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Tuesday, June 28, 2011 – Daily News 7A Obituaries CHARLES GEORGE Charles George was taken to his Heavenly Father on Monday, June 20, 2011 very suddenly and unexpectedly after minor surgery to place a stent in his right leg. Char- lie was a Vietnam War Veteran, and served in the Army Security Agency, a branch of Military Intelligence. He was 100% disabled and had one leg amputated over 20 years ago. He was wheelchair bound and lived alone with as- sistance from his youngest brother Ervy (Bud), and Bud’s wife Jenel. Charlie was born in Alturas, Modoc County in 1953 on Investigators piece together Nevada Amtrak crash RENO (AP) — Workers wearing hazmat suits dug through burnt-out rail cars and twisted metal Monday at the scene of a horrific collision between a tractor-trailer and an Amtrak train as new details surfaced about the spotty driving record of the man at the wheel of the truck. Records from the Nevada Depart- ment of Motor Vehicles revealed that truck driver Lawrence R. Valli, 43, of Winnemuca received four speeding tickets since 2008, including three for driving a school bus over the posted speed limit in California in a 10-month period. July 31st. Prior to going into the Army he worked for the Department of Forestry as a Firefighter and as a Ranch Hand until he was 18 years old. He is survived by his on- ly son, Christopher, and one granddaughter, Gracin and his mother Shirley George, he is predeceased by his fa- ther, Walter George in 2004; brothers Hank of Redding, Patrick of San Diego, Harold of Arizona, Ervy of Red Bluff, and one sister Kathryn of San Jose, and numerous aunts, uncles, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was a fourth generation Californian and carried on a long line of military service back to the revolutionary war. His greatest joy was fishing on the Sacramento River, visiting with his family and any kind of board game, cards or reading. He was a voracious reader with a very eclectic taste in literature. He had been in pain for over twenty years and is now whole, pain free and with many ancestors who have gone on before him. MAXINE OWENS (1922 - 2011) died at Lassen House, in Red Bluff on June 24th. She was 88 years old. Maxine Owens, a long time resident of Tehama County, was one of eight children born to Beulah and Joseph Burlison. In the 1930’s, she moved with her family to Tehama County. She married Craig Owens in 1951. She and Craig settled six miles west of Red Bluff where they conducted their cattle business. She suffered a debilitating stroke in 2003 and in 2006, the year of Craig’s death, moved permanently into Lassen House. She was a self-taught, early adopter of the health bene- fits of exercise and nutrition. An avid rock collector, she amassed numerous ancient stone tools from her home property and ranching lands. Maxine owned early roll type film, 35mm, and Polaroid cameras, which she used to photograph family events and ranch work. She was revered for her bread, pie, cake, and cookie baking. Maxine is survived by her children Dan and Amy Owens of Susanville, Betty-Jane Owens and Dave DeMulder of Tulelake, and Maryann Owens of Davis. She will be missed by her three step grandchildren and five step great grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings Peggy Peichoto of Born in Taney County, Missouri, on August 25, 1922 she National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Valli was going ‘‘at a considerable speed’’ in a 70 mph zone before the crash, and added that federal investigators were examining the truck’s wheels, tires and brakes for details on the exact speed and the truck’s braking capacity. Investigators are looking for clues into why he drove into the double- decker Amtrak train some 70 miles east of Reno even as the crossing’s flashing lights warned him it was approaching. At least six people died and about 20 were injured. Five pas- sengers remain unaccounted for, though investigators aren’t sure whether they were on the train at the time of the crash. ‘‘Everything is all blackened, and white and gray from the fire so it makes it very difficult to sort out the human remains from the rest,’’ said Dennis Dirkmaat, a forensic anthropologist from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., speaking from the accident site. ‘‘Rather than just pulling out bodies and trying to sort through them later, we’re trying to note where they’re located and trying to make sure we col- lect all the remains.’’ The Nevada Highway Patrol on Monday released the names of two passengers who were killed — 58- year-old Francis Knox and her 18- year-old adopted granddaughter, Karly Knox, of Seward, Neb. The elder Knox was described by her pastor in Nebraska as a church- going woman who was well-known in the small town and volunteered in the youth ministry and at a local commu- nity center and the Civil Air Patrol. She and her granddaughter, who was known to friends as Annie, were taking a relative back to California, where the family had lived before. ‘‘She always had a smile, and was BUDGET (Continued from page 1A) night after receiving a text message from one of the lawmakers. Red Bluff, and Ron Burlison of Dairyville. She was pre- ceded in death by sisters JoAnn Muir and Opal Kissee, and brothers Don Burlison, Varney Burlison, and Verlin Burlison. Services are being handled by Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers, Red Bluff. Death Notice Robert Lindeman Robert Lindeman of Red Bluff died Sunday, June 26, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center in Redding. He was 87. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrangements. Published Tuesday, June 28, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. BEYOND (Continued from page 1A) would be excluded from staying there. “There are people out there who just don’t want to be helped,” he said. “They want to do drugs, and they want to drink. They hustle for that day and don’t look beyond that.” The strict rules for the proposed shelter and those of The Poor and the Home- less, the non-profit that is seeking to build the shelter, prevent others from getting help. When Williams was released from prison he was ineligible for PATH ser- vices. He had been mistak- enly classified as a sex offender and had to wear a tracking anklet before his case was straightened out and the device removed. The shelter isn’t an end- all solution to helping every homeless individual, said PATH president Allene Der- ring. There are going to be people who are not going to want the help or benefit. But having a shelter is a start to helping those who do want to turn their lives around. Read more stories about the homeless in “The Shelter Cook- book.” The stories are written by Pam Klein about individuals she has met in fulfilling her self-declared mission to help the less fortu- nate and her work through PATH. Stories are supplemented with recipes. Copies of the cookbook are available at the Furniture Depot for a suggested $10 donation. A new start is what Williams is working toward. Under parole stipulations Williams is restricted to staying in Tehama County, but when he gets off parole he can go where he wishes. So for now, he’s keeping his options open. “I’m trying — just trying to move beyond where I’m at now,” he said. “I’m work- ing toward building my life back to where it once was.” ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.co m. ‘‘We had some very seri- ous discussions. I thought we were getting close, but as I look back on it, there is an almost religious reluctance (among Republican law- makers) to ever deal with the state budget in a way that requires new revenues,’’ Brown told reporters during a brief news conference. Instead, the Democratic leaders said they would pur- sue a ballot initiative to bring tax increases before voters in November 2012. They did not say whether they would continue to press for broad taxes such as the income, sales and vehicle taxes. The new budget relies on a stronger economic recov- ery and higher income tax collections. While the gover- nor proposed $88.8 billion in spending in his May revi- sion, it wasn’t immediately clear what the spending level will be for fiscal year 2011- 12. California has reduced spending by more than 17 percent since it reached a general fund high of $103 billion back in 2007. Assembly Speaker John Perez and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg accompanied Brown to the news conference, but none released many details of the emerging proposal. Under the plan, an addi- tional $2.6 billion in further cuts to schools and other programs would be trig- gered if the hoped-for rev- enues do not materialize, willing to help out — to do anything,’’ said Lowell Myers, an associated pas- tor at Hillcrest Evangelical Free Church who is serving as the family’s spokesman. The relative of Francis and Karly Knox was able to escape the train with no serious injuries, Myers said. Forensic anthropologists, law enforcement officials and federal inves- tigators are still trying to pinpoint why Valli, who was the sole occupant of the semi with two empty gravel trailers behind it, skidded the length of a foot- ball field Friday in the heart of the Forty-Mile Desert before ramming into the rail car. The Zephyr train, outfitted with a full glass observation car, was en route from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif., and had made several stops before beginning the long traverse through the Sierra Nevada to California. The big rig ran into the train around 11:25 a.m. Friday. Two other semis outfitted to haul gravel watched helplessly as he skid- ded and then smashed square into the cars, sparking a massive fire that burned so intensely it delayed investi- gators’ search of the wreckage that includes two torched rail cars and another that was badly burned. ‘‘I looked up north side and I saw smoke, and I looked down the other side and I saw flames and the side of the train ripped back like a sardine can,’’ said Jim Bickley, a property man- ager from El Dorado Hills, Calif., who was on the train traveling home with his wife. ‘‘People were trying to jump out of the emergency windows and there was panic going on.’’ Records show Valli was issued a commercial driver’s license in Nevada on May 6 of this year, said Tom Jacobs, spokesman for the Nevada DMV. The records show Valli’s school bus violations occurred July 6, 2008, Sept. 9, 2008 and May 12, 2009. It was not immediately clear where those cita- tions were issued in California and whether children were in the buses. He was also ticketed on in August 2008 in California for not wearing a seat belt while driving a commercial vehicle. Valli also received a speeding ticket on Sept. 22, 2009, in Alabama for exceeding the speed limit by 11-20 mph. Trooper Chuck Allen said authori- ties would consider all factors as they investigated the cause of the accident, including fatigue, driver inattention, Steinberg said. Brown already has signed bills that addressed $11.4 billion of California’s original $26.6 billion deficit. That reduction was accom- plished primarily through spending cuts to social ser- vice and health program pro- grams, as well as shifting money between government accounts. Brown has said he will not sign a budget that con- tains accounting gimmicks and listed that as one reason why he vetoed a Democratic budget that passed with majority support two weeks ago. That left more spending cuts as the leading option to deal with the remaining deficit. ‘‘This budget is the most austere fiscal blueprint Cali- fornia has seen in more than a generation,’’ Steinberg said. ‘‘Spending levels are at historic lows, and every sec- tor of society will feel the difficult choices we’ve made to bring the budget into bal- ance.’’ Senate Minority Leader Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, called the Democratic plan ‘‘hope without change.’’ ‘‘This latest budget is based on the hope that $4 billion in new revenues will miraculously materialize but does absolutely nothing to change government as usual,’’ he said in a state- ment. The plan does include the governor’s effort to shift responsibility for jailing and supervising thousands of California criminals from the state to local govern- ments. Brown already signed the realignment bill, but the new budget would Red Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service Family owned & Operated Honor and Dignity 527-1732 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff, FD Lic. 1931 529-3655 www.affordablemortuary.net and drugs or alcohol, with toxicology and autopsy results due within days. Weener said investigators may also subpoena Valli’s cell phone records, and said the driver’s professional com- mercial driving record ‘‘is an area we will be taking a very close look at.’’ Investigators planned to meet with his trucking company Tuesday and review the driver’s medical history, training and experience, Weener said. Valli’s sister, Jacquita Yu, 48, of Chino, Calif., said her brother had worked for John Davis Trucking Co. in Battle Mountain for the last six months or so and been a professional driver for 10 years. ‘‘I can’t believe in my heart that he wasn’t paying attention. I can’t accept that,’’ she said. ‘‘He was only halfway through his shift and I can’t believe he would fall asleep. He’s so meticulous and he gets his rest. My thought is there was a mechanical difficulty with the vehicle.’’ Yu, who also is a professional dri- ver, said her brother’s life revolved around his 11-year-old daughter who lives in Reno. She described her broth- er, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and moved to Reno in the 1980s, as a wonderful father who worked hard to provide for his family and spent any free time he had outside with his daughter. The crash also has raised questions about the safety record of Valli’s employer. Federal records reviewed by The Associated Press showed the Nevada Department of Public Safety has cited the company for crashes, unsafe dri- ving, and most seriously, operating a truck with tire treads so exposed that it had to be taken off the road. In that January inspection, authori- ties deemed that rig an imminent haz- ard to public safety. The company was also cited for two crashes in the last two years, including one in February 2010 that injured a person in Washoe Coun- ty. Federal records do not detail who was at fault. The company did not immediately return a call or email Monday. An official for the Nevada Motor Transport Association said the compa- ny is a responsible carrier and one of its top executives, John Davis, has long served on the association’s board of directors. The family business has been expanding in the last few years to haul gold ore from the mines in northeastern Nevada, and has been hauling gravel since the 1970s. provide money for counties to make the adjustment by directing more sales tax rev- enue from the state. Democrats also assume savings from eliminating redevelopment agencies and assume the governor will sign a bill requiring online retailers to collect the state sales tax. Unlike the previ- ous Democratic plan he vetoed, Brown said the state will not sell state-owned office buildings. Republicans were seek- ing changes to state employ- ee pension plans, regulatory reforms and a spending cap in exchange for their support in putting the taxes before California voters. Each party blamed the other for failing to compromise. On Monday, Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway, R-Tulare, declared victory in the fight against Brown’s tax extensions. ‘‘While Democrats may still use legally questionable maneuvers to raise taxes, the simple truth is because of Republicans’ resolve, tem- porary tax increases will expire this Friday and the average California family will save nearly $1,000 per year,’’ Conway said in a statement. Brown acknowledged that he still has more work ahead and vowed to revisit revenues later. ‘‘It’s a good budget, but it’s not the budget that I start- ed with in January and the Democratic leadership wanted, and that was a bud- get that had revenue,’’ Brown said. ‘‘We still have our wall of debt hanging out there.’’ California’s new fiscal year begins Friday, and law- makers are under added pressure this year to pass a budget as quickly as possi- ble. Under a new require- ment passed by California voters last fall, members of the Legislature lose pay for each day after June 15 that they are late in passing a bal- anced budget. Last week, state Con- troller John Chiang, a Democrat, began withhold- ing pay and living expenses after he determined the first Democratic plan did not comply with Proposition 25. This is the second time Democrats are trying to pass a budget without GOP sup- port after negotiations between the parties broke down. 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