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FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Special insert RED BLUFF Sports 1B Weather forecast 10A Mostly sunny 82/54 By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Within weeks of Assembly Bill 109 taking effect in Califor- nia, the Tehama County Jail is already busting at the seams, to the surprise of local administra- tors. Sheriff Dave Hencratt told the Community Corrections Partnership, or CCP, last Thurs- day that already six new low- level offenders that previously would have been sent to prison, or "non-non-nons," have been sentenced to the jail. The jail is already at its func- tioning capacity, between 189 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 Jail reaches capacity after AB 109 and 194 people per day this week. Too many more sen- tenced inmates will push the jail to its maximum bed capacity of 227. They didn't expect to be scrambling for space so soon, Hencratt said. In response, he asked the partnership to put the hiring of four new corrections officers on the high priority list for AB109 funding. "It's against my nature, but we need to go with four now," Hencratt said. Four more correctional offi- cers would fully staff the jail, he said. The committee is looking to get approval for the sheriff to "Times of change like this make legislation that was unheard of five years ago conceivable." — Assistant Tehama County Counsel Arthur Wylene hire the new officers by Nov. 1. As for the parolees being released into county probation, the county has already received five, said Chief Probation Offi- cer Richard Muench. Of those five, two are home- less, one is deemed potentially dangerous with mental health conditions and some of them have drug or alcohol problems, Muench said. Two of the five are women. Muench has already assigned officers to the new cases in his department, but to prepare for more, he has requested to hire two new deputy probation officers by Dec. 1. In addition to the six posi- tions to be filled, the partner- ship also plans to ask for an administrative assistant and a Drop in the bucket sergeant position for the sher- iff's office. With the influx of inmates and planning for incarceration alternatives such as the pro- posed work farm, Hencratt real- ized within the last week that he needed help, he said. The new sergeant and administrative assistant will be focused directly on the AB109 See JAIL, page 9A Suicide attempted inside county jail A 19-year-old man was saved from a reported attempted suicide Wednesday inside his cell at the Tehama County jail. A correctional officer was doing a security check at about 12:30 p.m. and found the inmate hanging from a bunk bed by a sheet he had fashioned into a rope, said Jail Captain Danny Rabalais. It appears that he had tied the sheet to the bunk and around his neck, Rabalais said. The officer called for help, and staff were able to remove the man from the makeshift noose, Rabalais said. Officers began life saving measures and continued until medical per- sonnel arrived. The man was taken to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital where he was evaluated and cleared to return to the jail. At the time of the attempted suicide, the inmate was alone in a cell, Rabalais said. Three other inmates who share the cell were, at the time, locked in a separate area. The 19-year-old was arrested in September on charges of attempted murder and participating in a street gang. Mental health officials and medical staff are monitoring the inmate closely, Rabalais said. -Andrea Wagner Almost a ton of walnuts reported stolen from trailer About 1,500 pounds of English walnuts were reported Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Mary Jayne Eidman donates a $1,000 check as a "drop in the bucket" toward helping the Tehama District Fair face the state's elimination of funding. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer While Tentative numbers showed in increase in attendance for for the 2011 Tehama District Fair, Mary Jayne Eidman issued a challenge for the coming year at Tuesday's Fairboard meeting. Eidman, representing the Tehama Trails Marketplace, pre- sented the board with a $1,000 check, which she ceremoniously put in a bucket and handed to Fair- board President Bob Kerstiens, Jr. "This is just a drop in the bucket (toward next year)," Eidman said. "I challenge others to contribute. If we can fill the bucket it can go a long way toward next year." The Tehama District Fair is los- ing state funding, which at about $200,000 is roughly 25 percent of its budget. "We would like to thank the board for allowing us to be at fair and hope you found it an important part of the program," Eidman said. "We think the community did." Eidman said the marketplace was very successful thanks to gen- erous sponsors such as Rolling Hills, Crain Walnuts, Andersen and Son and Halekala. Lucero Olive Oil and Bianchi Orchards helped with expenses for the educational component about Tehama County's No. 1 commodi- ty, walnuts, while the Tehama County Farm Bureau did all the research for it, she said. Overall, the fair was very suc- cessful despite minor problems including a transformer that blew about 9:30 p.m. Friday and a little rain early Sunday. "It blew because it was just old and wore out," Fair CEO Mark Eid- man said. "We were back up and running by about 5 a.m. Saturday." Costs already are at about $13,400 and may be between $20,000 and $25,000 before every- thing is in, however, things were up as quickly as they were because of help from the community. "It's definitely nice to live in a small community," Eidman said. "Bub Ragan put us in touch with Bruce Geveden of Geveden Indus- trial and he came right out." Eidman said he saw the lights going out in sections about the time his maintenance personnel discov- ered the smoking transformer had blown. He is also grateful for the carni- val workers from Paul Mauer Shows who immediately turned off their rides and got lights working off a generator to help people see as they were leaving. Despite a few hiccups and See DROP, page 9A stolen Wednesday from a ranch in the 13000 block of High- way 99E. Tyler Christensen, 35, of Red Bluff requested extra patrol in the area during the night, after reporting that someone had taken a trailer full of walnuts sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday, sheriff's deputies said. Although the trailer was later found on Tuscan Springs Road, the walnuts were gone, deputies said. The 1,500 pounds of walnuts were valued at $3,000, deputies said. So far there are no suspects, but the investigation is ongo- ing. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Tehama County Sheriff's Department at 529- 7900. Fairboard joins defense agreement By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Tehama District Fairboard voted Tuesday to join a joint defense agreement regarding its solar energy system. The fairground is one of 17 in the state to have a solar sys- tem purchased through a loan through the California Con- struction Authority (CCA), which previously oversaw improvement projects for fairs. The systems were supposed to be financed by a Clean and Renewable Energy Bond, but they were unable to sell the bonds, said Shasta District Fair CEO Chris Workman. Workman, whose board has approved Shasta District Fair joining the Joint Defense Agreement, spoke at Tuesday's See FAIR, page 9A officers have asked other law enforcement agencies for help to look for a group of peo- ple reportedly involved in passing counterfeit bills late Tuesday. The group of sus- pects were first seen at about 10:40 p.m. when Dinner party paying with counterfeit bills MOULE'S Red Bluff Police they reportedly passed a fake $20 bill at Jack in the Box restaurant. Just after midnight, early Wednesday, the group was reported paying for a meal at Shari's restaurant with a fake $100 bill. Five suspects were involved, described as three men and two women. The first suspect, who is said to have passed the artificial 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 bills, is a clean shaven, white man in his 50s with short gray hair and dark eyes, weighing about 180 pounds and about 5 feet 5 inches tall. The second suspect is described as a white man in his 20s with short blonde hair and dark eyes. He is rough- ly 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds. The female suspect is described as Hispan- ic, in her 20s and about 5 feet 7 inches tall. She was wearing a pink jog- ging suit with pink boots. The suspects were seen leaving both restaurants in a dark colored or red four- door, possibly a Honda, said Detective the Red Bluff Police Department at 527- SKILLS CLASS Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011 COMPUTER Brett McAllister. Anyone with infor- mation about the sus- pects is asked to call 9:30 am – Noon Job Training Center 718 Main St., Red Bluff $49.00 per person Call 529-7000 BASIC TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS for Fireplace Glass 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260 3131. -Andrea Wagner Tehama The Magazine Vista Winners