MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Dry Creek Road at Dry Creek Bridge reopened to single-lane traffic on Wednesday.

Drivers are directed to stop and proceed when it's clear across the new bridge.

The roadway had been closed earlier in the week due to a washout caused by the recent storms.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Plans already are under way for Clearlake's annual Christmas parade, which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 3.

The theme is “Santa’s Workshop.”

The parade will begin at 6 p.m. at Redbud Park. Participation line up is at 5 p.m.

Floats, marching bands, and choirs, will travel down Lakeshore Drive led by Lake County Fire Protection District's fire trucks. 

Santa and Mrs. Claus will again be the main feature for children and adults alike.

This event every year brings smiles and cheers from crowds along Lakeshore Drive who enjoy the colorful decorated floats and vintage cars.

The celebration ends with songs, hot chocolate and tree lighting in Austin Park where Santa will be at the gazebo to talk with children. 

The Clear Lake Chamber, St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, the Lions Club, and other local organizations and businesses will once again partner to create a memorable evening.

Those who just want to participate, register at City Hall or online at
www.clear-lakechamberofcommerce.com . Click on “Christmas Parade Entry Form” and submit to Adeline Brown at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Lake County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association is a group of the law enforcement department heads within Lake County who, among other priorities, work together to share information, improve the training and safety for our local peace officers and improve law enforcement service to the people of our communities.

We are urging the public to be aware of the fine details of Proposition 57 and vote no on it because we don’t believe it will lead to safer communities here or anywhere else in California.

Proposition 57 would lead to the early release of dangerous offenders and reduce the incarceration time of career criminals including drug dealers and gang members.

We understand the intent of Proposition 57 is to reduce prison overcrowding; however this proposition includes drastic changes to our parole system that will release thousands of dangerous felons into California communities while our state is already experiencing a spike in crime. This will only further erode public safety.

Measures have already been taken to drastically reduce the number of state prison inmates per a federal court mandate.

These measures started back in 2011 with Assembly Bill 109 – Criminal Justice Realignment which placed persons convicted and sentenced to prison terms, for many felony crimes in California, in county jails rather than in state prisons.

Then in 2014, with the voter passed Proposition 47, numerous felony crimes were reduced to misdemeanors which have contributed to career criminals continuing to commit crimes in our communities with few consequences.

Proposition 57 claims to apply only to non-violent offenders and we believe its definition of non-violent is in contrast to the public’s idea of non-violent.

The term “Non-violent felony offense” is not defined in the proposition or elsewhere in California law. Penal Code Section 667.5(C) defines “Violent felonies” and includes about 23 crimes. Crimes defined as “Serious felonies” are covered under Penal Code section 1192.7(c). Crimes covered here are not referred to as violent under California law, but they are in fact violent in nature.

These crimes, to name a few, include participation in a criminal street gang and various felonies committed for gang purposes, battery with infliction of serious bodily injury, throwing acid or flammable substances, assault with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, discharging a firearm at an occupied dwelling, rape where the victim is legally incapable of giving consent, by intoxicating substance, or where the victim is unconscious, arson of a structure or forest land, grand theft of a firearm, exploding a destructive device with intent to injure, taking a hostage, soliciting another to commit murder, corporal punishment or injury on a child resulting in a traumatic condition, domestic violence and false imprisonment of an elder or dependent adult by violence, menace, fraud or deceit.

Persons serving prison time for these types of crimes are the ones who will benefit from this proposition if it passes.

We believe victims' rights and other previous public safety initiatives would be weakened by Proposition 57 including Marsy’s Law and the Three Strikes law.

Before voting we ask that you consider the thoughts of your local law enforcement leaders as well as many other law enforcement and prosecutor groups in California.

Brad Rasmussen is chairman of the Lake County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association and the police chief for Lakeport, Calif.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The First 5 Lake Commission will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The commission will meet beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the training/conference room at Legacy Court, 1950 Parallel Drive in Lakeport. 

Agenda items include a request for an extension for the fiscal year 2015-16 audit, approval of the 2015-16 annual program evaluation report the First 5 Program staff report, review and approval of the June and July financials, and update on the ordinance revision subcommittee, discussion of the commission's meeting schedule, commissioners' reports, public comments and announcements.

Commissioners include Chair Brock Falkenberg and Vice Chair Pam Klier, and members Laurie Daly, Susan Jen, Kathy Maes, Denise Pomeroy, Ana Santana and Jeff Smith.

For more information call the Lake County First 5 Lake Commission at 707-263-6169 or visit www.firstfivelake.org .

Findings from a 2015 California Department of Public Health (CDPH) report on sexually transmitted diseases indicate that the number of reportable STDs in California is rising at a faster pace compared to the rest of the country and is at a 20-year high.
 
“Cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia are going up in California at a concerning rate,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith. “This is the second year in a row that we have seen increases in all three diseases.”
 
The report found a total of 249,224 reportable cases of STDs in California for 2015, with the following breakdown:

· 189,937 cases of chlamydia;
· 54,255 cases of gonorrhea;
· 4,890 cases of primary and secondary syphilis (the most infectious stages of this disease) and 142 cases of congenital syphilis.
 
These numbers indicate an 11.6 percent increase in reportable STDs in California since 2014, when the total number was 223,269.

A number of factors, including changes in sexual behavior (e.g., declines in condom use, increased partners), barriers to access to care and testing, and improved public health reporting may be contributing to the increase in the number of STDs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released national STD data earlier this week, reporting that cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia have reached a record high level in the U.S., with the largest increase being in cases (19 percent) of syphilis.
 
California’s STD rates continue to be highest in young people 15-24 years of age and especially females.

More than 63 percent of the state’s female chlamydia cases and more than 51 percent of female gonorrhea cases are in this age range.

These young women are the most vulnerable to infertility and other serious long-term reproductive health problems caused by STDs.
 
Gay and bisexual men in California are also at high risk. Men who have sex with men account for more than 62 percent of the state’s gonorrhea cases in males and 84 percent of primary and secondary syphilis cases in males.

“Using condoms regularly and correctly, reducing the number of sexual partners and being in a monogamous relationship can dramatically reduce risk of contracting an STD,” said Dr. Smith. “In addition, I urge sexually active individuals to get tested regularly. With these measures, we can stem the rising tide of STDs in California.”
 
To help reduce the STD rate in California, CDPH is in the process of distributing $5 million in grants to local health departments for expansion of STD prevention, testing and treatment programs.

In January of this year, California also enacted the California Healthy Youth Act, requiring comprehensive sexual health education to help young people make informed choices about how to protect themselves and their partners.
 
For more information on STDs and how to prevent them, go to the CDPH Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Branch Web site, http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/std/Pages/default.aspx .

In November the Konocti Unified School District (KUSD) is asking voters to approve a $29.6 million school bond called Measure Y. I think the question voters should be asking is, “Why?”

I was a teacher in this district for 18 years and served on the KUSD Board for eight years. My second term was finished in 2010.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the district’s teachers, aides, secretaries, cooks, custodians and bus drivers; the people on the front lines who serve and interact with students every day.

This criticism of the district in no way is directed to these hard working employees, but rather to those who are supposedly in a position of leadership: the school board and the superintendent who, in my opinion, have made a series of poor decisions and mismanaged district resources.

Case in point: No accountability. Three years ago the K-8 schools were overcrowded. The district held a series of meetings, some scheduled at times when parents were not likely to attend, to gather ideas as to what to do.

Some parents did attend board meetings and offered input. They did not like the idea of eighth graders going to the high school or creating a special fourth through eighth grade program on the old Oak Hill site to be called the Konocti Education Center, or KEC. These ideas were also not favored by teachers or administrators and yet at the end of the process, that is exactly what the school board voted to do.

The board also voted to scoop up all the deferred maintenance money, and other funding, to remodel that campus to accommodate the new program.

The next year when the high school kitchen needed remodeling, because the deferred maintenance money was not available, the superintendent asked, and the board approved, going out for a $3 million loan to make those needed improvements.

And as well, even though some students did go to the new school, the enrollment numbers at the existing schools swelled right back to where they had been, so the overcrowding problem was not solved. Today, overcrowding in Konocti schools is a problem at all levels but it is not addressed at all in this bond.

In education, decisions should be based on data that shows that programs, teaching strategies or other interventions work. So far there has been no feedback to parents or the community to show that the creation of the new KEC program, which has absorbed an incredible amount of district resources, has proven effective in terms of student achievement or positive student behavior.

The same can be said for the experiment of putting eighth graders at the high school. How is that working out? Compared to previously having eighth graders at the K-8 schools, has academic achievement improved? Have suspension rates, drug and alcohol issues or teen pregnancy rates been improved or gotten worse? There seems to be no accountability with regard to district decision making.

Case in point: Frivolous spending. Two years ago KUSD celebrated its 50th year as a unified school district. The district spent $25,000 to buy tee shirts for every student and staff member. In the 2016 summer school session, again, all students and staff received free tee shirts.

The district spent $500,000 on its 2016 summer school program which included four days a week with a morning session of academics and an afternoon with two sessions of enrichment. Every Friday was a field trip to somewhere, most places out of the county. At the end of summer school, an article in the Record-Bee touted how much fun the students had but made no mention of any academic progress.

Did they increase their reading fluency? Learn sight words or multiplication facts? Get ready to be successful in algebra? Make up high school credits? How could anyone know? Again, no accountability.

As well, the Migrant Education Parent Advisory Committee was very unhappy that only 65 out of 200 migrant education students were accepted into the summer school program. A daily walk through summer school classes would have shown that there was ample room for more students to have had the opportunity to attend.

Every credible study which recommends interventions as to how to help low socio-economic, low achieving student populations advises strongly for the need to increase academic time: Districts are urged to offer before and after school programs and academic summer school. Yet Konocti focuses its summer school program on tee shirts and field trips.

Case in point: Broken promise of Measure G and lack of support for our community youth. In 2004 voters passed a bond called Measure G to build libraries and bathrooms on all sites, and a new gym at the high school. (It should be noted that taxpayers will be paying off this bond until 2032.)

One of the promises of Measure G was that the new high school gym was to be a community resource.

The Konocti Basketball League (KBL) is a nonprofit organization which has had a longstanding relationship with KUSD. Because of their service and commitment to the youth of our community, for many years the district had not charged, or had minimally charged, KBL for the use of the high school facilities, including the new gym.

Starting in 2015 the district wanted to charge KBL $40 an hour to use the new gym. KBL was also going to be required to pay $35 an hour for the cost of two custodians. These costs they simply could not bear. KBL was effectively pushed out of the new gym. The promise of Measure G was broken.

The Youth Football League, a nonprofit organization which serves students ages 7 to 14, tells another story. For many years they used Konocti’s fields for free or for a nominal fee. Now they are being asked to pay $1,000 a game for lights, plus six hours of custodial time per game. They are also being asked to pay for use of the fields for practice time, even though practice is always over before dark.

You would think that the district would see these organizations as partners rather than as sources of income. The costs, of course, get passed along to the parents, and also become another burden on fundraisers who are already working hard to find money for insurance, equipment, scholarships for students who need help paying, and all the other necessary costs of running a league.

Case in point: Low student achievement. For many years Konocti schools had many sources of academic support and remediation for students who needed it. When this superintendent first came to Konocti, she made the remark more than once that she “did not believe in the deficit model,” she “believes in enrichment.”

This superintendent comes from a background in human resources, not classroom education. As a former teacher, I can tell you, if a student has a deficit, you need to address it, and no amount of enrichment will lead that student to proficiency.

In 2015 the high school graduation rate in Lake County was 85 percent, with three local districts over 90 percent. In Konocti it was 77 percent.

In 2015 Konocti also had many test scores at various levels in single digits. The district’s overall English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency score was 20 percent (the county average was 33.75 percent); the math proficiency score districtwide was 10 percent (the county average was 22.5 percent). It seems district resources are not being directed towards areas of student need.

Case in point: Talent drain. In the last few years, due to the poor working environment in the district, many talented, dedicated and highly effective employees (administrators, teachers and classified staff) have left and found employment elsewhere. This talent drain comes at a high cost in an era when competition for highly qualified employees is acute.

The school board acknowledges the management style in the district is “top down” but doesn’t seem to recognize what the repercussions of that style really are. Not only does this create a vacuum where the employees have left, it creates a morale problem for those left behind.

This question also needs to be asked: Does the district really need the money? The superintendent, the business manager and at least one board member have been heard to remark that the district has “lots of money.”

The district does receive deferred maintenance money every year. This money should have been used to pay for many of the needed upgrades and repair projects listed in the bond, and been done annually.

Voters should also not be misled by the statement that voting for the bond will allow the district to “have more money to retain quality teachers and academic programs” (as stated in the KUSD bond fact sheet).

The two funding sources – for salaries and programs versus physical improvements are (or should be) from entirely different budget sources.  Salaries come from general funds; physical improvements and academic programs should be paid for by other funds.

To me, the district has not done a good job managing the resources it has. It has already accrued an unnecessary $3 million debt and spent money unwisely.

These are tough times for local taxpayers who will be paying off Measure G for 16 more years.

The district has not worked to be a good partner with our community. For years there has been little communication and ear for input, and yet, now the district asks for more of our financial support. The district administration needs to get its own house in order and reorganize its priorities.

Sadly, my recommendation is to vote no on Measure Y.

Carolyn Jarrett lives in Clearlake, Calif.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, co-chair of the House Military Veterans Caucus, led his bipartisan co-chairs in sending a letter to Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning asking him to grant an exception to the requirement that current and former service members who enlisted in the National Guard between 2006 and 2008 repay unauthorized bonuses.
 
“It’s wrong to require service members and veterans to repay enlistment bonuses that were issued in error,” said Thompson. “The brave men and women who serve our country in uniform shouldn’t be the ones paying the price for others’ mistakes. Given that the Secretary of the Army has the authority to grant an exception to these repayment requirements, he should do so without further delay. As a veteran myself, I won’t stop fighting until this egregious situation is resolved and these debts are forgiven.”
 
The Secretary of the Army has the authority under law to grant an exception to repayment requirements if the repayment is determined to be “against equity and good conscience, or would be contrary to the best interest of the United States.”

The letter asks the secretary to grant an exception on these grounds given the length of time since the bonuses were awarded and the misleading tactics used by the California National Guard, and others, during this period.
 
Thompson, himself a veteran, was appalled to learn that thousands of current and former soldiers in the Army National Guard, including 9,700 in California alone, are being asked to repay enlistment bonuses they were awarded eight to ten years ago.

Upon learning of this unacceptable situation, Thompson immediately took action to help his fellow veterans find relief from this unfair financial burden.
 
In addition to Thompson, the letter was signed by Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Thomas J. Rooney (R-FL) and Collin Peterson (D-MN).

The full text of the letter is copied below.
 
Dear Secretary Fanning,
 
As co-chairs of the House Military Veterans Caucus, we were appalled to learn that thousands of current and former soldiers in the Army National Guard are being asked to repay bonuses they were awarded when they enlisted eight to ten years ago. We understand that these unauthorized bonuses were particularly common within the California National Guard, which is in the process of attempting to recoup bonuses from 9,700 current and former members of the Guard.
 
The men and women who bravely signed up to serve their country should not be punished because recruiting and retention officials and their supervisors made mistakes and used misleading language in their contracts. Many individuals chose to enlist because the bonuses they were offered provided much-needed financial relief to their families. Many also went on to serve multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is egregious to ask for these bonuses to be paid back a decade after they were awarded when these funds are unlikely to be readily available.
 
We understand that Sections 303a and 373 of Title 37 of U.S. Code require the Secretary of the Army to recoup bonuses when service members do not fulfill all the requirements laid out in their enlistment contracts. However, the law also authorizes the Secretary to provide exceptions to these repayment requirements “if the Secretary concerned determines that the imposition of the repayment and termination requirements with regard to a member of the uniformed services would be contrary to the personnel policy or management objective, would be against equity and good conscience, or would be contrary to the best interest of the United States.” Given the well-documented unethical and unlawful practices by the California National Guard during the period in which these soldiers enlisted and the amount of time that has passed since these bonuses were awarded, we believe asking for recoupment is clearly against equity and good conscience and is not in the best interest of the United States. We understand that the California National Guard has set up a task force to help service members file for financial hardship waivers and have inaccuracies corrected through the Board for the Correction of Military Records. However, it is disrespectful to these individuals’ service and sacrifice to subject them to these onerous and bureaucratic processes because of actions that were, again, no fault of their own.
 
We ask that you use the authority currently available to you to grant an exception to the repayment requirements for the impacted current and former service members that have been identified for bonus recoupment. Thank you for commitment to the men and women who help keep our nation safe.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Members of Citizens Caring 4 Clearlake planted daffodil bulbs under the “Welcome to Clearlake” sign at Lakeshore Drive and Highway 53 on Sunday, Oct. 23.

With more than 540 years of digging experience, nine of the group's members were able to plant 300 of the bulbs in under 30 minutes.

The bulbs should be blooming in the spring.

Citizens Caring 4 Clearlake is a nonprofit organization under the umbrella of North Coast Opportunities.

Visit the group's Web site at www.cc4cl.org .

Save

SACRAMENTO – The final vote has been cast by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that will open up $10 million in funding for rural and small school districts to replace their aging and dilapidated school buses.

Rural and small districts have among the oldest and dirtiest burning fleets of buses in California.

Working together, state Sen. Mike McGuire and the board advanced a budget proposal this year that would allocate $10 million and implement a grant process designed to meet the unique needs of small and rural school districts.

“We have spent the past year developing a grant process and funding allocation that will be successful for California’s rural and small schools – which have among the oldest and dirtiest burning school buses in the state,” McGuire said. “This year’s budget agreement will now bring twice the original allocation – $10 million to our state’s small schools, putting fuel efficient, cleaner burning school buses on the road, which will improve health outcomes for school kids and reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”

The statewide grant administrator of this program will be based on the North Coast. This is to ensure the program will be run by someone who lives and works in a rural area, and is familiar with the unique and special set of circumstances small, rural schools face.

Now that the funding has been approved, the North Coast Air District will start administering the grants. The grant will award up to three electric school buses or one conventional fuel bus to individual applicants.

In addition, CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols is implementing a survey of all old school buses across the state so the board will have a better understanding of the statewide problem.

Sen. McGuire has led the effort to advance this project and has worked collaboratively with the Air Resources Board to develop the program.

“Small and rural school districts have been left out of the school bus replacement funding allocations for too long and we are grateful to have worked with the Air Resources Board to make this program a reality,” Sen. McGuire said. “We have fought hard to ensure rural students are not left behind, especially when it comes to their health, safety, and educational opportunities and we couldn’t be more excited to see this program moving forward.”

Rural school districts transport a significant share of their total student population compared to larger districts. This means, per capita, rural students are exposed to higher forms of pollutants.

The California Air Resources Board has stated that bus-related exposure to exhaust fumes is due to time spent commuting on the school bus. Exhaust fumes are known to be one of the leading causes of asthma.

While small and rural school districts want to advance environmentally preferred transportation alternatives, these districts are challenged to afford bus replacements because they have less discretionary funding and limited access to other types of funding that urban school districts often use to replace aging bus fleets.

Moreover, rural transportation costs per student are typically higher due to the greater distance rural students are required to travel to and from school.

The $10 million Rural School Bus Replacement Pilot Program was approved on Oct. 20 as part of CARB’s fiscal year 2016-2017 Funding Plan for Low Carbon Transportation and Fuels Investments and the Air Quality Improvement Program.