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Death Notices Maxine Owens Maxine Owens died Friday, June 24, 2011, at the Lassen House in Red Bluff. She was 88. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrangements. Published Saturday, June 25, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Samuel J. Pryle Samuel J. Pryle died Thursday, June 23, 2011, at Red Bluff Health Care in Red Bluff. He was 82. Hoyt- Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrange- ments. Published Saturday, June 24, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Claudell Riggle Claudell Riggle of Red Bluff died Friday, June 24, 2011. She was 88. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrangements. Published Saturday, June 25, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. BROWN Continued from page 1A deficit Lawmakers from both parties this week sounded increasingly pessimistic that Brown could get a special election. Some even proclaimed the gov- ernor’s plan dead. ‘‘Is Plan A dead? I’ll leave it to the governor to announce the wake and the funeral services but we are proceeding to try to develop again the best majority vote budget that we can with the gover- nor,’’ Steinberg said Thursday. Democratic lawmak- ers are seeking the gover- nor’s input on a majority- vote budget that he could sign after he vetoed their initial budget package last week. Brown had said the Democrats’ spending plan relied too much on borrowing and legal maneuvers. It’s unclear how the majority party could put together a new plan with- out taxes, especially when its leaders have pledged not to make fur- ther cuts to education and public safety. Brown has said since his gubernatorial cam- paign that he would seek a statewide vote on the increases, the last of which expire June 30. This week he said he remained in negotiations to get the four Republi- can votes he needs to call a special election. Such an election would let vot- ers weigh in on whether to extend increases in sales, vehicle and person- al income taxes for up to five years. But Republicans for months have resisted Brown’s call for a special election without promis- es of pension reform and a state spending cap, pos- sibly as companion ballot initiatives. Assembly Republican Leader Con- nie Conway said those reforms weren’t enough to get her support for a special election. Senate Republicans said they were willing to let Californians vote on tax extensions but accused the governor of being unwilling to com- promise because of pres- sure from public employ- ee unions. ‘‘It’s the public unions and the governor who have become the problem in this budget negotia- tion, not Republicans,’’ said Sen. Bob Huff, R- Diamond Bar, vice chair of the Senate Budget Committee. The governor’s spokesman, Gil Duran, said it was Republicans who refused to allow a special election vote to go forward, even when the governor made con- cessions earlier this year. ‘‘They’ve again shown what they’re best at — grandstanding without solving problems,’’ Duran said. Teen gets prison in murder of boy stuffed in dryer FRESNO (AP) — A Central California teenager has been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of molesting and drowning his 4-year-old neighbor, then hiding the boy’s body in a clothes dryer. A Fresno County judge sentenced 15-year-old Raul Cas- tro to 33 years to life in prison Friday, three months after the teen was found guilty of first-degree murder. Castro has acknowledged to authorities that he drowned Alex Mercado in a bathtub in October 2009 after the preschooler said he would tell his mother about the sexual assault. Castro was tried as an adult and his defense attorney asked that Judge Jonathan Conklin decide the case instead of a jury because of the details of the crime. The Mendota teen confessed in taped interviews with detectives to luring the 4-year-old into his house, sexually assaulting him, lying on top of him in the bathtub to drown him and then stuffing the boy’s body into the dryer. Castro’s defense attorney, Barbara Hope O’Neill, argued the teen was mentally ill and did not intend to kill Alex. She based her argument on the testimony of a psychiatrist who said Castro’s mental illness led him to dissociate with reality. The doctor testified Castro has a history of depression, sui- cidal behavior, hallucinations, bipolar disorder and anxiety. Man booked in pregnant teen cold case murder YREKA (AP) — A Northern California man already under arrest on sus- picion of rape is now being held without bail in connec- tion with the slaying of a pregnant 19-year-old more than 20 years ago. Siskiyou County Sher- iff’s Office spokeswoman Allison Giannini says deputies booked 66-year- old Arnold Aggas Sr. of Hornbrook on suspicion of murder Thursday. Giannini says Aggas has been in custody since Wednesday, when he was arrested for sex crimes allegedly committed in 2007. Deputies say Kimberly Kantonen last was seen at Aggas’ home the day she disappeared in 1989 while four months pregnant. Investigators are now searching Aggas’ home after what they described as new evidence con- vinced them he was the culprit. CORNING Continued from page 1A $187,700 to build its reserve and for emergencies, he said. The 2011-2012 budget has a pro- jected revenue for the city of about $3.8 million. The expenditures, including sav- ings from furloughs, Kimbrough and Police Chief Tony Cardenas moving to part-time status and Plan- ning Director John Stoufer splitting his time with the county, is about $4.12 million. That leaves a deficit of $289,328 but the known and projected savings already placed into the budget add up to $308,500, which is where the $19,100 left from the general fund comes from, he said. Known savings include a one- time rebate from insurance totaling $132,800 and the income from Stoufer’s contract to serve as Tehama County’s Planning Director. Factored in is the sales tax misal- location that took place in the fourth quarter of 2009 and first two quar- ters of 2010. Sales tax is conservatively pro- jected to be $2 million for 2011- 2012, but another oil shortage that drives up fuel prices could affect driving habits as it did in the fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009, Kimbrough said. Other unknowns are the fates of large busi- nesses in town, he said. The Street Maintenance Fund is down from three years ago, going from $319,740 to the 2011-2012 expected state allocation of $217,500, which adds up to $28 per resident per year for Gas Taxes, he said. “We’re OK,” Kimbrough said. “At the end of May it looked like we might be in trouble because of state games, but they did replace (what was taken) with 2103, which we may get more.” BOOKS Continued from page 1A throughout the entryway, there is a community wall of fame where families can display their chil- dren’s sport photos. “We want to show we’re really excited about what they do,” Hudson said. Above the photo wall, newly-arrived, sports- related books are on dis- play and ready for check- out. Community members helped paint the doors and windows to the entry and loaned items to help create the “Hit the Books” arena. “We’re really lucky,” Hudson said. “We have wonderful people in the community that let us use their pieces as examples.” There is another way for adults to get involved. People can write book reviews and post them at the library as part of the adult summer reading pro- gram. They will then be entered to be one of 10 participants who will win gift cards. Weekly updates and CHAMP Continued from page 1A for her pecan pie, but she won’t go back again, she said. Her jar of pickles was disqualified for not having a correct label. It wasn’t worth it. Hermetet, who writes poetry, does word search- es and gardens to keep her mind active, volunteers for a museum and helps cancer patients. She married at 91, but he died after a year and a half, she said. She still has “lots and lots” of friends. Preparing for the fairs starts at least two months before, she said. Some things she prepares ahead and freezes, but bakes the pies right before the fair. Although Hermetet Saturday, June 25, 2011 – Daily News 7A While street funds are low, Public Works Director John Brewer talked to the council about his plans for Solano Street. “We’re looking at a big project of long term repaving for Solano Street,” Brewer said. “It’s the longest and certainly the widest street at 2.5 miles long. We’re look- ing into carving it into segments because we can’t afford to deal with it in one setting.” Each of the nine segments will be split into subsections A and B to maximize the flexibility for being able to maintain Solano while still attending to the maintenance of other streets, he said. “We’re pretty excited about it,” Brewer said. “I drive down Finnell or Solano every day so I know the problems. It’s $285,000 to purchase the asphalt and it’ll probably take 5 to 10 years, but we’re going to bite the bullet.” As a gateway that connects Inter- state 5 and in the interest of the growth of agri-tourism, it’s neces- sary to make Solano friendly and present it as a welcome place, he said. “We’re going to allocate a per- centage to Solano in segments and other streets that are critical to repave, but it won’t change the amount in the budget,” Brewer said. “It’s like the weight of the world off my shoulders ever since we came up with this plan.” Other discussions included deal- ing with vandalism by using ure- thane paint, which won’t allow things to penetrate the surface. At $212 a gallon $79 a gallon for a spe- cialized remover, it is very expen- sive, said Carl Crain, assistant pub- lic works director. The graffiti is not gang related and is mostly vulgar language and drawings, but it’s a growing prob- lem, Crain said. “We have one person in the sum- mer for parks maintenance and increasingly it’s six-hours on Mon- day to clean up the vandalism,” Brewer said. “We can’t seem to get ahead.” The only public works item under capital expenditure recom- mendations was $35,000 for a 3/4 ton pickup for the assistant public works director position. The pickup in question is seven years old and will replace the parks 1/2 ton pickup that will in turn be given to other city personnel. The item was in the 2010-2011 budget, but was deferred due to the econo- my. The fire department recommen- dation was in the amount of $18,000, which was to replace the tile floor with Epoxy at a cost of $4,000 and repaint the fire hall exte- rior for $14,000. “Their 100th anniversary is in 2012,” Kimbrough said. “It’s time to dress it up for their centennial.” Police department recommenda- tions include $31,700 for the replacement of a vehicle, radio repeater and the police records and dispatch computer equipment. “We’ve been experiencing diffi- culties,” said Police Chief Tony Car- denas. “The server has crashed twice and we need to replace it.” The council approved the general fund appropriation of $72,700, which is the amount needed for all the recommended capital expendi- tures. The budget itself and the annual program of service are expected to be brought back to the June 28 meeting. The full budget is available at www.corning.org. The Corning City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at City Hall, 794 Third St. Meeting minutes and agendas are available at www.corning.org. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Librarian Jessica Hudson and technical services library assistant Jennifer Sisneros get ready Friday for the summer book sale to be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today. schedules are available online at www.tehama- countylibrary.org. won $336 for her Chico entries, she doesn’t do it for the money, she said. “It’s not a job,” she said. “I just do it because it’s fun.” Hermetet broke her wrist soon after the Chico fair, but she still plans to bake for the next round of competitions, she said. She will be getting ready for the Tehama Dis- trict Fair, Sept. 22-25, in Red Bluff. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailyne ws.com. Over 50 years of serving Tehama County ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailyne ws.com. CARE TO COMMENT? At redbluffdailynews.com, scroll to the end of any story, click the link and type away. Independently owned Telephone: (530) 824-3792