Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/17030
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 Breaking news at: Time to Brand Tehama County Commerce www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A RED BLUFF Athletes of the Week SPORTS 1B Sunny 103/55 Weather forecast 8B 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 Weekend event revives traffic control debate By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Monster trucks rolling into town this weekend will further flatten the Red Bluff Police Department’s already minus- cule budget as the city stalls on traffic control costs. The three-day West Coast Monster Truck Nationals will cost the police department about $4,600 in overtime, Police Chief Paul Nanfito said. That’s money Nanfito said he cannot ask event organizers to reimburse because no policy has been set on how or if the city will recuperate overtime costs associated with traffic control for special events at the Tehama District Fairground. “That decision should have been made two months ago, so vendors have enough time to absorb the cost,” Nanfito said. ‘Why would he (Nichols) wait for council direction when we made it clear that the parties need to come together’ Red Bluff Mayor Jeff Moyer Though Nanfito said the issue hasn’t died, nor will he let it, talks of how to handle traffic control costs have been silent as staff and council wait on each other to call for the next move. Aug. 17 was the last time traffic control was on the coun- CHP feeds truckers cil agenda. During that meeting the council took no action on three suggestions that were pre- sented by the fairboard on behalf of itself and a slew of community stakeholders. At the time, City Manager Martin Nichols said staff could not do anything, as council did not provide any direction. Nichols is still waiting. See EVENT, page 7A Board reacts to land tax bill By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer The governor signed a bill Tuesday by Assembly- man Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, allowing counties to rework Williamson Act contracts. Williamson Act contracts grant lower county taxes to property owners who agree to reserve their land for agricultural use for a decade or more. In exchange, the state agrees to pay counties a subsidy to make up for the lost revenue. Those subsidies were reduced for this year’s state budget, from some $40 million statewide to $1,000, yet See BOARD, page 7A County extends dept head contract By GEOFF JOHNSON Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Commercial Vehicle Inspection Specialist Dale Gustafson puts out hamburger buns for a line of truckers who stopped at the CHP Cottonwood Inspection Facility for a free barbecue Tuesday. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Truckers had an extra place to stop for lunch Tuesday when the California Highway Patrol Cottonwood Inspec- tion Facility held a free barbecue to say thanks. “It’s Commercial Industry Appre- ciation Day,” said CHP Special Duty Officer Sandy Oster. “We wanted to promote healthy interaction between enforcement personnel and the com- mercial industry drivers.” Having the barbecue allowed the two sides who normally interact only during inspections to get to know one another, Oster said. “We’re very proud of our commer- cial industry and the truckers that keep it moving,” said Lt. George Peck. “We’d like to recognize the California Trucking Association, PrePass and all the other agencies that staffed infor- mation booths for the event.” Major contributors to the event included Walmart, Sierra Nevada Brewery and Gordon Trucking, who each brought a big rig for people to check out, and RLT, Peck said. Gor- don had pictures of two missing chil- Old, unwanted drugs rounded up The community is more drug free following an event Saturday when people will- ingly surrendered unwanted drugs. During the four-hour event held at the Red Bluff Community and Senior Center, 125 pounds of med- ications were accepted. This is 125 pounds of expired, unwanted or unused pharmaceuticals that will no longer be acces- sible for misuse or illegal purposes, Lt. Kyle Sanders said. The event, coordinated Red Bluff Outdoor Power nationally by the Drug Enforcement Agency, was a collaborative effort with state and local law enforce- ment agencies to remove potentially dangerous con- trolled substances from the nation’s medicine cabinets. Locally, agencies, including the Red Bluff Police Department, Tehama County Drug and Alcohol and Tehama County/Red See DRUGS, page 7A Red Bluff Daily News Saturday delivery will be late due to the football coverage. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971 CHW North State Region October 4-8 Secret Shopping and Customer Service Bootcamp: Season IV - A Brand New Experience Bring this one hour training to your business by calling the Job Training Center at 529-7000 dren on one side, something it now posts on between 70 and 75 trucks. “We wanted to provide lunch for the drivers, but also to provide infor- mation to them,” Peck said. “As always our goal is safety, service and security for the community.” California Trucking Association Executive Vice President Michael Campbell was on hand to talk with dri- vers about what CTA offers. “We work in conjunction with CHP, CalFire and other directly involved with the industry,” Campbell See CHP, page 7A DN Staff Writer Supervisors extended the contract for Tehama County Building Official John Stover for another year Tuesday, granting him additional benefits the county has made stan- dard in exchange for a 3 percent contribution to his CalPERS account. The vote was unani- mous and passed without comment from supervi- sors. County employees and private contractors have attacked Stover in recent weeks for his decision to halve hours for a pair of building inspectors. In his decision Stover cited a 30 percent drop in revenue to the depart- ment, the result of a lull that he said reaches beyond Tehama County. As his department is entirely dependent on building fees, Stover must reduce employee hours accordingly, he said. The one person to comment on the matter during Tuesday’s meet- ing, Jamie Stout, said she represented another 16 county employees who object to Stover’s approach. Reading from a signed petition, Stout said once the cuts go into place, Stover’s $85,000 annual salary, when combined with benefits, would make up a third of the depart- ment’s now-$350,000 budget. Including inspec- tors and Stover, the department employs five people altogether. “We would like to remind the board that a top-heavy management structure is not the most efficient, responsive way to provide services to county citizens,” she said. Stover has defended his position as one in which he, as the depart- ment’s sole administrative member, is personally See COUNTY, page 7A Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson Tehama County 4-H members present the Board of Supervisors with a custom Tehama County flag Tuesday morning.