Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/219675
WEEKEND NOVEMBER 30 DECEMBER 1 2013 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Cattle Convention — Ag Page 5A DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Mostly sunny 69/45 Weather forecast 10A TEHAMA COUNTY $1.00 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 Lassen limited Jefferson ballot measure being considered By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Tehama County voters may sooner than later get to voice their opinions on whether the county should join the State of Jefferson movement. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss adding an advisory measure on the June 2014 ballot when it meets at 10 a.m. Tuesday, at the Board Chambers, 727 Oak St. "Should the Tehama County Board of Supervisors adopt a Declaration of Support for the proposed separation from the State of California and formation of a 51st state," the advisory measure would ask voters. The ballot measure would allow the board to hear from the public regarding the withdrawal movement See BALLOT, page 9A Supes OK scaled back Ag building By RICH GREENE Daily News file photo Visitor center to close for winter MINERAL - The Kohm Yahmah-nee Visitor Center, with the exception of the vestibule and restrooms, will be closed to the public from Dec. 1 through March 31 due to the ongoing budget concerns. When the government shutdown ended Congress provided funds to operate the parks through Jan. 15, 2014, with final funding to be resolved after that. "This decision was not made lightly, but was necessary in an effort to reduce costs associated with keeping the visitor center open and staffed during the winter," said Park Superintendent Darlene Koontz. "Alternatives to closing the visitor center were analyzed. However, faced with the continuing budget uncertainty, hard decisions had to be made to ensure that the park can provide services to winter visitors while maintaining adequate funding in reserve for summer when our visitation is highest." The Lassen Association bookstore and Lassen Café and Gifts will be closed during this time as well. The road to the visitor center will remain open with limited parking available. The plowing of the road will occur following each storm period. Be aware the road will be closed during times of severe Oroville Dam earthquake study recommended OROVILLE (AP) — California officials should conduct an earthquake safety assessment of a Northern California dam that is the linchpin of a major drinking water system in the state, according to a federal inspection obtained by a newspaper. The Oroville Dam, the tallest in the nation, shows no significant flaws, but inspectors are recommending the assessment because of new information about earthquake hazards in the area, the Sacramento Bee reported on Friday. The 742-foot-high dam on the Feather River forms the main storage facility for the State Water Project, which supplies drinking water to more than 23 million California residents. The recommendation was included in a 2010 report by consultants working for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees hydroelectric dams in the United States. The Bee said it reviewed a copy of the report following a Public Records Act request. But state water officials say they do not plan to conduct the review. The dam is sufficiently strong, and the cost of the review would not be justified, they say. ''Even with today's understanding of seismicity and ground motions, Oroville still would meet the criteria that would be set today,'' said David Panec, chief of dam safety at the state Department of Water Resources' operaSee DAM, page 9A weather. Visitors planning a trip to Lassen should check the current road status before traveling to the park, and it is highly recommended that all visitors, especially backcountry travelers, are aware of the projected weather conditions and snow levels during your visit to the park. Consider stowing a shovel, extra blankets and tire chains in your vehicle as road conditions can deteriorate quickly. An emergency telephone is located in the Kohm Yah-mah-nee vestibule. Overnight visitors are required to obtain a wilderness permit before entering the backcountry, also available in the vestibule. See LASSEN, page 9A DN Staff Writer The Tehama County Board of Supervisors authorized a somewhat stripped-down version of a new Agricultural Center to go out to bid Tuesday. The county had allocated about $1.8 million for the center, which is being built as the Agriculture Department's existing space will soon be razed to make way for the new Tehama County Superior Court. But the architect's original estimate for the plans came in at more than $2 million. Since then the county has attempted to decrease the price of the project by deleting landscaping, changing the roofing and reducing the total square footage of the building. County staff estimates the value engineering will save between $118,000 and $140,000 from the first estimate. The new building will house the Agriculture Department and the Air Pollution Control District Office. It will have a large conference room around the size of the Administration Building's Tuscan Room that would be available for county department meetings and Ag Extension sponsored groups such as 4-H. The project site is 1834 Walnut St. $1 million in unpaid fines for assisted living The California Department of Social Services issued more than $2 million in fines against assisted living facilities throughout the state from 2007 to 2012. But a ProPublica review of department records shows it collected less than half of that. Indeed, the agency failed to wrest any money from the vast majority of facilities it hit with the most serious sanctions. Of the 50 largest fines assessed over those years, the review showed, the department collected no money in 39 cases. In one instance, a facility in a tiny Shasta County town that was operating without a license accrued more than $250,000 in penalties and paid none of it. "The fact that the fines were not paid is a concern," said state Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat who represents San Francisco and San Mateo County. "The reason we have fines is to deter individuals from breaking the rules and breaking the laws." ProPublica, as part of its ongoing examination of the multibillion-dollar assisted living industry, had asked California officials to produce records detailing their oversight of the state's 7,700 assisted living facilities, which have tens of thousands of seniors in their care. The officials ultimately conceded they could not produce basic data about fundamental aspects of the department's regulatory operations. For example, they could not say how many inspections the department conducts each year, or how many "unusual incidents" – injuries, abuse allegations, medication errors – the facilities report to the state. The revelations come as state lawmakers, advocates for the elderly, and news organizations have heightened their scrutiny of the department's performance. See FINES, page 9A