Some people in northern Mendocino County will start another week trapped because of the snow. Sheriff Matt Kendall says crews are doing their best to clear the way out, but it could be another week being stuck for some. The issue is the long driveways that lead up to many properties. MendoFever.com reports that rescue crews will be out at the break of dawn in the area of Spy Rock Road in Laytonville. That’s where they’ll try to reach two women stuck in their car since Friday under drifts as high as six feet. The Department has been using its plows to get emergency supplies to other people in need, with some folks running low on propane, firewood, and medication. The forecast calls for more snow in those higher elevations with heavy rain from yet another atmospheric river toward the end of the week. Meteorologists say it’s a good idea to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Mendocino County’s Facebook page has real-time information about the storm and the state of emergency that was put into effect last week.
The snowfall does have some benefits. The State Department of Water Resources reported over the weekend that the vital snowpack in Northern California is well above average and will make at least a good dent in the drought.Water managers say they’re a lot more optimistic about the water supply than they were a year ago. They caution that it will take more than one season to completely bust the drought and that a quick spring thaw could mean flooding risks.
Clearlake Police are reminding the public about a woman who has been missing since September. 62-year-old Collette Tollner was last seen near the Hope Center. She is a white adult with brown and gray hair and blue eyes. She is 5 feet, 2 inches tall, and weighs 130 pounds. If you have any information that might help find her, you can contact the Clearlake Police Department.
The search is expanding for a man who has been missing from his Sonoma County home for a week. 64-year-old Larry Atchison has dementia and was alone for just 15 minutes when he apparently wandered off from his home in Santa Rosa last Monday afternoon. Atchison is 6 feet tall, weighs 200 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans, and black shoes. He has gray hair and brown eyes. His family is organizing the search, which now includes most of the county, including Windsor and Healdsburg. There is also a Facebook group page that has almost 1,000 members. His family says they are holding out hope as they try to find Larry.
You’ll have more time this year to file both your federal and state taxes. The state has gone along with the IRS to move the filing date to October 16th because of the devastating storms that brought in the new year. There was some concern that pushing back the date could affect California’s budget, but officials say the good economy, higher tax rates, and new laws mean the state should be OK with waiting six months for its money. The IRS and the state already have a lot of that money—70 percent of the tax revenue collected comes right out of your paycheck anyway, even with withholding. But if you DO owe—either personal or business taxes—you’ll get a reprieve and more time to gather up all that paperwork you normally have to have ready in April. The relief automatically applies for deadlines falling on or after January 8, 2023, and before October 16, 2023, including the 2022 individual income tax returns due on April 18 and the quarterly estimated tax payments, typically due on January 17, 2023, and April 18, 2023. Those payments were previously extended to May 15, 2023, for those impacted by winter storms. The State FTB website has information about this year’s tax collections.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors meets on Tuesday. Among the agenda items, supervisors will consider signing a letter in support of the Clear Lake Ferry Service Feasibility Study and continuing emergency proclamations about the county’s housing problems and about increasing tree mortality. They will also go behind closed doors to talk about appointing a county public health officer. You can see the agenda on the county website, and you can watch on the usual social media channels. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at the county courthouse in Lakeport.
Two new members of the Clearlake Planning Commission The City Council has chosen Christopher Inglis and Jack Smalley to join the five-member commission. They’ll replace Lisa Wilson and Erin McCarrick, who told the city they wouldn’t be seeking another term The council approved Inglis and Smalley unanimously. The newcomers will take part in their first planning commission meeting on the 14th.
Almost three years to the day it began, Mendocino County has ended its local COVID-19 emergency. Since the Board of Supervisors ratified the emergency on March 10, 2020, 143 people have died of COVID in Mendocino County. Public health officer Andy Coren says the county is averaging around four new cases per day. At its peak in February 2021, that number was more than 200 cases a day. One consequence of the end of the emergency is that supervisors will have to return to in-person meetings to satisfy the state’s open meeting law. The public will still be able to take part virtually. 1st District Supervisor Glenn McGourty calls the last three years one of the most challenging times in Mendocino County history
County-supplied trash cans in the village of Mendocino are going away. The Board of Supervisors voted to pull the trash cans because they have been overflowing with more visitors dumping their residential trash in the cans. The supervisors are working on a new plan that will offer a stipend for village businesses to put up their own cans and be responsible for dumping them.
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