LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Three people were injured in a three-vehicle crash on Highway 29 near Lower Lake on Sunday evening, with one of the drivers arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the wreck occurred at 6:40 p.m. on Highway 29 south of Spruce Grove Road.

The CHP said Gabrielle Dorsett, 57, of Santa Rosa, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Also involved in the wreck were Patsy Thorburn, 80, driving a 2011 GMC, and her passenger, Henry Everett, 78, both of Clearlake; and Alexis Stafford, 36, of Kelseyville, driving a 2005 Dodge, the CHP said.

The report explained that Dorsett was driving her 1986 Mercedes southbound on Highway 29 near Spruce Grove Road, while Thorburn was driving her GMC northbound with Everett in the front passenger seat. Stafford was driving her Dodge northbound behind Thorburn.

As the vehicles approached each other, the CHP said Dorsett allowed her vehicle to leave the southbound lane and drift into the northbound lane, directly into Thorburn’s path, with the two vehicles colliding head-on.

The CHP said Stafford observed the collision and swerved to the right to avoid it, causing her Dodge to leave the roadway and hit a metal fence.

All drivers remained on scene until the CHP arrived, the report said.

The CHP said Dorsett was arrested for DUI and was transported to Adventist Health Clear Lake for treatment of major injuries.

Thorburn and Everett, both of whom had moderate injuries, also were transported to Adventist Health Clear Lake for treatment, while Stafford was uninjured, according to the CHP.

All four individuals were wearing using their safety equipment, the CHP 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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council is set to discuss this week a proposed ordinance that would change the hours of use at Westside Community Park to conform to the same hours as other city parks, and also will consider granting a liquor license to the new Dollar General.

The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

On Tuesday, the council will hold a public hearing and consider adopting an ordinance that would amend the municipal code so that all parks would have the same hours, based on a recommendation from the Lakeport Parks and Recreation Commission. The proposed ordinance was introduced at the Feb. 5 meeting.

Public Works Director Doug Grider’s memo to the council on the item explained that, in 1993, the Lakeport City Council adopted Ordinance 752, which set the hours of use for Library Park. At that time, Westside Community Park was under development by the Westside Community Park Committee.

“Last fall, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Moore requested that the Parks and Recreation Commission review and discuss hours of use for Westside Park and the possibility of park closure during nighttime hours. In addition, there have been complaints made to Council from residents of the Parkside Subdivision regarding the late night activities in the Park,” Grider wrote in his report to the council for Tuesday’s meeting.

Grider noted that, currently the ordinance only prohibits camping in the park but does not address other activities.

He said staff discovered during its research that although the Lakeport Municipal Code addresses the hours of use of Library Park, the code is silent regarding Westside Community Park hours of use.

Grider said that that the facilities in Phase II of Westside Park are leased by the Westside Park Committee, which coordinates all activities in that area of the park.

“The committee chair has been consulted about the change and concurs with this action,” Grider said.

He added that adoption of the proposed ordinance is consistent with the camping prohibition at Westside Community Park and is not in violation of the ground lease with the Westside Park Committee.

In other business, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen will take to the council a request to make a public determination about granting the new Lakeport Dollar General at 1405 S. Main St. a Type 20 Off Sale Beer and Wine sales license.

He said staff has reviewed the request and determined the proposed beer and wine sales would be consistent with Lakeport’s major retail zoning district.

However, Rasmussen added that, at this time, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control can only issue the liquor license with a finding from the City Council that determines public convenience or necessity would be served by the issuance.

Rasmussen said the Lakeport Police Department does not believe that alcohol sales at the new location will create any increased crime, and based on its consideration, it’s recommending the council make a determination that public convenience or necessity would be served by the license’s issuance.

Also on the agenda is consideration of a motion to support the continued implementation of the Lake Economic Development Corp. Path to Prosperity Economic Strategy and direct staff to consider the allocation of funding consistent with the plan as part of the development of the City of Lakeport fiscal year 2019/2020 budget.

The cities of Clearlake and Lakeport are being asked to each contribute $10,000, with the organization seeking $25,000 from the county of Lake.

On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the council’s regular Feb. 5 meeting; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency in the city of Lakeport; approval of Application 2019-004, with staff recommendations, for the Cinco de Mayo event, to be held May 5; approval of an agreement for sales, use and transaction tax audit and reporting services with Avenue Insights & Analytics; and approval and authorization for the city manager to execute a professional services agreement with Paul Curren (dba Curren Consulting) for city engineer services.

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.

021919 Lakeport City Counci... by on Scribd

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Department of Education has released performance data for the 2017-18 school year, identifying Mountain Vista Middle School as one of six Lake County schools that meets the criteria for comprehensive support and improvement, or CSI.

CSI is based on four measures, both the raw numbers and the growth or decline they represent when compared to the previous year. The measures are English language arts test scores, math test scores, suspension rates, and chronic absenteeism rates.

The other local schools listed are Blue Heron School, Carlé Continuation High School and the Highlands Academy community day school in the Konocti Unified School District; Lakeport Elementary School; and Upper Lake Middle School, according to the California Department of Education.

This is the first year the state has used a new assessment tool to determine CSI status, and some California school administrators are concerned that the narrow, short-term focus does not accurately reflect a school’s overall performance, nor does it recognize performance trends over time.

However, at Kelseyville Unified School District, administrators say they welcome constructive criticism and view the CSI designation as an opportunity to keep improving.

“Mountain Vista Middle School offers students a great education,” said district Superintendent Dave McQueen. “With regard to the CSI designation, the Department of Education measures very specific criteria that concentrate on growth over a one-year period. A third of our students turn over every year at Mountain Vista Middle School – eighth graders move on to high school and we get a new batch of sixth graders – so a one-year comparison doesn’t really tell us much, there can be big fluctuations. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t improve. We can always improve, and once a school meets the criteria for CSI, it gets four years of additional federal funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act. This will allow us to improve even faster.”

McQueen described areas for improvement as well as Mountain Vista Middle School extracurricular and elective offerings that enrich the student experience but are not reflected in the State assessment.

He also noted that Mountain Vista Middle School test scores were higher than some schools that did not qualify for CSI, because the State considers not only the scores themselves, but whether they were better or worse than the previous year.

In describing the challenges facing Mountain Vista Middle School, McQueen highlighted the Lake County teacher shortage. A third of the school’s teachers were either new to the district or new to teaching last year.

“We have a strong mentoring program so new teachers have plenty of support, but there’s no substitute for experience. That will come with time. The good news is that we have so many enthusiastic new teachers,” Kelseyville Unified Director of Student Support Services Tim Gill said,

McQueen also pointed to the fact that 79.2 percent of Mountain Vista Middle School students are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

“We know that a solid education can help our students overcome poverty, but the struggles some of these kids face right now can make it hard to concentrate on school—can make it hard to even get to school,” he said.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing at least 10 percent of school per year. The Mountain Vista Middle School chronic absenteeism rate is 18 percent, which is double the state average.

McQueen suggested that the true measure of Mountain Vista Middle School should include not only the criteria measured by the Department of Education, but also the programs and services that enrich students both inside and outside the classroom, from electives that include a robotics class in partnership with the University of California at Davis to the AVID College and Career Readiness class, and from extracurriculars like sports and music to membership in the many clubs on campus.

“We believe one of the reasons graduation rates at Kelseyville High are going up is because of the AVID program at Mountain Vista Middle School,” McQueen said.

The school also utilizes a progressive approach to discipline that allows students to better understand their mistakes and to make amends, rather than simply being punished. Mountain Vista Middle School typically reserves suspension for students who engage in violent behavior or are guilty of drug offenses.

McQueen said, “We’ll continue to provide excellent training for our teachers and to give extra support to students who need it. Basically, we plan to work on the areas we need to improve and reinforce the areas where we’re doing well.”

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Thursday night the Clearlake City Council approved an urgency ordinance regarding the standards for manufactured and mobile homes which will place a hold on the placement of such structures that are more than 10 years old.

City Attorney Ryan Jones and Alan Flora, the city’s Community Development director and assistant city manager, took the urgency ordinance amending municipal code regarding residential housing standards for manufactured and mobile homes to the council.

Jones explained that, every so often, staff believes an urgency ordinance is necessary to protect the public safety, health and welfare of the community, and that the matter with mobile and modular homes was one of those instances.

Based on information from the city’s building inspector, the older mobile homes and manufactured homes that come into the city have safety issues. Specifically, Jones said the homes have aluminum electrical wiring which can cause fires, as well as poor insulation.

He said the goal is to be consistent with what the county of Lake is doing, adding the units coming into the city should be 10 years old or newer from the date the owner applies for a building permit.

Currently, someone who wants to place one of the structures only has to prove that the home is certified under the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, Jones said.

The urgency ordinance will place a moratorium on mobile and modular homes older than 10 years while staff researches further possible regulations, measures which Jones said are important for community safety.

Flora noted that staffers are working on updating the city’s zoning ordinance, and that they have received comments from some people in the community about the mobile and modular home issue.

He said that city staff wants to further refine language regarding the structures in the updated zoning ordinance.

Councilmember Joyce Overton said that, when the matter is brought back to the council for further consideration, she wanted more details about the issues with aluminum wiring.

Flora said the city’s building inspector, who also is a member of the Lake County Fire Protection District, told them that the mobile home fires the district deals with in the city are due to aluminum wiring.

There was no public comment on the matter before Overton moved to approve the urgency ordinance, Councilman Dirk Slooten seconded and the council approved it, 4-0. Councilman Phil Harris was absent for the discussion.

The council also adopted an ordinance amending the Clearlake Municipal Code related to the issuance, handling, appeals, and penalties or administrative citations, amending the general penalty for violations, adjusting penalties for cannabis-related violations and providing for the immediate imposition of fines in specific circumstances.

Council members also honored retired District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith; approved its 12th and final development agreement, this one with Erin McCarrick and Clearlake Ventures LLC for a commercial cannabis operation; approved a resolution authorizing staff to apply to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for the Community Development Block Grant program; and held off on finalizing a contract with Resource Environmental Inc. in the amount of $105,000 for the demolition of eight structures and the abatement of a ninth.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Community members are invited to a Fire Resilience Summit that will take place this week in Lakeport.

Congressman Mike Thompson will host the summit from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. Lakeport.

The Mendocino Complex was California’s largest recorded wildfire, and officials said it is of great importance to address what actions are being taken to assist survivors of these fires in their recovery.

With the past four fire seasons having seen over 60 percent of Lake County’s landmass consumed, the time is now to highlight resiliency and wildfire mitigation efforts of many kinds.

Thompson’s summit will offer an opportunity to learn more about those ongoing efforts. He is coming to Lake County to hear about residents’ experiences and answer their questions.

If you or someone you know are interested in attending please RSVP at https://bit.ly/2RtpMvt .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Thanks to the efforts of local individuals and organizations, there is a new nesting spot for the ospreys that live in and around Lakeside County Park.

The osprey nest tree at Lakeside County Park near Kelseyville was a popular osprey watching site for many who love this iconic bird of Clear Lake.

Sadly, the tree was deemed a hazard by the County of Lake and was cut down over the winter.

Faith Rigolosi, owner of Eyes on the Wild, a photography touring business here, brought the situation to the attention of Marilyn Waits, a board member of the local Redbud Audubon Society.

Waits, along with other Redbud board members, set about arranging the installation of a new pole for the osprey to call home.

Calpine Corp. made a generous donation of $10,000 to Redbud Audubon’s Osprey Pole Fund, established decades ago to facilitate osprey pole replacement, and funds from this grant enabled Redbud to purchase the pole for the osprey nest and to hire the Lucchetti Excavating Co. of Ukiah to install it.

The Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee also approved $5,000 for Redbud to purchase two osprey interpretive panels to be installed at Lakeside County Park, one in English and one in Spanish because so many Hispanic families use the park regularly. Outdoors columnist Terry Knight initiated the request for the interpretive panel funding from the Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee.

On Feb. 11, the Lucchetti Co. showed up at the park with their equipment and with help from Dan Cole, construction manager at Calpine, the Geysers and others, the pole was raised with the nesting disc attached to the top.

“The pole and the descriptive panels will provide a wonderful interpretive and wildlife viewing opportunity for both Lake County residents and visitors,” said Redbud Audubon President Roberta Lyons.

The osprey have already been spotted at the park and should start rebuilding their nest soon.

The Redbud Audubon Society is the oldest conservation group in Lake County. Founded in 1974, the Audubon Society offers monthly environmental programs from September through April, follows conservation related issues in the county and presents the yearly Heron Days event that takes visitors and residents alike along the shoreline in pontoon boats to view wildlife, including heron nesting sites on Clear Lake’s shoreline.

This year Heron Days will be held on the last weekend of April and the first weekend in May. Redbud Audubon will announce when registration for the boat rides is open.

For more information about Redbud or to become a member, go to www.redbudaudubon.org.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department reported that its officers arrested a man on Saturday for child endangerment after his young child was found running across Main Street.

Fabian Michael MorenoAmezcua, 34, of Lakeport was arrested in the case, according to a report from the department.

On Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to the area of South Main Street and Lily Cove to investigate the report of a toddler running across Main Street, the report explained.

Police said three officers responded and met with the reporting party who stated that he saw the toddler run into a residence on Lily Cove Avenue.

Officers went to the residence and began investigating. A female subject identified as a family member arrived on scene and said that she had earlier dropped the toddler, determined to be 3 years old, off with a subject later identified as MorenoAmezcua, the toddler’s father. However, she was unsure if MorenoAmezcua was at the residence with the child.

The officers attempted to contact MorenoAmezcua by telephone and also knocked on the doors and windows of the residence, the report said. Through a window, Officers could see the toddler in the residence but could not see any adults around.

Due to the circumstances and concern for the child’s safety, the officers made entry into the residence and located the toddler. During a further sweep of the residence, the officers located MorenoAmezcua hiding behind a door in a bedroom.

The department’s report said officers determined that MorenoAmezcua was under the influence of a controlled substance which they believed to be methamphetamine.

The officers found open containers of cannabis and smoking devices that were easily accessible to the toddler. Additionally, conditions in the residence were not believed to be suitable for the child, who was turned over to a family member.

Based on all the facts and circumstances, police said MorenoAmezcua was arrested and booked for felony child endangerment and being under the influence of a controlled substance, and transported to the Lake County Correctional Facility for booking.

Police said this case will also be sent to Child Protective Services for review.

“We appreciate the alertness of the reporting citizen and immediately contacting us to ensure the toddler’s safety,” the police department said in its report on the case.

 

No longer children but not yet adults, adolescents need opportunities to learn and prepare for their entrance into the broader society. But, as schooling increasingly extends the adolescent period and teenagers get dismissed as supposedly selfish and irresponsible, has society forgotten an important developmental need of our youth?

As a developmental scientist who focuses on adolescence, I reviewed dozens of studies and found that this age group has a fundamental need to contribute to others – to provide support, resources or help toward a shared goal. Contributing helps them achieve autonomy, identity and intimacy – important milestones on the way to adulthood.

As teenagers grow up, their brains are developing in ways that appear to support the increasingly complex ways of thinking and behaving that underlie giving to others. And being able to make meaningful contributions predicts better psychological and physical health among youth as well as adults. I believe it’s time to move away from outdated stereotypes of adolescents as only selfish and dangerous risk-takers and to consider how they are ripe for learning about contributing to others and their communities.

It’s human nature to give, even for adolescents

For decades, economists and other scientists have asked thousands of people to play experimental games that ask people to give and share money and other resources with one another. These studies have consistently shown that adults generally will provide some resources to others – some estimates put the average at around 30 percent of their allotments – even if they don’t know the recipients and expect nothing in return.

Adolescents are generous, too. Several labs around the world have reported on the tendency for youth to share at least some of their money or rewards with others in these games, even at a cost to themselves. Studies in the Netherlands suggested that adolescents aged 9 to 18 will make a costly donation to friends between 50 and 75 percent of the time. They’ll donate even to strangers at a cost to themselves between 30 and 50 percent of the time. In research our team has conducted, American adolescents agreed to give money to family at a loss to themselves about two-thirds of the time.

Add in the fact that teenagers consistently report their friends as their most frequent source of emotional and social support, and a picture emerges of adolescents as a group primed to contribute to others.

Brain developments for good

The adolescent brain gets blamed for a lot of bad behavior, such as delinquency and substance use. But this reputation is undergoing a rehabilitation.

Neuroscience research shows that brain regions related to reward – such as the ventral and dorsal striatum – become more sensitive during the teen years. At the same time, they’re strengthening connections to brain areas relevant for cognitive control, like the prefrontal cortex. Together these developments in the growing brain may be instrumental in the exploratory learning, creativity and cognitive flexibility essential to becoming an adult.

These regions and networks, as well as those relevant for thinking about other people, have been implicated in prosocial and giving behaviors. Our team’s studies have shown that several regions – such as the ventral and dorsal striatum and the dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex – are active when adolescents make costly donations to their family. Among youth who place great importance on helping family, we saw even more activation in additional regions related to social cognition and in the connections between them. Other researchers have obtained similar results.

These are the very same neural networks that undergo the most change during the adolescent years. The networks seem to be active during the complex decision-making – to whom, when, how much, do they really need it? – that can be involved in sharing resources, support and effort with others. It’s tricky to work through these kinds of difficult questions. The developing brain may enable youth to learn how to make the computations necessary to answer them.

Giving benefits the giver, too

Contribution helps givers and receivers. More and more evidence links giving and doing things for others with improved psychological and physical health. Volunteering and providing assistance has been correlated with lower mortality, fewer health problems and less depression.

And of course adolescents experience such benefits, as well. In an intriguing study, researchers randomly assigned one group of youths to participate in a program providing support and companionship to the elderly. Compared to a control group of teens, these adolescents later had lower circulating levels of inflammation – a marker known to be associated with a variety of chronic health problems.

Another study observed that helping others on a daily basis improved the mood of youth, particularly for those who suffered from higher levels of depressive symptoms. Our team even observed that adolescents were significantly happier on days in which they helped their families, due in part to their sense of fulfilling an important role in the family.

Helping meet the need to contribute

Providing youth with the opportunity to make contributions to others would seem to be a win-win: Youth gain skills and maintain well-being while communities benefit from their efforts. But are adolescents currently offered such opportunities in their daily lives?

First think about the home setting. Do families give adolescents a chance to participate in decision-making that affects themselves and their relatives? Do youth make instrumental contributions to their families, whether through daily chores or in more substantial ways like helping siblings with schoolwork?

In the school environment, do students feel as if their opinions are valued and their suggestions are considered? Are there enough slots in student leadership and extracurricular activities to give all students the opportunity to participate?

In the broader community, people must be welcoming of adolescents’ unique contributions, even when they may differ from the adults’. Are quality programs – those that allow youth to have a say – equitably available to the ethnically and economically diverse youth of today? Several national organizations such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 4-H aim to make it so, but limited resources can be a significant hurdle.

Figuring out ways to promote youth contribution can be challenging. Decisions need to be made about the appropriate type and amount, and responsible adults sometimes need to limit what adolescents can and should do. For example, participation in student governance would be positive, but taking on excessive job responsibilities that interfere with schooling and sleep would be detrimental. These decisions likely vary according to the norms and values of each community. And people must make a conscious effort to confront parochialism, by which adolescents and adults tend to give and do more for others like themselves.

Nevertheless, at a time in history when many economies no longer depend upon child and adolescent labor, perhaps the understandable desire to protect youth has led many people to forget an important ingredient in the period of life often called the “apprenticeship for adulthood.” Adolescents appear to be primed to give and contribute to others. They and our communities could benefit greatly if we collectively find more opportunities for them to do so in their daily lives.

Andrew J. Fuligni, Professor of Psychiatry & Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control’s kennels have once again filled up with a variety of dogs available to new families.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Boxer, German Shepherd, husky, mastiff, pit bull, Pomeranian and shepherd.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

‘Cricket’

“Cricket” is a senior female Lhasa Apso with a long tan and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 4, ID No. 11650.

‘CoCo’

“CoCo” is a young male pit bull terrier with a short brown and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 5, ID No. 11763.

Male terrier

This male terrier has a short black and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 6, ID No. 11756.

Female German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd has a medium-length black and tan coat.

She’s in kennel No. 7, ID No. 11772.

Female shepherd

This female shepherd has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 8, ID No. 11770.

Female Labrador Retriever

This young female Labrador Retriever has a short black coat with white markings.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 9, ID No. 11720.

‘Alaki’

“Alaki” is a male pit bull terrier.

He has a short brindle coat with white markings. He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 11, ID No. 6386.

‘Truely’

“Truely” is a female pit bull with a short white and tan coat.

She’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 11645.

Male boxer

This male boxer has a short brown and black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 16, ID No. 11738.

Female Labrador Retriever

This female Labrador Retriever has a short black coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 18, ID No. 11736.

Male pointer

This male pointer has a short tricolor coat.

He’s in kennel No. 21, ID No. 11771.

‘Scout’

“Scout” is a young male husky-shepherd mix.

He’s in kennel No. 22, ID No. 11778.

Female pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier has a short brown and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 11777.

Male Pomeranian

This male Pomeranian has a long tan coat.

He’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 11776.

‘Smokey’

“Smokey” is a male pit bull terrier with a short fawn and white coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 28, ID No. 11646.

‘Rogue’

“Rogue” is a male mastiff with a short brindle coat.

He’s in kennel No. 31, ID No. 11732.

Male German Shepherd

This male German Shepherd has a medium-length tricolor coat.

He’s in kennel No. 33, ID No. 11564.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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.

Scientists who study the solar system tend to ask big questions: How was our solar system formed? Where did the building blocks of life come from? What hazards from above threaten life on our planet? To find answers, they’re looking more and more at small worlds.

What are small worlds? Asteroids for sure. Comets too. Also the many small satellites or moons that orbit large planets as well as the icy worlds at the distance of Pluto and beyond.

Some have combined, only to be broken apart later by collisions and tidal forces. Others have gone largely untouched since the dawn of the solar system. Some carry water and organic compounds, others are almost entirely composed of metal. And all hold keys to questions about our solar system and the origin of life on Earth.

Dr. Adriana Ocampo, program executive for NASA’s New Horizons mission, said, “Water is key to life as we know it. Learning where water is found in our solar system provides pieces to the puzzle of understanding the origins of life. New Horizons recently surprised us by discovering a large abundance of water ice at Pluto.”

More surprises are in store, as New Horizons transmits the data from its Jan. 1 flyby of the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 back to Earth!

Small worlds can be found in a wide range of locations across the solar system, from the inner solar system all the way out to the Kuiper Belt. When they are studied together, these remnants of the early solar system can help tell the story of solar system formation.

Dawn recently completed a mission to the Main Asteroid Belt, visiting the dwarf planet Ceres and the Belt’s largest asteroid, Vesta.

OSIRIS-REx has arrived at Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid about 1650 feet (500 m) across, and will return to Earth in 2023 with a sample so scientists can begin to understand Bennu’s origin and history.

The Lucy mission will be traveling to six trojan asteroids, trapped in the orbit of Jupiter. These objects are the only remaining unexplored population of small worlds in the solar system. The Psyche mission will be visiting a metal object in the Main Asteroid Belt that could be the remnant core of a proto-planet similar in size to Vesta!

While those missions travel to their individual targets, NEOWISE, a repurposed space telescope in low-Earth orbit, has made infrared measurements of hundreds of near-Earth objects and tens of thousands of other small worlds in the solar system. These diverse worlds offer insights into how our solar system formed and evolved.

“This is not your grandparent’s solar system, and things are not as orderly as we once believed,” Dr. Tom Statler, Planetary Science Program scientist at NASA Headquarters, said. “The data we’ve gleaned from these objects so far have changed the way we think about the origin of the planets. For example, the small worlds in the Kuiper Belt are leading us to think that Uranus and Neptune formed much closer to the Sun than where they reside now, then gradually moved to their current orbits.”

The biggest misperception about small worlds? Their distance to each other. Statler explained, “In the movies, they always show an asteroid belt with millions of rocks almost touching each other, whereas in reality there is much more empty space. You have to travel hundreds of thousands of miles to get from one asteroid to another.”

Yet scientists are also looking closer to home. Determining the orbits and physical characteristics of objects that might impact Earth is critical to understanding the consequences of any such impact; and responding to an actual impact threat, if one is ever discovered.

NASA knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth. But, to prepare for that scenario NASA is developing the Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART mission as the first demonstration of the kinetic impact technique that could be used to change the motion of a hazardous asteroid away from Earth.

For more big stories about our solar system and how small worlds are yielding big answers, visit http://science.nasa.gov.

LUCERNE, Calif. – A woman was injured and her home was damaged in a Saturday afternoon fire in Lucerne that began due to a wood stove.

The fire was first reported just after noon on Saturday in the 7100 block of E. Highway 20 near Rosemont Drive, according to radio reports.

Firefighters arriving on scene minutes later reported finding heavy smoke coming from the two-story wood structure, which is located across the highway across from Clear Lake.

Northshore Fire Chief Mike Ciancio told Lake County News that the home’s resident was lighting her wood stove when it flashed on her.

“She sustained burns to her hand trying to put the fire out,” he said.

The woman later was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Ciancio said. Due to the weather, an air ambulance wasn’t available to fly her out of county.

Ciancio said the fire was difficult to access because the house is located on a steep hillside. So rather than being able to drive in, firefighters had to get to it by foot.

Shortly after arriving on scene, incident command requested that Highway 20 be closed both ways temporarily, according to scanner reports. The closure was in effect a little more than two hours due to the firefighting effort, with the highway reopened shortly before 2:30 p.m.

“We were drafting water out of the lake so we had hoses across the highway and that was the reason for asking CHP and Caltrans to shut the highway down in both directions,” Ciancio said.

Ciancio said it took about 45 minutes to contain the fire.

He said the home’s second story looks to be a total loss, and the house isn’t currently habitable.

In addition to Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and Lakeport Fire also were part of the firefighting response, Ciancio said. All units had been released by 3 p.m.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With winter storms filling streams and Clear Lake, local officials are closely monitoring conditions in case there is a likelihood of flooding.

This month’s storms rain and snowstorms have caused streams to run high, quickly raising the level of Clear Lake.

The National Weather Service’s observation station network reported the following 72-hour rainfall totals through 12 a.m. Saturday, in inches:

– Bartlett Springs: 5.60.
– Boggs Mountain: 8.97.
– Colusa/Lake County line: 4.98.
– Hidden Valley Lake: 7.48.
– Indian Valley Reservoir: 4.89.
– Kelseyville: 5.44.
– Lakeport: 4.41.
– Lower Lake: 6.15.
– Lyons Valley: 2.81.
– Soda Creek (near Lake Pillsbury): 5.61.
– Upper Lake: 4.55.
– Whispering Pines: 8.64.

The National Weather Service is forecasting rain through Sunday, a break with sunny skies until Tuesday. There is a forecast with a slight chance of rain and snow showers on Wednesday and Thursday before sunny skies return on Friday.

Clear Lake’s level reached the “full” mark – 7.56 feet Rumsey, the special measure used just for Clear Lake – Friday afternoon, according to the California Department of Water Resources’ Data Exchange Center.

The California Nevada River Forecast Center expects Clear Lake to reach the “monitor” stage of 8 feet Rumsey by Sunday afternoon.

Flood stage on the lake is 9 feet Rumsey, which it surpassed in early 2017.

David Cowan, Lake County’s Water Resources director, said there are so far no predictions when – or if – the lake will creep into flood stage.

In response to the high lake level and in anticipation of more inflows, Cowan said Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District was releasing water the Cache Creek Dam.

The dam was releasing 2,670 cubic feet of water per second late Friday night, according to the US Geological Survey stream gauge at the dam.

The cities of Clearlake and Lakeport are both keeping a close eye on the situation in order to respond should the lake move toward flooding.

“The lake is rising rapidly but Clearlake is in a bit of a better situation than Lakeport in that the lake has to get a bit higher here than in Lakeport before we have problems,” City Manager Greg Folsom told Lake County News.

“We have to hit at least 8 feet Rumsey before we begin to have issues. At that point we will detach the docks at Thompson Harbor (Redbud Park) if the lake level is rising to avoid damaging the docks. We also start to have flooding issues on Lower Lakeshore between 8.0 feet and 8.5 Rumsey.”

If the lake hit flood level, Folsom said the city would close Lower Lakeshore to traffic. Around 10 feet Rumsey is when it begins to impact Lakeshore Drive near the Sulphur fire burn area.

“After 10.5 feet Rumsey we could start to have some real problems, but let’s hope we don’t go there. We are in communication with Yolo about keeping the water flowing through the dam at a substantial level,” Folsom said.

Folsom said the city hasn’t had any significant problems with infrastructure due to the winter storms so far, other than a road washout on Boyles Avenue and a small mudslide on San Joaquin Avenue. He credited a lot of work over the summer and fall, cleaning out drains and culverts, with preventing more damage.

In Lakeport, city officials have been closely monitoring the lake level, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen. He said they’re ready to take protective measures if necessary.

He said they look at whether there could be damage to boat and launch facilities. As the lake gets higher, of particular concern are winds and wave action moving toward shore.

In the past, wave action has caused more damage to city and other property than the flooding itself, he said.

Heavy winds and the waves they created damaged the Library Park seawall to the extent that it now needs to be replaced, and also knocked over tables and benches, and damaged other park infrastructure, as Lake County News has reported.

The city has had some damage already because of the storms, Rasmussen said.

On Harley Street, south of the city limits, a drain infrastructure that goes under the road was damaged overnight Wednesday and into early Thursday, causing some undermining of the street base, he explained.

Rasmussen said Public Works crews were on the scene all day Thursday making emergency repairs, including placing a temporary liner for drainage to keep the water flowing and mitigate any further damage. “They’re going to have to go back later with a permanent fix.”

He said the storm action resulted in some damage to a dock from a sailboat that was tied up overlimit.

The city also had to close Martin Street twice since Monday due to flooding, and has also issued advisories due to standing water. “We don’t believe there’s any damage from that.”

As for reports of damage to private property, he said a sailboat that broke free of a mooring and slammed into the shoreline, and on Ninth Street on Wednesday a tree fell on a house on private property, causing significant damage. No one hurt, and while damaged the said the home wasn’t determined to be uninhabitable.

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.