Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/15425
FRIDAY AUGUST 27, 2010 Breaking news at: Jimmy’s Emmys Select TV www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Reader Photos See 6A, 7A Bulldogs Preview SPORTS 1B Weather forecast 10A Sunny 95/58 By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Even as Red Bluff works toward finalizing its 2010- 2011 budget, talks of when city staff knew of the deficit and why they did not inform the full council sooner contin- ue to strain the process. The city publicly announced a $1.3 million bud- get deficit in June, baffling the council which had been told just 3 months earlier that the deficit would be $300,000. City Manager Martin 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 Budget gap — who knew and when Nichols has maintained that he only knew in June the deficit was that high. Finance Direc- tor Margaret Van Warmerdam said she knew by March the deficit was higher, and while she report- ed the deficit to Nichols, he failed to take the infor- mation to the council. “My job is to Local grad wins festival award for screenplay Special to the DN Screenwriter and former Red Bluff resident Heath Davis Havlick has won the Spirit of Moondance Award for the 11th Annual Moondance International Film Festival. The award is given to women writers, filmmakers and composers whose work embodies the spiritual and independent vision of the fes- tival. Men may be co-writers or co-filmmakers, but the entry must be submitted by a woman. Havlick Out of 13 feature screenplay finalists, 6 were given awards. Havlick was the only recipient of a Spirit of Moondance Award for her script “Santa Eulalia.” “I am still in shock and really grateful,” Havlick said. ”Screenwriting is a very crowded market where it’s hard to get noticed, and that’s why com- petitions like Moondance are so valuable. I’m look- ing forward to the opportunities that arise as a result of this win.” Havlick will travel to Boulder, Colo. at the end of September with her husband, Tom, where they will network with producers, managers and fellow writers, as well as celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary. Havlick attended high school in Red Bluff, first at Mercy High School and then at Red Bluff Union. She went on to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she earned an honors degree in creative writing. After studying linguistics and literacy in Texas, Havlick returned to the Santa Cruz area, where she has lived for 16 years. She is employed at Fisher Vista, a public relations and marketing firm in Aptos. Moondance was founded by Elizabeth English to raise awareness of the invaluable contributions of women to the entertainment community. Popularly known as the "American Cannes," Moondance is one of the premier venues for the exhibition and promotion of feature and short films in the US and one of the leading indie film festivals in the world. Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson The crosswalks at Antelope Boulevard and Main Street include braille and audio warnings for the blind, one of the many moves Red Bluff has made to accommodate the disabled. produce the financials, but his is to tell the council,” she said. “Not everything that I prepare for Marty is presented to council.” Nichols con- BUDGET Balancing the firmed he and Van Warmerdam met on March 17 to discuss the budget, but said he does not recall her men- tioning that the deficit was $1.1 million at that point. Van Warmerdam’s notes from the meeting, obtained by the Daily News through a pub- lic records act request, include a financial spreadsheet with an ending fund balance for the fiscal year 2010-2011 at nega- tive $1,180,555. Handwritten notes on the document says, “Notes from meeting 3/17/10 with CM. Copies to CM as well.” Nichols said he cannot remember if Van Warmerdam gave him the documents nor does he recall having seen them. Had he seen them, he certainly would have asked questions, he said, and the spreadsheet is not dated, which means it could have been prepared at another time. Van Warmerdam’s claim that she knew the deficit was $1.1 million on March 17 begs the question why she would sign her name on a public doc- ument stating the deficit was much lower, Nichols said. The public document Nichols refers to is a March 16 budget update report to the See GAP, page 9A Equal access City makes strides in its compliance with ADA By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Barred from the upper stories of the historic Tehama County Court- house and unable to cross the corner of Antelope Boulevard and Main Street without “taking your life into your own hands,” to hear Larry Stevens tell it, being dis- abled in Red Bluff was an uphill climb 20 years ago. The city was not, in many ways, a community equipped for the disabled. Just opening the door to the Post Office was a chal- lenge for someone in a wheelchair or on crutches, Stevens said. “It was just too dang heavy,” Stevens said. The same went for the Red Bluff Community and Senior Center. The center that hosts hearing tests and senior fitness classes was inaccessible to members of the very demographic to which it caters, Stevens said. Tehama County today still suffers from tele- phone poles climbing out of the center of the side- walk and bicycle lanes too narrow to accommodate motorized wheelchairs, Stevens said. See ADA, page 9A Collective owner: Stop citations Tires of plane catch fire By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — Ken Prather of Tehama Herbal Collective, Inc. has requested the city stop all action against the collective and repeal interim ordinance 637, which bans medical marijuana dispensaries, collectives and coopera- tives from operating within city limits. Prather said his request was based on the fact that an Anaheim court decision ruled California Medical Mar- ijuana laws preempt federal marijuana laws within the state. “I again ask you, the City Council, to dis- solve interim ordinance 637 effective immedi- during landing in Sacto SACRAMENTO (AP) — The tires of a JetBlue air- plane caught fire Thursday during a hard landing in Sacramento that left 15 people with minor injuries and sent passengers down emergency slides to escape the aircraft. Passenger Michelle McDuffie said people onboard felt a thud when the plane touched down at about 12:50 p.m. after a flight from Long Beach, but nobody thought there was an emergency until the crew shouted for everyone to exit on the inflatable slides. McDuffie saw the burning tires when she was on the ground. ‘‘I thought, Oh I wish I had gotten my bag off. But I was just happy that I wasn’t hurt,’’ said McDuffie, 33, of Mission Viejo. The plane appeared to experience trouble with its See PLANE, page 9A DN file photo Ken and Kathy Prather talk with their daughter, Maegon Prather, at THC, Inc. Ken Prather asked the Corning City Council Tuesday to repeal its interim ordinance banning collectives and to drop all action against THC. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 ately and stop all action against the collective association known as THC, Incorporated,” Prather said. City Attorney Mike Fitzpatrick said he dis- agrees with Prather’s interpretation of the impact of the Anaheim v. Qualified Patients See STOP, page 9A Fall Sale Sept. 10-19, 2010 1 gallon & larger plants RED BLUFF 40% off GARDEN CENTER 766 Antelope Blvd. 527-0886 TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS MOULE’S SUNSCREENS Block up to 90% of the heat Call for details 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260