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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2011 Breaking news at: Musicians meet Students Pastimes www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 6A RED BLUFF Spartans Foothill SPORTS 1B Sunny 64/40 Weather forecast 6B 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 Social Services face steep cuts By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Tehama County Social Ser- vices will perhaps be hit more severely than other departments if Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposals are approved in the final budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Proposed cuts pack a punch for CalWorks recipients who could be stuck with a 13 percent slash in cash aid. In addition, more than 300 families will be cut from the program in Tehama County if the welfare-to-work program starts capping benefits at four- year limits, instead of the cur- rent five-year limit. “That’s the fear that it will go back to what it used to be before welfare-to-work,” said Charlene Reid, Tehama County Social Services director. The CalWorks program, which began in the early 1990s as an incentive to get people off of government assistance and into the workforce, offers vary- ing layers of assistance from cash aid to childcare payments. The previous program was called Aid to Families with Dependent Children, or AFDC, and had different requirements, Reid said. About 315 families, includ- ing 580 children, would be cut from CalWorks in Tehama Park delay may cost city County if the proposed budget passes, Reid said. Additionally, the proposed 13 percent cut to cash aid would affect 1,040 families, she said. Cuts would send people whose monthly benefits, which are at levels that were paid in 1989, See CUTS, page 5A Driver gets 10 years in teacher’s death By KATY SWEENY MediaNews Group OROVILLE — A judge sentenced a 26-year-old Chico man to 10 years in prison for the intoxicated driving death of a jogger who taught elementary school in Corning. Jimmy Candido Flores will likely serve about five years of his 10-year, eight- month sentence. He pleaded no contest Nov. 23 in Butte County Superior Court to gross vehicular manslaugh- ter while intoxicated and possession of marijuana for sale. Flores was driving under the influence of marijuana and three other drugs about 9 a.m. July 22 when he struck and killed Carrie Jean Holiman, 56 of Chico, who See DRIVER, page 5A Day promises to be full of smiles Special to the DN To highlight the importance of good oral health to overall health will celebrate the 6th annual "Give Kids A Smile" day. The event will offer free dental screenings, sealants, cleanings, fluoride varnish and fillings for children 1- 19 years of age, who are uninsured and without a cur- rent dentist starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, with registration ending at 1 p.m. at the Northern Valley Indian Health Dental Clinic in Red Bluff, 343 Oak St. The regional Mobile Dental Unit, funded by a col- laborative grant from the First 5 Commissions in Tehama, Glenn and Butte counties and staffed by Northern Valley Indian Health, will be in use at the event. Daily News Photo by Tang Lor Myranda Day, 5, a special needs child, plays at Trainor Park where new playground equipment was installed but no ADA upgrades allowing access to the parking lot and picnic tables were made. By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The city is scrambling to make park upgrades that are compliant with the Americans with Disabili- ties Act or face paying back thou- sands of state grant dollars. The ADA upgrades, which should have been made when other upgrades in the parks were done about 8 years ago, were not com- pleted. Parks and Recreation Director Debbie Carlisi, who was not the director at the time the grant was received or when the physical work was done, said she is unsure why the ADA upgrades were not made. “It’s kind of hard to say,” Carlisi Principal shot, killed at NorCal elementary school PLACERVILLE (AP) — A school janitor was arrested Wednesday in the killing of a Northern Cali- fornia elementary school principal who was hailed as a role model for other edu- cators. No children were hurt in the late-morning shooting in the office at Louisiana Schnell Elementary School in Placerville, but one stu- dent may have witnessed the shooting, Police Chief George Nielson said. Principal Sam LaCara, 50, died in the attack, Niel- son said. Authorities said they arrested janitor John Lueb- bers, 44, at his home about an hour after launching a manhunt. Investigators were trying to determine a motive for the shooting about 50 miles east of Sacramento. LaCara, who died at Marshall Medical Center, was called a dedicated leader by Bob Wells, execu- tive director of the Associa- tion of California School Administrators. “Sam has been a role model to school leaders for his dedication to students and to public schools,” Wells said. LaCara had served as a treasurer of the group. Nielson was asked by reporters if Luebbers had been laid off. The chief said that possibility was part of the investigation, but he was uncertain about Luebbers’ employment status. “There may have been some kind of dispute between the principal and the custodian,” Nielson said. See SHOT, page 5A 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 POWER PRODUCTS DOLMAR Red Bluff Outdoor Power said. “We knew we had to do this. It was in our contract.” The city was awarded a 2002 Resources Bond Act Per Capita Grant. The bulk of the park improvements, which included replacing picnic tables, playground equipment and putting engineered wood fiber material on play- See PARK, page 5A Oral health information and education, nutrition education, and tobacco education as well as informa- tion about Healthy Families will be offered in both English and Spanish at the State Theatre next door. Tooth decay continues to remain the single most common chronic disease of childhood, according to the Dental Health Foundation, more prevalent than obesity, asthma or even childhood diabetes; and it is seriously impairing the quality of life for thousands of children in California each year. In Tehama, Glenn and Butte counties, nearly one- third of all children did not have a dental exam in the past year, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. New event aims to boost coffers By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer An upcoming event is supposed to be the biggest Red Bluff High class reunion ever, a fundraiser for McG- lynn Pool and a grand marketing cam- paign for Red Bluff. Whatever it is being promoted as, a three-day River Park Festival planned for this summer is expected to bring hundreds of visitors and thousands of dollars into the community. More than 1,200 Red Bluff High alumni and their family members are expected to come back during the weekend of June 24-26 to participate in several planned activities that will raise money to keep McGlynn Pool open. A kickoff party featuring a fashion show and outdoor movie theater will take place Friday evening at Wilcox Golf Club. Saturday’s events will be at River Park where live music, a children’s carnival, food fair, beer garden, wine tasting and boat parade are just some of the activities planned. Throughout the three days various sports challenges, such as a golf tour- nament and 5K and 10K runs, are planned. While most attendees will be alum- ni, everyone in the community is invit- ed to participate, said alumnus and event organizer Mark Neebling. “It is as much about turning on the locals and as much about bringing “It occurred to me we might do something positive and of economic benefit,” Neebling said. “This event is a whole bunch of Red Bluff High alumni wanting to get back to their home town.” Neebling, who is a marketing director, said he is aware of the com- munity’s ongoing branding effort and desire to promote tourism. This event goes right in hand with creating some- thing that will make Red Bluff a desti- nation. people back,” Neebling said. “When folks walk into River Park they have to see something different from what’s already there.” The class of ’79 had its 30-year reunion in September 2009. After the reunion, a couple of classmates talked about getting together again soon, Neebling said. What started as a plan for another class reunion has evolved to include the whole community. Neebling and several others noticed how things have changed. The closing of Helser Chevrolet, as well as other long-time business, got the alumni thinking they wanted to give something back to the community. The class eventually decided it wanted to focus on support- ing McGlynn Pool. In this economy people are no longer booking extravagant cruises around the world but rather looking for things to do closer to home, he said. With everything going on with the economy, things have really changed in favor of Red Bluff as people look to reclaim the old. “Red Bluff is a sleeping giant,” Neebling said. “There’s a lot here, and it’s what people are starving for right now.” Organizers plan to bring in $45,000, which will all be given to the non-profit Blues for the Pool to bene- fit McGlynn Pool. Aside from money spent on festival activities, another $120,000 is expected to be generated in the local economy through people being in town over the three days. The committee has received about $2,500 in sponsorship money for the event, steering committee member and Red Bluff Parks Director Debbie Carlisi said. The effort has just been See EVENT, page 5A Every child deserves proper oral See SMILES, page 5A