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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The request comes in the wake of criticism from animal rights groups who also have filed federal injunctions to try to stop horse and burro roundups in California and Nevada, as Lake County News has reported.
Earlier this month, the Animal Welfare Institute also called on Congress to take swift and decisive action “to prevent the BLM from 'managing' our nation's wild horses into extinction.”
That call followed a bipartisan letter, signed by 52 members of Congress in late July to Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, calling for a National Academy of Sciences study.
The letter cited concerns about animal deaths and pointed out that the BLM was repeating mistakes from previous roundups in which deaths occurred. It also drew attention to the expense of the roundups.
“We are concerned by the inability of your agency to acknowledge these disturbing outcomes, change what seems to be deeply flawed policy, and better manage the gathers so as to prevent the unnecessary suffering and death of these federally protected animals,” the letter stated.
The NAS/NRC has previously reviewed the BLM’s management of the Wild Horse & Burro Program and produced three separate reports, which the BLM reported are now 20 to 30 years old.
In those reports, the NAS/NRC summarized what was known about wild horses and burros and made recommendations to the BLM for the Wild Horse & Burro Program management, population estimation and further research.
In the proposed effort, the BLM said many of the topics discussed in the earlier reports would be included, such as population estimation methods, annual herd growth rates, population control measures, and whether populations will self-limit, as well as other subjects needing new research.
The BLM said it must continue to base its decisions on the best available science and involve the public in its decision-making process in order to “sort through the many diverse and often conflicting opinions about how wild horses and burros should be managed.”
Commissioning the NAS/NRC to review their three earlier reports and the current available information and research about wild horses and burros is a first step, the BLM said. The second step is to ask the NAS/NRC to make recommendations about future Wild Horse & Burro Program management and needed research. A third step is to take the NAS/NRC findings and recommendations and make them available to the public in a variety of ways, perhaps to focus groups or science forums.
Both the BLM and NAS/NRC will negotiate the terms and outline for the research study, the BLM reported.
The proposed study would tentatively begin about Jan. 1, 2011, and would cost the BLM about $1.5 million and take about two years to complete.
Congress created the NAS/NRC to be a non-federal, not-for-profit source of scientific advice. The NAS/NRC enlists the nation’s foremost scientists, engineers, health professionals and other experts to address the scientific and technical aspects of society’s most pressing problems. Each year, thousands of these experts are selected to serve, without pay, on hundreds of study committees.
The letter from the members of Congress to Salazar stated, “We strongly urge you to refrain from any further action until a clear plan is in place to sustainably manage and protect our wild herds. Only then can we move forward with a more informed, open and deliberate process, based on input from all who are concerned with the health, well being, and conservation of this animal which embodies the spirit of our American West.”
Currently, a roundup in the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area near Susanville, Calif., is under way, one of the largest the BLM will conduct this year, and the largest in California alone, as Lake County News has reported.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Eddie Lee Gillespie, 51, of Clearlake was due in Lake County Superior Court on Friday morning for a preliminary hearing in connection with the May 25 shooting death of his estranged wife, Tracey Gillespie, 52, of Clearlake Oaks.
Eddie Gillespie is charged with murder and a special allegation of using a gun, and a lesser included offense of assault with a firearm and special allegations of using a firearm and causing great bodily injury, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who is handling the case.
Gillespie faces a maximum of 50 years to life if convicted of all charges, Hinchcliff said.
The case began the day in Judge Andrew Blum's Department 3 courtroom, but an apparent backlog of cases prevented the case from being heard in the morning.
Blum arranged to have it transferred to Department 2 and Judge Richard Martin, who took up the case around 2 p.m., with friends and family of the defendant and the victim having followed the case from one courtroom to another.
When Martin took up the case, he asked, “Are both sides ready to go?”
Gillespie's attorney, Stephen Carter, indicated he was ready but he had a new concern.
That afternoon one of the correctional officers brought Carter information that caused him to question Gillespie's mental competence, or his ability to understand what is taking place in the court proceedings – a different matter altogether from sanity.
“It appears to me that he is deteriorating,” said Carter.
As a result, Carter said he had “a significant doubt” regarding Gillespie's competence, with the additional concern that Gillespie would be incapable of assisting in his own defense.
Martin asked if Gillespie had a different opinion. Carter say he may. Gillespie remained silent throughout the hearing.
Carter said he and Hinchcliff agreed to have two doctors evaluate Gillespie. Martin suggested they use the services of Dr. Chris Fischer, who lives in the county and whose thorough work has impressed the judge. Martin suggested they also go with Dr. Douglas Rosoff, who lives in close proximity to the county, which could help the evaluation be completed more quickly.
Martin temporarily suspended the criminal proceedings until the doctors can evaluate Gillespie's competency.
Noting that the general turnaround for such evaluations is three to four weeks, Martin added another few weeks for the prosecution and defense to review the doctors' findings. He scheduled the next hearing for a review of the findings at 9 a.m. Oct. 1 in Department 3 before Judge Blum.
Gillespie has remained in the Lake County Jail since his arrest on the day of his wife's shooting, with bail set at $1.5 million.
Martin said he was going to leave that bail amount in place until they can review the competency issues. If Gillespie is found incompetent, Martin said he might remove the bail possibility altogether.
Carter noted that it is Rosoff's habit to come to Lake County for evaluations, and emphasized that he doesn't want Gillespie to be transported out of the county.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Following a six-day trial presided over by Judge Richard Henderson, a jury returned a guilty verdict on second degree murder against Timothy Slade Elliott, 38, who the jury also found used a knife in committing the murder, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.
The District Attorney's Office reported that Elliott encountered the victim, Samuel Billy, during a party at Shanel Drive on the Hopland Rancheria during the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 2008.
After an earlier fight involving Elliott and other subjects, Elliott and Billy engaged in an altercation during which Elliott was observed delivering a blow to Billy’s abdomen, the report explained. Billy staggered off a few feet and collapsed in the parking lot with an apparent stab wound.
Elliott fled the scene, going to the home of an acquaintance where he changed into some dirty clothes belonging to that individual, and leaving behind his own clothing and a knife, officials reported.
After police and medical personnel arrived Billy was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he died of the stab wound after emergency surgery, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Elliott will be sentenced on Oct. 8. He faces a sentence of 16 years to life.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Rayburn Killion, with attorney Linda Thompson representing Elliott.
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