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Wednesday, October 5, 2011 – Daily News 7A Death Notices Teresa Marie Salinas- Enaney Teresa Marie Salinas-Enaney died Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011, at her residence in Red Bluff. She was 47. Red Bluff Simple Cremations and Burial Service is handling the arrangements. Published Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Geneva Winchester Geneva Winchester died Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, in Cottonwood. She was 86. Affordable Mortuary is han- dling the arrangements. Published Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. JOB Continued from page 1A Tehama County CalWorks job seekers become work- ready. Workshops include the Achieve Program, budgeting, personal responsibility and behav- ior, computer skills train- ing and stress manage- ment and will be expand- STORM Continued from page 1A Johnnie Powell, a weather service meteorologist in Sacramento, said the rain could lead to ''nuisance flood- ing'' on city streets from the San Francisco Bay area eastward but the storm does not pose a risk of more severe flooding. ''It's not getting into anyone's houses,'' he said. Chain controls are likely for travelers crossing the Sierra Nevada late Tuesday and into Wednesday. The California Highway Patrol also is trying to alert motorists with highway signs to the possibility of slick roads from the first significant rain of the season. ''First and foremost, we want people to slow down,'' said CHP spokesman Adrian Quintero. Rochelle Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation, said Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50, the two major throughways through the mountains, collectively cover about 132 miles of snow territory and they never close for snowfall. ''We close for zero visibility and accidents,'' she said. In Southern California, light showers were falling Tuesday and forecasters expected periods of steady rain Wednesday morning. ed throughout the year. Community members may attend workshops and use the computer resource room if space permits. The center is open Monday through Thurs- day and most Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call Sandy Foster at the Department of Social Ser- vices for more informa- tion: 527-1911. AB 109 Continued from page 1A administrators and other law enforcement to help the transition go smoothly. Optimistic about the future, Hencratt is "pretty confident" that the county will fare well during the transition, he said. The changes will take many years to see results however, he said. Mean- while, with more responsi- bility on the local jail, the county will have to hire more corrections officers and get creative to accom- modate more prisoners than they already do. The jail averages about 190 to 200 people housed per day. That is the functioning capacity of the jail, which could technically house 227 people. The jail is not currently staffed to house more than 191 and the "extra" beds are a cushion needed to do in-house population con- trol, or space to allow quick movement of inmates when conflicts arise between rival gangs or other groups, Hencratt said. More inmates, for a longer period of time, will increase conflict and ten- sion between inmates. And, right now, the jail couldn't hold too many more prisoners either. The costs of incarcera- tion are only going to go up for the county with AB109, Hencratt said. The costs of incarceration, apprehension, gathering evidence, probation and rehabilitation and re-entry into society will all see increases with more cases being handled and sen- tenced locally. Under his new adminis- tration, Hencratt is heavily invested in finding options and alternatives to incar- ceration for those he believes can still be helped to turn their lives around, he said. His plan after taking office in January began with a restructuring of the sheriff's department and establishing a solid bud- get, he said. Part three of Hencratt's plan, a big part of his cam- paign promises, is right in line with realignment pro- posals — to ramp up the work release programs. He has already put some programs in place, he said. There have been about seven people who have been successfully working at the sheriff's department doing janitori- al work, washing vehicles and various other tasks while they either remained incarcerated or went home each evening. The idea is that punish- ment can be a tool to affect change, Hencratt said. Some can learn their lessons and move on to a more productive lifestyle and maybe they can pick up a few job skills along the way. Some in the county believe differently. A concerned citizen and local volunteer with programs such as Neigh- borhood Watch in Lake California attended one of the Community Correc- tions Partnership meetings (see part three of this series) in September. Work has to be part of the punishment or taxpay- ers will resist any new pro- gram with alternative sen- tencing, she said. Prisoners should pay for what they get and have limited medical care, she said. The realignment leg- islation is going to back- fire. "We'll pay for this for the rest of our lives," she said. "This is an injustice to everyone who lives in California." New Calif law broadly defines crimes SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown and others who supported the dramatic shift in California's sen- tencing law that took effect this week have said it will send only those con- victed of nonviolent or non-serious crimes to county jails instead of state prison, a change designed to save the state money and reduce inmate crowd- ing. Yet a review by The Associated Press of crimes that qualify for local sentences shows at least two dozen offenses shifting to local control that can be considered serious or violent. Among them: Involuntary manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, killing or injuring a police officer while resisting arrest, participating in a lynching, possession of weapons of mass destruction, pos- sessing explosives, threatening a wit- ness or juror, and using arson or explo- sives to terrorize a health facility or church. Assault, battery, statutory rape and sexual exploitation by doctors or psychotherapists are also covered by the prison realignment law and carry sentences that will be served in a coun- ty jail instead of state prison. ''These crimes include a variety of offenses that would strike many civil- ians as far from trivial,'' Public Policy Institute of California researcher Dean Misczynski wrote in a recent analysis of the new law. A list of 500 criminal code sections to be covered by the law was compiled by the California District Attorneys Association and posted late last month to its website. In response to a request by the AP, the state attorney general's office confirmed the Judges also have the discretion to impose ''hybrid'' or ''split sentences'' in which offenders serve part of their sentence in county jail and the rest on what is being called ''mandatory supervision,'' overseen by probation officers. Offenders convicted of more signif- icant crimes still are likely to get lengthier sentences, even if they are served in jail instead of prison, said Scott Thorpe, chief executive officer of the state district attorneys association. But sentencing more serious offenders to jail rather than state prison will like- ly force counties that already have crowded jails to release less serious offenders who are serving time for crimes such as auto theft, burglary, grand theft, forgery, counterfeiting and drug crimes. Los Angeles County District Attor- ney Steve Cooley is among those com- plaining that counties will be forced to release lower-level offenders by the thousands before they have served their full terms. ''Many serious criminals sentenced to lengthy state prison sentences will still be required to be housed locally. Such sentenced prisoners will take up beds for longer periods of time and, cumulatively, will substantially decrease available bed space,'' Cooley wrote in a letter made public last month. ''Realignment casts too wide a net in defining 'low level offenses,''' he added. association's review was accurate but said defen- dants with a previous felony convic- tion or those charged with enhance- ments would still be sent to state prison. Among those who could be affect- ed by the new law if convicted is Dr. Conrad Murray, who is on trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Legal experts said he would serve his maximum four- year sentence in a Los Angeles Coun- ty jail instead of state prison. The length of sentences won't nec- essarily change, but the realignment law does offer significant differences for inmates. Parole will disappear for offenders who serve their terms in county jails, including Murray, if he is convicted. Offenders who serve their full sen- tences behind bars will not be super- vised once they are released. Parole officers will not be tracking their movements or making sure they com- ply with conditions such as substance abuse treatment. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said he plans to remove 150 offi- cers from patrol and other assignments to deal with the state's prison realign- ment plan. He and Mayor Antonio Vil- laraigosa on Monday warned that the new law threatens to reverse the falling crime rates Los Angeles has seen over the last decade. Deputy state Attorney General Dar- ren K. Indermill said defendants would still go to state prison, no matter the nature of their conviction, if they have serious or violent criminal records, if they must register as sex offenders, or if they are convicted of certain aggravating circumstances in white collar crimes. Lawmakers and Brown had to move some serious crime categories to county jurisdiction to get the financial savings needed to help the state's bud- get, said Thorpe, of the district attor- neys' association. They also needed to include more crimes to reduce crowding in state prisons under a federal court order to improve inmate medical care, recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court has given the state two years to remove about 33,000 inmates from its 33 adult prisons. When he signed the realignment bill in April, Brown said California ''will continue to incarcerate offenders who commit serious, violent, or sexu- al crimes; but counties will supervise, imprison and rehabilitate lower-level offenders.'' Last week, Brown said the alterna- tive to the realignment law would be early releases for state inmates to meet the federal deadline. ''The most serious we lock up in prison,'' he said on the eve of the law taking effect. ''The less serious, although quite troublesome, we handle at the local level.'' Republican lawmakers who have been critical of the realignment law reacted harshly to the list of more seri- ous crimes that will be handled locally rather than by state prisons. Assemblyman Jim Nielsen called it ''an alarming list of folks who are low- level offenders.... The penal code obvi- ously needs to be changed.'' Nielsen, a former California parole board chairman, predicted that law- makers will move some of the crimes off the list of lower-level offenses only after problems arise from the realign- ment law. ''I think the time will be right, unfortunately and despicably, after a few more victims,'' he said. ''Then the public will be mad.'' State Sen. Sharon Runner called the new law a social experiment with potentially dangerous consequences. ''Crimes like killing a person while driving drunk and felony child abuse are not minor crimes,'' she said in a statement responding to the AP's story. Many law enforcement officials have defended the new law, saying it is important to look at the underlying facts of a case before passing judg- ment on its seriousness. Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin, president of the California State Sheriffs' Association, said involuntary manslaughter is among the crimes that should be punished at the local level. The death could have occurred in a crime of passion or heat of the moment, he said, as opposed to some- one charged in serial killing or gang killings. ''Then you go back to vehicular manslaughter: Was it a crime in which there was an unfortunate incident with a DUI? The person made a one-time mistake?'' Pazin said. ''Does that mean we incarcerate that person forev- er?'' Pazin and others also argue that counties will offer better drug, alcohol, counseling and rehabilitation pro- grams. Agreeing in part, pro- bation director Richard Muench is preparing for about 40 new cases on probation by the end of the year. "Jail time has to mean something," he said. There can't be a revolv- ing door, he said. Currently, the probation department has more than 50 employees, eight administration workers, eight adult probation offi- cers, eight or nine juvenile probation officers and 21 employees at the juvenile detention center. The department moni- tors currently about 520 felons on probation in Tehama County, Muench said. Among those, there are three levels of risk from low to high. The estimated 154 new cases being sent to the county by the end of two years will be in addition to the current numbers, he said. The group, called post-release community supervision, will put a potential strain on the department. Muench is working on a plan to ask the county to support at least two more deputy probation officers by Dec. 1, he said. Red Bluff Police Chief Paul Nanfito is concerned about more crime coming into the county. Recidivism and more probation cases coming in means more crime in the community, he said during one of the meetings. He supports hiring more city police officers to accom- modate the realignment. In the health services field, there will also be effects. "There's definitely going to be an impact to service levels," said Health Services Director Valerie Lucero. Currently, she has nurs- ing hours dedicated to the jail, she said. In addition, many of the people on probation in the communi- ty often have mental, physical or other health problems such as addic- tion to alcohol or drugs, or live in an unhealthy family situation that has needs for other county services. With an increase in jail populations that serve longer sentences locally, it could mean needing to hire more health profes- sionals, she said. More severe health problems on short term sentences are treated differently than if the person would spend years there. "Fortunately, the thing about Tehama County, and it's not like this every- where, is we work togeth- er," Lucero said. "We are all used to having to do more with less." Until all the funds are distributed from the state and all the details are decided on, it will be diffi- cult to know what will be needed in health services, she said. She plans to con- tinue to provide the most services she can within the budget restrictions. "If we can have an impact on recidivism, that's a good thing," she said. In addition to the 11 new probationers in Octo- ber, the county expects 17 more in November, nine more in December and 16 in January. By March, there will be 74 people that would have been on parole that will now answer to probation. In the next part of this series, it will explore the actions being taken by the county's Community Cor- rections Partnership in developing a realignment plan. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, exten- sion 114 or awagner@red- bluffdailynews.com. Brown signs ban on bottles SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a pair of bills intended to protect children from harmful chemicals. The governor on Tuesday announced he had signed AB1319 banning the chemical bisphenol A — commonly known as BPA — from plastic baby bottles or cups. The bill by Democratic Assemblywoman Betsy Butler of Marina del Rey is intended to reduce children's exposure to a chem- ical that studies have shown can be harmful to their devel- opment. Supporters say BPA can leach into a child's milk or food from plastic containers. Opponents say the measure could expose companies to lawsuits if traces of the chemical are found in their products. Brown also signed SB646 by Democratic Sen. Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills. The bill closes a loophole in Cali- fornia's ban on lead and cadmium jewelry. THE PASSING PARADE The Round-Up Saloon opened a week ago with Russ "Tex" Frey as proprietor. The place is done up proper with a western motive and an old bar…the bar being originally in Steve Meline's bar up the street. The bar is long enough to seat all the Owens boys shoulder to shoulder. The Saloon is situated on the northwest corner of the busy intersection of Main and Oak where the L & M Café was once located, before that the Senator Café…and before that Aunt Jen Crocker's eatery. Anyhow, it has been a good location for many enterprises (Ed: Currently ReMax ) and should do well even without a hard liquor license. I understand that beer and wine still draw a crowd. I was thinking of stepping up to the bar and ordering a Sarsaparilla, but would probably get laughed out of the joint…and besides, mother might see me in there and get the wrong idea. Mr. Frey is not your typical Irish barkeep. It is safe to say he is not even of Irish extraction. But the necessary attributes of a good conversationalist and a patient listener sit well with him. He likes to discourse at length on how the world in general and the U.S. in particular is going to hell in a hand basket…said hand basket being made in Communist Russia, he being a card carrying member of the John Birch Society The disconcerting thing about Mr. Frey however, is that he keeps an impish grin at all times and even chuckles, from time to time, over the duplicities and stupidities of the happy-go-lucky-devil-may-care American public. He has been (and continues to be) a life- long friend who endured, at an early age, being reared by a stern but caring doctor father. Russ could have also been a doctor or any other profession he set his mind to, but has been content to be a small town politician and enjoying the companionship of his peers. He has one asset necessary to be a successful office holder today, and that is a full head of hair, once described as "an obscene head of hair" by those less endowed. R. Frey bears watching. He may run for and sit on the City Council or Board of Supervisors some day (he did both) …but best you watch him over a tall cool one. Order a Sarsaparilla for me. ** * * *** Speaking of hair, two young gentlemen currently employed at our meat plant, because of their longish hair style, are required to wear hair nets. One affects a rather striking pony tail coiffure while the other seems content with a schoolmarm type bun. Both fellows have succeeded in catching the attention of the entire kill floor…and, at this writing, are both still maintaining their sense of humor in the face of very off color remarks by the rest of the crew. The Passing Parade is brought to you by by Minch Property Management, 760 Main Street specializing in commercial leasing and sales. 530 527 5514 (From a July 1972 I Say column) Robert Minch