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FRIDAY Students Visit Rail Museum MAY 10, 2013 League Champs Education Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Sunny 94/65 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 County welcomes permanent psychiatrist By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer It can be stressful enough to visit the psychiatrist. Imagine if every visit was to a different doctor. That's what Tehama County mental health patients have dealt with since 2009, the last time the county had a permanent psychiatrist. Tehama County has historically had difficulty recruiting a psychiatrist for Health Services Agency's Mental Health Divi- sion. In the past two years the county has used between six to eight different place-holder psychiatrists, according to Acting Director Jayme Bottke. That rotation finally came to an end in early April when the Board of Supervisors approved a 3-year agreement with Dr. Paul Rogers. "It's going to be a tremendous boost to the clients here in Tehama County that they're finally going to have a stable doctor to see and be treated by on therapy and medication. "They've been really complaining about not having that continuing of care with a stable doctor," Gonzales said. Rogers brings a bonus with him to Tehama County, as he is also a general practitioner who went back for his residence and someone they can relate to on a continuous basis now. (It's) just the stability of having a permanent person," Mental Health Board Chairman Mike Gonzales said. Bottke said it's not just a patient developing trust with a doctor, but different psychiatrists can have different philosophies May 2013 Mental Health Awareness Home prices climb in psychiatry, Rogers, along with Physician Assistant Karen Kushner, will handle around 926 unique clients and roughly 4,600 visits per year. The county psychiatrist sees a wide range of patients from those referred by schools and ordered by the courts to walkins. The division provides a full range of services for MediCal recipients as well as some See COUNTY, page 7A Fairground moves closer to agreement By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Tehama District Fairboard and Tehama County Supervisors gave direction to staff at an April 29 joint meeting to bring the final Joint Powers Authority (JPA) draft before their respective boards at the May 21 meeting. If approved, it would be the final step to submitting the agreement to the state, Chief Administrator Bill Goodwin said. The two groups have been looking into the JPA as an alternative governance structure resulting from Gov. Jerry Brown's elimination of all state funding for fairs, a cut equivalent to $200,000 or 25 percent of the Tehama District Fairground budget. $210,000 $122,000 $83,500 $76,250 Median sale price up, reversing 5 years of decline By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer The median sale price of residential homes in Red Bluff increased for the first time in six years in 2012. There were 141 detached single family residential fall value sales in 2012 at a median price of $83,500, a 9.51 percent increase from 2011. It was the first time prices increased since 2006, at the height of the housing market when 142 homes were sold in Red Bluff at an average median price of $210,000. The average median price plummeted to as low as $76,250 in 2011, a 63.69 percent decrease from the high of 2006. Even with the positive housing market news, the city of Red Bluff's property values will decrease 4.5 percent in the fiscal year according to consultant HdL Companies. That decrease is largely because of a successful appeal for reduction of property value by Home Depot by about $2.5 million and the devaluation of a former commercial prop- erty in the amount of $1.8 million. The 11 percent increase in the housing market was not able to offset the industrial decline, although HdL is estimating a 2 percent increase in the city's property tax and vehicle license fees for the upcoming fiscal year. Residential parcels make up about 54 percent of the city's property tax revenue, which will total around $1.299 million in 2012-13 from a total net taxable value of $739 million. The city of Red Bluff's Top 10 property taxpayers in 2012-13 were: See HOME, page 7A See FAIRGROUND, page 7A Utility upgrading Mineral electrical delivery reliability Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) utility crews started work this week on a $740,000 project in eastern Tehama County to upgrade the local electric system to provide more reliable service to customers. PG&E is upgrading an electric circuit that runs from the Manton area southeast across the remote and rugged South Fork Battle Creek Canyon and then east along Highway 36 to Mineral. Crews will install eight remotely operated devices and switches along the circuit that will enable PG&E to immediately begin restoring power even before a utility worker has reached the area. PG&E will also replace 17 wooden utility poles and 25 wooden cross arms with all new equipment. Eight new fuses will be installed to help reduce the number of customers impacted by outages. When completed in mid-July, the upgrades will help reduce both the number and duration of power outages for about 1,400 customers from Manton to Mineral. Work will occur primarily in the Manton area and along the circuit to Mineral. For more information, visit pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com. Sheriff: Search for Residents want fire lookout staffed now Shasta suspect like 'warfare' By HEATHER HACKING MediaNews Group SHINGLETOWN (AP) — Sheriff's SWAT teams are proceeding extremely carefully as they search a rural part of Northern California where an ex-convict suspected of fatally shooting his wife and two young daughters is believed to be hiding out, authorities said Thursday. Given Shane Miller's knowledge of the area in Humboldt County and ability to fortify himself, deputies were very vulnerable, Shasta County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Kent said. Miller is believed to be on foot, heavily armed and have a cabin in the area where several weapons may be kept. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 ''Who knows whether or not he would retaliate against officers,'' Kent said. ''With the information we're receiving, it ups the ante. It's almost like warfare.'' The search is focused around the community of Petrolia, which is close to where Miller's truck was found on Wednesday. Schools in the area were closed, and the roughly 300 residents were being advised to shelter in place, keep their doors locked, and if they do have to leave for an emergency, to leave a contact number tacked to their front doors. Petrolia is about 200 miles west of the site of the slayings in Shingletown, in Shasta County. It is in a remote, undeveloped area of redwoods and towering See WARFARE, page 7A BUTTE MEADOWS — Residents of Butte Meadows have ample reason to be worried. More than 8,000 acres of land has burned in the dry mountains nearby, with the start of one of the earliest fire seasons anyone has seen in California. The Panther Fire is contained. The fire lookout on Colby Mountain, north of Butte Meadows, is scheduled to be occupied June 2. But residents in Butte Meadows think there should be someone on the lookout now. B.K. Brooks said he started talking to folks, and was urged to reach out to other residents with a petition. Tuesday he was in Forest Ranch, knocking on doors. The petition is a letter people are asked to sign and then fax to the leaders of the Lassen National Forest. It asks that the Colby MediaNews Group photo by Bill Husa B.K. Brooks shows a petition asking for earlier staffing of the Colby Mountain lookout due to increased fire danger. material anyone can remember, Mountain Lookout be combustible with almost no rain arrivopened as soon as possi- since April. There's been a lot of ing this year. ble. When he has cruised Brooks owns a cabin in talk in the area that the Butte Meadows, and has fires could be due to around on his all-terrain been working to clear arson, Brooks said. The area is as dry as pine needles and other See FIRE, page 7A