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TUESDAY JUNE 7, 2011 Breaking news at: Sizzling Summer Am. Profile www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Reader Photos See 8A Bruins Back SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 84/54 Weather forecast 8B Weather delays site cleanup By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer While the argument can be made that the prolonged rain has been both a blessing and a curse, perhaps no one can better attest to that than a local con- tractor tasked with a court-ordered cleanup. The continual rain most likely guar- antees Bert Endicott will stay out of jail for the time being. Still, Endicott and his attorney argue the rain is partly to blame for why Endicott missed a deadline and is now facing jail time. In a January ruling, Judge Richard Scheuler found Endicott in contempt of court for violating a court-ordered cleanup of an illegal dump site on Mendenhall Road but gave him 120 days to finish the cleanup, purging the contempt, or serve a five-day jail sen- tence. When Endicott appeared in court three weeks ago, he had missed the May 17 deadline. While other factors, such as a reported lack of compliance from the Tehama County Air Pollution District in obtaining a permit, impeded the cleanup, the rain was mostly to blame for delaying last-minute efforts to get the site cleaned, said Endicott’s attor- ney, Tim Kassouni. An extension was granted until Monday. While some progress has been made, the cleanup is still not complete. Excavation has been completed and soil samples have been sent to a lab for testing, Kassouni said Monday. Loads of dirt have been hauled off site, but there are still about 200 loads left. Endicott has been working 12- to 14-hour shifts and is trying everything humanly possible to get the job done, but the rain is preventing a contractor from receiving the dirt, Kassouni said. See SITE, page 7A DAILYNEWS Hear the light 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 2 rescues made over weekend By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Two rescue operations involving Tehama County Search and Rescue were launched over the weekend with no one involved injured. According to logs, the California Highway Patrol reported at 6:40 p.m. Friday to the Tehama County Sheriff’s department that a 33-year-old man and his young son needed help. CHP reported the man and his son had been stuck in their vehicle about 40 minutes up M2 Road in the area of Whitlock Mountain, past cold springs, and had no cell reception. The man and his boy were not dressed for the conditions and did not have the ability to abandon the vehi- cle. The sheriff’s department immedi- ately dispatched volunteers from Search and Rescue to assist the US Forest Service. CHP sent a helicopter but it was unable to assist due to weather condi- tions in the area, a sheriff’s release said. Photo courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Jars of Clay is just one of the many well-known acts scheduled to perform begin- ning Friday at the Illumination Festival at the Tehama District Fairground. Illumination festival to host three days of Christian performers By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Red Bluff will play host to a Christian music festival on June 10-12 when the Illumination Fes- tival makes its debut at the Tehama District Fair- ground. “The whole purpose is we want to see people come to know Christ and enter his kingdom,” said Festival Director Carl Hawkins. “It’s not about entertaining people and ultimately God is in control. We’re sure God put this together so He’ll take care of things.” The event was originally planned for Redding and started with a request at a December craft fair where vendors asked for a spring event. It evolved from there, said Festival Director Carl Hawkins. At first, when plans began forming in January, the thought was to add music to a craft festival, but after praying the group decided to change directions. See LIGHT, page 7A The man and boy, who were unin- jured, were found in their vehicle at 9:10 p.m. and members of Search and Rescue helped get the vehicle unstuck from the snow. The second incident, which involved a Venture Crew out of Chico, was reported at 8:09 p.m. Saturday by Rebecca Geiser, mother of a 14-year- old boy on the trip. Geiser reported her son called her from the area of Thomes Creek Trail and told her the group was stuck in a ravine that had been flooded on both sides. Geiser said her son and 13 Ventur- ers and advisors had planned to hike and camp near Thomes Gorge in the southwestern portion of Tehama County in the Mendocino National See RESCUES, page 7A Red Bluff’s queen of hearts and minds Countdown to budget Special to the DN HM3 Heidi Dean, Navy Hospital Corpsman for the US Marine Corps Female Engagement Team and attached to India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment just arrived home on leave the end of May from one of her hardest deployments to date. Dean with about 950 troops from the Camp Pendleton infantry unit, the 3/5 Marines, that suffered 29 killed and more than 150 wounded, just recently arrived from Afghanistan to thunderous cheers from family and friends as soon as she stepped off the jet. The homecoming for the "Dark Horse Battalion" has been among the most antic- ipated at Camp Pendleton in years. The 950-member infantry troops to which Dean was attached to were engaged in heavy fighting and a huge amount of casu- alties, in the Sangin District of the Helmand province from the time they arrived at the end of the summer until they departed. The region is infested with Taliban insurgents, who use the district as a haven for illicit drug traf- ficking and manufacturing roadside bombs. The major- ity of the troops killed or injured fell victim to road- side bombs or IEDs “It’s so tough to see so many of your friends go HM3 Heidi Dean, of Red Bluff, treats a patient in Afghanistan. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 down and not be able to save them,” said Dean, one of several Hospital Corps- men with India Company. “There was a lot of long cold days and nights, and a hard tour in that we got hit a lot, but we also hit back hard, and I’m just glad it’s over and I’m home,” Dean said moments after stepping off the jet and ending her second tour in Afghanistan. Dean, 24 years old and born in Red Bluff, had earli- er returned to the states Dec. 20, 2009 after an eight- month deployment to Kabul, Afghanistan at a NATO Medical Clinic and then went to the Marine Corps 1st MEF at Camp Pendleton Jan. 4, 2010. It was at that time that she signed up for the Marine Corps FET training. In January of 2010, a mass message was sent out to all female military to vol- unteer for an engagement team. That’s when Dean got the message and thought, “Hey, I want to do that.” The genesis of the Female Engagement Teams came mostly from Opera- tion Enduring Freedom. During the conflict in Afghanistan, the need for interaction with female Muslims was recognized, according to a release issued See QUEEN, page 7A 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 SACRAMENTO (AP) — California lawmakers on Monday kicked off the second half of their legislative ses- sion with their toughest issue ahead: resolving the state’s remaining $9.6 billion deficit. The Legislature faces a June 15 deadline to pass a bal- anced budget, yet there are no signs that Democratic and Republican lawmakers are any closer to compromise despite the threat of lost pay and changing political lines. Last week state Controller John Chiang announced that he will withhold lawmakers’ pay starting June 16, adhering to the provisions of a ballot initiative approved by voters last year, if they have not passed a balanced budget by the con- stitutional deadline. California’s rank-and-file lawmakers make just over $95,000 a year, after the independent panel that sets salaries for the 120 members of the Legislature and 12 statewide officeholders cut pay by 18 percent in 2009. Lawmakers receive additional per diem pay of $141.86 on days the Legislature is in session, which provides many lawmakers as much as $30,000 on top of their base salaries. Lawmakers also are monitoring new political lines being Courtesy photo drawn by a new 14-member Citizens Redistricting Com- mission. The commission is set to release draft maps of new legislative and congressional district boundaries on Friday. Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, chairman of the Sen- ate Budget Committee, said it’s unknown whether there are enough Republicans to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan for voters to decide if they want to extend recent tax increases ‘‘I believe there’s been great progress in the negotiations on outstanding issues regarding pensions, regulatory reform, spending control,’’ Leno said Monday, addressing topics that have been a high priority of Republicans. ‘‘Whether that translates into a couple votes to allow the governor’s proposal on a balanced approach to move for- ward is the unknown.’’ Brown, a Democrat, has signed into law about $11.2 bil- lion in spending cuts and fund transfers to begin closing what had been a $26.6 billion budget deficit. He and Democratic leaders want to extend a series of recent tax hikes to help close the remaining shortfall but have been unable to get GOP support for that plan. Are you between the ages of 18-24? Interested in working and learning about agriculture? Available to work June 13-August 5? The Job Training Center invites you to learn more about Pathways 2011: Learn and earn in local Agriculture. Attend an information meeting: Wed., June 8 at either 11:30am or 4pm at the Job Training Center, 718 Main St, Red Bluff. Certain eligibility requirements apply.