LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lucerne market is going to once again be able to participate in the federal food stamp program, but it’s appealing a requirement that it to pay a nearly $60,000 fine.

Lakeview Supermarket and Deli owner Kenny Parlet told Lake County News that his business is being offered the chance to once again accept US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – or SNAP – payments for groceries.

Parlet had been notified the week before Thanksgiving that he was being “permanently disqualified” from the program based on allegations that one of his employees had participated in “trafficking” – which, under the USDA definition, means exchanging benefits for cash, as Lake County News has reported.

There were four incorrectly handled transactions totaling $132.50. A small portion of that overall total was for ineligible items and cash back, according to Parlet. Only one employee was involved and her employment has since been terminated.

The permanent disqualification was a hefty blow for Parlet, who expected to lose about half a million dollars annually, or about 25 percent of his total yearly sales, if he couldn’t participate in the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service program.

With the help of Congressman Mike Thompson’s office, Parlet appealed the decision, which came in the wake of the USDA’s announcement last summer that it was cracking down on abuses of SNAP benefits.

Parlet received a letter from USDA dated Dec. 20, informing him that the agency is granting his request for a civil monetary penalty in lieu of permanent disqualification, as the USDA had concluded that Lakeview Supermarket did, in fact, have in place a training program on how to accept the benefits.

However, the USDA found there were violations at the store and, as a result, is requiring that Parlet pay a $59,000 fine which is due in 30 calendar days of the receipt of his letter, otherwise he’s barred from the program.

He also must submit a collateral bond or irrevocable letter of credit for $4,075 to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, and maintain that bond or letter continuously for five years.

Parlet said he is asking for a review of the fine decision, citing federal regulations that allow for a warning letter to be sent after a violation that doesn’t warrant disqualification.

Based on the USDA’s letter, if Parlet submitted a written request for review within 10 days, the fine payment will be temporarily stayed while the review moves forward.

Parlet said he was never warned of the violations before being disqualified. The USDA’s Dec. 20 letter to him does not reference a warning, but does mention a charge letter sent to him late in October before it sent the subsequent letter in November notifying him of his disqualification.

If the USDA review that Parlet has requested fails to remove the fine, Parlet said he must then take the matter to federal court.

In his request for a review to the USDA, Parlet said that for him paying the fine is “impossible.”

At the same time that he’s facing the possibility of having to pay the fine, Parlet estimated he’s lost about $60,000 in sales since the initial disqualification decision in November.

He also had been required to return the electronic benefits transfer equipment for the food stamp program, but expects to have the equipment back within the next few days so he can resume accepting SNAP benefits.

Despite the setbacks, Parlet thanked his customers for their kindness and consideration, noting that it was a “relatively successful holiday season” despite not being able to participate in the food stamp program for the last month and a half.

“Lakeview Supermarket really wishes to thank all those people and local businesses that went above and beyond to support us during this most challenging period in our long history,” he said.
    
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In its final act, the 112th Congress – which has been criticized for partisanship and stalemates – reached an agreement to extend middle class tax cuts, cut the deficit and prevent the country from going over the edge of the “fiscal cliff.”

The House of Representatives on Tuesday night voted 257 to 167 to approve HR 8, meant to avert the fiscal cliff that has been threatening Americans for weeks.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. Senate had passed its version of the bill 89-8.

Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), who represents Lake County and is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, was among those casting votes for the bill. He called the bill a “bipartisan agreement” to avert the fiscal cliff.

“This legislation is far from perfect but it’s better than the falling off the fiscal cliff,” Thompson said in a Tuesday night statement. “Doing nothing would have sent our economy into a tailspin and triggered another recession. Now that we have done what was needed to avoid the fiscal cliff, it’s time to focus on what should have been our priority all along: getting Americans back to work and getting our fiscal house in order.”

In addition to addressing immediate needs such as restoring federal unemployment benefit extensions that had been cut off last week – and which had affected 755 Lake County residents – the bill raises income tax on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans, estimated to raise $620 billion in revenue.

The White House said it’s the first bipartisan agreement in 20 years to increase tax rates on the wealthy.

The bill also permanently extends payroll tax cuts to the middle class, which prevents 13.2 million Californians from getting a tax hike, the White House reported; fixes the Alternative Minimum Tax; continues for another five years the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which helps millions of students and their families meet higher education costs; and also continues the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, said Tuesday night that 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses won’t see tax increases as a result of the bill, which he said will help reduce the deficit.

But the president said the government can’t simply cut its way to prosperity, noting that cutting spending has to go hand in hand with further reforms to the tax code.

The wealthiest corporations and individuals can’t be allowed to take advantage of the tax code’s loopholes, and the government also can’t keep cutting basic research and new technology and still expect the nation to succeed in the 21st century economy, Obama said.

“We’re going to have to continue to move forward in deficit reduction, but we have to do it in a balanced way, making sure that we are growing even as we get a handle on our spending,” he said.

The president also warned that he will not have another debate with Congress about paying bills that it has racked up from legislation it already has passed. “We can’t not pay bills that we’ve already incurred.”

Obama said if Congress refuses to give the federal government the ability to pay its bills on time, “the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic,” and far worse than the impact of the fiscal cliff.

He said people remembered the last time that was threatened in 2011 – when the drama then centered on the debt ceiling. The nation’s entire recovery was put at risk in that deadlock: Obama said consumer confidence and business investment plunged, and economic growth dropped. “We can’t go down that path again.”

Obama said the sum of all the budget agreements he and Congress have reached shows there is a path forward, adding he wants to see agreements put forward in the new year with less drama and with less fear for Americans.

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. – A Clearlake man facing trial for the May 2010 shooting death of his wife reached a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office on Monday.

Eddie Lee Gillespie, 53, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and a gun use enhancement, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

Gillespie was alleged to have fatally shot his estranged wife, 52-year-old Tracey Gillespie of Clearlake Oaks, on May 25, 2010.

Hinchcliff said Gillespie had been set to go to trial on Jan. 16.

Gillespie originally was facing murder and a lesser included offense of assault with a firearm, along with special allegations of use of a gun and causing great bodily injury. The additional charges were dropped as a result of Gillespie’s plea, Hinchcliff said.

Defense attorney Stephen Carter said Gillespie was looking at more than 50 years to life in prison had he gone to trial and been convicted of first-degree murder and the rest of the charges.

Gillespie’s plea to second-degree murder and the enhancement of using a firearm means he will face a total of 18 years to life at sentencing later this month. That breaks down to 15 years to life for murder and three years for the enhancement, according to Carter.

Carter said Gillespie, who was taken into custody on the day of the murder, already has nearly enough time served to cover the time for the enhancement.

Gillespie must serve 15 years before he will be eligible for parole, which will occur when he is in his late 60s, Carter said.

Hinchcliff said Gillespie is scheduled for sentencing at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, in Judge Andrew Blum’s Department 1 courtroom in Lakeport.

With Gillespie’s case reaching a settlement, Hinchcliff said only one other murder case still is pending in Lake County Superior Court, that of Daniel Ray Loyd of Nice, accused of shooting to death 48-year-old Cindy Yvette Quiett in September 2011.

Hinchcliff said Loyd is set for preliminary hearing on March 20.

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.

Snow surveyors on Wednesday reported that water content in California’s mountain snowpack is well above average for the date.

Manual and electronic readings taken during the first snow survey of the year on Wednesday recorded the snowpack’s statewide water content at 134 percent of average for this time of year.

That is 49 percent of the average April 1 measurement, when the snowpack is normally at its peak before the spring melt.

The snowpack normally provides about a third of the water for California’s homes, farms and industries as it slowly melts into streams, reservoirs and aquifers in the spring and early summer.

“We are off to a good water supply start for the new year, but we have to remember that we have seen wet conditions suddenly turn dry more than once,” said California Department of Water Resources spokesman Ted Thomas. “We know from experience that California is a drought-prone state, and that we must always practice conservation.”

Electronic readings indicate that the water content in the northern mountains is 133 percent of normal for the date and 50 percent of the April 1 seasonal average.

Electronic readings for the central Sierra also show 133 percent of normal for the date and half the April 1 average.  

The numbers for the southern Sierra are 131 percent of average for the date and 44 percent of the April 1 average.

The Department of Water Resources and cooperating agencies conduct manual snow surveys around the first of the month from January to May.  

The manual measurements supplement and check the accuracy of real-time electronic readings from sensors up and down the state.

The Department of Water Resources currently estimates that it will be able to deliver 40 percent of the slightly more than 4 million acre-feet of State Water Project water requested for this calendar year by the 29 public agencies that supply more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland. The delivery estimate is expected to increase as more winter storms develop.  

The final allocation of State Water Project water in calendar year 2012 was 65 percent of requested deliveries. The allocation was 80 percent in 2011, 50 percent in 2010, 40 percent in 2009, 35 percent in 2008, and 60 percent in 2007.  

The last 100 percent allocation – difficult to achieve even in wet years because of restrictions on Delta export pumping to protect sensitive fish species – was in 2006.

In addition to above average water content in the snowpack, early storms this season have replenished California’s reservoirs.

Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project’s principal reservoir with a capacity of 3.5 million acre-feet, is at 71percent of capacity, 113 percent of average for the date.  

Shasta Lake north of Redding, the federal Central Valley Project’s principal storage reservoir with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet, today is at 73 percent of capacity, 115 percent of normal for the date. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, enough to cover one acre to a depth of one foot.

Electronic reservoir level readings are available on the Internet at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/products/rescond.pdf .

Electronic snowpack readings may be found at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/DLYSWEQ .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Superior Court is preparing for the arrival of its newest member on the bench as well as a celebration for its latest retiree.

Lakeport attorney Michael Lunas was elected in November as the court’s newest judge.

Lunas will take his oath of office in a ceremony in his Department 1 courtroom in Lakeport at 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7.

He is succeeding Judge David Herrick, who did not seek reelection last year and is retiring after 18 years as a judge.

Herrick will be feted with a retirement celebration to take place beginning at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, also in Department 1.

The community is invited to take part in both court celebrations.

The Lake County Courthouse is located at 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.

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. – Local officials are continuing to investigate the shooting last week of a Clearlake man.

Steven Farnan, 20, was the victim of the shooting, which occurred at around 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 23, in the 10000 block of Fairway Drive in the Clear Lake Riviera, as Lake County News has reported.

Farnan was shot in the face by a male suspect following a physical fight, with the suspect and at least one other male fleeing the area in a blue hatchback, according to witnesses at the scene.

No arrests have yet been made.

Sgt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the case is still being actively investigated.

He said Farnan is recovering and that his wound was not as bad as it was originally reported to have been.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Central Dispatch at 707-263-2690 on the holiday or at 707-262-4200 during main business hours.

John Jensen contributed to this report.

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MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that the investigation into the deaths of a father and son killed in a Potter Valley house fire last September has been concluded, with no suspicious cause found.

Lt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said the county’s chief deputy coroner classified the deaths of Earle McDaniel, 87, and his son Wesley McDaniel, 55, as accidental.

The men died in a fire that occurred at 10580 Main St. in Potter Valley on the morning of Sept. 29, as Lake County News has reported.

Some family members had escaped the fire, but the two men did not and their bodies later were found after firefighters put out the blaze, according to sheriff’s reports.

The investigation continued until Dec. 13, when the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office provided an approximately 200-page investigative report to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office for an official review, according to Van Patten.

He said sheriff's detectives believed the information collected did not substantiate an allegation of arson made by Dawn McDaniel, a surviving occupant of the residence.

Van Patten said statements obtained from two children who also were survivors of the fire suggested the fire had accidentally started as the result of an unattended burning candle.

The location of the candle was consistent with the origin of the fire as witnessed by Cal Fire Chief Chris Rowney and Potter Valley Fire Chief Bill Pauli upon their arrival at the residence, Van Patten said.

He said the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office concluded its official review of the sheriff's office investigative report on Dec. 18 and determined there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate the fire was anything but accidental.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – If 2013 is the year when you plan on adding a horse to your family, three horses are available at Lake County Animal Care and Control.

The three were the last of a number adopted out over the past year, according to Director Bill Davidson.

The last half of 2012 was particularly bad when it came to the numbers of horses abandoned in the county, said Davidson.

“The ones we’ve gotten have required a considerable amount of medical attention,” he said.

However, thanks to the help of veterinarians giving Animal Care and Control discounts on care – including Dr. Michael Witt of Redwood Valley Equine, who works in Lake County one day a week – the horses were able to be tended and made ready for new homes. As a result, Davidson said they were able to place all of the horses that came in.

The three horses now available range in age from 4 years to the early 20s, he said.

Each of the horses is available for a $75 adoption fee once an application is approved and a home site visit is conducted by Animal Care and Control staff, according to Davidson.

There are two Appaloosas, a mare that Davidson estimated is 13 years old and a gelding, named Joe, who is between 20 and 23 years old, Davidson said.

Davidson said the two horses were abandoned by their owner on a rental property in the Middletown area because the owner couldn’t care for them.

Both Appaloosas have had some training, and Joe can be ridden. However, Davidson said Joe – who has leopard markings – had to have one of his eyes removed due to an old injury, so light duty or work with children likely would be more suitable. Joe is big and very gentle.

The mare, a red road, is green broke, and is halter broke and trailers easily, according to shelter staff.

Davidson said the third horse is a black 4-year-old Paso Fino mix gelding.

That horse and three others were brought in from the Middletown area. They had been running loose on several hundred acres in the Jerusalem Grade area, and had to be rounded up by helicopter after their owners were arrested in a drug bust, Davidson said. The three other horses have found homes.

Davidson said the black horse is particularly beautiful, and has been gelded, which improved the horse’s behavior. He is halter broke and loads in a trailer, but does not appear to have been trained to ride yet.

Joe’s identification number is 34718, the mare’s is 34719 and the younger gelding’s number is 34419.

For more information, call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the horses at the shelter, 4949 Helbush, Lakeport.

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.

MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – Two Clearlake men were among several suspects arrested late last week in connection with a Fort Bragg burglary.

Dylan Davis, 41, and Robert Gilbert, 33, both of Clearlake, were arrested in the case, along with Willits residents Seth Foster, 27; Clint Harbour, 49; and William Breen, 24, according to Lt. Greg Stefani of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Just after 5:30 p.m. last Friday, Dec. 28, Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residential burglary in the 19000 block of Dorffi Road in Fort Bragg, Stefani said.

He said deputies responded to the location and contacted the victims, Pamela Deeter, 25, and Justin Fenstermacher, 28.

Deputies learned that Deeter and Fenstermacher arrived home to discover that someone had recently forced entry into their residence and stole multiple items of personal property, Stefani said.

The deputies obtained other information from witnesses at the scene that related to suspect and vehicle information and direction of flight, according to Stefani.

At approximately 6:15 p.m. deputies located a vehicle that matched the description provided, Stefani said.

He said deputies initiated an investigative stop on the vehicle at 29700 Highway 20 and identified the five occupants as Davis, Gilbert, Foster, Harbour and Breen. One or more of the occupants matched the earlier descriptions provided and arrangements were made with the victims and witnesses for an in-field showing.

As a result of that in-field showing, all occupants were positively identified as suspect to the reported burglary and arrested, Stefani said.

All five suspects were ultimately lodged into the Mendocino County Jail and booked on the listed charges with bail set at $50,000, Stefani reported.

LUCERNE, Calif. – Sheriff’s officials have confirmed that a body found in Lucerne on Tuesday afternoon is that of a young Northshore woman missing since late December.

Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed early Wednesday evening that the body of 23-year-old Kimberly Marie Hazelwood of Nice was discovered on the shore of Clear Lake in Lucerne.

Brooks said that at approximately 2:10 p.m. Tuesday Lake County Sheriff’s Office patrol deputies responded to the 6000 block of E. Highway 20 in Lucerne for a report of a possible coroner’s case.

He said it was reported that a homeowner had located what appeared to be the body of a female along the shoreline of a public beach access area.

Northshore Fire personnel also responded to the location, along a narrow stretch of Highway 20 at the east end of Lucerne, to help recover Hazelwood’s body.

Brooks said a coroner’s investigation was conducted and the individual was positively as Hazelwood.

Hazelwood had disappeared from her aunt’s residence in the 10000 block of Rancheria Road near Upper Lake on the night of Sunday, Dec. 23.

Her family had told deputies that Hazelwood, who had been undergoing treatment for cancer, had been upset and appeared to have been depressed that night, according to a sheriff’s report.

Not long after she disappeared, a report had been made of a subject in the water in nearby Middle Creek, which empties into Clear Lake, as Lake County News has reported.

Since her Dec. 23 disappearance, local officials – as well as her family and friends – had conducted numerous searches with the help of local, regional and state agencies in and around the Upper Lake area where she was last seen.

Hazelwood’s family and friends also had used fliers and social media to try to find clues as to her whereabouts.

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.

LUCERNE, Calif. – A body was discovered on the lakeshore in Lucerne on Tuesday.

The body, said to have been that of an adult female, was found on the shore of Clear Lake next to a home in the 6500 block of E. Highway 20 in Lucerne.

Two Northshore Fire units, three Lake County Sheriff’s patrol vehicles and an unmarked van were at the location, along a narrow stretch of Highway 20 at the east end of Lucerne, after 3 p.m. Tuesday to recover the body.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has so far neither released the identity of the person found nor responded to a Lake County News request for comment Tuesday evening regarding the earlier recovery operation.

The discovery has raised concerns that the body was that of 23-year-old Kimberly Hazelwood of Nice, who disappeared near Upper Lake on the night of Sunday, Dec. 23.

Hazelwood’s family confirmed to Lake County News late Tuesday evening that the sheriff’s office told them a body had been found but would not confirm that it was Hazelwood, nor would Sheriff’s officials divulge to the family the gender of the individual.

Searches have been taking place for Hazelwood since she was first reported missing more than a week ago.

Shortly before deputies responded to the location of her disappearance, a person was reported in the water in Middle Creek about two miles south of where Hazelwood was last seen. Searches for that person were unsuccessful.

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 California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will become the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), effective Jan. 1.

The new name was mandated by AB 2402, which was signed Sept. 25 by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and is one of numerous provisions passed into law during 2012 that affect the department.

“The name of the department was changed to better reflect our evolving responsibilities,” said Department Director Charlton H. Bonham. “As our role has grown to meet 21st century expectations, we remain committed to our traditional responsibilities and to honoring our deep roots in California’s natural resources legacy.”

Traditionally known as game wardens, the department’s law enforcement staff will now be called wildlife officers.

Californians will notice new Internet ( www.wildlife.ca.gov ) and e-mail addresses for CDFW employees. The old URL and email addresses will continue to work indefinitely.

Many department materials will continue to bear the old name because AB 2402 reduced the cost associated with the name change by preventing CDFW from undergoing a wholesale turnover of materials, including signs, uniforms and supplies.

The mission of the department continues to be “to manage California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public.”

In furtherance of that mission, the department carries out numerous responsibilities related to the commercial, recreational, educational and scientific use and enjoyment of California’s natural resources.