NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A Sacramento-area California Highway Patrol officer died Wednesday evening from injuries he sustained in a crash during a vehicle pursuit.

Officer Lucas F. Chellew, 31, died shortly after the crash occurred, according to a report from the CHP’s Sacramento headquarters.

At 5:45 p.m., Officer Chellew was in pursuit of a motorcycle eastbound on Fruitridge Road east of State Route 99. During the pursuit, a collision occurred, causing Chellew to lose control of his motorcycle.

The CHP said Chellew suffered major injuries, and first responders on scene worked tirelessly to keep him alive as he was transported to University of California, Davis, Medical Center.

Despite the valiant efforts of the paramedics and medical professionals, Officer Chellew succumbed to his injuries at approximately 6:11 p.m., the CHP said.

“My heart aches on this terribly tragic day for the CHP as we have lost a hero, who swore a sacred and honorable oath to serve and protect the people of California,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.  “Officer Chellew now joins a distinguished and cherished group of men and women whose names adorn a memorial fountain at the center of the CHP Academy. His service and sacrifice will forever be honored and never forgotten. Please keep Officer Chellew's family, friends and the entire CHP family in your thoughts and prayers as they mourn his loss.”

Late Wednesday night, Gov. Jerry Brown announced that Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff in Chellew’s honor.

"Anne and I join all Californians in offering our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Officer Chellew, who worked day and night to keep the people of California safe. Officer Chellew's great courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Gov. Brown said.

Officer Chellew served with the California Highway Patrol for eight years. He was assigned to the CHP’s South Sacramento Area Office.

He is survived by his wife, Christina; a daughter and a son; father, Charles Chellew, a retired CHP captain; mother, Marion Chellew; and sister, Hanna Chellew, a CHP officer.

A bell toll tribute ceremony will be held in Officer Chellew’s honor at noon Thursday at the CHP Academy in West Sacramento, where he graduated in May 2009.

The CHP said the collision remains under investigation.

COBB, Calif. – The Cobb Area Council will hold its regular monthly meeting this week.

The council will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Little Red Schoolhouse/Cobb Mountain Lions Club, 15780 Bottle Rock Road.

Items on the agenda include a report on the Feb. 18 Cobb Rebuild Workshop, a presentation from the Cobb Mountain Lions requesting the council’s endorsement for a request for Community Development Block Grant funds for facility improvements to the Little Red Schoolhouse Community Center and discussion of controlled burn regulations.

In other business, the council will discuss ways to encourage people to move back to the Cobb area.

There also will be report from the council’s committees, including abatement monitoring, Neighborhood Watch, emergency communications and emergency preparedness.

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. – County crews finished ahead of schedule on a temporary bridge installation project east of Clearlake Oaks on Tuesday, while evacuations of several areas along the lakeshore in Lakeport remained in effect.

In the midst of working around the county to respond to storm conditions, Lake County Public Works crews reopened New Long Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon after completing the installation of a temporary bridge.

The county crews had started work over the weekend to get the Bailey bridge installed on New Long Valley Road, which officials were concerned might fail or suffer another landslide like the one that had temporarily closed it last week.

The emergency road repairs and bridge installation had necessitated the closure of New Long Valley Road beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, as Lake County News has reported.

New Long Valley Road is the main thoroughfare into the community of Spring Valley, east of Clearlake Oaks. Residents had been urged to evacuate for a few days or be prepared not to be able to get out of the community until the installation was complete.

However, despite the rain and wind, crews completed the work and were able to reopen the road by 3 p.m. Tuesday, Lake County Public Works reported.

In the city of Lakeport, mandatory evacuations ordered on Monday for the Lucky Four Trailer Resort, Willowpoint Resort, Aqua Village Mobile Home Park and Esplanade Street remained in effect on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Lakeport Police Department.

Police said a temporary shelter for evacuees is located at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, located at 1111 Park Way in Lakeport, telephone 707-263-6002. Pets will be allowed at the shelter.

Residents who have chosen not to leave mandatory evacuation areas are required to shelter in place, police said.

Those residents who have chosen to remain in evacuation areas but now wish to leave should contact the city of Lakeport’s Emergency Operations Center at 707-263-5614 for assistance. For emergency assistance call 911.

Library Park, nearby city parking lots and all of the city’s boat launches also remain closed, police said.

Nonresidents found entering a closed emergency area are subject to a misdemeanor arrest, which police said include not just the evacuated areas but Library Park. Lakeport Police officers are patrolling the areas routinely.

Updates on the flood conditions are continuing to be issued through the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the city of Lakeport and the Lakeport Police Department, as well as through Nixle alerts.

Elsewhere around the county, more roads were being closed due to flooding and downed trees, Public Works reported.

One of the factors in the flooding, the rising waters of Clear Lake, doesn’t appear like it will be abating any time soon.

Clear Lake’s elevation continued to climb on Tuesday, hitting 10.43 feet Rumsey at 4:15 p.m., based on the United States Geological Survey’s gauge at Lakeport. The lake’s flood stage is 9 feet Rumsey.

At the same time, the Cache Creek Dam’s releases were reported to be 5,150 cubic feet per second at 4:30 p.m., having been rolled back from the more than 6,000 cubic feet per second being released early Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The California Nevada River Forecast Center predicts the lake’s elevation to rise closer to 11 feet Rumsey before it starts to recede later this week.
 
The full list of closures and advisories for local facilities and roadways follows. Information was compiled from reports from Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, the Clearlake Police Department, Clearlake Public Works, Lake County Department of Public Works, Lakeport Police Department and the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.

In the map below, areas marked with the flooding symbol and the red triangle indicate closures; the rockslide icon indicates those areas where there are slides but which remain open.

CLEARLAKE

All city boat launches remain closed.

Lakeshore Drive: Debris is on the roadway on Lakeshore Drive between Country Club Drive and the goose neck.

CLEARLAKE OAKS

High Valley Road: Road conditions from Brassfield Winery to Bartlett Springs Road are unknown at this time.

Island Drive: Closed from Highway 20 to the Bridge due to flooding.

Lake Street: Open but flooded. Please drive it caution.

Old Long Valley Road: Open with slide activity.

Twin Valley Road: Closed due to mudslide.

Widgeon Way: Closed from the Plaza to Shady Lane due to tree across the roadway.

COBB

Maple Shadows: Closed at the south end from Highway 175 to Parnassus due to culvert failure.

Socrates Mine Road: Road slip out at MPM 3.8. Down to one lane in this area.

KELSEYVILLE

Argonaut Road: Closed between Thomas Drive and Big Valley Road due to flooding.

Bell Hill Road: Closed at Adobe Creek low water crossing.

Bell Hill Road: Closed from Highway 29 to Main Street due to downed tree and power lines.

Bergesen Road: Closed from Lakeview Estates Drive to Bergesen Court due to a downed tree.

Clark Drive: Closed to through traffic from Gaddy Lane to Soda Bay Road due to flooding.

Park Drive: Closed to through traffic due to flooding.

LAKEPORT (CITY)

All city boat launches remain closed.

Library Park continues to be closed due to the extreme danger and flood conditions.

City parking lots at Third Street, Fourth Street and Fifth Street are closed.

– Esplanade Street.
– K Street.
– Konocti Avenue.
– Lupoyoma Avenue.
– Helena Avenue.
– Lily Cove Avenue.
– Oak Knoll Avenue.
– E Street.
– Martin Street from N. Forbes Street to Russell Street.

Giselman Street from Lakeshore Boulevard to Sayre Street: Closed due to flooding. A detour has been set up: Northbound traffic will use Green Street to Sayer Street to Giselman Street, southbound traffic will use Giselman Street to Sayer Street to Green Street. Please drive with caution on these streets as there will be school children using them.

Lakeshore Boulevard: Closed from Lange Street to Green Street. A detour has been set up:  Northbound traffic will use Green Street to Sayer Street to Giselman Street; southbound traffic will use Giselman Street to Sayer Street to Green Street.

Royale Avenue: Closed to all vehicles at Pike Drive.

LAKEPORT

Eickhoff Road: Closed due to flooding. Detour is open for local traffic only.

Hendricks Road: Open with flooding.

Hill Road: Closed between Sutter Lakeside Hospital entrance and Lakeshore Boulevard due to mudslides across the roadway.

Lakeshore Blvd: Closed from Park Way to Alterra Drive due to flooding.

Lakeshore Boulevard: Closed from Park Way to 2,500 feet north due to flooding and a power pole leaning into the roadway.

Reeves Lane: Closed at Land’s End due to flooding.

Scotts Valley Road: Closed at Hendricks Drive due to flooding.

LOWER LAKE

Morgan Valley Road: Closed at the Lake/Napa line due to numerous trees and mud slides on the Napa County side.

NICE

Lakeshore Boulevard: Closed from Stokes Avenue to Carson Street due to flooding.

Nice-Lucerne Cutoff: Open with flooding.

Stokes Avenue: Closed from Stokes Court to Nice-Lucerne Cutoff due to flooding.

UPPER LAKE

Bachelor Valley Road: Open with flooding.

Bartlett Springs Road: Closed at MPM 18.0 due to mudslide.

Elk Mountain Road: Roadway closed at MPM 29.6 due to road washout. No estimate of when road will be reopened.

Laurel Dell Road: Currently open with closure pending due to flooding.

Main Street: Open with flooding.

Scotts Creek Road: Open with Flooding.

Scotts Valley Road at Highway 20 to Hendricks Road: Closed due to flooding.

Witter Springs Road: Open with flooding.

COLUSA COUNTY

Highway 20: One-way controlled traffic from 5.5 miles east of the junction of Highway 16 to “E” Street in Williams due to flooding. Closed from Husted Road to Lone Star Road in Williams due to flooding.

NAPA COUNTY

Mt. Veeder Road: The 3000 block of Mt. Veeder Road is closed due to downed trees and power lines.

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Police have arrested a man for the fatal stabbing of a Clearlake resident earlier this month.

James Laurence Mongi, 46, was taken into custody on Monday morning, according to a Det. Sgt. Martin Snyder of the Clearlake Police Department.

Police say Mongi was responsible for the fatal stabbing on Feb. 4 of 55-year-old Richard Garner Jr. of Clearlake.

Garner died following an early morning confrontation in the 14000 block of Walnut Avenue. When officers responded to the scene, they were led by witnesses into a small residence where they found Garner, suffering with an apparent stab wound to his neck area, Snyder said.

Snyder said Garner was transported to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake for emergency medical treatment, dying there a short time later.

Clearlake Police Department detectives continued the investigation for several weeks, conducting interviews with numerous witnesses and involved persons, Snyder said.

Through the investigation, Snyder said detectives developed probable cause that the person responsible for the stabbing was Mongi.

Snyder said detectives obtained an arrest and search warrant for Mongi's person and property, and at 9 a.m. Monday they went to the 14500 block of Walnut Avenue to serve the warrant.

A male adult, later identified as Mongi, answered the door and was taken into custody without incident. Snyder said detectives remained on scene and processed the residence for evidence.

Afterwards, Mongi was booked into the Lake County Jail for the outstanding warrant for the charge of homicide and assault with a deadly weapon, with bail seat at $1,025,000, Snyder said.

Jail records showed that Mongi is tentatively scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court for arraignment on Friday.

Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to call Det. Ryan Peterson at 707-994-8251, Extension 320.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Storm conditions have caused more road closures and continued others around Lake County and the region.

With Clear Lake topping 10 feet Rumsey on Monday, numerous streets around Lakeport remained closed, and a mandatory evacuation order was issued for four areas – three mobile home parks and the area along Esplanade Street.

On Monday, the Lake County Department of Public Works began installing a temporary Bailey bridge on New Long Valley Road, which is expected to remain closed for at least another day. The roadwork was necessitated due to landslides and the potential for road failure.

Elsewhere around the county, especially along the lakeshore and near creeks, the high water kept roads closed.

Scotts Valley Road at Highway 20 and at Hendricks Road has once again been impacted by flooding, resulting in a closure.

The full closure list follows. Information was compiled from reports from Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, the Clearlake Police Department, Lake County Department of Public Works, Lakeport Police Department and the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.

In the map above, areas marked with the flooding symbol and the red triangle indicate closures; the rockslide icon indicates those areas where there are slides but which remain open.

CLEARLAKE

Santa Clara Avenue: Closed between Colusa and Fresno for an undetermined time due to a tree down.

Lakeshore Drive: Debris is on the roadway on Lakeshore Drive between Country Club Drive and the goose neck.

CLEARLAKE OAKS

Twin Valley Road: Closed due to mudslide

New Long Valley Road: Closed to all traffic due to instillation of a bailey bridge at the slide location.

Old Long Valley Road: Open with slide activity.

COBB

Maple Shadows: Closed at the south end from Highway 175 to Parnassus due to culvert failure.

Socrates Mine Road: Road slip out at MPM 3.8. Down to one lane in this area.

KELSEYVILLE

Argonaut Road: Closed between Thomas Drive and Big Valley Road due to flooding.

Bell Hill Road: Closed at Adobe Creek low water crossing.

Clark Drive: Closed to through traffic from Gaddy Lane to Soda Bay Road due to flooding.

Park Drive: Closed to through traffic due to flooding.

LAKEPORT (CITY)

– Esplanade Street.
– K Street.
– Konocti Avenue.
– Lupoyoma Avenue.
– Helena Avenue.
– Lily Cove Avenue.
– Oak Knoll Avenue.
– E Street.
– Martin Street from N. Forbes Street to Russell Street.

Giselman Street at Lakeshore Boulevard: Closed due to flooding. A detour has been set up: Northbound traffic will use Green Street to Sayer Street to Giselman Street, southbound traffic will use Giselman Street to Sayer Street to Green Street.

LAKEPORT

Hill Road: Closed between Sutter Lakeside Hospital entrance and Lakeshore Boulevard due to mudslides across the roadway.

Lakeshore Boulevard: Closed from Park Way to Crystal Lake Way due to flooding.

Lakeshore Boulevard: Closed from Park Way to 2,500 feet north due to flooding and a power pole leaning into the roadway.

Reeves Lane: Closed at Land’s End due to flooding.

Scotts Valley Road: Closed at Hendricks Drive due to flooding.

LOWER LAKE

Morgan Valley Road: Closed at the Lake/Napa line due to numerous trees and mud slides on the Napa County side.

NICE

Lakeshore Boulevard: Closed from Hammond Avenue to Stokes Avenue due to flooding.

Nice-Lucerne Cutoff: Open with flooding.

Stokes Avenue: Open with flooding

UPPER LAKE

Bartlett Springs Road: Closed at MPM 18.0 due to mudslide.

Elk Mountain Road: Roadway closed at MPM 29.6 due to road washout. No estimate of when road will be reopened.

Scotts Valley Road at Highway 20: Closed due to flooding.

COLUSA COUNTY

Highway 20: One-way controlled traffic from 5.5 miles east of the junction of Highway 16 to “E” Street in Williams due to flooding. Closed from Husted Road to Lone Star Road in Williams due to flooding.

NAPA COUNTY

Mt. Veeder Road: The 3000 block of Mt. Veeder Road is closed due to downed trees and power lines.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – California has more children in poverty than any other state in the nation, with nearly one in four kids going hungry each day.

In fact, there are more children in poverty here in the Golden State now than there were prior to the recession.

State Sen. Mike McGuire, whose district includes Lake County, believes the time is right for California to broaden the reach of school meals.

Well-nourished students can learn, grow, and achieve at their fullest potential. Yet, each year, millions of low-income California children who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals miss out on the academic and health benefits of school meals, McGuire’s office reported.

Two years ago, McGuire made significant progress by cutting through bureaucratic red tape by enrolling more than 326,000 students on free lunches.

The process was made easier by streamlining the free lunch system and ensuring students who were on CalFresh were also being enrolled in the free lunch program at their school.

This was a 30-percent increase from the year before and was one of the largest enrollment increases the Golden State has seen in decades.

On Monday, McGuire reported that he took the next step in the effort by introducing SB 138, the "Feed the Kids Act," a bill aimed at addressing childhood hunger by removing another layer of bureaucratic red tape from the state school meal program enrollment process and by serving all students in very high poverty schools for free.

"California is the sixth largest economy in the world and we produce more food than any other state in America. We have to step up and declare war on childhood poverty and ensure California's kids get the resources they need to thrive," McGuire said. "When a child goes to school hungry, their ability to learn, grow and thrive is compromised. School meals are extremely effective at fighting the devastating effects of child hunger and improving outcomes in our public schools."

McGuire said SB 138 will greatly improve the current certification process and ensure that all school districts utilize Medi-Cal data to seamlessly enroll income-eligible students in free and reduced-price school meals.

Currently, most districts do not use Medi-Cal data to automatically enroll students. This bill will automatically enroll income-eligible students who are on Medi-Cal onto the free and reduced lunch program at their school, therefore increasing the number of kids receiving free and reduced lunch.

The California Department of Education believes an additional 500,000 elementary, middle school and high school students would start receiving school meals under this new and efficient certification process.

This bill is modeled after a successful pilot program where 14 school districts enrolled low-income students who receive Medi-Cal into a free school meal statewide.

Building upon these successful local programs, SB 138 would automatically enroll eligible Medi-Cal students into reduced priced meals as a way to address hunger among the working poor.

In addition, the bill would allow for very high poverty schools to serve meals to all students for free by using federal options to do so. 

“Child hunger is a widespread, urgent and shameful problem that cannot wait. SB 138 is a common sense step to ensure more children get school meals, which protect them from the pains of an empty stomach and the devastating impacts of hunger on children’s health and school success,” said Michele Stillwell-Parvensky, senior policy and government affairs manager at Children’s Defense Fund-California.

SB 138 would more effectively identify low-income students and significantly increase access to school meals.

Participating districts in the pilot program saw an increase of more than 60,000 students enrolled in their free and reduced lunch programs, which brought in over $33 million in additional federal meal reimbursements.

If this bill passes, there are 41 additional schools on the North Coast that would likely qualify for a 100 percent federal reimbursement for school meals for all of their students.

These include 13 small schools in Sonoma County, nine in Humboldt County, four in Marin County, eight in Lake County, two in Trinity County, one in Del Norte County and four in Mendocino County.

McGuire is proud to be working with Senators Mitchell, Beall, Portantino and Hertzberg to get the bill passed.