CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission will meet this week to discuss the city’s zoning interpretation manual.

The commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

Planning consultant Gary Price, who wrote the manual will be in attendance for the discussion.

The manual’s introduction explains that the city is in the process of conducting a comprehensive update to its zoning code.

“This Manual was developed to provide on-going definitions of how certain regulations in the current Zoning Code are to be interpreted between now and when the Zoning Code takes effect,” the document states.

The manual also is meant to establish consistent procedures for staff to use in administering the code, and has been designed to evolve over time.

Commission members are Chair Dirk Slooten and Vice Chair Russ Cremer, and commissioners Nathalie Antus, Richard Bean and Carl Webb.

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.

Zoning Interpretation and Procedures Manual 02-06-18 by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has more news dogs that are now available for adoption.

The dogs offered adoption this week include mixes of Akita, German Shepherd, golden retriever, Labrador Retriever, Maltese, mastiff, pit bull, shepherd, Rottweiler and terrier.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

Male terrier

This male terrier has a short tricolor coat.

He’s in quarantine kennel No. 2a, ID No. 9396.

Female Maltese-terrier mix

This female Maltese-terrier mix has a short brown and black coat.

She is in quarantine kennel No. 2d, ID No. 9394.

Female terrier

This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in quarantine kennel No. 8, ID No. 9395.

German Shepherd-Akita mix

This female German Shepherd-Akita mix has a short black and tan coat.

She’s in kennel No. 14, ID No. 9219.

Male pit bull

This male pit bull has a short white and brindle coat.

He’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 9383.

Male German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd Dog has a black and tan coat.

She is in kennel No. 16, ID No. 9275.

‘Bella’

“Bella” is a female Labrador Retriever-Rottweiler mix with a short black and brown coat.

She is in kennel No. 17, ID No. 9375.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short tricolor coat.

He already has been spayed.

He’s in kennel No. 18, ID No. 9371.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short brindle and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 19, ID No. 9372.

Male Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever has a short black coat with white markings.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 9410.

Male terrier

This male terrier has a short tricolor coat.

He is in kennel No. 27, ID No. 9398.

Female terrier

This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 28a, ID No. 9399.

Female terrier

This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 28b, ID No. 9400.

Male pit bull

This male pit bull has a short buff-colored coat.

Shelter staff said he is a lovely boy who will sit on command and give you a handshake.

He’s in kennel No. 32, ID No. 9369.

Golden retriever

This male golden retriever

Has a medium-length golden coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 34, ID No. 9302.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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.

Tick, tick, tick. The device – a Geiger counter strapped to a miniature tape recorder – was registering radiation levels a thousand times greater than anyone expected.

As the instrument moved higher, more than 900 miles above the surface, the counts ceased. Scientists were baffled. It was early 1958, the United States had just launched its first spacecraft, and a new discipline of physics was about to be born.

Sixty years ago today, the United States launched its first satellite into space. Dubbed Explorer 1, the spacecraft followed just months after the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 and 2 spacecraft commenced the Space Age.

Data captured by the Geiger counter aboard Explorer 1 heralded the emergence of space physics and ushered in a new era of technology and communications.

Far above Earth’s atmosphere, the radiation picked up by the instrument aboard Explorer 1 wasn’t of Earthly origin. In fact, it was from a region scientists previously considered largely void of particles.

Prior to launch, scientists expected to measure cosmic rays – high-energy particles primarily originating beyond the solar system – which they had previously studied with ground- and balloon-based instruments. But what they found far outpaced the levels of radiation that would be expected from cosmic rays alone.

The radiation recorded by Explorer 1 was humanity’s first glimpse of Earth’s radiation belts, two concentric rings of energetic particles surrounding the planet.

The inner belt, composed predominantly of protons, and the outer belt, mostly electrons, would come to be named the Van Allen Belts, after James Van Allen, the scientist who led the charge designing the instruments and studying the radiation data from Explorer 1.

The outer belt is made up of billions of high-energy particles that originate from the Sun and become trapped in Earth’s magnetic field, an area known as the magnetosphere. The inner belt results from interactions of cosmic rays with Earth’s atmosphere.

Satellites that unwittingly or intentionally venture into the belts can be damaged by the radiation, which could have an impact on unprotected astronauts as well. Understanding the dynamics of this region is essential for protecting technological assets and planning crewed space missions.

“Our current technology is ever more susceptible to these accelerated particles because even a single hit from a particle can upset our ever smaller instruments and electronics,” said David Sibeck, Van Allen Probes mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “As technology advances, it’s actually becoming even more pressing to understand and predict our space environment.”

Sixty years later, scientists are still working to understand the peculiar and puzzling nature of the Van Allen Belts. In 2012, NASA launched the twin Van Allen Probes to study particle behavior in the dynamic region.

Equipped with superior, radiation-hardened technology, the Van Allen Probes’ instruments go far beyond Explorer 1’s Geiger counter to observe particles, waves and fields in the radiation belts.

“We study the Van Allen radiation belts both for scientific reasons – to understand particle acceleration, which occurs through the universe – and practical reasons – because particles accelerated to high energies are a hazard to both astronauts and spacecraft,” Sibeck said. “At Earth, we can study these details and apply that knowledge both to our journey to Mars and to better protect astronauts at the Moon.”

From the beginning, the Van Allen Probes set a pace of rapid discovery. Within days of their launch, the probes found the void between the inner and outer belts – which was thought to be empty – was occupied by a third, temporary belt. The third belt lasted just a month, but appeared again later in the mission with major solar activity.

Explorer 1’s discoveries six decades ago paved the way for new generations of spacecraft to explore the radiation belts.

Today, with the help of other missions, like the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, or THEMIS, and Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, missions, NASA scientists are continually unveiling new secrets in our magnetic space neighborhood.

Multipoint observations are essential to understanding the belts’ dynamics and in 2016, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, launched the satellite Arase to cooperate with the Van Allen Probes mission in studying the radiation belts.

A new CubeSat mission, the Compact Radiation Belt Explorer or CERES, is scheduled to launch in April 2018 to work in conjunction with the Van Allen Probes, studying the interactions between plasma waves and electrons in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

“We don’t know what other discoveries are hidden in the radiation belts,” said Shrikanth Kanekal, Van Allen Probes deputy mission scientist and CERES principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “As technology improves, who knows what we’ll be able to find.”

Mara Johnson-Groh works for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council has approved the purchase of an apartment building with redevelopment bonds and directed staff to form an ad hoc committee to address animal control-related issues.

At its Jan. 25 meeting the council gave the go-ahead to purchase the eight-unit apartment complex, along with a single-family residence, located at 14141 Lakeshore Drive. The asking price is $850,000, with $5,000 in closing costs.

City Manager Greg Folsom took the proposal to the council, explaining that the city has $3 million in 2006 Series B bond redevelopment funds that it must use for housing-related projects.

He said city staff looked at several options, including student housing at the community college, purchasing existing housing and converting it to low- or moderate-income rentals, buying fixer uppers, purchasing new modular homes and putting them on vacant land, and purchasing existing low-moderate income apartments. The last option was the one they concluded was best.

Folsom said the property would provide monthly cash flow, with a total of $70,000 annually in gross rent, an 8-percent annual return on investment. He said the funds would go into the enterprise fund, not the general fund, which was a mistake in the staff report.

He said they have a staffer with experience in property management so they would not need to hire a project manager. They also don’t need to renovate or rebuild the complex, as the seller has already made significant upgrades and had agreed to do some other fixes – including installing a new roof – prior to the close of escrow.

Folsom said the current owner is in escrow to purchase the Jules Resort property in order to fix it up for corporate housing.

Joan Mingori, who owns nearby property, criticized the city for considering the purchase, saying that they want to build a stronger resort and business community yet were supporting low-income housing on Lakeshore Drive.

Other comments from community members led Folsom to clarify that the city isn’t converting it from a resort to apartments. “We’re not making any changes. It’s not currently a resort.”

Councilwoman Joyce Overton pointed out that if the city owns it, it can make sure it’s cleaned up.

Based on Overton’s questions of the ability for the city to sell the property in the future to a developer, City Attorney Ryan Jones said that, over a period of time, the city could sell the property to someone else who could convert it to another use.

Overton also asked about a loan program for property owners to make improvements, but city Finance Director Chris Becnel said that the cost of administering small loans exceeds the cost of the loans themselves.

Councilman Phil Harris said the community is faced with rising rent costs and limited housing. He said they need to take steps to keep affordable housing available in the city.

Councilman Russ Perdock pointed out that the complex already is fully occupied, and the seller has put in significant investment, including new kitchen facilities and paint.

Mayor Bruno Sabatier said the purchase is a great way for the city to benefit and pursue its goals.

Overton moved to approve the purchase, which the council supported 5-0.

Another key item on the agenda was the council’s support for the creation of an ad hoc committee to support Clearlake Animal Control.

Folsom said the city has done ad hoc committees for other topics – including the cannabis ordinance and the Measure V road sales tax – and suggested it as way to make outreach to the community on animal control-related issues.

“Animal control is an issue that has been receiving a large number of complaints in the city,” he said.

Folsom suggested that the committee can help disseminate information regarding animal control-related challenges and planned improvements to its shelter facilities, and would encourage citizen interaction.

Overton said she had concerns about ad hoc committees, stating that the marijuana ad hoc committee had gotten out of control.

The council received positive public feedback on the proposal.

Retired veterinarian Dr. Debi Sally, who has been volunteering with animal control for the last few months to help them with animal health issues, said she can see that there has been a tremendous amount of improvement.

Sally said the ad hoc committee would have more transparency, and people would appreciate the difficulties animal control has.

Harris said forming the ad hoc committee is a way of inviting the community to help, and he said he was very excited about it. He said he already has had interest expressed from a number of community members.

Sabatier suggested the Animal Coalition and possibly Orphan Dog rescue be included on the committee, along with him and Harris, Sally, a representative from the police department – which oversees animal control – and two public members at-large.

Overton said she didn’t want to limit it to city residents due to concerns of missing out on expertise and experience, a sentiment with which Sabatier agreed.

Applications are being accepted through Feb. 8 and can be downloaded at http://clearlake.ca.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=208 or picked up at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The meeting also included what Folsom anticipated would be the final update on the Sulphur fire cleanup.

Folsom said 155 rights-of-entry had been submitted for debris removal, 114 sites were signed off as cleaned, there were 13 owner cleanups and two summary abatements. Contractors through the US Army Corps of Engineers are done pending final testing of cleaned sites.

He said that 22,583 tons of debris were removed from the Sulphur fire area as of Jan. 24.

The council also confirmed assessments of administrative penalties totaling $55,000 for failure to abate public nuisances at 4054 Lansing Ave., 14170 Konocti St., 14541 Lakeshore Drive, 3634 Redwood St., 6352 James St., 3786 Oak Ave., 15890 20th Ave. and 16216 34th Ave.

In other business, the council reviewed and considered the submittal of the recognized obligation payments schedule for fiscal year 2018-19, and decided against a citizen’s request to refunding assessments collected by the city from a county held tax defaulted sale of property.

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. – Special Olympics Northern California is encouraging local residents to “Feel the Thrill of the Chill” and take an icy dive for charity at the Lake County Polar Plunge, beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Lakeside County Park.

The Polar Plunge is a national movement to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics and its athletes.

Plungers are asked to raise a minimum of $125 each to participate and take the chilly dive in support of children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Registration includes a Polar Plunge long-sleeve shirt and festivities such as contests, games, refreshments, and awards for top fundraisers and best costumes.

Supporters not up to the plunge itself may also raise money as a “chicken” and receive the shirt but stay nice and dry. Additional fundraising is encouraged and will be rewarded with exclusive incentives.

Registration and more information for the Lake County Polar Plunge is available at www.ipolarplunge.com .

All proceeds benefit Special Olympics Northern California to continue to showcase the capabilities and achievements of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Along with providing free year-round sports and competition programs for more than 20,000 athletes, Special Olympics Northern California encourages education through Unified Sports and the Schools Partnership Program; and is committed to improving the health and well-being of athletes through a variety of screenings and programs.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The state, federal and local community partners conducting the Consolidated Debris Removal Program have reached a major milestone with the removal of more than one million tons of fire-related debris from properties affected by the October 2017 Northern California Wildfires in Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is managing debris removal operations under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

Currently, Lake County is 100 percent complete with debris removal. In Lake County, USACE contractors have removed more than 22,655 tons of debris from the 155 approved parcels in the program.

"One hundred percent debris removal for Lake County is a huge milestone," said Col. Eric McFadden, Commander of the USACE Recovery Field Office. "Some work continues on the remainder of those properties – soil sampling and the review of those results; re-scrapes and retesting, if needed; and installation of erosion control measures and other punch list items."

Another notable milestone is the completion of debris removal in the severely damaged Coffey Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa.

Some 1,200 properties were cleared of debris there as part of the program, but like other areas, there is additional work to do on some lots in Coffey Park before the county will be notified that the parcel is cleared.

"We have made significant progress on debris removal since the devastating wildfires back in October," said Cal OES Director Mark Ghilarducci. "While this achievement is a major milestone, there is still a lot of work to be done. We will be here to ensure the project is complete and continue assisting with the overall community recovery in these counties."

With major debris removal operations wrapping up in Coffey Park, crews will mobilize to other focus areas to make further progress.

As of Feb. 2, contractors have cleared 63 percent of all approved parcels across the four counties, with 3,087 parcels cleared of debris.

The Consolidated Debris Removal mission is a two-phase process.

Phase I is the removal of household hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency in Sonoma and Napa counties and by the California Department of Toxic Substance Control in Lake and Mendocino counties.

Phase II is the removal of other fire-related debris from structures destroyed or damaged by the fire including concrete foundations.

"The achievement of these debris removal milestones reflects the ongoing collective efforts to rebuild and recover from the October fires," said FEMA Regional Administrator Bob Fenton.

AccuWeather reports Punxsutawney Phil, Pennsylvania's weather forecasting groundhog, saw his shadow on Friday morning, signaling six more weeks of winter weather for the United States.

The forecast aligns with that of AccuWeather's long-range meteorologists, who say cold weather will largely dominate throughout the month of February.

The main storm track from the East Coast will favor the Northeast and mid-Atlantic throughout February, allowing for a few powerful storms to impact the I-95 corridor.

"Boston to New York City and Philadelphia may see snow a few more times before the end of the season," AccuWeather Expert Long-Range Forecast Paul Pastelok said.

Harsh cold will also make a return around the middle of the month.

Across the Midwest and northern Plains, a blast of arctic air caused by a shifting polar vortex will cause temperatures to plummet. A few heavy snow events will be possible.

Meanwhile, in the southern Plains, one or two big cold waves remain in store before the air begins to feel springlike.

Across the remainder of the U.S., the air will gradually warm as the calendar nears March and April.

From the Northwest to the Rockies, temperatures around normal in February will mean a mix of snow and rain.

Conversely, temperatures in the Southwest are predicted to climb well above normal, preventing storms from leaving much precipitation behind.

In the Southeast, where warmth can appear at times, February will usher in the threat for severe thunderstorms.

The spring season officially begins on March 20.

AccuWeather's 2018 spring forecast, a region-by-region breakdown of the season, will be released on Feb. 7.

Jillian MacMath is a staff writer for www.AccuWeather.com.

The largest animal ever to have lived on Earth is not a long-extinct dinosaur, but a mammal that’s found throughout the world’s oceans – the blue whale.

An adult can weigh up to 180 metric tons and stretch nearly 6 full-sized cars in length. Despite its massive size, this gentle giant is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

“The biggest threat to whale populations…is still humans,” said Monica DeAngelis, a marine mammal biologist with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. And the threats are numerous, she added: “Vessel collisions, climate change, habitat loss or destruction, entanglement in any kind of gear – marine debris or fishing gear.” In fact between 1988 and 2012, there were 100 documented large whale ship strikes along the California coast alone.

No ship’s crew wants to risk a whale strike during its operations, and in terms of protecting both vessel and marine mammal, the largest obstacle has been knowing where the whales are located.

“The whale swims underwater most of the time and the ships don’t have a sensor that they can see it,” explained Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, which oversees maritime commerce through the region. “In the same way that the ships are very conscious about the weather, they’re very conscious of the whales…and if they know where the whales are, they can avoid them.”

The practice of tagging the whales has helped both scientists and mariners track whale movements through satellite telemetry, but now a joint NASA/NOAA project is using Earth observations to predict where the whales will likely be.

Led by Research Assistant Professor Helen Bailey of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the project integrates the tagging database with NASA satellite information to generate an online tool called WhaleWatch.

“We have tracking data from 1993 to 2009 that was collected by Bruce Mate and his team at Oregon State University,” said Bailey. “[With WhaleWatch] we are combining the satellite telemetry data for the whales with satellite-derived environmental data to understand not just where are the whales going, but why are they going there.”

That environmental data includes sea-surface height, sea-surface temperature, chlorophyll concentration, and water depth.

These factors help characterize habitats the blue whales favor or travel through during different times of their migration.

With this information, the team is able to determine suitable locations for the whales, and then predict where they are moving along the California Current System, from Washington State southward to Baja California.

The benefit of the satellite data is that it fills the gaps in the telemetry data — providing new insights into blue whale migration and behavior.

During the project’s research, the team found that “the most important variables were sea-surface temperature, which helped to explain the seasonal migration…chlorophyll concentration, which was related to the abundance of food, and…ocean winds,” Bailey remarked. The winds were important because they produced the upwelling that supports the whales’ food source – krill. In addition, information on seabed slope determines where the krill aggregate.

With this combination of multiple data sources, the project team was able to create maps of standardized daily blue whale locations as well as habitat-based models of population density and probability of occurrence – a blue whale forecast, so to speak.

Marking the culmination of this project, these forecast model maps are now online and publicly available on NOAA’s website, so the question of knowing where the whales are located and headed can be solved by the click of a mouse. In fact, with its success with the blue whale, this approach is now being used for other species.

“The bottom line is, this is the best available science,” DeAngelis noted. “We are now able to use that information to give whales a voice, so that humans can change their behavior to reduce the threat to whales.”

Helen Bailey leads this project.

To check out WhaleWatch, visit http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/whalewatch/index.html.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lakeport man who formerly officiated at middle and high school basketball games has been arrested on charges including rape and lewd acts with a child in a case spanning seven years, and authorities believe there may still be more victims.

Bradley Kenneth Pendleton, 33, was taken into custody on a felony arrest warrant on Thursday, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s alleged that, in his capacity as a school sports official, he committed rape and had sexual contact with young girls between 2010 and 2017, Paulich said.

Paulich said Pendleton was booked into the Lake County Jail for rape, lewd acts with a child that is 14 or 15 years old, and oral copulation with a person under age 18.

The charges are related to five separate underage female victims, all from the Lakeport area, Paulich said.

Paulich told Lake County News that the rape charge is specific to one incident, with Pendleton alleged to have had sex with at least one other victim.

The agency also is looking for other potential victims, Paulich said.

Pendleton was arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Friday. His bail, originally set at $100,000, was raised to $155,000.

Jail records indicated he remained in custody on Friday evening.

Paulich said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit began its investigation into the allegations involving Pendleton in May.

During the course of the investigation, authorities discovered that Pendleton was meeting girls while acting as a sports official at local middle and high school basketball games, according to Paulich.

The results of the investigation were forwarded to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office, which filed a criminal complaint with the Lake County Superior Court. Paulich said a felony arrest warrant was then issued for Pendleton.

On Thursday, Pendleton voluntarily turned himself in at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office where Paulich said he was interviewed by detectives.

During the course of the interview, Pendleton provided statements which corroborated the young victims’ allegations and he subsequently was arrested, Paulich said.

Paulich said investigators believe there could be other victims – in addition to the five so far identified – who have not yet come forward to report a crime.

If you have any information regarding the current investigation or possible unreported criminal conduct involving Pendleton, please contact Lake County Sheriff’s Office Detective Shamus Stafford at 707-262-4231 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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, Calif. – A special Clearlake City Council meeting on Thursday night yielded a significant development when a council member resigned in order to pursue the city’s police chief job.

Russell Perdock, now nearing the end of his first term on the council and Clearlake’s mayor for the last two years, made the announcement during the 17-minute meeting.

Perdock’s surprise announcement came during a meeting in which the council approved extending a moratorium on commercial cannabis cultivation businesses west of Highway 53 and the hiring of an executive search firm to help fill the police chief’s post.

In December, Craig Clausen’s tenure as police chief officially ended after two years on medical leave. Since he left in 2015 due to a work-related injury, Clausen’s post has been filled by Lt. Tim Celli, an agency veteran.

The council in December made Celli – who has been acting chief – the interim chief until the job is filled permanently, as Lake County News has reported.

Despite ably managing the agency over the past two years, Celli told Lake County News that he doesn’t intend to apply for the permanent position.

Perdock’s last vote on the council came on the cannabis urgency ordinance, which was approved 4-0.

Before the council could take up the discussion of the police chief search, Perdock asked for a pause. He then handed out a copy of his resignation letter, accompanied by a copy of a letter from the Fair Political Practices Commission, to each council member, as well as to City Clerk Melissa Swanson, City Attorney Ryan jones, City Manager Greg Folsom and to Lake COunty News.

“I had to make a big decision that is obviously going to impact each of you and I apologize for that,” he told his fellow council members.

On the dais, seated next to council members Nick Bennett, Phil Harris and Mayor Bruno Sabatier – Councilwoman Joyce Overton was absent – Perdock then read his resignation letter, which explained his decision to step down.

“I’m not one who believes much in luck, but I do believe that preparedness and ability coupled with opportunity creates success,” he said. “Therefore, after many years of experience, training and service, along with my passion for the profession and this incredible opportunity to truly make a difference, I will apply for the position of chief of police for the city of Clearlake.”

He said that, in order to ensure the process is open and transparent, he requested an opinion from the Fair Political Practices Commission, which indicated that by resigning there would be no conflict of interest in pursuing the chief’s position.

The Jan. 4 opinion letter from the Fair Political Practices Commission noted that it was in response to a request for advice that Perdock submitted via email to the commission on Oct. 2.

The letter, written by members of the commission’s legal division, said Perdock would not be barred from applying for the job because he did not participate in any discussions concerning recruitment or the terms of conditions of employment, and would be resigning before applying for the position.

In his resignation letter, Perdock also listed some of the key achievements during his tenure, including the passage of Measure V, an updated general plan, the arrival of more national retailers, a new home for the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, universal garbage collection and new regulations to govern the cannabis industry.

“As my last request from this position, please continue to listen and respect each other as you have these past three plus years and keep the city moving forward to be a ‘cleaner, safer and better managed city’,” said Perdock.

After he read the statement, he embraced each of his fellow council members and then left the dais.

Because Perdock’s resignation was not an agendized item, City Attorney Ryan Jones told council members that they couldn’t have any discussion about Perdock’s comments.

Folsom then introduced the discussion about the police chief search.

On Jan. 5, just a few weeks after Clausen’s retirement, Folsom said the city issued a request for proposals to seven executive recruitment firms and also posted it on the city’s Web site.

He said four firms responded, including Ralph Anderson and Associates, the company staff recommended the council select.

The contract cost is $24,500, with up to $1,500 in change orders. Folsom said the companies who submitted proposals came in around that prices range.

He said Ralph Anderson and Associates offers a specific benefit – it has a former police chief who will manage the recruitment.

During public comment, city resident Bill Shields questioned the cost, with Folsom explaining how the company will manage the recruitment.

Retired Councilman Chuck Leonard said the contract amount will be “money well spent,” as it will be helpful for the city to have professional assistance in the recruitment process.

The council approved the contract in a 3-0 vote.

Perdock offers more insight into decision

After he left the council meeting but before he departed from City Hall, Perdock told Lake County News, “This is a very unique situation.”

He said the timing was perfect for him to give serious consideration and deliberation to taking this next step to apply for the police chief’s job, and it was a decision he and his wife have discussed extensively.

Perdock said he can serve the city better – and help create a safer city – if he’s hired as chief of police.

“This was just the right decision to make,” he said.

He said he had told Folsom of his interest in the position and that he would abstain from any decision related to the chief’s job while he was making his decision. Once the decision was made, he chose to step down from the council.

Perdock has about 25 years of full-time law enforcement experience, having worked that time at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

If it were not for what he believes to have been “political persecution,” he still would have been with the agency, Perdock said.

Perdock was terminated from the sheriff’s office in April 2010: http://bit.ly/2E9Ld1R .

By that time, Perdock – then a chief deputy – had been on administrative leave for 10 months, a time which coincided with the trial of a Carmichael man in connection to an April 2006 boat crash that claimed a woman’s life.

Perdock, who was off duty, was driving a speedboat on the night of April 29, 2006, in Konocti Bay near Kelseyville when his boat collided with a sailboat owned by then-Willows resident Mark Weber, who was handling the boat’s sails while Bismarck Dinius of Carmichael sat at the tiller.

During the wreck, Weber’s girlfriend, 51-year-old Lynn Thornton, was mortally wounded, dying three days later at UC Davis Medical Center.

The incident resulted in a civil suit settled between Dinius, Perdock and Weber, whose insurance companies paid settlements to Thornton’s adult son.

However, it became a cause célèbre after the District Attorney’s Office declined to charge Perdock but prosecuted Dinius instead. In August 2009 Dinius was acquitted by a jury of felony boating under the influence.

The county of Lake would not disclose the reasons of Perdock’s termination due to confidentiality rules.

District Attorney Don Anderson told Lake County News that Perdock is not on the “Brady” list of law enforcement officers his agency compiles who have credibility issues.

The FPPC response to Perdock stated that since his termination from the sheriff’s office, he has not worked in law enforcement but instead as a state-licensed insurance agent/producer.

Several years after the Dinius acquittal, Perdock won a seat on the Lake County Fire Protection District Board and in 2014 was elected to the council.

He said that being a cop is not about putting on a uniform, but rather it’s about “who you are.”

Losing his law enforcement job, “frankly, created a hole in who I am,” Perdock caid.

Perdock, who cited his extensive training and experience, and degree from California State University, Sacramento, said he wants to serve and help the public.

“I just had to step forward and make this my next step,” he said.

City officials did not say on Thursday what process would be taken to fill Perdock’s seat for the remainder of his term on the council.

After the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Sabatier discussed with Jones the process of reassigning board and commission appointments Perdock had held.

John Jensen contributed to this report.

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.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Four local high schools – three from Lake County and one from Mendocino County – will square off on Saturday in the annual Academic Decathlon event.

The competition will take place at Upper Lake High School.

This year’s topic is Africa.

The public portion of the event begins at 2 p.m. with the Super Quiz.

Teams competing in this year’s Academic Decathlon are Clear Lake High School, Middletown High School, Upper Lake High and Willits High.

Upper Lake is the returning champion.

Below are this year’s team rosters.

Clear Lake High School
Superintendent April Leiferman, Principal Jill Falconer, Coach Kristi Tripp
Team members: Brenden Allen, Kaity Avila, Carlos Bernardino, Michael Camacho, Nicabec Casido, Adrian Ceja, Luis Cortez, Zoe Cramer, Anna Del Bosco, Sereno Dominguez, Camille Donald, Anahit Govorgyan, Brent Hinchcliff, Trinitee Hoaglen, Blake Jensen, Brody Jensen, Kyle Jensen, Julia Lyon, Isabella Mattina, Courtney McIntosh, Nathan Porter, Oscar Quilala, Jessica Romero, Felix Salinas, Quintin Scott, Alexa Shepherd, Connor Simons, Kally Vinson, Shawnee Weed, Ethan Wynacht

Middletown High School
Superintendent Catherine Stone, Principal Bill Roderick, Coach Jeff Mielke
Team members: Makenna Brown, Taylor Harris, Steven Harvey, Austin Lapic, Colleen Schimansky, Amy Trapani, Amida Verhey

Upper Lake High School
Superintendent Giovanni Annous, Principal Sandy Coatney, Coaches Anna Sabalone and Angel Hayenga
Team members: Alan Balderas, William Cromwell, Daniela Estrada-Flores, Jeff Fannon, Anisha Kalan, Deeya Kalan, Jessica Lee, Kehlani McKelvey, Katlyn Minnis, Robert Porterfield, Brenna Sanchez, Seneca Snow, Maria Tinoco, Sarah Williams

Willits High School
Superintendent Mark Westerburg, Principal Michael Colvig, Coach Mary Colvig
Team members: Jacob Arms, Brieana Evans, Isabelle Grieve, Nicholas Hebel, Elizabeth Henning, Savanna Hofmaister, Mychaela Nowlin, Ariel Reyes, Micah Stamps, Naomi Strickland, Byron Torres, Ian Watson, Alisabeth Wilcox

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. – The Kelseyville Business Association is preparing to launch an ambitious effort to increase economic activity in Lake County by promoting all the activities and amenities Kelseyville and the surrounding area have to offer for tourist and local residents to enjoy.

KBA will hold a spaghetti feed on Feb. 12 at the Kelseyville Senior Center, where plans for the spring launch of a redesigned “Visit Kelseyville” Web site and social media communications platform will be discussed.

The all-volunteer organization will explain how local business can take advantage of this new resource to help attract more visitors to the region and drive visiting and local customers to their businesses.

“Kelseyville is growing as an enjoyable destination with the small town charm Bay Area and Sacramento visitors crave,” said Pear Festival Founder Marilyn Holdenried. “The Visit Kelseyville promotional effort will spread the news that the Kelseyville area is the next ‘must see’ destination for Northern California visitors.”

“I am super excited about the possibilities Visit Kelseyville provides to reach residents from right here in Lake County,” said Oak Boutique owner, Caitlin Andrus. “There are so many amenities here in Kelseyville including retail, wineries, a brewery, new accommodations and restaurants. The Visit Kelseyville platform will provide a one stop location for residents to see all there is available.”

If you are interested in learning how your business can benefit from this effort, the KBA encourages you to attend the Feb. 12 spaghetti feed at 6 p.m. in the Kelseyville Senior Center, 5245 Third St.

Tickets for the event are $15 per person and can be purchased ahead of time by visiting https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ef23bene27096f23&oseq=&c=&ch=.

Tickets can also be purchased at the door the evening of the event.

For further information please call Helen Finch at 707-972-1807.