How to resolve AdBlock issue? Butts Fire jumps in size; evacuations continue
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A fire just inside the Napa County border is continuing to burn up large amounts of acreage, as fire resources from around the region arrive to help fight it.
The Butts Fire was first reported at 12:08 p.m. off of Butts Canyon Road in Pope Valley, just inside Napa County, as Lake County News has reported.
Initially, the fire was reported to have been about 30 acres, but by 5:30 p.m. reports from the scene indicated it had jumped to some 2,500 acres, with containment at 30 percent.
Evacuations had been ordered from the west side of the 7800 block of Butts Canyon Rd to north of Snell Valley Road and in Berryessa Estates, but for those residents who hadn't left the estates by 5 p.m. they were ordered to shelter in place, according to radio reports.
The Red Cross had set up an evacuation shelter at Middletown High School for Berryessa Estates residents who were able to leave their homes.
Thad Owens, a principal and emergency response coordinator for the Middletown Unified School District, said the Red Cross and school officials are on site with food and water for the evacuees at Middletown High School.
South County Supervisor Jim Comstock left a special Board of Supervisors meeting shortly before 7 p.m. in order to help with the evacuations.
The fire has been burning in a northeast direction. Early Tuesday evening, fire officials at the scene reported that the wind on the fire is starting to shift and come from the north.
Additional strike teams from around the region are responding, as well as tankers and air resources, based on radio reports. Some of the strike teams were being assigned to structure protection.
Butts Canyon Road remains closed at Highway 29 near Middletown, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Additional details will be posted as they become available.
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New report shows significant drop in county's cat euthanasia rate
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The effort to reduce Lake County's high cat euthanasia rate is producing big results, according to the county's Animal Care and Control director, who also is preparing to roll out a new program in July.
On Monday, as the 2013-14 fiscal year came to a close, Director Bill Davidson was busy crunching the numbers as part of producing his annual report on Animal Care and Control operations, and he said the news is promising.
Davidson said that cat euthanasia rates in Lake County – which in the last several years were the worst in the state – have shown a significant drop.
Over the last three years, cat euthanasia has been cut in half, the numbers showed.
In the 2011-12 year, 87 percent of the cats brought into the shelter were euthanized, according to Davidson's report.
At the same time, the “live release rate” – the number by which Davidson said most shelters determine their success – was 33 percent that year.
Then, in 2012-13, the county instituted its “community cat program,” which encourages people to bring in feral cats to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated in order to be returned to the community.
Those cats have traditionally made up a large part of the animals brought into the shelter and euthanized, according to Davidson.
At the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year, the first year of the community cat program's implementation, euthanasia was reduced from 87 percent to 52 percent for cats, and the live release rate climbed from 33 percent to 54 percent, he said.
For the 2013-14 fiscal year, the cat euthanasia rate dropped still further, reaching 43 percent, with the live release rate rising again, to 59 percent, Davidson said.
Davidson called the 44-percent drop in euthanasia over the last three years “huge,” crediting the community cat program with that improvement.
“It's a big deal,” Davidson said.
State numbers had shown that in 2011 Lake ranked as having the highest cat euthanasia of all of California's 58 counties. However, the new numbers now place Lake back at around No. 10, Davidson said.
Davidson said dog euthanasia has never been as high a problem, with the current dog euthanasia rate at 33 percent, which is about the state average.
Davidson said another impact on the euthanasia numbers is the removal of the stats for owner surrenders for animals that are sick or dying.
He said it's not part of the animal shelter system but is an affordable service offered to the community, and so didn't belong in that statistical reporting.
The other impact from the community cat program is a drop in intake for cats overall of between 5 and 7 percent this year, Davidson reported, with dog intake down by about 11 percent.
Among intakes, newborn kittens also are decreasing, as are animals that are sick or injured, he said, while feral cat intake has increased slightly.
The numbers of newborns are a statistic Davidson is watching closely because of the expected impact of the spaying and neutering of community cats.
As part of the efforts to continue to improve Animal Care and Control's cat-related programs, July kicks off the beginning of a new county policy that Davidson said is meant to complement the community cat program.
Last December the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new stray cat intake policy that requires a $15 dropoff fee for one cat or $25 for a litter of kittens.
Davidson said that program is an alternative when people don't want to participate in the community cat program and take the cats back after they are altered and vaccinated. In those cases, the shelter will attempt to adopt out the animals.
The fees – which are common in other counties – are meant to help the shelter to offer better care to the cats it takes in, Davidson told the board.
Does Davidson expect more improvements in the cat-related statistics years to come?
“I do,” he said.
Next year, Davidson said he believes he will see some kind of shift resulting from the new dropoff policy along with a continued drop in the number of newborns taken to the shelter.
Because of the changes in policy and funding, Davidson said, the county's trap-neuter-release program will now always be in existence.
Visit Lake County Animal Care and Control online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
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Lakeport City Council to honor retirees, discuss National Night Out plans
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week will honor the city's retiring fire chief and police records supervisor, and discuss plans for the city's participation this year in National Night Out.
The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
On Tuesday the council will present a proclamation to Ken Wells, who is retiring from the chief's job at the Lakeport Fire Department. Wells took over the job in 2007 and has a total of 44 years in the fire service.
Ellen Dills, who has worked for the Lakeport Police Department for 34 years and is the records supervisor, also will receive a proclamation honoring her for her service.
In council business, City Engineer Scott Harter will present to the council a five-year contract with Mediacom for dedicated Internet access and a fiber agreement, at a cost of $1,034 per month.
Public Works Director Mark Brannigan will go to the council to seek a budget amendment in the amount of $34,500 for contract services to prep Parallel Drive for chip sealing. He'll also seek the council's authorization for City Manager Margaret Silveira to sign a purchase order for the services.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen will discuss with the council plans for the city's participation in the National Night Out block party, scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 5.
Rasmussen is seeking the council's approval to hold the event at the Natural High School site on N. Main Street along with authorization for staff to carry out the necessary road closures.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; the warrant register for June 23; minutes from the June 17 council meeting; approval of Application No. 2014-14 for the Lake County Rodeo Association for its annual Lake County Rodeo Parade on Saturday, July 12, at 11 a.m. on Main Street; receipt and filing of the 2014 Local Agency Biennial Notice regarding the City of Lakeport's Conflict of Interest Code; and authorization for staff to send the proposed letter of support for a League Resolution relating to the environmental and public safety impacts of illegal marijuana grows.
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Supervisors to certify final election canvass, consider marijuana dispensary rules
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting this week to accept the final results of the June 3 election and hold an initial reading of proposed regulations to allow medical marijuana dispensaries.
The board will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
At 6:10 p.m. the board will consider a resolution accepting the official canvass and the statement of votes cast for the Statewide Direct Primary Election held on June 3 and declaring, as appropriate, certain individuals duly elected to specific constitutional offices.
Registrar Diane Fridley had not submitted the resolution to the County Administrative Office by the end of day Friday.
She has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to complete certifying the count. That work had included counting approximately 6,053 absentee and provisional ballots.
As of Friday, the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office was the last county election office in California to still be working on the final canvass, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Also on Tuesday, at 6:15 p.m. the board will hold a public hearing to consider a proposed ordinance establishing regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries.
Dispensaries have not been allowed in the unincorporated area of Lake County since 2011.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
7.1: Accept grant in the amount of $7,500 from the Department of Food & Agriculture for spaying and neutering pit bulls and authorize Animal Care and Control director to execute any documents pertaining to said grant.
7.2: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Pavement Engineering Inc. for Geotechnical Engineering Services for the Socrates Mine Road Rehabilitation Project in Lake County and authorize the chair to sign.
7.3: Approve agreement between county of Lake and Wilbur H. Dixon dba MGI-Madeira Group International for FY14/15 Law Enforcement Pre-employment Background Investigations, not to exceed $20,000 and authorize the chair to sign.
7.4: Approve helicopter contracts with Sierra Air and A&P helicopters for FY 2014/15, in the amount of $75,000 and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
8.1, 6:05 p.m.: Public input.
8.2, 6:10 p.m.: Consideration of resolution accepting official canvass and the statement of votes cast for the Statewide Direct Primary Election held on June 3, 2014, and declaring, as appropriate, certain individuals duly elected to specific constitutional offices
8.3, 6:15 p.m.: Public hearing, consideration of proposed ordinance amending Chapter 11 of the Ordinance Code of the County of Lake adding Article III: Regulations for the dispensing of medical marijuana.
UNTIMED ITEMS
9.2: Consideration of a) letter requesting to participate in a pilot program addressing unlawful occupation of residential property as proposed by AB 1513; or b) letter only expressing support of AB 1513.
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Supervisors to consider final election canvass at special Tuesday meeting; count still under way
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors will meet in a special evening session next Tuesday to take up, among other things, the final canvass for the June 3 election.
The board will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse.
Along with the final canvass results, the board also will have the first reading of a proposed medical marijuana dispensaries ordinance.
Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to complete the count, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Fridley's office is the last of the 58 county election offices statewide to complete the final count for the June 3 primary, according to the unprocessed ballot posted by the California Secretary of State's Office on Friday.
The last report Fridley's office gave the state on its count was on the afternoon of June 10, when it reported that 5,263 absentees, 743 provisionals and 47 “other” ballots – defined by the Secretary of State's Office as those that are damaged that the machine could not read and had to be remade, and ballots diverted by optical scanners for further review – were uncounted, for a total of 6,053 ballots total.
With several key county races having tight margins, increased pressure has been on Fridley as she has worked to certify the final election results during this year's 28-day primary canvass period.
After election night, sheriff's candidate Brian Martin appeared to have won the race outright with 51.4 percent of the vote, compared to incumbent Frank Rivero's 25.9 percent and retired Clearlake Police Chief Bob Chalk's 22.7 percent.
Martin needs at least 50 percent of the vote plus one additional vote to avoid having a November runoff with Rivero.
The race for assessor-recorder also is tight, with Richard Ford leading with 50.1 percent of the vote, followed by Sorhna Li Jordan with 26.6 percent and Logan Weiper with 23.3 percent, based on the initial tally completed early June 4.
Other close races include those for the seats to represent District 2 and District 3 on the Board of Supervisors.
Incumbent Jeff Smith emerged on election night leading in the District 2 race, with 45 percent of the vote to 27.9 and 27.1 percent for challengers Jeri Spittler and Joyce Overton, respectively. Only 11 votes separated Spittler's and Overton's placement in the initial count.
In the race for District 3, Jim Steele was well ahead of the field coming out of election night with 32.4 percent of the vote, with the race being for second place for the November runoff.
The early count indicates John Brosnan, with 19.2 percent, is in second place, followed by Marv Butler with 17 percent, Herb Gura with 14.8 percent, James Brown with 11.2 percent and Mark Currier with 5.4 percent.
There also is anticipation for the final count on the referendum Measure N, which would implement regulations for medical marijuana cultivation.
The election night initial count had the measure in the lead with a “yes” vote of 52.6 percent to “no” votes totaling 47.4 percent.
As a result of the continuing canvass, Lake County is in the position of deciding the tight state controller's race, which has Democrats John Pérez and Betty Yee in a statistical dead heat to represent the Democratic Party on the November ballot.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office reported on Friday that with all counties – except for Lake – having submitted final canvass results, Yee is leading with 877,263 to Pérez's 876,402 votes.
The initial count Fridley's office released early on the morning of June 4 had Pérez leading Yee in Lake County, 26 percent – or 2,326 votes – to 18.6 percent, or 1,662 votes, indicating the possibility of a trend in Pérez's favor.
Bowen's press office told Lake County News that the Secretary of State's Web site reports are based on the most current information provided by the counties.
As of Friday, Fridley's office had not given the County Administrative Office a report for the Tuesday meeting, and Fridley did not respond to a message from Lake County News on the status of the count.
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