Thursday, 28 March 2024

News

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The state of California's tough economic picture is resulting in cutbacks in hours and services at local state parks.


With the October state budget expected to keep some park closures in effect and hit other parks with deep cuts, coupled with the failure last month of Proposition 21 – which would have added $18 to the state vehicle license fee in order to support state parks – the California State Parks Foundation had warned of closures and service reductions.


The nonprofit foundation, which lobbies for state parks, also warned that, with no new funding sources in sight, the damage that has been done to state parks system through decades of budget neglect will continue and take years to fix.


On the government side, California State Parks Department Sector Superintendent Bill Salata – who oversees Anderson Marsh State Historic Park in Lower Lake and Clear Lake State Park in Kelseyville – said he was told to save $38,000 in operating costs for Clear Lake State Park and $14,260 at Anderson March.


Accordingly, at Anderson Marsh, “We've closed the gates Monday through Friday,” with the park only open on weekends.


In addition, he said three of the park's four chemical toilets were removed and trash service was ended, so visitors must pack their garbage in and out.


Volunteers will continue to do occasional tours, but schools and civic organizations that held midweek events won't be able to do so, which will be one of the largest impacts, Salata said.


At Clear Lake State Park, Salata said several dumpsters have been pulled as they've taken cuts in garbage collections. They've also closed down the combination toilet/shower facility, and left just one campground loop open in Kelsey Creek at this time of year.


The upper and lower Bayview campgrounds will only be open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, he said. “ All those facilities up there are shut down for the off season.”


Also closed at this time are the swim beach and day use area, and the nearby restroom facility, he said, noting, “I need to evaluate when that will be reopened.”


Salata, who transferred to the area in June, said he's “definitely evaluating” future cuts, including closing Clear Lake State Park a few days a week, “which is something I don't want to do but I'm going to look at it.”


Interpretive associations assist in keeping parks vital


Providing important support and funding for park activities are the county's two interpretive associations, and representatives of those groups say they intend to continue their work in the face of the challenges.


Madelene Lyon, president of the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association (CLSPIA), said the group has, for many years, paid the cost of having an interpretive specialist. That job currently is held by Val Nixon, a retired Clear Lake State Park ranger.


“It's just working out beautifully,” said Lyon, noting that without the CLSPIA's support there would be no interpretive programs.


“In that respect, we are doing just really quite a bit to help this whole situation,” said Lyon, who explained how hard CLSPIA works to raise the funds.


One of the group's projects, the park's new education pavilion – located near the park visitor center – has just been completed. Lyon is planning to do a walk through on Tuesday, with the state fire marshal needing to sign off to fully complete the project.


The group will then put the furnishings in place; Lyon said they're now in the process of buying tables and chairs. CLSPIA plans to continue raising funds for microscopes and other equipment for education groups.


She said CLSPIA is planning an early spring grand opening for the pavilion. “We are so proud of our building,” she said. “It just looks like that spot was waiting for that building.”


Roberta Lyons, president of the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association (AMIA), said the group plans to continue with its activities, which include offering monthly walks and tours of the property and the historic ranch house.


Support of the park is one of the AMIA's main functions, and Lyons said they're focusing on what they have – including the park's natural and cultural resources, and interpretive opportunities.


They're also trying to expand their volunteer base so they can do more things at the park, she said.


Lyons said the AMIA and its members are not totally discouraged. “We think we're going to be able to keep the park going, even if it's on the weekends.”


They recently invested $7,000 to have a professional do a bat exclusion and remediation project, which Lyons was careful to note didn't include killing the bats.


This past September, AMIA and the Children's Museum of Art and Science held their annual Old Time Bluegrass Festival, which brought in between $6,000 and $7,000 and is their largest fundraiser of the year, said Lyons.


That and other events allows the AMIA to invest several thousand dollars a year into the park, she said.


“As an organization, we feel we can make some good things happen there still,” she said. “We plan on doing what we can to keep it going.”


California State Parks Northern Buttes District Superintendent Marilyn Linkem told Lake County News that the agency is trying to stretch thin resources to serve the parks.


“What we're trying to do is keep as much open as we can with the limited staff that we have,” she said.


However, she pointed out of the parks, “We just won't be able to service them as well,” with visitors likely to see fewer rangers on patrol and fewer maintenance staff.


Linkem said the local parks wouldn't have their interpretive programs – such as tours or Junior Rangers – if it weren't for the work of the CLSPIA and AMIA. She said the parks can use more volunteers to help support the parks.


California's residents pay for the parks, said Linkem, adding that the goal is to keep the parklands open and accessible.


“The parks are for the people,” she 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 .

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A tree fell across Highway 20 and knocked down utility lines on Sunday, December 5, 2010. Photo by Julie Harmon.





LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The heavy rain that hit Lake County on Sunday led to some spots of minor flooding in Lakeport, a downed tree and utility lines in Nice and hazardous road conditions elsewhere.


Rain fell steadily around the county on Sunday afternoon after forecasters had warned area residents to be prepared for precipitation.


The forecast proved accurate, with the resulting rains making for tricky driving conditions. The California Highway Patrol reported that rocks and small boulders had been spotted along areas of Highway 175 near the Granite Construction quarry, on Bottle Rock Road not far from Highway 29 and on Highway 20.


Early in the afternoon a large oak tree fell on Highway 20 at Hudson, knocking utility lines into the roadway, the CHP reported.


The incident originally was reported as a traffic collision just after 1 p.m. but later blamed on the tree alone, according to reports from the scene.


The CHP created a detour off of Highway 20 and onto Manzanita in order to allow utility crews to work on the pole. Caltrans, Northshore Fire and the sheriff's office also responded to assist with controlling the scene.


A call to Pacific Gas & Electric about possible power outages and other impacts was not returned Sunday evening. Mediacom also was reported to be working on lines at the site.


The roadway was reopened at about 4:45 p.m., the CHP said.


The rain appeared to get heavier in the late afternoon, and at around 5 p.m. Sgt. Kevin Odom of the Lakeport Police Department said he noticed some minor areas of flooding in the city, especially at around N. Forbes and 10th streets.


“Heavy rain has obviously done something to overload the system,” he said.


After he drove through the area and saw the flooding, Odom notified the city's Public Works Department.


Public Works staff put up barricades around the flooded areas and were working late Sunday evening to try to find out what was going on and how to fix it, Odom said, noting the water appeared to be going toward the lakefront.


Lake County News had received reports of some businesses in the area being flooded, but Odom said he wasn't aware of actual flooded structures.


The National Weather Service said Sunday that a surface cold front was located coming through the county, with rain expected to continue through the night and early Monday.


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. – Forecasters are predicting more rain and snow in higher elevations in Lake County and other areas of Northern California on Sunday.


The National Weather Service in Sacramento issued a special weather statement warning of moisture that will “continue to stream across the region for the remainder of the weekend.”


A weak storm front brought in moisture Saturday night, the agency reported.


A stronger low pressure system from the Eastern Pacific is expected to travel through Northern California throughout the day and into the night Sunday, bringing wind, moderate to heavy rain, and snow above 5,000 feet, the National Weather Service said.


Forecasters predict a 60 percent chance of rain Sunday, which will decrease early in the week. Precipitation is expected to return on Wednesday and possibly later in the week.


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 .

THE GEYSERS, Calif. – A 3.7-magnitude earthquake was reported near The Geysers geothermal steamfield on Monday.


The quake occurred at 5:57 a.m., according to the US Geological Survey.


The quake, which was recorded half a mile underground, was centered just northeast of The Geysers, five miles west southwest of Cobb and six miles west northwest of Anderson Springs.


The US Geological Survey received 16 shake reports from nine zip codes – including Clearlake, Lakeport, Middletown, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, San Rafael, Novato and Sacramento.


In the hour following the initial quake, four temblors measuring between 1.1 and 2.4 in magnitude occurred, based on seismic data.


The last time a moderate-sized earthquake was reported in the county was Nov. 15. It measured 3.0 in magnitude and occurred two miles north of The Geysers, as Lake County News has reported.


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 .

Some of us, when we see a proposal to raise Veterans Affairs health care fees for a category of veteran in a report on ways to curb federal budget deficits, jump to the conclusion that veteran benefits are under fresh attack.


Bernard Rostker, former under secretary of defense for personnel and now a senior fellow at the RAND Corp., has a more optimistic perspective on how, over time, America cares for and compensates its wartime veterans.


For more than a year Rostker has been researching what will be a two-volume study on the treatment of veterans and their survivors, going back to before the Revolutionary War, with a special focus on wounded warrior care.


His original working premise, as he explained it in a phone interview, was that veterans’ care and benefits today reflect a deeper attachment to the force, the result of moving away from a military of conscripts, after the Vietnam War, to a more professional force comprised entirely of volunteers.


But as he completed volume one of his study, covering the Colonial era through World War II, Rostker said he found the working premise to be wrong. Much of what’s being done today for veterans of the all-volunteer force is “rediscovering” what’s been done before.


One glaring exception, he said, is the focus today on treating mental wounds of war, post-traumatic stress disorder. Resources aimed at the invisible wounds are unprecedented, reflecting more medical knowledge, the nature of current wars and an attitude shift, even since the Persian Gulf War.


“Today it’s remarkably different. Much more willing to deal with issues of stress than what came out of the Gulf War,” said Rostker.


In the late 1990s he was the defense secretary’s special assistant on Gulf War Illness.


Otherwise the infusion of money and staff for veterans’ care and benefits today fits an historical pattern, Rostker said, the nation’s deep appreciation for those who fight for country and suffer wounds or illness.


Other patterns emerge, Rostker said.


Government support tends to deepen with budget surpluses. Benefits tend to improve as veterans age, their ranks thin out, and enhancements become more affordable.


Wars bring change too. The Department of Veterans Affairs budget has more than doubled since U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 – from $51 billion then to $114 billion in the fiscal years that ended Sept. 30. VA spending is set to climb another 10 percent this year, to $125 billion.


Vet groups laud a 25 percent rise in VA spending since President Obama took office. Some contrast that largess to the Bush administration difficulty in June 2005 when it had to request $2 billion supplemental for VA to meet pressing health care obligations. Some veterans groups had called the original budget that year “tightfisted, miserly” and “woefully inadequate.”


Rostker avoids such comparisons. But his research might inform cost-conscious politicians about the perils of scrimping on veterans.


President Franklin Roosevelt made such a misstep, he said, while trying to pull the nation out of the Great Depression.


At his urging, Congress in 1933 passed the Economy Act, which cut deeply into veterans’ benefits. Roosevelt told the American Legion convention “the mere wearing of a uniform” in war should not entitle a veteran, and later his survivors, to a pension for disabilities incurred after he left service.


The backlash was strong enough that the following March, Congress had enough votes to override Roosevelt’s veto and it restored almost all of the benefits it had cut a year earlier.


The Continental Congress in 1776 first recognized responsibility for wounded veterans, voting to authorize half pay for life to anyone who lost a limb or their ability to earn a living due to the revolution. By 1805 Congress approved pay for disabilities developed years after a veteran left service.


Support for lifetime “half pay,” particularly for officers, drew criticism. Funds to pay it sometimes could not be found. Yet Congress extended the same pension rights to disabled veterans from the War of 1812 and other wars.


By 1818, with federal coffers flush with tariff money, the Department of War gave pensions to anyone who served in wartime, not just disabled.


Ten years later Congress settled complaints of Revolutionary War veterans by granting 850 surviving officers and soldiers full pay for life.


Rostker noted too that in 1833 Congress first approved “concurrent receipt” – payment of both an “invalid pension” and service pension. In 1836, Congress extended pension eligibility to widows and children of Revolutionary War veterans, adding enormously to the cost. The last spouse eligible for that Revolutionary War pension died in 1906, Rostker said.


The Civil War Pension Law of 1862 was viewed as the most generous any government had ever adopted, Rostker said, allowing disability payments for injuries or ailments incurred as a direct result of service. It even set up a medical screening system, though reliance on hometown doctors led to rampant fraud and soon a purging of the rolls, Rostker said.


Payments to surviving spouse and children could exceed what veterans got. The last Civil War pensioners lived well into the 20th Century, all the while drawing payments.


Our conversation provided just a glimpse of how America has cared for veterans long ago. The study will span newer, more controversial periods including Gen. Omar Bradley’s reform of the VA after World War II, Korea and Vietnam and Gulf War Syndrome.


Given the history, I asked, what might be ahead for the newest generation of war veterans. More effective help, Rostker suggested. The nation knows now that not all wounded have missing limbs or physical scars.


Through history, he said, “you see the generosity in many ways. You see it in the amount of money given, in the change of eligibility standards. And recently in the understanding of the mental aspects of conflict.”


To comment, send e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111.


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Permanent damage to the Salem New Jersey Nuclear Plant GSU Transformer caused by the March 13, 1989, geomagnetic storm. Photos courtesy of PSE&G.

 

 


Every hundred years or so, a solar storm comes along so potent it fills the skies of Earth with blood-red auroras, makes compass needles point in the wrong direction, and sends electric currents coursing through the planet's topsoil.


The most famous such storm, the Carrington Event of 1859, actually shocked telegraph operators and set some of their offices on fire.


A 2008 report by the National Academy of Sciences warns that if such a storm occurred today, we could experience widespread power blackouts with permanent damage to many key transformers.


What's a utility operator to do?


A new NASA project called "Solar Shield" could help keep the lights on.


“Solar Shield is a new and experimental forecasting system for the North American power grid,” said project leader Antti Pulkkinen, a Catholic University of America research associate working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. “We believe we can zero in on specific transformers and predict which of them are going to be hit hardest by a space weather event.”


The troublemaker for power grids is the “GIC” – short for geomagnetically induced current.


When a coronal mass ejection (a billion-ton solar storm cloud) hits Earth's magnetic field, the impact causes the field to shake and quiver.


These magnetic vibrations induce currents almost everywhere, from Earth's upper atmosphere to the ground beneath our feet.


Powerful GICs can overload circuits, trip breakers, and in extreme cases melt the windings of heavy-duty transformers.


This actually happened in Quebec on March 13, 1989, when a geomagnetic storm much less severe than the Carrington Event knocked out power across the entire province for more than nine hours.


The storm damaged transformers in Quebec, New Jersey, and Great Britain, and caused more than 200 power anomalies across the USA from the eastern seaboard to the Pacific Northwest.


A similar series of “Halloween storms” in October 2003 triggered a regional blackout in southern Sweden and may have damaged transformers in South Africa.


While many utilities have taken steps to fortify their grids, the overall situation has only gotten worse.


A 2009 report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the US Department of Energy concluded that modern power systems have a “significantly enhance[d] vulnerability and exposure to effects of a severe geomagnetic storm.”


Since the beginning of the Space Age the total length of high-voltage power lines crisscrossing North America has increased nearly 10 fold. This has turned power grids into giant antennas for geomagnetically induced currents.


With demand for power growing even faster than the grids themselves, modern networks are sprawling, interconnected, and stressed to the limit – a recipe for trouble, according to the National Academy of Sciences: “The scale and speed of problems that could occur on [these modern grids] have the potential to impact the power system in ways not previously experienced.”


A large-scale blackout could last a long time, mainly due to transformer damage. As the National Academy report notes, “these multi-ton apparatus cannot be repaired in the field, and if damaged in this manner they need to be replaced with new units which have lead times of 12 months or more.”

 

 

 

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The underlying reason for the growth in the vulnerability and exposure of modern power systems to a severe geomagnetic storm may be seen at a glance in this plot, which shows the growth of the High Voltage Transmission Network and annual electric energy usage in the United States over the past 50 years. Credit: North American Electric Reliability Corporation and the US Dept. of Energy.
 

 

 


That is why a node-by-node forecast of geomagnetic currents is potentially so valuable. During extreme storms, engineers could safeguard the most endangered transformers by disconnecting them from the grid. That itself could cause a blackout, but only temporarily. Transformers protected in this way would be available again for normal operations when the storm is over.


The innovation of Solar Shield is its ability to deliver transformer-level predictions. Pulkkinen explains how it works: “Solar Shield springs into action when we see a coronal mass ejection (CME) billowing away from the sun. Images from SOHO and NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft show us the cloud from as many as three points of view, allowing us to make a 3D model of the CME, and predict when it will arrive.”


While the CME is crossing the sun-Earth divide, a trip that typically takes 24 to 48 hours, the Solar Shield team prepares to calculate ground currents.


“We work at Goddard's Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC),” said Pulkkinen.


The CCMC is a place where leading researchers from around the world have gathered their best physics-based computer programs for modeling space weather events.


The crucial moment comes about 30 minutes before impact when the cloud sweeps past ACE, a spacecraft stationed 1.5 million km upstream from Earth. Sensors onboard ACE make in situ measurements of the CME's speed, density, and magnetic field. These data are transmitted to Earth and the waiting Solar Shield team.


“We quickly feed the data into CCMC computers,” said Pulkkinen. “Our models predict fields and currents in Earth's upper atmosphere and propagate these currents down to the ground.”


With less than 30 minutes to go, Solar Shield can issue an alert to utilities with detailed information about GICs.


Pulkkinen stresses that Solar Shield is experimental and has never been field-tested during a severe geomagnetic storm. A small number of utility companies have installed current monitors at key locations in the power grid to help the team check their predictions.


So far, though, the sun has been mostly quiet with only a few relatively mild storms during the past year. The team needs more data.


“We'd like more power companies to join our research effort,” he added. “The more data we can collect from the field, the faster we can test and improve Solar Shield.”


Power companies work with the team through EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute. Of course a few good storms would help test the system, too.


They're coming. The next solar maximum is expected around 2013, so it's only a matter of time.


Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.


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COVELO, Calif. – A man was arrested for resisting arrest, battery, vandalism and suspicion of bludgeoning to death puppies following a confrontation with law enforcement last Friday.


Arthur Gonzales, 36, a transient from Covelo, was arrested in the case, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.


At 11:30 a.m. Dec. 3, Round Valley Tribal Police were investigating a possible intoxicated driver on Tabor Lane in Covelo when Gonzales allegedly attacked a tribal police officer, Smallcomb said.


During the attack, Gonzales punched and kicked the tribal police officer several times, causing injury. Smallcomb said the officer was able to use his portable radio to summon emergency assistance from the sheriff's office and California Highway Patrol. The closest available deputies and CHP officers responded from the Willits area.


Smallcomb said the tribal police officer attempted to subdue Gonzales by spraying him in the face with pepper spray but it had no effect. The officer then withdrew to a safer location and awaited the arrival of the responding deputies and officers.


Gonzales then allegedly directed his anger toward the tribal police vehicle that had been left at the scene. Smallcomb said Gonzales picked up an old car tire and began to throw it at the windows of the tribal police vehicle, which resulted in more than $400 worth of damage.


Gonzales had fled the immediate area prior to the arrival of sheriff deputies and CHP officers, Smallcomb siad. A search was conducted and Gonzales was located near Lot No. 4 on Concow Boulevard.


A sheriff's deputy drew his sidearm and ordered Gonzales down to the ground. Smallcomb said Gonzales refused to comply with the orders and instead ran at a full sprint towards the deputy.


Smallcomb said the deputy quickly holstered his sidearm and drew his Taser. Gonzales closed within feet of the deputy before the Taser was deployed. The deployment of the Taser brought Gonzales' attack to an immediate end.


Located in the area where Gonzales was apprehended were a large knife and an ax handle. Smallcomb said both the knife and ax handle had blood present on them.


It was later discovered that Gonzales had entered or attempted to enter several residences on the Reservation while evading from law enforcement, Smallcomb said.


In one of the residences five pit bull puppies had been bludgeoned to death. Smallcomb said Gonzales is a suspect in the death of the five puppies and the investigation is ongoing.


Smallcomb said Gonzales was transported to Howard Hospital for medical clearance and then to the Mendocino County Jail.

 

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Middletown's offense awaits the end of a timeout late in the game as the fog rolls over Bill Foltmer Field on Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, in Middletown, Calif. Photo by Ed Oswalt.
 

 

 


 

 

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – It was trench football. It was hit-to-hit, yard-to-yard, down-to-down good old-fashioned mud bath football.

 

In short, it was the kind of game the Middletown Mustangs – with their stalwart defense and nose-to the-grindstone offense – excel at.

 

And excel they did, knocking out the Healdsburg Greyhounds – the North Coast Section (NCS) Division IV tournament’s No. 1 seed – 10-0 Friday night in Middletown before a large, raucous crowd.

 

“It was a battle,” Mustangs Head Coach Bill Foltmer said after the game. “Every yard, every run, every play was hard-fought yards. Both sides took a beating; it was a very physical football game.”

 

Sure, it was yet another Mustang shutout, and those statistics – five of their last six games have been shutouts, and eight of 13 games this season – are impressive by themselves, but this shutout was different.

 

This was no cakewalk; this was a battle of wills. And that battle was lead by Middletown’s hard-hitting, aggressive running back and linebacker Jacob Davis.

 

 

 

 

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After catching a Kyle Brown pass on third-and-16, David Pike made a 79-yard play, scored the only touchdown in the North Coast Section Division 4 semifinal game on Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, in Middletown, Calif. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

 

 

 

“Jake Davis is amazing,” Healdsburg Head Coach Tom Kirkpatrick said about the Middletown senior. “There were plays that looked like we were going to have some room to run, and he would just fly into the ball – an outstanding player.”

 

The action started early, on the Mustangs’ opening possession.

 

With Middletown trying to establish a running game and Healdsburg pushing back hard, David Pike caught a Kyle Brown screen pass on third and 16, broke a couple of tackles and streaked 79 yards downfield to score the game’s only touchdown.

 

Surefire kicker Danny Cardenas put the extra point through the uprights, the Mustangs took the lead 7-0, and the slog continued.

 

Healdsburg used most of the remaining first quarter to grind downfield, starting from their own 15 and needing two critical fourth-and-inches to make it down to Middletown’s 10-yard line, but on their second fourth-and-short and with their backs against the wall in the red zone, offensive lineman Luke Parker broke through the Healdsburg line and stopped the Greyhounds short.

 

“Our kids played hard tonight, and I’m so proud of them,” a jubilant Foltmer said after the game. “It was a great win against a great opponent.”

 

The game’s only other score came in the second quarter, when the Mustang’s needed 12 plays, a pass interference call and a horse-collar penalty before Cardenas kicked a 27-yard field goal to put Middletown ahead 10-0.

 

 

 

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David Pike's 89 yards rushing led all groundgainers on a night of tough defense during the North Coast Section Division 4 semifinal game on Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, in Middletown, Calif. Photo by Ed Oswalt.
 

 

 

 

Of the Cardenas field goal, Foltmer said, “That was big, because now it’s a two-score game.”

 

Although the Greyhounds found some hard-earned forward progress in the second quarter, their attempts to even the score were twice thwarted by critical interceptions from cornerback Andres Fernandez, and the clock ran out with Healdsburg trailing 10-0.

 

“They did a good job of stopping us, and I thought we did a good job of stopping them,” Foltmer said about the game. “It was just a battle, you know?”

 

The second half was more of the same – a back-and-forth struggle in the trenches, fueled by the Middletown loud crowd, with both teams slogging downfield at times, only to see their efforts come up short.

 

Healdsburg’s fate was sealed with two and a half minutes left in the game, when Connor Chick intercepted a Max Opperman pass at Middletown’s 31-yard line, and the Mustangs ran out the clock to end the classic struggle.

 

“They played really hard, they played as hard as they could,” Kirkpatrick said about his Greyhounds, “and I told them, there was no problem with effort. This was not an effort game; this was an execution game.”

 

 

 

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Jake Davis had 51 yards on 10 carries for Middletown in their 10-0 semifinal win over Healdsburg on Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, in Middletown, Calif. Photo by Ed Oswalt.
 

 

 

 

 

The Greyhounds successfully executed 12 out of 23 passes (with three interceptions) for 145 yards, while rushing 83 yards in 21 carries. The Mustangs logged 143 yards in the air on four of 10 passing, and 132 yards in 36 carries.

 

Having now secured a spot in the finals of the NCS tournament, Foltmer lamented, “People don’t understand: it’s not that easy to get there. My last time we were in the finals was 10 years ago.”

 

He added, “Normally, we tell the kids, ‘Hey, make the best of your year,’ and if it doesn’t work out this year for me, I’ve always got next year. But I’ve been telling this group that this might be my best shot at a section title with this group of kids.”

 

In a bit of irony, the Mustangs will end the season as they began it: by playing the Salesian Pride, who advanced to the NCS finals with a 76-28 trouncing of the Ferndale Wildcats Saturday in the tournament’s other semifinal game.

 

 

 

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Healdsburg quarterback Max Opperman passed for 145 yards and ran for 49 more during the North Coast Section Division 4 semifinal game on Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, in Middletown, Calif. Photo by Ed Oswalt.
 

 

 

 

Middletown lost to Salesian 57-52 in that game – their season opener, and their only loss of the year – but powerhouse Jake Davis sat out the game with a broken jaw.

 

The Mustangs-Pride final will be held at Alhambra High School in Martinez on Saturday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m.

 

“Yeah, we’ll go scout Salesian and Ferndale tomorrow,” Foltmer said Friday night about the other NCS semifinal game, “but we worked so hard this week, and with a big win like this, I just want to enjoy it.”

 

Healdsburg’s Kirkpatrick looked across the field to the Middletown side after the game and said with simple admiration, “That’s a great high school team right there.”

 

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The Middletown Mustangs will try to keep their heads on straight when they tackle Salesian High School of Richmond in the NCS division 4 title game. Salesian demolished Ferndale 76-28 in their semifinal match Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010. The championship game will take place at Alhambra High School in Martinez, Calif., starting at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. Photo by Ed Oswalt.
 

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A new nonprofit will be visiting Clearlake next week to offer mobile dental services.


The Tooth Travelers Mobile Dental Program, serving Central and Northern California, will be in Clearlake on Monday, Dec. 6, and Tuesday, Dec. 7.


They will provide free dental services to the residents of Clearlake Apartments, an affordable housing community located at 7145 Old Highway 53 No. 73 Clearlake, CA 95422, with sponsorship provided by Highland Property Development and Hearthstone Housing Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit.


The mobile dental program includes a fully-equipped mobile unit with two dental operatories, providing a wide range of both preventive and restorative services.


They work in partnership with community health care providers, governmental organizations, private businesses and community service organizations to bring quality dental health care to where it’s most needed.


The nonprofit's partners include community health centers, affordable housing groups, state and county children's programs, homeless collaboratives, veteran's groups, skilled nursing facilities, and other community service agencies and organizations.


The Tooth Travelers Mobile Dental Program is staffed with California licensed dentists, registered dental assistants, dental assistants and support staff with more than 80 years of cumulative experience in oral health.


Oral health and hygiene education, including proper brushing and flossing techniques; preventive services: teeth cleaning, fluoride varnish applications, sealants; treatment includes dental examinations, x-rays, fillings, extractions and selective endodontic procedures.


For more information, visit http://toothtravelers.org/Tooth_Travelers/HOME.html .


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OAKLAND – California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Monday announced an agreement to upgrade the quarter-century-old wind turbines in Altamont Pass to make them more efficient and less deadly to migratory birds.


“This landmark settlement mandates the replacement of outmoded wind turbines with newer models that are more efficient, generate more power and are less harmful to eagles, falcons and other birds,” Brown said.


The Altamont Pass Wind Resources Area in Alameda and Contra Costa counties is the site of the world's first wind turbines.


These units, constructed more than three decades ago, are now outdated, inefficient and deadly to thousands of birds each year, Brown's office said.


Tuesday's settlement is between environmental groups, the state, and NextEra Energy Resources, the largest turbine operator at the site.


Under the agreement, NextEra will upgrade all its older-model turbines. Scientific data shows that newer, larger turbines are more efficient and kill far fewer birds.


A 2004 study commissioned by the California Energy Commission found that the 5,400 older turbines operating at Altamont Pass killed an estimated 1,766 to 4,271 birds annually, including between 881 and 1330 raptors such as golden eagles – which are protected under federal law -- hawks, falcons and owls.


The bird fatalities at Altamont Pass – an important raptor breeding area that lies on a major migratory route – are greater than on any other wind farm in the country, the study showed.


In September 2005, Alameda County renewed permits for the turbines, but several Audubon Society chapters and Californians for Renewable Energy (CARE), a local environmental group, challenged the permits in a lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).


After a settlement failed to substantially reduce the large number of bird fatalities, Brown stepped in and brokered today's agreement.


Under the agreement, NextEra will replace some 2,400 turbines over the next four years and will shut down all its existing turbines no later than 2015.


The company also has agreed to erect the new turbines in environmentally friendly locations.


NextEra agreed to pay $2.5 million in mitigation fees, half to the state Energy Commission's Public Integrated Energy Research Program and half to East Bay Regional Park District and the Livermore Area Regional Park District for raptor habitat creation.


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Singers perform during the dress rehearsal for the Renaissance Pageant and Feast on Monday, Nov. 29, 2010, in Middletown, Calif. The event is being held at the Middletown Community United Methodist Church. Tickets are $35 and include a three-course feast; $20 of the ticket is a charitable donation. Purchase tickets by calling 707-987-2653. Performances continue next weekend. Photo by Esther Oertel.


 


 


I attended Middletown’s annual Renaissance Pageant and Feast for the first time some nine years ago.


The pageant, now in its 17th season, is festive Christmas entertainment, resplendent with madrigal singing, colorful period costumes and an original script that changes each year.


In addition, a medieval-style feast is served to the guests that function as members of the court of Greystone Castle (into which the Middletown Community United Methodist Church transforms for the yearly performances).


I enjoyed every aspect of the event nine years ago (as I have in the years since then), but the food especially piqued my interest.


Chicken flavored with cinnamon provided a savory entrée with a hint of sweetness. It was served on a round of flat bread that functioned as our dish, and eating it made our role as guests of Lord and Lady Greystone all the more plausible.


On Monday evening I was again a guest at the castle, this time for a dress rehearsal. The temporary trip back in time rekindled my interest in the cookery of that time, hence the subject of today’s column.

 

 

 

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Candles are lit during

CLEARLAKE – With freezing temperatures now here, a community effort to help provide warm clothes and shelter for the homeless is kicking off its third annual campaign.


The Warm for the Winter program, led by Clearlake Vice Mayor Joyce Overton, is once again gathering warm clothes, food, blankets, tents and monetary donations.


Overton said that they will hand out the items at the Clearlake Rotary Christmas dinner at Burns Valley School on Saturday, Dec. 11.


She said that she is particularly looking for children's coats, as she has plenty for adults.


Overton said coats do not have to be new, but must be clean and in good shape.


She's also having a food drive, as food banks this year are short.


If someone cannot come to the giveaway, they can call Overton to arrange a dropoff.


For more information, call Overton at 707-350-2898.


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30Mar
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