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WEEKEND OCTOBER 23-24, 2010 Breaking news at: Balloon Festival Official Program www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Homecoming game SPORTS 1B Showers likely 60/53 Weather forecast 10A By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer The harvest season kept Tehama County unemploy- ment levels stable between August and September, according to the latest reports. At 15.2 percent, prelimi- 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 Jobless rate levels off thanks to farm jobs nary statistics from the Employment Development Department show the overall unemployment rate remained constant. Non-farm jobs dropped by 1.5 percent, or about 210 posi- tions, just as another 210 farm- ing jobs were added to the labor rolls for the month. Among those 210 positions are almond and walnut har- vesting jobs, EDD Spokesper- son Sheila Stock said. Farming jobs grew by a similar amount in August. Off the farm, the news was bad for nearly every Tehama County industry. Only the Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities category saw an increase, and that was just 10 jobs. Compared to figures from September 2009, almost every industry was down. The largest exception came from Wholesale Trade, which accounted for nearly 20 per- cent more jobs than last year. Shasta County’s unemploy- ment grew to match Tehama’s at 15.2 percent, Butte County’s decreased to 13.1 percent and Glenn County dropped to 14.7 percent. Violence victims noted St. E to cut staff St. Elizabeth Community Hospital President Jon Halfhide announced to employees, physicians and vol- unteers that a decision has been made to reduce staffing in the hospital by about 10-15 positions to better reflect patient volume and financial capabilities, according to a press release issued Friday. The cuts represent about 3 percent of the hospital’s roughly 400 employees. All positions are in the service sector and no medical or administrative positions will be impacted, said Kristin Behrens, director of Market- ing and Public Relations. The economic downturn that has affected the nation is being felt at the local level in health care as well. The See CUT, page 9A Byrne questions city manager’s actions By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Be there or be talked about was the case during Tuesday’s Red Bluff City Council meeting as the absent city manager became the topic of dis- cussion. Daily News photo by Tang Lor With October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month 100 purple balloons were released Friday in remembrance of all domestic violence victims. During the annual event hosted by Alternatives to Violence an individual or group that has shown support is awarded with a plaque of appreciation. This year’s award to went to Tehama County Social Services with Director Charlene Reid accepting the award from Alternatives to Violence board member Clay Parker. Gerber closer to closing fire dept By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Gerber-Las Flo- res Community Service District moved closer Thursday to the final step of closing down its volunteer fire depart- ment, a process that started in March 2009. “We passed a resolu- tion in July and posted notice to the public of it in our window, which prompted the ordinance written by the LAFCO Advisor and our attor- ney,” said District Man- ager Mike Murphy. The closure of the fire department was previ- ously approved by the Tehama County Board of Supervisors the first time the district went through the process, he said. There was a misun- derstanding over the amount Gerber would be paying for fire protec- tion, which caused the district to miss the first deadline set by the Local Area Formation Com- mission. The second reading of the ordinance will take place at the district’s Nov. 17 meeting and within 30 days the taxes previously allocated to the district for the fire department should be transferred to CalFire, Murphy said. The board also dis- cussed and approved 4- 0, with Shan Patterson absent, a motion to seek permission from the Board of Supervisors to do a biennial audit instead of an annual one. The board discussed its levee and reviewed a report from the Army Corps of Engineers. “The Army Corps of Engineers has a $5 bil- lion levee fund for upgrades and Gerber’s going to be eligible for some of that money,” Murphy said. “It was good news that we’re eli- gible because we’re tied into FEMA’s levee sys- tem. We don’t know how much, but we’re in line for help with repairs like tree removal and relocat- ing power poles that are in the way.” The district board meets the third Thursday of the month at its office on San Benito Avenue next to the former fire 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 department. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynew s.com. While one councilman defended the recent actions of the council and City Manager Martin Nichols, another wanted to hold Nichols account- able. During the open com- ment session for items not on the agenda, Council- man Forrest Flynn read a prepared statement explaining the role of the council in regards to deal- ing with the city manger. Flynn said the issue had to be addressed, as several people have asked him what’s going on at City Hall and why is the council not keeping the city manager in line? The council provides direction to Nichols as a whole, not individually. The recent difficult deci- sions the council made are based on a majority deci- sion, despite some indi- vidual members acting as though it was not, Flynn said. Nichols serves at the pleasure of the council and does not take direc- tion from single members. See BYRNE, page 9A RBUHS homecoming parade Daily News photo by Tang Lor The Spartan varsity football team gets pumped up during the Homecoming Parade Friday afternoon. Other entries included floats from each class decorated with a “Candy Land” theme. Oops! Have a news tip? Call 527-2151, Ext. 112 Due to a production error, the Ribs, Rods and Rides program was not inserted in Friday’s Daily News. Look for it inside this edition. GET WORK! Professional & Confidential Resumes Composed Since 1979 Business Connections Located in the Pine Street Plaza 332 Pine Street, Red Bluff 527-6229 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