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LAKEPORT – BoardStock is not coming to the city of Lakeport.

That was the final word from the City Council Tuesday night, following a third public meeting on the subject.

The council's unanimous decision at the end of Tuesday night's meeting effectively put an end to more than two months of discussion about bringing the extreme sporting event to Lakeport.

BoardStock promoter Rob Stimmel and Lakeport businessman Ron Campos had approached the city about hosting BoardStock after Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa decided in February not to host the event for a third year, citing problems with underage drinking.

Stimmel, who wasn't present for the meeting, said previously he believed his event was being blamed unfairly for Konocti Harbor's security and alcohol policies.

Earlier this month, Stimmel began negotiations with Konocti Vista Casino for locating BoardStock there in September rather than the original August dates.

Concerns about the event being located there but still drawing on Lakeport's police and fire resources, with no reimbursement agreements, got the discussions going with the city again. Campos recounted Tuesday that Mayor Roy Parmentier approached him after they began negotiations with Konocti Vista.

About 30 people attended the meeting, which was smaller than past gatherings. Rather than being more evenly split, the people who spoke seemed overwhelmingly opposed to BoardStock.

Lakeport resident Nancy Thornton said she left her daughter's softball game early to come and address the issue, which she said she feels strongly about.

"My big concern is the underage drinking," said Thornton, noting that people will find a way to bring in alcohol, despite the fact it would be advertised as an alcohol-free event.

"We need to do family and environmentally friendly events," said Thornton, citing the recent bass tournaments as an example.

"I think we need to promote a classy town," she added. "We have a classy town. We don't need to bring in this element."

Suzanne Lyons of Lakeport said she had a concern that the potential damage to the town's reputation could far outweigh any financial benefits.

George Smith, a 40-year Lakeport resident and retired math teacher, said it's often people coming from outside the community who cause problems at such events. As examples, he recalled the riots at Chico State's Pioneer Days in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and problems at the Stonyford Rodeo.

"I just picture something very similar with BoardStock," Smith said.

John Norcio, owner of Lakeport's McDonald's, said he wouldn't speak either for or against the event. However, he asked the council to be sure any contract they might sign be sufficient to cover their expenses. Norcio also was concerned that the city "still might be on the hook" for police and fire costs if Konocti Vista Casino hosts the event.

Not having control or access to reimbursement was a concern repeated throughout the meeting by Parmentier.

Officials said during the meeting that Stimmel had offered to give the city $40,000 to cover police and fire costs.

Elaine Jolin of Lakeport asked about whether it was better to have BoardStock hosted by the city or the casino.

"It's really a team effort to cover BoardStock," said Police Chief Kevin Burke, who explained that – wherever the event is held – police, the Lake County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol will be covering it.

Burke said it's hard to anticipate what the event would be like, because it's never been at Lakeport or Konocti Vista before. Later in the meeting, he ventured the event would be similar to how it was in the city of Stockton, where there was little problem within the city, but rather outside of its limits.

Alcohol was the major factor, said Burke, when it was at Konocti Harbor. "At Konocti, they made very little effort at all to control alcohol the last time it was held," Burke said.

As to concerns about tribal jurisdiction, Konocti Vista is private property, but Burke said he anticipated them asking for additional coverage.

"Most of the problems associated with BoardStock occur at the location where the event takes place," said Burke.

Despite assurance from Campos that security money would be paid, other objections couldn't be overcome, such as Councilman Buzz Bruns' assertion that the lake, which is already low, would be much lower during the suggested September dates.

Councilmembers also noted receiving overwhelmingly negative feedback from city residents when it came to hosting the event.

Councilman Bob Rumfelt said he worked with Konocti on security during previous BoardStocks. The event itself, he said, wasn't the problem, but the issues that came with it were.

Parmentier maintained, "If we have it here, at least we'll get paid for it."

No one at the meeting could say for certain if Stimmel already had signed a contract with Konocti Vista, including Campos, who said he was the one who first took the idea to Konocti Vista. Bertsch said he spoke with the casino, where they would only say their lawyers were exploring it.

Councilman Jim Irwin said he liked the idea of having the event in Lakeport to try to maintain control.

"With that said, I'm not comfortable at all with this contract that we have," he said.

Ultimately, the council came back to its previous stance and voted unanimously to decline the event coming to Lakeport.

In other council news from Tuesday, the council approved an employment contract with new city manager Jerry Gillham as part of its consent agenda.

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 May 2007

UKIAH – A Lake County man died late last week after his pickup went off the roadway and into a creek.

The Mendocino County Coroner's Office reported that Paul Jason Rosales, 37, of Nice, was the victim of the early-morning accident that occurred April 28.

The California Highway Patrol's Ukiah office reported that the accident was called in at 7:30 a.m. by a motorist passing 1300 Redemeyer Road near Ukiah.

CHP Officer Matt Holzhauer arrived at the scene within five minutes, according to the CHP statement. There, Holzhauer found a blue Ford F350 pickup on its roof in a creek, 30 feet below the roadway.

Rosales, the vehicle's only occupant, died at the scene, according to Holzhauer's report.

Holzhauer's preliminary investigation found that Rosales' pickup was traveling at an unknown speed southbound on Redemeyer Road. For an unknown reason, the pickup entered the road's west shoulder, where it collided with a wooden guardrail before landing on its roof in the creek below.

Ukiah Valley Fire, Cal Fire, Ukiah Ambulance and the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene.

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 May 2007

 

 

LAKEPORT – An Iraq war veteran will spend another six months in jail after being convicted of felony possession of stolen property.

Derick Hughes, 21, was sentenced to a total of 280 days in jail and felony probation Monday afternoon after lengthy courtroom sentencing deliberations between prosecutor Art Grothe and defense attorney Stephen Carter.

Hughes was charged with felony possession of stolen property after being pulled over in Nice last December. During the stop, a sheriff's deputy discovered two used 10-inch by 12-inch ballistic panels from a military body armor system, a BB gun, a miniature souvenir baseball bat and a quantity of concentrated cannabis.

During the first part of testimony on Friday, Grothe attempted to cast doubt on Hughes' military service and his activities in the Marines while Carter worked to relate Hughes' behavior in Lake County to a psychological condition known as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Grothe questioned Hughes about the dates and locations of his service as well as the temperature of the weather in Iraq.

Hughes developed PTSD after an explosion during a promotion ceremony in an Iraq battlefield which took the lives of 10 of his fellow soldiers, Carter said.

While on the stand, Hughes described the promotions location. “It was in the middle of an ops zone, a combat zone,” he said.

That tragic event was dramatic enough to garner the attention of ABC's Good Morning America, which interviewed a number of the survivors, including Hughes.

According to testimony during the sentencing, Hughes was diagnosed with PTSD by a Navy doctor before being discharged from the military.

Subsequently, he received an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge after testing positive for marijuana and methamphetamine in Twentynine Palms shortly after returning from Iraq. During the sentencing, Hughes admitted to using the drugs.

The sole defense witness, aside from Hughes himself, was Dr. Albert Kastl, the clinical and forensic neuropsychologist Carter brought in to evaluate Hughes.

Kastl, an expert witness, concluded that Hughes' behavior and attitude was consistent with that of someone affected by PTSD.

At one point Kastl told the court that Hughes had been “trained not to show weakness,” and that suspicious, defensive behavior was “highly consistent” with PTSD.

During cross examination Kastl explained that instances of PTSD were much higher in Iraq than in previous wars. In Iraq, Kastl said, as many as 20 to 30 percent of the soldiers would suffer from the affects of PTSD while in Vietnam the numbers were much lower, closer to 5 percent.

Active duty troops in Iraq currently number around 160,000, according to press accounts.

Friday's sentencing was cut short by the judge and two fire alarms which emptied the courthouse before either attorney had completed their closing arguments. The sentencing resumed Monday afternoon.

The weekend respite gave Carter sufficient time to accumulate 24 defense exhibits comprised of Hughes' discharge documents, a letter of commendation, a two-page checkout sheet reflecting that all items checked out to Hughes were returned, numerous photographs of Hughes in Iraq and a video copy of the Good Morning America show in which Hughes appeared.

Before getting to the video Judge Richard Martin silently reviewed all the exhibits for several minutes, looking over some items more than once. After he had finished reviewing the multiple exhibits, Carter presented the video and Grothe uttered his objection.

Grothe did not object to any of the exhibits except for the Good Morning America video, which he described as redundant.

During a brief give-and-take with Carter over the tape, Martin questioned Carter about how the tape might boost Hughes' credibility with the court. Carter sought to have Martin play the tape and decide for himself.

Carter argued that since Grothe had suggested on multiple occasions that Hughes was not being truthful, it helped support Hughes' claim of military service in Iraq. “It goes to weight,” Carter said.

Carter ultimately convinced Martin to review the tape before deciding whether to sustain Grothe's objection. Carter then placed a small television on the judge's desk and played the video in full view of the court.

During the first portion of the ABC video, Hughes expressed that losing his fellow soldiers was akin to losing relatives. “It's like losing a family member, that's what we lost,” Hughes said on the tape.

Judge Martin then overruled Grothe's objection and accepted the video into evidence along with the other 23 exhibits.

The two attorneys then proceeded with their closing arguments.

Carter had filed a 17b motion, which is used to request a reduction from felony to misdemeanor. He focused on Hughes' service and need for treatment. He stressed that Hughes, who had fought to establish a right to vote in Iraq, stood to lose his own right to vote in the US if found guilty of a felony.

At one point, Martin noticed two veterans in the audience, one a veteran's representative who would soon testify that Hughes would still be eligible for Veterans Administration benefits even after being OTH discharged.

Richard Hulet, a Vietnam veteran who works for the Employment Development Department as a veterans representative, took the stand.

“He's gonna be eligible for full VA treatment for post traumatic stress,” Hulet said of Hughes.

During his closing, Grothe continued to attempt to poke holes in Hughes' story by picking out conflicting details from a probation report and Kastl's testimony. Grothe told the judge he would not seek prison time.

In the end Martin told the court that he had problems with the inconsistencies in Hughes' account and denied Carter's request for the 17b reduction from felony to misdemeanor.

“This court doesn't hand out 17bs right and left,” he said. “This court is not ready to turn him loose on a 17b.”

Martin then sentenced Hughes to 280 days with credit for 90 days served, bringing his sentence to 190 days. Carter said Hughes will actually serve two-thirds of that sentence.

Martin also allowed for day-for-day credit if Hughes takes part in a residential VA treatment center. That treatment would be in lieu of jail time with the possibility of other types of treatment centers as an option.

After the sentencing, Carter expressed his satisfaction with the verdict and reported that Hughes was taking it in good spirits.

“We're very happy he didn't get a prison sentence,” Carter said. “For a guy who's been through what he has been through this isn't such a big deal.”

Carter will meet with Hughes on Wednesday at the jail to work out a strategy going forward. Hughes could potentially complete his three year probation in one year through good behavior and petitioning the court for a reduced charge.

“A year from now when I expect Derick Hughes will be successfully completing the terms of probation, our plan is to bring a motion for early termination of probation,” Carter said. “There's an open door there, we don't have to wait the full three years.”

Should Hughes successfully complete his probation, “You can bet I'll be at the courthouse,” Carter said, where he'll apply to have Hughes' felony expunged from his record.

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

 

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Written by: John Jensen

Published: 30 April 2007