Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/264976
ALTURAS (AP) — The woman who police say killed three family members and a worker at the headquarters building for an Indian tribe that was evicting her and her son from its land was the target of a federal investi- gation into at least $50,000 in missing tribal funds. Investigators have been looking into whether Cherie Lash Rhoades took federal grant money meant for the Cedarville Rancheria tribe she once led, a person familiar with the tribe's situation told The Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke only on condition of anonymity. Rhoades recently was ousted as chairwoman of the 35-member tribe that includes many of her rela- tives. On Thursday after- noon, her brother, Rurik Davis, and other tribal members were attending a meeting involving Rhoad- es's potential eviction at the headquarters building in the rural northeastern California community of Alturas. It's unclear pre- cisely when the shooting began, but in quick suc- cession Davis, 50; Rhoad- es' niece, Angel Penn, 19; her nephew, Glenn Calonicco, 30; and Shelia Lynn Russo, 47, were killed. Investigators were looking into whether the embezzlement allegations spurred the tribe's efforts to evict Rhoades, but had not established any defin- itive motive, Alturas Police Chief Ken Barnes said Friday. ''If we could confirm or deny that, it would help me toward a motive,'' Barnes said. Eviction from tribal housing is among the most serious punishments for American Indians. One of Rhoades' nephews, Jason Penn, said Davis was behind the effort. ''Her brother drove her too far,'' Penn said as he stood in the front yard of Rhoades' home on the tribe's land in Cedarville, about 15 miles from Alturas. Penn said he drove into Alturas on Thursday with By ANDRE BYIK DN Staff Writer From diseases to food safety issues, and county regulations and weed management, agriculture experts spent Friday at the Red Bluff Elks Lodge presenting the latest research regarding prunes at the 11th annual Tehama County Prune Day. Hosted by the Univer- sity of California Cooper- ative Extension program, the day was designed to "get the most current, research-based informa- tion to prune growers," said Richard Buchner, a UCCE farm adviser in Tehama County. In 2012, prune produc- tion accounted for about 13 percent of Tehama County's fruit and nut crop values. Prunes were valued at $27.6 million that year, which was a slight decrease from 2011 because of a decreases in acreage and production totals. "We have significant statewide prune acreage here," Buchner said. "Good fruit quality, good yields. They produce a lot of economy for our coun- ty." The morning-long event Friday attracted growers and financial types alike. Detailed pre- sentations, such as "Weed Management and Phyto- toxicity Symptoms," by Brad Hanson, a UCCE weed specialist from UC Davis, shed light on cur- rent practices and research. Hanson's lab at UC Davis focuses on fumi- gant and herbicide research, as well as chem- NEW WORKSHOP! How to Get a Job with the State of California Friday, February 28 th , 9:30am – 11:30 am Over 40 jobs available in Redding alone! Call the Job Training Center 529-7000 to register Weather forecast 10A Sunny 72/42 N EWS D AILY $1.00 FEBRUARY 22-23 2014 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY 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 WEEKEND FFA Students Speak Out Farm Page 5A Arena proves big draw Daily News photo by Chip Thompson The Rolling Hills Equestrian Center opened at the beginning of the year and has hosted several suc- cessful events since. Equestrian center opens in Corning Special to the DN The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians celebrated the rich ranching heritage of Tehama County by opening The Rolling Hills Equestri- an Center on New Year's Eve. "The Equestrian Center offers a world-class equestrian experience right here in the heart of Northern California," said John Crosby, eco- nomic development director. "It's a wonderful facility and we are very proud of the excitement it has gen- erated already." According to Crosby, every detail of the facility reflects the high level of attention paid to ensure the safety, comfort, and high perfor- mance of horses and their owners. The facility features 200 stalls manufactured by MDBarnmaster, a company also owned by the Nomla- ki Tribe. "Our stalls have a national repu- tation for being kick-proof and chew-proof with a 0 percent fire spread rating," said Crosby. "They are also easy to clean, which reduces the risk of disease to hors- es." The spacious vendor and specta- tor area provides bleacher seating California farmers won't get federal water FRESNO (AP) — Without a lot more rain and snow, many California farmers caught in the state's drought can expect to receive no irrigation water this year from a vast system of rivers, canals and reservoirs interlacing the state, federal officials announced Friday. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released its first outlook of the year, saying that the agency will contin- ue to monitor rain and snow fall, but the grim levels so far prove that the state is in the throes of one of its dri- est periods in recorded history. Farmers who rely on the federally run Central Valley City Hall looks to go paperless By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer A Red Bluff City Councilman is proposing the city consider adopting a paperless practice for conducting meetings. Councilman Rob Schmid made the sugges- tion at Tuesday night's City Council meeting. Schmid said he was recently discarding two years of agendas and related staff information when he got to thinking just how many reams of paper, ink and staff time was used to put it all together. He said at the same time he's noticed the paperless approach being utilized at Tehama County boards and couldn't help but wonder whether the city should move in the direction to save money. Schmid questioned whether purchasing tablet computers, such as iPads, to be utilized by coun- cilmembers would be a worthy purchase. City Manager Richard Crabtree said he would look into Schmid's sug- gestion and bring back some proposals about what could be done. Schmid said those pro- posals would need to include adding WiFi ser- vice to City Hall to make utilizing tablets possible. Day brings latest to prune growers Daily News photo by Andre Byik UC Davis weed expert Brad Hanson, left, and Richard Buchner, a Uni- versity of California Cooperative Extension farm adviser in Tehama County, speak to prune growers during the 11th annual Tehama Coun- ty Prune Day on Friday at the Red Bluff Elks Lodge. Tribal killing suspect target of probe See ARENA, page 9A See WATER, page 9A See CITY, page 9A See PRUNE, page 9A See PROBE, page 9A