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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Lake Parts, which for decades has been at home at 120 N. Main St., is moving on down the road to 1015 S. Main, the location of Napa Auto Parts.
Lake Parts owner Deanne Padel said that, as of Tuesday, her store will be open for business in the new location.
She said the two locations are merging, but will retain the Lake Parts name.
“It's very exciting,” she said.
The move will give her the chance to expand product lines in a 6,000-square-foot space, as opposed to the 4,400-square-foot area at 120 N. Main, where the business has been for 30 years, she said. Unlike the old location, the Napa store at the corner of Main Street and Lakeport Boulevard also has its own parking lot.
She said they'll offer more performance race car items and will sell go cart parts, both drawing on the local racing community.
Padel said she's going to try to utilize all of the current employees – the five at her former store and the six at the new location.
The Napa store was offered to Padel in a deal that she said began earlier this year, when Genuine Parts Co. – which owns the Napa auto parts group – approached her.
An inventory of both stores was under way on Monday in preparation for the ownership to be turned over to Padel, which Charlie Nelson of Genuine Parts Co.'s corporate office in Sacramento said became effective at midnight.
Nelson, who was in Lakeport on Monday to take part in the inventory, said the deal evolved since late in May.
“There was a change of ownership on the store here in Lakeport from the original owner,” he said.
That original owner was RJ Hoskins, said Nelson. Hoskins reportedly had owned Napa stores around Lake County and in Willits and Ukiah before selling the stores earlier this year.
Nelson said Genuine Auto Parts purchased the store – which he estimated has been in the market since the 1950s – at the end of May and began talking with Padel about a “merger-type situation.”
He said Padel will be the Lakeport Napa affiliate.
Padel began working for Lake Parts under its former owner, Dick Sylar, in 1989. In 2004, she purchased the business.
Growing up with brothers who were into racing, working with cars “was just kind of in my blood,” said Padel, who was born and raised in Lake County.
Lake Parts has been locally owned and operated since its beginnings in 1945, Padel said.
Today, she and her son, Chris Mansell, work together in the business, and she said they strive to support the local economy.
The parts business has been slow for a time, said Padel, but the new business arrangement comes at a time when business is starting to pick back up.
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The gathering will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Simons said he wanted to host the meeting to give community members an opportunity to come and have an open forum to express their various concerns.
“I've been trying to do this for a long time,” said the 84-year-old first term councilman.
He said he's previously met with resistance from city hall when proposing a town hall.
“This time I decided I'm just going to do it on my own,” he said. “They can all go to heck.”
City Clerk Melissa Swanson helped him set up the meeting, which Simons said he appreciated.
Simons said he wanted to get a feeling for what community members' frustrations may or may not be.
Attendees can bring up “anything at all,” he said, with no agenda or discussion items set.
The plan is for him not to enter the discussion himself, but leave it open. He will, however, try to answer what questions he can.
His remaining time on the council is short – he's decided not to seek reelection this fall.
“I don't want no more of this. It's just too tough a deal,” he said.
He is, however, interested in facilitating community discussion.
“These kinds of meetings periodically are good,” he said. “They get the blood stirred up.”
Simons previously held a town hall meeting on repaving Lakeshore Drive in 2009, which had a good turnout.
However, Simons – who said he's felt the deck has been stacked against him during his time on the council – said nothing came of the meeting's goal, which was to effect change in the town's center.
Simons said he expects the meeting to last a few hours.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
A recent two-day operation, the Glenn County Sheriff’s Marijuana Eradication Team, United States Forest Service and the state's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), assisted by California State Fish and Game and the California Highway Patrol, eliminated five marijuana growing areas on public lands within the Mendocino National Forest, according to a report from Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones.
A total of 34,332 plants and 500 pounds of processed marijuana were taken, with a potential street value of approximately $69 million, Jones said.
He said 8,422 plants were removed from the Kill Dry Creek area and 3,150 from southeast of Ice Springs. The Hardin Ridge area yielded two different grow sites with 8,272 and 4,587 plants, respectively. Another 9,901 plants and 500 pounds of processed marijuana were removed from the area of Mill Creek.
All five growing areas were consistent with organized drug trafficking organizations, Jones said. Camps and equipment were found at or near all the grow sites.
The Marijuana Eradication Team orchestrated raid teams hitting several of the large grows simultaneously. Jones aid no arrests were made and no weapons were sized. Clean up of the grows will be undertaken by the US Forest Service.
Deer season for archers opens this Saturday, Aug. 21, Jones said. Hunters coming into the Mendocino this week to scout potential hunting areas and those arriving to hunt this weekend should be ever mindful of marijuana grows and drug traffickers.
Glenn County alone is experiencing a record year for plants, according to Jones, who said there is the possibility of encountering marijuana grows while hunting is high. Hunters are cautioned to be aware of this.
Jones said marijuana growers are very protective of their plants and, in most cases, are armed. If black plastic water pipe or remote camps sites are happened upon, take no action and remove yourself from the area by the same route you entered. If possible, record the location by GPS and at your earliest opportunity, notify law enforcement.
He suggested that it also is a good idea to tell someone where you will be hunting and what time you are expected to return.
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A crash on Point Lakeview at Anderson Road, between Kelseyville and Lower Lake, shortly before 1:30 p.m. Sunday involved a vehicle going into a power pole, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The incident resulted in a two- to three-hour closure of the roadway while power and utility companies were called to make repairs and the county roads department was notified, the CHP reported. Subjects involved in the crash were treated and released with minor injuries.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m. several vehicles were reportedly involved in a crash on Highway 20 at Stokes near Robinson Rancheria, according to reports from the scene.
One of the vehicles reportedly was overturned, and traffic control was implemented, the CHP reported.
While reports from the scene indicated many “walking wounded,” minor injuries resulted. The names of those involved wasn't immediately available.
Highway 20 was completely reopened at 5:42 p.m., the CHP reported.
The CHP also responded to a crash with major injuries at 26800 Reiff Road at Morgan Valley Road in Lower Lake at 8:40 p.m.
A male subject was injured and bleeding, but no further details were available.
Just before 1:30 a.m. Monday, another collision between a vehicle and a pole was reported on Mira Vista outside of Clearlake. A tree became tangled in the pole and guide wire, but only vehicle damage was reported, according to the CHP.
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