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THURSDAY 12 Ophelias FEBRUARY 28, 2013 Mr. Smith Goes to KC at CSU Chico Pastimes Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Mostly sunny 70/42 Weather forecast 8B 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 Officers honored Police search for missing teen The Red Bluff Police Department is searching for a missing 14-year-old who didn���t come home from school Tuesday afternoon. Police and family are searching for Marysa Nichols, described as 5 feet tall, weighing about 100 pounds with shoulder length black hair with red highlights and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing a Red Bluff High School sweatshirt and blue, denim stretch pants. Her mother, Diane Whitmire, Nichols told the department she had dropped Marysa off at the Red Bluff High School���s Education Outreach Academy around 9:50 a.m. Tuesday. Marysa told her mother she would be home by 2:30 p.m., but did not return home. Diane contacted the police department at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Anyone with information on Marysa���s whereabouts is asked to call the Red Bluff Police Department at 5273131. Park official defends Reading fire strategy By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Law enforcement and firefighter personnel from throughout Tehama County were honored Saturday by the Corning Exchange Club during its Police and Fire awards dinner. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer On Saturday, the Corning Exchange Club honored all Tehama County agencies at its annual Police and Fire awards dinner, giving out its very first Lifetime Law Enforcement award. ���The Corning Exchange Club is pleased to present its first ever Lifetime Law Enforcement Achievement Award to Walter (Walt) Mansell,��� Club President Dean Cofer said. ���I was unaware until Walt provided me with his bio that he actually started out his career as a fireman. We���re recognizing police and fire personnel, so Walt is a two for one tonight.��� Mansell started his career in public service in state employment in 1956 as a firefighter and continued as a truck driver and later a foreman in the California Division of Forestry, Cofer said. In 1967, Mansell transferred to the Department of Fish and Game as a Game Warden in San Luis Obispo, working in both land and marine resources. He moved to Tuolumne County as Game Warden for the Sonora Pass District in 1972 and was promoted to Patrol Lt. in charge of the Imperial County and Lower Colorado River District in 1975. He also served as the Deputy Supervisor of San Diego and Imperial Counties. In 1980, Mansell transferred to Red Bluff as the Department of Fish and Game���s Patrol Supervisor for Tehama and Lassen counties, where he remained until he retired in 1991 after 35 years of service, Cofer said. ���Walt���s law enforcement working career may have ended, but it was quickly followed by a two-year stint as an unpaid volunteer working full shifts as a Tehama County Reserve Deputy and Evidence Technician,��� Cofer said. Mansell, a competitive shooter since high school ROTC, has racked up nearly 300 championships, trophies and other awards for his shooting prowess, Cofer said. He has set eight individual National Records in High Power Rifle in the Police category, served as a firing member and coach of the California Fish and Game Rifle Team when it won two National Team Records for Police Teams and was a two time Champion Pistol Shooter at annual DFG Commission matches, Cofer said. Mansell has been a California Hunter Safety Education Instructor for more than 35 years and a Police Firearms Instructor since 1969. He holds a Department of Education Lifetime Teaching Credential in Police Science and Firearms Instructor certifications from the FBI, DFG, CHP, CA DOJ and five different certifications from the National Rifle Association, Cofer said. Mansell is a Benefactor Life Member of the National Rifle Association, a Bronze Bear Life Member of the California Rifle and Pistol Association and for more than 25 years has been serving on the California Rifle and Pistol Association Board of Directors. He was awarded the Director of the Year Trophy by the CRPA in 2006 and has served at various See OFFICERS, page 7A Lassen Volcanic National Park officials told the Tehama County Board of Supervisors Tuesday that federal agencies from across the country learned lessons from last summer���s Reading fire, but reiterated the agency stayed within existing policy when dealing with the fire. In October, Congressmen Wally Herger and Tom McClintock publicly criticized the park agency for its initial decision to allow the fire to burn for fuel maintenance. The fire started July 23 with a lightning strike and was initially limited to a 7,000-foot canopy of red fir in an area of rock and limited ground fuels. Park Superintendent Darlene Koontz said the agency had intended to hold the fire at the Lassen National Park Highway. However as the weather changed in the early days of August, the fire eventually jumped the highway perimeter on Aug. 6 and spread rapidly. By the time it was contained Aug. 22 the fire had covered 28,079 acres and cost an estimated $17 million. Koontz told the board she believed what caught the agency off guard were the changing scenarios surrounding the fire ��� including the weather, time of the season and surrounding impacts the community. She said the initial decision was correct, but listed better contingency planning for changing events along with earlier and more public outreach in the future as lessons learned from the fire. ���We can point all the fingers we want to, but the bottom line is there are some heavy fuels there,��� Koontz said. The park agency issued a report on the fire in January. According to preliminary findings, 35 percent of the affected area was listed as a high vegetation burn severity. That represents areas were the dominant vegetation has high to comSee FIRE, page 7A Fed cuts would have Corning educators earn regional honors not meeting grade level limited immediate standards and ensure they have the necessary skills Corning Union Eleto be successful,��� Reimer California impact mentaryCatherineSuperinSchool said. tendent Reimer By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer SACRAMENTO (AP) ��� Looming federal spending cuts are expected to dampen California���s economic recovery at a time when a housing rebound and job growth are gaining traction, but come Friday the immediate effect may not prove to be the fiscal doomsday that President Barack Obama has predicted. The White House estimates that in California, 64,000 civilian defense workers would be furloughed and 1,200 teaching and teacher aide jobs would be put at risk from the mandatory budget reductions known as the ������sequester.������ Obama administration officials also said the state will see program cuts in children���s 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 vaccines, senior nutrition, student work-study jobs and assistance for victims of domestic violence. While a bigger concern is what might happen in the long term, most of the effects will not be felt right away. Even if the $85 billion in across-theboard reductions happen nationally, the amount cut in California will be just a fraction of the state���s $2 trillion gross domestic product, which according to 2012 estimates would be the world���s eighth largest economy. Federal furloughs won���t start for a month due to notification requirements, giving negotiators some breathing room to work on a deal. And while Obama said there is no smart way to let the cuts kick in, members of Congress are See CUTS, page 7A has been named the Region 1 Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Superintendent of the Year. Originally selected by the Tehama County Charter as its Superintendent of the Year on Dec. 10, Reimer was notified of the Regional honor on Jan. 11, she said. ���I was quite surprised being that I relatively new to the area,��� Reimer said. ���I feel honored to be recognized by my colleagues and I am very thankful.��� This is Reimer���s first time winning the award. She will be recognized for the achievement along with other Tehama County Charter recipients at the awards dinner to be held at 5:30 p.m. on April 11 at Rolling Hills Casino. The Region 1 recipients will be honored at the conference Delegate Assembly held April 27 at Courtesy photo Corning Union Elementary School District Superintendent Catherine Reimer, left, and Assistant Superintendent Diane Bailey were awarded Co-Administrators of the Year at the Region 1 level of the Association of California School Administrators. the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno Nev. One of the improvements Reimer has brought about since joining the district about 18 months ago is the implementation of learning centers at all of its school sites, she said. The learning centers, which opened in the fall this year are classrooms where students receive intensive, small group interventions for reading and language arts, Reimer said. There are also several of the centers the provide mathematics intervention and support. ���The purpose is to support the students who are The district is also in the process of implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support, which is an approach to discipline that rewards and promotes positive behaviors school-wide, she said. ���We have seen substantial positive changes in the overall climate and cultures at our schools,��� Reimer said. The district is beginning the process of bringing in the new Common Core State Standards, which focus on critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration and leadership, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurism, she said. Other aspects the new standards work toward include effective oral and written communication, accessing and analyzing information, curiosity and See CORNING, page 7A