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Obituaries EMIL (SPEEDY) BRASIER, JR. the Lord at his eldest sons home in Corning, CA on Au- gust 9, 2011 at the age of 90. Speedy was born in Claremore, Oklahoma but made his home in California with his family. Speedy was a life member of Operating Engineers Local 3 from which he retired after 50 years. He was also an Ar- my war veteran from WWII serving as an engineer. He traveled with his family and was a devoted husband and father. Emil (Speedy) Brasier, Jr. quietly went home to be with Preceded in death by his loving wife of 70 years, Ruth Marie, just 10 short months ago, his parents and his 3 brothers. He is survived by 3 daughters Shirley Medford, Nancy Droy, and Susan Wheeler, 2 sons Frank Brasier and Ronald Brasier, 9 grandchildren, and 17½ great grandchildren. A private viewing will be held Monday, August 15, 2011 at the Hall Bros. Funeral Home in Corning, California. Graveside services, which are open to everyone will be held the same day at 2pm at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Oroville, CA. Officiating will be Pastor Ronald Brasier, Emil’s son. PRIDE Continued from page 1A Coates’ family was able to talk to the boys by coinci- dence when they saw each other at a mall before the game. “It was a cool coinci- dence and we got to let them know, ‘We’re here for you guys,’” he said. Seeing the boys playing on ESPN2 was also a treat, Coates said. Red Bluff has been on television for the Round-Up and in the past for the boat drag events, but never live, he said. “This is a huge deal to be able to sit and watch,” he said. “I want to be there SCHOOL Continued from page 1A 24. The incident is still under investi- gation. “Damage like this has never really happened here,” Burkhart said. Tehama County Secret Witness is STEVEN W. HIDY gust 11, 2011 at his home in Red Bluff after a lengthy ill- ness. Born March 6, 1927 on his family farm in Trenton, Nebraska, he left high school at 17 in 1944 to join the war effort that took him to the European theatre. While stationed in Italy, Steve met and married his wife Maria. After raising 7 children, Steve retired from the Bu- reau of Reclamation. Steve is survived by his wife of 64 years, Maria and their 7 children; Claude and wife Rose of Stratton, Nebraska, MaryAnn and husband Jim Bill of Redding, California, Tony and wife Trish of Petaluma, California, Paul and wife Rita of Eureka, California, Joanne and husband David Dilley of Benicia, California, Linda Hidy of Chico, California, Wanda and husband Shawn Wieland of Folsom, California, 19 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Services will be held at Chapel of the Flowers on Mon- day, August 15, 2011. Viewing at 10 A.M. with a Funeral Service at 12 P.M. Followed by a Military Graveside Service at Northern California Veteran’s Cemetery in Igo, California at 2 P.M. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Veterans of Foreign Wars of Red Bluff, or St. Elizabeth’s Hospice. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers has been entrusted with the arrangements. Steven W. Hidy, died peacefully Thursday morning Au- offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person, or persons, responsible for the vandalism and theft. Anyone with information is asked to call the Tehama County Secret Wit- ness at 529-1268, or the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office at 529-7900. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailynews.com. Calif. couple sentenced in mom’s killing PLACERVILLE (AP) — A Northern California man and a teenage girl who once imagined themselves as star- crossed lovers destined for suicide were sentenced to prison Friday for killing the girl’s mother because she reported their affair to authorities to keep them apart. Steven Colver, 21, received a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole, and Tylar Witt, 16, was sentenced to 15 years to life in the 2009 stabbing death of Joanne Witt, The Sacramento Bee reported. A jury had convicted Colver of first-degree murder with the special circumstances of lying in wait and killing a wit- ness. Tylar pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second- degree murder after testifying against her former boyfriend. Prosecutors say Colver, then 19, stabbed Joanne Witt more than 20 times because she reported him for statutory rape over his relationship with her then-14-year-old daugh- ter, who helped plot the slaying and planned to participate in it. During Colver’s trial, she testified that she lost her nerve and ‘‘closed my eyes and hummed’’ as her mother was attacked. Colver, meanwhile, testified that Tylar had killed her mother on her own. The pair were arrested at a strip mall south of San Fran- cisco following a two-day manhunt. In a hotel room they had fled to, authorities found evidence the young couple had attempted suicide — cereal and cake laced with rat poi- son — and writings that offered the motivations behind Witt’s murder. Among the items introduced as evidence at Colver’s trial were a journal in which he wrote that he would ‘‘travel through the pits of hell’’ and ‘‘take the life of another’’ to be with Tylar. Prosecutors produced a suicide note in which the girl wrote, ‘‘You, mother, made me a whore, to the man I love,’’ and a story the girl had sent to friends that described young lovers betrayed to authorities by an oppressive mother. Hybrid pension plans would save billions LT. COLONEL NOLAN DIEHL Lt. Colonel Nolan Diehl of Red Bluff, age 88, passed away on August 11, 2011 surrounded by his family. Nolan was born in Red Bluff on October 5, 1922 to George and Grace Diehl. He is survived by his devoted wife, Ann, and they would’ve celebrated their 66th anni- versary in October. He was preceded in death by his fa- ther, George, his mother, Grace, and sister Janeth. Surviv- ing is Nolan’s older brother, Gareth Diehl who lives in Redding, Nolan’s four children, Bob and Brad Diehl of Red Bluff, Scott Diehl of Redding, CA., and Beckie Rainer of Highland, Utah. He has twelve grandchildren and six- teen great grandchildren. Colonel Diehl was sworn in the Army Air Corp in 1942, and completed pilot training in Casper, Wyoming, where he caught the eye of a young Irish beauty, his beloved Ann. They were married after the war in 1945 in Casper. He flew B24s and completed twenty-six missions over Germany and southern Europe. He also served a year each in Korea, Thule, Greenland and occupation Germa- ny. He served his country valiantly and proudly for a quarter century and retired back to his home town of Red Bluff, quietly hung up his medals, and enjoyed renewing the many friendships and family ties he had left behind. He comes from a pioneer stock, with his forebears set- SACRAMENTO (AP) — A study released Fri- day by a pension-reform group suggests Califor- nia state and local gov- ernments could save bil- lions of dollars a year by moving to a hybrid retirement plan similar to one used by the feder- al government. The study by Califor- nia Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility found the savings could be even greater if public employ- ees who take early retire- ment contributed up to half the cost of their retiree health care pre- miums. tling in Big Valley then, Red Bluff. He will be remem- bered for his brilliant curious mind, and was truly a "ren- aissance man" fluent in several languages, adept in art and a flair for poetry. His zest for living included the hob- bies of antique, coin and stamp collecting, and he de- signed and built his home and was known for innovative landscaping. He loved to create and build. He also had an ability to keep an audience enthralled with his many sto- ries and adventures. Funeral services will be held at the First Christian Church in Red Bluff, on Tuesday, August 16th at 10am. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hospice Care, 1425 Vista Way, Red Bluff, CA. To say he will be greatly missed, would not be adequate to express our feelings; he was a man who loved God, family, and country, and should be remembered by these words which he penned: "I done my bit and spoke of it as I’ve seen fit". Death Notices Guy (Pat) L. Abbott Guy (Pat) L. Abbott of Red Bluff died Friday, Aug. 12, 2011, at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. He was 85. Red Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service is handling the arrangements. Published Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Robert Henry Kitchen Robert Henry Kitchen died Saturday, July 23, 2011, in Cottonwood. He was 77. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrangements. Published Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Jerry McLaughlin Jerry McLaughlin of Cottonwood died Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011 at his residence. He was 73. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrangements. Published Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. The authors looked at potential savings if state and local governments reduced guaranteed pen- sion benefits by half and replaced them with a system similar to the 401(k)s prevalent in the private sector. ‘‘Our analysis shows that substantial savings can be achieved if the state and local govern- ments provide retirement benefits comparable to those offered by the fed- eral government and share cost and risk with their employees just as the federal government and private companies do,’’ Mike Genest, an author of the study and former state finance director under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said in a statement. A group supported by public employee unions criticized the report and said it was bankrolled by Texas billionaire John Arnold, a former Enron Corp. trader who made his fortune buying and selling natural gas. ‘‘Whether it’s been T. Boone Pickens or Valero, California voters have never taken kindly to out-of-state special interests or billionaires trying to influence our state’s public policy,’’ said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Californi- ans for Retirement Secu- rity. California voters pre- viously rejected the Texas oil company’s effort to suspend the state’s landmark green- house gas emissions law and rebuffed Pickens’ plan to promote the use of natural gas in vehi- cles, an initiative that would have benefited the Texas billionaire’s busi- ness interests. Maviglio said the best approach to reforming public pensions is at the bargaining table and through the Legislature. Public pensions have come under scrutiny as the recession has eaten away at government bud- gets, eroded pension fund values and led to mass layoffs and benefit reductions in the private sector. The system forces taxpayers to support guaranteed benefits for public workers, often at levels far more generous than those provided by the private-sector work- ers whose dollars sup- port government work- ers. Public pension reform was a main point of debate earlier this year as the Legislature nego- tiated a budget. When those negotiations failed, the Republicans’ pen- sion reforms died with them. Gov. Jerry Brown pro- posed his own slate of pension reforms, but those so far have failed to gain traction in the Legislature. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has $75 billion in unfunded future pen- sion liabilities and the state is on the hook for an estimated $51.8 bil- lion in unfunded retiree health care costs. By law, public pen- sions must be paid out, meaning taxpayers make up the difference if the pension funds cannot cover their obligations. As the state’s main public-employee pen- sion fund, CalPERS has lost at least $18 billion off its stock portfolio since July 1, about 7.5 percent of its $237.5 bil- lion total asset value on June 30. Friday’s report echoes past studies that have called for similar reforms. In February, the Little Hoover Commis- sion recommended transferring current and future employees to a hybrid model. Marcia Fritz, presi- dent of the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility, said the group’s latest study demonstrates a need for serious change. ‘‘The voters want something,’’ she said. The analysis tried to determine the savings of a pension reform that would require public employees to pay half the normal cost of their pension contribution, similar to the federal government. The federal govern- ment began shifting employees from a defined-benefit plan known as the Civil Ser- vice Retirement System to a hybrid model in the mid-1980s. The hybrid provides a benefit and contribution plan known as the Federal Employ- ees Retirement System. The report looked at potential savings if state and local governments reduced pension benefits by half and replaced the other half with a 401(k)- style defined-contribu- tion plan. It predicted state gov- ernment could save hun- dreds of millions imme- diately and generate bil- lions of dollars of sav- ings in the future. By far the biggest sav- ings would come from local governments — between $3 billion and $4 billion a year — because most cities and counties have not taken the same steps to reduce pension burdens as the state has in recent years. with some of these kids when they get to see it and be in that role.” Saturday, August 13, 2011 – Daily News 7A Jackie Thomas and her good to have an entire town behind you,” Benson said. Katie Benson and Mor- gan Crossman were among family and friends at a corner booth to watch the game. “Just coming and watching the game with everybody, it’s amazing,” Benson said. “I keep cry- ing.” They were signing the backs of homemade flags that had the names of each player on them. They will be giving them to the play- ers when they come home. When they come back and see the support they’ve gotten, they will be so proud, she said. “It’s got to feel pretty Applebee’s Executive General Manager Fred Blue was pleased to have the fans in the restaurant. “I think it’s awesome,” Blue said. “They asked if we had room and I said, ‘of course, we’ll make room.’” Blue is offering a free dinner for the players when they come home, he said. The team’s win Friday pushes them to the next round, a championship match-up to be shown at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. The winner of that game will go to the Little League World Series. family were planning to drive to the San Bernardi- no area Friday night so they could be there on Sat- urday. Her girls, 10-year-olds Aubrey and Alexis Zamo- ra, had played on the girls All-Star teams, she said. They plan on wearing their team shirts at the game. Thomas explained the significance of the game to them, she said. They will go down in history, like the team in 1974, and be known forever. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailyne ws.com.