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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Oh, Snap! Reader Photos See 4B RED BLUFF World champ Sports 1B Sunny 72/45 Weather forecast 8B By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer County supervisors backed up their 2010 medical marijuana ordi- nance Tuesday to keep pot gardens away from schools after hearing one woman's plea to keep her crop. Janneen Blandino, 56, appealed a Sept. 28 notice of abatement that ordered her to uproot her medical marijuana plants because they are about 550 feet from Berrendos Middle School. Disabled since 2000, Blandino uses the marijuana to treat constant pain from injuries to her back and neck, she said. She stopped using 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 County stays course on marijuana ordinance prescription pills and started grow- ing medicinal marijuana in 2006. Although she had known the county had passed a marijuana ordinance, she didn't know that she was in violation of it, Blandino said. She had obtained doctor's rec- ommendations from a Redding clinic every year and even had county law enforcement come inspect her home more than once, she said. "I've never had to do this," she told the board. "I asked a lot of people around there and they don't think it's a nuisance." Blandino's appeal is the first for "She's a nice lady. But it is a nuisance. Maybe it does help. I don't know, but it's way too close to the school." —Sheriff's Lt. Dave Greer the new ordinance. She is the only marijuana grower that responded to several abatement notices that were served in other areas of the county in late September. The law now forbids anyone to grow marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school and Berrendos Middle School's parking lot entrance is visible from Blandino's driveway. Sheriff's Lt. Dave Greer stepped forward during the appeal hearing Tuesday afternoon as a resident of Blandino's neighbor- hood. "I'm absolutely opposed to her growing marijuana on that proper- ty," Greer said. The property is also very close to a church and a high school bus stop, he said. People have been bothered, but didn't say anything Let's twist again to her. "People are just trying to be neighborly," he said. The board also heard com- ments from Antelope Elementary School District Superintendent Todd Brose, medical marijuana activist John Prinz and Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Garrett. Brose supported abatement See COUNTY, page 7A Tehama unemployment above state average By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Tehama County was at 14.4 percent unemploy- ment for September, according to numbers released by the Employment Development Department on Friday. That puts Tehama County just above the state unemployment, which sits at 11.4 percent for Sep- tember, a drop of 0.5 percent from the 11.9 percent in August. The US unemployment rate is nearly half of Tehama County's, sitting at 8.8 percent, a 0.3 per- cent drop from the 9.1 percent given for August. Glenn County is the closest to Tehama County's rate with a 14.3 percent unemployment rate while Shasta sits at 13.5 percent unemployment. Butte County, at 12.7 percent unemployment, is the lowest of the neighboring counties. The five highest unemployment rates are found in Imperial County, 29.6 percent; Yuba County, 18.1 percent; Alpine County, 16.5 percent; Trinity County, 16.1 percent; and Merced County, 16 per- cent. The five lowest, all below the US rate, are: Marin County, 7.4 percent; San Mateo County, 8 percent; San Francisco County, 8.3 percent; Napa County, 8.5 percent; and Santa Barbara County, 8.6 percent. The farming industry saw the greatest change with a 22.5 percent increase in jobs for the month of September, however, it had a 2.6 percent drop for the year. Daily News photo by Tang Lor Red Bluff Union High School students bedecked in neon colors, the Homecoming Week dress-up theme of the day, play Twister during lunch. Homecoming festivities continue today with the dress-up theme as Super Hero or Villain Day and the lunch time activity being the Queen Auction.The Homecoming Parade will start at approximately 3:30 p.m., Friday and will go through downtown and back to campus. Mining and logging had the greatest drop for the month with a 12.5 percent decrease, however, there was no change for the year. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Exercise prepares community for emergency Health care and public safety employees recently merged for a "Tabletop Exercise" to prepare for emergency water service interruptions. Participants looked at the potential impacts to the community and its services without the inability to pro- vide basic water. The group met for the four-hour training Oct. 12, at the CalFire headquarters in Red Bluff. The California Depart- ment of Public Health and the Emergency Medical Ser- vices Authority in collabora- tion with the California Hos- pital Association, California Association of Health Facil- ities, California Primary Care Association and the California Emergency Man- agement Agency participat- ed in the 2011 California Statewide Medical and Health Tabletop Exercise. Response partners repre- senting local health depart- ments, public safety, health care facilities and city and county agencies were included in the training. The exercise was a dis- ruption in the public water service that can occur for a variety of reasons, such as system contamination, nat- ural disasters such as earth- quakes or flooding, power failures or a collapse in the delivery systems due to aging infrastructures. Water loss for medical and health providers are a significant concern and can further inhibit community's response to such an event. Participants discussed the situation presented, based on expert knowledge of response and procedures, current plans and proce- dures, and insights derived from the training. The purpose of the exer- cise was to provide partici- pants with the opportunity to evaluate current response concepts, plans, and capabil- ities for response to this type of disaster. In November, partici- pants will be involved with a larger-scale training in Red Bluff. Sheriff's deputies and corrections officers within the Tehama County Jail, other law enforcement and rescue workers and employ- ees at St. Elizabeth Commu- nity Hospital will be staging a mock water interruption at the two facilities, said Sher- iff's Sgt. Rod Daugherty. More information will be provided when it is avail- able. Courtesy photo Jack the Ribber SPECIAL Choice Black Angus Ribber Steak Dinner Friday, October 28 5-8 pm Red Bluff Outdoor Power 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 $ 1150 Monroe St. 527-6108 14.00 8:30am-12:30pm : $ 65 Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011 Job Training Center 718 Main St. CostRed Bluff Per person Call 529-7000 Learn Basic WORD! PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971 CHW North State Region