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WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 10-11, 2011 Breaking news at: Born on Sept. 11 USA Weekend www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Tillman's Legacy SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 101/62 Weather forecast 8B DAILYNEWS 10 years ago... 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 Local security boost By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer In the aftermath of 9/11, a tide of patriotism pushed fed- eral authorities to establish Homeland Security and changed military and law enforcement for many years. County Supervisor Dennis Garton, who was the Undersh- eriff at the time of 9/11, remembered watching the news at 6 a.m. when the sta- tion flashed the first images of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. "I knew that day was not going to be good," he said. Garton and former Sheriff Clay Parker were at the helm as the department tried to fig- ure out how to respond locally. "We didn't know what was coming to California at that time," Garton said. "So we were all on alert, all on pins and needles." With Interstate 5 and the railroad tracks crisscrossing the county, deputies had to be aware of the potential threat to the main veins of transporta- tion and commerce, should they be attacked, he said. After 9/11, individuals became a focus, Garton said. "It changed the way we looked at people," he said. Law enforcement had to be trained on how to respond and what to look for to decide if someone was out to just hurt themselves or to hurt a lot of people, he said. There was also an effort to protect people of Middle Eastern or Asian descent within the community who could have became tar- gets after 9/11. In the military, security was heightened. Redding Army recruiter Sgt. Chris King was at a Naval air station in Fallon, Nev., dur- ing the events of Sept. 11. "I was in a state of disbe- lief, just like everyone else," King said. See BOOST, page 7A Photo courtesy of Chris Sharp Tehama County Deputy Coroners Chris Sharp and Kurt Lampe were called to help in the aftermath of Sept. 11 events in New York City. County coroner recalls Ground Zero missions By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer When the events of Sept. 11, 2001 were unfolding 3,000-plus miles away, Tehama County Deputy Coro- ner Chris Sharp was at home, getting ready for work. He flipped on the television for his children and headed to the shower. His wife was working out of town. Then, his 7-year-old son came and got him and told him no cartoons were on TV. That is when he found out 9/11 impact still felt a decade later WASHINGTON (AP) — A decade later, what happened on Sept. 11 still resonates for much of the country. Even more Amer- icans now say the horror of that day changed their lives. A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in Chicago finds that more Americans today say Sept. 11 had an impact on their lives than said so five years ago — 57 percent compared with 50 percent in 2006. As the nation prepares to mark the 10th anniver- sary of that haunting day, the chilling events that unfolded in New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pa., still evoke a stir of emotions for everyday Americans — from anger and shock at so many innocent lives lost to patriotism and pride in the heroes who emerged on hijacked planes and in the rubble of fallen sky- scrapers and a shattered Pentagon. Ten years later, we are a nation changed — moving on, but still changed. Lisa Schmidt, 48, of Vancouver, Wash., thinks about Sept. 11 ''just about every day'' and almost every time she sees a plane. ''The intensity of think- ing about it, and con- fronting the thought of it, still is very uncomfortable and I didn't know anyone who was killed or injured,'' said Schmidt, owner of a marketing com- pany. ''It was a defining moment for how Ameri- 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See IMPACT, page 7A that the U.S. had been attacked. Nine days later, Sharp and his longtime friend and co-worker Kurt Lampe were on a plane to New York City to help. Sharp and Lampe were part of the Federal Disaster Response Team and on call to help identify and take care of bodies that were found in the rubble. The task at hand, to find nearly 3,000 people scat- tered throughout a couple city blocks, was harder than anyone thought, Sharp said. "You couldn't comprehend how big it was," he said. Describing ground zero as like a giant candle, the rubble piled down the sides like melted wax, he said. However, what hit Sharp the most was the level of security he saw there, he said. See ZERO, page 7A Where were you? By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer For Kathy Presley the terror- ist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 hit very close to home despite the fact that she was living in Red Bluff at the time. A first and second grade teacher at Reeds Creek School, Presley is a Pennsylvania native and still has family there, including a nephew who worked for the Washington D.C. Chamber of Commerce. "My kids were eight and 12 and when my son saw the build- ing fall down he cried," Presley said. "It looked like demolition." She remembers well coming to school and everyone being so upset. "I was scared to death, but I had to comfort the children," Presley said. In the days following the attack, Presley had her students draw pictures and write a few sentences about the event. Everything from planes crashing into the Twin Towers to people running from the building along with the mes- sages written below were put into a book she now has in her classroom. Messages range from fear of an attack locally or at least on the west coast to "I miss them very much." "I was surprised by that one," Presley said. "They were people they didn't know, but they still felt the loss." Presley's husband was work- ing selling boats and she remembers him telling her peo- ple buying boats were required to get an FBI background check because of fears of an attack on Shasta Dam, she said. Jessie Woods, who owns the Gold Exchange on Walnut Street in Red Bluff, remembers the day well, mostly the shock of it all. "It was just such a sad, sad See WHERE, page 7A School thanks those who answer the call By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Reeds Creek School stu- dents took time out of their morning Friday to remem- ber those lost Sept. 11, 2001, and to thank local heroes who put their lives on the line to keep Tehama County safe. "It started out as I asked the school about as a small idea with doing posters in our class," said first and sec- ond grade teacher Kathy Presley. "In honor of those who were lost, we're honor- ing the local heroes." Ron Fortenberry of Red Bluff led the crowd in a moment of silence for the fallen, reminding students that firefighters and law enforcement have a danger- ous job. "They can get a call and not come back," Fortenber- ry said before leading the moment of silence. "On Sept. 11, some of the men and women got a phone call. Think about all the Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Reeds Creek Eighth Grader Tessa Hyde gives Tehama County Sheriff Dave Hencratt a poster of thanks Friday at a ceremony to remember Sept. 11 and honor local law enforcement and firefighters. moms and dads who didn't come home because they were doing their jobs to pro- tect people." Similarly, local law enforcement, firefighters and military put their lives on the line for Tehama County residents every day, he said. Air Force Lt. Col. Kim Rowe, Tehama County Sheriff Dave Hencratt and CalFire captains Dan White and Tom Stroing along, with several engineers and firefighters from the Red Bank CalFire Station were on hand to receive posters and words of thanks from students. "When it happened I See CALL, page 7A