Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/334913
REDBLUFF Due to the menace of wildfires and their potential to destroy life and property, the Te- hama-Glenn Unit of the Califor- nia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Tehama County Fire Department will sus- pend debris burning for the east side of Tehama County, which in- cludes the communities of Min- eral, Childs Meadows, Deer Creek, and Mill Creek on Tuesday, July 1 until the end of declared fire sea- son. The burn ban went into effect for the rest of Tehama County and State Responsibility Areas of Glenn County June 1. Agricultural, forest manage- ment and other industrial type burning may proceed if an au- thorized fire official inspects the area and issues a special permit. Always check with the Air Pollu- tion Control District to verify if it FIRE SEASON Burnbanto start July 1 for higher elevations By Andre Byik abyik@redbluffdailynews.com @andrebyik on Twitter RED BLUFF The Red Bluff Joint Union High School District board of trustees Wednesday voted to close the Our Little House child care facility this year. The child care facility offered services for district employees and also was open to non-employ- ees. Recently, the board of trust- ees faced a compliance issue that, according to Joe Harrop, the dis- trict's interim superintendent, es- sentially said, "It is not the busi- ness of the District to subsidize the costs of child care for non-em- ployees' children." Harrop, in a letter to the board, said the simplest option would have been to provide care only for children of district employees. "We could accomplish this with a reduction in staffing, but the operating loss to the District RB HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT Bo ar d vo te s to close Our Li tt le H ou se By Rich Greene rgreenenews@redbluffdailynews.com @richgreenenews on Twitter RED BLUFF A proposed elephant reserve in Tehama County is continuing through the county's planning process, albeit under a new name. The Tembo Preserve, previously the Ndovo Foundation, pitched in December the creation of a 4,900- acre facility that at peak capacity would house around 50 African elephants cared for by the Oak- land Zoo. The group has since purchased the Diamond Ranch, northwest of Bowman Road, north of State Route 36W within the unincor- porated area of northern Tehama County. It has also put down a $200,000 deposit to pay for the planning process and any legal expendi- tures that could arise. Tehama County Planning Di- rector Sean Moore said that be- cause of the size of the property involved and the unique nature of the proposal both county staff and Tembo Preserve thought it would be best to complete an En- vironmental Impact Review for the site. Outside agencies were solicited to oversee the EIR. Moore told the Tehama County Board of Supervisors June 17 that department heads, including him- self and from Environmental Health and Public Works, were ready to recommend the EIR be awarded to HDR Inc. and that de- cision be on an upcoming agenda. Once approved, Moore said it would take about 43 weeks for the outside consultant to complete the environmental study. "It's a long process, we're still working out some of the details," Moore said. Moore said the EIR will study the biology of introducing ele- phants to the area as well as the impact to the wildlife already in the area. There are also decisions that TEMBO PRESERVE Elephantreserveprogressing EIRwouldtake43weekstocomplete By Andre Byik abyik@redbluffdailynews.com @andrebyik on Twitter RED BLUFF Lori Silkey and Jeff Epperson drove past 19260 Ridge Road about three years ago, saw a vineyard and thought the property resem- bled a slice of Tuscany, Italy. Silkey said she thought about how beautiful it would be to one day own a similar piece of land. About a year later, Silkey said a friend alerted her to a Ridge Road property for sale whose vineyard was scheduled to be ripped from the ground. "I thought, oh, my God, no way. That can't be that place that we saw last year," Silkey said. "And so, we drove out here, we saw the place, we called the realtor and we made an offer the next day." The pair of hobby winemak- ers and entrepreneurs cele- brated the grand opening of Tuscan Ridge Estate Winery here with about 200 others three weeks ago. The winery sits on a two- acre property and its tasting room and patio are shaded by the limbs of a centuries-old oak tree. A picture of a Placer- ville winery owned by Silkey's father hangs on a wall behind the tasting-room bar. The boutique Tuscan Ridge Estate Winery, open noon to 6 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, offers a selection of wines both produced with grapes grown on the prop- erty and elsewhere. Silkey said award-winning wine- maker Marty Mosely, who owns Mosely Family Cellars in Redding, has been a mentor to the couple for the past several years. Silkey said she's been drawn to the winemaking side of the operation, and Epperson to the agricultural side. "Turning, basically, water into wine is what it is," Epper- son said. "Putting water into the ground, and the end prod- uct is wine. It's kind of cool." While owning a winery and vineyard may have been fun to dream about to a couple of winemakers who originally produced wines for friends on a smaller scale, Silkey said she couldn't have expected that dream to eventually become a reality. "It's like the Ameri- can retirement dream," Epper- son said. "We love wine, and the rep- resentation of friends and fam- ily," Silkey said. "Something that brings people together." As for feedback, Silkey said over the last few weeks she's received compliments on her wines. Young, but not bitey. Soft and smooth. "We're trying to do some- thing different where people can come out and have a wine margarita, or they can have a wine-based daiquiri just with their friends," Silkey said. "A quality, nice place to trans- port yourself to a little piece of Italy." Visit tuscanridgeestate.com for information about Red Bluff's newest winery. RED BLUFF WINERY OFFERS TASTE OF TUSCANY ANDREBYIK—DAILYNEWS Jeff Epperson, le , and Lori Silkey opened Red Bluff's newest winery, Tuscan Ridge Estate Winery, three weeks ago. Comics ............B5 Community.....A3 Health..............A4 Lifestyles........A5 Opinion............A6 Sports.............. B1 Index............... ## INDEX Expect More Tehama will hold a Summer Senior Send-Off 6-8p.m. Wednesday at Rolling Hills Casino. PAGEA3 EXPECT MORE SeniorSend-Off planned for Wednesday A Tailgate Food Giveaway is set for 9a.m. to noon, Friday at Tehama District Fairground in Red Bluff. PAGE A3 FREE Food giveaway set for Friday at fairgrounds The Obama administration justified using drones to kill Americans suspected of ter- rorism overseas. PAGE A8 POLITICS Memo explains when it is OK to kill US citizens Fort Walton Beach Holiday Inn Resort looks like most resorts. Except this one houses a mili- tary test site, too. PAGE B3 TRAVEL Resort serves double duty as military site Tuscan Ridge Estate Winery celebrates opening weeks, young wine "Turning, basically, water into wine is what it is. Putting water into the ground, and the end product is wine. It's kind of cool." — Jeff Epperson, Tuscan Ridge Estate Winery Child care facility faced budget woes PRESERVE PAGE 7 CHILD PAGE 7 BURN PAGE 7 » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, June 24, 2014 50CENTS AN EDITION OF THE CHICO ENTERPRISE-RECORD 7 58551 69001 9 Volume129,issue153 Today's web bonus See the electric Harley. redbluffdailynews.com PRESCHOOLERS Teddy Bear picnic celebrates year end Community A3 EGYPT Why are 3 journalists behind bars? News B4 FORECAST High: 96 Low: 65 B8 DON'TBE SCAMMED Scamalerts Readour online scam alert section to learn how to avoid being scammed. VISIT REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM/ SCAMALERT