Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/316593
Fritz: Gary Fritz, 59, of Red Bluff, died Tuesday, May 20 at Mercy Medical Center in Redding. Arrange- ments are under the direc- tion of Blair's Cremation & Burial in Redding. Published Thursday, May 22 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Huggins: Claire Ellsworth Huggins, 89, of Corning, died Sunday, May 18 at his resi- dence. Arrangements are under the direction of Hall Brothers Corning Mortuary. Published Thursday, May 22 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Lawson: Mary Sharon Lawson, 67, of Gerber, died Wednesday, May 21 at Sut- ter Memorial. Arrange- ments are under the direc- tion of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Thursday, May 22 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. McKeehan: Lisa Re- nee McKeehan, 45, of Red- ding died Sunday, May 18 at Mercy Medical Center in Redding. Arrangements are under the direction of Hall Brothers Corning Mor- tuary. Published Thursday, May 22 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Weston: Philip Sheridan Weston, 84, of Corning died Monday, May 19 at Vibra Hospital of Northern Cali- fornia in Redding. Arrange- ments are under the direc- tion of Red Bluff Simple Cre- mations & Burial Service. Published Thursday, May 22 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Death notices must be pro- vided by mortuaries to the news department, are pub- lished at no charge, and fea- ture online specific basic information about the de- ceased. Paid obituaries are placed through the Clas- sified advertising depart- ment. Paid obituaries may be placed my mortuaries or by families of the deceased and include online publica- tion linked to the newspa- per's website. Paid obitu- aries may be of any length, may run multiple days and offer wide latitude of con- tent, including photos. DEATHNOTICES at the annual meeting, it's always like a 'State of the State'" of the tribe, and a venue to report what hap- pened over the last year. Additionally, David Swearinger said, a motion to adjourn the Tribal Coun- cil was made because the sit- uation didn't feel "right," or "safe." The motion was sec- onded by Geraldine Free- man and agreed to by a con- sensus of the Tribal Council. ChairmanAndrew Freeman Attorney Richard Verri, who says he represents the tribe led by Chairman An- drew Freeman, said David Swearinger and Geraldine Freeman vacated their po- sitions when they left the April 12 meeting. He said Lohse, who was treasurer at the time of the meeting, was asked to leave as she was a member of the Pata family that was suspended. New appointments were made at the meeting, Verri said, and the fifth mem- ber, member-at-large Allen Swearinger, who was said to not havevacated his position at the meeting, also was re- placed at a subsequent Gen- eral Council meeting May 10 called by Andrew Freeman and not attended by Allen Swearinger. The legitimate Tribal Council, Verri said, com- prises Chairman Andrew Freeman, Vice Chair Leti- cia Miller, treasurer Ambro- sia Rico, secretary Andrew Alejandre, and member-at- large Natasha Magana. Andrew Freeman and others claim that the deci- sions to suspend the families and replace Tribal Council members were reaffirmed by a General Council May 10 meeting in accordance to the tribe's constitution. Tension Armed guards have sur- rounded Rolling Hills Ca- sino and other tribal prop- erties throughout the dis- pute. Verri said the guards are there to protect the casi- no's patrons and operations from alleged threats to take over the casino. Tribal Courts in both sides of the sides of the dis- pute have issued their re- spective restraining or- ders. And while the Andrew Freeman-led Tribal Coun- cil has attempted to keep suspended members away from tribal properties, Da- vid Swearinger, Geraldine Freeman, Allen Swearinger and Lohse have attempted to cease casino operations from the outside. After revoking the casi- no's gaming facility license, Lohse said, "we have begun to shut down their ability to carry on transactions that are in our purview with the law," because there's illegal activity going on at the ca- sino. What this may look like to patrons at the casino is a de- lay in payouts from gaming machines, Lohse said, add- ing that the machines are still operable and working, and that the security of casi- no's customers has not been compromised. The payout delays could be about 10 minutes. "For gamblers that's bad," Geraldine Freeman said. "You get these little old ladies there, they're go- ing to get mad pretty soon, they're going to quit going over there if you gotta wait." Lohse said at some point, the faction that is in con- trol of the casino and other tribal properties will have to come to the table to resolve the tribal rift. "Hopefully at some point they will understand that this tribal government wants to get back together and talk about how can we make this right," Lohse said. "Because there's some real issues." Parker, the former sheriff and Red Bluff City Council member hired as the tribal police chief by David Swear- inger, Geraldine Free- man, Allen Swearinger and Lohse, said those four want to shut down the casino to cut off the money flowing to the legal counsel represent- ing the faction in control. "You cut off the money, people will go away," he said, specifically referenc- ing the group of attorneys representing Andrew Free- man's faction. "If that ca- sino gets shut down, he no longer has access to that cash. And then the secu- rity will be gone, and he'll be gone. And I think that's the purpose of shutting this casino down." Verri did not return a call Wednesday before deadline. A call to the superinten- dent of the Bureau of In- dian Affairs, Central Cal- ifornia, which serves the Paskenta Band of Nom- laki Indians, did not re- turn a call Wednesday be- fore deadline. The BIA, in a previous letter to the tribe, said it does not get involved in internal tribal disputes. Tribal FROM PAGE 1 Council's agenda on May 6, when councilors approved street closures in the down- town area for the market starting June 18, never came to a vote, failing to receive a motion. Council members noted that market-goers already could pop in to downtown bars for a drink if they pleased. Red Bluff police Chief Paul Nanfito, who had signed off on an alcohol per- mit for the event, said, "Al- cohol — in my business — equals problems." However, at Tuesday's meeting Nanfito said that he supported the Chamber's request out of fairness. Nanfito also signed off on the State Theatre's alcohol permit application for the lighting of its newly restored blade May 31, when invited theater supporters also will be able to walk on a closed portion of Oak Street with drinks in hand for a short time. "Out of fairness, I have a difficult time saying no to a similar event for the Cham- ber and allowing the one for the lighting ceremony," he said. Since 2009 when the Red Bluff Police Department ap- proved 81 alcohol permits, Nanfito said that over the past five years alcohol per- mits have mostly increased. In 2013, 145 were ap- proved, and he said that he's signing off on about 10 to 12 permits per month. And at least 30 the last three Sep- tembers. The open-air beer and wine garden is set to be sta- tioned at a parking lot on the corner of Washington and Pine streets, and Dave Gowan, the Chamber's CEO, on Tuesday sought to allay concerns that the garden would change the market's family friendly culture and cause rowdiness. "It'sagreatcrowd.It'snot a crowd of rowdies," Gowan said. "It's not a mixer." He added: "It's just a great, fes- tive atmosphere. We have live music, a lot of busi- nesses and vendors, and re- ally that's what it's all about. Eight hundred, a thousand people, with a small portion maybe going over this one night for the beer garden in a three hour time slot from five until eight." Council member Clay Parker said he had changed his mind on the beer garden since the May 6 meeting. "I've really thought about it since this last meeting," Parker said. "My mind is go- ing to be changed this time, just because it's a first-time event. And if for some rea- son the chief of police has is- sues, it's going to be the last time of the event." The City Council ap- proved the resolution al- lowing a beer garden at the June 18 Wednesday night market in a 4-1 vote, and ap- proved the State Theatre's request unanimously. Councilman Wayne Brown was the lone dissent- ing vote against the beer garden. Beer FROM PAGE 1 beans, potato salad, ice cream and punch or coffee for $6. The event is sponsored by the VFW Corning Post 4218. Igo The annual service at the Northern California Veter- ans Cemetery on Gas Point Road in Igo is scheduled to begin at 5:55 a.m. For more information call Stephen Jorgensen at 396- 2516. Services FROM PAGE 1 lion hidden in two special funds for more than a de- cade, even as budget cuts threatened to close 70 of nearly 280 state parks. Jackson had spent most of his career in the military. On the day he was sworn in as parks director, he said he was "kind of stunned I'm in this position, but I'm also ex- hilarated." Jackson's retirement from the $150,000-a-year position will take effect June 30. Parks depar tment spokeswoman Vicky Waters said Jackson's decision was prompted not by health con- cerns or other reasons but was "just a decision to re- tire after 40 years of public service." "He spent the last year and a half setting us on the right path," she said. She added that Jackson helped the department re- gain the public's trust. A request by The Associated Press to speak directly to Jackson was not immedi- ately fulfilled. Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the California State Parks Foundation, said she was not surprised by Jackson's announcement because he had said when he took the post that he was likely to serve through the governor's current term, which ends in January. "We're sorry to see the general go," she said. "He's certainly been at the helm through some choppy wa- ters." The foundation is a pri- vate nonprofit that advo- cates and raises money for the state park system, the largest in the nation. California Natural Re- sources Secretary John Laird said in a statement that Jackson "came to the department during its dark- est hour, bringing stability and consistency." An audit released a month after he took office cited poor management and insufficient training at the department. Auditors with the state Department of Finance found that for 19 years, parks staff intention- ally underreported funds used by the governor's office to craft the state budget. The audit also said parks employees made improper charges on state-issued credit cards, among other findings. It was released days after the state control- ler disclosed that managers overpaid parks employees more than $500,000 over a three-year period. At the time, Jackson said he agreed with most of the findings and would imple- ment stronger internal con- trols. Parks FROM PAGE 1 By Matthew Daly TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Seeking to head off a growing furor over veterans' health care, President Barack Obama de- clared Wednesday that alle- gations of misconduct at VA hospitals are "dishonorable" and will be not be tolerated by his administration. "I will not stand for it — not as commander in chief but also not as an Ameri- can," Obama said following an Oval Office meeting with embattled VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. His administration is un- der mounting pressure from Capitol Hill to address trou- bling allegations of treat- ment delays and prevent- able deaths at VA hospitals. The VA Inspector Gener- al's office said late Tuesday that 26 facilities are being in- vestigated nationwide — up from 10 just last week — in- cluding a Phoenix hospital where 40 veterans allegedly died while waiting for treat- ment and staff there kept a secret list of patients waiting for appointments to hide de- lays in care. Shinseki, a retired Army four-star general, is facing calls for his resignation from some lawmakers. Obama spoke warmly of Shinseki Wednesday, saying the sec- retary had poured his heart and soul into his job, but said there would be accountabil- ity if the allegations of mis- conduct are proven to be true. "We are going to fix what- ever is wrong and so long as I have the privilege of serv- ing as commander in chief, I'm going to keep on fighting to deliver the care and the benefits and the opportuni- ties that you and your fami- lies deserve, now and for de- cades to come," Obama said. The president spoke hours before the House was scheduled to vote on a bill that would grant the VA secretary more authority to fire or demote senior execu- tives. The White House has said it shares the goals of the House measure — to ensure accountability at the VA — but has concerns about some of the details. Obama's statement marked his first public com- ments on the matter in more than two weeks. Last week, he dispatched his deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors to the VA to oversee a review of department policies, with a preliminary report due next week and a full report sched- uled to be sent to the White House in June. The president's remarks did little to quell the anger over the alleged misconduct. Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, a military veteran, said Obama's com- ments were "wholly insuffi- cient in addressing the fun- damental, systemic prob- lems plaguing our veterans' health care system." And Paul Rieckhoff, the head of the organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, called the presi- dent's words "a tremendous disappointment." "Speeches and excuses will not solve this problem," Rieckhoff said. "Only deci- sive leadership, bold change and strong accountability will repair decades of fail- ure." Nabors, who also took part in the Oval Office meet- ing Wednesday, was head- ing to Phoenix later in the day to meet with staff at the VA hospital at the center of the allegations. His meeting will include interim director Steve Young and other hos- pital administrators. The current director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System, Sharon Helman, has been placed on leave indefi- nitely while the VA's inspec- tor general investigates the claims raised by several for- mer VA employees. Investi- gators probing the claims say they have so far not linked any patient deaths in Phoenix to delayed care. The allegations have sparked election-year out- rage on Capitol Hill. The House bill would target about 450 career employees at the VA who serve as hospi- tal directors or executives in the agency's 21 regions. Obama: Misconduct will be punished 26VAfacilitiespartofnationwideinvestigation VETERANS AFFAIRS MATTYORK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Twenty-six facilities, including this on in Phoenix, are part of a nationwide probe of the Department of Veterans Affairs. LISARENEEMcKEEHAN May 3, 1969 ~ May 18, 2014 Lisa Renee McKeehan lost her 6 month battle with can- cer on May 18th at 6:25pm at Mercy Hospital in Redding with family and friends at her side. She was born at Corning Memorial Hospital on May 3, 1969. Lisa is sur- vived by her husband Greg McKeehan, son Colin and daughter Carly. Her parents Luey & Cynthia Conoly, brother and sister-in-law Jeremy & Shelley Conoly and nephews Colton & Trenton Conoly, as well as numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Lisa worked in retail sales in Redding, and had a profound love of animals and nature. She loved to camp and swim, but her first love was car- ing for her children and husband. Services will be held Saturday, May 24th at 11:00am at the Paskenta Cemetery. PHIL WESTON April 9, 1930 ~ May 19, 2014 Phil Weston, 84 passed away in Redding, CA, May 19, 2014. Phil was born to George & Mildred Weston in Ari- zona, April 9, 1930. He served in the Korean War. In the 1940's he was running wild horses for the government and private land owners. Phil is a retired bronk rider, truck driver and diesel mechanic. Phil will be deeply missed by his wife Kathy, daughter Casy (John) Kulm, sons Dennis (Tawnya), Scotty, numer- ous grandchildren. You showed us more love than any parent could! Services will be held at the Paskenta Community Hall, May 24th at 1:00 pm, potluck to follow. Happy Trails, you will be missed! Obituaries THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 7 A