“The truth is, because we don’t see these injuries … they don’t receive the same level of attention as amputations, burns, shrapnel injuries,” Chiarelli said. “There is simply a bias – and I really mean that – there is a bias either conscious or subconscious toward invisible wounds and injuries … It exists everywhere including in the medical community.”

Chiarelli made his remarks Sept. 26 at Defense Forum Washington, a one-day conference on support for wounded warriors and families as they struggle to heal and regain stable lives.

The annual event is co-sponsored by U.S. Naval Institute and Military Officers Association of American.

Before Chiarelli spoke, April Marcum, wife of retired Air Force Sgt. Tom Marcum, described for attendees how her husband saw that bias from the medical community when he returned wounded from Iraq in 2008.

A combat arms training and maintenance specialist with 12 years in service, Tom Marcum had been in charge of an armory on Ali Air Base Iraq when a mortar round fired by insurgents exploded 35 yards away, knocking him unconscious.

When he could, Tom called April to say that, except for a headache, he was OK. A medic told him he should rest a couple of days before returning to duty. But when Tom’s tour ended several weeks later and he returned to Moody Air Force Base, Ga., April could tell he wasn’t himself.

“He still had the same headache. He was confused at simple things. He had short-term memory loss. The last straw for me was the day he called me on his way from work … and said, ‘I can’t remember how to get home,’ ” April recalled, tearing up. Tom, at her side, let April speak for the family.

“The local medical community, including the Air Force medical clinic doctor, seemed to be reluctant to help,” April continued. “Tom’s primary care doctor implied Tom was trying to get out of work. This was a slap in the face to both of us” considering that, with two boys to raise, neither Marcum had ever complained during any Tom’s various deployments.

“Then the doctor made this statement: ‘I’ll write you a prescription for Motrin but you really need to suck it up and go back to work,’ ” April said.

They pressed for an appointment with the medical group commander. Eventually Tom got a thorough evaluation at the poly-trauma unit of the VA Medical Center in Tampa, Fla.

Doctors diagnosed traumatic brain injury with an orbital wall blowout fracture behind an eye. A shoulder required surgery. Tom also had hearing loss, vision deficit and post-traumatic stress disorder.

He spent months in Tampa and “received outstanding medical treatment,” April said. He was medically retired from the Air Force in May 2010.

Three years after returning from war, Tom Marcum remains on the temporary duty retirement list awaiting word on whether the Air Force will retire him permanently. April said she had to quit her teaching job to care for her husband and raise their sons.

While living on 70-percent disability payment from the Air Force, and Social Security Disability Insurance, the Marcums have exhausted their life savings, she said.

Chiarelli, after his own remarks, took a question from April about how the Army conducted some tests on her husband and the Air Force later would not accept the results because they appeared on an Army evaluation form.

“I honestly believe it relates back to the stigma” tied to these invisible wounds of war, Chiarelli told her. “The medical community is as much stigmatized by these injuries as anybody.”

For example, Chiarelli said, he believes post-traumatic stress “is a no-kidding injury. But if you were to get 10 psychiatrists and psychologists over here you would have maybe six … who agree with me and the other four would say, ‘General you’re nuts. How dare you even say that if you haven’t studied this as long and hard as we have.’ The stigma is everywhere. It’s throughout the service … It’s throughout civilian [life].”

As vice chief, Chiarelli said, his top priority “is the health and well-being of the force,” which explains his focus on “the signature” wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many soldiers and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries aren’t yet receiving care because their injuries haven’t been diagnosed and might not be discovered for years.

The National Institute of Health, he said, has estimated that the average length of time in this country between when an incident occurs that causes post-traumatic stress and the illness gets diagnosed is 12 years.

“And lots of bad stuff happens in that 12-year period,” he said, which can have lasting impact on individuals, their families and their careers.

Symptoms of both post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury can include difficulty concentrating, irritability, personality changes and memory impairment.

Yet the physiology behind these types of injuries still is not well understood, Chiarelli said. Advocates at the forum said oftentimes only a family member can spot symptoms and arrange needed medical help.

“The reality is that we as a department and as a nation will be dealing with the symptoms and effects of these injuries for decades to come. And make no mistake, this is where your money will be spent,” Chiarelli said.

About 20,000 soldiers are going through Army’s disability evaluation process, which takes on average 373 days. Another 20,000 are non-deployable for medical reasons. That 40,000 soldiers are removed from Army active end strength at any given time is “what happens when you have one percent of the population fight a 10-year war,” the vice chief said.

Fortunately, he said, much has been achieved from studying invisible injuries from these wars toward more timely diagnoses and treatment. For example, researchers are perhaps just a year away from developing a biomarker to detect conclusively whether a patient has suffered a concussion, using a device similar to what diabetics use to test blood sugar.

“Do you know how huge that will be?” Chiarelli asked.

Yes. Many in this audience, comprised mostly of wounded warrior caregivers and advocates, did indeed know.

To comment, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111 or visit: www.militaryupdate.com.

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The sweet-tart taste of these freshly-picked Gravenstein apples makes them perfect for applesauce or pies. Photo by Esther Oertel.

The tree was small, with gnarled limbs on which grayish-green patches of lichen had made its home. The apples, though growing plentifully, were small, some the size of large cherries. Someone should have thinned the fruit, but the tree had been neglected.

Apples filled the bowl as I picked them from the tree, a motley crew of misshapen fruit in various sizes, some with patches eaten away by yellow jackets. I didn’t hold out hope for making much from this harvest, especially since many revealed inner rot when I cut and peeled them later in the kitchen.

But I plugged away, bit by bit, till every usable scrap of apple was peeled, cleaned, and tossed in a pot. To my surprise, the yield nearly filled two pots with fruit ready to be cooked into applesauce.

Alchemy occurred with the addition of heat and just a little bit of water. The apples softened into a chunky sauce, to which the smallest touch of brown sugar was added. A light dusting of cinnamon followed.

The result was truly magical. A highly flavored, not-too-sweet, fresh-tasting, soft but chunky sauce had been formed from the humble fruit. My son said it was the best he’d ever tasted and my heart swelled with pride.

It wasn’t me, however, who deserved the credit; it was the pure taste of one of the best cooking apples on the planet, the Gravenstein. If you’ve never made sauce with them or baked them into a pie, it’s well worth seeking them out for your first experience.

This apple variety is native to Denmark, where it was discovered as a chance seedling in 1669. It was introduced to western North America in the early 1800s by Russian sea traders, who planted a tree at their Fort Ross, Calif., settlement.

Renowned botanist and agricultural pioneer Luther Burbank was particularly fond of the sweet-tart Gravenstein apple. Of it he said, “If the Gravenstein could be had throughout the year, no other apple need be grown.”

The U.S. Gravenstein apple crop is concentrated in western Sonoma County, specifically near the town of Sebastopol.

This amazing apple is a difficult commercial crop. They don’t store well, making them available only in season, and short stems and variable ripening times make harvesting and selling difficult.

Sadly, most commercial Gravenstein orchards have disappeared due to suburban sprawl, grape vineyards, and bad economic conditions. Few growers are left.

In 2005, Slow Food USA declared the Sebastopol Gravenstein apple a heritage food and included it in their Ark of Taste, an international catalog of heritage foods in danger of extinction.

I feel grateful whenever I see Gravensteins in a store or on a tree. It’s good to know some still exist, even if in smaller quantities than in the past when they were shipped to World War II troops in the form of dried apples and applesauce.

We are in the midst of apple season, and the Gravenstein is but one of more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples. Most are harvested between August and November.

Apples are divided into three groups: dessert or table apples, which are bred for eating; cooking apples, such as the Gravenstein, which are bred for baking, drying, and making into applesauce; and cider apples, which are typically too tart and astringent to eat fresh, but impart a rich flavor to cider.

Lake County is home to a small handful of commercial apple growers. Apples grown by the Seely family of Upper Lake are available now at farmers’ markets, as well as at their farm stand through November.

I spotted a couple of interesting dessert apples at their booth at the Lake County Farmers’ Finest market in Lakeport’s Library Park Wednesday: Ozark Gold, similar to the Golden Delicious, and Prime Red, a cross of Jonathan and Worchester apples. Both looked tempting, with bright colors and firm textures.

Farmer Haji Warf of Upper Lake’s Kalikai Farms offered netted bundles of petite green apples at the market. These old-fashioned apples are crisp, with a surprisingly sweet taste belied by the color of the skin.

Ozark Gold and Prime Red apples were for sale at the Seely Family Farms booth at the Lake County Farmers' Finest market in Lakeport, Calif. on Wednesday, September 28, 2011. This market is now over for the season, but Seely apples will be available at the Saturday morning farmers' market held at Steele Winery in Kelseyville, Calif. through October. Photo by Esther Oertel.

The Library Park market has run its course as of last Wednesday, but the one at Steele Wines in Kelseyville on Saturday mornings will be in full swing through the end of this month. Both growers will likely continue to be there with apples in tow.

Apples are members of the large rose family. Wild ancestors of apples known today still grow in remote mountainous regions of central Asia, such as in southern Kazakhstan and surrounding countries.

Almaty, Kazakhstan’s capital and largest city, derives its name from the Kazak word for apple, “alma.”

I particularly enjoy apples in savory applications. My mother has developed a new favorite dish inspired by Alice Waters. Made with sweet potatoes, apples, and onions sautéed together in a skillet until the apples become caramelized, it’s absolutely delicious as an unusual side dish.

Another favorite of mine is sautéed apples and purple cabbage flavored with fennel or sage. White wine vinegar and currants or raisins add acidity and sweetness, respectively, for a balanced dish. As you can imagine, this is a nice accompaniment to pork or sausages.

Apples may be cored and stuffed with a bit of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon and then baked until soft and sweet for a dessert reminiscent of apple pie, though a bit healthier. This was something that was often served in my otherwise dessert deprived childhood (and that’s not a complaint).

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a phrase that’s said to have been coined in 19th century Wales, and it’s proven to be true to some extent. Research indicates that apples contribute to good health by reducing the risk of colon, prostrate and lung cancer.

They may also help with heart disease, weight loss, and controlling cholesterol. Compared to many other fruits and veggies, apples are relatively low in Vitamin C; however, they’re rich in other antioxidant compounds.

If an apple a day doesn’t keep the doctor away, it will at least delay him or her.

There are so many wonderful ways to use apples: in a rustic tart, for example, or baked into bread or added to butternut squash soup.

Today I’ve chosen something a little different to share, a salad by British Chef Jamie Oliver that features apples along with their elegant and recently-celebrated cousin, the pear.

The salad utilizes endive as its green. Endive, also known as chicory, has a bitter taste. It’s not sold in every supermarket, but with a bit of research it can be found. Relatives such as radicchio, escarole, or frisee (curly endive), impart a similar bitter taste and may be substituted. In a pinch, a mixture of Romaine lettuce and arugula will do.

While Oliver doesn’t include this in his recipe, I think a sprinkling of toasted Lake County walnuts would be a fantastic addition.

Enjoy!

Sweet pear and apple salad with bitter endive and a creamy blue cheese dressing

4 heads of endive (a mixture of red and white, if possible)

2 eating apples

2 pears

A handful of soft herbs (chervil, tarragon, parsley – use only one, or a mixture), torn or chopped

For the dressing:

2 ounces strong blue cheese

¼ cup crème fraiche (or plain yogurt or sour cream)

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling

4 tablespoons cider vinegar

6 tablespoons water

Separate the endive leaves, wash and spin dry.

Core apples and slice them into matchsticks.

Core pears and slice them into eighths. (If under ripe, grill until lightly charred.)

Mix above ingredients in a large bowl, along with most of the herbs. (Reserve some herbs for garnish.)

Add dressing ingredients to a blender and process for about 15 seconds, until smooth.

Plate salad mixture and add blue cheese dressing. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and herbs for garnish.

Makes four servings.

Recipe by Jamie Oliver and courtesy of Jamie at Home.

Esther Oertel, the “Veggie Girl,” is a culinary coach and educator and is passionate about local produce. Oertel teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and The Kitchen Gallery in Lakeport, Calif., and gives private cooking lessons. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Upper Lake, Calif., farmer Haji Warf displays the petite green apples that grow on Kalikai Farm. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Firefighters prepare a crash victim to be transported to an area trauma center after a crash on Friday, September 30, 2011. The victim suffered minor injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol. Photo by Gary McAuley.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Highway 29 was closed briefly on Friday evening because of a two-vehicle collision.

The crash was reported at about 6:20 p.m. on Highway 29 near Bottle Rock Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP said a black Toyota pickup collided with a car. An off-duty Cal Fire paramedic called in the collision.

The car's driver suffered head trauma and was transported to an area trauma center via REACH air ambulance, according to reports from the scene.

The highway was closed to allow the helicopter to land and pick up the patient.

The CHP said the crash resulted in minor injuries.

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A REACH air ambulance landed on Highway 29 at Bottle Rock Road near Kelseyville to pick up a crash victim on Friday, September 30, 2011. Photo by Gary McAuley.

Members of the Corvettes of Lake and Mendocino Counties gather with the Lake Family Resource Center Board of Directors and Executive Director Gloria Flaherty (center, holding check) on Thursday, September 29, 2011. Photo by John Yde.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Thanks to the generosity of local Corvette enthusiasts, children at Lake County's domestic violence shelter will have a place to play.

On Thursday, Sept. 29, members of the Corvettes of Lake and Mendocino Counties presented a check for $3,000 to Lake Family Resource Center Executive Director Gloria Flaherty.

The gift will help build a new playground for children at Freedom House.

The donation was a surprise for Flaherty, who had been in an orientation meeting for new board members at Lake Family Resource Center's business office, located at 5350 Main St. in Kelseyville, on the same property as the shelter.

Flaherty was asked to step out into the parking lot, where several newer Corvettes, as well as a vintage Corvette owned by John Yde, were parked.

Members of the club then presented Flaherty with the check for $3,000 to support her plans for the playground.

Flaherty, who was caught off guard by the gift, was brought to tears.

“I'm so excited,” she said.

A playground for Freedom House's children had been at the top of Flaherty's wish list. She said children who are housed at the shelter haven't had a place to go outside and play.

Before the Corvette club's donation, she had begun exploring grants and funding to make it happen. The total estimated cost is $7,500, and the $3,000 gift will lay the groundwork for raising the remainder of the playground funds through matching grants and other donations.

Corvette club members noted that supporting the playground was a natural fit for them, as they're all kids at heart.

This isn't the first sizable donation from the club to Lake Family Resource Center.

In June 2010, the club gave a $3,000 gift to the Barbara LaForge Memorial Fund, which supports Freedom House, as Lake County News has reported.

Support from groups like the Corvette club are integral to fulfilling Lake Family Resource Center's mission of offering support to those in need, according to Flaherty.

“We live and die on our relationships in the community,” she said.

Community members can make tax-deductible donations to support the playground project. Donations can be sent to Lake Family Resource Center at 5350 Main St., Kelseyville, 95451.

For more information call 888-775-8336 or visit www.lakefrc.com.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Aaron Bassler, 35, of Fort Bragg, Calif., was shot dead by Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies on Saturday, October 1, 2011. Mendocino County Sheriff's Office photo.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The five-week search for the man suspected of killing a Fort Bragg City Councilman and a land trust employee in August came to a deadly conclusion on Saturday.

Aaron James Bassler, 35, of Fort Bragg, who had eluded a massive manhunt since the Aug. 27 shooting of Councilman Jere Melo, was shot on Saturday by Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies taking part in the search, according to Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.

Smallcomb said Bassler was spotted as he walked down a logging road.

The Sacramento County team members subsequently shot and killed Bassler, Smallcomb said.

The search for Bassler – who was linked not just to Melo's fatal shooting but to the Aug. 11 murder of Mendocino Land Trust staffer Matthew Coleman – was the largest in Mendocino County history, according to Sheriff Tom Allman.

The search had intensified over the past week, after Bassler fired on a three-member team from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, as Lake County News has reported.

The confrontation between Bassler and the three-member team occurred in an area near Northspur Road – located 14 miles east of Fort Bragg and 10 miles northwest of Willits – where a series of vacation cabin burglaries had been linked to Bassler, officials reported.

Bassler fired on the team on Thursday shortly before noon in a densely wooded and brushy area, appearing to have flanked the men as he did Melo weeks earlier. Allman said the men returned fire at Bassler, who was about 100 meters away.

He disappeared, only to reappear and open fire again. Allman said the Alameda County team returned a total of 10 shots before Bassler once again vanished into the woods that he has explored since he was a child.

A surveillance camera had captured an image of Bassler at one of the Northspur Road area cabins, holding a high-caliber assault rifle, which Allman released on Monday.

Bassler was believed to have taken a .22 caliber rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun during one of the burglaries.

On Wednesday a California Department of Justice criminalist confirmed that a fingerprint found at the scene of one of the burglaries was Bassler's.

The search has involved multiple state, local and federal agencies, including assistance from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said at a Wednesday press conference that Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero called him after hearing of Bassler's confrontation with the Alameda County team and pledged additional resources.

Lake County Sheriff's Capt. James Bauman reported on Friday that a team of seven Lake County Sheriff’s SWAT members, a sheriff’s K-9 team and two supervisors were deployed to Mendocino County on Thursday to join the search.

Allman had said that the search for Bassler would not conclude without a resolution.

The operation had stretched Mendocino County's resources, with Allman reporting that the search had cost nearly $300,000. It had been aided by donations of hotel rooms, food and supplies from community members and businesses.

It also took its toll on agency members like Smallcomb, who has been an active part of the search around the clock for more than a month.

On Saturday evening Smallcomb said he was in emotional shock in the wake of the day's developments.

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Desiree Kirby, 22, appeared as the day's first witness on Friday, the third day in the preliminary hearing for Orlando Lopez, Paul Braden and Kevin Stone.

The three men are charged with murder for the death of Kirby's 4-year-old son, Skyler Rapp, as well as attempted murder, mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and special allegations for the late night shooting that wounded Kirby; her boyfriend, Ross Sparks; his younger brother, Andrew Sparks; and friends Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo.

Along with Kirby, Andrew Sparks and Ian Griffith would both offer testimony during the Friday session in Judge Stephen Hedstrom's Clearlake courtroom.

While the three men have not been charged with gang membership, testimony thus far has suggested that Stone was a Sureño, and District Attorney Don Anderson brought a concern to the court at the end of the day that the men – who have been seated separately in the courtroom's jury box, wearing jail uniforms and unshackled – were flashing gang signals at audience members.

When Kirby made her way to the stand, the injuries she suffered on the night of June 18 were evident. She had long surgical scars on her right arm, and the injuries to her right leg – which, like her arm, had been riddled with shotgun pellets – caused her to walk slowly, with a pronounced limp.

During testimony, Anderson would ask her to explain the extent of her injuries, which included loss of feeling in some of the fingers on her right hand and the need to reconstruct her entire arm due to her elbow being destroyed.

She's not yet received physical therapy due to issues including metal plates that are starting to work out of her right arm. Kirby said she won't be able to lift her arm sideways, which will hamper her from doing basics like fixing her own hair.

On her right leg, she suffered an estimated 25 wounds. She said none of the shot exited, and doctors had to cut open her leg, pull back the skin and remove the shot and repair damage to her artery. After getting out of the hospital in July, she spent the first month in a wheelchair.

She needs three additional surgeries on her arm and one on her leg, can't walk like she used to and she tires easily. Her injuries and longterm physical damage have made it difficult to care for her 1-year-old daughter, and she can no longer work.

In just over an hour the tearful young woman would describe how, late on June 18, while friends and family were gathered in the yard of the apartment on Lakeshore Drive she shared with Sparks and her two small children, gunfire erupted from the area of a fence separating the apartment's yard from the residence of Curtis Eeds.

She said she went to school with Lopez but did not know him; she knew of Braden – who had grown up with her boyfriend – and didn't know Stone.

On June 9 Leonardo Lopez, Orlando Lopez's brother, allegedly hit Josh Gamble, Ross and Andrew Sparks' cousin, in the face with a pipe or bar during a fight outside the adult school graduation in Lower Lake.

Kirby said she found out about it afterward, and while visiting Walmart with Gamble's sister, Amanda, about a week later, Amanda Gamble pointed out to her Leonardo Lopez. Amanda Gamble and Leonardo Lopez had dated several years before.

“I walked up to him and I said, 'Did you hit my cousin in the face with a bar?' I repeated it a couple of times,” said Kirby.

She said she was getting angrier with him, and although he didn't respond angrily at first, they began to argue and he denied the assault. Kirby said she left Walmart, but no threats were made and she wasn't afraid as a result of the confrontation.

On June 18, she had the day off and the party with friends at the Lakeshore Drive apartment “was kind of a last minute thing.”

She received a phone call at about 6 p.m. from someone who identified himself at Orlando Lopez – testimony that resulted in frequent objections by the defense – with the subject “just screaming, threatening stuff,” and telling her that he was going to come and beat up her family.

Even then, though, she wasn't worried, figuring the person was just “talking crap.” And no one showed up during the evening, as she continued hanging out, and drinking beer and doing shots with friends.

That afternoon she had been with Ross Sparks when he received threatening text messages and calls which, in his testimony earlier in the week, he indicated were from Orlando Lopez. Sparks said the messages also had attempted to lure him away from his home for a fight, which he had resisted, instead challenging Lopez to come to his apartment and “fight like a man,” but not to bring weapons.

Kirby was speaking with Andrew Sparks when the gunshots started late that night. She saw the first muzzle flash out of the corner of her eye. Then she heard people screaming.

“I looked over and my son was on the ground,” she said, starting to cry.

She tried to get to Skyler but then she collapsed, and Ross Sparks tried to drag her toward the apartment.

Kirby said the last gunshot went right through her home, above the crib where her baby daughter was sleeping.

As she laid on the ground, she heard the last gunshots. Her daughter was safe in someone's arms.

A friend at the party was cradling Skyler's head on her lap. “And he was dead,” Kirby said.

Men recount shooting scene

Like Kirby, Andrew Sparks and Ian Griffith recounted the shooting incident for the court on Friday.

Andrew Sparks went to school with Orlando Lopez and Braden, but didn't know Stone.

He said his brother Ross Sparks called him over to his apartment on June 18 because he was having problems with Lopez.

While he was there that evening, Andrew Sparks recalled seeing in the group two other men – Curtis Eeds, who lived next door and made a brief appearance, and another man known as “Goofy.” Both Eeds and Goofy had come from Eeds' home through a hole in the fence between the Sparks and Eeds residences.

Andrew Sparks said he saw several muzzle flashes and heard an estimated 10 gunshots in rapid succession.

He saw Skyler – standing near the barbecue, roasting marshmallows for s'mores – get hit by gunfire and fall, and he also witnessed Kirby collapse after being shot.

In the melee he saw someone shooting over the fence and another subject shooting from the area of the fence with missing boards. He couldn't clearly see the shooter, who he said had short hair.

He was shot in the left leg and left arm while pulling Skyler behind a car. “I didn't know he was shot at first,” Sparks said of the child. He also tried to help Kirby get up.

Sparks, who said his left arm no longer works “all that well,” believes he was shot by two different weapons, with the gunshots sounding different to him. He said he believed the gun being fired over the fence was a shotgun.

The 19-year-old Griffith, who followed Sparks to the stand, said he went to school with Leonardo Lopez and knew Braden from drug court, but like Sparks didn't know Stone. He had been asked to go to Sparks' home because of concerns over Gamble's fight.

Griffith said he couldn't see the shooters due to the darkness, but he did see the first muzzle flash and heard as many as 14 shots.

He said he knew instantly that he was shot after feeling a warm sting in his leg. He was hit by two to three pellets, which didn't take him off his feet.

But he was hit again and fell as he was going into the apartment. As he was inside the home trying to check his wounds, Armijo fell and then Kirby went down.

Testimony in the case will resume on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

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Brian Thomas Pearson, 44, of Clearlake, Calif., was arrested on Saturday, October 1, 2011, for drug-related charges following a probation search. Lake County Jail photo.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly was found in possession of drugs and syringes in violation of his probation terms.

Brian Thomas Pearson, 44, was arrested for misdemeanor possession of crystal methamphetamine, felony possession of hypodermic syringes and violation of his felony probation.

Sgt. Tim Hobbs said that on Saturday Clearlake Police officers responded to a residence in the 14000 block of Austin Drive to conduct a probation search at Pearson’s residence.

He said officers assigned to the community oriented policing beat in which Pearson's home is located have received ongoing reports of suspected illegal activity at the residence.

During the search Pearson was found to be in possession of crystal methamphetamine and hypodermic syringes, Hobbs said.

He was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail, where he remained on Sunday night on a no-bail hold due to the probation violation, according to jail records.

Hobbs said Clearlake Police officers had previously arrested Pearson at his home on Aug. 27 for possession of a controlled substance and violation of his felony probation.

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The girls, aged 5 and 6, were located at about 7:30 p.m., just before dark, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office. They were scared but unharmed.

Bauman said sheriff's officials were dispatched to the Hoberg area of Cobb Mountain just before 5 p.m. Thursday in response to the girls having gone missing from a fenced back yard.

Sheriff Frank Rivero and his deputies responded to Angelly Way in Cobb where they collected additional information and received descriptions of the missing girls, Bauman said.

Bauman's report said dozens of county safety personnel responded, coming from the sheriff's office, Cal Fire, Lake County Search and Rescue volunteers, Lake County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services personnel, South Lake County Fire personnel, Lakeport Police and California Highway Patrol.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Linda Green said her agency was contacted by the sheriff's dispatch after 5 p.m. She said a unit from Cobb and several Cal Fire personnel, including herself, responded.

When she got there, Rivero was at the scene. “He just needed help with the search,” Green said.

Bauman said Cal Fire, CHP and REACH all provided aerial support for the search, while neighbors and volunteers joined the officials on the ground.

Green said Cal Fire's helicopter 104 assisted in the search, focusing on an area on the ridgeline where someone was heard screaming for help.

The helicopter kept finding children and adults in the woods, who were taking part in the search, Green said. One of the missing girls was wearing pink, so they focused on looking for that color.

Green said the helicopter spotted the girls at about 7:20 p.m., and someone on the ground who had a radio confirmed it was them.

Bauman said a neighbor volunteer located the girls stranded in a ravine near Trinity Road in Cobb.

The children were found in a thick patch of manzanita. Green said it wasn't clear how the girls got into the manzanita, where rescue personnel had to crawl in to get them.

Bauman said the girls were airlifted out of the area by the Cal Fire helicopter and assessed by medical personnel. Lake County Sheriff’s personnel subsequently reunited them with their parents.

The girls' mothers, Ashley Williams and Nicole Reimers, posted their thanks to the community and officials on Lake County News' Facebook page Thursday night.

The girls were at Reimers' home when they decided to go exploring, according to the posts.

“I am overwhelmed by the amount of support and how quickly everyone jumped in. Thank you from the bottom of my soul. I am so proud to live in a community like this,” Reimers wrote.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

It was a furious battle for second place in the large dachshund division during the Dachshund Derby at Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 1, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

The Dachshund Derby, which began races at noon following a costume contest, featured several heats of determined Dachshunds of all sizes and shapes, from smooth-coated minis to standard-sized wire-haired dogs.

The crowd hugged the race track, located near the Courthouse Museum, as Tony Barthel announced the races.

There was furious clapping and laughter as the races unfolded.

Photographer Ed Oswalt captured the featured images. Below is a video of some of the day's highlights.

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Curiosity is about to go to Mars. The car-sized rover, also known as the Mars Science Lab, is scheduled for launch in late November or early December 2011 from the Kennedy Space Center.

After an eight-month voyage to Mars, Curiosity will land at the foot of a 3 mile high mountain in a crater named “Gale.”

It sounds a little odd – a mountain in the middle of an impact crater. Wouldn't the impact have smashed it flat?

Some scientists believe the 96 mile wide crater filled in with sediments over time and relentless Martian winds carved a mountain in the center, where it now stands nearly three times higher than the Grand Canyon is deep.

Because of its history, this strangely sculpted mountain is the ideal place for Curiosity to conduct its mission of exploration into the Red Planet's past.

“This may be one of the thickest exposed sections of layered sedimentary rocks in the solar system,” said Joy Crisp, Mars Science Lab deputy project scientist from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “The rock record preserved in those layers holds stories that are billions of years old – stories about whether, when, and for how long Mars might have been habitable.”

Today the Red Planet is a radiation-drenched, bitterly cold, bleak world. Enormous dust storms explode across the barren landscape and darken Martian skies for months at a time.

But data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggest that Mars once hosted vast lakes and flowing rivers.

“Gale Crater and its mountain will tell this intriguing story,” said Matthew Golombek, Mars Exploration Program Landing Site Scientist from JPL. “The layers there chronicle Mars' environmental history.”

In the gentle slopes around the mountain, Curiosity will prospect for organic molecules, the chemical building blocks of life. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found an intriguing signature of clay near the bottom of the mountain and sulfate minerals a little higher up.

Both minerals are formed in the presence of water, which increases potential for life-friendly environments.

“All the types of aqueous minerals we've detected on Mars to date can be found in this one location,” explained Golombek.

Clay settles slowly in water and forms little platelets that conform around things, hardening over time and encasing them in “casts.” Clay could seal organics off from the outside environment much like it preserved dinosaur bones on Earth.

“If organics ever existed on Mars, they could be preserved in the clay,” Golombek said.

Even on planet Earth, teeming with life, finding billion year-old well-preserved organics is difficult. But Curiosity will find them if they're present in the samples it takes.

The rover is equipped with the most advanced suite of instruments for scientific studies ever sent to the Martian surface. When these are brought to bear on Gale crater’s mysteriously layered mountain, the odds of a discovery will be at an all-time high.

As seasoned travelers know, however, the journey is just as important as the destination. Curiosity can travel up to 150 meters per Mars day, but will stop often to gather and analyze samples.

“It could take several months to a year to reach the foot of the mountain, depending on how often the rover stops along the way,” said Golombek. “There will be plenty to examine before getting to the central mound.”

A high-resolution camera on the rover's mast will take pictures and movies of the scenery, taking Earthlings on an extraterrestrial sightseeing tour.

“As Curiosity climbs toward higher layers, you'll see spectacular valleys and canyons like those in the U.S. desert southwest,” Golombek said. “The walls on either side of the rover will rise over 100 feet. The sights alone will be worth the trip.”

Stay tuned for updates from the Red Planet.

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Retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge William McKinstry said that he found that Jerry Stanley, 66, was competent during the 1983 trial in Butte County.

Stanley and his attorney, Jack Leavitt, appeared via video conference from San Quentin State Prison, where Stanley has been housed on death row since February 1984.

The case now goes back to the federal courts, where appeals on the case have gone on for years, despite Stanley's sometimes contradicting claims that he actually wants to be executed.

In August of 1980 Stanley – who had worked as a hunting guide – used a high-powered rifle to shoot his wife, Cynthia Ann Rogers, from across Highway 20 as she was at her father's resort in Nice.

Five years earlier he had murdered his first wife, Kathleen Rhiley, and was linked to the disappearance on Feb. 14, 1980, of his second wife, Diana Lynn Ramel in Manton, in northern Tehama County.

The retrospective competency hearing in Stanley's case resulted from a March 2008 decision by federal Judge Frank C. Damrell, who ruled that because of juror misconduct in the penalty phase of Stanley's trial – during which his competency was considered – the retrospective hearing was necessary.

After Damrell's decision, the case went back to Butte County – where it was moved due to pretrial publicity – but earlier this year it was ruled that the matter could come back to Lake.

On Sept. 7 McKinstry had presided in a hearing in the case, during which Stanley – also appearing at that time by video conference – told the court he deserved to die for killing his wife.

At that appearance, both Stanley and Leavitt explained that Stanley's competency had been raised by his original defense team after he had objected to their desire to call his family members as witnesses.

Stanley, in turn, tried to stop the testimony of Dr. Allen Axelrad, and his attorneys questioned his competency. However, Leavitt said Stanley eventually allowed Axelrad's testimony to go forward.

Stanley's federal defenders – against his wishes, according to him and Leavitt – raised concerns about a female juror in the penalty phase who had been a domestic violence victim and had not informed the court of that fact. Yet Stanley testified that he and his original defense team were aware of the issue, and that he wanted to keep her on the jury anyway.

During the half-hour hearing Friday morning, Stanley waived his right to a jury trial in the matter under questioning by McKinstry, who indicated he had read numerous transcripts from both the original 1983 trial and more recent proceedings in Butte County.

The judge said the attorneys could argue if Stanley was mentally competent. District Attorney Don Anderson asked McKinstry for his intended decision.

“I'm inclined to find Mr. Stanley competent,” unless counsel wanted to point out something he hadn't considered, McKinstry said.

Anderson waived his right to offer arguments. Leavitt asked McKinstry to consider that in his Sept. 7 appearance Stanley had testified under oath that he was convinced that he was competent at the time of his original trial.

He also pointed out, “The only alleged basis for Mr. Stanley's incompetency was his early refusal to waive a privilege he had in being able to bar Dr. Axelrad from testifying,” with Stanley later allowing the testimony.

“The focus of these entire proceedings seems to be clouded,” said Leavitt. “They never should have taken place.”

Leavitt argued that all of the issues at the heart of the proceedings were cured in 1984. “On that basis we feel there should be no question of the competency findings and the lack of a need for a competency finding because the issue was moot.”

Leavitt asked McKinstry to request that the federal court investigate the allegations that the competency motion was made against Stanley's wishes, and that the federal defense team withheld the information that Stanley's original trial defense team knew of the female juror's background.

“We consider that Mr. Stanley was misrepresented deliberately and that an investigation is worthwhile,” said Leavitt.

Leavitt further requested that McKinstry ask the State Bar of California to take action on Butte County attorney Dennis Hoptowit's failure to provide Stanley's file in connection with recent Butte County appearances to Leavitt as ordered by the court.

“Other than that, Mr. Stanley and I concur in your tentative ruling” that he was competent, Leavitt said.

Leavitt asked Stanley if he agreed with McKinstry's finding that he was competent. “I absolutely agree,” Stanley said.

McKinstry said he found Stanley's testimony credible. He ruled that Stanley was competent during the original proceedings, and that he understood the nature and purpose of the original trial.

As to Leavitt's request that McKinstry make certain recommendations and findings regarding a federal investigation, McKinstry noted, “I believe that my jurisdiction in this matter is quite narrow.”

He said the federal court was exercising its habeas corpus powers when it ordered the retrospective hearing. If there was to be further review of that process, it would need to be at the federal level.

McKinstry said he would consider the matter of asking the state bar to look into the Hoptowit issue.

He executed a competency determination document and adjourned the hearing.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .