Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/29660
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 – Daily News – 7A HIGH Continued from page 1A Lab will allow the school to increase course offer- ing, including honors and advanced placement courses. The school will use the learning lab to assist students who need to make up courses in order to stay on track for graduation and to com- GROUP Continued from page 1A a great one, but was not sure about the legality of hav- ing a non-profit running the fairground, since the land belongs to the county and the buildings belong to the state. “We all feel we don’t want to see things go down,” Kerstiens said. “The fairboard is trying to become self- sufficient. That’s our goal and that’s why we’re tighten- ing out belts to try and stay afloat.” Murray said the group was looking into the option of forming a non-profit public benefit organization to help take away some of the burden that Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to eliminate fair funding would create. “(The group) is in its infancy and we’re still looking into all the possibilities,” Murray said. There would be no stock holders, however, through a donation members of the public would be given voting rights, which would give them a voice in how things were run, Murray said. The Tehama District Fair is one of 31 that were placed on the state’s at-risk of closing list since it is 25 percent dependent on state funding, Robison said. A percentage representative of $200,000 would be a sub- stantial hit, Fair CEO Mark Eidman has said. “We’ve written a resolution to give to (Red Bluff) to recognize the value of the fair,” Robison said. “The bat- tles with the (traffic control) fee brought to the top how events here are important to all of us. It’s not just eco- nomic, but social. We’re extremely concerned that (the fairground) stay here and stay functioning.” Others attending the meeting in support of the group included Red Bluff Mayor Bob Carrel, City Manager Martin Nichols, Kate Grissom, Bub and Shellie Ragan, Brendon Flynn, Candace Owen, Mike and John Growney, Kathy Schmitz and Brian Ramsey. Flynn said the group is concerned about making sure it had support before moving forward because if there was infighting it would be harder to get support from local legislators. “We need to go forward with a unified voice so we’re starting at the top and working our way down,” Flynn said. Tuesday’s discussion was about making sure the fair- board would support the group’s collaborative efforts. “Our plan is to have the events already on the calen- dar stay,” Robison said. “We just need your endorse- ment or support to go forward.” The group is looking at two fairs, Alameda County and Antelope Valley, which have already formed non- profit organizations in the past, Robison said. Antelope Valley started its non-profit in 1998 with the group running the concession stands. It is now mov- ing toward helping take over the fairground to make it more self-sufficient, Director Tonya Redamonti said. “This may be the way of the future for fairs,” Robi- son said. “John Murray has been consulting on how to create a non-profit and it doesn’t appear hard. We already have an informal commitment for money at a pretty high level in the neighborhood of a quarter mil- lion dollars and believe we have legislative commit- ment. We just need your support to move forward.” Director Don Crain asked whether the two organiza- tions would be run concurrently and was told yes. “We don’t want a padlock on the gate so the idea is that if the state runs out of money we would be available to step in and take over,” Dudley said. “We just don’t want to lose anything. If somebody’s got a better idea we’re all ears.” Director Pete Dagorret said the whole thing was a great idea. “We need to cut the umbilical cord (with the state),” Dagorret said. “We’re all in this together and the impor- tant thing is that we don’t let the gates shut.” Dagorret’s concern was what needed to be done to satisfy the state and the Tehama County Board of Supervisors. Dudley said the group has only met a few times so far, but that more information will be available in a pub- lic meeting, which will be held after the matter has been researched further. “We wanted to get our ducks in a row before coming here,” Dudley said. “Then we’ll go to the Board of Supervisors and finally the community.” ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Natural toxin killing SoCal dolphins, sea lions LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dolphins and sea lions that have died along the Southern California coast in recent weeks may be victims of a deadly neurotoxin produced by a seasonal algae bloom, experts said Tuesday. The same poison was found in samples from millions of fish that suffocated in a Redondo Beach harbor last month, and researchers hope to determine if it is present in samples from a similar but smaller fish die-off Monday in Ventura Harbor. Experts don’t believe the fish died from the toxin but some marine mammals have become its victims. In the past few days, three sea lions and three dolphins that beached themselves in Orange County died or were destroyed because they had incurable domoic acid poison- ing, said Kirsten Sedlick, animal care supervisor for the Pacific Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. On Tuesday, the center dispatched crews to rescue another four dolphins and a sea lion, she said. Tests will determine whether they also were victims of the neurotox- in. ‘‘We just have all of our crews on high-alert’’ and extra volunteer teams are out, said Melissa Sciacca, the center’s director of development. Domoic acid is produced naturally, but levels often soar in the spring with the blooming of a certain species of algae off the California coast. At least one bloom was spotted in the past few weeks off the Southern California coast. plete the necessary cours- es to qualify for admission to the California State University system. The ribbon-cutting was held just minutes prior to the beginning of the 2011 Los Molinos High School Curriculum Fair and Par- ent Information Night. The event highlighted aca- demic and extracurricular activities available to stu- dents. POT Continued from page 1A amend county zoning law. Both drafts Tuesday reflect a definition decided upon at the previous study session, April 5. A dispen- sary will be deemed as any “medical marijuana col- lective, etc., that either (1) has a storefront or mobile retail outlet of the type that ordinarily requires a local business license, or (2) has 10 or more mem- bers/patients/customers.” The purpose is to decide first what will be considered to have an impact to neighboring areas, a goal of any land use decision, Wylene said. The two draft ordi- nances are available online linked to the board agenda item at www.co.tehama.ca.us. Alternative A, the regu- latory ordinance, includes the requirement of an “Operating Certificate,” to establish dispensaries. The requirement comes with a lengthy list of conditions. Supervisor Bob Williams focused on two main items. First, a condition would require dispensaries to have a licensed medical professional on site to dis- pense the medication, something Williams said was important. Forcing the dispen- saries to have a licensed professional dispensing the marijuana prompted debate between Williams and Supervisor George Russell, April 5. However, Tuesday, Russell seemed to support the condition. “If you’re going to dis- pense medicine, you have to be qualified,” Russell said. SCHOOL Continued from page 1A Whittenberg will have a broad and rich course of study, including Spanish at every grade level, hands- on science studies, daily P.E., visual and performing arts and regular field days and field trips. As a private school it will be funded through tuition, but there are FRIEND Continued from page 1A that victims can expect to have criminals punished by the sentence imposed by the court. The family doesn’t dis- pute that a governor has broad constitutional pow- ers to pardon criminals, commute sentences or grant clemency for what- ever reasons he chooses, said the family’s attorney, Laura Bean Strasser. Rather, the suit argued Interrupting Russell mid-sentence, an audience member became agitated, stood and yelled toward the supervisors. After sev- eral interruptions, the supervisors told the man he had to leave or the sher- iff would be called. Russell continued, ask- ing the public to give input so he could better under- stand. “Let us know your thoughts and feelings,” he said. Another discussion point had to do with a draft item that would limit the number of dispensaries allowed in the unincorpo- rated areas of the county to one in 30,000 people. For Tehama County, that would mean there could be no more than two dispensaries allowed to operate at any time. If there were more than two dispensaries applying for a permit, only two would be chosen at random for pro- cessing, Wylene said. Williams wondered if this condition would be affected by city ordi- nances that could poten- tially allow or disallow dispensaries. Wylene agreed to look into how the county could change the ordinances to account for city policies, but it was unclear how the county would address the issue. Supervisors Ron Warn- er and Dennis Garton reit- erated comments from the previous meeting. The two expressed preferences for an outright ban on the dis- pensaries, but said they are willing to listen to input and to learn. The state voted to approve legalizing mari- juana as medicine, but the people of the county voted against it, Warner said. “I feel that my alle- giance is to the people of this county, the people that put me in this seat,” Warn- er said. Wanting to give people in the community more time to respond and give input, Russell recom- mended putting off a reso- lution of intent for another month. However, it was dis- cussed that the time need- ed to enact an ordinance before the existing one expires would not allow more than three weeks before a resolution of intention would be need- ed. Some of the people who commented during the session included Donna Will, the organizer of the World Hemp Expo Extravaganja 2010, Sharon Novak and Ken Prather of the closed Tehama Herbal Collective in Corning and Robert Alejandre of Alejandre's Training Center, a boxing gym. Since THC closed, more people are having to deal on the streets to get their medicine, Novak said. Dispensaries are more profitable and safe for the community. Will offered a more emotional plea, citing her three recent hospital visits at which the doctors only gave her pain pills. There is a medical need for dispensaries and the medicine was given by a higher power for people to use, Will said. “If you think you’re doing us a favor by ban- ning this, you’re not,” she told the board. Prather told the board that he wants to work with the county, not to be demanding or angry. “It’s not because we’re options for families to pay through “work-share,” volunteering their time and skills to the school. Today’s meeting will be in the back conference room of the library. Enrollment forms will be available, and the first 10 students enrolled will receive a 10 percent discount. Further informational meetings will be April 30, May 20 and May 30. Learn more about the school that Nunez’ sentence should be reinstated because Schwarzenegger failed to properly consider or notify the victims. ‘‘I think it helps to show his disregard for vic- tims’ rights under Marsy’s law,’’ Strasser said of the governor’s comments. “People aren’t OK with him saying he’s helping a friend,” she said in a tele- phone interview with the AP. “It definitely helps with public opinion. And if this goes to a jury, he’s going to hard pressed to find any- Brown deal lifts vacation cap for CA prison guards SACRAMENTO (AP) — A contract negotiated between Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration and the politically powerful prison guards’ union could prove costly to taxpayers because it lets guards bank unlimit- ed vacation time that must be paid out when they retire, a legislative analyst said Tuesday. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said the average correctional officer already has nearly 19 weeks of accumulated leave time, currently valued at $600 mil- lion. Adding more time will cost the state in the long run, said fiscal and policy analyst Nick Schroeder, though he couldn’t say how soon or how much. The contract concessions come as Brown, a Democ- rat, mends ties with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, a 30,000-member union that backed his campaign last year. Former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had battled the union, impos- ing a contract in 2006 that eliminated many of the con- cessions negotiated by his predecessor. The pending contract contains several provisions common to all the collective bargaining agreements negotiated by Brown’s administration, including substi- tuting one day a month of unpaid leave for the three- day-a-month furloughs Schwarzenegger had imposed to help fight the state’s multi-billion dollar budget deficits. But the contract awaiting approval by the Legislature also has several special provisions for correctional offi- cers. Accumulated leave time is currently limited to 80 days for prison guards and most other state employees, though California Highway Patrol Officers can current- ly bank 102 days. Employees who exceed the limit are supposed to work with their managers to schedule more time off, but that has proved unrealistic because the prisons must always be staffed, said Department of Personnel Administration spokeswoman Lynelle Jolley. criminals trying to sneak something past you,” Prather said. “It’s because we want to help people in the community.” Alejandre, making it clear that he was acting on his own and didn’t know the other people who com- mented, offered an alter- native draft ordinance that he handed out to the supervisors. His research over the last five years drove him to participate in the discus- sion in support of medical use of marijuana, especial- ly for veterans and those seeking alternatives to psychiatric medications, he said. “We’d like to do some- thing different in this com- munity,” he said. Alejandre discussed alternatives that would be “by the book” with tight security. “Some want to open up and do nothing but put money in their pockets,” he said. There are other ways to give money back to the community, he said. After a resolution of intention, since the ordi- nance is a land use deci- sion, it would be handed to the planning commission for input. The planning commission would recom- mend the ordinance to supervisors before the process goes further. The next meeting is set for Tuesday, May 3. In the meantime, anyone with input is directed to call the county clerk’s office at 527-3287. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailyne ws.com. through the blog at whitten- bergcountryschool.blogspot.com, Facebook at www. facebook.com/whitten- bergcountryschool or by sending an email to Whitten at whitten- bergcountryschool@gmail.com. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527- 2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.com. body in California who agrees with his position.” “We don’t have any comment on the gover- nor’s comments,’’ said James Finefrock, a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office. A spokesman for Schwarzenegger, Daniel Ketchell, also declined comment. The state is asking a judge to dismiss the fami- ly’s lawsuit following a hearing set for June 1. THE PASSING PARADE (First published in my website of 2 January 2009) During the early 1940’s, during WWII, my father convinced a recently widowed carpenter, to leave his home in New Jersey, and accompanied by his motherless son, to come to Red Bluff by offering him the job of Maintenance Superintendent at our old meat plant. The title wasn’t all that accurate. As we had no one to repair things about the plant, Carmen Rutala, Sr. developed his own job description as he went along. He could build or repair anything… and invent anything needed to make the plant run smoothly. When the plant burned to the ground in 1945, plans were drawn for a new modern plant to arise from the ashes. Carmen came up with the idea of a winding concrete chute from the corrals to the plant door to encourage the animals to move forward. He designed a drop rail that spiraled down into the hot water tank used for scalding hog carcass. This protected workers, on a stand around the tank, from the scalding tank water while they scraped the hair from the hogs (hogs being processed with hide on as opposed to cattle with the hide off). He also invented a complicated but effective rail switching device enabling cooler workers to move carcass on trolleys from one line to another. This, and many more devices, established him as our plant genius who kept the plant running 24/7. There was never a chair in his shop, which suggested he was on his feet the entire work day. He was a short stocky man with a dark complexion who whistled softly and tuneless as he worked. He eventually married again, and he and Pauline produced the child prodigy Paul Joe, who later became a prominent doctor. His son from his first marriage, was Carmen Jr. and he worked at out plant for many years in various capacities. After the plant closed he worked at the Elks Club and his winning personality was evident by everyone he met. We called him “Root” while at the plant. I don’t know if that nickname followed him thereafter. Carmen Sr. was an unusually taciturn fellow, and the only time I ever saw him upset was when, after he returned from a short vacation, he discovered that I had sold all the rusting parts and pieces of discarded equipment alongside the plant, to a junk dealer. He said to me, with eyes flashing, “I was using those parts to repair things!”I apologized and promised not to do it again. A singular and very talented person was Carmen Rutala, Sr. 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