Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/35496
FRIDAY JULY 1, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Sports 1B Weather forecast 10A Sunny 99/67 By TANGLOR DN Staff Writer The city of Red Bluff was much the focus of the Tehama County grand jury report that was released Thursday. The findings in the five investigations that involved the city were favorable, with the exception of one investigation that was not completed. The grand jury received a citi- zen complaint concerning exactly when City Manager Martin Nichols knew the city’s 2009/2010 general fund revenues would be short about $1.3 million as oppose to the earlier projected deficit of DAILYNEWS 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 Grand Jury releases annual report $300,000. Several City Council members, both past and present, and Nichols were interviewed, and a review of council minutes for the past two years was done. But the jury was unable to complete the investiga- tion when former Finance Director Margaret Van Warmerdam filed a suit against the city. Nichols has said his choosing to fire Van Warmerdam had nothing to do with how she handled the finances or the dispute over the deficit. The interview with members of the grand jury Audit and Finance Committee was brief, and he does not remember too much about it, Nichols said Thursday. He does not recall having told the grand jury he could not speak about the deficit because of the pending law- suit, so he is unsure why the jury could not finish its investigation. “I told them exactly what I told the newspaper,” Nichols said, referring to a similar investigation of the deficit the Daily News did in August. An investigation into where the city’s reserve funds had gone found that the reserve had been used over the course of time to pay the city’s regular annual bills. No recommendations were made. Other areas of the city the grand jury visited included the Senior Nutrition Program, Public Works and Parks and Recreation. The nutrition program is a well run program that provides a much needed service for seniors, the jury found. There had been a report that the city would have to pay back state grants for not completing sidewalk improvements at four parks to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The jury found steps were being taken to satisfy the ADA requirements. The indoor recreation offerings at the Red Bluff Community and Food giveaway a success Senior Center were found to be underused. County In observing the ballot county process, the jury found the process was done in a place that did not allow voters to observe and the need to confirm electronic votes were time-consuming. The jury recommends the Elec- tions Department to be relocated as soon as possible to an area that will allow for voter observation and one that has a larger vault area to prevent any chances of fraud. The Board of Supervisors should See JURY, page 9A Three Tehama residents indicted on pot charge SACRAMENTO — Jesus Bruce and Aimee Kristine Sisco of Los Molinos and Thomas Marrs of Red Bluff were included in a pair of indictments handed down, Thursday, as part of an investigation into two large commercial marijuana grow opera- tions. United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that a grand jury in Sacramento returned two separate indictments, charging a total of 12 defendants. The first indictment charges that several defen- dants conspired to produce at least 1,000 marijua- na plants at a greenhouse farming facility in Sutter County. That indictment charges Yan Ebyam, 34, most recently from Sacramento; Thomas Wesley Jopson, 62, of Rio Oso; David Eldon Jopson, 60, of Rio Oso; Bruce, 35, of Los Molinos; Sisco, 30, of Los Molinos; Pablo Omar Vasquez, 31, of Rio Oso; Dolf Fred Podva, 35, of Rio Oso; Donald William Fried, 37, of Yreka; and Marrs, 38, of Red Bluff. The second indictment charges that Yan Ebyam and three others, Jonathan Austin, 30, of Paradise; Alberto Velez, 48, of Sacramento; and Joel Santia- go-Ojeda, 38, of Sacramento, conspired to manu- See POT, page 9A Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Volunteers pack boxes of food while recipients stand in a line almost to the CalFire fence Thursday at the Tailgate Food Giveaway at the Tehama District Fairground. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Hundreds turned out for the Tailgate Food Giveaway that took place Thurs- day morning at the Tehama District Fairground. Volunteers reported many arrived well ahead of the 9 a.m. start time with a line from near the front of the parking lot to almost out to the fairground entrance. Some were there as early as 7 a.m. “There’s obviously a need,” said Adam Kingsley, North State Food Bank Supervisor. “With minimal (Pub- lic Service Announcement) look at how many showed up.” The North State Food Bank part- nered with the Tehama County Com- munity Action Agency, the fairground, Tehama County Department of Social Services, Feeding America and Cali- fornia Emergency Foodlink to sponsor the event. At noon, the group had 828 signed up as heads of household who received a food box, impacting about 1,331 per- sons, said Tara Loucks-Shepherd of the Tehama County Department of Social Services. There were 60 volun- teers, she said. Amanda Sharp, who works for the Tehama County Department of Social Services and with the Community Action Agency, said this is the first time the Tailgate Giveaway has come to Tehama County. “The reason we have access to the Tailgate Food Giveaway is because of a partnership between the Community Action Agency and North State Food Bank that started in 2011,” Sharp said. “This is the first of many things coming out of that relationship.” The North State Food Bank, located in Oroville, receives food from surplus commodity organizations and Feeding America on behalf of several counties and distributes it from there. “We picked up Tehama County as a part of our service area in January,” Kingsley said. “It’s one of 10 sites we’re doing giveaways at and anything left will go to charitable organizations in Tehama County.” One thing Kingsley was impressed with were the volunteers. Kingsley brought six people with him from Butte County and the rest of the more than 30 volunteers were from within the community, he said. Volunteers represented several orga- nizations Northern Valley Catholic Social Services, Corning Christian Assistance, Hands of Hope, Salvation Army, Job Training Center, PATH, Community Action Agency, TCDSS, Veterans Services with Employment Department, Job Training Center and Tehama County Gleaners. There were also members of the community not from an organization that volunteered to help. Kingsley said he was also surprised by the number of people showing up and hopes to be able to expand next year. “We brought about 2,000 pounds of food with us and Food Link brought 12,095 pounds from Sacramento,” Kingsley said. “We unloaded about 20 See FOOD, page 9A Suspicious package found at grocery store By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The parking lot in front of Raley’s was cordoned off with yellow police tape after a suspicious package was reported to Red Bluff Police Thursday afternoon. The call came in about 11:15 a.m. as a suspicious pack- age left in a shopping cart in front of the Raley’s store, said Red Bluff Police Officer Jerry Fernandez. Police immediately set about securing the perimeter with patrol units at the main entrances to the area that was taped off and called for assistance from the Shasta County Bomb Squad, he said. Store management was notified and one of two entrances was left open to allow the store to remain open for the most part. Raley's was shut down for about an hour, Sgt. Michael Graham said. Officers were able to get the identification of the man who left the package in the cart from the security camera and had been hopeful he could be located quickly, allowing them to cancel the Shasta County Bomb Squad, said Police Chief Paul Nanfito. In the end, the package turned out to be nothing signifi- cant, Graham said. “Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded and did their thing,” Graham said. “No one was hurt, just inconvenienced.” Homelessness: Right solution, wrong location? Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in a series on homelessness leading up to the July 5 Red Bluff City Council meeting on a pro- posed ordinance to rezone an area on Breckenridge Street that will allow for a permanent, year-round homeless shelter. By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Ask Kate Gleim about the homeless and her face will fill with emotion. The compassion she has for them is undeniable when she speaks about the need to support the homeless in finding permanent housing. Yet, similar to most of her neighbors who could be sharing their neighborhood with a proposed year-round homeless shelter Gleim has some reservations. Though she was reluc- tant to voice any opposition at first, Gleim somehow found herself at the forefront of the Community Alliance Group which opposes the rezoning of the Brecken- ridge location. She makes it clear she 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 has no vendetta against the non-profit group, the Poor and the Homeless, that is “It is not about, not in my back yard, it is about our community and the safe- ty of our children. I truly believe Breckenridge is the wrong location.” — Kate Gleim seeking to build the shelter, or the homeless and actively helps some when they have special needs. It’s the loca- tion that she opposes. “If I lived in a different area of town, with the expe- riences I have had, I would still be doing this,” Gleim said. “It is not about, not in my back yard, it is about our community and the safety of our children. I truly believe Breckenridge is the wrong location.” The close proximity to downtown and the historic Victorian neighborhood has her worried about the adverse impact the shelter will have on the business community and tourism, she said. People will stop com- ing to shop downtown or tour the Victorians if they feel unsafe. Neighbor Sharon Eliggi has similar concerns about what the proposed shelter could do to the neighbor- hood. The homeless will end up loitering on the streets during the daytime when the shelter is not open. There are children who play outside, she said. There are parks and schools near- by. The image and value of the neighborhood will decline. Ali Abbassi, an advocate for the shelter, disagrees. Putting in a shelter will not diminish the image and value of the neighborhood, he said. The development can only improve the area. “Just putting in a curb and gutter will increase the value,” he said. One of the reasons for picking the Breckenridge site is because of its proxim- ity to resources and services that are conducive to helping the homeless transition to permanent housing, Abbassi said. The neighbors said there are other locations that would be a better fit. They suggested an area on Hess Road or on the south end of See RIGHT, page 9A 4th of July Celebration Wilcox Ladies