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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
Marymount California University Lakeside Campus celebrates first graduating class
LUCERNE, Calif. – As friends, family and educators looked on Wednesday, 13 students received bachelor's degrees during the first four-year university commencement ceremony in Lake County's history.
The Wednesday evening ceremony feted the first graduates of Marymount California University, which came to Lake County several years ago to offer local residents a new and more significant educational opportunity.
It's been just under three and a half years since the county of Lake and Marymount California University celebrated the lease agreement to bring the first four-year university to Lake County and house it in the former Lucerne Hotel, the stately white castle on the hill overlooking Lucerne and Clear Lake.
That agreement, formalized in October 2012, followed the county's purchase and renovation of the 1920s-era building, a landmark which for years had passed from one owner to another before finding its greatest purpose as a university campus.
The dream of giving Lake County residents more opportunities to advance their education got under way in the fall of 2014, when classes began at the campus.
When it was time to confer degrees on the first round of graduates, having a graduation ceremony in Lucerne was the natural option, allowing the graduates to celebrate at home with friends and family, according to Campus Executive Director Michelle Scully.
Scully said Marymount California University's main campus in Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California had its commencement last week.
Speaking at the event were Scully, who has guided the new campus through its infancy; university Board of Trustees member Kelly Cox, the county of Lake's former county administrative officer who championed the county's purchase of the former Lucerne Hotel and worked to turn it into an educational institution; graduate Barbara Clark; Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg; degree candidates Dawn McElroy and Dawn Spurling; and Dr. Ariane Schauer, the university's provost and executive vice president.
Cox delivered the commencement proclamation. “We're not only recognizing an enormous accomplishment for the graduates, who will be receiving their degrees, we're also celebrating a long-awaited milestone for Lake County,” he said.
“The existence of an accredited four-year university in Lake County has been a dream many of us have had for a very long time,” he said. “It's now a dream come true, and the fact that it's happening in this magnificent, historic building is the icing on the cake.”
He told the graduates that they will always have a special and unique distinction thanks to being the first to graduate from the campus.
Cox thanked the Board of Supervisors, the Marymount California University Board of Trustees, Schauer and everyone else who shared the vision of making the campus a reality. He singled Scully out for special recognition, saying no one has worked harder to make the campus a success and support the students.
He told them they will be rewarded for doing things that help others. If they choose to remain in Lake County – which he said he hopes they do – they will have the opportunity to become part of the new generation of community leaders.
“Trust me when I tell you, you can make a difference in this community,” he said. “You really can, I know you can. And the rewards you'll receive for doing so will be great.”
Graduating student Barbara Clark gave the student address, explaining that many of them had to overcome obstacles to go back to school.
“We're not the typical class,” she said, adding that they also were a team.
Clark said the class was presenting the university with the gift of a new bench.
During the ceremony, Scully said her colleagues at the main Rancho Palos Verdes campus call those at the Lakeside Campus pioneers.
Pioneers left the place that they knew for a place of opportunity, trading a sense of comfort for a better life, she explained. “That has been very much like our journey here.”
She reminded them that the most interesting people have been broken, mended and broken again, and she urged them to shine their unique light in a dark world and into places where many are afraid to look.
During her remarks, graduating student Dawn McElroy recalled first visiting the campus. “I could tell great things were going to happen here, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
She thanked those who have made the campus a reality through dedication, leadership and a lot of hard work. Congratulating her fellow graduates, she said, “We made it, and we're just beginning.”
Dr. Schauer conferred the degrees on the graduates, saying she believed their time at the campus has strengthened their dedication to community and their readiness to have a greater impact in it.
“Together we have invested in a grand experiment,” one she said was fueled with a dream, courage and the will to do.
Schauer also credited Scully with embodying the Marymount values of integrity, service and leadership, presenting her with a plaque signed by her colleagues.
A pioneering group
The pioneering graduating class of 2016 includes individuals from a variety of backgrounds. Many are parents, most have previous work experience and associate's degrees, some wanted to advance their education to improve their job prospects.
Spurling shared that she has physical disabilities that provided her with an additional challenge. Many of them are volunteers for community groups.
Others found themselves focusing in on new directions as they learned more about their fields. That was the case for Nate Maxman, who received his Bachelor of Arts degree in business.
He had intended to pursue a career in government finance, but his schooling led him in a new direction – a newly realized passion for nonprofit finance.
Getting his degree – which he did with a grade point average of more than 3.7 – took more than the average dedication.
Maxman and wife Jacqueline both work and have three small, energetic children. Even with his family and school commitments, he still found time to regularly volunteer at the warming shelter run by the Lake Ministerial Association earlier this year. He would sit up through the night at the warming shelter, keeping an eye on things and also working on his university assignments.
Maxman said he's debating where to do his master's degree – either at Marymount or possibly elsewhere – while also considering a local job prospect.
Spurling, another graduate with highest distinction in business, came to Marymount California University with three associate degrees – two from Yuba College and one from Mendocino College.
Those community colleges have partnered with Marymount California University to create a seamless program for students moving forward to receiving their bachelor's degrees.
“What an incredible experience,” said Spurling, accompanied by friends and her brother – who had kept after her about getting her homework done.
“Hopefully, we'll be the first of many” more graduates to come, she said after the ceremony.
Spurling, whose degree has an emphasis in management and entrepreneurship, is still looking at what she's going to do next. Her degree has given her more options.
Clark, who received a bachelor's degree in business with highest distinction, went back to school in order to expand her chances for advancement at her current job.
She's already begun her master's degree program at the Lakeside Campus, and said she is a third of the way through it.
“My plan is to remain in Lake County,” she said, with the goal of using her education to make this part of the world a better place.
The graduation was the end of a few whirlwind days at Lakeside Campus.
On Tuesday, new Marymount California University President Dr. Lucas Lamadrid paid a visit and met with the graduates at an evening reception.
Lamadrid was named the Catholic university's seventh president in March, succeeding Dr. Michael Brophy, who chose to open the third campus in Lucerne.
Lamadrid said the theme of his presidency will be “friendship,” explaining that he was inspired by the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, who in his “Summa Theologica” describes how humans were created for friendship with God.
While Lamadrid had hoped to stay for the graduation, he was called back to Southern California in order to meet with Archbishop of Los Angeles José Gomez.
At the end of hosting the new president and orchestrating the campus' first graduation, Scully said she was “elated, exhausted and really thrilled for the graduating students.”
After a brief breather, it will be time to start working on preparing for the fall semester. Enrollment numbers have been going up, more classes have been added, and Scully said they are now handling inquiries and applications for the fall.
Information about the Lakeside Campus and its educational programs can be found at http://www.marymountcalifornia.edu/lakeside/explore . Follow the campus on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MarymountLakeside/ .
The full list of graduates, their degrees and honors are listed below.
CANDIDATES FOR THE BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREES
Bachelor of Arts in Business
Barbara J. Clark, with highest distinction (3.9 to 4.0 grade point average), member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Natasha Ray Ann Cornett
LaKeeta Mari Grant, with high distinction (3.7 to 3.89 GPA), member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Nathanael Maxman, with high distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Dawn L. Spurling, with highest distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Juan C. Valadez
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts
Erin Rose Wurm, with high distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Ernest Jamarr Jones
Linda A. Jones, member of Psi Chi
Nichole Lorensen
Sam Lindsey Massette, graduating with distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma and Psi Chi
Dawn C. McElroy, with highest distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Sharon Marie Maher Moranda, with highest distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma and Psi Chi
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Supervisors support reduced crappie bag limit on Clear Lake
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gave unanimous support to sending a letter to the California Fish and Game Commission seeking a reduction in the bag limit for crappie on Clear Lake.
A part of the sunfish family, the crappie is a popular game fish.
With 2016 proving an exceptional year for crappie on Clear Lake, the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee asked the supervisors to support reducing the bag limit from 25 crappie per day per angler, in possession, to 10 due to the amount of fishing for crappie that has been taking place.
Eleven years ago, the Board of Supervisors made a similar request to the state.
Terry Knight, a member of the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee and a longtime outdoors columnist for the Lake County Record-Bee, appeared on behalf of committee Chair Greg Giusti to ask for approval of the request.
Knight said that at the last committee meeting, the members discussed and unanimously passed the request to reduce the crappie limit. He said the committee believes that excess amounts of the fish are being taken by huge numbers of people right now.
As an example, he said that, as of two weeks ago, a ranger at Clear Lake State Park had reported that 800 to 1,200 crappie were being removed from the lake daily, and that in the space of one week thousands of the fish were being caught and removed.
Knight said most of the fish aren't being taken by local residents but by people from the Bay Area.
He said that two weeks ago he saw about 118 people at the shore fishing. All of them had ice chests filled with crappie of every size.
“We think it should be reduced to 10,” said Knight, adding that 10 “is plenty for anybody.”
He said the committee was asking for the supervisors to forward the letter asking for the reduced crappie bag limit – just for Lake County – to the California Fish and Game Commission.
At a committee meeting last week, Knight said local game wardens stated that they believe that crappie are being sold to Bay Area restaurants.
Board Chair Rob Brown asked if anyone has been cited for overfishing. Knight said some have been, including one group of individuals who had as many as 130 crappie. He said a California Fish and Wildlife biologist removed 26 pounds of roe – or eggs – from the fish.
Knight told the board that it's estimated that crappie are being sold for $5 for two to Bay Area restaurants, “which is illegal by the way.”
According to Knight, he said he's been out to the shoreline and seen people with so many crappie that they're spilling out of ice chests and onto the ground. “It's going to hurt our fishery in the end.”
The supervisors voiced support for the reduced bag limit, although Supervisor Jim Steele cautioned against making it a matter of fish size, not numbers. Knight agreed, saying the committee supported a total limit based on number.
Brown said that as a child growing up in Lake County, it was fun to go out to the piers and catch lots of crappie. Then the bass were brought in and they started eating all the crappie. “It's good to see them all come back,” Brown said of the crappie.
Knight said it was the opinion of Lt. Loren Freeman, a Lake County warden for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, that if the limit is dropped to 10, fewer people will drive up from the Bay Area to catch crappie on Clear Lake.
Supervisor Jim Comstock asked how rapidly the reduced bag limit could be implemented. Knight estimated by the first of the year. Comstock said that the wheels grind slowly, and Brown reminded them that the request previously had been made in 2005.
Steele suggested that the board could send someone to the next state Fish and Game Commission meeting in an effort to speed up the process.
The board approved the letter 4-0, with Supervisor Jeff Smith absent from the meeting.
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Clearlake City Council to consider applicants for vacant council seat
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Thursday the Clearlake City Council will consider selecting one of several applicants to fill a council seat vacated in March.
On Monday, the city issued an amended agenda for the meeting, which will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 12, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
In March, Denise Loustalot, the city's former mayor, left the council after she and her family moved just outside the city limits, as Lake County News has reported.
On April 14, the council directed City Clerk Melissa Swanson to advertise the vacancy and accept applications through May 4, according to a report from Swanson.
Swanson said she received a total of nine applications, which were reviewed by an ad hoc committee that included Mayor Russ Perdock, Vice Mayor Gina Fortino Dickson and Planning Commission Chair Nathalie Antus.
That ad hoc committee reviewed the applicants and recommended the council consider four of them: doctoral candidate Aqeela El-Amin Bakheit; Nick Bennett, a retired law enforcement officer who worked for nearly 20 years with the Clearlake Police Department; local businessman Phil Harris; and former mayor, Joey Luiz.
Swanson's report said staff is recommending that the council interview the four candidates and then appoint the most qualified on a majority vote.
Loustalot's term runs out at the end of this year.
Also on the agenda is the proposed award of a $62,234 contract to Wahlberg Inc. for the demolition of two structures located at 14061 Lakeshore Drive, the old Austin Resort; a memorandum of understanding with the Konocti Unified School District for two school resources officers; and presentations of proclamations declaring May 15 to 21 as Peace Officers' Appreciation Week and May 2016 as Military Appreciation Month.
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Plan, possible locations for Hope City dormitory discussed at Monday meeting
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A special town hall meeting in Middletown gave community members the chance to weigh in on where to build a dormitory building to house volunteers who will build homes for survivors of last year's wildland fires.
Board of Supervisors Chair Rob Brown hosted the hourlong meeting at the Middletown Senior Center on Monday evening, with more than 70 people in attendance.
Hope City, a ministry of the Hope Crisis Response Network, plans to build 140 houses over the next several years for south county residents whose homes burned last year in the Valley fire. About a dozen of those fire survivors were at the Monday meeting.
According to Brown, half of those homes will be built for people who lost their insurance a month before the fire due to the Rocky fire.
The organization said it needs to house up to 60 volunteers at a time, with volunteers paying their own way to come from across the United States and Canada to work for a week at a time on the rebuilding effort.
The 5,000-square-foot dormitory will cost an estimated $260,000 to build, with $200,000 of that raised so far by Hope City, Brown said. The organization's volunteers also will build the dorm structure.
Brown updated the Middletown Area Town Hall, or MATH, in March about the project, which was discussed several times by the Board of Supervisors.
In April the supervisors unanimously approved a resolution to build the dormitory – and no other buildings – on a small portion of the 107-acre Trailside Park outside of Middletown, as Lake County News has reported.
However, concerns raised by community members led to Brown coming back to hold the town hall and gather additional input.
Kevin Cox, founder and chief executive officer of the Hope Crisis Response Network, was on hand to explain the organization's goals and what they're seeking.
“Everything that we've always done has been a gift,” he said, and they've considered that a gift from God.
Not only are they planning to build homes for Valley fire survivors, but the first application for a family left homeless by the Rocky fire was just approved, he said.
The Hope Crisis Response Network has extensive knowledge on disasters and has written a number of key manuals on the subject, Cox said.
Locally, the organization is a partner with Team Lake County and has been working in the county since Sept. 15, he said.
So far, they have completed one home and have five others in process, including on one Wardlaw where the first floor is going up and another project where they're about to pour the foundation, according to Cox.
“We have enough resources to build approximately 45 homes right now,” he said. It was noted during the meeting that those funds are coming from private resources.
The problem, said Cox, is that they don't have enough room to house the volunteers, as it's hard to find accommodations in the community. In the case of the Rocky fire home rebuild, Cox would explain later that the volunteers were having to camp at the site.
Cox said that originally they had a site for the building at the Middletown Bible Church. However, some of the donors putting up the funds didn't think it was right to give the building to the church afterward.
“We want to listen to them and we want to listen to you,” he said.
Volunteers spend their money to get to Lake County, and also spend money in the community where they're staying. They need a place close by the building sites to stay, Cox said, adding that the program is successful because the organization takes good care of its volunteers.
The dormitory plan calls for room for 60 beds, 12 showers and a full, working kitchen, Cox said.
Brown emphasized that no county money is being spent, and all of Hope City's donations will be spent locally, with the organization having an agreement to purchase supplies at Kelseyville Lumber.
He showed a sketch of the metal dormitory building, which he had suggested be designed to look like a barn in order to fit in with the community.
Brown had, himself, offered to donate property on Bottle Rock Road for the building, but because it was on private property, that plan – and other offers of private land – didn't meet with the requirements of donors.
A reason for suggesting the building be placed at Trailside Park, Brown said, is because after Hope City is done with the building and turns it back over to the county, it could be used for a camp facility for 4-H or other youth organizations like the Boy Scouts.
The county purchased the property with state park bond money so it had some restrictions. Kati Galvani – the county's deputy Public Services director who also was on hand for the meeting – made some calls, Brown said, and the state approved placing the building at the park.
He said state officials approved the proposal because of the Valley fire disaster and the tremendous need to build the new homes.
“We've got to do everything we can to get these people back into homes,” he said.
Brown said that once the county takes possession of the building, the county could enter into a memorandum of understanding with the University of California Cooperative Extension, which runs 4-H, to oversee the use of the building, which also can be rented out for other events.
He said that the best spot for the building – for purposes of security, visibility, and easy ingress/egress – seemed to be the side of the park on Highway 175. However, he said it also could be placed on the Dry Creek side.
The other extreme, Brown said, is to tell the organization that they don't want the building. However, he added, “We want them here.”
Supervisor Jim Comstock echoed Brown's concerns about getting people back into homes. “We want to see everybody come back that can,” he said. “We are wanting to rebuild our community.”
Cox reported during the meeting that Hope City lost all of its volunteers for May because they couldn't guarantee housing. He said they need to find a solution because home projects are now getting pushed back.
Most of those who spoke at the meeting confirmed support for the building but brought up concerns about the park site ranging from traffic to the location of the building close to their homes, allowable uses at the site, the fact the site is in a flood zone, the precedent of putting a building at the park, septic and water well needs, and alternative sites – many, again, being held privately.
Brown said they remain open to alternative sites, with at least three acres needed for the Hope City dormitory but up to 10 for a site that could be used for a youth camp facility later.
While many of the alternative sites brought up at the meeting were disqualified for various reasons, there were several locations suggested that may prove workable.
One location, suggested by MATH Vice Chair Claude Brown, is the former site of the US Coast Guard LORAN station, located in a remote area off of Grange Road.
The site was decommissioned in May 2010. The property is 1,200 acres and has a 10,000 square foot building where operations were headquartered.
In October 2013, federal officials dismantled the station's 625-foot-tall tower, which was recycled, the Coast Guard told Lake County News. The Coast Guard also has intended to sell the property, which at one time had been slated to be transferred to the county.
Brown said he would contact Congressman Mike Thompson's office to find out about the LORAN property availability.
Another possibility is the county's sewer pond and spray fields property, which consists of several hundred acres off of Highway 175, and the Middletown Central Park Association's property.
Community member Jody Galvan asked about the size of Trailside Park. When someone responded with 107 acres, she asked why the community couldn't share three acres of it for a great project.
Cox said Hope City even had an offer to build the dormitory on the Middletown Rancheria, but again the issue came down to the donors not wanting the building to go to a private entity or business interests.
Brown said that by the Thursday MATH meeting he expected to have an answer on whether the sewer ponds site would work. He may not have an answer on the LORAN facility by that point.
Getting the location nailed down will allow Hope City to move forward with the project's architectural drawings, which Cox said are on hold as they need to be crafted for a specific property.
Once they've settled on a site, Cox said the architect can have the plans done in three days, and the goal is that the dormitory will be built within 60 days, he said.
At the end of the meeting, Comstock presented Cox with a check for $500 sent by a women's group in Merced County.
Brown told Lake County News after the meeting that he plans to begin following up on Tuesday on the Middletown Central Park property, the sewer ponds facility, the Dry Creek side of the Trailside Park as well as the LORAN site.
He invited anyone with ideas or concerns about the project to contact him at 707-349-2628.
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