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SACRAMENTO (AP) — California lawmakers on Thursday overwhelm- ingly passed a $687 mil- lion plan to provide immediate relief to drought-stricken commu- nities, a package that includes emergency money for communities running low on drinking water and farming com- munities where fallowed fields are leading to sky- high unemployment. Amid one of Califor- nia's driest years on record, the Assembly and Senate voted to approve SB103 and SB104 and send the legislation to Gov. Jerry Brown. The legislative package moved quickly after it was announced last week by the governor and Democ- ratic legislative leaders. It will take effect immedi- ately if signed by the gov- ernor, as expected. The plan redirects money in the state budget and draws from two bonds previously approved by voters. It includes $472 mil- lion in accelerated grant funding for water conser- vation and recycling pro- jects. Another $15 million will go to communities running low on drinking water supplies while $47 million provides food and housing assistance for people in drought-stricken communities. ''This is a lot of money that will help thousands of California families deal- ing with the drought,'' Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D- Sacramento, said. The plan also increases penalties for illegally diverting water and expands the State Water Resources Control Board's authority during a Weather forecast 8A Rain likely 55/45 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ FRIDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2014 Dept. of Ed. Book Giveaway Spartans Advance 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 See Page 2B SPORTS 1B Education 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Preparing for the worst Daily News photo by Rich Greene Students walk between classes Thursday at Red Bluff Union High School, just minutes before a scheduled intruder lockdown drill took place to test the school's preparedness and execution in a real life situation. High school holds lockdown drill By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer As Red Bluff Union High School students made their way to class- rooms between third and fourth periods an alarm sounded. It's a special alarm, one adminis- tration hope to never use, but one that students have been taught means only one thing — a lock- down. Thursday's alarm came as part of a scheduled intruder lockdown drill. Where schools used to run drills for fires, earthquakes and even nuclear attacks, lockdown drills are becoming the new norm. They're also new ground to everyone involved — students, teachers, administration and police departments — and that means there are always lessons learned and room for improvement. Associate Principal Miguel Bar- riga said in recent years the school has been trying to schedule at least one lockdown drill per semester. Thursday's was the first to occur when students were in an unstruc- tured environment, such as walking between classes. The student body was told there would be a drill dur- ing the school day, but not specifi- cally when it would occur. The students, and just as impor- tantly the school's faculty, were tested on how fast they could get everyone into a secured, locked room. The drill lasted around five min- utes. Afterward school administrators met with Red Bluff Police Depart- ment school resource officers to discuss the drill. They were impressed by the response students gave to the drill. Barriga said there had been a fear that the students wouldn't take the drill seriously. The student body proved that wrong. Associate Principal Jody Brown- field said she was amazed by how quickly the students went from milling around before class to get- ting into classrooms — in some instances running. Many teachers came to their classroom doors and waved in stu- 'It's good that we did this. It's terri- ble that we had to' — Joe Harrop, interim superintendent Man gets 10 years in baby's death DN Staff Report A Red Bluff man who plead- ed guilty to child abuse relating to the September 2012 death of a 13-month-old child was sen- tenced Monday to a 10-year state prison term, the Tehama County District Attorney's Office announced. Daniel Walter Llamas Jr. pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to a charge of child abuse, which had a special allegation of willful harm resulting in death. Llamas and the child's mother Isabelle Deanna Rios, who were engaged, were arrested May 10, 2013 on sus- picion of child abuse resulting in death "after an autop- sy report on the child indicated death caused by blunt force trauma to the child's abdomen, which was not natural and associated with abuse," according to a Daily News article. Llamas Wildlife refuge expands hunting The Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge is opening an additional 492 acres on the Flynn Unit for hunt- ing beginning March 22 to kick off the start of the junior spring turkey hunting season. The Flynn Unit is in Tehama County just east of Gerber. Access to the Flynn Unit is by boat only and allowed from 2 hours before sunrise to 1.5 hours after sunset. The additional acres added to the existing hunt program on the Flynn Unit improve safety and the quality of the hunting experience by allowing more spac- ing between hunting groups. The take of deer, turkeys, quail, water- fowl, coots, snipe, dove and pheasants are allowed in accordance with California, federal and refuge-specific hunting regulations dur- ing the legal hunting seasons. For a complete list of all units open to public uses, brochures, maps and refuge-specific hunting regulations visit www.fws.gov/refuge/Sa cramento_River. The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, pro- tect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information, v i s i t http://www.fws.gov/cno. Responders receive disaster training ANNISTON, Al. – Emergency responders, public health specialists and healthcare profession- als from Tehama County and across Northern Cali- fornia are better prepared to respond to major natur- al or manmade disasters following an intensive, week-long training Feb. 8- 14 at the Center for Domestic Preparedness. Responders from Tehama, Glenn, Shasta, Trinity, Siskiyou, Lassen, Sierra, Plumas, Butte, Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties participated in this training opportuni- ty. The students included EMS, healthcare, public health, fire, law enforce- ment and local emergency management profession- als. The center offered three separate courses, depending on the respon- ders' area of expertise. The students trained with- in their classes the first four days. During that time, they learned advanced response tech- niques, hazardous materi- al decontamination proce- dures and emergency operations. On Friday, the Courtesy photo Pictured, back row, are Omar Farmer of the Tehama County Sheriff's Department; Kirk Hewitt, Corning Fire Department; Rod Daugherty, Tehama County Sheriff's Department; third row, Ruth Ann Rowen, St. Elizabeth Community Hospital; Lisa Callaway, Tehama County Sheriff's Department; Patrick Richards, St. Elizabeth Community Hospital; Ronnie Johnson, Corning Fire Department; Kevin Wade, Tehama County Fire Department; second row, Shelley McCullough, Tehama County Sheriff's Department; Heidi Shipman, Tehama County Health Service Agency; Yvette Borden, Tehama County Sheriff's Department; Jeff Nelson, Corning Fire Depart- ment; Dave Demo, Corning Fire Department; front row, Sarah Binstadt, St. Elizabeth Community Hospital; Sharon Sinclair, Department of Education; Kayla Makhou, Tehama County Health Service Agency; Cheyenne Humphrey (TCPH), Ashley Schaack (TCPH), Jamie Montandon, Tehama County Health Service Agency; Leanne Brown, Tehama County Health Ser- vice Agency; and Michelle Schmidt, Tehama County Health Service Agency. Not pictured, but in attendance, Doug Winter, St. Elizabeth Community Hos- pital; and Martin Spannaus, Corning Fire Department. Legislature passes $687 million drought plan See BABY, page 7A See DRILL, page 7A See DISASTER, page 7A See DROUGHT, page 7A