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- Written by: Lake County News reports
COBB, Calif. – A weekend storm brought not just rain to Lake County but snow to its higher elevations, including Cobb.
An estimated foot of snow was to be found at Boggs Mountain on Sunday, which offered local residents the chance to have some fun.
Marni Johnson, Kathy Fitts and Samantha Edrich spent the afternoon building a proper “snowgal” and even did what Johnson called “super luging.”
The latest National Weather Service forecast predicts precipitation will taper off at the start of the week, but rain could return to the area toward week's end.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new report released by the California Department of Public Health showed a drop in the state’s teen birth rate, but on the local level the numbers experienced a slight increase.
The California Department of Public Health’s report on the teen birth rate, released last week, said the state rate for the two-year period of 2008-10 declined to 29 births for every 1,000 females aged 15-19.
That’s down from the rate of 32.1 births for 2007-09 and 35.2 in 2006-08, according to state statistics.
The most recent numbers showed a significant drop from the teen birth rate of 70.9 births per 1,000 teen females recorded in 1991, when the number reached a the record high.
“Teen pregnancy has been a long-standing public health challenge associated with increased maternal and infant morbidity and mortality,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, the state public health officer. “Early teenage childbearing has been recognized to have negative health and social consequences to adolescent mothers, but we must continue to work together if we are to reduce the state’s teen birth rates even further.”
By comparison, Lake County’s teen birth rate is well above the state average.
For the 2008-10 reporting period, Lake’s teen birth rate was 43.4 percent, up from 41.8 percent in 2007-09 and 43.2 percent in 2006-2008, according to state statistics.
The local epidemiological data on which the state report is based lags by a minimum of two years, which is how long it takes the state to collect and process it, according to Jane MacLean, Lake County’s maternal and child health director.
The state report said teen birth rates across California declined in all major racial/ethnic groups.
Teens aged 18-19 experienced a decline of 9 percent – from 53.5 in 2009 to 48.6 in 2010 – and teens aged 15-17 saw a drop from 17.5 to 15.2, representing a 13 percent reduction, the report showed.
While Hispanic teens aged 15-19 continued to have the highest birth rate in 2010, they demonstrated the second highest decline at 11 percent between 2009 and 2010. Hispanic teen birth rates dropped from 50.8 in 2009 to 45.0 in 2010.
African-American teen birth rate was 37.0 in 2009; it dropped to 34.0 in 2010, representing a decrease of 8 percent, the state said. Asian/Pacific Islander teens and white teens had reductions of 14 and 8 percent, respectively.
California’s teen population appears to be leveling off, however changes in its composition can influence the teen birth rate, the state reported.
In 2000, nearly equal proportions of female teens were Hispanic (39%) and white (38%); by 2010, Hispanics comprised 47 percent and whites 33 percent, according to the report.
The state Department of Public Health credited public and private teen pregnancy prevention efforts with bringing about the decline in the teen birth rate.
The agency said its funds programs including the Information and Education Program, the Adolescent Family Life Program and the Family PACT (Planning, Access, Care and Treatment) Program.
However, Lake County is being impacted by the loss of important grant funding to assist such efforts.
Lake Family Resource Center formerly ran a teen pregnancy prevention program in partnership with local schools, said the center’s executive director, Gloria Flaherty.
However, Flaherty told Lake County News that all of the state funding for that program was eliminated in the last budget year. As a result, the program was discontinued.
Flaherty said the program had been run on a relatively small annual budget of $127,000.
“We were always so amazed with what we could do with that,” she said.
Lake Family Resource Center began providing the services in the 2003-04 fiscal year. During the period from 2003 to the end of the program in 2011, she said the local teen pregnancy rate dropped, and she said she believed their program contributed to that decline.
With the elimination of state funding, the only programs the center now offers for teen pregnancy prevention focus on stopping second pregnancies, Flaherty said.
Last year, the California Department of Public Health received a Personal Responsibility Education Program grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Administration to focus services in 19 counties in California with teen birth rates that have consistently remained higher than the statewide teen birth rates.
With Lake among those 19 counties, Flaherty said Lake Family Resource Center and other local stakeholders – including the Lake County Office of Education, Lake County Public Health and the Lake County Department of Social Services – responded to a recently released request for proposals from the state for the grant funding. That would help the center revive a teen pregnancy prevention program.
“So hopefully there will be funding coming again starting July 1,” Flaherty said.
The new funding amount would be $50,000 annually. Because of the lower amount of funding, Flaherty said Lake Family Resource Center would not be able to entirely replicate its previous program.
If funded, the new teen pregnancy prevention program would again be school-based, and would focus on abstinence, as the previous program did, Flaherty explained.
“We’re really hoping we’re funded,” she said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Three adults cats remain available for adoption this week at Lake County’s animal shelter.
Two tabbies and a gray cat are in need of new homes, maybe yours.
Cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed and microchipped 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 there, hoping you'll choose them.
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
Male tabby
This male gray and black tabby is 3 years old.
He has a short coat and a docked tail.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 52, ID No. 32041.
Gray domestic short hair
This gray male domestic short hair mix is 3 years old.
He is not yet altered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 96, ID No. 32059.
‘Flower’
“Flower” is an 8-year-old female domestic short hair mix.
She is a brown tabby with white markings, and has lovely green eyes.
Flower is residing in cat room kennel No. 17, ID No. 31965.
Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .
Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.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.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Two Republicans are challenging Congressman Mike Thompson in this year's race for Congress.
Randy Loftin of Napa and Stewart Cilley of Rohnert Part are challenging Thompson for the newly redrawn Fifth Congressional District seat, which includes the southern portion of Lake County along with Napa County.
Loftin, a Vietnam-era veteran, lives in Napa and owns a successful tax and retirement planning business.
He wants to pursue private sector job creation to spur economic recovery, and pledges to work to cut taxes to put more money in the pockets of consumers.
Cilley is a certified public accountant concerned about addressing restrictions on personal freedom and bringing about a “less over-arching control by an invasive, unwelcome federal government,” he states on his Web site.
According to his Web site, Cilley pledges to “work like crazy to radically reduce the size of the federal government, lessen its controls over our behavior and, consequently, lower the burden of taxation on all of us who 'yearn to breathe free'!”
Earlier this month Loftin received the endorsement of the California Republican Party. California’s new open primary system replaces the customary ballot process to determine Republican nominees.
Loftin expressed his gratitude for the state party's endorsement, and said he is determined to build strong affiliations with other Republican leaders to “take on” the issues that strangle the counties, the state of California and the people nationwide.
He also has received the endorsements of the Republican central committees for Napa, Lake, Solano and Contra Costa counties.
Loftin's Web site is www.loftinforcongress.com ; Cilley's is http://cilleycampaigncommittee.danielpatrickcilley.com .