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WEDNESDAY Rice Noodles OCTOBER 30, 2013 Harbaugh Happy With Shrimp County Fare Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 5A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Sunny 71/45 Weather forecast 8B TEHAMA COUNTY DAILY 50¢ T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Halloween safety tips One dead in Jellys Ferry rollover By ANDRE BYIK DN Staff Writer A 28-year-old Cottonwood man died Monday night after he lost control and was thrown from his vehicle while traveling on Jellys Ferry Road, the California Highway Patrol said. The man, identified as Christopher Gualda by the Tehama County Coroner's Office, was traveling east on Jellys Ferry Road east of Saron Fruit Colony Road about 8:30 p.m. when he came to a 90-degree curve in the roadway and lost control of his white 2000 Land Rover, which rolled several times, according to a CHP See ROLLOVER, page 7A 11th Annual Red Bluff ArtWalk Daily News photo by Rich Greene DN Staff Report Before your little ghouls and goblins hit the streets Thursday in search of treats, the Red Bluff Police Department has a number of Halloween safety reminders for residents. Trick or treating • A parent or adult should accompany children while they are trick or treating. • If an older child goes out with friends, remember there is safety in numbers and always be aware of the route your child will be walking. • Only visit households with porch lights on. • Never, under any circumstances. enter someone's home that you don't know. • Carry a flashlight with fresh batteries along with a cellular telephone. • Choose neighborhoods with overhead street lights and sidewalks if possible. When possible, cross the street with a group of people. Wait until all vehicles at an intersection are stopped, never assume a driver sees you. • Cross streets at intersections or in marked crosswalks. Motorists should use caution when traversing neighborhood surface streets and watch for children darting into the roadway. • Wear costumes that fit properly. Remember, light colored costumes are move visible during darkness. If possible add reflective material to the costume or carry a reflective treat bag. • A parent or an adult should inspect all candy prior to being consumed. Suspicious or unwrapped candy should be disposed of immediately. • Explain to your children the consequences of vandalism that are sometimes associated with Halloween, such as throwing eggs at residences or vehicles and "pumpkin bashing." These are criminal acts and will not be tolerated by the citizens or the police department. Home safety • Remove all tripping hazards from sidewalks and porches such as leaves, garden hoses and children's toys. • Check outdoor lighting. • Restrain your pets. Some dogs enjoy visitors as much as we do, however dogs may jump or bite children unexpectedly. The Red Bluff Police Department will have extra personnel staffed Thursday. Anyone with a question or concern of suspicious activity on Halloween is encouraged to call the Department at 527-3131. The tree lights of downtown Red Bluff will illuminate the streets again on Nov. 1 and 2, just in time to light the way of visitors out to see the work of area artists on display at the 11th annual ArtWalk. A project of the Tehama County Arts Council, ArtWalk is a celebration of multiple art forms. Downtown businesses transform themselves into galleries and welcome artists to greet the public. Festivities kick off at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, with receptions and art viewing through 9 p.m.. Highlights will include the award-winning voices of California Heat, Red Bluff's Sweet Adelines group, roaming the streets to sing in multiple venues. Studio 530 Photography and Custom Framing will host its grand opening at the new location, 625 Walnut St. Voted "Best ArtWalk Venue" in 2012, it will be serving comfort food and beer from California Brewing Company. The Tehama County Arts Council will hold its own grand opening, when it opens the door to its new Green Room Community Art Studio at 331 Oak St. The building has been renovated with the help of contractors Brandon Grissom and Brandon Minch and AB109 work crews supervised by the Tehama County Probation Department. See ART, page 7A Health reforms Schools discuss Common Core shift could help Calif. prison spending Special to the DN SACRAMENTO (AP) — California could gain tens of millions of dollars annually in federal reimbursements for prison health care under the nation's new health law, state and federal officials said Tuesday. The money would come from Medicaid reimbursements for inmates who are treated in outside hospitals. It would not help pay for health care within prisons. A nationwide study of prison health care spending released by The Pew Charitable Trusts cites an estimate from California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office that the state could save nearly $70 million annually. The study assumes that California will take full advantage of a change in federal law that will make Medicaid coverage available to low-income childless adults, meaning more prisoners will be eligible. States can also get a higher reimbursement rate for newly enrolled inmates. The federal courtappointed official who controls California's prison medical system 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 uses a more conservative projection of $40 million in savings. The state Department of Finance projects $20 million in additional annual reimbursements for inmates through Medi-Cal, which is California's Medicaid program, and through California's Low Income Health Program. The lower estimates are partly because California already was seeking reimbursement for some inmates and because it is sending fewer inmates to outside hospitals. The state recently opened an $839 million medical facility in Stockton to treat seriously ill inmates. The projected savings would be a fraction of the nearly $9 billion the state spends on the prison system, of which more than $2 billion goes for inmates' medical, mental health and dental care. The federal receiver's office collected $37 million in Medicaid reimbursement last fiscal year under the current 50 percent reimbursement rate. It projects the state will collect $40 million during the current fiscal year, even as the rate for those newly enrolled in Medicaid temporarily increases to 100 percent under the nation's new health See HEALTH, page 7A Three school districts met Wednesday, Oct. 23, for the first of many forums to discuss the transition that is in effect following the move toward Common Core Standards. The discussion, hosted by Red Bluff Elementary, Red Bluff Union High School and Antelope Elementary School districts at the Red Bluff High Performing Arts Center, centered on Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). The formula requires a plan that superintendents have to write, with input from community stakeholders, for the district in order to get the budget, Red Bluff High Superintendent Lisa Escobar said. "The Common Core (transition) means additional funding that each district will get from the state for two years," Escobar said. "It's new and exciting, but it requires that we know our district well and use data to decide where we put money. What's nice is that (the plans) are individualized and it brings control back to the district. It also means increased responsibility for all stake holders." Under the old format, based on Prop. 98, states determined how big a district's slice of the budgetary pie would be and what the filling included, according to a video shown at the meeting. The expectation is that under the new formula for funding, there will be an improvement in the ability to meet a school's needs. It is estimated that the process of putting the new funding system into place will take about eight years, starting with the 2013-2014 school year, which is why the process of talking about each district's plan must begin now, Escobar said. Red Bluff High School Chief Business Official DeAnn Grames gave a brief overview of how the funding is changing. "It's the most dramatic reform in school finance since the early 1970s," Grames said. "It combines things so there's not little pots of money everywhere." The final guidelines will not be out until January 2014, so there will be a lot of guess work and shifting from initial to final calculations between then and in June when school budgets have to be passed, she said. "This establishes a common base grant funding level," Grames said. "The purpose is for transparency, to reduce complexity and to improve funding equity across districts." Prior to this, funding was based off of an average daily attendance calculation and there was a 22 percent deficit factor applied, which meant schools only got 78 percent of what they were supposed to receive, she said. The goal of the new formula is to help bring districts back to prerecession funding levels of the 2007-2008 school year, Grames said. The various funding levels will consist of a base grant, supplemental grant and concentration grant. The base level will be the same for all schools. The supplemental amount will be about 20 percent of the base level and will be set aside to be used to increase and expand services to students, particularly English language learners, free or reduced meals and services for foster youth. The concentration will be 50 percent of the base amount for districts that have greater than 55 percent of the student population on free or reduced lunch. That is something that will help Red Bluff Elementary as it is at 80 percent, Superintendent William McCoy said. Red Bluff High is just under the requirement at 54 percent, Escobar said. His district is at 52 percent, Antelope Elementary School District Superintendent Todd See SCHOOLS, page 7A