LAKEPORT, Calif. – A single-vehicle wreck near Lakeport Friday evening injured a young child and resulted in the arrests of the two adults in the vehicle, with the driver suspected of drunk driving.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office reported that the crash occurred at 5:58 p.m. Friday on Soda Bay Road west of Big Valley Road.

Driver Annette Ann McCloud, 24, of Lakeport was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, the CHP said.

McCloud was driving her 2006 Dodge Stratus westbound on Soda Bay Road, west of Big Valley Road at approximately 40 miles per hour when, for reasons that are yet to be determined, she allowed her vehicle to veer towards the right shoulder, according to the CHP report.

The CHP said McCloud overcorrected and veered to the left across the eastbound lane, where the front end of the vehicle hit a cement culvert. The Dodge came to rest on the south side of the roadway.

Two-year-old Jolene Jack of Lakeport was riding in the vehicle’s rear seat but was not restrained, and the CHP report said the impact caused her to be thrown onto the rear seat’s floorboard.

The CHP said the child received moderate injuries as a result of the crash and was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment.

Neither Annette McCloud nor her passenger Tessa Anjoline McCloud, 42, of Lakeport were injured, the CHP said. Both women were wearing their seat belts.

In addition to Annette McCloud being arrested for DUI, Tessa McCloud was taken into custody for an outstanding warrant and public intoxication, the CHP reported.

Annette McCloud was booked on two felony charges of DUI and two misdemeanors, a probation violation and driving on a suspended license. Her bail was set at $50,000. Jail records showed she remained in custody on Sunday.

Tessa McCloud’s bail was set at $10,000. She later posted the required percentage of bail and was released, jail records indicated.

The CHP said the crash’s cause remains under investigation.

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.

FORT BRAGG, Calif. – While international attention focused on the dismantling of nuclear weapons in Cuba and the formation of British rock sensation, the Rolling Stones, a major scientific endeavor was under way among the redwoods on the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, just south of Fort Bragg, Calif.

In November 1962, stream water began to flow over two gaging weirs constructed on the North and South Forks of Caspar Creek.

Researchers and forest managers from the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) had chosen Caspar Creek and its surrounding watershed as the site for a major long-term study of logging effects on streamflow, sedimentation and salmon habitat.

Over the past 50 years, the Caspar Creek study has provided a continuous record of streamflow, sediment and rainfall that has been used by researchers around the globe to expand our understanding of watershed science.

Major experiments at the site showed the effects of 1970s road construction and tractor logging on water quality and measured the cumulative effects of 1990s clear-cutting on downstream flows and sediment loads.

During these experiments, researchers also studied many parts of the system in more detail, measuring such things as fog drip, channel changes, and juvenile salmon.

Findings have contributed to the design and modification of forest practice rules, and study results are used by foresters in northwest California to predict changes in peak flows after logging and to help reduce logging-related sediment.

Methods developed at Caspar Creek are now used internationally to monitor water quality.

Current research includes modeling the potential effects of climate change on aquatic habitat and water resources; evaluating the long-term effects of selective logging on dry-season flows; and documenting the effects of road decommissioning on sediment production.

According to PSW scientist Dr. Leslie Reid, “Much of our understanding of watershed-scale forest hydrology comes from research in experimental watersheds because they provide a setting where we can isolate and observe the effects of particular management activities.”

PSW watershed manager Elizabeth Keppeler noted that Caspar Creek is a particularly important research site because of its 50-year record.

“Sustainable forest management relies on understanding the interactions between disturbance, recovery, and environmental change, and many of these interactions take a very long time to become visible,” she said. “Caspar Creek is one of only a few experimental watersheds that provide this long-term perspective.”

Additional information about past and ongoing research at Caspar Creek can be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/water/caspar/ .

In addition to PSW and Cal Fire, cooperators include the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project, California Department of Fish and Game and university faculty.

A 100-year memorandum of understanding between PSW and CAL FIRE was signed in 1999, providing for continuation of the cooperative Caspar Creek project throughout this century and ensuring that the Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds will continue to provide information for the benefit of all.

Headquartered in Albany, Calif., the Pacific Southwest Research Station develops and communicates science needed to sustain forest ecosystems and other benefits to society. It has research facilities in California, Hawaii and the U.S.–affiliated Pacific Islands.

For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us/psw/ .

THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE SECOND CRASH.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two vehicle wrecks that resulted in serious injuries occurred at Indian Valley Reservoir over the course of several hours Friday evening and early Saturday morning.

The first crash involved a vehicle versus a quad motorcycle shortly after 4:30 p.m. Friday and an overturned vehicle just before 12:30 a.m. Saturday.

In the Friday evening incident, a male subject suffered major injuries, including a broken leg, when his Honda quad was hit by a Chevy Tahoe, according to the California Highway Patrol and radio reports.

Northshore Fire and REACH 6 air ambulance responded, reports from the scene indicated.

Just before 6 p.m. REACH 6 lifted off with the patient, reporting that the helicopter was en route to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

The Saturday morning crash involved a single vehicle overturning on the reservoir’s north side, according to reports from the scene.

A 38-year-old was reporting that he had no feeling in his legs, with officials reporting concerns that he had broken his neck.

REACH 6 and Northshore Fire were once again dispatched to the area.

The air ambulance arrived at 1:20 a.m. and lifted off at 1:45 a.m. en route to Enloe Medical Center in Chico, according to radio reports.

Later on Saturday the CHP reported that the man had broken vertebrae and also had head trauma.

Additional information on the crashes was not immediately available.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Bird enthusiasts around Lake County and nationwide are gearing up to participate in the world’s largest and oldest bird count.

The National Audubon Society’s 113th Christmas Bird Count will take place between Friday, Dec. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013.

In Lake County, Redbud Audubon will hold its part of the count on Saturday, Dec. 15, according to group member Roberta Lyons.

“We encourage local people to get involved,” said Lyons. “You don’t have to be an expert birder.”

The Christmas Bird Count is “the largest, longest-running animal census on the planet,” according to National Audubon Society President and Chief Executive Officer David Yarnold.

The count was the brainchild of ornithologist and early Audubon Society officer Frank Chapman, who started the tradition of counting birds – rather than shooting them – on Christmas Day 1900.

Since then, the count has grown from dozens of volunteers to the tens of thousands who the Audubon Society said are expected to participate this year, adding “a new layer to data that has shaped conservation and Congressional decisions.”

Audubon said the Christmas Bird Count has revealed both the dramatic impact climate change is already having on birds, and a disturbing decline in common birds.

Gary Langham, Audubon’s chief scientist, said that data from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count are at the heart of hundreds peer-reviewed scientific studies and inform decisions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior, and the EPA.

“Because birds are early indicators of environmental threats to habitats we share, this is a vital survey of North America and, increasingly, the Western Hemisphere,” Langham said in a written statement.

The 2011 nationwide Christmas Bird Count broke records, with Audubon reporting 2,248 counts and 63,223 people tallying more than 60 million birds across all 50 states, all Canadian provinces, plus 99 count circles in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands.

In California, there were 127 counts in 2011, with a total of 5,787 observers in 2,242 counting parties, according to Audubon.

Some of the key issues that emerged from last year’s bird count included the improving situation for the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon, the North American invasion by the Eurasian Collared-Dove, the fact that “Eastern” House Finches has been moving west for 60 years, how far and fast West Nile Virus has spread and the discovery that more hummingbirds are wintering in the United States and Canada.

Audubon said the count also showed some startling facts, among them, that America’s most familiar and beloved birds – such as the sage-grouse – are in serious decline.

The National Audubon Society is implementing several changes in time for the 2012 Christmas Bird Count.

Those charges include dropping fees for volunteers to take part, which it’s hoped will increase participation.

Audubon said it also is going to publish its annual “American Birds” report digitally in 2013 in order to save more trees for birds.

In addition, Christmas Bird Count information will be available online in Spanish for the first time and in 2013 Audubon will begin to extend conservation-focused observation efforts throughout the seasons.

Count finds new and rare visitors

Darlene Hecomovich of Cobb has been coordinating Redbud Audubon’s Clear Lake Christmas Bird Count for the past decade.

She said about 50 volunteers usually take part in Lake County’s bird count, which began in January 1975.

Hecomovich has been persistent in getting volunteers to keep coming back for the annual count, which takes place during the busy holiday season.

“I’ve really tried to get a group that we can depend upon,” she said. “We’ve got some really good birders.”

Amongst the core group are some St. Helena residents who Hecomovich said have consistently made the trip over to Lake County to participate.

On the day of the local count, some of the volunteers start at around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., but most will meet at 8 a.m. and continue the count until the early afternoon, Hecomovich said.

Bird count groups will be at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park and Clear Lake State Park, with Hecomovich reporting there are also some other smaller groups that count elsewhere.

After the count, Lyons said volunteers are treated to a pizza party in Kelseyville.

As for what volunteers can expect, last year the local count found 149 species of bird, according to the count results.

The ruddy duck was seen in the greatest numbers, with more than 14,800 counted. Rounding out the top 10 in Lake County were the eared grebe, European Starling, California gull, American Robin, American Coot, northern shoveler, Western Grebe Brewer’s Blackbird and the mallard.

In addition, “We always get some rare birds,” Hecomovich said.

Last year, the lesser blacked-backed gull, a European species, was found in four count locations across California, with Clear Lake being one of them, according to Audubon.

Hecomovich said the gull is a visitor to North America, but it usually is found on the East Coast. “So for us to get it here was unusual.”

Redbud Audubon volunteers also found the black-throated gray warbler in Lake County last year, said Hecomovich.

While the bird is known in Lake County, it’s usually found in the spring and summer, not winter, she said.

Those changes in the birds’ migration patterns and populations are among the key factors the count monitors, Hecomovich added.

This year, she’s anticipating that count participants may see a large number of red-breasted nuthatches.

There is always a small number of them to be found in Lake County, but Hecomovich said Northern California has seen an influx of the bird, which usually is found in forests at higher elevations. Hecomovich suggested that food sources to the north may not be as good.

Anyone who wants to volunteer to take part in the Clear Lake Christmas Bird Count should call Hecomovich at 707-928-5591 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

She said there is no deadline to sign up by but the earlier the better as it helps her in her planning.

On Thursday, Dec. 13, Redbud Audubon will hold a meeting on bird identification for bird count volunteers. Hecomovich said Brad Barnwell will lead the meeting.

Hecomovich said the meeting takes place at Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, 5340 Third St. They will serve refreshments at 7 p.m., with the meeting beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Visit Redbud Audubon online at http://www.redbudaudubon.org/ .

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.

This is a personal eye-witness account of the Nov. 14 solar eclipse by Science@NASA production editor Tony Phillips.

Astrophysicist and legendary eclipse chaser Fred Espenak has a rating scheme for natural wonders. “On a scale of 1 to 10,” he said, “total eclipses are a million.”

Apparently, this true even when the eclipse is almost completely clouded out.

Last week, I experienced such an eclipse on Four Mile Beach outside the resort town of Port Douglas in Queensland, Australia.

For years, tourists, astronomers and eclipse chasers had been anticipating a fantastic show over the Coral Sea on Nov. 14, 2012.

Just after daybreak, the Moon would pass directly in front of the low-hanging sun, producing a total eclipse in plain view of many resort towns along the coast. More than 100,000 people (me and my family included) converged to witness the event.

The night before the eclipse was crystal clear, with all of the stars of the southern sky twinkling brightly overhead.

As dawn broke, however, there were clouds on the horizon, and by 6:30 a.m. local time, less than 10 minutes before totality, thousands of people on the beach watched in dismay as a patchy bank of fluffy white clouds rolled right in front of the sun.

That’s when I learned that even a cloudy eclipse is off the scale.

Even as we were urgently wishing the clouds away, I realized their benefit: Clouds act as a natural filter.

The partially-eclipsed sun burned an auburn crescent through the gray fluff overhead. Onlookers unwisely but irresistibly took off their eclipse glasses for the kind of direct view that would have been impossible under clear skies. It was mesmerizing.

At that point, only one thing could tear our eyes off the sky: The arrival of the Moon’s shadow. We felt it before we saw it. Even at 6:30 in the morning, the beach was hot and humid.

Suddenly, we were enveloped by an unexpected chill. We looked around to see the landscape rapidly darkening. Tropical birds that had been flitting noisily back and forth in the canopy of nearby trees paused, and an otherworldly silence descended on the beach.

The operative word is “otherworldly.” The Moon’s shadow lances more than a quarter million miles across the dark vacuum of space, and when it lands on a beach in Australia, it seems to bring a bit of the silent cold with it. Something undeniably cosmic was in the air.

At that moment, with the tide surging around our feet, the clouds parted to reveal the Moon and sun in almost perfect alignment.

Through a tiny gap, we watched the thin, bright crescent narrow and vanish. The solar corona popped out around the black lunar disk, just like the centerfold of an astronomy textbook.

I turned to my daughter, 16 year old Amelia, and involuntarily cried out in a loud voice, “Oh my God, look!” (As if she wasn’t already.)

The beach erupted in cries of delight for ... one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three one-thousand ... a long count of three, and then the clouds closed again. The eclipse vanished.

Totality was supposed to last two minutes, and we had only seen three seconds of it. Remarkably, no one seemed to mind.

Along the Four Mile Beach, thousands of people stood in the cool center of the Moon’s shadow, wrapped in lunar darkness, staring mesmerized at the cloudy spot where the eclipse was playing out behind a puffy gray veil of water droplets.

One brief glimpse of the sun’s corona had sent an electric jolt through the crowd, and we were frozen to the spot.

One minute and 57 seconds later (an interval that seemed much shorter) the Moon slid off the solar disk. The clouds abruptly blossomed with light. It looked like an explosion had taken place in the atmosphere not far above our heads. Iridescent colors appeared around the edge of the clouds as water droplets diffracted the rays of surging light.

I’m pretty sure that no one on the beach was disappointed.

As totality ended, the dark core of the moon’s shadow swept off the beach, kicking off a fast 9000 mile journey across the uninhabited south Pacific. Birds started singing again as we rubbed our arms to hasten away the departing cold.

There was only one last thing to do: Run a marathon.

For the first time ever, runners had organized a 26.2 mile race with an eclipse as its starting gun. The end of totality was our signal to assemble at the starting line and high-tail it through the verdant forests and cane fields of northeast Queensland.

My running partner was NASA’s rubber chicken Camilla, who would complete the marathon in support of the space agency’s “Train Like an Astronaut” program, the first rubber chicken to accomplish such a feat.

The partial eclipse was still under way as hundreds of runners flooded through the starting gate, so most of the athletes still had their eclipse glasses with them.

As the clouds dispersed, we could look up and see the sun reshape itself from a thin sliver to a fat crescent, and ultimately a complete circle again.

Experienced runners are accustomed to seeing empty packets of energy gels littering the path of long races. In this marathon, the path was lined instead with discarded eclipse glasses.

Before long, the sky was completely clear and the hot Australian sun beamed down on the runners. Temperatures climbed to nearly 90 degrees, and the Queensland humidity pushed the Heat Index close to 100 F. We were definitely missing our clouds!

To combat the heat, I remembered the feel of the Moon’s cool shadow and in my mind replayed over and over again the three seconds of totality I had witnessed – a mental movie that was still playing when Camilla and I crossed the finish line more than four hours later.  Even now, I can’t quite get it out of my mind.

Maybe a million is an underestimate, after all.

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

COBB, Calif. – A 3.1-magnitude earthquake was reported near The Geysers geothermal steamfield early Saturday morning.

The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 12:10 a.m. one mile northeast of The Geysers, four miles west southwest of Cobb and six miles west northwest of Anderson Springs at a depth of 2.2 miles.

The USGS report is preliminary, and the size of the quake may later be updated.

As of 12:30 a.m., only one shake report had been submitted to the survey from Calistoga.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – There is a kennel full of great dogs available at the county’s animal shelter this week.

The dogs come in a range of ages, sizes, breeds and temperaments.

Thanks to Lake County Animal Care and Control’s new veterinary clinic, many of the animals offered for adoption already are spayed or neutered and ready to go home with their new families.

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”).

‘Corrie’

“Corrie” is a 4-year-old Rottweiler-Doberman Pinscher mix.

He weighs 98 pounds, is neutered and has a short brown and black coat.

Find him in kennel No. 8, ID No. 33210.

Male Chihuahua mix

This male Chihuahua mix is 3 years old.

He has a short red coat, weighs 18.6 pounds and has been neutered.

Find him in kennel No. 9, ID No. 34724.

‘Moose’

“Moose” is a 3-year-old Labrador Retriever mix.

He has a short black coat, weighs 66 pounds and has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 16, ID No. 34643.

Female shepherd mix

This female shepherd mix is 1 year old.

She has brown eyes and floppy years, and a short black and brown coat. Shelter staff did not report if she had been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 20, ID No. 34623.

Female cattle dog mix

This female cattle dog mix is 1 year old.

She has a short brown coat, floppy ears and brown eyes, and weighs 39 pounds. She has been spayed.

Shelter staff said she is a jumper (she can top a 6-foot fence) and loves tennis balls.

She’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 34758.

Female Labrador Retriever mix

This female Labrador Retriever mix 8 months old.

She has a short black coat and is not yet spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 29, ID No. 34829.

'Poncho'

“Poncho” is a 2-year-old male Chihuahua-terrier mix.

He weighs 10.6 pounds, has a medium-length red coat and has not been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 30, ID No. 34860.

Male pit bull terrier mix

This male pit bull terrier mix is 7 months old.

Shelter staff reported that he is great with other dogs and loves to play.

He has a short white and gray coat, is medium-sized and has not yet been altered.

He’s in kennel No. 31, ID No. 34815.

‘Mary Jane’

“Mary Jane” is a 6-year-old pit bull terrier mix.

She has a short brown and white coat, is medium-sized and has been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 34, ID No. 34818.

Please note: Dogs listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.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.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A travel trailer was burned in a Saturday afternoon fire near Lower Lake.

The fire was first dispatched just after 3:15 p.m. at 17050 Morgan Valley Road, according to radio reports.

Smoke and flames were reported by witnesses, and firefighters were informed early on that the blaze was threatening multiple structures.

Lake County Fire responded, initially asking for mutual aid from Kelseyville Fire and Cal Fire, reports from the scene indicated.

The battalion chief arriving on the scene reported a fully involved travel trailer.

While the fire initially was threatening other buildings, the battalion chief canceled the mutual aid requests as he said firefighters could contain the fire before it damaged any other structures.

The fire was reported contained just after 3:30 p.m. No immediate cause was given.

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.

When parents no longer adequately provide for the well being of their children, it is grandparents who are often the ones to take charge as guardians of their underage grandchildren. Without their caring intervention, their grandchildren might otherwise be placed with a foster family.

Let us examine how such guardianships can lead to adoptions.

Under California law, grandparents have certain rights in their relationship with their grandchildren. This includes the right to seek partial or full custody when the health, safety and welfare of the child are at stake.

A probate guardian has the following custodial responsibilities for the minor: where the minor lives; ensuring that the minor is properly fed, clothed and sheltered; supervising the minor’s conduct; enrolling the minor in school; and ensuring the minor has proper medical care.

Typically, the grandchild lives with his or her grandparents and is essentially raised by them. The guardianship terminates once the minor reaches 18 years of age, is emancipated, or sooner if the court finds that the guardianship is no longer needed and returns the child to his/her parents.

During the guardianship, it is up to the biological parents, if they intend to regain their parental custody, both to visit the minor and to rehabilitate themselves so that they are able to provide a safe and stable living environment for the child. Unfortunately, that does not always happen.

After two years of guardianship, the guardian may petition the court for adoption of the minor. Adoption of the minor completely severs the parents’ rights to regain custody or to involve themselves in the life of their child.

Recently, in the Adoption of Myah M case, the First Appellate District Court of Appeal held that the probate court was not required to refer guardianship proceedings to the county’s child welfare agency, which would then have investigated the parents’ fitness, because the parents – who were drug users and had anger management issues – had consented to the guardianship as the best option.

The parents had argued that failure to conduct such an investigation prior to the adoption violated their due process rights.

While both the California and United States’ constitutions protect parental rights, the court found that requiring referral to the county’s child welfare agency for investigation would be bad policy.

It was not necessary because the parents had voluntarily agreed to the guardianship; this occurred in the context of family mediation.

In essence, after the second year of the guardianship the parents had forfeited their parental rights by not getting their lives in order.

The Myah M case shows how parental rights can be relinquished in the course of a guardianship.

Grandparents may choose to adopt their grandchildren in order to sever relations with the abusive parents.

In Myah M, the parental grandparents could no longer endure the verbal, and sometimes physical, abuse associated with the parental visitations. They wanted the freedom to relocate outside California.

Had the parents gotten their lives in order – ended their drug abuse and controlled their anger – and been able to provide a safe and stable home, then the outcome might have been different.

That did not happen, and the court found that the adoption by grandparents was in the best interests of the child.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235. Visit his Web site at www.dennisfordhamlaw.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Literacy Task Force is pursuing several new initiatives in the coming year as it pursues the goal that everyone in the county – young, adults and elders – not only be able to read, but desire to read.

The task force, established in 2011, represents educators and business and community leaders, and is focused on supporting countywide literacy activities and initiatives.

The group views literacy as a fundamental foundation of freedom, democracy, personal satisfaction, and a contribution to one’s society and personal life, and believes that everyone who has a desire to read should have an avenue to become literate.

The group has selected the following four initiatives that will drive the focus of the group in the coming year.

The Big Read

The Big Read began with a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The inaugural annual effort was held in October 2011 and focused on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. Activities included film festivals, events and book clubs around the county.

Planning is now under way for the next Big Read initiative, slated for October 2013.

For more information and to get involved, contact Robin Shrive at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Lake County Reads

Modeled after the successful Kelseyville Sunrise Rotary Club Reading Program, now in its sixth year, Lake County Reads inspires volunteerism and reading both from service club/organization members and high school students, who together volunteer to read to students each week in a elementary school classroom.

The selected books are then donated to the school and help build a library and a love for reading for the students.

The long-term vision for this initiative is that every elementary school in Lake County has a sponsored Lake County Reads program.

For more information on Lake County Reads, contact Wally Holbrook at 707-262-4100.

Schools of Hope

This pilot program partners with Lakeport Unified School District and United Way.  

Volunteers are trained and then spend 30 minutes in the elementary school classroom each week tutoring students throughout the school year.

The program is focused on middle to low readers in the primary grades.

For more information and to volunteer, email Janine Smith-Citron at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-262-5628.

Imagination Library

For a $25 annual sponsorship, one child will receive one high quality, hard cover book per month, delivered to their home.

The program promotes reading through the active participation of the parents.

The Literacy Task Force is launching the program by sponsoring 100 children, and community members and organizations can participate by sponsoring children.

The program goal is to sponsor each child from birth through 5 years, inspiring a love of reading by receiving a book in their home each month.

The final book each child receives sends them off to kindergarten with an exciting book about starting school.

For more information on the Imagination Library contact Shelly Mascari at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Literacy Task Force meets approximately one time per month at Lake County Office of Education in Lakeport.

It welcomes participation from anyone who shares its vision of expanding literacy.

For more information and to get involved, contact Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook at 707-262-4100 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two teenagers who went missing from their homes last weekend have been located in Oregon and are set to be returned home.

The Clearlake Police Department said Saturday afternoon that Sara Beck of Clearlake and Lacy Elwood of Clearlake Oaks, both 15, were located in Eugene, Ore.

The girls were reported missing by their families on Nov. 17, according to Sgt. Nick Bennett of the Clearlake Police Department.

Bennett’s Saturday afternoon report said one of the teens called her parents to let them know they were all right but did not reveal any information as to their whereabouts.

The parent called Clearlake Police Det. Ryan Peterson, who Bennett said traced the number to the owner of the phone used by the juvenile.

After a brief conversation, that person gave Det. Peterson information as to the possible location of the juveniles, Bennett said.

Clearlake Police contacted the Eugene Police Department, with police there able to locate the missing juveniles and take them into protective custody until they are released to their parents, according to Bennett.

The Clearlake Police Department thanked all those who assisted in the investigation of these missing juveniles, including Eugene Police Department, concerned citizens and the press.

“Children are our future and we need to protect them, even when they stumble,” Bennett said in his report.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Firefighters on Friday were mopping up a fire of undetermined origin that broke out Thursday morning in the State Water Project’s Ronald B. Robie Thermalito Pumping-Generating plant near Oroville.

There were no injuries in the fire, which will not affect water deliveries.  

Fire at the plant, four miles west of Oroville in Butte County, was detected about 7 a.m. Thanksgiving day, and was responded to by Cal Fire and local agency firefighters, who brought the flames under control late this morning.

Firefighters on Thursday were forced out of the burning building by life-threatening dangers from collapsing equipment, zero visibility and other conditions, the Department of Water Resources said. There were no personnel in the plant when the fire started.

On Friday firefighters reported fire and smoke damage to the third and fourth floors of the five-story building, and smoke damage to the top floor. There was no damage to the bottom two floors of the structure. All but the top floor of the building are underground.

Monetary and equipment damage from the fire are not yet known, the Department of Water Resources said. After structural engineers declare the building clear of hazards, Department of Water Resources crews will determine the extent of damage. The plant will resume operation as soon as possible.

The plant is operated in tandem with Hyatt Powerplant beneath Oroville Dam and the nearby Thermalito Diversion Dam power plant to produce electrical power to pump State Water Project (State Water Project) water.  

The State Water Project delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland.

The damaged plant normally produces about 5 percent of the State Water Project’s electrical output. If necessary, the Department of Water Resources, which owns and operates the State Water Project, will purchase additional power to compensate for generating loss.

Water released from Lake Oroville behind Oroville Dam can be diverted around the damaged pumping-generating plant, minimizing any impact to water deliveries.  

In normal operations, water released from Lake Oroville in excess of what is needed to generate power at the pumping-generating plant is pumped back into storage in the lake to be used again for hydropower generation.

In addition to Cal Fire, the fire at the plant was responded to by crews from the cities of Oroville and Chico, and Butte County.

The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs.