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WEDNESDAY A look back JANUARY 1, 2014 Breaking news at: SPORTS 1B www.redbluffdailynews.com DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Mostly sunny 66/36 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 Tehama's Top 10 stories of 2013 Teenager murdered Jefferson movement On Feb. 27 posters with the face of a 14-yearold Red Bluff girl began popping up around town as a family desperately searched for their missing daughter who never came home from school the previous day. A day later the family's worst nightmare came true when the body of Marysa Nichols was found in a dry creek area nearby Red Bluff Union High School. In the days that followed the community rallied together in a series of tributes to Nichols a young girl who was doing of all things — walking home from school when her life was taken. Meanwhile law enforcement worked to solve the questions behind her disappearance and put the community at ease. As family and friends gathered at memorial services the Red Bluff Police Department released a still shot from a surveillance video showing a stocky white man with a red goatee and red shorts, who Police Chief Paul Nanfito described as a "Person of Interest" in Nichols' disappearance. As that still shot was being distributed to the media, 39-year-old Quentin Ray Bealer was arrested by local law enforcement on outstanding unrelated charges. Bealer would be released that night. The following morning a group of his friends convinced Bealer to turn himself over to authorities as the person on interest in the video. Later that day the Red Bluff Police Department charged him with Nichols' murder. Conflict of interests between public defenders and court continuances kept Bealer from entering a plea in the case until April 9, when he entered a A decades-old political movement was back in the spotlight. Calls for northern California to separate from the rest of the state have been heard for generations, but the State of Jefferson withdrawal effort received a series of symbolic wins in 2013 when the Modoc and Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of secession language. That helped motivate Tehama activists who were granted a public workshop in November to discuss the plan. A month later the Tehama Board of Supervisors recommended the issue be put forth as an advisory measure on the June 2014 ballot. Voters will be asked whether the board should support a split from California to form a new state. Proponents say the new state would bring economic benefits from looser regulations than are handed up by Sacramento. Others cited cultural differences between the urban and rural areas of the state. But the underlying message has been that the needs of rural California are under represented in state government. Those dismissive of the idea have called it a waste of time and suggested officials attempt to use cooperation to find solutions to local problems. Daily News file photo The community gathered at Red Bluff Union High School for a candlelight vigil in honor of Marysa Nichols. plea of not guilty. The lengthy wait of a homicide case going through the process of the legal system continued throughout the year with preliminary hearings being delayed again and again. Like many high profile cases, rumor and speculation spread as quickly as facts. In October out-of-town media ran stories focused on a single piece of evidence, suggesting the wrong person had been arrested. That prompted Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen to hold a press conference reaffirming his belief that the right man was in custody and saying he would not try the case in the court of public opinion. What facts have come out in the case have mainly been contained in search warrants and affidavits authorizing a full body search of Bealer and two residences at the time Daily News file photo The State Theatre burned its mortgage during a symbolic celebration ceremony in November. Top 10 stories By RICH GREENE and ANDRE BYIK 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 of his arrest. Nichols' autopsy revealed she was strangled Feb. 26 while walking home from the high school campus. According to descriptions in the search warrants a yellow cloth type item with a knot tied in it had been wrapped around her neck. She had injuries to her right forearm and some trauma to her face. She had also been left in a state of semi-undress with a green sweatshirt near her feet and a light gray zippered sweatshirt near her head. Bealer told investigators he had been walking along the same path Nichols would later follow. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23. State Theatre pays off mortgage The State Theatre for the Arts in Red Bluff in November celebrated a grand milestone worthy of an encore. On Nov. 9, theater officials hosted "Encore," where dozens of supporters celebrated a successful campaign to pay off the theater's $475,000 mortgage. State Theatre President Bill Cornelius said that in 2 1/2 years, more than 200 people, families and businesses contributed to the total. Cornelius said at the event that the theater's board of directors decided to purchase the theater after it had been operated under a rental basis since 2000. The goodwill for the theater continued at the mortgage-burning gala as Cornelius accepted hefty donations from the Shasta Regional Community Foundation and PJ Helicopters Inc. of $65,000 and $25,000, respectively. In the new year, theatergoers and passers-by can expect improvements to the theater's blade and marquee. The blade was constructed in 1946, Cornelius said, but fell into disrepair in the 1980s. That's about the last time the neon lights functioned properly. Work to replace the blade started in late November, and the $75,000 project is headed by Fernando Duarte. Duarte's previous theater work includes Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Ore., Vision Theatre in Los Angeles, The Guild Theatre in Sacramento and Brava Theatre in San Francisco. "We feel like it will let the public know we're back and we're here to stay," Cornelius previously said. Slough fires In early June, firefighters were kept busy as they battled two fires near the Sacramento River in Red Bluff. The Sale Lane fire, which burned 102 acres in an area between Interstate 5 and Sale Lane on both sides of Antelope Boulevard's East Sand Slough bridge on June 3, was said to be caused by children playing with a lighter. The blaze was fueled by vegetation in the area and burned several units of an apartment complex on Sale Lane. No serious injuries were reported. The fire spawned separate cleanup efforts months afterward to rehabilitate the slough, one headed by Mendocino National Forest officials, and the other by the Tehama County Resource Conservation District and the Tehama County Probation Department. Mendocino National Forest District Ranger Eduardo Olmedo told the Tehama County Board of Supervisors this month that cleanup work south of the East Sand Slough bridge was progressing. The rehabilitation effort included felling hazardous trees and fostering an environment for native plants and animals to thrive. A separate fire on June 3 at Peachtree Lane near Gilmore Ranch Road destroyed two mobile homes and several outbuildings before it was contained. Corning opens new skate park City officials in Corning hosted hundreds at the opening of the new Corning Community Park at Toomes Avenue on Oct. 19. The 18-acre park, which is funded by a $4.2 million state grant, feaSee TOP 10, page 7A Daily News file photo Corning celebrated the first phase of the new Community Park in October. Smog Inspection $ 2995 +$825 certificate (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) The Daily News office will CLOSE AT NOON Tuesday, Dec. 24 & Tuesday, Dec. 31 CLOSED: Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec. 25 CLOSED: New Years Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1 Retail advertising deadline for these editions is Monday, 10AM Classified deadline Tuesday, 11AM DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF • Members Welcome 530 527-9841 195 S. Main St., Red Bluff TEHAMA COUNTY 527-2151 • FAX 527-3719 545 DIAMOND AVE., RED BLUFF