Juan Estrada Gomez, 30, of Redwood City; Eduardo Yepis Casillas, 34, of San Mateo; Jose Manuel Hernandez, 21, of Redwood City; Jose Hernandez Bustos, 55, of Redwood City; and Cesar Vidal Martinez, 38, of Hayward were convicted of poaching, according to a report from Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

On Sept. 17, Department of Fish and Game Warden Patrick Freeling was patrolling in the area of the State Game Refuge north of Lake Pillsbury when he noticed two vehicles parked at the boundary of the Refuge near Broadman Ridge, Hinchcliff reported.

The refuge has signs posted at all entrances warning that it is illegal to possess firearms or hunt in the refuge, according to the report.

Upon further investigation Freeling found five individuals walking out of the refuge with hunting rifles, Hinchcliff said. When Freeling contacted them, all five men admitted they were deer hunting.

The case was referred to Hinchcliff for prosecution, and all five men were charged with illegal hunting and possession of firearms in a game refuge, in violation of Fish and Game Code section 10500.

Hinchcliff said that on Tuesday all five men pleaded no contest to possession of firearms in the refuge.

Judge Andrew Blum sentenced each of the men to three years' probation, revoked their hunting privileges for three years and ordered each to pay a fine of $1,915, Hinchcliff said.

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Pfc. Steven F. Shapiro, 29, of Hidden Valley Lake, died on Friday, Oct. 21, in Tallil, Iraq, according to a Tuesday report from the Department of Defense.

Shapiro was supporting Operation New Dawn in Iraq, the Department of Defense said.

According to the Tuesday statement, Shapiro was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Details about the circumstances leading to Shapiro's death were not immediately available on Tuesday morning from Fort Hood.

However, a Fort Hood official said more information would be available later in the day.

Shapiro's death occurred on the same day that President Obama announced that the remaining US troops in Iraq would be coming home by year's end.

Lake County News will post additional information as soon as it becomes available.

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The agreement gives water export agencies south of the Delta and in Southern California unprecedented influence over an important public process concerning California’s precious fresh water supplies, according to a Monday report.

Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) and U.S. Reps. George Miller (CA-7), Doris Matsui (CA-5), Jerry McNerney (CA-11) and John Garamendi (CA-10) wrote on Monday to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking that the recent agreement between the department and water agencies be rescinded and that the process be opened up to include other key stakeholders left out of the discussions, including Bay Area, Delta and coastal communities, farmers, businesses and fishermen.

“The Department of Interior should immediately take the necessary steps to repair this imbalanced and unfair agreement and I am confident that after reviewing the facts put forward in the letter that they will do just that,” said Thompson. “I am committed to making sure terms are reached where the Bay-Delta is restored and the needs of local communities are protected, and that is why I will keep working with Interior and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Management Committee to come up with a fair and balanced path forward.”

The lawmakers recently held a series of meetings with Interior Department and California officials to express their concerns about the memorandum of agreement that the department signed with water export agencies, an agreement that was developed and signed without input from Bay-Delta stakeholders.

The department had previously told the lawmakers to expect an answer to their inquiries early last week, but failed to meet that deadline.

Monday’s letter from the lawmakers requests a written response from Secretary Salazar by the beginning of next week.

The members wrote that the process as it currently stands has established an unrealistic timeline for the completion of the plan, and that it raises expectations of favorable outcomes for the water agencies that signed it.

The full text of the letter is below.

October 24, 2011

The Hon. Kenneth Salazar

Secretary, Department of the Interior

1849 C Street, N.W.

Washington DC 20240

Dear Secretary Salazar:

We are writing to follow up our recent meetings with Interior officials and other participants in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and to express our strong objections to the current direction of that plan.

The constituents we represent have a great deal at stake in the future of the BDCP process and ultimate plan. Delta, Bay Area and coastal communities, residents of the floodplain, farmers, businesses, fishermen, and the rest of our constituents could be profoundly affected by the BDCP. But to date, the BDCP planning process has failed to treat these affected groups in a fair and transparent manner, and we do not believe that the emerging plan is reflecting Bay-Delta constituencies’ concerns and interests.

Specifically, it does not appear that the federal government is taking seriously the goal of restoring endangered salmon or that it intends to operate the Central Valley Project to meet the statutory mandate to protect, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and associated habitats. Furthermore, we cannot accept proposals – including ones under consideration by the BDCP – that would harm Delta communities and the regional economy by eroding water quality for drinking and agriculture.

This is a critical moment, and we urge you to take concrete corrective actions now so that the BDCP process can succeed. Your Department recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with certain state and federal water export agencies that excluded other stakeholders. That agreement offers the signatories unprecedented influence over the process, and it raises expectations of favorable outcomes. While we appreciate your outreach to the Delta counties and to the environmental NGOs since the signing of the agreement, the existence of this unfair agreement continues to taint the process and must be withdrawn. At a minimum, we believe that Interior should retract its approval of the MOA and allow for a public comment period of 45 days.

The MOA creates a number of serious problems. For example, this agreement binds BDCP participants to an unrealistic timeline that has the serious potential to rush the many important decisions that have thus far been put off, avoid a full consideration of alternatives, and undermine the much-needed scientific analyses that remain to be done – analyses that many of the agreement’s signatories have resisted.

In addition, the MOA describes long-term guarantees of certainty to federal water contractors as “an essential element of a successful BDCP.” This is an unreasonable standard to establish, especially as no equivalent assertions have been offered to any other BDCP participants. We are additionally concerned that establishing certainty for the contractors as an “essential element” of the BDCP is in conflict with the many other federal responsibilities in play in the BDCP, such as doubling the populations of salmon and other anadromous fish as required by law, providing necessary water for wildlife refuges, preserving water quality and availability for Delta agriculture, and meeting the needs of other water users.

The agreement further establishes an unequal process going forward: the MOA invites the water export contractors to collaborate with the federal agencies on the responses to public comments, allows the water export contractors early and exclusive access to draft consultant work product, and gives the water export contractors direct control over the consultants who are writing the documents. California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office recently testified before the State Assembly about additional provisions of this document that “may be seen as favorable to the contractors,” including the fact that a public NEPA document may not be issued without explicit authorization from the water export contractors. This raises very serious questions about whose process this is, ultimately; if the water export contractors’ funding has given them control over the process, it would be to the detriment of the Bay-Delta and to the public interest.

The above concerns — along with the many others we have raised in our recent meetings — share several worrying traits. These are positions sought by the same handful of state and federal water contractors that have long dominated the BDCP process. They have the potential to harm the Bay-Delta, fishing communities, local farmers, and our constituents more broadly. They compromise Interior’s ability to exercise its mandates to restore the Bay-Delta ecosystem and California’s fisheries, and to consider the interests of all stakeholder groups. And they were developed in closed-door negotiations with the water export contractors that excluded all other interests.

Because we have not yet received a response to our request, we reiterate it here: Interior should immediately rescind this flawed MOA and work instead to establish a successful BDCP process that is transparent and based on parity, and that genuinely puts the restoration of the Bay-Delta and its fisheries, the needs of local communities, and the quality of local water resources on par with other water supply goals. That includes:

• Ensuring that all stakeholder involvement is fair, equal and transparent: all stakeholder groups should have equal access to BDCP draft documents and consultant products and equal ability to provide direction to BDCP consultants, and meetings involving the export contractors, state and federal agencies and the BDCP consultants should be open to all stakeholders.

• Establishing a realistic timeline that allows sufficient time to address the serious unanswered questions remaining before the BDCP, conduct the appropriate scientific reviews including of all alternatives, and comply with NEPA and other relevant statutes.

• Genuinely committing to the co-equal goals: any “certainty” under consideration for the water export contractors must be matched by equal, specific, and certain commitments to restoring the Bay-Delta to health as required by state and federal law.

• Maintaining state and federal agencies’ ability to implement other statutory mandates including, but not limited to, the CVPIA’s anadromous fish restoration program (including B2 water, the Restoration Fund, and other activities), the refuge water supply program, Trinity River restoration, and the requirement that beneficiaries must pay for the mitigation of any project.

• Ensuring that any final BDCP preserves water quality and water availability for farmers, families, and businesses in the Bay-Delta area, and preserves flood protection for communities in the region.

We are disappointed that we find ourselves in the present situation, and that the interests of our constituents are still facing these hurdles at this stage of the BDCP process. The public interest and the stewardship of the Department require that transparency and equal participation must be reestablished for all stakeholders in the BDCP as soon as possible. To that end, we reiterate our request for corrective action as to this MOA, and as you consider the Department’s next steps regarding the BDCP, we seek your commitment that you provide us with advance notice when making determinations that would affect our constituents.

For all of the reasons detailed above, we request a written response to this request by October 31.

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John Mark Sharp had some minor injuries to his head and ankle at the end of his ordeal, but was otherwise unharmed, according to a Tuesday report from Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Friday, Oct. 21, at approximately 7:15 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the Harbin Hot Springs area of Middletown to investigate a report of a man yelling for help from somewhere in the surrounding wilderness northeast of the resort, Bauman said.

Bauman said a Harbin Hot Springs employee had reportedly searched for the man, but then aborted his search due to darkness and called the sheriff’s office.

While deputies began searching the area on foot, the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue coordinator began calling in resources for a Search and Rescue mission. Bauman said man trackers, K-Corps members, and four-wheel drive teams were summoned to the area and a California Highway Patrol helicopter with night vision equipment was requested to respond.

While Search and Rescue resources were responding to the area, a Cal Fire battalion chief who had been monitoring radio traffic responded to assist the deputies with a preliminary ground search, Bauman said.

For several hours, deputies and the Cal Fire battalion chief could hear the man yelling from the wilderness intermittently as they tried to pinpoint his location, Bauman said. At approximately 10:30 p.m., a CHP helicopter out of Napa arrived in the area and conducted a 40 minute aerial search but then had to return to base for fuel.

Shortly before midnight, a sheriff’s patrol sergeant encountered two men in a vehicle on Big Canyon Road who stated they were looking for their friend, according to Bauman's report.

Bauman said the two had reportedly ventured into the wilderness with Sharp earlier in the day, but had lost track of Sharp some time after 2 p.m. They left the area in the afternoon thinking Sharp had gotten a ride home, but after several hours had passed and Sharp had not returned home, they decided to return to the area and look for him.

Shortly before 11 p.m. Search and Rescue volunteers formed five search teams and a four-wheel drive unit and were deployed into the search area. Nearly two hours later, the Cal Fire battalion chief located Sharp, Bauman said.

Sharp was dehydrated and appeared to have sustained some head trauma due to a fall, Bauman said. While a Cal Fire engine crew and medic were able to reach the two, Sharp could not immediately be extricated from the area due to the terrain.

Air support to lift Sharp from the area was determined to be unavailable until daylight. Two fire crews from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Konocti Conservation Camp in Lower Lake were then dispatched to the area to clear an egress route for the missing man and his rescuers, according to Bauman.

At approximately 5:15 a.m., Sharp was successfully extricated from the wilderness by Cal Fire. Bauman said Sharp had sustained minor trauma to his head and ankle due to falling down an embankment, but was otherwise unharmed.

Sharp corroborated his friends’ earlier account for getting lost, telling officials he had gotten separated from his friends, and then became lost trying to find them. Bauman said Sharp was transported by ground ambulance to the St. Helena Hospital Clearlake for further treatment of his injuries.

Sheriff Frank Rivero commended his deputies, his Search and Rescue coordinator, and all Search and Rescue volunteers and K-Corps members for their response and successful conclusion of another search and rescue operation.

The sheriff also thanked the supporting agencies that responded to assist with the rescue, including Cal Fire, CHP and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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Caltrans converted the intersection of Hartmann Road and Highway 29 near Middletown, Calif., to a three-way stop on Monday, October 24, 2011, in an effort to reduce traffic collisions. Photo by Derek Pell.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Changes are under way for south Lake County roadways.

On Monday, Caltrans converted the intersection of Highway 29 and Hartmann Road to a three-way stop in an effort to reduce the high number of collisions seen there in recent years.

While some area residents have advocated for a stoplight rather than stop signs, Ralph Martinelli, chief of the traffic safety office for Caltrans' District 1, told Lake County News on Monday that Caltrans believe stop signs are the most effective tool for reducing collisions at the intersection.

He said the intersection's design – which includes a large curve – isn't ideal for a stoplight, which wouldn't necessarily reduce the kinds of broadside collisions that have occurred there.

The goal also is to make drivers slow down, he said, which the stop signs do. In some cases, lights can lead to drivers speeding up as they attempt to anticipate light changes.

The intersection changes also include flashing beacons and signage to draw drivers' attention to the new stops, Martinelli said.

When such changes are implemented, Martinelli said it usually takes a few weeks for the community to become adapted to the changes. He said Caltrans will have portable, changeable message boards in the area to help remind drivers of the new signage.

Readers posting on Lake County News' Facebook page Monday afternoon reported delays as the intersection was converted to the three-way stop.

The California Highway Patrol reported a noninjury collision took place at the intersection at about 9:20 p.m. Monday.

Also on Monday, Caltrans said a paving project on various sections of Highway 29 and Highway 175 in Lake and Mendocino counties is on schedule.

The agency said final striping and other minor work on Highway 29 from Spruce Grove Road to

the Lake-Napa County line will be completed on Friday, Oct. 28.

Work on Highway 175 is now taking place between Middletown and Kelseyville. The next phase will take place on Highway 175 between Hopland and Lakeport, Caltrans said.

The Highway 175 paving – which will be completed by next summer – is using rubberized asphalt concrete, which Caltrans said contains rubber from ground up tires, making it more flexible for a longer

life. The rubberized asphalt also is good for the environment, diverting approximately 120,000 tires from landfills.

Caltrans said the paving work is taking place from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. One-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.

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Ronald James Blesio, 34, of Nice, Calif., was arrested late on Sunday, October 23, 2011, for a stabbing on June 12, 2011, in Lakeport, Calif. At the time of his arrest he had been on the run from law enforcement for over four months. Lake County Jail photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The suspect in a June double stabbing in Lakeport has been caught after more than four months on the run.

Ronald James Blesio, 34, of Nice, was taken into custody just after 9:30 p.m. Sunday in the Kelseyville area, according to reports from the scene.

Circumstances of his capture were not immediately available.

Lake County Jail records said Blesio – arrested by sheriff's Sgt. Chris Chwialkowski – was booked on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon and a felony bench warrant, misdemeanor counts of battery and obstructing a peace officer, and two misdemeanor bench warrants, one of which has a no-bail hold.

Early on the morning of Sunday, June 12, Blesio allegedly stabbed two men in the parking lot of a Main Street gas station after he argued with them over parking, according to police.

Police believe that Blesio was assisted in fleeing by his girlfriend, Cathi Larae Larson, 44, of Lakeport.

Larson was arrested early Monday morning and booked on a felony count of failure to appear in a felony case and three felony bench warrants, according to Lake County Jail records.

The couple previously were arrested together in May after Lake County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force members stopped them in a car with a backseat filled with marijuana plants. Neither Blesio nor Larson had medical marijuana recommendations, according to the sheriff's office.

Blesio's previous arrests have ranged from assault with a deadly weapon and battery to weapons charges, including possession of loaded and concealed firearms and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, according to the Lakeport Police Department.

Another subject believed to have been an accessory by helping Blesio escape, 66-year-old Lawrence Williams of Lakeport, was arrested June 16, as Lake County News has reported.

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The male suspect in an attempted robbery on Saturday, October 22, 2011, in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., was believed to have been driving this late model white SUV, possibly a Honda, pictured on a clip from a surveillance video. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect of an attempted robbery at a south county pharmacy this past Saturday.

On Saturday, Oct. 22, at approximately 1:45 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported robbery attempt at the Hidden Valley Pharmacy on Hartmann Road in Hidden Valley Lake, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.

Bauman said staff at the pharmacy reported that shortly after opening for business at 1 p.m. a white male adult walked into the business, handed the pharmacist a note stating it was a “robbery,” and exposed what appeared to be a handgun in his left front pants pocket.

The suspect demanded the narcotic medication Oxycontin, but the pharmacist told him he had none in stock, Bauman said.

The suspect then demanded any other similar medication and the pharmacist told him he was not licensed to dispense narcotic medications. Bauman said the suspect then retrieved his note and left the pharmacy in an unknown direction, empty-handed.

The suspect was described as a white male adult, unshaven with light brown hair, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall with a “stocky” build, wearing sunglasses, blue denim pants and a blue and white plaid shirt, Bauman said.

While checking the area for any other witnesses or information, deputies reviewed the surveillance system at the neighboring Hardester's Market and discovered the suspect had been caught on video, walking behind a building in the business center and getting into a vehicle. Bauman said that vehicle is described as a late model white SUV, possibly a Honda product.

Anyone with information on the possible identity of the suspect in Saturday’s attempted robbery is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at 707-262-4200 or the sheriff's anonymous crime tip line at 707-262-4099.

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From left, Ronald James Blesio, 34, of Nice, Calif., was arrested on Sunday, October 23, 2011, during a traffic stop. He had been sought for more than four months for a stabbing in Lakeport, Calif. At right, 48-year-old Kenneth A. Lakatos of Petaluma, in whose vehicle Blesio was riding, also was arrested following the stop for possession of narcotics paraphernalia, attempting to conceal or destroy evidence and driving on a suspended license. Lake County Jail photos.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Northshore man who police had sought for more than four months for allegedly stabbing two men was taken into custody Sunday night as the result of a traffic stop, according to a Monday report from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Ronald James Blesio, 34, of Nice, was arrested Sunday evening in the Kelseyville area, as Lake County News reported on Monday.

Blesio was sought for allegedly stabbing two men at a Lakeport gas station on June 12.

Arrested with Blesio Sunday night was Kenneth A. Lakatos, 48, of Petaluma, in whose vehicle Blesio was a passenger, according to a report from Sheriff's Capt. James Bauman.

At 9:30 p.m. Sunday a sergeant assigned to the sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail – identified as Sgt. Chris Chwialkowski on the booking sheets for Blesio and Lakatos – conducted an enforcement stop on a Toyota SUV for an equipment violation on Soda Bay Road near Eastlake Drive in Kelseyville, Bauman said.

As soon as the Toyota pulled over and stopped on the shoulder of the road, one of the passengers got out of the vehicle and immediately fled on foot, Bauman said.

Chwialkowski recognized Blesio immediately, pursuing him on foot. Bauman said Blesio was apprehended without further incident after a foot chase that lasted approximately 50 yards.

When Chwialkowski returned to the scene of the car stop, he looked around the Toyota and found a glass meth pipe which he determined Lakatos had thrown from the vehicle while the foot chase was taking place, Bauman said.

Chwialkowski also determined that Lakatos was driving on a suspended license and took him into custody as well, according to Bauman.

Bauman said Blesio and Lakatos were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.

He said Blesio was booked for resisting arrest, and a total of five warrants for pending cases involving narcotics, weapons and assault charges, and Lakatos was booked for misdemeanor counts of possession of narcotics paraphernalia, attempting to conceal or destroy evidence and driving on a suspended license.

Blesio remained in custody on a no-bail hold on Monday. Lakatos, whose bail was set at $2,000, posted bail and had been released by Monday evening.

Early on Monday morning, Blesio's girlfriend, 44-year-old Cathi Larae Larson of Lakeport, also was arrested.

Police had sought Larson since June, alleging she had helped Blesio escape the scene of the June stabbing.

Larson was booked on four felonies, including failure to appear on a felony charges and three felony bench warrants. She remained in custody on Monday night.

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The fire was first reported shortly before 5 p.m., according to 911 calls listed in California Highway Patrol reports. One call said there was a lot of black smoke coming from the school, located on Lake Street.

Lake County Fire Assistant Chief Willie Sapeta said recycled rubber used on the playground caught fire. He said it could have been caused by someone tossing a cigarette on the ground in that area.

He said an engine was there for only five to 10 minute before the fire was out.

There was no damage, according to Sapeta.

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Army officials said they are investigating the death of Army Private First Class Steven Francis Shapiro, 29, of Hidden Valley Lake, who died on Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, in Tallil, Iraq. Photo courtesy of Fort Hood.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The death of a Hidden Valley Lake man who died last week while serving in Iraq is under investigation, according to Army officials.

Army Private First Class Steven Francis Shapiro, 29, of Hidden Valley Lake, died on Friday, Oct. 21, in Tallil, Iraq, according to the Department of Defense and officials at Fort Hood, where Shapiro was assigned.

Tyler Broadway, a media spokesman for Three Corps Fort Hood, said the cause of Shapiro's death is under investigation.

Broadway said Shapiro died as the result of a “noncombat related incident” in Tallil. He did not offer more specifics about where the incident occurred.

Once the inquiry is complete, more information likely will be available, but Shapiro added, “It takes a long time for these investigations to be concluded.”

Tallil is located in southern Iraq, about 160 miles southeast of Baghdad. It's also the location of a US air base.

Shapiro, who was supporting Operation New Dawn in Iraq, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, the Department of Defense reported.

Shapiro entered active duty service in March 2010 as an M1 armor crewman, according to a report from Fort Hood. He deployed in support of Operation New Dawn earlier this year.

Fort Hood reported that Shapiro's awards and decorations include an Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon.

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From left, Ashley Saxon and Manuel Sotelo, both of Kelseyville, Calif., were arrested on drug-related charges on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. Lake County Jail photos.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The service of a search warrant by the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force last Wednesday has resulted in two felony arrests and the seizure of approximately one ounce of methamphetamine and over $2,000 in US currency for asset forfeiture.

On Oct. 12 narcotics detectives secured a search warrant for the person, home and vehicles of 26-year-old Ashley Nicole Saxon of Kelseyville, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, at approximately 12 p.m., detectives spotted Saxon riding as a passenger in a white Chevy coupe being driven by her boyfriend, 46-year-old Manuel Vincent Sotelo, in the area of their home in Soda Bay, Bauman said. Sotelo was on felony probation and active parole for a prior narcotics conviction.

Task force detectives conducted an enforcement stop on the vehicle on Bergesen Drive and detained both Saxon and Sotelo without incident, Bauman said.

During their detention, Saxon attempted to dispose of a small bag of methamphetamine and a subsequent search of her person revealed she was concealing a “meth” pipe on her person beneath her clothing, Bauman reported.

Narcotics detectives transported Saxon and Sotelo to their Cypress Avenue home where they executed the search warrant. Bauman said the couple had a video surveillance system monitoring the front of the home and when detectives entered the house, they found a police scanner inside actively monitoring the sheriff’s primary radio frequency.

During a search of the home, detectives located a zippered case concealed beneath a pile of dirty clothing in the master bedroom. Further examination of the case revealed that it contained approximately one ounce of methamphetamine and other narcotics sales paraphernalia, Bauman said.

He said two digital scales also were found concealed in a nightstand in the same bedroom. A total of $2,201 in US currency was seized from Saxon and Sotelo collectively, as the suspected profits of drug trafficking.

Both subjects were arrested and transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, according to Bauman.

Saxon was booked for possession of a controlled substance for sales, transportation of a controlled substance and possession of narcotics paraphernalia, with bail set at $15,000. She later posted bail and was released.

Sotelo was booked for possession of a controlled substance for sales, violation of his probation, violation of his parole and driving on a suspended license. The alleged probation violation resulted in a no bail hold, and he remained in jail on Monday.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

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Drugs and paraphernalia allegedly found during a search of the home of Ashley Saxon and Manuel Sotelo of Kelseyville, Calif., on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

This story has been updated 

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A kickoff for a new photovoltaic project aimed at reducing energy use for Hidden Valley Lake's reclamation plant will take place Monday afternoon.

The Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District will host a groundbreaking ceremony for its Photovoltaic Sustainability Energy Project at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at the water reclamation plant, located at 18896 Grange Road, Middletown.

The community is invited to attend.

The solar project will produce enough energy to operate the water reclamation plant sustaining energy costs for the years to come, the district reported.

Many of the constituents who have supported the project and assisted the district in getting it off the ground will be at the ceremony.

According to the HVL community Services District, the District has secured a $1.1 million grant and a $650,000 low interest loan funded by the United States Department of Agriculture rural Utility Service. District staff will provide in-kind services for construction inspections to offset the $650,000 that the District is required to contribute.

According to the HVL website locate at http://www.hiddenvalleylakecsd.com/projects.htm the project should be operational by the end of the year. The announcement from that HVL page is below.

Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District has formally awarded the contract for the photovoltaic project at its Grange Road treatment facility to Real Goods Solar, San Rafael, CA. This innovative project is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Services and will be funded with a combination grant/loan package.

To meet power demands at the District's Water Reclamation Plant, Real Goods will be installing 1,176 Sharp 240W solar panels, covering 35,000 square feet, that are expected to produce 420,000 kWh per year. The array will produce enough power to run approximately 75 normal houses.

 USDA has expressed an interest in using the solar project as a demonstration project for other water districts throughout the United States. The green on green project will fix the energy prices for treating waste water at the District for the next three decades.

The solar project will support the local economy; Real Goods Solar has committed to use Lake County sub contractors and other local labor whenever possible throughout the project. The timeline presented is aggressive and the District expects to have the project online by the end of 2011.

Included with the construction cost is a monitoring system that will allow customers to view power production and demand online through the District's website, www.hiddenvalleylakecsd.com. The District is gearing up for field trips from local schools where students can view and understand the expanse of silicone used to harvest the sun's power. We are excited to see the many years worth of effort from District staff and engineers coming together to bring the solar project into fruition.

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