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FRIDAY FEBRUARY 8, 2013 Catholic Schools Week Giants Preview Education Page Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Partly cloudy 55/32 Weather forecast 8A 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 V IPS gradu ation Week to honor girls in sports By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer A sports clinic, bowling bash and art contest are three of the events scheduled this coming week for the inaugural Tehama County National Girls and Women in Sports Week. The week coincides with the Red Bluff Lady Spartans basketball team's third annual Pink Out game "In the community we have a passion for women and sports," said Aubrie Stroman, one of the organizers behind the weeklong celebration. The week came about as a collaboration between Soroptimist, Walmart Logistics, Daily News, Girls Inc. of the Northern Sacramento Valley, Tehama Family Fitness Center, Lariat Bowl and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. "It sort of all goes in hand with the Pink Out game next Wednesday," Stroman said. The first event, Sporting Chance for Boys and Girls, takes place 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Tehama Family Fitness. See GIRLS, page 7A Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb The first class of Volunteers In Police Services academy poses for a picture at Saturday's graduation at City Hall. Pictured, back, from left, are Red Bluff Police Chief Paul Nanfito, Capt. Kyle Sanders, Bill Conrad, Curt Dahl, Tim Weatherson, Danny Jackson, Clay Parker, Sgt. Kevin Busekist and Lt. Dan Flowerdew. Front row, from left, Felicia Gould, Beverly Morris, Lily Parker and Detective Scott Curtis. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Volunteers in Police Services (VIPS) is well on its way to being up and running and working alongside Red Bluff Police Department personnel following its graduation Saturday. The first academy had a graduating class of eight people. Among the graduates were City Councilman and former Sheriff Clay Parker and Lily Parker, who had the honor of pinning each other's badges on at the ceremony. Bill Conrad, who was pinned by his wife Brandie while holding their year-old son, Hunter, has the honor of having the first badge to be given out in the program. "I saw it in the newspaper, it got my interest and I thought what a great way to serve the community," Conrad said. "It's just like a family." Fellow classmates, who spent 44 hours in training over a 10 week schedule that was slightly interrupted by the holidays, included Curt Dahl, pinned by wife Tony; Felicia Gould, pinned by County OKs Proberta farm expansion By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer The Tehama County Board of Supervisors approved a lot line adjustment and use permit Tuesday that involves around 95 acres of property about a quarter-mile west of Proberta. The goal of the project is to transfer ownership of a vacant 55-acre parcel to Lassen Farms, which farms a substantial amount of acreage in the immediate area with walnuts and olives. Lassen Farms will spend around $1.2 million over the next five years in preparing and planting the property to expand its walnut operation. "This project will use local businesses and labor force throughout the entire lifespan of approximately 40 years," reads a letter from Steven Lassen to the county. About 30 acres of the other 40-acre parcel may be 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 leased for further walnut planting. The property is on the south side of Flores Avenue and north of Kindlespire Road. It is being used for pasture and oat production. Interim Planning Director said the project was unique as it involved a lot line adjustment and use permit to establish a caretaker unit utilizing an existing structure on property that was restricted to a single Williamson Act contract. The lot line adjustment will result in both of the residences, owned by Eaglewood Ranch, being located on the 40-acre parcel. The use permit for the caretaker facility will allow a unit to be used for future housing and security needs of the agriculture operations on the site. In order to comply with Williamson Act development capacity, any additional residences or caretaker units will require a future use permit. The board approved the adjustment and permit unanimously as did the recommending planning commission. husband Tim; Danny Jackson, pinned by wife Suzette; Beverly Morris, pinned by husband Harry; and Tim Weatherson, pinned by wife Claire. The group underwent an application process, interviews and background checks prior to being accepted into the debuting class of the program, Capt. Kyle Sanders said. "We wouldn't allow just anyone into our fold," Sanders said. "We have the right people in our academy." When the economy took a downturn, the police department took some heavy cuts in personnel and this is one way of filling in some of the things lost, he said. "This started with a vision several years ago," Sanders said. "In the downturn, we lost 10 employees, which is roughly 25 percent of the department, just like that." From the vision, it moved into the homework stage where Sgt. Kevin Busekist spent many hours going to a two-day training on volunteer programs and traveling See VIPS, page 7A Vandals tear up school field By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer It's happened again. Different school, same destruction. Evergreen Middle School reported this week that sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning someone drove a vehicle onto the school's softball field. The results were numerous deep ruts, some as deep as 5 inches. The school is estimating it will cost $5,000 to repair. Extensive tractor work is needed to smooth the field and remove the ruts. The grass will need to be reseeded after the tractor work is completed. A $1,500 reward is being offered by Secret Witness for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. According to the school's website, softball tryouts were scheduled to begin Feb. 12. Red Bluff Little League's Hobart Field behind Jackson Heights School was damaged in similar fashion the weekend before New Year's Day. The organization received help from the Tehama County Sheriff and Probation departments to fix the field. The agencies used alternative custody and jail inmates, as well as some people serving out community service, for labor. Hatchery will spawn fish population in San Joaquin By HEATHER HACKING MediaNews Group CHICO — For more than 60 years, salmon have been cut off from the San Joaquin River. Dams were built and riverbeds went dry. Lawsuits ensued. Now a massive plan to restore fish habitat is under way, perhaps the largest of its kind ever attempted. The goal is also to bring back the falland spring-run chinook salmon, as well as other fish. The Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville will play a key role, by producing fish for transport to the San Joaquin. The target timeline for fish release is 2016. Representatives from state and federal agencies that work with fish were in Chico Tuesday for an update on the project, which will include restoring land along the San Joaquin River, putting water back into the river, and eventually a hatchand-release program. Rhonda Reed of the National Marine Fisheries Service gave a similar presentation in Chico last May, as well as in February 2011. Originally, one of the ideas was to collect fish from several different MediaNews Group photo Baby chinook salmon are seen in this photo taken at the Feather River Fish Hatchery on Wednesday. waterways, including the four creeks in Northern California where salmon still naturally migrate and spawn. But that idea has been shelved for now. Burt Bundy of the Mill Creek Conservancy said it has been a struggle for the populations of salmon in Mill Creek, which runs from Lassen Peak to the Sacramento River. At times, spring-run chinook have been as low as a few hundred. "If you take fish, I want to make sure they survive," Bundy said. Reed said the plan in the works only includes hatchery fish. However, fish scientists believe the fish would have the best chance of survival if they have genetics from a variety of locations, including natural spawners from creeks. The plan to take fish from the hatchery must ensure that the project will not harm the fish population in other areas, said Elif Fehm-Sullivan of the Fisheries Service. Another question raised this week was about fishing in the future, if spring and fallrun salmon are re-estab- lished in the San Joaquin River. Steve Carson, fishing enthusiast, said he'd like to see guidelines in the document for when fishing could resume. But Carson said he also understood that would be after fish populations increased. Reed said ideally, fishing would be allowed some day, but the first step is to get the fish in the river, and watch to see if they thrive. "We're using the hatchery facility so we can get to the reintroduction goals in the San Joaquin by increasing the numbers in the hatchery," Reed said. Public comments on the plan must be received by March 4. To send via email: sjrspring.salmon@ noaa.gov. History of the San Joaquin settlement Parts of the San See FISH, page 7A Make your Valentine reservation today Filet Medallions Oscar $ 99 24 SINCE 1959 5 CHESTNUT AVE., RED BLUFF 527-3161