- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Paul Brown, 49, was the victim of the head-on crash, which occurred on the Highway 20 overcrossing at Highway 101 on Wednesday, according to a Friday morning report from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
The crash occurred shortly before 7 a.m., as Lake County News has reported.
Brown was traveling westbound in his Dodge Ram pickup when he lost control and collided with a Ford F-550 utility truck driven by 33-year-old Edward Turberville of Santa Rosa, according to the California Highway Patrol reported.
The CHP said that Brown died at the scene.
Turberville also was injured in the crash and transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center, according to officials.
Both men were wearing their seat belts, the CHP reported.
The CHP continues to investigate the crash's cause.
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The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a winter storm warning for northern Lake County, which will be in effect from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. Friday, along with a 100-percent chance of rain for the entire county.
Strong wind with gusts up to 50 miles per hour will begin in the morning and continue throughout the afternoon, the National Weather Service reported. Snow levels are predicted to drop throughout the day and into the evening as the storm moves across Northern California, bringing with it 1 to 2 inches of rain.
The chance of snow is highest in the Mendocino National Forest area as the storm moves towards the east, with snow levels dropping to 3,000 feet in the afternoon in to the evening, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency forecast temperatures on Friday that will only reach into the low 40s, with overnight temperatures near 32.
The Sierra Nevada mountains between the 3,000 and 6,000 foot elevations are forecast to receive between 4 and 8 inches, with up to 15 inches in the higher elevations, the National Weather Service reported.
A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet and ice are expected. Strong winds are also possible, making travel very hazardous or impossible.
For updated weather information, please visit the Lake County News home page.
E-mail Terre Logsdon 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 and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .
The agency reported this week that the scope of the Hopland Bypass project on Highway 101 in Mendocino County has been scaled back at this time.
Caltrans officials said the project will now only include widening Highway 101 from just north of the Cal Fire station to the existing four-lane freeway north of Nelson Road.
The project will be renamed the North Hopland Upgrade, Caltrans reported.
The scope modification recently was presented to the Mendocino Council of Governments, and Caltrans reported that it obtained the council's concurrence to proceed with the changes.
On Tuesday, Caltrans presented the modification to partner agencies and the Hopland Bypass Citizens Advisory Committee.
Caltrans reported that it is planning to hold a public open house in late 2010 to provide more details on this project and receive public input.
As updated information is made available it will also be posted to the project Web site, http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist1/d1projects/hopland .
Questions and comments regarding the project should be directed to Project Manager Steven
Blair at 707-441-5899 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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LAKEPORT – Community leaders came together on Thursday to celebrate the culmination of several years of work to improve accessibility to local health care.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital's Mobile Health Services Unit was introduced to the community at the afternoon ceremony, held at the hospital's Lakeport campus.
The unit, which cost nearly $300,000, will provide a variety of screening services and annually serve an estimated 1,000 patients who have challenges traveling to health care providers.
Tammi Silva, director of the Sutter Lakeside Hospital Foundation as well as the hospital's public relations director, said the project's completion exemplified the community's dedication and perseverance.
She said the unit was introduced not as a business venture, but in answer to a community need, with an estimated 6,000 people of all ages countywide who have no access to basic health care.
The community responded to the effort, which included a 2007 fundraising event featuring actor Jamie Farr, who portrayed Corporal Max Klinger in the TV show “MASH,” which Silva said was in keeping with the mobile medical unit spirit.
She said the campaign never waned, even as the hospital faced financial struggles and fewer government funding sources.
LAKEPORT – On a crisp autumn day the American flag flew at half staff and fluttered in the breeze.
The Military Funeral Honors Team of Lake County, Patriot Guard Riders, United States Army Honor Guard, friends, family and others gathered to say farewell to three veterans this past Monday.
The ceremony began when the Patriot Guard Riders rumbled into Hartley Cemetery with flags flying.
Seventeen riders, some from as far away as Roseville and Napa, joined locals to pay tribute to their comrades. They didn’t know the men being buried, but they knew they were veterans and that was enough to bring them together.
Monday morning was clear and bright as the bugler’s notes rang through Hartley Cemetery. The playing of “Taps” and firing of the traditional three round volley stirred the emotions of all in attendance to honor Harry E. Peckham (Navy), Perry A. McCosker (Army) and Jack C. Zent (Army) at Veterans Circle.
It is a privilege for ordinary citizens to attend services and pay tribute to our veterans. Honors are rendered and the appropriate thanks are bestowed upon those who honorably served our country.
Family members of the three men were proud of their loved ones and verbalized their deep appreciation for the presence of others honoring them.
The final farewell was honorable, just as the veterans who had earned it.
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Officials still had not released the man's name late on Thursday, pending notification of kin.
Lt. Rusty Noe of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said he expected the information would be released Friday.
California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Scott of the Ukiah area office said the crash happened at about 6:50 a.m. Wednesday on the Russian River bridge, east of Highway 101.
The 49-year-old Lakeport resident, driving a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, was traveling westbound on Highway 20 and crossing the bridge at 50 miles per hour, said Scott.
Traveling the opposite direction was Edward Turberville, 33, of Santa Rosa, driving a Ford F-550 utility truck eastbound at 50 miles per hour, according to Scott.
Scott said the Lakeport man lost control of his vehicle and crossed into the path of Turberville, who wasn't able to avoid the crash. The two pickups collided head-on.
The Lakeport resident was pronounced dead at the scene, Scott said. Turberville was transported by ambulance to Ukiah Valley Medical Center.
Scott said both men were wearing their seat belts.
While the cause of the crash is still being investigated, “Mechanical failure is not an issue,” Scott said.
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 and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .
WALKER RIDGE – A project to increase safety along a stretch of Highway 20 that has been the scene of several crashes over the last few years – some of them fatal – has been completed, Caltrans reported Wednesday,
The Walker Ridge curve improvement safety project in southern Lake County began construction in the fall of 2006, according to Caltrans.
“This project showcases Caltrans’ dedication to use context sensitive solutions, even in rural settings,” said Charlie Fielder, Caltrans District 1 director. “It also shows our commitment to improving highway safety while preserving the environment.”
The area had seen several major crashes in one particular downhill stretch near mile post marker 44.19, across from the old Turkey Run and Abbott mines, as Lake County News has reported.
The project made several improvements to increase safety year-round, officials reported.
Those improvements included improved drainage, widened shoulders, installation of radar speed signs, replacement of a tight 25 mile per hour curve with a gentle 55 mile per hour curve, and repaved 3.5 miles of highway with a top layer of open-graded asphalt for improved winter traction.
Caltrans reported that, of all the improvements, the most eye-catching is a tie-back retaining wall which is 380 feet long and varies in height from five to 50 feet. The wall is anchored, or tied back, to the hillside by steel cables grouted into 201 holes drilled up to 141 feet deep into solid rock.
The wall was aesthetically treated by spraying the surface with concrete, hand sculpting a rock texture, and then staining to match existing rock outcroppings.
During construction, impacts to the environment surrounding nearby Grizzly Creek were avoided or minimized, Caltrans noted. Measures were also taken to reduce impacts to native oak and elderberry, and oak seedlings were planted to replace oak trees which had to be removed.
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