NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Laytonville man was arrested this week for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend.
Donald Wiltsey, 25, was arrested for domestic violence on Thursday, according to a report from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
The agency reported that the victim in the case was a 24-year-old Clearlake woman, whose name was not released.
Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies were contacted by the Cahto Tribal Police Department regarding a domestic violence dispute that had occurred on Reservation Road.
Upon arrival deputies contacted the victim who stated that Wiltsey had punched her in the head. According to the victim she and Wiltsey had been living together for a number of years and they have a child in common.
The victim reported that she and Wiltsey got into an argument due to his illegal drug usage, according to the report.
During the argument Wiltsey got mad at the victim, who is six months pregnant, and punched her several times on the side of her head with a closed fist. Officials said the victim did not require medical attention due to her injuries.
Deputies contacted Wiltsey and placed him under arrest for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, partner or co-habitant.
Wiltsey was transported to the Mendocino County jail where he was held on $25,000.00 bail, officials reported.
NICE, Calif. – An Arizona man received minor injuries on Thursday and was arrested on weapons charges after he rolled his pickup in Nice.
Benjamin Arthur Stevens, 34, of Apache Junction, Ariz., received a small abrasion to his forehead in the crash, which occurred at about 12:40 p.m. Thursday on Highway 20, according to the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP report said that officers responded to a report of an overturned vehicle. When they arrived they determined that Stevens was the driver of the 1995 Toyota Tacoma.
As the pickup was being recovered, several weapons were observed in plain view, the CHP said.
Upon further investigation officer found several illegal firearms and 1,300 rounds of ammunition in the pickup, according to the CHP.
The CHP said the illegal weapons and ammunition were seized and Stevens was arrested.
He was booked into the Lake County Jail on three felony counts of possession of an assault weapon, with jail records indicating bail was set at $50,000.
Stevens remained in custody on Friday morning, with a court appearance set for Monday, March 18, according to his booking sheet.
The CHP said the case remains under investigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
COBB, Calif. – The Cobb area had two moderate-sized earthquakes early Thursday, according to an update from the US Geological Survey.
A 4.5-magnitude earthquake occurred at 2:09 a.m. three miles west southwest of Cobb and 13 miles southwest of Clearlake at a depth of 1.2 miles, as Lake County News has reported.
The US Geological Survey said that, one minute later, a 4.0-magnitude quake that was centered three miles west of Cobb and 12 miles southwest of Clearlake – and measured at a depth of 2.2 miles – took place.
While some Lake County residents reported feeling two large quakes in quick succession, the US Geological Survey initially did not report the 4.0 quake until it released a preliminary report on it Thursday afternoon.
By 3 p.m. Thursday, there had been more than 100 aftershocks following those two larger quakes, according to US Geological Survey records.
Approximately 378 shake reports from 67 zip codes were submitted to the survey on the 4.5-magnitude quake. No shake reports appeared to have been submitted for the 4.0 quake; those reports may have been attributed to the initial quake.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Not everyone who serves as a trustee expects or wants to be paid. But those who do want to get paid need to know up front whether or not they will be compensated for their work. They should also know how their compensation is determined.
Trusts may provide for no compensation, reasonable compensation, a fixed amount of compensation, or a formula to compute compensation.
Typically trusts allow “reasonable compensation”; if the trust is silent “reasonable compensation” is the statutory rule. Of course, a trustee may waive compensation.
What is reasonable compensation? What is reasonable is a facts and circumstances analysis that involves a variety of factors such as the following: the trustee’s qualifications and experience as relevant to trust administration; the time spent by the trustee in discharging his or her duties; the value of the trust; the complexity of the trust administration; and the good or bad outcome of the trust administration.
In order to substantiate a claim for reasonable trustee compensation a trustee should keep a detailed trustee log together with any underlying source documents.
The trustee log should be a chronological narrative specifically describing the activities, decisions, events and circumstances involved with the trustee’s discharge of his duties.
The narrative needs to include particular facts to tangibly show how the trustee solved problems and performed duties.
The log must also include the amount of time spent each day in these activities. All mileage and out-of-pocket expense reimbursement items need to recorded and proof of payment kept (e.g., travel receipts for meals, transportation, and lodging).
Typically, in the case of settling a deceased person’s trust estate, the trustee is paid at the conclusion of the trust administration when assets are distributed to the beneficiaries.
At that time an accounting is usually provided by the trustee to the trust beneficiaries. If the trust administration exceeds 12 months – such as with a protracted administration or with an on-going trust (e.g., a special needs trust or a support trust) – the trustee may receive compensation on an annual basis.
If the trustee is concerned that the beneficiaries might dispute the reasonableness of his compensation, or his actions as trustee, the trustee may petition the court to confirm the amount of the compensation.
This typically is done within a petition seeking court approval of the trustee’s acts, accounting, and compensation.
Recently the Sixth District Court of Appeals in the Thorpe v. Reese case denied a claim for trustee compensation requested by a court appointed temporary trustee.
It did so because the trust expressly disallowed trustee compensation. The appellate court ruled that the trust document controlled the issue of compensation.
The appellate court reasoned that when the trustee unconditionally accepted his appointment by the probate court he unconditionally accepted the existing terms of the trust.
If he wanted compensation he should have petitioned the court to reform the trust to allow for trustee compensation, or otherwise not have accepted his appointment.
While reforming the trust might seem reasonable, as a practical matter reforming a trust is an unpredictable and costly endeavor.
The ruling means that court appointed trustees in the Sixth District, at least, will be discouraged from accepting appointment to any trust that expressly disallows trustee compensation. Such trusts may have to be terminated for want of a trustee.
Allowing for reasonable compensation is a good practice. A trustee assumes significant responsibility with respect to safeguarding and managing the trust assets, making trust assets productive, dealing with creditor and tax claims, and responding to the concerns of beneficiaries.
All of which takes time away from his family, personal time and regular work. A trustee should not be expected to do this work without reasonable compensation.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235. Visit his Web site at www.dennisfordhamlaw.com .
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The fourth-annual Kelseyville Olive Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 21.
The event will be held at the Chacewater Winery & Olive Mill, located at 5625 Gaddy Lane in Kelseyville.
The event will showcase local products and their importance to the health of our community, while benefiting local nonprofit organizations.
Several related contests will be held up to and during the festival, including a poster contest, amateur recipe contest, olive pit spitting contest and people’s choice olive oil contest.
Entries are now being accepted for the Kelseyville Olive Festival Poster Contest. Poster themes should reflect Kelseyville and the olive industry.
Prizes will be awarded in three categories: under the age of 12, ages 12 to 18, and over 18.
In addition, a grand prize winning entry will be chosen to be used in 2014’s Kelseyville Olive Festival poster.
To be eligible, all entries must be submitted on paper with minimum dimension of 8.5 inches by 11 inches and no larger than 11 inches by 17 inches, and include the entrant’s name, age and phone number printed legibly on the back. All printable media will be accepted.
Please deliver entries to Rosa d’Oro Vineyards tasting room located at 3915 Main St. in Kelseyville or the Main Street Gallery located at 325 N. Main St. in Lakeport no later than 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27.
Entries will be on display at the Main Street Gallery from April 1 through April 20 and again on display at the Festival on April 21.
All entries become the property of the Kelseyville Olive Festival for future publication and promotion. For additional information, please contact the Main Street Gallery at 707-263-1871.
The Amateur Recipe Contest is open to the public with one winner chosen and awarded a prize. To be eligible, recipes must contain at least a half cup of olives or olive oil and serve at 6 to 12 people. Entries must be ready to eat, in a disposable container, and be submitted with a legible copy of the recipe that includes the name of the dish, name of the entrant, and phone number or email.
All entries must be delivered to Rosa d'Oro Vineyards Tasting Room, 3915 Main St. in Kelseyville, between noon and 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 6. A private judging will begin at 2 p.m. All recipes become the property of the Kelseyville Olive Festival for future publication and promotion.
The olive pit spitting contest will be ongoing during the Kelseyville Olive Festival on April 21. Prizes will be awarded for distance and accuracy.
A people’s choice olive oil contest will also be held during the festival. Entries will be available for sampling at vendor booths throughout the event.
The public will sample olive oils and vote for their favorites on a ballot. Winners will be announced at 4 p.m. April 21 during the Kelseyville Olive Festival.
The festival will feature vendors offering olive-related and other local products, samples, food, and more, as well as providing educational materials about olives and our local industry.
Sponsorship opportunities are available. There is no cost to attend the festival; wine and beer tasting with a commemorative glass will be available for a $15 fee.
Event proceeds from the silent auction will benefit the California Women for Agriculture’s Lake County Chapter and their AgVenture and Scholarship Programs, the raffle benefits the Kelseyville Education Foundation, and the tasting sales benefit the Lake Family Resource Center. The Lake County Arts Council will also benefit from the event for their part in the poster contest.
The Chacewater Winery & Olive Mill is located at 5625 Gaddy Lane in Kelseyville, across from the Kelseyville Post Office.
For more information about the Kelseyville Olive Festival, contact Livia Kurtz, Rosa d’Oro Vineyards, at 707-279-0483 or visit www.kelseyvilleolivefestival.com .
COBB, Calif. – A 4.5-magnitude earthquake shook the Cobb Mountain area early Thursday morning.
The quake occurred at 2:09 a.m., according to a preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.
The epicenter was located three miles west southwest of Cobb and 13 miles southwest of Clearlake at a depth of 1.2 miles, the survey reported.
By 3 a.m. the survey had received approximately 227 shake reports from 57 zip codes, including parts of Lake County and numerous Bay Area communities.
That large quake was followed three minutes later by a 2.9-magnitude aftershock centered three miles west of Cobb and 13 miles southwest of Clearlake, the survey reported.
Several area residents reported on Lake County News’ Facebook page that they felt the quake, with some of them having been awakened by it. Others stated it was the largest they’ve felt in the county.
Thursday morning’s quake is the largest in the county since a 4.5-magnitude quake was reported near The Geysers geothermal steamfield in May 2012, according to Lake County News records.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
For a comet, visiting the sun is risky business. Fierce solar heat vaporizes gases long frozen in the fragile nucleus, breaking up some comets and completely destroying others.
That’s why astronomers weren’t sure what would happen early this month when Comet Pan-STARRS, a first-time visitor to the inner solar system, dipped inside the orbit of Mercury.
On Sunday, March 10, NASA’s STEREO-B spacecraft watched as the comet made its closest approach to the sun only 28 million miles away. At that distance, the sun loomed three times wider and felt more than 10 times hotter than it does on Earth.
The comet survived.
Still intact, Comet Pan-STARRS is emerging from the Sun’s glare into the sunset skies of the northern hemisphere. Solar heating has caused the comet to glow brighter than a first magnitude star.
Bright twilight sharply reduces visibility, but it is still an easy target for binoculars and small telescopes one and two hours after sunset.
As of Friday, March 15, people are beginning to report that they can see the comet with the unaided eye.
Discovered in June 2011 by astronomers using the Pan-STARRS survey telescope atop the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii, the comet is paying its first visit to the inner solar system. It hails from the Oort cloud, a deep space reservoir of comets far beyond the orbit of Pluto.
Because Comet PanSTARRs is a newcomer, its potential brightness and ability to withstand solar heating was unknown.
Now we know.
“It is a gorgeous comet – one of the brightest in years,” said astronomer Matthew Knight of the Lowell Observatory.
Comet specialist Emmanuel Jehin of the European Southern Observatory has been monitoring Pan-STARRS using a remote-controlled telescope in Chile.
Based on his data, Knight concluded that “Comet Pan-STARRS seems to be producing quite a bit of dust compared to an average comet. This is very good for its visibility, because the extra dust is reflecting sunlight and making Pan-STARRS appear brighter than it would otherwise.”
The amount of dust and gas spewing from the comet implies a nucleus on the order of one kilometer in diameter – in other words, neither unusually large nor small. Size-wise, it is a fairly typical comet.
The comet’s tail is anything but typical. STEREO-B images processed by Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC reveal many wild and ragged striations in the cloud of dust trailing behind Pan-STARRS.
“Wow!” said Battams. “The fine-structure is breathtaking. We think this is caused by some fairly complex interaction between the solar wind and the comet’s rotating nucleus. It’s going to take computer models to figure this one out.”
The comet is now receding from Earth. It will slowly dim as it heads back into deep space. Ironically, though, its visibility will improve for a while as it heads into darker skies away from the sun. In the last weeks of March it could become an easy naked-eye object.
Step outside after sunset, face west, and take a look.
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local officials and organizations are partnering to update the Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment, and they’re asking county residents to give their input on the effort by month’s end.
The collaborative is hoping for a strong response to a survey of Lake County’s health care needs that’s being circulated around the community and also is online.
“The community survey is the best part of this needs assessment process. Hearing directly from people about their issues and priorities for being healthy makes our analysis much more real. We need to hear from everybody,” said Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.
Since early February, a one-page survey printed on yellow paper, in English and Spanish, has been distributed in locations throughout the county, including the lobby of the courthouse in Lakeport, officials said. The paper survey will continue to be available through the end of March.
“Ultimately, we will give just about everybody an opportunity to answer that survey,” said health care consultant Barbara Aved.
The survey is part of the work currently under way to update the 2010 Community Health Needs Assessment.
Aved, who facilitated the process for completing the 2010 assessment and is involved in the current work, said it’s a comprehensive study of Lake County’s unique health needs and challenges.
Aved anticipates that the report will be ready by the end of September.
Tait’s office said information gathered from the surveys, focus groups and health data is compiled and analyzed to highlight areas where there is room for improvement in both prevention of illness and access to treatment.
Local hospitals, nongovernmental organizations, county departments and others will use the updated assessment in planning how to better serve the community, health officials reported.
“Why the group wants this information is for planning services and planning interventions,” Aved said.
It will provide important documentation to support grant applications, such as the $497,076 Community Transformation Grant recently awarded to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake to promote health and prevent chronic disease, according to Tait’s office.
The online survey is being made available for a few weeks longer this time, Aved said. During the last assessment, they found that 63 percent of the responses in both English and Spanish came from the paper surveys.
Originally, the online survey was available both in Spanish and English. However, Aved said that for the 2010 assessment they received no responses in Spanish, so this year’s survey is only available in English.
One of the challenges, said Aved, is getting people out to participate in focus groups that are being hosted by various organizations around the county.
“It’s really hard to get into the crevices of a community,” Aved said.
She said those focus groups are important because they give the consumer perspective. It’s one thing to look up data, but it’s really important to talk to people, she said.
The goal is to talk to parents, seniors and other specially focused groups, she said.
For more information contact the Lake County Health Services Department at 707-263-1090.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Their young son's diagnosis of having a rare blood disease has launched a local couple on a campaign to raise awareness of the condition and to find a bone marrow donor to help save the child's life.
Last month, Rodd and Kellie Joseph received the kind of devastating news parents fear.
Their baby son, Ryland, has a life-threatening condition called Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, and requires a bone marrow transplant.
“Without the bone marrow transplant, Ryland won't live,” said Rodd Joseph.
The couple, both in law enforcement – Rodd is a sergeant with the Clearlake Police Department, Kellie is a detective with the Lake County Sheriff's Office – were already the parents of a young daughter when Ryland arrived last October.
The baby boy, with big expressive eyes, at first appeared healthy and normal, his father said. However, within six weeks of his birth, Ryland began to show signs that something was amiss.
His parents found he had blood in his stool. His pediatrician concluded it was allergic colitis, but after changing his formula, the condition only became worse, Rodd Joseph explained.
Ryland also began to suffer from a severe diaper rash and started showing signs of a breath-holding disorder, which his father said is fairly common.
The Josephs took Ryland to the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, where a neurologist examined the little boy. In the course of the checkup, blood work was done, and the family was referred to a hematologist.
That led to the diagnosis on Feb. 19 of Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, Joseph said.
The couple had never heard of the condition before Ryland was diagnosed, and there were no known instances of it in their families.
Despite being urged by the doctor not to look the disease up on the Internet, the worried parents did just that.
The disease causes a mutation in the X chromosome and affects white blood cells' function. That, in turn, leads to those who have it suffering from serious infections and being especially susceptible to bleeding – including spontaneous bleeding occurrences – as well as eczema which, in some cases, can be severe and difficult to treat, according to information provided by the Wiskott-Aldrich Foundation.
Without a transplant – either of matching bone marrow or cord blood, the only known cures – most children with the severe form of the syndrome have a life expectancy of only about 5 to 8 years, with other autoimmune diseases such as leukemia or lymphoma taking the children's lives, the foundation reported.
“We were just devastated,” Joseph said.
The family’s friends have organized a bone marrow donor drive and fundraising event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Lake County Fire Protection District’s Station 70, located at 14815 Olympic Drive.
They will be accepting donations and plan to hold a raffle. Community members are invited to attend and show support for the family.
A rare condition
The condition was first described in 1937 by German pediatrician Dr. Alfred Wiskott. According to a history of the disease provided by the Wiskott-Aldrich Foundation, Dr. Wiskott had “noticed a bleeding disorder due to low platelets that ran only in boys in a family.”
That work would be followed up on by American pediatrician Dr. Robert Aldrich, who in 1954 conducted a study of seven generations of an affected family. Aldrich's work showed that mothers passed the disease to their sons.
The disease, which affects males almost exclusively, affects one boy in every 250,000, according to the Wiskott-Aldrich Foundation, www.wiskott.org .
Sumathi Iyengar, one of the co-founders of the Smyrna, Georgia-based foundation, said that there is no firm number on United States Wiskott-Aldrich cases. However, based on the statistical ratio of occurrences, she estimated there are 500 boys with the disease nationwide.
Bone marrow and cord blood transplants currently are the only confirmed cures, Iyengar said.
It's important to do transplants as early as possible for young patients, Iyengar explained, before infections begin to develop. “The success rate is much better when it's done earlier.”
Following transplants, young patients can be very susceptible to illness for several months while their new immune systems take over, she said.
Gene therapy now is emerging as a possible cure, Iyengar said. Gene therapy trials are under way or already have taken place in France, England, Italy, the United States and Germany.
Iyengar's 14-year-old son has a milder form of the condition and has not gone through a transplant. She said Wiskott-Aldrich is a spectrum disorder, much like autism, in that it varies in severity amongst those who have it.
However, her son is susceptible to bleeding if injured, and could be prone to autoimmune disorders later in life.
The Wiskott-Aldrich Foundation reported that the condition was considered one of the most serious of all immune deficiency disorders.
However, there have been an increase in the survival rate thanks to bone marrow transplants. Patients with successful transplants can be cured and go on to lead normal lives.
As frightening a situation as it is for the Josephs, they're optimistic that their son has an excellent chance at a cure thanks to UCSF's accomplishments in the field of bone marrow transplants and pediatrics.
In 2012, for the second consecutive year, the hospital's Hematology and Blood and Marrow Transplant Program was found by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research to be an “over performer” in bone marrow transplant survival rates.
The Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, led by Dr. Morton Cowan, was ranked No.1 one for survival performance by a federally mandated review of 156 programs nationwide, UCSF reported.
Since Cowan began the pediatric transplant program in 1982 – when the medical center performed the first partially matched bone marrow transplant on the West Coast – nearly 1,000 transplants have been performed at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, according to the medical center.
While Ryland so far hasn't had serious illnesses – just some minor colds – his family has to keep him shielded from visitors for fear of infection.
His father said his immune system isn't working, and the eczema on his face has started to spread. “The things that they told us are coming are developing.”
Developmentally, the little boy is on track, his father said. He is alert and gaining weight, he laughs but also cries often because his stomach hurts due to his gastrointestinal tract issues that have resulted from the disease.
With Ryland likely to start walking soon, that raises the possibility that he could be hurt in a fall. What for other children would be only a bump on the head could, for Ryland, be deadly. His father said hitting his head could lead to a subdural hematoma and death.
Finding a match
With time being of the essence in finding a bone marrow match, Joseph sent out a letter to the many law enforcement professionals that he and his wife know due to having served in a number of departments around the state.
“I decided that I needed to tell my story,” he said.
The letter, which details the family's situation, soon went viral, and was forwarded around the state via email and reposts on Facebook. “It just spread out everywhere,” said Joseph, who has received calls from law enforcement colleagues as far away as Southern California.
Because the likelihood that a family member will match Ryland's marrow is remote, the Josephs are searching for a donor through the assistance of “Be the Match,” the National Marrow Donor Program.
Trina Brajkovich, account executive for Be the Match's Northwest District, said there are about 70 diseases that can be cured or treated with bone marrow transplants, she said. Most are blood cancers like leukemia, as well as aplastic anemia, inherited genetic disorders and chromosome issues.
Over the past year, more than one million people have joined the bone marrow registry to potentially be donors, bringing the nationwide registry total to 10.5 million, Brajkovich said.
“It has grown tremendously,” she said.
In California alone, there are approximately 820 people needing bone marrow transplants, she said, adding that the number changes on a daily basis.
The organization reported that 12,000 patients across the United States are diagnosed each year with diseases for which a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplants may offer the only cure.
In 2012 alone, Be the Match facilitated more than 5,800 marrow, PBSC and umbilical cord blood transplants, averaging 490 transplants each month, the foundation reported.
The registration process is simple, she said.
People between the ages of 18 and 44 – the key donor age group, although donors remain in the registry typically until age 61 – can register online at www.bethematch.org . They will be mailed a kit that shows them how to do a swab of the inside of their cheek for genetic testing, Brajkovich said.
At in-person bone marrow registry drives, people fill out consent forms, answer questions about health history, are shown how to do the cheek swabs and then placed in the registry, she explained.
Some registrants are never contacted. Brajkovich said she has been in the registry for 19 years and has never had the call to donate. Others, she said, are contacted almost immediately because a match has been found.
As to how likely it is a registrant will become a donor, “It’s kind of hard to give odds,” she said.
Donors and patients with a similar racial heritage are matched, as Brajkovich said ethnicity is a major determining factor in matching bone marrow.
Just why relatives so rarely match when strangers do isn't fully understood, said Brajkovich.
She has worked with large families where there are as many as 11 siblings and no bone marrow match, and yet a donor match is found halfway across the world.
“I find it absolutely amazing,” she said. “It boggles my mind.”
If a registrant is contacted to donate, they will be sent for blood work, a complete physical, counseling about the process and will be shown a video. No costs are borne by the donor, Brajkovich said.
There are two ways to donate bone marrow, Brajkovich said, and the process used will be determined by the patient's doctor.
The traditional method to extract marrow – and the one now used less frequently – involves using a needle to extract marrow from the pelvic bone. Because it's a painful procedure, the donor is put under anesthesia. When they wake up, they will feel soreness, akin to having a bruised tailbone, Brajkovich said. That soreness could last a few days or, in some cases, several weeks before disappearing.
However, it's now much more common to use a less painful, nonsurgical procedure called peripheral blood stem cells, or PBSC. Brajkovich said that method is used about 75 percent of the time.
PBSC donations take place over several hours at a blood center or outpatient hospital unit. Brajkovich said that five days before the procedure, a home health nurse will visit the donor to give them injections of a drug called filgrastim, which brings stem cells out of the marrow and into the blood stream.
When it comes time to donate using PBSC – a method Brajkovich likened to blood platelet donation, only longer – the donor's blood is removed through a needle placed in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to the donor through a needle in the other arm. Blood-forming cells are back to normal levels in six weeks or less.
Medical centers like UCSF, Stanford and Alta Bates in the Bay Area, City of Hope in Los Angeles, as well as centers in Seattle and Utah are main places for the bone marrow surgical procedures. Brajkovich said every attempt is made to accommodate donors' schedules; they donate wherever it's most expedient.
In cases where patients can't find a match, they can receive cord blood to help treat their conditions. Brajkovich said Be the Match has 185,000 cord blood units available.
Besides the work of facilitating a connection between donors and patients, Be the Match also offers important patient services and support. She said another major service they offer is fundraising, to make sure donors never have any financial responsibility.
Joseph said he's entered the blood marrow registry and is encouraging others to do the same. He said he knows of many people who, because of Ryland, are now registering.
If it doesn't help Ryland, there is likely to be another person in need who will benefit, Joseph said.
How you can help: Visit www.bethematch.org to sign up to be a donor. If you don't wish to be an actual marrow donor or can't be for other reasons, you can donate financially. Check out the organization's “Ways to Give” page at http://marrow.org/Giving/Ways_to_Give.aspx .
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A continuing investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit has resulted in positively identifying the suspect allegedly responsible for two bank robberies in Middletown.
On Friday sheriff’s detectives obtained a felony arrest warrant in the amount of $750,000 for 23-year-old Joshua James Metoxen of Napa, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
Brooks said Metoxen is the prime suspect in the Feb. 27 robbery of Westamerica Bank and the March 7 robbery at Tri Counties Bank, both in Middletown.
Through the efforts of the Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit Metoxen also identified as the suspect in at least six unsolved bank robberies in Marin and San Mateo counties.
Sheriff Frank Rivero expressed his gratitude for the dogged investigation conducted by the detectives in the Major Crimes Unit.
The unit is headed up by Lt. Brian Kenner and Det. Sgt. Corey Paulich. “Without their efforts this case would have gone cold and the outside agency cases would have remained cold,” Rivero.
There is currently a multiagency manhunt underway for Metoxen, officials reported.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office requests the public’s assistance in locating Metoxen.
Anyone with information concerning his whereabouts is encouraged to call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office or 911.
Metoxen should be considered armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County youth are lining up to join a new string music program offered by Clear Lake Performing Arts, made possible by a generous grant from the Lake County Wine Alliance.
When CLPA’s Youth Education program was issued a grant of $2,500 from the Lake County Wine Alliance to offer no-cost lessons to aspiring students, the high turnout was totally unexpected.
Susan Condit, teacher of the class, was amazed when more than 60 families from all around the Lake responded, wanting their children to participate in the program.
A second class and another teacher were added to help accommodate the many students. Currently about 40 students, kindergarten through high school, are enrolled and many more are still on the waiting list.
While initial efforts have been directed at playing the violin, CLPA is exploring expanding the program to include other stringed instruments.
For CLPA the effort is not entirely altruistic, since experience has shown that many students will graduate quickly into the Clear Lake Performing Arts Youth Orchestra.
Under Condit’s direction, the CLPA Youth Orchestra has won acclaim for its performances at concerts of the Lake County Symphony, also sponsored by CLPA.
John Parkinson, who serves as music director and conductor of the symphony, says it is crucial that these youth music groups prosper, since they will serve as “feeders” to his orchestra.
“It’s like anything else in life,” he said. “We must prepare for the new generation to take the seats in the orchestra now filled by their seniors, if our orchestra is to continue to exist for the pleasure of future audiences.”
Andi Skelton, concertmaster of the Symphony, fiddle teacher and founder of the popular Konocti Fiddle Club, noted that interest in string music programs is growing.
“Kids are finding out music can be just as much fun as playing video games,” she said. “We thank the Wine Alliance for making this pilot program possible, and hope we will be able to continue this successful endeavor.”
But with success has come problems. Interest in the program has far exceeded expectations, leading to a shortage of funding for more teachers and instruments.
People wishing to lend support to this popular program, either with donations or instruments, may contact Condit at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or CLPA Youth Education Chairperson, Andi Skelton, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-279-4336.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As the newest pope stepped out to meet the world on Wednesday, local Catholics responded with hope and enthusiasm that he’s the right man to lead the church forward.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, emerged from behind a red velvet curtain to greet his worldwide flock on Wednesday, less than an hour after the white smoke signaling his selection rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, according to a Vatican press statement.
The vote that made Bergoglio pope was the third in the conclave, which began on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.
The archbishop of Buenos Aires and son of Italian immigrants, Bergoglio was made a cardinal in February 2001 by Pope John Paul II, the Vatican reported. He’s known to be doctrinally conservative.
The new pope chose for himself the name Francis. The Vatican said he will be the first of the 266 popes to bear the name Francis, is the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit to rise to the office. He is the first pope since Syrian-born Gregory III – pope from 731 to 741 AD – not to be born in Europe.
“The name he chose was fantastic,” said Fr. Ron Serban, dean of the Catholic Churches in Lake and Mendocino counties, and pastor of St. Mary Immaculate Parish in Lakeport and St. Peter Mission in Kelseyville.
Serban believes the name choice refers to St. Francis of Assisi, who he said rebuilt the church literally and spiritually, was the patron saint of Italy and is known for his love of animals and nature.
Serban also finds meaning in the name for another reason: He said Lake County’s Catholics were, at one time, under the leadership of the Franciscans. “It’s restoring our spirituality.”
Bergoglio has reportedly lived his life in extreme simplicity, living in a small apartment, taking public transit and cooking his own meals. He is said to have a heart for the poor, an approach that Serban believes hearkens to the tradition that St. Francis of Assisi set.
Serban also pointed to the famous prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, which begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,” and outlines a desire to sow love, bring hope and pardon in a troubled world.
Indeed, the new pope exhibited a common, pastoral touch in his first moments on the world stage.
“Good evening. You know that the duty of the Conclave was to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals picked him from almost the ends of the earth. But here we are! I thank you for the warm welcome. The diocesan community of Rome has its bishop. Thank you!” he said, before asking Catholics to join him in praying for his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, now styled “bishop emeritus.”
During the brief appearance, Pope Francis bowed and asked for the blessings and prayers of the faithful before offering his own prayers.
For Catholics, Pope Francis’ ascension to the throne of St. Peter is an important moment in history.
“There is a sense of newness, there is a sense of hope, there is a sense of expectation and anticipation,” Diocese of Santa Rosa Bishop Robert Vasa told Lake County News in a Wednesday interview.
On Wednesday the group Catholics United, which has been sharply critical of some church leaders for the handling of the sexual abuse scandal – the group last month called on retired Los Angeles Archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony not to take part in the conclave – said that just like St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis “has been called to rebuild the worldwide Church on Earth.”
“We are grateful to have a leader like Francis, with a long history of solidarity with the poor in the developing world, to continue to guide the Church into the 21st century,” Catholics United Executive Director James Salt.
Salt added, “We hope and pray that our Jesuit Holy Father has the wisdom and strength to direct the faithful around the world in a radical new direction: one that emphasizes the rich tradition of caring first for the least among us. May he be a prophetic voice of hope against oppression, and a leader of a social justice renewal of the world.”
While the papacy is steeped in 2,000 years of tradition, the church has very modern concerns, among them, child sexual abuse scandals and a belief by many that the church’s conservative doctrine leaves some groups – including women and the LGBT community – disenfranchised.
There also is the issue of fewer people affiliating with the church, particularly in the United States.
A survey released on Tuesday by the University of California, Berkeley and Duke University found that religious affiliation in the United States is at its lowest point since it began to be tracked in the 1930s. Among those surveyed, one-quarter identified themselves as Catholics.
“I rejoice in faith and trust that this will be a good shepherd for us as long as he lives or is able to serve,” said Bishop Vasa, whose diocese covers six counties – including Lake – and is home to 165,000 Catholics.
Bishop Vasa said he trusted in the Holy Spirit that the cardinals involved in the papal conclave elected a man whose gifts will serve the church.
He said that the new pope is a relative unknown to the body of American Catholics. “He is very much a blank slate for me,” said Vasa, who said the new pope’s first apostolic letters and encyclicals will reveal more about his approach.
Vasa said Bergoglio will bring to his office a heart and love for the poor and disenfranchised, which his typical of the South American bishops, who deal with so much extreme poverty.
“For him to bring that sentiment to the papal office is really wonderful,” said Vasa.
Kelseyville resident Monica Buehnerkemper greeted Pope Francis’ election with enthusiasm.
“I feel very blessed and excited,” she said. “Everything I've read and heard about Pope Francis I shows he's humble and compassionate. He truly lives his faith in word and deed. I agree with his conservative beliefs, although not popular in today's culture.”
Like Serban, she also loved the new pope’s choice of names, noting St. Francis of Assisi was known for his spreading of peace and unity. “I believe that speaks volumes in and of itself,” she said.
Bishop Vasa said he and his staff had debated if the new pope had chosen his name for St. Francis of Assisi or St. Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits.
While Serban said he believes the name choice was for St. Francis of Assisi, he pointed out that there could be other influences – such as St. Francis De Sales, the faithful and gentle early 17th century bishop of Geneva, also known for his mystical writings, or St. Francis Solano, patron saint of Argentina.
“Pick one, they’re all great,” said Serban.
Even though Pope Francis and the Holy See are thousands of miles away, Serban said the new pope will have a definite impact on local Catholics, explaining that priests are guided by their bishops and church leaders and the tone they set.
The election of the new pope has people very excited, said Serban.
While visiting a Lakeport grocery store on Wednesday, he said five people stopped him to discuss the news. The cashier, who was not Catholic, told him the news was “great.”
Serban believes the cardinals’ choice is “the perfect man to help us” move forward, adding the best is yet to come.
“This man clearly is going to put us in a very positive direction,” Serban said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.