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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Services for the Jacobson family of St. Helena will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at Pacific Union College Church in Angwin.
The Jacobsons were with two other families traveling to Montana for a vacation when their small plane crashed near a Butte, Mont. cemetery on March 22. In all, 14 people died.
“We are heartbroken and empty at the sudden loss of our beloved Erin, Amy, Taylor, Ava, and Jude, as well as family and friends in the Pullen and Ching families,” said John, Judy, Paul, Brenna and Winston Jacobson in a written statement. They also sent out their condolences to the relatives of the other plane crash victims.
The family added, “The outpouring of prayers and support from family, friends, colleagues, patients, and community has sustained us during this ordeal; we offer our grateful thanks. As we go forward, we will treasure the priceless memories and celebrate the unique goodness of each of our dear, beloved lost ones.”
Messages of condolences can be sent to the Jacobson family in care of St. Helena Hospital, 10 Woodland Road, St. Helena, CA 94574.
Tesoro Flowers in St. Helena is handling floral orders for the family and memorial service. Those who wish to send flowers to the family’s home or to the church, may call 707-963-3316.
The Jacobson family requests that tribute donations be made to the following organizations:
The Erin Jacobson Vision Legacy Fund, St. Helena Hospital Foundation, 10 Woodland Road, St. Helena, CA 94574, telephone 707-963-6208;
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Greater San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, 1390 Market St., Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA 94102, telephone 415-625-1100, online donations may be made at www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/;
The Smile Train, 41 Madison Ave., 28th Floor, New York, NY 10010, telephone 800-932-9541, online donations may be made at www.smiletrain.org/.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
LAKEPORT – An unoccupied 60-foot mobile home near Lakeport burned to its steel frame early Sunday evening.
Kelseyville and Lakeport Fire Protection districts responded to a reported residential structure fire at an address just northeast of Konocti Vista Casino on Mission Rancheria Road near Soda Bay Road at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
The fire had reduced the home to its floor within 15 minutes.
A Lakeport Fire Protection District staffer said they had been at the same location last October.
Emergency personnel were able in October to extinguish the blaze before the structure had time to burn to the ground.
No electrical or propane gas services appeared to be connected to the structure. Officials at the scene would not offer any conclusion regarding the fire's source.
Debris from the 2008 fire was still visible. A melted toaster, damaged washing machine and several children’s toys littered the area.
As of 8:15 p.m. no apparent injuries to civilians or emergency personnel were reported according to Lakeport personnel.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – Mike Thompson hosted his big annual ravioli feed Saturday and gave residents an update on the latest in Congress and the issues on his plate.
The event took place Saturday evening at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport.
At the fairgrounds entrance a small group of protesters gathered at 4 p.m. to welcome those who came to the event, which ran from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
James Henderson, Dave Rinker, and David and Nancy Morgan, all of Lakeport, and Lucerne resident Donna Christopher held signs with slogans like “Ron Paul for Liberty”; they also had a pitchfork and Christopher's own homemade “TARP fork” to demonstrate their displeasure with the government in general and, in some cases, Thompson in particular.
“It's like our politicians don't want to hear us,” said Rinker, who added that he wanted the Federal Reserve audited because he said it's the source of 95 percent of the country's problems.
He said his problems were with government at large.
“Mine's with Thompson,” said Christopher.
Relating to the TARP bailout last fall, Christopher said, “First he voted no and then he voted for it.”
She said a better solution would have been to buy the troubled institutions outright, which would have benefited taxpayers more. Anything that's so big it can't be allowed to fail is too big, she said, referring to companies like AIG.
Henderson added that the government shouldn't reward people for being dishonest.
Inside, about 500 people came to participate in the annual event, where Thompson thanked community members for all of their support. “You make doing my job so much easier.”
He said right now – in the face of some of the toughest challenges the country has ever seen – he needed voters' friendship and support more than ever.
Thompson said he believed the country will come out of its current struggles bigger and better than ever. “It's just going to take a while to do it.”
He gave a brief rundown of issues, from unemployment to the health care to the economy, and pointed to what he said are promising signs, among them better results on Wall Street.
Regarding President Barack Obama's proposed budget, Thompson said, “This is the first honest budget we've had,” a statement which received applause.
Health care, education and renewable energy are three big issues Thompson hears about a lot from constituents.
On the topic of green energy, Thompson gave Lake County kudos for showing the way with its recently launched 2.2-megawatt solar project. That solar project powers the movement of wastewater to The Geysers where it is injected into the steamfields, which in turn replenishes the supply of steam needed to produce geothermal power.
“Thanks for showing us the way to do that,” he said.
Thompson also had some new numbers relating to what the county can expect to see from federal stimulus money.
He said that local education is slated to receive about $4 million, plus more than $1 million for transportation.
The stimulus will help create or save 8,000 jobs throughout the First Congressional District, he said.
To make the recovery work, he said, the country needs to go in “all shoulders to the wheel.”
Thompson also gave a report on his March 25 telephone town hall.
In his 19 years in elected office, Thompson said he's conducted many town halls, and usually gets between 40 and 50 peoples. The telephone town hall – which isn't meant to replace the traditional ones – had an estimated 9,156 who participated. Those numbers were for people who remained on the line for at least 20 minutes.
He also received 200 voice mail messages afterward, most of them offering good, constructive comments and questions.
Asked after the event about his reaction to the protesters outside, Thompson said he understands their concerns and frustrations, but he stood by his choices relating to the TARP bailout.
“You can't just let everything fall off the edge,” which is what would have happened had Congress done nothing, he said.
“If we hadn't passed the stimulus it would have been terrible,” said Thompson.
The stimulus, he added, won't turn everything around. Instead, it will help stabilize the economy.
What gets lost in the numbers discussion, he said, is the toll on people struggling in the current economic climate.
He said he didn't hear from the protesters when President Bush was giving tax cuts to the rich and not including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the federal budget.
Local clubs that assisted with the event included Rotary Interact and 4-H.
Thompson collected e-waste again this year, and nine refurbished computers were donated to local nonprofits through the efforts of Steve Wyatt, owner and chief executive officer of Computer Recycling Co., who collects the older electronics throughout the seven counties in Thompson's district.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
On March 24, the US House of Representatives approved House Resolution 234, which declares Monday, March 30 as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.”
Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (D-Lakewood) introduced the legislation on March 3. Sixty-three members of the House of Representatives co-sponsored the bill.
In a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, Sánchez urged her colleagues to support the legislation (see her speech at www.youtube.com/user/LindaTSanchez).
“With this legislation, we can help provide Vietnam veterans the heroes’ welcome they deserve, but that too many never received,” Sánchez said in a written statement. “While today’s resolution may seem like a small gesture-and when compared to what our soldiers and their families sacrificed, it certainly is-it will serve to remind us of their service to our country.”
The March 30 date was chosen because it was on that date in 1973 that the US Armed Forces completed withdrawal of combat troops from Vietnam. The United States became involved in Vietnam in an advisory capacity in 1961 and began sending troops in 1965. More than 58,000 members of the US Armed Forces died in Vietnam, and more than 300,000 were wounded.
Sánchez became involved in the effort in 2003 after meeting Whittier resident Jose Ramos, an Army combat medic in Vietnam who has been advocating for the national recognition. Ramos founded the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day effort in 2000, according to the Web site www.whvvd.org.
Sánchez introduced the legislation in the 108th, 109th and 110th Congresses.
In 2007, Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced a bill in the Senate supporting the commemoration.
Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day was first commemorated last year, as Lake County News has reported.
Last year, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 951 held sales of commemorative clover sales – orange for Agent Orange victims and black for POW/MIAs – as part of a fundraising and education effort.
This year, however, the group didn't receive notice of the commemoration in time to organize an event, said Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 951 President Dean Gotham.
The commemoration has yet to be made into a national holiday, which is the ultimate goal for veterans.
Last December, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Dec. 10 through 14 “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Week.” In his proclamation he noted that Dec. 10, 2008, was the date that the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated as a tribute to the 5,822 residents who died in the war.
“Although many years have passed since the war ended, it is never too late to thank our veterans for their outstanding service,” Schwarzenegger said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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