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FRIDAY DECEMBER 24, 2010 Breaking news at: New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Select TV www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Pick a Smith SPORTS 1B Mostly cloudy 54/43 Weather forecast 8A By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Four or five men reportedly armed with handguns entered an Ehorn Avenue home Wednesday, forced a resident 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 Daylight robbery yields multiple firearms into a bathroom and stole some 20 firearms and marijuana from a bedroom just before 2 p.m., according to a press release from the Red Bluff Police Department. Two neighbor children, ages 8 and 11, were in the house at the time, but escaped to their homes unharmed, according to police logs. The victim, Dennis Parker, 41, reported to police that he had been forced to lie down on Big Tobacco County tops the state in smoking rate By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Despite the smoking rate in California being at its lowest since the early ’90s, Tehama County tops the list as the place with the most smokers. The county’s smoking rate at 22.8 percent is slightly higher than sur- rounding counties and much higher than most urban counties in the state, according to a report released by the Department of Public Health’s Tobacco Control Program. The prevalence of smoking in rural counties is much higher than urban counties because of lower socioeconomic levels in rural counties, according to the report. Tehama County Public Health Director Sydnei Wilby said the smoking rate is probably a little lower than reported, but agrees that the high rate can be attributed to the low level of education and economic attainment. According to numbers released earlier this month through the Amer- ican Community Survey, the median household income in Tehama Coun- the bathroom floor while one of the intruders closed the door. While Parker was inside the bathroom, the suspects report- edly broke into a gun cabinet in Parker’s bedroom and stole roughly 20 firearms and an undisclosed amount of marijua- na from an ice chest. After about five minutes in the bathroom, Parker heard the back door close, according to a press release. He came out to See ROBBERY, page 7A BLM acquires 226 acres in Bend The Bureau of Land Management acquired 226 acres of private land Wednesday to add to the Sacra- mento River Bend Area adjoining Jellys Ferry Road and the Sacramento River. The BLM intends to open this acquisition to public use very soon after the removal of “no trespassing” and other private ownership signs and the installation of a temporary access gate near an existing parking area, according to a BLM release issued Thursday. Addition- al parking is being planned. The parcel is closed to hunting and the use of firearms due to the proximity of private residences and public roads. This purchase is the latest in a string of acquisitions the BLM has made during the last 3 decades, which has increased the acreage of public land to nearly 18,000 acres — from around 4,000 original public land acres, the release said. The consolidation of public lands with- in this area has led to significant increases in public uses and enjoyment. For further information about this acquisition or the Sacramento River Bend Area, call Project Manager Kelly Williams at 224-2159. Staff report Man pleads not guilty Counties in the rural northeastern part of the state have a higher smoking rate than the rest of California. ty is $36,949. Only 30.3 percent of the population has a high school diplo- ma, and only 8.9 percent has a bachelor’s degree. Large cities are more likely to have policies that deal with smoking, for example designating spe- cific places for smoking, Wilby said. In urban areas where there is more crowding, people are Legislature shields records SACRAMENTO (AP) — A letter written by a lobbyist to a lawmaker; an e-mail pitch by a cam- paign donor; memos sent by party leaders directing legislators how to vote on a bill. Those are just a few examples of documents that would shed light on how the California Legis- lature conducts the pub- lic’s business. But Cali- fornia lawmakers, like their counterparts in Con- gress and several other states, keep those and other types of correspon- dence secret under a spe- cial law covering legisla- tive records. California is one of at least six states in which legislatures require less transparency for them- selves than is required for governors, state agencies and local government bodies, according to a review by The Associated Press. Legislatures in Geor- gia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma similarly exempt themselves. ‘‘There’s way too much that’s being hidden from public review,’’ said David Cuillier, chairman of the Freedom of Infor- mation Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists. ‘‘We need to know who were the movers and shakers behind the scene that caused a certain pro- vision to be included in a bill,’’ said Cuillier, who also is an assistant profes- sor of journalism at the University of Arizona. ‘‘What special interests are trying to create laws, maybe, at the expense of the rest of us?’’ The California Legisla- ture adopted its own rules for what information it would share with the pub- lic more than three decades ago, carving out a host of exemptions that make it difficult for the public to know who is influencing lawmakers’ votes. Other state agencies are covered by the Cali- fornia Public Records Act, which requires far more openness. Likewise, budget nego- tiations between Califor- nia’s legislative leader- 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See SHIELD, page 7A more likely to speak out against smoking and pres- sure smokers into quit- ting. “We just don’t have the peer pressure here,” she said. Public Health is trying to do its part in decreasing tobacco use by offering preventative education. The county has an active tobacco prevention pro- gram but no cessation program. In the past the county had a cessation program, but it was not very suc- cessful, Wilby said. The longest a participant last- ed was around six months. For those who do want to give up smoking, quit See BIG, page 7A to raping teen runaway OROVILLE (AP) — A Butte County man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he raped a 14-year-old girl while she was unconscious and molested the girl’s friend. Prosecutors say the girls had run away from a foster home in the town of Paradise when they met 45-year-old Kevin Gale while he was walk- ing his dog. They say Gale invited them to his home, where he gave them alcohol and mari- juana. After the 14-year-old passed out, Gale allegedly raped her and took photos on his cell phone. Police say he also fondled her 13-year-old friend. The Oroville Mercury Register reports that Gale is charged with rape, lewd acts on a child and provid- ing minors with marijua- na. If convicted, he faces more than 13 years in prison. Gale entered his plea in court Tuesday. He’s due back on Jan. 12 for a pre- liminary hearing. Local duo to help track Santa tonight By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer All the little kiddies who want to make sure their gifts will be under the tree when they wake up Christmas morning can watch Santa as he goes from roof top to roof top all they way around the world. With the help of 1,000 volunteers using a radar system to track Santa, all children and parents will know when it is time put out the cookies and milk and head to bed. Among Santa’s track- ers will be brothers Tiyo and Rioh Rowe, who say they just want to make children happy. “I thought this would be fun and help me get into the holiday spirit,” Rioh Rowe said. The two Red Bluff Union High School stu- dents will be flying to the North American Aero- space Defense Command (NORAD) in Colorado Springs, Colo. to help man the “NORAD Tracks Santa” Operations Center Christmas Eve. They will monitor NORAD’s radars and satellites and answer calls from children around the world who want to know Santa’s whereabouts on See SANTA, page 7A Courtesy photo Volunteers work the phones at NORAD Christmas Eve 2009, keeping children up to date on Santa’s whereabouts. TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS MOULE’S We will be closed on Dec. 24th Merry Christmas 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260 & Dec. 25th The Daily News office will close at noon Thursday, Dec. 23 & CLOSED Christmas Eve, Friday, Dec. 24 New Years Eve, Friday, Dec. 31 Retail advertising deadline for these edi- tions is Tuesday, 10AM D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY 527-2151 • FAX 527-3719 545 DIAMOND AVE., RED BLUFF Classified deadline Thursday, 10AM