CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Lower Lake High School Rotary Interact Club helped hundreds of children through a giveaway of backpacks and supplies on Thursday afternoon.

The giveaway, part of the group's “Blessings in a Backpack” program, was held at Walmart in Clearlake.

Altogether, more than 200 backpacks were distributed and about 50 families were helped, said Jen Totten, Rotary Interact Club advisor at Lower Lake High School.

“This is all done and completed by Lower Lake High School students,” said Dana Moore, president of the Clearlake Rotary.

Moore said Rotary was proud of the new Interact Club, which is the first of its kind at Lower Lake High School.

Thirty Interact Club members participated in the giveaway program, gathering donations throughout the school year, Totten said.

She estimated that about a third of those who came to get the donations on Thursday were homeless.

Totten said the club members were touched by the experience.

“These students really made it happen,” said Totten.

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.

The planet closest to the Sun is, ironically, one of the coldest.

That’s just one of many mind-bending discoveries about Mercury that NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft beamed back to Earth over the past 7 years.

On Thursday, the mission ended with a crash as spectacular as some of its findings.

Mission controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, confirmed that MESSENGER slammed into the surface of Mercury on Thursday, April 30, at 3:26 p.m. EDT.

It had used the last of its propellant on April 24 and could no longer maintain a stable orbit.

Traveling some 8,750 miles per hour, the plummeting spacecraft made an unseen crater on the side of the planet facing away from Earth.

“Going out with a bang as it impacts the surface of Mercury, we are celebrating MESSENGER as more than a successful mission,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Now, we begin the next phase of this mission--analyzing the exciting data already in the archives, and unravelling the mysteries of Mercury.”

Here are some of MESSENGER’s most important findings so far:

The hidden face of Mercury

In the mid-1970s when Mariner 10 flew past Mercury three times, the probe imaged less than half the planet.

Until MESSENGER arrived, the rest of Mercury was a land of mystery. MESSENGER was the first spacecraft to view the entirety of the mighty Caloris basin – one of the biggest and youngest impact features in the solar system.

Moreover, MESSENGER spotted volcanic vents around the rim of the basin, proving that volcanism – and not only impacts – have shaped the surface of the innermost planet.

The irony of Mercury’s poles

Mercury would seem to be an unlikely place to find ice. But the tilt of Mercury's rotational axis is almost zero – less than one degree – so the floors of craters at the planet's poles never see sunlight.

Scientists suggested decades ago that there might be frozen water trapped there. The idea received a boost in 1991 when the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico and the Goldstone antenna in California detected unusually bright radar reflections from Mercury’s poles – the kind of reflections that ice would make.

From Mercury orbit, MESSENGER was able to look down on Mercury’s poles like no other spacecraft or telescope, and it confirmed the unlikely: Permanently shadowed craters near Mercury’s poles have temperatures less than -280F (-173C), and water ice is stable on their dark inner surfaces. Some of the polar ice is covered by a mysterious dark organic material that researchers still do not understand.

The incredible shrinking planet

The dominant tectonic landforms on Mercury are huge cliffs called “lobate scarps.”

Even before MESSENGER, researchers thought these scarps were signs of global shrinkage, like wrinkles on a raisin.

Why would Mercury shrink?

The planet’s core makes up a whopping 60 to 70 percent of its mass. Cooling of this oversized core has led to a remarkable contraction of the planet.

MESSENGER’s images of lobate scarps show that the total contraction is two to seven times greater than researchers previously thought.

Magnetically speaking, Mercury is alive

Until Mariner 10 discovered Mercury's magnetic field in the 1970s, Earth was the only other terrestrial planet known to have a global magnetic field.

Earth's magnetism is generated by the planet's churning hot, liquid-iron core via a mechanism called a magnetic dynamo.

Researchers have been puzzled by Mercury's field because its iron core was supposed to have finished cooling long ago and stopped generating magnetism.

Some researchers thought that the field may have been a relic of the past, frozen in the outer crust. MESSENGER data show otherwise: Mercury's field appears to be generated by an active dynamo in the planet's core. It is not a relic.

A planet with a tail

Orbiting Mercury, MESSENGER made the first in situ observations of Mercury's unique exosphere.

The exosphere is an ultrathin atmosphere where atoms and molecules are so far apart they are more likely to collide with the surface than with each other.

This material is derived mainly from the surface of Mercury itself, knocked aloft by solar radiation, solar wind bombardment and meteoroid vaporization.

MESSENGER was able to determine the chemical composition of the exosphere (hydrogen, helium, sodium, potassium, and calcium) and monitor the material as it was stretched out into a comet-like tail as long as 2 million kilometers by the action of the solar wind.

This tail, as well as Mercury’s magnetic field, was often buffeted by solar activity during MESSENGER’s long mission, giving the spacecraft a point-blank view of the roughest space weather in the solar system.

In addition to science discoveries, the mission provided many technological firsts, including the development of a ceramic cloth sunshade that protected the spacecraft’s instruments and electronics from fierce solar radiation.

“The front side of the sunshade routinely experienced temperatures in excess of 300° Celsius (570° Fahrenheit), whereas the majority of components in its shadow routinely operated near room temperature (20°C or 68°F),” said Helene Winters, mission project manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “This technology to protect the spacecraft’s instruments was a key to mission success during its prime and extended operations.”

Goodbye, MESSENGER, and thanks!

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

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Westside Community Park has a new equipment storage building, located on the Jane Barnes Field.

This building will allow for the storage of equipment by the sports leagues utilizing the athletic fields.

It also provides a secure location for storage of maintenance equipment belonging to the Westside Community Park Committee.

The Jane Barnes Field is used by the Konocti Youth Soccer League from August through late November and by the Westshore Little League from March through early June.

Hundreds of children and their families utilize the park each year.

“This new building is only possible because of the donation of labor, materials and money received from the community,” said Dennis Rollins, chairman of the Westside Community Park Committee.

Merritt Construction, the Kiwanis Club of Lakeport, members of the Westside Community Park Committee and the Little League Board turned out on several Saturdays to provide the labor.

Clear Lake Redi-Mix and RB Peters teamed up to pour the foundation. Davis Fabrication & Ornamental Design and Economy Heating & Cooling donated all of the metal work.

Dewey & Sons Painting and Plaza Paints came together to see that the building was painted.

For security, Lake County Lock & Safe, donated nonduplicable keys.

“Lumber and construction materials were provided to the Committee by Mendo Mill & Lumber Co. at a huge discount. Mendo Mill has been providing this type of support for years,” Rollins said.

“The funding for this project was raised at the annual Grillin’ on the Green BBQ Cook-off,” Rollins added.

The Jane Barnes Field and adjacent space is being developed and operated by the Westside Community Park Committee, a registered nonprofit corporation, under a lease agreement with the city of Lakeport.

Visit the park online at www.westsidecommunitypark.org/ .

COBB, Calif. – The Lake County District Attorney's Office reported this week that a manager at Hoberg's Resort and Spa has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for potentially exposing his employees to asbestos during the early stages of the historic resort's renovation three years ago.

Daniel E. Nelson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of California Labor Code section 6423 – willfully violating a Cal/OSHA standard – on April 6, the District Attorney's Office reported.

The Lake County District Attorney's Office also filed charges against Nelson for failing to secure workers’ compensation insurance, a violation of section 3700.5 of the California Labor Code, and violations of section 42400 of the California Health and Safety Code concerning asbestos emissions control measures.

However, those counts were dismissed with a “Harvey waiver,” entitling Nelson’s victims to restitution, the District Attorney's Office said.

“The District Attorney’s Office will take serious any environmental crime that poses a health hazard to the owner’s employee and the general public,” District Attorney Don Anderson said in a written statement. “We will use all available resources to investigate and prosecute these types of crimes. In this matter the disposition of the case is adequate, not only is the defendant punished but a fund is established to treat the victims’ health needs.”

In its case, the District Attorney's Office alleged that in 2012 Nelson repeatedly violated the Cal/OSHA asbestos workplace-safety regulations for structure demolitions, which caused a real and apparent hazard to employees by means of potential exposure to asbestos.

The 55-acre resort was sold in April 2014 by Cobb Mountain Partners – who had owned it since July 2010 – to Silvester Rabic and Frank Sasselli of Lake County Partners LLC for an undisclosed amount, as Lake County News has reported.

The District Attorney's Office said Nelson was the acting manager of Hoberg’s Resort and Spa under the previous ownership at the time the violations occurred.

Nelson told Lake County News that in 2012 he was assisting the resort's previous owners by acting “in the capacity as a consultant.”

He continues to be involved in the resort's management, operations and renovation as its executive vice president.

The resort has since opened on a limited basis, and hosted a series of concerts last summer.

Investigating violations

Matthew Carr, a circuit prosecutor for the California District Attorneys Association, handled the case.

Circuit prosecutors like Carr bring experience in such cases to rural counties that don't have the resources, and increase those agencies' abilities to take on workplace safety crimes, Carr said.

Carr called the case “a somewhat unusual” one from both the environmental and workplace safety perspectives.

The case was investigated by Doug Gearhart, air pollution control officer for the Lake County Air Quality Management District, and by Lake County District Attorney’s Office Investigator John Flynn.

Gearhart told Lake County News that the renovation project started back in 2011 with some early work on the building across Highway 175 from the main resort.

The District Attorney's Office said an asbestos inspection was performed on Sept. 6, 2011, which found asbestos present in all samples.

Gearhart said the county received an incomplete asbestos notification form for the renovation that same month from Mary Jane Fagalde, the county's former Community Development Director, who was representing Hoberg’s. Gearhart said that notification was never completed.

Gearhart said he and his staff made “significant effort” to educate the resort's management staff on the asbestos issues and requirements, which also were requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act process that the resort went through to start the property renovation. Those requirements were not followed, Gearhart added.

Then, in August 2012, district staff observed large piles of demolition debris at the main resort, which kicked off an inquiry. Gearhart said his staff brought in the Lake County Community Development Department to help determine what activities were occurring and whether they were following all county permits.

“We also began receiving complaints from the community. We were additionally contacted by Air Resources Board and Cal OSHA regarding this site,” Gearhart said.

The District Attorney's Office said a notice of violation was immediately issued to Hoberg’s citing the failure to inspect for asbestos, failure to notify and for renovating without notice.

Gearhart said his staff issued the violation to Hoberg’s Resort, as no contractors were observed during any of the district's inspections.

However, Carr noted, “This case was unusual in that there was a contractor on site.”

Nelson and Carr both told Lake County News that Tom Carter was the contractor involved in the renovations.

“Tom Carter was the contractor we hired at the time to both manage and handle special construction projects with his crew and ours,” Nelson said. “Being that I was consulting the ownership of the resort and Tom Carter denied the direct responsibility for this occurrence, we decided to settle for a misdemeanor offense on this single matter.”

Nelson said he has filed a lawsuit against Carter, seeking reimbursement for the costs and penalties in the criminal case, and he's confident his case will prevail.

“At the end of the day, Tom Carter and Tom Carter Construction will eventually be held responsible for this incident,” Nelson said.

As for potential criminal repercussions for Carter, Carr said, “Nothing has yet been filed against Mr. Carter,” and no final decision has been made about how the District Attorney's Office may proceed against Carter.

“At the very least, Mr. Carter did not dot all of his i's and cross all of his t's,” Carr said.

Melanie Bedwell, a public affairs officer for the Contractors State License Board, told Lake County News that Carter's contractor's license expired on March 31, and he is not currently licensed to contract at this time.

“He will need to renew his license by paying the renewal fee, confirming a contractor bond, and having workers’ compensation insurance if he has employees,” Bedwell said.

Bedwell said there is no current, open complaint the agency is investigating regarding Carter.

Employer responsibilities

While Carter was involved, Carr said the District Attorney's Office had evidence to show that Nelson was actually the employer.

Therefore, the prosecution held that the ultimate responsibility for the renovation's handling belonged to Nelson, Carr said, as he was giving the orders about what work to do and setting the wages for workers.

“We felt that Mr. Nelson was the appropriate target,” Carr said.

Carr said that the “wanton lack of regard” for Hoberg's employees, and the potential exposure to asbestos of as many as 10 employees, was one of the reasons the District Attorney's Office pursued the case.

He said all employers owe their employees a duty to keep them safe. “In this case, that did not happen. Far from it.”

Gearhart said asbestos is a potentially significant issue in Lake County, as there are many buildings that contain asbestos building materials.

Generally, he said those materials are safe as long as they are encapsulated – painted or part of vinyl flooring, or in tar paper and roofing materials – but improper disturbance of these materials can result in exposures to those performing the work and the public.

“Improper disposal can result in asbestos exposures to waste haulers and landfill workers, as well as the public,” Gearhart said.

In Lake County, which has an older housing stock that may have asbestos materials, there are many renovations and demolitions during the year, “a number of which we are not aware of and are likely noncompliant with the federal asbestos regulations,” Gearhart said.

While there are asbestos-containing products on the market today, Gearhart said the number of such products and risk from those products has been significantly reduced.

Carr said he couldn't give a statistically valid estimate of how common asbestos-related criminal cases are, however, he believes they have gone down due to repeated prosecutions, as well as civil consequences, that have taken place across California.

“However, not all of it goes reported,” he said, and often workers aren't aware or willing to report such issues while a job is under way.

In the case of Lake County, Carr said permittees are informed both orally and in writing of the need to do a predemolition asbestos survey.

“When you're tearing down an old structure, you have to be sensitive to asbestos,” he said.

Carr asked that the community report such “rip and runs” to local authorities, adding, “I think it's important for all employers to carefully adhere to workplace safety laws.”

The terms of Nelson’s plea include three years’ probation, which require him to serve 60 days in the county jail. Nelson said he is eligible to serve that time not in jail but in home confinement through an electronic monitoring program.

In addition, he must complete 340 hours of community service, pay a $5,000 fine and a nondeductible sum of $20,000 to the Lakeside Health Clinic of Lake County, a comprehensive care clinic for the uninsured and underinsured.

The latter sum will be used for health screenings for potential victims in the case as well as to fill various urgent financial needs at the clinic that would allow it to further and better serve low-income residents of Lake County.

Nelson said he was happy that the fines are going to help the clinic.

Nelson was previously sentenced in Santa Clara County on one felony count of workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud on June 9, 2011. He said that felony charge was expunged from his record on Thursday.

“With my personal donation to four charities from the Hoberg's Cobb Mountain Concert Series in 2014 and other donations in the past, we are glad they will make a difference in the Lake County community,” Nelson said in a written statement. “I look forward to further assist Lake County charities that need financial assistance with special programs through my efforts.”

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 COUNTY, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol has released the name of a young Lakeport man who died in an early morning crash in Clearlake Oaks on Thursday.

Anthony Estrella, 24, died in the wreck, according to CHP Officer Kory Reynolds.

Estrella was driving a 1997 Ford Explorer westbound on Highway 20 at Schindler Street at 1 a.m. Thursday when the crash occurred, the CHP said.

The CHP report said Estrella's Explorer went off the road, and hit a speed limit sign, a power pole and a chain link fence before it overturned, trapping him inside. He died at the scene, according to the CHP.

The crash remains under investigation, the CHP said.

Editor's note: The CHP initially reported the victim's last name as Estrello, later correcting it that it is Estrella.

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.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Lakeport man died early Thursday when the vehicle he was driving hit a power pole and overturned.

The California Highway Patrol did not release the name of the 24-year-old man Thursday pending notification of family.

The crash occurred at 1 a.m. on Highway 20 at Schindler Street in Clearlake Oaks, the CHP said.

The man was driving a 1997 Ford Explorer westbound on Highway 20 at a high rate of speed when, for an unknown reason, he allowed the vehicle to drift off the north roadway edge and onto the dirt shoulder, where it hit a posted speed limit sign, according to the CHP.

The CHP said the Explorer continued in a northwesterly direction and the driver's side door struck a power pole, shearing the pole off at the base.

The Explorer overturned, hit a chain link fence and came to rest on its roof, according to the CHP report.

Firefighters responded to the scene and began to immediately provide aid to the driver, who was trapped in the Explorer, the CHP said.

The CHP said the man died at the scene.

The driver was not wearing his seat belt, and at this time the CHP said it isn't known if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.

The crash knocked out power to more than 2,000 Clearlake Oaks residents, with power restored later in the morning, according to the Pacific Gas and Electric online outage center.

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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – More than 40 hikers participated in the second annual “Hike 4 Healing” last Saturday, braving the morning chill and the incline of the Wright Summit Trail on Mount Konocti to help raise $20,000 for Worldwide Healing Hands.

The fundraiser was deemed a success by Dr. Paula Dhanda, medical director for Worldwide Healing Hands, and the organization's board of directors.

Nearly twice as many people as last year did the Mount Konocti walk, and donations from hikers and sponsors were doubled as well.

The funds will help pay for equipment and supplies needed for upcoming Worldwide Healing Hands missions in Lake County and in areas of the world selected by the Worldwide Healing Hands Board of Directors.

The Hike 4 Healing was launched last year as a fundraiser for Worldwide Healing Hands’ missions.

Worldwide Healing Hands provides health care services to women and children in underserved areas of the world.

The group’s volunteer medical teams also provide free health screenings to homeless in Lake County. The organization has sent teams on missions to Nepal, Chad and Haiti to deliver health services, and Uganda is the next proposed location for a mission.

“We are very grateful for the support we received for this year’s Hike 4 Healing,” said Dhanda. “Many sponsors and contributors, as well as the people who showed up to hike with us, made the event a huge success. The funds raised will help us immensely.”

Doctors, nurses and staff who accompany Dhanda on the Worldwide Healing Hands missions are not paid for their time; they donate their services to the organization.

However, there are other costs incurred, mainly for much-needed supplies and medicine, according to Dhanda.

The staff and administrators at Mountain Vista Middle School (where participants were able to park), People Services Executive Director Ilene Dumont and Director of Supported Living Services Latoya Fortino (who drove People Services vans to shuttle hikers from the parking area to the trailhead), staff of the Kelseyville Fire Department, volunteer students, and Tom Nixon and numerous other docents deserve special thanks for their assistance with the event, said Dhanda.

Major sponsors for this year’s Hike 4 Healing included Diamond ($1,000 or more) contributors: RoseMarie Blackwell, Dr. Kenneth Cartwright, Dr. Dwight Chen, John Clarke, St. Helena Hospital - Clearlake, Drs. Fred and Vernetta Johnson, Dr. Marlene Quilala, and Top Speed Data Communications; Gold ($500) donors, Dr. Arthur Bikangaga, Blink Bid, Kathie Faloon, Dr. Randy and Birgit Hausted, Dina Hutton, Dr. Rodney Look, Bruce and Jan McKinney, Dr. Alan and Kathy Sampson, Roland and Nell Shaul, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Sieg and Deedrian Taylor, Gerard and Rachel Thibodeau, and Dr. Mark and Carmen Turrill; and Silver ($250) sponsors, Chernoh Excavating, Linda Colton, Drs. Keith and Elyse Donald, Dr. David and Vonnie Lounsberry, Michael Purvis and Carol Lawrence, Laura Santarelli and Ben Vanderzwaag.

Worldwide Healing Hands received many more donations of varying amounts “for which we are very thankful,” said Dhanda. “We hope many more supporters can join us for Worldwide Healing Hands’ hike next year.”

Lakeport English Inn, Cache Creek Vineyards and Disney Boat Rentals were thanked for contributing gifts that were used as prizes for participants.

For more information about Worldwide Healing Hands, call 707-279-8733 or visit the organization's Web site, www.worldwidehealinghands.org .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Friday three students of Yuba College Clear Lake Campus culinary program will compete in a statewide competition in Downey.

The California Community College annual Culinary Arts and Hospitality Competition is challenging community college students with this year's theme, “Celebrating the Cuisine of Northern Africa.”

Advanced baking students Katrina Carrillo and Logan Curtis, who are competing as a team, and culinary arts student Andy Vieiro are participating in the challenge after spending the past several weeks perfecting their respective entries in the Aroma's kitchen at the Clear Lake Campus.

Culinary instructor Robert Cabreros chose the competitors – all of whom are second-semester culinary students – for participation in the competition based on their performance in class.

He recognized Carrillo’s and Curtis' ability to work as a team and commended the dedication of Vieiro, who he said has never been late to class and boasts a record of perfect attendance.

“I'm very excited to see them compete on this level. This is a community college level and there is some stiff competition,” Cabreros said. “I'm proud of them all and excited for them to have this opportunity.”

Cabreros said such opportunities are important to the growth of the students, helping them to hone their kitchen skills, from organization to timing and their attention to details.

“It also lets them network with others chefs and puts them in front of one another. It adds pressure and there can be a lot of intense pressure in the culinary industry,” he said.

For their entry in the baking competition, Carrillo and Curtis were assigned the task of creating a two-level, tiered cake with chocolate mousse and a jungle theme.

“The theme is Northern Africa so we had to incorporate that into our design. We incorporated spices from Northern Africa into our recipe as well,” Carrillo said, adding her confidence with the entry. “(Curtis and I) work together well and I think we can handle the pressure.”

Curtis said the theme seemed a bit challenging, but the main task at hand, he said, is flavor.

“Everything has to taste right and there has to be consistency,” Curtis said. “We made practice cake the other day and it turned out pretty well. We need to work on our chocolate mousse a little bit, and I think we'll have it.”

Vieiro, who is competing in the hot food division, was given the opportunity to create an entry of his choice consisting of protein, starch and vegetable.

His dish features chicken, couscous and a vegetable medley. He said he researched the cuisine of Northern Africa to determine his dish.

“It was hard to find a meal from Northern Africa that wasn't a stew and I wanted a dish I could plate well because that is a big aspect of the judging,” Vieiro said.

“This challenge has given me a chance to work with a lot of ingredients that I haven't work with before,” Vieiro added. “The dish has a little bit of a spice to it, but the flavors blend well and the couscous has a nice local blood orange olive oil that gives it a nice twist.”

Students at the event, which is being held at the Energy Resource Center in Downey, also will have the opportunity to participate in a job fair and symposium.

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

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A crash involving a vehicle that rolled over and hit a utility pole early Thursday morning led to one fatality.

The single-vehicle crash occurred at around 1 a.m. on Highway 20 near Schindler Street in Clearlake Oaks.

Reports from the scene indicated that the crash occurred right in front of the Caltrans maintenance yard.

Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and Lake County Sheriff's deputies responded.

The vehicle – a description of which not immediately available – rolled over and crashed into the pole, shearing it off, according to firefighters arriving at the scene.

The vehicle's driver was trapped and unconscious when emergency personnel arrived, according to radio reports.

Initially, firefighters didn't see lines down, but live wires going to underground power utilities later were found to be on the ground, radio reports indicated. Pacific Gas and Electric was asked to respond to repair the pole and lines.

As firefighters worked at the scene, a crowd – described as large and rowdy – gathered, with firefighters requesting law enforcement over the radio to deal with the gathering.

Firefighters requested an air ambulance, with REACH 6 responding to land at the nearby Orchard Shores Homeowners Association, radio reports indicated.

However, a short time after landing, the air ambulance was released at the scene, with incident command reporting over the air that the vehicle's occupant had died.

Radio reports stated that firefighters needed PG&E on scene to remove the lines so the recovery process could move forward.

PG&E's online outage center said the wreck was responsible for knocking out power to approximately 2,129 customers.

At around 3 a.m. PGE estimated power was to be restored by 4:30 a.m.

Just before 3:30 a.m., incident command reported that the vehicle had been removed from the roadway, with the extrication of the victim continuing.

At that point incident command reported turning traffic control at the crash scene over to the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans.

Additional details will be posted as they become available.

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.

A “conservatorship of the person” is to protect someone who cannot properly provide for his or her own personal needs for physical health, medical care, food, clothing or shelter.

The court-appointed conservator – often a family member or the local public guardian – is granted powers over the care, custody and control of the conservatee (i.e., the conserved person).

The conservatee, however, still retains important rights, including the right to receive visitors, telephone calls and personal mail, unless personally limited by court order, and other personal rights.

Moreover, the conservator is required to make sure that the place selected for the conservatee to live is the “least restrictive” appropriate alternative that is available and necessary to meet the conservatee’s needs.

A conserved person can only be denied contact with specific persons when a court order specifically authorizes such restrictions; not simply at the conservator’s discretion.

The conservator must either obtain a restraining order against or must modify the conservatorship order to be allowed to prevent contacts with a certain person.

In some conservatorships, the conservator’s duty to protect a vulnerable conservatee against predators conflicts with the conservatee’s retained right to regarding social contacts.

There are instances when the conservator legitimately seeks to prevent certain family or friends from contacting the conservatee. There are other instances where the conservator has gone too far.

Recent cases involving family members have drawn publicity to abuses by conservators who unjustly denied family visitations.

The family members complained they were even threatened with legal action by the conservator should they persist, and were told to go away by the police.

In effect, the family members had no readily available way to regain access to the conservatee.

California law now expressly states that the conservatee retains important rights. Moreover, a “notice of the conservatee’s rights” must be served on certain relatives of the conserved person and to be posted at a skilled nursing home.

Nursing homes may not follow a conservator’s instruction to restrict visitors, phone calls or mail from specified individuals or groups without a court order specifically authorizing the same.

If the conservatee’s retained basic rights are violated, the conservatee and or family may petition the court to replace the conservator.

Otherwise, the conservatee can tell the court investigator, who reports to the court once a year, that a serious problem exists.

The foregoing, of course, highlights why everyone should use their advance health care directive to nominate whom they would prefer to act as their conservator, with alternative nominations named, in the event one is needed.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, California. Fordham can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235. Visit his Web site at www.dennisfordhamlaw.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This year's Lake County Wine Auction will be a fun-filled evening under the stars at Cache Creek Vineyard and Winery, and artist John Clarke celebrates the occasion in his latest signature poster.

“In this year's poster we see a group of musicians performing in a vineyard setting,” said Clarke. “The background is a typical Lake County landscape.”

Clarke's art has been featured on Lake County Wine Auction posters for the past 16 years.

He calls his work for the Wine Alliance a labor of love. “I really like doing this even though it gets more and more challenging to think of something new. Still, every year something comes to me.”

Over the years, Clarke has captured the essence of the event's various venues and the color of the local wine industry with his unique style of watercolor on silk painting.

People seem to respond to the brightness of his work, which often brings in the highest bids.

Last year, Clarke's painting of a woman on horseback riding through a vineyard brought in $6,000.

In the coming weeks, this year's poster, featuring Clarke's new painting will go on sale at venues around the county and Clarke will be available to sign copies of the poster at the auction.

This year's poster may be purchased for $20, with proceeds going to the beneficiary organizations and programs associated with the Lake County Wine Alliance.

The painting itself may be viewed at the Saw Shop Bistro in Kelseyville.

The Lake County Wine Auction will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Cache Creek Vineyards, with Don and Margie Van Pelt named the event's honorary co-chairs.

This is the 16th year that the Lake County Wine Alliance has sponsored this major fundraising event in support of the arts, health and community in Lake County.

In that time, $1,177,802 has been raised for local programs.

Tickets for the Wine Auction, at $150 per person, are available by calling the Wine Alliance at 866-279-WINE or online at www.winealliance.org . See the Web site for more details and reservations.

AccuWeather reports that this summer, warmth and dryness will build in the West, worsening the historical drought conditions that have plagued California for four straight years.

Meanwhile, the Gulf Coast will have an abundance of moisture, raising concerns for flooding at times.

In the nation's midsection, severe weather is forecast to continue into summer, with the overall tornado count increasing from last year.

In the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, above-normal temperatures will mark a noticeable difference from the cooler-than-average summer of 2014.

More 90-degree days than last year forecast for Northeast, Mid-Atlantic

Warmth from central Canada and the northern Plains will flow into the Northeast this summer, leading to above-normal temperatures and drier conditions for much of the region.
 
“I'm not expecting extreme heat, but periods of warmer-than-normal temperatures will come and go during the course of the summer,” AccuWeather.com Expert Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said.

After a cooler-than-normal summer of 2014, the East overall is forecast to be hit by more 90-plus degree days this summer.

In Philadelphia and New York City, there may be as many as 10 more than last summer.

For much of the summer, the central and southern mid-Atlantic will come alive with showers and thunderstorms.

Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia will be in the line of fire.
 
Wet, buggy season ahead for Southeast, Central Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley

From the Southeast to the Gulf Coast and Tennessee Valley, the summer of 2015 will bring very wet conditions as result of warm water temperatures in the northern Gulf and a building El Niño. Flash flooding could be a concern at times.
 
“I would consider stocking up on the bug spray this year down across the Tennessee Valley and the Gulf Coast because it looks very wet,” Pastelok said.

Extreme heat should be kept at bay, but high humidity and muggy conditions will plague the region.

As for tropical activity, the northern Gulf states could be affected as early as June.
 
“Water temperatures are running much warmer than last year,” Pastelok said. “It may not take much to spawn a weak tropical system to enhance the rainfall on the Gulf Coast this year.”

Rainy weather in store for Southern Plains, Lower to Mid-Mississippi Valley

Rainy weather will also spread across parts of Texas for much of the summer, focusing in on the lower Rio Grande Valley and southwestern portion of the state.
 
Into the start of June, showers and storms will improve the drought conditions across northern and northwestern Texas, but the region could dry out again as rain falls mainly west of these areas during midsummer.

As the monsoon picks up, storms will drench the Four Corners region, delivering above-normal moisture to the region.

Overall, the southern Plains and lower to mid-Mississippi Valley will see fewer 90- and 100-degree F days than in recent years.

“It's not as dry going into this summer season across the entire southern Plains, and I think that will have an impact on how high and how consistently we'll hit above 90 this year,” Pastelok said.

Severe risk to continue for Midwest, Northern and Central Plains

The northern and central Plains and much of the Midwest will face drier and warmer conditions this summer compared to last summer.
 
“Drier-than-normal conditions in the winter and for the most part this spring will lead to a drier soil and hotter temperatures. This can put stress on crops for this region,” Pastelok said.

Southeastern Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, eastern Kansas and Oklahoma may have a shot at dodging this extreme heat with more possibilities for rain.

Spotty areas of thunderstorms, some of which can be severe, may break out in June, increasing the potential for tornadoes.

The middle of the summer will feel hot across the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.

“They will be dry, and the heat will just build as we go into the summer months, especially June and July,” Pastelok said.

Severe drought to worsen in California, expand northward at full force

The drought in California will continue to worsen this summer, after the heart of the winter season brought little snowfall to the Sierra.
 
Without rain in the forecast, there are indications that the fire season, typically occurring June through October, could be one for the record books.

“The wildfire season has already kicked off a little early,” Pastelok said. “I think the frequency will really pick up later in the summer and early fall.”

Drought conditions are forecast to expand northward at full force into the Pacific Northwest, especially east of the Cascades.

“It looks to me like they'll continue to get drier and drier, and by June and July, it'll have reflection on temperatures as well,” Pastelok said. “It should get hotter across those areas.”