County Lines for Feb. 1, 2007

Los Olivos

Woman points gun at deputy, gets arrested

A Solvang woman was arrested Wednesday after allegedly pointing a rifle at a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Deputy.

A Sheriff’s Deputy at the Solvang substation responded to a call about an intoxicated woman in the Los Olivos area Wednesday afternoon.

After finding Terri Kelso, 48, of Solvang, the official took her to Santa Ynez Cottage Hospital for a medical evaluation, according to officials.

The deputy did a follow up and called one of Kelso’s friends to come pick her up at the hospital. Then without warning, officials said, Kelso became hostile toward the deputy and began to make threatening gestures at the deputy.

Officials said Kelso then walked to her friend’s vehicle and opened the truck’s camper shell and took out a rifle that was hidden under blankets. She then raised the rifle and pointed it at the deputy, officials said.

After she was disarmed, Kelso was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on unspecified charges.

Further investigation revealed that the friend was carrying a loaded handgun in the passenger’s compartment in the truck. The friend was arrested and later released for carrying a loaded firearm in the vehicle, officials said.

Santa Barbara County

Centeno aide to run for supervisor in 2010

Gil Armijo, administrative assistant to 5th District County Supervisor Joe Centeno, hopes to land his boss’ job in four years when Centeno retires.

“I decided I’m definitely going to run for supervisor in 2010,” Armijo said this week, referring to the election that will decide Centeno’s replacement. “I know that’s a long ways off,” he added.

Centeno, 71, disclosed publicly before he was re-elected in June, and again last week, that he will retire — after more than 50 years of public service — when his term ends in January 2011. He was formerly police chief of Santa Maria, and its mayor and a city councilman.

Before becoming the supervisor’s assistant, Armijo was a Santa Maria planning commissioner, a political consultant, community activist and a newspaper reporter.

Santa Maria

Local teens invited to Super Bowl party

The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is offering local teens their own Super Bowl party during Sunday’s game.

Sponsored by People for Leisure and Youth (P.L.A.Y.), the party at the Abel Maldonado Youth Center, 600 S. McClelland St., starts at 2 p.m. and lasts until the game is over.

The free event features the game on a 72-inch TV, a buffet, games, a raffle and prizes.

Youth in grades 7 to 12 are invited. Any adults at the event must be accompanied by a teen.

For more information call organizers at 925-0951, Ext. 252.

Santa Maria

Fire Department

offers disaster course

If you want to know how to help others in case of a disaster, you are invited to enroll in a 28-hour disaster preparedness course provided by the Santa Maria Fire Department.

With the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, members of the public learn about rescue, first aid techniques, fire and hazardous materials, and practice their new skills in a disaster scenario.

CERT students will meet at 314 W. Cook St. for six three-hour evening classes and two Saturday classes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The cost is $25 and enrollment deadline is Feb. 16 by 5 p.m. The course begins Feb. 20.

For more information, call the SMFD at 925-0951, ext. 255.

Los Padres N. Forest

Capps reaffirms oil drilling opposition

Congresswoman Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, reiterated her opposition to oil drilling within Los Padres National Forest after receiving reports that five barrels of oil and 80 barrels of industrial water spilled into Tar Creek in Ventura County.

The creek runs through the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, according to a written statement released by Capps.

“This spill confirms what I have been saying for years, drilling for oil is a dirty business,” Capps wrote. “While any report of an oil spill is troubling, I am particularly concerned that the migration of this spill has appeared to have reached the Sespe Condor Sanctuary and could pose a significant threat to the endangered California Condor.”

Capps is a member of the House’s Natural Resources Committee and has authored a bill to permanently ban new oil drilling in the national forest.

Officials with the environmental watchdog group Los Padres ForestWatch were also troubled to learn about the spill.

“It’s further proof that oil drilling expansion is incompatible” with backcountry preservation, said Jeff Kuyper, the group’s executive director.

The spill was reported Tuesday afternoon, said Kathy Good, Forest Service spokeswoman. The Bureau of Land Management is overseeing the cleanup effort.

The spill occurred primarily on private property within the Sespe Oil Field, she said. The release was the result of a broken wastewater pipe.

The oil and water mixture ran into Tar Creek, Good said, and moved downstream about two miles.

She noted that there is no immediate threat to the nearby steelhead habitat or the condors.

Santa Margarita

A.G. man identified as accident victim

Officials have identified an Arroyo Grande man who died after a vehicle crash in Santa Margarita Tuesday morning.

Anthony Stepaniak, 22, died after the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse he was driving crashed into a concrete barrier and overturned several times, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The wreck was found on Highway 58 by the California Highway Patrol, which said Stepaniak may have been driving at high speeds east on Highway 58 around 10:45 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle and crossed several lanes of traffic and crashed.

The Eclipse is believed to have flipped several times and come to rest upside down, causing Stepaniak major injuries, according to the CHP.

Stepaniak was taken to French Hospital Medical Center, where he soon died.

Stepaniak was a suspect in a domestic violence case handled by the Arroyo Grande Police Department. He reportedly took the Eclipse from the alleged victim of the domestic violence.

— From staff reports