Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/22546
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 5, 2011 Breaking news at: Soft Money in Congress Commerce www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 6A RED BLUFF Athletes of the Week SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 55/32 Weather forecast 6B By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer A Shasta County man and woman were arrested Monday when they were found inside and taking property from a home that was destroyed by fire New Year’s Eve. Troy Marchand Heller, 43, of Anderson, and Jennifer Ann Nordella, 28, of Redding, were booked into Tehama County Jail on charges of trespassing 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 Pair arrested inside burned-out home and possession of stolen property. Heller and Nordella were found inside a fire- gutted home in the 800 block of Lassen Avenue, one of two homes that caught fire Friday after- noon. The man and woman had on them several small items that belonged to the home’s residents, said Police Sgt. Michael Graham. “They were little items, not of great value,” Graham said. “It didn’t make any sense.” Red Bluff Police Heller officers entered the residence when two of the five displaced residents were out- side the home and State of flux reported hearing noises inside the house at 10:24 p.m. Monday, according to police logs. However, it was- n’t the first time. The day before, just after noon Sunday, the homeowners had reported two people were inside and stealing items, the logs said. At that time, officers locat- ed property from the residence in the back yard, but no suspects were locat- ed, Graham said. The Lassen Nordella Avenue home sus- tained major dam- age in Friday’s fire, which displaced a family of five and killed family pets, See PAIR, page 5A 3 hurt in 99W crash Three Tehama County residents were sent to the hospital, including one with major injuries, in a crash at 11 p.m. Saturday on Highway 99W, south of Tyler Road. David Simmons, 21, of Red Bluff was driving north on 99E, south of Tyler Road, at a high rate of speed when for unknown reasons he allowed the vehicle to run off the east side. Simmons overcorrected and lost control of the vehicle, which spun counterclockwise and into a tree. The vehicle continued north where the right side hit and uprooted olive tree before passenger Brett Howell, 20, of Gerber was thrown from the vehicle, landing on the ground. The vehicle came to rest on its wheels, facing north in the west shoulder of 99W. Simmons’ passenger Sarah Hatfield, 20, of Red Bluff, was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Redding with major injuries. Simmons and Howell were taken to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital to be treated for minor injuries. The vehicle received major damage. —Julie Zeeb EPAapproves water Courtesy photos The Red Bluff Opera House, pictured in 1908,would later become the State Theatre. I Steering Committee has been meeting with the goal of purchasing the theater as a community asset. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer This is the first in a three-part series that will look at the State Theatre’s past, the time while it was operated under the non-profit State Theatre For The Arts and future plans. The State Theatre closed its doors in June 2010, but a Steering Committee is hoping the doors won’t be closed for long. The Steering Committee, a com- bination of State Theatre For The Arts Board Members and members of the community, is hoping to acquire the property as a communi- ty-owned facility. “We anticipate that by mid-Janu- ary the State Theatre For The Arts non-profit will either enter into negotiations to acquire the theater or decide that a purchase offer is inadvisable at the present time,” said committee Chairman Bill Cor- nelius. While the name may not always have been the State Theatre, the location has been a place for enter- tainment for years, said State The- atre For The Arts Board President Venita Philbrick. “It’s a pretty special place,” Philbrick said. “Ask anyone their favorite movie and they’ll probably remember seeing it at the State The- atre. It was the center of what was going on (in the past) and the center of culture and entertainment. That’s why it matters.” Cornelius, a life-long resident of Red Bluff, said he remembers growing up when there weren’t televisions and Red Bluff was a bit like Mayberry. The theater was where families went for entertain- ment. “In elementary you were down- stairs, in high school you got to go upstairs,” Cornelius said. “It’s where we all took our first dates.” Cornelius remembers the murals See STATE, page 5A quality plan for Klamath GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — The Klamath River — which has seen its salmon runs gradually decline for a century — now has a formal plan for restoring the purity of its waters. The U.S. Environmen- tal Protection Agency announced Tuesday it has approved California’s water quality improve- ment plan for the Kla- math, which runs 255 miles from the city of Klamath Falls in Southern Oregon to the Pacific Ocean on the north coast of California. Oregon’s plan setting total maximum daily loads, or TMDLs, for var- ious water quality factors, is expected to be approved next month. ‘‘There have been years and years of fight- ing water wars around the Klamath,’’ Jared Blumen- feld, southwest regional administrator for the EPA, said from San Francisco. ‘‘Hopefully, for the first time I think, many parties around the table have reached agreement on See EPA, page 5A Long-time Paynes Creek icon leaves legacy of giving Special to the DN A well-known Tehama County woman who was actively involved in her community in Paynes Creek died on Tuesday, Dec. 28. Helen Hagins, who was less than a month from turning 91, moved to Pon- derosa Sky Ranch between Paynes Creek and Mineral with her hus- band, Willie, naming their Cessna Avenue residence “Atlasta Home.” Together, the couple became known as the “water fairies” or “the Good Samaritans of High- way 36.” Over the years they placed water jugs along the mountain highway during the summer for travelers whose cars had overheated, said Hagins’ daughter, Dorothy Ham- mond. Hagins, who was born Jan. 22, 1920 in Willapa, Wash., was involved in distributing food from the Food Bank to needy fami- lies on the ranch starting in 1988. “At the beginning she made two trips into town to pick up food because her car wasn’t big enough to carry it all, and then she actually delivered the food to most of the families,” Hammond said. “She has continued to distribute food from her home up to the present.” Hagins was involved in the Plum Valley Commu- nity Center in Paynes Creek, where in 1993 at the age of 73 she became the secretary and treasur- er. “She almost single- handedly kept it going by publishing an annual cal- endar, a mountain com- 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Red Bluff Outdoor Power munity phone book, han- dling rental of the center and paying bills,” Ham- mond said. “She also wrote and distributed newsletters, ordered repairs, collected dues and donations at breakfasts and dinners, made quilts to be auctioned off and, in general, handled nearly all of the responsibilities for the community center before retiring (last year) at age 90.” Hagins was an active member of the Home- owner’s Association and the Ponderosa Sky Ranch Neighborhood Associa- ATTENTION !!! Painful corns? WHO needs them! We can PERMANENTLY Remove these with very little pain Minimal down time. Most insurances cover. Call for info! DR. John Swaim, DPM (530) 527-7584 tion and did neighbor- hood research in the Los Molinos area for the 2000 Census at the age of 80, after passing a qualifying test. “She will be greatly missed by her family, her friends, her neighbors and many people in the Paynes Creek and Red Bluff areas,” Hammond said. Hagins, who tried to lend a helping hand when- ever and where ever she could, was known in this area for her unique quilts made out of old Levis, Hammond said. The mother of 10, It’s a Elsie McDonald’s Happy 90th All friends & family are invited Saturday, January 8th 12:00 - 4:00 pm Red Bluff Community Center 1500 South Jackson No Gifts mento; Melva Pribbenow, Anchorage, Alaska; Duane Hammond, Paynes Creek; and J.C. Ham- mond, McAllen, Texas. She is survived by 14 grandchildren, more than 30 great-grandchildren, and several great-great- grandchildren. Hagins Hagins is survived by five children, including Leonard Larkin, Canada; Sharon Yarbrough, Sacra- At Hagins’ request, there will be no funeral or memorial service. Dona- tions can be made in her name to the Plum Valley Community Center, 18931 Summit, Paynes Creek, 96075 or hand delivered to the Paynes Creek Store. PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971 CHW North State Region