LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A motorcycle wreck on Saturday afternoon along Highway 20 led to the third traffic fatality in Lake County this week.
The California Highway Patrol said the solo motorcycle crash was first reported at about 2:20 p.m. Saturday just west of Bruner Drive, between Lucerne and Glenhaven.
The motorcycle went into the lake and was reported to be about 20 feet off the shore. The rider was reported to be out of the water and on the lakeshore, according to radio traffic.
Firefighters responding to the scene reported a fatality, which the CHP confirmed a short time later.
Work took place at the scene to recover the motorcycle from the lake, the CHP reported.
The CHP said the highway remained open during the recovery.
Additional information on the circumstances of the crash were not immediately available.
Saturday’s fatal crash follows two deadly head-on wrecks earlier in the week, one on Wednesday near Blue Lakes and another on Friday near Middletown.
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.
Two years into the 2020 SECURE Act, the Internal Revenue Service has issued its proposed regulations.
These regulations contain important changes to the required minimum distributions rules for beneficiaries of retirement plans. Distributions received from a retirement plan are taxed as ordinary income.
Under SECURE, a plan participant, or owner, must receive required minimum distributions starting April 1 of the year following his or her 72nd birthday, i.e., the “required beginning date,” an important concept.
Death beneficiaries generally want to delay how long they have to receive plan required minimum distributions after the owner’s death.
Delay means smaller annual required minimum distributions which lowers the recipient’s taxable income and allows undistributed assets to grow tax free.
Generally, under SECURE, a designated beneficiary — i.e., a natural person or certain trusts that meet special IRS rules — has 10 years to receive all plan assets.
Important exceptions, however, exist for five categories of special “eligible designated beneficiaries,” including the deceased owner’s surviving spouse, the deceased owner’s minor child (under age 21), and a chronically ill or disabled beneficiary.
Certain trusts where all the beneficiaries are eligible designated beneficiaries also qualify for the same treatment.
Before the new regulations, it was understood that a designated beneficiary did not have to receive any annual required minimum distributions from a decedent’s plan. Under the regulations that is no longer true.
Different required minimum distributions rules exist for different types of beneficiaries regarding both the annual distributions and the outer limit at which time the plan must be fully distributed.
Which rules apply generally depends on whether the plan owner died before he or she had to begin to receive required minimum distributions and whether or not a death beneficiary qualifies as either a designated beneficiary or an eligible designated beneficiary. For a designated beneficiary, it was understood that he or she had until the 10th year after the decedent’s death, when all assets had to be withdrawn.
Now, however, if the deceased plan owner died after their required beginning date, the regulations require a designated beneficiary to receive annual required minimum distributions during years one to nine after the participant’s death.
Similarly, an eligible designated beneficiary must also take annual required minimum distributions that are often computed based on the beneficiary’s own actuarial lifetime and sometimes are computed based on the remaining hypothetical actuarial life expectancy of the deceased plan owner at death.
Eligible designated beneficiaries generally have up to their lifetime to completely withdraw all plan assets. A minor child of the deceased owner, however, has only 10 years from when the minor child attains age 21.
Annual required minimum distributions alone, however, can sometimes mean that the retirement plan assets are completely withdrawn sooner than the eligible designated beneficiary’s actuarial lifetime.
Conceptually the foregoing approach has a certain similarity to installment note payments. That is, the amount of annual payments are often amortized (computed) based on distribution over a much longer term of years (e.g., a 30 year amortization) with a final balloon payment at end of the installment note’s term (e.g., a 15 year note).
Lastly, important new rules exist regarding trusts as designated beneficiaries. Trusts have primary and alternative beneficiaries and are used to control distributions. Certain trusts can qualify as either a designated beneficiary or as an eligible designated beneficiary. Such trusts are either “conduit trusts” or “accumulation trusts.”
Conduit trusts require all retirement plan distributions, including required minimum distributions, to be distributed by the trustee to or for the benefit of the conduit trust beneficiaries.
Accumulation trusts allow the trustee to accumulate some or all plan distributions received by the trustee, including required minimum distributions.
How a trust is drafted depends on the goals and circumstances. That said, where possible the conduit trust is usually preferred when the primary beneficiary is an eligible designated beneficiary, such as the surviving spouse.
Planning with an accumulation trust is more complicated because both the primary and the secondary beneficiaries have an impact on which required minimum distribution rules apply.
The foregoing brief discussion of a complex and broad subject is not legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney or financial adviser for guidance.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Arts Council and Lake County Poet Laureate Georgina Marie Guardado have announced the launch of the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate Program.
Inspired by the non-stop momentum of youth poetry in the United States, Guardado wanted Lake County to become part of the movement by creating the first Youth Poet Laureate program of the county.
The Lake County Poet Laureate program was created in 1998 and has successfully appointed 11 poets laureate between 1998 and 2020.
When she proposed the program to the executive director of the Lake County Arts Council, Barbara Clark, the idea was immediately welcomed with enthusiasm.
The council’s board of directors voted unanimously to create the program with Guardado’s direction and with the Lake County Arts Council, or LCAC, being the host organization.
Over the course of a year, Guardado researched and planned the program while carrying out her own duties as poet laureate and as a fellow with the Academy of American Poets.
She and LCAC have partnered with Urban Word NYC, the very organization that hosts the National Youth Poet Laureate program, to both connect Lake County to partners across the country and for the youth poet laureate to have access to a wide array of opportunities offered by Urban Word NYC.
Many may be familiar with the widely known Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who eloquently recited at President Biden’s inauguration in 2020. The current national youth poet laureate, Alexandra Huynh, is from Sacramento.
Urban Word NYC celebrates the nation’s top poets who are committed to artistic excellence, civic engagement, and social impact.
Founded in New York City in 2008, the Youth Poet Laureate Program partners with local and national literary arts organizations across the country to elevate youth voices at the forefront of social change.
Program partners and supporters include the Academy of American Poets, the Library of Congress, the Poetry Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
With youth programs making a significant impact across the nation, implementing such a program in Lake County would directly support the voices of our rural youth, encourage a new sense of community, build public speaking and leadership skills for our appointee, and give opportunity for youth to speak for social justice, racial equality and diversity.
Urban Word NYC has partnered with leading youth literary arts organizations to launch youth poet laureate programs in more than 35 cities and counties across the country, and counting.
These programs include mission-based commitments to marginalized youth and people of color, diverse artist-led organizations, and organizations that value youth leadership.
Community partnerships for this program will include the Middletown Art Center, the Soper Reese Theater, Lake County Board of Supervisors, the Lake County Office of Education and the Lake County Library.
Guardado and the LCAC also ask for the support of the entire community. If you are interested in donating to this program, visit https://lakearts.org/joingive/donate/ to learn how to donate.
The inaugural youth poet laureate will receive mentorship from the current poet laureate, and a one-year term in which they will be able to offer workshops, open mics or slam events, and more.
As a partner with Urban Word NYC, the youth poet laureate will also be offered publication of poems in the National Youth Poet Laureate annual anthology (published by Penmanship Books), and will be eligible to apply to be a regional youth poet laureate.
The youth poet laureate also will have access to leadership development and seminars with youth poet laureates across the United States.
Have questions? Would you like to volunteer to be a part of this process in any way? Email Georgina Marie Guardado at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A head-on crash near Middletown on Friday evening resulted in one death.
The wreck was first reported shortly before 5:20 p.m. on Highway 29 just south of Grange Road, north of Middletown and near the Crazy Creek gliderport.
The California Highway Patrol said two sedans — one black, one white — were involved.
Shortly after firefighters arrived on scene, they reported over the radio that one person had died, with another patient suffering minor injuries.
The highway remained open but the CHP warned of potential delays.
Additional information about the crash and its cause was not immediately available.
The wreck was the second fatal crash in Lake County this week.
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.
Vahe Peroomian, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
What is a dwarf planet? – Myranda, age 8, Knoxville, Tennessee
The word “planet” came from the ancient Greek words that mean “wandering star.” That makes sense, because for thousands of years, people have watched planets change position in the night sky – unlike stars, which appear fixed and unmoving to the naked eye.
I’m a space scientist with a passion for astronomy and the exploration of the Solar System. I received my Ph.D. in physics in 1994, about the time astronomers began to find more and more objects beyond Neptune, in the Kuiper belt. That’s a place in space that holds the “leftovers” of the solar system – particularly small icy bodies.
Three of those icy bodies – Eris, Haumea and Makemake – were discovered in the early to mid 2000s. They seemed large enough to be planets; all of them are roughly the same size as Pluto.
Astronomers then surmised that there were likely many more of these icy bodies in the Kuiper belt. They began to wonder: How many planets might we end up identifying in our solar system? Twenty? Thirty? A hundred? More?
Dwarf planet defined
In 2006, and after much debate, the International Astronomical Union came up with a new definition for a planet. And for the first time, the term “dwarf planet” was used.
Here’s what the IAU said: A planet has to orbit the Sun directly. It also must be large enough to have a round, or spherical, physical shape.
And the planet must “clear its neighborhood.” That means, aside from any moons it might have, the planet can’t share its orbit with other objects of comparable size.
An object that satisfies only the first two criteria – but not the last – is now called a dwarf planet.
Pluto is demoted
That’s why Pluto lost its status as a planet and is now classified as a dwarf planet. It failed the final item on the checklist – other icy Kuiper belt bodies are within its orbital path. The decision, a controversial one to be sure, is debated by scientists to this very day.
At the same time Pluto got demoted, another solar system object was promoted. Ceres, once considered an asteroid, is now classified as a dwarf planet. It’s nowhere near the Kuiper belt; instead, Ceres is in the main asteroid belt, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.
Add them up – Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake – and that brings the number of dwarf planets in our solar system to five. But that list is sure to grow. Already, hundreds of candidates, nearly all in the Kuiper belt, potentially satisfy the criteria to be a dwarf planet.
About the dwarf planets
Dwarf planets are nothing like Earth.
As their name implies, they are much smaller. Pluto and Eris, the largest of the dwarfs, have less than one-fifth the diameter of the Earth.
And dwarf planets are cold. Pluto’s average temperature is around minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 240 Celsius).
Could life exist on a dwarf planet?
Three things are needed for life: liquid water, an energy source and organic molecules – that is, molecules containing carbon.
More than 100 miles (161 kilometers) below Pluto’s surface, an enormous ocean of liquid water may exist; this might also be true for other Kuiper belt worlds. Ceres also has subsurface water, remnants of what might have been an ancient global ocean.
But the one missing ingredient for all the dwarf planets is a source of energy.
Sunlight won’t work, particularly for the Kuiper belt dwarfs; they are simply too far away from the Sun. To reach the belt, the light must travel more than 2.7 billion miles (4.4 billion km). By the time the sunshine arrives at these distant worlds, it’s too weak to significantly heat any of them.
And all the dwarf planets are too small to hold the inner heat that remains from the solar system’s formation.
Yet scientists have discovered life on Earth in the most hostile places imaginable – near the bottom of the ocean, miles deep in the soil and even inside an active volcano. When it comes to life in our solar system, never say never.
Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.
And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control has a big selection of dogs waiting for new homes this week.
The City of Clearlake Animal Association also is seeking fosters for the animals waiting to be adopted.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
The following dogs are available for adoption.
‘Colt’
“Colt” is a male Rhodesian Ridgeback mix with a short rust and black coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49812106.
‘Andy’
“Andy” is a male American pit bull mix with a short gray and white coat.
He is dog No. 48995415.
‘Bear’
“Bear” is a male Labrador retriever-American pit bull mix with a short charcoal and fawn coat.
He has been neutered.
‘Chai’
“Chai” is a female Alaskan husky mix with a gray and white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 49279552.
‘Ebenezer’
“Ebenezer” is a male American pit bull terrier mix with a short tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 49191651.
‘Fritz’
“Fritz” is a male Australian shepherd mix with a black and white coat.
He is dog No. 49278179.
‘Pooh Bear’
“Pooh Bear” is a 1-year-old male American pit bull mix with a copper and white coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49603144.
‘Scrappy’
“Scrappy” is an 11-month-old male American pit bull mix with a short cream-colored coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49603144.
‘Snowball’
“Snowball” is a male American Staffordshire mix terrier with a white coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49159168.
‘Terry’
“Terry” is a male shepherd mix with a short brindle coat.
He is dog No. 48443693.
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. — Local health officials are marking Stress Awareness Month by sharing information on its impacts and how to address it.
Stress Awareness Month has been recognized since 1992 as a national, cooperative effort to inform people about the dangers of stress, successful coping strategies and harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society.
Stress can be debilitating. It can cause and aggravate mental health concerns. Many report needing greater emotional support, of late, due to rising gas, grocery and energy costs and global uncertainty: https://www.apa.org/topics/stress
Stress is a normal part of life — no one is immune to it. It is important to equip ourselves with skills and knowledge, so we recognize stress when it rears its ugly head. Building coping strategies into our norms and routines can help each of us address this silent scourge:
• Practice meditation. Learning how to “train your attention” is one of the most effective ways to deal with stress head on. And it so happens, meditation is one of the most popular ways to achieve peace and quiet.
• Exercise. Exercise is another way to battle the debilitating effects of stress. Be sure to get out and breathe our beautiful Lake County air by walking, jogging, bicycling or any other physical activity you can enjoy outdoors.
• Avoid drugs and alcohol. Stress can increase vulnerability to addiction. Drug and alcohol use can also reduce resiliency to future stressors.
• Visit your doctor. Your physician is truly the best and most objective person to help you get started on the path to stress reduction and more effective management.
Short-term stress responses have been found to help people perform better, in some cases. Recent University of Rochester research suggests “stress reappraisal,” informing people of “functional benefits of stress” may reduce anxiety and even procrastination.
However, on the flip side, unmanaged stress can make individuals more susceptible to a host of ailments, like insomnia, headaches, high blood pressure, acute heart problems and even chronic cardiovascular disease.
A multitude of factors contribute to stress; relationships, economic outlook, family, work, and money, for example. In recent years, natural disasters have caused stress for many Lake County residents.
“Practicing self-care, and learning to cope with our own stress, can even help people around us,” attests Todd Metcalf, director of Lake County Behavioral Health Services. “This month, reach out to people you trust, talk about what you are experiencing and share healthy and effective coping strategies. You are not alone.”
Please join Lake County Behavioral Health Services in recognizing April as Stress Awareness Month.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Authorities said a Lakeport man died Wednesday afternoon in a head-on crash near Blue Lakes.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office identified the man who died as Juan Luis Ortega, 48.
The crash occurred at 3:10 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 20 east of Scotts Valley Road, west of Upper Lake.
The CHP said 38-year-old Jennifer A. Peters of Ukiah was driving a 2004 Acura TSX westbound at an unknown speed with Ronald E. Hoel Jr., 37, of Redwood Valley riding as her passenger.
Ortega was driving eastbound at an unknown speed in a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado, the CHP said.
For reasons that the CHP said are yet to be determined, Peters crossed over the solid double yellow lines into oncoming eastbound traffic and collided head-on with Ortega.
Medics declared Ortega dead at the scene, the CHP said.
The CHP said Peters sustained major injuries. She was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital via air ambulance. Hoel had minor injuries.
All three individuals were wearing seat-belts at the time of the crash, the CHP said.
The CHP said Thursday that it was unknown if drugs or alcohol contributed to the cause of this crash.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, the CHP 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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Friends and colleagues around Lake County and the North Coast are remembering and honoring the life of a former Lakeport and Healdsburg police chief.
Kevin Burke, who last year retired as the chief of police for the city of Healdsburg, where he had served after leaving the Lakeport Police Department, has died. He was 55.
Burke’s body was found in his Healdsburg home on Tuesday evening by officers from his former department following a request for a welfare check, said his friend, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen. Burke is reported to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“We’re all in shock,” said Margaret Silveira, a friend of Burke’s who retired as Lakeport city manager in 2020.
“I just can’t believe he’s gone,” Silveira said.
Rasmussen said he had gotten the news on Tuesday night and began notifying friends of Burke’s, as did Jason Ferguson, chief of the Cloverdale Police Department, who also had worked with Burke while he was at Lakeport Police.
“I didn’t sleep last night at all,” said Rasmussen on Wednesday afternoon, noting Ferguson also passed a sleepless night after receiving the news and trying to notify people.
On Wednesday evening, Ferguson posted on Facebook, “Truly heartbroken over the loss of this man who was a dear friend and mentor. I will forever cherish the memories and opportunities that he made possible during my career.”
In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday, the city of Healdsburg said it was mourning the passing of Burke, who had been chief from 2010 to 2021. Officials called him “a true wit, a friend and advisor to his colleagues, and a respected member of the City team.”
“The loss of Kevin Burke, our former Police Chief, will be felt by countless members of our community,” said Healdsburg Mayor Ozzy Jimenez. “His light and kind heart will be missed by so many. Our Healdsburg Police Department has lost a great leader and friend.”
“We are heartbroken and saddened over Kevin’s passing,” stated current Police Chief Matt Jenkins. “As his Healdsburg Police Department family mourns the loss, we remember him for everything he did for the department and the community. He was a mentor and a friend, and he led us through many difficult times with courage and dignity.”
The city of Lakeport’s Facebook page memorialized Burke in a Facebook post on Wednesday that said, “This is terribly sad news for anyone who knew Kevin. Some of us were fortunate to work with him while he was our Police Chief and Interim City Manager. Our sincere condolences to all of his friends, family and loved ones.”
“Kevin was a phenomenal leader both as Lakeport Police Chief and City Manager. He made many positive improvements to the department that are still in place today and have continually helped move us forward. I am where I am today because of his leadership,” Rasmussen told Lake County News.
An accomplished career
Burke, the son of a longtime teacher, grew up in St. Helena with his siblings, a brother and a sister.
He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Whittier College, a law degree from University of California, Berkeley's law school and later, while working for Lakeport, a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in public safety management.
Throughout his life, he was an extensive traveler, taking trips around the world. He also was an outdoorsman, hunter and athlete.
Before entering policing, he worked as a deputy district attorney in Orange County. Later, he went to work for the Los Angeles Police Department, rising to the rank of sergeant before he arrived as the city of Lakeport’s new chief in March 2006.
Lisa Morrow, executive director of Lake Family Resource Center, said Burke was the first to invite the center to the chiefs’ meeting, which includes the sheriff, the two city police chiefs and the probation chief.
“It is how we started training. He was the most compassionate and realistic advocate,” Morrow said.
Morrow also credited Burke with helping create the strong and collaborative relationship between Lake Family Resource Center and law enforcement. Today, the organization is partnering with Lakeport Police to put a crisis intervention specialist on the streets along with officers.
Burke worked for the city of Lakeport for just over four and a half years. During that time, he spent nearly two years doing double-duty as the interim city manager. In that role, he managed to balance the budget and avoid layoffs during a challenging time for the city.
“He was the interim city manager when I got there and he was just so gracious in assisting me with getting on board,” said Silveira. Although they only worked together for about nine months, she said they were memorable ones.
She recalled him as a man of great intelligence, wit and grace, who was fun to be with.
He also was an adventurer. Silveira recalled taking sailing lessons with him and said they also went sky diving together — even though his knuckles were a bit white on that trip.
“He just was fun. And funny,” she said.
Longtime city staffer Andrew Britton said Burke was “always professional, always prepared,” and was willing to step up when the city needed his leadership as interim city manager.
“The bonus was he was a very kind and gracious man,” Britton said.
Burke then went on to Healdsburg, his second and final chief’s job.
In a 2010 interview with Lake County News, Burke — then just 44 — said he was looking forward to taking on “some additional responsibility with a larger organization and some new challenges.”
Even when moving into a larger department, Burke intended to keep his hands-on approach to policing. “It's kind of my style anyway,” he said.
He said at that time that he would miss the people he’d met — co-workers, friends and city staff. “I've worked in a lot of places over the years and in Lakeport I've made a lot of good friends, and never lived in a place that made me feel so welcome so quickly,” he said.
During his 10 years as Healdsburg chief, he made an impact. The city of Healdsburg said Burke “played a lead role in the community’s response to the Kincade Fire, the pandemic, and a national dialogue over police reform. Committed to community policing, Chief Burke also created a program within the police department wherein a social worker works with sworn officers to provide services to community members.”
He retired from Healdsburg last year and appeared headed for a busy retirement of trips, and time with friends and his beloved dogs.
Britton said he appreciated that Burke maintained a relationship with Lakeport and some of the people he worked with more than a decade after he left. “That’s pretty rare in my experience.”
Burke came to Lakeport for Public Works Director Doug Grider’s retirement party last December, at which point Britton said he got a chance to say hi and congratulate him on his retirement.
“The man touched a lot of lives. All positively as far as I can tell,” Britton said.
‘This career gets to the best of us’
In January Burke announced he was planning to run for the Sonoma County sheriff’s job.
Burke amassed numerous key endorsements early in his campaign, including from Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore and District Attorney Jill Ravitch, Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Rogers, Healdsburg Mayor Ozzy Jimenez and Sebastopol Mayor Patrick Slayter, council members from Cloverdale, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa, as well as unions and the Sonoma County Democratic Party.
But in early March, just two months into the campaign, Burke suddenly withdrew, citing health issues.
Mauricio Barreto, a Clearlake Police officer and former Lake County deputy sheriff, was a friend of Burke, who he said was a “bright light in this world,” and “a true leader and a great human being.”
Barreto said Burke often participated in road bike rides to benefit law enforcement, and he credited Burke with getting him into road bike racing.
They also worked out together, along with Deputy Jake Steely, who died after he was injured on the Mendocino Coast while trying to rescue his son from the ocean in April 2016.
Barreto said the day before Burke quit the sheriff’s race, there was a campaign event and he looked great. “I don’t understand what happened.”
However, Barreto added, “This career gets to the best of us.”
Barreto said he had last spoken to Burke about a month and a half ago as they were supposed to go on a bike ride. Barreto said Burke was doing great.
“We were supposed to go on a ride together and he told me he was going to have plenty of time soon. We had coffee one afternoon and talked about life. I never would have expected him to end his life. I’m heartbroken and very sad about his passing,” Barreto said.
Rasmussen said he was traveling through Healdsburg last Wednesday and called Burke to connect but didn’t hear back. He said that wasn’t entirely unusual, as it would often be several days before he would get a call back from Burke if he was on a trip.
He said he believes that Burke was depressed about not being in law enforcement any longer.
Retirement is rough for law enforcement officers, said Rasmussen, noting that a high number of cops are dying by suicide.
Rasmussen pointed to another former chief he knew — retired Fortuna Police chief, William Dobberstein, who was found dead in his home at the end of March, also of an apparent suicide. Dobberstein, who was 53, had retired in January of 2020.
Richard Persons, who was chief executive officer of the Lake County Fair during Burke’s tenure at the Lakeport Police Department, said he’s worked with a lot of law enforcement professionals over nearly four decades, nearly all of them smart, selfless, caring people.
“Kevin was one of the smartest people I've ever met. He was always warm, witty, firm and focused,” he said.
“Kevin was small in stature, but he was a very big human being. He leaves behind communities that are better for his having been part of them. I'll miss him, and I know many others will as well,” Persons said.
Individuals in distress and needing support and mental health resources can get help around the clocks at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. If you need help, please ask for it; your life matters — more than you can ever know.
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.
Dog owners in Northern California are reminded to take precautions to protect their pets from salmon poisoning disease.
Salmon poisoning disease is a potentially fatal condition seen only in dogs after they eat certain types of raw or cold smoked fish like trout and salmon that are infected with a bacteria-like organism, Neorickettsia helminthoeca, which is transmitted by the parasitic flatworm (or “fluke”) Nanophyetes salmincola.
Nanophyetes salmincola occurs naturally in waters of Northern California and most of the north state can be considered the native range for the fluke.
Dog owners are advised to be cautious and to keep their dogs away from salmon, steelhead, trout and other freshwater fish carcasses.
The parasite cannot survive in cooked fish, is not harmful to humans and does not affect pets other than dogs.
If your dog has eaten or is suspected of eating raw fish, watch for signs of the disease.
Symptoms are similar to distemper and may include some or all of the following: a rise in body temperature, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, listlessness and/or rapid weight loss.
If signs of the disease appear, promptly take your dog to a veterinarian. Salmon poisoning disease is treatable if caught in time.
If untreated, death usually occurs within two weeks of eating the infected fish. Without treatment, 90% of dogs showing symptoms die.
While all fish caught or originating from streams in Northern California could potentially be infected, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife cautions that trout stocked in some waters in its North Central Region are more likely to be infected with the flukes that cause salmon poisoning disease.
Weekly fish stocking information is publicly available at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fish Planting Schedule web page.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council on Thursday supported submitting the city’s planned new sports complex for federal funding and approved a contract to demolish the former Sunflower restaurant.
At the start of the meeting, at staff’s request, the council voted to add an emergency item to its agenda in order to consider submitting a request for community project funding to the federal government.
Later in the meeting, City Manager Alan Flora explained that the federal appropriations process allows for earmarks or community project funding proposals.
He said Congressman Mike Thompson told the city about the availability of funding through that process, which allows each member of Congress to submit up to 15 items for consideration.
Flora said staff wanted to submit a proposal for $2 million for the Burns Valley Sports complex and recreation project, which he believed to be a good fit.
He said the deadline to apply is next Friday, and with no other council meetings before then, it was necessary to discuss it on Thursday night.
The council voted unanimously in support of the application.
Under council business, the council considered and ultimately approved awarding a contract for $53,439 to Chernoh Excavating to demolish and abate structures at 14525 Lakeshore Drive, the former Sunflower restaurant.
Code Enforcement Supervisor Lee Lambert’s written report explains that the property was deemed a health and safety hazard and a public nuisance in December 2018. After the property owner failed to abate the hazards and nuisances, the city issued an order to abate on April 29, 2021.
Lambert said the city advertised for bids for the demolition of structures and abatement of the property and opened the bids in May 2021.
The following month, the property was sold to Roopa Shekar and Vasudev Cherlopalle.
Lambert told the council on Thursday night that staff had asked the council to execute the same contract on July 15, 2021, but at that time the council took no action in order to offer the new property owners a chance to comply with the city’s abatement orders.
Later that month, the new property owners met with staff and presented a timeline for when the violations would be corrected and when the property would be occupied. At that time, the timeline included a December completion date and the expectation of beginning advertising for a lease in January. However, Lambert said the owners haven’t complied with that plan.
The property owners gave the city a revised timeline in January, but that had no completion date and had the restoration of the dilapidated building’s interiors taking place in August.
Lambert said Code Enforcement required that building permits be obtained to make all necessary repairs and corrections before Feb. 28, but so far the property owners haven’t obtained those permits and the property remains a public nuisance.
That led to the city attorney issuing a final notice of violation and order to abate on March 23.
Lambert recommended allowing Flora to execute the demolition contract. A change order with additional funding may be needed if the contractor’s testing finds enough asbestos that requires remediation.
He said the property owners have submitted an appeal of the abatement, and that appeal process will move forward separately.
Flora said the item was for awarding the contract not debating the merits of the appeal, explaining that an appeal hearing has been scheduled. “We’ll deal with that as it moves forward.”
Explaining the reason for wanting to move ahead with the contract, Flora said, “Our experience with this particular property owner especially is that nothing gets done at all unless there’s significant pressure to do so, so that’s why we recommend continuing with the authorization to move forward pending the result of the appeal.”
City Clerk Melissa Swanson read an emailed comment from Bob Mingori. Calling the building by an older name, the “Lakeshore Inn,” Mingori said many of the city’s older and well known buildings have either fallen into disrepair leading to demolition or have been burned by arsonists.
He said the Lakeshore Inn was the last one of any note, and years ago had been the place to be on Friday nights.
Mingori said he realized the whole building needed a lot of work, suggesting a face-lift on the front of the building would allow for work on the interior to take place. He hoped there was a way to achieve the upgrade the city is looking for “without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
“I was one of the ones wanting to save this building. I’d still like to save this building,” said Councilman Russ Cremer.
However, after trying to work with the owners, Cremer said he’s run into the same frustrations as Lambert and Flora. He said he’d come to the conclusion that Flora is right — the only way the owners will do what they promise to do is if the city keeps the pressure on.
The council then voted unanimously to approve the contract.
In other business on Thursday, the Clearlake Police Department presented awards to three staffers.
Det. Leonardo Flores, who has been with the department since 2015 and promoted to detective in 2018, was named officer of the year. Volunteer Marti Fultz was honored for her efforts in the You Are Not Alone program that checks in on seniors and Code Enforcement Officer Garrett Copas received an award for his efforts, which include helping recover numerous stolen vehicles.
Lt. Martin Snyder, who presented Copas’ award, said he believed he had even recovered another stolen vehicle earlier that day.
Also on Thursday, the council pulled the approval of a contract for the Austin Park Splash Pad Project from the consent agenda and ended up rejecting the one bid that came in, which was well over the city’s estimate. The city will put the project out for bid again.
The council also presented proclamations declaring April 10 to 16 as Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month; approved the Public Works construction project manager job description; authorized amendments to the management benefit plan; adopted an amended 2021/22 salary schedule; and gave the go-ahead for the sale of a small piece of vacant land at 12121 Lakeshore to an adjacent property owner for $10,000.
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.
California Governor's Office of Emergency Services
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — All 84 of the properties in Lake County whose owners enrolled in California's statewide Consolidated Debris Removal Program following last year's Cache fire have cleared the entire debris removal process and been returned to city officials to begin the permitting process for reconstruction.
The 84 returned properties include 79 parcels whose owners chose to participate in the full debris removal program.
The owners of the other five chose to take part in the program's hazardous trees only element.
Under the program, administered by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, in collaboration with county officials, participating property owners incur no direct costs.
"The return of all 84 properties in Lake County is a significant step forward in the recovery and rebuilding process for the owners of those properties," said Cal OES Deputy Director of Recovery Ryan Buras. "The state's recovery team has worked incredibly hard to remove more than 350,000 tons of debris, nearly 22,000 eligible fire-damaged trees and other hazardous materials on public roads and properties from the 2021 wildfires statewide. We are committed to clearing and returning the remaining properties as quickly as possible so that families can safely return home and move forward in their recovery."
Return of the properties to city officials follows the completion of site assessments; asbestos surveys; the removal of bulk quantities of asbestos containing materials; and the removal of eligible debris.
The process also included analysis of soil samples by a certified laboratory to verify they met state health and environmental standards; the felling and removal of hazardous trees; the implementation of erosion control measures; and a final walk-through by state debris officials to ensure all work meets state standards.
During the debris removal process, state contractors removed 9,640 tons of fire-related debris, including 467 tons of burned metal, 582 tons of burned concrete and 8,591 tons of ash and contaminated soil generated by the fire. Contractors also felled and removed 71 hazardous trees from 18 properties identified with such trees.
State debris officials also have returned 17, or 81%, of the 21 properties in Mendocino County participating in the program to local officials affected by the Hopkins. All but one of the properties is participating in the full debris removal program.
During debris removal operations in Mendocino County, crews removed 85 tons of burned metal, 828 tons of burned concrete and 4,,997 tons of ash and contaminated soil generated by the fire. Contractors also have felled and removed 108 hazardous trees from 18 properties identified with such trees in danger of falling on the public or public infrastructure.
To date, state debris officials have returned 796, or 37.2%, of 2,142 properties statewide participating in the full or hazardous trees only element of the program to their respective county to begin the permitting process.
To date, state-managed crews have cleared all eligible debris generated by the 2021 wildfires from 1,523, or 85.5% of the 1,781 properties enrolled in the full debris removal program.
Wildfire survivors had the option to either use their own contractor or enroll in the state-managed program.
Of the properties with damage from the 2021 fires, 1,781 signed up to have the remains of their homes and other structures cleared by the state. Another 359 property owners chose to participate in the hazardous trees only element of the program.