Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/10998
TUESDAY MAY 25, 2010 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See 4A RED BLUFF SPORTS 1B Rain likely 62/47 Weather forecast 8B By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Two newcom- ers will face off for a seat repre- senting District 3 on the Tehama County Board of Supervisors in the June 8 Prima- ry Election — Mel Freimuth of Lake California and Dennis Gar- ton of Dairyville. 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 Freimuth and Garton vie for Supervisor 3 Garton Here are their responses to questions about county issues. Tell us about your qualifications Mel Freimuth: I've owned and operated a farm, so I can appre- ciate the concerns the of ranchers and envi- ronmen- talists, and hav- ing been in busi- ness, with my expe- rience in escrow and real estate, I understand the housing needs of our coun- ty. I was in the US Air Force, an applied engineer, a commercial pilot, (and) a vice president in banking. I'm married with two grown chil- dren...and I'm a homeown- er. I've served on the Kiwa- nis, Toast- masters, (and the) Ameri- can Legion. I've been an officer of fra- ternal organi- zations, and I’ve been a director on Lake Califor- nia(‘s board). running the sheriff's office for the last 13 years. What do you think is the biggest issue facing T ehama County right now? DG: Garton Dennis Garton: 32 years of experience with the county. You know, working both the budget and personnel management making decisions...being a second in command, and I think the biggest issue f acing T ehama County right now is the budget. All departments will be affect- ed by the lack of income to the county. MF: Well when the folks came to me they said their biggest issue is the roads here in Tehama County. I talk to peo- ple, and (the roads) beat the heck out of (their cars). Ho w w ould you cope with a reduced budget? MF: That's tough, you now. All the communi- ties around here are fight- ing with that and you've just got to make some across-the-board cuts, I guess. You don't want to Summer Train tragedy utilities rate break MediaNews Group SAN FRANCISCO — A Thursday ruling by the California Public Utilities Commission should result in lower air conditioning costs for north valley resi- dents this summer. Under the PG&E pro- posal accepted by the CPUC, residents who use more electricity will still pay more for each kilowatt-hour than those who use less, but the difference won’t be as great. Currently, users in the lowest tier of PG&E’s rate structure spend 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. Those who use enough power to hit the top tier spend 49 cents per kilowatt-hour. Under the proposal approved Thursday, starting June 1 the lowest two tiers would be unchanged, but the highest tier’s cost per kilowatt-hour would drop to 40 cents. About a third of PG&E’s customers would see no change to their bills. Rough- ly 58 percent would see an increase of 1 cent per kilo- watt-hour, from 28 cents to 29 cents. The proposal would also compress the existing five tiers into four. “These new summer rates will help mitigate the large month-to-month bill increases experienced last summer in the Central Val- ley when sustained periods of high temperatures pushed substantial usage into Tier 5,” said CPUC President Michael R. Peevey in a press release. The changes will bring PG&E’s rate structure into more close alignment to those in use by the two other large power companies in the state. The differential in rates has grown since a law froze increases from 2001 to 2009 for the half of PG&E’s cus- tomers who are in the lower tiers or in the low-income CARE program. Covering costs required higher rates in the upper tiers. “This decision helps to bring PG&E’s rates within the range of the other regu- lated utilities and spreads the burden for revenue col- lection to the large Tier 3 base so it is more evenly dis- tributed,” Peevey said Daily News photo by Tang Lor A pedestrian was hit by a train around 4:30 p.m., Monday and was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim was found just north of Aloha Street where the tracks run parallel to Madison Street. Red Bluff Police Sgt. Mike Graham confirmed the victim was a young man, but could not provide the age or identity of the man. No further information was available. See tomorrow’s Daily News for details. Pair arrested in knife robbery By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Two Red Bluff men were arrested early Sun- day morning in connec- tion with a late night robbery Saturday in front of Circle K. Officers were sent around 11 p.m. to the South Jackson Street convenience store where they contacted the vic- tims to get a description of the suspects and began an area search. One of the victims said a knife had been held to their stomach and a demand was made for them to empty their pockets, which they complied with, a Red Bluff Police press release said. According to the release, the suspects fled the scene with some undisclosed items of value. Calls to the Red Bluff Police were not returned. During the area search, two suspects, identified as Eric Mitchell Roberts, 20, and Saulo Daniel Eduar- do, 22, both of Red Bluff, were located near the 800 block of Kim- ball Road. Roberts was found to be in possession of property taken from one of the victims. The weapon used during the robbery was June 8 Primary ruin any programs that are helping our com- munity. DG: Well, I don't know how we're going to cope with it yet. We'll have to wait until I get elected and see what the actual num- bers are. We'll have to wait for the May revise from the governor's office, and we can’t specu- late as to how much the numbers are going to be. See SUPE, page 7A 13-year-old drives truck into girl, van By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer VINA — A 13-year-old Vina boy driving a pickup truck, with his sidekick 9- year-old brother, in the pas- senger’s seat took a wild ride Friday morning in an attempt to beat the tardy bell. Driving a 1997 GMC Sierra pickup truck, the boy struck a 13-year-old girl and a mini van filled with pas- sengers, who were waiting for the bus. The brothers were run- ning late to school and likely took the truck to avoid miss- ing the bus, said California Highway Patrol Officer Phil Mackintosh. The girl bystander and the 13-year-old driver, were injured in the collision short- ly after 7 a.m. The boy was driving east on Rowles Road about 55- 60 mph when he began to brake upon approaching the intersection with Tecate Road to make a left turn. However, due to his high rate of speed, he was unable to complete the turn and drove across Tecate Road and onto the dirt and grass shoulder area where he hit a wood and metal fence. The vehicle continued forward and hit Teresa Palo- mares of Vina who was waiting at the bus stop before it hit the mini van parked on Tecate Road. Palomares was flown to Enloe Medical Center in Chico for minor injuries while the 13-year-old driver, who also had minor injuries, said he would seek his own aid. No one else was injured in the incident, Mackintosh said. The pickup truck Roberts recovered by officers at the scene. Roberts was booked into Tehama County Jail on the charges of rob- bery and possession of stolen property. His bail Eduardo was set at $110,000. Eduardo was booked into jail on the charges of robbery and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $103,000. received minor damage. Parents can be cited in cases where it can be proved they allowed the incident to happen, but Mackintosh said that was not true in this case. Charges of reckless dri- ving causing injury, being an unlicensed driver and for not having proof of insurance are pending for the boy who will appear in juvenile court, he said. Salvation Mountain Magic- Celtics COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR Smog Inspection $ 2995 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 + cert. (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) Pass or FREE retest 195 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530 527-9841 ARTHRITIS, AND POST SURGERY. DR. SWAIM’S PAIN CREAM NOW AVAILABLE IN OUR OFFICE AT 2530 SR MARY COLUMBA DR. RED BLUFF, CA 96080 (530) 527-7584 STOP THE PAIN FROM NEUROPATHY, SHINGLES,