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WEDNESDAY Christmas DECEMBER 11, 2013 Anderson to Rockies Cookie Tips County Fare Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 5A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Sunny 54/34 Weather forecast 8B TEHAMA COUNTY DAILY 50¢ T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 You go, girls! County road system at risk By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Tehama County Public Works Director Gary Antone told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that decreasing dollars devoted to routine maintenance could eventually lead to the county's road system falling below its targeted road condition goals. Antone was presenting the 2013 Infrastructure Condition Report to the board, when he noted that although the public works department's expenditures in recent years have been well above the $7.55 million needed to maintain the road system the figures were being skewed because of expensive bridge replacement projects. The county's goal is to maintain 75 percent of its road infrastructure assets at a fair or better condition. The 2013 report showed 84.54 percent of the county's 1,088.29 miles of maintained roads were rated fair or better and 86.78 percent of the county's 696 bridges were rated fair or better. All remaining roads and bridges fell into the poor category. The percentage of roads and bridges at least receivSee ROAD, page 7A Courtesy photo form A&E The cast of "Rodeo Girls" is shown in this promotional photograph provided by A&E. A portion of the 6-episode reality series was filmed in Red Bluff during the week of the RoundUp in April. By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer A&E's new reality series "Rodeo Girls" launches with a 2-night premier Wednesday and Thursday. The series which follows five barrel racers as they pack up their lives and horses to test their skills at rodeos across the country filmed for a week at the Red Bluff Round-Up in April. Local viewers hoping to see some familiar sights in the first episode will have to do so with a keen eye as the series opens with the girls arriving in Scottsdale, Ariz. where they spend the remainder of the premier. There are glimpses of Tehama County through the series' opening and in the background of slowmotion action shots introducing each character one can clearly make out the Tehama District Fairgrounds. But references to Red Bluff will have to wait until at least the tease at the end of the first episode, where one cowgirl mentions Red Bluff as an upcoming stop. Those tuning in for a reality series focused on the sport of barrel racing may also be disappointed. "Rodeo Girls" turns out to be nothing more than another retread of the formula of desperate housewives interacting under the guise of reality. Except in "Rodeo Girls" when the women gossip, steal each other's boyfriend, or backstab sometimes it's done on horseback. Sometimes. In the premier episode most of the forced drama takes away from the chutes and pens and instead is shot as the women tailgate in front of their travel trailers. If "Rodeo Girls" is any indication contestants are more apt to drink alcohol and gossip than they are to train before taking part in a competition. That irks one of the two male leads in the series, Ty Murphy, cousin of barrel racer Marvel Murphy. Ty is cast as a 21st century real life version of Don Murray's Bo Decker character from Marilyn Monroe's classic "Bus Stop." Joining him in the act of symbolically lassoing women — and, yes they actually do that in the premier — is trick roper Anthony Lucia. From the clips previews of the remainder of the season Ty and Anthony pose more problems for the women than any barrel does. Those without a background in barrel racing may still be left confused after watching as the show does little to explain the sport's inand-outs. What is explained is the women receive checks with high finishes, something they all seem to be concerned about until the competition is finished and thoughts quickly turn to the upcoming bar scene. One woman who doesn't need to be concerned about where the next check comes from is Darcy "No Fear" LaPier. A former model who had a series of high-profile marriages including to Jean-Claude Van Damme, LaPiSee GIRLS, page 7A Farm Bureau takes top honors DN Staff Report To recognize exceptional work on behalf of family farmers and ranchers, the California Farm Bureau Federation presented awards to county Farm Bureaus from across the state during a ceremony at the 95th CFBF Annual Meeting in Monterey Monday night. Tehama County Farm Bureau took home the top prize of County of the Year for farm bureaus serving 651-1,000 members. Among its activities, the Tehama County Farm Bureau conducted a bus tour of local agriculture for local and state leaders, worked to create a county ordinance to deter walnut theft, sponsored successful educational events for fourth grade and sixth grade students, purchased a portable milking machine for use at educational events, co-sponsored a giant pumpkin weigh-off and promoted agricultural tourism in Tehama County. The San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation earned top honors as winner of the Golden State Award, given to the county Farm Bureau that accomplishes the most outstanding body of work during the year. San Joaquin was also named County of the Year among Farm Bureaus with 2,000 or more members. The Modoc County Farm Bureau received the Innovator Award for sponsoring a unique activity, in this case a survey of the wild horse population in the Modoc National Forest. When forest staff indicated it lacked the resources to undertake the project, the county Farm Bureau organized a survey using retired agency specialists and volunteers to collect and interpret data, and to prepare reports and environmental See FARM, page 7A Lawmakers call Derby Girls support breast cancer efforts for drought declaration DN Staff Report SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — With another dry winter looming, California lawmakers called on Gov. Jerry Brown and President Barack Obama to declare a drought emergency and federal disaster in the state. In a letter sent Monday, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Democratic Rep. Jim Costa urged the governor to take immediate action. A separate letter signed by dozens of other California lawmakers called for the same declaration. The lawmakers cited the California Department of Water Resources' announcement of low water deliveries for Central Valley agriculture due to light rainfall projections. ''While it is early in the 2014 water year and there- 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 fore projections on allocations are conservative, what is clear is that we have had two years of dry conditions that have depleted our reservoirs and reduced carry over storage to historically low levels not seen since 1977,'' Feinstein and Costa wrote. While a drought has not been declared, a dry 2014 could be the third straight year with subpar rainfall. Most of the state's water comes from the Sierra Nevada snowpack, so in dry years water managers dramatically cut deliveries due to environmental concerns. Based on projections, the State Water Project in November said its initial allocation would be just 5 percent of requested deliveries in 2014. That number will change if rainfall exceeds projections, officials said. The governor did not respond to a request for comment. The Red Bluff Derby Girls recently donated $200 to Mercy Foundation North and $200 to NorCal Think Pink. The donations are from the proceeds of their Oct. 26 bout in Red Bluff. The donation to Mercy Foundation North will support the No-Cost Mammogram Program at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. The donation to NorCal Think Pink will support educational efforts about breast cancer awareness and the importance of early detection as the best defense against breast cancer. The No-Cost Mammogram program at St. Elizabeth provides baseline and diagnostic screenings for people who have no other means to receive early detection testing. This program is supported through many donations from local individuals and organizations throughout the year. Mercy Foundation North is a non-profit organization sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy and is dedicated to sup- Courtesy photo Pictured with the Red Bluff Derby Girls are Sue Ampi, development officer with Mercy Foundation North, and Christy Forward with NorCal Think Pink. porting their activities throughout Northern California. Guided by the Sisters' mission to care for those in need of physical, spiritual, social, and emotional healing, the foundation raises money for St. Elizabeth, as well as other sponsored works of the Sisters in the north state. Smog Inspection $ 2595 +$825 certificate (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) • Members Welcome 530 527-9841 195 S. Main St., Red Bluff