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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The last-minute touches are nearing completion for the Lake County Fair, which opens Thursday evening.
On Wednesday work was under way at the fairgrounds, located at 401 Martin St. in Lakeport, with workers assembling rides and concession booths.
The fair will run from Thursday, Aug. 30, through Sunday, Sept. 2. This year’s theme is “Summer's Biggest Blast!”
Fair Chief Executive Officer Richard Persons said preparations are on track, with a lot to look forward to at this year’s event.
There are a number of new food vendors this year, the fair’s commercial exhibits are sold out – and are almost entirely local businesses – plus, “The weather is supposed to be fantastic,” he said, with daytime highs estimated to be in the 90s.
On Thursday evening, the fair parade – the kickoff event for the fair – will start at Natural High on Main Street in Lakeport at 5:30 p.m.
The parade will travel south on Main Street, ending at the main gate at the fairgrounds on Martin Street with the ribbon cutting. Everyone who enters the parade with a float will receive free entry to the fair.
This year’s parade grand marshals are members of the Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team.
The team, which has paid tribute at the final services for more than 800 Lake County veterans, will lead the parade, and at the main gate will cut the ribbon declaring the Lake County Fair open for another year.
Persons reported that the team will lead the parade with a color guard, a marching unit and the team's commanders.
On Friday, the fair is partnering with Lake County CAN for an inaugural canned food drive to help feed Lake County’s hungry.
Those who bring four cans of food to the fair between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. will gain free fair admission. Persons said the goal is to fill 10 pear bins – the equivalent of about two tons – with food for local food pantries.
One of the fair’s main events is the Junior Livestock Auction, which takes place beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, in the Baldwin Pavilion.
“Livestock is arriving and it appears the number of lots for the Junior Livestock Auction will be up, so we're hoping to set another record for the sale on Saturday,” Persons said.
This year there are more than 4,000 exhibits entered in the fair’s many competitions and a variety of musical acts – including several based in Lake County.
There also will be the Lake County Invitational Bomber Race on Thursday evening, a freestyle motorcycle high jump with mud drags on Friday evening, California State Finals of the WGAS Motorsports Tuff Truck and Buggy Races on Saturday evening and the demolition derby – with a bigger, enhanced purse for the winners – on Sunday evening, Persons reported.
Persons said that fair prices remain unchanged from last year.
Regular admission prices are $10 for a regular ticket, $6 for a senior over age 60, and $6 for children ages 6 through 11. Children under 6 years old are admitted free every day.
In addition, children through age 11 are admitted for $3 on Thursday, Aug. 30 only, for "Kid's Day."
For more information, visit www.lakecountyfair.com or check out the fair’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-Fair/138978582794813 .
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lakeport man was sentenced on Wednesday to 32 years to life in prison for the November 2007 murder of his neighbor, who he incorrectly believed was a child molester.
Ivan Garcia Oliver, 34, received the sentence from retired Lake County Superior Court Judge Arthur Mann on Wednesday morning.
Oliver was convicted earlier this month of the Nov. 20, 2007, murder of Michael Dodele at the Western Hills Mobile Home Park in Lakeport.
“We filed an appeal today,” said defense attorney Stephen Carter.
Shortly before his murder Dodele had moved into the trailer park after being released from prison for the rape of an adult female in the late 1980s. He also had several other previous convictions for rape and attempted rape.
Because of his rape conviction, Dodele was required to register as a sex offender, and his name appeared on the Megan’s Law sex offender registration Web site.
Oliver testified during the trial to being concerned for his young son after seeing a strange car pull up to the park, with a subject inside beckoning to the boy.
When Oliver went to speak to the park’s manager about his concerns, she pulled up the Megan’s Law Web site, saw Dodele’s listing and told Oliver he was a child molester.
Several days later, Oliver confronted Dodele in his home. Oliver testified that Dodele attacked him, a claim Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff argued in court was a fabrication.
The autopsy report showed that Dodele had been stabbed about 65 times, suffering a broken vertebra, a broken shoulder and several wounds that pierced his lungs and spleen.
Dodele’s sister and daughter both gave victim impact statements at the Wednesday morning hearing, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said there wasn’t much argument to be made at the hearing regarding sentencing length. “The court didn’t have any discretion.”
Hinchcliff credited the work of the case’s two key investigators – Corey Paulich and Brian Martin – for the successful prosecution.
Paulich, the primary investigator and a sheriff’s detective, was in court every day and took the stand. Martin, who also worked at the sheriff’s office at that time, assisted Paulich, Hinchcliff said. Martin also testified in the case.
“They both did a lot of work putting this case together,” said Hinchcliff, adding that a lot of people are involved with investigating cases before they are submitted to the prosecutor.
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NORTH COAST, Calif. – Containment was rolled back slightly on Wednesday on a two-fire complex burning in northern Mendocino County.
The North Pass Fires – burning 10 miles northeast of Covelo since Saturday, Aug. 18 – have so far burned 34,119 acres, officials reported.
Containment was at 28 percent Wednesday night, down from the 35 percent estimate given by fire officials earlier in the day.
The fires have burned four residences and seven outbuildings, and evacuations remain in place for dozens of homes and structures in the fires’ path, according to Cal Fire and the US Forest Service, which have unified command of the incident.
There were 1,908 fire personnel on scene Wednesday, according to Cal Fire and forest officials. Assigned resources included 156 engines, 28 fire crews, two airtankers, 13 helicopters, 26 bulldozers and 29 water tenders.
The fire is burning in the Mendocino National Forest, and a closure order remains in effect for two-thirds of the Covelo Ranger District, the US Forest Service reported.
Lake County residents saw an increase in smoke from the fires on Wednesday evening, with satellite imagery also showing smoke near the coast.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – They go about their work quietly, efficiently, with the utmost respect.
The Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team has paid tribute at the final services for more than 800 Lake County veterans, and they do so with no outside funding source, providing a vital service for the families of veterans entirely upon donations.
But on Thursday evening, the Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team will provide another vital service to the community when its members serve as grand marshals for the Lake County Fair opening parade.
In 2003, Craven began sending care packages to a couple of her law enforcement colleagues who were deployed to Afghanistan as part of the California Army National Guard.
It was the start of Operation Tango Mike, which translates to “Operation Thanks Much” in military jargon.
Each year the fair’s board of directors selects an individual or organization that has had a large and significant impact on Lake County.
The grand marshals lead the parade up Main Street in Lakeport on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Arriving at the main gate on Martin Street, they will cut the ribbon and declare the Lake County Fair open for another year.
The Lake County Military Honors Team will lead the parade with a color guard, a marching unit, and the team’s commanders honoring both America’s veteran’s and the way of life those veteran’s have fought and died for, as exemplified by a small town country fair.
Each year, the fair parade is the kickoff event for the annual Lake County Fair.
The parade starts at Natural High in Lakeport, travels south on Main Street, and ends at the main gate to the fairgrounds with the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Upon arrival at the main gate, everyone who enters the parade with a float will receive free entry to the fair.