Getting his shot: Teen with cerebral palsy takes to the basketball court

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Life is made up of many little stitched-together miracles, moments of capability that some may take for granted, but which others – who face personal challenges – dream of having.

For many teens, dribbling a basketball down a court and participating in a game would be one of those taken-for-granted moments, but for one local youngster, getting the chance to go out on the court and make a basket was, well, a pretty big deal.

Jaden Bussard, 13, is an eighth grader at Terrace Middle School. His parents are Jared and Tiffany Bussard, and he has a little sister, Presley.

This year he's student body president and team manager for the eighth grade boys' basketball team. He's an “A” student who is a member of California Junior Scholarship Federation, 4-H and Junior Interact.

Next year he'll be entering high school. His favorite subjects in schools are math and history. He likes to draw and wants to be a graphic designer.

“The kids love him,” said Mike Damiata, now in his fourth year of coaching eighth grade basketball for the school.

Jaden has a great personality, and jokes and laughs with his fellow students and teammates. “He’s just one of the guys,” said Damiata.

“He has always wanted to play sports,” said Tiffany Bussard.

But that desire has come with one big obstacle – cerebral palsy. Jaden was born with it.

Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that impairs motor and muscle function. Those who have it have a number of physical challenges includes balance, muscle control and coordination, control of motor skills and speech.

Tiffany Bussard said her son had major surgery at Shriner's Hospital last January to straighten his legs.

Specifically, surgeons cut his femurs in half and rotated them, she said.

The teen still carries the hardware around in his legs, with screws in his ankles and rods and crews in his femurs.

Jaden also has worked at the Sutter Lakeside Mobility Park to improve his strength and coordination.

“I've been able to be a little bit more flexible and I can jump,” he said, noting his body is straightening and he's continuing to work on his physical therapy at home.

“It's gotten better,” he said.

However, his mom, added, “It's been a long, long road.”

When Jaden was younger, he played in a youth soccer league for five years – and has the five trophies to prove it – but recently, “I've been getting into basketball.”

It's not that he enjoys being a spectator or watching professional players. “I just enjoyed playing it,” he said.

So he went out for the Terrace Middle School basketball team, the season for which runs from the end of November until the first week of March, Damiata said.

Damiata said there is competition for spots on the team, with tryouts and cuts.

Jaden gave his all during the tryouts, according to his mom – running until he was nauseous from the effort.

So while Jaden didn't make it onto the team as a player, he was made the manager, and took on a set of duties including keeping statistics at games and helping with equipment.

Jaden is at most practices, and works out along with the team, although he doesn't have a uniform, Damiata said.

“He is part of the team. There is no doubt about it,” Damiata said.

Tiffany Bussard and Mike Damiata's wife, Rachelle, are friends, and had talked about Jaden having the chance to play at some point.

Then, the chance came in a game against Cloverdale on Dec. 1, Tiffany Bussard said.

Mike Damiata said the Cloverdale team's coach asked if they could have an extra three minutes of play at the end of the game, as he had a player with autism who he wanted to give the chance to play.

Damiata replied that he also had a player he wanted to get some court time – Jaden.

“I was sitting on the bench and I was keeping stats when one of my friends came up that was on the team and he asked if I want to play, and I'm all, 'Sure,'” Jaden recounted.

His friend gave him his jersey, which Jaden slipped on. He didn't have time to change the rest of his clothes, so he headed out onto the court wearing jeans and sneakers.

Jaden can be seen in the video above, running to the right and heading toward the basket.

A teammate passed him the ball and he took a shot. He missed.

Another teammate got the rebound and passed the ball back to Jaden, who set up and took another shot.

This time, it was almost all net.

“It felt awesome,” Jaden said.

“Everyone was cheering,” Tiffany Bussard said.

“It was great. He was so excited,” said Damiata.

Damiata said Jaden got a wonderful reaction from the crowd.

As he's looking at the rest of the season ahead, and even high school beyond, Jaden is realistic about the fact that he likely won't pursue other sports.

“I can’t do a whole bunch,” he said.

However, the experience on the court earlier this month meant a great deal to him, and has been an inspiration.

Even with challenges – especially the big ones that are hard to see around – it's important not to give up.

“Just follow what you would like to do,” he said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Appellate court sides with Rivero in appeal over scope of 'Brady' officer legal representation

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A state appellate court has ruled that Lake County's outgoing sheriff was entitled to a more extended period of outside legal representation – and, therefore, more attorney's fees – in his effort to dispute the district attorney's decision to place him on a list of officers with credibility issues.

In an unsigned decision issued Friday morning, justices with the First Appellate District Division Three ruled in favor of Sheriff Frank Rivero, who contended that he was entitled to representation coverage beyond District Attorney Don Anderson's decision to place him on the “Brady” list of officers in early 2013.

Starting shortly after Rivero took office in January 2011, Anderson – who also had just taken over district attorney duties – investigated Rivero for having allegedly given conflicting statements to investigators about his actions during a February 2008 incident in which he shot at an unarmed man. The man was not injured.

The lengthy investigation resulted in Anderson placing Rivero on the “Brady list” in February 2013. Anderson’s investigation found that Rivero had lied to investigators about the circumstances of the shooting.

The “Brady list” is named for the 1963 US Supreme Court decision, Brady v. Maryland, which requires the government to release to criminal defendants any potentially exculpatory evidence, including information about the credibility of peace officers involved in their cases.

Days after the Brady ruling, Rivero sought a restraining order against Anderson to block the disclosure of his Brady listing. However, in early March 2013 retired Butte County Superior Court Judge William Lamb denied Rivero's request for the restraining order but allowed him to move forward with seeking a preliminary injunction and writ of mandate.

In May 2013, Lamb would throw out Rivero's case against Anderson, who filed an Anti-SLAPP motion, meant to address “strategic lawsuits against public participation.”

That same month, visiting Mendocino County Judge Richard Henderson offered a clarification of a ruling he made in 2012 in which he had required the Board of Supervisors to hire outside counsel for Rivero because of a conflict of interest in the County Counsel's Office.

In that 2013 ruling, Henderson said it hadn't been his intention to require the county to continue paying for Rivero's legal counsel past the final Brady determination, and he ordered an amended judgment and writ of mandate stating that the independent counsel he had directed the county to hire for Rivero “shall not extend to any post-determination representation or litigation,” as Lake County News has reported.

Two months later, Rivero filed the appeal of Henderson's decision.

The current decision

Rivero's attorney, Paul Coble of the Southern California-based Jones and Mayer law firm, and Thomas Creggar of Cregger & Chalfant LLP, the firm representing the county – which the board is paying for partially through funds it transferred from the sheriff's own accounts in July 2013 – argued and submitted their sides of the case on Dec. 10.

During those oral arguments, Rivero's counsel stated “that there is no longer any pending legal challenge to the district attorney’s decision to designate Rivero as a Brady officer. According to counsel, that legal challenge came to a conclusion at around the same time the trial court issued its amended judgment in this case.”

The appellate decision – rendered by Administrative Presiding Justice William McGuiness and associate justices Stuart Pollak and Peter Siggins – reversed Henderson's amended judgment and writ of mandate.

The justices agreed with Rivero, who had argued that the trial court erred in limiting the scope of the representation to which he was entitled.

“His right to independent counsel should have extended to a legal challenge to the district attorney’s designation of the sheriff as a Brady officer while Rivero served as sheriff,” the opinion said.

The court also agreed with Rivero that “once the court has made the necessary findings supporting the county’s duty to provide independent counsel for the assessor or sheriff, the court generally cannot place limitations on the manner in which independent counsel carries out its representation, except to define the issue or matter that is the subject of the representation.”

The ruling orders the trial court to enter “a new and different judgment providing that Rivero is entitled to a peremptory writ of mandate commanding the board of supervisors to contract with and employ independent counsel” pursuant to California Government Code Section 31000.6.

That code covers circumstances in which a board of supervisors should employ legal legal counsel to assist the assessor or the sheriff in the performance of their duties in any case where the county counsel or the district attorney would have a conflict of interest in offering the sheriff or assess representation.

That independent counsel, the appellate court said, is “to represent Rivero during his tenure as sheriff in challenging the district attorney's announced intention and final decision to identify and list Rivero as a Brady officer. The amended judgment and writ of mandate shall specify that the county's duty pursuant to section 31000.6 extends to reimbursing Rivero for fees and costs incurred by him in employing independent counsel for this purpose while he was serving as sheriff. Rivero shall recover his costs on appeal.”

The decision also states, “For purposes of clarification, although our disposition commands the board of supervisors to employ independent counsel for Rivero, that directive relates back to the judgment originally entered by the trial court. Therefore, the practical effect of our disposition is to require the county to pay for the attorney fees and costs previously incurred by Rivero in employing independent counsel to challenge the district attorney’s Brady officer designation.”

County Counsel Anita Grant told Lake County News on Friday that she didn't know if the county would take further action – such as an appeal of the ruling.

“That is up to the Board of Supervisors,” she said.

Grant also didn't have a full dollar figure for what Rivero's legal fees would cost the county.

The last specific dollar amount that the county was able to offer was just over $70,300 through June 30, 2013.

However, it's expected that the amount has far surpassed that previous figure due to the cost of the appellate process.

“I would expect some sort of itemized billing,” Grant said.

The case won't go before the Board of Supervisors until next month at the earliest, as the board had its last meeting of the year on Tuesday.

By the time the board does make a decision, Rivero will no longer be sheriff.

He was defeated in his bid for a second term in June, with Sheriff-elect Brian Martin to be sworn in on Jan. 6.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

121914 First District Appellate decision on Rivero attorney fees

030413 Lake County District Attorney's Final Report Regarding Sheriff Rivero Brady determination by LakeCoNews

Lakeport Police Department offers holiday safety tips

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The holidays are rapidly approaching and the Lakeport Police Department is offering the community important safety tips.

Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said  traffic safety will be extremely important during this time of year as pedestrian and vehicular traffic increase due to holiday travelers.

In addition to the increase in traffic, inclement weather is likely to continue, resulting in city streets being slippery with limited visibility during heavy rains, Rasmussen said.

He urged community members to take extra care to watch for pedestrians while driving around Lakeport and to remember that pedestrians do have the legal right of way.

The Lakeport Police Department will do its best to enforce this, and all other traffic laws, but will also be counting on the public to be mindful of the risks to drivers and pedestrians alike, Rasmussen said.

In addition to using caution on the roadways, Rasmussen warned of scams.

He said the holidays are a popular time for phone scam predators who wish to take advantage of innocent victims, and advised citizens to be cautious of suspicious callers trying to solicit money.

During this time of year the department typically sees an increase in thefts, Rasmussen said.

As a result, police are asking community members to secure their vehicles when unattended and to remove any personal belongings of value such as purses, wallets and electronic devices.

Additionally, police are asking that city residents secure their residences and property by locking doors and windows before leaving as well as during the nighttime hours.

The Lakeport Police Department advises those who wish to celebrate the holidays with alcohol to please take preventative measures before driving and designate a sober driver for your safety and the safety of others who are sharing the road.

Rasmussen said the Lakeport Police Department team is always happy to hear from the community.

They invite residents to contact them with any questions or concerns.

The department is located at 916 N. Forbes St., telephone 707-263-5491 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Rasmussen and his department wish the community a great holiday season.