Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/435851
An article published Wednesday about the Red Bluff City Council's ap- pointment of a candidate to its vacant seat incor- rectly stated that coun- cil members voted 2-2 af- ter Shannon Hatfield was nominated. While council member Rob Schmid made a motion to nominate Hat- field for appointment, no council member seconded the motion and there was no vote. The Daily News re- grets the error. --- It is the policy of the Daily News to correct as quickly as possible all errors in fact that have been pub- lished in the newspaper. If you believe a factual er- ror has been made in a news story, call 527-2151, Ext. 112. Correction entity that could collect the city's sales tax. He added that the BOE indicated in an email that it may not have to charge the city the full $175,000. "They did Eureka for $16,000, as an example, and Los Angeles for $137,000," Crabtree said. "So, hope- fully we'll come in under Los Angeles and closer to Eureka." He added, "Unfortu- nately, that's the only as- surance they have given us." Red Bluff voters on Nov. 4 approved Measure D, which will raise the city's sales tax a quarter-cent. City staff es- timates the increase will bring the city an additional $700,000 per year. Voters also approved an advisory measure — Mea- sure E — that said 85 per- cent of the money should go toward police and fire ser- vices. "We really have no choice for someone to collect our sales tax. It has to be them," Crabtree said, adding that the city also could not nego- tiate agreement terms. The sales tax is scheduled to go into effect April 1, and will automatically expire af- ter six years. "Well, the voters did pass the measure," Councilman Rob Schmid said before making a motion to approve the agreements. The City Council unani- mously approved a resolu- tion to execute agreements with the BOE. Tax FROM PAGE 1 now that this courthouse will truly be constructed with," Bottke said. Administrative Direc- tor Martin Hoshino said the Judicial Council of Cal- ifornia had graded the Te- hama courthouse project as an immediate need. Despite approval of funding in 2009, the proj- ect had to overcome more judicial funding cuts and $9.7 million in cost sav- ings to reach this point, Hoshino said. Hoshino said it was im- portant to note the project is being funded primar- ily through trial court user fees as a result of Senate Bill 1407. Congressman Doug La- Malfa spoke about the need for a courthouse to be a grand building, but at the same time for the govern- ment to be prudent in con- structing one. His thoughts echoed that of Third Appellate District Court of Appeal Admin- istrative Presiding Judge Vance Raye, who spoke about his childhood mem- ories of noticing the impor- tance of a nearby federal courthouse. "I think courthouses should exude that sort of impression, that something important is going on in- side," Raye said. The new courthouse has been designed to use 17 per- cent less energy than re- quired by code, according to a Judicial Council press release. Its sustainability features include drought-tolerant landscaping, LED lighting for energy savings and ex- tensive use of recycled ma- terials. The building was de- signed by LPAS Architects and will be built by Rudolph and Sletten, Inc. Court FROM PAGE 1 that Gerber kids — includ- ing myself — got a free pres- ent from Santa and weren't left out," Munoz said. Last year, Munoz said, organizers and volunteers had 100 toys on hand, but a turnout of more than 150 children caused the event to end early. On Saturday, Munoz said organizers are ready for a bigger crowd. "Not only will Santa Claus make an appearance for photos, but a very spe- cial 'Frozen' guest as well," Munoz said. "We will have a pinata, activities for the kids, refreshments and lots of music." Munoz said the event is bolstered with help from The Salvation Army, Red Bluff Gold Exchange, Te- hama County Youth Focus, Red Bluff High School's So- ciety of Latinos Empower- ing Students club, Photos by Mary, Espinoza Rock and Toys for Tots. Others recognized are Lore Ce- dillo, Jessie Woods, Jeanie Richardson, Sonja Akers, the Munoz family and vol- unteers. The event's mission, ac- cording to the release, "is to serve the Gerber commu- nity — inclusive of all races and neighboring towns — whom many times are left forgotten." Fiesta FROM PAGE 1 Chief Administrator Bill Goodwin said he didn't mean to be blunt, but Gar- ton was grasping at straws and the reality was that the problem was not fix- able right now. Goodwin and county staff said they had consid- ered a variety of options after the Dec. 3 incident, but the property was not reachable by the machin- ery needed to fix the prob- lem. They had even consid- ered air operations, but the logistics for those ideas did not seem possible. "We don't want to give promises there will be some miracle solution, cause it's just not there," Goodwin said. The owner of the prop- erty with the berm backed those sentiments. He said he had owned the property for 15 years, spent money on the berm and raised it. "If we had a concrete wall it wouldn't have made a difference," he said. The owner apologized to the community and said he felt like some had made him into the scapegoat for what went wrong. He said those who point fingers at him and talk about law- suits, should start with God. Garton said he was among the people that had worked on flood protection problems in 1995, but since then as time went on with no problems, nothing fur- ther was done. "It jumped up and slapped us again," he said. One resident said he's been hearing the same thing from local officials for the past 50 years. "Sand bags and flood in- surance will not fix this problem," he said. Public Works Director Gary Antone spoke about a long term, but complex, solution to form a Levee District. Among the concerns that would have to be overcome are the large area needed, environmental and Army Corps permitting, cooper- ation from property own- ers, formation and collec- tion of fees. The board also directed staff to help residents deal with the cleanup efforts, asking for landfill tipping and environmental water lab fees to be waived. County staff said they had identified 83 resi- dences that suffered dam- ages, around 20 more homes had damage to a garage or outbuilding only. There were also seven com- mercial structures and three manufactured homes affected. Sheriff Dave Hencratt said his department was closing Cone Grove Park through the emergency declaration. His department con- ducted seven rescues dur- ing the most recent storm and transported 11 people to Red Cross Shelters. Hencratt said his de- partment was there to as- sist in emergency situa- tions, but made it clear they were not there to fix all of the damage done to the county. But he offered to speak to any resident who either wanted to compliment his department, complain about what they did wrong or just vent. Hencratt said despite the trying times there were no reported injuries or deaths. "Thank the lord," he said. A January meeting is being scheduled to con- nect affected residents with state and federal offi- cials and other assistance groups, similar to the one held in Manton after the 2012 wildfires. Storm FROM PAGE 1 By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Califor- nia's health care exchange has exceeded last year's insurance sign-ups dur- ing its first month of open enrollment as it nears a deadline for coverage to begin Jan. 1, Covered Cal- ifornia Executive Director Peter Lee said Wednesday. More people chose a plan in the first month than in the first two months of open enroll- ment last year. More than 144,000 residents have se- lected Covered California plans this year on the mar- ketplace, which was cre- ated as part of President Barack Obama's health care reform law. That com- pares with about 109,000 from October through No- vember 2013. The exchange is on pace to beat its goal of enrolling 1.7 million people for pri- vate health coverage next year, including re-enroll- ing 1.1 million people who signed up the first season, Lee said in a conference call with reporters. "These numbers are in- credibly strong and bode well for California," he said. More than 592,000 res- idents have been deemed eligible for private health insurance or Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor and those with lower incomes. That in- cludes more than 216,000 enrollments and nearly 75,000 deemed likely to be eligible for Medi-Cal cov- erage. Medi-Cal, which is open for enrollment year round, has enrolled more than 2.2 million consum- ers this year. More people may be signing up because they are more comfortable now with a law that "has been a little bit of a political foot- ball," said Nicole Kasabian Evans, a spokeswoman for the California Association of Health Plans, which represents health insur- ance companies. "We now have a proven track record after a year, so those who might have hesitated in year one are ready to jump in," she said. "People got their care, they could go to the doctors, they got their cov- erage. It has been deliver- ing." The exchange extended a deadline to Sunday for consumers to get new in- surance or change insur- ance plans in time for cov- erage to take effect with the new year. On Monday alone, the previous deadline, more than 25,000 people com- pleted enrollment, Lee said. The goal is to get help in particular for the more than 157,000 who completed the application process and were deemed eligible, but who must se- lect an insurance plan this week for their coverage to begin Jan. 1. The open enrollment period for the coming year continues through Feb. 15. The exchange for the first time is letting con- sumers pay their first month's premium as soon as they sign up. More than half of new sign- ups are choosing that op- tion, which Lee said avoids some of the confusion and uncertainty of last year. "Their coverage will be up and live without even having to wait for a bill," he said. Key to gauging the pro- gram's success will be the number of consumers who re-enroll, although Lee said that information won't be available until next month. Demographic break- downs also will be avail- able next month, but Lee said there has been strong interest in the Latino community. Officials are spreading the word that immigration status infor- mation gathered as part of the insurance process will be confidential, he said. OPEN ENROLLMENT Health care exchange sign- ups exceeding last year By Russell Contreras The Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Two New Mexico lawmakers have launched a new ef- fort to repeal a state law that allows immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally to obtain driver's licenses. Rep. Paul Pacheco, R-Al- buquerque, and Rep.-elect Andy Nunez, R-Hatch, made a proposal Tuesday just as Republicans were preparing to take control of the House and Gov. Su- sana Martinez is set to start a second term follow- ing her landslide re-elec- tion victory. "Providing driver's li- censes to illegal immi- grants has turned New Mexico into a magnet for criminal activity, leading to elaborate fraud rings and human trafficking," said Pacheco, a former po- lice officer. "It is a danger- ous practice that needs to be repealed once and for all." In February, a federal jury in Las Cruces con- victed a Chinese national Tuesday of 64 felonies for running a ring that helped immigrants illegally ob- tain New Mexico driver's licenses. The man was one of several people who have been prosecuted in recent years for running similar rings in New Mexico in re- cent years. Previously, similar re- peal measures have failed. Martinez has said she would sign the legislation. It's unclear if the new pro- posal will pass the Dem- ocratic-controlled Senate. Proponents of the re- peal say the law has made New Mexico vulnerable to fraud since criminal syn- dicates can come to the state and get driver's li- censes. But opponents say the law helps immigrant par- ents support their U.S.- born children and makes New Mexico a much more immigrant-friendly state. Marcela Diaz, executive director of the Santa Fe- based Somos Un Pueblo Unido, called the new re- peal efforts "anti-family" and vowed to help defeat the measure. "It's clear the Rep. Pa- checo and Rep. Nunez don't care about the thou- sands of U.S. citizen chil- dren in New Mexico whose parents need licenses to put food on their tables," Diaz said. Diaz said immigrant ad- vocates are willing to sup- port a bill closing the loop- holes that allow fraud. The move comes as Cal- ifornia prepares to issue similar driver's licenses on Jan. 2 after President Barack Obama recently announced administra- tive relief for some immi- grants in the country il- legally. Nearly 379,000 ap- pointments were made between Nov. 12 and Nov. 30 compared with roughly 176,000 during the same period a year ago, said Ar- mando Botello, a spokes- man for the California's Department of Motor Ve- hicles. California expects to re- ceive 1.4 million applica- tions for the new licenses in the first three years and has been hiring new em- ployees, adding offices and printing additional test preparation materials to help meet the expected demand. Diaz said the New Mex- ico law license is still needed since Obama's plan will only help around 40 percent of immigrants in the state. New Mexico passed its state law in 2003 allowing licenses for people in the country illegally. It was signed by Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson. First-time driver's li- censes issued to immi- grants in the country ille- gally plunged by nearly a third in the past year de- spite no change in New Mexico's policy of grant- ing driving privileges, re- cords show. According to a review of state records by The Associated Press, there was a 31 percent decline in first-time licenses is- sued to foreign nationals from 2012 and 2013. Li- censes granted during the first quarter of this year dropped by nearly a third compared to the same pe- riod last year. There's no clear ex- planation for the recent trend, although licenses have been declining since Democratic Gov. Bill Rich- ardson left office at the end of 2010. STATE LAW Ne w Me xi co i mmi gr an t license repeal effort begins DEBORAHANNHUMPHREYS June 25, 1952 ~ December 11, 2014 Debbie Humphreys passed away in San Francisco at the hospital on Thursday, December 11, 2014, in the lov- ing care of her family and close friends. Debbie was born the second of eight children to Francis Miller. She gradu- ated from Red Bluff High School and grew up in Gerber, CA. She married Tommie Humphreys on August 15,1970 in Gerber, CA. They were married for 44 years. Having lived in the community most of her life she has a huge group of family and friends. She was predeceased by her father Joe Miller and her brother Billy Miller. She is sur- vived by her husband Tommie of Gerber, her mother Francis, her four brothers: Kenny, John, Geof and Harold Miller and two sisters: Glena Miller and Kim Cordoza, her daughter Shana Card, Son In Law Tom Card, and two grandsons Ryland and Trevor, her son Shane Humphreys, Daughter In Law Lisa Humphreys and granddaughter Allie and many extended family members and close friends. Graveside services will be held on Saturday, December 20, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at Tehama Cemetery, followed by an 11:30 a.m. church service and gathering at Gerber Bi- ble Fellowship Church located at 301 Sampson Ave, Gerber CA. All family and friends are welcome to all loca- tions to celebrate her life. Obituaries We Don'tThink Cremation Should Cost So much. www.affordablemortuary.net•529-3655 FD1538 LocatedinChico,CA R ed Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service NowOffering Eco-Friendly urns at economy friendly prices. 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff, FD Lic. 1931 527-1732 THURSDAY,DECEMBER18,2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 7 A