News

Details: Written by: Lake County News reports; Published: 02 February 2012

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local officials and veterinarians are partnering in an effort to reduce the county's number of unwanted cats, which has resulted in thousands of animals being euthanized annually.

Lake County Animal Care and Control reported that Lake, like many other counties, has a serious cat overpopulation problem.

Unfortunately, that problem has resulted in the county having the highest feline euthanasia rate in the state.

According to shelter statistics, of the 4,000 animals turned into the shelter in 2011, 65 percent – or 2,600 – were cats.

Of those 2,600 cats, 18 percent – or 480 – were adopted or transferred to a rescue; the remaining 2,120 cats were destroyed.

This is a cycle that just keeps repeating year after year, according to Animal Care and Control officials. Without some kind of significant intervention, the cycle will not be broken.

Many people in the county start out feeding one or two stray cats because they don’t want them to go hungry, not realizing that one or two cats soon leads to eight or nine, according to the report.

Within a few weeks time, they’re now dealing with a colony of 12 to 15 cats, which in turn will continue to grow and reproduce exponentially unless action is taken.

That agency suggested that the appropriate action is spaying or neutering cats in order to stop the cycle, because taking them into the shelter, holding them as stray animals and then trying to adopt them out to a public who doesn’t want them isn’t working.

That approach is costly to the taxpayers, and agency officials suggest that destroying thousands of healthy cats each year isn’t a socially acceptable solution.

Many agencies work with local groups on “trap neuter release” – or TNR – programs. TNRs are a wonderful idea, but must be properly maintained in order to work, according to Animal Care and Control.

Many people start out with good intentions, spaying and neutering, vaccinating, releasing and feeding colonies of cats only to find out after they start, the property they are using isn’t allowed to be used for that purpose, the agency reported.

First and foremost, with any TNR program, use of the property for this purpose must be established and granted by the property owner. Additionally, in order to maintain a colony in one area, it has to be monitored and fed on a daily basis, animal control officials said. Local rescue groups and volunteers are necessary in order to follow up with this maintenance and care.

In light of Lake County’s euthanasia status and cat overpopulation problem, local veterinarians have offered to help by providing assistance with cat alterations.

Together, local vets are hoping to provide as many as 20 surgeries a month through a program they call “Catsnip,” which is managed by Vicki Chamberlain.

Additionally, starting in March of this year with the grand opening of Animal Care and Control's new medical clinic, the shelter will offer the same service for those people who wish to keep the community cats in their neighborhood, rather than simply turn them over to the shelter for euthanasia.

Although local vets and the animal shelter will be providing a small scale spay/neuter program for community cats, what the county really needs is a large-scale, high-volume TNR program to really make a difference in the cat population and euthanasia rates, Animal Care and Control said.

For questions about having feral or community cats altered in your neighborhood, please contact Vicki Chamberlain at 707-263-3958.

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Details: Written by: Lake County News reports; Published: 02 February 2012

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Office of Education College-Going Initiative will host the Lake County Academic Decathlon Super Quiz and awards ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 4.

This year's Academic Decathlon theme is “The Age of Empire.”

The Super Quiz and awards ceremony are the portion of the two-day competition that are open to the public.

The quiz starts at 3:45 p.m. at Kelseyville High School, 5480 Main St., with the awards presentations to follow.

The afternoon will feature a performance from the Kelseyville High School Band, poster and poetry contest display, and Blue Lakes Scholarship Award presentations.

The event is sponsored by the The Lodge at Blue Lakes, the Lake County Arts Council and Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

For more information call the Lake County Office of Education at 707-262-4162 or visit www.lakecoe.org.

Details: Written by: Lake County News reports; Published: 02 February 2012

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A vehicle stop conducted by members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force has resulted in one arrest and the seizure of narcotics, drug paraphernalia, cash and stolen property.

Arrested was 36-year-old Nino Salee Davis of American Canyon, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks.

Brooks said Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force conducted a vehicle stop on Davis' vehicle on S. Forbes Street in Lakeport on Tuesday.

During the vehicle stop, detectives learned that Davis was on searchable probation out of Napa County for possession of a controlled substance, Brooks said.

Detectives discovered that Davis allegedly attempted to hide approximately one ounce of methamphetamine, two grams of cocaine and digital scales inside his underwear. Brooks said Davis also allegedly was in possession of approximately $500.

The task force then conducted a probation search of Davis’ motel room in Lakeport, where he admitted to be staying, Brooks said.

Detectives located a police scanner, a glass “meth” pipe, two hypodermic needles and several Oxycontin pills, which Davis did not have a prescription for. Brooks said detectives also located a laptop computer which was discovered to have been stolen and taken during a burglary within the county.

Davis was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance and possession of stolen property, Brooks said.

He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked on the four felony charges. His booking sheet indicated bail was set at $35,000. He remained in custody on Wednesday.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

Task force detectives allegedly found drugs, drug paraphernalia and a stolen laptop in the possession of Nino Davis of American Canyon, Calif. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Details: Written by: Lake County News reports; Published: 02 February 2012

SACRAMENTO – Snow surveyors on Wednesday confirmed that water content in California’s mountain snowpack is far below normal for this time of year.

Manual and electronic readings record the snowpack’s statewide water content at only 37 percent of normal for the date. That is just 23 percent of the average April 1 reading, when the snowpack normally is at its peak before the spring melt.

“So far, we just haven’t received a decent number of winter storms,” said Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin. “We have good reservoir storage thanks to wet conditions last year, but we also need more rain and snow this winter.”

The manual readings by the Department of Water Resources off Highway 50 near Echo Summit showed that Lyons Creek and Alpha snow levels were the second lowest on record, going back to 1958 for Lyons Creek, and to 1966 for Alpha.

Water content in the snowpack at Lyons Creek Wednesday was 5.8 inches, compared with the record low of 0 inches in 1963. Water content in the snowpack at Alpha was 3.6 inches, compared with the record low of 2.9 inches in 1976.

The snowpack at Tamarack Flat contained 4.8 inches of water, the fourth lowest on record going back to 1946. The record low at Tamarack Flat was 0 inches in 1963. Water content at the Phillips course was 3.8 inches, second lowest in records dating back to 1946. The record low at Phillips was 0 inches in 1963.

For a broader comparison of current conditions to previous years, dry and wet, see DWR’s new “Water Conditions” at www.water.ca.gov/waterconditions/.

Electronic readings Wednesday indicate that water content in the northern mountains is 41 percent of normal for the date and 26 percent of the April 1 seasonal average. Electronic readings for the central Sierra snowpack are 32 percent of normal for the date and 20 percent of the April 1 average. The numbers for the southern Sierra are 42 percent of average for the date and 25 percent of the April 1 average.

Statewide, the snowpack water content was 37 percent of normal for Feb. 1 and 23 percent of the normal April 1 seasonal total.

DWR and cooperating agencies conduct manual snow surveys around the first of the month from January to May. The manual surveys supplement and check the accuracy of the real-time electronic readings from sensors up and down the state.

DWR’s initial estimate is that the State Water Project (SWP) will be able to deliver 60 percent of the slightly more than 4 million acre-feet of water requested this calendar year by the 29 public agencies that supply more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland.

The 60 percent delivery estimate is largely based on the known quantity of carryover reservoir storage. Unknown is how much rain and snow the state will get the rest of this winter. DWR may adjust the SWP delivery estimate to reflect changing hydrologic conditions.

Calendar year 2011 illustrates how weather-driven supply conditions can dramatically change. The initial 2011 estimate was that the SWP would be able to deliver only 25 percent of the slightly more 4 million acre-feet requested.

As winter took hold, a near-record snowpack and heavy rains resulted in deliveries of 80 percent of requests in 2011.

The final allocation was 50 percent in 2010, 40 percent in 2009, 35 percent in 2008, and 60 percent in 2007.

The last 100 percent allocation – difficult to achieve even in wet years because of Delta pumping restrictions to protect fish species – was in 2006.

Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project’s principal storage reservoir, is at 107 percent of average for the date (72 percent of its 3.5 million acre-foot capacity). Lake Shasta north of Redding, the federal Central Valley Project’s largest reservoir with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet, is at 99 percent of its normal storage level for the date (68 percent of capacity).

San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, an important storage reservoir south of the Delta, is at 119 percent of average for the date (95 percent of its capacity of 2,027,840 acre-feet). San Luis is a critically important source of water for both the State Water Project and Central Valley Project when pumping from the Delta is restricted or interrupted.

For context, an acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, enough to cover one acre to a depth of one foot.

Mountain snow that melts into reservoirs, streams and aquifers in the spring and summer provides approximately one-third of the water for California’s households, farms and industries.

Electronic snowpack readings are available on the Internet at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/DLYSWEQ .

Historic water content readings from snowpack sensors are posted at: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/rpts1/DLYSWEQ .

Archived snowpack water content records: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/rpts_archived1/DLYSWEQ .

Electronic reservoir level readings may be found at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/getResGraphsMain.action .

News

Animal Care & Control, local vets partner to address feral cat problems

Lake County Academic Decathlon Super Quiz, awards ceremony takes place Feb. 4

American Canyon man arrested for drugs, stolen property following Tuesday vehicle stop

STATE: Year's second snow survey shows continuing dry conditions