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TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2010 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See 4A, 5A RED BLUFF Sports 1B Sunny 88/57 Weather forecast 8B By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The city’s finance director has been put on paid administrative leave, but no one will speak of her future with the city. Finance Director Margaret Van Warmerdam was placed on paid administrative leave, City Attorney Richard Crabtree, said. He declined to comment on the reason why. Crabtree said he could neither confirm nor deny rumors that the city may possibly terminate her. Reached by phone Monday, 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 Finance director on administrative leave Van Warmerdam said her only comment is “I’m very devastated about this” and referred all ques- tions to her attorney. Van Warmerdam was informed that she was being placed on paid administrative leave in a letter dated Sept. 8, which was mailed to her residence, attorney Mark Vegh said. The letter sets regular work hours during which time Van Warmerdam must be available to the city. It asks that she provide a phone number where she can be contacted during those work hours. “I’m very devastated about this.” — City of Red Bluff Finance Director Margaret Van Warmerdam The letter continues regarding her position as a city employee, but Vegh said he was not ready to reveal those details Monday, as he wanted to protect Van Warmer- dam’s prospect of continual employment with the city. City Manager Martin Nichols confirmed Van Warmerdam went on leave Wednesday. He declined to comment any further, as it is an ongoing personnel issue. Members of the city council said Nichols told them Van Warmerdam was on leave but he did not give them the full details either. Mayor Jeff Moyer said he became aware of Van Warmer- dam’s leave Wednesday morning when he received a phone call from Nichols. “All we’re told is she’s on leave,” Moyer said. “She is a val- Asecond chance ued employee and does an out- standing job, so I’m not sure how this is going to affect the city. Is she coming back? I would hope so, but I’m not privy to any of that info. Hopefully, something more forth- coming will happen in the next several days.” Mayor Pro Tem Bob Carrel said Nichols informed him of Van See LEAVE, page 7A Man was working with teens to steal from cars A 22-year-old Red Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Boris, a Staffordshire Lab mix, plays in the pool at the Corning Animal Shelter. For information on adopting call 824-1985. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — While Second Chance Pet Rescue, which runs the Corning Animal Shelter, started open- ing Saturdays for adoptions in May, it has still averaged 30 dogs a month since January. “People are just dumping them,” said Shelter Manager Debbie Eagle- barger. “At least bring them to the shel- ter instead of leaving them on the street. We’ve never had this many small dogs.” The shelter has had 273 dogs come through its door since the beginning of the year with 53 adopted, 99 returned to their owners and five euthanized. The shelter is small, it isn’t open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and it’s out of the way, Eaglebarger said, explaining the difficulties in adopting out dogs. While the shelter received a grant a few years ago to expand its play yard, which allows for more portable pens to be put up, it still faces the problem that the yard and surrounding area flood. “The police ask us to evacuate and leave the dogs,” Eaglebarger said. There are 26 dogs both inside and outside, including three smaller dogs who are in stacked in portable pens, she said. Some like Korman, Mamma Mia and Morton have been there longer than a year. Korman, who tried out and almost was selected for a stunt dog job, reached his anniversary May 25 and Mamma Mia, who came in with nine puppies, now all adopted out, reached a year on March 29. Morton, a fox-hound mix who is about 2 years old, reached one year in March, and Boris, a Staffordshire Lab mix, will reach a year in October. Romeo, a pit bull, was brought in missing two claws that someone had broken off on his paw while Roxy, a 2- year-old Lab who has resided at the shelter for six months, was found tied up behind Round Table Pizza in Corn- ing. “We live a fast life so we have dis- posable everything, including dogs,” Eaglebarger said. Still others have been at the shelter fewer than six months. Harbor, a pit bull who is about 18 months old, has been in the shelter four months and Diesel, a year-old shepherd mix, who has been in the shelter since Aug. 15. A problem with finding pets homes is many landlords don’t want animals Special to the DN The Family Service Agency celebrated 45 years of service to the community Thursday night at Wilcox Oaks Golf Club. The agency was estab- lished by the Rotary Club in 1965 with the mission to provide low-cost counseling services for those in need in the community. Prior to establishment of the agency, the Hope Chest Thrift Store was created to be the major even if the owner is responsible, Eagle- barger said. “That’s why I encourage people to build pet portfolios showing they’ve had shots and been to obedience school,” Eaglebarger said. “It’s a fact that dogs do less damage than kids.” As a part of obedience classes she teaches, Eaglebarger does a good citi- zen evaluation, which is free for pit bulls and shows the dog can respond to basic commands like sit and stay, she said. Adoptions are available 1-4 p.m. Saturdays or other times by appoint- ment at 4312 Rawson Road by calling 824-7054 or 824-1985. The shelter provides low cost spay and neuters for cats through its Friends of Felines Program at $25 for males and $30 for females with proceeds going to a trap-alter-release program to address the feral cat problem. For more information on the feral cat program or adoptions, visit www.second-chance-pets.org. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527- 2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Bluff man was arrested and a 15-year-old Red Bluff boy was taken to Juvenile hall in connection with a number of thefts from vehi- cles near the 800 block of Village Drive. Officers had been sent to the 800 block of Village Drive for a theft in progress and were advised a resident had caught a man in his vehicle and chased him from the area. A neighbor- hood canvas was not suc- cessful, but while officers were investigating the inci- dent, a woman said the boy the victim had been chasing was near her front yard. The 15-year-old boy was detained and identified by the victim as the person seen in his vehicle. Property belonging to the victim was also found. Further investigation showed the boy had met two of his friends, a 16-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, at a park where they met Jon Eugene Hershman and talked him into buying them a beer. The four had then discussed conducting thefts as a way to make money and began canvassing the area, looking for unlocked vehicles. Hershman was located on Cimarron Drive and informa- tion from the investigation led officers to believe Hershman was involved. He was also found to have property belonging to another victim. Hershman was arrested and booked into jail on the Jon Eugene Hershman charges of conspiracy to commit any crime and receiving known stolen property. Bail was set at $20,000. The boy offi- cers had detained was taken to juvenile hall. The other two were later located, interviewed and cited to probation. — Staff Report Spending by Calif. governors since 1959 By The Associated Press Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman claims spending under Jerry Brown skyrocketed when he was governor. But the numbers show a different story when employing calculations used by economists. Whitman asserts spending under Brown rose 120 per- cent. She compares Brown’s first approved budget to his last one but does not account for inflation and population growth, two key factors economists `use to calculate real government spending. The Associated Press began with the budget Brown inherited so that it would reflect the spending increase in the first budget he approved. That means unadjusted spending increased nearly 147 percent over his eight years in office. Once inflation and population growth are factored in, real state spending increased 12.3 percent under Brown. Here are the spending records for each governor over the last 50 years: Pat Brown, 1959-1967 — Population increased from 14.7 million to 18.8 mil- See SPENDING, page 7A Family Service Agency celebrates 45 years of service source of funding for the Family Service Agency. Over the years the Hope Chest has been a depend- able source of funding, and Family Service board mem- bers and staff were very thankful for its ongoing sup- port at the celebration. The Hope Chest is staffed by hard working volunteers. In addition to funding, the Hope Chest provides a rent- free facility for the agency. Board President Joe Har- rop reminded attendees that, with the current economic conditions, funding is a con- stant problem for Family Services. Two years ago the 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 board considered closing the agency, but the combination of restructuring through the hard work of Susan McFad- den, a cost conscious board and an anonymous $10,000 grant, the agency was able to continue. “We are a lean organiza- tion,” Harrop said. “We are serving our community at a record level of service; nev- ARTHRITIS, AND POST SURGERY. DR. SWAIM’S PAIN CREAM NOW AVAILABLE IN OUR OFFICE AT 2530 SR MARY COLUMBA DR. RED BLUFF, CA 96080 (530) 527-7584 STOP THE PAIN FROM NEUROPATHY, SHINGLES, Red Bluff Daily News Saturday delivery will be late due to the football coverage. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY ertheless, we lose $30 per session. We have a waiting list. We cannot rely on Unit- ed Way to support us at lev- els they could in the past, and the economic downturn has impaired the Hope Chest’s ability to fund at previous levels as well.” Harrop said the agency is relying on available grant See 45, page 7A Reader photos A’s in K.C. COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR Learn QuickBooks! (Six Wednesdays) Sept. 22ND - Oct. 27TH Time: 5:15 pm to 7:15 pm Cost: $99.00 per person Location: Job Training Center, 718 Main St., Red Bluff Call 529-7000 to reserve your spot! Smog Inspection $ 2995 + cert. (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) Pass or FREE retest 195 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530 527-9841