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The Lake County Tobacco Control Program, a state-funded program of the County of Lake Health Services Department and Lake Family Resource Center, released the results of the May 2008 Youth Purchase Survey.
It found that sales have increased from 8.4 percent in May 2007 to 19 percent in the most recent survey, with 11 stores out of nearly 60 countywide selling tobacco products to teens under the age of 18.
Michael Rupe, the tobacco program's coordinator, said the surveys began in 2005.
Rupe said he found these most recent results surprising, especially since last year's survey shows that usage had gone down over the previous two and a half years.
The surveys are conducted by sending a member of the Adult Tobacco Coalition with Youth Coalition members to selected stores, according to a tobacco control program report.
The teens survey tobacco product signage and product placement to assure that the store is in compliance with current California law. One of them then goes to the check stand, where they attempt to buy tobacco as their partner observes the situation.
If a sale is made, the two teens leave the store and give the cigarettes to the adult advisor. The team members then conduct an immediate evaluation of the sale/non-sale that includes whether identification was requested, whether a sale was made, and the age and gender of the sales clerk.
The program then notifies stores of the results, including the time and date of the sale, with information regarding the clerk training provided through Lake Family Resource Center.
Communities in Lake County with 100-percent compliance, or no sales to youth, included Lakeport, Lower Lake and Middletown, according to the survey results.
Stores in all other Lake County communities sold tobacco products to youth decoys, the program reported. The highest concentration of sales was in the Northshore area, where 36 percent of retailers sold tobacco products to minors. In Clearlake, 23 percent of stores sold to minors.
Rupes estimated that about half of the tobacco sales to youth tracked in the recent survey were for smokeless tobacco, or chew.
“They can do it at school and not get caught,” he said.
Rupe said he has found out a lot about usage trends by talking to young people as a facilitator for My Strength Clubs, groups for young men ages 14 through 18 which meet in Upper Lake and Lower Lake. The groups give young men a safe place to meet and talk about how to be proactive about respecting women. The program also focuses on peer pressure and the consequences of drug use, and has adopted a tobacco use prevention program.
Education will be a key component to turn back the growth of tobacco use, said Rupe.
Gloria Flaherty, executive director of Lake Family Resource Center, said in a written statement that the Tobacco Control Program works diligently to educate tobacco retailers about laws that prevent sales of tobacco products to underage teens.
The program also has created free training and fact sheets for owners and employees that inform current laws, required signage, identification verification and other resources, according to Flaherty.
She said the dramatic increase in sales means the program can't slow down its efforts to stop the sales.
Rupe said a Lake County Tobacco Control Program objective for the 2007-2010 period is to have at least one jurisdiction within the county accept a local tobacco retailer licensing ordinance.
“Right now we don't have any enforcement,” he said.
Tobacco sales to minors have no repercussions for businesses, such as exist for underage alcohol sales, said Rupe. That's despite the fact, as Flaherty pointed out, that selling tobacco to minors is illegal.
A tobacco retailer licensing ordinance would require retailers wanting to sell tobacco to purchase a special license to do so – much like a business license, he said. The license cost would then cover the cost of enforcement.
Rupe said the ordinances – which have been accepted in other California communities – give store owners an immediate incentive to stop selling tobacco to minors, because the laws carry fines, and could result in suspensions of their license to sell tobacco products.
“We have not approached the city of Lakeport or the County of Lake,” Rupe said. “We have approached the city of Clearlake.”
Rupe said program members have met with Clearlake Mayor Curt Giambruno and Council member Judy Thein, who are interested in taking the lead on such an ordinance.
“Tobacco is a gateway drug to just about every type of drug out there,” said Rupe.
That includes leading to alcohol use, said Rupe, a member of Team DUI, which works locally to stop underage drinking.
For more information about the Lake Family Resource Center Tobacco Control Program, or to schedule a presentation, call Rupe at 262-1611.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – For water sport enthusiasts, Library Park is the place to be this weekend.
Two separate events with much in common – the Vintage and Historic Raceboat Regatta and the Nor Cal Ski Club Races – are scheduled to return to the waterfront in Lakeport this Saturday.
The California Speedboat Association will host the Vintage and Historic Raceboat Regatta at the north end of Library Park.
Admission is free to spectators.
The group hosted the event in Lakeport last September. The regatta has been moved to the June date due to concerns about the lake's water level and quality during the later days of summer, according to Vintage Race Director Bob Silva.
Silva’s group is a member of the California Speedboat Association, which in turn shares a connection to the American Power Boat Association.
Thirty-five vintage race boats are expected to be on display with several participating in a well coordinated series of “flybys” and sample races on a set one-mile course.
Boats will be on display all day. The flyby events are scheduled to take place starting at 11:30 am.
Race boats must be built in 1986 or earlier to qualify as vintage. Boat owners wishing to participate are encouraged to attend and registration will continue on site.
Fees for static display are $25. Other fees and regulations will apply for those wishing to run their boats at speed. Owners wishing more information may contact Bob Silva at 707-964-1711 or e-mail
Skiers plan fast-paced action
Also on Saturday, the NorCal Ski Club will hold the first of five Lake County high-speed ski events scheduled for 2008.
The racecourse for this event is laid out with two, one-mile straight-aways with a left turn at each end that traverse more than an eighth of a mile.
The skiers will travel as fast as the high performance boats that pull them can, which – depending on conditions – can reach speeds of 110 miles per hour, slowing only to 70 or 80 miles per hour around the turn areas, according to NorCal representative Roger Smith.
Smith, a former deputy sheriff in charge of the Lake County Sheriff's Office Boat Patrol, is a longtime Lake County resident, a lifelong boater and a speed skier himself who plans on participating in several classes of racing this Saturday.
Skiers are eligible to race in several classes, based on age – as young as 9 – along with experience and the type of boat used to pull them, said Smith.
Boat classes range from stock, nearly factory types on through various levels of both inboard and outboard performance levels, eventually leading to the high-speed, high-powered specialty boats capable of reaching 110-mile-per-hour speeds, he explained.
“It’s an extreme sport” – as defined by today’s standards – “and always has been,” said Smith.
It's an extreme sport that over the decades has not been limited to a single gender. Smith added that perhaps Lake County’s most successful speed skier and possibly the best female in the country throughout the 1960’s, Alice Whipple, will compete this weekend.
Saturday’s race schedule begins at 9 a.m. There is no fee to observers.
“Anyone who would like to join in and ski for the first time is welcome to try it at no cost,” said Smith.
Potential skiers should have some basic and obvious skills before attempting to compete.
More information regarding this event and the history of the National Water Ski Racing Association can be found at www.nwsra.net.
The weather forecast for Saturday includes mostly sunny skies with afternoon highs in the low 90s and winds out of the west at 12 miles per hour.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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The event will take place from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, at the winery, located at
21000 Butts Canyon Road, Middletown.
Tickets will be on sale for the second raffle in the fundraiser campaign, founded by artist Gail Salituri in memory of her friend, Barbara LaForge. All proceeds go to the Lake Family Resource Center's Freedom House campaign, which is raising funds to build a domestic violence shelter near Kelseyville.
The next drawing will be Aug. 1, Salituri reported.
Two items will be offered in the August raffle; "America's Pride,” a Thomas Kinkade print, custom-framed, measuring 14 inches by 17 inches, with a value of $350; and a custom-framed beveled mirror, 24 inches by 30 inches, valued at $650.
Bids also can be placed in a silent auction, in which Salituri will offer one of her original oils, “Overlooking Carmel, Monterey Pine,” measuring 8 inches by 10 inches. The painting, valued at $475, has an opening bid of $100.
Langtry's evening of jazz will feature local artists along with live Flamenco and hors d'oeuvres.
For reservations call 987-5303.
For more information about the LaForge Memorial fundraisers call Salituri at Inspirations Gallery, 263-4366, or visit her Web page, www.gailsalituri.com/Memorial.html.
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Capt. John Rodriguez, engineer Keith Hoyt and firefighter Adam Smith of Northshore Fire Protection District's Upper Lake station arrived home late Tuesday afternoon, said Fire Chief Jim Robbins.
The three men and an engine left for Butte County last Thursday as part of a strike team that included engines from Mendocino County, said Robbins.
Local fire resources were stretched too thin to send a full complement of five engines to the Humboldt, Robbins explained.
The Office of Emergency Services called Robbins on Sunday with requests for firefighters to go to the Whiskey Fire, but he didn't have anyone extra to send then, either. “Everybody was working or out of town.”
The Whiskey fire is burning in the Tehama County portion of the Mendocino National Forest. Cal Fire reported Tuesday night that the fire was 70-percent contained and had burned 7,783 acres near Paskenta.
Robbins said there are no other firefighting assistance requests currently. “Everything's kind of calmed down right now.”
Northshore Fire reported last week that this was the second time this year they had sent firefighters to an out-of-county fire. In May they went to fight the Summit Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The vigil will be held from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Austin Park in Clearlake.
The theme for the event is "Bringing a Community from Healing to Kindness."
Dr. Bill MacDougall, the new Superintendent of the Konocti Unified School District, will be one of the featured speakers.
The gathering will promote a community-wide effort to create an environment that honors, nurtures and protects all children. The community is invited to attend, and asked to bring friends, family and candles to light.
The vigil will fall on the two-week anniversary of the stabbing death of 17-year-old Heather Valdez of Clearlake, a student at Carlé High School.
The teen died June 5 following a confrontation that allegedly involved a Carlé classmate, 18-year-old Gabrielle Varney.
Varney is being charged with murder and remains in the Lake County Jail.
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On Tuesday, the CHP said they're filing charges with the District Attorney's Office against Evonne Sheree Donohue, 38, of Crockett, according to CHP Officer Adam Garcia.
Donohue is being charged with felony evading police, fraud, vehicle theft, possession of stolen property and other violations.
The CHP has not yet arrested Donohue, who they're still attempting to locate, Garcia said.
Donohue is alleged to have led CHP on a high-speed pursuit June 10, as Lake County News has reported.
CHP Officer Mark Crutcher spotted Donohue allegedly speeding in a stolen Dodge Ram pickup on Highway 29 at around 9:30 p.m. June 10.
When he attempted to pull the pickup over it fled. The occupants reportedly were throwing objects out of the pickup during the pursuit, but Garcia said none of those objects were recovered.
The pursuit eventually ended in downtown Lakeport, where police and sheriff's deputies joined CHP in attempting to apprehend the pickup's occupants, who fled the scene on foot.
Investigators found in the truck a number of stolen items, said Garcia, including more than 200 credit cards and identification cards alleged to have been stolen. He said it's still not been determined how the cards were illegally obtained.
Lakeport resident Marian Muniz, 49, is believed to have been Donohue's accomplice and passenger during the pursuit, said Garcia. No charges have been filed against her at this time, with the investigation – led by Crutcher – continuing.
Donohue has a lengthy criminal history, said Garcia. That includes a first-degree burglary arrest in Lake County January of 2007.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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