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MONDAY OCTOBER 11, 2010 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A RED BLUFF Reader Photos Giants 1 win away SPORTS 1B Sunny 86/56 Weather forecast 8B DAILYNEWS Free x 2 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 More power? Cops say ‘No’ Health Spree, Calico Faire share common aims A Red Bluff Man was arrested Saturday, suspected of shoplifting power tools from Home Depot. Red Bluff Police Officer Josi- ah Ferrin saw Jesse Loughmiller, 21, riding a bicycle toward Home Depot around 6 p.m. Sat- urday and recognized Lough- miller as a suspect in a previous theft from the store, according to a press release issued Sunday. Ferrin and other officers watched Loughmiller enter the store and, minutes later, push a cart out the entrance door, set- ting off the store’s alarm system. Loughmiller spotted the officers in the parking lot and fled back into the store, the release said. An officer at the rear of the store saw Loughmiller Loughmiller exit through a back door and Loughmiller was taken into custody without further incident. Officers determined Loughmiller tried to exit the store with more than $600 in power tools in the cart. Loughmiller was booked into Tehama County Jail, charged with a single felony count of burglary. Bail was set at $10,000. No further information was available Sunday. Staff report City faces firing backlash Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson By TANG LOR Adrian Quintana, 3, Dairyville, was one of dozens of children outfitted with a cast at the St. Elizabeth Community Hospital Health Spree Carnival of Care. The exhibit was designed to familiarize children with health care. By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer It seems like an unlike- ly combination. The St. Elizabeth Community Health Spree Carnival of Care opens up free booths to everyone from Blue Shield of Cali- fornia to diet plans, mam- mograms and chiroprac- tors. The Sacred Heart Cali- co Faire opens up putting, football-throwing and roulette-spinning games of chance and skill to chil- dren of all ages. The events aim for dif- ferent groups for different reasons. But for years the two Catholic-backed car- nivals have shared the same audience and loca- tion. On Saturday they seized the Tehama Dis- trict Fairgrounds. For adults the event offered health advice on everything from prosthet- ic limbs and orthopedic shoes to acupuncture. Vis- itors could receive a flu shot, get their blood pres- sure checked or get an EKG, not only without a visit to their doctor but Gas prices jump 8 cents CAMARILLO (AP) — A new survey finds the average price of regular gasoline in the United States has jumped 8.23 cents in the last two weeks. The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says the price of a gallon of regular is $2.77. Analyst Trilby Lund- berg says the average price for a gallon of mid- grade was $2.91, and pre- mium was at $3.02. Tucson, Ariz., had the lowest average price See GAS, page 7A without charge. At the Lassen Medical Group booth visitors could even schedule a mammogram. Some of the event’s roughly 80 booths contra- dicted each other in terms of medical advice. The information is presented with little screening and without judgment, said Kristin Behrens, the hos- pital’s Community and Marketing Relations director. “We believe in sup- porting a diverse set of opinions,” she said. Just out the door the Calico Faire targeted a younger demographic. Its 30-plus booths offered a celebration with face- painting, goldfish-win- ning, bounce-house- jumping excitement. But the event was about more than just games and prizes. The carnival raises $7,000 to $10,000 for Sacred Heart Parish School annually, event Chairwoman Kris- ten Gray said. Lisa Gentry said her sons, in 8th and 11th grades, volunteer with the See FREE, page 7A Empty house gutted by fire CORNING — An abandoned house, con- demned two years ago, burned down Saturday afternoon on Toomes Avenue near Gallagher Avenue. Firefighters first received reports of flames near the rear of the house about 4 p.m., where unkempt vegetation touched the building, Cal- Fire Battalion Chief Sean Kavanaugh said. By 4:40 p.m. the house had been reduced to burn- ing rubble. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, Fire Captain Spe- cialist Dan Hebrard said. Power was long ago dis- 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See FIRE, page 7A Student Art Contest DN Staff Writer The Red Bluff City Council Tuesday autho- rized filling finance department vacancies, but not before it got an earful from a regular attendee who was livid over what he claims was wrongful termination of the finance director. In a rare occasion, resi- dent Jackson Williams stood up and criticized the council. He accused the councilmen of not doing their job and letting City `Manager Martin Nichols fire then-Finance Director Margaret Van Warmer- dam recently. Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson Red Bluff Union High School student Gina Cosentino, 16, poses with the grand prize winning entry in the 2010 Tehama County Student Art Contest. By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Gina Cosentino beat out 160 contestants for this year’s Best in Show at the 2010 Tehama County Stu- dent Art Contest — but she had to take a bit of the humanity out of her art to do it. At 16, Cosentino already has more art experience than some adults. She has been putting her vision on paper for about 10 years, she said. See ART, page 7A What Nichols did was wrong, and Van Warmer- dam should never have been fired, Williams said. “Our whole city is remiss,” he said. “I’m dis- appointed the council has not stood up.” It’s Williams’ hope that the November election will bring some changes to the council, he said. In regards to Nichols’ actions, Williams said, “ We had a bad city manag- er before, and the current city manager is not any better.” Van Warmerdam’s last day with the city was Sept. 20. She had been on paid administrative leave since Sept. 8. The finance director position will most likely be filled by in-house staff on an interim basis until a permanent applicant is found, Human Resources Director Tessa Pritchard said. The council approved recruiting for an another position in the finance department that will soon be vacated by accountant Trisha Blair. Blair, who has been performing the duties of the finance director since Van Warmerdam’s absence, is resigning to take a job elsewhere. The accounting posi- tion has been reclassified to the much broader title of financial management specialist. The reclassifi- cation is not meant to dumb down the responsi- bilities of the position, but is a better description of the duties of the person in that role, Pritchard said. The broader title should bring in a bigger pool of applicants and create some flexibility for the city while recruiting. Other agenda items • A bid in the amount of $123,123 for a project to resurface downtown streets has been awarded to Bond Blacktop, Inc. See CITY, page 7A Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson An abandoned home on Toomes Avenue near Gallagher Avenue burned down Saturday afternoon. Firefighters were uncertain of the cause. Daily News Saturday print delivery will be late due to football coverage …but now you can read the Saturday paper online after 8:00 am Saturday mornings www.redbluffdailynews.com Click on Digital Edition