The crash occurred at approximately 6:40 p.m. Nov. 25, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Joe Wind.

Carolyn Meridith, 59, of Santa Rosa was making a left turn from Hartmann Road onto southbound Highway 29 in her 1999 Ford Contour, said Wind.

Meridith is alleged to have pulled out in front of a 2001 Chrysler Sebring driven northbound on Highway 29 by Jeanne E. Guiles, 70, of Fort Bragg, Wind said.

Wind said Guiles was transported to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake because she was complaining of pain.

REACH air ambulance transported Meridith to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Wind said Meridith had moderate injuries.

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The Debt Reduction Task Force, co-chaired by former Republican Sen. Pete Domenici and economist Alice Rivlin, takes sharper aim at the military community including active duty forces still at war in Afghanistan.

In the unlikely event Congress approves the Domenici-Rivlin plan for cutting military retirement, members who haven’t served more than 15 years would find themselves under a cheaper, “more flexible” and complex plan.

Proponents argue that many more members under the proposed plan would qualify for some retirement, at age 60, if they serve 10 years or more. But completion of a traditional 20-year career no longer would qualify for an immediate annuity on leaving service. Retired pay would begin at age 57.

Debt Panel II, as it might be called, began its work in January at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington D.C. think tank founded by four former Senate majority leaders.

Like a report released Nov. 10 from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, co-chaired by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, this latest report warns of an approaching debt tsunami that could destroy America prosperity if government spending isn’t slashed and taxes raised.

Among scores of initiatives are recommendations to raise social security payroll taxes, cap medical malpractice awards, freeze defense spending for five years and reduce active force strength by 275,000.

Both this and the Nov. 10 report recommend adoption of a modified Consumer Price Index to dampen annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for federal entitlements including military and federal civilian retired pay, social security, veterans’ compensation and survivor benefits.

Both reports also call for cutting military retirement and having TRICARE beneficiaries pay more out of pocket for coverage. But the Domenici-Rivlin panel would wield a shaper knife on both major benefits.

On retirement, Debt Panel II embraces reforms proposed by the 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation in 2008. The idea is to allow more members to earn some retirement – making the plan more “fair” and, for force managers, more flexible – while slashing overall program costs.

Two of four features – a defined annuity and a government-funded Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with vesting after 10 years – would apply to all members who get pushed under the new plan.

The annuity formula is familiar at 2.5 percent of average annual basic pay (but for their highest five earning years not the highest three average) multiplied by total years served. Payments would start at age 60 for those who serve 10 to 19 years and at 57 for those who serve 20 or more.

Government contributions to TSP accounts would start in year two and equal two percent of basic pay. They would climb to three percent in year three and four, to four percent in year five, and to five percent thereafter.

The services would control the plan’s other two features: “gate pays” to help draw members to time-in-service milestones, and separation pay.

Critics argue the plan is too complex and would leave members confused as to the real value of their retirement. The QRMC proposed that the plan be tested on a few thousand volunteers. That wasn’t done. Yet Debt Panel II proposes transitioning most current members to the new plan.

“Under such a plan,” it reports, “current pay will have to rise to make up for the reduced incentive for members to remain in service. Even with such adjustments, however, this reform is projected to reduce the retirement system’s cost by at least 50 percent.”

Recommendations targeting TRICARE also, in effect, are pulled off the shelf. That is, they were part of President George W. Bush’s final defense budget request, provisions that Congress simply had ignored.

Domenici and Rivlin note again that TRICARE fees haven’t been raised since they were set in 1995 and, at the time, covered 27 percent of program costs. Now the frozen fees cover only 11 percent. And Medicare-eligible retirees, the report says, “currently do not share in their TRICARE costs.”

So Debt Panel II says TRICARE fees for working-age retirees should be raised high enough to again cover 27 percent of costs. A pay expert who worked for the task force said the plan assumes that enrollment fees for TRICARE Prime, the managed care option, would be raised from $460 a year for families and $230 for individuals and tiered based on gross retired pay.

For example, a married retiree with less than $20,000 in annual retired pay would pay $730 in year one, $900 in year two. These larger incremental raises would stop in year five when the yearly fee hit $1260.

Those with retired pay of $20,000 to $40,000 would pay more. The highest enrollment fees, for those drawing more than $40,000 in retired pay, would top off in year five at $2460, or $2000 higher than they pay now.

These rates then would be adjusted to keep pace with inflation.

Fees for outpatient visits would more than double, to $28. And working-age retirees using the fee-for-service TRICARE Standard plan or TRICARE Extra would be charged an enrollment for the first time of $150.

Pharmacy co-pays in TRICARE retail network – now $3 for generic, $9 for brand-name drugs on formulary and $22 for non-formulary drugs – would be reset at zero for generic drugs, $15 for brand names on formulary and $45 for brand names off formulary.

Without specifying numbers, the panel also recommends that Medicare-eligible retirees using TRICARE for Life as a supplement to Medicare begin paying “minimal cost-sharing” amounts. But active duty members and families would continue to be spared TRICARE premiums or co-pays.

Domenici quoted Adm. Mike Mullen, Joint Chiefs chairman, as calling rising U.S. debt “the most serious threat to America’s national security.”

To comment, send e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111.

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The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for Lake County that predicted a 20-percent chance of rain and snow showers overnight Saturday, with a Sunday high of about 41 degrees expected.

The agency also forecast a northwest wind between 9 and 13 miles per hour on Sunday, with gusts as high as 20 miles per hour, and temperatures dropping as low as 28 degrees Sunday night.

Light winds are expected Monday, with the daytime high expected to be around 46 degrees and the nighttime low about 33 degrees.

The National Weather Service predicted a partly sunny Tuesday with a high of 43 degrees, and a chance of rain Tuesday night is forecast to raise the nighttime high to around 37 degrees.

There is also a chance of rain on Wednesday through Friday, with daytime highs ranging from as high as 48 degrees and down to 40 degrees over the three-day period, and nighttime lows as high as 38 degrees on Wednesday to 34 degrees on Thursday and 32 degrees on Friday, according to the forecast.

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Tommy Kraussman (26), shown here being tackled By Middletown's Andres Fernandez, led the Lions with 74 yards rushing on 14 carries during the North Coast Section division IV playoffs in Middletown, Calif., on Saturday, November 27, 2010. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – They finally did it: The Middletown Mustangs advanced to the third round of the North Coast Section (NCS) Division IV tournament Saturday night in Middletown, reaching the semifinals with a 27-13 win over the visiting El Molino Lions.

The victory marks a significant milestone for the Mustangs, who’ve suffered close, late-game losses in the second round of the tournament the last two years.

“Hey, that’s off my back,” Head Coach Bill Foltmer said about the prior-year losses.

“El Molino is a good team,” Foltmer went on to say, “so that’s off my back also, as far as: we finally played somebody that’s a decent team and we beat them. So that gives a little credibility to us.”

It was a seesaw battle in the scoreless first quarter, with both teams trying to establish an offensive game and coming up empty, either losing the ball on downs or opting to punt.

David Pike protects the ball on a first quarter carry. Pike, Jake Davis and Jereomy Hoefer combined for 386 yards rushing as Middletown eliminated the El Molino Lions in the North Coast Section division IV playoffs in Middletown, Calif., on Saturday, November 27, 2010. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

It wasn’t until the second quarter, after Middletown’s defense forced the Lions into a three-and-out punt, that Jacob Davis broke open the game by running over players, stiff-arming opponents and weaving 79 yards downfield to put the Mustangs on the scoreboard.

“You know, he’s a guy, in crunch time, that’s going to make a play for you,” Foltmer said about Davis. “I’m glad to see him breaking out right now, and playing the kind of football that he is.”

After a high snap botched the point after attempt, Middletown led 6-0, but the long run seemed to motivate the Mustangs – both offensively and defensively – and they scored twice more before the first half ended.

Both scores came with less than two minutes left on the clock – first on a one-yard handoff from Kyle Brown to Jacob Davis for his second touchdown of the night, and then on a 29-yard pass from Brown to John-Wesley Davis with 29 seconds left in the half.

“Our first drive, we were moving the ball, we got some first downs, and took it all the way down,” Lion’s coach Mike Roan said about his team’s first-half performance. “Then after that, they kind of stuffed us for the rest of the first half.”

Jake Davis breaks tackles of Garrit Affman (16) and Chet Lambert (20) to get free on his 79-yard touchdown run, giving Middletown a 6-0 lead in the second quarter on their way to a 27-13 victory during the North Coast Section division IV playoffs in Middletown, Calif., on Saturday, November 27, 2010. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

The Mustangs went into halftime leading El Molino 20-0, and they also struck first in the second half, driving 62 yards downfield on their opening possession and scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run by Middletown’s other running back powerhouse, David Pike.

But the Lions answered Middletown’s drive with a 73-yard drive of their own, capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Pierson to wide receiver Joe Douglass.

“We came back, and we found our rhythm a little bit offensively,” Roan said of his Lions, adding, “Yeah, I’d say the second half was a little more competitive than the second quarter.”

And they didn’t stop there. El Molino struck again in the fourth quarter, when Pierson connected with Jordan Nordby with 2:32 left in the game.

But when Middletown’s Jereomy Hoefer blocked the Lions’ extra point attempt, the Lions still trailed 27-13, the final score of the game.

By the end of the night it seemed Middletown’s running game had proved too much for El Molino. David Pike carried the ball 22 times for the Mustangs and posted 151 yards rushing while Jake Davis gained 189 yards on 15 carries.

“We felt good, we felt confident coming into the game, but you know, that’s a heck of a football team out there,” Roan said about the Mustangs after the game.

Middletown's Connor Chick got open behind El Molino cornerback Levi Karns for this pass from Kyle Brown in the third quarter of the North Coast Section division IV playoffs in Middletown, Calif., on Saturday, November 27, 2010. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

“We knew they were good,” he added, “but up close and in person, they were as good as advertised, if not better.”

Defensively, Jake Davis led the Middletown squad with nine tackles, while Hoefer and linebacker DJ Brookshire tied for second-most with seven apiece.

Foltmer had high praise for Davis, who sat out five games earlier in the season with a broken jaw.

“He got hurt, and then when he came back, he was maybe a little tentative the first couple of games, but I thought in the last playoff game you saw the real, true Jake Davis – punishing tackles, punishing runs, second efforts and things. I can’t say enough about him today,” Foltmer said.

Roan also praised the Mustang defensive squad.

“I’m really impressed with their defense,” he said. “I didn’t really know what to expect, because – of the team’s we’ve seen on film, obviously, Middletown was just killing them – so I’m very impressed with their defense. We thought we’d be able to block them up a little better in the run game.”

Middletown’s next game is Friday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. in Middletown against the Healdsburg Greyhounds (8-3 overall, 3-3 in league) in the NCS semifinal game.

El Molino's 6-foot, 4-inch 220-pound quarterback Mike Pierson led the Lion's pass-oriented attack all season, but the Mustangs held him to 133 yards on 11 for 34 passing in their quarterfinal win during the North Coast Section division IV playoffs in Middletown, Calif., on Saturday, November 27, 2010. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

The Greyhounds are the NCS tournament top seed, and advanced to the semifinals with a 41-20 win over the Ft. Bragg Timberwolves Friday night.

Having faced and lost to both teams this year, Roan sized up next week’s game with this: “Healdsburg’s got a very aggressive, fast defense. The same could be said for Middletown. Both teams want to establish a run around the football, so I’m looking for a great, great high school playoff game next weekend.”

Coach Foltmer put it this way: “It doesn’t get any easier from here. The Healdsburgs and the Salesians and the Ferndales are what’s left – so some very, very good football teams. But it’s nice to be in there with those four football teams.”

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U.S. and Portuguese air traffic controllers work together to watch the airspace above Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal, for aircraft. Portuguese airmen also work hand-in-hand with U.S. forces to provide support for the base. Photo by Benjamin Faske.

Today, the son of a Middletown woman is one of only a little more than 600 U.S. Air Force men and women who operate a sort of “pit stop” for military and commercial aircraft.

The small air base is a refueling station where aircrews can get fuel, rest, maintenance and supplies before heading to their final destination.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Glenn Traylor, son of Carol Mac Donnel of Middletown, Calif., is a structures journeyman with the 65th Civil Engineer Squadron.

“I work in contract management,” said Traylor, a 2001 graduate of Martinez Education Center in Martinez, Calif. “I ensure that the services we pay for are completed in a satisfactory manner.”

Air Force Staff Sgt. Glenn Traylor is a structures journeyman with the 65th Civil Engineer Squadron at Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal. Traylor is spending more than a year at this remote assignment on the island of Terciera, Azores, located 900 miles off the Southwest coast of Portugal. Photo by Benjamin Faske.

Traylor and his fellow airmen are part of the 65th Air Base Wing tasked with playing an important role in the fight against terrorism by assisting with the movement of war fighters, planes and global communications for commanders.

This small base with its huge runway is located on the small island of Terceira in the Azores chain of islands. With rolling hills and green pastures, it's an idyllic setting for such an important mission.

“Lajes is a strategically located for global operations,” said Traylor. “We refuel aircraft transiting the Atlantic Ocean and heading to overseas contingency operations.”

Although it is 900 miles from the mainland, the Azores is a part of Portugal and contains many of the customs and traditions of that country.

From the running of the bulls in the nearby city of Praia da Vitoria just outside of Lajes to the outdoor markets and European-styled houses and farms, the small island gives Americans stationed here a slice of life that is thoroughly European.

An Air Force airman works on a high-frequency antenna at a remote location on the island of Terciera, Azores, Portugal. Photo by Benjamin Faske.

“The people are very friendly and have deep traditions,” said Traylor. “The island is beautiful and I like being near the ocean.”

Assignments to Lajes range from 15 months to 24 months, depending upon whether or not an airman is single or married. As with any overseas location, the experience they take away from here greatly varies from person to person.

“I will remember the food, bullfights, the people and spear fishing,” said Traylor.

Two Air Force airmen unload the weekly shipment at Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal. This Boeing 747 is just one type of aircraft airmen here work with on a daily basis. Photo by Benjamin Faske.

Traylor has been in the Air Force for more than 10 years.

Just as their predecessors have done for the past 67 years, Traylor and his fellow airmen will continue to be a strategically vital stop between the U.S. and important military missions overseas.

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Air Force airmen prepare to refuel an aircraft at Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal. Strategically located on the Southwest coast of Portugal, Airmen here have all the resources needed to service any aircraft before they continue to their destinations. Photo by Benjamin Faske.

The city of Praia da Vit

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Kelseyville's Christmas in the Country poster reflects the old-fashioned country spirit of the annual event, set for Friday, December 3, 2010.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Downtown Kelseyville will be decked out in lights, decorations and holiday cheer for the town's annual “Christmas in the Country,” which will be held this Friday, Dec. 3.

The Kelseyville Business Association will host the 17^th annual old-fashioned Christmas celebration from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The event features what Mary Morse of the Kelseyville Business Association said is the biggest and oldest light parade in Lake County. The light parade starts at 6:30 p.m.

Businesses along Main Street will remain open late, offering coffee and cookies, Morse said.

The festivities will include Christmas music, hot cider and free mule-drawn carriage rides – courtesy of Eleven Roses Ranch – in a relaxed Christmas country atmosphere, she said.

Morse said the event takes people back to a simpler time – filled with good will and the smiling faces of children and adults alike.

“It's Norman Rockwell all the way,” she said.

Morse said downtown Kelseyville is awash in holiday lights and decorations beginning at Thanksgiving and lasting throughout the New Year.

The light parade – the lineup for which begins in front of Gard Street School at 5:30 p.m., an hour before the parade starts – will feature the crowd favorite “bubble machine” courtesy of David Morse of Kelseyville Appliance, the association reported.

Mary Morse said there is no cost to enter the parade, and community members are encouraged to enter anything brightly lit – trucks, cars, boats, floats, horses, wagons and community groups.

She said the 2009 parade was the best ever, and they're hoping to top it this year. Entries will be accepted right up to the time of the parade, she added.

At 7 p.m. the traditional town tree lighting will be held at the Kelseyville Fire Protection District's firehouse, said Morse.

She said Santa Claus also will make an appearance – complete with a sleigh built by Kelseyville Lumber – at WestAmerica Bank, where children can share their Christmas wishes and have a photo taken with Santa.

Local piano man David Neft also will be playing Christmas music at the bank, Morse said.

This year the event will feature free raffles from a number of Kelseyville businesses, Morse said, including Kelseyville Pharmacy, Rosa D'Oro, Darling's Vitamins and Lyndall's Sports Stop Grill.

Other special features Morse said will be offered this year will include a miniature quilt display at the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro, the “Sweet Shoppe” featuring goodies and hot cider at Patti's Petals, and the art of Carolyn Morris at WestAmerica Bank.

On the same night as Christmas in the Country, the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church will host its chili and chowder supper, starting at 5 p.m. in the Friendship Hall.

The church reported that it will serve chili or chowder, salad, cornbread, dessert and a beverage. The cost for the full meal is $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under, or $3 per person for dessert and beverage only.

Morse said St. Peter's Catholic Church will provide hot dogs and beans and John's Market will serve up barbecue.

Kelseyville Methodist Church also will hold its annual holiday canned food drive. Community members are urged to be generous and bring a can or two to help everyone have a bountiful Christmas.

For applications or more information on the parade contact Mike Linnell, 707-279-4506. For other event information contact Mary Morse at 707-279-8559.

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Chestnuts are a holiday favorite. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Chestnuts are famously associated with the Christmas season through “The Christmas Song,” but they come into season in the fall, typically in the weeks prior to Thanksgiving. (“The Christmas Song” was written in 1946 and popularized by such singers as Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby.)

They’re a starchy nut, containing twice as much as potatoes, and are used as a substitute for this tuber in Europe, Asia and Africa. As the song suggests, they’re fantastic straight from the oven or fire, but they may also be used in a variety of ways in cuisine, both savory and sweet.

It’s possible the chestnut is one of the first foods consumed by man, as they’ve been part of our diet since prehistoric times.

Chestnuts should be scored with a sharp knife in an

Military personnel and federal civilian workers would see pay levels frozen for three years and their out-of-pocket medical costs rise under a proposed plan to cut federal budget deficits by $200 billion a year by 2015.

The 58-part “illustrative” plan was unveiled Nov. 10 by former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson (Wyo.) and Erskine Bowles, chief of staff to President Clinton, who serve as co-chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

That 18-member blue-ribbon panel is to deliver a final report to the president by December on ways to tackle a U.S. debt crisis that grows continually, with annual federal deficits nearing 10 percent of the gross domestic product, a rate higher than any year since World War II.

Yet the political minefield ahead for the co-chairmen’s proposal, at least in trying to squeeze savings out of the military community, became apparent in a phone interview Monday with Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).

Wilson is expected to become chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel in the new Congress. He deems himself a member of the Tea Party. Many of them were elected this month on promises to reduce budget deficits.

But Wilson, whose districts includes Fort Jackson, Parris Island and several other bases, told me he is committed to protecting TRICARE beneficiaries from fee increases.

In fact, his priorities as panel chairman included expanding entitlements: ending a Survivor Benefit Plan offset for widows, lowering the age 60 start of reserve retirement and providing some military retired pay atop disability compensation for members forced to retire before reaching 20 years due to disability or injury.

The debt commission has a far different course in mind, to persuade the Obama administration and a more conservative Congress that a new era of fiscal restraint is needed to protect America.

The co-chairmen propose dramatic cuts across government including to Social Security, Medicare and federal retirement, presumably for future service members and civil servants.

They also call for a variety of higher taxes including on gasoline. Income taxes would be lowered and simplified, but popular deductions, including for home mortgages, would be cut.

“America cannot be great if we go broke,” Simpson and Bowles said. “We must stabilize then reduce the national debt,” which stands at nearly $14 trillion, “or we could spend $1 trillion a year on interest alone by 2020.”

Here are highlights that, if adopted, would impact the military:

“MODERNIZE” TRICARE – TRICARE premiums and fees would climb for working-age military retirees, except more modestly than proposed earlier by the Bush and Obama administrations. Employers, however, would have to reimburse the government their normal share of health costs if a military retiree on the payroll opts to use TRICARE rather than employer health insurance. The aim is to end a $3 billion a year government “subsidy” of what should be “a normal business expense” for civilian employers.
All TRICARE beneficiaries including active duty family members would face a co-payment for office visits, to reduce their “higher than average usage of health care.” Also, a “modest enrollment fee” would be set for all three TRICARE options, including fee-for-service coverage under TRICARE Standard and the preferred provider network using TRICARE Extra.

Finally, TRICARE would be subject to PAYGO or “pay-as-you-go” budget deficit rules so that any future increases in military health benefits are paid for through higher premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

FEDERAL PAY FREEZE – Military and federal civilian employees would see pay charts frozen for three years “to reflect the current economic and fiscal crisis” that has hit most private sector employees. Only combat pay would be exempt. The freeze would affect basic pay and housing allowances saving $7.6 billion in compensation and tax breaks in 2015. Holding down basic pay also would dampen accrual retirement costs by $1.6 billion a year.

PERSONNEL OVERSEAS – The number of military members assigned to bases in Europe and Asia would fall by a third, from 150,000 down to 100,000, to save $8.5 billion.

STATESIDE SCHOOLS – The Department of Defense would close 58 primary and secondary schools that it still operates for more than 19,000 dependent children in Alabama, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Begun on base when schools in the South were racially segregated, “it is no longer clear why the system is still necessary” at a cost per student of $51,000 in fiscal 2011, rising to $81,000 by 2015.

COLA “REFORM” – A new, more efficient formula would be used to set cost-of-living adjustments [COLAs] for Social Security and veterans benefits, military and federal annuities and survivor benefits. The co-chairmen said the current COLA formula fails to take into account new consumer choices made for their market basket when other products become too pricey.

FUTURE MILITARY RETIREMENT – The current 20-year system would be replaced, presumably for new entrants with a plan that vests some benefits after only 10 years and delays immediate, full annuities until age 60.

To critics who complain often that the first budget items cut should be U.S. foreign aid and support for the UN, well, those are targeted here too. The full proposal can be read at: www.fiscalcommission.gov .

Steve Strobridge with Military Officers Association of America, who testified at the commission’s June public forum, said most of these cost-cutting ideas for the military have been seen before.

But an era is at hand of “increasingly severe budget constraints,” he said. “It is different when the deficit is as large as it is.”

These ideas will make many lawmakers nervous, he predicted, and early on they only will be “dabbling at the edges.” But many newly elected Republicans did campaign on cutting budgets, Strobridge noted. “So I think there’s going to be some serious efforts to do some of these things.”

To comment, send e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111.

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The collision was reported to have taken place at around 5:30 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP reported than an off-duty firefighter found the male rider on the side of the road, conscious but injured.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collision, which appeared not to have involved another vehicle.

South Lake County Fire Protection and Cal Fire, CHP and the Lake County Sheriff's Office were reported to have responded to the crash scene.

REACH air ambulance flew the injured man out of county to medical care, according to radio reports from the scene.

The man's name and where he was taken for care were not available Sunday evening.

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This composite image shows a supernova within the galaxy M100 that may contain the youngest known black hole in our cosmic neighborhood. Photo credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/D.Patnaude et al, Optical: ESO/VLT, Infrared: NASA/JPL/Caltech.

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have found evidence of the youngest black hole known to exist in our cosmic neighborhood.

The 30-year-old object provides a unique opportunity to watch a black hole develop from infancy.

The black hole is a remnant of SN 1979C, a supernova in the galaxy M100 approximately 50 million light years from Earth.

Data from Chandra, NASA's Swift satellite, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and the German ROSAT observatory revealed a bright source of X-rays that has remained steady during observation from 1995 to 2007. This suggests the object is a black hole being fed either by material falling into it from the supernova or a binary companion.

“If our interpretation is correct, this is the nearest example where the birth of a black hole has been observed,” said Daniel Patnaude of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. who led the study.

Scientists think SN 1979C, first discovered by an amateur astronomer in 1979, formed when a star about 20 times more massive than the sun collapsed.

Many new black holes in the distant universe previously have been detected in the form of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, SN 1979C is different. Not only is it closer, but also it belongs a class of supernovas unlikely to produce gamma-ray bursts.

According to theory, most new black holes are not announced by a bright GRB.

“This may be the first time the common way of making a black hole has been observed,” said co-author Abraham Loeb, also of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “However, it is very difficult to detect this type of black hole birth because decades of X-ray observations are needed to make the case.”

The idea of a black hole with an observed age of only about 30 years is consistent with recent theoretical work.

In 2005, a theory was presented that the bright optical light of this supernova was powered by a jet from a black hole that was unable to penetrate the hydrogen envelope of the star to form a GRB. X-ray data from Chandra and the other observatories fit this theory very well.

Although the evidence points to a newly formed black hole in SN 1979C, another intriguing possibility exists: A young, rapidly spinning neutron star with a powerful wind of high energy particles could be responsible for the X-ray emission.

This would make the object in SN 1979C the youngest and brightest example of such a “pulsar wind nebula” and the youngest known neutron star.

The Crab pulsar, the best-known example of a bright pulsar wind nebula, is about 950 years old. More observations will either confirm or rule out this alternate explanation; for now, however, the black hole hypothesis appears to be more compelling.

For more information and images, visit the Chandra home page: http://chandra.nasa.gov .

Click here to see an animation of a supernova producing a black hole: www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=29520021 .

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

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