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WEEKEND OCTOBER 15-16, 2011 Breaking news at: Fiddle Champs Section www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Reader Photos See Page 8A Spartans Soccer SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 80/53 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 1st RB, then the world Man offers reward in hit- and-run death By BARBARA ARRIGONI MediaNews Group BIGGS — Two months after the hit-and-run death of Lassen County resident Robert Sinclair near Biggs, a relative who wants to know who is responsible has stepped forward to offer a reward. Orville Knox of Red Bluff is offering $1,000 "for information leading to the arrest and conviction" of the See REWARD, page 7A Two hurt in DUI rollover By JULIE ZEEB Courtesy photo John Jepson, center, of Merced won the Red Bluff Round-Up Chili Cook-Off in April to qualify to the World Championships in New Hampshire, where he is pictured here after taking the top prize of $25,000. By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Red Bluff Round-Up Chili Cook- Off winner John Jepson took his mean bean baking skills to the world stage earlier this month, and left a champion. Jepson, a planning director for a non-profit organization in Merced, was the winner in the Round-Up com- petition in April in Red Bluff. The win garnered Jepson a spot in the three-day 2011 World Champi- onship Chili Cook-Off that took place Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in Manchester, N.H. "The world [cook-off] is always especially exciting," Jepson said. All competitors in the world event had to qualify at a regional or state event, such as the Round-Up Chili Cook-Off, which is a regional compe- tition recognized by the International Chili Society. Jepson, the Red Bluff winner for the third year in a row, beat out 137 competitors and took the world title for the first time, winning $25,000. "I'm still kind of in shock," Jepson said. With his win, he carried the name of Red Bluff all the way to New Hampshire, said Ron Judson, a Red Bluff competitor who helped organize the Round-Up cook-off with the Red Bluff Rotary Club. "Little ol' Red Bluff got put on the map with this one," he said. Red Bluff was probably the small- DA warns of on-going scams Tehama County Dis- trict Gregg Cohen wants to get the word out to be aware of several recent scams occurring in the county. One scam, which is primarily targeting elderly residents, involves a party first using the internet to determine the names of one or more grandchil- dren of a senior who is the person being targeted. Once armed with a grandchild's name and identifying information, the scammer contacts, usually by phone, the senior citizen/grandpar- ent. The party pretends to be the grandchild of the target and asks that the grandparent send money for an immediate purpose. There are several sto- ries that have been popu- lar. "Grandma, this is Johnny, I'm in jail and I'm innocent. I need money so that I can make bail to get out of jail." Another scam, "Grandpa, this is Betty Joe, I've been in a terrible accident and I need to hire an attorney or I need to get my car out of the tow yard I need money right away" If the senior citizen tar- get of the scam asks to speak to a jail representa- tive or the attorney or the tow yard operator the scammer simply hands the phone to another per- son who acts as if they are with the Sheriff's Office or who poses as the attor- ney or tow yard operator. The calls are typically made from a blocked number. Another recently reported scam involves a person posing as a sales- man for an alarm compa- ny. The reporting party stated that he watched a man go door to door down his block. Upon arriving at the reporting party's house the "salesman" had a sin- gle brochure in his hand claiming that he was from ADT. The salesman asked the homeowner about the need for an alarm. The reporting party asked to see either identification or a business card and some material about the alarm and the service to be pro- vided. The salesman said that the deal he was able to sell expired soon and that he didn't have any litera- ture to leave behind. Feel- ing leery, the reporting party said thank you and closed the door. "This was the right thing to do", Cohen said. "Remember the old say- ing — if it's too good to be true, it probably is. Also be aware of the hurry ups. Hurry up, you're 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See SCAMS, page 7A est town there but still came out a win- ner, Judson said. The event was the 45th anniversary of the World Championship Chili Cook-Off. All proceeds benefit select- ed charities. "I never thought I'd win it really," Jepson said. His chili was well-balanced, he said. It had no odd flavors and the meat was perfect and tender. "There was also a little bit of luck there," he said. Because of his title, he won't be able to compete for a year, he said. But he will be back to defend his title at the 2012 World Championship Chili Cook-Off planned for Charleston, W. See WORLD, page 7A DN Staff Writer Two people were injured, including man thrown from the vehicle, in a suspected DUI- caused rollover at 11:55 p.m. Thursday on Rawson Road, south of Chard Avenue, in the El Camino area near Gerber. Driver Benjamin Hodges, 24, of Corning was flown to Enloe Med- ical Center in Chico with major injuries and his pas- senger Mariah Brown, 18, of Corning was taken to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital with moderate injuries. Hodges was driving north on Rawson Road about 100 mph when due to his level of intoxication he allowed his vehicle to drift off the road, said California Highway Patrol Officer Phillip Mackintosh. Hodges turned the 1992 Nissan Maxima back toward the road and lost control of the vehicle before it went west where it hit a ditch and over- turned several times, Mackintosh said. Hodges, who was not wearing his seat belt was thrown from the Toyota Maxima while Brown, who was wearing her seat belt, was not, he said. CHP arrived after the crash, Mackintosh said. Hodges was arrested on suspicion of DUI and released to Enloe for treatment. The Maxima had major damage. Cal Fire, Tehama County Fire and St. Eliza- beth's Ambulance responded to assist CHP. Youth, firefighters reap proceeds of benefit By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Donations raised in May in memory of a Tehama County boy, were formally donated to two local groups earlier this month at a Board of Supervisors meeting. The third annual Ron- nie Lee King Memorial Ride, May 21, was a one- day fundraising trek that took participants through the Manton area, starting and ending at the Tehama District Fairground. It began as a way to remember 15-year-old Ronnie King who died from a massive seizure in 2008 and continues to honor the firefighters and rescue personnel who helped him during his life. A teary-eyed Jeannie Garton, the wife of Super- visor Dennis Garton and grandmother of Ronnie King, presented checks totalling $1,500 to the Antelope Volunteer Fire Department and the Sher- iff's Department Explorer Post No. 120. "We know they use the money to benefit the areas we all live in," she said. She was joined by Ronnie King's mother, Shelley McCullough, and Terry Owens, the presi- dent of the Lassen Riders Gold Wing Touring Asso- ciation, who helped orga- nize the memorial fundraiser. Organizers chose the two particular organiza- tions in part because they are things that were important to Ronnie, said people who helped Ron- nie and have an opportu- nity to educate people on how to respond to people with seizures, she said. The Antelope Volun- teer Fire Company was given $1,000, and the Explorer Post No. 120 was given $500. Russell Lindauer, rep- resenting the fire crew, showed appreciation for the donation. Even as budgets are tight, the donations enabled the department to buy emergency responder first aid kits for every member's vehicle, he said. "We really appreciate Jeannie Garton and all the effort she puts in to help us," Lindauer said. Jeannie Garton saw the Courtesy photos Pictured, top, Explorer Sergeant Helen Wall, Explorer Corporal Clayton Frits, Explorer Advi- sor/Deputy Chad Parker along with Sheriff Dave Hencratt accepts the generous donation from Board of Supervisor Dennis Garton, Jeannie Gar- ton, Shelley McCullough and Terry Owens. Below, Volunteer Antelope Fire Chief Russ Lin- dauer and Assistant Volunteer Antelope Fire Chief Aaron Johnson accept a $1000 donation from Jeannie Garton and Shelley McCullough. Jeannie Garton. The firefighters held a special place in their hearts because they responded every time that Ronnie had a seizure, she said. He had a chronic seizure disorder that ulti- mately took his life. Through this event, they could give back to first aid kits put to use when a man was having a heart attack in a shop near the Garton's embroidery store and was filled with mixed emotions, she said. She felt sad that Ron- nie had to die to give momentum to help the fire department, but she felt honored that his See YOUTH, page 7A offering vintage biplane rides in a 1929 New Standard at the Red Bluff airport Open Cockpit Biplane rides Historic Barnstormer at 760-641-7335 or email at info@nostaglicwarbirdrides.com Rides are $65/pp and can carry up to 4 Contact Mike for more info Fri. & Sat., Oct. 14 & 15