LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Several local leaders pitched in on Wednesday to emphasize the importance of Meals on Wheels programs around the county.

“Mayors for Meals” is a nationwide effort to raise awareness of the vital programs local senior centers provide to seniors in the community.

It provided an opportunity for local elected officials to see how the centers operate and take part in the delivery of Meals on Wheels.

Clearlake Mayor Joey Luiz helped prepare, pack and deliver Meals on Wheels with the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake.

Lakeport Mayor Stacey Mattina came to the Lakeport Senior Center and went with Meals on Wheels Coordinator Sarah Tansey to deliver meals to some local seniors.  

Supervisor Jim Comstock helped the Middletown staff prepare and deliver food as well.

The staffs of each center were excited to demonstrate what they do, and how important a role they play in hundreds of lives within the county.

The senior centers and their programs are severely underfunded. Only by the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, and a generous community of individuals and businesses offering both financial and in-kind support are the centers able to continue.

Anyone interested in volunteering, or offering financial support should contact their local senior center at the following phone numbers, or by stopping by Middletown, 707-987-3113; Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake, 707-994-3051; Live Oak Senior Center in Clearlake Oaks, 707-998-1950; Lucerne, 707-274-8779; and Lakeport, 707-263-4218.

Jonathan Crooks is executive director of the Lakeport Senior Center in Lakeport, Calif.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Habematolel Pomo’s Running Creek Casino in Upper Lake is moving through the construction phase, and in preparation for the casino’s opening later this year the tribe is looking for new employees.

Running Creek Casino is set to host two job fairs in Lake County later this month in conjunction with Lake One-Stop Inc. Business & Employment Services.

“We’re incredibly pleased with the progress of the construction project,” said Tribal Chairperson Sherry Treppa. “We’re right on track to open around Memorial Day. We’re also excited about starting the hiring process and bringing some new jobs to Lake County and the surrounding area.”

The casino will provide Lake County with more than 145 local jobs, including table games dealers, slot reps, cage personnel, food and beverage, security, surveillance and administrative staff.

The first job fair is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, March 24, in Lakeport at Lake One-Stop, 55 First St.

The second is scheduled for Saturday, March 31, at 10 a.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall, 9480 Main St., Upper Lake.

“As I see the casino structure go up I’m reminded of the significance of this site,” said Treppa.

She said the surrounding foothills were the tribe's former reservation – 564 acres in total – which was lost when the Habematolel Pomo were congressionally terminated in the 1950s with the passage of the California Rancheria Act.

“The tribe's federal recognition was restored in 1983, but we were landless,” Treppa explained. “Our efforts to restore our land base were fraught with obstacles. The tribe persevered nonetheless, and in 2008 we managed to have 11.24 acres received into trust.”

She added, “This casino project is allowing our tribe to take a positive step towards self-reliance while becoming a positive contributor to the economic success of Lake County. That’s something to be proud of for all of our members.”

A listing of available jobs and application forms will also be posted soon on www.runningcreekcasino.com .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Live! returns to the Soper-Reese Community Theatre for its third outing on Sunday, March 25.

The show begins at 6 p.m. and is broadcast live on Lake County Community Radio KPFZ 88.1 FM and streamed on the web as well.

Created and hosted by Doug Rhoades, Lake County Live! is a one-hour radio broadcast from the theater in front of a live audience.

The show was conceived as a venue for local musical talent and creative writers, with an audience beyond the walls of the theater.

“Our goal is to provide great music and humor and really showcase the variety of talents we have here in Lake County,” said Rhoades. “The show is dynamic in that we’re putting on a radio program in real-time, so we have to move right along with every program.”

Past shows have featured talents such as Polecat Rodeo, Three Deep, EarReverence, Travis Rinker, Michael Barrish with Scott Sommers and Vim Natura.

This third program for LCL! features the musical group “Uncorked” performing music influenced by Ireland and bluegrass. Group members are Dennis Hadley, Andi Skelton, Don Coffin, Eleanor Cook and Dan Harris.  

Andy Rossoff, will perform on the keyboard.  He said, “I grew up on rock’n’roll in the 60s and 70s but my tastes and song list cross many genres, from pop and soul ballads to blues to folk to an occasional country tune.”
 
Returning silliness includes the Dogs of Clear Lake, the Ladies of the Lake and a word from the American Society of Allied Procrastinators, plus some interesting surprises.

The show starts at 6 p.m. on the last Sunday of each month at the Soper-Reese, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.

“We hope everyone will be in the theater and seated by 5:45 p.m., as we talk with the audience for a few minutes before the 6 p.m. start,” said Rhoades. “Because we’re live, that 6 p.m. start is vital. We don’t have 20 seconds leeway, we have to hit the mark coming in and going out.”

Tickets are available at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre box office on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and at the Lake County Travel Center, 1265 S. Main St. in Lakeport.

For the first time, ticket price will be $5.

The show is produced with the support of the theater, Lake County Community Radio KPFZ 88.1 FM and Lake County News, as www.lakeconews.com .
 
For more information and pictures of past performances, visit www.lakecountylive.com or www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLive , or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Five top spellers from local elementary and junior high schools will compete in the state spelling championships later this spring.

Daymion Martinez, a fifth grader at Lucerne Elementary, and Tyler Parrott, a sixth grade student from Cobb Mountain Elementary will compete in the 2012 California State Elementary School Spelling Championship on Saturday, April 21 at the San Joaquin County Office of Education in Stockton.

Asia Firebaugh, an eighth grader from Middletown Middle School; Jessia Osborne, an eighth grader from Pomo School in Clearlake; and Noelani Urquiza, also an eighth grader, from Terrace School in Lakeport will represent the county at this year’s California State Junior High Spelling Championship in San Rafael on Saturday, May 12.  

The five spelling champions were each awarded a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.

The Lake County Junior High Spelling Bee for grades seventh and eighth was held at Upper Lake Middle School on Tuesday, March 13.

“Super Spellers” who participated in the competition include: Angelina Acosta, Burns Valley School; Kristen Celli, Burns Valley School; Asia Firebaugh, Middletown Middle School; Paul Johnson, East Lake School; Elisa Kim, Middletown Middle School; Mackenzie Law, Lower Lake Elementary; Roberto Lozano, Mt Vista Middle School; Wroehnyn Milks, Lucerne Elementary; Kaylee O’Bryant, Upper Lake Middle School; Jessia Osborne, Pomo School; Sam Price, East Lake School; Giovanni Sanchez, Terrace School; Zach Sneathen, Upper Lake Middle School; Noelani Urquiza, Terrace School, Weeden Wetmore, Lower Lake Elementary; and Kaylie Williams, Mt Vista Middle School. Burns Valley School student, Charlie Burke, also qualified but was unable to participate in the competition.

A very special “thank you” goes to Principal Tony Loumena and the staff at Upper Lake Middle School for hosting the Spelling Bee.

Thank you to Principal Jill Falconer and staff at Terrace School in Lakeport for hosting the Lake County Elementary Spelling Bee on Tuesday, March 20.

In a heated competition between Lake County elementary students in grades fourth through sixth, Daymion Martinez and Tyler Parrott came out on top.

Spelling champs who also participated in the competition are: Sarah Alvior, Burns Valley; Rayven Baldwin-Riggs, East Lake; Hannah Barnett, Kelseyville Elementary; Meaghan Boykin, Terrace School; Allison Bryant, Kelseyville Elementary; Michael Comacho, Terrace; Allessandra Diaz, Coyote Valley Elementary; Helena Dougan, Lake County International Charter School; Reanne Egger, Minnie Cannon Elementary; Jason Gentle, Mt Vista Middle School; Blair Hayes, Upper Lake Elementary; Vanessa Hughes, East Lake; Cheyenne Justice, Coyote Valley; Sean MacDonell, Lake Co. International Charter; Rachel Mavy, Pomo School; Aiden McAdon, Mt Vista Middle School; Aleia Milano, Lower Lake Elementary; Leila Perez, Riviera Elementary; Tristin Tapia, Pomo School; Sara Vierra, Minnie Cannon; Lyndsay Wade, Upper Lake Elementary; Kaila Willard, Lucerne Elementary; and Madison Witt, Riviera Elementary.

Students who qualified but were unable to participate in the competition included: Maria Salazar, Lower Lake Elementary; Savannah Vanmeter, Burns Valley School; and Chloe Ziegler, Cobb Elementary.

The annual spelling competitions are coordinated by the Lake County Office of Education.

Master of ceremonies/spell master for both of the spelling bees was Stephanie Wayment, education specialist at Lake County Office of Education.  

The judges for the competition were Robin Totorica, Jan Bailey, Tracy Skeen and Tim Gill, also from LCOE. 

A bill to rescue California’s world-renowned state parks jointly authored by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) cleared its first hurdle today, garnering unanimous bipartisan support from the Assembly’s Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.

Chesbro and Huffman presented the bill, AB 1589, at a hearing of the committee Tuesday.

“The California State Parks Stewardship Act of 2012 is ground-breaking legislation that will reform how California funds and manages its state parks,” Chesbro said. “There is no more important resource to the North Coast than its state parks. They are essential to the economies of local communities throughout the First Assembly District. AB 1589 will create lasting security for the California State Parks system and it will save the state money in the long-term.”

Key provisions of AB 1589 include:

• Encourages formation of a state compact that guarantees an ongoing level of state funding for operations and maintenance of state parks.
• Creates a State Park Enterprise Fund to be used for construction and installation of modern revenue and fee collection equipment and technologies to increase park visitation and revenues.
• Produces a California State Park environmental license plate that individual vehicle owners could purchase and have the fees go towards support of state parks.
• Provides the option for taxpayers to voluntarily purchase an annual state park access pass when they file their state tax returns.
• Requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to be more transparent on how it evaluates and selects specific parks for closure, and places a cap of 25 state park units on the number of park closures allowed from 2012 to 2016 without legislative approval.

“The enthusiastic bipartisan support AB 1589 received in today’s committee hearing is very encouraging,” Chesbro said. “We can’t allow our state parks to go feral and leave them vulnerable to vandalism, illegal marijuana grows and homeless encampments.”

AB 1589 is also jointly authored by Assemblymembers Roger Dickinson, Mike Gatto and Kevin Jeffries.

The bill now goes to the Assembly’s Committee on Revenue and Taxation.

Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) will host an Internet town hall Wednesday, March 21, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Those wishing to submit questions prior or during the show can do so through her Web site at www.sd02.senate.ca.gov/townhall .

Evans is author of SB 974 (Park Closure Audit) and SB 1078 (Parks Revenue Generation Act).

Along with Evans, the call will feature Caryl Hart, chair of the California Parks & Recreation Commission, and executive director of the Sonoma County Regional Park System.

Evans and Hart will provide an overview of the state park closures proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown – which go into effect July 1,  2012 – as well as discuss the roles of nonprofits and local governments, privatization and concession agreements and what people can do to keep state parks from closing.

Evans represents the Second Senatorial District, including all or portions of the counties of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Wednesday announced that Walmart has agreed to pay $2.1 million for overcharging consumers in violation of a 2008 judgment against the retail chain.

The judgment is the result of Walmart's failure to comply with a 2008 judgment that required the retail chain to resolve errors in pricing at checkout stands, Harris' office reported.

“Consumers should feel confident that the price on the shelf will be the same price they are charged at the cash register,” said Harris. “Californians who shop at Walmart should know that they have the right to ask for the appropriate discount.”

In December 2005, the Attorney General's Office and the San Diego District Attorney's Office investigated allegations that Walmart stores in California were scanning items at a higher price than the prices advertised on store shelves and signs.

Through random price-checking, county departments of weights and measures across the state found that 164 Walmart stores in 30 counties had made scanning errors.

According to the terms of the 2008 judgment, consumers who were overcharged at the cash register should have immediately received $3 off the lowest advertised price of the item. If the price was less than $3, the item was to be given to the consumer for free.

Starting in November 2010, Departments of Weights and Measures in 11 counties conducted investigations to monitor Walmart's compliance and found continued errors in pricing at Walmart checkout stands.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Harris, San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith filed a stipulated modified judgment with the San Diego Superior Court resolving Walmart's failure to comply with the requirements of the 2008 judgment.

The $3 off program was originally scheduled to end in November 2012, but with Wednesday's action has been extended to November 2013.

Walmart also will be required to put new, large signs describing the policy, in both English and Spanish, at each of the approximately 3,000 checkout stands at its 180 stores and super centers in California.

Walmart has agreed to designate a person at every Walmart store in California to ensure pricing accuracy.

Any price discrepancy must be reported within three hours to Walmart's corporate headquarters, which receives and maintains price audit information, consumer complaints and inspection reports for all California Walmart stores.

In addition, Walmart agreed to pay new penalties and costs totaling $2.1 million. These funds will be divided between county weights and measures officials, the California Department of Measurement Standards, the Attorney General's Office, the San Diego District Attorney's Office and the San Diego City Attorney's Office.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Officials with the city of Clearlake are investigating a suspicious device brought to the police department.

City Administrator Joan Phillipe said in an email that on Tuesday morning a suspicious device was brought “in a non-threatening manner” to the Clearlake Police station, which is located in Clearlake City Hall at 14050 Olympic Drive.

“As a precaution while a determination is being made as to exactly what the device is, a portion of the City Hall parking lot and access to the building has been taped off to public access,” Phillipe wrote.

She said police will offer more information to the community as soon as it's available.

A Humboldt County attorney has been convicted of violating his felony probation, resulting from prior land use violations in 2011.

Last week Kenneth Bareilles was sentenced in the the case, which was prosecuted in two days by Deputy District Attorney Christa McKimmy of the Consumer and Environmental Protection unit, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.   

He was convicted on Feb. 15, the agency reported.

"This is a significant victory for California’s natural resources,” said Department of Fish and Game Warden Jackie Krug. “As illegal rural development increases each year, so do sediment pollution, stream barriers and the clearing of timber and riparian vegetation. The impacts to our forests and our salmon and steelhead populations are now on a scale not seen in decades.”

The case broke open in the summer of 2011 when DFG Warden Joshua Zulliger responded to a complaint of illegal grading activity on a subdivision owned by Bareilles.

Upon inspection, Zulliger found numerous land-use violations impacting fish and wildlife, including a tributary to Redwood Creek that is designated as critical habitat for steelhead trout.

From there, DFG launched an investigation with Zulliger, Environmental Scientist Jane Arnold and Krug.

Arnold prepared an analysis of the risk to aquatic resources which documented the impact of road construction, soil stock piled next to or in the stream channels, removal of riparian vegetation and poorly installed stream crossings.

DFG then filed a formal complaint against Bareilles and he was convicted.

During a storm this past January, the team then returned and witnessed sediment entering streams and flowing downstream toward Redwood Creek during the salmon and trout spawning and rearing season.

As the rain continued, video was taken of an estimated 10 cubic yards of sediment becoming saturated and flowing like lava into one of four affected streams on site.

At a sentencing hearing last Thursday, March 15, Bareilles submitted a signed streambed alteration agreement with DFG, as ordered by the court.

Judge Schafer denied Bareilles’ request to reduce his felony probation to a misdemeanor. He also was ordered to comply with the streambed alteration agreement to help restore the site.

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Wednesday appointed Juan Felipe Herrera to the position of California Poet Laureate.

Herrera, 63, is the author of 28 books and currently serves as the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.

He was a professor and chair of Chicano and Latin American Studies at California State University, Fresno, from 1990 to 2004 and a teaching assistant fellow at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa from 1988 to 1990.

Herrera’s work has received wide critical acclaim including numerous national and international awards.

In a 2008 review of his work, Stephen Burt of the New York Times wrote, “All life, all art, involves boundaries, if only those of birth and death. Some poets keep us conscious of those boundaries; others, like Herrera, discover their powers by defying them. Many poets since the 1960s have dreamed of a new hybrid art, part oral, part written, part English, part something else: an art grounded in ethnic identity, fueled by collective pride, yet irreducibly individual too. Many poets have tried to create such an art: Herrera is one of the first to succeed.”

Upon his receipt of the PEN Beyond Margins Award in 2009, the University of Arizona Press wrote, “For nearly four decades Juan Felipe Herrera has documented his experience as a Chicano in the United States and Latin America through stunning, memorable poetry that is both personal and universal in its impact, themes, and approach. Often political, never fainthearted, his career has been marked by tremendous virtuosity and a unique sensibility for uncovering the unknown and the unexpected.”

The son of migrant workers from Mexico, Herrera earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, a master of arts in social anthropology from Stanford University and a master of fine arts from the University of Iowa.

He was elected to the Board of Chancellors for the Academy of American Poets in 2011, was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry in 2010 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry in 2009.

This position requires Senate confirmation, and the California Arts Council provides an annual stipend. Herrera is a Democrat.

To read Herrera's poem, “Let Me Tell You What A Poem Brings,” visit www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/183577 .

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains information that is not appropriate for young readers.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION FROM THE DISTRICT, WHICH NOW HAS OFFERED COMMENT ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A young girl’s allegations that she was sexually abused by fellow students at a local elementary school will go to trial at year’s end.

Last May, a lawsuit on behalf of the girl and her guardian was filed against the Middletown Unified School District in civil court, according to court documents.

The girl and her guardian allege that in April 2010, while she was attending Minnie Cannon Elementary School – which educates students from grades kindergarten through sixth – she was sexually assaulted by several fellow students.

At the time of the alleged assaults the girl was 6 years old. Case documents indicated that the girl – who is now 8 years old – now lives with her guardian outside of Lake County.

Both sides had agreed to mediation, however, during a case management conference on Feb. 14, Lake County Superior Court Judge David Herrick scheduled the case for a nine-day trial beginning Dec. 5.

“I’m not going to comment on it,” said Dr. Korby Olson, Middletown Unified’s superintendent, explaining that it is a case of pending litigation.

He added, “The claim was there. We denied the claim and so it went into the court.”

The school district’s attorney and the attorney for the plaintiff, Grace Chang of the Cifarelli Law Firm in Santa Ana, have not responded to Lake County News’ requests for comment on the case.

The suit alleges that the girl was “sexually molested, assaulted, battered, inappropriately fondled and forced to give oral sex” to as many as 50 unnamed defendants who she alleges were fellow students. However, the district said only three students were alleged to have been involved and the large number of defendants – 50 – was named because the discovery process is not yet finished.

The assaults are alleged to have taken place during school hours behind a shed near the school’s basketball courts, case documents explain.

In a letter sent out to parents last year, school Principal Dan Morgan said it was brought to his attention on April 26, 2010, that “several students in our lower grade levels had engaged in and/or witnessed inappropriate sexual contact between students during school hours.” Specific details of the allegations, he added, had to be kept confidential.

In the suit it’s alleged that Middletown Unified was negligent in supervising its students, as well as the staff members who it’s alleged should have prevented the assaults. Fifty unnamed district employees also are listed as defendants.

The shed behind which the assaults are alleged to have taken place is called a “reasonably foreseeable risk” to students in the case documents.

The suit seeks general damages; special damages such as the loss of future earnings, and costs to cover medical and psychological care for the girl; legals costs; and other damages that the court deems appropriate.

Middletown Unified filed a subpoena for the report made about the alleged assaults to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The County Counsel’s Office, on behalf of the sheriff’s office, entered a motion to quash that subpoena.

County Counsel Anita Grant told Lake County News that the motion to quash was based on the sheriff’s office’s obligation to maintain reports of abuse as confidential unless ordered by a court to disclose them.

She said those confidentiality requirements are imposed as a result of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, which can be found in California Penal Code Sections 11164 through 11174.3.

At the Feb. 14 hearing, Judge Herrick ordered the sheriff’s office to produce the documents within 10 days of the hearing.

Grant said the records were produced in a timely manner in accordance with Herrick’s ruling.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Four cats this week are presented for your consideration for new companions.

Siamese, tabbies and a handsome gray cat are available at the county’s animal shelter, where adopted animals now can be spayed or neutered to reduce adoption-related costs.

Cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed and microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake .

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.

The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).

‘Flower’

“Flower” is an 8-year-old female domestic short hair mix.

She is a brown tabby with white markings, and has lovely green eyes.

Flower is residing in cat room kennel No. 17, ID No. 31965. She also can be seen in the video above.

Seal point Siamese

This male seal point Siamese is 1 year old.

He has a short white coat and blue eyes. He is not yet altered.

Find him in cat room kennel No. 20, ID No. 32050.

Male tabby

This male gray and black tabby is 3 years old.

He has a short coat and a docked tail.

Find him in cat room kennel No. 52, ID No. 32041.

Gray domestic short hair

This gray male domestic short hair mix is 3 years old.

He is not yet altered.

Find him in cat room kennel No. 96, ID No. 32059.

Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .

Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.