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TUESDAY AUGUST 30, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com John Wayne See Inside American Profile RED BLUFF Training camp Sports 1B Sunny 97/62 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 County budget is status quo By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Tehama County supervisors were given a first look at the final budget Monday and are expected to make a final adopt at a future meeting. The final 2011-2012 budget is balanced, as the Board of Supervisors have made conser- vative decisions that has kept the county fiscally sound, County Chief Administrative Officer Bill Goodwin said. Net total appropriations is $122,810,489, only a .01 per- cent increase from the previous fiscal year. "This is as close to a status quo budget as we can get from last year," Goodwin said. The final budget hinges on a number of budget assumptions, some of which will come back during a mid-year review. Among the assumptions are that state trigger cuts would reduce funding for libraries, health services and social ser- vices, including In-Home Sup- port Services. The budget assumes there is a sufficient fund balance to fully fund the Los Molinos library. Supervisor Ron Warner said he was glad to see the library back in the budget, and recent meetings about fundraising has been productive. Among items to be reviewed at mid-year is implementation of a bookmobile and develop- ment of facilities to house and rehabilitate additional inmates. Supervisor Dennis Garton said he was concerned about AB 109 funding. Departments affected by the realignment will need to be frugal. The new law, which goes into effect Oct. 1, will put non- serious, non-sexual and non- violent offenders under the supervision of local authorities. The state has pledged at least $1.2 million to Tehama County for the first year and possibly up to $3.8 million over the next four years. Funding may be adequate for the first year, from Oct. 1 to June 30, 2012, but will not be sufficient for future years, Goodwin said. The expected realignment funding was not budgeted into Crossing strains By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — Work began Monday to end Sherie Abel's troubles with the South Street rail- road crossing in Corning. Paralyzed from the neck down, Abel has got- ten stuck while crossing the track in her battery- powered wheelchair sev- eral times, most recently in July and at least once in triple digit weather, she said. Abel described herself as "very athletic" when a Dec. 20, 1997 accident in the ocean at Hapuna Beach in Hawaii caused her to lose feeling from the neck down. "It's an accidental blessing," Abel said. "I would never wish it on anyone, but having this injury I've been so blessed by the people who have reached out to me." While doing everyday thing takes extra help, Abel has not let that stop her from doing things. Abel is a licensed mar- riage and family therapist and travels frequently to area schools, all of which requires her to cross the railroad tracks. The chair and Abel have a combined weight of 600-650 pounds, she said. At the July 26 City Council meeting, Abel asked the city for help in getting the crossing fixed. The city cannot work the final budget, as the Com- munity Corrections Partnership is still working on a plan to implement AB 109 locally, Goodwin said. The plan will be presented to the board for approval. A number of capital projects are budgeted. Some are carry- overs from last year or have been put on hold while the county worked on a parks restoration project, Goodwin said. Those projects include See BUDGET, page 7A Gas station robbed; police seek suspects By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer A clerk was discovered tied up in the bathroom early Sat- urday morning at Valero Gas Station, 615 Antelope Blvd., in Red Bluff. The incident was reported to Red Bluff Police about 5:20 a.m. by the alarm company who had received a hold up alarm from the business. Officers contacted the woman who reported an armed robbery in which two men had entered the business and held her at gunpoint, taking an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspects fled the building on foot, leaving through the back of the business, Tehama County Sheriff's Depart- ment logs show. Tehama County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol, including a K-9 unit, were called in to assist. A be-on-the-lookout for was issued for the two men, however, only one description, that of a 5' 8" man in his mid-20s with a medium build and blonde hair. The suspect was wearing a black and white sweater vest and was in possession of a revolver with a laser. He had an unknown tattoo on his left hand that was covered with flesh colored make-up. Investigation into the incident is ongoing. Anyone who can provide information regarding this crime is encouraged to contact Red Bluff Police at (530) 527-3131. Home invasion suspect caught hiding in river By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer A Dairyville residence on Oklahoma Avenue Courtesy photo Corning resident Sherie Abel has been stuck on the South Street rail- road crossing near her home several times and asked the City Coun- cil for help in getting it fixed. within the railroad right of way, the area directly next to and on the cross- ing, without permission from the railroad, City Manager Steve brough said. In this case, the cross- Kim- ing at South Street is owned by Union Pacific, but leased to the Califor- nia Northern Railroad, a Union Pacific representa- tive said. Public Works Director John Brewer immediately set to work trying to con- tact the railroad and after a month finally met with them Aug. 18 to see what could be done. Fixing the crossing will be a joint effort and See CROSS, page 7A was broken into and a red 2003 Ford Mustang GT was stolen early Sunday morning while a family slept inside. About 6 a.m., Tehama County Sheriff's Deputies were sent to the residence for a home invasion bur- glary where they contacted 46-year-old David Keading. Keading told officers that he and his wife had woken up when they heard the Mustang pulling out of the driveway and immediately reported it as stolen. He then discovered that someone had entered his home through the unlocked front door and took a See HOME, page 7A Despite staff changes, Discovery Center pushes forward By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The Sacramento River Discovery Center is making changes in its staffing and hours but pledges to pursue the level of community wide education it has come to be known for as it embarks on a different kind of offering. Since its formation some 12 years ago, the discovery center has gone through many changes, and this is yet another phase of change, said volunteer Bobie Hughes, who will now assume the duties of the center administrator. The organization, which was originally formed through a partnership of 48 diverse agencies and organi- zations, is committed to education and creating stewards who care about the future of the Sacramento River watershed. It relies mostly on mem- bership support for funding. Severe cutbacks in school and membership support led to the center's board of directors having to lay off staff. As of Aug. 15, the dis- covery center's one full- time staff member Carlene Cramer, who had been the center manager since 2003, left her post to pursue other opportunities. Ali Reno, who manned the center for the visiting public for four years, will become a substitute, as she continues with her school- ing. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Hughes, who recently retired, was appointed by the board to take over much of the center's operation. The center will be oper- ating with the efforts of vol- unteers for the near future and is seeking volunteers to help. Among the center's needs is volunteers who can help with plant propagation and garden maintenance. The center will make use of its large greenhouse to grow plants for restoration and habitat improvement pro- jects that will generate income for the center. The Saturday Bird Walks with Dr. David Dahnke will continue Sept. 3. The biggest change will come in September. As of Sept. 1, visitors to the center between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. will find elemen- tary students in residence. The center will serve as the campus for Tehama Coun- ty's newest school, Whitten- berg Country School. "The center is excited to be able to provide space for a private school that will focus on mastery of educa- tional lessons with a focus on science, math and the environment," said Ben Hughes, board chairman. "It is sad to end one phase of the SRDC, but exciting to begin a brand new one." The center already has a number of resources that a new school would need, said Whittenberg founder, teacher and principal Zach Whitten, who has had a long-standing mutual rela- tionship with the center, most recently serving as director of the Discovery Center Summer Camps pro- gram. Whitten was able to rely on that connection when his plans to use the site of the former Lincoln school house, west of Red Bluff, as a campus, fell through, he said. Whitten will rent the facility and pay for the resources being used by his inaugural class of 10 to 12 students. Those resources range from books to micro- scopes. In the future, center operations will be adjusted to accommodate the school programming. All the infor- mation on changes will be available by contacting the center at 527-1196 or email- ing Bobie Hughes at bhughe1@tehama,k12.ca.us. THE BRANDING PROJECT WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU: COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check starting at $ (most cars and pick-ups) 2595 + cert. Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. What do you think Red Bluff, Corning, and Tehama County should be known for? What will attract visitors to our communities? What can you experience here that you can't find elsewhere? Please take 10 minutes to complete the survey. Visit: www.destinationtehama.wordpress.com