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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Dr. Gary Pace went before the board to offer the brief update Tuesday morning.
“The coronavirus continues to spread over in Asia. There’s concern on the global front now, but in the United States it’s still quite contained,” Pace said.
Pace said there is a new case reported in the San Diego area, but that person also had been to China.
As of Tuesday, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States had reportedly risen to 13.
“The main point of this is that the risk here is low, the risk if you travel is low,” Pace said.
The highest risk individuals are being closely monitored by the federal government, Pace said. They are being prevented from entering the United States or, if they’re citizens who are at high risk for the illness, they’re being quarantined for 14 days.
Pace said there also is a group of people who have traveled to China who are not symptomatic and therefore considered medium risk. They are returning to their communities and being home-quarantined.
“There are none in Lake County as far as I know,” he said.
However, there is a large number of medium-risk individuals on self-quarantine in the Bay Area. He said those individuals are not going out in public.
The risk remains low in the United States, and Pace said there is a robust process of keeping health officers informed.
Pace said the Lake County Health Department is “quite involved” with state and federal experts on the coronavirus issue.
He said his department also is talking to partners in the county’s communities and schools, as well as to emergency medical services and different health care providers so they can be prepared.
Pace said they are set up as best they can be if cases of coronavirus do show up in Lake County.
“The flu is a lot bigger concern right now,” he said.
He said people should get flu shots and follow other good hygiene practices, including washing hands, covering their mouths after coughing and not going to work if they’re sick.
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MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St.
Meetings are open to the community, and offer the opportunity for additional public input on items not included on the agenda.
At 7:30 p.m., the group will meet the candidates for District 1 supervisor. Julia Bono is challenging first-term incumbent Moke Simon. Both will be allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes, with 10 additional minutes for questions and answers.
At 8:10 p.m., the four qualified candidates for the MATH Board will then address the assembly. Each will be allowed to speak up to five minutes.
The candidates for this year’s seats include incumbent Claude Brown, along with Rosemary Cordova, Lisa Kaplan and David Thurber.
The qualification and nomination of candidates had dominated the January meeting, at which time it had originally been expected that an election would take place. But due to a variety of concerns, including public noticing and questions about process, the election was put over to this month.
At 8:30 p.m., the group is expected to elect its two new board members. The election process will include two current board members and two volunteers to oversee the voting box, secret ballots that will be accepted in the voting box by the sign-in sheets, a tally of secret ballot votes, the announcement of the new board members and alternates, and completion of the county’s required applications for all board members and alternates.
The election of the new MATH Board members will take effect on Friday, Feb. 14.
The MATH Board currently includes Chair Sally Peterson, Vice Chair Claude Brown, Secretary Paul Baker, and at-large members Tom Darms and Marlene Elder.
MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.
Meetings are subject to videotaping.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
CDV can infect a wide range of domestic and wild carnivores, including some non-canids. Gray foxes, raccoons and skunks are the most commonly affected species.
Unvaccinated domestic dogs can potentially contract the disease through contact with food or water bowls that are “shared” with infected wild carnivores.
Pet owners should be particularly vigilant in their efforts to keep their domestic animals from coming into contact with wildlife. CDV is not transmissible to humans.
“Keeping dogs up to date on vaccinations not only protects pets, it protects wildlife,” said CDFW Senior Wildlife Veterinarian Deana Clifford. “Wild animals can spread distemper to domestic dogs, but unvaccinated domestic dogs can also spread the disease to wild animals.”
Dr. Clifford noted that distemper is the most common disease CDFW finds as the cause of death in California’s carnivores.
Large outbreaks of distemper may temporarily reduce some local carnivore populations, thus wildlife biologists and veterinarians monitor reports of sick animals and confirm disease cases when possible to track potential impacts.
Transmission of CDV typically occurs similar to the common cold, via inhalation of infected respiratory droplets or direct contact with saliva, nasal discharge and tears. Occasionally other body fluids (feces and urine) contain the virus.
Environmental transmission of canine distemper is rare because the virus does not survive long in the environment. For this reason, CDV presents more of a problem for dense wild carnivore populations as close contact between animals is necessary to spread the disease.
While distemper may occur at any time of year, CDV is more common in adult animals during the winter and is thought to be more common in juvenile animals in the spring and summer.
Distemper can cause respiratory, neurologic and gastrointestinal illness. Clinical signs may vary depending on the strain of the virus, the environment, the host species and the age of the infected animal.
Signs include (but are not limited to) depression, fever, labored breathing, diarrhea, anorexia, incoordination, moving in small circles, yellow to clear discharge from the nose and eyes, and crusting on the nose, eyes, mouth or footpads.
There is no treatment for sick animals except supportive care. Infected animals may or may not survive the illness. Animals with the virus may not show clinical signs but can still spread the virus for up to 90 days.
In addition to removing food and other attractants, CDFW urges the public to keep a safe distance from sick or injured wild animals, as animals that are ill or feel threatened may act aggressively. Please report the sick animal’s behavior and location to the closest CDFW office and/or to a local animal control agency, as soon as possible.
Any wildlife encounter that is an emergency should be reported to 9-1-1. For non-urgent questions concerning wildlife, please contact your local CDFW Regional Office or your local animal control service. Additional information about living with wildlife can be found on CDFW’s website.
If you are bitten or scratched by a wild animal, please wash the wound vigorously with soap and water and consult a physician and/or contact your County Public Health Department. Neurologic signs of CDV may not be distinguishable from rabies virus infection, which is a public health risk.
Do not handle carcasses of wild animals with bare hands. CDFW’s has protocol for safe handling and disposal of carcasses on its website.
For questions regarding distemper in wildlife or concerns about sick animals, contact CDFW’s Wildlife Investigations Laboratory at 916-358-2790.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Three years after wind-driven waves destroyed Library Park’s old seawall, work has gotten underway to replace it with a new wall of steel.
The project is being funded primarily by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state of California.
In a special November meeting, the Lakeport City Council voted unanimously to award the seawall rebuilding contract to West Coast Contractors Inc. of Coos Bay, Oregon, a company that specializes in marine sheet pile projects.
The company’s winning bid was $799,773; the city engineer had estimated the project would cost $1 million.
The new seawall project is approximately 535 lineal feet, which will support the adjoining pedestrian promenade, city officials said.
The old seawall was built of cinder blocks. The new one, designed to withstand heavy wave action and future flooding conditions, will be built of nearly half-inch-thick sheet pile that will be driven 25 feet into the ground. City officials said the new wall has been designed to the 100-year flood level.
Heavy storms in February 2017 resulted in wind-driven waves that pummeled the aging seawall, damaging it beyond repair and causing the area around it, including the sidewalk, to be cordoned off from the public with chain link fence.
Then, in March 2019, more heavy rain and winter storms caused the damaged wall to be undermined further, leading to underground water intrusion, as Lake County News has reported.
Those storms and the resulting flooding affected the city’s original replacement project timeline and resulted in another federal major disaster declaration.
As a result of the federal disaster declarations, the city was eligible to apply for federal and state funding to assist the reconstruction efforts.
Public Works Director Doug Grider and his staff followed a lengthy and complicated federal grant application process in order to build a new and improved seawall.
As a result, the city received funds from FEMA and the state of California that will pay the majority of the project costs. The city is only required to pay for a 6.38-percent match, which its insurance will cover.
Rebuilding the wall had to wait until FEMA gave the final go-ahead, which allowed the city to award the bid in the fall.
The city still had a few last-minute delays in getting the project started. Originally, it had been set to begin Dec. 23, but over the holidays the sheet pile manufacturer had a breakdown and so the sheet pile wasn’t expected to be ready until the end of January.
Along with the seawall, the promenade also will be rebuilt and will feature a new safety handrail and a new concrete sidewalk. It’s to be built under a separate contract, according to city officials.
The city has a targeted completion date of June 1 for the new seawall, just in time for the busy summer tourism season.
Library Park lies along the west shore of Clear Lake in downtown Lakeport. It was established nearly 100 years ago and now includes more than three acres of land area, the city reported.
Owned and maintained by the city of Lakeport, Library Park is a center of community activity, hosting numerous events, from plays to summer music concerts, as well as fairs and markets. It offers boat launches, new docks, fishing opportunities, lake swimming, picnic areas, an accessible children’s playground and ADA-accessible restrooms, some of them recently replaced.
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