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Written by: Lake County News reports

Published: 02 October 2007

 

WASHINGTON – Last weekend, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) was presented with the Sierra Club’s Edgar Wayburn Award for passing legislation that permanently protects 273,000 acres of wilderness in Northern California.

The award is given annually in recognition of service to the environment by a person in government.

Thompson was joined by other Sierra Club award winners, including former Vice President Al Gore and author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.

“Northern California’s commitment to protecting our rich natural resources should be an example for the entire country,” said Thompson. “I am pleased to receive this award, and I hope it helps further our efforts to protect our country’s wild spaces and threatened and endangered species.”

“Congressman Thompson’s environmental record has been exemplary throughout his career in public life, and that consistently high standard was raised to a new level in 2006, when the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act became law,” said Sierra Club President Robbie Cox.

The award was presented to Thompson on Sept. 29 during the Sierra Club’s annual dinner in San Francisco.

During the ceremony, Gore was presented with the John Muir Award for his work to raise awareness of climate change and Friedman was presented with the David R. Brower Award for his stories pertaining to the environment.

Thompson’s award recognized his successful passage of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Act (H.R. 233) in the 109th Congress, designating 273,000 acres of federal lands in Lake, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Napa counties as wilderness in perpetuity.

The bill also designates 21 miles of Scenic River and approximately 51,000 acres as a Recreation Management Area for off-highway vehicles and mountain bikes. It was signed into law in October 2006.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 01 October 2007

CLEAR LAKE – After more than two days of searching dive teams have not been able to find a young Windsor man who went missing in the water of Clear Lake Saturday afternoon.

Matthew Zanoni, 22, was riding on a pontoon boat with friends in the area of Shag Rock off Buckingham Saturday shortly before 3 p.m. when officials say he either jumped or fell into the water and didn't surface. Shag Rock is a rocky outcropping that rises out of the lake; it is located east of Clear Lake State Park and close to the Narrows.

Lt. Cecil Brown of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said the North Shore Dive Team and Lake County Search and Rescue Dive Team continued their search throughout the day on Monday.

“They didn't do a recovery today,” Brown said.

Brown said the search effort also used sidescan sonar, a technology similar to that rescuers used to locate the body of Vacaville resident John Stockton, who went missing in the lake in May.

The sonar system, which Brown said can scan in all directions, was brought in by a private contractor.

Brown said divers held a debriefing Monday on the day's search, with plans to continue Tuesday. He said rescuers have been communicating with Zanoni's family as the search has continued.

Divers are very limited in how long they can stay in the water because of various factors, particularly the water conditions, Brown explained.

Brown said on Monday evening the dive teams were discussing how to proceed in Tuesday's search effort. He did not have information available on what outside agencies may be assisting the search.

Zanoni was in Lake County visiting BoardStock, according to a family friend who contacted Lake County News.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 01 October 2007

CLEARLAKE – Police believe they're zeroing in on the person responsible for last month's shooting of a Clearlake man that may have left the victim partially paralyzed.

On Sept. 13, 25-year-old Daniel Williamson was shot multiple times in an incident that occurred near the Mormon Church on Bay Street, as Lake County News previously reported.

Lt. Mike Hermann of the Clearlake Police Department said Monday that police have identified individuals who they believe were responsible for the assault on Williamson.

“It appears that he was accidentally shot,” said Hermann. “The shooting was intentional but we don't believe he was the initial target.”

Hermann said the incident may have been drug-related, not gang-related. That question arose because of Williamson's previous gang ties.

Hermann confirmed that Williamson was the target of an Aug. 28 countywide enforcement operation in which paroles with gang contacts were the targets of parole searches.

Williamson is still in the hospital, Hermann reported, recovering from the gunshot wounds he received.

“He was hit in the right side of his chest and also the right side of his head,” said Hermann.

The shot to Williamson's head, added Hermann, didn't penetrate his skull.

The chest wound appears to have damaged Williamson's spine, said Hermann. The result is that Williamson may be paralyzed from the waist down.

Hermann said the main suspect in the case is in custody on a parole violation.

He did not say if that suspect was John Franklin Smith, 20, a man who police contacted early in the investigation and arrested on a parole violation Sept. 14. Smith no longer is in custody in the Lake County Jail, although parole violation arrests often result in suspects being transported out of county.

Det. Martin Snyder is leading the investigation. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Snyder or Officer Michael Ray at 994-8251.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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