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TUESDAY Mother's Age, Complications JUNE 18, 2013 Rodeo Winners Vitality Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Mostly sunny 81/56 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 Gerber yard cleared Councilman steps down By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Red Bluff City Councilman Robert Sheppard Jr. resigned from his position Monday morning. The resignation comes on the eve of the City Council deciding on a proposed 2013-14 fiscal year budget. "It is with regret that I tender my resignation from the City of Red Bluff board of directors, effective June 17, 2013. Due to personal reasons I am no longer Sheppard able to continue serving the city and its residents," Sheppard's resignation letter said. "I am grateful for having had the opportunity to serve on the City Council of Red Bluff for the past 6 months, and I offer my best wishes for its continued success." See COUNCIL, page 7A Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb A Dudley's Excavating employee tackles a trash pile at a residence in the 8400 block of State Route 99W in Gerber, where a warrant for an abatement order was served Monday morning. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer An abandoned Coca-Cola sign almost hidden by leaves and a sign in the yard leaning against an inside gate are just two of the items found Monday in a very full yard in the 8400 block of State Route 99W in Gerber. The two are reminders of a building that once housed a gas station and, at another time, a store, said Mike Dudley, owner of Gerber's Dudley's Excavating and lifelong Tehama County resident. Tehama County served a warrant Monday for abatement of the trash at the lot. Dudley has been on three of the county's clean-up efforts including one in Red Bluff, one in Richfield and Monday's job, he said. Past the gate at the entrance, which was cut to allow for the county abatement, was a bevy of items both recognizable and unrecognizable. An old chair sat atop a pile higher than the porch mixed in tall, dead grass, concrete blocks and old burn barrels. A ladder from an above ground pool and a green net material sat next to the gate while an older boat sat almost buried in grass at the opposite end. Tires of all sizes were sitting in a small pile next to the house. At any time there are about three to four cases in the works, but rarely does it take going to court to get a warrant, said Tehama County Environmental Health Director Tim Potanovic. "This has been going on for about six months," Potanovic said. "In the interest of public health and environmental protection, we're going to clean up the problem. We gave them all the notice we could and tried to work it out, but in the end we had to go to the courts and get a warrant." This is the second abatement order Tehama County has served in about two years, he said. "We really want voluntary compliance and most often we do get it," Potanovic said. The clean-up site for Monday was called in from the community and something his department had seen, Potanovic said. Lawsuits filed against Calif.'s Delta Plan FRESNO (AP) — Several opposing groups have filed lawsuits against a broad, long-range plan to manage the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that was adopted in May. The four suits, filed over the course of the past month by environmental groups and water users, argue the Delta Plan does not fulfill its two co-equal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for millions of Californians and protecting and restoring the delta ecosystem. Environmental groups say the plan would cause more water to be siphoned from the delta, causing further fish declines. Water contractors say the opposite would be true: that the plan would limit the water pumped, reducing water deliveries to cities and 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 states. Three of the lawsuits were filed on Friday, including two filed by environmental groups and one by the State Water Contractors. They follow a lawsuit filed by the Westlands Water District, one of the nation's largest water contractors, at the end of May. The lawsuits seek a halt to and a redo of the plan. In 2009, spurred by the delta's rapid deterioration and the curtailments imposed on water pumping, the state legislature created the Delta Stewardship Council to come up with a plan to manage the estuary. The Delta Plan does not call for specific construction projects but contains policies and recommendations. The $14 billion twin tunnel project, which is being developed through a separate federal and state initiative, will be incorporated into the plan if the tunnels are approved and permitted. The plaintiffs in one of See DELTA, page 7A How many warnings the person in violation receives depends on the situation and their willingness to work with the county, but always start with an attempt to make contact in person, Potanovic said. If no one is home, a note or a card is left on the door. If no results are forthcoming, a letter is sent giving at least 30 days notice, Potanovic said. "We want to sit down and talk to them," Potanovic said. "No one wants to get a warrant and come onto private property, but we have no choice." Potanovic's department is more concerned with solid waste surfacing or things that could wash into waterways. "This could impact human health because of rodent harborage or flies," Potanovic said. Calls regarding zoning issues such as junk-filled yards or those full of cars are handled by the Planning and Building departments, Potanovic said. Sometimes the abatement issues, which are many times a result of the See YARD, page 7A Corning budget to be a tight one By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — The City Council took its first look at the 2013-2014 budget, which looks to be in good shape June 11. The staff report shows that projected revenues for the city, at $13, 432, 400, will be $10,000 more than its expenditures. The general fund, which unlike other areas does not have strings attached, will be about $969,500 as of June 30, but will be at $864,300 by June 30, 2014, City Manager John Brewer said. "If you're reading the papers, Chico and Oroville didn't take the lead of Corning, who had staff that stepped up and got us on the right path," Mayor Gary Strack said. The city underwent a period, ending Dec. 31, 2012, of an across-the- board 10 percent savings in furloughs. The change of coming off the six months of furloughs in 2012 is part of what makes the 2012-2013 budget unique, Brewer said. Because there are no furloughs and there have been some 2 percent raises, operational costs are higher. Added to that is the anomaly of an extra $210,000 from a Flying J sales tax that was mistakenly allocated to someone outside of Tehama County, he said. "For those reasons, this year's budget will require some belt tightening compared to the 2012-2013 budget," Brewer said. One area the city relies heavily on for its general fund is the sales tax revenue, which in the 20132014 budget is about 59 See BUDGET, page 7A Fair fundraiser fails to draw crowd By ANDRE BYIK DN Sports Editor Everything was set for Megan Mandolfo's first of two fundraisers this month to benefit the Tehama District Fairground. There was a dunk tank, there was music. What was missing during the Father's Day themed tritip cook-off at the fairgrounds was the crowd to enjoy the sunny Saturday. "No one came," she said, adding that those chatting under an overhang there were part of her crew. Mandolfo, who was Miss Tehama County in 2011, has organized successful fundraisers for the fairgrounds before. Last year she applied her performing arts background to produce a stage show of Meet Me in St. Louis that raised about $5,000. Mandolfo, who has been singing since she was in elementary school, played lead. Mandolfo said the fundraising efforts have been a way to help mitigate the cut in fair funding from the state. The cut amounts to 25 percent of the Tehama District Fair- Daily News photo by Andre Byik Erica Downey, right, competes in a watermelon eating contest Saturday at the Tehama District Fairground. ground budget, or $200,000. "People started asking me, 'Why are you doing this?'" Mandolfo said. "Well, someone needs to do something about it. Why not me, I guess." The 18-year-old said she has a connection to the fairgrounds. For years, she said, the fair governed the Miss Tehama County con- test. The contest spun-off into its own entity in 2011, but Mandolfo said she still has a close relationship with those at the fair and with Fairground CEO Mark Eidman. "He's the one that I went to when I was Miss Tehama County," she said. "I talked to him about what was going on 2012 Hilltop Dr., Redding See FAIR, page 7A (530) 224-7SUN (786) 2000 SWIMSUITS!!! 2000 Seperates Mix & Match Cupsizes A-B-C-D-DD-E-F