Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/5809
By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County Super- visors Tuesday sealed an agreement with a private contractor to evaluate the county's disaster pre- paredness. Tetra Tech, Inc. entered negotiations with Public Works Director Gary Antone, Deputy Director Ernie Ohlin and Undersheriff Dennis Gar- ton in September. Under a $115,940 agreement, the company will identify areas of the county that are likely to suffer in the event of a disaster and how to limit or prevent the damage altogether. Most of the plan is already funded by a Cali- fornia Office of Emer- gency Services grant. Completion of the plan makes the county eligible for everything from earthquake-proofing of buildings to firebreaks and agricultural protec- tion — for example, a row of trees might be planted to protect nearby fields from severe winds. The city of Tehama previously used a Flood Mitigation Plan, specific to flooding in the city, to obtain federal grants to raise a number of homes. According to county documents, a steering committee made up of officials, planning part- ners and other stakehold- ers will offer oversight, Weather forecast 8A Cloudy Mild 56/43 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ FRIDAY JANUARY 8, 2010 Ellen Shifts To 'Am Idol' Gilbert Goes In 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 See Inside SPORTS 1B Select TV 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Woman charged with embezzlement By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer A former employee charged with embezzling from a local business has been arrested and charged with grand theft. John Wheeler Logging, Inc. alleges that former office man- ager Cheryl Lynn Holder, 55, embezzled $2 million from the company, District Attorney Gregg Cohen said. The embez- zlement reportedly happened over a five-year period, from 2004 to 2009. Holder has been charged with one felony count of grand theft, a special allegation of loss more than $1 million, which carries an additional three years incarceration time and a special allegation of loss more than $100,000, which presumes con- finement in state prison. She could face a maximum of 6 years in prison. Holder, also known as Cheryl Stone or Cheryl Webb, worked for the company 20 years during which time she married David Holder, a share- holder and president of the company, Cohen said. Both Holders no longer work for Wheeler Logging. Cohen is not pursuing an arrest or charges against David Holder. When reached by phone Thursday at his residence, David Holder declined to com- ment on the charges against his wife or whether he was aware of any embezzling done during that period. He said he was about to meet Holder Drive Downtown By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Downtown Red Bluff Business Association is starting a tradition on Jan. 14 with the beginning of its food drive, Food From The Heart. "We're hopeful that it will be an annual event," said Tyler Smail, a DRBBA board member. "It's just a great way to remind folks that although it's not the holidays (when most food drives are held) the need hasn't gone down." The food drive runs through Feb. 14 and locations will be set up throughout the DRBBA territo- ry, which covers the area between Rio Street and the train tracks and Cedar and Oak streets, Smail said. "We chose the final day as Valentine's Day because it's the perfect day to show just how much one cares," Smail said. "It's a great way to give back to the community and help folks in need." Smail, who is organizing the event with fellow DRBBA Direc- tor Travis Dolling of Dolling Insurance, said he is hopeful all downtown businesses will offer drop off locations. Two locations Smail said he can guarantee will have decorated donation boxes are his business, Edward Jones Investment at 733 Washington St., and Dolling Insurance, 804 Main St. All food donated will be given to the Tehama County Gleaners Food Bank. For more information and a list of drop off locations call Smail at 529-3627 or Dolling at 527-1616. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Downtown Red Bluff Business Association Director Tyler Smail puts up a sign for the Food From The Heart Food Drive, set to begin Jan. 14. Donations, which will go to the Tehama County Gleaners Food Bank, can be taken to Edward Jones Investment, 733 Washington St., through Feb. 14. Collective's owners fined Each owner of a now defunct Red Bluff cannabis collective must pay $860 in fines for citations given during October, a Tehama County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday. Lana Louise Aguiar, 53, and Ashley Aleene Arnold, 25, received four citations for unlawful occupancy and unlawful land use during the short time they operated Chamber to meet top post finalists By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Com- merce President Kristin Behrens' reminder to the Red Bluff City Council of what it means to be pro- gressive led to a progres- sive first meeting of the year Tuesday. For the chamber, progress has to do mostly with bettering the com- munity, Behrens said as she gave the council a report of the chamber's search for a new executive vice president. The chamber received 97 applications, three of which came in after the deadline and were not reviewed. Of the applications that were reviewed, 12 appli- cants were invited for an interview and 10 accept- ed. Interviews were com- pleted on Dec. 21 and nar- rowed down to four. Of the four finalists, one is local, one lives in the Northern California and two are from out of state. The final interviews are scheduled for today. The Interview Panel and the Executive Com- mittee will listen to a pre- sentation or pitch by each finalist in response to a board member's interest in organizing a Western Winter Carnival and For- mal. The Executive Com- mittee will make the final decision. Behrens presented the progress report to keep the chamber's commit- ment to inform the city of its activities, as agreed upon in October when the city and chamber amend- ed their agreement over transient occupancy tax revenue. Other agenda items • Ivan Petrzelka was appointed to the Airport Commission. Petrzelka said the air- port is important to the city because it serves as a portal that opens Red Bluff to other communi- ties and vice versa. • The council autho- rized staff to apply for the Proposition 84 Statewide Park Development and High-stakes gay marriage trial to begin County inks deal for disaster prep SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The national debate over same-sex mar- riage will take center stage in a Cal- ifornia courtroom next week at a closely watched federal trial that could ultimately become the land- mark case that determines whether gay Americans have a right to marry. The case will decide a challenge to California's gay marriage ban that was approved by voters in 2008, and the ruling will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. How the high court rules in the case could set the precedent for whether gay marriage becomes legal nationwide. ''This could be our Brown vs. Board of Education,'' said former Clinton White House adviser Richard Socarides, referring to the 1954 Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation in schools and other public facilities. ''Certainly the plaintiffs will tell you they are hoping for a broad rul- ing that says that any law that treats someone differently because of sex- ual orientation violates the U.S. Constitution.'' The case marks the first federal trial to examine if the U.S. Consti- tution permits bans on gay mar- riages, and the challenge is being bankrolled by a group of liberal Hollywood activists led by director Rob Reiner. They retained two of the nation's most influential lawyers to argue the case — former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson and trial lawyer David Boies. The lawyers are best known as the rivals who represented George W. Bush and Al Gore in the ''hanging chad'' dispute over the 2000 presidential election in Florida, and have tapped the tal- ent of their respective law firms in preparation for the trial and plan to take turns questioning witnesses. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown are defendants in the lawsuit by virtue of their prominent positions in Cal- ifornia government, but both men opposed the ban and have refused to defend the suit in court. Schwarzenegger has taken no posi- tion on the case, while Brown filed a brief saying he agreed with the Olson-Boies team that gays have the same federal constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals. The sponsors of the gay mar- riage ban, a coalition of religious 'Certainly the plaintiffs will tell you they are hoping for a broad ruling that says that any law that treats someone differently because of sexual orientation violates the U.S. Constitution' Former White House adviser Richard Socarides See WOMAN, page 7A See FINED, page 7A See CHAMBER, page 7A See DEAL, page 7A See TRIAL, page 7A