Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/36123
WEEKEND JULY 9-10, 2011 Breaking news at: What’s Next for David Radcliffe USA Weekend www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Little League Updates SPORTS 1B Sunny 96/63 Weather forecast 8B 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 Pot bust yields 22,000 plants, 2 arrests Law enforcement from sev- eral agencies busted a marijua- na growing operation, eradicat- ing more than 22,000 plants Wednesday in northwestern Tehama County. Deputies from the Tehama County Sheriff’s Department, along with agents from the Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, cleared a cultivation site near the Pattymocus Butte in the Trinity National Forest. The eradication followed an initial raid June 28 that lead to the arrest of Adrian Diaz Silva, 22, of Stockton and Abel Tor- res Galvan, 19, of Bakersfield, said a sheriff’s press release. Silva and Galvan were found in a makeshift camp at a grow site and were taken without inci- dent, the release said. However, several other gro wers escaped during the raid. During the Silva Galvan raid, two hand- guns were found in one of the camps, the release said. Deputies saw sub- stantial crops of marijuana, but because rain and clouds limited helicopter use, they chose to leave the plants and return later. Early Wednesday, law enforcement returned to the See POT, page 7A Multi-car wreck shuts I-5 Teen girl found at dam with man A 13-year-old girl who had been reported missing June 1 from her El Cerrito Drive home was found just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday with her 18-year-old boyfriend. Law enforcement got a tip that the couple were parked in a white 2004 Ford Windstar near a boat launch by the Red Bluff Diversion Dam. The girl, Sara Lisa Marie Miranda, had disappeared See TEEN, page 7A Vandals trash pool banners Daily News photo by Tang Lor A multi-vehicle collision around 5 p.m. Friday on northbound Interstate 5 in Corning involved a big rig and a truck pulling a trailer. CORNING — At least one per- son is dead after a collision around 5 p.m. Friday just north of the Corn- ing rest area on northbound Inter- state 5. At least five cars were involved, according to the California High- way Patrol website. One of the cars was a white Chevy Suburban that ended up in the median. The other vehicles included a big rig, a pickup truck towing a trailer and a Toyota Sienna minivan. Two ambulances from St. Eliza- beth Community Hospital respond- ed and a CHP helicopter left the scene around 5:30 p.m. The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office was called to request the coroner at 5:18 p.m. Both northbound lanes were Brown signs bill imposing $150 firefighting fee SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown on Fri- day signed into law a $150 annual wildfire protection fee for property owners in rural areas of California, even as anti-tax advocates said they are prepared to challenge the way the Leg- islature imposed the levy. The Democratic gover- nor announced that he signed the bill, ABX1-29. to ensure rural property own- ers pay their share of the state’s wildland firefighting costs. The state has spent an average of $177 million a year for firefighting over the past decade, although the state is awaiting federal reimbursement for part of the costs in recent years. The fee is expected to generate $50 million during this fiscal year and $200 million annually in the future, taking pressure off the state’s general fund. ‘‘As a result of popula- tion increases and urban development in state responsibility areas in recent decades, there has been a significant increase in state costs associated with fire protection in state wild- land areas,’’ Brown wrote in his bill signing message. The fee was one of two the Legislature’s Democrat- ic majority approved as part of the state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. The other is a $12 hike to the vehicle registration fee. Anti-tax advocates said they plan to challenge the Legislature’s ability to impose fees without the two-thirds vote required for tax increases. The firefight- ing fee affects about 850,000 structures statewide. ‘‘We have completed our legal review and we have concluded it is challenge- able,’’ said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Associa- tion. ‘‘We’re talking to potential plaintiffs who are going to be assessed this fee.’’ Coupal said the wildland firefighting fee violates not only the two-thirds legisla- tive vote threshold for tax increases, but also steps on 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See BILL, page 7A blocked while the injured were removed and debris cleared, accord- ing to Caltrans. One northbound lane reopened shortly after 7 p.m. CHP was assisted by CalFire and the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office. No further information was immediately available Friday evening. Staff report Banners at McGlynn Pool featuring the names of pool sponsors were cut down sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. Pool staff found the zip ties cut and others burned and the banners scattered across the ground, said Daniele Jackson, a mem- ber of Blues for the Pool. The banners featured the names of top donors who had contributed $400 to the Blue for the Pool’s 400 Club, a fundraiser to help keep the pool open. “The community came together to raise $15,000 for the pool, and this was our appreciation to them,” Jackson said. “To have someone slash them shows a lack of respect to our entire community.” All of the 20 to 30 ban- ners were cut from the chain link fence surround- ing the pool, but only two banners were slashed. One was a 2x3 banner featuring the names of two individual private sponsors. The other was a 5x3 banner for the Daily News. Parks and Recreation Director Debbie Carlisi said she does not believe the two slashed posters were targeted for any par- ticular reason. To her knowledge, nothing else was vandalized or taken from the pool facility. “I am just shocked that they took so much time to do that much damage,” Carlisi said. “For them to sit there and cut each ban- See POOL, page 7A Museum cuts hours, needs volunteers By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Kelly-Griggs House Museum, 311 Washington St., in Red Bluff changed its hours Thursday due to a lack of volunteers. “All tours, including RV tours, now have to be on Thursday and Sun- day,” said Museum Asso- ciation Board President Sharon Wilson. The museum will still be available for tours, which start at 1 p.m. with the last tour at 3 p.m., she said. “We just can’t get the number of volunteers needed to keep it open,” Wilson said. “We’re aging out and we’re not getting any younger peo- ple.” Wilson said she and the board are hopeful that members of the commu- nity will step up to become docents so that the museum can stay open. From the beginning, volunteers have played an important role in the museum in areas from helping to redo the build- ing to keeping the muse- um going with things like helping with the tours. “It would only need to be for a couple of hours a month,” Wilson said. “What fun they’d have DN File photo The Kelly-Griggs House Museum in Red Bluff changed its hours. As of Thursday, the museum is only open Thursdays and Sundays. and what a help they’d be to us.” The house was built in the 1880s by Sidney Allen Griggs and then sold to the Kelly family who occupied it until 1965. In 1965, Anne Kelly sold the house to a newly formed non-profit corpo- ration of local community members who wanted to preserve the Victorian house. The house is important to preserve because it car- ries quite a bit of history, both locally and from outside the area, and is especially important for school children to visit, Wilson said. “We are here to pre- serve history,” Wilson said. “We are hoping that more of the schools will start coming again. My feeling is parents need to fundraise to allow their children the opportunity to come and learn about the history of their coun- ty.” The museum is in the process of raising money for the replacement of the foundation, a project started a few years ago, and working towards get- ting the exterior of the building painted and repaired. The Summer Social, which is the main fundraiser for the founda- tion, is scheduled for Aug. 28. In the meantime, the board is working on See HOURS, page 7A