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FRIDAY Small Schools Earn Award MARCH 15, 2013 Spartans Softball Education Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Mostly sunny 77/48 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 Man shot fleeing late night Red Bluff altercation A man of Indian descent was shot shortly after midnight Thursday morning following a brief confrontation on Park Avenue just east of Duncan Road in Red Bluff. The shooting is possibly connected to a shooting about an hour earlier in Corning, police said. Red Bluff Police Officers were sent to St. Elizabeth Com- munity Hospital to speak with the victim, who was shot one time in the back of his upper thigh, according to a press release issued by the department Thursday morning. The victim, 27, told officers he and a friend were walking on Park east of Duncan when a light colored sedan stopped in the roadway near them. A Hispanic man got out of the pas- Prepping for change senger side of the car and began an altercation with the victim and his friend, the release said. During the altercation, the See SHOT, Page 7A Gun fired at man, children By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Several shots were fired just before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at three people working on a car outside a residence in the 1900 block of Grant Avenue in the Corning area. Neither Jose Castillo, 23, nor the two children with him were injured, but five to six shots were fired into the vehicle, according to a Corning Police press release. Corning Police and Tehama County Sheriff's Deputies responded to the area. Witnesses told law enforcement the victims were working on a car when a dark colored car, possibly a Pontiac, drove up. According to the release, a passenger wearing a dark beanie started shooting from the car in the direction of See GUN, Page 7A Power outage affects hundreds By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Vista Middle School Principal Isaac Scharaga takes questions at an open forum on the changes the school will face next year. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Vista Middle School will cease to exist at the end of the 2012-2013 school year, transforming into Vista Preparatory Academy. The school will be reborn as a seven-house structure with a selfcontained classroom style. Parents got their first look Thursday night from Principal Isaac Scharaga at the first of four open forums the school is holding. Dean of Students Connie Holland and Red Bluff Union Elementary School District Superintendent William McCoy joined Scharaga in answering questions and concerns. "This is a process that as we move forward is long overdue," Scharaga said. "I'm really excited about it. I bleed purple. We have the makings of a great year next year. I want to dispel any rumors and be accessible for questions." Among the changes will be the a move to sixth through eight grades and the name, colors and mascot, which will be an eagle, he said. A woman was concerned about what would be done to stop bullying. With the addition of about 200 new students, there will be additional personnel added to make sure that there is still an adequate number of adults supervising the children, Scharaga said. The change is right in line with the new common core standards, which are divided by kindergarten through fifth grade and sixth through eighth, McCoy said. Instead of teachers having a specific subject, they will now become California releases part of plan to restore delta FRESNO (AP) — California water officials released on Thursday the first part of a $23 billion plan to restore and protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem and guarantee a stable water supply for millions of Californians. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan, known as the BDCP, is a federal and state initiative financed by California's water contractors, which includes recommendations for a twin tunnel project in the delta to carry water to vast farmlands and thirsty cities. Disagreement over the 50-year plan has renewed the state's water wars, with officials and water contractors saying it will reverse the decline of threatened fish species and guarantee stable water deliveries, while some environmentalists and delta activists 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 counter it will actually lead to further fish declines. The plan's first four chapters, released by the California Resources Agency, spell out the dismal state of the delta and detail conservation strategies to restore its dwindling fish species. The chapters include a description of the proposal unveiled by Gov. Jerry Brown in July: the 35-mile twin underground tunnel project that would replace the delta's current pumping system. The project would have a total capacity of 9,000 cubic feet per second and include three intake pipes. It would cost $14 billion to construct and $5.8 billion to operate and maintain over the 50 year life of the plan. Construction and operation costs would be covered by water contractors. The chapters also describe more than 200 biological goals and objectives for 57 fish and other species — such as the See WATER, Page 7A multicredentialed teachers who teach all subjects in a self-contained classroom setting, he said. A parent was concerned about children getting lost in the shuffle because they are guinea pigs for the new structure, while another asked for statistics involving a school of similar demographics. McCoy said this is a system that has been tried elsewhere and found successful. "I don't believe they're guinea pigs," McCoy said. "Children are incredibly important and there's a reason for the change. I'm not knocking the staff. They work incredibly hard." The number of children staff members interact with during the day makes it harder to develop the See CHANGE, Page 7A The Daily News was one of several locations in southeast Red Bluff to experience a power outage Thursday morning. Reports were received of the outage on South Main Street, affecting the area between Brearcliffe Drive up to the area just before Luther Road. The outage, which began at 7:40 a.m., initially affected about 2,500 customers, PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno said. An underground switch failed and caught fire at Gilmore and Howell about 7:40 a.m. Thursday, causing the outage, Moreno said. "We have restored 500 customers and will restore more," Moreno said about 10 a.m. "We have already ordered a new switch from our Marysville dis- tribution warehouse and it's already on a truck headed to Red Bluff, arriving well before we will have pulled the old switch and replaced any damaged cables, so that will not be a factor in restoring all power." Power was being restored to most customers by rerouting power it isolating the failed switch, he said. Power was restored to all but 107 customers as of 9:50 a.m. and 106 of those were restored by 11:36 a.m., Moreno said. The last customer, the Red Bluff Elks Lodge at 355 Gilmore Road, was restored at 12:05 p.m. There is no cause determined yet as to why the switch failed, but crews were on site investigating the incident and will remain on scene until the underground failed See POWER, Page 7A Local groups seek grant funding By RICH GREENE The group now wants to turn attention to restoring the blade's once brightglowing neon — a sign to all passersby that the theater is open for business. Cornelius said the group was seeking $65,000 in grant funding. Councilman Rob Schmid said his only concern with the proposal was whether it met grant criteria. Eligible activities must meet at least one of three national objectives: Benefit to low income households or persons, elimination of slums and blight or meet an urgent community development need resulting from a declared disaster. "The worst the government can say is 'no,'" City Manager Richard Crabtree said. Alternatives to Violence Executive Director Jeanne Spurr said the criteria shouldn't be a problem for her organization. The non-profit asked for $700,000 in grant funding to be used for its domestic violence program service DN Staff Writer The potential of millions of dollars in grant money had grand ideas floating around the Red Bluff City Council Chambers Tuesday at a special City Council meeting. Proposals included restoring the neon on the State Theatre blade sign, increasing the work that could be done on the Alternatives to Violence housing complex and a city plan to fund a low-income housing program. The council held a public hearing Tuesday regarding applications for the Community Development Block Grant Program. Eligible jurisdictions can apply for up to $2 million for a maximum of three activities. The City Council indicated to all parties at the meeting that it would be willing to work with all groups to form applications. The city has until April 12 to finalize its applications. State Theatre for the Arts President Bill Cornelius said his non-profit was nearly done raising the $441,000 it needed to pay off the building's mortgage. See GRANT, Page 7A