Friday, 29 March 2024

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The Lake County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force arrested, from left, Brandon Mitchell and Arturo Guardado, both of Lakeport, during operations on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. Lake County Jail photos.

 




LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office reported Thursday that the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force made two arrests, and seized currency and suspected methamphetamine during operations the previous day.


On March 8, task force detectives secured a search warrant for the person and home of 45-year-old Arturo Olloqui Guardado of Lakeport, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.


On March 9, at approximately 1 p.m., detectives served the warrant at Guardado’s home on Lakeshore Boulevard. Bauman said agents with the Department of Homeland Security assisted with the warrant service as Guardado had several prior deportations due to past felony convictions. Guardado was detained without incident.


Bauman said Gracie, the sheriff’s narcotics detection K-9, was deployed in the home and the dog alerted to several areas. A subsequent search of those areas by detectives produced approximately 9.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine packaged for sales and items of narcotics paraphernalia, including hypodermic needles.


He said detectives also located some live ammunition in the home and seized currency from Guardado for asset forfeiture.


Guardado was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of the hypodermic needles, possession of narcotics paraphernalia and being a felon in possession of live ammunition. Bauman said he was booked at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility with an immigration hold due to his undocumented status.


While detectives were serving the search warrant on Guardado, they contacted 26-year-old Brandon Lee Mitchell of Lakeport who resides nearby. Bauman said detectives knew Mitchell had an active $5,0000 bench warrant for his arrest. He was also taken into custody and booked at the correctional facility.


Anyone with information that can assist the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force with its efforts to eradicate narcotics and seize suspected profits from narcotics sales for asset forfeiture is encouraged to call the anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.


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MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – Recent storms have helped make improve the snowpack both in the Mendocino National Forest and statewide.


Forest officials said Wednesday that snowpack measurements taken at Anthony Peak on the Mendocino National Forest at the end of February show that precipitation this winter is slightly above average.


The average snow pack measured at the end of the month was 78.7 inches, with water content measuring 24.9 inches. These measurements are 126 percent of average snow pack and 101 percent of average water content, according to the report.


The historic average for this time of year is 61.8 inches of snow pack and 24.7 inches of water content, forest officials said.


“The snow is extra powdery – we received 35.5 inches of snow since last month but only gained 7.5 inches of water,” said Forest Hydrologist Robin Mowery. “There are still several decent storms predicted this season and the hope is that snowpack will be at least average this year, if not better.”


For reference, 1991 was the record low with 4.1 inches of snow pack, according to forest records. The record high was in 1969 with 148.8 inches of snowpack.


Mendocino National Forest employees Conroy Coleman and Tony Kanownik took the snow measurements this month. They hiked from the junction of Forest Highway 7 and Road M4 to the survey point due to the powder conditions.


Originally established in 1944, the Anthony Peak snow course provides data for precipitation draining into the Grindstone watershed into Stony Creek and the Black Butte Reservoir, ending in the Sacramento River.


Runoff from the Mendocino National Forest is critical in providing surface water and ground water for the surrounding communities.


The state Department of Water Resources reported Wednesday that the snowpack statewide was 128 percent of normal.


The agency's third snow survey of the 2010-11 season, held last week, showed the state's snowpack was well above average. The readings were boosted by recent storms that made up for a dry January and early February.


“We appear to be on a good water supply track as we move toward summer’s peak demand period,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “Once again, however, we must emphasize that conservation should always be a priority in California.”


DWR estimated it will be able to deliver 60 percent of requested State Water Project (SWP) water this year. The estimate will be adjusted as hydrologic and regulatory conditions continue to develop.


In 2010, the SWP delivered 50 percent of a requested 4,172,126 acre-feet, up from a record-low initial projection of 5 percent due to lingering effects of the 2007-2009 drought. Deliveries were 60 percent of requests in 2007, 35 percent in 2008, and 40 percent in 2009.


The last 100 percent allocation – difficult to achieve even in wet years due to pumping restrictions to protect threatened and endangered fish – was in 2006, the state reported.


The SWP delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland.


The mountain snowpack provides approximately one-third of the water for California’s households, industry and farms as it slowly melts into streams and reservoirs.


California’s reservoirs are fed both by rain and snowpack runoff and most of the state’s major reservoirs are above normal storage levels for the date.

 

Snowpack and water content monitoring is an important tool in determining the coming year’s water supply. The data is used by hydrologists, hydroelectric power companies, the recreation industry and other organizations.


More than 50 agencies and utilities, in coordination with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), visit hundreds of snow measurement courses in California’s mountains as part of the Cooperative Snow Surveys Program.


For more information on California snow surveys, please visit http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow.


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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two men became heroes Saturday afternoon when they pulled a seriously injured San Francisco woman from her burning vehicle.


Darcelle Chatoian, 45, was trapped in her burning SUV and semiconscious after she went off Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena just inside the Napa County line, as Lake County News has reported.


The story might have ended there, with a tragedy.


But that's when life-saving help arrived in the form of two men – Ryan Perez, 32, of Napa, and Peter Hart, 38, of Clearlake – who put themselves in harm's way to save her.


Hart was driving northbound, coming down Mount St. Helena and heading toward his Clearlake home, when he said he saw something out of the corner of his eye.


It turned out to be Chatoian's SUV, which was off the road and heading over the side of the hill, he said.


He tried to slow down and another vehicle passed him. He turned around and came back, with he and Perez arriving on scene close to the same time.


Perez, traveling with girlfriend Victoria Rossi to a friend's home in Middletown, said he was driving more slowly due to wet conditions, and from the vantage point of his tall pickup he was able to see a vehicle off the roadway.


He said he told his girlfriend, “I think someone's crashed there.”


They pulled over, with Perez noting that he could already see smoke and flames. They tried to call 911 but couldn't get cell reception.


By the time Perez and Hart stopped, Chatoian's SUV already had caught fire.


The men headed down to the SUV, and when they got there Hart said he could see a woman inside, pinned under the steering wheel and the dash, with a lot of luggage and other items pushed in on top of her. Perez said he could hear Chatoian groaning in pain.


Hart said he couldn't get the passenger door open, and his attempts to smother the fire with a blanket didn't work.


Although the SUV's back door was partially open, they couldn't get it open the rest of the way, said Perez. He said another man showed up with a fire extinguisher to try to help, but the fire kept going.


Meanwhile, Rossi was up on the roadway, asking someone to get down the hill and call 911, he said.


Hart said they had wanted to pull Chatoian from the passenger side, since the driver's side was facing down into a ditch. But when they couldn't get that door open, they went around to the driver's side and looked for a way to break the windows. By that time, the flames were starting to go up under the dash.


“She kept saying, 'Help me,'” Hart remembered.


Up on the hill, he said people were screaming, “It's gonna blow! It's gonna blow!”


Hart said at that point, their goal was just to get Chatoian out of harm's way. “There was no time to think about it, we just had to do it.”


With few other alternatives, and the fire getting “too big too fast,” as Hart said, Perez kicked the driver's side window out.


Hart comforted Chatoian, telling her that it was going to hurt a bit as they got her out. They were then able to reach inside, unbuckle Chatoian and pull her out of the vehicle.


But even then, the two men couldn't get her up the hill by themselves. Perez said a friend of his pulled up, and the friend and another man helped them get Chatoian up to the roadside.


By that time, Hart said, the whole driver's side was on fire. Within what he estimated was another eight to 10 minutes the entire vehicle was ablaze.


“It was pretty much a done deal,” added Perez.


Hart said they covered Chatoian with coats to keep her warm, but she started to become unresponsive and went into shock. It was about 10 minutes before medics arrived, with CHP getting to the scene shortly afterward, he said.


Perez's leg injury then became apparent. “At that point I realized I had been bleeding ever since I kicked the window out,” he said.


One of the other men on the scene used Perez's shirt as a tourniquet on the injured leg, and Rossi then rushed him to St. Helena Hospital, Clearlake, where he received 12 stitches.


He said when he tried to leave the hospital, his leg began to bleed again, making it necessary for his leg to be restitched.


Perez called his injury “minor considering what she had to go through,” he said of Chatoian.


Perez said Chatoian was saved thanks to “a good group effort.”


Hart said he's never been in such a situation before. Later, when he realized how dangerous it had been, he said it scared him.


He said he was grateful others stopped to help. “A lot of people just kept on going by.”


Napa CHP Officer Jaret Paulson said Chatoian's condition is improving, although she remains in serious condition with major injuries.


“She was basically unconscious for a couple of days,” he said.


Paulson added, “We are optimistic and hopeful but she’s still beat up pretty good,” and has serious injuries to overcome.


Hart greeted the news of Chatoian's improving condition as “wonderful.”


Perez's mother, Stacy, a medical technician who works in Lakeport, said the family was proud of him and thankful for Chatoian's survival.


Perez, who said Monday that his leg was feeling better, said he believed the situation was meant to work out.


He said he understood Chatoian's situation. Perez said he was once in a serious crash and others had helped him, too.


“People came to help me, so I figured I'd return the favor,” he said.


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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Water Resources Department said Thursday that concerned residents who reported a chemical spill along certain stretches of Clear Lake's shoreline actually were seeing an early blue-green algae bloom.


Water Resources Director Scott De Leon issued an advisory explaining that his department has received numerous inquiries over the past week regarding suspected paint or chemical spills along Clear Lake's shores near Nice and across the lake near Soda Bay.


The turquoise colored “spill” that residents reported seeing on the water's surface is likely the blue-green algae – or cyanobacteria – Aphanizomenon in bloom, which De Leon said often is mistaken for turquoise paint.


Aphanizomenon and several other blue-green algae are natural inhabitants of Clear Lake, De Leon explained.


He said that the blue-green algae bloom is an annual phenomenon in Clear Lake, although it is rare for the bloom to occur so early in the year.


The combination of water clarity and warm February temperatures may have triggered the early bloom, De Leon said.


Some types of blue-green algae can produce toxins, so as a precaution De Leon recommended that individuals of all ages and all pets avoid swimming in or ingesting lake water in the affected areas.


For more information contact the Lake County Department of Water Resources by calling 707-263-2344 during regular business hours.


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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Needing to come up with $2.3 million in spending reductions for the coming two school years, the Kelseyville Unified School District Board of Trustees spent four hours Tuesday night going through a list of 32 items looking for places to cut.


Secretarial jobs, a library clerk, campus monitors, elementary school teacher positions and the closure of Gard Street School were among the painful proposed cuts that the board added to its recovery list.


Board President Rick Winer said of the items on the list, “These are not things we look at as expendable. These are things that we really need to have.”


However, he added, “Our hands are tied and we're forced to make these reductions,” the result of a 20-percent reduction in funds over the last several years.


The district is facing between $1.6 million and $2.3 million in cuts, the higher number resulting if the governor's tax proposals don't get voter approval this summer, district officials said.


The actions the district is being forced to take prompted teacher and parent Robin Colt to tell the board during the meeting, “It's frightening. I don't know what kind of a school we're going to have.”


Adding to the district's troubles is that it recently was placed in “qualified” status, meaning that its budget is not in balance and that it is now receiving assistance and oversight from the Lake County Office of Education.


Superintendent Dave McQueen told the group that the district's budget has to be certified by the county office and the state.


He said the “elephant in the room” for the district for many years is its health and benefits package, which his known to be the best in the county. But it's expensive for the district, as are retirement liabilities.


A list of proposed recovery elements that are related to negotiations with the certificated and classified unions, and which the board didn't include in its line-by-line review, included a proposal to change the health and welfare plan for all groups, with savings estimated between $300,000 and $900,000.


After slogging through the list before an audience of close to 70 people – teachers, classified staff and parents – the board came up with approximately $2,293,400 in items proposed for cuts, about $6,600 short of the goal.


Those cuts would amount to savings of $867,700 in the 2011-12 school year, according to district Chief Financial Officer Tiffany Kemp.


Spared – again – was Riviera Elementary, which the board had voted against closing last fall. Winer said neighborhood schools like Riviera, which the community had fought to keep open, “are the backbone of our culture.”


But Board member Chris Irwin said they may have to revisit the issue depending on how serious the district's budget issues become over the next year.


Also spared were the district's sports programs, with the board agreeing with Board member Peter Quartarolo's sentiments that sports is “an integral part of a well-rounded education.”


Board members had feared that cutting sports programs would result in students leaving the district, which would only add to the district's already declining enrollment.


The board also kept the yearbook and K-Corps electives at Kelseyville High School. When Irwin suggested that perhaps the county could help cover the K-Corps teacher's stipend since the students help in search and rescue operations, Supervisor Rob Brown approached the podium and said, “You were reading my mind.”


He added, “I would be more than happy to take that back to our board and ask for that,” suggesting that asset forfeiture money could be used to help with the program.


Among the most hotly contested proposed cuts involved school maintenance and custodial jobs, a library clerk that will be cut in the second year, several part-time secretarial positions and campus monitors.


Several people spoke out to save the library clerk, which will be cut to save the district $44,000. They argued that library resources were already thin – so thin that Holley Luia, president of the district's chapter of the California School Employee Association, said, “Something's gonna pop.”


Donna Goodwin Nelson, a district bus driver, told the board about a first grader she knows, an “amazing” little girl who cherishes her library time, like so many of the children do, because it offers her the chance to look at books. “So many of these little people, this is their only environment where they have that opportunity.”


A further reduction of library staff hours would be the equivalent of putting a cage around the books, suggested Mt. Vista Middle School teacher Cheryl Mostin.


The board also chose to save $72,000 by cutting the campus monitor spots, which are equivalent to 1.5 full-time positions.


Marcia Porter, Kelseyville High School's campus monitor, said she assists the principal every day in dealing with children leaving campus, doing drugs at school or being caught with drugs, and the associated disciplinary issues.


“I appreciate that this is just little Kelseyville but the drug problems are real,” she said, recounting going out to find children skipping class and bringing them back to school.


“I believe in my heart that it takes a whole town, a village if you will, to raise a child. I am here every day to do that and I do a good job,” she said, adding, “Think hard before you remove us from your schools.”


Teachers union President Rico Abordo also appealed to the board not to cut teaching positions further. Both the classified and certificated bargaining units have made concessions, he said, with teachers agreeing to increased class sizes of 30 students, up from 20, he said.


At the same time, teacher numbers are down. Three years ago there were 94 teachers in the district, at the start of this year they were at 81. With some of the proposed cuts, Abordo warned the number of teachers could fall to 78.


As the evening wore on and the clock ticked past 11 p.m., the board decided it wanted to look at other possible reductions to meet the goal and also see the recovery plan proposals put into writing.


But after four hours, the board and audience were all bleary-eyed and exhausted.


The result was that the board agreed to continue the meeting at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the district office board room, 4410 Konocti Road, at which time the goal is to finish up the work.


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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – At the 14th annual Stars of Lake County on Saturday, March 5, 22 Stars of Lake County statuettes were handed out to those working to improve the community.


The awards were drawn from 67 nominations that were submitted from all around Lake County.


The selection committee, which reviews all the nominations and meets to vote on the final recipients is comprised of Wally Holbrook, Lakeport; Judy Thein, Clearlake; Gloria Flaherty, Kelseyville; Jeff Smith, Clearlake; John Tomkins, Lucerne; Sandy Tucker, Rick Hamilton and Linda Diehl-Darms, Middletown; Barbara Flynn, Cobb; and Trena Pauly, Kelseyville.


The chamber board of directors extended its gratitude to all those who took the time to write nominations for the very deserving individuals, organizations and businesses this year.


“There are so many in this county who share their time and energy to make Lake County a great place to live and we take great pride in being able to present this program every year,” said chamber President Armand Pauly.

 

 

The list of 2011 recipients follows.


Humanitarian: Ben Finneston, Clearlake.


Senior: Ginger Frank, Clearlake Oaks.


Volunteer: Lorrie Gray, Kelseyville.


Student-Female: Alexis Marie Valdovinos, Middletown.


Student-Male: John- Wesley Davis, Middletown.


Youth Advocate-Volunteer: Dennis and Ruth Darling, Lakeport.


Youth Advocate-Professional: Connor Snyder, Kelseyville.


Agriculture: Scully Packing Co., Finley.


Organization-Nonprofit: AmeriCorps of Lake County, Lakeport.


Organization-Volunteer: Delta Iota Tau, Lakeport.


Environmental: Marilyn Waits.


New Business: Sweet Freedom Sensitive Bakery, Hidden Valley Lake.


Small Business: RAH Outdoor Media, Lower Lake.


Large Business: Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina.


Best Idea: AgVenture, All Around Lake County.


Local Hero: Frank Toney (posthumously), Clearlake Oaks.


Arts-Amateur: Cobb Mountain Artists, Cobb.


Arts-Professional: George Waterstraat, Kelseyville.


Spirit of Lake County: Henry Anderson.


Woman of the Year: Julie Kelley, Lakeport.


Man of the Year: Ron Quick, Kelseyville.


Lifetime Achievement: Bill Knoll, Lakeport.

 

 

Recognition was given throughout the evening by a video of all the nominees photos and names of the category/event sponsors. The video was created by Alex Humphrey of www.ActionHD.com.


Music for the reception was provided by the wonderful David Neft, a 2007 Star recipient; Neft has been providing music for Stars every year since the beginning of this community awards program.


Following Neft at the end of the reception was Tony Barthel, owner of the Featherbed Bed & Breakfast, a DJ of extraordinary talents who was able to find music to match the recipients and their award category in just seconds, much to the delight of everyone. Barthel also played for the dancing crowd following the awards presentations.


Category sponsors for 2011 are Cliff & Nancy Ruzicka, WestAmerica Bank, Calpine Corp., Mendo Mill & Lumber, Mt. Konocti Truck & Auto Parts, RAH Outdoor Media, Umpqua Bank, Strong Financial Network, Lake County Land Trust, Kelseyville Lumber, Food’s Etc., Bruno’s Shop Smart, Kathy Fowler Auto Dealerships, Congressman Mike Thompson, Shannon Ridge Winery & Vineyards, Jonas Heating & Cooling, Northlake Medical Pharmacy, John Tomkins the Lake County Record-Bee and St. Helena Hospital, Clearlake.


Additional sponsors are Anna Girod, AGM Property Management Inc., Bob Bartley Pump Inc., Moran & Associates, Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino and the Lake County Chamber of Commerce. Star Awards have been purchased through Disney Trophies & Awards for several years.


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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Fulton man convicted this week of numerous charges associated with the October 2009 assault of a Lakeport man can expect to spend the rest of his life in prison when he's sentenced next month.


On Tuesday a jury returned guilty verdicts on 10 charges and five special allegations against 60-year-old Thomas Loyd Dudney, accused of a brutal attack on Ronald Greiner that took place on Oct. 20, 2009.


Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe said the jury found Dudney guilty of attempted murder, mayhem, torture, robbery, burglary, assault with a firearm, assault with a blunt force object, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, battery with serious bodily injury, participation in a criminal street gang, and five special allegations that included infliction of great bodily injury and gang enhancements.


“We were, of course, disappointed at the verdict, given the total 'guilty as charged on all counts' aspect,” said defense attorney Doug Rhoades.


Rhoades said there was a minor victory for Dudney in that prior strikes and prison terms alleged against him were found to not be sustained.


The attempted murder and torture charges, as well as the group of gang enhancements – which Grothe said attach to the more serious charges and therefore increase in time – each result in a life term. Plus Dudney is facing another 20 years for the other crimes.


Dudney is set to return to court for sentencing on April 4, Grothe said.


Grothe said the jury deliberations began at 3:30 p.m. last Thursday. There were several hours of read back of testimony on Friday, the jury was then off on Monday and at noon on Tuesday a verdict was announced. It was delivered later that afternoon.


Greiner had been shot at least three times, including twice in the chest, had been stabbed and beaten so severely that his ribs and jaw were broken, facial bones – including his eye sockets – were shattered, and one ear almost detached. He also was hogtied with barbed wire, said Grothe.


Grothe said the assailants then allegedly stole about 12 marijuana plants from Greiner.


At the scene of the attack Greiner identified Dudney as his attacker, identifying him by a nickname, “Ktron” – Dudney's nickname actually was “KTom,” according to Grothe – and told authorities where Dudney lived in Sonoma County.


Lake County Sheriff's detectives worked with Sonoma County authorities to arrest Dudney during a traffic stop, according to the original sheriff's report.


“Within 24 hours they had him,” Grothe said.


The prosecution alleged that Greiner had been growing marijuana for ex-girlfriend Deborah James of Windsor. On Oct. 17, 2009, James and a female friend went to Greiner's home on S. Main Street in Lakeport, where he informed them that James' marijuana had been destroyed in a storm or stolen, said Grothe.


James' friend is alleged to have gotten into an altercation with Greiner, telling him that “some big boys” were going to come back over and take care of him. Grothe said Greiner threw the women out, with James' friend claiming she had bruises from his fingers her arm.


Grothe said Greiner then screwed shut all of his doors and windows, and three days later his front door got kicked in. The gun used to shoot Greiner was never found.


James was arrested in November 2009 in connection with the attack, but the case against her later was dropped.


In January, Grothe dropped charges against Rohnert Park resident Joshua Wandrey Sr., who had been Dudney's co-defendant in the case and was facing many of the same charges.


Grothe said at the time that it was his professional opinion that there was insufficient evidence to proceed against Wandrey, but that the case would be reevaluated if more evidence was secured.


“As far as our case goes, this guy is the main guy we have evidence on,” Grothe said of Dudney.


The attack on Greiner, Grothe alleged, was based on revenge and gang affiliations because Greiner had laid his hands on a woman associated with the Misfits motorcycle gang, of which Dudney is alleged to have been a member.


“Our position from the outset was that this was NOT a gang-related event, and that Mr. Dudney was not the responsible party,” Rhoades said in an e-mail exchange with Lake County News.


Cell phone and DNA evidence “left open a world of possible other determinations, but the verdict was apparently swayed by the victim identification,” he said.


“Of key importance, was the denial of a jury view of the scene at night,” Rhoades said. “Having personally visited the scene during darkness, I cannot envision a scenario where the victim could have identified Thomas Dudney as the culprit, due to the fact that the nearest light source was 240 yards away, it was in the early morning hours, pre-dawn, of October 20, 2009, with a full cloud cover and no moon, from indoors, with the blinds and on the windows fully closed. Yet that was his testimony.”


Rhoades added, “Had the jury been allowed to see the scene as it was at the time, I do not believe they could have found that the victim could possibly have identified the perpetrator of these horrendous acts.”


He added, “Mr. Dudney maintains his innocence in this matter.”


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

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Lake County Sheriff's deputies arrested 33-year-old Paul Anthony Neuman of Lucerne, Calif., on March 1, 2011, on a $2 million Idaho arrest warrant. Lake County Jail photo.




LUCERNE, Calif. – Earlier this month sheriff's deputies arrested a 33-year-old Lucerne man on a $2 million arrest warrant out of the state of Idaho.

 

In late February, sheriff’s detectives were contacted by the police department of Meridian, Idaho, with information that Paul Anthony Neuman, 33, was connected to a crime that occurred at a health food store in their city last December, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.


Bauman said the incident involved an alleged robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault.


Collaborative investigative efforts between Lake County sheriff’s detectives and the Meridian Police Department led to the issuance of a $2 million fugitive from justice warrant by the state of Idaho for Neuman’s arrest, Bauman said.


On March 1 at approximately 7:30 a.m., sheriff’s deputies located Neuman at a home on Second Avenue in Lucerne and arrested him without incident, according to Bauman's report.


He said Neuman was booked at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and is currently awaiting extradition back to Idaho.

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The Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit is continuing to assist Idaho authorities with investigating the Meridian incident, Bauman said.


Anyone with information on Neuman’s involvement with the crime in Idaho is asked to contact Sgt. John Gregore at 707-262-4200.


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SACRAMENTO – California's controller issued a Monday report that questioned the impact of redevelopment and the jobs it creates across the state.


State Controller John Chiang released the results of a five-week, limited-scope review of 18 redevelopment agencies (RDAs) across California. No local agencies were included in the review.


The report comes as the state Legislature is preparing to vote on legislation that could support Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to eliminate redevelopment and use funds from agencies around the state to help fill the state's multibillion dollar budget gap.


Chiang's report also was released the same day as a coalition of government and community groups launched the “My Vote Counts” effort to appeal to state voters based on the argument that Proposition 22, approved last November by California voters, prevents the state raiding local funds.


In the report, Chiang said he found no reliable means to measure the impact of redevelopment activity on job growth because RDAs either do not track them or their methodologies lack uniformity and are often arbitrary.


Chiang's office said the review exposes the difficulty of holding RDAs accountable for their funding decisions when existing legal standards are so loose that any area can be deemed “blighted.”


The report also identified several missed payments to school districts and widespread accounting and reporting deficiencies, questionable payroll practices, substandard audits, faulty loans and inappropriate use of affordable housing funds.


“For a government activity which consumes more than $5.5 billion of public resources annually, we should be troubled that there are no objective performance measures demonstrating that taxpayers are receiving optimal return for each invested dollar,” said Chiang.


He added, “Locally-controlled economic development is vital to California’s long-term prosperity. However, the existing approach – born in the 1940s – is not how anyone concerned with performance, efficiency and accountability would draw it up today.”


The 18 selected agencies represent 16 percent of all redevelopment dollars in fiscal year 2009-10. Auditors from the controller’s office conducted the review by interviewing redevelopment staff and analyzing financial statements, reports, plans, budget documents, ledgers, job creation data and payroll records.


The report notes that the 18 RDAs share no consensus in defining a blighted area.


While run-down sections of Los Angeles with abandoned buildings show obvious need for redevelopment, other cities were far broader in their declaration of blight.


Coronado’s redevelopment area covers every privately-owned parcel in the city, including multimillion dollar beachfront homes. In Palm Desert, redevelopment dollars are being used to renovate greens and bunkers at a 4.5 star golf resort. That RDA receives the 10th-highest tax revenue in the state, with a fund balance worth $4,666 for each of the city’s 52,000 residents.


Only 10 of the 18 RDAs attempted to track the number of jobs created by their projects. Of those 10 agencies, four could provide no methodology or explanation for their figures.


The remaining six all used different methods to find the number of jobs created. The county of Riverside used projections from developers, while the City of Desert Hot Springs looked at permit and employment records.


Employee compensation levels for RDAs were largely consistent with the salary and benefits offered to other local government employees. But the report found that redevelopment dollars often went to city or county payroll without evidence that those dollars actually supported redevelopment services.


In the city of Pittsburg, the redevelopment agency signed a service agreement with the city and transferred $3 million to the city’s general fund. But no documentation exists to show that the $3 million actually went to redevelopment services.


Five of the 18 RDAs failed to make $33.6 million in required payments to schools within their redevelopment areas. When RDAs fail to make these payments, it increases the state general fund’s financial obligations to local school districts. RDAs are able to borrow funds in order to make these school payments, but none of the five agencies attempted to do so.


While all the RDAs made the required deposits into their low and moderate housing funds, the review found that many of them made inappropriate charges to this account that were not directly related to affordable housing, as required by the state’s Health and Safety Code.


Some of those inappropriate charges included:


  • The city of Los Angeles inappropriately charged 20 percent of its redevelopment administration costs to the fund (amounting to $833,000).

  • The city of Calexico also charged a percentage of its administrative costs, but also charged the fund for code enforcement and the cost of performing audits of the RDA.

  • The city of Desert Hot Springs inappropriately charged $162,000 for “code enforcement.”

  • The city of Parlier inappropriately charged the cost of purchasing a daycare center.

  • The city of Hercules inappropriately charged $9,600 of its lobbyist expenses.


None of the 18 reviewed agencies met all of their filing requirements, the controller reported. In some cases, annual financial reports were fed to the RDA governing bodies in pieces, while others simply did not file.


Auditors from the controller’s office found that many of the RDAs’ department staff were confused by filing requirements, and the report recommends strong training improvements for financial staff. The report also found that independent audits often failed to identify major audit violations and did not include all required information.


“The lack of accountability and transparency is a breeding ground for waste, abuse, and impropriety,” said Chiang. “In whatever form local redevelopment takes in the future, the level of oversight and openness must be consistent with the amount of public dollars entrusted to their care.”


Two of the RDAs made questionable loans to their cities’ general fund, the report said.


In Pittsburg, the agency loaned $16.6 million in fiscal year 2009-10 without interest to the city for specified projects. By the end of the fiscal year, $15.4 million was unspent, allowing the city to earn interest on those funds.


The city of Calexico’s RDA loaned $1.75 million to the city in 1993 with 6 percent interest. The city Council, acting as the RDA board, lowered the interest rate to 1.42 percent in 2004. While the loan was supposed to be fully repaid by 2009, the city still owes $1.1 million to the redevelopment fund, based on information provided to the State Controller’s Office.


The full report can be found on the State Controller’s Web site at www.sco.ca.gov.


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A man convicted in 2002 of a brutal torture case that left his former girlfriend disabled and disfigured has been denied parole, and won't be eligible for reconsideration for another decade.


A two-member panel of the California Board of Parole Hearings denied Gregory Patrick Beck’s request to be released on parole at a March 2 hearing in Corcoran.


Beck was convicted by a Mendocino County jury in 2002 of gravely injuring Sherry Carlton by means of torture, assault with caustic chemicals and corporal injury on a cohabitant. Carlton was Beck’s then 32-year-old girlfriend and the mother of their then 12-year-old child.


Today, Sherry Carlton lives in a Lake County care home where she remains unable to care for herself as a result of the attack. She cannot speak, walk or otherwise care for herself without assistance from hospital staff.


Citing Beck’s “vicious and callous” attack on Carlton and his continued lack of true remorse for the crime, the Board of Parole Hearings issued an order that Beck shall not be entitled to another parole hearing for 10 years.


The board also heard testimony against the release by Carlton's parents, Jeffrey Carlton of Kelseyville and Phyllis Kline of Southern California, and received close to 100 letters from community members speaking against the release, the Board of Parole


“We can finally breathe again,” said Michelle Carlton, Jeffrey Carlton's wife, who called Beck “an animal.”


A report from the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office explained that, after a tumultuous 12-year relationship, Sherry Carlton chose to separate from Beck and moved out of the home they had shared.


On Aug. 21, 2001, she went back to the home to retrieve some personal belongings and Beck came home while she was still at the house. According to the report, he attacked Carlton by soaking her with lighter fluid and intentionally set her on fire.


Carlton then ran from the yard and into the street screaming for help. A neighbor testified that Beck did nothing to help. Instead, Beck went about “staging” the scene to make it appear as if Carlton’s burning body was the result of a barbecue accident, the District Attorney's Office reported.


Despite her obvious agony resulting from severe burns, Carlton was still able at that time to tell responding law enforcement officers and medical personnel that Beck had intentionally set her on fire, according to the report.


The March 2 hearing, also attended by Mendocino County Deputy District Attorney Shannon Cox, lasted five hours at the prison in Corcoran.


During the hearing, Beck answered questions by both the parole board and Cox regarding the circumstances of his attack on Carlton, his motivation and the steps, if any, that he had undertaken to redeem and rehabilitate himself while incarcerated.


Jeffrey Carlton and Phyllis Kline offered victim impact statements by describing the continuing agony their daughter endures and the ongoing heartbreak they continue to experience due to Beck’s “despicable” attack, which left their only daughter with no hope for a meaningful life.


Also presented were photos of Sherry Carlton prior to the attack, depicting a strikingly beautiful blonde woman in her early 30s. A video taken in January was submitted that memorialized her current state of existence: horribly disfigured, blind, confined round the clock to a convalescent bed and fed via a feeding tube.


The board also listened to the haunting 911 call she frantically made immediately after she was attacked, in which she screams in agony, begs for help, and then cries that Beck had burned and tried to murder her.


During the hearing, Beck acknowledged that he purposefully set Carlton on fire as a sort of “revenge thing” because he was upset she had left him, the district attorney's office said.


Although Beck claimed he was sorry for his actions and that he had sought to rehabilitate himself through anger management classes while incarcerated, the board determined that Beck was not remorseful for his actions and that he had little insight into why he did such a terrible thing to the mother of his child.


One commissioner noted that Beck ranked near the top of all prisoners who fail to show any emotion for the pain and suffering inflicted on a victim. The commissioner also observed that Beck has yet to admit to the son that he purposefully attacked Carlton or demonstrated that he has attempted to make amends to his son for taking away the son’s mother.


The board focused on Beck’s ongoing issues with women in general, noting Beck’s history of domestic violence against Carlton, his attempts to cast some of the blame for the attack on Carlton’s own actions, and his confrontational manner at the hearing with the all-female parole board panel.


District Attorney C. David Eyster asked Cox to attend the hearing to express his focused opposition to Beck’s release. As part of that focused opposition, it was argued during the hearing that Beck continues to pose an unreasonable danger to the community and that the original crime remains so shocking and atrocious as to deserve maximum punishment.


As part of the hearing process, the board was duly impressed by the almost 100 letters sent by various members of the community voicing outrage at the prospect of Beck’s release, as well as the hundreds of signatures on petitions opposing parole for Beck.


Michelle Carlton called the public outcry “amazing,” noting that police departments, the Mendocino County Deputy Sheriffs' Association, Congressman Mike Thompson and the people who care for Sherry Carlton at the convalescent home were among those who wrote letters against Beck's release.


Eyster extended his thanks to those in the community who responded to his call for action by writing those letters and signing petitions.


In finding Beck unsuitable for parole, the parole board found that Beck was not credible in his explanation of the attack and the reasons behind the attack.


The commissioners further observed that Beck had failed to “internalize” anything he had been working on to rehabilitate himself while in prison, and, in fact presented to the board as a “self-absorbed and self-centered” felon.


Due to Beck’s gross shortcomings in rehabilitation, along with the highly callous, vicious and atrocious nature of the attack on Carlton, the board found Beck unsuitable for parole and ordered that he not be eligible for another parole hearing until the passing of 10 years.


Michelle Carlton said her family was thrilled with the outcome.


She credited Marsy's Law with allowing the parole board to set the next parole hearing out to 10 years, rather than three.


The California Attorney General's Office reported that California voters passed Marsy's Law – known formally officially as Proposition 9, the Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008 – in November 2008. The ballot measure was mean to provide rights and due process to all crime victims.


California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation documents explained that Marsy’s Law amended the California Penal Code by changing the period for scheduling a prisoner’s next hearing after a parole denial from up to two years for non-murderers and up to five years for murderers to 15, 10, seven, five or three years for all prisoners.


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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Facing deep cuts to its multimillion dollar budget, the Kelseyville Unified School District Board of Trustees will sit down in a special Tuesday night session to make what may be some of the toughest decisions of its members' tenure.


The open session of the meeting will convene at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, in the Kelseyville High School Student Center, 5480 Main St.


The agenda and associated documents can be downloaded at www.kusd.lake.k12.ca.us/#!/District/Events/130908-Special-Board-Meeting.html .


The board must decide which services to cut and which to keep in order to arrive at cuts to district services ranging between $1.6 million and $2.3 million for the next two years, according to district Superintendent Dave McQueen.


That higher budget cut number would become necessary if proposed tax measures aren't passed this June, McQueen said.


The district's budget ranges between $13 million and $14 million, he said.


McQueen said the board can implement many of the cuts unilaterally, while some items must be

negotiated with the collective bargaining units.


The 57-page budget packet includes a seven-page matrix of proposed cuts – staffing cutbacks; elimination of the sports programs, the yearbook class and K-Corps; closure of Gard Street School; closing Mt. Vista Middle School, creating two K-6 schools and a seventh grade through 12th grade secondary school; and closure of Riviera Elementary and combining Kelseyville Elementary and Mt. Vista Middle School to create a “super campus.”


Last year the board voted against four possible scenarios, including closing Riviera Elementary, as well as other district reconfigurations. However, Board President Rick Winer said Monday that those options were back on the list “because they have to be.”


McQueen said the board will have to prioritize its services.


Because the board voted against closing Riviera Elementary, for 2011-12 “that one's kinda off the table,” but it has to be looked at because they're considering cuts for two years, McQueen said.


“We're going to get as many reductions as we can,” he said.


As a lead up to the decisions that must be made in this special session, Winer said the board received a report from a financial expert at its last meeting.


As part of the discussion, the agenda calls for the board to consider a fiscal recovery plan.


“Right now what we have is a list of elements that will eventually compose the recovery plan,” Winer said.


Winer said the board has to act on that plan soon. “We do have a deadline in that we have to develop an interim budget by the 15th of this month.”


Following its December interim report, the district recently moved into “qualified budget certification,” McQueen said.


He said districts are required give a multiyear projection of fiscal stability for the current year and two subsequent years. “While Kelseyville Unified is projected to meet its financial obligations for 2010-11 and 2011-12, it may not be able to meet its financial obligations for 2012-13.”


That concern led to the qualified status, McQueen said.


The district, facing dwindling funds from the state, has been living off of reserves. “You're seeing it all across our state and country,” McQueen said. “It's not like we're the only district going through this.”


McQueen said the district is working with a fiscal advisor, Susan Birch Grinsell – who was appointed by the Lake County Office of Education to help in developing a fiscal stability plan – in order to a reach a goal of “positive” certification in ensuing interim reports.


Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook told Lake County News that his office has oversight responsibilities in cases like Kelseyville, where qualified status is declared.


McQueen said 85 to 90 percent of the district's budget is for salary and benefits, and they can only cut so much out of that remaining 10 to 15 percent.


The district also must hand out teacher layoff notices by March 15. McQueen didn't have the number of layoffs available yet, but noted, “ We've had some resignations, so that's helped us.”


There are no easy decisions, and it's disheartening, said McQueen.


“It is so important that people see what the state is doing to education,” he said, noting the school would be OK if it was funded at the right level.


“It's just a terrible situation to be in,” Winer added.


McQueen said it's imperative that the governor's tax plan be implemented this summer.


He said he didn't get into education to have to carry out these kinds of cutbacks, but rather wanted to help students attain success in life.


“Unfortunately the state of California doesn't have the same idea,” he said.


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

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Vector Control District reported that it will carry out an aerial larvicide treatment this Wednesday, March 9, weather permitting.


District Manager Dr. Jamie Scott said the aerial spraying, which will take place between Clear Lake State Park and south Lakeport, will begin at 10 a.m.


Scott said the application is meant to reduce the number of mosquitoes that will hatch out later this year.


The treatment will use Aquabac, which is based on the naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti).


Aquabac is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for the control of larval mosquitoes in nearly all aquatic habitats.


For additional information contact the Lake County Vector Control District at 707-263-4770 or visit the district's Web site at www.lcvcd.org.


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