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WEDNESDAY Spinach, Shrimp Spartans Baseball Make Great Pair MAY 1, 2013 County Fare Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 2B SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Sunny 86/54 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 Man pleads guilty to molestation at day care By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Tehama County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday that it had accepted a guilty plea from accused child molester Ralph Elvis Martin. The 64-year-old Gerber resident has pled guilty to eight counts involving eight separate children that were under the care of Martin and his wife. Martin is expected to receive a sentence of 24 years in state prison at his sentencing, which has been scheduled for 8 a.m. on May 28 in the Tehama County Superior Court. Martin was charged with lewd act upon a child, oral copulation: use of force/injury, sex with a child under 10 and lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. Bail was set at $2 million. 'Ralph, or 'Ralphie' as some of the kids called him, was beloved and endeared by some of the children.' — DA Gregg Cohen The children involved are between the ages of 2-10, Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen said at a press Library goes giant conference days after Martin was arraigned on Nov. 8. The charges initially involved four victims, both boys and girls, each carrying sentences varying from three to 12 years and 15 years to life, Cohen said. The case began about 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, when a suspicious circumstance See GUILTY, page 7A Senior meals hit by sequester By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer The Senior Nutrition Program's group meals at the Los Molinos Veterans Hall are likely to stop as a result of federal sequestration cuts, the program's new administration said Tuesday. The Community Action Agency is taking over administration of the program, which was previously contracted out to the city of Red Bluff. Funding for the program is funneled through the CAA, and agency members say streamlining administration will lead to financial savings. However those savings still won't make up for an See MEALS, page 7A County rejects solar projects on farm land By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Courtesy photo San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey signs a bat for Tehama County Acting Librarian Sally Ainsworth at the annual Junior Giants Play Ball Lunch. The bat, signed by around 20 more Giants players, will be auctioned off to raise money for a potential new library. By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Tehama County Library advocates are going giant with their fundraising efforts. The Tehama County Friends of the Library and staff members are turning to the popularity of the San Francisco Giants to begin a push to raise $2 million to assist in the funding of a potential new building. In March the Tehama County Board of Supervisors heard a pro- posal that called for the County Jail to be expanded into the existing Red Bluff branch of the library. While no decision has made, the proposal would require the library to be relocated to an existing building or have a brand new one built. Library advocates would prefer the latter and hope their fundraising efforts over the coming years convince the Board of Supervisors the community is behind them as well. "I'm not bitter we need a new jail, I know we do," Acting County Librarian Sally Ainsworth said. "But the library is a very important fixture in the community." About a week after the jail proposal was made, Ainsworth attended the San Francisco Giants' annual Junior Giants Play Ball Lunch. She brought a bat and about a dozen balls in hopes the Giants players would lend their hands to the cause. They did. About 20 Giants See GIANT, page 7A The Tehama County Board of Supervisors Tuesday turned down a pair of proposed solar power facilities in the Flournoy area, finding the projects were not compatible with the Williamson Act lands they were scheduled to be built on. A public hearing on a third project south of Red Bluff on the southwest corner of the Hatfield Road and Percell Lane intersection was continued for one week at the request of the developer. The project would build a 250-kilowatt photovoltaic solar array generator on about 3-acres of rural property at an installation price of around $2.5 million. The other projects ranged in size from 250 to 500 kilowatts and would have been through 20year-lease contracts with the land owners. The board unanimously backed a denial finding that stated "the production of electricity for wholesale distribution is not itself an agricultural use, and is not compatible with adjacent agricultural uses on Williamson Act contracted property.... unless accessory to a current or planned agricultural use See SOLAR, page 7A Man stabbed on Talent show auditions announced Antelope near If you go... What: Red Bluff's Got Talent Gilmore Road When: June 1, By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Red Bluff Police are looking for a man with "Insane Clown Posse" tattoos on his chest in connection with an early Tuesday morning stabbing. The suspect is described as white man, about 25 years old, with short brown hair and "Insane Clown Posse" tattoos on his chest. The man was last seen fleeing the area on foot, accompanied by two women. Officers were sent to an apartment on Walnut Street at 1:15 a.m. after someone reported to police that a man had shown up at their apartment with a stab wound he 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 said he had received near Food Maxx. Upon arrival, officers contacted Jeffrey Wood, 50, of Red Bluff who said he had been assaulted with a knife about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Antelope Boulevard, near Gilmore Road. Wood, who was taken to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital for non-life threatening injuries to his arm, told officers he had tried to fend off his attacker with a 40-ounce beer bottle. Wood did not provide any explanation of the motive for the attack. Officers responded to the area and found evidence and witnesses who verified Wood's account of the event. The case is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Red Bluff Police at 527-3131. If you have a special talent and want a chance at winning hundreds of dollars in cash and prizes, then the best place to be in the month of May will be the Red Bluff Elk's Lodge for the annual auditions for Red Bluff's Got Talent, Tehama county's biggest talent showcase. Almost any talent that can be performed in front of an audience is welcome, according to showcase organizers, from singers, dancers and musicians, to acrobats, ventriloquists, magicians and more. All ages are welcome, and entrants from any part of Tehama County and surrounding areas can audition. Auditions will happen 68 p.m. on May 10 and 17 at the Red Bluff Elks Lodge, 355 Gilmore Road. Only those who have passed through an audition will be eligible to perform at the showcase. Prepared audition pieces should be approximately 3 to 10 minutes in length. Those who need musical accompaniment should Auditions May 10, 17 Where: Red Bluff Elks Lodge How much: Free bring an accompanist or karaoke CD to the audition. An accompanist will be provided on the nights of the performances if needed. In particular, organizers are also encouraging those with less traditional talents to consider auditioning this year, including such performers as magicians, jugglers, ventriloquists, acrobats, impressionists, comedians, unicyclists, clowns and more. Prizes -- consisting of a huge assortment of choice items donated by city and county businesses, including cash, gift certificates and merchandise — currently amount to well over $1,000 and rising and will be awarded to the top scoring performers at the show- case on June 1. There is no fee to audition, but those who are selected to participate in Red Bluff's Got Talent will simply purchase a standard ticket to the performance as a registration fee to cover their full dinner, drinks and dessert on the night of their performance. Last year's winners were Ellie Fletcher, Mahalee Gaumer, Royce and Lance Crane, Lindsey Fletcher, Kyla Barriga-Ashurst and Karlee Garcia. All performances will be judged by well-known local celebrities who will briefly interview the contestants onstage before they show off their skills. Last year's judges were KHSL and KNVN news anchor Linda Watkins-Bennett, RBUHS Principal Pat Gleason, Mercy High School Principal Paul Webber and Red Bluff Mayor Forest Flynn. "It is incredible of the Red Bluff Elk's Lodge to provide an opportunity like this for all the diverse folks of Tehama County to get together and demonstrate their many talents," said North State Events manager Mace Archer. "It was such a huge success last year and everyone is looking forward to this popular annual event." Additional information is available by calling (530) 784-4TIX or online at www.northstateevents.info. Smog Inspection $ 2595 +$825 certificate (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) • Member Discount 530 527-9841 195 S. Main St., Red Bluff