The students took part in the graduation ceremony in front of an auditorium filled with family and friends.

“This program has given the students the ability to make better choices,” explained Vice Principal Andy Goodwin about the intensive program.

Participation in DARE also demonstrated the students’ commitment, Goodwin said, as participation in the nine-week program took them away from their free time.

Taught by Lakeport Police Department’s School Resource Officer Stephanie Green, the curriculum covered resisting peer pressure, drug abuse resistance, healthy relationships and confidence in making healthy choices.

Prior to completing the program, all students were required to complete a report reflecting what they learned from the DARE program and how it affects their personal decision-making, according to a Lakeport Police statement.

The fifth and sixth graders also performed several skits that highlighted the lessons learned in the program – from resisting peer pressure, to making healthy life choices.

“It’s not just about drugs,” explained Green. “It’s about choices in life. All choices.”

Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke reminded the students that, as they go through life, they should give back to their communities by being positive role models. He reminded them that they can only control themselves – and the choices that they make.

Founded in Los Angeles in 1983, DARE is now an international program used throughout the United States and in more than 40 countries worldwide. It's designed to educate children about resisting drugs, gangs and violence.

The graduation ceremony was presented by the Lakeport Police Department in conjunction with the Lakeport Unified School District.

For more information about the D.A.R.E. program, visit www.dare.com.

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On April 30, following a highly-contested judgment and sentencing hearing, Judge Jonathan Lehan sentenced Laura Beth Clark, 36, a resident of Fort Bragg, to two years in prison, ordered she pay remaining restitution of $66,606, and remanded her immediately into custody for delivery to the California Department of Corrections.

The probation officer had recommended denial of probation, and the imposition of the two-year prison sentence, according to a report from the office of Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott.

On January 19, 2009, Clark entered a plea of no contest to the felony charge of embezzling from the Coastal Mendocino Association of Realtors.

The investigation revealed she had, as manager and bookkeeper of the association from 2002 through 2008, committed 61 acts of embezzlement amounting to $77,757. The investigation costs amounted to another $15,229.

The embezzlement came to light in July 2008, when Clark's estranged husband telephoned Ted Tanner, the president of the association, and claimed that his wife had embezzled money over the years, according to Lintott's office.

Tanner and Dee Dee Thomas, another member of the executive committee, arranged to meet with Clark and advise her of her husband's charges, at first believing he was just “blowing smoke.” To their surprise Clark admitted to embezzling $26,000, which she returned in a few days, and stated, when asked if that was all, “Of course.” In fact, she had embezzled $50,000 more than that.

The investigation revealed that Clark had paid herself money based on false invoices, and purchased items for CMAR using her personal credit cards and then reimbursing herself several times over.

She also allegedly made up a phony company with the name "Flex" in it, which was close in name to a real company CMAR used with the name "Flex" in it and make an entry into the books for services by the false company, with the payments going to her.

Numerous letters were submitted to the court on behalf of Clark, and on behalf of CMAR. At the sentencing hearing, Clark's attorney, Bart Kronfeld, argued that Clark, being a first time offender on a charge not involving violence, should be placed on probation, and be allowed to do any jail time by electronic home monitoring.

Kronfeld argued that the defendant's “early plea” plea showed remorse, and that prison would be devastating to her two daughters, age 12 and 9, one of whom has no visitation with her father.

Clark was tearful at the hearing, and told the court that she was remorseful. She said that the reason she did the embezzling was, “I was not standing up to my husband.”

Prosecutor Tim Stoen argued the probation officer's recommendation should be followed, citing the report of Clark's interview which stated: "She never mentioned the victims of this case or the detrimental effect this has had on them." Stoen also pointed out Clark's use of the passive voice during that interview: "accounts were set up" and "checks were written."

Three officers or former officers of CMAR gave victim impact statements Ron Eich, Ted Tanner and Dee Dee Thomas. The gist of their comments was that the 98 members of CMAR had been harmed emotionally and financially by Clark's embezzlement, that she had never apologized to any of them, that she had been highly manipulative in committing the embezzlements, and that she been deeply trusted, even loved, making the members feel particularly betrayed. They supported the recommendation of the district attorney and the probation department.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Lehan openly considered and weighed the statements that had been made, indicating a concern for the welfare of the children as well as a concern to protect the community against embezzlement.

Lehan ended up making the decision to follow the recommendation of the Probation Department, and remanded Clark into custody.

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James P. Whetstone, 19, was arrested for grand theft, possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance, according to a report from Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

At 8:40 p.m. last Saturday Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to investigate the theft of a handgun. Smallcomb said 58-year-old James A. Whetstone of Hopland reported that his son had stolen his .45-caliber handgun from their home on Mountain House Road.

The elder Whetstone told the 911 dispatcher that his son's behavior had been erratic and that his son had slept very little in recent days, according to Smallcomb. Whetstone was concerned that his son was under the influence of drugs while armed with the handgun.

The 19-year-old had driven away in his father's Mercedes, and a description of the suspect and his vehicle were broadcast via police radio, Smallcomb said.

Officers from the Hopland Tribal Police intercepted the vehicle on Highway 175 near the entrance to the reservation and detained the suspect. Smallcomb said officers from the California Highway Patrol also responded to assist.

A search of the car revealed 50 suspected methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) tablets hidden in a panel in the trunk of the car. Smallcomb said MDMA is most commonly known as “Ecstacy,” a controlled substance with stimulant and psychoactive properties.

The younger Whetstone then led deputies to the stolen .45-caliber firearm. He was subsequently arrested and lodged in the Mendocino County Jail, Smallcomb said.

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CLEARLAKE – An investigation conducted by the Lake County District Attorney's Office has concluded that a Clearlake Police officer who shot a man last September was justified in doing so.

District Attorney Jon Hopkins released the report Wednesday involving the shooting of Sean Christian Pryor.

Last Sept. 30 several officers arrived at the scene on 33rd Avenue on a report from Pryor's brother, who reported that Pryor had threatened his life, Hopkins' report recounted.

Pryor, who threatened to kill the officers, was alleged to have been armed with a large kitchen knife and appeared to be preparing to assault other officers on the scene when he was shot, according to the report.

He also had allegedly thrown a table leg at an officer and sprayed the front linoleum entryway with charcoal lighter fluid, Hopkins noted.

A total of seven bullet casings were recovered, which was consistent with the number of bullets missing from the .40-caliber Glock pistol belonging to one of the officers. Hopkins said another officer also fired a Taser during the incident.

The names of the officers involved weren't released in the report.

“Based upon the investigation, it is my legal opinion that the officer who shot Mr. Pryor had a reasonable belief, under the circumstances, that it was necessary to use deadly force to prevent Mr. Pryor from causing imminent death or great bodily injury by stabbing that officer or others with the large kitchen knife,” Hopkins wrote. “This would constitute a complete defense to any criminal charges, and based upon that, the District Attorney would not be able to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt and will not be filing any charges against any of the officers.”

Pryor, 27, was arrested Jan. 4 on felony charges of obstructing or resisting an officer. He remains in the Lake County Jail on $300,000 bond, according to jail records.

Hopkins' full report is reprinted below.

IN THE MATTER OF THE NON-FATAL SHOOTING OF SEAN PRYOR

LAKE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S FINAL REPORT

On September 30, 2009, at about 10:02 a.m., in the City of Clearlake, Clearlake Police Department Officers were dispatched to a call for service at 16382 33rd Avenue, Clearlake, CA. During this incident, Sean Christian Pryor suffered non-lethal gun shot wounds from a Clearlake Police Officer. The Lake County District Attorney’s office was contacted by the Clearlake Police Department and asked to assume the responsibility for the criminal investigation under the Lake County Protocol for Law Enforcement Involved Fatal Incidents. We assumed responsibility for that investigation and at the conclusion have determined that the shooting was justified under the circumstances, based on the appearance that Mr. Pryor was about to stab one of the officers who had responded to the scene. Therefore, no criminal charges will be filed against the officer who shot Mr. Pryor, or any of the officers involved in the incident.

Mr. Pryor’s brother contacted Clearlake Police Department during the morning of September 30. 2009, to report his concerns about Mr. Pryor’s behavior. Their mother had left the residence September 29th, saying she could not deal with him. The brother went to the residence the morning of September 30th to check on Mr. Pryor and reported that his life was threatened by Mr. Pryor, who had a broken table leg. He believed that there might be a machete in the house, and said that Mr. Pryor was destroying the house. The brother further reported that Mr. Pryor had a previous incident where he fought with officers and had to be tased. The brother provided a key to the door for police use.

Clearlake Police Officers arrived at the residence and attempted to talk to Mr. Pryor and gain entrance to the house, but he would not open the door. Mr. Pryor was extremely agitated, yelled curse words and threatened to kill the officers. The officers persisted in attempts to convince Mr. Pryor to open the door, but continued to hear yelling and objects being thrown inside the residence. When they were unable to get cooperation from Mr. Pryor, a plan for entering through the front door, with officers stationed at the back door, was made. Four officers were at each door when the front door was opened.

As the officers opened the door, Mr. Pryor threw a chair leg and hit one of them on the shin. Mr. Pryor had sprayed the front linoleum entryway with charcoal lighter fluid, and when the first officer entered the door, he lost his footing and fell just as Mr. Pryor threw a wadded paper or rag at him that opened up as it reached the officer and hit him in the chest.

Three of the four entering officers had handguns pulled, and the fourth had a taser equipped with video and audio recording. After Mr. Pryor was first seen, he briefly disappeared into a hallway and then quickly reappeared. The first officer saw Mr. Pryor with a knife in his raised hand as the officer was falling. Mr. Pryor continued to approach, and the officer fired his handgun until he saw Mr. Pryor fall to the floor. The officer with the taser fired it as he heard the shots, and the fourth officer saw a large knife on the floor near the right side of Mr. Pryor after he fell to the floor. That officer stepped over Mr. Pryor, announced the presence of the knife and kicked it away and down the hallway. A cigarette lighter was found near Mr. Pryor, and a fire extinguisher was found placed at the front door.

The officers began to administer first aid and called for medical personnel to respond.

Two Senior Criminalists from the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Forensic Services, and the Evidence Technician from Clearlake Police Department assisted in the processing of the scene with four Lake County District Attorney Investigators. The house and yard were littered with destroyed household items, and antipsychotic medication and marijuana were found. Seven casings consistent with the seven rounds missing from the first officer’s handgun were found. There was no evidence of any of the other officers firing their firearm. Bullets were collected along with a Bic lighter, large kitchen knife, fire extinguisher and broken chair leg. An open container of charcoal starter fluid was documented. The taser was collected and the video and audio were reviewed. All officers were interviewed, including two Lake County Sheriff Deputies who responded and were stationed at the back door, along with Mr. Pryor’s brother and several neighbors.

After a review of the investigation, I believe the evidence shows that only one officer fired all of the shots which struck Mr. Pryor from a .40 caliber Glock pistol. Based upon the investigation, it is my legal opinion that the officer who shot Mr. Pryor had a reasonable belief, under the circumstances, that it was necessary to use deadly force to prevent Mr. Pryor from causing imminent death or great bodily injury by stabbing that officer or others with the large kitchen knife. This would constitute a complete defense to any criminal charges, and based upon that, the District Attorney would not be able to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt and will not be filing any charges against any of the officers.

May 5, 2010

Jon E. Hopkins

District Attorney

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Sheriff's deputies arrested Daniel Scott Beaty, 35, of Lakeport Tuesday afternoon after a foot chase through a neighborhood in Nice, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Still being sought is a second subject, James John McClean, 23, of Lakeport, who Bauman said is believed to have been with Beaty when he fled the scene of the Monday shooting.

Beaty is alleged to have shot Glenn Jenkins, 35, of Willits during an early morning confrontation at a home on Country Club Drive at the corner of Third Avenue in Lucerne, Bauman said.

Deputies responded to the home at about 2:30 a.m. Monday on the report of a shooting, and found Jenkins lying on a living room couch with several gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen. Jenkins was alive and conscious but unable to tell deputies what had happened.

After responding to the scene to treat Jenkins’ injuries, rescue personnel from the Northshore Fire Protection District transported him to a landing zone established at the Lucerne Harbor Park where he was ultimately flown out of county by a REACH helicopter for further treatment, as Lake County News has reported.

Jenkins’ condition is believed to be serious but stable, Bauman said.

Bauman said that Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit detectives were called out to assist with the shooting investigation. According to witness statements gathered at the scene, Jenkins had reportedly been shot by Beaty who had apparently been in a prior dating relationship with the woman living at the Third Avenue home.

Beaty had reportedly called the woman earlier in the evening threatening to come to the house with a gun and several hours later, he showed up, Bauman said.

According to Bauman's report, Beaty allegedly let himself into the home and when Jenkins confronted him in the living room, Beaty shot him four to five times with a small caliber handgun before fleeing the scene.

At around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday detectives were investigating leads on Beaty’s whereabouts and while talking to some residents on Liberty Street in Nice, Beaty was spotted running through the backyard of a residence, Bauman said.

Detectives pursued Beaty on foot, Bauman said, and after chasing him over several fences and through several yards, they were able to take him into custody without further incident.

Beaty was booked at the Lake County Jail on felony charges of attempted murder, assault with a firearm, felony battery, being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm in public. Bauman said Beaty is being held without bail pending an appearance in the Superior Court.

Detectives are still looking for the weapon Beaty is alleged to have used to shoot Jenkins. Bauman said Beaty was unarmed at the time of his arrest.

Detectives also want to locate and question McClean, who is described as a white male adult, 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 195 pounds, with short brown hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information about the shooting or McClean’s whereabouts is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at 707-262-4200.

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The extremely charred body of Donald Scott Williams was found inside of what remained of an unoccupied home located on County Road 25, south of Orland in a rural farming area on Sunday, April 4, as Lake County News has reported.

Investigators believe an act of arson caused the home to be burned to the ground and destroyed.

An autopsy confirmed the initial findings that Williams had died at the hands of another. The services of a forensic odontologist was needed to positively identify the remains as those of Williams.

On Monday Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones reported that the agency was working with WeTip to find leads in the case.

A caller to WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) will remain completely anonymous and no one will ever know who made the call, Jones said.

Offering nationwide Internet access and hotlines, WeTip – founded in 1972 – is an anonymous crime reporting system for citizens and a valuable tool for law enforcement. WeTip stresses the complete anonymity of the caller.

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West Nile Virus is transmitted to humans and animals through a mosquito bite. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds.

So far this year, West Nile Virus-related detections are down from last year, according to the California West Nile Virus Web site, www.westnile.ca.gov.

Two dead birds have been found in Los Angeles County, as compared to 11 dead birds by this time last year, and no positive mosquito samples or sentinel chickens have yet been found, the state reported.

Los Angeles County is the only area of the state found to have cases of the virus at this time, while five counties had some form of positive testing at this time last year, according to the state.

State and regional officials urge resident to take the following precautions to help reduce their risk of mosquito-borne diseases.

• Avoid spending times outdoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.

• When outdoors wear long pants and long sleeved shirts and use insect repellent.

• Eliminate all sources of standing water that can support mosquito breeding.

• Repair or replace torn screens on the windows and doors of your home to help keep mosquitoes outside.

• Add mosquito fish or a larvicide to small ponds that do not have fish. For use of larvicide follow directions on the package.

Most individuals who are infected with WNV do not experience any illness. Mild symptoms – such as fever, rash, headache and body aches – occur in up to 20 percent of persons infected.

Less than 1 percent of WNV infections prove severe, although seniors and individuals with impaired immune systems have a greater chance of developing severe symptoms that include high fever, disorientation, and neurological effects.

The public is advised to see their medical provider if they develop symptoms that could be from WNV.

Since horses are susceptible to WNV and a vaccine is available for horses, horse owners are advised to contact their veterinarians about timely vaccinations.

If you find dead birds or tree squirrels, be sure to report them to the state's dead birds hotline at 1-877-968-2473 or online at www.westnile.ca.gov/report_wnv.php.

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The state Department of Finance population report showed that California gained 393,000 new residents last year, pushing the Golden State's population to 38,648,000 as of Jan. 1.

The report said that the biggest numeric increases in population in 2009 occurred in some of the state's largest cities – Los Angeles (44,037), San Diego (17,041), San Jose (16,237) and San Francisco (9,485).

Of the 480 California cities, 445 had gains in population, five experienced no change and 30 lost population, the report showed.

In Lake County, the estimated population this past Jan. 1 was 64,053, down by 22 people from the previous year, according to the state.

The city of Lakeport had a 0.1 percent drop in population, dropping from 5,151 in 2008 to 5,140 in 2009.

The report showed a slightly larger population drop – 0.2 percent – for the city of Clearlake in the same period, with the Jan. 1 population estimate at 14,385, down from the previous year's estimate of 14,401.

The remainder of the county had a population of 44,528, down by five people from the 2008 estimate, which resulted in no statistical variation, the report showed.

The state's biggest city remained Los Angeles, more than twice the size of the next largest city, San Diego.

Los Angeles' population was estimated to be approximately 4,094,764 as of Jan. 1, growing by more than 44,000 persons during the year. That growth rate is more than twice that of San Diego, which now has a population of 1,376,173, adding more than 17,000 persons during the year, the state reported.

California's fastest-growing city in 2009 was Colfax, located in Placer County; Colfax's population increased by 5.7 percent. The Department of Finance reported that the other fastest growing cities in the top five were Beaumont in Riverside County (5.5 percent), Sand City in Monterey County (5.4 percent), Coachella in Riverside County (3.8 percent), and Oakley in Contra Costa County (3.3 percent).

In 2009, California added 62,385 housing units, numbers down significantly from the peak for residential construction in 2005, when the state added 197,477 new units. The Department of Finance report said that in 2006, 172,458 units were added; in 2007, there were 131,823 additional units; and in

2008, only 86,492 were added. The estimates are based on information the agency collects directly from local governments.

In addition, the state said that the decline in single-family detached homes continued in the current year as well, decreasing by 40 percent from last year. While in 2008 the state added 39,596 single-family

detached homes, only 23,637 were built in 2009.

California's prison population also declined for the third year in a row, down by 3,189 to 181,964 inmates statewide, the Department of Finance said. That decline was due to inmate relocation among facilities and to other states.

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An early morning shooting at this Lucerne home on Country Club Drive sent one man to the hospital with several gunshot wounds on Monday, May 3, 2010. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

LUCERNE – An early morning shooting in Lucerne on Monday sent one man to the hospital.

The man was assaulted in an incident inside a home on 6287 Country Club Drive between Third and Fourth avenues at around 2:30 a.m., officials reported.

Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Jim Robbins said two medic units – one from Lucerne and one from Nice – along with an engine and a battalion chief were dispatched to the scene at 2:38 a.m. and staged while sheriff's deputies secured the scene.

Robbins said the shooting victim was conscious and talking to medics.

“The best our people could tell is he had six bullet holes in him – three in his abdomen and three in his lower extremities,” Robbins said.

Robbins said REACH air ambulance was called to the scene, with the landing zone being set up at Lucerne Harbor Park. The helicopter landed just before 3:15 a.m. and lifted off a short time later to transport the shooting victim to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he remains in care.

Sheriff's detectives continued to work at the crime scene throughout the morning. A suspect has not yet been taken into custody.

Officials have indicated they will release more details about the shooting later Monday afternoon.

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Lakeport Fire Protection Chief Ken Wells briefs participants in a hazmat exercise on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, east of Clearlake Oaks. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

CLEARLAKE OAKS – On Tuesday local and state officials spent the day working through a practice disaster scenario in order to be prepared should the real thing happen someday.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) coordinated the full-scale hazardous materials exercise on the Clearlake Lava properties along Highway 20 east of Spring Valley from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Officials said the annual disaster drills are designed to test Lake County's ability to respond, mitigate and recover from a hazardous materials incident or large-scale natural disaster.

The annual full-scale disaster exercises are mandated and funded through the Federal Department of Homeland Security, and are designed and facilitated by the Lake County Sheriff’s OES. They're meant to ensure proper response and management of real incidents and allow multiple agencies to work together in real time to practice solving a crisis in progress.

Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells was the day's incident commander, working with a unified command of officials with numerous local agencies.

Unified command members included Sgt. Gary Basor of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Capt. Crystal Esberg and Jerry Wilson of Lake County OES, county Road Superintendent Steve Stangland, Dan Hernandez of Cal Fire and Dale Stoebe of Lakeport Police.

This was the third joint state and local exercise of its type conducted by the Lake County OES in as many years, according to Lake County OES. Other events included a mass casualty practice event at the county park in Upper Lake and another practice event at Blue Lakes.

Officials reported that the exercise had been in the planning stages since January, with the details kept confidential by exercise planners prior to the event in order for participant responders to experience and react to the incident as they would in an actual emergency.

A portable decontamination unit was set up and used on mock victims during the full-scale hazardous materials exercise on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, east of Clearlake Oaks. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

The exercise involved the activation of more than 20 federal, state and local emergency resources, including more than 75 emergency responders from both Lake and Colusa counties.

Agencies participating in the Tuesday event included the Lake County Sheriff's Office, OES, Lakeport Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District, South Lake County Fire Protection District, Lake County Fire Protection District, Clearlake Police, Lakeport Police, Lake County Department of Public Works, Cal Fire, US Forest Service and Williams Fire, and the Environmental Health departments for both Lake and Colusa counties.

Stangland said the scenario for the practice emergency was a semi truck traveling through the county carrying a load of agricultural chemicals.

In the imagined scenario, the truck comes out of the mountains and onto the highway straightaway and loses several canisters of unidentified chemical materials. The truck driver continues on, apparently not realizing he's lost part of his load along the roadside.

Several mock victims – students with K-Corps – stop to pick up the materials and become contaminated. The scenario has four walking wounded and three people down, with a mock fatality resulting later in the exercise.

Responding to a situation involving hazardous materials requires careful planning and a systematic approach in order to keep everyone safe, Stangland said.

In the practice scenario, Wells was first on scene. He then had to use binoculars to get a sense of the situation, rather than directly entering it, in order to gauge the seriousness and call for the right response.

This year’s exercise also prompted a mock activation of the County Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan and full Operational Area activations, officials reported.

Personnel from area agencies suited up in hazmat gear in order to practice working with dangerous chemicals in a practice scenario on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, east of Clearlake Oaks. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

Hazardous materials incidents are fairly common and generally easily managed and mitigated. However, Esberg said preparing for these types of incidents clearly demonstrates a mutual effort among state and local agencies to work together for a rapid and efficient response.

Part of the afternoon portion of the exercise involved trained hazmat investigators donning suits that can be worn for up to four hours before breaking down from chemicals. With the plastic suits pulled on over other protective gear and air tanks – which made them look like upright, walking turtles – the personnel approached the materials and collected them for identification.

The mock casualties then went through a decontamination unit, a tent with a warm shower system to help remove dangerous materials. The unit's bladder system catches the water for disposal. Wells said the tent unit is light enough to be carried by two people, and has a variety of hookups in order to be used different types of fire equipment.

Stangland said that the dispatch time on the practice event was 10:11 a.m. Within 33 minutes officials were on scene and addressing the hazmat event, a response time which Stangland said is “phenomenal” even for a practice scenario.

California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) officials were on scene to help evaluate the exercise and how the personnel performed.

CalEMA exercise planner Kevin Leisher and Tom Tornell, an operations planner, said the goal is to help people learn how better to respond to such situations in order to protect the public. Tornell said they seek to offer constructive criticism of the operation.

Personnel trained in hazmat set up an area to evaluate the chemicals found during the practice hazardous materials exercise on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, east of Clearlake Oaks. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

Leisher said they evaluate the exercise based on the required tasks. They will then share those evaluations with Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Willie Sapeta, one of the day's organizers, who will then take about two to three weeks to complete an “after action report.”

In January Leisher worked with Lake County officials on a “tabletop” exercise in which they sat down together to talk through a scenario of communications inoperability in case of an emergency.

A member of a four-person coastal area team, Leisher also is working on an emergency practice scenario regarding port terrorism that's coming up in another part of the state. Over the next few years they'll be working on scenarios in other areas involving a massive Central Valley flood and a Northern California earthquake.

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Fully protected personnel return from collecting samples from canisters left behind in the practice scenario in which a semi truck driver unknowingly loses part of a load of dangerous chemicals. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis and 18 other district attorneys throughout the state announced on Monday that a $27.6 million settlement was reached with Walmart for violations of environmental laws and regulations.

The San Diego District Attorney’s Office and Attorney General’s Office filed a civil complaint on April 2 alleging that each of the 236 Walmart stores, Sam’s Club stores, distribution centers and storage facilities in California were in violation of environmental laws and regulations.

Lake County's Walmart store is located in Clearlake.

The suit alleged that Walmart employees and management were improperly storing, handling, transporting and dumping hazardous waste, including pesticides, chemicals, paint, aerosols, acid, fertilizer and motor oil.

“This should serve as a warning to all companies doing business in the state and in San Diego County that they will not be allowed to flaunt environmental laws in place to keep our communities clean and safe – no matter how large or small the corporation,” said Dumanis.

Phyllis Harris, vice president of environmental compliance for Walmart U.S. said environmental sustainability is a priority at Walmart, and the company takes its compliance responsibilities very seriously.

“It's important to note that these incidents happened at least four years ago,” Harris said in a Monday statement. “Since then, we have worked closely with the state of California on a comprehensive hazardous waste plan that includes improved training programs, policies and procedures. This robust environmental compliance initiative is focused on how to safely handle products like these and has been implemented in all of our stores and clubs.”

In the settlement – signed Monday by San Diego Superior Court Judge Linda B. Quinn – Walmart agreed to pay $20 million in penalties to the 20 prosecutors and 32 environmental health agencies throughout California involved in the investigation.

The company also will pay more than $1.6 million in costs for the investigation and $3 million for supplemental environmental projects benefiting prosecutors, investigators and regulators.

Walmart also agreed to spend at least an additional $3 million toward keeping its stores in compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

“Safety should always be the No. 1 priority for the hundreds of thousands of people who travel California’s freeways every day,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said. “This settlement ensures that Walmart obeys the laws when shipping potentially hazardous materials on our streets and highways.”

Federal, state and local investigators spent thousands of hours documenting the violations.

The investigation began after an off-duty regulator from the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health noticed a Walmart employee dumping bleach down a sink drain in April 2005. The regulator returned to the San Diego County store while on duty and asked about hazardous waste disposal policies. That’s when it was discovered that Walmart was in violation.

Another example of a violation involved a Walmart Store in Solano County where a child was found playing in a mound of fertilizer left near its garden department. The yellowish-colored powder contained ammonium sulfate, a chemical compound used in fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides which causes irritation to the skin, eyes and respiratory tract.

As a result of this settlement, Walmart was required to make substantial upgrades to its environmental compliance system to prevent any future violations.

Harris said the company has taken a number of compliance measures, including hiring more environmental compliance staff, developing and implementing nearly 50 new environmental compliance standard operating procedures for our stores and clubs, identifying which consumer products sold in stores and clubs constitute hazardous waste if discarded and providing the information to store and club associates through handheld terminals and shelf labels.

They've also implemented a hazardous waste management system so that store and club associates properly dispose of regulated items that become waste at the stores and clubs and provided enhanced environmental compliance training to all associates in all stores and clubs.

"We’re confident that our current procedures represent a model for hazardous waste management in retail,” Harris said. “We’re a better company today as a result of these programs and we’ll continue to look for opportunities to make our environmental compliance programs even stronger in the future.”

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