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TUESDAY JANUARY 18, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Dream walker See Inside American Profile RED BLUFF Holiday matinee Sports 1B Mostly sunny 66/41 Weather forecast 8B 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 Preserving history K9 law enforcement travels around world By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer A specialized dog training company, headed in-part by local former law enforcement officers, sends working dogs and their handlers all over the world, serving military and law enforcement. Most recently, Vigilant Canine Services International, or VCSi, set up in Tehama, Butte and Shasta counties, renewed contracts with NATO’s International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan to provide dogs for sniffing out explo- sive devices in vehicles, and other work. Just retired Shasta County Undersheriff Greg Wrigley is the International Operations manager for VCSi. He returned from his first trip to Afghanistan Dec. 31. The company has explosive detection, protective and nar- cotic detection dogs, each trained in different ways, Wrigley said. Wrigley got involved with VCSi through working with K9 teams in law enforcement, he said. His own K9 was retired after being hit in the eye during a domestic dispute on duty. Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack react to the unveiling of a new memorial monument, Saturday afternoon, at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo. Pearl Harbor monument unveiled in Igo By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer IGO— Red Bluff veterans sup- porters were among those who gath- ered to witness the unveiling of a Pearl Harbor memorial monument Saturday afternoon at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo. Red Bluff Police Chief Paul Nanfi- to and others who participated in mak- ing the dedication possible were acknowledged during the ceremony. The unveiling itself was done by some of the last living members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association Chapter 28. The survivors, most wearing pow- der blue jackets to identify them, made their way to the monument, some needing a helping hand. Each were donned with leis. The men flanked each side to unveil the sculpted stone which had been in the works for years. Members of the association had raised money to build the monument over the last few years and had been waiting on the finishing touches, according to the Record Searchlight. Engravings that describe which ships were at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack were the last piece to complete the project. Pearl Harbor Survivor John Rus- sak, former Navy Chief Petty Officer aboard the U.S.S. Argon Dec. 7, 1941, was among those in attendance. "It’s great to remind people," he said. "We don’t want people to forget about it. We love our country." Russak's son Wayne, of Redding, brought his father to the event, but it was his first time at the cemetery. "I was just awestruck at the day, the view, the men," he said. He knew being there was impor- tant, because this could be the last time these men would all be together, he said. "This is what America stands for — service and honoring those who serve," he said. Following the ceremony, members of the Red Bluff Emblem Club, No. 408, handed out slices of cake, cook- ies, brownies, coffee and bottled water inside the cemetery's administration building. The club has been serving refresh- ments at every event at the cemetery since it opened, roughly five years ago, as part of an "Americanism" project, said current Emblem Club president Jeannie Garton. Of the club's 110 members, a half dozen attend each event, different members coming at different times, she said. The Red Bluff Elks Lodge donates the coffee. Garton's husband, Tehama County Supervisor Dennis Garton, came to support his wife and represent the Board of Supervisors. "We have to support our veterans and this cemetery," he said. Retired state senator Maurice Johannessen, one of the muscles behind the creation of the Igo ceme- tery, attended the event wearing a stars and stripes tie with a pre-Sept. 11, 2001 photo of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. "What we’re trying to achieve is to make sure these people are honored while they are alive," he said. "These men are the last survivors we have up here and we have to take care of See IGO, page 7A The dogs, raised at breeding facilities in South Africa and the Philippines, are shipped around the world and given extensive testing and training. Although no specific breed is recruited, there are certain requirements, Wrigley said. In training, dogs are given a ball to chew as a reward for sniffing out the appropriate item. “They have to have a strong play drive,” he said. “They’ve got to want to get that ball. They’ve got to be really driven.” What’s unique about VCSi is that it has regional trainers throughout California, including one in Chico. This means law enforcement K-9 officers, who are recommended to train their dogs eight to 16 hours a month, will have some- one local who will come to them and work with the dogs. “It’s always better if you have someone else come in to do training,” Wrigley said. The dogs get tired of sniffing and can’t put in a full day every day, he said. So being in the area to train means train- ers can go back to work instead of to a hotel to wait. Another benefit of VCSi is the cost, Wrigley said. It is cheaper to hire the company because the trainers are readily available in the area. “In the long range, we will need to set up a kennel to have an inventory of dogs here,” he said. For now, there is no set location and trainers choose dif- ferent locations to take the dogs in each area. Trainers who are sent to Afghanistan for military-level contracts must have a minimum of two years handling expe- rience, Wrigley said. They come from law enforcement and the military mostly. “Most trainers are in law enforcement and have been in the business a long time,” he said. Each dog could work five to seven years. They aren’t started until they are at least 2 years old and usually retire by the time they are 9, Wrigley said. The next event will be a Human Remains Water Recov- ery K9 Training Seminar, March 17 -19, in and around Red- ding. Even at $350 per handler and canine team, the event is full, but observers are welcome for $25 per day, according to the company’s calendar of events at vigilantcanine.com.The contract with NATO will extend at least until Dec. 31. At that time NATO will have to decide if it wants to continue recruit- ing VCSi’s specially trained dogs. VCSi has been contract- ing with NATO troops in Afghanistan since March 2009. Lady Spartans basketball teams raising awareness By HEATHER PRICE Special to the DN The Red Bluff 2010- 2011 girls freshman, junior varsity and varsity basket- ball teams have dedicated their season to a higher awareness of finding a cure for cancer. The idea started with sophomore Jessica Macdon- ald on the junior varsity team talking to coach Wendy Drury about dedicat- ing the team’s season to the awareness of finding a cure for cancer. “My coach and the team were all for the idea,” Mac- donald said. After the junior varsity team decided to put the idea into action, the three teams got together and decided to make it a program with all the teams. “As young women, you need role models, and many role models have been affected by cancer,” Drury said. Many of the players on the team have been person- ally affected by cancer either by family and friends or teachers on the Red Bluff High campus. “The team came up with it before they knew my mom had cancer,” sopho- more Janay Ortiz said. “I think it is cool how the team is wanting to support it.” Members of each team have designed shirts they will wear to school on game days and at games when they watching the other team play. The frosh and junior var- sity teams have pink tie-dye shirts that say “fight back”. The varsity team will sport black shirts with the same phrase on the back in pink lettering. The phrase “fight back” is significant in two ways. It represents how the teams fight on the court to win their games and brings an awareness to the community that there is a need to fight back against cancer and to help find a cure. “My mom really appreci- ates it,” Ortiz said. “She thinks it’s nice how they are going out of their way to support people with cancer and standing out with a dif- ferent color.” The team chose the color pink because it’s cool and it stands out, Macdonald said. The junior varsity team orig- inally wanted to get pink shoes to wear during games, but there wasn’t enough, so they decided on warm-up shirts. When the team goes 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See TEAMS, page 7A Photo courtesy of Heather Price The Red Bluff High School freshman basketball team in their pink cancer awareness shirt. FIREARMS Learn Basic Excel Basic EXCEL Thursday January 20, 2011 8:30 am to 12:30 pm Cost: $65 per person Job Training Center 718 Main St., Red Bluff Call 529-7000 ATTENTION !!! Painful corns? WHO needs them! 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