Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/214746
THURSDAY 'Laughing Stock' NOVEMBER 21, 2013 McGloin to Start Opens Tonight Pastimes Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Sunny 65/43 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 Bu rning banned Los Molinos health center to change hands Enloe Medical Center and Ampla Health are working together to oversee the seamless transition of Enloe's Los Molinos Family Health Center to new ownership. Ampla Health will become the center's new owner and operator and move it to a new location. The last day of services at the Enloe Los Molinos Family Health Center will be Nov. 21. The new center will open Dec. 2 and be called Ampla Health Los Molinos Medical. Ampla Health will assume care of all existing patients, and new patients will be welcome. The organization has committed to maintaining the same level of primary care service that Enloe Medical Center has provided for adults and children and will increase access to specialty care. See HEALTH, page 7A Courthouse project moves forward By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Photo courtesy of Betsy Palubeski Residential leaf burning that took place within the city of Red Bluff this past week. By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer With Mayor Wayne Brown back from vacation the Red Bluff City Council moved forward with adopting an ordinance he opposed. So went Red Bluff's leaf burning saga Tuesday as the City Council moved to adopt an ordinance banning all outside residential burning, save for food and fire training, by a 3-2 margin. The ordinance, upon a second reading and approval in two weeks, would take effect 30 days later — around the first week of January. A motion to adopt the same ordinance as an Urgency Ordinance to take effect immediately also received a 3-2 vote, but required four votes to pass. At the council's last meeting Councilwoman Daniele Jackson abstained from voting on the issue until Brown, who has historically opposed a ban on leaf burning, returned from vacation.. On Tuesday she stood by that decision, one she said had been called unpopular in the meantime, before joining with councilmen Clay Parker and Raymond Eliggi in adopting the ordinance. Brown and Councilman Rob Schmid opposed. "Everyone knows I'm opposed to this," Brown said before opening up public comment on the issue. The public comment period featured nearly everyone who spoke up in favor of the ordinance two weeks ago along with a pair of newcomers who opposed the ban. Les Wolfe compared the ban to Obamacare, while Jeff Foster cited various parts of the US Constitution and said those with minority opinions often make the most noise and that majority rule should decide the issue. If public comment was a sample size, the majority of Red Bluff was in favor of the ban. The other handful of people who spoke during public comment talked about the health risks associated with leaf burning, comparing it to the dangers of second hand cigarette smoking. Many cited the decreased visibility on roadways as another safety issue. See BAN, page 7A The new Tehama County Courthouse took another step forward Nov. 8 when the State Public Works Board approved preliminary plans for the project. The new 5-courtroom, 62,033-square-foot facility will replace the existing facilities at the site of the historic Tehama County Courthouse. It will also consolidate the Corning courthouse, which has already moved its operations to Red Bluff. The project has been appropriated for $57.822 million. According to the SPWB's agenda analysis $1.725 million has already been saved as a result of decreasing construction costs. The approval of the preliminary plans leaves two remaining steps in the project's design process: preparing working drawings and then final approval of those documents. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in July 2014 and to be completed in September 2016. The courthouse will sit on 4.4 acres between Walnut Street and Hook Road. That is leading to a relocation of the county's Agriculture and Day Reporting centers, the latter of which could prompt even more moves of government facilities. Rich Greene can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 109 or rgreene@redbluffdailyne ws.com. Analyst: Calif. Ehorns named Grand Marshalls will have $10B surplus by 2017 SACRAMENTO (AP) — California's independent legislative analyst on Wednesday offered a rosier financial forecast for the state than in the last several years, projecting annual operating surpluses approaching $10 billion a year by the 201718 fiscal year if current spending and revenue policies continue. Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said revenue is expected to grow faster than spending for at least the next five years. ''The state's budgetary condition is stronger than at any point in the last decade,'' he said in the report. Taylor credits restrained spending by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown, the improving economy, and temporary increases in sales and income taxes voters approved last year. He projects a $5.6 billion reserve by July 2015. It's a dramatic turnaround from the multibillion-dollar deficits of a few years ago. Taylor 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 warned that California's tax structure still leaves it vulnerable to swings in the stock market, so he said lawmakers should not commit extra money to new programs. Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, urged fellow lawmakers to heed Taylor's advice to devote the extra money to paying down debt, including billions of dollars owed to the state's pension funds and retiree health care. He said the state also should fulfill its promise to fund schools and invest in critical infrastructure. ''There will be other pent-up spending demands by many that can't be fulfilled,'' Huff said in a written statement. ''But we can sustain this recovery and protect vital services all Californians care about as long as we work together to make that happen.'' The analyst's report said tax revenue will start to fall in 2019 with the expiration of higher income taxes on the wealthy under Proposition 30, the Brown-sponsored initiative approved by voters last year. Revenue will See 2017, page 7A Ralph and Joanne Ehorn, Grand Marshalls for Red Bluff's Nov. 30 Annual Christmas Parade, are probably the only people in Red Bluff that have had Red Rock — the famous Growney Brothers rodeo bull — mow down their hollyhock hedge with his head. After 62 years in business in the Red Bluff community, Ralph and Joanne are retiring and closing Ehorn's Antiques and More. Downtown will be losing the town greeter in front of 629 Main St. For the last 12 years Ralph has welcomed people from all over the world to downtown Red Bluff. Meeting the people is one of the things Ralph will miss most about retirement. Having new faces to tell his jokes, is something else he will miss. Ralph and Joanne opened the antique store after they closed their photographic business. The Ehorns, dedicated community leaders, graduated from Red Bluff High School and raised their daughter Tanya and son David while having careers. Joanne worked 15 years for the California Department of Water Resources and 20 years for the California Highway Patrol. In the early 1960s, Highway Patrol Officer Kit Carson urged Ralph to ask Joanne out. She said yes on the third request and has been saying yes to him for the last 51 years. Ralph, a professional photographer, worked 20 years at Bayless Photography before starting his own photography shop, Ehorn's Photography, first in Cowtown Plaza, then Main Street, and finally settling in the permanent location at Washington and Hickory Streets. It is here they had the honor of having Red Rock remove their hollyhock hedge that they had grown for a pho- tograph background. Red Rock was visiting the adjacent Presbyterian Church for a children's event, with eight-year-old Jason Bauer on his back he started swinging his head in figure eights and mowed down the entire row of hollyhocks, a memory Jason and his mother, Terri, will never forget. As a photographer Ralph has recorded the history of Red Bluff and the family histories for many via high school pic- tures, proms, weddings and family gatherings. Ralph was always booked a year ahead for weddings. He was instrumental in photographing the 100th Anniversary of Red Bluff. He has also created a photographic museum. He was head of the Professional Photographers of the North Valley and was awarded the "Fellowship Award" by the Professional Photographers of America. Ralph served See EHORNS, page 7A