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Wednesday, March 30, 2011 – Daily News – 7A Obituaries ROBERT D. OWENS the age of 79. Born in Red Bluff on February 7, 1932, he was the son of Douglas "Hap" Owens, of the well-known cattle ranching family, who preceded him in death in 1961 and Gladys Betts, who died in 1999. Mr. Owens served four years in the Air Force and eventually began working at Diamond National, now known as Pactiv, in 1959 until his retirement in 1999. He is survived by his wife Patsy, three sons Keith (Lisa), Devin and Kent; a daughter, Karen (Tom); three grandsons Eli, Rory and Le- land; three granddaughters Jessica, Erica and Erin; and a half-sister Patricia of Norton, OH. A memorial service will be held on April 2nd at Bethel- Assembly of God of Red Bluff on Luther Rd. at 1:00 p.m. Death Notices Dorothy Daniel Dorothy Daniel died Monday, March 28, 2011, at Brentwood Skilled Nursing in Red Bluff. She was 82. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrangements. Published Wednesday, March 30, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Mary Ellen Dowd Mary Ellen Dowd of Gerber died Friday, March 25, 2011, in Chico. She was 84. Hall Bros. Corning Mor- tuary is handling the arrangements. Published Wednesday, March 30, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. BORDER Continued from page 1A times in the abdomen with a knife, according to a Daily News article. St. John said Rodriguez, who fled the scene in a white Chevrolet pickup prior to police arrival, had stabbed him, the article says. After a short search, officers found the truck in front of Rodriguez’ residence, but his whereabouts and des- tination at the time were unknown. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Gov Brown halts budget talks with GOP lawmakers SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown cut off budget negotiations Tuesday with Republican lawmakers, effectively end- ing his plan to ask Califor- nians to vote on tax exten- sions in a June special elec- tion and creating uncertain- ty about what steps he and the Legislature will take to close the rest of Califor- nia’s deficit. Brown issued a state- ment saying he had halted talks days after GOP lead- ers released a list of 53 demands they were seeking in exchange for their sup- port for a special election. The Democratic gover- nor and majority Democ- rats wanted to ask Califor- nia voters in June to extend temporary tax increases enacted two years ago as part of their solution to close the deficit but were unable to get the Republi- can support needed for a ballot measure. Those tax renewals were part of a plan that included a roughly equal amount in spending cuts to higher education, welfare, in-home support services, Medi-Cal and other pro- grams. Brown said in a state- ment and a video posted on YouTube Tuesday evening that he supports some of the reforms sought by Republican lawmakers, including a state spending cap, changes to the pension system for public employ- ees and streamlining busi- ness regulations. But he said after progress was made on those issues, the Republi- cans issued a much longer wish list that included items not related to the state budget debate and corporate tax breaks that would cost the state billions of dollars a year. The gov- ernor concluded that fur- ther talks would be fruit- less. “Each and every Repub- lican legislator I’ve spoken to believes that voters should not have this right to vote unless I agree to an ever-changing list of collat- eral demands,” Brown said in a statement. Republicans wanted ballot measures on pension restructuring and a spend- ing cap to appear alongside a question on tax exten- sions. They also sought to limit the tax extensions to 18 months rather than the five years Brown had pro- posed. Robert Douglas Owens passed away on March 25th at 100 Continued from page 1A — Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analy- sis and Review data, and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare web- site. Hospitals do not apply, and winners do not pay to market this honor. The winning hospitals BUDGET Continued from page 1A Hencratt, Valerie Lucero of Health Services Agency, Charlene Reid of the Social Services Agency, John Stover of the Building and Safety Department and Auditor LeRoy Anderson. Anderson and Goodwin gave a slide show outlining specifics of the budget scenario. Detailed graphs and facts defined reserve funds and designations, gen- eral versus non-general fund spend- ing and budget goals at the board level. These are all to be made avail- able on the county website, www.co.tehama.ca.us/, Goodwin said. Audience members submitted anonymous questions for panelists. In a “go forward” budget, the county has been looking at how to incrementally decrease, pulling from employee expenses and other things, so the effect won’t be as dramatic, Goodwin said. A reserve fund, set up and grow- ing in the past few years exists to buffer against state delays in reim- bursements and other promised funds. It contains one month’s worth of obligated expenditures. The county, being an arm of the state government, is highly affected and dependent on the state budget, Filmer said. Of the departments represented, some draw funds directly from the county general fund and others are FISH Continued from page 1A grow more crops or is picked up for use by oth- ers. "The only way to make more water available is to fallow land," said Jay Lund, a University of Cal- ifornia-Davis civil engi- neer and one of the report's authors. He also said water con- served in urban areas gen- erally affects lifestyles, while on the farm using less water can have busi- ness implications. An Oakland-based water expert disagreed. "The failure of the PPIC report to address ineffi- cient use in agriculture leaves a gaping hole in its recommendations for what the state is going to have to do to solve its water prob- lems," said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute. "It's a blind spot they've had for years." Gleick's organization were announced in the March 28 edition of Mod- ern Healthcare magazine. “This year’s 100 Top Hospitals award winners have delivered exemplary results, despite volatility from healthcare reform,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president at Thomson Reuters. “The leadership teams at these organizations have dealt with enormous ambiguity yet remained focused on mission and excellence across the hospital which drove national bench- marks to new highs.” If all Medicare inpa- tients received the same level of care as those treat- ed in the award-winning facilities: • Nearly 116,000 addi- tional patients would sur- vive each year. • More than 197,000 patient complications would be avoided annual- ly. • Expense per adjusted almost entirely reliant on federal and state grants and funding. For social services, Reid pointed out that caseloads have increased 30 percent as the economy has suffered. Meanwhile, she has had to leave five or six positions vacant, cut back on travel budgets and office supplies and not renew some contracts, she said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we know it’s going to be bad,” Reid said. Similar to Reid, Lucero expressed uncertainty in her department, which incorporates public health services, a medical clinic, mental health and the drug and alcohol prevention pro- gram. Services and supplies have been cut across the board in all those areas, she said. Hencratt, whose funding comes almost entirely from the general fund, has been fortunate, he said. Through positions vacated by retiring employees and shifting duties, Hencratt was able to balance the budget in the department, he said. However, the trick now will be to work on four or five positions that are attached to vehicle license fee com- pensation and related funds. Hencratt’s other concern has to do with the state’s realignment propos- als that could potentially force coun- ties to house up to 33 additional pris- oners in the county jail that would have been sent to state prisons, he said. The building department has been hit severely by the economic crisis. Furloughs, lay-offs and cutting of also has recommended 30 percent conservation goals for urban areas, but he said between 4 million and 6 million acre-feet of water could be conserved from more efficient water use on farms. While those fig- ures cover farms across the entire state and not just those served by the Delta, it is in the same range as the amount of water pumped out of the Delta each year. The report says that rather than focusing on single species and Delta pumps, a broader approach is needed that looks at the entire ecosystem and the numerous causes of decline in the estuary. That is the approach of an ongoing Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a strat- egy promoted mostly by water users in the San Joaquin Valley and South- ern California to satisfy endangered species laws by building a canal or tun- nel to move water through the Delta. The report stops short discharge would drop by $462. • The average patient stay would decrease by half a day. If the same standards were applied to all inpa- tients, the impact would be even greater. More information on the study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at www.100tophospitals.co m. services and supplies are still not enough to cover shortfalls in the department, Stover said. Questions from the employees answered many specific budget ques- tions about reserve funds and employee compensation. Conversations about combining departments, raising fees and other ideas floated through the discussion. “We are trying desperately to think outside the box,” Goodwin said. One of the biggest costs and a prized portion of the county budget is employee compensation, Goodwin said. Over the last four years, the coun- ty has lost about 50 employees, Goodwin said. However, the cost of salaries has increased from $32 mil- lion to $38 million since 2007. The county could have left salaries alone and not done a recent reclassification that adjusted salaries closer to contemporary standards, but the Board of Supervisors and Goodwin said it was a good plan to follow through with the adjustments, Goodwin said. If the county had not done the classification compensation study adjustments, it would have been hard to keep or recruit employees, he said. Goodwin addressed the audience before dismissal. “You are our most valuable assets,” he said. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailynews.com. of endorsing that plan, however, saying it's "basic goals may be impossible to achieve" given state sci- entists' recent conclusions that more much more water needs to flow through the estuary. And the report does not suggest fish be allowed to go extinct cavalierly. It calls species triage an ugly idea and notes that endangered species laws prohibit actions that lead to extinctions. The PPIC report says, however, that drastic actions to prevent Delta smelt, for example, from going extinct could come at a high cost to other endangered fish. Peter Moyle, an assis- tant professor at UC- Davis, said he is not yet resigned to the possibility that Delta smelt may dis- appear from the estuary, but he said as the Delta continues to deteriorate and droughts are always possible, decision makers may find themselves in a tough spot. "That's a situation I can imagine where you end up giving up on the smelt because the cost is too high on other members of the ecosystem," Moyle said. THE PASSING PARADE (I wrote this article in 2008 when I had a website but no Daily News as a venue. Let’s run it again for those who missed or were not aware of my website) Mary and Ritchie Sale had 8 children and lived on Gilmore Road east of town. I knew them all well, but this is about Mary. She was a witty woman and also a brave one. A couple of anecdotes highlight these virtues. 60 years or so ago, she planned to visit relatives to the south. Reluctant to drive several hundred miles, she went to the bus station and then the train depot to check the schedules. Yes, the train did stop in Red Bluff in those days. While leaving the depot, a young man struck up a conversation with her and asked for a ride to the east side of town. Being a trusting soul, she agreed and he climbed into the back seat of her car. When she crossed the river bridge, she slowed down and told him that this was a far as she was going. “I think this is a good place to catch a ride.” The young man said, “Keep going.” And when she appeared not to understand, repeated “Keep going”…and added, “I’ve got a gun!” She glanced over her shoulder and saw he indeed had a revolver. It was at this point she did a very unusual thing which may have saved her life. She decided not to be intimidated. She replied,” You said you have a gun and so you have, but it makes no difference to me for if I’m going to be shot it might as well be right here. I am well known around here and eventually my friends will come along and find me parked in the middle of the street…and they will take care of me, to be sure!” After a few moments, when it became apparent Mrs. Sale was not going to move an inch, he bolted from the car. She then drove rapidly home, called the police...and a short time later the desperado was behind bars. I think you will agree we all might not have behaved with such determination. As to her wit, she once received a form letter from a local bank informing her that she evidently was not signing her name in the manner required on the signature card. She had a dilly of a reply which went something like this: “I have lived in this town a good part of my life and have had no trouble cashing my checks with any of our good merchants. And now you tell me that I have changed the way I sign my name. As I recall, your bank was originally called The Bank of Tehama County, then Anglo California National, then Crocker Citizens…and now merely Crocker Bank. I guess if you can change your name four times, I can change mine once. Sincerely…” What a fine old lady…and now gone these many years. Robert Minch 1929- The Passing Parade is brought to you by by Minch Property Management, 760 Main Street specializing in commercial leasing and sales. 530 527 5514