LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A fire first reported near Indian Valley Reservoir early Wednesday afternoon was contained by evening, according to fire officials.

Firefighters were dispatched to the Indian Fire at 12:35 p.m., according to Cal Fire.

The blaze was located off of Bartlett Springs Road near Indian Valley Reservoir, 10 miles northeast of Clearlake Oaks, the agency said.

Local and state firefighters worked on the incident from the ground as well as the air, with Cal Fire aircraft assisting with knocking it down, according to radio reports.

It was reported 100-percent contained at 38 acres at 6:30 p.m.

No cause for the fire was immediately reported.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Randy Ridgel sometimes spoke in the patois of the Louisiana Bayou Country where he spent his early years as the son of a sharecropper. So "Crawfish," as intimates occasionally called him, was an appropriate nickname. 

But, given his sagacious maneuverings in the halls and offices of local and state government, "Kingfish" would have been just as suitable for Ridgel, who succumbed to a seizure at the age of 82 on Friday, July 26.

For Ridgel, war and politics were inseparable terms. Whether it was a cause or a candidate he favored, Ridgel was a tenacious adversary, who armed himself for battle with truth, hard work at the grassroots level and chutzpah.

"Dad approached a campaign the way the military would approach some kind of battle," said his son Pat, the Lake County Republican Central Committee chairman. "He organized (campaigns) and believed they were a battle to win hearts and minds, which is the way of politics in the country.

"He campaigned to put the candidate into office who was going to do the right thing according to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, which were the documents he loved. He believed that if he presented the truth and the facts to people goodness would overcome. That's why he was into politics the way he was," Pat added.

"You could always count on Randy to tell you the truth and he would tell it in a completely unvarnished way," said insurance agent Tom Lincoln, whose friendship with Ridgel has existed for 30 years.

"Unfortunately there aren't too many people who communicate like that anymore," Lincoln added.

"No question, the gloves would come off. He declared political war. ‘You wanna win or not,' he'd say," recalled Lake County District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown. 

Brown, for one, will be among the first to assert that Ridgel, a lifelong conservative Republican, influenced his political career in its beginning.

"He helped me with several campaigns from the time I was first elected to the school board," said Brown who was a Kelseyville High School classmate of Ridgel's son Jeff.

Did Brown ever disagree with Ridgel?

"Oh, of course," he replied. "It wasn't so much political philosophy. There were times that he expected hard work (campaigning) and I'd say 'I can't do that. I've got a wife and small kids. I need to be home with them,' and he said, 'No, you've got to be out on the campaign trail.' He was very adamant about it – if you're going to be a candidate that was your job."

Ridgel's inestimable compatriots and confidantes will have a lot to talk about this coming Sunday, Aug. 11, at a 1 p. m. memorial service for him at the Lake County Fairgrounds' Little Theater. The gathering will salute a man who lived a storybook life that was actually a multiplicity of lives.

"He grew up in abject poverty in a family that had great love and worked their rears off," said Pat. "He grew up with a love for people and that's how he governed his political life."

A child of the Depression, Ridgel entered the U.S. Navy as a minor and retired as an officer after 30 years. He served on both submarines and surface ships and saw action in Vietnam.

His activism in the political arena began soon after he moved his family – wife Jackie and sons Jeff and Patrick – from San Diego to a 20-acre property in Kelseyville in 1974.

As chair of the Lake County Republican Party, he was the county's ranking Republican, but as a member of the state's Republican Board of Directors he also carried clout at the state government level – more than anyone from the county ever did and perhaps ever will.

"He approached everything in a systematic way, which enabled him to get where he got," said Pat. "Once he was into something he thought about it all the time, he was devoted to it and he surrounded himself with outstanding people who had like minds."

Among those people was Lake County Superior Court Judge Stephen Hedstrom, who in the mid-1980s tabbed Ridgel to run his campaign for Lake County district attorney, one of the rare times Ridgel agreed to run a campaign for someone who wasn’t a Republican. Ridgel, in turn, picked Lincoln as his media liaison.

Ridgel also would help David Herrick win election over opponent Peter Windrem in the Lake County Superior Court judge’s race in 1994.

Ridgel served two terms – eight years in all – as president of the Lake County Historical Society.

"He realized he couldn't fulfill his second term so he tried to recruit me. I was reluctant at first, but when I realized his term was almost up I thought I could be interim president for the last six months of the year," said Phil Smoley. "That was three and a half years ago and I'm still president."

The most notable occurrence on Ridgel's watch was the creation of the Ely Stagecoach Stop Museum, which by no means was a slam-dunk undertaking.

"Its grand opening occurred on my watch, so a lot of people give me credit for it, but I really had very little to do with it," Smoley demurred. "Randy understood there was a situation with Caltrans whose building used to be over on Highway 29. There was concern that expansion of the highway would impact its location.

"Then Randy started talking to different people and one by one folks materialized who donated money and land and got involved. Without any of those people (the museum) wouldn't have happened, but the first person who had the vision was Randy Ridgel,” Smoley said.

Randy and Jackie Ridgel would be on hand throughout the hot July day in 2007 when the stage stop building was moved from its original location on Highway 29 to where it now sits on Soda Bay Road. They patiently followed its slow overland trek over several hours, recording the move with photos and video.

Ridgel was a man of letters, the written kind. There were an untold number of them that he penned over a period of close to 40 years.

One of them triggered a story in the Los Angeles Times. The open letter was a withering retort to fellow state board member Shannon Reeves' public claim that the Republicans treated black Americans, such as himself, as "window dressing."

"I, for one, am getting bored with that kind of garbage," Ridgel wrote. "Let me offer this suggestion to Mr. Reeves: 'Get over it, bucko. You don't know squat about hardship.' "

He added: "I personally don't give a damn about your color . . . so stop parading it around. We need human beings of all human colors in our party to pull their weight, so get in without the whining or get out."

"Dad's letter writing was really a process," said Pat. "Something would strike his interest and he would turn to you and say 'That's my next letter to the editor.' . . . Then from out of the blue I'd get a phone call at home, at work, it could be the middle of the night and he'd say 'I've got it written. Check your email.'"

What Lake County has lost with the passing of Ridgel, said Brown, is "an era of campaign strategy."

"His political philosophies aside, his Conservative values will live on because they're deep," Brown added. "I don't like the way the Internet works with anonymous blogging and personal attacks on people by some anonymous blogging. The type of campaigns that Randy ran were knock-on-the door, talk to the person face-to-face and work hard. You never saw Randy post anything anonymously."

Said Pat: "We lost one of our movers and shakers . . . he was very passionate about his ideas and was very much a patriot."

Lake County "lost a lot of things," Lincoln concluded. "But to me it lost a truth teller."

Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – County leaders will discuss efforts to address ongoing problems with crime and gang activity in Kelseyville at a town hall set for Monday, Aug. 19.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Kelseyville High School Student Center, 5480 Main St.

Speakers will include Supervisor Rob Brown and Undersheriff Pat Turturici, with Lake County Sheriff's Office and Probation Department staff to discuss their work with regard to gang problems within the county.

This will be an open forum as part of an ongoing attempt to establish a healthy and caring community free from crime.

In addition there will be information on the new Neighborhood Watch group which is forming in Kelseyville. 

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Compliance checks of 10 marijuana grow sites last week resulted in the eradication of 3,800 marijuana plants.

The compliance checks were conducted in the areas of Jerusalem Valley and Spruce Grove Road in Middletown and Morgan Valley in Lower Lake, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

On Aug. 1 and 2, the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force conducted an eradication effort targeting large scale illegal commercial marijuana cultivation operations, Brooks said.

He said the marijuana grow sites were located during aerial reconnaissance missions conducted earlier in the year.

During the operation, all suspects fled on foot or in vehicles avoiding law enforcement contact, Brooks said.

The grow sites were complex and large scale. Brooks said each grow site averaged 300 to 400 plants.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that it has seen a significant reduction in mountain lions killed as a result of new policy implemented in February without a risk to public safety.

The new policy allows for more nonlethal options when there is an interaction between a mountain lion and humans.

“Last year, I directed the department’s leadership team to evaluate our guidelines on how we respond to interactions with mountain lions and bears to determine how we can do better,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “I’m pleased that we have struck the balance and are witnessing fewer mountain lions killed without sacrificing any wildlife officer’s authority to make the correct public safety call for each situation.”

The previous human/wildlife interaction policy evaluation was fast tracked after two notable lethal mountain lion interactions took place at the end of 2012.

The stories of these interactions elevated the department’s need to evaluate current policy and to make changes to allow the use of nonlethal means.

As part of the evaluation, senior CDFW leadership met with many interested stakeholders from both sides of the issue.

Since the new policy was implemented, CDFW has ordered equipment for field staff to better handle the nonlethal means of handling human wildlife conflict calls. 

Many of the mountain lion and bear incidents that have happened have resulted in hazing wildlife away from the area of high public use or the darting and relocation of the animal, rather than lethal take.

In one incident in January, a lion in Santa Barbara was relocated to the Los Padres National Forest. In another incident in Santa Cruz in May, a lion had fallen into a culvert and could not jump out. He was darted and later released in the Soquel Demonstration State Forest. These are just two of many incidents that have ended nonlethally.

“Sometimes you can find a mountain lion or bear in an unusual location otherwise behaving normally,” said CDFW Law Enforcement Chief Mike Carion. “It isn’t always a threat to public safety. Every situation is unique. We are pleased that this policy allows us to evaluate each situation carefully and to choose a solution which allows a co-existence between humans and wildlife while allowing discretion to act when there is a public safety issue.”

For more information, please visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/lion/ . 

NICE, Calif. – Lake County residents recently got the chance to see if their treasures really have value.

Featherbed Railroad in Nice hosted Laurence Martin of TV’s “Baggage Battles,” who offered free valuations of items last Saturday.

Featherbed owner Tony Barthel and Martin are old friends, and during a recent stay Martin offered to do the valuations.

Besides learning more about their items, some county residents even made sales to Martin.

LAKEPORT, Calif. - Just about anything you can make or grow at home is eligible for entry into competition at the annual Lake County Fair, but the deadline for returning entries to exhibit items at the Lake County Fair is nearly here.

Entry for all divisions of exhibits must be in the fair office by 6 pm on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

The fair office will close promptly at 6 p.m., and late entries are not accepted. 

All entries into the Lake County Fair are made online at http://www.lakecountyfair.com/fair/competitions.  Online entries have been required since 2005.

The fair provides computers and high speed Internet service for the purpose of entering exhibits. The computers can be found during regular business hours in the fair office at the fairgrounds through Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Internet access also can be found in a number of other public places, including libraries and at Umpqua Bank branches.

Exhibitor Contest Handbooks are available in a variety of locations around Lake County, including the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, the 4-H Office, Kelseyville Drug, Lower Lake Feed, Bobbie's Family Feed, Middletown Feed, Lakeshore Feed, the Clearlake Chamber of Commerce, Pet Acres and the Redwood Empire Fair.

The Lake County Fair Board has chosen "Find Great Treasures!" for the theme of the 2013 Fair.

The Lake County Fair traditionally occurs Labor Day weekend each year at the fairgrounds in Lakeport. The 2013 fair dates are Thursday, Aug. 29, through Sunday, Sept. 1.

The fair is one of Lake County's favorite summertime events enjoyed by nearly 40,000 people each year.

For more information please visit the fair on the internet at www.lakecountyfair.com .

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – As the State’s Fire Prevention Fee continues to be implemented, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, is providing property owners multiple resources to answer their questions about the fee.

This outreach effort is being implemented as a result of Assembly Bill X1 29, which was signed into law July 7, 2011, establishing a fee for fire prevention services in the 31 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA).

Cal Fire said the revenue generated from the fee pays for vital fire prevention services within the SRA.

Fire prevention services funded by the fee include strategic fuel reduction activities, defensible space inspections, fire prevention engineering, emergency evacuation planning, fire prevention education, fire hazard severity mapping, implementation of the state’s and local fire plans ( http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/fire_er/fpp_planning_cafireplan ), and fire related law enforcement activities such as fire cause determination and arson investigation.

However, the fee remains controversial, with continuing efforts to have it overturned by grassroots organizations and the California Legislature.

Cal Fire has established a Web site, www.FirePreventionFee.org , which contains comprehensive information about the fee and helpful links to maps, the law language, and answers frequently asked questions.

Additionally, a customer service call center is staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except holidays) to further aid homeowners that have questions about the Fire Prevention Fee. The call center number is 1-888-310-6447.

Under the law, the Board of Equalization (BOE) is responsible for collecting the fee. The bills scheduled for mailing this summer are for Fiscal Year 2012/13, which includes July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013. 

The fee applies to the homeowner of record as of July 1, 2012, for all habitable structures within the SRA. 

The BOE began mailing the bills alphabetically by county on July 19.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lakeport man has been sentenced to 28 years in state prison for child molestation.

On Monday, Judge Andrew Blum handed down the 28-year sentence to David Edward Carr, 50.

Carr had pleaded no contest to four separate charges of child molestation involving two victims on July 8, according to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

Carr’s victims were both girls under the age of 14 when the molestations occurred, officials said.

Investigative reports and evidence submitted at the preliminary hearing showed that the first known victim disclosed to her mother early this past January that Carr had molested her on numerous occasions beginning in 2006, when she was 6, and continued to sometime in 2010, based on a District Attorney’s Office report.

The victim also described seeing what may have been child pornography on Carr’s cell phone, according to the report.

Carr was arrested on Jan. 5 and charged with one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Officials said Det. Todd Dunia of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office seized Carr’s computer, a camera and a cell phone. Dunia obtained a search warrant for the devices submitted them for a forensic examination to the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force.

The examination of the computer revealed a series of time-stamped photographs of a young girl. In all of the photographs, the girl appeared to be asleep. In several of those photographs, Carr was shown touching the sleeping girl inappropriately, officials said.

The investigation established that the photographs were taken with Carr’s camera and were recovered from both the camera and the computer. Based on these photographs, three additional counts of lewd act on a minor, one count of possession of child and one count of manufacturing child pornography were added to the charges against him, based on the complaint.

The District Attorney’s Office said it reached a plea agreement with Carr in which he was sentenced to eight years in state prison for count two, lewd act on a minor, and two subordinate terms of two years each for counts three and four, which also were for molestation.

Carr was sentenced to a full consecutive term of 16 years for count one, continuous sexual abuse of a child, for an aggregate term of 28 years, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Because all of the counts to which Carr pleaded are considered violent felonies, Carr will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence. If and when he is released, Carr will be required to register as a sex offender, the District Attorney’s Office said.

The victims have received services through the District Attorney’s Office’s Victim-Witness program.

The lead investigator was sheriff’s Det. Todd Dunia, with sheriff’s Det. Kellie Joseph conducting the forensic interview of the victim. The District Attorney’s Office commended Dunia and Joseph for what it said was an excellent investigation.

Carr was represented by attorney Douglas Rhoades. The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif -- The Lake County Sheriff's office has arrested 58 year old Lawrence Farmer of Kelseyville on cultivation and posession charges after a large pot bust in Arizona was traced to a Kelseyville address.

During the month of April, detectives from the Phoenix Arizona Police Department conducted a narcotics investigation and seized 326 pounds of processed marijuana, 26 pounds of hashish and approximately $800,000.00 in US Currency.

During their investigation they arrested Bruce Franklin and Miroslaw Zuzak in Arizona, who are residents of Lake County.

As a result of the investigation conducted by the Phoenix Police Department Narcotics Unit, the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force began an investigation to identify the source of the marijuana seized in Phoenix.

On July 26, 2013 the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force secured a search warrant for the residence and property located in the 7300 block of Highway 29 in Kelseyville. This is the same home address used by both Franklin and Zuzak when they were arrested in Phoenix.

On July 30, 2013 members of the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force and detectives from the Phoenix Police Department served the warrant at the aforementioned residence and property. When detectives made entry into the residence, they located and detained Farmer of Kelseyville without incident.

During the search of the residence and property, detectives located and seized 113 marijuana plants, which were located outside the residence in greenhouses.

Detectives also located approximately 5 pounds of processed marijuana which were packaged for sales, approximately two ounces of hashish packaged for shipment via parcel carrier and a small quantity of steroids inside the residence.

Farmer was arrested for possession of marijuana for sales, cultivation of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.

Both Franklin and Zuzak are currently in custody in Arizona.

The LCSO encourages people to call the anonymous tip line at 263-3663 to assist in narcotics eradication.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Westside Community Park Committee’s annual “Grillin’ on the Green’ event on Saturday evening drew record attendance.

Committee Chair Dennis Rollins said 320 people attended the fourth annual event.

The LC Diamonds, a car show and activities for children kept the record crowd entertained on the warm summer evening.

 And then there was the food – a variety of barbecued delicacies put forth by nine teams: Lakeport Kiwanis Club, Delta Iota Tau Sorority, the Lakeport Lions, the Early Lake Lions, the Clear Lake High School Sports Foundation (Casey Dye), Grillin’ for Fun (Scott DeWeese), Drunken Pirates (Kelly and Rob Rumfelt), Still Smokin and Q-n (Adrian Hoaglen) and the city of Lakeport.

The grillers reported running out of food as the sold-out crowd chowed down.

Grillin’ on the Green is the main annual fundraiser for the Westside Community Park Committee.

Organizers reported raising more than $15,200, which includes a pledge to match funds up to $5,000 from the Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation and $3,000 from Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

For more information about the committee and its efforts to develop the park visit www.westsidecommunitypark.org or check out Westside Community Park’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Westside-Community-Park/684635274896092 .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake Transit Authority reported that a plan is in place for the resumption of bus services that have been curtailed since last week due to a transit strike, with the goal being to have services fully restored by the first week of September.

Last week, Teamsters Local Union 665 members voted to go out on an indefinite strike until they settle a new three-year contract with Paratransit Services, the Washington-based nonprofit that since 2007 has had the contract to operate Lake Transit.

Lake Transit General Manager Mark Wall said he asked Paratransit Services last Friday for a plan for restoring services as soon as possible.

He said service “will increase substantially” on Aug. 16, and all routes and most schedules will be restored by Aug. 26.

All services – including Saturday operation – will be fully restored by Sept. 3, Wall said.

He said the plan to restore services considers critical needs by emphasizing services to vulnerable populations. It also deals with restoring services to the local schools where classes will soon be starting. 

Through Aug. 15, curtailed service levels will remain in place, Wall said.

Currently, Lake Transit is operating intercity routes 5 and 6 in Clearlake from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., the westbound Route 4 from Clearlake to Lakeport at 7:05 a.m. and 1 p.m., and eastbound Route 1 from Lakeport to Clearlake at 8:31 a.m. and 2:21 p.m. only, Monday through Friday. Clearlake and Lakeport Dial-a-Ride operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Between Aug. 16 and Aug. 23, the westbound Route 1, the eastbound Route 4, Route 3 from Clearlake to Deer Park, Route 7 from Lakeport to Ukiah and Route 8 in Lakeport will return to the schedule Monday through Friday, according to the plan.

On Aug. 26, Lake Transit will restore Route 2 on Highway 175 from Kit’s Corner to Middletown, Route 4A from Kit’s Corner to Lakeport, Monday through Friday.

The following week all services, including services on Saturday, will be restored.

Paratransit Services indicated in a letter to the union last week that it intended to continue to provide services and would hire permanent replacements for the striking workers.

Wall said Paratransit Services “has mobilized all of the assets within their organization to train replacement workers and restore service as soon as possible.”

He said all employees have to undergo extensive training in order to operate Lake Transit buses.   

Last week, Teamsters members had demanded that the contract provisions be enforced, suggesting that Lake Transit needed a new operating company.

Wall said the service restoration plan enforces Lake Transit’s performance provisions in its contract with Paratransit Services. 

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.

Lake Transit Ride Guide - August 16-23

Lake Transit Ride Guide - August 26-30