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THURSDAY JULY 14, 2011 Breaking news at: The End of Harry Potter? Pastimes www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A RED BLUFF Second Half SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 84/61 Weather forecast 8B By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Returning to the Minch Road property and putting in a septic system and well could be the best way for Poor And The Homeless to salvage a $1 mil- lion grant and build a perma- 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 PATH looks back to Minch Road site nent homeless shelter. About 50 people attended a meeting Tuesday hosted by PATH to explore its next options after the Red Bluff City Council voted not to rezone an area on Breckenridge Street, which would have allowed a shelter to be built there. Among the attendees were the PATH board, its members, shelter supporters, concerned residents and Mayor Bob Carrel and Mayor Pro Tem Forrest Flynn. At risk is being able to get a $1 million state grant trans- ferred to a different site and working within the timeline of the grant deadline to get the shelter built. PATH only has to break ground on the shelter by March 2012 but will have another year to build the shelter. It must be completed by March 2013 and operate for 10 years from that Crop disaster By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Tehama County olive production is looking at a projected $4.7 million loss this season and has been declared a disaster by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Unseasonably warm weather starting in November, followed by frost, destroyed olives in much of the county, said Agricultural Commis- sioner Rick Gurrola. Olive production is looking at significant losses, he said. The declaration fol- lows the release of a posi- tive 2010 crop report in June that showed a 180 percent increase in olive production. There is always going to be an up and down in the industry, Gurrola said. Olives seem to be more susceptible to weather changes. When the warmer weather hit, the trees began to blossom early, he said. The blossoms were then destroyed by a freeze. The department filed for a disaster declaration after establishing that the crop suffered more than a 30 percent loss, Gurrola said. The agricultural commission’s role is to prove the loss through gathering data, talking to growers and assessing the situation. Gurrola filed for disas- ter status sometime after March 1. The approved designation was received Monday. Gurrola delivered the news to the Board of Supervisors during the public comment session of its meeting Tuesday. With a disaster decla- ration, growers are eligi- ble to apply for emer- date in order for the state to for- give the loan, said Scott Thur- mond, a grant writer working with PATH. When he spoke with a repre- sentative from the state grant program after the council deci- See PATH, page 7A City approves Corning logo By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — The City Council approved the adop- tion Tuesday of new logos for the city first presented by Dewey Lucero of Lucero Olive Oil at the May 24 meet- ing. Within minutes, the city already had its first request presented by Corning Police Chief Tony Cardenas, wearing his Chamber of Commerce hat, to use it. The chamber wanted the logo — referred to throughout the evening as the “fun swoosh logo” — on aprons for the upcoming Olive Festival in August, he said. See LOGO, page 7A Calif board OKs rules giving parents school power SACRAMENTO (AP) — The California Board of Education on Wednes- day unanimously approved a new set of rules giving parents more power to force changes at poorly performing public schools. The regulations were Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Bob Lucero of Lucero Olive Oil talks about olive farming during a tour May 21. Olive trees took a hit from unusual weather in Tehama County earlier this season.The U.S. Department of Agriculture granted a dis- aster declaration for the county crop. gency farm loans of up to $500,000 at 3.7 percent interest rate, Gurrola said. Also affected by the weather, grain and hay production is in trouble, Gurrola said. He filed for disaster status on that crop this week. The grain and hay cut and harvest is projected to be down by 40 percent, he said. If approved, disaster status on the grain crops will be announced within six to 10 weeks. The damages are nega- tive, but it is unavoidable, Gurrola said. “I would like to keep the numbers up there, but you can’t control mother nature,” he said. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailyn ews.com. approved during a packed meeting in Sacramento. Parents who had taken buses from across the state erupted in cheers. The rules would allow a majority of parents or guardians at low-perform- ing schools to petition school districts for major changes, from adding pro- grams or converting to a charter school to shutting down the campus or firing the principal and half the staff. The action isn’t the final word, however. The proposed regulations will be put out for public com- ment for 15 days and could be challenged. If no new substantive issues arise the regula- tions would be sent to the state Office of Adminis- trative Law for final approval, providing a set of guidelines for parents who want to force changes. The Board of Education could reconsid- er the matter if a major challenge occurs. ‘‘We want not just parental involvement, we want true power’’ to help guide the education of children, said former state Sen. Gloria Romero, a Democratic co-author of the first-in-the-nation leg- islation that authorized the parent petitions in up to 75 schools across the state. State Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, was the co-author of the bill that became law last year. He told board members the status quo is not accept- able. ‘‘Passing these regula- tions today would say to See SCHOOL, page 7A Miss Tehama County represents Golden State By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Starting today, Miss Tehama County, Kerry DeFonte, will be wearing a whole new crown as she takes on her role of Gold- en State Youth Ambas- sadress. “It was awesome,” DeFonte said of her win and of the competition. “Our (Miss Tehama County) program really prepared me for the com- petition. I was nervous and excited because I’m from a small town and I didn’t know quite what to expect.” The Red Bluff resident was chosen during the Youth Accolades Scholar- ship Competition in San Jose during the week of July 5-9 and is the first alternate for Miss Califor- nia. While the competition was run similarly to that for Miss Tehama County, it was much bigger at state level and she was second guessing herself as to her answers and whether or not she would get a title, DeFonte said. She said she enjoyed meeting a lot of people but was glad for familiar faces in the audience like Sonja Akers, who coordi- nates Miss Tehama Coun- ty, and DeFonte’s mother and sister who surprised her by showing up. The group was drilled on fair facts throughout the week of interviews with two days of stage competition. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Red Bluff Outdoor Power Contestants were judged on interviews, public speaking, impromptu speech and stage arts. “(DeFonte) was the only one who knew that fair funding is done through interim rentals and events, horse racing and the state allocations that is being eliminated,” Akers said. “In talking with the group down there they were very impressed with her knowledge of the fair industry and her com- mitment and participation in fair.” DeFonte has been showing hogs in the Tehama District Fair since she was 9, participated for 11 years in 4-H and was in FFA all four years of high school, she said. DeFonte is the first Miss Tehama County in six years to represent the county at the CalState Program, Akers said. “She’s the only Miss Tehama County to achieve a CalState title,” Akers said. “We’re really proud of Kerry. Unfortu- nately, CalState obliga- tions keep her from retaining her Miss Tehama County title.” The local title will be taken up by Linda Jo Ben- nett, first alternate behind DeFonte in the competi- tion. A reception will be held at 6 tonight at the Tehama District Fairground in the See MISS, page 7A FIREARMS TRAINING Concealed carry JULY 23RD & 24TH Walt Mansell 527-1154 Early morning & evenings handgun class for 1st time applicants