Local athletes to participate in Special Olympics Summer Games

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Four local athletes will be among hundreds participating in the Special Olympics 2012 Summer Games this weekend.

Special Olympics Northern California is hosting the annual competition at the University of California, Davis, which will feature an estimated 900 athletes in events held from Friday, June 22, through Sunday, June 24.

Competitions will include aquatics, bocce, tennis or track and field on the UC Davis campus.

The Summer Games will commence with the lighting of the cauldron, which will be lit with the “Flame of Hope” at the opening ceremonies at Aggie Stadium Friday beginning at 7:30 p.m.

There is no admission fee to watch the opening ceremonies or the competitions.

Cathy Saderlund, Lake County’s volunteer area director, said four Lake County athletes, accompanied by three coaches, will participate in this year’s Summer Games.

Lake County’s Summer Games competitors are four young men who have been training devotedly for several months for the track and field competition, Saderlund said.

They are Clearlake residents Tyler Stiles, 18, and Michael Stevens, 32; Jordan Marquardt, 20, of Lower Lake; and Riley Casler, 25, of Upper Lake, Saderlund said.

In May local athletes took part in a one-day competition in Marin as the run up to the Summer Games, Saderlund said.

Saderlund said Lake County Special Olympics has five sports – basketball, track and field, golf, powerlifting and bowling. Each of the sports run for 12 weeks at different points of the year.

Bowling, one of the most popular local events, has its own one-day competition in November. Then the basketball season will begin.

Saderlund and her husband, Robert – the volunteer sports coordinator – became involved in Special Olympics through their son, Eric, who is now 29.

Around 2000, Lake County split off from Mendocino County, she said.

“We have a very active area,” she said.

Athletes can start training at age 5 and competing when they’re 8 years old. Saderlund said Lake County has athletes in their 60s still competing.

Saderlund said the competition and training is supported solely through local donations. The costs total about $18,000 annually.

They used to run fundraisers throughout the year, but more recently Saderlund said their January “Polar Plunge” has been able to raise enough money to support Lake County Special Olympics for the year. Steve and Peggy Buchholz coordinate the annual plunge.

Each sport has different coaches. Saderlund said Keith and Angela Austin and their son, Jordan, are track and field coaches for the summer events.

Saderlund said they are always looking for volunteers and coaches. Certification and background checks are required for coaching.

“It’s a really awesome experience to work with the athletes,” Saderlund said.

The local program has been so successful that it sent athletes to the World Games in Iowa in 2007, Saderlund said. The athletes who competed were powerlifter Susanna Avila and golfer Eric Saderlund.

Donations can be made year round to Lake County Special Olympics. Saderlund said people can send checks made out to Lake County Special Olympics to P.O. Box 94, Lakeport, CA 95453.

Messages for more information also can be left on the Special Olympics Message Board at 707-262-1269.

For up to date information on the Summer Games, visit www.SummerGamesSO.com .

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Guilty verdicts bring relief, justice for murdered child’s family

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The young woman whose son was shot and killed, and who herself was seriously injured in a June 2011 shooting, said her son received justice thanks to guilty verdicts handed down in the cases of the two men accused of the crime.

Desiree Kirby, 23, was in court Wednesday afternoon to hear the verdicts read for 22-year-old Paul William Braden, who a jury found guilty of 15 felony counts and 55 special allegations for his part in the shooting on the night of June 18, 2011.

That shooting killed Kirby’s 4-year-old son Skyler Rapp, wounded her and her boyfriend, Ross Sparks, as well as his brother, Andrew Sparks, and Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo.

Last Friday, a separate jury had similarly convicted 24-year-old Orlando Joseph Lopez Jr. Kirby was in court for those verdicts as well.

She said she had been more anxious about the Lopez verdict, but afterward had a good feeling that Braden also would be convicted.

District Attorney Don Anderson said both men are looking at the equivalent of multiple life sentences when they appear for sentencing in August.

After listening to the verdicts, Kirby said she was relieved that Braden and Lopez were going away to prison, and she felt her son had received justice.

The little boy with the shock of bright red hair had been with his family at their Lakeshore Drive home in Clearlake when the shooting started shortly before 11 p.m.

He had been standing in front of his parents’ apartment, roasting marshmallows for s’mores, when he was struck by multiple shotgun pellets and fell almost instantly after the shooting started, according to testimony at trial.

Kirby herself was riddled with shotgun pellets, which left her with permanent damage to her right arm and right leg.

The gunfire peppered the outside of the apartment and was found inside as well, close to the playpen where Ross Sparks’ and Kirby’s baby daughter slept.

Anderson’s case rested, in part, on the theory that a fight at an adult school graduation about a week and a half before the shooting had escalated tensions between Ross Sparks’ family and a faction associated with Braden and Lopez, leading to threatening text messages and cell phone calls from the men to Sparks and another family member the night of the shooting.

Kirby called what happened at her home that night “really random” and “bizarre.”

However, “Everybody played their own little role in it,” she added.

“I just wish I could go back and fix everything and I can’t,” Kirby said.

Amidst all of the statements made in the media and the community about the case, Kirby said she wanted to address accusations by some people that she was not a good mother.

“I wasn’t a bad mom,” she said, explaining how hard she worked to give her children a good life.

She said she had worked two months straight without a day off, and June 18, 2011, was the first day she had off with her children.

“The one day I was home they decided to show up and take him from me,” she said.

Kirby has had numerous surgeries and is looking at more of them. She said she is waiting until after the August sentencings of Braden and Lopez to schedule further surgeries.

She’s planning to return to school at Yuba College and even sees the possibility of advocacy in her future.

Kirby said the case is a wake up call.

“I hope people realize what a couple words can do and escalate to,” she said.

She added, “I hope nobody forgets.”

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

AmeriCorps crews helping recreation sites on the Mendocino National Forest

COVELO, Calif. – On a warm afternoon at the Eel River Campground outside of Covelo, members of the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) were busy sprucing up the campground – fixing the signs, picking up trash, cutting weeds and cleaning the bathrooms.

The crew’s work is part of a partnership between the Mendocino National Forest and AmeriCorps. Crewmembers gain experience working in the forest, and the forest receives valuable support in maintaining recreational facilities and restoring ecosystems.

The 10-person crew is part of AmeriCorps, a national organization that mobilizes volunteers for community service projects, including environmental stewardship.

On Monday, June 11, the crew started a four-week assignment on the Mendocino National Forest, supporting the Covelo and Upper Lake Ranger Districts.

In addition to the NCCC crew, the Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) six-person crew, also a part of AmeriCorps, worked on the forest for the past eight days, finishing their assignment Wednesday, June 20.

This is the third consecutive year the forest has utilized AmeriCorps crews to complete trail, campground maintenance and ecological restoration work.

“They’re awesome,” said Covelo and Upper Lake Ranger District Implementation Officer Michelle Zuro-Kreimer. “They’re great to work with, very flexible, professional, well trained and a pure joy to work with each year.”

AmeriCorps participants are given the opportunity to make a difference to individuals, communities and the environment.

“It allows you to have an experience that changes your perspective and that is a good opportunity for everyone,” said Kameke Brown, a member of the NCCC crew.

This is the second year on the NCCC crew for Avery Bailie. He shared that the program has given him a wide variety of work, people and life experiences that he wouldn’t have been exposed to without NCCC.

When participants sign up for the crews, they sign up for a 10-month service year, October through July. Crew members receive a living stipend as well as an education award for their service work.

Travis Smith, crew leader for the NCCC, said he would recommend the experience to his family and friends.

“It’s a great way to travel and it’s a fulfilling service experience,” Smith said.

The NCCC crew will spend five days of their time on the forest working on trails in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness.

The Backcountry Horsemen of California Lake and Mendocino Unit will assist the crew by packing in supplies.

Even though the CCNB only had eight days on the Forest, they provided additional help with trail and restoration activities working with the NCCC.

In addition to service to communities and environmental stewardship, CCNB includes a required education component. The crew has to complete 11 hours of education per week, three of which are based on environmental issues and field exercises.

Jonnathan Lemus likes how the classroom education relates so closely with the work they get to do in the field.

“You can really see how important these issues are when you can get out and do the work,” Lemus said.

Darrylome Shuemake Jr. from the CCNB said the program has taught him to work hard, be punctual and has given him a better understanding and appreciation for the environment.

“We really appreciate all the work these crews put in while they are here,” Zuro-Kreimer said. “The AmeriCorps crews are an amazing resource to help us with recreation work we normally wouldn’t have the staff to do, ultimately benefiting Forest visitors.”