Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/19673
Monday, November 15, 2010 – Daily News – 7A WARMTH Continued from page 1A ing people,” said Zachary, 11. “I like it.” Miss Tehama County and Miss Corning pageant winners helped serve lunch, in addition to offering face painting for chil- dren. “I think everyone is just pulling together to do something for someone else,” Chris Patter- son said. “We’re using the skills LEASE Continued from page 1A would leave the fence in place. In other business, the council announced that Corning has been selected to receive a $4.2 million Prop. 84 grant from the state to be invested in a proposed skate and bicy- cle park. “I’m excited about the park, but I’m also excited that it’s going to bring in revenue for the city,” said Corning Skate and Bike Park Association Co- Chairwoman Shannon Peterson. Peterson and commit- tee member John Richards presented Planning Direc- tor John Stoufer with cer- tificates of appreciation for his and Recreation Supervisor Kimberly we have to give to the communi- ty.” “We’re an awesome team,” Mandolfo said. “We’re just lov- ing the community.” Patterson said each volunteer at the event brought a different skill to the table in order to help people in a variety of ways and to offer services effectively. Event Director Senia Owens- by agreed. “We have good quality help,” Owensby said, acknowledging donations of 15 gallons of soup Beck’s work on the grant. “We’re absolutely thrilled the city has received this grant,” Richards said. “We’d like to thank Kimberly Beck, John Stoufer and grant writer JoAnn Anders. We’d also like to thank the soccer and skate board members who handed out flyers for the community outreach meetings. It’s just an amazing thing we got it.” Stoufer said the grant will be the second largest out of the 62 awarded and the only park grant in the north valley. “We’re the only ones Sacramento north who got awarded,” Stoufer said. “This really was more Kim (Beck) than myself.” The first meeting with state officials to get the ball rolling has been set for Dec. 8 and construc- tion should start sometime from chefs at both Lassen House and St. Elizabeth, as well as donations of coffee from Star- bucks and hundreds of large garbage bags from GreenWaste that attendees could use to carry their items. “People seem more needy this year,” Owensby said, “but we got more donations this year, too.” Even with counts nearing 500 before 11 a.m., stacks of coats, sweaters and shoes never ran low as donations continued to in the spring, Stoufer said. The Community Park Project will take place on an 18.42 acre lot in the southwest portion of Corning at the northeast corner of the Fig Lane and Toomes intersection. The purchase of the land, which has Jewett Creek running through it, is something the city has been lining up over the last year, said City Manager Steve Kimbrough. The city has letters of commit- ment from both land own- ers to sell and will now work on getting the escrow documents drawn up. Stoufer will have to go to the planning commis- sion to certify the environ- mental documents and from there the project will go before the council at the Nov. 23 meeting, he said. The proposed park is come in and volunteers kept busy sorting items and replen- ishing tables throughout the event. Strong support from the com- munity and a good response from those in attendance encouraged organizers to con- tinue the event in subsequent years. As people left with full stom- achs and bags of clothing, many expressed appreciation. “I think it’s a good program and a great thing to do for the expected to include a 20,000-square-foot lighted skateboard and bicycle park and two lighted soc- cer fields. A snack bar, equipment storage, community plaza, amphitheater with a grassy area, covered gazebo, pic- nic tables, basketball court and barbecue are planned. Natural walking sur- faces along Jewett Creek and trails for walking and jogging will be throughout the park. Two new restrooms and two new parking lots will be built and the park will have solar energy systems for lighting where feasi- ble. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews. com. community,” said Amanda Han- kel, who attended for the first time. “I’d definitely come back.” “It’s so important to bring this kind of thing to our commu- nity,” said Miss Corning 2010 Ann Trevino. “It’s great that people are being helped, and it’s great that people are giving so much time to this.” Mary Hurton is a senior at Red Bluff Union High School and attends Shasta College. CHECK Continued from page 1A The newspaper also found that smaller opera- tors were the subject of all the state-issued fines and more than 90 percent of the infraction notices issued by inspectors since 1999, while a major utility has not been fined for a natural gas pipeline viola- tion since at least 1998. The CPUC typically notifies utility companies two months in advance before conducting an inspection, according to Julie Halligan, deputy director for the consumer protection and safety divi- sion of the commission. As part of the inspec- tion process, inspectors examine the companies’ self-audits, conduct spot checks of equipment, and review performance records, emergency sys- tems and training pro- grams, said Halligan. Commission officials acknowledge that with a small inspection team, inspectors can only check a small portion every year of the miles of pipelines that run through Califor- nia. ‘‘We inspect to make sure that (a utility’s) audit found what they were sup- posed to find, that they did what they were supposed to do,’’ Richard Clark, head of the consumer pro- tection and safety division of the CPUC, recently told the state Legislature. ‘‘We can’t run the com- pany for them,’’ Clark said. ‘‘We can only make sure that they have the systems in place to ensure that safety is as high a pri- ority that in can possibly be and the system is safe as it can be.’’ The Chronicle reports that the federal govern- ment admonished Califor- nia in 2006 about its inspections, warning that its efforts ‘‘reduces public safety.’’ Driver held in Calif motorcycle crash that kills 5 SAN DIEGO (AP) — A man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he slammed his car head-on into a group of motorcycle riders celebrating their club’s 10th anniversary, killing four motorcyclists and his companion, authorities said Sunday. But they also are look- ing for another driver who they say played a central role in the crash. Carlos Ramirez Bobadilla, 36, was arrested when offi- cers smelled alcohol on his breath about five hours after the Saturday crash, said California Highway Patrol Officer DeeAnn Goudie. Ramirez, one of six injured in the collision on a remote desert highway, was recovering from hand frac- tures at a San Diego hospital, Goudie said. It was unclear if the driver’s alleged alcohol consumption Courtesy photo Shasta College students with K9s for Kids, with puppies at event, from left to right: Adam Chambers, Cole Bettencourt, Roxy Valencia, Cassie Busekist, Ashley Colomy, Chris Bixler. DOGS Continued from page 1A dren in the audience about life as he gave orders to his dog, Smartie. “These dogs have an instinct to listen to the voice of their master,” Merle said, a cowdog at his side, still and focused waiting for a command. The Newtons closed their part of the program with the crowd’s favorite: Rosebud, a miniature Australian shepherd, who herded livestock with drama and flair. Rosebud nipped, yelped and leaped, and had those cows herded into the pen quicker than the bigger dogs. Then she ran to her master for praise and jumped into Merle’s arms for a closer look at her appreciative audience. Kelly Privette of Sec- ond Chance Pet Rescue in Corning gave a short demonstration with her dog on how to teach man- ners to a pet and make him or her a good citizen. The children sat atten- tively, eating fruit and cookies provided by local merchants, and helped draw names out of a con- tainer for raffle prize winners. The final canine celebrity at the event was Bookem, bred in South Africa and trained for the Tehama County Sheriff’s team. A 17-month-old Belgian Malinois, the $10,000 dog was brought to Red Bluff by breeder and trainer Buck Dikes and donated to the department. Dikes, once a reserve deputy and then on the K-9 team for Shas- ta County, is retired from the Anderson Police Department. Dikes attended the fundraiser with a team from the sheriff’s depart- ment. They led Bookem, who has only been in training for two months, through a series of detec- tion demonstrations. Then Bookem showed the audience his tough side – he is trained to pro- tect a law enforcement officer – with a simulated attack by a law-breaker — another officer in a padded suit — on Bookem’s handler and trainer Deputy Richard Ryan. The K-9 began barking and growling, leaped out of the sheriff’s car, chased the offender, grabbed his arm and held him in a locked position. Until this part of the show, the Growneys’ herd of rodeo horses was leaning over the fence near the demo area, curi- ous about what was going on. The growling, bark- ing, speeding dog sent them all galloping off toward the other side of the pasture — the safe side — which added to the audience’s delight. The young people asked Ryan to repeat the attack demonstration many times, and he hap- pily did so. Sheriff-elect Dave Hencratt and his wife watched as Ryan answered every question the children asked. “This is great to let the kids see what our dogs can do up close and per- sonal,” Ryan said. “I hope you invite us back next year.” The student team, and K9s for Kids, would like to thank the businesses and community, including the Growneys, for their support and contributions. Attorney: Deportation of student delayed SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Fed- eral immigration officials have pushed back the deportation of a City College of San Francisco student who was scheduled to return to Peru on Mon- day, his attorney said. Sin Yen Ling, an attorney for the Asian Law Caucus, a civil rights orga- nization representing Steve Li, said Sunday she has been notified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce- ment officials that her client will not be deported on Monday as planned. Ling said ICE officials did not say why they were at least delaying Li’s deportation, but it comes after she had applied on behalf of her client to have his deportation delayed. Sen. Feinstein spokesman Gil Duran said late Sunday that the sena- tor also asked ICE to delay Li’s depor- tation until she could assess whether proposing a private bill was appropri- ate in the case. ‘‘As an original co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, I believe it would be unjust to deport Mr. Li before we get a chance to vote on this bill, which would allow students like him to attain U.S. citizenship,’’ Feinstein said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. ‘‘Therefore, I have asked ICE to halt the deportation proceedings while I consider introducing a private bill that will allow Mr. Li to remain in the United States on a temporary basis,’’ the statement said. Ling said she hoped to get addi- tional details from ICE officials some- time Monday about Li’s status. In the meantime, the 20-year-old remains in a detention facility in Arizona. ICE officials did not immediately return a call seeking comment late Sunday. Li, a student at San Francisco State University, came to the United States with his parents on tourist visas in 2002 from Peru, when he was 12. The family fled to the South American nation from China in the 1980s to avoid persecution, said Lisa Chen, a spokeswoman for the Asian Law Cau- cus. They applied for political asylum from China, but their application was denied several years ago. Legislation pending in Congress, known as the DREAM Act, would give high school graduates who entered the U.S. illegally as children a path to legal residency. They would just have to spend two years in college or the military. The Asian Law Caucus supports its passage. ‘‘This is a good example of what happens when Congress does not pass the DREAM Act,’’ said Ling. contributed to the collision, Goudie said, but he was arrest- ed on a misdemeanor and is not being held responsible for the deaths based on evidence collected so far. Results of a blood test were pending and not expected for about two weeks, she said. Authorities were looking for the driver of a gold Honda Civic with California license plates who forced Ramirez off the road when trying to pass the motorcyclists on the undi- vided two-lane highway east of San Diego. Goudie said she planned to check surveillance video at a nearby border crossing to see if the driver went to Mexico. Ramirez, of Mexicali, Mexico, swerved his white Dodge Avenger to the right shoulder to avoid the Honda and then overcompensated by swinging left into oncoming traffic, Goudie said. Ramirez’s speedometer was found stuck at 60 mph, 5 mph below the speed limit. ‘‘It would have been nice if he had just gone off to the right,’’ she said. ‘‘He would have been stuck in the soft sand.’’ None of the motorcyclists got the license plate number of the Honda driver — described as a man wearing a base- ball cap. No one pursued him, choosing to stay behind to attend to their friends. ‘‘I was the first person on scene that had a uniform on,’’ Goudie said. ‘‘I was being dragged in every direction by frantic people saying, ’Help this person, help that person.’’’ The CHP withheld names of the five who died, pending notification of next of kin. They included a husband and wife who were on a motorcycle that was first to be struck. A man who was driving a motorcycle behind the couple was struck next and died, Goudie said. Ramirez turned and hit a third motorcycle, killing a woman who was riding on the back and injuring her hus- band, Wilson Trayer, 39, of Lakeside, Goudie said. Trayer’s motorcycle sliced 18 inches into the front pas- senger door of the Dodge that Ramirez was driving, killing Ramirez’s companion, a 31-year-old Mexicali woman who owned the car, Goudie said. Carl Smith, president of the Lakeside-based Saddle- tramps Motorcycle Club, said three riders were seriously injured but expected to survive. Two others had less serious injuries. William Barnes, 57, of San Diego suffered a punctured lung and broken hip and ankle and his wife, Melanie, 46, broke her pelvis and had a brain hemorrhage, Smith said. Trayer broke his pelvis, ribs, back and jaw, according to his daughter, Sierra. ‘‘It’s going to be a long recovery for the three of them,’’ Smith said. One of the injured — John Philip Lombardo, 55, of Lakeside, whose leg was hit by an ejected motorcyclist — was released from the hospital, Goudie said. Another rider had her spleen removed, Smith said. Goudie identified her as Kelly Halley, 42, of Santee. Smith was leading the motorcycles and watched in his rearview mirror as Ramirez turned his sedan into oncoming traffic and struck the middle of the pack. There were 21 rid- ers on about a dozen motorcycles. ‘‘The car was out of control when I went by him. He nar- rowly missed me and my vice president,’’ said Smith. Smith doesn’t blame Ramirez, despite the allegation that he was driving under the influence. He considers Ramirez a victim because his companion died. ‘‘It looked like he overreacted, but the guy in the Honda Civic was at fault,’’ said Smith, who estimated the Civic was going 95 mph when it passed the motorcycles.