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Wednesday, May 26, 2010 – Daily News – 7A Obituary PAY Continued from page 1A SHANE SPENCER COMBES age 46, our son, brother, nephew, cousin and friend passed away May 22, 2010 in Red Bluff. He was born May 31, 1963 in Eugene, Oregon. Shane lived in Gilchrist, Oregon near his devoted grandparents, Hil- da and Spencer Balliet, un- til he was four when he moved to California. Shane graduated from Red Bluff High School in 1981, and soon after moved to Culver, Oregon to care for his grandmother, Ruby Davis. He later returned to Califor- nia and attended college in both Butte and Santa Cruz counties. In 1988, Shane moved to Texas where he worked in computer tech- nology and met his long time companion Maggie Garza. Their family includ- ed Adrianna, Mark, and Ricky. Shane spent the last year at the Well Ministry of Rescue in Chico, where he formed many friendships. Shane loved the outdoors, skiing, fishing and golfing. Summers were spent on Shasta Lake with his sister, friends, and family. He es- pecially enjoyed fishing in Oregon with his Grandpa Guy and on Shasta Lake with Grandpa Harold, close friend, Russell Lindauer with Grandma Marie always close at hand. He was also an avid card and chess player, enjoying many crib- bage matches and poker games. Shane never met a stranger, loved everyone and his kind spirit was con- tagious, as was his smile. These are the memories we will all hold in our hearts forever. Shane is survived by his mother Melanie Combes and companion Jack Morrison of Red Bluff; father Wesley Combes and wife Jan of Red Bluff; lov- ing sister Stacey Boyce, husband Robert and his be- loved niece Sarah of San Rafael who adored her Un- cle Shane. Also, he will be missed by his aunt and un- cle Anita and Ted Crump of Vancouver, WA; uncle and aunt Stanley and Tammy Combes of North Powder, OR; cousins Karen Crump, Allison Dorland, Scott Crump, David Combes, Dan Combes, Desiree Bas- sett, Jennifer Lasater, Sebas- tian Combes, and Justin Shannon; step-siblings Ka- thy Nguyen, James McMills and Jennie McMills; and his many friends and brothers at The Well. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: The Well Min- istry of Rescue 2612 Espla- nade Chico, CA 95973. Family and friends are in- vited to attend a Celebra- tion of Life at the Tehama County Kersteins Pavilion on Thursday, May 27th at 11:00 a.m. Have a news tip? Call 527-2151, Ext. 112 DIG Continued from page 1A ket. The course at Dog Island will be a full 18-hole course. Each of the holes will be named after the local fishing holes along the Sacramento River. Grissom, Emde and a group of friends have already cleared the area at Dog Island for about six holes and come up with a name and logo for the course. Dog Island Golf, which abbre- MD Continued from page 1A rifles in a salute, the playing of taps and the laying of wreaths at the Lincoln Memorial. The Boy Scouts and Tehama County Young Marines will be placing flags on graves at the cemetery on Sunday evening. • Northern California Vet- Fairgrounds, Shane Spencer Combes, dous,” he said. “If I had to take hours, I’d turn in a 20-page time sheet.” Sheriff Clay Parker maintains the policy dates back at least 30 years and is a common practice with law enforcement. His men continue to work at least 40 hours a week and cash in vacation time when looking for time off, he said — though the undersheriff and Capt. Hosler said that time itself may be over or under 40 hours in a given week. Time out The policy dispute over how to handle over- time in the Sheriff’s department came to a head in 2007. Up until 2007, administration had the option of being paid one-and-a-half times the normal rate for overtime or taking one-and-a-half hours off for every hour of overtime they worked. But because Rabalais and Hosler were taking time off to work other jobs, a number of employ- ees felt the flex time policy was being abused. “They went to personnel,” Parker said. “Per- sonnel said ‘well, no they’re not, what you’re alleging is wrong.’” County personnel did find a glitch, however. Under the old contract, captains were being paid not only overtime, but also “stand-by” time, which came out to about an additional four hours pay on a daily basis. None of the captains were cashing in their stand-by pay, and tipping the county off actually gave them money they were trying to save the county, Capt. Rabalais said. The captains were reimbursed, and the contract was amended to stop overtime pay for employees HEMP Continued from page 1A county’s new festival ordinance. The permit includes 17 condi- tions organizers must comply with, including efforts to mitigate traffic conditions , or the permit could be revoked, though Under- sheriff Dennis Garton previously said breaking up the festival would be impractical. Requirements include an on- site ambulance and paramedics; sound systems that go quiet at 9 p.m., food vendor inspections by the Department of Environmental Health and closing the Riverside Avenue connection to Highway 99W if 99W traffic is stalled for 15 minutes or more. Event Organizer Donna Will was not immediately available to comment on the conditions, but High Times Creative Director Steve Hager, whose help Will has enlisted, said the county’s requests were reasonable. in the Law Enforcement Management Associa- tion, which includes captains. Parker said this policy saves the county money by cutting out overtime reimbursement. Though the contract specifically mentions that captains will “not be eligible to receive compensa- tion for overtime work,” the Sheriff’s Department still technically offers these same employees a manner of compensation by allowing them to exchange time past 40 hours for time off, Hosler said. County Counsel Arthur Wylene deferred spe- cific questions about the contract to the Sheriff’s Department, though he said most contracts allow for interpretation within “reasonable limits.” Allegations remain Hencratt-backing former department members maintain the change to the LEMA contract did not solve the problem, because it still allows for “flex time.” Several also maintain the county is the one with the right to set working hours, not the sheriff or undersheriff. One of the camp’s most vocal supporters, for- mer Lieutenant, Darrell Plemons retired shortly after the 2007 change to the contract. Plemons, among other allegations, maintains the county, as the employer, has the right to change working hours, but not Parker himself. He said he declined to pursue legal action because voting Parker out of office would be more civil. District Attorney Investigator Dave Baker, one of several Hencratt supporters who migrated to the DA’s office, said he brought allegations of employees working at personal businesses while clocked in at the Sheriff’s Department to District Attorney Gregg Cohen. Cohen confirmed Baker’s story, but said at the Sheriff Clay Parker, who requested first for a 24-hour police presence inside the festival and later lowered to 10 hours inside, said Tuesday his approach would now involve a 24-hour deputy presence in the surround- ing neighborhood outside the fes- tival. Nervous neighbors Not everyone was satisfied with the county’s conditions. Sue Sargent said her property neigh- bors the site of the hemp festival, and new fences installed by WHEE workers may not be a suf- ficient safeguard against tres- passers. “I’m really not looking for- ward to the smell of marijuana, which is one of my worst pet peeves, next to the smell of beer,” Sargent told the county’s Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Sargent said she was surprised more people have not used public comment at board meetings to speak out against the festival. On Fern Avenue, a block away from the festival, Steve Ismail said his frustrations stem from time, the issue sounded like a personnel matter and did not appear to be a criminal issue. “I never thought it was something that needed to be investigated,” he said. Candidate time If elected, Hencratt said he would do away with flex time or any equivalent. Administration would be required to work 10 hour days, regardless of late-night calls, and to cash in vacation time if they want time off. “My thinking is, police work’s never done,” he said. Hencratt said he would put an end to the prac- tice of taking county vehicles to private business- es, and said he would require his men to start keeping time cards again. Both Hosler and Rabalais denied using a coun- ty car on flex time, though all Sheriff’s personnel are asked to take their county cars home. Asked why he did not use a car on flex time if he is on call 24-7, Rabalais said “It costs the coun- ty too much money.” Parker himself recently used a county car to attend a candidates’ night in Lake California. But using the car was necessary in much the way tak- ing home a county car is necessary, he said. “I’m on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Parker said. He staunchly denied allegations of flex time abuse. “We have some ex-employees that, for what- ever reason, they’re disgruntled, and they’re trying to make the Sheriff’s office look bad,” Parker said. “If there was (proof), they’d come forward with proof.” ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailynews.com. Will’s determination to hold the festival with or without a permit. Will campaigned for the festi- val months in advance but her efforts were complicated when the county opted to rewrite its fes- tival policy, as the existing approach may have been uncon- stitutional. Will, who had already laid the groundwork for the festival, con- tinued advertising and threatened to either protest or use policy loopholes to hold WHEE 2010. “That is just a slap to our offi- cials and the law,” Ismail said. “It’s just (Will) has no concern or consideration or regards to any- body else.” Both Sargent and Ismail said they have no intention of leaving town to escape the festival, but Tim Janes, a retired construction worker also living on Fern Avenue, said he had rethought his weekend plans and would be headed to Shingletown. “I don’t think we need to pro- mote drugs anywhere, let alone here, in the county, or in the state or anything,” Janes said. Impact Fee workshop today Tehama County will hold its first work- shop on Development Impact Fees today at 6 p.m. at the Board Chambers on 727 Oak St. The workshop marks the beginning of a process expected to take months, Planning Director George Robson told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning. If implemented, new fees could apply to new county construction to pay for libraries, roads, law enforcement and fire fighting ser- vices. The board previously approved a Nexus study linking fees to improved county infra- structure, though the figures it used were based on county’s “maximum buildout,” a figure which reflects the maximum popula- tion growth Tehama County could undergo over the next 30 years, itself carried over from the county’s General Plan. The fees in the Nexus study, including $14,000 on a new, single-family residence, are “not realistic,” Robson has said, and supervisors will have the option of scaling those fees back to reflect a more likely pop- ulation growth. The fees may also overlap with pending air mitigation fees, a separate strategy the Tehama County Air Pollution Control Dis- trict is lobbying for as a way to fund air cleanup efforts. More information is available by calling 527-2200 or by visiting co.tehama.ca.us. —Geoff Johnson Man held in connection with gym robbery A 24-year-old Red Bluff man was arrested Sunday night on suspi- cion of robbing a gym. Jesse Coulter was found by Red Bluff Police at Red Bluff Fit- ness while police were investigating an alarm at the business, according to a statement issued by Officer Gene Randall. Officers, hearing Coul- ter inside the building, established a perimeter and surrounded the busi- ness, when one saw Coul- ter duck behind the front counter. The suspect then ran outside through the exit and continued to run all the way to a nearby apartment complex, with officers chasing him on viates to DIG Red Bluff. Grissom said the name is fitting because it expresses how the group feels about Red Bluff and the commu- nity. “We just knew it was right when we said it,” he said. “I mean we really dig this place. We love this place.” The organizers want to triple thank the unknown donor who kicked off fundraising for the project. From Red Bluff Parks and Recreation Director Debbie Carlisi and the city council to RJ LaChance at LaChance Marketing, who helped create the logo, and now erans Cemetery, 11800 Gas Point Road, in Igo will be holding a ceremony at 5:55 p.m. Monday. The Keynote speaker will be Rocky J. Chavez, California Depart- ment of Veteran Affairs undersecretary. Charlee Thompson, president of the Shasta County Veterans Affiliated Council, will be master of ceremonies and US Army Reserve WO2 Andrew VanVeen will be the military speaker. The program will include a T-38A Talon four-ship fly- over, patriotic music by Foothill High School band and jazz choir, wreath laying in honor of all fallen military, a rifle salute by the Semper Fi II, and a closing perfor- mance by bagpipers Carrie Wigham and Bob Erlick. The California Honor Guard will be the color guard. Light refreshments will foot, Randall said. Coulter was eventually caught and found in pos- session of property stolen from the business, Ran- dall said. He was booked into the Tehama County Jail on suspicion of bur- glary and resisting arrest. Bail was set at $50,000. —Staff Report the Kiwanis, everyone has been sup- portive of the project, Grissom said. “It’s really cool that people are so willing to help promote Red Bluff disc golf,” he said. There are still opportunities for indi- viduals or groups to sponsor a hole on the course. To make a donation or become a sponsor, contact Grissom at 230-8880 or Emde at 736-6167. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527- 2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.com. be provided by the Red Bluff Emblem Club. • The Masterworks Chorale will be holding a patriotic concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 30, at First Church of God, 1005 S. Jackson St. in Red Bluff. Information call 527-4203. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdai- lynews.com. owns and operates the only on-site crematory in Tehama County. • Your loved one NEVER leaves our care. • For your peace of mind, we personally perform cremations on site. • No hidden charges. If cremation is your choice, there really is no other choice for you than the cremation experts at Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Contact us today so we may answer your questions. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers Funerals • Cremations • Prearrangements 816 Walnut Street | Red Bluff (530) 527-1174 www.chapeloftheflowers.net Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers Participants prepare Back at the campground, Hager said hemp may be key to the festival, but hedonism is not what he is aiming for. The festival is meant to be a spiritual gathering and hemp, he said, has a long history of being used as a sacrament in religious ceremonies. With a prayer for peace serv- ing as a centerpiece to the event, WHEE 2010 should be part of the same category, he said. “It’s cultural bigotry,” he said. “They’re trying to rewrite the rules so that we are not a culture.” Protests, he said, were unlikely and pointless, because anyone protesting the festival would also be targeting the peace ceremony. “I don’t think anyone would waste their time,” he said. More information is available at whee2010.com. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailynews.co m. Democratic Assembly leader rejects California budget cuts SACRAMENTO (AP) — Democratic Assembly Speaker John Perez said Tuesday that California can close its $19 billion budget deficit without making further reduc- tions to state programs. The Los Angeles Democrat announced a complex tax swap and borrowing scheme to prevent more deep cuts to schools, welfare and health care programs. His only cut would be a 5 percent reduction in staff spending in state government. Schwarzenegger and lawmakers have about five weeks to craft a budget before the new fiscal year begins July 1. The deficit amounts to more than 20 percent of the state’s general fund spending. Perez’s proposal was anchored by a nearly $9 billion loan from the state bever- age recycling fund, along with borrowing from the state disability insurance fund. The state would repay the loans over several years, largely using a new tax Perez is propos- ing on companies that extract oil in California. Under the plan by Perez, the state would get a one-time revenue of $8.9 billion from Wall Street by securitizing the California Beverage Recycling Fund for 20 years. The fund comes from recycling deposits collected on beverage containers. Is cremation your choice?