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MONDAY AUGUST 16, 2010 Breaking news at: Reader Photos Oh Snap! www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 8A RED BLUFF Down to the wire SPORTS 1B Sunny 94/65 Weather forecast 8B DAILYNEWS Back in style 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 Prison expert to host forum CORNING — A Community Forum on Prison Reform entitled: Rebuilding Lives and Making Communities Safer with former San Quentin Warden Jeanne Woodford will be held 2-4 p.m. on Sept. 19. The event will be held at First Unit- ed Methodist Church Social Hall down- stairs off South Street. Refreshments will follow. Join members of the community for a discussion about the prison system See FORUM, page 7A Schools to get $1.2B from fed jobs bill Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson Kathryn Cruson, 4, finds something that catches her eye Saturday at Walmart. Cruson was one of 600 children to receive a $100 shopping spree as part of the Back to School Project. By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Even in this economy, $60,000 buys a lot of smiles. A record-breaking 600 children, all from Tehama County, swarmed Wal- mart’s clothing section Saturday for the 2010 Great Shopping Day, the culmina- tion of a year’s worth of efforts for Red Bluff resident Kim Berry and the Back to School Project. Years ago, Berry was the recipient of an anonymous $100 donation to pay for new school clothing for her daughter. The gesture inspired her to found the Back to School Project, in which Berry solicits donations all year and redistrib- utes them in a series of $100 shopping sprees for qualifying children from low- income families. Berry found herself collecting dona- tions and alerting families as late as 10 p.m. Friday. By the time everything was accounted for, community donations put the event on track to help more children than all previous years combined. “I love my city,” Berry said. Amber Elliot and her daughter count- ‘She’s going to be set and good to go’ Amber Elliot, speaking about her daughter Kathryn Cruson ed themselves among the recipients this year. As her 4-year-old daughter Kathryn Cruson peered, beaming, out of the shopping cart, Elliott said she knew firsthand the debilitating effects of being mocked for wearing older cloth- ing. It was a fate she hopes her daughter can avoid, she said. Even with the award, Elliott knows getting through the year may take some budgeting. But with some mixing and matching of skirts and shirts, she hopes to keep Cruson’s clothing fresh. “She’s going to be set and good to go,” she said. Cruson seemed pleased. Asked to Special election may alter balance in Calif Senate WATSONVILLE (AP) — Rarely does a race for a state legisla- tive seat hold much meaning for anyone liv- ing outside the district. Next week’s special election in a state Sen- ate district that stretches the length of Califor- nia’s Central Coast is producing intense inter- est, big campaign dona- tions and even an endorsement from Pres- ident Barack Obama. It’s all about control in the Legislature. If the Democratic candidate, John Laird, wins the open seat, it would bring Democrats within one vote of the two-thirds majority they need in the Senate to approve budgets and tax increases. That possibil- ity prompted the endorsement from the president, who says the ability of Republican state lawmakers to block the spending plans of majority Democrats is equivalent to the roadblocks he has faced in Congress. The possibility that Democrats could get so close to a supermajority in one house of the Leg- islature has led Republi- cans and conservative groups to open their 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See SENATE, page 7A name her favorite item, she listed many, including her backpack, socks, sandals and underwear. Many of the 600 children and their families may have been in hard times even without the widespread, lingering effects of the recession. Amy Ramirez, of Red Bluff, has five children. Between them, clothing gets expensive quickly, she said. But the event was about more than just easing expenses. The Back to School Project is about building child- hood confidence, volunteer Jay Nelson said. Helping children choose their outfit can help them build their identity, he said. At the end of the run, children were asked to fill out blank Thank You cards to send to the event sponsors, which included some 200 companies and orga- nizations. Turns out, $60,000 buys a lot of Thank You cards, too. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailynews.com. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The state aid bill President Obama signed last week is expected to provide $1.2 billion to help California’s cash- strapped schools, but uncertainty over the state budget could delay plans to rehire laid-off teachers or restore school days. The emergency legislation provides $10 billion to states to save or create estimated 160,000 education jobs, including up to 16,500 in California. The Obama administration plans to begin distributing the education money to states later this month and wants school districts to use the money to retain and rehire teachers for the 2010- 2011 academic year, which has already begun in some districts. But California lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger still haven’t reached agreement on a state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, and there is no deal in sight, creating finan- cial uncertainty among school districts. ‘‘Districts are going to be reluctant to make any solid decisions about this money until they have solid informa- tion about what the state budget will contain,’’ said Rick Pratt, assistant executive director of the California School Boards Association. See SCHOOLS, page 7A Youth fair gets info to parents By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer CORNING — For McKayla Zimmerman, Saturday meant snow in August. Though kept outdoors in an elevated bin stand- ing in the Northside Park, the fluffy, moist snow showed no signs of melt- ing or hardening. It was just how the 8- year-old Corning resident likes it. Super Snow, the brand name for the fake, poly- mer snow substitute, was one of about 30 attrac- tions available at the Corning Youth Fair. Visiting children could, for no charge, play games combining over- sized bowling pins with bean bags, spin a wheel at the First 5 Tehama booth or simply use the park swings. But the fair serves a dual purpose. Its game Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson McKayla Zimmerman, 8, Corning, plays with Super Snow Saturday at the Corning Youth Fair in Northside Park. booths were joined by tables targeting parents, including stands belong- ing to Alternatives to Vio- lence, Child Abuse Pre- vention Council and Corning Union Elemen- tary School District. At the First 5 Mobile Dental Unit, parents could sign up for free child dental exams some- time over the next two weeks, when the van will be in Corning, said Mary Jacobson, of the Tehama EARN EXTRA MONEY work your own hours, quick pay, must be 18 yrs+, have drivers license & insured vehicle. (866) 906-8036 Job Ref#26044 Deliver new telephone directories in the Glenn-Tehama area. FT/PT, County Health Services Agency. Services like the kind offered by First 5 and the county’s Family Resource Center are sometimes overlooked by parents, Jacobson said. The Health Services Agency booth, mean- while, offered advice on affordable ways to keep prescription drugs away from children and warn- ings on whooping cough, a potentially lethal dis- See FAIR, page 7A