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8B Daily News ��� Wednesday, December 26, 2012 Nasty storms blamed for 1 death, make travel tough NEW ORLEANS (AP) ��� Freezing rain and sleet made for a sloppy Christmas trek in parts of the nation���s midsection, while residents along the Gulf Coast braced for thunderstorms, high winds and tornadoes that were doing damage in some areas. Winds toppled a tree onto a pickup truck in the Houston area, killing the driver. Icy roads already were blamed for a 21vehicle pileup in Oklahoma, where authorities warned would-be travelers to stay home. Trees fell on a few houses in central Louisiana���s Rapides Parish but there were no injuries reported so far and crews were cutting trees out of roadways to get to people in their homes, said sheriff���s Lt. Tommy Carnline. Fog blanketed highways, including arteries in the Atlanta area where motorists slowed as a precaution. In New Mexico, drivers across the eastern plains had to fight through snow, ice and low visibili- ty. At least three tornadoes were reported in Texas, though only one building was damaged, according to the National Weather Service. Tornado watches were in effect across southern Louisiana and Mississippi. More than 180 flights nationwide were canceled by midday, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. More than half were canceled by American Airlines and its regional affiliate, American Eagle. American is headquartered and has its biggest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Meanwhile, a blizzard watch was posted for parts of Indiana and western Kentucky for storms expected to unfold Tuesday amid predictions of up to 4 to 7 inches of snow in coming hours. Much of Oklahoma and Arkansas braced under a winter storm warning of an early mix of rain and sleet forecast to eventually turn to snow. About a dozen counties in Missouri were under a blizzard warning from Tuesday night to noon Wednesday. Some mountainous areas of Arkansas��� Ozark Mountains could get up to 10 inches of snow, which would make travel ������very hazardous or impossible������ in the northern tier of the state from near whiteout conditions, the National Weather Service said. The holiday may conjure visions of snow and ice, but twisters this time of year are not unheard of. Ten storm systems in the last 50 years have spawned at least one Christmastime tornado with winds of 113 mph or more in the South, said Chris Vaccaro, a National Weather Service spokesman in Washington, via email. The most lethal were the storms of Dec. 24-26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32; and those of Dec. 24-25, 1964, when two people were killed and about 30 people injured by 14 tornadoes in seven states. Quarter-sized hail reported early Tuesday in western Louisiana was expected to be just the start of a severe weather threat on the Gulf Coast, said meteorologist Mike Efferson at the weather service office in Slidell, La. Storms along the Gulf Coast could bring winds up to 70 mph, heavy rain, more large hail and dangerous lightning in Louisiana and Mississippi, Efferson said. Furthermore, warm, moist air colliding with a cold front could produce dangerous straight-line winds. The storm was moving quickly as it headed into northeast Louisiana and Mississippi into the late afternoon and early evening, said Bill Adams at the weather service���s Shreveport, La., office. In Mississippi, Gov. Phil Bryant urged residents to have a plan for any severe weather. ������It only takes a few minutes, and it will help everyone have a safe Christmas,������ Bryant said. Longshoremen soundly reject contract offer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ��� Longshoremen at a halfdozen Pacific Northwest grain terminals have overwhelmingly rejected what owners describe as their ������last, best and final������ contract offer. Terminal owners, in a statement released Monday afternoon, said they were ������disappointed������ by the vote and were reviewing their options, which include a potential lockout. The owners have replacement workers standing by to ensure grain exports to Asia. ������Regardless of the outcome, they remain commit- 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 C & C PROPERTIES An Independently owned and operated Member of Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. FOR 24/7 PROPERTY INFO CALL 1-888-902-7253 FORECLOSURES AND HOMES UNDER $200,000 2 BD 3 BD 3 BD 3 BD 3 BD 2 BD 3 BD 3 BD 1 BD 3 BD 3 BD 3 BD 3 BD 3 BD 1 BD 4 BD 6 BD 4 BD 3 BD 2 BA 2 BA 2 BA 2 BA 1 BA 1 BA 1 BA 2 BA 1 BA 2 BA 2 BA 2 BA 2 BA 2 BA 1 BA 2 BA 3 BA 1 BA 2 BA 1000 Sq Ft 1560 Sq Ft 945 Sq Ft 1643 Sq Ft 1144 Sq Ft 768 Sq Ft 1216 Sq Ft 1176 Sq Ft 384 Sq Ft 1424 Sq Ft 1114 Sq Ft 1248 Sq Ft 2.99 Sq Ft 1493 Sq Ft 1080 Sq Ft 1592 Sq Ft 3000 Sq Ft 1572 Sq Ft 1468 Sq Ft 0.48 AC 0.07 AC 0.129 AC 0.16 AC 0.127 AC 1.16 AC 0.249 AC 1.6 AC 0.14 AC 0.222 AC 1.99 AC 0.09 AC 0.149 AC 0.48 AC 0.29 AC 0.276 AC 0.55 AC $9,499 $65,000 $79,900 $80,800 $84,500 $99,000 $99,900 $100,000 $109,000 $109,300 $110,000 $115,900 $135,000 $135,000 $148,000 $170,000 $174,900 $175,000 $198,000 Prop Code 4249 Prop Code 4899 Prop Code 4159 Prop Code 4199 Prop Code 4429 Prop Code 4379 Prop Code 4849 Prop Code 4879 Prop Code 4389 Prop Code 4929 Prop Code 4409 Prop Code 4909 Prop Code 4399 Prop Code 4019 Prop Code 4029 Prop Code 4329 Prop Code 4439 Prop Code 4969 Prop Code 4979 See All Tehama County Listings at www.redbluffcoldwellbanker.com TEHAMA COUNTY REAL ESTATE TEAM ��� OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK ted to operating,������ said Pat McCormick, spokesman for the consortium of owners known as the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association. Union representatives, meanwhile, asked the owners to return to the bargaining table and offered negotiation dates. ������The men and women of the ILWU have voted to reject the profitable grain exporters��� concessionary demands, but we remain committed to reaching a fair agreement that continues our 80-year history of making these export terminals successful,������ Rich Austin, co-chairman of the union negotiating committee, said in a statement. Roughly 3,000 longshoremen were eligible to vote on the contract offer and 93.8 percent rejected it, a union spokeswoman said. The last collective bargaining agreement expired Sept. 30. More than a quarter of all U.S. grain exports and nearly half of U.S. wheat exports move through grain terminals on the Willamette River and Puget Sound. The dispute involves six of those terminals that operate under a single collective bargaining agreement with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. ��� Japan-based Marubeni Corp. (Columbia Grain in Portland). ��� Japan-based Mitsui & Co. (United Grain in Vancouver, Wash.). ��� Netherlands-based Louis Dreyfus Commodities (grain elevators in Seattle and Portland). ��� United States-based Cargill and CHS Inc. (Temco elevators in Tacoma and Portland). Salary and benefits have not been a sticking point during negotiations. Rather, the owners want to implement workplace rules ��� or management rights ��� they consider more advanta- geous. The other Northwest grain terminals, based in the Washington cities of Longview and Kalama, operate under separate agreements with the ILWU. Representatives from the terminals involved in this negotiation say they are at a competitive disadvantage because the longshoremen at their facilities have more favorable rules than those in Kalama and Longview. The owners, who say they would accept either the Kalama or Longview contract, want to eliminate perks such as paying workers a half-hour���s wages for working as little as six minutes. They also want greater discretion in hiring and staffing decisions and, according to a statement, ������the ability to hold the union to its agreement not to engage in work stoppages.������ The Over 25 years of experience STOVE JUNCTION The North State���s premier supplier of stoves Don���t be left in the 5A>6! 20% OFF select models Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Tues-Sat 9am-5pm ��� Closed Sun & Mon 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 ��� Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com