KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Cal Fire said this week that its personnel are continuing to work on reducing the impact of potential wildfires by clearing areas of heavy vegetation around the 1,700 homes and businesses in the Clear Lake Riviera.

The project is known as the Mt. Konocti Interface Fuel Break Project and includes five treatment areas: Riviera Heights, Riviera West, Riviera Estates, Clear Lake Riviera and Thurston Lake.

Forty acres in the Thurston Lake Treatment Area were completed earlier this year and crews are now working on the 136 acres contained in the Clear Lake Riviera Treatment Area. Three hundred acres total will be cleared at the completion of this project.

The Kelseyville Fire Protection District, in partnership with the Lake County Fire Safe Council, received a grant from Cal Fire through the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund to create fuel breaks around neighborhoods in the Riviera.

The goal of the Mt. Konocti Interface Project is to remove flammable vegetation around the perimeter of densely populated areas in order to protect residents and their homes from potential wildfire.

In addition to stopping or slowing an advancing fire, the fuel breaks will be locations where crews could more effectively and safely combat a fire and will improve the effectiveness of air tanker drops.

“A community perimeter fuel break provides a defensible space for firefighting aircraft to paint with fire retardant,” said Mike Wilson, the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit division chief for vegetation management. “Under average wind conditions these fuel breaks can stop the spread of a fire threatening or starting within a community.”

The treatment areas consist of fuel breaks up to 300 feet wide for close to 9 miles. They are being created where permission to enter properties and reduce fuel loading has been granted.

Masticators are brush mowing machines that grind vegetation in place, resulting in a layer of chipped material that will be left in place to decompose.

Brush and small trees are being removed by hand crews and masticators, depending on slope and access constraints.

Cal Fire inmate and fire engine hand crews are cutting material using chain saws, then piling and burning the material for disposal.

Vegetation is being removed in a mosaic pattern, leaving trees and larger brush specimens interspersed throughout the fuel break for erosion control and wildlife habitat.

Care is being taken to remove the more flammable brush species such as chamise first, while retaining larger manzanita plants and trees such as oaks, pines, and bays as residual species.

“Community wildfire safety is a group effort in the Riviera. Each homeowner/resident must do their defensible space work,” said Wilson. “The homeowners association will enforce their vacant lot clearance rules, and Cal Fire is providing a perimeter fuel break that together will make a difference when the next fire strikes the area.”

Cal Fire encourages all Lake County residents to take advantage of the cool weather months to prepare their homes for the 2017 fire season.

More information regarding defensible space and other fire prevention topics can be found at www.readyforwildfire.org .

Mt. Konocti Interface Fuel Break Project by LakeCoNews on Scribd

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” – Robert Frost

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – When I was an educator it was always fun to take a field trip to the Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake.

The museum “lives” in the 1877 Lower Lake Grammar School. My fourth graders' eyes grew wide with surprise when learning about school days in the olden days.

An education in rural Lake County typically went up to the eighth grade, until the early 20th century.

For a more comprehensive, or secondary education students would need to travel to Lakeport's private academy or similar establishments.

The one-room school house was de rigueur for students living in the southern portion of Lake County's Mayacamas Mountains, whose parents worked at the quicksilver mines, to the northernmost areas, near what is now the Mendocino Forest.

The iconic one-room schoolhouse was surely a challenge for one teacher to instruct grades one through eight. The teacher needed to pass a qualifying exam, and it was rare for her to hold a college degree.

It was characteristic for a teacher to be an unmarried female, who would then give up her career after marriage.

Instruction, which was for a shorter period then – about 132 days long, as compared with today's school year of 182 days – included the “three Rs”: reading, writing and arithmetic.

School years were shorter then to accommodate the harvest, since many hands made light work.

As there was no such thing as a gel pen, a Smart Board or a white board back in the day, pupils were expected to work out their sums on a piece of slate.

Slates could be spit upon by pupils and wiped off, and slates were practically indestructible. Slate was much more economical than the use of paper.

Typically, the youngest children were learning their ABCs and, hence, were called “abecedarians.” It was standard procedure for the abecedarians to learn their ABCs when they sat in the front of the classroom, with the older, taller students sitting in the back rows.

During recess, known as “nooning,” the children could play games such as “Annie Over” or “Graces.”

Discipline could be harsh in the 19th century. Depending on the infraction and the child's age, punishment could include anything from holding a book for a length of time with arms held out, getting rapped with a ruler, standing in the corner or worse.

Since there was a woodstove in most one-room schoolhouses this was an additional job to accomplish – that of keeping the classroom warm enough in winter months. Teachers had to get the fire going each morning, and older pupils could bring in the wood and kindling.

Students usually walked several miles to reach their school establishment, and it was up to them to remember to carry their lunches, sometimes in metal pails, to school with them, as no school lunches were provided back then. Lunches often included an apple, biscuit and homemade preserves and some meat.

A water pump provided fresh water then, often with a single tin cup which was shared by all.

For more information visit one of our great local museums, and while you are there pick up Lake County Museum Curator Antone Pierucci's fantastic book called “Lake County Schoolhouses.”

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Westside Community Park Committee recently announced several projects completed during the 2016 construction season.

The largest of these projects was earthwork at the south end of the Jane Barnes Field. This area is the site of the future pump track, sand courts and skate park.

The work, completed by RB Peters over several weeks, involved grading to create a level area of about two acres with an engineered bank sloping to the turf playing fields.

Erosion control measures were installed in preparation for the winter rains. The combined cost of this work was approximately $25,000.

Major donations of time and materials were made by RB Peters and Kenn McCarty of Live Oak Belgians. Work is scheduled to resume this spring to construct the pump track.

Last spring members of the community gathered to plant 12 oaks trees in the Memorial Grove. That work was preceded by the installation of 300 feet of irrigation line to the tree area.

A bench donated by the Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Club was placed in the center of the grove on a concrete pad constructed as a donation by Gary and Derek Milhaupt of Sundance Tile. To complete the grove, 22 yards of wood chips donated by Lake County Waste Solution were spread around the trees.

Those being remembered by a tree planted in the Grove are listed on a beautiful mosaic sign created by local artist Chris King. The cost of this project was partially funded by those purchasing trees with the balance coming from the Westside Community Park Committee.

Thanks to the Grillin’ on the Green sponsorship of Sutter Lakeside Hospital, labor by the Kiwanis Club of Lakeport and the Lakeport Public Works Department, three pieces of outdoor exercise equipment were installed along the hiking/walking trail. This is the beginning of a planned par course.

The Rotary Club of Lakeport financed and installed 600 feet of irrigation line and planted 30 trees along the western edge of the Jane Barnes Field.

The Westside Community Park Committee installed four concrete benches that will eventually be shaded by the Rotary’s trees. Benches were donated by Tom and Ruth Lincoln, Ron and Judy Chadwick and the Rotary Club of Lakeport. The work on this project was funded by the Westside Community Park Committee.

The committee also purchased four sets of aluminum bleachers. The Kiwanis Club of Lakeport assembled and set up the bleacher at the baseball and softball fields.

The final project of the year took place in mid-November following the completion of the soccer season.

The Westside Community Park Committee rehabbed the turf on the Jane Barnes Field. This project involved aeration of the turf, over seeding with 1000 pounds of grass seed and the spreading of 173 cubic yards of compost. Jim Holmes donated three days of his time and tractor to help keep the cost down. The field rehabilitation cost $7,200.

The Westside Community Park is being developed by the nonprofit Westside Community Park Committee, a group of local volunteers, on land dedicated by the city of Lakeport as a public park.

The park is the home of the Konocti Youth Soccer League, the Lakeport teams of the Ukiah Men’s Soccer League, the Lakeport Lions’ Horseshoe League and Westshore Little League’s Junior League and Softball League.

Development is made possible by the donation of money, time and materials coming from members of the Lake County Community and from the Westside Community Park Committee’s annual fundraiser, Grillin’ on the Green, held in August.

Information about the Park can be obtained by visiting the committee's Web site at www.westsidecommunitypark.org .

The first total solar eclipse in the continental United States in nearly 40 years takes place on Aug. 21, 2017.

Beyond providing a brilliant sight in the daytime sky, total solar eclipses provide a rare chance for scientists to collect data only available during eclipses. NASA is funding 11 scientific studies that will take advantage of this opportunity.

“When the moon blocks out the sun during a total eclipse, those regions of Earth that are in the direct path of totality become dark as night for almost three minutes,” said Steve Clarke, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “This will be one of the best-observed eclipses to date, and we plan to take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn as much as we can about the sun and its effects on Earth.”

The August 2017 total solar eclipse will provide a unique opportunity to study Earth, the sun, and their interaction because of the eclipse’s long path over land.

The path of the total eclipse crosses the U.S. from coast to coast, so scientists will be able to take ground-based observations over a period of more than an hour to complement the wealth of data provided by NASA satellites.

The 11 NASA-funded studies cross a range of disciplines, using the total solar eclipse to observe our sun and Earth, test new instruments, and even leverage the skills of citizen scientists to expand our understanding of the sun-Earth system.

The studies are listed below, followed by the name of the principal investigator and their home institution.

Studying the sun

During a total solar eclipse, the moon blocks out the sun’s overwhelmingly bright face, revealing the relatively faint solar atmosphere, called the corona. Scientists can also use an instrument called a coronagraph – which uses a disk to block out the light of the sun – to create an artificial eclipse.

However, a phenomenon called diffraction blurs the light near the disk in a coronagraph, making it difficult to get clear pictures of the inner parts of the corona, so total solar eclipses remain the only opportunity to study these regions in clear detail in visible light.

In many ways, these inner regions of the corona are the missing link in understanding the sources of space weather – so total solar eclipses are truly invaluable in our quest to understand the sun-Earth connection.

The sun-focused studies are:

• Exploring the Physics of the Coronal Plasma through Imaging Spectroscopy during the 21 August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (Shadia Habbal, University of Hawaii).
• Testing a Polarization Sensor for Measuring Temperature and Flow Speed in the Solar Corona during the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 August 21 (Nat Gopalswamy, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center).
• Chasing the 2017 Eclipse: Interdisciplinary Airborne Science from NASA's WB-57 (Amir Caspi, Southwest Research Institute).
• Measuring the Infrared Solar Corona During the 2017 Eclipse (Paul Bryans, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research).
• Citizen Science Approach to Measuring the Polarization of Solar Corona During Eclipse 2017 (Padma Yanamandra-Fisher, Space Science Institute).
• Rosetta-stone experiments at infrared and visible wavelengths during the August 21 2017 Eclipse (Philip Judge, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research).

Studying Earth

Total solar eclipses are also an opportunity to study Earth under uncommon conditions. The sudden blocking of the sun during an eclipse reduces the light and temperature on the ground, and these quick-changing conditions can affect weather, vegetation and animal behavior.

The Earth-focused studies are:

• Solar eclipse-induced changes in the ionosphere over the continental US (Philip Erickson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
• Quantifying the contributions of ionization sources on the formation of the D-region ionosphere during the 2017 solar eclipse (Robert Marshall, University of Colorado Boulder).
• Empirically-Guided Solar Eclipse Modeling Study (Gregory Earle, Virginia Tech).
• Using the 2017 Eclipse viewed by DSCOVR/EPIC & NISTAR from above and spectral radiance and broadband irradiance instruments from below to perform a 3-D radiative transfer closure experiment (Yiting Wen, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center).
• Land and Atmospheric Responses to the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (Bohumil Svoma, University of Missouri).

In February, stargazers will have the opportunity to see bright planets, two comets, an asteroid and “zodiacal light.”

Among the highlights, Venus will remain bright throughout February, and will move closer toward Mars and Uranus.

It's also a good time to see zodiacal light, a triangular glow that results when sunlight bounces off dust particles. Mars and Venus can help find the cone-shaped glow on the western horizon in late February and throughout March.

Comet 45P will make its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 11, and will continue to be visible through the month.

Comet 2P Encke also will be visible through binoculars all month long, and the bright asteroid Vesta can be seen near the stars Castor and Pollux.

For more details, see the video above.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a kennel full of big dogs waiting for their new families.

The dogs available for this week include mixes of American Bulldog, border collie, bullmastiff, Doberman Pinscher, Great Pyrenees, husky, Labrador Retriever, mastiff, shepherd, spaniel and standard poodle.

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”).

Shepherd-Labrador Retriever mix

This male shepherd-Labrador Retriever mix has a medium-length tan and black coat.

Shelter staff said he's very fun, playful and energetic, knows basic commands, and is very eager to learn. He would do best in a mellow household with children ages 10 and over. He doesn't do well with other large male dogs but has been good with females, including small dogs.

He's in kennel No. 8, ID No. 6791.

Female pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier mix has a short black and brown coat.

She is in kennel No. 9, ID No. 6884.

Labrador Retriever-spaniel

This female Labrador Retriever-spaniel mix has a medium-length black coat.

Shelter staff said she is heartworm positive. She is good with other large dogs both male and female, although she does not do well with rough playing. They said she would do best in a home with older children over age 10.

She's in kennel No. 15a, ID No. 6812.

Female spaniel

This female spaniel has a curly black coat with white markings.

Shelter staff said she is heartworm positive. She is great with other dogs, shows submissive behavior and loves to play. They said she would do great in a home with children ages 10 and above. She allows some handling but isn't used to constant attention so she does get overstimulated. She has been an outside dog so she needs a patient home with a family willing to teach her how to live indoors.

She's in kennel No. 15b, ID No. 6813.

'Tye'

“Tye” is a senior male bullmastiff mix.

He has a short brown and white coat.

He's in kennel No. 17b, ID No. 6784.

'Annie'

“Annie” is a young female pit bull terrier mix with a short brindle and white coat and gold eyes.

She's in kennel No. 18a, ID No. 6876.

'Spot'

“Spot” is a young female pit bull terrier with a short white and brindle coat.

She's in kennel No. 18b, ID No. 6877.

'Miles'

“Miles” is a young male pit bull terrier mix with a short brindle coat and gold eyes.

She's in kennel No. 19, ID No. 6875.

Great Pyrenees

This senior female Great Pyrenees has a medium-length white coat.

She is in kennel No. 20, ID No. 6885.

Mastiff-pit bull terrier

This male mastiff-pit bull terrier has a short brown coat.

Shelter staff said he is a mellow boy that has been reserved when introduced to other dogs.

He's in kennel No. 22, ID No. 6835.

Doberman Pinscher

This male Doberman Pinscher has a short black and tan coat.

He's in kennel No. 23, ID No. 6915.

'Grubby'

“Grubby” is a male standard poodle-Labrador Retriever mix with a long black and gray coat. He already has been neutered.

Shelter staff said he is a great boy who loves people more than other dogs but will tolerate dogs that will respect his space. They said he is a very fun dog who knows how to sit and speak. He would do best in a home with people who are home often or take him with them.

Grubby is in kennel No. 24, ID No. 6789.

Husky-border collie mix

This male husky-border collie mix has a short black and white coat.

Shelter staff said he is a very sweet boy with a low energy level. He is very curious about new places but is polite and patient at the same time. Has not been assessed with other dogs and would do best in a home with no cats.

He's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 6797.

'Bronco'

“Bronco” is a young male Labrador Retriever-pit bull terrier mix.

He has a short black coat with white markings.

Shelter staff said he has been successfully introduced to other dogs and cats, and he loves to play. They recommend him for an active family.

He's in kennel No. 26, ID No. 6842.

Border collie-terrier mix

This male border collie-terrier mix has a short tan and white coat.

Shelter staff said he will do fine with other dogs once he learns that nobody will hurt him, as he has been very afraid. He would do best in a home with children ages 10 and above. He knows how to walk on a leash, and does not pull or try to get away.

He's in kennel No. 27, ID No. 6841.

Pit bull terrier

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

He is in kennel No. 30b, ID No. 6713.

'Tina'

“Tina” is a female American Bulldog with a short white coat.

She has been sponsored and is free to the first approved application.

She is very people friendly, and playful both with people and other dogs. Tina has lived with children of all ages.

She's in kennel No. 33a, ID No. 6708.

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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Whether a trustee can be required to use trust assets to pay a beneficiary’s own debt is an important question.

Under California law the legal analysis involves the terms of the trust, the California Probate Code, the nature of debt involved, and even the beneficiary's circumstances.

Under California law, a trust established by the beneficiary for him or herself is answerable for the beneficiary’s own debts.

However, a trust for a beneficiary who did not establish and fund the trust can be drafted to provide certain creditor protections to limit the extent to which the trustee can be required to satisfy debts.

Once assets are distributed free of trust to the beneficiary the distributed assets are exposed to collection actions by the beneficiary’s creditors.

A trust that has a restraint on alienation provision – a “spendthrift clause” – generally prevents a beneficiary from transferring his or her interest, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to creditors.

The trust’s spendthrift clause prevents the trustee from directly having to pay creditor judgments unless the creditor obtains a court order.

The creditor must wait until the debtor beneficiary receives a distribution. The creditor, however, can “step into the beneficiary’s shoes” and require any distributions that are mandatory and not discretionary with the trustee.

With monetary judgment creditors, up to 25 percent of what a beneficiary is entitled to receive and any discretionary distributions that the trustee decides to distribute can become subject to a court order requiring the trustee to pay a beneficiary's creditors.

If the trustee has complete discretion over making distributions to or for the benefit of the beneficiary then it may be possible to avoid paying general creditors by not making distributions directly to the beneficiary.

The trustee can instead make purchases that benefit the beneficiary – pay rent for example – and so avoid direct distributions to the beneficiary.

There is an important limitation on court ordered payments of judgment creditors. The court order cannot deprive the beneficiary what is necessary for support of the beneficiary and any of his or her legal dependents.

Next, both a “support trust” and a “discretionary trust” are asset protection trusts that provide important protection from creditor claims.

A “support trust” – one that requires the income or principal or both to be used for the education or support of a beneficiary – is protected, “to the extent that the income or principal is necessary for the education or support of the beneficiary.” The money judgment creditor must prove that there is excess money that is not necessary for the education and support of the beneficiary.

A “discretionary trust” – one where the Trustee has sole or absolute discretion over making distributions of any kind to or for the benefit of a beneficiary – also provides protection against a beneficiary's money judgment creditors. A creditor cannot force the trustee to make discretionary distributions to the beneficiary.

The foregoing protections (the spendthrift clause, the support trust, and the discretionary trust), however, do not apply to spousal or child support, criminal restitution, and required reimbursement of public benefits debts.

A court, to the extent that it finds it equitable and reasonable under the circumstances, can order the trustee to pay such debts out of all or part of any payments either to or for the benefit of the beneficiary.

The legal analysis involved with creditor collection against trust assets varies from case to case and can be complex. The foregoing is only a simplified discussion of a much more complex subject.

Anyone needing advice should consult with a licensed attorney for specific legal guidance and not draw any premature conclusions of their own.

Dennis A. Fordham, Attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235. His Web site is www.DennisFordhamLaw.com .