CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The effort to restore a building to house the Clearlake Visitor Center is moving forward once again.

The city of Clearlake purchased the 1.5-acre property at 14295 Lakeshore Drive, next to Highlands Park, in 2011, as Lake County News has reported.

An old garage on the property was demolished last spring, with the house on the property to be used for the visitor center.

On Wednesday, April 6, the committee in charge of preparing the building to house the visitor center met to plan the restoration.

The project has been on hold for the last few months and the committee reported that it is looking forward to getting under way.

The committee reported that a lot has been done, with a lot more yet to do.

A new front door has been ordered and the windows have to be uncovered. Interior and exterior wall work will be put out to bid next week. Volunteer exterior cement work has been secured and will start soon.

The committee is looking for volunteers to help with interior projects.

The following help is needed from people with basic construction know-how: hanging light fixtures, cabinetry work, wood flooring work and painting. Experienced tile workers also are needed.

To volunteer please contact Jim Scholz at 707-994-1545.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Police have arrested a Ukiah man for failing to be properly registered as a sex offender and violation of his probation terms.

Austin Dion Duncan, 25, was taken into custody on Monday, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said that on Monday afternoon Lakeport Police officers were contacted by a citizen who reported having problems with a subject staying off and on at a rental residence without authorization in the city of Lakeport. 

The reporting party had reviewed the California Department of Justice Megan's Law Web site and learned the subject was a public disclosure sex offender, Rasmussen said.

Lakeport Police officers conducted a background and records check on the subject – identified as Duncan – who was registered as a transient sex offender in Ukiah, according to Rasmussen.

He said officers also learned that Duncan was on felony Post Release Community Supervision, or PRCS, with a search and seizure clause. 

Due to the information they developed, Lakeport Police officers believed that Duncan also was maintaining residence in Lakeport on 16 Street. Rasmussen said the officers went to the residence to conduct a probation search and continue the investigation on Duncan's registration status. 

Duncan was located in the residence and detained for further investigation. Rasmussen said the officers determined that Duncan had a regular pattern of staying at the Lakeport residence over the past two months.

Rasmussen said California law requires that Duncan be registered in both Ukiah and Lakeport. However, Duncan had not previously notified the Lakeport Police Department of his residence status. 

Officers arrested Duncan on a felony charge of failing to be properly registered as a sex offender and a felony violation of PRCS. Rasmussen said Duncan was transported and booked into the Lake County Jail. 

On Wednesday morning, the Lakeport Police Department learned that the Lake County District Attorney's Office had filed a felony complaint against Duncan, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said that complaint charges Duncan with failing to comply with California sex offender registration provisions, along with enhancements for having a prior serious or violent felony conviction, in this case, for lewd or lascivious acts.

The complaint also charges Duncan with having two prior prison terms, one out of Lake County Superior Court for a 2010 sex offense conviction and the second out of Mendocino County Superior Court for a 2015 failure to properly register as a sex offender conviction, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said Duncan currently remains in custody on a no bail hold. 

If anyone has information on Duncan's activities or residence status in Lakeport over the past few months they are asked to contact Lakeport Police Officer Tyler Trouette by telephone at 707-263-5491, Extension 17, or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Individuals also can send a private message to the department on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Lakeport-Police-Department-176101292414821/?ref=settings or can provide information anonymously by texting, via cellular telephone, the word TIP LAKEPORT followed by your message to 888777.

The California Highway Patrol is honoring the men and women who serve as call-takers and dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 10 to 16.

This is an opportunity to thank those who are too often forgotten, despite the invaluable service they provide to first responders and the general public.

“I am very proud of our public safety dispatchers and the indispensable services they provide to the public every day,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “They are often the first and most critical contact people have with emergency services. In addition to assisting the public, they help our officers in the field by providing valuable information, so officers can get the job done on the front lines.”

A large majority of California’s wireless 9-1-1 emergency calls are handled by CHP dispatchers. They ensure the caller on the other end of the line receives proper assistance in an emergency.

The calls dispatchers handle are never routine. In an instant, a dispatcher must be ready to engage with the caller and determine the proper response to ensure safety.

In between handling emergency calls, dispatchers are in constant communication with patrol officers, often assisting them by looking up vehicle identification numbers, license plates, driver license numbers and running criminal record checks on wanted subjects.

The CHP has 25 communications centers statewide that employ more than 900 public safety dispatchers. Last year these employees were responsible for handling approximately 10.1 million service calls.

Calling 9-1-1 can be stressful. The following tips will help callers and dispatchers during an emergency:

– Remain calm.
– Be prepared to provide your name, phone number, address or location, and a detailed description of the incident or vehicle being reported.
– Wireless devices do not always give the call-taker your location. Providing an accurate location of the emergency may be the single most important information for the dispatcher. This allows them to send help to the correct place.
– Listen carefully and follow all directions provided by the dispatcher.
– Wait for the dispatcher to ask questions, and then answer clearly and calmly.
– Be prepared to provide a physical description if the emergency involves a criminal suspect.
– Remember, 9-1-1 is for life-threatening emergencies. Misuse of the emergency 9-1-1 system will result in a delay for callers with real emergencies.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Three new Lakeport Fire Protection District firefighters took their oath of office and had their badges pinned on during a Tuesday evening ceremony.

Jodi Snider, Jordan Mills and Brandon Morin were sworn in by Linda Buckner, secretary of the fire district board of directors, at the beginning of the board's meeting at the main station.

After taking their oaths, each of the young firefighters invited up their fathers, who pinned on their badges. Each then shook hands with Chief Doug Hutchison.

The three new firefighters will be full-time limited term staff, which Hutchison explained means they will serve an initial term of 18 months and then can sign up again to continue.

He said they will receive full-time pay and some – but not all – of the district's benefits.

They will be permanently assigned to a four-person shift, which Hutchison said helps build cohesiveness.

Hutchison said his three new staffers recently completed their training. That included work at South Lake County Fire's training facility and a two-week orientation in the district's operations and guidelines.

He said Mills and Morin previously had worked for Lakeport Fire as volunteers, and Snider had been a volunteer and reserve firefighter with Kelseyville Fire.

Hutchison said the addition of Mills, Morin and Snider brings the district up to full staff. Altogether, the district has 12 full-time firefighters plus Hutchison, and 12 volunteers.

“We're stable at this point,” he said of the district's staffing.

Each shift is staffed by four people, Hutchison explained. However, over the last few years, he said the district has been trying to fill the fourth position on every shift on a daily basis due to being short-staffed.

Add to that, the challenges of increasing call volumes. “We've been increasing steadily,” said Hutchison, noting an annual 5- to 10-percent call increase, particularly with regard to medical aids.

Hutchison said Lakeport Fire recently applied for a four-year grant that would help it implement a reserve program like that in place at Kelseyville Fire.

He said the grant funding would raise the staffing by 12 reserves, increasing the per-shift personnel from four people to six, allow them to hire on reserves full-time when positions open, plus pay for personal protective equipment, training costs and mandatory pre-employment physicals for 12 individuals.

That grant was submitted in March, with Hutchison noting it will be at least three months before they hear if they're successful.

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. – Lakeport Police officers on Tuesday afternoon arrested a Clear Lake High School teacher who had been seen driving erratically near the campus, was found to be under the influence of marijuana and attempted to hide evidence in an administrative office.

Michael Alan Oleson, 58, of Kelseyville was arrested at the school campus, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said his department was contacted by the Lakeport Unified School District administration, which requested a response and investigation regarding the report of a district employee having been seen driving erratically on two streets leading into the Clear Lake High School campus. 

At 2:45 p.m. Lakeport Police officers responded and contacted the teacher, identified as Oleson, Rasmussen said.

Officers met with, interviewed and evaluated Oleson in an administrative office at the high school. Based on their investigation, Rasmussen said officers found that he was currently displaying signs and symptoms of marijuana influence and believed that he was under the influence. 

During the investigation officers stepped out of the office so that they could talk to school administrators and gather further information, Rasmussen said. Oleson remained seated in the office with the officers continuing to watch him.

At that point, an officer saw Oleson concealing an item inside an office bookcase. Rasmussen said the officers immediately entered the office and searched the area, recovering the item which was identified as a personal use quantity of marijuana hash oil. 

Oleson was placed under arrest on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of marijuana, possession of marijuana on school grounds and concealing evidence – in this case, hash oil – to prevent its discovery, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said the officers searched Oleson’s vehicle, which was parked on the campus, and located further evidence of marijuana use and possession. 

Oleson was transported to the Lakeport Police Department where he submitted to a urine test. He was then transported to the Lake County Correctional Facility where he was booked, Rasmussen said.

Jail records showed that Oleson's bail was set at $5,000. On Tuesday evening he posted the required portion of bail and was released.

He's tentatively scheduled to appear in court on June 7, according to booking records.