An early Monday morning fire destroyed the trailer in which Harry Jon Waner, 58, lived at Second and Highland avenues in Lucerne. Waner was believed to be at home at the time of the fire.

However, Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County said a Tuesday autopsy conducted at the Napa County Coroner's Office failed to yield a final identification on the body, which didn't have any teeth to yield a dental match.

“Our next option is to do a DNA match, which is what we're going to do,” he said.

The autopsy tentatively determined that the cause of death was smoke inhalation. Bauman said a toxicology analysis and carbon monoxide evaluation still are pending.

Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins said Wednesday that the body investigators found in the rubble of the fire was badly burned and unrecognizable.

The exact cause of the fire is pending finalization of the Arson Task Force's investigative report, Bauman said.

However, it doesn't appear to have been set intentionally.

Robbins said that Lake County Arson Task Force's initial conclusion is that the fire was accidental.

Investigators could find no evidence of accelerants at the scene, said Robbins.

Although the body's identity hasn't been confirmed, investigators are approaching the case based on their knowledge of Waner's habits.

They believe Waner – known to be a heavy smoker – could have fallen asleep with a cigarette. However, they didn't even find a cigarette butt, Robbins said.

The large, overstuffed chair where they believe Waner was sitting was completely incinerated, but it gave them a “v-pattern” of where the fire started.

“Those things are like five gallons of gasoline,” Robbins said of the chair where the fire appears to have begun.

Robbins said neighbors told investigators at the scene that Waner was home and they could hear him calling for help, but they couldn't get into the burning trailer.

Arriving at the scene minutes after it was dispatched, Robbins said people were yelling that someone was inside.

But the singlewide trailer was thoroughly engulfed in flames. “There was no way we could get anybody in there,” Robbins said.

Part of the roof already had collapsed. Older trailers such as Waner's burn quickly, said Robbins, who said firefighters call them “one minute trailers.”

“Those things don't give us much of a chance,” he said.

Once the fire was out and the scene was cooled down, Robbins said they brought the sheriff's office into the investigation.

He said at that point firefighters moved some of the trailer's old metal roof out of the way. “And then we found the body right away.”

Robbins said people at the scene criticized firefighters for not arriving more quickly. He said he was on scene within two minutes, and the first engine to arrive was there within four minutes.

He said the initial phone call came in through a cell phone, and when 911 calls are placed on cell phones they bounce to the California Highway Patrol office in Ukiah.

Robbins said 911 calls placed on a regular telephone go directly into the local emergency dispatch system.

Waner's wife, 53-year-old Sandra Jean Bronson, was arrested Monday for violating a domestic violence restraining order issued June 15 in connection with an allegedly assault four days earlier on Waner, who had allegedly assaulted Bronson on May 29, according to court documents.

She remained in jail on Wednesday, with bail set at $250,000 for violating the restraining order. Bauman said changes in her custody status will be up to the Lake County District Attorney's Office.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Executive Director Shannon Gunier Enthusiastically congratulates Marilou Montanez on her achievements. Courtesy photo.

LOWER LAKE – Marilou Montanez of Middletown, a Lower Lake High School senior, is one of only eight graduates in the state this year to receive a California Wine Grape Growers Foundation (CWGGF) scholarship.

She is one of four students chosen to receive four-year, $4,000 annual scholarships, the foundation recently announced. The foundation provides the awards to children of vineyard employees.

Presenting the prize to Montanez during Lower Lake High School’s Senior Awards Night, Lake County Winegrape Commission Executive Director Shannon Gunier represented the state foundation.

Making the presentation, Gunier said that those in the wine marketing business do not forget the people who are the “backbone” of the wine industry, “the vineyard workers and partners who grow our premium grapes.”

Gunier said it was an honor to award “such a hardworking student from hardworking parents.” Montanez’s father is a foreman with Ballard Vineyards, St. Helena.

Two other Lake County seniors are recipients of scholarships from CWGGF, according to a news release from the Foundation. They are Nicholas Reed of Hidden Valley Lake, who was also selected for a four-year award, and Kaitlyn Goff of Kelseyville, a winner of a two-year $1,000 annual scholarship.

The California Wine Grape Growers Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that was “established to conduct public education programs, fund scholarships, and support research related to the California wine and winegrape industry.”

According to information on the CWGGF Web site, award selection is “based upon financial need, demonstrated scholastic ability, community involvement and leadership and/or work history, and (the student’s) determination to succeed.”

Montanez stated in her application to CWGGF that she plans to attend Sonoma State University to work toward a psychology degree. She said she hopes to work with children and their families.

The 2009 graduate was a member of Lower Lake High School’s Academic Decathlon team, earning silver medals in the Superquiz and for her interview. She was a two-year member of SERVE Academy and was honored with a plaque for her overall academic achievement. Other honors have included a “Faculty Award,” “Outstanding Science Student,” perfect attendance, and “Student of the Month” awards.

In addition, she was a member of Student Council and was involved in several school clubs, volunteered at Konocti Kids Day, worked as a summer school teacher’s assistant and as an after-school tutor, and participated in “Toys for Tots” and canned food drives.

In an essay required as part of the scholarship application, Montanez said receiving the award “would be such an honor to my family and myself” because it would help her fulfill her dream of going on to college following graduation. She said her parents “assured I will be better educated and that if I keep going to school and do as good as I have been, I could even earn a doctorate degree in the future.”

Additional information about the CWGGF’s scholarship winners, visit the foundation’s Web site at www.cwggf.org .

For information about the Lake County Winegrape Commission, see its Web site at www.lakecountywinegrape.org .

We had such a great time at the Hidden Valley Lake Farmers Market near Mugshot's on Thursday!'

We ate a delicious chicken Caesar salad wrap with potato and fruit salad that was only $5. We bought some fresh greens to make salads and salsa and carrots from local farmers, we listened to a terrific band that played my favorite Johnny Cash song, we also caught up with several friends and had some great conversations.

We are so happy to have a social venue like this to go to. Very refreshing.

Thank you to the vendors and Star Laurence for putting this on!

Linda and Cade Fergusson live in Hidden Valley Lake.

WASHINGTON – Last week Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-CA) George Radanovich (R-CA) introduced bipartisan legislation to extend small business stimulus provisions to farmers that plant orchards and vineyards.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a provision to help businesses quickly recover the cost of new capital investment.

Unfortunately, the final bill did not include permanent crops like trees and vines as a type of investment that qualifies for the tax break. Thompson and Radanovich’s bill would fix that exception.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a provision to help businesses quickly recover the cost of new capital investment, including property used for farming.

Unfortunately, the final bill did not include permanent crops like trees and vines as a type of investment that qualifies for the tax break because they don’t harvest within the first year. Thompson and Radanovich’s bill would make sure vine and tree farmers get the same benefits as other farmers.

“Tree and vine farms provides tens of thousands of jobs in California, and like other types of American farms already included in the stimulus bill, they are struggling in this tough economy,” said Congressman Thompson, co-founder of the Congressional Wine Caucus. “It’s only fair that farmers who plant long-term crops like grapes have the chance to do their part in turning our economy around. By extending this tax break to include trees and vines, we’ll give them that chance.”

“Americans rely on safe and affordable fruits and nuts that are grown domestically for a balanced diet,” said Congressman Radanovich. “Tree crop production is a major contributor to jobs and the economy in California’s Central Valley. This tax break would provide equity for tree crop producers and a strong incentive to invest in their business, which will help jumpstart California’s struggling economy.”

Under the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, property acquired and “placed in service” in 2009 is eligible for 50 percent “bonus” depreciation in 2009. Unfortunately, permanent crops such as trees and vines producing fruits, nuts or other crops which are planted in 2009 are not considered “placed in service” until the harvest of their first commercially harvestable crop.

In most cases, it takes significantly longer than a year before these permanent crops produce their first commercially harvestable crop and, therefore, these crops (even though planted in 2009) are not eligible for bonus depreciation.

In order to encourage farm investment, Thompson and Radanovich’s bill would change – for the purpose of bonus depreciation – the “placed in service” date for permanent crops to the date on which the crop is planted. This will place farmers on equal footing with others eligible for bonus depreciation.

Peter Molnar is the Lake County Winegrape Commission's new chairman. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE – Peter Molnar, partner and general manager for Obsidian Ridge Vineyards, is now chairman of the Lake County Winegrape Commission.

Elected by unanimous vote of the commission directors during a meeting in April, Molnar steps into his new role at the start of his third year on the Commission Board of Directors.

Also elected to the board were John Roumiguiere, Roumiguiere Vineyards; Buz Dereniuk, Catspaw Vineyards, who was appointed secretary/treasurer; Randy Krag, Beckstoffer Vineyards, re-appointed as research/education chair; John Adriance, Snows Lake Vineyards, re-appointed as marketing chair; Brent Holdenried, Wildhurst Vineyards; and Jeff Lyon, owner of Robin Hill Vineyards.

Established in 1991 by the winegrape growers of Lake County, the Lake County Winegrape Commission is a local marketing order. Its primary function is to provide marketing, education, and research programs to Lake County winegrape growers.

“Our main goal for this next year is to continue to communicate to wineries, to consumers, to (Lake) County, and to our neighbors that the Lake County wine industry has gone through a major evolution and is poised to make its mark as one of the premier regions in California,” Molnar stated by phone recently while he visited wineries in the Walla Walla, Wash., area.

The new chair said he wants to help the Commission deliver a message that Lake County is prepared to be a full partner in the North Coast wine region, which includes Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Marin and Solano counties.

“With the planting of existing and new vintages in Lake County, the quality is coming out in our grapes and in the bottle,” Molnar said. “With our grapes being planted properly, the advantages are coming out.”

Key factors found in Lake County – altitude, clarity of air, ideal climate – will help the commission “prove we have high quality grapes,” says Molnar.

He hopes to spread the word within the county and to the surrounding areas. He confidently added that good wine quality will impact activity in tourism, agriculture including other crops, and other economic factors. The result can be a “robust rural economy,” said Molnar.

Lake County is on track to have more sustainable farming records than any other wine region in California, according to Molnar. Organic methods being used by county winegrape growers fit with “the way people want farming to be done in the future,” he added.

“Lake County may be on the cutting edge,” Molnar said, noting the county’s gains in organic and sustainable production as major feats for such a relatively small region.

He credited the commission’s research and educational work, as well as networking efforts, in helping create camaraderie among winegrape growers.

Molnar studied rural economics at Cornell University and worked in Europe for four years, almost immediately becoming involved in the wine industry. He helped privatize the Hungarian wine industry on behalf of USAID and the World Bank in the early 1990s.

While in Hungary, he built a winery, started a wine trading company, and revamped Kádár Hungary, he said.

Since moving back to the United States in 1994, he has been farming 200 acres in Napa and Lake County, replanting Poseidon’s Vineyard in Napa Carneros and developing Obsidian Ridge Vineyards.

Molnar brings experience from his family business to his position with Obsidian Ridge and to his role on the Commission. His father started farming vineyards in Napa in the 1960s, and his family continues to produce wine grapes from 100 acres in the Napa Carneros Region.

For further information about the Lake County Winegrape Commission and its programs, call the commission office at 707-995-3421 or visit its Web site, www.lakecountywinegrape.org .

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Planning Commission of the County of Lake, State of California, will consider a Minor Modification to a previously approved Minor Use Permit MMU 09-06 to allow for a Farm Labor Camp to occur concurrently with other permitted activities. The project applicant is Frank Perez d.b.a Rancho de la Fuente. The Planning Commission will reconsider the previously approved mitigated negative declaration for this project based on Initial Study IS 08-14. The project is located at 2290 Soda Bay Rd, Lakeport and further described as APN 008-010-29. The previously approved mitigated negative declaration is available for review, and the staff report will be available ten (10) days before the hearing, at the Community Development Department in the Lake County Courthouse, 255 North Forbes Street, Lakeport, California. The Planner processing this application is Ted Elliott, (707) 263- 2221 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The public hearing will be held in the Board of Supervisors’ Chamber in the Courthouse on June 25, 2009 at 9:25 AM, at which time and place interested persons may attend and be heard. If you challenge the action of the Planning Commission on any of the above stated items in court, it may be limited to only those issues raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Lake County Planning Commission at, or prior to, the public hearing.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

Richard Coel, Director

By: ______________________________________

Danae Bowen, Office Assistant III