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Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that on Feb. 19 the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office released a safety alert for motorists traveling the areas of Calistoga Road and Porter Creek Road at night. The alert relates to a series of suspicious events occurring over the past two months in that area.
Sonoma County received two separate reports of a male subject following female motorists along the rural route, tailgating the women and flashing his lights at them in an apparent attempt to get them to pull off the road, said Bauman.
In one of the reports, the female driver did pull over and after the man told her to call 911 to report a motorcycle accident, he tried to open her door and she fled the area. Bauman said the suspect vehicle in that incident was described only as a black SUV.
A third incident was reported to Sonoma County authorities in which a man jumped out from a hillside along the route and laid down next to the roadway as the female driver passed. Bauman said the woman did not stop and there was a suspicious vehicle, possibly a blue sedan with a spoiler, parked along the road in the area.
He said the incidents reportedly all occurred between the hours of 6:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. The suspect is described only as possibly being a white male with his face partially concealed with either a bandana or turtle-neck pulled up about his face.
Bauman said residents commuting in and out of the Lake County are reminded to avoid stopping for anyone on rural routes unless the circumstances clearly demonstrate a need for immediate assistance, such as an obvious traffic collision.
Motorists encountering a pedestrian on rural routes are otherwise advised to continue to a well-lit, preferably populated, area before stopping to call and report suspicious circumstances, Bauman added.
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The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center's Tillie Hardwick Lecture Series will present “The Origins of Tribal Disenrollment” from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 28. The museum is located at 5250 Aero Drive, Santa Rosa.
Dozens of members of the Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo were disenrolled last December, as Lake County News has reported. The Elem Colony also has disenrolled members.
Thousands of Indians across California and many more across the nation have been subject to the growing practice, according to the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization and the American Indian Movement.
For those who have ever wondered about the nature of tribal disenrollment issues, the Saturday lecture may answer a host of questions.
What is the origin of tribal disenrollment ? Are there jurisdictional parameters? Why is it a growing issue for tribes throughout California and the nation? What are the options for individuals who are disenrolled? Do tribal governments have an obligation to provide civil rights protections and due process to persons undergoing disenrollment? These and other important issues will be probed in
this lecture.
The event should be enlightening for Indian and non-Indians alike.
Admission to the public is free.
For more information call the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, 579-3004.
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Lori Anne Bond-Keech, 48, of Lucerne was fatally injured in the crash, which occurred at 5:34 p.m. Monday on Highway 20 west of Gladys Street in Glenhaven, according to CHP Officer Adam Garcia.
Garcia said that minutes before the collision numerous other drivers had called to report Bond-Keech's silver Volkswagen Beetle swerving into the oncoming lane of traffic.
Bond-Keech, who was driving westbound on Highway 20, reportedly turned left across double-yellow lines in front of an eastbound Freightliner tractor trailer driven by 50-year-old Leo Steinle of Magalia, Garcia said.
Garcia said the two vehicles collided head-on, with Bond-Keech sustaining fatal injuries. Steinle was unharmed.
The collision closed the roadway in both directions from just after 5:30 p.m. until shortly before 9 p.m., said Garcia. Caltrans, Northshore Fire Protection District personnel and tow companies responded to the scene to remove the badly damaged Volkswagen and tractor trailer, and clear the roadway of debris.
During the road closure Caltrans activated the electronic message signs at Highway 20 and Highway 29, and at Highway 20 and Highway 53 to advise motorists of the road closure, Garcia said.
Caltrans turned cars around at Paradise Cove and Glenhaven during the closure while CHP investigated the traffic collision and Lake County Sheriff's Office personnel performed coroner functions, he added.
Garcia said CHP Officer Randy Forslund is conducting the collision investigation.
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The crash, which took place one mile west of Glenhaven, was reported to the California Highway Patrol at approximately 5:37 p.m.
A Volkswagen Beetle and a semi truck were reported to have collided head-on, the CHP reported.
About 10 minutes before the crash, CHP's incident logs noted that the Volkswagen was reported to be weaving back and forth between the highway's lanes.
Several CHP units, as well as Lake County Sheriff's and Northshore Fire Protection District responded to the scene of the collision, which blocked both lanes of traffic.
Shortly before 6:30 p.m., the sheriff's office reported that a coroner was en route to the scene.
The CHP's Ukiah Dispatch confirmed to Lake County News that the accident had resulted in a fatality.
From the initial reports, the fatality appears to have been the driver of the car. The big rig driver was reported to be all right. No passengers were mentioned in the reports.
The big rig driver submitted to a voluntary blood draw and was transported to Sutter Lakeside. However, the hospital was reported to be out of blood draw kits so a CHP officer took one to Sutter Lakeside.
Clearing the road proved to be difficult, as the CHP reports noted that officials were struggling to find a tow truck that could move the semi. They also were searching for an available tow company certified to transport the other vehicle for evidence.
The road was reported to be open again at around 9 p.m.
No further information, including the identity of the fatality, was available for release late Monday.
Harold LaBonte contributed to this report.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAFCOs control the boundaries of cities and special districts. Among the commissions’ statutory obligations is “discouraging urban sprawl.”
To guide their boundary decisions, LAFCOs must adopt “spheres of influence” for cities and districts, designating their future service areas and boundaries. LAFCOs’ boundary decisions must be consistent with these spheres of influence.
As LAFCOs prepare to make decisions about proposed boundary changes, they are required to consider 15 specified “factors,” including local general plans and specific plans.
State law permits – but does not require – the commissions to consider regional growth goals and policies adopted by local elected officials.
According to Wiggins, there is increasing legislative and public support for using land use decisions to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are required to adopt “sustainable communities strategies” or “alternative planning strategies” as part of their regional transportation plans.
These strategies align regional planning for transportation and housing (SB 375, Steinberg, 2008). In preparing a sustainable community strategy, an MPO must consider the spheres of influence for cities and special districts, as adopted by LAFCOs.
While MPOs must consider LAFCOs’ planning documents, there is no reciprocal requirement for LAFCOs to consider the MPOs’ sustainable communities strategies and alternative planning strategies.
Wiggins chairs the Senate Committee on Local Government. Her legislation, Senate Bill 215, seeks to add regional transportation plans, including their sustainable communities strategies or alternative planning strategies,” to the list of factors that LAFCOs must consider when acting on city and special district boundary changes. SB 215 also repeals the permission for LAFCOs to consider regional growth goals and policies.
“Regulating local boundaries is more than an exercise in cartographic neatness,” Wiggins said. “City limits and special districts’ boundaries influence the timing, location and character of land development. By approving annexations to cities and districts that provide public facilities such as water and sewer systems, streets, and flood control facilities, LAFCOs’ boundary decisions influence which land is likely to develop.”
Wiggins represents California’s 2nd Senate District, comprised of portions of all of six counties: Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma.
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CLEARLAKE OAKS – A fire damaged a cabin at a Northshore resort Sunday morning.
The fire took place at the Blue Fish Cove Resort in Clearlake Oaks.
The call went out at about 8:15 a.m., said Northshore Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Ken Petz.
Northshore Fire was assisted in fighting the blaze by Lake County Fire Protection District, said Petz.
Petz said the fire started when a man was working on a gas stove in the kitchen of a vacation cabin.
The man also was caught on fire in the blaze, and was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital by a Lake County Fire Protection medic unit, Petz said.
Four fire engines – three from Northshore Fire and one from Lake County Fire – and between 15 and 20 firefighters responded to the scene, said Petz.
Petz said the fire was brought under control in 30 minutes, with the mop up process taking about an hour.
He estimated that the cabin was close to being a total loss.
Randy and Suzanne Olsen purchased the resort last August.
Suzanne Olsen said the resort is still open for business, and they'll be fixing up the damaged cabin right away.
She said that the man who was working on the stove is OK and was back at home on Sunday afternoon.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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