Winding roadways, infrastructure, speed and weather conditions are among the factors that affect travel along county roadways. This vehicle went into the Rodman Slough in Lake County, Calif., on Tuesday, March 2, 2011. The crash, which resulted in no injuries for the car's occupants, was one of many during the year so far involving vehicles going into Clear Lake. Photo by Gary McAuley.

This is the first installment of a special series on highway safety and its impact on Lake County residents’ health.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sweeping vistas, clear blue skies, colorful countryside – all define Lake County's geography.

Traversing the landscape are numerous roadways, winding between lakes and mountains, dotted by wildlife and, at times, busier thanks to the tourist season.

Highways 20, 29 and 53 link Interstate 5 with Interstate 101, establishing Lake County as a primary traffic thoroughfare for travelers.

For motorists, the roads are both beautiful and harrowing, with the number of vehicle crashes in recent years showing a marked increase.

The 2010 Lake County Health Needs Assessment identified vehicle crashes as a significant health concern for county residents, pointing to evidence that the rate of fatal vehicle collisions in Lake County was well above state and national averages.

Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait said many of Lake County's health challenges, even simple tasks like driving to the store, result from the nature of rural living.

“Rural areas just have more accidents of all types,” said Tait.

In addition, Lake County's road infrastructure has been identified as needing significant improvement, and numerous health studies have pointed to higher-than-average rates of drug and alcohol abuse.

Then, there is the changing nature of society, where greater access to technology can sometimes translate into increased distractions when behind the wheel.

Lt. Mark Loveless, former commander of the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake area office – who earlier this year took a new assignment in Trinity County – said he's seen more collisions resulting from drivers using their cell phones to send texts and place calls, despite the fact the practice is illegal.

“That's not specific to Lake County,” he said, adding that people forget how important it is to stay focused when driving.

Early this year, Lake County News was selected for a California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

The purpose of the fellowship is to study a significant health issue affecting our readership.

The result is a series of articles focusing on Lake County's high number of vehicle crashes, listed among nine causes of death for Lake County residents that surpass state and national rates, according to figures included in the 2010 Lake County Health Needs Assessment.

In addition to this assessment, other sources for this special series include the Lake County Health Department, California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Transportation, Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, Clearlake Police Department, Lakeport Police Department, Lake County/City Area Planning Council, the California Department of Public Health, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute's county health rankings and the 2010 U.S. Census.

As part of the project, Lake County News has created a first-of-its-kind map for the community – to be introduced later in the series – which documents crash statistics from Jan. 1, 2006 to today.

The map, created with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, Lakeport Police and Clearlake Police, will become a permanent, regularly updated feature of Lake County News' Web site.

In addition to the map, the assessment of county roads that will be presented in the series will include an evaluation of contributing factors and what steps officials are taking to address the problems, including grant projects.

Another part of the series will consider whether measures taken to improve safety actually succeed, and how state and local officials determine where safety projects should be completed.

By the numbers

The 2010 Lake County Health Needs Assessment reported that over a three-year period – 2006 to 2008 – Lake County’s motor vehicle crash age-adjusted death rate was 22. That’s compared to the state rate of 10 and the national rate of 14, and well above the national health objective of eight, established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010, which sets goals and objectives for health.

Historically, Lake County's highways have been challenging. Residents’ accounts of county roads and highways describe narrow and treacherous byways which predate the arrival of the automobile at the turn of the 20th century.

Today's highways are safer, but still pose their challenges, as they move through narrow mountain passes and along the lake's curving shores.

The county's tourism trade and a growth in population over the past decade – 20 percent, based on state population estimates – appear to be contributing factors to rising crash rates.

Most factors affecting Lake County's high crash rate are fairly basic in nature, Tait said.

For one, road quality is a part of the equation, according to the Lake County 2030 Blueprint, a planning document completed in October 2010 by the Lake County/City Area Planning Council.

The document, funded through Caltrans grants, provides county governments a coordinated regional framework to help guide planning decisions.

The blueprint quotes a projection from the California Department of Finance Research Unit that Lake County’s population is projected to grow to around 101,000 residents by 2030, roughly a 55-percent increase. The latest U.S. Census numbers put the population just under 65,000.

“Poor road conditions and lack of safe bicycle and pedestrian access,” are the county's No. 1 challenge, according to the document. Lack of access to shopping and services, lack of medical resources and transportation to health care, and drug use also were cited.

Average pavement conditions ranked as poor

June 2008 pavement studies for Lake County, Lakeport and Clearlake, completed by the Lake County City Area Planning Council, didn't offer a promising picture for county roadways.

The study’s pavement condition index includes five rankings: very poor, 0-25; poor, 26-50; fair, 51-70; good, 71-90; and excellent, 91-100.

The unincorporated county's overall ranking was 32, or “poor,” with only 12.1 percent of county pavement in the “good” or “excellent” condition category.

“There is very little good news to present in this report,” the report on county roads stated, adding that the county’s existing budget of $300,000 per year for road maintenance isn’t enough to maintain roads, and that the pavement condition index is likely to decrease to 12, in the “very poor/failed” category, over the next decade.

The report recommended the county increase its current funding level for road maintenance to at least $8.9 million per year – an unlikely outcome for the small rural county – and increase inspections for streets. Estimated total road replacement costs for the entire county are $468.3 million.

A similar report completed for Lakeport found the city had estimated road replacement costs of $58 million, an average pavement condition index score of 35, still in the “poor” category, and had 12.2 percent of its pavement in the “good” or “excellent” category. If the city isn’t able to increase its road maintenance budget, but 2017 the average road condition rating is anticipated to drop to 13, or the lowest level, “very poor/failed.”

Clearlake's pavement picture was slightly better. It also ranked in the poor category, with a pavement condition index of 39. Overall, 17.5 percent of the city's roads rated as good or excellent. Because of budget constraints, road conditions are expected to decline to a 19 rating in the next decade. Total road replacement for the city would cost $53.3 million.

City and county officials said pavement condition index updates now under way and expected to be released by early 2012 show improvements in those numbers thanks to the completion of a number of projects over the last few years.

Additional studies identify vehicle crash rate as health issue

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute's county health rankings, released this spring, concluded that Lake County's motor vehicle crash fatality rate placed it in the 90th percentile for California counties – among the worst in the state – for years 2001 to 2007.

Lake County received a crude death rate score of 28 deaths per 100,000 population, the same rate as Amador and Tuolumne counties.

Other rural areas like Glenn, Del Norte and Trinity – the latter two having mountainous and winding roads often traversed by tourists – had worse rankings than Lake, at 29, 31 and 47 per 100,000 population, respectively.

In assessing the impacts of motor vehicle crashes on public health, Lake County's geography and infrastructure can't be ignored, said Tait.

Along with having to travel longer for some services – and stay on the road longer for minor errands – Tait said some of Lake County's roadways are narrower, have less lightning and have wildlife crossing them as well.

“I'm really pretty convinced that that basic infrastructure is what really makes a difference,” she said.

Tait said on a recent drive to a local friend's house she realized that the roadway where she was driving wasn't really wide enough for two lanes.

“Some of our roads just aren't really what people expect,” she said, especially for visitors and tourists who may find themselves off the beaten path.

With Lake County's dark roadways, abrupt road edges and lack of engineering in some places, it can be a unique challenge, said Tait.

“People who live here, the prudent ones, learn to be cautious,” she said, adding that not everyone is.

But perhaps more significant still is the impact of alcohol use by drivers who take to the county's roads.

The 2010 Lake County Health Needs Assessment found Lake County’s average rate of alcohol-involved motor vehicle fatalities for 2001 to 2003 was three times higher than the state average.

In the next installment, assessing the impact of alcohol use on highway safety.

This Lake County News special series was produced as a project for the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, a program of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

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 Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

2010 Lake County Health Needs Assessment

John Mark Sharp had some minor injuries to his head and ankle at the end of his ordeal, but was otherwise unharmed, according to a Tuesday report from Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Friday, Oct. 21, at approximately 7:15 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the Harbin Hot Springs area of Middletown to investigate a report of a man yelling for help from somewhere in the surrounding wilderness northeast of the resort, Bauman said.

Bauman said a Harbin Hot Springs employee had reportedly searched for the man, but then aborted his search due to darkness and called the sheriff’s office.

While deputies began searching the area on foot, the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue coordinator began calling in resources for a Search and Rescue mission. Bauman said man trackers, K-Corps members, and four-wheel drive teams were summoned to the area and a California Highway Patrol helicopter with night vision equipment was requested to respond.

While Search and Rescue resources were responding to the area, a Cal Fire battalion chief who had been monitoring radio traffic responded to assist the deputies with a preliminary ground search, Bauman said.

For several hours, deputies and the Cal Fire battalion chief could hear the man yelling from the wilderness intermittently as they tried to pinpoint his location, Bauman said. At approximately 10:30 p.m., a CHP helicopter out of Napa arrived in the area and conducted a 40 minute aerial search but then had to return to base for fuel.

Shortly before midnight, a sheriff’s patrol sergeant encountered two men in a vehicle on Big Canyon Road who stated they were looking for their friend, according to Bauman's report.

Bauman said the two had reportedly ventured into the wilderness with Sharp earlier in the day, but had lost track of Sharp some time after 2 p.m. They left the area in the afternoon thinking Sharp had gotten a ride home, but after several hours had passed and Sharp had not returned home, they decided to return to the area and look for him.

Shortly before 11 p.m. Search and Rescue volunteers formed five search teams and a four-wheel drive unit and were deployed into the search area. Nearly two hours later, the Cal Fire battalion chief located Sharp, Bauman said.

Sharp was dehydrated and appeared to have sustained some head trauma due to a fall, Bauman said. While a Cal Fire engine crew and medic were able to reach the two, Sharp could not immediately be extricated from the area due to the terrain.

Air support to lift Sharp from the area was determined to be unavailable until daylight. Two fire crews from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Konocti Conservation Camp in Lower Lake were then dispatched to the area to clear an egress route for the missing man and his rescuers, according to Bauman.

At approximately 5:15 a.m., Sharp was successfully extricated from the wilderness by Cal Fire. Bauman said Sharp had sustained minor trauma to his head and ankle due to falling down an embankment, but was otherwise unharmed.

Sharp corroborated his friends’ earlier account for getting lost, telling officials he had gotten separated from his friends, and then became lost trying to find them. Bauman said Sharp was transported by ground ambulance to the St. Helena Hospital Clearlake for further treatment of his injuries.

Sheriff Frank Rivero commended his deputies, his Search and Rescue coordinator, and all Search and Rescue volunteers and K-Corps members for their response and successful conclusion of another search and rescue operation.

The sheriff also thanked the supporting agencies that responded to assist with the rescue, including Cal Fire, CHP and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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Caltrans converted the intersection of Hartmann Road and Highway 29 near Middletown, Calif., to a three-way stop on Monday, October 24, 2011, in an effort to reduce traffic collisions. Photo by Derek Pell.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Changes are under way for south Lake County roadways.

On Monday, Caltrans converted the intersection of Highway 29 and Hartmann Road to a three-way stop in an effort to reduce the high number of collisions seen there in recent years.

While some area residents have advocated for a stoplight rather than stop signs, Ralph Martinelli, chief of the traffic safety office for Caltrans' District 1, told Lake County News on Monday that Caltrans believe stop signs are the most effective tool for reducing collisions at the intersection.

He said the intersection's design – which includes a large curve – isn't ideal for a stoplight, which wouldn't necessarily reduce the kinds of broadside collisions that have occurred there.

The goal also is to make drivers slow down, he said, which the stop signs do. In some cases, lights can lead to drivers speeding up as they attempt to anticipate light changes.

The intersection changes also include flashing beacons and signage to draw drivers' attention to the new stops, Martinelli said.

When such changes are implemented, Martinelli said it usually takes a few weeks for the community to become adapted to the changes. He said Caltrans will have portable, changeable message boards in the area to help remind drivers of the new signage.

Readers posting on Lake County News' Facebook page Monday afternoon reported delays as the intersection was converted to the three-way stop.

The California Highway Patrol reported a noninjury collision took place at the intersection at about 9:20 p.m. Monday.

Also on Monday, Caltrans said a paving project on various sections of Highway 29 and Highway 175 in Lake and Mendocino counties is on schedule.

The agency said final striping and other minor work on Highway 29 from Spruce Grove Road to

the Lake-Napa County line will be completed on Friday, Oct. 28.

Work on Highway 175 is now taking place between Middletown and Kelseyville. The next phase will take place on Highway 175 between Hopland and Lakeport, Caltrans said.

The Highway 175 paving – which will be completed by next summer – is using rubberized asphalt concrete, which Caltrans said contains rubber from ground up tires, making it more flexible for a longer

life. The rubberized asphalt also is good for the environment, diverting approximately 120,000 tires from landfills.

Caltrans said the paving work is taking place from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. One-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.

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The work includes roadway trenching and underground piping installation, the agency reported.

This project is currently under way near Shady Acres extending up and through the former Pierce Airfield.

The project addresses the ability to provide capacity within the sewer collection system and reduce sewer spills.

Normal hours of construction are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and traffic control will be provided when necessary.

There may be disruptions caused to residents’ normal day-to-day activities during construction.

Every effort is being made to minimize impacts to all residents within the construction area.

The Lake County Sanitation District said it appreciates everyone’s patience as the important improvements are completed.

For more information, contact Lake County Special Districts at 707-263-0119.

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The male suspect in an attempted robbery on Saturday, October 22, 2011, in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., was believed to have been driving this late model white SUV, possibly a Honda, pictured on a clip from a surveillance video. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect of an attempted robbery at a south county pharmacy this past Saturday.

On Saturday, Oct. 22, at approximately 1:45 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported robbery attempt at the Hidden Valley Pharmacy on Hartmann Road in Hidden Valley Lake, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.

Bauman said staff at the pharmacy reported that shortly after opening for business at 1 p.m. a white male adult walked into the business, handed the pharmacist a note stating it was a “robbery,” and exposed what appeared to be a handgun in his left front pants pocket.

The suspect demanded the narcotic medication Oxycontin, but the pharmacist told him he had none in stock, Bauman said.

The suspect then demanded any other similar medication and the pharmacist told him he was not licensed to dispense narcotic medications. Bauman said the suspect then retrieved his note and left the pharmacy in an unknown direction, empty-handed.

The suspect was described as a white male adult, unshaven with light brown hair, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall with a “stocky” build, wearing sunglasses, blue denim pants and a blue and white plaid shirt, Bauman said.

While checking the area for any other witnesses or information, deputies reviewed the surveillance system at the neighboring Hardester's Market and discovered the suspect had been caught on video, walking behind a building in the business center and getting into a vehicle. Bauman said that vehicle is described as a late model white SUV, possibly a Honda product.

Anyone with information on the possible identity of the suspect in Saturday’s attempted robbery is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at 707-262-4200 or the sheriff's anonymous crime tip line at 707-262-4099.

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From left, Ronald James Blesio, 34, of Nice, Calif., was arrested on Sunday, October 23, 2011, during a traffic stop. He had been sought for more than four months for a stabbing in Lakeport, Calif. At right, 48-year-old Kenneth A. Lakatos of Petaluma, in whose vehicle Blesio was riding, also was arrested following the stop for possession of narcotics paraphernalia, attempting to conceal or destroy evidence and driving on a suspended license. Lake County Jail photos.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Northshore man who police had sought for more than four months for allegedly stabbing two men was taken into custody Sunday night as the result of a traffic stop, according to a Monday report from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Ronald James Blesio, 34, of Nice, was arrested Sunday evening in the Kelseyville area, as Lake County News reported on Monday.

Blesio was sought for allegedly stabbing two men at a Lakeport gas station on June 12.

Arrested with Blesio Sunday night was Kenneth A. Lakatos, 48, of Petaluma, in whose vehicle Blesio was a passenger, according to a report from Sheriff's Capt. James Bauman.

At 9:30 p.m. Sunday a sergeant assigned to the sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail – identified as Sgt. Chris Chwialkowski on the booking sheets for Blesio and Lakatos – conducted an enforcement stop on a Toyota SUV for an equipment violation on Soda Bay Road near Eastlake Drive in Kelseyville, Bauman said.

As soon as the Toyota pulled over and stopped on the shoulder of the road, one of the passengers got out of the vehicle and immediately fled on foot, Bauman said.

Chwialkowski recognized Blesio immediately, pursuing him on foot. Bauman said Blesio was apprehended without further incident after a foot chase that lasted approximately 50 yards.

When Chwialkowski returned to the scene of the car stop, he looked around the Toyota and found a glass meth pipe which he determined Lakatos had thrown from the vehicle while the foot chase was taking place, Bauman said.

Chwialkowski also determined that Lakatos was driving on a suspended license and took him into custody as well, according to Bauman.

Bauman said Blesio and Lakatos were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.

He said Blesio was booked for resisting arrest, and a total of five warrants for pending cases involving narcotics, weapons and assault charges, and Lakatos was booked for misdemeanor counts of possession of narcotics paraphernalia, attempting to conceal or destroy evidence and driving on a suspended license.

Blesio remained in custody on a no-bail hold on Monday. Lakatos, whose bail was set at $2,000, posted bail and had been released by Monday evening.

Early on Monday morning, Blesio's girlfriend, 44-year-old Cathi Larae Larson of Lakeport, also was arrested.

Police had sought Larson since June, alleging she had helped Blesio escape the scene of the June stabbing.

Larson was booked on four felonies, including failure to appear on a felony charges and three felony bench warrants. She remained in custody on Monday night.

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The fire was reported at a home on Dry Creek Road near Highway 29 at about 5:45 p.m., according to radio reports.

Neighbors and friends identified the homeowners as Joe and Clarine Lewkowitz.

A large column of black smoke and flames shooting 40 to 50 feet in the air were seen by neighbors as helicopters and ground units fought the blaze.

The fire was reportedly contained at approximately 6:43 p.m., according to radio traffic. Resources were committed for several more hours for mop up.

The fire's cause and details about the firefighting effort weren't immediately available Tuesday night.

The Lewkowitz family reportedly lost their dog and all of their belongings to the fire, according to their friends.

Community members discussing the fire on Lake County News' Facebook page Tuesday evening were rallying to offer help and support to the couple, known for their generosity and community involvement. Red Cross was reported to be meeting with them on Wednesday to give them assistance.

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Army officials said they are investigating the death of Army Private First Class Steven Francis Shapiro, 29, of Hidden Valley Lake, who died on Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, in Tallil, Iraq. Photo courtesy of Fort Hood.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The death of a Hidden Valley Lake man who died last week while serving in Iraq is under investigation, according to Army officials.

Army Private First Class Steven Francis Shapiro, 29, of Hidden Valley Lake, died on Friday, Oct. 21, in Tallil, Iraq, according to the Department of Defense and officials at Fort Hood, where Shapiro was assigned.

Tyler Broadway, a media spokesman for Three Corps Fort Hood, said the cause of Shapiro's death is under investigation.

Broadway said Shapiro died as the result of a “noncombat related incident” in Tallil. He did not offer more specifics about where the incident occurred.

Once the inquiry is complete, more information likely will be available, but Shapiro added, “It takes a long time for these investigations to be concluded.”

Tallil is located in southern Iraq, about 160 miles southeast of Baghdad. It's also the location of a US air base.

Shapiro, who was supporting Operation New Dawn in Iraq, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, the Department of Defense reported.

Shapiro entered active duty service in March 2010 as an M1 armor crewman, according to a report from Fort Hood. He deployed in support of Operation New Dawn earlier this year.

Fort Hood reported that Shapiro's awards and decorations include an Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon.

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From left, Ashley Saxon and Manuel Sotelo, both of Kelseyville, Calif., were arrested on drug-related charges on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. Lake County Jail photos.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The service of a search warrant by the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force last Wednesday has resulted in two felony arrests and the seizure of approximately one ounce of methamphetamine and over $2,000 in US currency for asset forfeiture.

On Oct. 12 narcotics detectives secured a search warrant for the person, home and vehicles of 26-year-old Ashley Nicole Saxon of Kelseyville, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, at approximately 12 p.m., detectives spotted Saxon riding as a passenger in a white Chevy coupe being driven by her boyfriend, 46-year-old Manuel Vincent Sotelo, in the area of their home in Soda Bay, Bauman said. Sotelo was on felony probation and active parole for a prior narcotics conviction.

Task force detectives conducted an enforcement stop on the vehicle on Bergesen Drive and detained both Saxon and Sotelo without incident, Bauman said.

During their detention, Saxon attempted to dispose of a small bag of methamphetamine and a subsequent search of her person revealed she was concealing a “meth” pipe on her person beneath her clothing, Bauman reported.

Narcotics detectives transported Saxon and Sotelo to their Cypress Avenue home where they executed the search warrant. Bauman said the couple had a video surveillance system monitoring the front of the home and when detectives entered the house, they found a police scanner inside actively monitoring the sheriff’s primary radio frequency.

During a search of the home, detectives located a zippered case concealed beneath a pile of dirty clothing in the master bedroom. Further examination of the case revealed that it contained approximately one ounce of methamphetamine and other narcotics sales paraphernalia, Bauman said.

He said two digital scales also were found concealed in a nightstand in the same bedroom. A total of $2,201 in US currency was seized from Saxon and Sotelo collectively, as the suspected profits of drug trafficking.

Both subjects were arrested and transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, according to Bauman.

Saxon was booked for possession of a controlled substance for sales, transportation of a controlled substance and possession of narcotics paraphernalia, with bail set at $15,000. She later posted bail and was released.

Sotelo was booked for possession of a controlled substance for sales, violation of his probation, violation of his parole and driving on a suspended license. The alleged probation violation resulted in a no bail hold, and he remained in jail on Monday.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

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Drugs and paraphernalia allegedly found during a search of the home of Ashley Saxon and Manuel Sotelo of Kelseyville, Calif., on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Juan Estrada Gomez, 30, of Redwood City; Eduardo Yepis Casillas, 34, of San Mateo; Jose Manuel Hernandez, 21, of Redwood City; Jose Hernandez Bustos, 55, of Redwood City; and Cesar Vidal Martinez, 38, of Hayward were convicted of poaching, according to a report from Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

On Sept. 17, Department of Fish and Game Warden Patrick Freeling was patrolling in the area of the State Game Refuge north of Lake Pillsbury when he noticed two vehicles parked at the boundary of the Refuge near Broadman Ridge, Hinchcliff reported.

The refuge has signs posted at all entrances warning that it is illegal to possess firearms or hunt in the refuge, according to the report.

Upon further investigation Freeling found five individuals walking out of the refuge with hunting rifles, Hinchcliff said. When Freeling contacted them, all five men admitted they were deer hunting.

The case was referred to Hinchcliff for prosecution, and all five men were charged with illegal hunting and possession of firearms in a game refuge, in violation of Fish and Game Code section 10500.

Hinchcliff said that on Tuesday all five men pleaded no contest to possession of firearms in the refuge.

Judge Andrew Blum sentenced each of the men to three years' probation, revoked their hunting privileges for three years and ordered each to pay a fine of $1,915, Hinchcliff said.

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Pfc. Steven F. Shapiro, 29, of Hidden Valley Lake, died on Friday, Oct. 21, in Tallil, Iraq, according to a Tuesday report from the Department of Defense.

Shapiro was supporting Operation New Dawn in Iraq, the Department of Defense said.

According to the Tuesday statement, Shapiro was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Details about the circumstances leading to Shapiro's death were not immediately available on Tuesday morning from Fort Hood.

However, a Fort Hood official said more information would be available later in the day.

Shapiro's death occurred on the same day that President Obama announced that the remaining US troops in Iraq would be coming home by year's end.

Lake County News will post additional information as soon as it becomes available.

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The agreement gives water export agencies south of the Delta and in Southern California unprecedented influence over an important public process concerning California’s precious fresh water supplies, according to a Monday report.

Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) and U.S. Reps. George Miller (CA-7), Doris Matsui (CA-5), Jerry McNerney (CA-11) and John Garamendi (CA-10) wrote on Monday to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking that the recent agreement between the department and water agencies be rescinded and that the process be opened up to include other key stakeholders left out of the discussions, including Bay Area, Delta and coastal communities, farmers, businesses and fishermen.

“The Department of Interior should immediately take the necessary steps to repair this imbalanced and unfair agreement and I am confident that after reviewing the facts put forward in the letter that they will do just that,” said Thompson. “I am committed to making sure terms are reached where the Bay-Delta is restored and the needs of local communities are protected, and that is why I will keep working with Interior and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Management Committee to come up with a fair and balanced path forward.”

The lawmakers recently held a series of meetings with Interior Department and California officials to express their concerns about the memorandum of agreement that the department signed with water export agencies, an agreement that was developed and signed without input from Bay-Delta stakeholders.

The department had previously told the lawmakers to expect an answer to their inquiries early last week, but failed to meet that deadline.

Monday’s letter from the lawmakers requests a written response from Secretary Salazar by the beginning of next week.

The members wrote that the process as it currently stands has established an unrealistic timeline for the completion of the plan, and that it raises expectations of favorable outcomes for the water agencies that signed it.

The full text of the letter is below.

October 24, 2011

The Hon. Kenneth Salazar

Secretary, Department of the Interior

1849 C Street, N.W.

Washington DC 20240

Dear Secretary Salazar:

We are writing to follow up our recent meetings with Interior officials and other participants in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and to express our strong objections to the current direction of that plan.

The constituents we represent have a great deal at stake in the future of the BDCP process and ultimate plan. Delta, Bay Area and coastal communities, residents of the floodplain, farmers, businesses, fishermen, and the rest of our constituents could be profoundly affected by the BDCP. But to date, the BDCP planning process has failed to treat these affected groups in a fair and transparent manner, and we do not believe that the emerging plan is reflecting Bay-Delta constituencies’ concerns and interests.

Specifically, it does not appear that the federal government is taking seriously the goal of restoring endangered salmon or that it intends to operate the Central Valley Project to meet the statutory mandate to protect, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and associated habitats. Furthermore, we cannot accept proposals – including ones under consideration by the BDCP – that would harm Delta communities and the regional economy by eroding water quality for drinking and agriculture.

This is a critical moment, and we urge you to take concrete corrective actions now so that the BDCP process can succeed. Your Department recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with certain state and federal water export agencies that excluded other stakeholders. That agreement offers the signatories unprecedented influence over the process, and it raises expectations of favorable outcomes. While we appreciate your outreach to the Delta counties and to the environmental NGOs since the signing of the agreement, the existence of this unfair agreement continues to taint the process and must be withdrawn. At a minimum, we believe that Interior should retract its approval of the MOA and allow for a public comment period of 45 days.

The MOA creates a number of serious problems. For example, this agreement binds BDCP participants to an unrealistic timeline that has the serious potential to rush the many important decisions that have thus far been put off, avoid a full consideration of alternatives, and undermine the much-needed scientific analyses that remain to be done – analyses that many of the agreement’s signatories have resisted.

In addition, the MOA describes long-term guarantees of certainty to federal water contractors as “an essential element of a successful BDCP.” This is an unreasonable standard to establish, especially as no equivalent assertions have been offered to any other BDCP participants. We are additionally concerned that establishing certainty for the contractors as an “essential element” of the BDCP is in conflict with the many other federal responsibilities in play in the BDCP, such as doubling the populations of salmon and other anadromous fish as required by law, providing necessary water for wildlife refuges, preserving water quality and availability for Delta agriculture, and meeting the needs of other water users.

The agreement further establishes an unequal process going forward: the MOA invites the water export contractors to collaborate with the federal agencies on the responses to public comments, allows the water export contractors early and exclusive access to draft consultant work product, and gives the water export contractors direct control over the consultants who are writing the documents. California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office recently testified before the State Assembly about additional provisions of this document that “may be seen as favorable to the contractors,” including the fact that a public NEPA document may not be issued without explicit authorization from the water export contractors. This raises very serious questions about whose process this is, ultimately; if the water export contractors’ funding has given them control over the process, it would be to the detriment of the Bay-Delta and to the public interest.

The above concerns — along with the many others we have raised in our recent meetings — share several worrying traits. These are positions sought by the same handful of state and federal water contractors that have long dominated the BDCP process. They have the potential to harm the Bay-Delta, fishing communities, local farmers, and our constituents more broadly. They compromise Interior’s ability to exercise its mandates to restore the Bay-Delta ecosystem and California’s fisheries, and to consider the interests of all stakeholder groups. And they were developed in closed-door negotiations with the water export contractors that excluded all other interests.

Because we have not yet received a response to our request, we reiterate it here: Interior should immediately rescind this flawed MOA and work instead to establish a successful BDCP process that is transparent and based on parity, and that genuinely puts the restoration of the Bay-Delta and its fisheries, the needs of local communities, and the quality of local water resources on par with other water supply goals. That includes:

• Ensuring that all stakeholder involvement is fair, equal and transparent: all stakeholder groups should have equal access to BDCP draft documents and consultant products and equal ability to provide direction to BDCP consultants, and meetings involving the export contractors, state and federal agencies and the BDCP consultants should be open to all stakeholders.

• Establishing a realistic timeline that allows sufficient time to address the serious unanswered questions remaining before the BDCP, conduct the appropriate scientific reviews including of all alternatives, and comply with NEPA and other relevant statutes.

• Genuinely committing to the co-equal goals: any “certainty” under consideration for the water export contractors must be matched by equal, specific, and certain commitments to restoring the Bay-Delta to health as required by state and federal law.

• Maintaining state and federal agencies’ ability to implement other statutory mandates including, but not limited to, the CVPIA’s anadromous fish restoration program (including B2 water, the Restoration Fund, and other activities), the refuge water supply program, Trinity River restoration, and the requirement that beneficiaries must pay for the mitigation of any project.

• Ensuring that any final BDCP preserves water quality and water availability for farmers, families, and businesses in the Bay-Delta area, and preserves flood protection for communities in the region.

We are disappointed that we find ourselves in the present situation, and that the interests of our constituents are still facing these hurdles at this stage of the BDCP process. The public interest and the stewardship of the Department require that transparency and equal participation must be reestablished for all stakeholders in the BDCP as soon as possible. To that end, we reiterate our request for corrective action as to this MOA, and as you consider the Department’s next steps regarding the BDCP, we seek your commitment that you provide us with advance notice when making determinations that would affect our constituents.

For all of the reasons detailed above, we request a written response to this request by October 31.

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