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TUESDAY MARCH 29, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Beauty on the beach See Inside American Profile RED BLUFF BBall champs Sports 1B cloudy Weather forecast 10B Mostly 64/52 By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Just last month when teachers in the Red Bluff Union Elementary School District were battling the school board over failed negotiation the classified staff, including secretaries, librarians and teacher aides, backed up the teachers. Now it seems teachers have made peace with the school board, only to become frenemies with their other co- workers. Classified staff are fuming over a new teachers’ contract, which will go into effect dur- ing the 2011-2012 school year, that they believe will direct more money to teach- ers. Money through the Medi- Cal Administrative Activities Program has been equally 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 Contract language causes school rift distributed among all employees based on full-time equivalency, said Barbara Ramey, president of the dis- trict’s California School Employees Association. Lan- guage in the teachers’ con- tract changes the distribution. For the 2007-2008 school year the district received $556,207. If the original dis- tribution of funds had been maintained each employee would have received $2,023. With the new contract lan- guage, teachers would receive $2,720, presumably leaving less for classified staff and administrators. Part of the classified employees concern is that administrators at the top end of their salaries are already at 81 percent of state average and teachers are at 61 percent of state average. Yet no clas- See RIFT, page 9A Courtesy photo Classified staff from the Red Bluff Union Elementary School District picket outside of Metteer Elementary School last Tuesday where teachers met to discuss and vote on a contract. Los Molinos inspiration Roads, safety focus By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Heading out before dawn one New Year’s morning in Los Molinos, Stephani Shaefer was determined to get a photo of the fog burning off of the orchards as the sun came up. Pausing near her home the 70- year-old made her way through the freezing mist, snapping a few photos of a figure that appeared far off in the dimly lit street. She continued on, in the damp morn- ing, driving and walking through her usual stomping grounds, the stretch of road between Cone Grove Park through Tehama Vina Road. She caught an image of a cross nailed to a tree with cattle nearby. Further down the way, she was turned around by a flooded road. Warming her hands on a hot cup of cocoa at a local cafe after- ward, she began to write, she said. Several years later, the poem she started that morning became part of Fog & Woodsmoke: behind the image, a collection of poetry and prose that was pub- lished this month in a book by Lost Hills Books of Duluth, Minn. The 100-page book is a col- lection of works chosen from submissions inspired by Shae- fer’s photographs. “I didn’t think it was ever going to be real,” Shaefer said. See BOOK, page 9A Photo courtesy of Patricia Wellingham-Jones Stephani Shaefer of Los Molinos edited and contributed to Fog & Woodsmoke, a collection of poetry and prose inspired by photographs she’d taken around her home.The book was published in March by Lost Hills Books in Duluth, Minn. of supes’ meeting By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer The Tehama County Board of Supervisors will decide whether or not to officially voice support for an ongoing Highway 99 Traffic Safety Corridor Project Tuesday. The California Highway Patrol Northern Division had identified the section of Highway 99 from Gridley to Red Bluff as a high collision highway which led to the creation of an interagency task force to address ongoing safety concerns. Supervisors Ron Warner and Dennis Garton have brought forward the draft of a letter up for approval and authorization during the board meeting Tuesday. The letter would legitimize Tehama County’s backing of the Office of Traffic Safety applying for a grant through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grant, if approved, would further improve safe- ty on the identified corridor through more funding for CHP enforcement, radar feed back signs, public out- reach and other safety improvements, according to the Supervisors agenda request form. “We are confident that this multi-division, multi- county, multi-district comprehensive approach will yield positive results and improve safety for goods movement and the public,” the letter stated. The letter addresses the director of the Office of Traffic Safety, Christopher J. Murphy, in Elk Grove. In other items, also road related, the Board of Super- visors is scheduled to decide whether to accept bids on tons and tons of road rocks, paint and related materials for future county road work. To be exact, up for approval is the purchase of 4,000 tons of asphalt concrete aggregate, 6,600 tons of crushed rock, 5,250 gallons each of white and yellow traffic paint and 7,700 pounds of glass spheres, or road beads. The Board of Supervisors meets at 10 a.m. Tuesdays in the Board Chambers at 727 Oak Street in Red Bluff. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailynews.com. Animal Care Center has banner year By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer At the Tehama County Animal Care Center, 2010 was the year of the dog. “Despite this tough economy, the care center was able to save more dogs’ lives than any other time in the history of the shelter,” said Care Center Manager Mark Storrey. The Animal Care Center was successful both in rais- ing its save rate and lower- ing its euthanasia rate for dogs. “This was a total team effort with volunteers, res- cue organizations, commu- nity, local veterinarians and staff all playing a vital role in our success,” Storrey said. Over the last year and a half, the care center has made many changes in order to improve the quality of life for its animals and to make it a more inviting place for customers, he said. “I see 2010 as a year of building a solid foundation to now improve upon,” Stor- rey said. “We are doing our best work toward saving more animals in 2011 and beyond.” The euthanasia rate for 2010 was 9.95 percent at the care center, which is lower than the 2009 numbers of 17.8 percent for the care center, 34.9 the California average of 34.9 percent and national average of 56 per- cent, Storrey said. State and national 2010 averages have not been released yet, he said. According to number 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 provided at Tuesday’s Tehama County Board of Supervisor’s meeting, the 2010 euthanasia rate is the lowest in both numbers and percentages since 2006 when the rate was 12.3 per- cent with 151 dogs eutha- nized. 2008 saw 320 dogs euth- anized for a 21.4 percent rate and 2007 saw 249 dogs or 16.6 percent rate. While Storrey was excit- ed about the low euthanasia rate, he was more excited about saving lives with a 2010 rate of 90 percent, he said. “Make no mistake, we are in the business of saving lives and we as a team are working very hard to do just that and more importantly finding new ways to save more animals,” Storrey said. In 2010, there were 1,440 dogs who came into the shelter and 1,458 who left including 388 who were adopted, 145 euthanized, 398 transferred to other shelters and 513 reclaimed by owners. In comparison, in 2009, there were 1,358 dogs who entered the shelter and “I see 2010 as a year of building a solid foundation to now improve upon. We are doing our best work toward saving more animals in 2011 and beyond.” Tehama County Animal Care Center Manager Mark Storrey 1,318 who left of which 322 were adopted, 234 were euthanized, 347 were trans- ferred and 392 were reclaimed. Cats also saw a drop in the euthanasia rate with 289 or 55.6 percent in 2010 in comparison to 644 or 79.4 percent in 2009. There was a save rate of about 45 per- cent, however, part of that is because of the high number of feral cats brought in, Stor- rey said. Anyone interested in vol- unteering at the care center or who may be interested in adopting an animal is encouraged to contact Stor- rey. “We are always looking for more volunteers to socialize our animals and help get them ready for their forever homes,” Storrey said. “Playing with the dogs and cats is very therapeutic for the individual and does a world of good for the ani- mals.” For more information about volunteering, animals and their adoption fees or fostering an animal call 527- 3439. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. 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