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THURSDAY Brown Gives JANUARY 23, 2014 Spartans Soccer State of State Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 5A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Sunny 72/43 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 Bealer hearing opens today By RICH GREENE What is this case about? The Tehama DN Staff Writer County District Attorney's Office What's happenbrief history of the ing today? case is: "Defendant The preliminary was arrested and hearing for People vs. charged with the Quentin Ray Bealer, murder of a 14one count of murder, year-old victim is scheduled for 1:30 who had been p.m. in Tehama reported missing County Superior Bealer when she never Court Department 4. Judge Jonathan Skillman is returned home from school. scheduled to preside. The hear- Officers located the victim's ing has also been placed on the body two days later." The body was of that of court's calendar to continue 9 Marysa Nichols a Red Bluff a.m. Friday. High School student through the Education Outreach Academy. She went missing Feb. 26, 2013 and her body was found Feb. 28 about a half-mile behind the school's campus in a dry creek bed. How did she die? Her autopsy report said she died due to asphyxiation by ligature strangulation, meaning she was choked to death. A search warrant and affidavit said a yellow cloth type item with a knot tied in it was wrapped tightly around her neck. She also had injuries to her right forearm and some trauma to her face. When was Bealer arrested? Bealer turned himself in to the Red Bluff Police Department a few days after the body was discovered. The department had released a still photograph from a surveillance camera Nichols at the high school that showed "A person of interest." Bealer had been picked up by local law enforcement when the photograph was released on Shelter costs surge non-related arrest warrants and released. Upon his release he met up with some friends who convinced him to turn himself in as the person of interest in the still image. He was arrested for a drug charge and then formally arrested for Nichols' murder March 2, 2013. He was arraigned March 6, 2013. See BEALER, page 7A High school board hires interim chief By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer The Red Bluff Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees appointed Joe Harrop Tuesday as its interim district superintendent a week after terminating its contract with Lisa Escobar. Harrop will serve as interim superintendent until a new superintendent is recruited and appointed. Harrop See SCHOOL, page 7A Red Bluff youth nominated to service academies Daily News photo by Rich Greene Churchill, a 2-year-old Chihuahua, is one of several dogs and cats available for adoption at the Tehama County Animal Care Center. The city of Red Bluff may soon propose only paying for an animal's legal minimum of a six-day stay at the facility. By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer The city of Red Bluff's payment to Tehama County for the operations of the Animal Care Center has increased by 752 percent since the 2000-01 fiscal year. That year the city paid $12,308, for its share of the center's operations. This year the city will pay $104,893. The city's share is based on the percentage of animals taken into the center from Red Bluff. The escalating costs come at no surprise to the city. A year ago Police Chief Paul Nanfito raised the issue before the City Council when he asked for the city to increase what it was budgeting yearly for the services. From 2007-08 to 2012-13 the city budget- ed a standard $78,000 for services despite the actual costs rising in all but one of those years. This year the city budgeted $95,500 for the services, but even that didn't turn out to be enough. On Tuesday the City Council approved 4-1 a supplemental appropriation of an additional $9,394 to cover the complete cost of the yearly bill. Councilman Rob Schmid was the lone no vote. In March 2013 the City Council and Tehama County Board of Supervisors agreed to form an ad hoc committee to examine the shelter agreement, which has been in place since 1989. City Manager Richard Crabtree said at Tuesday's City Council meeting that the city and county were still in discussion in regards to setting up a future meeting to dis- cuss the issue. Crabtree presented the council with a proposal for contract negotiations, where the city would present the idea of only paying for the legal minimum of a six-business-day stay at the animal shelter for dogs and domestic cats and three business days for feral cats. The average stay for dogs at the Animal Shelter is 15.7 days, according to a memo drafted by Crabtree. The shelter has attempted to drive down euthanasia rates through outside adoptions when possible. Nanfito said he had the impression that without requesting that sort of change to the contract the city wouldn't make any headway in negotiations. See COSTS, page 7A WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Doug LaMalfa announced that he has nominated 15 North State residents as candidates to the United States Service Academies, including Alexandra Dahnke to the U.S. Naval Academy and Giancarlo Nandino to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Both are from Red Bluff. The U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marines Academy each require a Congressional nomination in order to attend. The admissions process is highly competitive. "These young North State residents deserve our assistance and gratitude in their efforts to serve our nation," LaMalfa said. "Our area has a long tradition of service, and I am honored to nom- inate them to continue that tradition. It's also important to thank the retired military leaders from our area whose generous commitment of their time and expertise produced an outstanding group of students to represent the North State." LaMalfa's nominees were recommended by a committee of North State community leaders and veterans of all service branches. The committee recommended a slate of nominees after interviewing and carefully considering the files of North State students who applied for the nomination. Having been nominated, the students must now compete with other nominees for an appointment to the academies. AcadeSee YOUTH, page 7A Boehner visits state for drought bill Wednesday breaks another record high Red Bluff's weather broke two more records this week. Wednesday's high of 79 degrees broke the Jan. 22 record set in 1968, according to AccuWeather. The National Weather 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Service reported Tuesday's high of 75 degrees tied the existing record set in 1980. They were the fifth and sixth record highs so far in January. Another record could be threatened Sunday. AccuWeather is forecasting a high of 73 degrees, which would be one degree off the record high for Jan. 26 of 74 degrees set in 2011. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner visited a dusty California field on Wednesday, joining Central Valley Republicans to announce an emergency drought-relief bill to help farmers through what is certain to be a devastating year. If passed, the bill that's already stirring controversy would temporarily halt restoration of the San Joaquin River designed to bring back the historic salmon flow, among other measures. Farmers want that water diverted to their crops. Standing on the field just outside of Bakersfield, AP photo House Speaker John Boehner talks about the drought in the Central Valley, Wednesday. Boehner said that where he's from in Ohio, the logic applied in California regarding water policy would cause people to shake their heads. ''How you can favor fish over people is something people in my part of the world would never understand,'' Boehner said. Without the emergency legislation, thousands of farmworkers will be unemployed, he said. The bill is expected to be introduced in two weeks. It calls for allowing farmers to pump from the SacramentoSan Joaquin Delta as water See BILL, page 7A