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Ivan Garcia Oliver, 30, is being charged with the November 20 murder of 67-year-old Michael Dodele. He's also facing charges for having been found in jail with a shank he'd made from a toothbrush, as Lake County News has reported.
Not long after he was arrested and charged with Dodele's murder, Oliver and his half-brother were indicted by federal officials in an illegal dumping case in San Diego County, according to court documents.
Oliver was transported to San Diego County several weeks ago for a hearing in the federal case, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
The US Marshal's Office, who is overseeing Oliver's transport to and from the San Diego court appearances, told Hinchcliff they would have Oliver back in time for his preliminary hearing, which was to have begun at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday in Judge Arthur Mann's Department 3 courtroom.
However, Oliver, who has been in transit since last Thursday, didn't arrive in time for the hearing, said Hinchcliff.
And just where he was on the way back to Lake County was uncertain. Hinchcliff said the last report of Oliver's location came last Friday, when he was in Kansas City.
The US Marshal's Office reports that it transports 300,000 prisoners annually through a network of aircraft, cars, vans and buses. Their aircraft fleet moves prisoners over long distances, offering more security and less expense than commercial airlines. All scheduling is handled at the Kansas City headquarters of its Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System division.
Hinchcliff said Oliver may not be returned to Lake County until late in the week. No new preliminary hearing date has yet been set.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The office won the California Law Enforcement Challenge's award for occupant protection, said CHP Officer Adam Garcia.
The Clear Lake office – which has 25 sworn officers – won the statewide honor competing in a division of departments officers numbering between 11 and 25, said Garcia.
The competition's purpose, said Garcia, is to reward agencies that reduce fatalities on the state's roadways, with particular focus placed on occupant protection, driving under the influence and speeding laws.
Six out-of-state law enforcement judges came to the CHP Academy this year for five days to score competition submissions, which were divided by category and size, said Garcia.
The judges themselves were divided into three groups of two and worked in teams to score the submissions, using an objective scoring method for the enforcement section and subjective scoring on other categories, he explained.
The judges scored the departments by comparing three-month periods in 2006 and 2007 and looking at improvement, said Garcia.
The Clear Lake CHP office won for occupant restraint usage, which improved from 96.3 percent in 2006 to 96.7 percent in 2007, Garcia said.
The local CHP office showed a major increase in enforcement, said Garcia. During the three-month period judges examined, in 2006 there were 252 citations for seatbelt-related violations, and 394 citations in the same three-month period a year later.
Department officials attribute the increase in restraint usage to enforcement and community education and outreach, including child safety checkpoints, education and training classes. Garcia said CHP also has conducted talks at schools and carried out an overall effort to get the word out to people that they need to buckle up.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The event features the running of the "Flame of Hope" throughout communities to raise awareness for
Special Olympics programs, the Northern California event highlights the running of the torch throughout cities and towns, culminating at the Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games.
Law enforcement officers here in Lake County have come together to carry the flame throughout the county to show their support for the many athletes in our community that participate year-round in our own Lake County Special Olympics program, along with those that will be participating in the Northern California Summer Games.
Support for the event can include officers volunteering to run, as well as community members supporting participating officers, volunteering or simply coming out to cheer them on.
For more information about this year's event, call Officer Adam Garcia at the Clear Lake California Highway Patrol office, 279-0103 or Kristina Navarro, 349-7728.
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The National Weather Service in Sacramento is forecasting a strong ridge of high pressure to build over the entire West Coast, including Lake County, by the middle of the week, bringing high temperatures up to the 90s and near 100 degrees.
As the high pressure system strengthens, the National Weather Service predicts that Lake County and areas of Northern California may break the century mark by Thursday.
The ridge of high pressure will begin to head east by Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, which will cool down local temperatures – but they will remain higher than normal through the weekend.
If you've planted a garden in the past week or so, make sure to water adequately.
Even though air temperatures will be hot later this week, the water temperature of Clear Lake and area streams, rivers and lakes are still cold. The National Weather Service reminds everyone that wading, swimming, rafting or fishing can still be hazardous due to cold water temperatures and hypothermia (sudden loss of body temperature) can set in – and be fatal.
If you work outdoors, be sure to take frequent breaks from the sun, wear light-colored clothing and drink plenty of nonalcoholic fluids, warns the National Weather Service. Also remember to not leave children or pets alone or in unattended vehicles.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
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There are many reasons for involvement in this event.
This is event chair Beth Berinti's fifth year doing relay. Berinti is a cancer survivor from Lucerne. She was on a team her first year, has been a team captain for four years, a committee chair for four years, last year and this year as event chair.
"Once you've participated in a Relay event, you just want to continue,” Berinti said. “I lost my mom to cancer and most recently, my cousin, Dave Fesmire, which makes this Relay more poignant."
Charwin Ward, with Broken Ground, a band that is playing at the relay on Saturday, May 17, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., lives in Spring Valley. One band member lives in Sacramento. Ward heard about Relay from Sally Lusinger and wanted to volunteer.
"I lost my mother to cancer when I was 13 years old,” Ward said. “When I heard about Relay, I wanted to be a part of it. The whole band is willing to support Relay."
Sally Owens from Lakeport has been participating in Relay since her husband, Don, passed away from cancer six years ago. Don Owens was the principal of Clear Lake High School and the stadium is named after him. Her mother-in-law is a 20-year cancer survivor.
"The reason I support Relay is to help with research so our children will never have to experience this disease,” she said. She'll be walking for two teams this year.
Entertainment chair Naomi Wheelan from Kelseyville has participated in Relay for seven years. She heard about it from her sister who is involved in Napa's Relay. Wheelan became a team captain with Americorp her first year and has had her own team of family and friends since. She has been entertainment chair for six years.
"I have lost family members and close friends to cancer but every year that I hear of someone who has lost the battle to cancer, I hear of someone who has beat cancer,” she said. “Once you get involved you do whatever you can and there's plenty to do. We do make a difference."
Cobb resident David Neft, who has a business in Middletown, is volunteering his musical talent and time for the third year. Neft accompanies the National Anthem singer, Shelly Mascari from Middletown, and plays for the heartwarming Survivor's Lap at the 10 a.m. Opening Celebration Ceremony. Neft also will entertain us with his jazzy piano selections from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Neft has close friends and relatives who have been touched by cancer. "I feel that there is no other place we should be that day,” he said. “We need to donate what ever energy and talents we have to this event. If people only knew that you gain much more than you could ever give by joining the Relay family."
Relay For Life supports programs right here in Lake County. One is Road To Recovery where volunteer drivers take people to and from treatments and appointments.
Deanne Dale of Lakeport is a driver. She got involved when, as a new resident, she needed someone to drive her to and from an important appointment. She said, "I didn't know anyone that well and figured there were other people that might need someone to drive them, also. I heard about Road To Recovery and volunteered."
Most every person has been touched by cancer in some way, and participating in Relay For Life is a way of "fighting back" against this disease.
There have been all types of fundraisers prior to Relay and there will be raffles, auctions, items for sale and other fundraising events at Relay.
Free entertainment starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, with the Celebration Ceremony including the Survivor's Lap. Pastor Shannon Kimball-Auth will do the invocation and the flag ceremony will be performed by the Boy Scouts of Kelseyville Troop 45.
Performers for all day Saturday and for Sunday morning are Shelly Mascari, David Neft, DJ Ken Steely and Groove Crew, Kelseyville High School Jazz Combo, Twice As Good, Antoinette School Of Dance, Open Mic at Cafe Victoria's emceed by Phil Mathewson, Sweet Adelines, Irma and Luis, Broken Ground, Hamed Hokamzedeh and Lefty. There will be karaoke contests with DJ Lori Steely with finals and awards on Sunday morning.
There will also be theme laps where relayers dress in styles from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Come join us in supporting Relay For Life Lake County on May 17 and May 18 at Don Owens Stadium, Clear Lake High School, 350 Lange St., Lakeport.
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What’s that? You don’t know what I look like so you can’t picture that? OK, real quick, imagine a really handsome man; now make him 100 pounds heavier, then give him a beard and a big grey hat. Now you can imagine me jumping up and down yelling “Woo-Hoo!”
But anyway, let me get back to the important news.
Just as you are approaching Clearlake Oaks from the southeast on Highway 20, there is a strawberry farm on the right hand side of the road. I have never had better strawberries than from this stand. If you have only ever had strawberries from the supermarket, when you stop here you will think these strawberries are a religious experience.
Need a better description? For readers who live in Napa or Ukiah, they’re worth the drive! How’s that? I save the little green baskets the strawberries come in for the entire summer, wash them, and the following spring I bring them back to the farm for reuse. I typically collect 50 to 60 baskets per year.
Am I getting my point across? These are the BEST strawberries anywhere! One word of advice/warning: if you have to drive any further than three miles, one basket will not make it all of the way home, so purchase accordingly.
I’ve often thought of saving the seeds from one of the berries, or asking the stand what variety of strawberries they were so I could grow them at home, but then I realize that it’s so much easier just to go to the farm stand to pick up as many as I want.
My daughter will play hostess to her friends many days during the summer, and we sit them out on the deck with a flat of strawberries and a pitcher of lemonade. That evening the flat is nothing but a cardboard box and a few green baskets, the deck has red stains all over it, and the ground is littered with strawberry hulls.
There are several stories about how strawberries received their name, with the most popular story being that in the garden they are mulched with straw. Other stories have English children threading strawberries on a reed of straw and selling them as “Strawed berries”, and yet another story describes how they were found “strewn” over the forest floor, “Strewnberries.”
But the most likely origin of the name is the practice of packaging the berries in straw for transportation and displaying them in the market on the straw. Most often in tales of naming produce, the story that evolves from the consumer spreads the farthest and therefore becomes better known. Tales of how they were named by the grower rarely survive.
I think that strawberries are one of the most sensual foods that exist. I can prove it, too: give a woman a strawberry and she will produce two sounds. First upon seeing the strawberry she will give off an inquisitive and anticipatory “Ooo!?” then upon eating it she will sound out with a pleasurable, almost orgasmic “Mmmmmmm!”
Strawberries have been considered an aphrodisiac since before the times of Rome. They contain more vitamin C than any other berry (one cup of strawberries provide 140 percent of the recommended daily allowance). Strawberries are high in potassium, folic acid and antioxidants, and have been found to carry out several things to prevent and reduce cancer. Strawberries also contain a couple of flavonoids that battle LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream. Mixing strawberries with baking soda is supposed to be a great natural whitening toothpaste, but I just think that it’s a waste of good strawberries.
Have I whet your appetite for fresh, farm grown strawberries?
The Oaks strawberry stand prices are as follows:
Basket – $2
Half flat – $10
Full flat – $19
The recipe below is for strawberry crepes, but I have to be precise: they aren’t for “true” crepes but they are easier to make. They offer a good launch at crepe-making for the beginner, and a lazy day break for the pro.
Simple strawberry filled crepes
Try serving as breakfast in bed.
Simple crepes (makes about three to four crepes)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
Mix the crepes ingredients well until combined, then cover and place in the refrigerator overnight (You need to give the flour time to hydrate and the bubbles to subside).
The next morning, heat a non-stick pan on medium heat and butter it well. Give the batter a light stirring just to make sure that the flour isn’t settled on the bottom. If the flour didn’t mix well and you have clumps, just put the batter through a strainer before cooking. Pour in about one quarter of the crepe mix and tilt the pan in a circular motion until the entire bottom of the pan is covered and the batter is no longer liquid (set). Many crepe recipes will call for you to flip the crepe but this isn’t necessary as long as the batter is set. If you buttered the pan well the crepe should just slide off the pan onto a plate. The general rule of crepe making is “The first one never turns out”, so don’t panic on the first one. Even pros mess up the first one more often than not.
Continue this process until you have used all of the batter. I typically make a double batch of batter the night before so I can make extra crepes.
Fill the crepes with the following mixture:
Filling
½ cup strawberries, hulled and halved
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup cream cheese
1 tablespoon honey
Small pinch of cayenne pepper or black pepper
Optional – whipped cream for topping
Mix well in a bowl and then spoon into crepes and roll them up. Topping the crepes with a little whipped cream gives you bonus points! A dusting of cocoa powder wouldn’t hurt either.
You can also use the sour cream cheese mixture to pipe into hollowed out strawberries for a delicious finger food/dessert.
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
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