While it’s a nearly 3 percent decrease from the previous year’s total number of DUI arrests statewide, impaired driving remains a major traffic safety concern.

“Every day in California officers are apprehending impaired drivers; however, some of these individuals fail to appear for court,” said California Highway Patrol (CHP) Commissioner Joe Farrow. “The DUI warrant service teams were established so these individuals can be held accountable for their actions.”

The CHP spent the past several months attempting to right that wrong, using a grant to deploy teams of law enforcement officers throughout California in counties with an overwhelming number of outstanding arrest warrants issued for individuals charged with DUI who failed to appear for court.

“Through the efforts of the warrant service teams, hundreds of people were brought to justice,” said Commissioner Farrow.

CHP spokesperson Jaime Coffee said the warrants were served in the agency's Southern, Central, Valley and Golden Gate divisions, stretching from Central to Southern California.

Warrant service team operations during this 12-month grant period resulted in 327 people being cited or arrested.

Officers also attempted to serve an additional 545 DUI warrants, which will remain active until these people are arrested or cited. Those totals represent a 22.5 percent increase from warrant service team operations in 2009.

Grant funding also provided training of 33 additional warrant service team members who will aide in future missions.

Warrant service operations are by nature more dangerous than traditional law enforcement operations due to officers entering into either the home or workplace of a subject who is involved in criminal activity.

Additionally, officers may enter a confined space and, being unfamiliar with the structure, inherently they are put at a higher risk.

Funding for the “Driving Under the Influence Warrant Service Project” was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – In the followup action to a discussion held last week on district reconfiguration scenarios, the Kelseyville Unified School District Board of Trustees voted Tuesday night to look at an option involving leasing or selling some district properties.

The board held a special Nov. 9 meeting in which several scenarios were reviewed, the more controversial ones involving school closures, as Lake County News has reported.

However, the board was unanimous in being against the school closure options, although its members admitted that with declining enrollment and funding, budget cuts are facing the district in the near future.

At the Tuesday meeting, Board member Chris Irwin moved to consider scenario No. 4, with Board member Gary Olson offering the second. The board approved the motion 4-1, with Peter Quartarolo voting no, according to district Superintendent Dave McQueen.

Scenario four, which the configuration study suggests has “no upheaval and change for students and community,” proposes no change in current campus configurations.

However, it does suggest leasing or selling district properties such as Gard Street, the historic Hells Bend school property and a property on Main Street.

McQueen said Irwin's motion removed Hells Bend from sales consideration.

The district's property on Main Street is currently leased to Lake Family Resource Center, it was noted at the Nov. 9 meeting.

“Obviously we're not going to do anything with that,” McQueen said.

With Hells Bend and Main Street off the table, that leaves Gard Street, where a number of classes are held now, said McQueen. The property also is the location of the transportation yard and some sports facilities.

McQueen said the vote gives district staff some direction on what to consider going forward.

In other district news, a teenage boy collapsed during basketball practice at Kelseyville High School on Tuesday night, at around the same time as the meeting was taking place, McQueen said.

McQueen said the teen, whose personal information can't be released by the district because of his minor status, remained in the hospital on Wednesday.

The boy's parents were giving the district updates on his condition, McQueen said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Arturo Pedro Gutierrez, 50, was taken into custody over the weekend and booked for kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, forced oral copulation and misdemeanor brandishing of a weapon, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The victim went to the Ukiah Valley Memorial Hospital last Friday night for the treatment of multiple injuries he sustained while allegedly being held captive for about two weeks at Gutierrez’s ranch on Bridge Arbor Road in Upper Lake, Bauman said.

While being treated at the hospital, the victim gave a preliminary account of his ordeal to the Ukiah Police Department, and then met with Lake County deputies in Lakeport, according to Bauman.

Bauman said the victim reported that in late October, he had arranged to work for Gutierrez trimming marijuana at his Upper Lake ranch.

At some point during the first several days of working for Gutierrez, the victim apparently broke down in a vehicle owned by Gutierrez while transporting another worker back to Ukiah, Bauman said.

Angered about the car, Gutierrez reportedly assaulted the victim. Bauman said that when the victim tried to quit working for him, Gutierrez allegedly forced him to stay on his ranch and work for the cost of the vehicle’s repair.

Gutierrez took the victim’s cell phone and for about two weeks, he was allegedly forced to work on the ranch against his will, Bauman said. During that two weeks, the victim was allegedly beaten with an electrical cord, shot in the leg with a pellet gun, choked with a rope and struck with a piece of firewood.

Bauman said the victim was allegedly forced to snort and smoke methamphetamine with a kitchen knife held to his throat, locked in a shed for several days and, at one point during the second week of captivity, he was forced to perform oral sex on Gutierrez.

After spending the last several nights of his ordeal in a tent on the property, Gutierrez took the victim back to Ukiah and threatened to kill him if he reported the events that had taken place, Bauman reported.

On Saturday night at about 11 p.m. deputies contacted Gutierrez at his Upper Lake home and arrested him without incident for the above charges. Bauman said the property was secured pending a search warrant and Gutierrez was booked at the Lake County Jail with an enhanced bail of $500,000.

Bauman said there were no indications of an active marijuana grow on the property, however, deputies did locate about 25 gallon-sized bags of processed marijuana and about 10 garbage bags full of marijuana.

He said there were reportedly some medical marijuana cards found on the premises but none belonged to Gutierrez.

Potential charges relating to the apparent marijuana processing operation are pending further investigation, Bauman said.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Sutter Lakeside Hospital kicked off its campaign to raise $156,000 for its stroke telemedicine program in December 2009, according to Sutter Lakeside Hospital Foundation Director Tammi Silva.

The hospital is just $2,000 short of its goal to have the state-of-the-art equipment – including a camera, screen, computers and technology infrastructure – in place by January, Silva said.

As a result, the hospital is asking for community assistance to wrap up the campaign for the equipment, which officials said will make a life-saving difference in the care they can offer local stroke patients.

Silva said Sutter Lakeside treats an average of 100 stroke victims annually.

Dr. Vivek Reddy, medical director of Sutter Lakeside Hospital's imaging department, vice chief of staff and a brand new member of the Sutter Lakeside Hospital Foundation Board, said stroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.

“Generally, it's a disease of the old,” he said, noting that because of Lake County's large number senior population, the technology would be extremely beneficial to the community.

Dr. Bruce Deas, medical director for Sutter Lakeside's emergency department, said stroke is a major cause of death for people age 65 and over, after heart disease, nationwide.

“It is a big issue for us,” he said.

The National Stroke Association said stroke is the third leading cause of death in America and a leading cause of adult disability. Up to 80 percent of strokes are preventable, the group said.

Deas said 85 percent of all strokes are the result of a damaged blood vessel or a blood clot. “It's all about getting rid of that clot if you can.”

Dr. Karen Tait, Lake County's health officer, said the 2010 County Health Profiles included an objective of no more than 50 age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 people for cerebrovascular disease, which includes stroke.

“Lake County actually met it,” Tait said of the goal.

The report, which covered 2006 to 2008, showed Lake County's age-adjusted death rate was 46.2, Tait said.

“The really good news is that represents a decrease of 31.5 percent,” she said.

From 2003 to 2005, the death rate for cerebrovascular disease was 67.4, according to Tait.

“We have really seen a significant improvement,” she said, but added, “We still rank 41 out of the 58 counties in the ranking, so we're not doing as well as 40 others.”

Deas said the new telemedicine equipment will reside in the hospital's emergency department.

Currently, many serious stroke patients who come to the hospital have to be transported elsewhere for care, Deas said.

The new equipment will allow Sutter Lakeside's physicians to use telemedicine to connect with the cutting edge stroke treatment team at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, who Deas said is “an amazing group to work with.”

It's important to treat stroke patients as soon as possible, Deas said.

He explained that with strokes, “Time is brain.” In other words, the longer a patient waits for treatment, the longer critical blood flow is kept from the brain, which results in brain damage and other long-term affects.

When someone thinks they've had a stroke – they experience weakness on their left side, slurred speech or are unable to speak – it's critical to go to the hospital immediately, otherwise, “You take yourself out of the window for time of treatment,” Deas said.

At Sutter Lakeside, when a stroke patient comes into the hospital, physicians do a “code stroke” alert in which important tests – labs, CT scans and EKGs – are completed within an hour's time, he said.

Reddy said his department has brand new MRI and CT equipment critical in the work of diagnosing stroke patients.

“The whole department now is digital. We're filmless,” he said.

As soon as Deas or another doctor has examined a patient and diagnosed stroke, the patient is immediately brought in for a CT scan, Reddy said. His department conducts the imaging and then relays the results to help doctors decide on treatment.

When the telemedicine equipment is in place, Deas said they anticipate being able to go over cases and test results with California Pacific Medical Center doctors immediately, in a highly interactive, online process. That will help them make quicker, more exact decisions about what treatments – such as clot-busting medications – patients should receive.

“We can try to decrease the amount of damage that happens to your brain from the stroke,” Deas said.

While in the past doctors could only assess the damage afterward, the new technology puts physicians in a more proactive, life-saving position, according to Deas.

“It's going to be really seamless,” he said of the new equipment and accompanying process.

Reddy said he's been very involved in the fundraising for the project. “It's really a valuable asset to this small community.”

Deas said stroke results from health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and heredity. With the exception of heredity, the other risk factors are controllable, he said.

He said people can adopt healthier habits to help avoid stroke.

If, however, a stroke occurs, he emphasized the need for immediate action, both from patients and doctors.

“One of the problems with treatment of stroke is that the vast majority of people who show up don't meet the criteria of treatment because they've waited too long,” he said.

Deas added, “If you have symptoms that look like a stroke, got to the hospital now.”

Donations to assist with purchasing the equipment can be made with a credit card by phone at 707-262-5189 or online at www.sutterlakeside.org/giving/telemedicine.html , or with a check to Sutter Lakeside Hospital Foundation for the "Stroke Telemedicine Campaign" and mailed to 5176 Hill Road East, Lakeport, Ca 95453 c/o Tammi Silva.

To request a Stroke Pledge Sheet, to ask questions or to make a donation, call Silva at 707-262-5189 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Judge Wynne Carvill approved the settlement in a lawsuit filed by Parent Voices Oakland and four California mothers who were told that their child care assistance, CalWORKs Stage 3 child care, would end on Nov. 1.

“We are grateful to the judge for recognizing that these working families need reliable child care, and also need to be informed where to find it,” said Patti Prunhuber, an attorney at the Public Interest Law Project, the lead counsel for the petitioners, in a written statement. “The settlement takes the court’s rulings one step further by ensuring that families will have, at least in the short term, Stage 3 care while they seek viable alternatives.”

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez called the settlement “good news in tough times, and a welcome early holiday gift” for parents who would have lost jobs and providers who would have closed down.

“Even in the most difficult budget circumstances, throwing 60,000 people out of work, into unemployment or back onto welfare makes no economic sense,” he said.

The suit was brought by the Public Interest Law Project, the Child Care Law Center, the Western Center on Law & Poverty, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, Public Counsel Law Center and Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

The services are meant to assist working parents who have successfully transitioned off welfare but whose wages are still too low to cover child care.

The settlement, which will affect 56,000 families statewide, preserves the services through Dec. 31, according to a statement from the Child Care Law Center of San Francisco.

“We are happy with this decision – it means parents will be able to stay employed,” said Corean Todd, a board member for Parent Voices Oakland, the lead petitioner in the case. “ We need to make sure families know about their rights. We need parent groups, child care agencies, counties – everyone – to work with families to make sure they ask for a screening and get screened in time.”

In Lake County, 73 local families, 149 children and 100 child care providers faced impacts from the cuts to the program, which had $475,458 in funding, as Lake County News has reported.

Judge Carvill had issued an emergency order on Oct. 29 halting Schwarzenegger's veto of the program's funding, as Lake County News has reported.

A few days after issuing that emergency order, Carvill modified the order to require the state to continue Stage 3 child care and to use its “best efforts” to screen parents for alternative childcare services, the Child Care Law Center reported.

Teri Sedrick, co-director Rural Communities Child Care, a program of North Coast Opportunities which administers the CalWORKS Stage 3 program in Lake and Mendocino counties, said they received word on Tuesday that a management conference in the case was set for Feb. 2.

Then the news came on Wednesday of the settlement agreement.

“We were surprised, but at least it will get everyone through the holidays,” Sedrick said.

The Wednesday settlement extends the Stage 3 program through Dec. 31 and requires state-contracted child care agencies to inform families of their right to request a screening for any available child care alternatives, the Child Care Law Center reported.

As part of the settlement, the California Department of Education agreed to a process that allows

any Stage 3 family who asks to be screened before Dec. 10 to be considered for other available child care, officials reported.

“They want them put onto the centralized eligibility list, which we also run in both Lake and Mendocino counties,” Sedrick said.

Families put on that list will compete with other low-income families for services, she added.

The Child Care Law Center said that even the families that request a screening may be put on a waiting list that already has 200,000 children on it statewide.

Sedrick said North Coast Opportunities is hoping to be able to serve local parents with other programs after the Dec. 31 program deadline.

The settlement's term's require that families cut off from child care by the governor’s veto retain the right to return to the Stage 3 program if funding is restored.

At its Oct. 27 meeting, the Lake County First 5 Commission approved a $140,000 bridge loan to help the CalWORKS Stage 3 families from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, said commission Executive Director Tom Jordan.

He said the decision was prompted by letters from Pérez and Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg to the 58 First Five commissions across the state, asking for bridge loans, “all with the idea that the Legislature, with the new governor in place, would pass reinstatement funding legislation and that Governor-Elect Brown would sign it,” he said.

While there is no current statement from Brown about his intentions on such proposed legislation, Jordan said Brown has a history of sensitivity to families trying to become independent.

First 5 commissions have flexibility and can act quickly, said Jordan. Many of the commissions also have reserves that can be called upon “in this kind of unprecedented request,” Jordan said.

Pérez's office reported that more than $40 million in bridge funding has been obtained to ensure the child care services can continue until legislation restoring the cuts can be enacted.

Of that, $6 million of the bridge funding comes from the Assembly, which is contributing funds from cuts made to the Assembly’s own operating budget, and more than $34 million in additional funding has come from local First 5 commissions throughout the state.

Meanwhile, there is pressure on the Legislature and the new governor to enact a permanent solution.

“We are looking to the Legislature and the governor-elect to step in quickly,” said Robert Newman, senior counsel at the Western Center on Law & Poverty. “Otherwise many of these hard-working families will have nowhere to send their children in the New Year.”

Jordan said that with the state having an estimated $26 billion deficit and a constraint against raising taxes, the path of least resistance is to cut services, which has been going on for the last three years.

That led him to wonder when there be no more to cut.

He added that the settlement may be a Pyrrhic victory.

“It certainly has created a tremendous challenge for the majority party,” Jordan said.

Pérez said the decision gives the Legislature time to work on restoring the funding in January. In doing so, they'll continue working with First 5 commissions and children's advocates.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley and her staff have until the end of this month to finish the process.

Fridley said ballots were mailed to absentee, or vote by mail, voters on Oct. 4. The ballots that were returned by Oct. 28 were included in the preliminary ballot count issued early on Nov. 3.

Still being counted are 4,500 vote by mail ballots turned in between Oct. 29 and Nov. 2. Of those, 1,834 were turned in on election day, Fridley said.

Fridley's staff has already entered the 4,500 absentee ballots in the elections office computer system and checked the signatures, but the count continues because she said there are many checks and balances for accuracy.

The elections office also has to count 872 provisional ballots, 721 of which were issued at the polls on Nov. 2, according to Fridley.

In the June primary, Fridley's office still had 3,081 vote by mail ballots to count after the preliminary results were reported, along with 537 provisional ballots, she said.

This month approximately 174 local voters used the electronic eSlate voting machines, compared to 148 in the June primary, Fridley said.

There have been no problems with the eSlate machines, although Fridley said they are “a lot of work,” and require their own verification and paper trail.

Voter turnout in the June primary was 47.5 percent, according to the final certification. That was 11.4 percent higher that the turnout estimated in the preliminary vote count.

The preliminary voter turnout for Nov. 2 is 48.8 percent, based on county records. That number is likely to change after the final count is done, as it did in the primary.

Fridley said the full count will be completed within the alloted 28 days.

“My goal was to have it done before Thanksgiving,” although Fridley said she may not make that goal.

Also slowing the process is a required manual count, or sample, of a minimum 1 percent of randomly selected precincts for the general election. That tally started Monday and will take two to three days to complete, Fridley said.

The manual count isn't as fast as putting 1,000 cards a minute through a ballot counter, she said. Also, it requires about four people.

“Things kind of stop during the manual count,” she said.

In preparation for that delay, Fridley said she and her staff worked on Veterans Day in order to try to get ahead.

On election night, Fridley and her staff struggled when two of their three ballot counting machines stopped working.

The paper on the ballots for the general election were a little bit thicker, which caused the problem, she said.

A vendor was at Fridley's office last week working on the machines. She said he was able to adjust them to work with the different paper thickness.

The ballot counting machines are older – Fridley said one of the machines was purchased in 1983. But other than the election night glitch, they've worked fine, she said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

A strong polar jet stream that began pushing the first of two cold fronts into Lake County Thursday is forecast to spread snow showers into the Interstate 80 corridor this morning according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Anyone planning travel to the Sierra Nevada or Cascades are advised to prepare for winter weather, including strong winds combined with blowing and drifting snow, which will make for hazardous travel conditions on Friday, forecasters advised.

A second cold front will move across Northern California and Lake County on Saturday, bringing the first true arctic blast and snows of the season, the National Weather Service said.

Forecasters believe snow levels will be down to 2,000 feet by late Saturday, and all mountain areas above 2,000 feet will be susceptible to winter weather.

In the high elevations above 5,000 feet, 2 to 4 feet of snow may fall by Sunday night, coupled with bitterly cold winds and temperatures below zero. Interstate 80 and Highway 50 are likely to become impassible this weekend, forecasters said.

Friday's outlook will feel much like winter, with rain showers throughout the day and temperatures just reaching into the 40s. The National Weather Service predicted showers will increase overnight with lows in the mid-30s.

Saturday will be winter – a good day to cozy-up indoors – with heavy rains and daytime highs only in the mid-30s to 40s, with below-freezing temperatures forecast overnight throughout most of the county, the National Weather Service said.

Snow and rain showers will taper off throughout the day on Sunday, while forecasters said temperatures will inch upward but remain in the 40s during the day and at or below freezing overnight.

Winter weather conditions continue through Tuesday morning as the wet cold front slowly moves out, allowing dry and sunny weather to build back for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, forecasters said.

Although counter-intuitive, make sure to water any potted outdoor plants well on Friday – it will help ensure they can withstand the freezing temperatures moving in.

Drivers also should remember to carry chains if traveling over high mountain passes.

For up-to-the minute weather information, please follow the links on the Lake County News home page.

E-mail Terre Logsdon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.@lakeconews.com . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Many crashes result from driving too fast, so the first and foremost tip is slow down, the CHP said.

It’s a simple matter of physics that your vehicle can’t stop as fast or turn as accurately on wet or icy pavement. In fog, reduced speed is equally important because vision is impaired.

Prepare for potential inclement weather by leaving early, allowing plenty of time to get where you’re going. Make sure your gas tank is full. Always leave ample distance between your vehicle and the one ahead.

Check to see that your windshield wipers are in good condition. And don’t forget the law requires you to have your headlights on anytime the windshield wipers are operating continuously.

Check in advance for road conditions by calling: 1-800-427-7623 (when inside California); 1 916 445 1534 (when outside California); 1-702-793-1313 (Nevada road conditions).

According to the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) in 2008 (the most recent year of finalized data), 175 victims were killed and another 12,737 were injured in vehicle crashes that occurred in rainy, foggy or snowy conditions throughout the state.

If you’re heading to mountain country or anywhere you may encounter snow bring chains, chain tighteners, and warm, waterproof clothing. Other items which may prove useful: flares, flashlight and strong batteries, small shovel, windshield scraper, blankets, drinking water and snacks.

Studded tires may be used only between Nov. 1 and April 1 with this exception: The law now allows the use of pneumatic tires with retractable metal-type studs year round, as long as the studs are retracted between May 1 through Oct. 31. The law prohibits a tire with retractable metal-type studs on a vehicle from being worn to a point that the studs protrude beyond the tire tread when retracted.

If you’re driving in rain stay alert for potential hydroplaning, apply brakes slowly, be sure headlights are on, and maintain proper following distance.

If you’re driving in fog keep headlights on low beam, don’t stop on the roadway (except in emergency), move away from a stalled or disabled vehicle, watch for CHP pace vehicles which may be guiding traffic through fog, consider turning off the road and waiting until the fog eases.

Winter Driving Tips are available at www.chp.ca.gov.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Lakeport, Calif., businesswoman Nancy Ruzicka (left) meets Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in London on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, following a service at St. Bride's Church for journalists killed in conflicts around the world. Photo courtesy of Mark Moody, OK! Magazine social editor.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A well-known local businesswoman had the chance to meet a member of the British royal family in a special service last Wednesday that honored her daughter and British journalists who have died in war zones.

Nancy Ruzicka was in London last week, where she took part in a remembrance service for British journalists killed while covering wars around the world.

According to the United Kingdom's Daily Mail, the Wednesday service at London's St. Bride's Church – attended by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall – included the reading of the names of 48 journalists killed in conflict zones worldwide.

Ruzicka's daughter, Marla, also was honored at the service, her mother said.

Marla Ruzicka was killed in April 2005 while working on humanitarian issues in Iraq.

While working in Afghanistan and Iraq, Marla Ruzicka was a colleague of British journalist Jon Swain of the Times of London, Nancy Ruzicka said.

Even though Marla Ruzicka wasn't a journalist, Swain had nominated her to be honored as part of the commemoration, Nancy Ruzicka explained.

Swain then invited Nancy Ruzicka to the London service. She said she traveled over to England from New York on the Queen Mary II to attend.

Marla Ruzicka was doing humanitarian work on behalf of civilians in Iraq when she died. Her small organization, Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict – CIVIC – didn't have much money, so the young woman knew that to get her message out she needed to rely on journalists, her mother explained.

“Marla worked closely with these journalists,” Nancy Ruzicka said.

A few days before the service, Nancy Ruzicka said she received an e-mail informing her that the Duchess of Cornwall wanted to have a personal meeting with her after the service.

Not recognizing Prince Charles' wife by her formal title, Ruzicka went to the concierge desk at her hotel and asked who was the Duchess of Cornwall.

“That's Camilla!” The young men at the concierge desk replied.

For the next few days, every time Ruzicka passed the desk, the young men asked brightly, “Have you met her yet?”

Nancy Ruzicka called the service – complete with a large choir – at St. Bride's Church “wonderful.”

After the service, Nancy Ruzicka had the chance to meet the duchess, an experience which she called “unbelievable.”

Nancy Ruzicka and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, talk as Rev. Canon David Meara, rector of St. Bride's Church in London, looks on. Ruzicka was invited to the service because her daughter, humanitarian activist Marla Ruzicka, was honored at a service at St. Bride's Church in London on Wednesday, November 10, 2010. Nancy Ruzicka said she had received a message informing her that Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wanted to meet her. Ruzicka said she had fun with the duchess.

Though the first batch of payments did go out the middle of the following week, the relatively small number – about 1300 claims worth $8 million – reinforced the fact that the process for calculating retroactive payments is timely and complex.

Veterans Affairs (VA) expects to produce a steady stream of rating decisions and payments each week for these diseases, perhaps in the thousands.

But there will not be a November geyser of checks as some veterans had hoped.

Most of the 163,000 veterans or survivors with pending claims for these diseases should expect a longer wait, at least several more months. The VA goal is to have all these claims processed and paid by October next year.

After VA published its final regulation Aug. 31 to add these diseases to its list of ailments presumed caused by herbicide exposure in Vietnam, Congress had 60 days to block it. To veterans’ relief, it chose not to do so.

VA used that time to do preliminary work on many claims but had to stop short of assigning disability ratings. That’s because VA computers are programmed to assign a payment date with each rating and, by law, none of these claims could be paid before the 60 days had passed.

Claim specialists don’t have all the information they need yet to rate a lot of the old claims. Many veterans and survivors in line for retroactive payments, some going back 25 years, are being asked to provide letters from private physicians explaining when the ailments first were diagnosed.

VA also will try to develop timelines for a disease’s progression in individuals so appropriate disability ratings can be assigned at different stages, and back payments are calculated as accurately as possible.

For ischemic heart disease, for example, a patient initially needing medication might have been rated 10 percent. Years later, when an x-ray showed an enlarged heart, the rating could have been raised 30 percent. As stress tests showed the disease progressing, higher ratings and higher compensation would be made.

Barton F. Stichman, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), said he doesn’t know how many claims will need to be developed this way or how many can be paid without VA waiting for more information. His organization, NVLSP, is certified counsel for the class of veterans filing Agent Orange claims.

More than 1000 claim specialists in nine VA resource centers are working solely on 93,000 claims filed for these diseases between Sept. 25, 1985 and Oct. 13, 2009. The end date is when VA Secretary Eric Shinseki announced his decision to add these diseases to the list of presumptive diseases for Agent Orange exposure.

The earlier date is when VA first published a regulation on presumptive AO diseases, sparking a successful court challenge on behalf ailing Vietnam vets. This resulted in an appeals court ruling, Nehmer v. Department of Veterans Affairs, ordering that VA compensate veterans retroactively for any claim they filed for a disease later deemed service-connected because of new medical evidence linking it to herbicide exposure in Vietnam.

Shinseki’s announcement triggered Nehmer protection for 93,000 previously denied claims. Since then, 70,000 more veterans and survivors have filed new claims for these diseases. The more recent claims are being worked at VA regional offices by another army of claim specialists.

VA has trained hundreds of rating specialists specifically for these new Nehmer claims using a new 100-page instruction manual. These retroactive claims often require complicated calculations and, if veterans have died since claims were filed, often long searches for next of kin.

VA officials know their computers runs haven’t identified all previously denied claims for these diseases. The fault lies with a legacy data system, the Benefit Delivery Network. It was programmed to retain only six conditions claimed by a veteran. So if a veteran claimed 10 ailments, four of them, once denied, would not be found today in the electronic record. The lost conditions could include one of the diseases now deemed compensable.

All claimed conditions would appear in a veteran’s paper record. But only computer records have been used to identify previously denied claims for ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-cell leukemia.

Veterans or survivors who want to be sure their denied claim is being reviewed can call their VA regional office to learn if they are among the 93,000 being eyed for retroactive compensation.

“There’s no time limit on this,” said a VA official. “So if they don’t get some notice that we are working on their claim in the next six months or so they should say ‘Hey, what about me?’”

VA expects five to 10 percent of the 93,000 to involve ailments still not linked to Agent Orange and so they will be denied once more. Officials blame imprecision in use of diagnostic codes found in the case files.

About 10,000 of the older claims were filed by veterans now deceased. For these, award notices will be mailed to last known addresses. If past experience is an accurate guide, 90 percent will be returned as undeliverable. VA will take a few more steps to reach next of kin and then pass on these files to the NVLSP to continue the search.

“We’ve been able to locate a lot of these people in the past” for VA, Stichman said. But for some cases “it’s taken us a few years.”

As certified counsel for the class, the NVLSP also gets a copy of every Agent Orange claim decided so it can monitor VA compliance.

Given the resources VA has committed to these claims, Stichman believes the department is trying to make payments as quickly and carefully as it can. He also isn’t concerned that VA’s own completion deadline is 11 months away.

“That doesn’t surprise me. It’s a hell of a lot of cases,” he said. “We’re not going to complain when they are putting this much effort into it.”

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.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Two Arizona residents were arrested in Middletown Saturday on a number of drug charges.

Lance Boyd Smith, 43, and Annette Marie Hunkler, 41, both of Cottonwood, Ariz., were arrested Saturday afternoon following a traffic stop by California Highway Patrol Officer Rob Hearn, according to a CHP report.

Hearn was flagged down at around 2:30 p.m. Nov. 13 while he was driving in Middletown. The report from CHP Officer Steve Tanguay said Hearn was advised of a dog mauling incident that had just occurred a block away from his location.

Hearn responded to the corner of Armstrong and Lincoln streets to meet with the victim. Tanguay said witnesses reported that there were two pit bull dogs running loose that attacked another dog. The witnesses then reported that the owners of the dogs were leaving the area.

Tanguay said Hearn located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. Smith exited the vehicle and approached Hearn, who could smell the odor of marijuana coming from inside a trailer that was being towed by Smith.

During a search of the vehicle Hearn located a loaded sawed off shotgun, more than 2 pounds of processed marijuana, other drugs, drug paraphernalia, drug packaging equipment and approximately 43 growing marijuana plants, Tanguay said.

Smith and Hunkler were arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail.

Smith was charged with eight felonies related to marijuana and firearms, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, with bail set at $30,000. Hunkler faced four felonies related to drugs, with her bail set at $20,000.

Both remained in the Lake County Jail Tuesday night.

Tanguay said Lake County Animal Control also arrived on scene to assist with investigating the dog mauling incident.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

The community also is invited to participate and to donate in the event, which places wreaths on the tombstones of veterans in remembrance of their service and sacrifice.

Slick Hultquist and Toni Funderburg have volunteered to organize the Wreaths Across America ceremony this year, which will be held at Hartley Cemetery in Lakeport at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11.

The second Saturday in December will mark the 19th anniversary of Maine wreaths being donated to be placed on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

This year also is the sixth year of the national wreath sponsorship campaign under the guidance of the nonprofit www.WreathsAcrossAmerica.org, which will bring the same remembrance wreaths to national and state veterans cemeteries, monuments and community centers all across the nation.

This will be the fourth year that wreaths have been laid at the Veterans Circle in a ceremony at Hartley Cemetery.

Specially designated wreaths for the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, and POW/MIA will be placed on memorials during a ceremony that will be coordinated simultaneously at over 400 participating locations all across the country.

The Motto for Wreaths Across America is: Remember – the fallen; Honor – those who serve; and Teach – our children the value of freedom.

“Teach” is the key word of the motto for 2010, and it's the most important part of the mission. The veterans have done their part, the military and their families are doing their part, and for the community to do its part everyone must instill in their children the importance of the sacrifices of these heroes – and their families.

This year thousands of young people from all over the country will participate in laying wreaths on the graves of more than 200,000 veterans’ graves at 500 locations all over the US and 24 off shore during the holidays.

The Scouts, Sea Scouts and the Royal Rangers will participate in the ceremony which includes raising the colors and laying the seven wreaths at the Veterans’ Circle at Hartley Cemetery.

Pastor Garry Zeek will give the invocation and a brief history of the Wreaths Across America. The Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team will provide the three rifle volleys and the playing of “Taps.”

This year Boy Scout Troop 42 would like to further honor our Veterans by laying wreaths on the individual grave sites at Hartley.

A sponsorship of a wreath is $15. The wreaths will be laid by the Boy Scouts prior to the ceremony. It is their hope to honor the 200 veterans laid at rest at Hartley.

Should you desire to sponsor a wreath for a veteran, please stop by Lakeport Tire & Auto Service, 1901 S. Main St. or call 707-263-5422 for details.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .