LAKE COUNTY – In an effort to put more “clear” into Clear Lake, the next step was taken recently to implement a monitoring plan that will improve water quality for the lake's beneficial uses.

On April 3, the State Water Board approved a resolution from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) to amend the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins – which receives water from Clear Lake by way of Cache Creek.

The Federal Clean Water Act requires the CVRWQCB to assign beneficial uses for Clear Lake, which include drinking water, agricultural irrigation, recreation, freshwater habitat, spawning, wilderness habitat and fishing (both commercial and sport).

Clear Lake has been listed as "impaired," meaning the water quality does not meet the standards for the beneficial uses due to nutrients flowing into the lake from tributaries. Those nutrients, in turn, cause algae to bloom at high levels.

With a goal of reducing nutrient flows into the lake by 40 percent, the CVRWQCB initiated a process to determine the total maximum daily load (TMDL) of pollutants and nutrients that Clear Lake can receive and still meet its beneficial uses.

Clear Lake is already undergoing a TMDL for mercury.

After being listed as impaired for nutrients and holding a meeting for stakeholders and the public in Lakeport in January 2006, the next step was to have the State Water Board adopt their proposed amendments to the plan, which they have now done.

The amendment still needs to be approved by the Office of Administrative Law and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Once the amendment and TMDL are fully approved, responsible parties must submit a monitoring and control strategy within one year and comply with load and waste load allocations for phosphorus in Clear Lake within 10 years of approval.

The amendment states that the CVRWQCB will implement phosphorus control practices to achieve load and waste load allocations. They'll do that through waste discharge requirements or waivers of waste discharge requirements.

“Studies indicate that excess phosphorus contributes to the occurrence of nuisance blooms of blue-green algae in Clear Lake during summer and fall periods,” said Lori Webber, a CVRWQCB environmental scientist.

Certain species of algae emit toxins, Webber said in January 2006. “Those species are in the lake, but we don’t know if these species are emitting toxins.”

Many sources of phosphorus

According to the CVRWQCB, most of the excess phosphorus which enters the lake is bound to soil and sediment that comes from roads, agricultural activities (irrigation and fertilizer use), in-stream channel erosion, construction, gravel mining, wildfires and control burns, timber harvesting activities, livestock grazing, off-highway vehicles, dredging and filling, urban and storm water runoff, and sewage and septic overflows.

Most of the stakeholders agree that much has been done in the past several years to mitigate pollution and sediment flows to the lake. In fact, they may have already met the 40 percent reduction – but they won’t know until monitoring occurs. And monitoring is expensive.

“We have one year to develop a plan to monitor,” explained Bob Lossius, assistant director for Lake County Public Works.

“They’re forcing us to do the monitoring,” he said, but are not providing the funds to do so.

“For us,” Lossius said, “it’s a lot of time and a lot of money.”

Just to update the Clear Lake Basin Management Plan, Lossius said, will cost $500,000 and they’re currently doing expensive monitoring for mercury.

The amendment will require an assessment of the monitoring results five years and three months after full approval. That is meant to determine whether the phosphorus load and waste load allocations should continue to be required or if some other control strategy or approach is more appropriate. The TMDL's goals must be achieved within 10 years of implementation.

The CVRWQCB has listed “responsible parties” which will be required to do monitoring and then will be assigned a waste load allocation. They include Caltrans, Lake County Storm Water permittees (Lake County, City of Clearlake, City of Lakeport), the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and irrigated agriculture.

In January 2006, there was concern about where the $50,000 per year would come from for the stream monitoring gauges. Since then, the state is now paying for the operation of gauges on Middle, Scotts and Kelsey Creeks – but that’s only one part of the cost of implementing the TMDL.

The Irrigated Agricultural Lands Conditional Waiver for Irrigation and Stormwater Runoff program that is administered by the Lake County Farm Bureau has been monitoring for the past three years and reporting results to the CVRWQB.

The program requires growers to meet two conditions: They can join a watershed group approved by the CVRWQB or they can sign up with the CVRWQB as an individual.

Homes part of watershed

The Lake County Farm Bureau formed a watershed group for their voting members that includes all land where water would flow into the Sacramento Valley which was approved by the CVRWQB, according to Farm Bureau Executive Director Chuck March.

“We currently have approximately 168 growers with over 13,000 acres enrolled in our program in Lake County,” March said.

Much of this land is interspersed with residential properties that do not irrigate a commercial crop – but may irrigate lawns, gardens or have pastured animals. They would not participate in the waiver program to help pay for the monitoring, but would contribute to the results of any monitoring the program does.

Additionally, March explained that the watershed group has no regulatory power to enforce any practices on growers. “Our program is based upon monitoring and outreach with education,” March said.

It certainly wouldn’t have any enforcement power over lands that contribute to the watershed but aren’t a part of the program.

“We have been monitoring major tributaries for three years now,” March explained. The monitoring requires two toxicity tests, one test in the fall after tributaries begin to flow, and one test during the winter, based upon dormant oil applications, information that comes from pest control advisors and the agricultural commissioner.

A third monitoring event, March explained, is during the late spring before the tributaries go dry and the irrigation season begins.

They test for over 68 pesticides, heavy metals, turbidity and E. coli – with a price tag of more than $6,000 for each test.

“After three years of monitoring, we have shown no exceedances of any of the water quality objectives except for E. coli,” March said. They are currently sampling the E. coli for DNA that can help identify the source – which could include animals, birds or even septic tanks.

“The cost of this program exceeds $30,000, and our watershed membership is assessed to participate in our program,” March said. “Our growers are the only private industry responsible for monitoring the watershed. Currently we feel we are penalized because we irrigate land on a commercial basis.”

The Lake County Farm Bureau has discussed this issue with the Lake County Department of Water Resources, who agrees that it would be impossible to estimate loading from irrigated agricultural land alone – and it should fall under the reporting structure of Lake County.

Everyone agrees that they want to protect Clear Lake for beneficial uses – but where will Lake County and other “responsible parties” get the funds to do the monitoring and mitigation?

“It’s an unfunded mandate,” Lossius said. “With the programs we have in place, we may have already met the goals.”

Perhaps the question of where the funds for the monitoring will come from will be answered by the CVRWQCB when they host a stakeholders meeting on May 16 at the courthouse in Lakeport.

But probably not. Webber said at the last stakeholders meeting that the CVRWQCB didn’t have the funds either.

E-mail Terre Logsdon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKEPORT – Authorities are looking for a woman accused of kidnapping a child from Glenn County last weekend and bringing him to Lakeport.

Meantime, the woman's brother – who may be the child's father – was taken into custody for obstructing an officer and child endangerment.

Tabitha Pasalo, 24, who lives part-time at both Glenn County's Grindstone Rancheria and the Big Valley Rancheria in Lakeport, reportedly took the child Saturday, said Lt. Rich Warren of the Glenn County Sheriff's Office.

Pasalo had gone to visit the child at the Grindstone Rancheria home of his mother, 20-year-old Dahnna Burrows, Warren said. He said the child's paternity hasn't been determined, but that Pasalo's brother, John Michael Pasalo, 22, is believed to possibly be the father.

Burrows left the child at the home with Pasalo for a brief time while she ran errands, Warren said. When Burrows returned home the child and Pasalo were gone.

On Sunday the child was found at John Pasalo's home on Soda Bay Road, said Chief Deputy Russell Perdock of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Pasalo initially agreed to turn the child over, then changed his mind and tried to bolt out the door with the child. Perdock said Pasalo was arrested for child endangerment and resisting an officer because of his attempt to escape.

The child was turned over to Lake County Child Protective Services, who returned him to his mother, said Warren.

As for Tabitha Pasalo, authorities are still looking for her, Perdock and Warren said.

“She has not been arrested at his time, but we are going to be seeking charges against her,” said Warren, adding that those charges will likely include kidnapping.

The case is still under investigation, said Warren, with detectives trying to determine what part John Pasalo may have played in the child's abduction.

If he's found to have been involved, Warren said, he could face conspiracy and kidnapping charges as well.

The Glenn County Sheriff's Office hopes to have the investigation wrapped up by Thursday at the latest, said Warren.

If John Pasalo is charged with conspiracy, Warren said they will request that Pasalo be prosecuted in Glenn County by District Attorney Robert Holzapfel, since that's where the abduction took place. Meantime, the child endangerment charges will be prosecuted in Lake County by District Attorney Jon Hopkins' office.

Warren said Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones and his department were very grateful to Sheriff Rod Mitchell and the Lake County Sheriff's Office for their help on the case.

“Based on their work over there we were able to get this child back very quickly,” Warren said.

John Pasalo was booked into the Lake County Jail and remains in custody on $26,000 bail.

Anyone with information about Tabitha Pasalo is asked to call the Lake County Sheriff's Office, 262-4200.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKE COUNTY – The latest employment numbers released from the state's Employment Development Department are good news for Lake County.

Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department's North Coast Region office in Eureka reported the county's March 2007 unemployment rate was 7.8 percent.

That's well below the February 2007 rate of 8.3 percent and the March 2006 rate of 8.1 percent, said Mullins. The county's 7.8-percent unemployment rate compares to a seasonally unadjusted rate of 5.1 percent for California and 4.5 percent for the nation for the month of March.

March's figures earned Lake County a rank of 36^th place among the state's 58 counties in March for employment, according to Mullins' report.

Colusa had the highest unemployment rate in the state with 16.2 percent, Mullins reported, while Marin and Orange Counties had the lowest at 3.4 percent. Other surrounding county rates included 6.1 percent for Mendocino, and 4.0 percent for Sonoma.

Lake County's civilian workforce equaled 26,530 in March 2007, nearly 400 higher than March 2006, according to Mullins' report.

Total industry employment grew by 190 jobs (1.3 percent) between March 2006 and March 2007, ending the year-over period with 14,610 jobs, Mullins said. That number does not include self-employed individuals, unpaid family workers, household domestic workers or workers on strike.

Mullins reported that year-over job growth occurred in the following categories: farm; natural resources, mining and construction; information; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

Natural resources, mining and construction led industry gainers for the year-over period adding 70 jobs, said Mullins. Leisure and hospitality gained 60; farm and other services each added 50; and information and professional and business services each added 20.

Year-over job losses, according to Mullins, occurred in manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; financial activities; private educational and health services; government.

Trade, transportation and utilities led industry sector decliners for the period shedding 40 jobs for the period, said Mullins. Manufacturing, financial activities, private educational and health services, and government dropped 10 jobs each.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKEPORT – The case of a local veteran facing as many as three years in prison for charges he was in possession of a billy club and stolen body armor ran will continue Monday following a lengthy Friday session.

Derick Hughes, 21, of Upper Lake was in court Friday in the case, which stems from a December 2006 arrest in which a sheriff's deputy found him in possession of the bat and body armor panels during a traffic stop.

Hughes, who served in Iraq, suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), says his attorneys, Stephen and Angela Carter.

The court proceedings ran out of time on Friday, thanks in part to two fire alarms which emptied out the courthouse.

A full account of the case will follow the sentencing.

E-mail John Jensen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKE PILLSBURY – Tuesday proved a busy day for seismicity in Lake County, with a 3.0 earthquake hitting the Lake Pillsbury area within a few hours of a 4.4 quake rocking The Geysers, Anderson Springs and Cobb areas.

The Pillsbury quake was reported at 3:32 p.m., centered eight miles west north west of the lake, at a depth of a 0.1 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.

This is the fifth quake of a magnitude of 3.0 or above to occur in the Lake Pillsbury month alone.

The quakes are occurring along an unnamed fault near Lake Pillsbury, according to US Geological Survey seismologist David Oppenheimer.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Fifty-seven of the 109 local students who will attend four-year colleges and universities gathered Thursday for a special recognition dinner. Photo by Harold La Bonte.

KELSEYVILLE – The educational future of more than 100 Lake County high school students was celebrated at a special event at Kelseyville High School on April 19.

The purpose of the gathering was to honor the graduates who will be moving on to four-year colleges and universities.

Jamey Gill, curriculum specialist with the Lake County Office of Education (LCOE), coordinated the event and acted as the master of ceremonies.

Fifty-seven of the 109 local students who will be attending college or university – along with their parents and other guests – were treated to live music courtesy of Tom Aiken and the Kelseyville High School Jazz Band along with a dinner created and managed by Michelle Malm with help from several Kelseyville High students.

While the majority of students were accepted to Western-area colleges, two are looking to the Eastern seaboard as their home for the next four years.

Cory Gerths of Kelseyville was selected by four schools including Northeastern University in Boston. Kaila Budwell, a senior from Lower Lake High, is looking forward to her architectural studies at the University of Miami in Florida.

Following dinner, District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing delivered the evening's keynote speech.

Rushing admitted to having to rewrite her original address following the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech.

She praised the students as well as the parents who have helped motivate their children. Rushing encouraged the students to “follow the call to leadership in their chosen field” and to “always look ahead, never doubt your ability.”

Rushing, a Stanford University graduate, perhaps gave her most important advice by suggesting that the students “respect yourself, your body, watch what you put into it, respect those around you,” and added that youth doesn’t last forever.

The certificates were presented by representatives from LCOE as well as Yuba College, Mendocino College, UC Davis, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, Sacramento State, DeVry University and the University of California's Office of the President (UCOP).

Closing comments from Angel Max Guerrero, UCOP, echoed those by Rushing. He also encouraged all of the soon-to-be-college students to explore all opportunities, examine every option, travel as much as possible, and do their best to continue to expand every horizon – including learning second and third languages.

LCOE Superintendent Dave Geck was visibly pleased with the event and very proud of the students as well as the entire LCOE staff.

“Being involved in this program and being recognized this way helps inspire them to continue on, removing some of the barriers of self doubt,” Geck said. “We're helping them build confidence, we're helping them really see the potential they have.”

Students and their parents were treated to a dinner and an evening of music and speakers. Photo by Harold La Bonte.

Supervisor Denise Rushing gives the evening's keynote address. Photo by Harold La Bonte.

Jacqueline Wilson of Lower Lake listens to Supervisor Denise Rushing's keynote address. Wilson will study nursing at St. Mary's in Moraga. Photo by Harold La Bonte.

The Kelseyville High Jazz Band was part of the night's entertainment. Photo by Harold La Bonte.

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In February, the company applied for a user permit to build a new, two-story office building and a single-story plant along the lakeshore in Lucerne.

But the company has withdrawn the request for that permit. Gay Guidotti, interim customer service representative for Lucerne, said California Water Service has trimmed its budget for plant construction, which was confirmed by county Assistant Planner Terri Persons.

“They're not going to make any changes at all to the building,” said Persons. “It's mainly a cost issue.”

A scheduled April 26 Lake County Planning Commission hearing on a use permit for a two-story office addition at the plant was canceled, Guidotti said.

She added that the company has decided to retrofit its existing one-story office structure. County sources said the decision will save about $1 million of estimated $4 million plant costs, which will be paid for by a loan from California's State Revolving Fund, and repaid by Lucerne's ratepayers.

Persons said the company is planning at this point to focus on improvement its water treatment facility, which shares the same building. That will include work on a pipe pier into the lake, which does require a lakebed encroachment permit, she added.

Cal Water is seeking funding through the state Department of Health Services, said Persons, so an environmental review must be conducted.

The work going on at the plant site is just maintenance right now, said Persons.

If the company did actually remodel the building, Persons confirmed that they would need permits.

Tony Carrasco, Calwater's Oroville district manager, has been helping run the local office during the last few months in the wake of district manager Bill Koehler's leaving.

Carrasco said the company is right now finishing up its permit applications for the pier work.

Cal Water came up against some design issues with the treatment plant, Carrasco said, with some of the problems including the amount of available parking.

He said Cal Water is trying to “diligently keep costs down” while meeting water quality standards, which led to the decision to scale back the plans.

“We felt that we could do the customer service center at a different time,” he said.

Carrasco added, “Water quality is our biggest concern.”

The current building includes a customer service center, with an operations center and a lab for the treatment plant.

The plant, at the back of the property, is where the company plans to do the majority of its work, said Carrasco. “That's where we're going to be upgrading all of our equipment for water treatment,” he said.

Those improvements, he said, will meet or exceed water quality requirements expected to be raised through 2012.

Carrasco confirmed that Cal Water has applied for a low- or no-interest loan through the Department of Health Services, who the company met with on Tuesday to discuss a use permit.

He said the company is making an effort to save its customers money by changing the plans and instead focusing more on water quality.

The initial timeline set for the original project included a June 2008 completion date, he said. The new plans should come in well ahead of that schedule, he said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.

LAKE COUNTY – A sizable earthquake followed by smaller temblors hit The Geysers area this afternoon.

The US Geological Survey reported a 4.4 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 1.1 miles occurred at 2:08 p.m.

The quake, which could reportedly be felt from Middletown to Hopland, was centered one mile east southeast of The Geysers, five miles southwest of Cobb and six miles from Anderson Springs, according to the US Geological Survey.

Anderson Springs resident Meriel Medrano said she was on her back deck when the quake occurred.

“It lasted about six seconds,” she said. “It was a pretty long one.”

She said the quake “rolled heavily” for a few seconds, let up a little, then started rolling again.

Another Anderson Springs resident, John Engels, was at work at his office in downtown Middletown when he felt the quake.

“It shook pretty good,” he said, but not enough to knock anything off the walls.

When he got home to Anderson Springs nothing was damaged, Engels added.

Medrano said they're used to having lots of smaller quakes in that area, but larger quakes haven't occurred in a while.

Because of the shallower depth, Medrano believes the quake was a result of the area's geothermal production and injection.

Medrano said she didn't feel the three small quakes that followed within a few minutes of the 4.4 shaker.

A series of eight smaller quakes, the largest a 2.5, followed the 4.4 quake during the afternoon.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKE PILLSBURY – Earthquake activity has continued at Lake Pillsbury, with another sizable quake hitting the area Sunday afternoon.

The US Geological Survey reported that a 3.1 magnitude quake, with its epicenter located 9 miles west northwest of Lake Pillsbury, was recorded at 1:10 p.m. Sunday.

It was preceded by a 2.0 quake in the same location at 10:34 a.m. A microearthquake measuring 1.5 hit at 10:49 p.m. about a mile away from the earlier quakes.

Quakes have been recorded in that same area for the last several weeks, with a sizable 4.8 quake hitting early Wednesday, followed later that day by a 3.3 magnitude quake.

US Geological Survey seismologist David Oppenheimer said last week that the fault along which the quakes have been occurring has not been named by scientists, and not much is known about it. He added, however, that it isn't thought to be a large fault capable of larger quakes.

In recent weeks, however, activity has measurably increased, according to US Geological Survey records. While seismic activity is a daily occurrence in the Cobb, Anderson Springs and Geysers areas, Lake Pillsbury rarely showed up on daily seismic charts until earlier this month.

Nearly 70 earthquakes have been recorded in the same area west northwest of Lake Pillsbury in the last week alone.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKEPORT – The case of a young Iraq war veteran making its way through the local courts raises questions about the aftermath of war and how brain injuries may lead to potentially criminal activities in civilian life.

Derick Hughes, 21, of Upper Lake is facing a felony charge of possession of stolen property and a misdemeanor charge of possessing a billy club.

His defense attorneys, Stephen and Angela Carter, have taken the unusual step of speaking publicly about Hughes' case before his sentencing.

The Carters say the circumstances of Hughes' case warrant a deeper consideration of how to deal with people accused of nonviolent criminal charges. As well, they say the case illustrates a looming problem – young vets with brain injuries who may end up in the criminal system.

District Attorney Jon Hopkins would not comment on the case's specifics. “I don't think we can take a final position on the sentencing of Mr. Hughes until the end of the sentencing hearing,” he said.

Hughes was stopped on Dec. 15, 2006, in Nice by Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Andrews. Court documents report that Andrews found Hughes in possession of a bat – classified as a billy club – and two ballistic panels used by the Marines for body army, as well as concentrated cannabis.

Andrews called the Marine post at Twentynine Palms in Southern California where he spoke with the officer of the day, Angela Carter reported. When the officer told Andrews that Hughes should not have the panels, and that they were Marine property, Hughes was charged with possession of stolen property.

Court documents state that Hughes was cooperative with law enforcement officials and admitted occasional drug use.

The Carters say that their defendant's case is colored by his service in the military and his time spent in Iraq, where he saw some of the war's fiercest fighting, and which has left him affected with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“To me, what's different about this case is his service in Iraq,” said Angela Carter.

Carter said Hughes was raised in Lake County by his grandmother – who died last year – and his aunt. His mother admitted to drug use while pregnant with him.

Hughes enlisted in the Marines because he was drawn by the idea of travel and regular pay, according to court documents. Hughes attended boot camp at Camp Pendleton, completed the School of Infantry and was assigned to Twentynine Palms.

Deployment anxiety

When he found out he was being sent to Iraq, Hughes began smoking marijuana out of anxiety and failed a urine test, Carter said. However, the Marines still sent him to Iraq.

Carter said Hughes has admitted he should not have had the ballistic panels. She said he had them because of fear and the belief that he needed to protect himself.

“He's facing this,” said Carter. “He's not making any attempt to deny what happened.”

While in Iraq, Hughes said he “had to kill various people,” according to court documents. On Dec. 1, 2005, he was involved in the fighting in Fallujah, were 10 of his platoon members were killed by a roadside bomb explosion during a promotion ceremony. An additional 13 platoon members were wounded. A platoon is typically 30 to 50 soldiers.

The incident in Fallujah is the event that triggered Hughes' PTSD, according to Dr. Albert Kastl, the clinical and forensic neuropsychologist the Carters brought in to evaluate Hughes.

Hughes would suffer a dislocated shoulder during his service. When he was sent back stateside, Carter said Hughes suffered severe nightmares. To avoid sleeping, he took methamphetamines. When he once again tested positive for drugs, he was discharged without medical care for his shoulder or counseling, Carter said.

Angela Carter said Hughes has no criminal background, yet is being charged with a felony that could earn him as many as three years in state prison.

After Hughes' initial arrest, he was released on his own recognizance, said Carter. However, she said he became confused about his appointment with the Probation Department and missed it. When he next came to court for a hearing, the judge had him remanded into custody, where Carter said he has remained for nearly two months.

Hughes was due in court for sentencing April 20, but the sentencing was continued until this Friday because Judge Richard Martin was out of town and unavailable to hear the case, Angela Carter said.

Carter said the Probation Department recommended Hughes be sentenced to 280 days in county jail rather than prison.

However, the Carters are asking Martin to consider reducing Hughes' felony charge to a misdemeanor. In their legal argument, the Carters assert that the charge could be construed as a “wobbler,” a charge which could be either a felony or a misdemeanor.

It's a motion the Carters say the District Attorney's Office is opposing.

“I, for the life of me, can't figure out why they want a felony on this guy,” said Carter.

She said individuals are normally charged on felonies based on two things: the value of the property and previous criminal behavior.

Carter said she doesn't know how much the value of the materials, but she said Hughes has no criminal history.

“Clear case” of PTSD

Dr. Kastl, himself a vet, said Carter, believes that Hughes' is a “clear case” of PTSD, and that he would

benefit greatly from treatment. Kastl, she said, found Hughes personable and outgoing.

Kastl will testify about his findings in the case at Hughes' sentencing this week, Carter said.

It's unusual to put experts on the stand at sentencing unless it's a much larger case, like a homicide, said Carter.

“We want to make sure that we really get our points across,” Carter said. “We want Derick to explain what he went through in Iraq.”

Young vets coming home struggle with transitions

Bob Penny, the assistant service officer at the Lake County Veterans Services Office, said his office is seeing many young vets coming home from war seeking various kinds of help, including counseling. Right now, he said, he's working with 12 young vets locally.

There are many young Lake County natives service in Iraq and Afghanistan right now, Penny said, referring to the Wall of Honor featuring local servicemen and women in the courthouse in Lakeport.

Those returning vets are having problems adjusting to civilian life, said Penny, especially if they've served more than one tour of duty. “That takes a toll on you psychologically,” he said.

Because of the difficulty in adjusting, Penny said, young vets have more of a propensity for getting into trouble. He said the state legislature passed a law last year to try to address that issue and keep them out of the courts.

When they leave active service, Penny said, veterans aren't getting “nearly enough” counseling and help, a responsibility that has been handed over to the Veterans Administration.

A Government Accountability Office report from last year showed that the Veterans Administration budget was flawed, and that the agency had no plan for treating veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Studying the war's impact

Whether a person does or doesn't agree with the Carters' arguments in Hughes' defense, the issue of a growing number of young vets returning to U.S. shores with PTSD is a looming social issue.

A report released last August says the numbers of vets suffering from PTSD, which is considered a brain injury, is growing dramatically.

Last year, the Veterans Health Administration's Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards studied Veterans Administration services sought by veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Of the 588,923 veterans who had left active duty at that time, 31 percent – or 184,524 – had sought VA health care since 2002.

Of those vets, an estimated 63,767 were diagnosed with possible mental disorders, which include PTSD by definition.

And, finally, 29,041 of those vets were diagnosed with PTSD specifically, with more than 20,095 others diagnosed with depressive disorders; 10,573 with affective psychoses; 4,566 with alcohol dependence; 2,020 with drug dependence; and 2,004 with “acute reaction to stress.”

The Veterans Health Administration Web site features a paper by Brett T. Litz of the National Center for PTSD called “A Brief Primer on the Mental Health Impact of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

“The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are the most sustained combat operations since the Vietnam War, and initial signs imply that these ongoing wars are likely to produce a new generation of veterans with chronic mental health problems associated with participation in combat,” writes Litz.

Litz cites a 2004 study that examined the mental health impact of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and found that the risk of PTSD for the Iraq War was 18 percent – a rate he called “alarmingly high” – versus 11 percent for service in Afghanistan.

In fact, that 18 percent rate of PTSD among vets who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq is three percent higher than the estimated prevalence among Vietnam veterans, according to the 1988 National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study.

“Many studies indicate that more frequent and more intense involvement in combat operations increases the risk of developing chronic PTSD and associated mental health problems,” Litz wrote. “Initial evidence indicates that combat operations in Iraq are very intense.”

Litz said the study notes that PTSD rates will decrease over time unless “the mission is experienced as a failure, if soldiers deploy more than once, if new veterans who need services do not get the support they need, or if post-deployment demands and stressors mount, the lasting mental health toll of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq may increase over time.”

Young veterans coming home also appear reluctant to ask for help, according to Litz. Of the 80 percent of soldiers who acknowledged they had a mental health problem, only 40 percent were open to receiving help and 26 percent reported receiving formal mental health care, due to the fear of stigma and its possible effects on their careers.

How will the system deal with young veterans?

There are no hard numbers yet for young veterans who become subject to criminal prosecution.

Although Hopkins would not comment on Hughes' case, he said that, generally, his office would deal with such individuals “on a case by case basis.”

“There are some war vets who present a danger to the community, and some who just need some help,” he said. “Most of those who need help and have committed a crime should be on supervised probation to get the maximum benefit we can offer. There are some who do not need the supervised probation, of course, and we find other ways to assure they will not repeat their crimes.”

Hopkins added, “The crucial issue, in the final analysis, is to determine what needs to be done to protect the community. How a person got to where they are committing crimes can be different when dealing with a war veteran, and that is taken into consideration, but we make the same determination for the resolution of the case as with anyone else. There are often more services available for veterans, and those are utilized as much as possible.”

For her part, Carter said she believes the case will test the idea of “supporting the troops” beyond just their service in war, but after they return home.

Derick Hughes will be in Lake County Superior Court in Lakeport at 9 a.m. Friday, April 27.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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CLEARLAKE OAKS – An Arcata man whose pickup went off the highway and into the lake Saturday night died of his injuries.

The 55-year-old man's name has not yet been released by California Highway Patrol.

CHP reported the man was driving his 1986 Toyota pickup southbound on Highway 20 west of Henderson Drive at Clearlake Oaks at 10:20 p.m. Saturday when the accident occurred.

The man was driving at an unknown rate of speed, and the highway was wet due to rain, the CHP reported.

For reasons that aren't known, the man lost control of his vehicle, crossed the eastbound lane of traffic and went down the embankment south of the roadway, according to the CHP. The pickup rolled over and ended up on its roof, partially submerged in the lake.

The driver was trapped in the pickup and rescuers had to use the Jaws of Life to extract him, CHP reported.

Rescuers transported the man to Redbud Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The CHP reported the man was not wearing his safety belt.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Volunteers worked along Soda Bay Road Saturday before the rains arrived. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

THE BLACK FOREST – Several dozen volunteers came out on Saturday morning to help clear cut brush and make the Black Forest safer before the coming fire season.

The Earth Day project at the Black Forest, which Buckingham resident Joel Witherell led the charge in organizing, resulted in an estimated 25 cords of fire hazard material being cleared and chipped, Witherell estimated Sunday.

Cal Fire (formerly known as CDF) crews had begun cutting the brush and fallen trees early last week in preparation for the weekend volunteer effort. Carle High School students worked during the week to drag the cut materials to the roadside. Volunteers then put the materials through the chippers, which Witherell said worked a total of 10 hours over both Friday and Saturday.

Witherell estimated it will take a 15-person Cal Fire crew to finish the chipping of materials still located along a portion of Soda Bay Road.

He reported that Cal Fire Captain Todd Nelson said the work has helped created "defensible space needed by fire agencies," and that the work that the volunteers did “gives fire personnel a chance to extinguish a fire before it gets out of hand.”

“I think we had nine chain saws going all morning,” Witherell said of Saturday morning's effort.

About 130 different people worked throughout the week on the project, he added. County staff assisted in providing signs and permits for road closure, Jeff Rein of the administrative office pulled together the money to pay for the chipping, Kelseyville Fire's Howard Strickler and Brian Burnham kept an ambulance on hand in case of injuries to volunteers.

Carle High School Principal Bill MacDougall and his students worked on the project for two days, said Witherell. Teachers Tami Kramer of Kelseyville High and Oscar Dominguez of Clear Lake High also brought students Saturday. Even the Brownies came to help work – and play – in the forest.

Others who were important in the effort included Adam Nichols of Nichols Tree Service, Jack Pauling of Paulin Family Tree Service, and Dave Mostin and his crew, which worked for two days. Bob Braito worked on Saturday clearing brush off Soda Bay Road, said Witherell.

The county's deputy redevelopment director, Eric Seely, spent hours in the forest with a 42-inch chain saw, cutting up dead trees. County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox was a steady force during the day, working tirelessly to load brush into the chippers.

Witherell thanked Karen MacDougall and Phyllis Clement for working at the registration table; Helen Finch and Victoria Brandon; Steve Devoto, who worked at a chipper Saturday and helped handle the original escrow papers that saved the forest from logging several years ago; Neil Towne, Sandy Moura and others who did trash pickup for miles; the Big Valley Lion Club members who directed parking; Don Fehr, another Big Valley Lion, who provided 15 pizzas for the celebration lunch; Wayne Scott; Jodelle Scott; Kevin, Karen and Frank Bradley; and Kris Perkins.

He also recognized Julie Berry of the Buckingham Homes Association, who he called an “amazing support” during the six months of planning the event, as well as working at the registration table during the morning and organizing the lunch for volunteers at the association's clubhouse.

Witherell, who has spent months organizing the event, had the support of his entire family in the project, including wife Virginia, and his sons and daughters.

On Sunday, Witherell said the difference in the forest was strikingly apparent in the wake of so much brush and debris being cleared out.

“The deer are grazing in the background and have quickly recovered from the chain saw activity yesterday,” he said. “The cars are slowing down and looking into the forest. The huge rocks with bright green moss shimmering in the sun. One family that worked yesterday said they wanted to bring their Girl Scout Troop back and have a picnic in the Forest. They had no idea what was behind the brush along the road.”

He added, “There was an amazing community spirit in Lake County for the Earth Day-Black Forest project.” 

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Event organizer Joel Witherell takes a break for lunch Saturday. Courtesy photo.

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