Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/5712
By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Public hearing on two issues will be held, 7 p.m. Tuesday, during the Red Bluff City Council's first meeting of the year. The first issue is a pub- lic hearing on the pro- posed fees for the Down- town Parking and Busi- ness Improvement Area for the 2010 fiscal year. At its last meeting the council accepted the Downtown Red Bluff Business Associations annual report which pro- poses no changes in the boundaries for the district and no changes in the assessment amount. The second public hearing is on the Walmart Supercenter Environmen- tal Impact Report adden- dum. The changes were made to satisfy the final EIR criteria involving the noise of idling trucks. Other agenda items • Representatives from the Bureau of Reclama- tion will give a presenta- tion on the status of the Fish Passage Improve- ment Project. The project includes building a pump- ing plant and fish screen to replace the dam gates at the diversion dam. • Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Com- merce President Kristin Behrens will give the council a progress report on the chamber's search for a new executive-vice president. The council will decide whether or not to authorize City Manager Martin Nichols to sign the agreement between the city and the chamber regarding transient occu- pancy tax. In October the two entities agreed to a $5,000 per quarter reduc- tion in TOT dollars given to the chamber by the city. The council also chose to relieve the cham- ber of its second $10,000 payment for the Lake Red Bluff lawsuit. • The council is expected to make one appointment to the Air- port Commission. The two applicants are Peter Taylor and Ivan Petrzel- ka. An extension will be requested for recruitment to fill a spot on the Parks and Recreation Commis- sion. The council will meet 7 p.m., Tuesday at City Hall, 555 Washington St. DENVER (AP) — Inte- rior Secretary Ken Salazar started on the job a year ago pledging to clean up an agency hit by scandals and assailed by critics as under the sway of the oil and gas industry. Starting his second year as head of the nation's biggest landowner, Salazar said he will announce reforms in how energy leas- es are issued on federal lands and changes in how endangered species are pro- tected. The Colorado rancher and former U.S. senator's actions on energy and endangered species won him praise and denuncia- tion. The oil and gas indus- try has accused him of dis- couraging development on public lands, while conser- vationists see his second look at leases approved under President George W. Bush as a swing toward bal- ance. Environmentalists are suing to overturn Salazar's decision to remove wolves in the northern Rockies from the endangered species list, a decision proponents believe was warranted as the population grew to an esti- mated 1,600. ''It's been a tough year,'' Salazar said in a New Year's Eve interview with The Associated Press. But, he said he feels good about the progress on the task he took on. ''What President Obama asked me to do when he brought me there was to reform the department and fix problems,'' Salazar said. He started last January with a visit to the Colorado office of the Minerals Man- agement Service where more than a half dozen workers were disciplined or fired in 2008 after being accused of using drugs, hav- ing sex with oil and gas industry representatives and accepting gifts. Wearing cowboy boots and a hat, Salazar introduced a new ethics code discouraging ''even the appearance of impropriety.'' ''There's a new sheriff in town,'' Salazar said during a news conference near the wind-whipped foothills of Colorado's Front Range. Part of the new agenda has been to move quickly to develop renewable energy on public lands while mak- ing sure the public gets a fair By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer At 16 years old Tiyo Rowe reached the right of passage of getting his dri- ver's license, just like most of his sophomore class- mates at Red Bluff High School. But next year he'll get another license that most people won't ever get, one that will allow him to fly — Rowe wants to be a pilot. On Dec. 6, two days prior to getting his driver's license, Rowe completed his first solo flight and secured his permit to fly solo. Rowe has wanted to be a pilot since he was 10 years old. He and his fami- ly took a flight to Hawaii and he fell in love with fly- ing, he said. "Being on top of the world is just different," he said. "Being up there lets you see all the stuff below you." To prepare for his solo flight, Rowe had to per- form 15 flight maneuvers, including stalls, steep turns, slow flight and take off and landing. He had to pass a Federal Aviation Regulations pre-solo exam, a medical exam and receive a student pilot third-class medical certifi- cate. For his first solo flight Tiyo flew a Piper Toma- hawk plane. He hasn't soloed again since his first time, but will probably do so again soon. "It was such a thrill," he said. "I can't wait to do it again." Rowe will have to wait until he is 17 to qualify for a pilot's license. Until then, he will continue to learn about flying from his flight instructor, Jack Anderson. Rowe credits as much as 50 percent, if not more, of his success to Anderson, who has a no-nonsense step-by-step approach to flying, patience and clear communication, which helped cleared the way for Rowe to make his dream come true. His dream career is to be a commercial airline pilot, though his first career will probably be in the military, Rowe said. When he graduates from high school he wants to join the U.S. Air Force, where he wants to spend a few years being a cargo pilot. "I don't really care which scenario it is as long as I'm flying," he said. Rowe's mom, Kim Rowe, serves in the Air Force, though he said that doesn't have a direct influ- ence on his love of flying. Kim Rowe said her son's pursuit to be a pilot has shown an incredible attention to detail, personal responsibility, leadership and professional bearing, which makes her believe he will be successful as a pilot. "It is clear to me now that his wings are strong and he's read to fly," she said in an e-mail. "I am thrilled that he is pursuing a career he is passionate about." ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.com. Local outlook HIGH/LOW Weather forecast 6A Partly sunny 59/40 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ MONDAY JANUARY 4, 2010 Holiday Spirit Last weekend Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Page 3A Sports 1B Community 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Flying privileges Courtesy photo Tiyo Rowe prepares the Piper Tomahawk airplane for his first solo flight. Man loses his driver's license after flu shot By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer With a number of people getting flu shots all sorts of side effects and reactions have been reported, but most people don't end up losing their driver's license because of a flu shot. Red Bluff resident Robert Roof claims the shot is what triggered a series of events that has left him think- ing "how can one little thing lead to such a hardship for a person." What started as a routine flu shot for the 68-year-old turned into an ordeal of losing his driving privileges and hundreds of dollars lost for medical exams. In September, Roof went to Walgreens to get a flu shot. After getting his shot he fainted. The Walgreens staff assured him it was a normal reaction and sent him on his way. "It was no big thing," he said. "I felt fine and I left. The people at Walgreens told me it happens all the time." The next day, Roof went to the emergency room at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital and asked for an EKG test. He had no problematic symptoms but thought that he should get his heart checked because of his family's history of heart trouble. While at the hospital he mentioned to one of the staff that he had fainted the day before. In November, Roof received a letter from the Department of Motor Vehicles stating that his license would be suspended. Someone from the emergency room had reported Roof's fainting to the DMV. According to California health and safety laws, physicians and surgeons are required to report to the DMV any person who experiences a lapse of con- sciousness. Roof didn't know there was a law that physicians are required to report these types of incidents, otherwise he would not have said anything when he was at the hos- pital, he said. There are many reasons why a person's license gets suspended, said DMV spokesman Armando Botello. In cases involving medical conditions, the person must go through an evaluation and, depending on the outcome and doctors' recommendation, the DMV will take action. Botello could not comment specifically on Roof's case and said the DMV does not keep track of the num- ber of licenses that are suspended or revoked due to lapses of consciousness or other medical conditions. Interior head ends 1st year with vows of reforms Courtesy photo Tiyo Rowe with his flight instructor, Jack Anderson. Parking, Walmart, pumps top first meeting of year See SHOT, page 3A Ken Salazar See HEAD, page 3A