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WEEKEND OCTOBER 29-30, 2011 Breaking news at: Healthy Kids Happy Kids USA Weekend www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Sports Wrap SPORTS 1B Weather forecast 10B Sunny 78/43 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 Golden Grads reunite 3 rescued after boat capsizes By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer CORNING — Three Paradise men were rescued from the Sacramento River by another boater when their boat hit a tree snag and capsized Thursday after- noon near Woodson Bridge. Kenton Cody, 75, and passengers, Ted Arrouzet, 70, and James McBrayer, 71, were thrown into the chilly water when the 15-foot, 2008 SeaArk jon boat they See BOAT, page 9A RB cops raise money for K9 By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Gunning for a pooch, Red Bluff Police Depart- ment supporters are hosting several community events to raise money for a police K9 unit, including a duathlon run and ride today in the Bend area. Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Mike McKenna of Sacramento greets Kay Supan-Frost of Rancho Cordova at their 50th reunion.The two were a part of the golden grads group from the Red Bluff Union High School class of 1961 who toured the school Friday afternoon. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Golden Grads of Red Bluff Union High School from the class of 1961 returned to the school Fri- day for a chance to catch up with each other while taking a tour of the school. "This is all so different," said Leslie Coffman. "The main building when we were here was an old building. I think it was built in 1916. It had a big stair case and pillars like the old courthouse." Ted Walker and Tom Mealer were both football players when they attended Red Bluff High and they remember their team was unde- feated their junior year and only lost one game, to Chico for the champi- onship, in their senior year. "A lot more of the alumni came to our games," Walker said. "Now they got the visitors next to us in the bleachers. You can't yell and holler when they're next to you. They need bleachers for visitors." Both men said they are disap- pointed the team has not been win- Corning woman sentenced for embezzlement By BARBARA ARRIGONI MediaNews Group OROVILLE — A Butte County judge ordered a Corning woman to serve three years in "Butte Coun- ty prison" for embezzling nearly $55,000 from a law firm. Judge Robert A. Glus- man imposed the sentence at a hearing Wednesday morning in Butte County Superior Court. Teresa Joan Mitchell, 49, of Corning, pleaded no con- test Aug. 31 to a charge of grand theft for embezzling $54,980 from her employer, the law firm Stewart, Humphreys, Molin and Griffith in Chico. The thefts occurred between May 2008 and February 2010. The theft was discovered in late win- ter or early spring of 2010 and police report was filed in December 2010, accord- ing to the District Attorney's Office. Opening the hearing Wednesday, Glusman men- tioned another $15,000 is unexplained and missing. According to the com- plaint, Mitchell created false vendors and kept the money, which came from trust accounts. Although Glusman said it is not an unusual case, he said from the court's point of view, "to steal from a trust account is even worse than stealing from the law firm — it's like stealing from the clients." The law firm handles wills and trusts, among other cases. Attorney Richard Molin stated the money taken from the clients had been made good by the firm immedi- ately. However, the theft had a big effect on the office. "She was a trusted employee ... it put the office in an uproar," he said. Mitchell had two prior convictions in Shasta Coun- ty, one for bad checks and one for grand theft, said prosecutor Mark Murphy late Wednesday. Mitchell also had a histo- ry of driving under the influ- ence and driving without a license. "The pattern is, she tends to blame everyone else, and when the going gets tough she blames her family," Molin said. Molin said Mitchell needed to spend time in prison, but added, "It's 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See CORNING, page 9A ning this year but it's not for a lack of talent. Walker, who still lives in Red Bluff, said what he most remembers about homecoming was getting out of school early on Friday for a pep rally and the football game. "The buildings are the biggest change," said Ken Hinkle of Red Bluff. "They still do many of the same things — the queen and courts and football games." Hinkle, who taught at Vista Mid- See GRADS, page 9A While the sheriff's department and Corning Police Department have K9s, the Red Bluff police department has not had a K9 in about 7 years, said Lt. Kyle Sanders. The dog they used to have retired with his handler. In the last few months, a K9 steering committee has been working to get com- munity support and organiz- ing fundraising events. The goal is to raise $30,000 to purchase a K9, required equipment and training for the dog, and to pay for a K9 handler. Dog Gone Run & Ride The first fundraiser, a "Dog Gone Run and Ride" will be a run and bicycle ride duathlon today in the Bend area. The event was the brain- child of a Red Bluff physi- cal therapist who mentioned the idea to Police Chief Paul Nanfito, Sanders said. Once the department latched onto the idea, Alan Abbs and his wife Beverly Anderson- Abbs, who are avid runners, helped organized the event. Participants may enter a six-mile or eight-mile com- petition and each entrant will receive a t-shirt upon registration. The shorter six-mile event will include a two- mile run and four-mile bicy- cle ride. The longer trek includes a two-mile run, eight-mile ride and another two-mile run. The two events will start at 8:30 a.m. A third event, a 5k run will begin just after the oth- ers at 8:45 a.m. Aid stations and water stops will be set up along the way for participants. See K9, page 9A Summoning spirit By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer By day he's just a sales manager working long hours at a local furniture store. By night he's a young Victor Frankenstein work- ing overtime to create a chilling masterpiece that will terrorize young boys and make little girls scream. He may just seem like a regular guy, but Sean Michael said he and his family are really into all the creepy stuff. "I'm hoping to scare a few people," he said. Working late into the midnight hour, Michael and his family have con- cocted to put the scare back into the community. With people going to Chico or Redding, Red Bluff is like an abandoned town, but without the spook on Halloween. Michael is hoping to cast a spell that will bewitch the crowds to return home with his pre- miere yard haunt, St. Michael's Children's Cemetery. "Don't spend buckets of money just to get a good scare," Michael said. "Bring the spirit back to Red Bluff." Once the sun goes down on Halloween night, Monday, the community is invited to stagger over to 545 Breckenridge St. to discover the creepy cos- mos Michael has con- Daily News photo by Tang Lor Expect a creepy display if you visit St. Michael's Children's Cemetery on Halloween night at 545 Breckenridge St. jured. Visitors are welcome until 11 p.m., and the attraction is free. Every- one is allowed except scaredy cats and children younger than 8. Expect the creepy yard tour to last about 5 to 10 minutes, and be prepared to be spooked. "People might just run out of there really fast if they get too scared," Michael said. Watch out for the chainsaw yielding psycho, zombie children and the oversized doll with her lit- tle minion dolls scattered about. Michael will be greet- ing all his guests at the entrance under a haunting disguise straight from Hollywood. But beyond the creepi- ness he'll be exuding, deep down inside Michael has a soft spot. He's doing this as a tribute to his mother who passed away last year. "My mom always had a big thing for Halloween, Christmas, all the holi- days," Michael said. "She loved dressing us up, dec- orating the house and tak- ing us to carnivals or around the neighborhood to get a good scare. I mean, every parent likes to dress up their kids, but with my mom, it just seemed a little more spe- cial." One year Michael was reunited with his mother on Oct. 31 after she briefly had to leave the family due to medical reasons. See SPIRIT, page 9A