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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A longtime employee in Lake County’s government and the former county administrative officer has died.
Heber Matthew “Matt” Perry died April 24 of complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 60 years old.
Perry and his wife, Julie, were living in Cache Valley, Utah, where they had moved in 2016 after he retired from the county.
Born in Montana and raised on a Minnesota dairy farm, Perry was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for which he did a two-year mission on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.
Perry held a bachelor’s degree in history and a Master’s of Public Administration from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
After graduate school, he and his wife came to Lakeport, where he began his job with the county of Lake.
Retired County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said Perry was fresh out of college when he hired him to work as an administrative analyst in the County Administrative Office.
“He quickly impressed me with his knowledge, competency and work ethic,” said Cox. “He earned several promotions and eventually served as my chief deputy CAO before being selected by the Board of Supervisors for appointment to the position of county administrative officer after I retired in 2012. He served the board and the citizens of Lake County with distinction and dedication.”
When the Board of Supervisors appointed Perry interim county administrative officer in June 2012, then-Supervisor Rob Brown said Perry asked the board to make the initial appointment on an interim basis to make sure he was a good fit.
In December of that year, the board gave him the job on a permanent basis. His budget acumen and experience with the county’s government were key among the reasons for giving him the job.
Perry would oversee renovations of the Lucerne Hotel, manage the dissolution of the county’s redevelopment agency and work to meet new federal health care law requirements.
But looming over those projects during his tenure was a series of devastating wildland fires that hit Lake County, beginning with the Rocky and Jerusalem fires in the summer of 2015, to be followed in September of that year by the Valley fire, which tore a swath of destruction through southern Lake County.
He had worked for the county for 28 years when he retired in 2016. Shortly afterward, he and wife Julie moved to Utah where he worked in human resources for Utah State University.
His family said he held many roles in the church, and particularly cherished opportunities to work with young people in capacities that included young men’s leader and scoutmaster.
“He was definitely one of the most decent men I’ve ever known,” said Cox. “I’m fortunate that we remained in regular contact even after we both retired and after he and his family relocated to Utah. I am very saddened by the passing of our good friend and my thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”
In addition to Julie, his wife of 36 years, Perry is survived by his mother, his three children, his four sisters and four granddaughters.
Perry’s full obituary is here. Information about how to attend his May 1 funeral in Utah via Zoom can be found at http://bit.ly/MattPerryFuneral.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Wreaths Across America announced that it will make a Lake County stop for the WAA Mobile Education Exhibit, or MEE, national tour.
The MEE started its tour at the WAA Headquarters in Maine and will be in Lakeport on Friday, May 7, for a scheduled event that is both free and open to the public.
The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the end of Fifth Street near the Yacht Club.
“The goal of the Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit is to bring the community together and teach patriotism while remembering the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes,” said Karen Worcester, executive director, Wreaths Across America. “However, over the last year, in light of the current health crisis, we feel this exhibit has taken on even more meaning by providing the opportunity for people to safely participate in something that is both educational and inspiring, while supporting and giving back to the communities it visits.”
The MEE achieves this goal by bringing the local community, veterans, active-duty military and their families together through interactive exhibits, short films and shared stories.
The exhibit serves as a mobile museum, educating visitors about the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes as well as to serve as an official “welcome home” station for our nation’s Vietnam veterans.
All veterans, active-duty military, their families, and the local community members are invited and encouraged to visit, take a tour and speak with WAA representatives and volunteers.
They can also share more about the national nonprofit, and the work its volunteers do to support our heroes and their communities year-round.
The public tours for the MEE are free and open to the public with social distancing, sanitation and COVID-19 safety procedures in place to protect the health of all visitors in accordance with the CDCs recommendation for large gatherings stemming from concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wreaths Across America is the nonprofit organization best known for placing wreaths on veteran’s headstones at Arlington National Cemetery.
However, in 2020 alone, the organization placed more than 1.7 million sponsored veterans’ wreaths at 2,557 participating locations nationwide.
Throughout the calendar year you can tune in to Wreaths Across America Radio, 24/7, to learn more about the mission and those who support it across the country, as well as the hundreds of local charitable efforts nationwide that are funded through wreath sponsorships.
You can sponsor a veteran’s wreath anytime for $15 at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org. Each sponsorship goes toward a live, balsam wreath that will be placed on the headstone of an American hero as we endeavor to honor all veterans laid to rest at noon on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, as part of National Wreaths across America Day.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Under the program, administered by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, in conjunction with participating counties, property owners incur no direct costs for participation.
To date, state contractors have cleared burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from 540, or 82.6 percent, of the 654 participating properties in Napa, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Mendocino, Lake and San Mateo counties. Statewide, contractors have finished removing debris from 2,704 or 72.2 percent, of 3,745 participating parcels.
Although removal of debris from the properties moves property owners one step closer to rebuilding, debris officials remind property owners that the process is not over and that state contractors must complete additional work before they can begin reconstruction.
Once a state crew has cleared a property of eligible debris, the surveying contractor will return to the site and collect soil samples for testing at a state certified laboratory to verify that the samples taken from an owner's property meet state environmental health and safety criteria.
If the soil samples meet state environmental and safety criteria, contractors then install fiber rolls and apply a virgin-based, biodegradable mulch to every cleared property whose owners have opted to have contractors implement the two types of erosion control measures.
Following these erosion control measures, state officials and staff conduct a walkthrough of the property to ensure that all work done by state crews meets the state's standard. If work meets the state's standards, debris officials submit a final inspection report to local officials, clearing the way for the property owner to begin reconstruction.
In Napa County, crews have cleared eligible debris from 284, or 88.5 percent of the 320 properties whose owners are participating in the state program. Debris officials have returned 52 of the cleared properties to county officials as ready for reconstruction.
Additional work by state crews in Napa County includes the completion of 319 site assessments and 318 asbestos assessments, as well as the abatement of 71 properties where contractors identified bulk quantities of asbestos containing materials, or ACMs.
In Sonoma County, state crews have cleared debris from 142, or 67.3 percent, of the 211 properties in the county whose owners are participating in the program. State debris officials have returned 25 of the cleared properties to county officials as ready for reconstruction.
Contractors in Sonoma County also have completed 211 site assessments, 207 asbestos assessments and 54 asbestos abatements.
Contractors have removed eligible debris from 68, or 95.8 percent, of the 71 participating properties in Santa Clara County. Debris officials have returned 13 properties back to county officials. Earlier, crews completed site and asbestos assessments on each participating property in the county, as well as 40 abatements.
Contractors working in Mendocino County have removed eligible debris from all 31 participating properties after site and asbestos assessments of each parcel and asbestos abatements on four properties.
In Lake County, crews have removed debris from all nine participating properties after site and asbestos assessments of each site and asbestos abatements on three parcels.
Crews in San Mateo County have cleared eligible debris from half of 12 properties in the county whose owners are participating in the program following site and asbestos assessments of each site and abatement of bulk quantities of ACMs on five sites.
State officials coordinating the removal of debris caused by last year's wildfires are reminding property owners participating in the state's Consolidated Debris Removal Program that performing any debris removal work themselves once state contractors have begun will result in their disqualification from the state program.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The meeting will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29.
Click here to RSVP and receive the telephone/Zoom login information before the meeting.
The information also will be posted here on the day of the meeting.
The meeting agenda is here.
The Kelseyville Fire Protection District reported that it’s considering the formation of a community facilities district.
In order to form the community facilities district, Kelseyville Fire would need to follow a seven-step process.
The community facilities district proposal is being explored as it could provide additional funding for a new fire station on the Soda Bay corridor, a new fire engine, ambulances and salaries for staff members working in the proposed station.
The district said the new fire station would be “incredibly impactful” for nearby residents.
It would be the first fire station located within a five-mile radius of homeowners and so would be expected to significantly reduce fire district response rates and allow for adequate coverage of that portion of the district.
It also could potentially reduce insurance rates for homeowners by enhancing the Insurance Services Office rating.
The station, equipment and salaries would be paid for through a special tax on parcels within the fire district which must be approved by voters in the district.
Working with the firm CivicMic, the fire district will discuss the proposed fire community facilities district, survey results and the formation process at Thursday’s meeting.
For those who haven’t taken the survey about the proposal, find it here.
Email Elizabeth Larson at