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FRIDAY JULY 30, 2010 Breaking news at: Shark Week Returns SelectTV www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Busted Streak SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 95/64 Weather forecast 8A By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer A former Red Bluff city employee, who was let go almost a year ago, is being charged with embezzling from the city. Eileen Jean Lampron, 46, of Red Bluff, was arrested Thurs- day on a felony warrant follow- ing an investigation by the Tehama County District Attor- DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 City worker charged with embezzlement ney’s Office, according to a press release from the DA’s office. She has been booked into Tehama County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 bail. Lampron is being charged with a felony count of allegedly embezzling public funds and could face up to 3 years in prison if convicted, District Attorney Gregg Cohen said. During her employment as an account technician Lampron allegedly took about $18,000 in cash over a 3-year period, between July 2006 and July 2009. The city became aware of the situa- tion while perform- ing a routine annual audit in July 2009. Lampron handled cash transactions from residents who Lampron Rally for SB1070 went to City Hall to pay for water ser- vices, building per- mits, business licenses and other city services. A look at the books showed there was a delay, sometimes several days, between the time she received the cash and wrote the receipt for the customer and when the cash was deposited, City Manager Martin Nichols said. Following the audit, a sur- prise cash count was per- formed, at which time Lampron failed to produce her cash box. She took an extended lunch and never returned with the key, Nichols said. After using the services of a locksmith to gain access to the See CITY, page 7A Corning split on managers By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — The City Council deadlocked in a 2- 2 vote Tuesday shooting down part-time contracts for two managers and delaying the budget until a new council is seated. The city was facing an almost $1.1 million shortfall and had taken several measures to close the gap, includ- ing the contracts that would have saved almost $200,000 with the city manager and police chief going part-time. Part of the shortfall was the drop from $2.7 million See SPLIT, page 7A Most North State fires contained By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer A fire weather watch Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Mike Holtsclaw of Gerber and Joyce Lequia of Corning share a laugh Thursday on the corner of Edith Avenue and Solano Street at the Corning Tea Party Patriots Rally. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — The Corning Tea Party Patriots and the Tehama County Tea Party Patriots of Red Bluff joined forces Thursday after- noon on the corners of Edith Avenue and Solano Street in Corn- ing to show support for Arizona and its fight for SB1070 — a controver- sial immigration enforcement law. Senate Bill 1070 was signed into law by Gov. Janice Brewer on April 23, but the federal government is challenging it’s constitutionality, filing a complaint on July 6. “This is a coalition of Tehama County Patriots and Corning Patri- ots,” said Dean Blankenship, a member of the Corning group. “We’re standing in support of Gov. Brewer and the state of Arizona in its effort to stop illegal immigra- tion.” US District Judge Susan Bolton made a decision Wednesday that went into effect at noon Thursday Schwarzenegger to cities: post salaries SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chal- lenged cities Thursday to post officials’ salaries on websites if they have nothing to hide. The Republican gover- nor said Californians were asking what their local government offi- cials were paid after rev- elations that the Southern California city of Bell paid three of its top administrators a total of $1.6 million a year. ‘‘I think if the city officials have nothing to hide, put the information on the website so people don’t even have to call,’’ Schwarzenegger said in a budget speech to the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Such information is already public record in California, but many cities and counties don’t display the information for the public to easily see. That could change if the state Legislature moves ahead with pro- posals being drafted by the League of California Cities. About 40 city man- agers discussed the issue Thursday at the league’s annual meeting in Sacra- mento, where the city of Bell was atop the agenda. ‘‘There really has been a violation of public trust,’’ said Santa Clarita City Manager Ken Pul- skamp. ‘‘We want to go above and beyond to show we are transparent, and we are open to vari- ous solutions.’’ The league’s proposals will be forwarded to the state Legislature. League executive director Chris McKenzie said it would be unfair to put all cities in the same category as Bell. ‘‘We’re talking about a few who unjustly enriched themselves at the expense of many,’’ he 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See POST, page 7A ruling against portions of sections two, three, five and six. Section two requires an officer to make a reasonable attempt at deter- mining the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if the officer suspects the individual is in the US unlawfully. Section three makes it a crime not to apply for or carry alien regis- tration papers and section five makes it a crime for unauthorized See RALLY, page 7A was issued for this after- noon through Saturday evening for gusty winds and low humidity in Northern California where firefighters are still battling several lightning- caused fires. A lightning series that hit northern California July 24 has caused 194 fires, burning about 900 acres within CalFire’s jurisdiction and federal lands, a CalFire release said Thursday. Most have been con- tained to very small acreage, but a few have had larger numbers. The Russell Complex, a set of nine fires burning 250 acres in Lassen Coun- ty, was 100 percent con- tained Thursday. The complex is east of Stray- lor Lake. The Constantia Com- plex in the Carson City District of Bureau of Land Management land, locat- ed five miles south of Doyle in Lassen County, was 73 percent contained at 1,369 acres burned. It was expected to be com- pletely contained by Thursday. The McDonald Fire, located on BLM land in the Northern California District in Lassen County, was the biggest fire at 7,000 acres with 10 per- cent containment. Locat- ed three miles northeast of See FIRES, page 7A RB native named science exec By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Red Bluff native Michael Van Woert has been named executive officer of the National Science Board. “I was absolutely ecstatic when I heard the news,” Van Woert said. “This is an important position within the National Science Foun- dation and it comes with a lot of responsibility. I know they had a number of highly qualified applicants so I am espe- cially honored that the National Science Board has put their trust in me to support them.” Van Woert is the son of William and the late Lovilla Van Woert of Red Bluff. His sister, Beth, lives in Red Bluff, his sister, Mary, lives in Klamath Falls, Ore., and his brother, Bill, lives in Citrus Heights. Van Woert is a 1971 graduate of Red Bluff Union High School and a 1974 graduate of Shas- ta College in Redding. He earned a Bache- lors of Science in physics from University and other entities both in and out of the govern- ment. Van Woert will be in Van Woert of California, Davis, in 1976 and a Ph.D in oceanography from Uni- versity of California, San Diego, in 1984. The National Science Board is the largest presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed collegial body in the federal government and is made up of 24 mem- bers and the National Science Foundation director. As executive officer, Van Woert is a key advi- sor to members of the board and the day-to- day representative of the board to the rest of the foundation, Congress charge of developing and evaluating the process for planning, budget and policy activi- ties for the board and manage the National Science Board office. Van Woert will help with nominations to the board and assist nomi- nees as they go through Senate confirmation. Prior to being execu- tive officer, Van Woert served as executive offi- cer for the National Sci- ence Foundation of Polar Programs. His job was to support basic sci- ence and logistics in both polar regions for five years. Van Woert led the Arctic Science Divi- sions, which fund about $90 million a year in Arctic research and managed the Office of Polar Environment, Health and Safety. Van Woert was responsible for ensuring environmental compli- ance under the Antarctic Treaty System as well as health and safety of all fieldwork participants in Antarctica. Before the National Science Foundation, Van Woert was in leadership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Remote Sensing program starting in 1997. During that time he oversaw the develop- ment of many space- based oceanographic research products and their transition into operation. Van Woert served as NOAA’s chief scientist for the US National Ice Center and led a team of scientists and engineers See EXEC, page 7A TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS MOULE’S IT’S SCREEN SEASON Enjoy the Fresh air without Bugs New Window & Door Screen Re-screen your existing screens 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260