Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/11051
WEDNESDAY MAY 26, 2010 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Chamber shares Strategic Advance Commerce See 4A RED BLUFF A’s ‘n O’s SPORTS 1B Showers likely 64/47 Weather forecast 8B By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer How the Sheriff’s Department monitors the hours administration works has become a battleground in this year’s sheriff campaign. Captains on the Sheriff’s pay- roll remain on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In exchange for working beyond four 10-hour days in a given week, captains are allowed to take roughly an hour off for every extra hour worked. Because these employees are salaried, no timecards are kept and the captains are allowed to take time off at the discretion of the undersheriff. Detective Dave Hencratt has 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 Administration pay shapes sheriff’s race campaigned on a promise to make sheriff’s administration do more police work. He and his support- ers, including some former depart- ment employees, say the way the department handles overtime is vulnerable to abuse. Hencratt himself was reluctant to say captains have taken advan- tage of the policy, but said com- plaints from residents about cap- tains working at personal business- es have been consistent. “There’s some citizens who would come in and say, ‘I see this guy’s vehicle out there every day, parked there, hours at a time,’” Hencratt said. Hencratt supporters inter- viewed by the Daily News focused on captains within the department, though other personnel, including Lieutenants, are covered by the same contract. Of the three captains the depart- ment employs, Captain Paul Hosler and Captain Danny Rabal- ais were the only ones mentioned by Hencratt supporters. None con- tacted by the Daily News men- tioned Jail Captain Ronald Dodd. Both Hosler and Rabalais admit to using their free time earned through the policy, unoffi- cially known as “flex time,” to work other jobs. “We’re not even allowed to call it flex time,” Hosler, who heads his contract bargaining unit, said. “(But) I still hear everybody, DIG this By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Plans for the disc golf course at Dog Island that had been puttering along are now in full swing thanks to the backing of a local service group and an anony- mous donation. Organizers Brandon Grissom and Shane Emde are “digging” the support that the community has shown for the project. The latest score comes from sup- port by Red Bluff Kiwanis. As a non- profit organization, the Kiwanis will accept the donations and reimburse Grissom, he said. Grissom turned to the Kiwanis because of their well-known generosi- ty to the community and focus on chil- dren. Disc golf is a kid-friendly sport that the entire family can enjoy, he said. The Kiwanis are glad to support the effort and are happy to help get the course up and running, Kiwanis Presi- dent Dan Curry said. “As a group we always look for ways to help the community,” he said. For Grissom, the first hole-in-one was scored when they received a $5,000 donation from an unknown donor just days after the Red Bluff City Council approved the project. That donation is being used to buy the chain-linked baskets for the course. Grissom has placed the order and hopes to get the baskets in a few weeks, he said. Disc golf is similar to the game of golf, but instead of using a club to get a ball into a hole, players throw a disc into an above ground chain-linked bas- See DIG, page 7A Courtesy photo Brandon Grissom finishes the third hole by getting the disc into the basket while playing disc golf on the Anderson River Park course in Anderson. DN Staff Writer Tehama County resi- dents will have several opportunities to observe Memorial Day over the weekend. • On Saturday, May 29, at 7 p.m. the Marine Corps League Honor Guard along with a boy scout unit and the Tehama County Young Marines will be holding a flag retirement ceremony. While the program begins at 7 p.m., the burning The Red Bluff- Tehama County Chamber of Commerce will be closed Thursday and Friday for renovations. Red Bluff Outdoor Power of the flag will take place at dusk, which is close to 8 p.m., said Roy Fansler, a member of the Marine Corps League Honor Guard. The event will be at Durango RV Park and is open to the public. The Honor Guard is looking for new members, Fansler said. Anyone inter- ested can contact him at 384-2134 or call 474-5322. The group is also available for funerals, he said. • A ceremony will be held at Sunset Hills Cere- mony, 4470 Oren Avenue, in Corning at 10 a.m. on Monday. A barbecue at the Corning Veteran’s Memori- al Hall, 1620 Solano St., will follow at 11:30 a.m. Every- one is welcome. For infor- mation call 824-5550. Business Connections LIVE SCAN FINGERPRINTING With results electronically sent to DOJ & FBI Appointments and/or walk-ins. 332 Pine St., Red Bluff 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 527-6229 Since 1979 • In Red Bluff, weather permitting, the Avenue of Flags will be up at both the Oak Hill and St. Mary’s cemeteries off of Walnut Street. The ceremony will start at 10:30 a.m. at Oak Hill with the Red Bluff Community Band playing patriotic music. At 11 a.m. the Red Bluff Honor Guard and Red Bluff Marine Corps League will post colors and Nella Schnase will sing the National Anthem. Jack Ben- nett will be master of cere- monies. The theme will be World War II: Lest We For- get and the main speaker will be Iwo Jima survivor Bud Gott. The ceremony will close with the firing of See MD, page 7A including the sheriff, calling it flex time, and that’s a (Fair Labor Standards Act) violation.” Hosler works for the ski patrol in Mt. Shasta, while the Rabalais family operates The Big Picture, We Shoot Ya and the Overland Post in downtown Red Bluff. Both said they limit their use of the policy, and use their vacation off. When taking time off, both said they usually take it off in the same week they earned it. “You’ve got to June 8 Primary time, which is handled separately, when taking more than a few hours be fair with it, is the big thing,” Rabalais said. Keeping track of the hours them- selves would be impractical at best in a job that can begin and end as abruptly as a 3 a.m. chase, Hosler said. “The tracking would be horren- See PAY, page 7A Hemp festival gain approval By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County government and hemp festival orga- nizers may have reached a compromise on a 2,000-per- son-per-day, three-day Hemp festival scheduled for Memorial Day weekend. On Tuesday, Planning Director George Robson announced he would issue a permit for the World Hemp Expo Extravaganja 2010, an event planned on River- side Avenue, and the first event to be covered by the See HEMP, page 7A Man identified in train accident A pedestrian who died after being struck by a train Mon- day evening has been identified as Gerber resident Froilan Salas. The 18-year-old walked onto the tracks directly in front of a southbound train and was struck around 4:34 p.m., Monday according to Red Bluff police. Officers found him unconscious and critically injured underneath the train between Oak Street and the trestle at Aloha Street. Emergency personnel provided aid, but Salas died at the scene, police said. Train personnel told police they had tried to warn Salas by blowing the horn, police said. It’s really unfortunate that a lot of people trespass and cross the tracks in this area, Sgt. Mike Graham said on Mon- day. The department wants to remind people that trespassing on railroad property is illegal and dangerous. In February, a similar incident occurred in the area. Davin Diaz, 25, of Red Bluff was walking on the tracks when he struck by a train. He died from his injuries shortly after he was taken to the hospital. — Staff report Numerous chances to remember, pay respects this weekend By JULIE ZEEB Daily News file photo Members of the Marine Corps League Honor Guard prepare to perform a rifle salute. 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