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CLEARLAKE – The Clearlake Police Department is looking for a man who is believed to have abducted his young son.
A report issued by police Friday evening said that Latthen Chance Douglas had allegedly fled the county with his 1-year-old son, Jarrod Chance Douglas, on Thursday afternoon.
Police believe Douglas, who has lived in Clearlake, is headed for Amarillo, Texas.
A search of Texas vital statistics shows that Douglas is 31 years of age and has lived in Amarillo for most of his life, having been born in the area.
Police say the vehicle that was involved in the alleged abduction was reportedly a black 1987 Toyota 4Runner. The vehicle has a Texas license plate with the number R81WXL.
According to Clearlake Police, Douglas was last spotted in the Houston area.
Anyone with information should call the Clearlake Police at 994-8251.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LUCERNE – Highway 20 was closed for four hours Thursday night as officials investigated a vehicle collision that killed two people and injured a third.
The California Highway Patrol incident logs noted that the head-on collision was reported shortly before 6 p.m. It occurred between Nice and Lucerne, about 300 yards east of Ceago Vinegarden.
The California Highway Patrol officers, firefighters from Northshore Fire Protection District and Lake County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene.
CHP had the highway closed while officers conducted what a sheriff's deputy called a “crime scene” – rather than an accident – investigation.
Northshore Fire Protection District officials began turning back traffic traveling from Lucerne to Nice at Lucerne's west end, where Foothill Drive joins the highway, with traffic blocked coming from the other direction just west of the accident scene.
Later, cement barricades were erected west of Harbor Park in Lucerne so that no vehicles could pass through. Many drivers turned their vehicles around to drive around the lake in the opposite direction.
Shortly before 9 p.m., Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins said the CHP was still working on its investigation.
“We had two fatalities and one very minor injury,” said Robbins.
“I can't really discuss any more than that,” Robbins added.
At 9:40 p.m., the park was filled with vehicles and people waiting for the road to reopen. About that time, a Caltrans truck arrived to remove the barricades in order to reopen the highway.
The highway reopened just after 10 p.m., according to the CHP incident logs.
No official statement CHP report has yet been released on the incident.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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On Thursday night, the House of Representatives passed a final version of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA), according to Congressman Mike Thompson's office.
The legislation authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to construct $21 billion in flood protection ane ecosystem restoration projects, and improve the nation's rivers and harbors.
The bill, the National Audubon Society reported, includes an unprecedented $5.5 billion in funding for ecosystem restoration on the Mississippi, coastal Louisiana, and for the Great Lakes and the Everglades.
WRDA also authorizes the Corps to design and construct the Middle Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project, as Lake County News previously reported.
The legislation states that the Middle Creek project will cost $45.2 million, with an estimated federal cost of $29,500,000 and an estimated non-federal cost of $15,700,000.
Bob Lossius, Lake County's assistant director of Public Works, said in a previous interview with Lake County News that the county was only seeking $1.2 million at this time to get the project started.
"Restoring Middle Creek will improve our area's protection from flooding," said Thompson in a statement issued shortly after the House vote. "It will also have a very positive effect on the wetlands surrounding Clearlake.”
The project will restore 1,200 acres of wetlands and 500 acres of floodplain in the Clear Lake area. It entails reconnecting the Scotts Creek and Middle Creek to the historic Robinson Lake wetland and floodplain.
The Scotts and Middle Creek watersheds provide 57 percent of the water flow into Clear Lake.
No WRDA bill has been passed since 2000, a fact that's been attributed to a desire to reform the Corps' policies and prevent pork barrel politics, as Lake County News previously reported.
The House passed a version of the WRDA bill in April, with the Senate passing its version the following month.
The bill then went to conference committee, where the differences in the House and Senate bills were worked out, according to GovTrack.us. WRDA then headed back to the two chambers for final approval.
The House's Thursday vote was 381-40 in favor of the bill.
The Senate has yet to consider and approve its final version of WRDA, but it could happen as soon as this week, Thompson's office reported. The bill would then go to the president.
But even if the bill gets through the Senate, it's not home free.
In May, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy that reported President Bush was opposed to the bill.
He has since renewed his threat to veto the bill, which has groups from the Louisiana Congressional delegation to the National Audubon Society asking him to reconsider.
Some members of Congress – including those from Louisiana – have stated that they have enough votes in Congress to override a possible veto.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – The body of a man found in the Mendocino National Forest late last month has been positively identified.
According to a statement Lt. Cecil Brown of the Lake County Sheriff's Office issued late Thursday, the man was Owen Andrew Lampman, 55, of Clearlake Oaks.
Lampman's body was found July 21 by a hunter in the Corbin Creek area of the Mendocino National Forest, near the border of Lake and Glenn counties, as Lake County News previously reported.
Glenn County Sheriff's Office deputies initially responded and found Lampman's body in the bed of Corbin Creek, near a burned up pickup truck that was registered to him, Brown reported.
Mary Beth Stanbery, administrative services officer for the Glenn County Sheriff's Office, told Lake County News in a previous interview that sheriff's deputies also found a handgun and documents at the scene.
Brown had previously reported that the Lake County Sheriff's office was contacted by Glenn County July 22, once they realized the body had been located within Lake County's jurisdiction.
Dental records were used to confirm Lampman's identity, Brown reported.
About three weeks before Lampman's body was found, Brown's report explained that the sheriff's office received a missing person's report regarding Lampman.
The man who filed the report on July 9 said he had not seen Lampman since June 25, according to Brown.
June 25 was also the date that firefighters responded to Lampman's home for a structure fire, Brown reported.
Battalion Chief Lou Dukes of the Northshore Fire Protection District's Clearlake Oaks station said Thursday that the fire was located in a storage unit a few doors down from Lampman's home on Fifth Street.
“It was a total loss,” said Dukes.
He added, “It's still under investigation. We didn't have any luck finding any cause.”
Brown said the sheriff's office entered Lampman into the Missing or Unidentified Persons System database as a missing person and initiated an investigation, which didn't identify anyone who had seen Lampman since June 25.
But the cause of Lampman's death still isn't known, Brown reported.
The sheriff's office ordered an autopsy to determined what killed Lampman, but the results aren't yet available, according to Brown.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
LUCERNE – The California Highway Patrol has closed Highway 20 between Nice and Lucerne while they conduct what they called a crime scene investigation.
Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Jim Robbins reported at 8:45 p.m. that the CHP expected the highway would be completely closed for at least another 30 minutes, and planned to open at least one lane of traffic.
Northshore Fire Protection District officials began turning back traffic traveling from Lucerne to Nice at Lucerne's west end, where Foothill Drive joins the highway.
Fire officials at the road closure said a collision involving three cars had resulted in two fatalities.
No official statement on the incident has been released, beyond that the area is considered a crime scene and that traffic will be closed while the CHP investigation continues.
Lake County News will update this story as more information is released.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
LOWER LAKE – After missing its bell tower for more than a century, the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum's new bell tower is finally ready.
“It's complete, we're just waiting for the contractor to pull the scaffolding down,” said Kim Clymire, director of the county's Public Services Department, said Tuesday.
Since then, the scaffolding has come down to reveal the tower, restoring the building to its original look.
The schoolhouse was built in 1877, and originally featured a bell tower which the new tower replicates.
Then, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake hit. The quake was so powerful that it rippled northward, knocking down buildings in Lakeport. The school's bell tower also was severely damaged by the quake, Clymire said.
In about 1908, the tower was taken down, said Clymire. “The structural integrity was so compromised it was dangerous.”
At one point, the schoolhouse was in danger of being torn down. But the efforts of John and Jane Weaver and the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Preservation Committee stepped in, along with the county, to keep the historic building, said Clymire.
And one of the goals was to restore the building's original look, which included the bell tower, said Clymire.
The $400,000 project was funded by a one-time allocation from the county's general fund, said Clymire. The contract went to Middletown contractor R&C Construction.
The contractor started building about six months ago, said Clymire, and had 90 days to complete the tower, with time out for inspections and concrete drying.
The tower measures 10 feet by 10 feet and is 70 feet tall, said Clymire. It consists of a steel frame with stucco siding and a metal roof.
Its base contains 80 yards of concrete, he added. A membrane was placed between the tower, which is earthquake proof, and the museum, which has yet to be retrofitted for earthquake safety.
The museum's earthquake retrofit is estimated to cost about $1.2 million, said Clymire. The county is working with Congressman Mike Thompson to find the funding for that project.
Over the years, the schoolhouse preservation committee has raised money for projects such as a new restroom facility, which was added three years ago, also by R&C Construction, said Clymire. The committee also held a fundraiser to add an elevator shaft several years ago.
The committee plans to replace the insulation in the ceiling's attic, but first they have to finish sealing up the building to keep bats out, said Clymire.
The bats are in the attics and in the second floor walls, with the occasional bat making appearances during theater productions that are held in the Weaver Auditorium, said Clymire. Bat houses have been installed behind the museum and the bats are starting to make their home there rather than the museum.
Clymire said an an official bell ringing ceremony is tentatively planned for September.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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