRAMENTO – State officials are reporting that the state's critical snowpack is hovering below 50 percent of normal.
The California Department of Water Resources conducted the fourth manual snow survey of the season on Highway 50 near Echo Summit on Wednesday.
State hydrologists monitor snow-water content in order to determine water supply for the year ahead.
Measurements were taken at elevations ranging between 6,500 and 7,600 feet, with average snowpacks between 35 and 55 percent of normal. Snow depths measured between 35 and 52 inches.
Electronic sensor readings posted Wednesday on the California Data Exchange Center's Web site show Northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 52 percent of normal for this date, Central Sierra at 48 percent and Southern Sierra at 38 percent.
Statewide, the snowpack is at 46 percent of normal, DWR officials said. That's down sharply from the 64 percent of normal snowpack reported at the start of March.
Previous statewide averages for the season were 40 percent for February and 59 percent for January.
DWR Snow Survey Section Chief Frank Gehrke said Monday night's storm helped the snowpack by about 2 inches but "instead of seeing an increase of 5 or 6 inches in March, we lost 8 or 9 inches," he said.
"That's a pretty bleak month," he added.
Snowpack information is part of the data used by DWR's State Water Project (SWP) Analysis Office in determining how much water will delivered each year through the SWP. Currently, the SWP is meeting 60 percent of requested amounts, which officials say translate to about 2.5 million acre feet for the year.
DWR officials say those deliveries will be particularly meaningful for the south state this year.
While reservoir storage in California is at or above normal thanks to a wet 2006, much of Southern California is experiencing its driest rainfall year on record.
DWR reported Wednesday that only 2.47 inches of rain have fallen in downtown Los Angeles since July 1. In a normal year, that figure would be more than 13 inches. Los Angeles has received only 18 percent of its normal rainfall for this time of year.
Southern California and other parts of the state also could be facing water shortages due to a recent court decision. That ruling, which came last week, would would shut off the pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 60 days unless DWR gets the permits necessary for the killing of endangered fish, which die yearly in the Delta's pump system.
The fifth and last snow survey of the season will take place on April 26.
DWR coordinates the snow monitoring program as part of the multi-agency California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program. Surveyors from more than 50 agencies and utilities visit hundreds of snow measurement courses in California's mountains each month to gauge the amount of water in the snowpack.
For real-time snow-water sensor readings, visit http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/lsreports/DLYSWEQ .
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UPPER LAKE – Following last year's record number of illegal marijuana seizures in the Mendocino National Forest, several members of the forest's law enforcement team were honored this month with a national award.
On March 14 the Mendocino National Forest Law Enforcement team received a national Director's award from the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy for their outstanding service to the nation in combating marijuana trafficking on the national forest last year.
Officers Walt Bliss, Mike Casey, Matt Knudson and Ramon Polo received the award from Director John P. Walters in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Forest spokesperson Phebe Brown said Polo is based in Covelo, Knudson in Upper Lake, Bliss in Paskenta and Casey in Willows, but all of them travel all over the forest as part of their enforcement duties.
Last year, the team spent more than 300 days eradicating 405,399 marijuana plants from 55 illegal marijuana sites on the Mendocino National Forest. “We were No. 1 in the state,” said Brown.
In fact, Walters' citation to the officers reads, in part: "More marijuana was taken by this team than any other group within the Forest Service in 2006.”
Illegal marijuana eradication was a major issue for Lake County in 2006.
Last fall, when then-Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced the results of the state Department of Justice’s 2006 Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), Lake County led the state's 58 counties with the most plants seized – 314,603, almost 100,000 more than the second-ranked county, Shasta.
Statewide, Lockyer reported, CAMP set a new record with the seizure of 1,675,681 plants worth an estimated $6.7 billion during the eradication season – more than three times the number of plants seized in 2005.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell said the illegal marijuana growers are attracted to the Mendocino National Forest – not necessarily Lake County itself – as a location.
The forest's fertile soils and remote locations are a haven for illicit marijuana growing, he explained.
“This is an area that is deeply troubling to me and my staff who work in the area of eradicating marijuana,” he said.
That's because it involves trespassing on both private and public lands, said Mitchell.
Worse, threats are posed to humans who happen across the illegal grows, he said, and the growers show wanton disrespect for the environment.
“This is a huge area of concern and should be even for people who are pro-dope,” he said.
The Mendocino National Forest's officers expressed their thanks to agencies like Mitchell's for help in the marijuana eradication effort.
"We could not have been successful without the teamwork with the Sheriff's Departments of Glenn, Colusa, Tehama, Lake and Mendocino Counties, the California National Guard, and Department of Justice CAMP teams," Casey said. "We all worked together to locate and remove this illegal use of our public land."
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