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WEEKEND MAY 8-9, 2010 Breaking news at: Rally For Life Ride Cancer fundraiser www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 2A RED BLUFF Corning Twinbill SPORTS 1B Partly cloudy 73/48 Weather forecast 8B By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Attorney Ken Miller is chal- lenging incumbent Gregg Cohen for Tehama County Dis- trict Attorney in the June 8 pri- mary election. Here are responses from each candidate, in their words, to a series of questions. Tell us about your legal experience. Ken Miller: (I) worked in DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ 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 Miller challenges Cohen for DA Miller the Yuba Sutter Office for a year, worked in Williams office until 1992. Went to law school at Cal Northern in Chico, at the same time I was working full- time for the founder of the law-school - Donald K. Wahlberg, and worked for him, as his chief investiga- tor and certified law student. While working there and going to law school Cohen at night, murders, rapes, robberies, drug cases, any type of criminal case that came to I-5 Dive Don's office I was able to handle... I graduated from law school, started practice in November of 2000, my solo practice, and I've been prac- ticing on my own since the year 2000, doing mainly, in fact, all, criminal defense. My wife and I moved from Williams back home in 2002, and I've been in criminal defense practice ever since. Gregg Cohen: I went to June 8 Primary law school, and was an intern at the San Diego City Attorney's office doing criminal prosecution. When I left law school, I worked for a medium size law firm in Oakland. And then I was a partner. A senior associate left the firm and I went with him. And then I worked for the United Sates Attorney See DA, page 7A Judge-come-lately crashes candidates night gathering By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer LAKE CALIFORNIA — A new contender for Superi- or Court Judge Office II showed up Thursday, claiming he would join the race as a write in, during a candidates night held at Lake California with a crowd of about 70. 11th guest at the 11th hour The biggest surprise of the night by far was the appear- ance of candidate Dan Irving, Sr. Late to the meeting and late to the ballot, Irving said medical problems kept him from meeting the deadline for registration as anything but a write-in candidate. Showing up uninvited in the middle of discussion, Irving waited until a lull to take the microphone and note his lack of a seat at the table, prompting host Louise Wilkinson to check with Assistant Registrar of Voters Jennifer Vise to confirm Irving’s candidacy. Irving has until May 25 to register as a write-in candi- Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb A big rig took a dive off Interstate 5 at 4:33 p.m. Friday, narrowly missing the Sacramento River and the Durango RV Park.The driver was uninjured. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer A big rig narrowly missed landing in the Sacramento River and came even closer to entering the Durango RV Park at 4:33 p.m. Friday, backing up traffic on southbound Interstate 5 to beyond the Adobe Exit. “I heard a loud boom, there was a cloud of dust and just at the edge of the bridge he came straight down,” said Mike Martini, of Red Bluff, who witnessed the crash. “He’s a heck of a driver to keep it upright.” The driver, Craig Sharp, 61, of Longview, Wash., was uninjured, alcohol and drugs are not believed to be a factor in the crash. No other vehicles were involved, said Califor- nia Highway Patrol Officer Dirk Lambert. Sharp was traveling south on I-5 in the slow lane about 54 mph. “All evidence leads me to believe the right front tire failed and he was unable to maintain control as the State’s 1st public power agency is launched NOVATO (AP) — Cali- fornia’s first public power agency launched Friday, delivering electricity to 6,000 Marin County homes and businesses. The launch of the Marin Clean Energy program is a closely watched experiment in ‘‘community choice aggregation,’’ a system in which municipalities buy electricity on behalf of local residents and set their own rates while traditional utili- ties continue to own and operate the electrical grid. The concept has been fought by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the state’s largest utility, which says such programs could be costly to communities, exposing them to the whims of a volatile energy market. ‘‘We have found that the programs proposed to date are not economically viable and would create serious financial risks to our cus- tomers, to local govern- ments and to local taxpay- ers,’’ said Katie Romans, spokeswoman for PG&E, which has poured nearly $35 million into Proposition 16, a June ballot measure that would require approval for such programs by two- thirds of local voters. While Marin County’s program is the first to launch, there have been pre- vious attempts. Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland had consid- ered creating a program, but a consultant’s 2008 report found that electricity rates could be as much as 6 per- cent higher than PG&E’s. The San Joaquin Valley Power Authority suspended its efforts at community choice aggregation, blam- ing the credit crisis and an aggressive campaign by PG&E to retain its cus- tomers. Passage of Prop. 16 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 would force local energy officials to spend too much money to garner support in the community, said David Orth, general manager of the San Joaquin Valley Power Authority. ‘‘When you look at the PG&E campaign machine, no one’s going to go against that,’’ Orth said. truck pulled to the right,” Lambert said. The big rig hit the sand barrels on the north end of the bridge over the Sacramento River just before the Antelope Boulevard Exit. Sharp was able to keep the truck on the road while crossing the bridge before it went down the embankment, coming to rest upright. According to the CHP website, a second crash, a rollover, took place at 5:16 p.m. Friday on northbound I-5 at Elder Creek, with minor injuries. date, Vise said. Irving was able to talk the community’s security guard into letting him in when the guard checked his campaign website, Wilkinson said. Judging experience With two candidates for sheriff, an undersheriff cam- paigning for supervisor, a pair of district attorney candidates and five judge candidates, most of the questions involved law enforcement, and the seven courtroom candidates field- ed most of the inquiries. Judicial candidates are barred from discussing in detail how they would treat cases, but still ventured some broad statements about their philosophies. Irving, for his part, said he would work to protect the Constitution. Assistant DA Jonathan Skillman, running for Office I, played it safe by referring only to his past work, in which he said he sought the highest penalties available for violent offenders. Lisa Muto, an attorney running against Skillman, said she would bring compassion for plaintiffs without attor- See JUDGE, page 7A Quilters spread Mother’s Day joy By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Brentwood Skilled Nursing Home and Red Bluff Healthcare Center were full of an abundance of colors Wednesday as the Sun Country Quilters pre- sented quilts to residents for Mother’s Day. “It’s very nice that the ladies in our community are being recognized,” said Melanie Uribe, Brentwood social services and activities director. “They (the resi- dents) get all fixed up for this.” Eleanore Belec, at 102 years young, was the eldest recipient at Brentwood and she thought the quilts were so pretty the quilters should have sold them. “I love it,” said Brent- wood resident Emma Torkelson, 95. “This is what I need in my room. It gets cold when the air condition- ing is on.” As a quilt maker herself, 95-year-old Lillie Johnson was very appreciative of the quilts. “When I saw it on the table I thought it was won- derful,” Johnson said of her quilt. “I used to make quilts. I made all mine by hand. That’s what I used to do for Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Sun Country Quilters member Kathy Miller helps Red Bluff Healthcare resident Margarete Conder choose a quilt Wednesday. a living — make quilts and bake pies.” Johnson said she espe- cially liked that her quilt had orange, a nice, bright color, in it. “These are fascinating people,” said Georgina Tac- coni, committee chair- woman for the Community Service Sector of Sun Country Quilters. “They have so much to share but they can’t because there’s no one to visit them.” Tacconi said the quilters made 471 quilts over the last year, 50 of which were given out Wednesday at the two nursing homes. “We’ve done this for the last five years for Mother’s Day,” Tacconi said. “I feel sorry for these ladies sitting here and I don’t want any- one to be alone on their spe- cial day. Plus it’s better to give than receive.” The quilters do a larger giveaway between Thanks- giving and Christmas for Meals on Wheels clients, Tacconi said. “It’s beautiful,” said 97- year-old Red Bluff Health- care resident Margarete Conder. “I’ve never had one of these. I really wanted one and I got it. It seems to be cold a lot and I’m pleased with it.” Red Bluff Healthcare resident Rosie Butekofer, 98, said she especially enjoyed the bright colors. “It’s very generous of the ladies to give us these quilts,” Butekofer said. “These quilts are so lovely.” Red Bluff Healthcare Activities Director Brenda Castorena said the commu- nity has been great at doing things for the residents. “Our residents just love it and it brings them a smile,” Castorena said. “It’s a little thing, but it brightens their day.” Great Mother’s Day Gifts Come in for Flowers too! OPEN Sunday 9:30 - 1:30 50%off Fri & Sat only Clark’s Drug Store 2126 Solano St., Corning • 824-3502