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WEEKEND APRIL 23-24, 2011 Breaking news at: Full House Crowded Church USA Weekend www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF 49ers Draft prep SPORTS 1B showers Weather forecast 10A Few 67/49 By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Police found the owner of a pickup reportedly used in a double hit and run crash Tues- day evening, but the driver is still a mystery. 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 Hit and run truck reported stolen A resident in the 1600 block of Southridge Drive realized her truck was gone after reading about the Tuesday night crash, which was reported in Thurs- day’s Daily News. The hit and run involved a green pickup similar to hers. She looked outside to find her truck was missing from the dri- veway, police logs said. The hit and run involved two vehicles that were damaged just before midnight Tuesday in the area of Fourth and Luning streets. Up in the air The first reported was a 1998 Lexus 400 parked in front of a residence in the 1500 block of Fourth Street, police logs said. The owner, Ramon Riveros, saw a dark-colored pickup hit the vehicle and continue on, turning onto Walbridge Street, said Sgt. Kevin Busekist. Police responded to the area and found a green 2003 Chevrolet Silverado abandoned near Walbridge Street and Lud- low Avenue, police logs said. See TRUCK, page 9A Valley salmon seasons get nod By DAN BACHER Special to the DN The California Fish and Game Commission approved the first full Central Valley salmon fishing season in 4 years at its teleconference meeting on Thursday, April 21, in Sacramento. The American River and Sacramento River recreational salmon sea- sons will begin on July 16 and will close at a variety of times, depending on the stretch of river. The season on the Feather River, as proposed by the DFG, was slated to start on August 16 to pro- tect spring run chinooks. However, After Bob Boucke, owner of John- son’s Bait and Tackle in Yuba City, and Ron La Force of United Outdoors- man made a request to open the Feather on July 16, the Commissioners amended the proposal to include the earlier starting date. See NOD, page 9A Pay attention or pay the fine Daily News file photo Freestyle bike show delayed twice, now shoots for August By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Talks are underway, but a con- tract has not been signed to bring a new event, a freestyle motorcy- cle show, to the Tehama District Fairground in August. The event was tentatively set for Mother’s Day weekend, but moved to May 20-21 and now the promoter, Dave Matthews, is ask- ing to move it to Aug. 5-6. “The reason we wanted to change the date is because of the Chico State graduation and Red- ding Rodeo,” Matthews said. ‘This is freestyle bikes like what you see on the X Games with a $40,000 to $50,000 purse, which attracts riders from across the country’ Promoter Dave Matthews “Once we found out the Chico State graduation was going on we felt that it was too much to over- come and since we hadn’t con- tracted the date we decided to Prison guard admits smuggling cell phones SACRAMENTO (AP) — A former California cor- rectional officer was sen- tenced to 45 days in jail Fri- day for smuggling cell phones to inmates. Terry Lane was fined $5,700, which the Sacra- mento County district attor- ney’s office said is the amount of bribes he accept- ed from inmates for bring- ing in the phones. He also was placed on three years’ probation. The four-year veteran was caught Aug. 7 bringing three phones into California State Prison, Sacramento. Prosecutors charged that he had brought in multiple phones over a three-month period. It’s the kind of activity corrections officials are bat- tling with trained dogs, ran- dom searches and new tech- nology to block unautho- rized calls. Lane, 25, of San Jose, pleaded guilty Friday to felony conspiracy to aid a state inmate’s unauthorized communication. A bribery charge was dismissed in a plea deal. The conspiracy charge carried a maximum sentence of three years in state prison. Possessing a cell phone behind bars violates prison rules but is not illegal. Inmates can lose early release credits, and employ- ees caught smuggling phones can lose their jobs. Supervising Deputy Dis- trict Attorney Steve Secrest said those who smuggle the phones can face felonies if prosecutors can prove they conspired with inmates, as they did in Lane’s case. He noted in a statement that the phones can be used to plan crimes and escapes. State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, has intro- duced two bills this year that add penalties for inmates, employees or visitors smug- gling cell phones. Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, is carrying another bill that would require the department to conduct ran- dom searches of employees and contractors who enter prisons. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 move it to this summer.” Matthews said he sent a letter on March 28 to the fairground informing Fair CEO Mark Eid- man of the decision to move dates. Since there was no con- tract and it was still seven weeks out, there should not be a prob- lem moving dates. In response, Eidman sent Matthews a letter informing him that if the event would be in August, it would require a non- refundable $5,000 deposit and a letter stating Matthews under- stood it was non-refundable, Matthews said. “As soon as we have a check for $5,000 and a letter stating that he understands the deposit’s non-refundable we’ll proceed,” See SHOW, page 9A Inattention while behind the wheel proved to be espe- cially deadly in 2009 as 116 people lost their lives as the result of a collision in which at least one driver was dis- tracted. More than 17,000 others were injured under similar cir- cumstances. As part of the national Distracted Driving Awareness month, the Red Bluff Area CHP and other Tehama County Law Enforcement Agencies are focused on getting an important message across to all drivers: Distract- ed driving is dangerous. Stay safe by staying focused behind the wheel. “Most people don't realize that the most dangerous thing they do every day is getting behind the wheel of a car," said Lt, Todd Garr, commander of the Red Bluff CHP Office. “Motor vehicle collisions are one of the leading causes of death for people between the ages of 15 and 34.” It is easy to get into a routine when you're driving and oftentimes drivers can take risks and not suffer negative consequences, Garr said. “Unfortunately, when you're driving, it just takes condi- tions to be right one time for those behaviors and habits to kill,” Garr said. “When we issue citations, we are personal- izing the potential for negative consequences. This helps people make the right decisions when behind the wheel.” Beginning April 20, officers have been and will be See FINE, page 9A Pump plant proceeds apace By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Crews are working at warp speed to get the pumping plant near the Red Bluff Diversion Dam finished in time for the completion deadline that is just a year away. About a dozen com- munity members got a close up view of the con- struction site Thursday as part of the Sacramento River Discovery Center’s Thursday Evening Pro- gram. Visitors learned about the progress of the $220 million Fish Passage Improvement Project and the history behind the necessity to create the pumping plant. Construction is mov- ing along and the project is still expected to be completed by the May 2012 deadline, said Jeff Sutton, general manager of the canal authority. “These folks are going 100 mph on a timeline that we never thought was possible to achieve, but it looks like we’ll make it,” Sutton said. “Inclement weather cost us a couple Daily News photo by Tang Lor Members of the community visit the pumping plant construction site near the Red Bluff Diversion Dam during a tour coordinated by the Sacramento River Discovery Center. of weeks but we’re look- ing to make it up.” Contractor West Bay Builder has completed about 80 percent of the downstream canal and 50 percent of the underwater siphon, said project man- ager Bill Vanderwaal from the Bureau of Recla- mation. Columns for the 660-foot-long bridge over Red Bank Creek are start- ing to take shape. On the other side of the creek contractor Balfour Beatty is constructing the 1,118-foot-long fish screen and the pumping plant that will connect to the canal. The cofferdam is being completed allow- See PUMP, page 9A