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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — An early Tuesday morning break-in at Kelseyville Presbyterian Church days ahead of its Christmas celebrations has led to thousands of dollars worth of damage, but the church says it plans to move forward with its holiday celebrations, including services and a Christmas Day dinner.
The church, located at the corner of Third and Church streets, marked its 150th anniversary in June. What occurred early Tuesday may be the worst break-in it has suffered in its history.
An alarm before 1 a.m. alerted church members and staff to the break-in.
When they arrived at the scene, they found that every building on the campus had been broken into — from the main church building to the Fellowship Hall, the food pantry that serves thousands of residents a year and Heritage Hall, where the Sheriff’s Activity League holds its boxing program.
Several doors and about a dozen windows were bashed in, and interior walls were beaten with what appeared to be a hammer.
Church staff, however, did not find anything had been taken.
Early estimates of damage are as high as $18,000, the church reported.
A Go Fund Me account has been set up to help the church begin the process of making the repairs.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating the break-in and vandalism and is asking for information from anyone who may have seen individuals around the church or on its property late Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
The church has managed to clean up the broken glass and cover broken windows until they can be repaired.
Despite what occurred, the church said it is going forward with its Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, and invites the community to come and celebrate the holiday with them.
The church’s leadership quoted the Gospel of John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The church also will be the location for a Christmas Day community dinner for seniors hosted by Rob Brown and Angela Carter.
Anyone with information about the break-in and vandalism is asked to contact Sgt. Joe Dutra of the Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
In a special meeting that took place on Dec. 12 and 13, the City Council considered a host of appointments, including appointing Kim Costa and Brandon Disney to fill the council seats vacated by Mireya Turner and Michael Green.
Costa and Disney took their oaths of office on Tuesday evening, along with Mayor Stacey Mattina, elected in November to her fourth term.
In addition to those two council seats, the City Council considered several more commission and committee appointments for the Lakeport Planning Commission; Measure Z Advisory Committee, or MZAC; the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, or LEDAC; and the Lakeport Fire Protection District Board.
The Planning Commission was established in 1956 and has land use decision-making authority as defined by the Lakeport zoning ordinance, advising and reporting on planning matters to the City Council. Members are appointed to four-year terms.
Returning to the commission for another term are Mark Mitchell and Nathan Maxman, along with Kip Knorr who served previously.
On Nov. 8, 2016, Lakeport residents voted to approve Measure Z adopting an ordinance enacting a 1% increase to the local sales and use tax.
The ordinance calls for an independent citizens’ advisory committee to meet publicly to review all revenues and expenditures of the transactions and use tax and make recommendations to the City Council regarding those expenditures.
Susan King was reappointed to the committee and Laura Sombs was appointed to her first four-year term.
In 2010 the Lakeport City Council implemented a recommendation contained in the Lakeport Business Retention and Recruitment Strategy and formed an economic development advisory committee,
LEDAC, to be an advocate for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and a conduit between City leadership and the community.
Jeff Davis was appointed to his first term to serve with Bonnie Darling, Denise Combs and Wilda Shock who were reappointed for another two years.
The Lakeport Fire Protection District is an independent special district serving the greater Lakeport area.
Health and Safety Code section 13837 provides that the district board may be either elected or appointed by the city council in which the district is located.
City Council Resolution 2695 (2018) established a protocol for the appointments to the district board.
Jeff Warrenburg was appointed to serve a four-year term as the newest member of the district board.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
On Saturday, Dec. 17, CHP Clear Lake Area personnel conducted a driving under the influence checkpoint on southbound State Route 53 in Lower Lake.
CHP officers contacted nearly 500 drivers, issued 14 citations, impounded two vehicles and conducted four DUI investigations, said Commander Dan Fansler.
Nearing the end of the checkpoint's scheduled operation time, a Mini Cooper ran through the screening area at high speed and failed to stop for officer's commands and a posted stop sign.
The driver, Kiara Renee Fears, 22, fled the scene and a CHP patrol vehicle pursuit ensued.
Fears accelerated to approximately 100 miles per hour traveling northbound on State Route 29, south of Point Lakeview Road.
Due to the vehicle’s unsafe speed, she was unable to safely negotiate a turn in the roadway and traveled off the north shoulder of Point Lakeview Road and crashed into a fence.
Fears fled from her vehicle on foot but was quickly apprehended by CHP officers and taken into custody for DUI and additional charges. “Thankfully, no members of the public or our CHP officers were injured during the incident,” Fansler said.
Fansler said Fears was charged with felony evading, DUI, driving on a suspended license, violating probation for DUI, and two additional enhancements for speeding and upon conviction, additional penalties for three or more DUIs in 10 years.
The CHP offered a special thank you to Caltrans District 1, Clearlake Oaks Maintenance crew, for their assistance with lighting, signage and cone placement, which was instrumental in making the enforcement campaign a reality.
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- Written by: Bureau of Land Management
The statewide Wildland-Urban Interface fuels treatments programmatic environmental assessment aims to facilitate projects on approximately 900,000 acres of public land near rural communities.
“The BLM is adding another tool to our wildfire prevention and protection toolbox,” said BLM California State Director Karen Mouritsen. “This initiative is designed to streamline on-the-ground projects to reduce hazardous fuels and double down on our efforts to protect local communities”
Fuels reduction projects aim to reduce the intensity, severity, and the spread of wildfire on public lands by reducing overgrowth, creating fuel breaks and thinning forest density.
As a result, communities in and around BLM lands will experience reduced likelihood of loss of life, property, and community infrastructure from wildfires.
These treatments will also improve firefighting conditions when wildfires happen, allowing for greater success of fire suppression and fire perimeter control, contributing to increased safety for firefighters and decreased suppression costs by reducing potential fire damage and fire size.
The public may submit written comments on the issues, potential impacts, alternatives, and project design features presented in the preliminary environmental assessment and the findings of no significant impact by visiting https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2016583/510 or by email:
The BLM will consider all substantive comments received by Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, in finalizing the environmental assessment.