CLEARLAKE, Calif. – What began on Thursday as an attempt by police to serve an arrest warrant on a Clearlake woman led to additional arrests, the discovery of hazardous materials used for methamphetamine manufacturing and the need to temporarily evacuate nearby residents.

Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department said Candace Marie Conzet, 24, was arrested on the misdemeanor warrant, with 30-year-old Jeremy Lennon Jurek of Clearlake, 34-year-old Edward Jurek of Clearlake and Francian Reinhardt, 38, of Kelseyville also taken into custody on drug-related charges.

At 4:15 p.m. Thursday Clearlake Police officers went to 16224 26th Ave. to serve the warrant on Conzet, Celli said.

When the officers arrived, three subjects exited an attached shed located on the property. He said they were identified as Jeremy Jurek, Reinhardt and a 55-year-old Clearlake resident, the latter being released without charges.

Celli said officers initially detained the subjects for a protective sweep of the property and to look for Conzet, who they didn’t find at that time. However, they found Edward Jurek inside the residence.

During the protective sweep of the property, officers located suspicious items – which they suspected of being associated with the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine – in a hole dug out in the floor of the attached shed, Celli said.

He said it appeared as though someone dumped the items hastily in an attempt to conceal them, with loose dirt kicked over the top of them. However the items were only partially concealed, and officers reported smelling a chemical odor in the area.

Officers summoned Clearlake Police supervisors to the scene to show them the items that were located. At that point, it was believed the items were associated with the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine, Celli said.

The scene was secured for safety reasons and preparation of a search warrant. During the investigation it was determined Edward Jurek and Reinhardt were under the influence of a controlled substance and were subsequently arrested, according to Celli.

Celli said statements were secured from Jeremy Jurek that determined that the items were in fact items used for the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine and that he was responsible for them.

Due to the dangerous conditions of confined space and other public safety concerns, Lake County Fire Protection District was requested to respond to the scene, Celli said.

While officers were on scene, Conzet arrived and was arrested for her outstanding warrant, Celli said. While she was being taken into custody, she violently resisted officers and was additionally charged with felony and misdemeanor resisting or delaying a peace officer.

Due to weather, lighting and other public safety concerns, it was determined that emergency personnel were going to keep the scene secure for the evening and additional resources would return in the morning to process the scene and collect evidence, he said.

Clearlake Police and Lake County Fire Protection personnel coordinated with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Unit, Lake County Environmental Health and Lake County Air Quality Management District personnel to investigate the methamphetamine manufacturing lab, Celli said.

He said nearby residents were evacuated for approximately three hours during the processing of the crime scene. Items associated with the manufacturing of methamphetamine along with samples of the substances were collected for evidence.

A hazardous materials cleanup company later was requested to the scene to assist with safely securing and disposing of toxic items, Celli said.

Jeremy Jurek was booked into the Lake County Jail for felony manufacturing methamphetamine and was being held on Friday on $100,000 bail, Celli said.

Jail records showed that Conzet’s bail is set at $15,000. She remained in custody on Friday afternoon.

Celli said the Clearlake Police Department offered its thanks to all first responders and their agencies that assisted with this investigation to bring this dangerous situation to a safe conclusion.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Det. Ryan Peterson at 707-994-8251.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A North Coast nonprofit is expanding its legal offerings to focus on seniors in Lake and Mendocino counties.

Legal Services of Northern California began offering the new services at the start of the year in order to fill the void left by the closure of the Lakeport-based Senior Law Project.

The Senior Law Project, which had provided free legal services to seniors in Lake and Mendocino counties, closed after 30 years as a result of the retirement of its prime mover, Lakeport attorney Andy Rossoff.

Angelica Millan, managing attorney at Legal Services of Northern California's Ukiah office, said the organization had collaborated with the Senior Law Project and Rossoff on a number of issues critical to the poor and the senior community.

Millan said Legal Services of Northern California has always provided services to the senior community in the areas of housing, public benefits and health.

Now, people over age 60 will be able to get information and advice on consumer rights and senior scamming, debt collection, advanced health care directives, planning for incapacity and elder abuse, Millan reported.

Millan told Lake County News that her organization won't be opening a Lake County office. She said Rossoff had indicated to them that he did most of his work over the phone.

Instead, they are working out arrangements with local nonprofits to use their office space to meet with senior clients in person, and also to allow seniors to use fax machines when needed.

Millan said the reactions from local groups regarding those requests for the use of space and office equipment have been positive.

For more information contact the Legal Services of Northern California Senior Law Project at 707-462-1471 or toll-free at 877-529-7700.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

On Thursday Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-5), chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, announced the task force’s comprehensive set of policy principles designed to reduce gun violence while respecting the Second Amendment Rights of law-abiding Americans.

“As a hunter and gun owner I believe we should protect law-abiding individuals’ Second Amendment right to own firearms,” said Thomspons. “As a father and grandfather I also believe that we have a responsibility to make our schools, neighborhoods and communities safe. This comprehensive set of policy principles accomplishes both those goals and Congress should act on them without delay. Moving forward I will use these recommendations to develop and influence legislation in both the House and Senate and work to get legislation based on these principles signed into law.”

“As a survivor of the mass shooting in Tucson two years ago, I am determined that no one else should have to endure such grief and loss. And as a member of Congress and as a vice chairman of this task force, I am unwavering in my commitment to push forward with legislation that will protect our children and our communities,” said task force member Rep. Ron Barber (AZ).

“In conversations I’ve had with residents in Newtown and across my district and in the thousands of letters, emails, and phone calls I’ve received from constituents on gun violence, I’ve heard a resounding call for commonsense policies to save lives. I’m proud to support these commonsense, comprehensive principles as a guide for our continuing national discussion on gun violence prevention and for action moving forward. What happened almost two months ago in Newtown was an unimaginable tragedy. What happens now is up to us. We must meet this call to action to protect our children, our families, and our communities,” said Rep. Elizabeth Esty (CT), another task force member.

For nearly two months, the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, under the leadership of Thompson, has met with people on both sides of the aisle and all sides of the issue to develop a comprehensive set of policy principles that respect the Second Amendment and will make our schools, neighborhoods, and communities safer.

The task force met with and solicited input from victims of gun violence and gun safety advocates; gun owners, hunters, and outdoor sportsmen; federal, state, and local law enforcement; educators and community workers; mental health experts and physicians; representatives of the motion picture, television, music, and video game industries; leaders in our faith communities; and representatives of gun manufacturers and retailers, as well as cabinet secretaries and the vice president of the United States.

The task force also met with members of Congress from all sides of the issue, and held hearings in Washington, DC to consider ways to address this issue.

Chairman Thompson and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force urge Congress to do the following:

– Support the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. The United States Supreme Court affirmed individuals’ Second rights to firearms in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). However, the Supreme Court also held that “the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited,” within the limits described by Heller, the federal government has the responsibility to take appropriate steps to protect our citizens from gun violence.

– Support citizens’ rights to possess firearms for hunting, shooting sports, defense, and other lawful and legitimate purposes: In the United States, there is a long tradition of hunting and recreational shooting, and firearms are often passed down within families from generation to generation. Policies passed by Congress should respect this.

– Reinstate and strengthen a prospective federal ban on assault weapons: These weapons are designed to fire a large number of rounds in a short period of time. They constitute a lethal threat to law enforcement and other first responders.

– Reinstate a prospective federal ban on assault magazines: These magazines hold more than ten rounds and allow a shooter to inflict mass damage in a short period of time without reloading. Banning them will save lives.

– Require a background check for every gun sale, while respecting reasonable exceptions for cases such as gifts between family members and temporary loans for sporting purposes: It is estimated that four out of ten gun buyers do not go through a background check when purchasing a firearm because federal law only requires these checks when someone buys a gun from a federally licensed dealer. That would be like allowing four out of ten people to choose if they’d go through airport security. This loophole allows felons, domestic abusers, and those prohibited because of mental illness to easily bypass the criminal background check system and buy firearms at gun shows, through private sellers, over the internet or out of the trunks of cars.

– Strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database: Immediate action is needed to ensure the information in the NICS database is up to date. Many federal and state agencies remain deficient in transferring important records to the database. Without the information, the background checks aren’t complete. This needs to change.

– Prosecute those prohibited buyers who attempt to purchase firearms and others who violate federal firearm laws: Federal law bars nine categories of people – including felons and those prohibited because of mental illness – from buying guns. But when prohibited persons attempt to buy guns, they are hardly ever prosecuted. More can and must be done to make these investigations and prosecutions a priority.

– Pass legislation aimed specifically at cracking down on illegal gun trafficking and straw-purchasing: Straw-purchasing is when a prohibited buyer has someone with no criminal history walk into a gun store, pass a background check and purchase a gun with the purpose of giving it to the prohibited buyer. This puts guns in the hands of people who are prohibited from having them. Congress should pass a law that will put an end to this practice.

– Restore funding for public safety and law enforcement initiatives aimed at reducing gun violence: Congress should fund law enforcement’s efforts to reduce gun violence, while supporting federal research into causes of gun violence. Put simply, there is no reason the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or the National Institute of Health (NIH) should be inhibited from researching the causes of gun violence. And there is no reason for the restrictions federal law places on our law enforcement officers’ ability to track and combat the spread of illegal guns.

– Support initiatives that prevent problems before they start: Local communities should have assistance in applying evidence-based prevention and early intervention strategies that are designed to prevent the problems that lead to gun violence before those problems start.

– Close the holes in our mental-health system and make sure that care is available for those who need it: Congress must improve prevention, early intervention, and treatment of mental illness while working to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness. Access to mental health services should be improved, the shortage of mental health professionals should be addressed, and funding should be made available for those programs that have proven to be effective.

– Help our communities get unwanted and illegal guns out of the hands of those who don’t want them or shouldn’t have them: Congress should help support and develop local programs that get unwanted guns off our streets. And Congress should work with states to develop programs that get guns out of the hands of those convicted of certain crimes or those prohibited because of mental illness.

– Support responsible gun ownership: Congress should support safety training, research aimed at developing new gun safety technologies and the safe storage of firearms.

– Take steps to enhance school safety. Congress must help all schools implement evidence-based strategies that support safe learning environments tailored to the unique needs of students and local communities. And Congress must work with all schools to develop emergency response plans.

– Address our culture’s glorification of violence seen and heard though our movie screens, television shows, music and video games: Congress should fund scientific research on the relationship between popular culture and gun violence, while ensuring that parents have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about what their families watch, listen to, and play.

COBB, Calif. – A 3.1-magnitude earthquake was reported in the Cobb area Friday afternoon.

The quake occurred at 4:02 p.m., according to a preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.

Its epicenter was located one mile north northwest of The Geysers geothermal steamfield, five miles west southwest of Cobb and seven miles west northwest of Anderson Springs, the US Geological Survey reported.

The quake was recorded at a depth of 1.2 miles.

Shake reports can be submitted at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc71933985#dyfi .

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Fair has paid off the outstanding loan on its solar collection systems, known as photovoltaic arrays, several years ahead of schedule.

The loan, for approximately $119,171.01, was to have been paid off in 2018, but unexpected income from the use of the facility as a fire camp in 2012, combined with income from a management contract with the Dixon May Fair, has allowed for the early retirement of the debt, fair Chief Executive Officer Richard Persons reported.

The Lake County Fairgrounds has three solar collection systems, known as photovoltaic arrays, according to Persons.

One system was installed in 2001 with financing from the State Department of Food and Agriculture. The note on that system was paid off in 2011, Persons reported.

Two additional systems were installed in 2006, with financing through the California Fairs Financing Authority, doing business as the California Construction Authority, a joint powers authority whose membership is made up of 76 California fairgrounds and the State of California’s Department of Food and Agriculture. Persons said that financing ultimately came from PNC Equipment Finance LLC.
 
In 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown announced the elimination of all funding from the state of California for the network of California fairgrounds beginning in 2012, including the Lake County Fair, which is a state agency.

Lake County Fair officials scrambled to close a budget gap of nearly $200,000 for 2012 and maintain the day-to-day operation of the county fairgrounds, laying off 50 percent of the full-time staff, cutting a variety of expenses and raising fees to the public for most services, according to Persons.

Prior to 2012, the fair had an annual operating budget of approximately $750,000, Persons said.

Lake County Fair achieved the goal of operating without state funding for 2012 based solely on internal operations, however, two other unusual but financially beneficial things took place in the fair operation that year.

The first was that the fair entered into an agreement with the Dixon May Fair to provide the services of Persons on a limited term basis.

The second was the use of the fairgrounds by Cal Fire as a fire base camp for both the Wye Fire and the Scotts Fire.

Persons said the fair had budgeted for a cash income before depreciation of $5,057 in 2012, and instead had a cash income of $109,766.16.
 
Paying off the solar loan early will save Lake County Fair nearly $27,000 a year in payments for each of the next five years, of which nearly $30,000 would have been interest, Persons said.

He said the early payoff will reduce the fair's monthly cash expenses by approximately $2,216.

“Since the fair has a yearly cash flow cycle that is similar to a farm or ranch operation, which often has negative cash flow until the crop is sold, this will make a huge difference,” Persons said. “The fair is really lucky to be in the position where it can pay this off, especially in the current economy.”
 
Solar collection systems on the Lake County Fairgrounds have reduced the power consumption from the electrical grid by approximately 80 percent each year, Persons said.

The California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to move the great white shark into candidacy for a state Endangered Species Act listing.

The famed apex predator’s North Eastern Pacific population, found off the West Coast between Alaska and Mexico, will now become the subject of a one-year review to determine if it will be listed as an endangered species.

“This is an iconic species for the ocean,” said commission President Michael Sutton as he and his colleagues prepared to vote at the end of the hour-and-a-half-long hearing.

Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity and Shark Stewards submitted the state listing petition last August.

At the same time, they submitted a federal Endangered Species Act listing petition for the shark. The National Marine Fisheries Service is now reviewing that petition, with a decision expected in 2013.

After an extensive petition review, California Department of Fish and Wildlife staff recommended that the commission advance the North Eastern Pacific great white shark population to candidacy.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife environmental scientist Mandy Lewis gave the commission a presentation on the listing petition evaluation.

Based on the agency’s evaluation criteria, Department of Fish and Wildlife staff concluded the petition contained sufficient scientific information and that action may be warranted, she said.

However, Lewis pointed out that there also is contrary information available that will need to be considered, specifically, population estimate trends and abundance estimates, the degree and immediacy of threat and the impacts of existing management on the great white shark’s West Coast population.

While the great white shark is found throughout the world, the North Eastern Pacific population is genetically distinct and does not interbreed with other populations found elsewhere, Lewis said.

West Coast great whites aren’t distributed equally through their range, Lewis said. While they’ve been found from Alaska to Mexico’s southern tip, they tend to be found more commonly in aggregation areas which have large seal and sea lion populations. Two of those areas on the California coast include Tomales Point and the Farallon Islands.

She said not a lot is known about great white shark breeding, as no one has witnessed it.

The sharks spend the late fall and winter near central and Southern California, going as far south as Guadalupe Island, Mexico, Lewis said. In spring they move into places like the shared offshore foraging area, also called the great white shark café, located between Southern California and Hawaii.

In late spring and early summer, female great whites go to an area offshore of Southern California where their pups are born. After giving birth, the females go back to the main aggregation sites, Lewis said.

Great white shark research history is not very long and is limited, so even if with a population estimate, there is no historic population estimates with which to compare it, Lewis explained.

The listing petition included an abundance estimate of 339 adults and subadults, a number which Lewis told the commission Wednesday is not definitive, with concerns that it’s incomplete. To get a complete population picture, she said juvenile population trends must be considered.

Key concerns about the sharks include the high levels of DDT and PCBs found in juvenile white sharks. While such large predators tend to bioaccumulate pollutants, Lewis said the high levels in shark tissue are not detrimentally affecting their ability to reach a mature age and reproduce.

A main threat to the sharks is believed to be gillnets, which are known to capture juveniles, although Lewis said adult sharks usually are able to break through the nets.

Also noted during Lewis’ presentation is a large increase in sea otter mortality due to white shark bites. Lewis said that could mean more white sharks are moving into areas where sea otters live.

Strong support for candidacy; opponents question data

Of the 24 people who addressed the commission about the proposed candidacy, 19 spoke in favor of it and five spoke against it.

Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) was first to the podium during public comment to offer his support. He’s been dubbed the “shark champion” of the California Assembly for his work as principal author of AB 376, which banned the shark fin trade in California – a bill which has survived an initial challenge in federal court, Sutton pointed out.

Loss of such an apex predator in a marine ecosystem can have devastating consequences, said Fong. For the West Coast, losing the great white shark, he suggested, could start a much larger decline of overall ocean health.

“California must maintain its leadership in shark protection,” said Fong, who presented the commission with a letter signed by fellow state legislators supporting the petition candidacy.

Dr. Geoff Shester, California program director for Oceana, said white sharks have an “irreplaceable role” in the ocean ecosystem.

Shester called them magnificent, powerful and inquisitive creatures. “The population is clearly at risk,” Shester said, explaining that the white shark situation is exactly what the Endangered Species Act was meant to address.

Bycatch remains unregulated, and he said the endgame isn’t just an endangered species listing for the white shark but actively managing the bycatch threat to juvenile great whites.

Sutton noted that there also are issues with what is happening with great whites in Mexican waters. “They are killing a lot of sharks in Mexico,” he said, adding that as part of the status review it would be important to get a handle on what is going on south of the border.

Bill Adams, representing the California Coalition of Diving Advocates, argued that white sharks already get a substantial amount of protection under existing laws, and he didn’t see data justifying further protection.

“California is a very minute part of its range and that's even speculative,” he said.

Santa Barbara commercial fisherman Andrew Rasmussen said he also opposed the listing, noting he’s only caught a few juvenile white sharks in the last several years, one of which was released alive and the other given to scientists for research.

Rasmussen said statements about a dwindling population come from extremists. Based on his own observations, “There’s a lot more white sharks around than there was 10 years ago,” he said, adding, “Anyone that says the population is dwindling is not being honest.”

Dr. Chris Harrold, director of research programs for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, said the aquarium was supportive of the listing candidacy.

Since 2004, the aquarium has showcased a half-dozen young great white sharks for periods of up to six and a half months, introducing them to more than three million visitors, according to Harrold.

Harrold said that while the state review process takes place this year, the Monterey Bay Aquarium will not collect a young great white shark for exhibit.

He said they hope that any listing decision regarding California’s white sharks will include policies under which white sharks can continue to be studied in California waters and collected for exhibit.

Harrold said the great white shark has proved to be a “powerful ambassador” in helping the public understand their importance.

While Commissioner Jim Kellogg said he’s been very critical of such listing proposals over the years, he supported the white shark’s candidacy and review.

His colleague Richard Rogers agreed. Rogers said many petitions seemed based more on fundraising for organizations. “This particular petition, however, does concern me,” he said.

Rogers said it was incredibly important to evaluate the great white shark’s situation, suggesting they may find there are a lot more of them. “We still may end up listing the animal.”

Sutton said the carnage of the international shark fin trade may lead some people to believe that all sharks are endangered. The law requires that the commission look at all petitions on their own merits.

“Not all shark species are created equal and we must look at this one carefully,” Sutton said before the unanimous vote.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Two North Coast credit unions are in the process of considering a merger.

After several months of exploration and thoughtful negotiation, the boards of Fort Bragg Community Federal Credit Union (FBCFCU) and Mendo Lake Credit Union (MLCU) have signed a memorandum of understanding for FBCFCU to consider a merger with MLCU, officials said Friday.

“The combination of our two organizations makes sense from the standpoint of both member service and long term financial stability and helps preserve a truly local cooperative option for financial services in Fort Bragg,” said MLCU Chief Executive Officer Richard Cooper.

Credit union officials said the desired result of this merger process is to combine the energies and resources of the two credit unions to assure the best and most comprehensive credit union services to members on the Mendocino County coast.

As cooperatives, this process is not like the merger of two shareholder controlled institutions where there is a profit motive for either or both parties, credit union officials reported.

Instead, a merger of cooperatives is designed to assure the best in ongoing service to the continuing membership.  

As the costs of providing the myriad of financial services that members want and need grows – and as the low interest rate environment continues to challenge earnings – a larger but still moderately sized local institution will be better positioned to provide a higher level of ongoing service.  

Should the merger be finalized, officials said the combined organization would be more than $160 million in total assets and serve more than 23,000 members.  

Out of that total, the proposed combined Fort Bragg branch of MLCU will have more than $50 million in deposits, more than $26 million in loans and will serve more than 7,000 members.  

The proposed merger will provide FBCFCU members a range of new and expanded services, including small business deposit accounts, home equity lines of credit, mortgage loans, manufactured home loans (in parks), recreational vehicle loans, additional deposit account options, insurance services and  access to more than 30,000 free CoOp ATM locations located across the US.  

Member deposits will continue to be insured to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, a U.S. Government Agency.   

As the merging credit union, FBCFCU members will be given an opportunity to vote on the final merger agreement, with a full disclosure of all merger details provided to members prior to the vote.

Pam Merritt, president and chief executive officer of Fort Bragg Community Federal Credit Union, noted in her letter to the membership, “The cost associated with offering the variety of services Mendo Lake Credit Union will be able to offer is much more than a smaller credit union of our size can undertake. The merger of our two credit unions will keep the local credit union ‘feel’ that is so very important to our members and community.”

MLCU has been serving member financial needs since 1959, with offices in Fort Bragg, Ukiah, Lakeport and Clearlake. Should the merger be completed, MLCU will assume FBCFCU’s assets and liabilities, and the continuing credit union will maintain the MLCU name and brand.  

In addition, the memorandum of understanding between FBCFCU and MLCU includes a provision for two of the volunteer board members of the FBCFCU to join the volunteer MLCU board of directors.  

The proposed expanded Fort Bragg operation of MLCU would offer current employees of the merging credit unions opportunities to stay and grow – with both branch service and back office positions being maintained in Fort Bragg.  

Cooper will be the chief executive officer of the continuing credit union, with Merritt retiring at the conclusion of the merger.   

Jill Lydick, the assistant manager of FBCFCU, will be staying on with Mendo Lake in a senior management position as will Tracy McDaniel, MLCU Fort Bragg branch manager.  

The location of the Fort Bragg office will be carefully reviewed during the merger exploration process.  A branch location will be chosen from the two existing CU locations on Main Street and on Franklin Street and then will be specified in any final agreement.  

Officials said this proposed partnership will ensure continued stability and vitality and position the continuing credit union for sustained future growth.  

The greater capital resources of the combined organization will continue to provide a high level of local service while maintaining the reserves needed for growth and stability in the years to come, credit union officials said.

For more information, visit www.fbcredit.com or www.mlcu.org .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Rodeo's search for the 2013 grand marshal is under way.

The 84th annual rodeo, put on by the all-volunteer Lake County Rodeo Association, is seeking nominations from the community in order to select this year's grand marshal.

Nominees should have a longstanding interest in supporting the rodeo way of life.

They should exhibit a lifestyle that reflects respect for others and their community, support rodeo activities in Lake County and encourage future generations to become involved in rodeo-style events.  

Every nomination should contain as much information as possible about the nominee in order to provide the committee with sufficient facts to make an informed decision about the candidates.

The deadline for nominations is March 15, 2013. Nominations will be accepted if postmarked by that date.

Nominations should be submitted to Grand Marshal, Lake County Rodeo, P.O. Box 63, Lakeport CA 95453;  they also may be submitted online at www.lakecountyrodeo.com .

The review committee includes members of the Lake County Rodeo Association Board of Directors.  

Their grand marshal selection will be announced at the fourth annual Rodeo Kick-Off Dance on Saturday, April 27, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Markedly cooler weather is on tap for Lake County today and tomorrow, with rain showers likely throughout the day today and into Friday and higher elevations receiving a dusting of snow.

A much colder but relatively small storm front began moving into Lake County and Northern California last night, with the National Weather Service in Sacramento giving local areas a 60 to 80 percent chance of rain showers throughout the day today. Higher elevations are forecast to receive small amounts of snowfall.

The forecasters at Western Weather Group predict about one-third of an inch of rain will fall today as a small weather front moves through, followed by a much colder and drier system that could spark isolated thunderstorms throughout the day and into the evening.

Rain is expected to continue into the morning hours on Friday, but taper off as the weather system moves out of the area.

Daytime highs today and Friday will top out near 50 degrees, with sunny skies throughout the weekend.

As the cold air mass continues to move out of the area, overnight temperatures Friday and throughout the weekend are predicted to dip into the low to mid-20s, with some valley areas seeing overnight low temperatures in the upper teens, according to the forecast.

Email Terre Logsdon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter, @LakeCoNews .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Issues surrounding the trial date for three men charged in a motorcycle gang fight and their efforts to subpoena the county sheriff for his part in gathering evidence in the case went before a judge this week.

The case involves three Sonoma County Hells Angel Chapter members who last March were ordered to stand trial for allegedly attacking club rivals during a 2011 tattoo convention at Konocti Vista Casino.

Josh Johnson, Nicolas Carrillo and Timothy Bianchi allegedly fought with Michael Burns, a validated Vagos motorcycle gang member, and Kristopher Perkin on June 4, 2011. Another Hells Angel member who was alleged to have been involved, David Dabbs, was not located by law enforcement.

Johnson, Carrillo and Bianchi are charged with felony participation in a criminal street gang, and misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace and battery. In addition, Bianchi is charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, and Johnson and Carrillo each face a second misdemeanor battery count.

The three men were in court Tuesday morning for motion hearings in the case.

Michael Clough, Carrillo's attorney, was on hand, as was Bianchi's attorney, Jai Gohel, who made a special appearance on behalf of Johnson as well.

In addition to prosecutor Art Grothe, District Attorney Don Anderson, Deputy County Counsel Lloyd Guintivano, county Human Resources Director Kathy Ferguson and a California Department of Justice attorney were present for the hearing.

The additional presence of county officials was in response to Clough's Pitchess motion to get information from the personnel files of Sheriff Frank Rivero, who had testified during the March 2012 preliminary hearing of the three men, as well as the records of Deputy Gary Frace.

During that March 2012 preliminary hearing, Rivero testified that he had retrieved a surveillance video recording from Konocti Vista Casino because he had a working relationship with the tribal chair due to a crash that had killed a child. However, that fatal crash had taken place nearly two months after the fight and Rivero's efforts to obtain the recording.

Rivero also had testified that no other sheriff's personnel had seen the video recording at the time he retrieved it. However, Frace's testimony contradicted Rivero; Frace said he had seen the video before Rivero received a copy of it from the casino.

Court documents show that Clough also has filed a Pitchess motion to have the court examine Frace's personnel documents.

“To be clear, defendant Carrillo is not alleging misconduct on the part of Deputy Frace,” Clough wrote in one of his filings. Rather, he believes the records will show that Rivero took Frace off of the case and filed a complaint against him, which “supports the defense’s theory that the investigation of the charges against defendant Carrillo was infected and corrupted by the actions of Sheriff Rivero.”

Judge Richard Martin, who presided over the Tuesday court appearance, said it was his impression that the motion hearings in which Clough is seeking Rivero's personnel information would take considerably more than one hour, and as such he needed to reset it.

“There are multiple issues here,” Clough said, adding that he thought some of them could be resolved that morning.

For Clough, one of the issues was whether or not Rivero was to be a witness at the trial, as he was at the preliminary hearing.

The District Attorney's Office has indicated that Rivero is not a material witness and they don't plan to call him to testify. Clough said he's never been involved with a case in which a witness who testified in the preliminary hearing was, months later, not included as a trial witness.

“That, in itself, creates a strong presumption of materiality,” he said of Rivero's testimony at the preliminary hearing.

Based on Clough's case filings, some of the information he's seeking from the District Attorney's Office is material that must be disclosed under the 1963 US Supreme Court Case Brady v. Maryland, which requires the government to disclose any potentially exculpatory evidence to defendants in criminal cases.

In Rivero's case, he has been the subject of a lengthy Brady inquiry by Anderson's office due to allegations that, while working as a deputy in February 2008, he shot at a man holding a can of pepper spray and then lied to sheriff's investigators about his actions.

If Anderson places Rivero on a “Brady” list, his testimony in any criminal case would then be in question.

With the District Attorney's Office not planning on calling Rivero as a material witness, the agency said in responses to Clough's motions that it has no Brady disclosure obligations for Rivero in the Hells Angels case.

Clough, however, had written in his filings that Rivero must testify since he acquired the video recording, a key piece of evidence. He's pursuing the Brady disclosures because he believes that Rivero's confidential files “includes evidence of alleged dishonesty” relating to the February 2008 shooting.

On Tuesday Clough told the court he's been asking for certain discovery materials for a year and a half and it's unlikely that, once he gets them, he will be ready to proceed to trial only a week later. He believed his only option was a time waiver and to push the trial back two to three months.

Clough also is seeking information from the Western States Information Network, which is a federally funded regional information sharing system that provides criminal intelligence information and case and event de-confliction to law enforcement investigations being conducted in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, according to the California Attorney General's Web site.

Martin said there were complicated issues with Clough's information requests for both the network and Rivero, and he expected both would take time to work through.

The judge told the group of defendants and lawyers that the only way the case ultimately will be settled is for it to go before 12 jurors. He said they could have all kinds of meetings until then but everyone was entrenched.

It was agreed in court on Tuesday that the trial will be set for May 22, with the motion hearings to be rescheduled for Feb. 27-28.

Clough said he had issued four other subpoenas for people who had not shown up to court, including Rivero.

On Jan. 4, Clough served a subpoena for Rivero's appearance and for his personnel material on Lt. Steve Brooks at the Lake County Sheriff's Office. However, Clough said he had received no response from Rivero.

He also had served subpoenas at the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and the Santa Rosa Police Department, which also had not responded. Both agencies had been involved in the investigation and assisting with apprehending the men after the fight.

The District Attorney's Office also had refused to give Clough the physical address of gang expert Jorge Gil-Blanco, who he wanted to interview. “I think that is absolutely mandated by the law,” Clough said of his right to the contact information.

Clough said he had tried to serve a subpoena on Gil-Blanco at the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, but they would not accept service on his behalf.

Grothe said he had spoken to an official at the Santa Rosa Police Department and they had indicated that they had complied in part with the subpoena but had denied another part of the subpoena due to some legal concerns.

Grothe said they had provided Clough with an address and that Gil-Blanco had accepted services through the District Attorney's Office.

He said for Clough to ask for the home address of an expert on the Hells Angels strains credibility.

Clough, in turn, argued that no case law supported him being given only a post office box address. He said it was understandable that Gil-Blanco would not want him to have his home address, and he was only seeking a physical location where he could make contact.

Grothe said he had communicated to Gil-Blanco Clough's desire to interview him. “He declined that.”

Martin said there are procedures in place for the district attorney to make Gil-Blanco available, but whether he wants to speak to the defense is up to him.

Clough, who works in the Bay Area, asked to have Gil-Blanco made available at a San Mateo address. Martin said Clough and Grothe could work it out.

The matter about Rivero not obeying the order to show up to court then came up.  

“His counsel is here so I assume something is going on,” said Martin in reference to Guintivano.

Guintivano, however, said the County Counsel's Office had not received any subpoena information relating to Rivero in the case.

Martin asked Clough if he had proof of service. Clough said he personally served the documents at the sheriff's office.

Martin suggested Clough use an investigator to serve the subpoena to Rivero.

The judge then said it may come down to issuing an arrest warrant for the sheriff if he doesn't comply with the subpoena, which Martin said he had the power to do.

“I will only do it if the evidence absolutely supports it,” Martin added.

Clough said that under normal circumstances he would never subpoena a sheriff.

Email Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A man who last spring escaped from the Lake County Jail was seen this week in the city of Clearlake, where he fled from police.

Roger Daniel Vigil, 50, was seen Wednesday afternoon on 32nd Avenue by Det. Travis Lenz, who was in the area on an unrelated matter, according to a report from Sgt. Dominic Ramirez of the Clearlake Police Department.

Vigil had walked away from the Lake County Jail on April 23, 2012, where he was an inmate assigned to minimum custody, as Lake County News has reported.

When Lenz saw Vigil on Wednesday, he was riding as a passenger on an off-road motorcycle that was leaving a driveway, Ramirez said.

Vigil and the unknown operator of the dirt bike fled from Lenz, who pursued them and notified dispatch, according to Ramirez.

Ramirez said Clearlake Police officers responded to the area in order to assist in capturing Vigil who, along with the motorcycle's driver, was able to flee from officers using the dirt paths which contain terrain not suitable for police vehicles.

A lengthy search of the area was conducted, however Ramirez said police were unable to locate Vigil or the other subject.

Vigil is described as a white male adult, 5 feet 7 inches tall and approximately 165 pounds, with a shaved head, according to Ramirez.

When Vigil escaped from custody last year, sheriff's officials released additional identifying characteristics. Vigil has brown eyes and a number of tattoos, including one of Mickey Mouse on his left arm, with his right arm having tattoos of Jesus and a peacock. He also has a peacock tattooed on his back.

Ramirez said Vigil has a warrant for his arrest from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, with bail set at $50,000.

Anyone with information as to Vigil's whereabouts is asked to contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous. 

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Child Care Planning Council, along with many other Lake County agencies, organizations and individuals, are uniting once again to honor Early Childhood Educators through the fifth annual Early Childhood Educator Award program.

Each year, the event grows, as award winners and nominees are honored by local dignitaries and leaders in the field.

This year’s event will be held at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre in Lakeport on May 10 in order to accommodate an even larger number of attendees.

Nomination forms are being distributed widely throughout the county through Lake County Office of Education, and child care programs, and an online submission form is available to make nominating a professional as convenient as possible.

Nomination forms are now available, and winners will be selected based on a detailed interview and evaluation process that considers their education, commitment to their profession and effectiveness in their role as educators.

To nominate a child care provider, please visit www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com .

Nominations must be received by March 29.

“Early Childhood Educators contribute significantly to our communities. Quality early childhood education dramatically impacts high school graduation rates, keeps our communities working, and helps Lake County develop productive, effective citizens of the future,” said Shelly Mascari, of the Lake County Child Care Planning Council.

“Many of these educators have dedicated decades to their profession; their education in many cases equals that of the K-12 educator; and yet we were lacking a forum to recognize excellence in their field,” Mascari added. “The goal of the Early Childhood Educator award program is to do just that.”

The winners will be honored at an award dinner held at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre and will receive an award package that includes scholarships to our local community colleges, gift certificates for classroom materials, press recognition, award plaques and more. Awards will be presented in the following categories:

• Provider of the year (family child care);
• Provider of the year (infant/toddler-center based);
• Provider of the year (preschool-center based);
• Provider of the year (after school-center based);
• Outstanding special needs inclusion;
• “Leading the Field.”

To find out how to be involved in this program or support this important work financially, contact The Lake County Child Care Planning Council, 707-995-9523, www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com .