LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The East Region Town Hall, or ERTH, will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. at the Moose Lodge, located at 15900 Moose Lodge Lane in Clearlake Oaks.
The meeting can be attended in person or via Zoom; the meeting ID is 935 8339 6020, the pass code is 448228.
On Wednesday, the guest speaker will be Lake County Director of Community Development Director Mireya Turner.
Turner will give updates on the Clearlake Oaks Roadmap Task Force, discuss data tracking system and code enforcement complaint entry improvement and the Cannabis Ordinance Task force.
Holly Harris also will speak about the Environmental Protection Agency’s public outreach on the Sulphur Bank Mine Superfund site.
The agenda also includes the monthly updates on Spring Valley, commercial cannabis cultivation, the consolidated lighting district in Clearlake Oaks, the Lake County geothermal project watchlist, the Northshore Fire Protection District, the John T. Klaus 1994 Trust’s land donation for a new Clearlake Oaks park and they will get a report from Supervisor EJ Crandell.
ERTH’s members are Denise Loustalot, Jim Burton, Tony Morris and Pamela Kicenski.
For more information visit the group’s Facebook page.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — Allison Panella announced that she is running for reelection to the Kelseyville Unified School Board of Trustees.
Panella, a Lake County Hispanic native, local business owner, wife and mother of three, has served on the Kelseyville Unified School District for the last four years, and currently serves as the vice president.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and has been working with or for the youth population of Lake County for the last 18 years.
Panella seeks to continue to bring transparency, accountability and increased communication to the Kelseyville Unified School District.
When asked why she decided to run again, she stated, “After serving the last four years I feel as though I have just fully gotten familiar with all the roles and responsibilities of a board member. I have so much more of myself to give to the district and I look forward to working to improve what KVUSD has to offer for our students and families. Being a local, I am keenly aware of our community’s strengths and what makes our rural community so unique. I enjoy working to build on our strengths.”
Panella hopes to continue the success during her previous term in office where she worked with faculty, teachers, administration and other board members to improve the district’s financial reserve to a healthier place; provided oversight to the KVUSD multimillion dollar Measure U Facility Improvement Bond to ensure it was on-time and under-budget; worked to increase staff and employee wages across the board; wrote mini grants for teachers and improved learning opportunities for the students of Kelseyville Unified.
She serves on the Kelseyville Unified Wellness and Safety Committee to increase parent participation and community input via Parents Night Out events held monthly, which has been a success with Kelseyville residents.
Panella also is a member of the Kelseyville Elementary’s Parent Teacher Organization.
Before Panella’s role on the school board, she and her husband, Greg Panella, have served the Kelseyville Unified school district in many ways.
Through coaching youth sports, having school garden fences built, introducing funders to teachers and schools, heavily supporting the Stokes Basketball Tournament, paying for bus fares for out-of-town field trips, volunteering their time in classrooms or offering resources and time to career technical education.
Panella said her 18 years of hands-on local experience, her commitment to the district and her perspective as a working parent make her an ideal school board member.
To learn more about Panella’s reelection campaign please visit her Facebook page @ Re-Elect Allison Panella for Kelseyville Unified School Board or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — The U.S. Postal Service recognized the centennial birth of cartoonist Charles M. Schulz with a first-day-of-issue ceremony, unveiling a pane of 20 new Forever stamps at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center on Saturday.
“The Postal Service is pleased to present its new Forever stamps commemorating the birth centennial of Charles M. Schulz — the beloved creator of ‘Peanuts’ … the most popular and influential comic strip in history,” said Luke Grossmann, the Postal Service’s finance and strategy senior vice president, who served as the stamp’s dedicating official.
“This isn’t the first time the Postal Service has featured ‘Peanuts’ characters on postage stamps. Snoopy appeared as the World War I Flying Ace in 2001. And in 2015, we issued stamps to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ — which like the strip itself, was created with both adults and children in mind,” he said.
“The joy of ‘Peanuts’ — matched with the joy of sending and receiving mail — is a wonderful way to commemorate Sparky’s life and the happiness his comic strip continues to bring to the world. From holiday mail to personal collections, we hope these stamps brighten the lives of ‘Peanuts’ fans and stamp collectors alike,” said Jean Schulz, widow of Schulz, referring to the cartoonist by his nickname.
Other participants at the ceremony were Gina Huntsinger, director of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, and Paige Braddock, chief creative officer of Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates.
Sparky’s story
Within days of Schulz’s birth on Nov. 26, 1922, an uncle nicknamed the infant after the laughable racehorse Spark Plug, a trending character in the newspaper funny pages. The nickname “Sparky” stuck for life, and so did Schulz’s ties to the comics.
Schulz’s “Peanuts” became the most popular and successful comic strip in the history of the medium.
Its characters, including Charlie Brown and Snoopy, became some of the best-known and most-beloved characters in all of American art and literature, gaining worldwide adoration through the comic strip itself, then via books, greeting cards, television, cinematic films, advertising campaigns, a Broadway musical, and countless other media and products.
Charles Monroe Schulz (1922-2000) was born in Minneapolis and grew up in neighboring St. Paul, Minnesota.
An only child, the avid reader with a knack for drawing was promoted from third grade directly to fifth. Consequently, he was younger and smaller than his classmates, forever feeling like an outsider and an observer.
At age 14, Schulz’s first published drawing appeared in the popular newspaper feature “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” Its subject, his eccentric pet dog, would later serve as his inspiration for Snoopy.
After high school, Schulz furthered his art education through a Minneapolis-based correspondence course. When World War II intervened, Schulz was drafted into the Army, serving in France and Germany, and rising to the rank of staff sergeant.
After the war, he returned to the correspondence school, this time as an art instructor, where his friends included a fellow teacher named Charlie Brown.
Schulz also found work lettering comic books and drawing single-panel cartoons for a local newspaper. He also sold several cartoons to the Saturday Evening Post.
“Peanuts” debuted in seven newspapers on Oct. 2, 1950. That number would eventually balloon to more than 2,600, in some 75 countries and 21 languages, with 355 million readers worldwide. Charlie Brown and Snoopy were soon joined by Schroeder, Lucy, Linus and Pigpen. Through its cast of children, the strip found humor in life’s often painful realities, such as insecurity and unrequited love.
In the late 1950s, Charlie Brown’s baby sister, Sally, joined the cast, and Schulz and his growing real-life family moved to Sonoma County, California, eventually building an ice arena in Santa Rosa. (The adjacent Charles M. Schulz Museum opened in 2002.)
As “Peanuts” became a worldwide phenomenon — with beloved television specials, books, a Broadway show, feature films and countless consumer products — Schulz added other favorite characters, including Peppermint Patty, Franklin, Marcie and Snoopy’s bird companion, Woodstock. NASA sought Charlie Brown and Snoopy as morale-building mascots.
In 1969, Apollo 10 astronauts orbited the moon in paired spacecraft called Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
Schulz’s characters all reflect aspects of the cartoonist’s inner life, his rich imagination and his great humanity. Charlie Brown faces constant defeat and rejection, but never loses his resolve — whether it’s to kick the football before Lucy pulls it away, to get a kite aloft or to win a single baseball game.
For five decades, Schulz steadfastly wrote, drew, inked and lettered every “Peanuts” strip — nearly 18,000 of them.
On Feb. 12, 2000, he died following a battle with cancer. The final installment of “Peanuts,” a farewell from the cartoonist to his fans and his unforgettable cast of characters, appeared in newspapers the next day.
In addition to the many awards received during his lifetime, Schulz was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, in 2000. “Peanuts” continues through the re-publication of his unparalleled body of work.
Stamp artwork
The stamp artwork is by Schulz and Greg Breeding was the designer and art director.
During its five-decade run — Schulz created daily strips from 1950 to 2000 — “Peanuts,” featured Charlie Brown and his beagle Snoopy. Eleven members of its beloved gang, all in a celebratory mood, adorn 10 stamp designs on a pane of 20.
The six stamps on the first row feature Charlie Brown in his familiar zig-zag-stripe shirt. Long-suffering, but never truly defeated, he is the center of the cast and largely reflects Schulz’s own insecurities and resilience.
Second, the headstrong Lucy Van Pelt, often the antagonist, is all smiles here in her blue dress. Third is Franklin, introduced to the strip in 1968, triumphant in a red tee shirt.
Fourth on the first row of stamps is Sally, Charlie Brown’s little sister, shown in her pink polka-dotted dress. Sally joined the strip as an infant in 1959. Pigpen, charming and self-assured, is seen on the fifth stamp in his perpetual cloud of dust, a layer of soil, and blue overalls. Sixth is Linus, Lucy’s sensitive, intelligent, and capable younger brother. He wears his typical red-and-black-striped shirt.
The second row’s four stamps begin with Snoopy, whose many alter-egos demonstrate Schulz’s own fanciful imagination. On this stamp, his bird companion, Woodstock, flutters about as Snoopy does his celebratory dance. Second is Schroeder, a prodigy often seen leaning obsessively over his piano — much as Schulz leaned tirelessly over his drawing board. Schroeder is shown here in his purple-and-black-striped shirt.
Peppermint Patty, seen third on the second row, is casual in sandals and her vertically-striped green shirt. Athletic and definitely not academically minded, her baseball team routinely defeats the hapless team headed by “Chuck,” as she calls Charlie Brown. Peppermint Patty’s loyal friend Marcie appears next on the row’s final stamp. Marcie’s no-nonsense outlook contrasts with Peppermint Patty’s; together they make a great team.
A 1987 photograph of the cartoonist, taken by Douglas Kirkland, appears in the center of the pane. The portrait is framed by the characters Schulz brought to life.
Postal products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide.
Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1‑ounce price.
A feature story about the stamp will be available at facebook.com/usps following the ceremony. Information for ordering first-day-of-issue postmarks and covers is at usps.com/shop.
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
A federal grant is helping the California Highway Patrol increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety throughout the state.
The CHP was awarded $1.2 million in grant funding through the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety, Education, Enforcement, and Awareness Program, or BESEEN, program.
“The most vulnerable roadway users are pedestrians and bicyclists,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said. “This grant will promote the importance of drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians looking out for one another so that everyone can safely share the road.”
In California, nearly 20 percent of all traffic-related deaths are pedestrian and bicycle fatalities. In 2020 and 2021 combined, 926 of the 4,651 people killed in crashes throughout CHP jurisdiction were pedestrians and bicyclists.
This grant launches a yearlong effort to educate and enforce traffic safety laws for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians through Sept. 30, 2023.
Enforcement patrols will focus on areas with higher bicyclist and pedestrian traffic and crashes. Officers will also conduct public awareness campaigns in communities throughout the state.
In addition, this grant funds bicycle safety training and educational presentations to promote safe and courteous traffic safety behaviors by drivers and bicyclists, as well as safety publications, bicycle helmets, reflective gear, and other vital safety equipment.
October is National Pedestrian Safety Month with National Walk to School Day on Oct. 12, 2022.
CHP officers in plainclothes will work with uniformed officers to monitor crosswalks and areas surrounding schools for motorists who fail to yield the right-of-way or who take unsafe and illegal actions.
Funding for this program was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of safety, service and security.
Rosalyn R. LaPier, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Who should manage public land that is sacred to Native Americans?
That is the question that the United States government and some states hope recent policy changes will address by giving Indigenous people greater input into managing such land. Co-management, as the policy is called, might alleviate the friction that emerges when sacred landscapes are managed without Native American input.
Mauna Kea, a 13,802-foot dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii, is one example. The mountain is managed as public land by the state of Hawaii. Native Hawaiians have protested the state’s management of Mauna Kea for decades, saying Hawaii has allowed too many research buildings on their sacred mountain, which disrupts their ability to practice their religion.
This kind of conflict is not unique to Hawaii. Indigenous peoples have lived in what is now the United States for thousands of years and developed intimate relationships with the lands they call home. For years, Native people across the country have demanded more input into how the government manages areas they consider sacred.
Native Hawaiians believe that Mauna Kea is the first creation of the Earth Mother, Papahānaumoku, and the Sky Father, Wākea. The mountain is an important part of their origin narrative.
For astronomers, the mountain has another significance. They believe the summit of Mauna Kea has the clearest skies for conducting research. For the past 50 years, the state of Hawaii has leased the summit of the mountain to dozens of research institutions. Together, they have built 13 telescopes and numerous buildings on Mauna Kea.
For years Native Hawaiian leaders have argued that the state ignored their concerns over such construction. When Mauna Kea was selected in 2009 as the preferred site for the Thirty Meter Telescope, a new class of extremely large telescope, Native Hawaiians protested to stop the project.
Native Hawaiians, like those from other Indigenous religious traditions, believe that sacred areas should be left alone without roads or buildings because they are the homes of the divine.
“We worship there, the iwis of our kupuna [bones of our elders] are buried there,” Mililani Trask, the Hawaii island’s trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, said at a public meeting regarding an environmental impact statement of Mauna Kea with the National Science Foundation on Aug. 9, 2022. “No,” she continued, “you will not build here.”
The state of Hawaii is hoping to address this ongoing conflict with the creation of a new eight-person commission that includes three Native Hawaiian leaders to manage Mauna Kea.
“I believe we can find a way for science and culture to coexist on Mauna Kea in a mutually beneficial way,” Hawaiian Gov. David Ige said on Sept. 12, 2022, when he announced the new commission.
What makes land sacred?
Native American religions, similar to other religions, view areas as sacred because they are the homes of gods or places that are sanctified by a god. Sacred places may be physically small or large areas, they may be built or natural areas, such as churches and shrines, or mountains and rivers.
Religious studies scholars such as Tisa Wenger have argued that religious freedom for Native Americans has been difficult because “the U.S. government has often acted as if Indian traditions were somehow not truly religious and therefore not eligible for the constitutional protections of the First Amendment.”
In one dispute in the 1980s, the U.S. Forest Service wanted to construct a road across a sacred mountain in Northern California. A consortium of tribes fought back, and the case ended in the Supreme Court; the tribes lost.
Following that decision, in 1996, President Bill Clinton created a definition of Native American sacred land as a “specific, discrete, narrowly delineated location on Federal land.”
This language intentionally excludes large areas such as mountains or open landscapes in favor of smaller sites. That does not fully represent the variety of places that Native peoples consider sacred, say religious studies scholars, leading to inevitable clashes over the meaning and uses of such lands.
Co-management is one small step
On Sept. 13, 2022, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland released new federal guidelines to help address these long-standing conflicts.
This new policy, which focuses on publicly managed areas that Native Americans view as sacred or culturally important, will allow some tribes to share management responsibilities with federal agencies.
“By acknowledging and empowering Tribes as partners in co-stewardship of our country’s lands and waters, every American will benefit from strengthened management of our federal land and resources,” Haaland said.
In a related effort, Congress on Sept. 14 held hearings on two new bills to address this same issue. If they pass, their backers hope they will facilitate the inclusion of “tribal management of public lands” and strengthen the “protection of sacred and cultural sites.”
Such changes are “a small step, but an important one, in giving Tribal nations the respect and authority they deserve,” said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona.
But, he added of the federal government’s new desire to share land management with tribes, “There is no deed that can undo or fully compensate for this country’s historical neglect and desecration of Indigenous Peoples’ culture and places that are sacred to them.”
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has eight dogs of various breeds ready and waiting for new homes.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of border collie, German shepherd, hound, husky, Labrador retriever and Rottweiler.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
Male border collie
This 2-year-old male border collie has a black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 18, ID No. LCAC-A-3995.
Labrador retriever mix
This 2-year-old female Labrador retriever mix has a short black coat.
She is in kennel No. 19, ID No. LCAC-A-3994.
‘Harley’
“Harley” is a 6-month-old female German Shepherd puppy with a black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 20, ID No. LCAC-A-4024.
Male husky
This 3-year-old male husky has a short tricolor coat.
He is in kennel No. 22, ID No. LCAC-A-4014.
Male German shepherd
This 2-year-old male German shepherd has a black and tan coat.
Shelter staff called him a “handsome sweet dude who is motivated by treats and does well walking on a leash.
He is in kennel No. 25, ID No. LCAC-A-3870.
German shepherd mix
This 7-month-old female German shepherd mix has a black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 26, ID No. LCAC-A-4011.
Female husky
This 1-year-old female husky has a cream and black coat.
She is in kennel No. 27, ID No. LCAC-A-3893.
German shepherd mix
This 7-month-old male German shepherd mix pup has a black and tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 28, ID No. LCAC-A-4012.
Rottweiler mix
This 4-year-old female Rottweiler has a short black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 34, ID No. LCAC-A-4013.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — An Escondido man sustained major injuries in an early Sunday morning solo-vehicle crash on Highway 175 near Kelseyville.
Richard Riley, 52, was flown out of the county for treatment of his injuries following the wreck, which occurred at 12:20 a.m. Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said Riley was driving eastbound on Highway 175 east of Diamond Dust Trail in a 2019 Land Rover Discovery.
For reasons the CHP said are still under investigation, Riley’s Land Rover went off the roadway and hit a parked vehicle.
The CHP said Riley’s vehicle continued out of control, hitting trees and brush in a creek bed.
The crash was first dispatched about 10 minutes after it occurred, with firefighters arriving at the scene several minutes later, according to CHP and radio reports.
The first units on the scene said the vehicle was 40 feet off the roadway and down a cliff, with the driver trapped and unconscious.
After firefighters extricated him, Riley was transported by ground ambulance to a landing zone at Riviera Elementary School, where a Cal Star air ambulance picked him up and transported him to a regional trauma center for treatment of major injuries, leaving just after 2 a.m., according to radio reports.
Riley was transported to Vacaville Kaiser Hospital, the CHP said.
The CHP said Riley was using his seat belt when the crash occurred.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has four cats waiting to meet you this week.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Female domestic shorthair
This 2-year-old female domestic shorthair cat has a gray tabby coat.
“She is an adult cat with some playful kitten tendencies when toys are brought out. She has a sweet little meow and likes to have playful chats with you,” shelter staff said.
She is in cat room kennel No. 10, ID No. LCAC-A-3661.
‘Mama’
“Mama” is a 2-year-old domestic shorthair cat with an all-black coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 7, ID No. LCAC-A-3884.
Female domestic shorthair
This 1-year-old female domestic shorthair has a buff coat.
“This lovely lady may take a little bit of time to warm up to you, but once she does you'll get to meet one of the sweetest kitties. She will make your hand tired from all the pets she wants,” shelter staff said.
She is in cat room kennel No. 56, ID No. LCAC-A-3972.
Male domestic shorthair cat
This 1-year-old male domestic shorthair cat has a black coat.
Shelter staff said he is a sweet, talkative kitty, who loves head scratches and will rub all over your legs as you walk through the room.
He is in cat room kennel No. 60, ID No. LCAC-A-3932.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Wetlands are areas of land that are covered by water, or have flooded or waterlogged soils. They can have water on them either permanently or for just part of the year.
Whether it’s year-round or seasonal, this period of water saturation produces hydric soils, which contain little or no oxygen. But this doesn’t mean that they are lifeless: Wetlands are full of unique water-loving plants and wildlife that have adapted to wet environments.
Wetlands can take many different forms, depending on the local climate, water conditions and land forms and features. For example, swamps are dominated by woody trees or shrubs. Marshes often have more grasslike plants, such as cattails and bulrushes. Bogs and fens are areas that accumulate peat – deposits of dead and partly decomposed plant materials that form organic-rich soil.
Trillions of dollars in ecological benefits
Wetlands are important environments for many reasons. They provide ecological services whose value has been estimated to be worth more than US$47 trillion per year.
Wetlands are critical homes or stopovers for many species of migratory birds. In the central U.S. and Canada, for example, wetlands in the so-called prairie pothole region on the Great Plains support up to three-quarters of North America’s breeding ducks.
Along with providing important habitat for everything from microbes to frogs to waterfowl, wetlands also work to improve water quality. They can capture surface runoff from cities and farmlands and work as natural water filters, trapping excess nutrients that otherwise might create dead zones in lakes and bays. Wetlands can also help remove other pollutants and trap suspended sediments that cloud water bodies, which can kill aquatic plants and animals.
Because wetlands are often in low-lying areas of the landscape, they can store and slowly release surface water. Wetlands can be extremely important for reducing the impacts of flooding. In some places, water entering wetlands can also recharge groundwater aquifers that are important for irrigation and drinking water.
Wetlands also act as important carbon sinks. As wetland plants grow, they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They they die, sink to the bottom of the wetland and decompose very slowly.
Over time, the carbon they contain accumulates in wetland soils, where it can be stored for hundreds of years. Conserving and restoring wetlands is an important strategy for regulating greenhouse gases and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Resources at risk
Despite the many valuable services they provide, wetlands are constantly being destroyed by draining them or filling them in, mainly for farming and development. Since 1970, the planet has lost 35% of its wetlands, a rate three times faster than the loss of forests.
Destruction and degradation of wetlands has led to the loss of many organisms that rely on wetland habitat, including birds, amphibians, fish, mammals and many insects. As one example, many dragonfly and damselfly species are declining worldwide as the freshwater wetlands where they breed are drained and filled in. A marsh or bog may not look like a productive place, but wetlands teem with life and are critically important parts of our environment.
Jon Sweetman, Assistant Research Professor of Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn State
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors this week will consider an engineering services contract for gravel removal from an Upper Lake levee bypass and hold a public hearing on a proposed subdivision extension.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting ID is 995 9693 7647, pass code 474608. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,99596937647#,,,,*474608#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
In an untimed item, sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, the supervisors will consider approving an agreement with Peterson Brustad Inc. for engineering design services for the Clover Creek Bypass Gravel Removal Project for an amount of $44,820.
Peterson Brustad Inc. is currently in the process of completing an extensive feasibility study on the Upper Lake levees, as Lake County News has reported.
Water Resources Director Scott De Leon’s report to the board explains that through the work the company has done on the feasibility study, “the identification of a gravel removal project for Clover Creek Bypass was identified as a high-priority project.”
His report explains that in order to conduct such a gravel removal project, “preliminary engineering design services are necessary to prepare plans adequate to develop quantity take offs for the gravel removal efforts, cost estimates, and make determinations for the scope of environmental clearances and permits.”
Based on the unique nature of the services, and the fact that the formal bidding process “will also increase the timeline for a high-priority project,” De Leon is asking for the board to waive the competitive bidding process and award the project to Peterson Brustad.
In timed items, at 9:15 a.m. the board will consider a resolution authorizing application for grant funding under the Regional Climate Collaboratives Program, as administered by the Strategic Growth Council as well as a draft partnership agreement for the Climate Safe Lake Project.
At 10 a.m., the board will hold a public hearing to consider granting a one-year proposed subdivision extension for the Valley Oaks project at 18196 and 18426 South State Highway 29 in Middletown.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt proclamation designating the month of October 2022 as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in Lake County.
5.2: (a) Acknowledge Sept. 23, 2022 as Native American Day in Lake County; and (b) adopt a proclamation declaring the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day in Lake County.
5.3: a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 2-38.4, as the County is piggybacking on a cooperative purchasing consortium contract; b) approve agreement with Canon Solutions America providing terms and conditions for acquisition, operation and maintenance of digital copy machines and supporting products, services and supplies for a monthly lease amount of $8,998.41 and a per copy amount of $0.0055 (B&W) and $0.0450 (color); and authorize the chair to sign; and c) authorize the purchasing agent to execute the resulting purchase orders and/or lease agreements.
5.4: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No.22-1102-000-SA with California Department of Food and Agriculture for compliance with the Nursery Inspection Program for the period of July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, in the amount of $500.
5.5: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 22-1366-000-SG with California Department of Food and Agriculture for compliance with the High Risk Pest Exclusion Program for the period of July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, in the amount of $9,974.09.
5.6: (a) Approve participation agreement between the county of Lake and the California Mental Health Services Authority for the State Hospitals Program in the amount of $2,804.00 for fiscal year 2022-23 and authorize the chair to sign; and (b) approve memorandum of understanding between the California Mental Health Services Authority on behalf of participating California Counties with the Department of State Hospitals for state hospital beds effective July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022, and authorize the department head to sign both the participation agreement and MOU.
5.7: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the agreement between county of Lake and Kings View Professional Services for MIS Support Services for FY 2022-23 in the amount of $158,469 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.8: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and 4Leaf Inc. for structural plan reviews of large residential projects for an amount not to exceed $50,000.00, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.9: Adopt resolution setting rate of pay for election officers for the Nov. 8, 2022, General Election.
5.10: Adopt resolution approving right of way certification for Bartlett Springs Road over Bartlett Creek Bridge Replacement Project, Federal Project No. BRLO-5914(111).
5.11: Adopt resolution approving right of way certification for Chalk Mountain Road over Cache Creek Bridge Replacement Project, Federal Project No. BRLO-5914(094).
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:07 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of October 2022 as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in Lake County.
6.3, 9:08 a.m.: Acknowledge Sept. 23, 2022 as Native American Day in Lake County; and (b) presentation of proclamation declaring the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day in Lake County.
6.4, 9:15 a.m.: (a) Consideration of a resolution authorizing application for grant funding under the Regional Climate Collaboratives Program, as administered by the Strategic Growth Council; (b) consideration of a draft partnership agreement for the Climate Safe Lake Project, and authorization of a designee to sign.
6.5, 10 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of proposed subdivision extension (SDX 22-01), for Valley Oaks; Location: 18196 and 18426 South State Highway 29, Middletown (lots 51 and 36) ( APNs 014-260-51, 014-260-36).
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of the following advisory board appointments: Lower Lake WaterWorks District One Board of Directors.
7.3: Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, (a) waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of the goods or services, and (b) authorize the chair of the board of directors, of the Lake County Watershed Protection District to sign and enter into agreement with Peterson Brustad Inc., for engineering design services for the Clover Creek Bypass Gravel Removal Project for an amount of $44,820 and authorize the chair to sign.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9 (d)(2) (e)(1) — One potential case.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. — The history of Anderson Marsh State Historic Park and its latest milestone were celebrated on Saturday with music, memories and gratitude.
Gathered in the shade of the same ancient oaks clustered around the ranch house that retired California State Parks Ranger Tom Nixon said the Pomo once gathered acorns under, community members marked the park’s 40th anniversary.
Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, or AMIA, hosted the event, which included a hike, educational and historic displays, and a great big anniversary cake. The group formed two years after the park’s creation and today has an active hand in running and supporting it.
The 1,605-acre park officially opened on Aug. 15, 1982. Its grounds encapsulate a layering of history and cultures. The park includes an area of unspoiled natural habitat filled with Indigenous cultural sites, and a time capsule of Lake County’s ranching families in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The park’s main building is the historic ranch house that was built in 1856 by the Grigsby brothers, who came from Tennessee on an ox cart, with additional phases of building continuing through 1923, when the Anderson family owned it.
There also are numerous outbuildings and barns, a windmill, and many hiking trails that take visitors out through a rich and varied landscape complete with all manner of wildlife — fish, birds, otters, muskrats, deer, mountain lion and bears.
Rita Durgin, a representative from Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry’s office, presented a resolution from Aguiar-Curry and Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire commending the park on its anniversary.
The resolution noted that the park was created to protect 27 Native American archaeological sites, including those of the Koi Nation, and other cultural artifacts that date back as far as 14,000 years.
The park also holds “one of the oldest and most complete records of Native American cultural history in the California State Parks system,” the resolution stated.
The resolution also noted that the 540 acre portion of the park known as the Anderson Marsh Natural Preserve “constitutes one of the sole remaining natural wetland tule marshes in the County, protecting multiple native habitats for many species of birds like the Great Blue Heron and other wildlife.”
The park’s creation and continued operation are testament to the power of community — when people have ideas, the willingness to follow through on them, attentive lawmakers and the support of their neighbors.
Since its inception in 1980, its creation in 1982 and up to the present day, Anderson Marsh has been the little park that could.
It has endured numerous challenges, from early opposition from the property owners, to a state bureaucracy that wasn’t initially interested in the park plan, a building project contractor who was caught digging up artifacts and arrested, and staffing and budget cuts in the 1990s.
In 2008, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar proposed to shutter dozens of state parks to address budget shortfalls. That year, his list included Anderson Marsh and Clear Lake State Park. Another proposal in 2009 also listed Anderson Marsh. Schwarzeneggar eventually relented and withdrew the proposal.
In 2016 the Clayton fire came close to destroying the park’s buildings, reaching the park entrance and causing park staff to evacuate the contents of the ranch house.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and caused some of the park’s favorite events, such as its Christmas celebration, to be canceled.
However, the park, which continues to be championed by a devoted group of volunteers and supporters, has survived and thrived.
In 2021, AMIA received a grant from the Department of Parks and Recreation in restoring and rehabilitating the three-acre entrance meadow that burned in the 2016 Clayton fire.
Other projects are underway, with HistoriCorps volunteers to paint a portion of the ranch house and repair windows, and stabilize and paint the outbuildings later this month.
In the spring, AMIA will launch its new twice-monthly “senior days” events, which include free bus trips, educational programs and lunch at the park, funded by a $9,220 “Parks Improvement” grant from California State Parks Foundation.
“This is a beautiful, beautiful place,” said Chris Glenn, the supervising ranger for both Anderson Marsh and Clear Lake State Park.
A vibrant history
During the Saturday celebration, the South Barn was opened so visitors could see exhibits,
Gae Henry, one of the park’s stalwart volunteers, shared the history of the native peoples and showed displays of taxidermy — from bobcats to owls to herons — that have made their home on the property.
Henry showed stone replicas of petroglyphs found on the property as well as some artifacts, including stone points and round sling stones.
She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the property, explaining that the South Barn’s original roof collapsed in a 1948 snowstorm, with the roof later being rebuilt with the original wood.
Henry said the teenage Grisgby brothers came to the property in 1855, riding in an ox cart from Tennessee.
They began construction of the original portion of the ranch house, and lived on the property for 15 years, Henry said.
During those years, a huge flood put Sacramento under 16 feet of water. The dam on Cache Creek was blamed, and vigilantes burned the mill and took down the dam.
“It didn’t help,” as it wasn’t about the dam, Henry said.
The Grigsbys sold the land to the Clear Lake Water Works Co. In 1885 John and Sarah Anderson — who Henry said traveled from Edinburgh, Scotland — purchased 1,300 acres the Grigsbys had owned from the water company.
The family had six children. Mora Anderson, the youngest, lived on the property until her death in 1966.
The fight to preserve the past
In 1980, when archaeologist John Parker began lobbying local and state leaders to create the park and protect its extensive Indigenous cultural sites, it wasn’t on any state list of properties planned for a park, according to former parks area manager, William Beat, who was on hand for Saturday’s celebration.
Beat said he didn’t think many people understood how much work went into getting the property in the first place.
The owners of the property that became the park were not initially willing to sell it to the state, Beat said. One of those owners, Ray Lyon, had planned an extensive development there that was to include condominiums, and he went to the Board of Supervisors to ask for the necessary zoning change.
The community rallied against the plan, and Beat said when Lyon’s attorney drove by and saw the parking lot for the meeting filled with cars, Lyons decided to go back and renegotiate with the state.
One of the people Parker enlisted to help with rallying the community to form the park was Roberta Lyons, who grew up with members of the Anderson family. At the time, Lyons was a reporter for the Clear Lake Observer American, which her family, the Hanchetts, owned at the time.
She wrote the first and most important stories about the effort to create the park. Today, Lyons is the AMIA president and one of the county’s greatest environmentalists, according to Nixon.
“The people make it happen,” Lyons said of the effort.
When the state finally agreed to create the park, Beat said he received a budget that he recalled as being up to $750,000 to cover park acquisition, renovation of the buildings and staffing.
Nixon and his wife, Valerie, both retired as rangers, worked in Lake County. He said propagating some of the younger oak trees at the park’s entrance are among his proudest accomplishments, and said they came from a time when rangers had more latitude for such projects.
“When it’s all said and done, it all comes down to the people in your life,” he said, crediting Parker for his efforts.
Nixon said Beat also had tried to get Indian Island to add to the park, an effort that didn’t succeed. However, Beat’s efforts to save the state’s redwoods in parks in other parts of the state did.
“He is a legend,” Nixon said.
Nixon recognized local Pomo leaders, including the late Nelson Hopper, and the Brown and Beltran families for their work and for sharing their knowledge and culture.
Others critical to the park’s creation and preservation include AMIA Board members Henry Bornstein and Gae Henry; Nixon said he didn’t know where the park would be without them.
“This place just got under my skin,” but in a very good way, Nixon said.
Beat also told Lake County News that Anderson Marsh has always been a special place for him.
Members of the Anderson family remain involved in the park today.
Gordon Haggitt, one of the descendants who retired in 2021 as the county of Lake’s longtime surveyor, today is a member of the AMIA Board.
Both he and his cousin, Winifred “Winnie” Anderson Lea — who came with her daughter and son-in-law — remembered herding cattle on the ranch with their great aunts and uncles.
Speaking of those who worked to make the property a state park, Haggitt said, “We’ve got an extra sense of gratitude.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
People have been exploring the surface of Mars for over 50 years. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, nations have sent 18 human-made objects to Mars over 14 separate missions. Many of these missions are still ongoing, but over the decades of Martian exploration, humankind has left behind many pieces of debris on the planet’s surface.
I am a postdoctoral research fellow who studies ways to track Mars and Moon rovers. In mid-August 2022, NASA confirmed that the Mars rover Perseverance had spotted a piece of trash jettisoned during its landing, this time a tangled mess of netting. And this is not the first time scientists have found trash on Mars. That’s because there is a lot there.
Where does the debris come from?
Debris on Mars comes from three main sources: discarded hardware, inactive spacecraft and crashed spacecraft.
Every mission to the Martian surface requires a module that protects the spacecraft. This module includes a heat shield for when the craft passes through the planet’s atmosphere and a parachute and landing hardware so that it can land softly.
The craft discards pieces of the module as it descends, and these pieces can land in different locations on the planet’s surface – there may be a lower heat shield in one place and a parachute in another. When this debris crashes to the ground, it can break into smaller pieces, as happened during the Perseverance rover landing in 2021. These small pieces can then get blown around because of Martian winds.
A lot of small, windblown trash has been found over the years – like the netting material found recently. Earlier in the year, on June 13, 2022, Perseverance rover spotted a large, shiny thermal blanket wedged in some rocks 1.25 miles (2 km) from where the rover landed. Both Curiosity in 2012 and Opportunity in 2005 also came across debris from their landing vehicles.
Dead and crashed spacecraft
The nine inactive spacecraft on the surface of Mars make up the next type of debris. These craft are the Mars 3 lander, Mars 6 lander, Viking 1 lander, Viking 2 lander, the Sojourner rover, the formerly lost Beagle 2 lander, the Phoenix lander, the Spirit rover and the most recently deceased spacecraft, the Opportunity rover. Mostly intact, these might be better considered historical relics than trash.
Crashed spacecraft and their pieces are another significant source of trash. At least two spacecraft have crashed, and an additional four have lost contact before or just after landing. Safely descending to the planet’s surface is the hardest part of any Mars landing mission – and it doesn’t always end well.
When you add up the mass of all spacecraft that have ever been sent to Mars, you get about 22,000 pounds (9979 kilograms). Subtract the weight of the currently operational craft on the surface – 6,306 pounds (2,860 kilograms) – and you are left with 15,694 pounds (7,119 kilograms) of human debris on Mars.
Why does trash matter?
Today, the main concern scientists have about trash on Mars is the risk it poses to current and future missions. The Perseverance teams are documenting all debris they find and checking to see if any of it could contaminate the samples the rover is collecting. NASA engineers have also considered whether Perseverance could get tangled in debris from the landing but have concluded the risk is low.
The real reason debris on Mars is important is because of its place in history. The spacecraft and their pieces are the early milestones for human planetary exploration.