KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – His new job is a definite change of scene, but the California Highway Patrol’s new Clear Lake Area commander said he’s looking forward to working with the community and enjoying the county’s rural lifestyle.

Lt. Hector Paredes, 54, reported for duty Sept. 1, coming from the commander post in the Border Division’s communications center, which dispatched for four CHP metro areas.

He succeeded Greg Baarts, who was the CHP Clear Lake Area commander since mid-2011.

Baarts was promoted to a captain’s position over the Santa Rosa Area office, effective July 1. In his new job, Baarts manages an office that has nearly 100 personnel total, including 80 officers, nine sergeants, two lieutenants and several nonsworn staff.

“I’m having fun. It’s a great office,” Baarts said this week, adding that his new job is a “unique challenge.”

“It was a promotion for me to leave Lake County, otherwise I would have stayed,” Baarts said, noting he misses the people of Lake County and the tight knit group with which he worked.

In his time in Lake County, Paredes has spent time getting out and meeting community members and local officials, a process he said he’s enjoyed.

On Tuesday he went before the Board of Supervisors. He said he's previously met with two of the supervisors, Rob Brown and Jim Comstock.

“I look forward to working with each of you” and serving the community,” Paredes told the board.

Board Chair Anthony Farrington told Paredes, “You've inherited a good group of men and women in the Clear Lake office.”

Paredes this month is marking his 32nd year in the CHP.

A native Californian, Paredes’ parents came from El Salvador. As such, he’s fluent in Spanish, an ability that he says has been useful during his time in the CHP.

He most recently came from San Diego – which also is his hometown – and has spent most of his career in Southern California, also serving stints in the Bay Area.

However, Paredes said he’s always thought of Northern California as a beautiful area of the state, so he was glad to have the opportunity to come north.

Paredes enjoys the outdoors, is a motorcycling enthusiast and football fan, and has a 25-year-old daughter who lives in San Diego.

In 2012 he took on a spiritual and physical challenge in the form of the Camino Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage.

Also known as the “Way of St. James,” the route, which stretches 500 miles – from the French side of the Pyrenees mountains to northwestern Spain – ends at the shrine of the apostle, St. James the Great, in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where the saint’s remains are said to be entombed.

It took Paredes five weeks to walk the pilgrimage route. Along the way he dealt with sore knees from climbing the mountains, stayed nights in pilgrimage hostels – medieval buildings, some of which were complete with arrow slits – and braved bedbugs.

Addressing community safety

Among the challenges for Paredes – like other CHP commanders – is addressing community safety issues.

Key areas of focus include issues for young drivers. He said traffic collisions are the No. 1 cause of death for young people under age 21, nationwide.

“That’s a big concern,” he said.

The CHP’s “Start Smart” program is one way to prepare young people to be safe on the roadways, and Paredes said he intends to focus on that program in the coming year.

Paredes wants to expand the program and improve its effectiveness, possibly involving local high schools and exploring ways of making it a court diversion program for infractions.

One of the CHP’s continuing efforts will be addressing the issue of impaired drivers, Paredes said.

The majority of Lake County’s 2014 fatals involved impaired drivers, he said.

Distracted driving also is a cause of crashes that is on the rise. Paredes considers it as serious a matter as impaired driving.

Paredes said convincing drivers to not text and to use hands-free devices is important as well as challenging, considering how many people have cell phones.

As such, he said the CHP needs to continue its public education efforts.

An office in transition

At the Clear Lake CHP office, located on Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville, Paredes oversees a staff of 22 officers and three sergeants.

He said the office is going through a transition in personnel, with two veterans – Sgt. Bill Holcomb and Officer Mike Humble – having just retired after decades of service. Officer Josh Dye is serving as an acting sergeant.

Paredes said part of his challenge will be getting new officers to fill those vacancies.

Recruitment for the agency is a challenge. “Unfortunately, my peers are in the same boat,” he said. “Everybody in the state is really fighting for new officers.”

The CHP is pushing a new recruitment effort to get more qualified candidates into its academy. “We’re struggling with why we’re not getting more people applying,” Paredes said.

He’s not sure of whether it’s the economy – with people having more options as economic conditions improve – or the CHP’s stringent standards, with only a fraction of those going through the testing making it into the academy.

Paredes said the Clear Lake Area office lucky to have a CHP Explorer Post, which takes high school students interested in law enforcement and puts them through law enforcement training, with the goal of having those young people eventually become CHP officers.

Of Kelseyville’s 10 Explorers, two to three are in the testing process, and two passed the entrance exam. Paredes noted it’s becoming a very successful program.

In Paredes’ view, there are special aspects to working in a rural area. “Because we all have limited resources, we really have to partner to serve the community in an optimal way and bring public safety in a unified way.”

In metro areas, there usually is more red tape involved in getting commitments for resources. But in Lake County, “everybody just works together,” he said.

He added, “Ultimately, the winner here is the public.”

Paredes has worked mostly in metro areas, with some previous rural assignments. Across those areas, though, the goals remain the same.

“Our service and our mission doesn’t change. The mission of every patrol man and woman is to save lives and find ways to do that,” whether through education, working with Caltrans or traditional law enforcement activities, Paredes 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.