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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Cobb resident Roger Kinney reported that thunderclouds formed over the area within an hour Sunday afternoon, with a dry lightning and thunderstorm beginning at about 5:15 p.m.
Within 10 minutes it started to rain, said Kinney, with that quickly turning to hail. He estimated the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees in 30 minutes.
The storm, he said, “caught me completely off guard.”
Click here to see a video Kinney shot of the hailstorm.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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CACHE CREEK – The Cache Creek Watershed Forum, a tri-county organization of natural resource, agricultural, and educational partners, will host a one-day outdoor learning event, Cache Creek Discovery Day, on May 10 as part of Watershed Awareness Month, at the Cache Creek Nature Preserve.
May is California’s official Watershed Awareness Month, designated by a proclamation by Governor Schwarzenegger, to promote the importance of watershed education and stewardship activities at the local community level.
The event, Cache Creek Discovery Day is geared toward all ages, and provides special emphasis for youth outdoor-learning in a broad range of issues relevant to the watershed. Guided short hikes through the preserve, wildlife viewing, Native American basketry & demonstrations, displays highlighting stream biology, birds, wildlife tracks and signs, native plants and habitat restoration are among the activities available for all who come.
The event is free to the public, and will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Saturday, May 10.
Demonstrations and activities led by area experts with live animals, critters and plants will run all day with a noon lunch hour picnic accompanied by the Flatland String Band. A special presentation by the UC Davis Raptor Center will take place at 11 a.m. There is a barbecue lunch available ($7.50) for those without picnic supplies.
The event is located at the Cache Creek Nature Preserve at 34199 County Road 20, six miles west of Woodland, just beyond the intersection of CR 20 and CR 94B. The Cache Creek Nature Preserve has riparian habitat, wetlands, grassland and oak woodlands on its 130 acre site, and numerous learning stations and displays for environmental education. Pets are not allowed on the grounds of the Nature Preserve.
This event is made possible in part by a grant from the CALFED Watershed Program and sponsored by the Cache Creek Watershed Forum including the following organizational partners: US Bureau of Land Management; Yolo, East Lake, West Lake, and Colusa RCDs; Counties of Lake and Yolo; Rumsey and Robinson Rancherias; Cache Creek Conservancy; Lake County Sierra Club; Upper Cache Creek Watershed Alliance; UC McLaughlin Mine Reserve; Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District; Cache Creek Watershed Stakeholders Group; Tuleyome and other local organizations.
For more information, and an event flyer and map please visit the Yolo County RCD Web site at www.yolorcd.org/news-and-events/cache-creek-discovery-day-event-may-2008.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – The first Lake County serviceman to lose his life during World War II was honored in a ceremony Saturday morning.
The United Veterans Council, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, family and friends gathered for the military tribute at the graveside of Staff Sgt. Thomas C. Ferron in Hartley Cemetery.
As Lake County News reported last week, local veterans decided to honor Ferron after learning more about his tragic story.
Ferron, a radio operator, died at age 22 in a B-17 bomber crash that occurred during a training mission on the night of Oct. 15, 1942.
He and eight other Army Air Corps crew members were killed when the plane, traveling at full speed, hit North Baldy peak near Magdalena, New Mexico.
A plaque to commemorate the crash is being dedicated in early July in Magdalena, New Mexico. Rick Webster, who grew up in the area, spearheaded an effort to have the plaque placed. It was his contact with Kelseyville's American Legion Post No. 194 in March that placed new attention on Ferron's story.
A news report at the time of Ferron's death explained that the plane had circled low over Magdalena before heading toward the mountain, where the plane's tail hit the peak causing “a terrific explosion,” in the words of Forest Ranger Arthur Gibson.
Gibson, who was among the rescue party, said parts of the plane could be found over an area of 200 to 300 yards on one of the peak's sides.
Ferron's parents, Thomas and Serena Ferron, had been planning a visit to see him in New Mexico at the time of the crash, the news report stated.
At the time of his death, Ferron had been in the service less than a year, joining the Army Air Corps on Nov. 13, 1941, according to the 1942 news report.
He had trained to become a pilot but couldn't pass the pilot's exam physical, so he instead went into training as a radio operator and gunner, the news report explained. Ferron graduated from Harlingen Army Gunnery School in Texas as an aerial gunner on Aug. 17, 1942, and was in his final test flights before combat when he was killed.
United Veterans Council Chaplain Capt. Woody Hughes eulogized Ferron, recalling how “woefully unprepared” the United States was when it entered World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Honoring veterans, Hughes said, is important. He recalled George Washington's admonition that the future of the military depended on the appreciation shown those who have served.
“All veterans gave some, and some – like Thomas Ferron – gave all” to preserve the nation's freedoms, said Hughes.
Ferron's cousin, Paul T. Ferron of Nice, attended the Saturday ceremony and accepted a flag from the United Veterans Council.
Paul Ferron told Lake County News that Thomas Ferron had studied to become an electrician after high school, and had spent time living in Salinas before entering the military. The news report on Thomas Ferron's death also reported that he had attended Salinas Junior College for two years and the University of California for one year.
According to Paul Ferron, his cousin grew up in a small house on Main Street, which today houses Lake Vacation Rentals.
Thomas Ferron had two sisters, one who died as a child, Elizabeth, and an older sister, Florence, who later moved to Salinas and became an English teacher, Paul Ferron said.
Saturday's ceremony also brought out two schoolmates of Ferron's – Bob Anton of Lakeport and Harold Haas of Scotts Valley. Haas brought copies of the original news clippings of Ferron's crash.
The men remembered Ferron as an active and popular student who was student body president at Lakeport's Clear Lake High School, where he graduated with the class of 1938. They also said Ferron played all the sports and was center on the football team.
Haas, who was in the military stationed in Oregon at the time of the crash, was given leave to come home for the original funeral, which included full military honors and a plane flyover.
Anton said he couldn't attend Ferron's funeral in 1942 because he, too, was away in the Army Air Corps.
Haas said he and members of his family plan to attend the July dedication ceremony.
Ferron's death made him the first World War II-era casualty among Lake County's servicemen, according to early news reports.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Ken Petz said the fire destroyed the Everglade Boulevard home of Evelyn Stone.
The modular, one of the older homes in the neighborhood, was reported on fire at about 7 p.m., said Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Pat Brown.
Brown, who was the first fire official on scene, said he arrived in just under six minutes, shortly followed by a total of four engines from Northshore Fire's Clearlake Oaks and Lucerne stations, along with mutual aid from Lake County Fire Protection District.
Twelve firefighters responded to fight the blaze, which was located at the back of the house, said Brown.
But firefighters struggled to make entry into the house, because Stone had an organ and a bookcase up against the front door.
Once inside, “It was hard for us to save anything,” said Brown, with firefighters at one point trying to get items out by going through walls.
The older modular had paneling inside rather than sheetrock, which caused it to burn more quickly, said Brown.
Petz said the fire appeared to have started in the bathroom. “It was a total loss,” he said.
Brown estimated the total damage at about $300,000.
Stone, who has suffered from health problems due to cancer, lost almost everything, except her yellow Lab, said Brown.
The dog got out fine, said Brown, adding that the whole neighborhood had been worried about him and his owner.
Petz said the fire district called the Red Cross and they're helping Stone with temporary housing, food and clothing, and trying to help her set up some kind of refinancing on her property.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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