LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A weekend checkpoint on Clear Lake to monitor for boaters who were under the influence resulted in some field sobriety tests but no arrests.
On Saturday, June 25, the Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol Unit conducted the boating under the influence checkpoint from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. off of Beakban Island and Leubow Point, according to Capt. James Bauman.
Bauman said it was the third BUI checkpoint coordinated by the sheriff’s office in conjunction with “Operation Dry Water” since 2009.
Law enforcement personnel from California State Parks and the California Department of Fish and Game assisted with Saturday’s operation, he said.
The BUI checkpoint was intended to reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents and injuries, and to enforce other California boating laws on the waters of Clear Lake. Boaters were stopped briefly and questioned, according to Bauman.
He said that any boat operators showing signs of alcohol use, intoxication or impairment, were subjected to further testing.
During the operational period, a total of 33 boaters were contacted and screened. Bauman said seven operators were given field sobriety tests and no arrests were made for boating under the influence of alcohol.
“Operation Dry Water” was launched in 2009 by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) in partnership with the United States Coast Guard and has been a highly successful effort to draw public attention to the hazards of boating under the influence of alcohol and drugs, Bauman reported.
Held in June just prior to the July 4 holiday, Operation Dry Water is a national weekend of BUI detection and enforcement aimed at reducing the number of alcohol and drug-related accidents and fatalities and fostering a stronger and more visible deterrent to alcohol and drug use on the water. Bauman said Operation Dry Water is coordinated by NASBLA, in partnership with the states, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies.
Bauman said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office considered Saturday’s operation a great success in that no arrests were necessary.
Members of the Marine Patrol Unit and officers assisting from other agencies received a great deal of positive feedback from boaters going through the checkpoint on Saturday, he said.
Sheriff Frank Rivero expressed his deepest gratitude to those members of the California Department of Fish and Game and California State Parks for their participation and support of the BUI checkpoint operation.
Limes are like the party animals of the citrus family, the somewhat wild counterpart to the more laid back lemon.
Lemons are elegant. They sit as wedges in lovely china bowls at English teas. They gently top scones as lemon curd or are spread on toast as marmalade.
Limes, in contrast, are squeezed into salsa, paired up with spicy Caribbean jerk seasoning and mingle with tropical fruits like mango and pineapple.
There’s lemonade on the veranda or lime squeezed into Mexican beer; conversation at the bar over lemon drop cocktails or pitchers of lime Margaritas while salsa dancing.
See what I mean?
That’s not to say that lemons never get to walk on the wild side or that limes don’t ever dress up. Each gets the chance to be something a little different now and then.
This is not a negative comparison. I love lemons; they’re among my favorite ingredients in cuisine. Limes, however, are just a bit more exotic – less tame, so to speak. They’re island beaches with warm waves, steamy Asian jungles, Latin dances, pirates and rum.
One of my first culinary classes was taught at the height of summer, when sweating over a hot stove is the last thing one wants to do, so I arranged the menu as a sort of “non-cooking” class.
Cool dishes from around the world were featured and – without planning it this way – the unifying ingredient was lime. The Brazilian tropical rice salad, the Thai slaw and the fiesta black bean salad all featured lime.
Even the Greek tzatziki (cucumber-yogurt salad) and the pomegranate spritzer were flavored with lime. (Traditional tzatziki is made with lemon; this was a unique version.)
This makes sense in a way. Lime is a tropical fruit, and when the clime is warm and humid, one wants to consume cooling foods.
It’s speculated that lime, one of the original citrus fruits, originated in Southeast Asia. While lemons are a subtropical fruit, limes are tropical, needing quite a bit of heat to grow successfully.
These little green culinary gems were introduced to North Africa via Arab traders, who brought lime trees from Asia around the 10th century A.D., and the Arabian Moors brought them into Spain about three centuries later. From there, they spread throughout southern Europe during the Crusades.
Columbus brought limes to the West Indies on his 1492 voyage, where they grew and flourished in the hot, humid Caribbean climate. Cultivation spread in that region.
In following centuries, British sailors stockpiled these West Indies limes for long voyages, as the high vitamin C content prevented against scurvy, a disease that plagued seafarers due to poor nutrition. This practice earned them the name “limeys.”
Spanish explorers introduced limes into the United States by bringing Caribbean limes into Florida; hence the Key lime (also known as the Mexican lime) of citrusy pie fame.
Though the tiny Key lime was the first lime grown in our country (and the first lime tasted by Europeans), it’s the Tahitian lime, also known as the Persian lime, possibly a cross between the Key lime and citron, that is typically found in markets. There are several reasons for this.
Key limes, while big on flavor, are small - about the size of a ping pong ball – and tarter than their Tahitian lime cousins. Tahitian limes are easy to cultivate, while Key limes are more sensitive, with thorny branches that make harvesting difficult.
In addition, Tahitian limes have thicker skins, making them easier to transport and store.
Highly aromatic Key limes are sometimes found in supermarkets, but usually not on a regular basis. If you’ve got a hankering to make a Key lime pie, it might be necessary to place a special order.
This wasn’t so just after World War I, when Tahitian limes became a commercial crop and were making their way into the market. They were met with resistance, as buyers thought of them as a green lemon. Canadians were particularly resistant to giving up the more flavorful Key lime.
Limes, available year round and at their peak of season from May through October, will turn yellow – even orange with some varieties - if left on the tree to ripen. The flavor of the fruit diminishes as it yellows, however, and they’re picked at the green stage when the flavor peaks.
In Thai and other Southeast Asian cuisine, the Kaffir lime and its leaves are used to flavor dishes. This lime is characterized by a deep green color, bumpy skin, and shiny, hourglass-shaped leaves that may be frozen. Its strong, tangy juice is used in medicines in that region, and its zest flavors curries.
Some lesser known limes include the limetta, or sweet Palestine lime, a hybridized lime that’s sweet enough to be eaten out of hand, the mandarin lime with orange skin and flesh, and the Australian finger lime, with an elongated shape in colors as varied as black, brown, green, orange, purple, red and yellow.
Another lime hybridized in Australia (where a lot of lime hybridization has been going on) is the blood lime, which is not unlike the blood orange in color.
In addition to its amazingly high level of vitamin C, other health benefits of the lime have been studied.
They contain flavonoid compounds that have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. As well, these flavonoids have antibiotic effects, even preventing cholera in an African study. Compounds in citrus fruits, including limes, called limonens protect against various cancers, including stomach, lung and breast, and studies are being conducted to determine whether limonens lower cholesterol levels.
As to world cuisines, limes flavor the foods of Latin America, Mexico, the Caribbean, India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the American Southwest, among others.
Squeeze lime into salsa; mix it into guacamole; add it with mint or ginger to iced green tea; dress a fruit salad with it (particularly one that includes avocado, strawberries or mango); along with cilantro and sour cream, top a black bean soup with it; combine it with coconut milk and lemongrass in a Thai soup or curry; or flavor the cream cheese frosting that tops carrot cake with it.
When buying limes, choose those that are heavy for their size. The skin should be shiny and deep green. Limes will keep on your counter for about a week or in the fridge for about twice as long. (If you keep them on the counter, don’t expose them to sunlight, as the flavor will fade.)
If your limes are stored in the fridge, allow them to stand at room temperature for about an hour before juicing them, which allows the juices to flow more freely.
Today’s recipe is my version of a Thai slaw, which has the juice of a lime in the dressing. (One convenient bit of information that came forward as I was preparing the culinary class I mentioned earlier is that I found almost every lime has about three tablespoons of juice in it.)
This salad is a good recipe to have in your “no cook” repertoire for summer and is an interesting substitute for traditional coleslaw. It’s flavored with fresh mint and cilantro, and if you have access to Thai basil, throw a bit of that in, too.
The onions are soaked prior to their use in the salad to mellow their strong flavor; however, if raw onions are a problem, sliced scallions (green and white parts) are a good substitute.
Enjoy!
Thai-style slaw with Napa cabbage
6 cups finely sliced Napa cabbage (about ½ head)
1 cup shredded carrot (about one medium carrot)
1 cup peeled, seeded cucumber, finely sliced
½ cup red onions, finely sliced
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
½ cup mint, finely chopped
Toasted sesame seeds or coarsely chopped peanuts for garnish, if desired
Dressing
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about one lime’s worth)
2 tablespoons dark roasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
Soak sliced onions in cold water to cover for 10 minutes; drain.
While the onions are soaking, mix the dressing. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well with the dressing to coat and combine. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds or peanuts over plated salad just before serving. Recipe by Esther Oertel.
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..
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A Clearlake woman was the victim of a Thursday collision at an intersection near Middletown where Caltrans said safety improvements are planned.
Samira Sickels, 69, of Clearlake died at the scene of the crash, which occurred at Highway 29 and Hartmann Road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.
Just after 3 p.m. Thursday Sickels, driving a 2000 Ford Mustang, was stopped at the intersection and attempting to make a left turn onto southbound Highway 29, Reynolds said.
According to Reynolds, for unknown reasons Sickels reportedly made her left turn directly in front of a 2008 Kenworth 3 axle truck and trailer, driven by Anthony Zalunardo, 50, of Sacramento.
Sickels' Mustang was struck by the big rig on the driver's side, Reynolds said.
Reynolds said Sickels was pronounced dead at the scene while her passenger, 75-year-old Emma Proctor of Clearlake, suffered major injuries and was transported by REACH to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Zalunardo was not injured in the collision.
Traffic on Highway 29 had to be diverted for approximately one hour, said Reynolds, adding that alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the collision.
Officer Steve Patrick is investigating the crash, Reynolds said.
After a previous fatal crash at that intersection, Caltrans conducted an investigation, as it does after every fatal collision on a state highway, according to Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie.
Caltrans' investigation recommended installing flashing beacon lights on Highway 29 which will be activated by vehicles waiting on Hartmann Road, he said.
The contract was awarded to GBA Engineering of Fullerton, but the project had been waiting for materials which just arrived, said Frisbie.
The construction contract is for about $174,000; Frisbie said the actual construction cost is about $200,000, with Caltrans supplying all the electrical components.
The project, the total cost for which is about $290,000, includes project planning and design, the bidding process, construction and oversight during construction, according to Frisbie.
He said the project is scheduled to begin next week and will be completed by the end of July.
Scott and Sue Simkover with their award-winning Sauvignon Blanc at the 2011 Lake County Home Winemakers Festival, held at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH BEER JUDGING RESULTS.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Hundreds of event-goers celebrated the wine- and beer-making craft of Northern California amateurs at the ninth annual Lake County Home Winemakers Festival held at Library Park on Saturday.
Along with dozens of wine and beer tastes to sample, artists and value-added agricultural producers also offered their wares once again, making this annual event a fun way to kick off summer in Lake County while raising money for music.
“Another perfect day for tasting wine,” said Ed Bublitz, Clear Lake Performing Arts (CLPA) membership chair and also a home winemaker taking part in Saturday's competition, as he poured his wine for a guest at his booth.
The major fundraiser for CLPA, proceeds from the festival support music activities including the Lake County Symphony, the CLPA Youth and Junior Youth Orchestras, and scholarships.
More than 40 home winemakers and brewers from around Northern California joined many of Lake County's professional wineries, including Rosa D'Oro, Tulip Hill, Bell Hill, Cougar's Leap, Moore Family Winery, Lavender Blue Wines, and Laujor Estate Winery.
Jeff Bertoli (left) and Mark Romano of Tre Amici enjoying their bronze medial for their 2009 Russian River Valley Zinfandel, before winning three more gold medals for their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, 2009 Merlot and 2009 Chardonnay at the ninth annual Lake County Home Winemakers Festival, held at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.
A panel of judges tasted the wines and beers beforehand, and the ribbons were awarded during the ceremony (see list below).
Event-goers also voted on the favorite red, white, beer, booth, and label, with acoustic guitarist Travis Rinker providing music for throughout the day.
Peoples Choice:
Red – David Pretari
White – Scott Simkover, Smiling Dog Ranch
Beer – 2 Dudes Brew
Booth – 2 Dudes Brew
Label – David Pretari
Ribbons Awarded by Judges for Wine
Best of show:
2008 Syrah, Andrew Graef, Remembrance Vineyards
Gold medals:
2008 Syrah, Andrew Graef, Remembrance Vineyards
2009 Semillion, Connel Murray, Muritage
2010 Sauvignon Blanc, Jeff and Julie Bertoli, Tre Amici
2009 Meritage, Greg and Jeff Conley, Conley Wines
2009 Petite Sirah, Dwight Holford
2009 Merlot, Jeff and Julie Bertoli, Tre Amici
2008 Gamay, Greg and Jeff Conley, Conley Wines
2009 Chardonnay, Jeff and Julie Bertoli, Tre Amici
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Danny Morrow, Eastside Winery
2007 Port, Greg and Jeff Conley, Conley Wines
Silver medals:
2010 Syrah, Luciano Meconi
2009 Semillion, Tom and Nancy Harty, Mother Mountain
Artist Jay Jackson was one of the many artists displaying their works at the 2011 Lake County Home Winemakers Festival, held at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.
Livia Kurtz of Rosa d'Oro Vineyards, one of the many professional wineries participating in the winefest, an important fundraiser for the Clear Lake Performing Arts. The ninth annual Lake County Home Winemakers Festival, was held at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.
In addition to the wine and beer tasting, event-goers were treated to the creations of many artists, as well as value-added agricultural producers, at the ninth annual Lake County Home Winemakers Festival, held at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.
Tommy K. Harty of Mother Mountain Wines displays his silver medal for their 2009 Semillion at the 2011 Lake County Home Winemakers Festival, held at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.
Jeff Conley proudly displays two gold awards their 2007 Port and 2009 Meritage at the ninth annual Lake County Home Winemakers Festival, held at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Every slice of shade along Middletown’s sidewalks was taken on the morning of Saturday, June 18, when the parade, led by a trio of horses, began.
It was hats off for the “Star Spangled Banner” as the day’s activities unfurled, marking the 50th anniversary of Middletown Days.
In keeping with tradition, the annual festivities took place over Father's Day Weekend.
The parade participants included three generations of queens and princesses, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Vaqueros of Pope Valley, Jazzercise and classic car enthusiasts, firefighters in flashing fire trucks, and the newly formed Middletown Community Band, to name only a few.
Following the parade, it was time for barbecue and booths at Central Park.
In addition to the tri-tip and curly fries, there were plenty of wares for sale. Crowds were greeted by an array of vendors from “The Pickle Man” to the Redbud Audubon Society, educating interested attendees about one of Lake County’s many feathered wonders: Clark’s and Western grebes.
Volunteer Emma Owen said that for the next three years the group will focus on grebe preservation; a particular challenge at this time of year, when nests are easily dislodged by watercraft.
The afternoon ranch rodeo held at the arena at Central Park featured the return of bronc riding, a favorite event that has been missing from the schedule for years, according to organizer Johanna Snell.
A few of the early activities included ranch roping, “mutton busting” – a rodeo event in which children ride or race sheep, junior steer daubing (branding with paint) and trailer loading; a timed, team event that tests the ability of cowboys to quickly become “road ready” when it comes to roping steer and loading horses.
Organizer Snell says the bronc riding event is sanctioned by the Western States Ranch Rodeo Association (WSRRA) and participants receive points as part of an annual rodeo circuit.
Unlike many bronc riding events, the rules called for use of a standard stock saddle with a horn, allowing riders to hold on.
That didn’t stop the horses from ejecting riders or dirt clods from sailing into the bleachers.
Kicking up heels – and dirt – is more than an event judging style and technique.
As the announcer remarked, “The only thing missing out here are a snubbing post, sagebrush and a bunch of rocks.”
The tests of ranching skills concluded with barrel racing, as junior and adult riders pushed their mounts for a speedy run.
In the evening there was dancing, while Sunday’s highlights – Father’s Day breakfast prepared by the Middletown Lioness Club, Mountain Jam music festival and the gymkhana – rounded out a fun and sun-soaked 50th.
KE COUNTY, Calif. – A little girl who was taken by her noncustodial father from her San Bernardino County home early in May has been found in Idaho.
Ava Rian Riggle, 3, was taken by her father Nicholas Riggle, 22, from her home in Phelan on May 6, as Lake County News has reported.
Early Saturday morning, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen reported that he had received word that the little girl had been located in Idaho and was set to be brought back to California.
During the week of May 23 Ava had reportedly been spotted in and around Lakeport with Marcy Gearhart, who was Nicholas Riggle's companion.
At that point, the Lakeport Police Department became involved in the effort to find her, investigating the sightings and offering updates on the situation.
In the past several weeks the investigative trail has appeared to go cold.
On Friday, a reader posted a question on Lake County News' Facebook about the case's status.
In response, Lake County News followed up with Rasmussen, who on Friday afternoon said his officers had continued to work the case since May.
Rasmussen said officers had made numerous contacts and checked locations in an attempt to find the girl and her father, but without success.
He said San Bernardino County authorities had issued a protective custody warrant for the little girl, and Lakeport Police alerted other area law enforcement agencies and continued to assist San Bernardino County District Attorney investigators.
Then early Saturday Rasmussen contacted Lake County News to report that San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office Investigator Karen Cragg was on a flight to Idaho to pick up the little girl, where she had been found.
Rasmussen said he had no other details on the case at that point, but he said San Bernardino County officials said they were very grateful for Lakeport Police's help in the case.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Although it's now officially summer, spring is forecast to nudge back into Lake County with a chance of rain and thunderstorms on Tuesday.
On the first official day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, June 21 – the summer solstice, when the sun is at its highest point in the skies and the hours of sunlight in the day the longest – Lake County recorded the first 100-plus degree temperatures for the year.
Since June 21, daytime high temperatures have steadily decreased – and forecasters are predicting rain and possible thunderstorms Tuesday into Wednesday, unusual for late June in Lake County.
Clouds are predicted to roll in overnight Monday bringing a 60-percent chance of rain throughout the county, and daytime highs will only reach the mid-60s, according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
Showers are likely before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, with possible thunderstorms throughout the day with up to one-half inch of rain predicted.
Rain and thunderstorms are possible throughout the night on Tuesday, according to forecasters as the cool low pressure system moves through Lake County and Northern California, with overnight temperatures dropping into the low-50s.
Snow is predicted for the Sierra Nevada mountain range at elevations down to 8,000 feet.
On Wednesday, chances of rain in the morning continue in Lake County while daytime temperatures are predicted to remain unseasonably cool in the mid-70s.
Forecasters are predicting that temperatures will climb slowly upward throughout the week, but remain in the 80s to low-90s throughout next weekend.
For up-to-the-minute weather information, please visit the Lake County News homepage.
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Lake County this year, Lake County News is publishing a series of historical stories about the county, its people and places. This week Helen Wilmans Baker Post is profiled in a selection from the Lake County Genealogical Society Newsletter, edited by Anita Crabtree.
What does Lake County, Calif., have to do with Daytona Beach in Florida?
This story begins during the Gold Rush.
The Gold Rush … many men joined it. And the stories of the land, the climate, the possibilities of this new area, were also reasons for migration. Did the women want to come to California? Or, were they just expected to come with their husbands?
Helen Wilmans was born June 14, 1831, in Fairfield, Ill. She was raised in an atmosphere of aristocracy, her ancestors being very wealthy. She was highly intelligent, a college graduate, and valedictorian of her college class.
In later life she was an American journalist, publisher and the leader of the mental science movement which stressed control of mind over matter. She started her own paper, The Woman’s World, and published a weekly magazine, Freedom.
She married, in 1856, John Caldwell, Baker, M.D. She may have expected to live a comfortable life as a doctor’s wife, somewhere in the eastern or Midwestern states.
But Dr. Baker got caught up in the stories of California, where Helen was taken as a bride. Dr. Baker purchased part of a Spanish grant in Solano County and they are listed in the 1860 census as living in Suisun, Solano County.
By 1870, Dr. Baker and his family, which now included four children, Ada, Florence, Claude and Jennie, had relocated to Lake County. Their property was located at the western edge of Morgan Valley and five miles from the closest community of Lower Lake. There, they farmed and Dr. Baker had Baker Quicksilver Mine.
In her book, “The Conquest of Poverty,” Helen wrote: “I was tortured day and night by fear of actual want. Where the next dollar was to come from was my continual thought. It was the last thing in my thought at night; it haunted my dreams, and in the morning I would be awakened by becoming gradually conscious of a weight at my heart. Arising and sitting on the side of my bed the day would face me with threats that I had no courage to meet. A thousand times in my weakness and inability to resist the present, my tears would fall all the minutes I was hastening to clothe myself. There was no valid reason for all this torture except that which existed in my mind. I had been so unappreciated that I had come to regard myself as an inferior creature. But at last my reasoning powers showed signs of awakening and I began to see light.”
Helen went on to write that she was a farmer’s wife and had done her work without flinching, although they lost money each year, and the place was mortgaged and finally sold for debt. It’s hard to say just what caused her to make her next move; it’s not known exactly when she did. Perhaps it was with the death of her youngest child, Jennie, in 1877. That might have been the final push. (She never mentions her children in this book.)
But, on a certain day she stood on a roadside with all of her possessions in a valise, waiting for a wagon to come along that would carry her into Lower Lake. She had no money and no idea of how she was going to live. She was going to San Francisco and intended to find work that was more meaningful than the work she had been doing for more than 20 years.
When she reached Lower Lake, a place where everyone knew her, she tried to borrow $10 to pay her traveling expenses to San Francisco. She asked one friend after another only to be refused; some of them did not have the money; others were afraid to do so.
She went through the streets until 9 p.m. when she saw a light in the village shoemaker’s rooms. Both the man and his wife were startled, and Helen believed that she frightened them out of that $10.
After spending the night with a friend in Lower Lake she was on the stage for San Francisco the next morning. She found a place to live, which took the last of the $10, and went without anything to eat for a full three days.
She found work in a little newspaper, but it went out of business after about six months. She found work with another paper and moved steadily upward. After two or three years, a large Chicago paper, the Chicago Express, hired her at an excellent salary and she moved there.
In the meantime, back in Lake County, Dr. Baker had divorced her Nov. 18, 1879. What seems strange is that in the 1880 census, she is listed as living with him (both listed as divorced), which may just mean that he still considered his wife. Who knows?
In Chicago Helen started The Woman’s World and became the founder of the school of Mental Science. She met Charles C. Post, a writer and someone who thought as she did. They married and later moved south to Georgia, where they lived for five years, and then in 1892 moved to Volusia County, Fla.
In 1895 Charles Post and Charles Ballough, who had homesteaded an area which at that time was known as Halifax, platted the property into town lots. Helen Post named it “The City Beautiful,” but was really originally called East Daytona.
In 1897 the settlers of East Daytona, who at the time outnumbered those of the settlement to the south, successfully petitioned to have the Peninsula's post office moved to their area.
Settlers in East Daytona petitioned for incorporation early in 1901. On May 24, after approval of the town's charter, the citizens of the new Town of Seabreeze held their first election at the Pavilion on what is now Seabreeze Boulevard. The southern community incorporated in 1905 and became Daytona Beach.
It was not considered woman’s work to be involved with this type of work, but Helen sat in her carriage directing all of the work on Ocean Boulevard: paving, urns with geraniums, ferns, palms and oleander.
Mr. Post and Mr. Ballough built the enormous Hotel Colonnades, the Wilmans Opera House, an amusement pavilion on the ocean and a 1200-foot pier extending into the sea. Charles and Helen Post had a large publishing house in the ground floor of the opera house. There they published a weekly paper called “Freedom,” plus numerous books and other publications.
Helen became world renowned as the leader of The Mental Science cult. She claimed to be able to heal human ailments by mental therapeutics. The mail poured in seeking her advice and for her books. And that was her downfall.
Helen’s son-in-law was credited by some with having the post office moved from the community south of them to Seabreeze, the seat of the Mental Science activities. The residents of the southern community resented having the post-office moved and started an investigation and prosecution for alleged violations and misuse of the U. S. mail.
The Post Office Fraud Order was placed on Helen Wilmans without even prior notice. There was no hearing, no trial, no conviction. Helen Wilmans was cut off from the world without chance for redress and condemned publicly without hearing or trial.
After this had been done, she was indicted on a charge of fraud, the U.S. Government contending that her claim of cure by absent treatment was necessarily fraudulent because it was impossible to be done. Her claim was false because absent cure was impossible, and it was fraudulent because she must have known that it was impossible.
The United States Supreme Court reversed this decision and, finally, the matter was dropped. All of this prosecution lasted over six years, exhausting all of the wealth of Charles and Helen Post with attorney fees and court costs.
When their position, power and affluence began to fade, Helen ended up tired, worn and impoverished. Over the age of 75 she became ill and died in 1907, three months after her husband’s death.
In 1925, after several years of debate, the three municipalities of Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze voted to consolidate.
On Jan. 1, 1926, the city of Daytona Beach was officially incorporated. So that is where the connection comes in between Lake County, Calif., and Daytona Beach, Fla.
As for the family that Helen Wilmans Baker left behind, she doesn’t mention her children in the book “The Conquest of Poverty,” but in researching them it was discovered that the second daughter, Florence, married Charles Burgman in San Francisco, but they moved to Seabreeze, Fla., where he ran the publishing house and other family enterprises.
Her oldest daughter, Ada, married someone by the surname of Powers and had a daughter, about 1888, while living in Illinois. This seems to indicate that Ada might have joined her mother when she moved to Chicago.
The son, Claude, was living with Florence and her family in Seabreeze in 1900, but he returned to Lower Lake, Calif., where he died in 1937.
Dr. John C. Baker died Aug. 29, 1896, and is buried in Lower Lake cemetery along with the youngest daughter, Jennie, and the ashes of son, Claude.
In Dr. Baker’s obituary it says that he practiced medicine for a number of years and that he owned and ran a drug store in Lower Lake.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Two local men were injured on Thursday when they were involved in a vehicle collision.
The crash occurred just before 12:30 p.m. on Highway 29 at Highway 175/Bottle Rock Road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.
Reynolds said Juan Lopez, 20, of Lower Lake was driving southbound on Highway 29 in a 1984 BMW when, for unknown reasons, Lopez allowed his vehicle to cross the double yellow lines and travel into the path of a 2003 Ford F-350, driven by William Sauer, 76, of Kelseyville.
Lopez was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and treated for a low back contusion and Sauer was treated for minor injuries at the scene and released, Reynolds said.
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A fire early Saturday destroyed a home at the Elem Indian Colony.
It was the fourth structure fire in the five days for Northshore Fire District, according to Deputy Chief Pat Brown.
At approximately 5:19 a.m. Saturday Northshore Fire was dispatched to the structure fire at Elem Indian Colony. Brown said the initial reports indicated there was a fully involved structure fire with a occupant inside.
Northshore Fire followed protocol and did not enter the Elem Indian Colony without a Lake County Sheriff clearance, Brown said.
According to Brown, Northshore Fire responded with three engines and one medic ambulance, a Cal Fire engine and a Lake County Fire Protection District engine company under mutual aid.
Once on scene Northshore Fire personnel found they had a fully involved structure fire that involved a new Federal Emergency Management Agency doublewide mobile home, Brown said.
At the start of the fire there were three family members living in the home who barely escaped the burning home. Brown said all family members did vacate the home with no injuries.
The fire is under investigation by Northshore Fire and the Lake County Sheriff's Office, according to Brown.
Northshore Fire also has contacted the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and has requested an investigator and BIA law enforcement, said Brown, adding that the fire district is very concerned regarding increasing problems at the colony.
MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – Mendocino County prosecutors on Friday won their bid to try a Laytonville man for murder under the rarely used “provocative act murder” doctrine, which holds that a person can be guilty of a killing even if someone else committed the slaying.
Noah Shinn, 39, of Laytonville faces the murder charge because he allegedly orchestrated a marijuana-related home invasion robbery last October at the rural Steele Lane residence of Jill Cahill, according to a report from Mendocino County District Attorney C. David Eyster's office.
Homeowner Cahill actually shot and killed one of three intruders while Shinn waited outside. The masked robbers included victim Timothy Burger, 21, and Shinn’s 19-year-old son Christopher, both of Sacramento, according to the report.
Deputy District Attorney Ray Killion successfully argued after a three-day preliminary hearing that even though Cahill fired the fatal shot that killed Burger, Noah Shinn is legally responsible for his death.
Killion said the senior Shinn earlier had instructed Burger, his son and a friend, Tyrone Bell, also of Sacramento, to don masks, forced their way into the house and with the use of a pistol and mace rob Cahill and other occupants of marijuana.
Killion said once inside, however, things turned violent. Christopher Shinn allegedly fired a .22 caliber piston inside the house. “Bear mace” was sprayed in the eyes of the occupants. In the melee Cahill seized a weapon and shot and killed Burger as the three young men attempted to flee.
Shinn’s attorney, Public Defender Linda Thompson, contended that homeowner Cahill triggered the violence by firing first. She also argued that the trio of intruders believed she was home alone and unarmed.
But Superior Court Judge David Nelson on Friday ruled that Noah Shinn will stand trial for murder, in addition to attempted first degree armed robbery and burglary. Shinn if convicted at trial faces life in prison.
Nelson noted that the senior Shinn planned the marijuana robbery, and that he “brought together the crew that was to perform the ripoff.”
Shinn, the judge found, also instructed his son and his two accomplices on how to subdue the home occupants. Nelson found that the senior Shinn handed out the firearm and mace used in the botched robbery.
As far as what happened, Nelson said it doesn’t really matter who fired the first shot. “It was reasonably foreseeable that rural marijuana growers would be armed and fire in self defense,” he said.
Nelson concluded Noah Shinn should be held responsible because he knew “there was a high probability that a gun battle would result from the acts of spraying bear mace and pointing and firing firearms at the occupants of a marijuana plantation during an early morning entry.”
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Proactive enforcement efforts by the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Detail have resulted in two arrests and the seizure of methamphetamine.
Arrested were Raymond Carl Mills, 49, of Nice, and Vince Edward Mussat, 31, who deputies had sought during a search warrant service earlier this week, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
On Thursday, June 23, at approximately 7:30 p.m., a sheriff’s deputy assigned to the Special Enforcement Detail stopped a 1998 Ford van on S. Main Street near Armstrong Street in Lakeport for displaying false registration tabs, Bauman said.
The driver, later identified as Mills of Nice, was determined to be on searchable probation and his driver’s license was suspended. Bauman said one of the passengers was Mussat of Lakeport, was also on formal probation for a prior narcotics conviction.
He said both men are alleged to have displayed symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance and were detained.
The van was searched pursuant to both men’s probation terms. During that search, a baggie of methamphetamine was found tucked between two seat cushions in the back of the van where Mussat had been seated, Bauman said. After conducting tests on both men, they were arrested for being under the influence of a controlled ssubstance.
Mills and Mussat were both transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility for booking, Bauman reported.
He said Mills was charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance, driving on a suspended license, and displaying false registration tabs on the van. Mussat was charged with possession of a controlled substance and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
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