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TUESDAY MARCH 1, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Sledding with the Seaveys See Inside American Profile RED BLUFF Play ball! RB preview Sports 1B Partly cloudy 58/44 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 Picking up the pieces Alturas man dies after hitting tree A 52-year-old man from Alturas died after his vehi- cle crashed into a large tree on Highway 99W Friday. Ronald Lee Lafferty, 52, of Alturas was driving a 1992 Jeep Cherokee south on Highway 99W when for an unknown reason he drifted across the northbound lane and onto the soft dirt shoulder on the east side of the road. After traveling along the dirt shoulder for a short time, his vehicle crashed into a tree at about 11:15 p.m. just north of Reno Avenue near Gerber. Lafferty sustained fatal injuries in the crash. The passenger, Dwayne Emmery Hall, 56, of Bella Vista sustained moderate injuries, including a broken kneecap, cuts to his face and forehead, and back pain. Hall was taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth Commu- nity Hospital. It is unknown if drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash, and the accident is still under investigation. Any- one with information is asked to contact California Highway Patrol officer Ken Baldwin at 527-2034. -Andrea Wagner More burglaries target Main Street By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Several downtown Red Bluff businesses that had Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Friends and family try to sort through the rubble to find anything salvageable.Virginia Alcorn, 64, of Los Molinos lived in the one-bedroom house on Sherwood Boulevard but wasn’t home when it was destroyed by fire early Sunday. By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer A one-bedroom rental home on Sherwood Boulevard in Los Moli- nos was destroyed by fire displac- ing a 64-year-old woman that had been threatened there the day before. Virginia Alcorn, 64, had been gone overnight when a fire broke out just before 7 a.m. Sunday. Alcorn had been shaken from an attempted robbery inside the home the day before, acquaintances said. Alcorn reported that a white male adult wearing a brown jacket and black beanie cap reportedly came into the unlocked residence just before 10 a.m. Saturday, according to Tehama County Sher- iff’s logs. The man demanded money and pushed Alcorn around, the logs said. Alcorn was not injured but chose to leave the residence for the night, neighbors said. Meanwhile, a fire broke out Sun- day morning that gutted the resi- dence. CalFire responded and the fire was contained by 7:54 a.m. Damages were estimated at $15,000. Some family and friends came by the scorched home Monday to help Alcorn find anything salvage- able in the piles of records, person- al items, clothing, furniture, toys and debris that had been stacked outside the house. The fire is still under investiga- tion and CalFire had not determined the cause as of Monday afternoon. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailynews.com. previously been broken into about six weeks ago were the target of burglaries again Friday evening and Satur- day night. Businesses around the 200 block of Main and Wash- ington Streets had previously been burglarized on Jan. 14. “There were no known suspects last time so we don’t know if it is the same people or just similar in nature,” Red Bluff Police Sgt. Dan Flowerdew said. Friday, a citizen reported at 10:29 p.m. that a win- dow had been broken on the alley side of the State Farm Insurance office at 203 Main Street. Officers arriving on scene discovered that suites A and B of the building had been broken into. Red Bluff Police logs show Suite B had a shattered door. Officers were later sent Sunday at 12:31 a.m. to a business at 218 Washington where an alarm had gone off. While there, the officers saw two broken windows at Physicians Plan Weight Management at 206 Wash- ington Street, which is directly across the alley from 203 Main Street. See MAIN, page 7A Rainfall’s positive effect could be undone by cold snap By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer A bout of rainfall early on this winter has replenished soil mois- ture, but a dry spell in February and unusually cold temperatures could be problematic for orchard crops. Soil moisture in some orchards have reached field capacity, while oth- ers have yet to meet the capacity, according to a report by the UC Coop- erative Extension. For the most part, it appears that the 2010-11 winter rainfall has been sufficient to refill most orchard soils about 5 or 6-feet deep to field capacity prior to the start of the upcoming growing season, Farm Advisor Allan Fulton said. The amount of rain- fall and soil moisture will affect how orchards are irrigated during spring and summer. In October and December there was plenty of rain, and it was looking like there would be enough, but things have changed, said Howell Crain, who grows walnuts and almonds at various loca- tions throughout Tehama County. “It went from looking like a wet season to less than adequate right now,” Crain said. If there is no more rainfall, he will have to pump more water in the spring and summer, Crain said. Rainfall totals from mid-October to Febru- ary measure around 11 inches at weather sta- tions in Gerber and Durham. As much as an additional 4 inches of rain is needed to replen- ish deep soil moisture in those orchards that have yet to reach field capaci- ty, according to the report. Rain is absolutely a good thing because it helps rebuild the aquifer and allows for soil mois- ture to accumulate, said Annie Bianchi of Bianchi Orchards in Dairyville. Walnuts have to have cool weather and mois- ture to grow adequately. The more water in the ground equals better conditions for the tree. Plenty of moisture is needed to the get the nuts set, Bianchi said. She uses a soil auger to grab a core sample to measure the moisture. Whatever water and moisture is lost will have to be replenished through irrigation, she said. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 “We just grab the soil and feel it in our hands,” Bianchi said. “I can feel how much moisture there is just by holding it in my hand. I guess it’s from experience because I’ve been doing it so long now.” Rain has been pre- dicted for most of this week, which should help replenish some of the water and moisture that evaporated in mid-Janu- ary and February. While water is good for the crops, cold weather could be deadly. Walnuts are still dor- mant and won’t bloom until April, so those nuts won’t be as affected by the recent low tempera- tures, but almonds that are already in full bloom or just past bloom could suffer. The cold snap over the weekend is definite- ly not welcomed at this point in the season, Crain said. A little cold in the winter is okay and sometimes needed, but this late in the season is not good. Saturday morning was very, very cold, Crain said. On Monday, he was still evaluating his trees to see if there was any damage. He is still uncertain if his almonds were effected, saying it will take a couple of days to recognize any lasting effects. “If we do find that there’s no damage, I’ll say it was still real close though,” Crain said. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.co m. Daily News photo by Tang Lor Rainfall and an efficient irrigation system on walnut orchards such as this one off of Highway 99E replenishes soil moisture. • Everyday Cheapskate • Coupon Queen • Gleaners The Daily News - At your side when times are tough COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR Smog Inspection $ 2595 + cert. (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) Pass or FREE retest 195 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530 527-9841 Are you tired of those ugly, thick, painful fungal PODIATRY CENTER toenails? AEROFEET Painless Topical Treatment THAT REALLY WORKS. Treat your neglected nails and cracked feet in time for spring sandals! Call today for an appointment (530)527-7584