Christmas tree permits are being made available. As of tomorrow, you can go to the Mendocino National Forest and cut your own tree. The acting forest supervisor says, it’s a special experience as it helps people connect to public lands, creates treasured family memories, and benefits the health of the forest There are a limited number of permits which are good until New Year’s Eve. You can get your permit online by visiting Recreation.gov and search by forest name. There’s also an interactive map to see all the locations. There are instructions and guidelines noted. Only one permit per household is allowed. It’s $10/tree plus a $2.50 transaction fee. Besides online you can also go to the Forest Supervisors office in Willows, Upper Lake Ranger Station, Covelo Ranger Station, Upper Lake Grocery, M&M Feed in Covelo, Keith’s Family Foods, also in Covelo and the Covelo Volunteer Fire Department.
A man in Ukiah has been arrested after Deputies say he was threatening others and swinging a metal pipe around. Deputies got a call on Halloween to the 2400 block of North State Street, telling the suspect, Michael Lucas to drop the pipe, which he did. They say he also had a short piece of hose and a bucket, plus he seemed like he was high. They say he was also talking nonsense and they couldn’t understand him and believed he would be unable to care for himself or be safe around others. They also found he had probably stolen gasoline with the hose and bucket, so they arrested him. Lucas was also on active Post Release Community Service, so he’s charged with violating his supervision and Public Intoxication Drugs/Alcohol.
A countywide park project has been approved by the Lake County Planning Commission. At their meeting last week, the commission considered the Public Services Department’s parks improvement project, involving over a dozen parks after Caltrans announced money was coming for a Beautification Initiative Project. The Clean California Local Grant Program awarded $1,358,545 to the county. Lake Co News reports improvements will include new bathrooms at two parks, new security systems at three, and signage, benches, trees, shade structures and trash receptacles. The commission unanimously approved the work.
A warning from Lakeport Police who says there’s a scammer amongst us pretending they’re a police officer, then they try to steal money. Police say they got wind of the scam yesterday, that someone was impersonating Lakeport Police Sgt. Victor Rico. Lake Co News reports the scammer calls the victim saying they’re Rico and they have an arrest warrant for them, and they need to bring cash to an address to get their warrant cleared. The department says there is an Officer Rico on staff, and he or any officer in the agency would never make this call. They say they’ve received similar reports about scams like this one with threats against the victim if they don’t pay up. They ask if you’ve experienced something like this to call the department right away.
The Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest is transition to winter season closures. Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit reports seasonal camping closes tomorrow at noon due to changing weather conditions which mean poor road conditions. They usually reopen mid-May for camping if the weather and road conditions are okay. You can still go to the forest for day use, that’s from sunrise to sunset. There are closures on certain roads due to the weather, for public health and safety, so do check before you head out. Off-road vehicles and off roading are prohibited.
Please call the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest office at 707-928-4378 should you have any questions.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors back at it, talking finances. The Auditor-Controller-Tax Collector Chamise Cubbison and the Chief Deputy Auditor Controller Kiki DeLong were there and DeLong spoke out about the executive office and the board, not holding back. Cubbison told the board her office was still working on closing out the last fiscal year, which ended June 30th due to staffing shortages and incomplete, late, or inaccurate financial reporting from various departments and the executive office. The Board admitted they’ve had a hard time filling that office with more staff, that there have been pension errors, health plan problems and more.
Some fun for the whole family is in the offing at Grace Hudson Museum for National Native American Heritage Month. This Saturday is Acorn Day. From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. there will be some activities with artist Martina Morgan who is sharing how to whip up acorn mush, a traditional food. Then from 12 noon to 2:00, another artist, painter Bonnie Lockhart will present how to use oak leaves to paint with, which is part of her process. The two artists will have their work displayed too at the Museum’s current exhibition, “Gathering Time: Pomo Art During the Pandemic.” The days activities are free to Native Americans, current military personnel, and Museum members.
For more information please go to www.gracehudsonmuseum.org or call (707) 467-2836.
A burning couch carried out of an apartment complex apparently saved the building. That’s the word from the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority. The Daily Journal reports the Battalion Chief said they responded early Halloween morning to reports of a structure fire and saw flames but say they were mostly inside the burning couch which was already taken out of the complex. Firefighters say the fire was probably accidental and electrical and began on the floor of the apartment and spread to the couch. They did have smoke detectors, so those inside had a warning and then dragged the couch outside. The chief said, that probably saved the whole building, which has five apartments. They say there was minimal damage to the inside of the apartment and nobody had to be evacuated.
A man accused of starting several fires in the lower Russian River area must undergo a mental competency evaluation. A judge has ordered the Monte Rio man to meet with a doctor to determine his mental competency. Then a report will be due back to the court by December 5th. The man has been charged with ten counts of felony arson in connection with fires that date back to last fall. The suspect was going to appear in court and face the charges Wednesday, until his public defender voiced concerns about his mental competency to stand trial and assist with his defense.
