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Dennis Fordham. Courtesy photo.

With fires destroying homes and their contents it begs the question, what happens if a person’s estate planning documents go up in flames? How important is it to preserve the original documents? Where should these documents be kept?

A decedent’s original will is required to commence probate. Without the original it may be difficult to impossible to probate the decedent’s estate according to the terms of the missing will.

When the terms of a missing will can be established, such as through a copy or a duplicate original, then one may try to probate the will that was lost in a fire.

However, there is a presumption that if the original was last in the possession of a deceased testator who was competent until the time of death that the missing was revoked by the testator.

Preserving an original will is, therefore, very important. Keeping the original in a bank safe deposit box is a good approach, provided someone has a key to the box or is named as a co-owner or co-signatory.

With a key to the decedent’s bank deposit box and the decedent’s death certificate, the key holder, upon identification, can access the safe deposit and take possession of any original will.

When the original will is retrieved, a copy of the will must be left in the safe deposit box (along with the rest of the contents), the original will must be lodged with the superior court in the county where the decedent resided at death.

A copy must be mailed to the person named in the will as executor. California law requires this all to occur within 30 days of the decedent’s death.

Unlike a will, a decedent’s original trust document (with amendments) is neither required to be recorded with any county nor required to be submitted to the court where the decedent resided at death.

Nonetheless, it is still best to safeguard the original trust. Normally, a trust and will are kept together. The same applies to any original trustee affidavits and trustee resignations documents.

The original power of attorney to manage property, financial, and legal affairs must be maintained. The original is required to be presented at the proper county recorder’s office if the agent seeks to transfer real property using the Power of Attorney.

Other recipients may accept a certified copy of the original, but that process still requires presenting the original document to a notary public or a licensed attorney for copying and certification.

Except for the county recorder’s office, the necessity to always present the original power of attorney can be greatly reduced by the power of attorney providing that an unverified photocopy is as good as the original.

If the power of attorney provides that it is immediately effective when signed, the original document should be kept safe against abuse until such time as its proper use is needed.

Some people keep the original power of attorney with a trusted person other than the agent with instructions that custodian to provide the agent with the power of attorney in the event of their incapacity.

The advance health care directive is different. A photocopy is as good as the original.

Originals to any real property deeds that have been recorded with the county recorder’s office can be replaced by a copy of the recorded deed from the county recorder’s office.

Original bank and brokerage account statements if lost can be replaced by certified copies from the relevant institution.

Attorneys usually give the original documents to their client for safekeeping. Keeping original documents is a significant responsibility.

Clients must keep original legal documents in a safe place, preferably a safe deposit box, and provide access to necessary persons.

Electronic copies can be used as a backup should originals be destroyed.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235. His Web site is www.DennisFordhamLaw.com.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol officer who was shot during a Monday Clearlake Oaks shooting spree is on the mend, with his commander calling his actions to help apprehend the suspect heroic.

Officer Steven Patrick, an 11-year CHP veteran, was shot by Alan Leroy Ashmore, 61, of Clearlake Oaks during the Monday morning rampage that stretched over multiple locations in the town.

Patrick’s bulletproof vest is likely to have saved his life – it stopped a shotgun slug that struck him in the abdomen.

Ashmore killed two people – his father, 85-year-old Douglas Ashmore, and friend Richard Braden, 64 – plus wounded another woman, shot at several other people, committed robbery and burglary, and set two wildland fires on High Valley Road, according to the complaint filed against him by the District Attorney’s Office.

On Wednesday, during Ashmore’s first appearance in the case in Lake County Superior Court, Patrick was in the audience, dressed in civilian clothes. Seated with him were the commander of the CHP Clear Lake Area office, Lt. Hector Paredes, and another uniformed CHP officer.

CHP Officer Kory Reynolds said the agency’s incident logs showed that it was shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday that Patrick – who had heard scanner traffic about the shootings – called in to request information.

It was just minutes later that he called in to report that he had been hit, Reynolds said.

The criminal complaint filed against Ashmore said he fired an unknown number of times at Patrick.

Despite being struck, Patrick continued on in pursuit of Ashmore, Paredes told Lake County News.

Paredes said over the radio they could hear that Patrick was clearly in pain, but he was focused on capturing Ashmore.

Paredes said Patrick would continue on with the pursuit, and that he was part of the group of law enforcement officers that followed Ashmore up High Valley Road, where he surrendered after encountering a roadblock.

“His acts were clearly heroic,” Paredes said of Patrick, who he added has spent most of his career in Lake County.

Paredes said he was very inspired by the actions of Patrick, a young officer who was so intent on capturing Ashmore that he didn’t actually know the extent of his own injuries.

As for how Patrick is doing, “He’s in good spirits,” said Paredes.

Paredes said Patrick has a good-sized bruise where the slug hit his vest.

“We are actually working on getting him a new vest,” Paredes said.

Patrick is now off of work for a time to rest and recuperate. While he’s physically well, Paredes said he’s concerned about the emotional impacts of such an incident.

Patrick is the first CHP officer in Lake County to be shot in more than two decades.

The last local CHP officer to be wounded in the line of duty was Erich Paarsch Sr., who was shot May 15, 1995.

Paarsch told Lake County News that he had conducted a traffic stop on Highway 29 just outside of Lower Lake on a speeding car whose driver he believed to be under the influence.

When Paarsch was speaking with the driver, the man pulled a stolen handgun out from behind the seat and pointed it at Paarsch’s chest. Paarsch said he grabbed the gun with his hand to push it down and the gun went off.

Paarsch said he suffered a through-and-through wound to the palm of his hand, with no vulnerable bones struck by the bullet.

He and the suspect, Joseph Flores, then exchanged fire before Flores fled the scene in the car. Flores later was captured. Paarsch said he hadn’t been able to take part in the pursuit because one of Flores’ bullets had hit the ignition wire in his patrol car, disabling it.

Paarsch retired after 30 years of service – 17 of them in Lake County – in 1999, and continues to live in Lakeport with wife, Mary. Their son, Erich Jr., is a sergeant with the CHP’s Ukiah office, daughter Erica Coddington is a retired CHP officer and grandson Christian Coddington is a CHP officer working in Indio.

The last time a local CHP officer was seriously assaulted was in October 2012, when Erica Coddington was attacked by an Orange County man, Ronald Ossenberg, who had driven to Lake County in a stolen vehicle.

Coddington found the vehicle parked alongside the road in Lower Lake and stopped to check it when Ossenberg assaulted her. She was helped by a passerby and fatally shot Ossenberg during the confrontation.

In an odd coincidence, the area where Coddington was attacked was a short distance from where her father was shot.

Paarsch said there was a distance of only about a mile and a half between the location of those two incidents involving him and his daughter.

“Isn’t that strange?” he asked.

Paredes said morale in the Clear Lake Area office has remained good in the wake of the shooting.

“We have a real tight squad,” said Paredes.

He said the personnel in the Clear Lake Area office – which has about two dozen officers – are supportive of one another.

Still, the week’s activities have been a sobering reminder of how dangerous the work of law enforcement officers can be.

“It’s always a reminder of the nature of what we do,” Paredes said.

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.
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Alan Leroy Ashmore, 61, of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., has been arrested for a shooting on Monday, October 23, 2017, that killed two people and wounded two others, with the wounded including a California Highway Patrol office. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Clearlake Oaks man who authorities say killed his own father and a friend, wounded a woman and a California Highway Patrol officer and attempted to shoot several others in a Monday rampage made his first appearance in court on Wednesday.

Alan Leroy Ashmore, 61, was arraigned on Wednesday afternoon before Judge Andrew Blum in Lake County Superior Court in Lakeport.

Ashmore is facing 21 felony counts, one misdemeanor charge and 24 special allegations for the shootings and crime spree, which in addition to the two dead and two wounded targeted eight other individuals, according to court documents.

In a rampage in Clearlake Oaks that lasted less than an hour beginning on Monday morning, Ashmore fatally shot his father, 85-year-old Douglas Ashmore, with a handgun in front of the home they shared on Anchor Village in the Clearlake Keys.

He went on to shoot and kill his longtime friend, 64-year-old Richard Eugene Braden, with a shotgun while Braden sat in his vehicle on Anchor Village.

Those who survived the shootings include Cantra Hoeck, who Ashmore shot with a handgun, and CHP Officer Steven Patrick. Ashmore discharged a shotgun an unknown number of times at Patrick, who was involved in the pursuit that eventually resulted in Ashmore’s capture.

One of the shotgun slugs struck Patrick’s bulletproof vest in the area of his abdomen, which helped him escape serious injury, authorities said.

The 11-page complaint the District Attorney’s Office filed against Ashmore ahead of Wednesday’s arraignment said Ashmore had numerous other victims during the day, including Harold Noell, Betsy Cheeks and Rodney Thomas, Brockman Krelss, Bob Higgins, Mauro Lopez and two John Does.

The felony charges include two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, one count of assault with a firearm on a peace officer, four counts of assault with a firearm, two counts of arson, two counts of malicious and willful discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, two counts of negligent discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner at and in a residence, and one count each of burglary, robbery, evading a peace officer, unlawful possession of a short-barreled shotgun, felon in possession of a shotgun and a semiautomatic handgun, and felon in possession of ammunition, and misdemeanor hit and run.

The two counts of arson filed against Ashmore are for having set two small wildland fires – which Cal Fire said totaled less than two and a half acres – on High Valley Road as he attempted to escape from law enforcement.

A key special allegation filed against Ashmore is for multiple homicides, which Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said will make Ashmore eligible for the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole if he is convicted.

The other special allegations are for possession, use and discharge of firearms.

Defendant hears charges, plea entry date set

On Wednesday, Ashmore was seated in the back row of the jury box, wearing a green and white jumpsuit. He appeared wan and largely impassive.

Among those sitting in the audience were Patrick and his commander, Lt. Hector Paredes of the Clear Lake Area CHP Office, along with other law enforcement officers and District Attorney’s Office staffers.

Judge Blum read through all 22 charges and two dozen special allegations in the complaint.

The complaint revealed that Ashmore was convicted of felony burglary in Kings County in 1980 and served a two-year prison sentence. As a result, he was prohibited from possessing the firearms he used in the shootings.

Blum explained to Ashmore his rights and asked if Ashmore understood them. Ashmore answered in a quiet voice that he did.

When Blum asked Ashmore if he wished to be represented by an attorney, Ashmore said yes, and Blum appointed attorney Andrea Sullivan, who along with David Markham administers the county’s indigent defense contract.

District Attorney Don Anderson, who is personally handling Ashmore’s prosecution, asked Blum to keep Ashmore in custody without bail due to the severity of the crimes he’s accused of committing.

Blum agreed to do so, citing the seriousness of the allegations and the need to protect the public.

Sullivan asked for two weeks before Ashmore would be required to enter a plea. In response, Blum set the plea entry for Nov. 7, with Ashmore ordered to appear in court at that time.

After the court appearance, Sullivan told Lake County News that she had anticipated getting the case, for which she said she doesn’t yet have any reports. She said that may change by the Nov. 7 court appearance.

“The DA and I need to discuss how they are going to handle the case,” she said.

While Ashmore has been charged with the special circumstance that could make this a death penalty case, Sullivan pointed out that the county sees special circumstances in its homicide cases all the time.

The California penal code includes numerous special circumstances that can make a person eligible for the death penalty.

In addition to multiple murders, some of the other special circumstances listed in the penal code include murder carried out for financial gain; murdering a peace officer, federal agent, firefighter, prosecutor, judge, government official, juror or witness; murder involving torture; drive-by shootings; murder by a gang member; murder in commission of a felony; and lying in wait.

In Ashmore’s case, “I’m hoping this one can be dealt with in the normal course,” Sullivan said.

Authorities are continuing a complicated investigation, but Anderson told Lake County News that the various agencies involved are working together well and the work is moving along.

While a motive in the case hasn’t so far been revealed, Anderson said that on Monday morning, before the crimes occurred, Ashmore had been using drugs.

Charges against Alan Ashmore

Count one: Murder of Doug Ashmore. Special allegations: Personally and intentionally discharging a firearm, which proximately caused great bodily injury and death to Doug Ashmore; personally and intentionally discharging a firearm; personally using a firearm; personally using a firearm in the commission and attempted commission of murder.

Count two: Murder of Richard Braden. Special allegations: Personally and intentionally discharging a firearm, which proximately caused great bodily injury and death to Richard Braden; personally and intentionally discharging a firearm; personally using a firearm; personally using a firearm in the commission and attempted commission of murder.

Special allegation for multiple murder: The murders of Doug Ashmore and Richard Braden are a special circumstance.

Count three: Attempted murder of CHP Officer Steven Patrick. Special allegations: Personally and intentionally discharging a shotgun, which proximately caused great bodily injury to Patrick; personally and intentionally discharging a shotgun; personally using a shotgun; personally using a shotgun in the commission and attempted commission of the attempted murder.

Count four: Assault with a firearm on a peace officer, Officer Patrick. Special allegation: Use of a firearm.

Count five: Attempted murder of Harold Noell. Special allegations: Personally used a firearm; personally using a firearm in the commission and attempted commission of the attempted murder.

Count six: Assault with a firearm on Harold Noell. Special allegation: Personally used a firearm.

Count seven: Assault with a firearm on Cantra Hoeck. Special allegations: Personally used a firearm; personally inflicted great bodily injury.

Count eight: Burglary of home occupied by Betsy Cheeks and Rodney Thomas. Special allegation: Personally used a firearm, a shotgun.

Count nine: Malicious and willful discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, the home of Cheeks and Thomas.

Count 10: Negligent discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner at and in the residence of Cheeks and Thomas.

Count 11: Malicious and willful discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, the home of Brockman Krelss.

Count 12: Negligent discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner at the residence of Bob Higgins. Special allegation: Personally used a firearm.

Count 13: Assault with a firearm on Mauro Lopez. Special allegation: Personally used a firearm.

Count 14: Robbery of John Doe at Power Mart. Special allegations: Personally used a shotgun; personally used a shotgun in the commission and attempted commission of the robbery.

Count 15: Misdemeanor hit and run.

Count 16: Assault with a firearm on John Doe. Special allegation: Personally used a firearm.

Count 17: Evading a peace officer. Special allegation: Being armed in the commission and attempted commission of evading.

Count 18: Arson to forest land.

Count 19: Arson to forest land.

Count 20: Unlawful possession of a short-barrelled shotgun.

Count 21: Felon in possession of a shotgun and a semiautomatic handgun.

Count 22: Felon in possession of ammunition.

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.
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After more than 15 productive years in orbit, the U.S./German GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite mission has ended science operations.

During their mission, the twin GRACE satellites have provided unprecedented insights into how our planet is changing by tracking the continuous movement of liquid water, ice and the solid Earth.

GRACE made science measurements by precisely measuring the distance between its twin satellites, GRACE-1 and GRACE-2, which required that both spacecraft and their instruments be fully functional.

Following an age-related battery issue on GRACE-2 in September, it became apparent by mid-October that GRACE-2’s remaining battery capacity would not be sufficient to operate its science instruments and telemetry transmitter.

Consequently, the decision was made to decommission the GRACE-2 satellite and end GRACE’s science mission.

GRACE, a mission led by Principal Investigator Byron Tapley at the University of Texas at Austin, launched in March 2002 on a planned five-year mission to precisely map our planet’s ever-changing gravity field.

It has revealed how water, ice and solid Earth mass move on or near Earth’s surface due to Earth’s changing seasons, weather and climate processes, earthquakes and even human activities, such as from the depletion of large aquifers.

It did this by sensing minute changes in the gravitational pull caused by local changes in Earth's mass, which are due mostly to changes in how water is constantly being redistributed around our planet.

“GRACE has provided paradigm-shifting insights into the interactions of our planet’s ocean, atmosphere and solid Earth components,” said Tapley. “It has advanced our understanding of the contribution of polar ice melt to global sea level rise and the amount of atmospheric heat absorbed by the ocean. Recent applications include monitoring and managing global water resources used for consumption, agriculture and industry; and assessing flood and earthquake hazards.”

GRACE used a microwave ranging system to measure the change in distance between the twin satellites to within a fraction of the diameter of a human hair over 137 miles (220 kilometers).

The ranging data were combined with GPS tracking for timing, star trackers for attitude information and an accelerometer to account for non-gravitational effects, such as atmospheric drag and solar radiation.

From these data, scientists calculated the planet’s gravity field monthly and monitored its changes over time.

“GRACE was an excellent example of a research satellite mission that advanced science and also provided near-term societal benefits,” said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Using cutting-edge technology to make exquisitely precise distance measurements, GRACE improved our scientific understanding of our complex home planet, while at the same time providing information – such as measurements related to groundwater, drought and aquifer water storage changes worldwide – that was used in the U.S. and internationally to improve the accuracy of environmental monitoring and forecasts.”

GRACE established that measuring the redistribution of mass around Earth is an essential observation for understanding the Earth system.

GRACE’s monthly maps of regional gravity variations have given scientists new insights into Earth system processes.

Among its innovations, GRACE has monitored the loss of ice mass from Earth’s ice sheets, improved understanding of the processes responsible for sea level rise and ocean circulation, provided insights into where global groundwater resources may be shrinking or growing and where dry soils are contributing to drought, and monitored changes in the solid Earth. Users in more than 100 countries routinely download GRACE data for analyses.

For more on GRACE’s science accomplishments, see https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6777.

“GRACE was a pioneering mission that advanced our understanding across the Earth system -- land, ocean and ice,” said Mike Watkins, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, and the mission’s original project scientist. “The entire mission team was creative and successful in its truly heroic efforts over the last few years, extending the science return of the mission to help minimize the gap between GRACE and its successor mission, GRACE Follow-On, scheduled to launch in early 2018.”

Despite the loss of one of the twin GRACE satellites, the other satellite, GRACE-1, will continue operating through the end of 2017.

“GRACE-1’s remaining fuel will be used to complete previously planned maneuvers to calibrate and characterize its accelerometer to improve the final scientific return and insights from the 15-year GRACE record,” said GRACE Project Scientist Carmen Boening of JPL.

Currently, GRACE-2’s remaining fuel is being expended and the satellite has begun to slowly deorbit. Atmospheric reentry of GRACE-2 is expected sometime in December or January.

Decommissioning and atmospheric reentry of GRACE-1 are expected in early 2018. NASA and the German Space Operations Center will jointly monitor the deorbit and reentry of both satellites.

GRACE Follow-On, a joint NASA/Helmholtz Centre Potsdam German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) mission, will continue GRACE's legacy. It will also test a new laser-ranging interferometer developed by a joint German/U.S. collaboration for use in future generations of gravitational research satellites.

GRACE is a joint NASA/Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR, the German Aerospace Center) mission led by Tapley and Co-principal Investigator Frank Flechtner at GFZ. GRACE ground segment operations are co-funded by GFZ, DLR and the European Space Agency.

JPL manages GRACE for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. GRACE was the first mission launched under NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder program, designed to develop new measurement technologies for studying the Earth system.

For more information on GRACE, visit http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace and http://grace.jpl.nasa.gov.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council got an update last week on the efforts to upgrade the city’s historic Carnegie Library.

At the Oct. 17 meeting, Community Development Director Kevin Ingram gave the council the latest on the project.

The goal is to make the building accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires the addition of a lift, or an elevator, to the building.

Other aspects of the work would include ADA-compliant bathrooms, replacement of the failing upstairs ceiling, lighting upgrades and improvements to the south entry to provide ADA-compliant building access, according to Ingram’s report.

In July, staff had told the council that it had only received one bid for the entire project – and that bid was well over the budgeted amount – so they had gone back out to bid. Staff had asked the council to reject that single bid, which it did, as Lake County News has reported.

Staff then went back out to get more bids, breaking the project down into more pieces, as in its outreach to companies there had been concern about the lift having discouraged bids, Ingram said.

City Engineer Paul Curren identified four firms that had a contract with a national company for installation of its lifts. However, Ingram said they received no bids on the project.

Ingram said city staffers are now reaching out to companies individually to ask about their concerns on the project.

The city has received a Community Development Block Grant 2014 to fund the project, with the deadline upcoming, he said.

As a result, Ingram said the city has filed a request for an extension on the grant and has gotten a verbal response that it should be approved.

“There is work moving forward,” he said.

While the project so far hasn’t gone how the city has wanted it to, Ingram said they want to move forward with working out the issues so they can get the much-needed elevator.

Meanwhile, they’re working on a bid request for the remaining parts of the project, Ingram said.

If the city gets an extension on the Community Development Block Grant funding, Ingram said the city can still finish the project in a timely fashion.

He said there are just a handful of these types of lifts or elevators countywide.

Wilda Shock, who chairs the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee – which has been involved with the studies to upgrade the building – pointed out that the 100th anniversary of the building’s completion is coming up in February 2018.

She said a local contractor had installed a lift at a property owned by the Habematolel Pomo in Upper Lake, encouraging the city to look into that company.

Also on Oct. 17, at the start of the meeting, Clearlake City Manager Greg Folsom and acting Clearlake Police Chief Tim Celli were on hand to offer their personal thanks to city officials for their assistance during the Sulphur fire, which burned 168 structures – all but two of them in Clearlake – and more than 2,200 acres in both Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks.

Folsom, who took over as Clearlake’s city manager two and a half years ago, has seen during his tenure all of the county’s major wildland fires – Rocky, Jerusalem, Valley, Clayton and Sulphur.

“The city of Lakeport has always been there,” he said, adding that he can always count on getting a call from Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira to check on them.

“You guys have really been there for us all the time, as has the county and the sheriff's office,” said Folsom.

He added that it’s important for the local jurisdictions to stick together, and said they are happy to assist if Lakeport ever needs them.

Mayor Stacey Mattina thanked Folsom for his work.

Celli also thanked city staff for their help. He said that at 1 a.m. Monday, Oct. 9, he got the call about the fire and the need to evacuate.

Altogether, there were between 4,000 and 5,000 people evacuated, Celli said. Folsom himself was among the evacuees.

Celli said he called for mutual aid from Lakeport Police and got it, and offered his thanks both as a Clearlake city resident and as acting police chief.

“You're welcome. Our hearts go out to you guys,” Mattina said.

“We have a great partnership with Clearlake,” said Silveira. She said Clearlake has been willing to help Lakeport, with Clearlake Police officers coming to assist when needed.

In other business, the council unanimously adopted a resolution to approve financing by the California Municipal Finance Authority for the Martin Street Apartments Affordable Housing Project, located 1255 Martin St.

The council also authorized the issuance of the 2017 obligations and the corresponding refunding of the prior bonds; approved Silveira entering into a service agreement with Network Innovations Inc. for the purchase and installation of a new phone system and authorize the recommended budget adjustment, and adopted a resolution establishing an ad hoc advisory committee for the selection of the members of its committees and commissions with terms expiring in 2017.

Also during the meeting, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen reported that his department was doing tests on surveillance cameras, and that the police department had recently received 2,000 new subscribers to its Nixle emergency and public information alerts.

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.
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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man died on Tuesday when his vehicle went off Highway 53 and hit a tree.

Lawrence Gene Kerr, 71, was identified by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office as the victim of the crash.

The California Highway Patrol said the crash that claimed Kerr’s life occurred just after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 53 north of Anderson Ranch Parkway in Lower Lake.

The CHP report explained that 48-year-old Juan Ramirez of Clearlake was driving a 1994 Ford pickup northbound on Highway 53, having just turned onto the highway from south of Anderson Marsh.

Kerr was driving his 2009 Toyota northbound behind Ramirez, the CHP said.

For reasons that the CHP said still remain under investigation, the two vehicles ended up side by side, both driving northbound when Kerr lost control of his car and traveled off the east roadway edge.

After Kerr’s vehicle went off the highway it overturned and hit a tree, the CHP said.

Lake County Fire Protection District units that responded pronounced Kerr dead at the scene, based on radio reports.

CHP Officer Kory Reynolds said investigators have several witnesses offering information on the crash.

Melody Hartnett of Middletown told Lake County News that the CHP called her on Wednesday to get her account of the crash.

She said Ramirez pulled out into traffic in the highway’s lefthand lane near Anderson Marsh, immediately in front of Kerr, cutting him off.

She said Kerr hit his brakes to avoid hitting Ramirez’s pickup, adding that she also had to slam on her brakes to avoid a crash.

“I was directly behind them,” she said.

She said Ramirez couldn’t merge to the right because of her car, so he went around Kerr’s car to the left. She said they appeared to be trying to pass each other, both of them in the lefthand lane.

Hartnett said the two vehicles then started hitting each other.

“This all happened in the span of less than 500 feet,” she said.

Hartnett said Kerr appeared to lose control of his car, which went off the right side of the road and started flipping over. It came to rest with the undercarriage of the car against a tree. The pickup stopped a short distance away.

She said she believed she was the first one to dial 911. Once ambulances started showing up at the scene, she said she left.

Hartnett said that, from her vantage point, it appeared to have resulted from a road rage incident.

“It started because of the truck pulling out in front of the car,” Hartnett said.

Ramirez was uninjured, the CHP said.

The CHP said both drivers were wearing their seat belts and driving under the influence is not suspected to have contributed to the wreck.

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.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Haunted Lake County will host its haunted house Halloween event at the Lake County Fairgrounds on Friday, Oct. 27.

The “It's a Surgeon's Story” will take place Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturday October 28th from 5p-11p.m..

The admission cost is a requested cash donation, with proceeds to go toward fire recovery.

Haunted Lake County has expanded this year to the Fairgrounds.

IT’s A Surgeons Story” promises to deliver a quality haunt experience.  Young children should arrive during the first hour of opening as we will keep the scare meter low for that duration. The event is located at the Lake County Fairgrounds.

Visit Haunted Lake County's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/hauntedlakecounty/?fref=ts .

The Lake County Fair is located at 401 Martin St. in Lakeport. 

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As many big game hunting seasons progress into the fall, California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers have a new tool to deter poaching and punish violators for serious poaching crimes.

Legislation sponsored by the wildlife conservation community approved enhancements of penalties for the illegal take of trophy-class animals.

Under Fish and Game Code section 12013.3 penalties are significantly enhanced for any person convicted of poaching deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and wild turkey with certain characteristics that would define them as trophy game animal.

In addition to the legislation that enhanced poaching penalties, the California Fish and Game Commission developed regulations to define those trophy characteristics.

Commissioners worked with the CDFW and several outdoors, conservation and hunting organizations to define the characteristics in California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 14, section 748.6. The legislation and regulation package went into full effect on July 1, 2017.

In summary, “…the punishment for a person who knowingly violated and has been convicted of [take out of season, spotlighting, baiting, waste of meat, or take without a tag]… where the violation involved a trophy… deer, elk, antelope, or bighorn sheep shall be a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), and where the violation involved a wild turkey, a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or both that fine and imprisonment.”

“The first case adjudicated after the trophy law took effect exemplifies the potential benefits this enhancement law could have on wildlife protection,” said David Bess, CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of the Law Enforcement Division.

On July 5, 2017, Garrett Thomas Peacock, 22, of Yuba City, was sentenced to two years’ probation with a restriction from hunting during that time and ordered to pay $5,150 in fines and penalties. The case began months prior when wildlife officers, acting upon an anonymous CalTIP (Californians Turn in Poacher and Polluters), contacted Peacock during a followup investigation.

The investigation revealed that Peacock unlawfully killed a trophy class “buck” deer without permission in an orchard on private property in Maxwell in Colusa County.

Peacock did not possess the required deer tag at the time of the killing. Officers recovered photographic evidence, deer antlers, numerous packages of meat and a deer tag purchased after the fact from Peacock.

“Unlawfully targeting animals for their trophy qualities is an egregious violation,” said Chief Bess. “Under the enhanced penalties of this law, the punishment will more closely match the severity of these types of poaching crimes.”

Anyone with information about unlawful fishing, hunting or pollution is encouraged to contact CalTIP, CDFW’s confidential secret witness program that encourages the public to provide wildlife officers with factual information leading to the arrest of poachers and polluters.

The CalTIP number, 888-334-2258, is printed on the back of every hunting and fishing license. Tips can also be relayed by text to 847411 (tip411).

Text messages allow for a two-way conversation with wildlife officers, while preserving the anonymity of the tipster. Texts should begin with the word “CALTIP,” followed by a space and the message.

There is also an app for smartphones that works similarly. For more information on the program and the CalTIP app, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/enforcement/caltip.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Saturday, Oct. 28, is a nationwide day of volunteering, known as Make A Difference Day.

For the 18th year in a row, here in Lake County, there will be a collection of nonperishable food for our local communities.

The total amount of food collected in the first 17 years is 62,964 pounds.

Several years ago, Lake Transit Authority joined the effort and we turned it into the Stuff-A-Bus event.

They will once again park two buses that will be stuffed with the food collected.

North Coast Opportunities, Community Action and the Lake County Hunger Task Force will be staffing the two collection sites, along with volunteers from the Kelseyville High School Interact club and AmeriCorps, both from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on that Saturday.

One bus will be parked at the Clearlake Grocery Outlet store in Clearlake, and the other at Lakeport Grocery Outlet.

All of the food collected will stay in Lake County.

Local pantries and senior centers are greatly in need of donations to fill their shelves. These pantries operate year round, and are invaluable to their local communities.

This collection will be split evenly between the Live Oak Senior Center, Highlands Senior Center, Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, Catholic Charities Rural Food Project in Kelseyville, Helping Hand, Clear Lake Gleaners, CCHAP, Snake Lady Yvonne Cox, Lake Family Resource Center, One Step Away, Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, United Christian Parish, United Methodist Church Middletown and North Coast Opportunities.

Volunteers will be collecting donations at both Grocery Outlet stores, Bruno's Shop Smart, Marval Sentry, Foods, Etc. and Woodland College harvest festival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. That food will be delivered to the buses that afternoon.

There are barrels out now at several locations to collect food before the actual event. They are located at the Lakeport Library, People Services office and Lakeport thrift store, Community First Bank in Clearlake, Lake County Office of Education, Konocti Christian Academy, Lake County Headstart, Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus in Clearlake, Riviera Foods, Clearlake Grocery Outlet, Lake County Social Services, Mendocino College, Lake Transit office, Lake Family Resource Center, Foods, Etc., Hardester's in Middletown, and Marval Sentry.

If you would like to make a donation and are unable to bring it on Saturday, please take it to one of the above location. Please, no expired or past dated food.

Additional volunteers will be welcome at either site.

Please call Tammy Alakszay at 707-994-4647, Extension 123, or Lorrie Gray at 707-277-9227 to see where you might be best utilized. They are counting on the generosity of local people to once again help each other.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The initial phase of the Sulphur fire cleanup process is under way, as local, state and federal officials prepare to begin the bulk of the work at the start of November.

The Sulphur fire, which began on Oct. 9, destroyed 168 structures, including 136 homes, and 2,207 acres.

The fire began within hours of devastating wildland fires that also ripped through Lake’s neighboring counties, burning around 8,000 buildings and killing 38 people in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.

Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties have more destroyed homes in this month’s wildland fires than Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, combined, had in the recent hurricanes, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency Regional Administrator Robert Fenton.

He said that many homes impacted by the hurricanes have significantly more major and/or minor damage, but are repairable. The key point, he added, is that it takes much longer to build a house than repair it.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the continuation of the declaration of a local health emergency made by Lake County Health Officer Dr. Tait in response to the Sulphur fire.

Tait told Lake County News on Thursday that the goal is to get the cleanup done as quickly as possible.

“We really want to get in and out of there before it gets rainy,” she said.

The county of Lake and the Clearlake City Council are forming an agreement for mutual aid and emergency management so that Lake County Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski – who has overseen cleanups that include the Rocky, Jerusalem, Valley and Clayton fires – can support the city of Clearlake in its portion of the debris removal process. He said that agreement is necessary for the county to be reimbursed.

Ruminski said the county’s health department has always acted as the health department for the city, explaining that only four cities across California have their own health department.

The council approved the contract at its Thursday night meeting.

County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson said the county also will assist the city by handling the collection of insurance reimbursements for debris removal.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or CalOES, reported that the Consolidated Debris Removal Program will be conducted in two phases in California’s fire-impacted counties.

In phase one, which began Monday in Lake County, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control is doing a sweep of household hazardous wastes – which includes includes chemicals that are ignitable, toxic, corrosive and reactive, such as pool chemicals, antifreeze, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, propane tanks, paint, bleach and ammunition – across the impacted properties, officials reported.

Ruminski said the plan is to complete the household hazardous waste sweep by Saturday.

CalRecycle has led the debris cleanup effort in Lake County in previous fires, but this time around it will be handled by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which also will do the work in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties, Ruminski said. CalRecycle instead will focus on Butte, Yuba and Nevada counties.

“This is being operated as a project with seven counties,” Ruminski said.

FEMA and CalOES reported that the second phase of the process, in which properties are cleaned of fire-related debris, is scheduled to begin by Nov. 1 and continue through the fall and winter.

Sean Smith of CalOES said each site usually takes two working days to be cleared, then another two days for testing. The testing results usually have a lag time of one to two weeks.

In 2015, during the Valley fire cleanup, there were 140 debris crews working in Lake County, where nearly 2,000 structures were burned. Smith said 1,152 properties in Lake County were cleared in 88 days.

In this latest effort, he said hundreds of lots across the region will be cleared at the same time, with up to 600 teams of five to seven people each expected to fan out over California’s fire-damaged areas.

He said he believes all of the debris removal will be done by early 2018, although officials are anticipating overwhelming the labs in California and neighboring states that conduct the kind of soils testing that’s part of this process.

Ruminski said property owners also have the option of hiring private contractors to do the cleanup work.

Officials said that the debris removal program only requires that property owners pay the amount their insurance sets aside for debris removal. They have found that the insurance never pays enough toward the process so they don’t expect full reimbursement.

Compared to the damage in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties, Lake has far fewer structures to clean up, Ruminski said.

“Even if they don’t start here first, they want to finish here first,” he said, explaining that the resources assigned here can then be moved to another area.

Ruminski said so far 40 rights-of-entry forms have so far been submitted by property owners wanting to participate in the government-led cleanup. He said 25 of those forms are active, 10 are pending review and director signature, and five others are pending with issues.

Officials are recommending that all fire-impacted property owners sign the right-of-entry forms for the cleanup process.

They said that property owners can always change their mind and hire a private contractor to do the work.

Homeowners in Lake and other impacted counties can find a right-of-entry form online at www.wildfirerecovery.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.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department said it is investigating a rolling gun battle involving two vehicles that had taken place throughout the city and into the unincorporated county late Tuesday.

Sgt. Rodd Joseph said so far one person of interest, 36-year-old Clearlake resident Robert Bradley, has been identified in the case, with more subjects being sought.

At 10:30 p.m. Tuesday Clearlake Police officers responded to a report of a shooting which had just occurred at Flyers gas station, located at 15010 Lakeshore Drive, according to Joseph.

As the first officer was arriving on scene, Joseph said witnesses reported that the two involved vehicles had just fled north on Old Highway 53 from Flyers.

He said witnesses described the vehicles as a brand new white Jeep Cherokee being chased by a gray Ford Taurus.

Joseph said the witnesses on scene also reported that the Jeep Cherokee had either one or two occupants and had fired several shots at a group of four Hispanic male adults who were standing near the parked Taurus.

The rounds appeared to have missed the group and instead stuck the Travelodge building, located several hundred yards south of Flyers at 4775 Old Highway 53, Joseph said.

One of the group of four Hispanic male adults then retrieved an object from the trunk of the Taurus and two of the four males fled in the Taurus, chasing after the Cherokee north on Old Highway 53 at a high rate of speed, Joseph reported.

Joseph said officers left Flyers and began trying to locate the vehicles.

During this time the Clearlake Police Department dispatch center began receiving numerous emergency calls reporting the two vehicles were exchanging gunfire, according to Joseph.

Joseph said Clearlake Police dispatch center also received emergency calls reporting gunfire between the two involved vehicles from the following general areas of the city; the color named streets off of Olympic Drive, the area around the Clearlake Community Senior Center, the area around Pomo School., the 5800 block of Old Highway 53, 18th Avenue and 33rd Avenue.

A short while later Clearlake Police Department dispatch center was notified of a similar call made to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center, placing the vehicles on northbound Highway 29 near Bell Park Avenue in Lower Lake, and that they were still shooting at each other, Joseph said.

Clearlake Police officers began checking the areas where the shots fired calls had been reported between the two vehicles. Joseph said the officers were able to find and collect evidence and speak with witnesses at some of these locations.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, Joseph said a woman called the Clearlake Police Department and stated she was driving the white Jeep which was being sought by law enforcement.

She claimed her vehicle was heavily damaged by gunfire and she had been chased to the area near the Clear Lake State Park in the Kelseyville area of unincorporated Lake County, Joseph said.

Joseph said the woman agreed to return to the Clearlake Police Department to speak with officers.

She later met with investigating officers at the Clearlake Police Department. Her brand new white Jeep Patriot, which resembles a Jeep Cherokee, had extensive gunfire damage to the rear portion of the vehicle, Joseph said.

The woman was interviewed and subsequently released without charges at this time, according to Joseph.

Later in the morning a person of interest in this case, identified as Robert Bradley, was arrested on a parole violation hold. He was later booked into the Lake County Jail, Joseph said.

Joseph said Bradley has not yet been charged with any of the offenses in this crime spree.

This case is still under investigation and some facts of this case are being withheld for investigatory purposes, Joseph said.

He said the Ford Taurus and its two occupants have not yet been identified or located. The Ford Taurus may have gunfire damage to it as well.

It is not believed that anyone was injured in this incident; however, involved suspects are still being sought, Joseph said.

Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact investigating Officer Michael Perreault at 707-994-8251, Extension 519.
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Alan Leroy Ashmore, 61, of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., has been arrested for a shooting on Monday, October 23, 2017, that killed two people and wounded two others, with the wounded including a California Highway Patrol office. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Clearlake Oaks man who on Monday killed two people and wounded two others, including a California Highway Patrol officer, will face charges that will make him eligible for the death penalty, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Alan Leroy Ashmore, 61, was arrested Monday for a shooting rampage that occurred across numerous locations in Clearlake Oaks.

The shootings claimed the life of his 85-year-old father, Douglas Ashmore, as well as his longtime friend, 64-year-old Richard Eugene Braden, and wounded California Highway Patrol Officer Steven Patrick and a 22-year-old Middletown woman whose name has not been released.

Ashmore is expected to make his first appearance in the case in Lake County Superior Court when he’s arraigned on Wednesday, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

Hinchcliff said he is charging Ashmore with two counts of first-degree murder, along with a special allegation of committing multiple murders.

It’s that special allegation that Hinchcliff said will make Ashmore eligible for the death penalty or for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole if he is convicted of the charges.

Ashmore also will be charged with the attempted murder of a peace officer for shooting Officer Patrick, assault with a firearm with great bodily injury for shooting the Middletown woman, arson and burglary, and more minor charges including negligent discharge of a firearm, Hinchcliff said.

Officer Patrick, an 11-year CHP veteran, was involved in the pursuit to capture Ashmore, the CHP said.

The CHP said Patrick was struck in the abdomen but escaped serious injury thanks to his bulletproof vest taking the force of the shotgun slug Ashmore fired at him.

Ashmore’s shooting spree took place at numerous locations in and around Clearlake Oaks, including Anchor Village in the Clearlake Keys and the Chevron gas station. He also robbed the Power Mart gas station and brandished a firearm at an individual at Brassfield Winery.

Ashmore also set two small fires – which Cal Fire Battalion Chief Sean O’Hara said totaled less than two and a half acres – along High Valley Road as he attempted to flee.

On Tuesday, Hinchcliff estimated the number of crime scenes had grown to 11, based on each location around Clearlake Oaks where Ashmore committed the numerous crimes.

Authorities captured him shortly after noon on Monday following a four-mile chase that ended when he encountered a roadblock set up at the intersection of Bartlett Springs Road and High Valley Road, the sheriff’s office said.

On Tuesday, officials with the sheriff’s office and the District Attorney’s Office indicated that the investigation was still in its early stages, with a great deal of work ahead.

Hinchcliff said all of the investigators involved in the case met for a Tuesday briefing.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, a lot of investigation to be done,” said Hinchcliff.

Many different agencies are involved and they’re working well together, he said.

Hinchcliff said that they had accomplished a lot so far, considering the shooting had only happened the previous day.

“Everything has gone really good so far,” he said.

Hinchcliff on Tuesday didn’t yet have reports from the sheriff’s office on the incident. However, he had enough information to begin the process of filing charges against Ashmore, explaining that additional charges could be added as more aspects of the investigation are completed.

He said District Attorney Don Anderson plans to handle prosecuting the case himself.

For a small county, “It’s a big project,” Hinchcliff said of the case. “It’s just going to take a little bit of time.”

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.

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