A man said to be having a behavioral health crisis has been arrested by Lakeport Police following a string of events. Police say Davon Keller was reported to possibly be in crisis last Wednesday when was allegedly in some kind of fight with another man near Lakeport School. He left the area before police arrived. Then on Thursday he was allegedly using a knife in a fight with someone at the Chevron Station on South Main Street. The victim there said he didn’t know Keller and it was unprovoked. About an hour after that an officer found Keller but he got away. On Thursday Lakeport Police got a warrant for him and along with a team from the Lake County Department of Behavioral Health they picked him up at home. He was being held without bail.
A hearing starts this week in the long-running and often-delayed case involving Mendocino County Auditor Chamise Cubbison. Cubbison and former county Payroll Manager Paula Kennedy are accused by Mendocino District Attorney David Eyster of felony misappropriation of public funds for allegedly overpaying Kennedy during the pandemic. On Wednesday a Mendocino County Superior Court Judge will begin work to determine whether the case will actually go to trial. The Daily Journal reports that meanwhile attorney’s for the county are trying to block the use of depositions from county employees that allege a strategic effort by Eyster to block Cubbison from ever taking office in the first place. Those depositions are part of a lawsuit that Cubbison has filed against the County.
Cal Fire says scammers are using fake versions of their social media to take advantage of people wanting to donate to help the victims of the Southern California fires. Cal Fire said they do not ever solicit donations from the public, either in person or online and they remind you that all of their social media accounts are verified accounts with the little blue or gray check marks and they are categorized as a government organization. They say there are a lot of bad actors out there taking advantage of public generosity and advise you to very thoroughly research any organization before making a donation.
The Lake County Farm Bureau has been named the County Farm Bureau of the Year for 2024. The honor for the category for counties with up to 300 agricultural members was given out last month at the 106th California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting which was held in Monterey. Lake County News reports among the reasons for the Lake County Farm Bureau winning the honor were: exceeding their membership goals with more than 60 new members; expanding outreach with new initiatives like educational workshops and a supervisor candidate forum; and advocacy and natural resource stewardship on what they call critical issues like water quality and availability.
If you are interested in a career as a firefighter, Cal Fire’s Mendocino Unit is hosting a recruiting event in Willits today. And Cal Fire MEU says there are many types of jobs available beyond firefighting, including as a forestry technician or even as a cook. The recruiting event is scheduled today from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Jesse Pittman Training Center at the Cal Fire Headquarters on Highway 101 in Willits. If you are planning to go they suggest you RSVP with an email to michael.crabree.
State officials are surging more fire fighting resources to Southern California with strong Santa Ana winds returning today and tomorrow. The National Weather Service has issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation warning so Cal Fire has positioned over 790 firefighting personnel along with 76 engines, in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Riverside and Kern counties, including hand crews, dozers and aircraft. In addition the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has prepositioned 98 fire engines, 14 water tenders, eight helicopters and dozens of specialized personnel.
The Upper Lake levees are on the minds of the Western Region Town Hall. At their meeting last week Town Hall members drafted a letter to the Lake County Board of Supervisors asking for a plan to upgrade the levees. The Record Bee reports the new WRTH Chair says he inspected them himself and was concerned they would not hold up. They are also planning to invite a water resources specialist to their next meeting. The purpose of the levees is to protect Upper Lake from flooding.
