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THURSDAY Here Comes Swim Wrap The Sun (Kings) AUGUST 8, 2013 Pastimes Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Partly cloudy 90/60 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 Eliggi picked for Red Bluff City Council By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Raymond Eliggi was unanimously appointed to the Red Bluff City Council Tuesday night, restoring the governing board to a full five members for the first time since Robert Sheppard Jr. resigned abruptly June 17. Eliggi will serve out the remainder of Sheppard's term through December 2016. He was immediately sworn into office and took his position on the dais following the appoint- ment. A 71-year-old retired mechanic and Vietnamera veteran, Eliggi has attended nearly every City Council meeting in the past few years. He moved to Red Bluff from Santa Rosa in 2007. Eliggi described himself as "fairly conservative" to the council, although he added he was open to spending money in the present if it meant savings in the future. In a July interview, Eliggi told the Daily News he did not have any problems with the City Council's current direction. The council has been at a stalemate regarding a number of issues since being reduced to four members. Votes split 2-2 on whether or not to combine the Building and Planning departments and on maintaining the city's relationship with 3Core, a local economic development service. The department combination plan would have saved the city $80,000 in general fund expenditures, but Councilmem- Daily News photo by Rich Greene Deputy City Clerk Cheryl Smith swears Raymond Eliggi into the office of Red Bluff City Councilman, following his appointment Tuesday. Back to School bers Rob Schmid and Daniele Jackson each had qualms about how it was laid out. The council has also put off decisions regarding the purchase of new police vehicles, creating a Fire Academy to expand available personnel and hiring an additional Public Works employee. A list of items to reconsider includes the Public Works Department's request to purchase equipment for water chlorination, after See CITY, page 7A Molestation sentencing pushed to October By ANDRE BYIK By ANDRE BYIK DN Staff Writer DN Staff Writer The Back to School Project in Tehama County, which aims to send children to school with new clothes, shoes and a backpack, will hold its 10th annual shopping event Saturday at Walmart. Started in 2004 by the project's director, Kim Berry, the Back to School Project has aided more than 2,000 children over the years. "I used to be a single parent, and I could never buy my kids school clothes," Berry said. On two occasions Berry received anonymous donations of $100, which went to clothes and school supplies. As time passed and her financial situation stabilized, Berry said she felt she was supposed to raise money for single-parent families, like someone had done for her. Twelve years ago she said she wanted to start a fundraising project, but shelved the idea because she was afraid. The next year, the same kind of ache came around, but nothing came to fruition. Then 10 years ago she spoke with her pastor, who said if she even helped five children, it would be worth it. The project started with funding for 18 children in its first year, Berry said, and has grown ever since. The non-profit project serves children in financial need, and has funding for 284 out of the 417 children who have applied for help this year. The project determines its recipients, who each receive $100 in funding, by those with the greatest financial need. Berry said for many The sentencing of a 21-year-old Boy Scout leader who in May pleaded no contest to a felony charge of committing a lewd act upon a child was pushed back Tuesday in Tehama County Superior Court. The defendant, Dustin Lee Hedrick, of Shingletown, is due back in court Oct. 16, said Matt Rogers, Tehama County Assistant District Attorney. In a related Butte County case, Hedrick in May also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor child molestation charge that reportedly involved inappropriate touching incidents between Hedrick and a then-15-year-old boy at the Camp Lassen Scout camp in Butte Meadows in May 2012, according to the Chico Enterprise-Record. Hedrick, who was an assistant scoutmaster for Troop See PUSHED, page 7A Legislators work to combat pot pollution in Butte Daily News file photo kids, it's the only new clothes they'll receive all year. "People don't realize the level of poverty that is here," she said. "The number of families that are in need." She added: "Every year there's always some- body that has to put their shoes on right there," Berry said. "It's very powerful." The Back to School Project, which is routinely held on the second Saturday in August, raises funds throughout the year and is helped by the com- munity as well. On Sunday, the project will hold a Cuts For Kids from event 2-6 p.m. at the Red Bluff Community and Senior Center, 1500 S. Jackson St. The event, which provides free hairSee SCHOOL, page 7A State Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), Assemblyman Dan Logue (R-Loma Rica), Butte County Supervisors Bill Connelly and Doug Teeter, and Sheriff Jerry Smith met recently with representatives from the state water board to discuss the enforcement of environmental laws at marijuana grow sites in order to help protect water quality. "With the ultimate goal of having clean ground and surface water, everyone in today's meeting walked away with a greater understanding of each other's needs," said Nielsen. "It is critical that we all work together to help ensure the safety of water officials as they access and inspect marijuana growing operations for possible illegal use of fertilizers, pesticides and other harmful chemicals." Marijuana growers have not only become a public safety problem for Butte County; the operations are also causing damage to the region's environment and waterways. This problem extends far beyond Butte County. Nielsen and Logue want to find statewide solutions. In a letter to Karl Longley, chairman of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Butte County Board of Supervisors asked the water board to enforce the Clean Water Act at marijuana growing sites. State government officials were initially fearful of the potential danger of the growers; they did not know if they were dealing with a violent criminal or someone connected with organized crime. Today's meeting between state and county officials was a positive step. All parties involved agreed that collaboration was needed to prevent and See POT, page 7A Study finds destructive Medfly entrenched in Calif FRESNO (AP) — Fruit flies that are highly destructive to crops are now permanently established in California and spreading, according to a new study published on Wednesday. The study, published in the science journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that despite decades of 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 costly eradication efforts by the state, the Mediterranean fruit fly and the Oriental fruit fly have not been eliminated. The flies' populations are currently low, said study co-author and University of California, Davis entomologist James Carey. In Tehama County 317 traps were deployed for the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Oriental Fruit Fly, Melon Fly, Japanese Beetle and Gypsy Moth in 2012, resulting in no finds, according to the Department of Agriculture's latest crop report. But if the state does not change its long-term strategy to control the flies, the future could bring frequent, widespread outbreaks that would devastate California's $43.5 billion agricultural industry, he said. Outbreaks could lead to embargoes on California produce by foreign and domestic trad- ing partners who want to protect their regions from fruit fly invasions. At least five and as many as nine species of tropical fruit flies are now entrenched in California, the study determined. The Oriental fruit fly has been detected and captured in the state every year and the Medfly every other year for the past 44 years, Carey said. State officials have said fruit flies are brought to California by visitors or cargo shipments from outside the country. But the study, which examined data on thousands of flies captured in California from 1950 to 2012, contradicts that claim. "They're here, they're established and lurking," Carey said. "It's like an insidious cancer that's just metastasizing and spreading, and it will eventually develop into a full-fledged cancer." Carey said that in addition to current strategies, the state should formulate longterm emergency plans, increase trapping and monitoring of the flies, and create a crop insurance program for farmers. California farmers and packers should also develop production strategies based on knowledge of the fly's presence, he added. And the federal government should coordiSee MEDFLY, page 7A