The president's annual State of the Union address laid out an ambitious set of goals to create jobs, stabilize the economy and rebuild the national spirit, and gained praised from Lake County's congressman.

President Barack Obama’s optimistic Tuesday night address to Congress and the nation called for all Americans to work together to keep the country moving forward.

“I thought it might have been one of the best State of the Union addresses that I’ve heard,” Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) told Lake County News afterward. “He said things tonight that every American knows and feels.”

Thompson said Obama outlined the country’s challenges, reminded Americans of how working together is what made America great and spoke to specifics here at home, including increasing manufacturing jobs.

The president also “had some pretty tough lines in here,” said Thompson, noting, “He was not bashful on calling Congress out.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer said the president laid out a blueprint “for building an economy that works for every American.”

Obama's “eloquent optimism,” said Boxer, “stands in marked contrast to the angry tone Americans have been hearing on the campaign trail from his opponents.”

In his 65-minute address Obama called for a number of measures to reinvigorate the economy, create jobs and rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.

“There’s never been a better time to build,” he said.

Obama also promised to get rid of useless regulations, establish a financial fraud unit and wanted to stop a tax hike on 150 million Americans while the recovery is still fragile.

He urged Congress to make the tax code fairer to the lower and middle classes, noting that the country can’t keep taxes on the rich low while investing in important programs and paying down the debt.

Obama also called on Congress to address the “corrosive” power of money in politics by banning insider trading and preventing legislators from holding stocks in industries they impact.

He said the temperature in Washington needed to be lowered, and must be an end to the idea that Republicans and Democrats have to be locked in a campaign of perpetual destruction.

Obama said the country can continue making progress. “And I can do a whole lot more with your help,” he said, adding that when it’s people are working together, there is nothing the United States can’t achieve.

Anyone who says America’s influence has waned “doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” said Obama, explaining that America remains indispensable in world affairs.

Recalling the day Osama bin Laden was killed last year, Obama said in the situation room were people of all political affiliations, yet “all that mattered that day was the mission.”

He added, “No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves.”

Obama said if the country maintained a common resolve it can continue moving forward, ending with the declaration that the state of the union remains strong.

Following the speech, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels delivered the Republican Party’s response, saying the “loyal opposition” saluted Obama for pursuing the murderers of Sept. 11 and addressing needed changes to public education.

But Daniels said that while Obama didn’t cause the nation’s economic crisis, he had failed to fix it, and argued that Obama’s policies had in fact made the situation worse.

The Republicans promoted a simpler tax code, ridding the nation of expensive new regulations and uniting to save and repair the “safety net” – Medicare and Social Security, Daniels said.

Daniels also said it wasn’t fair of Obama to accuse Republicans of creating obstacles in Congress, and accused Obama of “constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others.”

“As in previous moments of national danger, we Americans are all in the same boat,” Daniels said. “If we drift, quarreling and paralyzed, over a Niagara of debt, we will all suffer, regardless of income, race, gender, or other category. If we fail to shift to a pro-jobs, pro-growth economic policy, there will never be enough public revenue to pay for our safety net, national security, or whatever size government we decide to have.”

Boxer said she welcomed Obama's call to action “for us to work together to strengthen the middle class, create clean energy jobs, help responsible homeowners stay in their homes, protect the environment from toxins such as mercury and rebuild America’s infrastructure.”

She added, “I will do everything I can to bridge the partisan divide and we can start right away by passing a bipartisan surface transportation bill that saves or creates millions of jobs.”

Thompson said Obama's call for rebuilding of infrastructure would provide jobs in Lake County.

The improvements needed on Highway 29 in Lake County alone could produce 900 jobs, he said, and the call for building a new economy based on energy outlines the importance of the county’s geothermal industry.

Thompson said it was important for Obama to discuss the mortgage crisis; if the nation doesn’t deal with it, it will take forever to get the economy back in shape.

Last week Thompson and Democratic members of the California Congressional Delegation sent Obama a letter asking him to immediately address the foreclosure crisis, as Lake County News has reported.

“This is not our first bite of the apple on the mortgage issue with the administration,” said Thompson.

In the address Obama had mentioned a plan to allow homeowners to refinance at current, lower interest rates, which Thompson said is the right thing to do and is estimated to put an additional $3,000 in qualifying homeowners' pockets each year.

Obama’s significant goals, such as tax code changes, will require Congress to work together, he said.

As for whether Obama can accomplish his goals in the deeply partisan atmosphere – and in the midst of an election year – Thompson said he’s the eternal optimist.

He said he’s going to continue to work as hard as he can to make sure some of the president’s goals can be accomplished.

Thompson said he hopes the address ultimately will mean more than just pomp and circumstance.

“The truth is, it’s up to all of us to make it happen,” he said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home on Main Street in Upper Lake at 2 a.m. Tuesday on the report of a home invasion robbery, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks.

He said the victim heard a loud noise coming from the living room area and went to investigate, and was confronted in the living room by three or four armed Hispanic male adults.

The suspects wanted to know where the victim kept his marijuana, money and firearms, Brooks said.

Taken from the residence was approximately 20 pounds of marijuana, $1,500 in cash and a firearm, according to Brooks.

The suspects tied the victims’ hands and feet prior to leaving the residence. Brooks said the man eventually was able to free himself and dial 911 to report the crime.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit, as well as crime scene investigators, responded to the location. They processed the scene for evidence and continued the investigation into the robbery, Brooks said.

On Jan. 17, two home invasion robberies were reported, one in Upper Lake and one in Loch Lomond, as Lake County News has reported.

The three men alleged to have been involved in the Upper Lake robbery, also allegedly seeking marijuana, led deputies on a high speed chase on Highway 29. Two of them were captured outside of Lakeport, while the third man eluded capture following a lengthy search.

No arrests have so far been reported with the respect to the robbery in Loch Lomond, with the suspects in that case also reportedly looking for marijuana.

Upper Lake community members also have reported to Lake County News that a home invasion robbery occurred in the town late in December.

When Lake County News requested information on that incident, the sheriff’s office said it was an ongoing investigation and therefore would not release any details of what occurred.

If anyone has information pertinent to the investigation of the Tuesday incident, please contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at 707-262-4200.

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Maricruz Alvarez-Carrillo, 22, was found guilty last Friday at the end of a two-week trial in Ukiah. The jury deliberated a total of seven hours. Superior Court Judge Ann Moorman set sentencing of Alvarez-Carrillo for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 24.

District Attorney David Eyster on Monday called the jury’s conviction of Alvarez-Carrillo “a big win in a difficult gang-related case.”

Prosecutor Tim Stoen called 10 witnesses during the trial, including attack victims Alissa Colberg, age 18 at the time, and Richie Olstad, then 16. Colberg is scarred on her face and chest as a result of the ax blows, according to Stoen.

Witnesses testified that on Jan. 28, 2011, Alvarez-Carrillo was driving a vehicle in Fort Bragg when she and a boyfriend encountered members of a competing gang.

Colberg admitted she smashed in a back window of the Alvarez-Carrillo vehicle during a melee that followed. But she and other witnesses testified that Alvarez-Carrillo, by then armed with the ax, first chased Olstad and then turned her attack on Colberg who had come to her young friend’s aid.

Colberg ended up with serious gashes to her chest and face, and was rushed to Mendocino Coast District Hospital to be treated, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutor Stoen said Fort Bragg Police Chief Scott Mayberry assisted in the prosecution of the case by personally reviewing hundreds of pages of documents.

Eyster said the public should know “how much we appreciate the terrific work Police Chief Mayberry and his officers did in this case.”

“The outcome is a major step towards eliminating gang threats in the community of Fort Bragg,” said Eyster.

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The response was a coordinated effort of Lake County Public Health, Lake County Office of Education, Clearlake Family Health Center and a variety of other local health providers.

Health officials said 61 close contacts were identified and referred for treatment.

Particular assistance was provided from the local health care community, including but not limited to Dr. Luis Diaz and Clearlake Family Health Center, Lake Pharmacy and North Lake Pharmacy.

The Lake County Office of Education worked closely with Lake County Public Health to address the issue.

The Pomo Early Connection preschool closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to enable employees and children to receive the recommended preventive treatment and for thorough disinfection of the facility, according to the two agencies.

According to Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait, the response showed remarkable multi-agency cooperation and assistance from the health care community, which was crucial to a timely and effective intervention.

“It is gratifying to know that our community is so ready to assist, particularly as personnel resources are shrinking,” she said. “It makes our public-private partnerships more important than ever. We are wishing a speedy recovery for the child who fell ill and are crossing our fingers that there will be no additional cases. With the success we had in rapidly getting preventive treatment to the close contacts, I’m feeling optimistic. ”

Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that strikes approximately 1,000 people in the United States each year, health officials said.

Many people carry the bacteria in the nose and throat. The bacteria can spread by exchanging respiratory and/or throat secretions. However, only rarely do the bacteria invade the bloodstream to cause serious infection, which can include meningitis, according to the report.

When infection occurs, it is serious and can be deadly, especially if antibiotic treatment is not started quickly. It starts with flu-like symptoms such as fever and headache, later progressing to a rash, stiff neck and confusion.

Why some people develop illness and others do not is not well understood. Health officials said seasonal variations in the disease occur, with more activity in the winter months. The annual number of cases reported in California in recent years varies between 120 and 200 cases.

Meningococcal disease most frequently occurs in children under age 5 years and in late adolescence/early adulthood.

A vaccine is available for protection against about half of the types of meningococcal disease that are identified. It is generally recommended for children starting at age 11-12 years. Although it is not routinely recommended for younger age groups, it is given to some children who are unusually susceptible to infections.

Meningococcal disease can result in outbreaks, particularly in congregate facilities, such as dormitories and daycare settings, the county health department said.

When one or more cases of this infection occur, measures are taken to prevent additional infections in close contacts who may have been exposed to the saliva or respiratory secretions of the sick individual. The preventive treatment usually consists of a single dose of antibiotic.

People who have had close contact with someone sick with meningococcal disease often ask whether it is necessary or helpful for their own family and friends to receive the preventive treatment. Health officials don’t recommend preventive treatment of people who did not have direct exposure to the ill person’s saliva or respiratory secretions during the infectious period.

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A U.S. Geological Survey map shows an earthquake that occurred near Clearlake Oaks, Calif., early on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Residents around the county reported feeling an early morning earthquake that was centered near Clearlake Oaks.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 3.8-magnitude quake occurred at 4:11 a.m. at a depth of 1.9 miles.

It was centered four miles south southwest of Clearlake Oaks, four miles west northwest of Clearlake and six miles northwest of Lower Lake, the agency reported.

Several residents around the lake – from Clearlake Oaks to Kelseyville – reported feeling the quake, which was said to have lasted about five seconds.

By 9 a.m. the U.S. Geological Survey had received 233 shake reports from eight zip codes around Northern California, including Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lower Lake, Middletown, Hidden Valley Lake and Campbell. It also received a report from Sun Valley, Nev.

A 1.9-magnitude quake – originally reported as 2.0-magnitude temblor – was reported in the same spot at 4:29 a.m., according to U.S. Geological Record reports.

Regarding that second, smaller quake, a total of 19 shake reports were submitted from Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville and Lower Lake, survey records showed.

Lake County is seismically active, although most of the earthquake action is reported on Cobb Mountain near The Geysers geothermal steamfield, where increased earthquake activity has been attributed to wastewater injection.

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The group’s application is part of existing litigation to halt the forced layoff and involuntary transfer of well over three hundred sworn Special Agents of the Department of Justice.

The elimination and transfer of badly needed special agents results from targeted budget cuts promoted and signed into law by Gov. Brown. The group said the motivation for these cuts is unjustifiable.

The California Statewide Law Enforcement Association, which represents ASA-DOJ and special agents in collective bargaining, endorsed Meg Whitman in September 2010.

In the lawsuit, the ASA-DOJ alleges that Gov. Brown specifically slashed funding for the DOJ's Division of Law Enforcement, while increasing funding for the DOJ as a whole, as obvious political retaliation for the special agents' endorsement of Whitman in the 2010 gubernatorial race.

The lawsuit further alleges that Brown violated both the California Constitution and government code by encroaching on the statutory authority of the attorney general and eliminating special agent divisions without the express authority required to do so under the law.

Special Agents will be laid off and transferred from the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and the Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence. These bureaus are responsible for investigating drug cartels, street gangs, exploiters of children, homicides, major fraud, terrorism and public corruption, among others.

ln 2010 alone, the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement seized more than $8 billion dollars of narcotics and arrested hundreds of violent gang members, while the Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence played a crucial role in locating and arresting thousands of violent suspects, including Scott Peterson and the murderers of Sandra Cantu and Chelsea King.

If the special agents are eliminated from the ranks of law enforcement, the people of California will face the brunt of the impact as criminal activity in drugs and violent crime will face significantly less deterrence and punishment from those in uniform.

lf transferred from their current positions as planned, many special agents will face a serious personal threat to their safety, the group reported.

A number of special agents work undercover in sophisticated criminal organizations and may not be able to safely remove themselves in the 30 days notice given by the department, according to ASA-DOJ.

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“Greater awareness of the disease, more rapid diagnosis and treatment, and increased vaccination rates contributed to saving the lives of infants,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the state public health officer. “I thank our public health and medical communities for working together and being especially vigilant following the 2010 epidemic.”

In Lake County last year there were three pediatric pertussis cases, all in young infants, according to Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.

She said all three babies were hospitalized and recovered.

In 2010, 9,000 Californians were diagnosed with pertussis and 10 infants died from the disease, CDPH said.

In response, CDPH partnered with local health departments and health care providers across the state implementing disease control strategies and informational alerts. The state also offered free vaccines to hospitals, allowing convenient vaccination for new parents to prevent transmission of the disease to newborns.

Last fall, a new state law required students in seventh through 12th grades for the first time to get a Tdap booster shot. The new school law will apply to all students entering seventh grade in 2012 and beyond.

While whooping cough remained high at more than 3,000 cases in 2011, there have been no deaths since Oct. 13, 2010, according to the report.

The last time California had 3,000 cases of whooping cough was 2005. That year, eight infants died, the state said. In 1991, there were only 249 reported pertussis cases in California.

Young infants are the most vulnerable to serious whooping cough complications. Of 575 whooping cough cases among infants 3 months of age or younger reported during 2011, 244 (42 percent) were hospitalized. CDPH said that’s a significant drop since 2010 when 59 percent of infected infants in that age group were hospitalized.

Immunity gained from pertussis vaccine wanes over time, so a booster shot is needed. The new school immunization law is intended to further protect communities by ensuring that adolescents, who may no longer be immune to whooping cough, are vaccinated. CDPH produced public service announcements in English and Spanish and partnered with the California Broadcasters Association to encourage media outlets to air the ads aimed at raising awareness about pertussis and the new California law.

Adults, especially those who live or work with infants, are also strongly encouraged to get a Tdap shot, CDPH said.

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Preston Pipelines Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., is installing a new 14-inch water main along Parallel Drive in Lakeport, Calif. The pipeline will serve the new Mendocino College Lake Center. Photo by McKenzie Paine.

The project runs 5,800 feet along Parallel Drive – starting where the city water main ends near the AAA insurance building – and down to Highway 175, according to Lakeport City Engineer Scott Harter.

He said the contractor, Milpitas-based Preston Pipelines Inc. – the same company doing a nearly five-mile-long force main project for the Southeast Regional wastewater system in Clearlake – has moved quickly on the work, which should be completed at the end of February.

In the three weeks the company has worked on the pipeline, Preston Pipelines has put down 2,000 feet of the pipe, Harter said.

The company has 45 days to complete the work and gets credit for days it can’t work due to weather, such has been the case since late last week, when storms arrived, according to Harter.

Part of the project’s speed – which Harter said was running at about 700 feet of pipeline a day – is due to Preston Pipelines using a machine to crush excavation material. It then mixes that material with sand and water to create a cement slurry that is put back into the trench with the pipe.

That same process is being used for the Clearlake pipeline, and it prevents the contractor from having to wait for slurry to be trucked in, Harter said.

Harter said the new water main will provide city water services to the Mendocino College Lake Center, currently under construction on Parallel Drive, as well as several other properties added to the city’s limits during the last annexation.

He said the city and college are jointly funding the 14-inch water main extension, the total cost of which is $777,265.

Of that, the city and college are splitting $763,363, with the additional $13,902 to install water service hookups to about five other properties being covered by the city, Harter said.

The college could have just installed an 8-inch water pipe, but since the city is expanding water service to the area as part of its water master plan, Harter said it made sense to split the cost and invest in a larger, 14-inch pipe in order to serve the annexation area.

“That’s the philosophy between the split cost,” he said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

New hydrants are ready to be installed along Parallel Drive in Lakeport, Calif., as part of a new pipeline project. Photo by McKenzie Paine.

An Oregon gray wolf which crossed the California border Dec. 28 continues to be closely monitored by state wildlife officials.

Updates on the position and progress of OR7, as the 2-and-a-half-year-old male is known, is available at a new Web site, www.dfg.ca.gov/wolf/.

OR7 currently is reported to be in Lassen County, where he’s remained for approximately one week, the Department of Fish and Game said.

Lassen County also happens to be the location where the last wild gray wolf in California was killed in 1924, the Department of Fish and Game said.

Originally part of the Imnaha wolf pack, located in northeastern Oregon, the wolf has traveled more than 300 miles into California, officials reported.

He’s reportedly being monitored through various means, including a global positioning system device that periodically transmits its location.

His behavior, called “dispersal,” is not atypical of a male wolf his age and may be a result of natural competition among the males in the pack, seeking out a mate or better mating status in another pack, or seeking out a new food source if the original pack has overbred or there is limited amount of prey in the area, the Department of Fish and Game reported.

While OR7 is the only documented wolf in California, any wild gray wolf that returns to California is protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The federal law generally prohibits the harassment, harm, pursuit, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capture or collection of wolves in California, or the attempt to engage in any such conduct, officials said. Penalties include fines up to $100,000 and one-year imprisonment.

Though many sightings have been reported, all other recent “wolf” sightings that have been investigated in California have been found to be something else, such as a coyote, a dog or a hybrid wolf-dog. Despite reports to the contrary, the Department of Fish and Game is not aware of confirmed sightings of other wolves in California since 1924.

A helpful graphic to help distinguish a wolf from a coyote is available at

http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/management/wolf/wolfCoyote.html.

Concerns about human safety are largely based on folklore and are unsubstantiated, the agency said.

In recent years there was one human mortality in Canada caused either by wolves or bears and one confirmed human mortality in Alaska by wolves, according to the state. Based on experience from states where substantial wolf populations now exist, wolves pose little risk to humans.

However, the Department of Fish and Game recommends that people never approach a wolf, or otherwise interact with or feed a wolf.

Farmers and ranchers can reduce the likelihood of attracting wolves and other predators by removing potential sources of food and other attractants from their land such as discarded animal carcasses, bone piles, etc.

More about how to avoid human-wildlife interactions can be found on the Department of Fish and Game’s Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/ or www.dfg.ca.gov/wolf/.

The Department of Fish and Game has been following the recovery and migration of gray wolves in Western states with the expectation that at some point they will likely reach California.

The available historic information on wolves in California suggests that while they were widely distributed, they were not abundant.

More information about wolves in California can be found at

www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf/docs/Gray_Wolf_Report_2012.pdf.

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On Monday Judge Andrew Blum set Wednesday, March 28, as the date that the trial will begin for Derik Dion Navarro, 39, of Kelseyville. The trial judge has not yet been assigned.

Navarro is facing 16 charges for allegedly having sex with a young teenage girl numerous times over the course of a year, beginning in May 2005 with she was 14 years old.

At the time when the alleged activities took place, Navarro was a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy. In early 2007, the agency received information about the allegations, which led to an investigation and, ultimately, resulted on Navarro’s termination in April 2007, with his arrest taking place a week later.

Because he had at one time represented Navarro in a matter related to his employment, District Attorney Don Anderson couldn’t prosecute the case due to a conflict of interest, and it was handed over to the California Attorney General’s Office.

In December, Senior Assistant Attorney General Dave Druliner and Navarro's attorney, Mitch Hauptman, reached a plea agreement in which Navarro pleaded guilty to one count of felony unlawful intercourse with a child under age 16, with the 15 other charges to be dismissed.

Navarro was expected to receive three months in jail and three years’ formal probation, with no requirement to register as a sex offender, when he was scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 9.

But despite the requests from the alleged victim and her family to accept the agreement to allow them closure, Judge Blum rejected the agreement, calling it “ridiculously lenient.”

The California Attorney General’s Office did not respond with a comment on the case on Monday.

Hauptman told Lake County News that he is exploring the possibility of a change of venue motion.

He has hired an expert who will conduct a community survey to see if a change of venue motion is warranted. Hauptman, who isn’t yet convinced that a change of venue is necessary, said he expects to see the survey completed within the next four to six weeks.

He said he’s considering the change of venue matter because of some unusual circumstances, not the least of which is the active role Sheriff Frank Rivero has taken in advocating against the plea agreement.

Rivero put out a statement last month denouncing the agreement, and sent Blum a letter – which was waiting on the judge’s desk on the morning of the scheduled sentencing – asking him to turn down the sentence bargain, according to Hauptman, who viewed the document.

Hauptman said he wasn’t saying what Rivero did was right or wrong, but it’s rare for sheriffs to get involved in cases, and Hauptman believes Rivero’s involvement has affected the perception of some community members regarding the case.

There had been an offer pending the case for some time, which Hauptman said Navarro had rejected.

However, he finally agreed to plead guilty to the charge as part of the December agreement. In doing so, Hauptman said Navarro made “the best decision he could to be around to protect his family.”

Hauptman also maintained that just because Navarro pleaded guilty to the charge, it does not mean he is guilty of it, and therefore people should withhold judgment.

Blum initially had to approve the agreement when the plea was entered, said Hauptman.

“There is a reason why there is a time lapse between approval and actual sentencing,” said Hauptman, noting that it gives judges the chance to further reflect and consider the case.

On Jan. 9, before he rejected the agreement, Blum called Hauptman and the parties into chambers to discuss the matter.

“It was pretty clear that he had some serious concerns at that point,” said Hauptman, adding he was “blindsided” by Blum’s decision to reject the agreement.

At the same time, Hauptman said he believes Blum had good motives in making his decision.

Having worked in Lake County for a long time, Hauptman believes he has the home court advantage in the case.

“However, the last six weeks generated an enormous amount of powerful press,” he said. “My perception is it’s a little more widely spoken about than most cases.”

Those issues of perception aren’t easily addressed in the jury selection process, he said, which is the reason that the change of venue is being considered.

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Firefighters work at the scene of a rollover crash in Nice, Calif., on Sunday, January 22, 2012. Photo by McKenzie Paine.

NICE, Calif. – A rollover crash on Sunday afternoon in Nice resulted in minor injuries.

The crash occurred at around 12:30 p.m. on Benton Avenue near Beach Street off of Highway 20, blocking the roadway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A white sedan hit a telephone pole, with the vehicle reported to have rolled over, the CHP said.

A white Ford F-250 pickup also was involved, according to reports from the scene.

The California Highway Patrol and Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters responded.

The top of the sedan was removed as firefighters worked to help the crash victims.

Tow trucks were called to remove both vehicles from the scene, the CHP reported.

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