POINT ARENA, Calif. – A North Coast teenager has found himself in trouble after displaying an air soft pistol in a public place in such a manner that law enforcement believed it was a real handgun.

The 14-year-old male from Point Arena was arrested Sunday, according to a report from Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday Mendocino County Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to an area of the Point Arena Elementary School regarding a male subject observed with a handgun, Smallcomb said.

Smallcomb said the person who made the report told deputies that he had observed an individual pointing a handgun around as if he was going to shoot someone.

The first deputy on scene located a subject matching the given description on the school grounds, and saw a black-colored handgun in his hand, Smallcomb said.

Smallcomb said the deputy pointed his firearm at the teen and told him to put down the gun. The male subject didn't obey the command but instead ran around the corner of a building before coming back with it still in his hand.

The deputy repeated his command to put the gun down and for the teen to get on the ground, which he eventually did, with the deputy then handcuffing him, Smallcomb said.

When the deputy further inspected what he believed to be a handgun he found that it was a black colored Umarex "HK USP" air soft-style pistol, which Smallcomb said was nearly identical to an actual firearm.

After the arrest the deputy discovered the subject was 14 years old, said Smallcomb.

He said charges for display of an imitation firearm in a public place are pending. The completed portion of the investigation will be forwarded to the district attorney for review.

Smallcomb said the agency wanted to advise the general public that display or exposure of a imitation type firearm is not only dangerous, but it is also against the law.

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California Conservation Corps member Chris Thomas has been honored as a National Corpsmember of the Year. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – California Conservation Corps member Chris Thomas was honored earlier this month in Washington D.C. as a Corpsmember of the Year.

Thomas, 23, is the son of Jean Bolding of Clearlake Oaks.

He received his award from the national Corps Network organization along with five other corpsmembers.

Thomas is the only recipient from California.

In Washington, Thomas spoke to several hundred representatives of corps programs and federal agencies at the Corps Network annual forum. His remarks prompted several job offers and expressions of interest in future employment.

Thomas also had a chance to visit Capitol Hill, meeting Rep. Wally Herger (R-Chico) and House Speaker John Boehner.

Thomas has been with the CCC in Chico since April 2009. He joined the program after serving three tours with the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was wounded twice during that time.

While in the CCC, Thomas was promoted to crewleader and worked on natural resource projects for the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Water Resources and California State Parks.

On the weekends, he typically participated in community activities and logged more than 350 hours of volunteer hours.

The Corps Network, an umbrella organization for service and conservation corps throughout the country, is based in Washington, D.C. and funded the travel and expenses for Thomas’ trip.

The California Conservation Corps is a state agency hiring young men and women, ages 18 to 25, for a year of natural resource work and emergency response.

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NORTH COAST, Calif. – State officials reported that a San Francisco man was recently caught poaching abalone during the closed season – for the third time in three weeks.

Qiong Wang, 31, was arrested last week for felony conspiracy and take of abalone for commercial purposes, among other charges, according to the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG).

Despite aggressive enforcement and prosecution, wardens have noticed an increase in abalone poaching over the last few years, on the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts in particular.

“For many abalone poachers, the profit from the illegal sale of abalone clearly outweighs the risks of getting caught,” said DFG Assistant Chief Tony Warrington.

Wang's last arrest by DFG wardens came on Feb. 19. At the same time wardens arrested Wang’s companion, David Trevors, 28, of San Francisco, on similar charges, the agency said.

On Feb. 2, an officer from the Petaluma Police Department contacted Wang and Trevors in Petaluma during an investigation of another crime. He found them in possession of five abalone.

The officer was aware that abalone season was closed, and DFG said he cited and released Wang for four poaching misdemeanors – unlawful take, take of abalone out of season, possession of an overlimit and failure to tag.

On Feb. 12, a Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputy stopped Wang for speeding on Highway 28 near Boonville. The deputy found two wet duffel bags containing fresh abalone in the back seat and contacted his dispatch to request assistance from a DFG warden.

Warden Don Powers responded and discovered 36 red abalone, five of which were undersize. Powers also found five SCUBA tanks and associated SCUBA diving gear in the trunk of Wang’s car.

Wang was booked into Mendocino County Jail for possession of abalone for commercial sale. His Toyota sedan and all dive gear were seized as evidence.

On Feb. 19, five days after being released from jail for the last poaching incident, Wang and Trevors were spotted using SCUBA gear to poach abalone from a rented kayak in Van Damme State Park.

For approximately two hours, wardens watched as the partners kayaked into the ocean and collected 55 abalone. The men returned to shore, stashed the abalone near the beach and drove to the Sub-Surface Progression dive shop in Fort Bragg to return the rented kayak.

Wardens contacted the pair at the dive shop. Both men were arrested and booked into Mendocino County Jail. Wardens recovered the hidden abalone and Trevors’ vehicle and all related dive gear were seized.

Abalone season closed Dec. 1, and does not reopen until April 1.

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LUCERNE, Calif. – Northshore Fire Protection District's chief said he'll hang up his gear officially this summer.

Jim Robbins, 59, said he will be retiring on June 30.

By the time of his retirement Robbins will have spent 38 years as a fire chief.

He has been chief of the Northshore Fire Protection District since 2006, after the districts on the Northshore – Upper Lake, Nice, Clearlake Oaks and Lucerne – finished their consolidation process.

Prior to that, he was chief of the Lucerne Fire Department beginning in 1973.

Robbins, who grew up in the county, started with the district in 1967, when – at age 16 – he began as a junior fireman.

Northshore Fire is the largest fire protection district by geographic size in the state, at 350 square miles. Robbins said the district currently has 26 full-time and part-time paid firefighters and another 62 volunteers.

He said the district's board is going out to an open selection process.

“We would hope to have somebody selected prior to me leaving so I can at least work with them for a couple of months to go over things, how we run things around here,” Robbins said.

Robbins, whose wife Leah also is a Northshore firefighter, said he plans to continue living in the county following his retirement.

In other district news, Robbins said Battalion Chief Pat Brown has been promoted to the deputy chief position.

The appointment of Brown, a longtime firefighter with the district, is permanent, Robbins said.

The position had been unfilled since Gary Saylor retired some time ago, Robbins added.

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A family enjoys a snow day in the hills above the Northshore of Lake County, Calif., on Friday, February 25, 2011. Photo by Ron Keas.

While the now melted off quickly on parts of the Northshore and in Lakeport, parts of Kelseyville had a thicker blanket that lasted longer into the day, and the snow stuck around in higher elevations like Cobb.

County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland his crews reported 2 to 3 inches of snow in the Soda Bay and Clear Lake Riviera areas, and up to 8 inches in the Cobb area.

Schools districts that reported closures for the day included Konocti, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Upper Lake Elementary, Upper Lake Middle, Upper Lake High School, Aspire and Clearlake Community School.

Doug Rhoades photographed this surprised looking snowman on a bench in front of the courthouse museum in Lakeport on Friday, February 25, 2011.

Lucerne Elementary was reported to be closed due to snow for the first time in 21 years.

Lake County International Charter School in Middletown also reported that it closed for the day.

The Lake County Office of Education closed its doors Friday after officials there reported being impacted by a power outage that occurred in Lakeport during part of the morning.

Middletown and Hidden Valley residents reported no snow, a contrast to last week's storm that saw them with a thick blanket of it following the storms.

Middletown Unified's school's were open, following a two-hour delayed start, with the exception of Cobb Elementary, which Superintendent Korby Olson reported early Friday morning was closed.

Ellen Karnowski shared this picture of snow in Kelseyville, Calif., on Friday, February 25, 2011. She reported that this is the most snow she's seen in her 29 years of living in Lake County.

Lake County Public Works' Road Division had its crews at work around the county Friday.

Stangland said his crews worked to open up arterial and major collector streets early Friday before continuing onto the local roads. Top priorities were opening routes to both Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport and St. Helena Hospital Clearlake.

By late Friday afternoon, Stangland said Bottle Rock Road at Sulphur Creek Drive and Highway 175 was open, but crews were going to close part of the road on Monday to resume clean up operations due to snow and damage from the recent storms.

He said Schwartz Road at High Road in the Cobb area was closed due to a downed tree, but both roads were accessible from the other ends.

Elk Mountain Road from the Middle Creek Campground to Lake Pillsbury required chains or four-wheel-drive. Stangland said crews are going to attempt to open it Friday on the return trip from Lake Pillsbury. Elk Mountain Road from Potter Valley to Lake Pillsbury was open.

Bartlett Springs Road required four-wheel-drive and chains. Stangland said road crews will plow the road on Monday.

This photo, courtesy of Kevin Village Stone, was taken from the Kelseyville area and shows a storm forming over Lucerne on Friday, February 25, 2011.

After a day of plowing, Stangland said the concern was shifting to the hard freeze forecast to take place overnight on Saturday – with temperatures down in the low 20s.

He said crews will be out sanding area roads, as needed, this weekend.

Late Friday the California Highway Patrol had warned of icy road conditions from Scotts Valley Road's junction with Highway 20 to the Mendocino County line.

The National Weather Service warned of the potential for record or near-record cold temperatures over the weekend in Lake and neighboring counties.

Temperatures are expected to drop well below freezing in the early morning hours of both Saturday and Sunday, with a hard freeze possible. The agency said that the shelter is required for people, pets and livestock, and crops and plants due to the potentially dangerous conditions.

Part of the Mendocino National Forest above Lucerne was under a layer of new snow on Friday, February 25, 2011. Photo by Lenny Matthews.

The Lake County Office of Emergency Services has offered several important contact numbers to help area residents in case of emergency during the winter weather.

They include: PG&E, 800-743-5000; ATT, 611 or 866-346-1168; American Red Cross, emergency, 800-696-3873; local office, 707-263-8451; sheriff’s dispatch non-emergency, 707-263-2690.

In addition, for animal-related issues Lake County Animal Care and Control can be contacted at 707-263-0278 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The after hours emergency number is 707-263-2690; the department also can be visited online at www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

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Linda Moyles Swesey shared this picture of a snow-bedecked Mt. Konocti on Friday, February 25, 2011.

Ron Keas captured this Northshore view of Mt. Konocti and the lake after the snow storm on Friday, February 25, 2011, in Lake County, Calif.

Snow and winter weather can't keep a fisherman down. On Friday, February 25, 2011, Sue Stout photographed Digger Oswald, a Lakeport schools employee, who made the most of the school district's snow day by trying his angling luck from the Library Park pier near Fifth Street in Lakeport, Calif.

Lauren Trippeer and Linda Bushta, the Upper Lake librarian, with a frozen friend on Friday, February 25, 2011. Photo by Nancy Brier.

Arcata point guard Will Taylor was guarded tightly by Middletown's Jereomy Hoefer during the North Coast Section Division 4 tournament in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – After riding a six-game league win streak into a North Coast Section Division 4 tournament berth as the #12 seed, the Middletown Mustangs boys basketball team was ousted by the fifth-seeded Tigers of Arcata in Middletown Wednesday night.

Middletown scored on a breakaway basket by Bo Sheffer off the opening tip, but managed only one more basket in the opening quarter, falling behind 13-4.

After trailing 36-23 late in the third quarter, Middletown energized themselves and the crowd with a 10-0 run to close to within 36-33 with five and a half minutes left in the game, but never got closer than three points and ultimately lost 50-44.

Middletown finished their league season strong, with wins in their last five regularly scheduled league games to tie Fort Bragg at 6-2, and then a win in a tiebreaker game to claim the NCL North league title in GJ Rockwell's first season as head coach.

Middletown's Nick Delia grabs a rebound over Arcata's Brandon Pomeran during the North Coast Section Division 4 tournament in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

After the game, victorious Arcata Coach Eric Vollmers praised Middletown, saying, “They played real well, real hard, and we're just glad we're advancing.”

Arcata's big advantage was their tall front line players, including 6 foot, 11 inch Max Schmidt, who Vollmers was not even sure would play due to his having the flu.

“He played more than I thought he would, and for a while it seemed like he was getting every rebound out there,” Vollmers said.

Middletown scorers were seniors Chris Oatman and John Wesley Davis with 11 each, senior Bo Sheffer with 9, junior Nick Delia 8 and junior DJ Brookshire, 5.

Arcata scoring was led by Tom Witzel with 24 points and Will Taylor with 11.

Middletown's John Wesley Davis drives on a fast break during Middletown's 10-0 late game run during the North Coast Section Division 4 tournament in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

Middletown ends their season with an 18 win, 10 loss record.

Arcata, now 22-7, advances to play St Patrick-St Vincent High School in Vallejo Saturday night.

Lake County's other participant in North Coast Section playoffs was the Lower Lake girls team, which lost to Branson High Wednesday night 64-27, finishing their season at 17-9.

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Tanner Alves and Chris Oatman of the Middletown Mustangs battle Brandon Pomeran of Arcata for a loose ball in Arcata's North Coast Section playoff win in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

Junior DJ Brookshire passes off on fast break for the Middletown Mustangs in their 50-44 playoff loss to the Arcata Tigers in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

This collard plant in the garden of Fran Ransley of Lower Lake, Calif. is grown for food, but also adds interest to the landscape. Photo by Esther Oertel.

While it may be too late to lock in your luck for 2011 if you didn’t eat collards on the first day of the year, amazing health benefits are provided by this plant year round nonetheless.

Along with vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and its closest cousin, kale, collard greens are members of the brassica oleracea (also known as cruciferous) family of edible plants.

Its cultivar group name – acephala – means “without a head” in Greek, referring to the mass of loose green leaves that contrast with the compact, tightly-knit core of leaves that form the head of its relative, the cabbage.

It’s been said that collards are an extroverted version of cabbage, growing outward, rather than holding itself in.

Like kale, collards are prized for their ornamental qualities in landscapes. They’re known for their huge presentation of leaves, with a single plant able to grow as much as four feet high and five feet wide. An individual leaf, in fact, can cover a full square foot.

A cold weather crop, the flavor of collard greens is enhanced by frost, and its peak of season is now, between January and April. Fall collard plants can readily survive winter temperatures and produce again in the spring.

While a staple in the cuisine of the American South, collards also enjoy popularity in diverse parts of the world, including Brazil, Portugal, Egypt, Ethiopia and Kashmir, a region in the northwestern portion of the Indian subcontinent.

They’re cultivated on almost every continent.

In Portugal and Brazil, they’re a main component of a popular soup known as caldo verde (green broth), as well as an accompaniment to fish and pork dishes. Caldo verde is considered a national dish and is served daily.

The juice of the collard plant is consumed in these countries as a believed remedy for gout, circulation problems and bronchitis.

These collard plants in the garden of Fran Ransley of Lower Lake, Calif. stand tall behind a row of their cousins, purple cabbages. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Both the leaves and roots are utilized in the cuisine of Kashmir. They may be cooked separately or together, often with meat, fish or cheese. The leaves are cooked in a soup with rice, and both leaves and roots are fermented to make pickles in the winter.

In Egypt, collard greens are cooked in a garlicky soup with starchy taro root, and in Ethiopia, they’re prepared in a spicy fashion with plenty of pepper.

According to botanists, the collard plant has remained the same for more than 2000 years and some consider it a type of kale. The differences between the two include leaf shape, length of stem, color and flavor. Kale is bitterer than its cousin, the deep green collard, which has a milder, somewhat smokier flavor.

Both collards and kale preceded modern-day cabbage. All are descendents of the wild cabbage, which is surmised to have originated in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and along the Mediterranean in Greece, and is thought to have been consumed since prehistoric times.

Collard greens have been cultivated since the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Interestingly, the Greeks ate only the stalks and avoided the leaves, while the Romans were found of collard leaves and cultivated more than 400 cabbage varieties.

Eventually, by the first century A.D., collards wended their way into other areas of Europe. They were introduced into the U.S. early in our history and were growing prolifically in Virginia by 1619, which marks their first written mention related to our nation.

They are the quintessential vegetable of the American South and, perhaps more than any vegetable other than okra, are strongly associated with that region.

It’s traditional there to simmer them slowly in liquid with salty meats like a ham hock, salt pork or smoked turkey, a practice that dates back to the time of the African slaves, when plantation owners gave them inferior cuts of meat, such as pigs’ feet, and the tops of turnips and other greens.

Collard greens (with kale to their left and lettuce to their right) in the organic section at Hardester

Mendocino College Foundation Board of Directors members include, from left, Tom Allman, Chris Dewey, Brian Carter, Katherine Elliott, John Goldsmith. Not pictured: Donald McMullen. Courtesy photo.

UKIAH, Calif. – With the start of the new year, the Mendocino College Foundation board of directors welcomed six new members, elected by unanimous vote during the board’s December meeting.

Tom Allman, Brian Carter, Katharine “Kit” Elliott, John Goldsmith and Donald McMullen, all of Ukiah, and Chris Dewey of Redwood Valley were recommended by sitting members of the foundation board prior to the meeting in December and confirmed to start their stints at the beginning of the year.

They join Foundation President Channing Cornell, who was re-elected to the post by vote of the directors at the same December meeting, newly-elected Vice President Gary Smith, Mendocino College Superintendent/President Kathy Lehner who serves as the foundation’s secretary/treasurer, and board members Kristi Barrington, Donna Berry, Harry Bistrin, John Bogner, Richard Cooper, Peggy Campbell-DeBolt, Paul Conrado, Jerilyn Harris, Tom Herman, Tod Kong, Neelam Salmen, Joan Schlienger, Christy Scollin and Tommy Thornhill.

In announcing the new directors’ confirmation, President Cornell welcomed the individuals to the board and thanked them for their willingness to be involved with the foundation.

“You just joined one of the most important organizations in the area because we support education,” he said to the six new members. “Education will help this country move forward.”

He cited statistics that support a correlation between education and employment before telling the group, “We appreciate you coming on to this board.”

The foundation provides student scholarships, funds improvements to educational programs and staff development at the College district’s campuses in Mendocino and Lake counties, and works to cultivate additional support for the College.

Each of the new board members expressed a willingness to assist the Foundation in achieving its goals.

“I am a firm believer in Mendocino College’s commitment to the pursuit of educational excellence and feel that, along with other like-minded board members, I can help the college achieve its mission objectives,” said John Goldsmith, a financial advisor who serves on the executive board of the Economic Development and Financing Corporation for Mendocino County, is a member of Rotary, and is on the Steering Committee of Leadership Mendocino.

Having relocated from San Diego in 2008, Goldsmith added, “I feel fortunate to live in this community, and I have a strong personal commitment to making it an even better place to live. I believe that a key fundamental piece of the success of any community is the strength of its education infrastructure. I welcome the opportunity and challenge to help the foundation continue to be an integral part to the college's success as a great institution of higher learning.”

New board member Chris Dewey, city of Ukiah’s director of Public Safety, said he is happy to be “giving back” to Mendocino College. An alumnus who also taught law enforcement courses, Dewey has other ties to the College. His son is a Mendocino College student and athlete.

“I hope that my past experiences as a member of the Leadership Mendocino Steering Committee, Mendocino County Public Health Advisory Board, South Ukiah Little League Board of Directors, and Ukiah Rotary will assist me in this new role,” said Dewey. “Over the years I have looked forward to my participation on nonprofit boards and working with very dedicated and committed members. I found the work of these boards and its members to be an extremely rewarding experience, one where I felt we were helping to improve the quality of life of everyone who lives within our community.”

Law enforcement is further represented on the Foundation board by Mendocino County Sheriff-Coroner Thomas Allman, also a graduate of Mendocino College. “I have seen the results of the good work which the Foundation does on many occasions,” said Allman. “I look forward to working with other community leaders toward this very valuable endeavor.” Allman is a former director of the Little Lake Fire Protection District and is currently a member of Rotary International, the Masonic Lodge, and the Willits Lions Club.

Calling the college one of the greatest assets to the community and county, Brian Carter wrote in his letter of interest that he would “like to offer whatever modest assistance I can to the foundation’s efforts to support the college’s continued excellence and improvement.”

The attorney noted that Ukiah is his family’s home, that he graduated from Ukiah High School and that he has practiced real estate and business law in the area. “My three young children are likely to attend the College in the future,” he added.

Two other attorneys are among the newly-elected members of the foundation.

Katharine “Kit” Elliott, with experience as a member of the Mendocino County Youth Project and a commissioner of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee, currently serves as a board member for the Mendo-Lake Alternative Services and the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.

“I have been a criminal defense attorney for more than 22 years and know how important it is for young adults to develop skills and self-esteem. This is why I became interested in serving on your board,” Elliott stated in her letter to the foundation directors.

Donald McMullen, born and raised in Ukiah, joins the foundation board with the intent to contribute to the Foundation’s purpose and objectives. “The campus environment is positive, and it serves as a catalyst for even higher education. These are functions with which I maintain a strong affinity,” he said.

In nominating McMullen for membership, Foundation Secretary/Treasurer Kathryn G. Lehner, called him “energetic and enthusiastic” and added that he, along with Elliott and Carter, will bring “much needed legal expertise” to the board.

The new board members will be invited to work on various committees of the foundation. They have indicated their interests in serving on the finance, land, scholarship, and special events/marketing committees. The latter is meeting regularly to plan its annual major fundraiser, Gala on the Green. The committee has selected a date, June 18, and place, Campovida in Hopland, for this year’s event. Information about committee meetings, board meetings, and special events may be found on the foundation’s Web site, http://foundation.mendocino.edu.

For additional information about the Mendocino College Foundation and the efforts of the board of directors, call the Foundation Office at 707-467-1018 or send an email to Katie Wojcieszak, executive director for the foundation, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Thursday was a sad day for local rock lovers.

Sandy's Rock Shop officially closed its doors after close to 13 years in business, according to owner Connie Burton.

“It's very sad,” Burton said.

Burton, who retired from the medical field, said she bought the shop – located in a little building at 9800 Highway 53 in Lower Lake – from business founder Sandy Thuet three years ago.

Along with her husband, Greg, and their family, Burton – a member of the Lake County Rockhounds – enjoyed running the business, and traveling to collect items.

“It was fun, we like rocks,” she said.

Sandy's Rock Shop was a favorite stop for tourists and locals alike. A visitor could find all manner of interesting rocks and gemstones, jewelry, fossils and shark teeth. Classes in jewelry making also were offered.

The shop specialized in Lake County diamonds, semi-precious stones of volcanic origin found nowhere else in the world, according to www.lakecounty.com.

Burton said she lent the Lake County Museum in Lakeport a 94-carat Lake County diamond that is on display there.

However Burton said the economic downturn made running the shop no longer feasible, and led to the tough decision to close the storefront.

“We've been toying with the idea for about a year,” she said.

She said they didn't make a big public announcement, just telling rockhound club members and friends.

“Everybody's shocked,” she said.

However, Burton said she and her family plan to stay active with the rock business.

“We kept pretty much all of our inventory,” she said.

Burton said she will continue to sell items online on eBay, at www.sandysrockshop.com (see the “Shop” tab) and at local shows and events such as the Heron Festival in the spring. Her visitor packs of Lake County diamonds will remain available at the Lake County Visitors Center in Lucerne.

Rock lovers and collectors will still be able to reach her at the business phone number, 707-350-2248.

Burton is philosophical about the shop's closing.

“One door closes and another door opens,” she said. “Who knows where we'll go from here.”

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Walt Petersen and Kevin Knupp have traveled far and wide to study winter storms.

They never dreamed that the most extraordinary one they'd see – featuring freakish thundersnow, a 50-mile long lightning bolt, and almost a dozen gravity waves – would erupt in their own back yards. The storm hit Huntsville, Alabama, on the evening of Jan. 9.

“This incredible storm rolled right over the National Space Science and Technology Center where we work,” said Knupp. “What luck!”

Both Knupp and Petersen work at a Huntsville, Alabama, research center known as the National Space Science and Technology Center that houses scientists from NASA, UA-Huntsville, and other entities.

Knupp is a professor of atmospheric science and director of severe weather research at University of Alabama, Huntsville.

Petersen is an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. He leads a NASA-funded group that travels around the world gathering precipitation data that will support a network of Earth-monitoring satellites being developed by NASA called the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission.

The snowstorm provided an excellent opportunity for Petersen's team to take detailed measurements of precipitation and use those observations as a type of database or model to simulate what the constellation of GPM satellites would see from space. By combining the observations at the ground with those of the polarimetric radar, Petersen's team expects to learn a great deal about the processes responsible for creating the snowfall, and more accurately measure the water content of the snow from space and the rate at which that snow-water equivalent accumulates on the ground.

Snowstorms usually slip in silently, with soft snowflakes drifting noiselessly to Earth. Yet this Alabama snowstorm swept in with the fanfare of lightning and the growl of thunder.

Eyewitness Steve Coulter described the night's events: “It was as if a wizard was hurling lightning behind a huge white curtain. The flashes, muted inside thick, low hanging clouds, glowed purplish blue, like light through a prism. And then the thunder rumbled deep and low. This was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced.'”

It was a once-in-a-lifetime scene for anyone lucky enough to see it, but especially enthralling to scientists seeking the keys to nature's unique displays of power. Petersen and Knupp, with the help of graduate students from the University of Alabama-Huntsville, had their research equipment primed and ready.

From his at-home workstation, Petersen can monitor lightning detector networks and control radars, which he used to measure and record the storm.

But when the storm first hit his response was a little less scientific: “I was so excited that I ran outside in my house slippers to take pictures,” he recalled.

At around 10:30 p.m., he heard the first rumble of thundersnow. “My first thought was, 'excellent, a bonus!'”

What made this snowstorm act like a thunderstorm? Petersen explains:

“You rarely have lightning in a snowstorm. But in this case, some unique conditions set the stage for it. Moist air at the bottom of the storm was lifted up, rapidly forming snow and ice. Some of the snow even grew in pellet forms called 'graupel,'” he said.

Snowflakes and ice pellets of different sizes ascended at different rates – and they began to exchange charges.

The process isn't fully understood, but it could be a result of particles rubbing together (like wool socks on carpet). As the cloud charged up, it began to act less like an ordinary winter snowstorm and more like a summer thunderstorm.

It's no coincidence that the thundersnow was accompanied by massive roller coasters of air known as gravity waves. These waves are similar to waves in the ocean, but roll through the air instead of water.

“There was a nearly constant, uniform progression of gravity waves, starting at Monte Sano, a small mountain a few miles east of us, and moving westward, right over our building,” said Knupp, who spent most of the storm's duration with his eyes riveted on instrument displays inside the team's mobile X-band radar van.

“An easterly flow of air on the other side of the mountain ridge bumped into and was pushed over Monte Sano, forming 11 separate waves, about one per hour,” Knupp said.

He believes the clockwork up and down motion of the waves created variations in the updrafts responsible for the heavy snow, leading to the charge separation that generated lightning.

Unfortunately, he was knee-deep in computer displays instead of snow when the storm's most impressive lightning bolt set the sky aglow.

“This bolt reached from the tower on Monte Sano Mountain all the way to Molton, Alabama, about 50 miles away,” said Knupp. “And I missed it.”

Was he disappointed?

“I felt cheated, but it was worth the trade off. I learned some interesting things.”

Spoken like a true scientist.

Dauna Coulter works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Vector Control District reported Friday that it has set a date for its aerial larvicide treatment between Clear Lake State Park and south Lakeport.

District Manager Dr. Jamie Scott said the treatment will take place beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 28, weather permitting.

She said the application is being made because district surveillance has detected large numbers of mosquito larvae in the standing water in this area.

Scott said the goal is to reduce the need to treat for the adult mosquitoes in this area later this year.

A cropduster flying at low altitude over the marshy areas will apply the treatment of Aquabac 200G, a biological larvicide used to control mosquito larvae in aquatic habitats, the district said.

Aquabac is based on the naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti). It is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for the control of larval mosquitoes in nearly all aquatic habitats.

For additional information contact the Lake County Vector Control District at 707-263-4770 or visit the district's Web site at www.lcvcd.org .

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County District Attorney's Office has issued a warning to county residents to be on guard when using online sales venues like Craigslist or eBay in the wake of a recently reported scam or con game.

District Attorney Don Anderson said Thursday his office has received a report of a Lake County resident being taken advantage of while attempting to sell an item on Craigslist.

Anderson said the suspect in the case contacted the potential victim and agreed to purchase the item on Craigslist.

The suspect then is alleged to have sent a counterfeit check to the seller for an amount several thousand dollars over the original purchase price, Anderson reported.

The suspect in the case then contacted the alleged victim, told him the check amount was a mistake and that his secretary had mixed up the amounts with another order. Anderson said the suspect then directed the seller to cash the check, keep the amount of the original purchase price and send back the difference.

In order for the scam to work, Anderson said the victim would need to deposit the check into his account, obtain cash and wire the money to the suspect.

A couple of days later the victim would learn the check is counterfeit, but by that time it would be too late and the victim would have been conned out of the money, Anderson explained.

Anderson said, luckily in this case, the alleged victim checked with his bank and learned that the check was counterfeit before cashing it.

This is just one of many types of scams circulating on the market, Anderson said.

He urged anyone who is offered what seems to be an unusually good deal to be extremely careful.

Anderson said it's always wise to check with law enforcement or one's banking institution before engaging in any such transaction.

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