Visalia Times-Delta from Visalia, California • 1

WEEKEND EDITION Vmua Times-Delta Bob Mathias near death Lizard caught; snake not found ii 23Ji.l":(1 0' ''-J Though an announcement was made at a Tulare football game that Bob Mathias had died Friday night, a spokesman for the family said the Olympian was ill, but still alive as of late Friday night Justin Stoner, a spokesman for Rep. Devin Nunes, whose to the killing of a dog after biting it weeks ago, could still be on the loose. Visalia gardener Ken Peterson said the Savannah monitor lizard, named Steve-O, was crawling on sun-baked pavement while he was driving east in the 2700 block of James Street, near where it was reported to have escaped Ken Peterson said a neighborhood resident first spotted the lizard and flagged Peterson down. "The neighbor spotted the lizard and called 911," Peterson said. "I drove up, and the lizard ran toward the curb toward a tube." The tube, a drain pipe along the base of a 2-foot wooden fence between two homes, served as the device to trap the lizard, Peterson said.

"I stuck two sticks on each side of the pipe and trapped it," Peterson said. Then we waited for police and animal con-troL" When they arrived, they helped pick up the tube and quickly returned it to the lizard's owners, who live five houses south in the 3700 block of Verde Vista Street Peterson said he followed SeeLizard3A How to help The Valley Oak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals urges people to call 911 if they spot a snake. Your views Want to respond to this story, or any local story in today's Times-Delta? Go to www. VisaliaTimesDetta.com, click on the story, then find the StoryChat logo, tt will take you to a forum where you can post comments. be searching for reptile that bit dog ByJedChemabaeff Staff writer Tension in a south Visalia neighborhood was relieved temporarily Friday afternoon when a 2-foot monitor lizard reported missing just a day before was captured by a gardener.

But nerves are still on edge in the neighborhood, as a venomous snake, who animal control officials say may be linked ottice is handling media matters for the Mathias family, said the announcement at Bob Mathias Stadium was incorrect Mathias is a former Con Teresa DouglassStaff photographer gressman, which is why Nunes' staff is acting as fam This missing Savannah Monitor lizard was returned to its owners on Verde Vista street in Visalia, at the home of Sal and Rosie Martinez on Friday. ily representatives. Keen cherkine www 1 -0 VisaliaTimesDelta.com and www.TulareAdvanceRegister xom lor updates. Mike Hazelwood, Tulare Advance-Register editor rns MIL. about the virus in Tulare County INSIDE SPORTS, IB Inside Virus reports on the decline ITi I Local football season starts with a bang OUR SCHOOLS, 12D mm Ui 4 v5 I ifi- -Pa A ill, i.

4 I f. a i it V1 i i v. i-Wtmiiimii ill iimiIUM By Jillian Daley Staff writer No one in Tulare County has come down with a case of West Nile virus so far this year. Last year, there were 60 human cases, one fatal. In 2004, the virus arrived in Tulare County with three nonfatal cases.

The virus, which spreads via the bite of an infected mosquito, is still showing itself this year in animals such as horses, though those cases are down from previous years. This year, two horses have been infected, as opposed to 22 last year. Experts say the virus may not be as widespread, but that does not mean it has left the area. Some people have attributed the dip in cases to a growing immunity in carriers. But more likely explanations are that the virus' prevalence plummets in the third year it spends in an area, and the mosquito population is being better controlled in Tulare County.

A state health expert said state funding of increased spraying and personnel is what has brought the mosquito population dowa Weather also is playing a part in the decrease in West Nile virus cases. Rain This year, Visalia had 13.64 inches of rain from January to May compared to 8.69 inches last year during the same months and 4.93 inches in 2004, according to the National Weather Service's Web site. Mosquitoes often breed in stagnant pools or See West Nile3A Is there a vaccine on the horizon? By Jillian Daley Staffwriter Testing of several potential vaccines that will protect humans fromthe West Nilevirus is under way, but whether any will be approved for use is an open question, Coping with WestNile3A How West Nile spreads3A Protect yourself Drain all standing water so mosquitoes can't breed in it Use mosquito repellent Make sure all door and window screens fit well and are in good condition. Vaccinate horses. Half of all horses that get West Nile virus die.

Stay inside at dawn and dusk, as mosquitoes are most active then. Source: Tulare Mosquito Abatement Control District Contacts Report dead birds to California West Nile virus hotline (877) 968-2473. Information: Tulare Mosquito Abatement District at 686-6628 or Delta Vector Control District in Visalia at 732-8606. Online: Visit The Delta Vector Control District Web site at wwvv.deravcdcorn, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cofc.gov ncidoddvbidwest nileor California State Government's West Nile virus site at westnile.ca.gov, which offers updates on the number of West Nile virus cases. Do activities conflict with schoolwork? LIFE ID 3CS Take a tour at Kaweah Oaks Preserve researchers say.

And, they say, it could be years before the federal Food and Drug Administration approves any of the vaccines currently being tested. Some say a vaccine may never be approved for use because the mosquito-borne virus infects so few people each year. The cost of final What's Up? Visalia Arts Market Ceramics, jewelry, paintings, photography and more 4-9 p.m. Saturday at Garden Street Plaza, Main and Garden streets, downtown Visalia. Also beer, wine, hors d'oeuvres and live music by ZZAH plus open mic.

Free admission. Information: 738-9754. See Weekend2A Jack Kelly ClarkUniversity of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Your views Want to respond to this story, or any local story in today's Times-Delta? Go to www. VisaliaTimesDelta. com, click on the story, then find the Story-Chat logo.

It will take you to a forum where you can post Weather2A development would likely exceed the return drug companies could expect For now, there is no vaccine and no drug treatment, though both are in the works. Treatment now includes only rest and, in some cases, pain killers. See Vaccine3A Ron HoltnanStaff photographer Aft Art A Above: Delta Vector Control District foreman Darin Dula sprays Artosid, a liquid larvacide, on an area off Road 132 (Ben Maddox Way) just south of Avenue 352 Inset The species Culex tarsalis transmits the West Nile virus. Hot with 1i blazing sun. Man lives to 112 despite sausage-and-waffle diet Prisons may get emergency funds Index Bridge 3D Obituaries 2C Comics 9D Sports IB Contacts 9A Stocks 7B Life ID Viewpoint 6A Local 1C Money 6B Classified Movies 3D Xword 9 NYT Xword 3D Sudoku 3 A Coles participated in an autopsy Thursday that was designed to study Johnson's health.

"All of his organs were extremely youthful. They could have been the organs of someone who was 50 or 60, not 112. Clearly his genes had some secrets," Coles said. "Everything in his body that we looked at was clean as a whistle, except for his lungs with the pneumonia," Coles said. "He had no heart disease, he had no cancer, no diabetes and no Alzheimer's." died of pneumonia Wednesday at his Richmond home.

"A lot of people think or imagine that your good habits and bad habits contribute to your longevity" Coles said. "But we often find it is in the genes rather than lifestyle." Johnson was the only living Cali-fornian considered a "supercentenar-ian," a designation for those ages 110 or older, Coles said. His group is now in the process of validating a Los Angeles candidate who claims to be 112 years old. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES George Johnson, considered California's oldest living person at 112 and the state's last sundving World War I veteran, had experts shaking their heads over his junk food diet "He had terrible bad habits. He had a diet largely of sausages and waffles," Dr.

Stephen Coles, founder of the Gerontology Research Group at the University of California, Los Angeles, said Friday. The 5-foot-7, 140-pound Johnson Vtaa TimesrOerte (USPS 661-200), a Gannett Ca Inc NewHper. is pubtated Monday through Saturday by Visalia Newspapers Inc. PO. Box 31 Visaka.

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CA 93279. COPYRIGHT 2006, VISALIA NEWSPAPERS A GANNETT NEWSPAPER VOLUME M8, ISSUE 59 The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering using emergency powers to ease crowding in the nation's largest state prison system, after lawmakers rejected his $6 billion prison building plan this week. That could mean contracting with other states to take as many as 10,000 inmates and opening some buildings that are unused, such as a women's prison in Stockton and a youth detention center in Whittier. See full story3C If George Johnson.