MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall’s meeting last week hosted a discussion on the process for planning the recovery of Trailside Park and its future uses.
            
Lake County Public Services Director Lars Ewing spoke to the group May 11 about what’s ahead for the 107-acre park, which was entirely burned over by the Valley fire in September 2015.

“We don't have anything set in stone,” he said, explaining that he was there more for receiving input than telling community members what the park will be, as he believes the ultimate vision belongs to them.

Ewing, who formerly worked in the county’s Public Works Department, took on the director role with Public Services after the Valley fire. By that time, the park already had been destroyed.

He said an arborist assessed the trees that remained in the park after the fire and the decision was made to remove them.

The tree removal has three phases, Ewing said.

The first phase was conducted under a contract with AshBritt Inc. of Deerfield Beach, Fla. Ewing said that phase removed trees that posed hazards to the park’s existing trails.

After that phase, a majority of the park’s damaged trees were still standing. Ewing said the county received a California Department of Labor grant through California Human Development Corp. for the next phase of tree removal.

He said the third tree removal phase is now under way, and is between two and two and a half months from being completed.

That phase includes chipping trees for use as trail surfacing, he said.

The park has now been cleared as much as it can be, Ewing said.

In looking ahead, Ewing noted, “It's not going to be the park that it was.”

He said the foresters he’s spoken to – including Greg Giusti, the retired director of the University of California Cooperative Extension in Lake County – have said it won’t be a pine forest if it’s left to grow up on its own. Rather, it will be oak and manzanita and will take time to grow back on its own.

In response to a question asked later in the meeting about those trees, Ewing said the oaks and manzanitas will thrive and won’t require a specific replanting like the pines.

Ewing said his department plans to hold a public meeting about the park. At the same time, they’ve been contacted by a number of individuals with interest in that park for various uses – arts in the park, trails, bocce ball, equestrian uses, baseball fields and playgrounds.

“It's a big park,” he said, with leads to the possibility of many different uses.

There also is the underlying assumption that it's a nature preserve. Ewing said the county purchased the park land under a state Proposition 70 grant, meant to support parks and open space.

Ewing said they needed to look back at legislative intent of the funds. He said the state said the funds can be used for general park purposes, and that Proposition 70’s intent was not explicitly for the purposes of open space, nature and wildland preserves.

However, Ewing said he also doesn’t want to assume that they can do anything with the property, which is why they’ve asked the state to review the legislative intent.

He said they are dealing with a unique circumstance due to the fire. “It created a clean slate on that park.”

Now to be considered is what can be done given the conditions of that grant and in light of the new circumstances, Ewing said.

The Lake County Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will meet on June 7 to discuss countywide issues. Ewing said it will be an open meeting and a notice will be sent out. He said it’s the first time he’s convened the group in his tenure as director.

“The focus is going to be Trailside Park and the area of Middletown and Cobb, where we have the need for parks,” Ewing said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is not just handing out money, said Ewing, adding, “We're not going to get a free park.”

Ewing said the second step will be holding a public forum to look at the park’s needs.

During the meeting he was asked about a roughly 10-acre area of the park where trees burned in the fire have been left standing.

Ewing said that the intent of that area was to look at a possible memorial or natural regeneration project. He said the decision was made not to cut down that group of trees but to see what it would look like if it came back on its own.

He said he got the idea during a visit to the Grand Canyon. Ewing saw an area there where a fire had occurred about 20 years ago. It features interpretive signs showing how things came back, which he said was informative and impactful.

He added that he’s also open to not having such an area in the park if the community is against it.

Another area of the park, about 10 to 15 acres in size, is the site of the Lake Area Rotary Club Association’s tree replanting project. Ewing said an area right in the middle of the park was identified where the trees would grow.

In late March, the Rotary project, with the help of hundreds of volunteers from around Northern California, about 4,000 ponderosa pines were planted in that portion of the park, as Lake County News has reported.

Ewing also was asked about at-risk trees across from the park which currently are waiting to be removed. Ewing said those trees – about 1,000 of them – are marked and awaiting approval of FEMA. The county has a contractor lined up to do the work.

The issue of when the trails at the park will be reopened to walking and horseback riding also was raised. Ewing said he wants to wait until hazard trees are removed and it’s safe before allowing use of those areas again.

During the discussion other potential uses were raised for the park, including Robert Battaile’s suggestion of bocce courts for the Middletown Bocce League.

Battaile said the club wants to be close to the park’s restrooms and have lighting. Ewing said getting power to that area will be a challenge.

Another proposed use is for the park included a stadium and play fields for the Middletown and Cobb Little League, which a group representative said could get grants and funding for those facilities.

Ewing said the county can masterplan itself to death and then the plans get shelved due to lack of funding. He said the county is extremely strapped for cash, so he said it will require thinking outside of the box – such as that suggested by the Little League – to find ways to pay for park amenities.

However, another community remember reminded the audience that the original intent at the time the park was purchased was to keep it natural. She pointed out that, because of that condition, community members had spoken out against locating the dormitory for Hope City volunteers involved in the fire recovery and rebuilding effort at the park.

Ewing told Lake County News this week that the Lake County Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 7.

The meeting will begin at Trailside Park before reconvening in the community room at the Middletown Library, he said.

He said he expected the meeting topics to include a broad discussion of county park issues, with a focus on Trailside Park.

Ewing said the full agenda hasn’t been set yet, but will be sent out to the community ahead of the meeting.

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.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The men and women devoted to educating the county’s youngest students were honored at an awards ceremony earlier this month.

The Lake County Child Care Planning Council hosted its annual Early Childhood Educator of the Year Awards on Saturday, May 6, at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge.

Thirteen awards were given out in a variety of categories to early educators who went above and beyond this year.

“We received 68 nominations this year and our selection committee was so blown away by nominations that they created extra categories to honor nominees,” said Planning Council Coordinator Colleen Campbell.

The 2017 award winners were:

• Opening Act Award: Amber Daugherty.
• Rock Around the Clock Award: Regina Stillman.
• Educator of the Year – Infant/Toddler: Maria Jaimes and Rebecca Bondi.
• Educator of the Year – Family Child Care Home: Debbie Nutt.
• Educator of the Year – Preschool: Aldo Rodrigues.
• Advocate of the Year: Jaleen White.
• Most Inspirational: Molly Keithly.
• Educator of the Year – Special Needs: Brian Marrier.
• Educator of the Year – All Inclusive: Edgar Ontiveros.
• Team Player: Susan Killian.
• Longevity and Dedication: Rosa Mora.
• Jukebox Hero: Darcie Schmidt.

“It is incredible to see all of this recognition on a special night where this group of people can connect and congratulate each other for a job well done. It truly is a highlight of my position to be able to put on this event,” Campbell said.

Educators and guests arrived in their best 1950s attire as they enjoyed mingling, dining and dancing.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County District Attorney’s Office has reached an agreement with the owner of the former Wisedas Resort in Clearlake to settle an environmental case arising from a second fire at the property last fall.

As a result of that agreement, District Attorney Don Anderson said that on Monday Edward Sherry Meyer Jr., the Wisedas property’s owner, entered a plea of no contest to one misdemeanor violation of continuously maintaining a public nuisance on his property and one misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act for negligently discharging fire ash, a pollutant, into Clear Lake on Oct. 14, 2016.

Anderson said Meyer was sentenced to three years’ probation and 150 hours of community service, and was ordered to complete full site remediation no later than Oct. 2.

Meyer also was ordered to pay a fine of $5,000 plus full restitution to the Lake County Fire Protection District in the amount of $15,256.16 for the district’s response costs for the most recent fire at the site in October 2016, Anderson said.

In addition, Meyer will pay $50,000 as a charitable donation to the county. Anderson will divide the donation amount up between several charities that he’s selected that work within the city of Clearlake to address issues involving homelessness, the environment and animal welfare.

“The District Attorney’s Office takes environmental crimes seriously, as well as its duty to protect valuable local natural resources such as Clear Lake,” said Anderson. “Any property owner who ignores directives from local and state agencies, as well as the District Attorney’s Office, to clean up their property, and subsequently causes significant environmental harm, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Meyer told Lake County News that he reached the plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office in order to finally resolve the case. “It’s just a bunch of nonsense,” he said.

He also said he is pursuing a wrongful prosecution action against Anderson and the deputy district attorney who handled the case, Rachel Monten.

“Eventually we’re going to move to vacate this agreement,” Meyer said.

Separate fires destroy former resort property

Meyer, a mediator and arbitrator who works in Hollywood, purchased the once-popular Clearlake resort, located at 14395 Lakeshore Drive, in August 2012.

In February 2013, the main building at the property was destroyed by a fire which officials determined was caused by arson. A Clearlake man was arrested and spent several months in jail before pleading no contest and receiving three years’ probation.

Later in 2013, Meyer had the remainder of the fire-damaged building removed, leaving behind an old two-story, 14-unit motel structure at the rear of the property.

Late on the night of Oct. 13, 2016, a fire broke out in that motel building, damaging about 30-percent of the structure, as Lake County News has reported. At the time of the fire, authorities had reported that there were squatters in the building.

The city red-tagged the building on the day after the fire, while at the same time District Attorney’s Office staff conducted a 3D scan of the property.

The fire resulted in a significant amount of burned timber and other materials going into Clear Lake on Oct. 14, the date for which Meyer was charged.

On Wednesday neither Meyer nor Anderson could say definitively what had caused the fire.

“I don’t think it was ever really determined,” said Anderson, adding that it was never provable that it was arson.

Anderson assigned prosecution of the environmental case against Meyer to Rachel Monten, who in addition to being a deputy district attorney in Lake County is an environmental circuit prosecutor with the Circuit Prosecutor Project at the California District Attorneys Association. Monten also has handled an environmental case involving the former Hoberg’s Resort in Cobb.

He said that circuit prosecutors, like Monten, bring specialized experience in prosecuting environmental and workplace safety crimes to rural counties in California that are often hard-pressed to allocate resources to prosecute these types of crimes, at no cost to the county.

Anderson said his office and the Circuit Prosecutor Project are dedicated to protecting Lake County’s natural resources, public health, and holding people accountable who harm the local environment. 

Clearlake City Manager Greg Folsom welcomed the resolution of the case.

“The city recently adopted a strategic plan to improve the quality of life in Clearlake and the cleanup of this property will help achieve goal No. 1, make Clearlake a visibly cleaner city, and goal No. 4, improve the image of Clearlake,” Folsom said.

He added, “The former Wisedas Resort property has been a blight on the city of Clearlake for too long and the cleaning up of the property has made a huge impact on the Lakeshore Drive corridor visually. We appreciate the efforts of District Attorney Don Anderson and his staff in forcing the cleanup of this property.”

Meyer pursues claims against county

Meyer said he is pursuing a prosecutorial misconduct charge against Anderson and Monten for the handling of his case.

He said that on Monday, before his case went before the judge, he served notice of his intention to pursue the misconduct action to Monten. Additionally, he plans to report the case to the State Bar and petition the attorney general, and will seek to have his plea agreement nullified.

Meyer alleges that Anderson should have recused himself and his office from handling the case because he said Anderson gave him legal advice during a March 2013 meeting about the fire-damaged properties with local agencies. He also said that key pieces of discovery, like the 3D scan the District Attorney’s Office created the day after the fire, were not provided to him.

Meyer also has filed a tort claim with the county of Lake alleging defamation by Anderson in a Lake County News article from last year.

In the article, published on Oct. 14, Anderson stated that that the property had caught fire because it had not been properly cleaned up.

If the county’s third party claims administrator denies that claim, Meyer said he plans to file a lawsuit seeking to recover the amount of money the county required that he pay, along with punitive damages, which he estimated could run into the millions.

He said the case against him was “very vindictive,” adding, “It’s like they took a baseball bat to me.”

“This is not over,” said Meyer.

Anderson, however, dismissed Meyer’s claims.

“The only legal advice I gave him was that if he didn’t clean up his mess we were going to prosecute him,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he also had told Meyer he wasn’t giving him legal advice when he suggested at that meeting that Meyer consider pursuing bad faith insurance litigation against his insurance company.

He said his immunity in such cases doesn’t give Meyer much recourse.

“I have absolute immunity on prosecution issues and limited immunity on law enforcement issues,” Anderson said.

As for Meyer’s defamation claim regarding the October Lake County News article, Anderson said, “There’s nothing I said that’s not the truth, and the truth is always a defense to any libel or slander.”

Property status and future plans

Earlier this year, Meyer had the rest of the burned motel building demolished. He said that work was finished in March.

Meyer received a copy of a letter dated April 27 to Monten from Clearlake Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Supervisor Lee Lambert regarding the building’s demolition.

The letter, which Meyer shared with Lake County News, confirmed that the structure’s demolition had been completed and that the contractor, Wahlberg Inc. – which has done demolition contracts for the city – had submitted the required disposal documentation.

Lambert also stated in the letter that the demolition and other required work at the site had been completed to the city’s satisfaction.

The letter said that there still remained to be completed “construction, repairs or demolition” to the property’s seawall. However, that work cannot be completed at this time due to Clear Lake’s high water conditions, so the city has given Meyer an Oct. 2 deadline to finish that work.

Meyer said he plans to do rip rapping at the site. It’s not an expensive repair but the lake has to go down first, he said.

Outside of his fight with local officials, Meyer told Lake County News he still has plans for the property, with just over $2 million in insurance payments to fund a project.

He said his biggest dream for the land is to place a bass fishing museum there.

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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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – One of the organizations working to build new homes for wildland fire survivors has celebrated its first home completed in the Valley fire area.

On May 6, Habitat for Humanity dedicated the new home for the Carreker family on Big Valley Road in Middletown.

This is the 21st new home the organization has brought to the county, the second for fire victims overall and the first in the Valley fire area, according to President Richard Birk.

Birk and other Habitat staff, friends and family welcomed the Carrekers into their new home at the May 6 event, which also featured a lunch and prayers of blessing by members of the community.

“We are so blessed; I never felt we deserved something like this,” said new homeowner Jim Carreker. “God and Habitat have been so generous. We can’t thank them enough for this opportunity.”

Habitat for Humanity Lake County partners with qualified, low-income families to build safe, decent, affordable houses. 

The organization may be best known for stick-built homes that involve both sweat equity from the families who qualify for the homes as well as from volunteers.

Birk said Habitat in Lake County is continuing with those construction projects but also placing modular homes in situations where they make the most sense.

Because of Lake County’s devastating wildland fires of 2015 and 2016, Habitat’s mission has expanded to include recovery and putting fire survivors in new homes.

The organization itself was impacted by fire when its headquarters office in downtown Lower Lake was destroyed in the August 2016 Clayton fire.

Thanks to the generosity of community members – including Foods, Etc. owner Dennis Darling, who made available to Habitat office space he owns behind the grocery store at 15312 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake – Habitat was able to get back on its feet and continue with its work.

“We’re settled in and going,” said Birk.

The Carrekers’ home was the second fire area home project Habitat has completed. The first, for Clearlake Oaks resident Walter Dreis who lost his home in the 2015 Rocky fire, was completed earlier this year, Birk said. That home, located in the Double Eagle Subdivision, also is a modular.

“Our target for the recovery is mostly people who were renters who got displaced, because we believe that is the gap that nobody else is paying much attention to,” Birk said.

That’s especially important now, with rentals in even higher demand due to scarce housing stock. Birk said he has heard of rents going up by 40 to 50 percent, which is having a heavy impact on low-income county residents.

He said Habitat can get them into new homes for half the cost they’re paying in rent.

Regarding fire projects, Birk said Habitat has no others currently under way, although there are applications pending.

Asked how many fire area homes Habitat plans to build, Birk said, “It’s hard to get a number of the need, that’s the problem.”

He said Habitat is holding workshops for fire survivors and has had 50 applications, with more expected. Not all will qualify for various reasons.

“We’re just going to do as many as we can as long as we have funding,” he said.

Habitat has received a $2.6 million grant under the state CalHome program, which can be used for rebuilding homes for homeowners and new homes for former renters, who will become first-time homeowners, as Lake County News has reported.

Birk explained that the organization didn’t receive a lump sum; rather, the program requires that Habitat go through a detailed process that includes submitting its expenses after projects are completed in order to get reimbursed.

At the same time, Habitat continues to work with families in need who were not impacted by the fires.

He said they have three other homes under way for families who did not lose their homes in the fires, one of which is nearing completion. The groundbreaking on a fourth is about to take place.

Birk said applications are being accepted now for low-income families seeking to own their own homes and fire survivors.

Additionally, Habitat continues to offer its very successful critical home repair program, he said.

If you or someone you know has a housing need, were affected by one of the recent county wildfires and would like to learn more, visit www.lakehabitat.org , stop by Habitat’s Clearlake office at 15312 Lakeshore Drive or call 707-994-1100 for more information or a preapplication. 

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. – The Middletown Art Center is among the recipients of the California Arts Council’s 2017 Local Impact grant recipients for an upcoming, year-long project called “Resilience.”

“We are thrilled to receive support from the California Arts Council to launch ‘Resilience,’” said Lisa Kaplan, executive director of MAC.

“This grant allows us to provide broad access to the arts for all residents of Lake County,” said Kaplan. “It’s a multi-disciplinary project focused on the regeneration of nature after the Jerusalem, Rocky, Valley and Clayton fires. ‘Resilience’ will act as a mirror reflecting the revitalization of individuals and the community at large through image and word.”

The wildfires provide a unique opportunity to observe nature’s regeneration through a cycle of seasons.  

The Resilience project will address regeneration and/or resilience with monthly five-hour workshops in each of four disciplines: Painting, photography, printmaking and poetry/spoken word.

Participants ages 12 through older seniors are encouraged to take a monthly classes in one or all four disciplines for $5 per class or $60 for a complete series in one discipline.

The project will culminate in a countywide art exhibit and a chapbook entitled “Resilience” to showcase images and words from the overall project. 

Each workshop is designed to be an engaging and constructive experience where participants will learn and create through the guidance of professional artists, educators, poets, writers and naturalists.

Guests artists will provide master classes, public lectures and poetry readings. 

“From beginner to professional, all are welcome to participate in the Resilience project,” said Kaplan.  “Whether you come to one class or all classes in all four disciplines, attend poetry readings, nature walks or exhibitions, we want folks to take advantage of this wonderful county wide opportunity.”

Classes begin in early June and participants should register as soon as possible.

Visit www.middletownartcenter.org and click on the “Resilience” page for full details, or come by the center, located at the junction of highways 175 and 29 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, or call 707-809-8118.

“While arts programming cannot directly impact health conditions, stem the tide of unemployment, or restore housing, it can reduce lingering post-traumatic stress by creating a sense of order amidst chaos, and fostering positive attitudes and wellness through expressions of loss, grief and hope,” said Kaplan. 

Kaplan said the grant required a combination of monetary and in-kind matches, and she expressed gratitude to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, the Lake County Arts Council, the Lake Area Rotary Club Association, Lake County Rising, the Lake County Land Trust, the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake, Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus, The Hub Lower Lake, the Middletown Luncheon Club, Middletown Merchant’s Association and many others.

She credited those contributing organizations with understanding “the power of art to elevate, enrich, strengthen and sustain a community.”