The clinic, which was dedicated last October, is located at 15145 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake, and is operated by the San Francisco VA Medical Center. It is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

With Lake County considered to have one of the highest per-capital veterans populations in the state – an estimated 10 percent – local leaders partnered with Congressman Mike Thompson to advocate for the clinic, a process which lasted for more than a decade.

In the nine months since its opening, the clinic's staff of 19 – including doctors, nurses, nutritionists and social workers – led by clinic director Dr. Mike Novak, is continuing to build a caseload, said Judi Cheary, public affairs director for the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

“We're seeing well over 1,000 veterans right now,” Cheary said Wednesday.

However, Cheary added that despite public outreach efforts thus far, clinic staff is still hearing from many veterans who are just learning about it.

“We're still working hard to get the word out,” she said.

Cheary added, “We have awesome support from the local service organizations as well. They're our best advocates as far as spreading the word.”

One of those groups is the United Veterans Council, which earlier this year launched its Vet Connect effort to connect veterans with available services.

Frank Parker, the council's president and Vet Connect chair, said the group meets twice a month – on the second Wednesday at the American Legion Post No. 437, 14770 Austin Road in Clearlake, from 9 a.m. to noon, and the same hours on the third Wednesday in Lakeport at Umpqua Bank, 805 11th St.

Parker said they are averaging four vets an hour during the three-hour sessions, with some of their referrals being for clinic services.

Now, as it works to reach more veterans, the VA has begun a new shuttle service that can take vets from several locations around Lake County to the Clearlake clinic.

“Veterans living in Lake County have expressed the need for transportation assistance to and from the Clearlake VA Clinic and this initiative is an attempt to address that need,” said VA Rural Health Coordinator Kathy King.

King said the following transportation schedule was developed to provide different options and locations for veterans living in the county.

The shuttle will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The schedule follows.

Tuesdays:

7:30 a.m. – Cobb: Hardester's Shopping Center, 16295 Highway 175

7:45 a.m. – Middletown: Perry's Deli, 21308 Calistoga Road, No. A

8:15 a.m. – Hidden Valley: Mug Shots, 18990 Coyote Valley

8:40 a.m. – Lower Lake: DJ's Pizza, 16135 Main St.

9:00 a.m. – Arrive Clearlake VA Clinic

2:00 p.m. – Depart Clearlake VA Clinic

2:50 p.m. – Lower Lake: DJ's Pizza, 16135 Main St.

3:05 p.m. – Hidden Valley: Mug Shots, 18990 Coyote Valley

3:20 p.m. – Middletown: Perry's Deli, 21308 Calistoga Road, No. A

4:00 p.m. – Cobb Cobb: Hardester's Shopping Center, 16295 Highway 175

Thursdays:

7:30 a.m. – Upper Lake: Hi Way Grocery, 160 W. Highway 20

7:50 a.m. – Lucerne: Highway 20 and First Street

8:15 a.m. – Clearlake Oaks: Highway 20 and Keyes Boulevard

9:00 a.m. – Arrive Clearlake VA Clinic

2:00 p.m. – Depart Clearlake VA Clinic

2:30 p.m. – Clearlake Oaks: Highway 20 and Keyes Boulevard

2:50 p.m. – Lucerne: Highway 20 and First Street

3:15 p.m. – Upper Lake: Hi Way Grocery, 160 W. Highway 20

Fridays:

7:30 a.m. – Lakeport: Grocery Outlet, 1155 S. Main St.

7:50 a.m. – Kelseyville: Kit's Corner, Highway 29 and Highway 281 (Soda Bay Road )

8:15 a.m. – Lower Lake: DJ's Pizza, 16135 Main St.

9:00 a.m. – Arrive Clearlake VA Clinic

2:30 p.m. – Lower Lake: DJ's Pizza, 16135 Main St.

2:50 p.m. – Kelseyville: Kit's Corner, Highway 29 and Highway 281 (Soda Bay Road )

3:15 p.m. – Lakeport: Grocery Outlet, 1155 S. Main St.

“I think this transportation system is a big step in the right direction,” said Cheary.

Parker acknowledges that travel has been an issue for veterans accessing the clinic, noting that while Clear Lake is the county's greatest asset, it also presents a travel barrier. He said the United Veterans Council has discussed transportation with the VA, and the VA is listening.

Regarding the new transportation services, Parker said, “The biggest thing is getting the word out. We have to let the people know it's available, and once they know it's available, they have to use it.”

For more information about the new service contact Dottie Deerwester at the Clearlake VA Clinic at 707-995-7238.

Veterans who wish to register for services can visit www.va.gov or www.sanfrancisco.va.gov, or call the VAMC Eligibility Office at 415-750-2015.

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Lakeport Police Sgt. Dale Stoebe said Tuesday that the two juvenile suspects – whose names were not released due to their minor status – were arrested for allegedly burglarizing the Terrace Middle School computer lab.

The burglary was reported to police just after 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 8, Stoebe said.

Stoebe reported that janitorial staff, who were still on scene at the school, were alerted by the security alarm company to the burglary to the computer lab room.

He said they found the computer lab's door open and witnessed the two male juveniles fleeing the area.

Further investigation into the matter revealed two Apple Mac book laptop computers, valued at over $1,300, had been stolen by the suspects, Stoebe said.

Stoebe credited Officer Gary Basor's “timely and persistent” followup investigations in the case with the subsequent identification of the two boys.

Basor's followup contact with the suspects led to the Monday arrest of both juvenile suspects, and the recovery of both stolen laptop computers, Stoebe said.

Both of the boys provided statements implicating themselves in the crime, and were released to parents on citations, according to Stoebe's report.

Stoebe said police are forwarding the criminal complaint to the Lake County Probation Department and seeking prosecution of both suspects.

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On June 7, Earth-orbiting satellites detected a flash of X-rays coming from the western edge of the solar disk.

Registering only “M” (for medium) on the Richter scale of solar flares, the blast at first appeared to be a run-of-the-mill eruption – that is, until researchers looked at the movies.

“We'd never seen anything like it,” said Alex Young, a solar physicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center. “Half of the sun appeared to be blowing itself to bits.”

NASA has just released new high-resolution videos of the event recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The videos are large, typically 50 MB to 100 MB, but worth the wait to download.

“In terms of raw power, this really was just a medium-sized eruption,” said Young, “but it had a uniquely dramatic appearance caused by all the inky-dark material. We don't usually see that.”

Solar physicist Angelos Vourlidas of the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC calls it a case of “dark fireworks.”

“The blast was triggered by an unstable magnetic filament near the sun's surface,” he explained. “That filament was loaded down with cool1 plasma, which exploded in a spray of dark blobs and streamers.”

The plasma blobs were as big as planets, many larger than Earth. They rose and fell ballistically, moving under the influence of the sun's gravity like balls tossed in the air, exploding “like bombs” when they hit the stellar surface.

Some blobs, however, were more like guided missiles.

“In the movies we can see material 'grabbed' by magnetic fields and funneled toward sunspot groups hundreds of thousands of kilometers away,” noted Young.

SDO also detected a shadowy shock wave issuing from the blast site. The “solar tsunami” propagated more than halfway across the sun, visibly shaking filaments and loops of magnetism en route.

Long-range action has become a key theme of solar physics since SDO was launched in 2010. The observatory frequently sees explosions in one part of the sun affecting other parts. Sometimes one explosion will trigger another ... and another ... with a domino sequence of flares going off all around the star.

“The June 7th blast didn't seem to trigger any big secondary explosions, but it was certainly felt far and wide,” said Young.

It's tempting to look at the movies and conclude that most of the exploded material fell back--but that wouldn't be true, according to Vourlidas. “The blast also propelled a significant coronal mass ejection (CME) out of the sun's atmosphere.”

He estimated that the cloud massed about 4.5 by 1015 grams, placing it in the top 5 percent of all CMEs recorded in the Space Age.

For comparison, the most massive CME ever recorded was 1016 grams, only a factor of ~2 greater than the June 7th cloud.

The amount of material that fell back to the sun on June 7 was approximately equal to the amount that flew away, Vourlidas said.

As remarkable as the June 7 eruption seems to be, Young said it might not be so rare.

“In fact,” he said, “it might be downright common.”

Before SDO, space-based observatories observed the sun with relatively slow cadences and/or limited fields of view. They could have easily missed the majesty of such an explosion, catching only a single off-center snapshot at the beginning or end of the blast to hint at what actually happened.

If Young is right, more dark fireworks could be in the offing. Stay tuned.

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Concrete pad finish work at the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum on Saturday, July 9, 2011. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The grand opening of the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum will be celebrated at a special event this month.

The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 24. The official ribbon cutting will be held at 2:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

The Ely Stage Stop dates to the 1880s and, over the years, served as a stagecoach stop, hotel, post office, general store and at one point, even a gas station before taking on its current role as a historical and agricultural center.

When complete, the museum complex will encompass the Ely Stage Stop building, as well as several reconstructed old barns, farm equipment displays, agricultural demonstrations, and interpretive and living history exhibits, including a blacksmith shop.

Attendees at the grand opening will view the new museum, see the progress to date, and learn about development plans for the future exhibits. Light refreshments will be available.

Musical entertainment will be provided by Don Coffin and Friends and sponsored by Wildhurst Vineyards.

Coffin, Andi Skelton and Eleanor Cook will be playing old-time fiddle tunes and other songs on fiddle, mandolin and guitar. On-site shuttle transportation will be provided courtesy of People Services Inc.

Several vintage, antique and classic car clubs will be participating in the event.

The Lake County A’s car club is hosting a special club tour day in honor of the grand opening event. The club, whose members include Model A Ford owners from Lake County and surrounding counties, will have several 1928-1931 Model A Fords on display during the event.

The Clearlake Car Club will be present at the grand opening with a display of one dozen special interest antique and classic cars from 1900 to the present.

Mt. Konocti Antique Auto Club will be present with approximately 10 1920s-30s-era classic cars on display.

A collaborative project, the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum is owned by the county of Lake and will be operated by members of the Lake County Historical Society.

The project was made possible through the generous donation by Beckstoffer Vineyards of the historic building and the five-acre parcel upon which it rests.

Numerous volunteers and contractors assisted with the concrete pour on Saturday, July 9, 2011. Courtesy photo.

A generous donation was made by the Kettenhofen Family Foundation, funded by the estates of Ernest and Polly Kettenhofen who owned the S-Bar-S Ranch from 1960 to 2000.

On July 29, 2007, the historic Ely Stage Stop structure was relocated from its original location at 7909 Highway 29 across the highway and one mile north to its new location on Soda Bay Road/Highway 281.

Although its age and condition made the relocation a challenge, the building’s varied history adds character to the new museum. The site also features dramatic views of Mount Konocti and overlooks the former S-Bar-S Ranch.

Once 2011's unseasonably late rains passed, a combination of workers and volunteers began preparing the grounds at the new Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum. The group included Greg Dills (Ely project chairman pictured here clearing brush), Gerry Shaul, Karl Shaul, Broc Zoller, Jim Bengard, Phil Smoley, Syd Stokes, Kevin Engle, George Stimson, Vince Gamble, Chuck Villines and several others. Courtesy photo.

The Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum is located between Kelseyville and Lower Lake at 9921 Soda Bay Road (Highway 281), near the intersection with Highway 29 (Kit’s Corner). For more information, call 707-274-8323.

Donations of artifacts and old barns are still being sought. Photographs that depict the original building, its transformations and many uses, also are needed.

Anyone interested in contributing time or resources to the project may contact Greg Dills, chairman of the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum project for the Lake County Historical Society, at 707-263-4180, Extension 12.

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And old tractor at the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum. Courtesy photo.

Sheriff Frank Rivero's public information officer, Capt. James Bauman, issued the statement after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The statement was in response to stories posted earlier in the day in Lake County News and other local media regarding the lawsuit filed against Rivero and the county of Lake by Sgt. Corey Paulich, a 16-year veteran of the sheriff's office.

Paulich is alleging that Rivero repeatedly violated his peace officer due process rights in a March investigation into a high speed chase involving two deputies under his supervision, as Lake County News has reported.

In the suit Paulich is seeking $150,000 in civil penalties – $25,000 for each of the six alleged violations under the 34-year-old Peace Officer Bill of Rights (POBR) – along with attorney fees, court costs and writs seeking to have the disciplinary investigation put aside.

Rivero had not responded on Monday to Lake County News' request for comment on the case.

In the Tuesday evening statement issued by his office, Rivero said neither he nor the county had been served with the suit.

“We honor and respect the procedural rights of any deputy under investigation. However, we are equally obligated to hold our law enforcement personnel strictly accountable for their actions,” Rivero said in the statement.

The statement went on to say, “Internal Affairs investigations, personnel issues and disciplinary actions involving law enforcement personnel are held in strict confidence. Irrespective of the union lawyers’ attempt to taint public perception in the media, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Professional Standards Unit will adjudicate this case in its proper venue.”

Christopher Miller, who is general counsel for the Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association and is representing Paulich in the case, could be reached after business hours on Tuesday to respond to Rivero's statement.

However, on Monday Miller had accused Rivero of showing a “blatant disregard for the due process rights of his employees.”

“He appears to be unwilling to follow the law, so this court action was necessary to protect and enforce Sgt. Paulich’s rights and indeed the rights of all of the county’s peace officers,” Miller said.

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The message, “Slow or Move Over for Workers, It’s the Law,” will stay posted through July 22.

Caltrans also will begin a new billboard campaign and issue a public service announcement to television stations statewide reinforcing the “Move Over” message.

In May and June, three Caltrans highway workers died on the job within 48 days – the most in such a short period of time.

Since 1924, 178 Caltrans workers have lost their lives in the line of duty.

“Our goal is to do everything we can to keep our highways safe,” said Acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “Motorists must slow down, watch out for highway workers, and safely move over a lane when they see flashing amber lights on Caltrans or other emergency vehicles.”

The joint safety effort by Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and the California Office of Traffic Safety will educate the public on the importance of moving over a lane to protect highway workers and CHP officers.

The CHP will provide the Move Over safety message during their morning traffic updates on broadcast stations statewide, and officers will be on the lookout for motorists not following the law.

“This traffic safety campaign isn’t about writing citations, it’s about providing a safer work environment for everyone who does business along the side of a highway,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “The only way to prevent tragedies from occurring on the side of the road is by giving

emergency personnel, highway workers, and the public adequate space.”

The DMV will display the Move Over safety message on electronic signs in 135 field offices, and highlight the law in its handbook and written driver’s test, where it will appear along with Slow for the Cone Zone information.

“Our collective goal is that motorists will become more attentive as they drive,” said DMV Director George Valverde. “With continued cooperative efforts such as the Move Over campaign, we can further improve highway safety."

The departments will update their web sites and social media pages, such as Facebook and Twitter, to reinforce the Move Over message.

“When we see Caltrans, law enforcement, emergency medical services, tow trucks, and other emergency or construction vehicles next to the roadway, they are there for one purpose - our safety,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director for the California Office of Traffic Safety. “Let's keep them and

ourselves safe by giving them plenty of room to operate.”

The Move Over law, which took effect in 2007, was amended in 2009 to add Caltrans vehicles displaying flashing amber warning lights to the list of vehicles for which motorists must move over if safe to do so or slow down.

To date, 45 other states have enacted similar laws requiring motorists to move over or slow down.

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The tour is free and the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

The third week of July is California’s annual “Invasive Weed Awareness Week.” This statewide program is designed to educate citizens about the undesirable effects and impacts of non-native invasive weeds.

The self-driving tour is a fun and informative event that gives participants the chance to view and learn about several species of invasive weeds.

The tour will begin in Lakeport, proceed to Nice, Kelseyville and end at Lakeside Park with a discussion and samples of aquatic weeds followed by lunch.

This year’s tour includes revisiting some of the same sites as last year to observe the progress in controlling the invasive weeds and, in some cases, to see how rapidly the unattended invasive weeds have spread.

Participants will see a demonstration area where goats have been used to control Spanish broom. The tour will also highlight weeds such as Arundo donax, tamarisk, tree of heaven, water primrose and various other aquatic weeds.

Passenger vans with limited seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. All other participants will need to provide their own transportation and carpooling is encouraged.

Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. at the Lake County Department of Agriculture, located at 883 Lakeport Blvd. The tour will depart from the parking lot at 8:45 a.m.

Please RSVP with Kristi at 707-263-0217 by July 19 if you plan on attending and indicate if you would like a seat on one of the vans.

The tour is sponsored by Lake County Department of Agriculture, the Lake County Department of Water Resources, and the East Lake & West Lake Resource Conservation Districts.

The end-of-tour lunch is free but donations to offset the costs of lunch and refreshments will be greatly appreciated and cheerfully accepted.

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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Caltrans is planning a community meeting next week to discuss a paving project along two local highways as well as safety measures at a south county intersection that has been the scene of two fatal crashes in just over a year.

Caltrans is partnering with the Middletown Area Town Hall – or MATH – to host the meeting, which will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 19, at the Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center, located at 15500 Central Park Road.

Caltrans Area Construction Engineer Alan Escarda and other Caltrans representatives, along with paving contractor Granite Construction, will meet with the group, according to announcements from MATH Director Mike Tabacchi and Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie.

The meeting will focus on a multimillion dollar paving project on Highway 29 and Highway 175 as well as safety concerns at the intersection of Highway 29 and Hartmann Road.

Regarding the intersection, a Caltrans safety improvement project is under way there now.

The agency is installing flashing beacons to alert drivers traveling along Highway 29 of cross traffic.

A Clearlake woman died there last month after she was broadsided by a semi truck while attempting to turn onto Highway 29. In May of 2010 an elderly Rodeo woman died after the vehicle she was riding in was hit, also while pulling onto Highway 29, as Lake County News has reported.

Also a topic of concern for south county residents is the paving project.

Last year Caltrans paid International Surfacing Systems $2.1 million to complete chip sealing on 12 miles of Highway 29 from the Lake/Napa County lines to the Coyote Creek Bridge and 8.5 miles on Highway 175 from Cobb to Middletown.

A larger aggregate was used, with the result being that area residents questioned the roadway's safety and the wear and tear on their vehicles, sentiments they expressed at a special town hall with Caltrans last October.

Caltrans District 1 Director Charlie Fielder pledged at the time to have the area resurfaced, and in March the California Transportation Commission approved $13.3 million to repave that area as well as to improve portions of Highways 175 from 4.9 miles east of the Lake/Mendocino County line to the junction of Highways 175 and 29 near Lakeport, and near Kelseyville from the junction of Highways 175 and 29 to Middletown.

The repaving project is scheduled to start in August, Caltrans said.

In his announcement on the meeting Tabacchi said MATH wanted to acknowledge how responsive Caltrans has been to the community's concerns over the past year.

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Arrested were Ira Blue Bowes, 19, and Gabriel Azbill Bowes, 27, according to Sgt. Scott Poma of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, July 9, Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies and Round Valley Tribal Police officers responded to a reported shooting at the intersection of Concow and Yuki boulevards, Poma said.

Tribal Officers arrived to find Kenneth Hanover Sr., 44, of Covelo, lying in the street. Poma said Hanover had been shot in the mouth and the shoulder.

Hanover was transported by air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where his condition is listed as stable, Poma said.

Poma said the investigation at the scene revealed that a physical fight between two family groups of American Indian men had escalated until Ira Bowes allegedly shot Hanover Sr. in the mouth and shoulder with a handgun.

Bowes fled the scene on foot and was later located at a Hopper Lane address and arrested without incident, Poma said.

Gabriel Bowes is alleged to have assisted in the planning and execution of the assault, transporting the weapon to the scene and hindering the investigation, Poma said. Gabriel Bowes was arrested at a Little Lake Way address.

Gabriel and Ira Bowes were booked into the Mendocino County. Jail booking records showed that Ira Bowes was arrested for attempted murder, with bail set at $750,000, while Gabriel Bowes was booked for assault with a firearm, drawing or exhibiting a firearm, felon/addict in possession of a firearm and conspiracy to commit a crime, with bail set at $40,000.

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The burglaries happened sometime late on Saturday, July 9, or early Sunday, July 10, according to business owners Lake County News spoke with on Tuesday.

“I was lucky that it wasn't worse,” said Susan Conley, who owns the Bunk House gift shop and said that the area has been hit by other break-ins this year.

Along with Bunk House, several other businesses were reported to have been affected by this weekend's burglaries, including the Olive Tree Spa & Salon, B. Lavish day spa, Beulah's Kitchen, Cowpoke Café and Magic Wok Shangri La, all of which are located along Calistoga Street.

Lake County News asked the Lake County Sheriff's Office for information on the burglaries, but did not receive the requested details on the agency's investigation by Tuesday night.

Based on their discussions with the sheriff's office, the Middletown business owners who spoke with Lake County News said five arrests resulted – two adults and three juveniles.

Conley lauded the work of Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Andy Davidson and Deputy Dennis Keithly.

“They caught all these guys the next day,” she said.

The two adult suspects business owners identified as being connected to the case were recent Middletown High School graduates Dorian Jay Decker, 18, of Middletown and Wyatt Joseph O'Brien, 18, of Hidden Valley Lake, according to jail records.

The two were booked into the Lake County Jail on Monday evening. Decker was booked on felony charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, two counts of first-degree burglary and a count of receiving stolen property, with bail set at $10,000. O'Brien was booked on felony counts of second-degree burglary and receiving stolen property, with his bail also set at $10,000, jail records showed.

Decker remained in custody early Wednesday, while jail records showed O'Brien was no longer in custody.

Conley said she received a phone call from a customer on Sunday morning reporting that one of her window screens was on the ground and that it looked like her door had been kicked in.

When Conley came into Middletown and checked out her store, she said she knew something had happened.

“I knew not to go in and not to touch anything,” she said.

The break-in is believed to have happened before 4 a.m. July 10, said Conley, because it was about that time that an employee at the Cowpoke Café noticed the window screen on the ground.

Conley called the sheriff's office, and Davidson responded on Sunday, with Keithly assisting with the investigation.

“They were really great,” said Conley, explaining that the deputies took fingerprints and photographs of footprints left in the store on Sunday.

Conley said the burglars took two necklaces, two wallets, a purse and manicure sets from her store.

“They didn't take the change out of my cash register,” she said. “They were almost careful. I thought that was kind of odd.”

Cheryl Trapani, a stylist at Olive Tree Spa & Salon, said the business didn't suffer serious losses or damages, other than a door the suspects appeared to have kicked in or forced open.

Among the items taken from the salon in the weekend burglary were black and brown hair color products, she said.

“How weird is that?” she asked.

That's different than the break-in the salon suffered on March 12, when suspects – who Trapani believes were the same individuals as those taken into custody this week – broke into the salon through a window.

In that incident, she said the burglars took just under $2,000 in merchandise, including hair care products – particularly styling aids for men – shears and clippers, and some other items.

The sheriff's office was able to recover a small number of those items, including some half-used bottles of hairspray, Trapani said.

Trapani said Sheriff Frank Rivero contacted her on Monday night to ask if all of the salon's missing property had been recovered.

Brittney Fiske, owner of B. Lavish, Bunk House's next door neighbor, said the burglars also broke into her business.

“Nothing was taken from me, but they did come into my store,” said Fiske, who noted this was her first break-in since she opened the business in March.

Fiske said that since she carries mostly skin care products. “Boys walking in here were a little bit lost.”

Conley said a deputy called her on Monday to say they had arrested the suspects in the case.

In addition, almost all of her stolen merchandise has been returned.

While she's going to have to replace her kicked-in door, her store is otherwise intact, with Conley noting that the burglars could have made a mess.

“I'm just so proud of our local deputies that they put it all together,” she said.

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On Tuesday Gov. Jerry Brown announced that California has dispatched a team of experts to assist in the Yellowstone River oil spill response.

The deployment of California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) staff was approved after the state of California received a request from the state of Montana for mutual aid assistance following a pipeline break on July 1.

“California is well prepared to deal with oil spills. Our training and experience allowed us to help the Gulf Coast states during last year’s massive spill, and it lets us help Montana now,” said Brown.

DFG's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) is deploying an incident manager, pipeline technical specialist, response operations manager, environmental specialist and a shoreline assessment expert to the site for 14 days.

On July 1, a break occurred in a 12-inch pipeline owned by ExxonMobil which resulted in release of crude oil into the Yellowstone River approximately 20 miles upstream of Billings, Mont.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported an estimated 1,000 barrels of oil entered the river, which was in flood stage, before the pipeline was cut off.

California will be reimbursed for all costs associated with its assisting in the response, the Governor's Office reported.

“We have worked hard to develop our oil spill response staff in California,” said Scott D. Schaefer, OSPR acting administrator. “We deployed 70 Fish and Game personnel last year to the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Requests for our assistance from other states serve as a testament to our team’s knowledge and skills.”

CalEMA and DFG have been coordinating the mutual aid assistance with Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer’s office, the Montana State Emergency Coordination Center and the Montana Department of Military Affairs.

OSPR was formed by legislation in 1991 in response to two significant oil spills: the 11-million-gallon Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 and the 416,000 gallon American Trader oil spill in Huntington Beach in 1990.

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The map of the proposed Big Valley American Viticultural Area. Courtesy of Rick Gunier.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Growers and wineries in the Big Valley and Kelsey Bench areas of Lake County are working together to submit two separate American Viticultural Area (AVA) applications to the U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau in Washington, D.C.

The proposed Big Valley AVA will include all of Big Valley.

The boundaries are Highland Springs Road and Manning Creek on the west, the shores of Clear Lake on the north, Cole Creek along the base of Mount Konocti to Konocti Road on the East, and Bell Hill Road to the south.

The proposed Kelsey Bench area starts at Konocti Road in Kelseyville and extends southeast to Bottle Rock Road and Cole Creek Road along the Red Hills AVA’s eastern boundary.

It follows the eastern shore of Kelsey Creek south to the bottom of Kelsey Creek Drive. The western boundary follows Adobe Creek Road to pick up the boundary line for the proposed Big Valley AVA at Bell Hill Road to the point of beginning at Konocti Road in Kelseyville.

The U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau, a component of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, defines an American Viticultural Area as a designated winegrape growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with specific and clearly-defined boundaries.

The AVA system has been in place since the 1980s, and had recognized more than 200 regions as of January 2011.

The purpose behind AVAs is to identify the unique growing characteristics in a certain area, including weather, soil, history and microclimates. AVAs are listed on premium wines and are used by wineries to help market unique flavor profiles of the various winegrape varieties grown in that region.

An AVA specifies a geographical location from which at least 85 percent of the grapes are grown used to make that wine.

Rick Gunier, whose firm was hired to do the research and submit the applications for the Big Valley and Kelsey Bench American Viticultural Areas, and Project Manager Terry Dereniuk. Courtesy photo.

“In my opinion, the project is long overdue,” said David Weiss, Big Valley grower and chairman of the Big Valley, Kelsey Bench AVA Steering Committee.

“We have all seen the success of the Red Hills and High Valley appellations in helping build the Lake County brand and our reputation as a premium winegrape region. Big Valley and Kelsey Bench represent our original grape-growing acreage where local growers including the Dorns, Holdenrieds, Lyons and Euteniers first planted winegrapes,” Weiss added.

Funding for the project was provided by growers, wineries and the Lake County Winegrape Commission, all of whom have supported previous Lake County AVA projects.

Growers in both areas have donated their time and resources, helping to supply the information needed to put the two projects together.

“The most challenging part to these AVA projects is setting the boundaries, and that involves more than growers working together. History, unique soils and weather; all must be identified as the same in each AVA,” said Rick Gunier, whose firm was hired to do the research and submit the two applications.

Gunier and others held several meetings over the last three years, collecting and incorporating all of the information needed to define the two regions.

“These boundaries are a major part of what defines a region and the process took months of research as well as many grower meetings and interviews,” said Gunier.

Soil and weather experts were used to accumulate the information as well as verify that all of the data was correct.

“The Big Valley and Kelsey Bench are Lake County’s oldest winegrape growing regions,” said Gunier. “There are already excellent wines coming from both. Now what we need to do is get the word out so that people know.”

A more detailed definition of the boundaries, along with other supplemental information can be obtained by contacting Project Manager Terry Dereniuk at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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