KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The 2016 Educators of the Year and Excellence in Education Awards dinner honored six outstanding teachers and four classified employees from around Lake County for excellence in their professions and dedication to their students.

The awards dinner took place at the Riviera Hills Restaurant in Kelseyville on Friday, Nov. 4.

Kimberly Harris was selected from those six teachers to be honored as the Lake County Teacher of the Year.

Harris is a special education teacher working with severely handicapped children in the fourth through eighth grades at Lower Lake Elementary School.

“She is amazing, dedicated and hardworking,” said Tarin Benson, principal of Lower Lake Elementary. “Mrs. Harris has been faced with challenging situations and she is able to deescalate a situation and make it a safe environment for all.”

The district Teachers of the Year recognized during the evening were Rico Abordo from Kelseyville Unified School District, Nicole Goodwin from Lakeport Unified School District, Karen Jones from Middletown Unified School District, Diana Johnson from Upper Lake Elementary School and Gary Madison from Upper Lake High School.

Classified employees receiving recognition for their outstanding support in the schools were Eva Santana from Konocti Unified, David Ferrell from Lakeport Unified, Salvador Pimentel from Middletown Unified and Linda Morton from Upper Lake Unified.

Two special recognition awards were awarded to Jessica Taliaferro and Russell Cremer.

Taliaferro was awarded the Administrator of the Year by the Association of California School Board Administrators and Cremer was awarded the Champion of Education Award by the Lake County Office of Education.

In its 22nd year, the Excellence in Education Awards is sponsored by the Lake County Office of Education to formally recognize the professional and compassionate teachers and classified employees in the school districts.

These selfless individuals dedicate their time and careers to the educational growth of their students, student families and the communities in which they serve.

The Lake County Office of Education recognizes and supports the critical role the schools play in the education of youth and the development of strong communities through education. More information about the office of education can be found on its website at www.lakecoe.org .

Christine Hutt is communications coordinator for the Lake County Office of Education.

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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Unified School District Board of Trustees will hold a discussion this week on a proposal to move the historic one-room Kelsey Creek School from the property where it's been located for 134 years to the Ely Stage Stop.

The meeting will take place beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the district office, 4410 Konocti Road.

The Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse – also known as the Hells Bend Schoolhouse – was built in 1871. It is located on a one-acre parcel in the 3500 block of Finley Road East in Finley.

It is the only one of the county's old original schoolhouses that remains as it did when its district – in this case, the Kelsey Creek School District – lapsed and the school closed, according to “Lake County Schoolhouses,” published earlier this year by Tony Pierucci, the curator of the Lake County Museum system.

The Kelseyville Unified board has two agenda items related to the historic school on its Tuesday agenda.

The first is whether to accept a letter from a group calling itself Friends of the Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse, which is reporting that it intends to abandon a plan to relocate and rehabilitate the building.

The second item is a discussion on donating the school to the Lake County Historical Society, which has submitted a letter requesting the building.

Superintendent Dave McQueen told Lake County News that the second item is discussion only – no action will be taken on Tuesday night.

The letter from the Friends of the Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse explained that it had submitted a proposal in June 2014 to look at moving and renovating the building. However, it has concluded that its plans are prohibitively expensive, estimating that purchasing a new property, and moving and renovating the building could range between $250,000 and $380,000.

The group began talking with the Lake County Historical Society, which is now offering to take the building to the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum on Soda Bay Road, where in 2007 the stage stop building itself was moved from across Highway 29.

Signing the letter to the board from Friends of the Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse were Marilyn Holdenried, Kelly Cox, Jerry Hook, Syd Stokes, Wally Holbrook, Peter Windrem and Gary Olson, who also sits on the school board and who asked that that discussion be placed on the agenda at last month's board of trustees meeting, McQueen said.

Voris Brumfield, president of the Lake County Historical Society, sent a letter dated Nov. 3 stating that the group had a “keen interest” in receiving the building.

She said the organization “has begun outreach to the community, local, state, and federal governments for assistance to move the building to the Ely Museum site and return the building to its original appearance. A mover has been contacted and permits as needed will be obtained. We are confident there will be no costs incurred by the Kelseyville Unified School District in this endeavor.”

What so far hasn't been addressed in the correspondence are issues related to removing a historical building from the location where it has been for more than 130 years. The possibility of leaving it at the Finley Road East location and renovating it there also has not been raised, but those matters could be brought up on Tuesday.

McQueen has been researching the property and its history, finding in the school's rolls some of his own family members.

He said the district's attorney also has been looking at what can and can't be done with the building, which sits on property donated for the school by the Rickabaugh family in 1882.

If the schoolhouse were to be moved, McQueen said he doesn't know if the district would sell the property. “The district could do more with the property if the building wasn't here.”

In November 2011, the county of Lake paid to have the building reroofed, as Lake County News has reported.

McQueen said the county also covered some other repairs inside of the building. However, since then, no one has been taking care of the building or visiting it, he said.

Ray Mostin, a farmer and former county supervisor who is a neighbor to the schoolhouse, disagrees.

He said he is one of a number of community members who have worked to preserve it over the years. Mostin said thousands of dollars' worth of repairs have been made to keep the building from deteriorating, and he continues to keep the grass mowed around it.

People frequently stop by to see the building, he said, adding that a couple held their wedding there not long ago.

He's been part of a group, the Hells Bend Restoration and Community Center Committee, that had worked to preserve and renovate the building. A document dated 1995 attributed to the group said that, at that point, between $15,000 and $20,000 had been raised for its upkeep.

A sign that is still in front of the building recounts the committee's efforts, and also notes that the building was an Eagle Scout project.

A history of the building Mostin shared with Lake County News explains that the original Kelsey Creek School was built in 1860 one mile north of Kelseyville on property that later was used for a pear orchard.

In 1871, that building was torn down and some of the materials were used to build the present school building on a site on the Quercus Ranch. There, the school site was located within a big bend of Kelsey Creek, which would earn the school one of its names, “Hells Bend School.”

A history of the school posted online by the Lake County Office of Education said the Hells Bend name was given to the area where the school was located because “several of the men living within that location went to town and got liquored up, there would be hell to pay between the neighbors when they returned home.”

In 1882, the school was relocated to its current site on Finley Road East, on land donated by the Rickabaugh family. There, it remained in use until July 1, 1920, after the district's smaller one-room schools were consolidated.

The Kelseyville School district and the Kelsey Creek Community Club signed a 25-year lease agreement for the building to be used as a community center in February 1947. Mostin said community members used to get together there for various activities, including playing cards.

There have been previous attempts to move the building since its closure in the 1920s that have failed.

Pierucci wrote in his book on Lake County's schools, “In the 1940s, an attempt was made to move the schoolhouse, but a group of citizens who wanted the building to stay where it was banded together and had the attempt stopped before it got off the ground.”

The Hells Bend Restoration group's history also recounted that in 1958 there was another effort to move the schoolhouse to the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport.

In 2011, the school board also had considered selling the building as part of a plan to address its financial problems, but ultimately decided against it.

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.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Assemblyman and Senator-elect Bill Dodd will host a town hall for Lake County on Monday, Nov. 21.

The town hall will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Middletown Senior Center, 21256 Washington St.

At the event Dodd will provide an update on important issues facing Lake County, introduce his successor and thank residents for allowing him to represent them.

Also in attendance will be Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblymember-elect Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who will be taking Dodd’s place in the Assembly as he transitions to the State Senate.

All residents of Lake County are encouraged to attend this free event, featuring complimentary food (not paid for at taxpayer expense).

Dodd will represent Lake County until Dec. 5, when he will be sworn in to the Senate and Aguiar-Curry will be sworn in to take over as the District 4 representative in the Assembly.

“Serving Lake County in the Assembly has been an absolute honor and an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life,” said Dodd. “Lake County will always be close to my heart, and I will continue to work collaboratively with Senator McGuire and Assemblymember-elect Aguiar-Curry to fight for the needs of Lake County.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a wide selection of cats to choose from for those looking for a new feline friend.

The available cats include tabbies and a tuxedo, plus a gray adult cat and a white female kitten.

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

For those looking for a barn cat to keep the rodents at bay, be sure to ask about the barn cat adoption program. Feral barn cats are adopted out for $1 each, which includes altering, ear notching and vaccines. 

In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Shelter_Animal_Search.htm .

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

Gray tabby

This female gray tabby cat has a short coat and green eyes.

She has not yet been spayed.

She's in cat room kennel No. 4, ID No. 6240.

Domestic short hair kitten

This domestic short hair kitten has an all-white coat and blue eyes.

She's in cat room kennel No. 15, ID No. 6473.

Adult tuxedo cat

This tuxedo cat of undetermined gender has a medium-length coat and gold eyes.

The cat is in cat room kennel No. 60a, ID No. 6440.

Domestic long hair mix

This female domestic long hair mix has an all-gray coat, and yellow eyes.

She already has been spayed.

She's in cat room kennel No. 124a, ID No. 6342.

Domestic long hair mix

This male domestic long hair mix has a gray tabby and white coat, and yellow eyes.

Shelter staff said he already has been neutered.

He's in cat room kennel No. 124b, ID No. 6343.

Clayton fire cat

This male domestic medium hair cat was injured during the Clayton fire. He was taken into care on Aug. 18 in Lower Lake.

He has a medium-length gray and white coat and gold eyes, and is recovering from injuries suffered during the Clayton fire. He has been neutered.

He's in the Animal Care and Control clinic, ID No. 5856.

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

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

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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

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

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.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Animal Care and Control is offering for adoption this week several Labrador Retrievers, Rottweilers and some small dogs, too.

This week's dogs also include mixes Chihuahua, German Shepherd, mastiff, pit bull and wirehaired terrier.

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.

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

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

'Gravy'

“Gravy” is a male wirehaired terrier-Chihuahua mix.

He has a short gray and white coat, brown eyes and floppy ears.

He's in kennel No. 2, ID No. 6470.

Pit bull terrier-Chihuahua

This male pit bull terrier mix has a short brown coat and brown eyes.

He's in kennel No. 6, ID No. 6401.

Pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short gray and white coat and brown eyes.

He's in kennel No. 8, ID No. 6443.

Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever has a short black coat and brown eyes.

He's in kennel No. 15, ID No. 6463.

Rottweiler-shepherd mix

This young male Rottweiler-shepherd mix has a medium-length black and brown coat with white markings.

He's in kennel No. 19, ID No. 6412.

Rottweiler-shepherd mix

This young male Rottweiler-shepherd mix has a medium-length black and tan coat.

He's in kennel No. 22, ID No. 6411.

German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd has a short black and brown coat and brown eyes.

She's in kennel No. 23, ID No. 6442.

'Sara'

“Sara” is a female Rottweiler mix has a black coat with some brindle markings.

Shelter staff said she need some training and is manageable on a leash. They said she is a very nice dog and knows not to jump when excited. After proper introductions, she has gotten along with other dogs she has met, including off-leash play. She would do best in a home with no cats.

She's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 5947.

Labrador Retriever-border collie mix

This male Labrador Retriever-border collie mix has a short black and white coat and brown eyes.

He's in kennel No. 26, ID No. 6438.

'Kali'

“Kali” is a female pit bull terrier mix.

She has a short blue and white coat, brown eyes and cropped ears.

She's in kennel No. 27, ID No. 6424.

Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever mix has a short black coat and brown eyes.

Shelter staff said he is a sweet, energetic boy who would do wonderfully with an active family. He has been introduced to several dogs at the shelter, with all of those encounters ending playfully and happily.

He has typical lab energy and would be a great running companion. While he pulls on the leash he responds appropriately with correction.

He's in kennel No. 28, ID No. 6415.

Labrador Retriever

This female Labrador Retriever mix has a short black coat with white markings.

She's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 6308.

Mastiff-pit bull mix

This male mastiff-pit bull mix puppy has a brown coat with white markings.

He's in kennel No. 32, ID No. 6466.

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

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

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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

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

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.

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NICE, Calif. – An 84-year-old Lucerne man died Saturday evening after he was struck by a vehicle while crossing Highway 20.

The California Highway Patrol said the fatal crash occurred at 5:20 p.m. Saturday on Highway 20 at Pomo Way, which is the entrance to Robinson Rancheria.

The name of the man who died was not released on Sunday pending the notification of next of kin, the CHP said.

The CHP said that Douglas Williams, 56, of Lucerne was driving his 2001 Ford Escort eastbound on Highway 20 approaching Pomo Way at an unknown speed, while the pedestrian was crossing the highway at Pomo Way, from north to south.

For reasons that investigators have yet to determine, Williams was unable to see the pedestrian until just before he hit him, the CHP said.

Williams swerved his car to the left but was unable to avoid hitting the pedestrian, who hit the car's right side headlight, bumper, hood and windshield, and was thrown onto the highway's south shoulder, according to the CHP.

Northshore Fire medical personnel arrived and pronounced the pedestrian dead at the scene, the CHP said.

The CHP said Williams was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and was not injured.

Williams was evaluated at the scene, and was not under the influence, the CHP reported. It was not known at the time of the CHP's Sunday report if the pedestrian was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The crash investigation is still under way, and is being conducted by CHP Officer Alva.

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.

A strangely shaped depression on Mars could be a new place to look for signs of life on the Red Planet, according to a University of Texas at Austin-led study.

The depression was probably formed by a volcano beneath a glacier and could have been a warm, chemical-rich environment well suited for microbial life.

The findings were published this month in Icarus, the International Journal of Solar System Studies.

“We were drawn to this site because it looked like it could host some of the key ingredients for habitability – water, heat and nutrients,” said lead author Joseph Levy, a research associate at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, a research unit of the Jackson School of Geosciences.

The depression is inside a crater perched on the rim of the Hellas basin on Mars and surrounded by ancient glacial deposits.

It first caught Levy’s attention in 2009, when he noticed crack-like features on pictures of depressions taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that looked similar to “ice cauldrons” on Earth, formations found in Iceland and Greenland made by volcanos erupting under an ice sheet. Another depression in the Galaxias Fossae region of Mars had a similar appearance.

“These landforms caught our eye because they’re weird looking. They’re concentrically fractured so they look like a bulls-eye. That can be a very diagnostic pattern you see in Earth materials,” said Levy, who was a postdoctoral researcher at Portland State University when he first saw the photos of the depressions.

But it wasn’t until this year that he and his research team were able to more thoroughly analyze the depressions using stereoscopic images to investigate whether the depressions were made by underground volcanic activity that melted away surface ice or by an impact from an asteroid.

Study collaborator Timothy Goudge, a postdoctoral fellow at the institute, used pairs of high-resolution images to create digital elevation models of the depressions that enabled in-depth analysis of their shape and structure in 3-D. Researchers from Brown University and Mount Holyoke College also participated in the study.

“The big contribution of the study was that we were able to measure not just their shape and appearance, but also how much material was lost to form the depressions. That 3-D view lets us test this idea of volcanic or impact,” Levy said.

The analysis revealed that both depressions shared an unusual funnel shape, with a broad perimeter that gradually narrowed with depth.

“That surprised us and led to a lot of thinking about whether it meant there was melting concentrated in the center that removed ice and allowed stuff to pour in from the sides. Or if you had an impact crater, did you start with a much smaller crater in the past, and by sublimating away ice, you’ve expanded the apparent size of the crater,” Levy said.

After testing formation scenarios for the two depressions, researchers found that they probably formed in different ways.

The debris spread around the Galaxias Fossae depression suggests that it was the result of an impact – but the known volcanic history of the area still doesn’t rule out volcanic origins, Levy said. In contrast, the Hellas depression has many signs of volcanic origins.

It lacks the surrounding debris of an impact and has a fracture pattern associated with concentrated removal of ice by melting or sublimation.

The interaction of lava and ice to form a depression would be an exciting find, Levy said, because it could create an environment with liquid water and chemical nutrients, both ingredients required for life on Earth. He said that the Hellas depression and, to a lesser extent, the Galaxias Fossae depression, should be kept in mind when looking for habitats on Mars.

Gro Pedersen, a volcanologist at the University of Iceland who was not involved with the study, agrees that the depressions are promising sites for future research.

“These features do really resemble ice cauldrons known from Earth, and just from that perspective they should be of great interest,” Pedersen said. “Both because their existence may provide information on the properties of subsurface material – the potential existence of ice – and because of the potential for revealing ice-volcano interactions.”

The research was supported by a NASA Mars Data Analysis Program award.