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MONDAY OCTOBER 31, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Sunny 76/56 Weather forecast 8B By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer A new book about a real-life haunting in Chico may reveal new details about a woman who is rumored to have been mur- dered in Red Bluff decades ago. DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF 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 Ghost story: Book details visions of murder Author Jodi Foster believes the spirit of a 19-year-old col- lege student from Chico haunts her former apartment in Chico. Vanishing Jan. 31, 1976 after leaving to walk home after a fight with her boyfriend, Marie Elizabeth Spannhake has never been found, but perhaps her spirit has never left. Foster's new book, "Forgot- ten Burial: A restless spirit's plea for justice,"published Aug. 30 by iUniverse Publishing, details the paranormal accounts that may have revealed untold intimate details of Spannhake's disappearance. Some believe Spannhake was kidnapped from Chico, and then tortured and murdered inside the basement of an Oak Street home in Red Bluff by infamous sadist Cameron Gourd almighty By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer In the Tehama County Farm Bureau's first ever pumpkin contest, 14 par- ticipants towed in their gargantuan gourds to see who measured up. Weighing more than a couple men, the largest pumpkins had to be loaded onto pallets and forklifts to get them to the fairground. The top winner was grown by Eddie Boyd of Gerber, weighing in at 522 pounds. Kari Dodd, manager of the farm bureau, handed out the prizes along with staff from the Red Bluff Garden Center. Other farm bureaus have had similar contests and the local group wanted to give people a chance to grow something fun, Dodd said. Burpee Gardening donated the jumbo pump- kin seeds, she said. Each age division was given a first through third prize and each participant got a ribbon. The overall winners, other than Eddie Boyd, were Todd Boyd of Gerber in second with a 451- pound pumpkin and JP Enterprises of Yuba City with a 230-pound pump- kin. Garden Center staff Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Nevaeh Coleman, 4, was on her way to a costume party with her mother Meghan Wilson-Slavin of Red Bluff when they stopped to see the big pump- kins on display Saturday at the Tehama District Fairground. She stands next to the winning 522-pound pumpkin grown by Eddie Boyd of Gerber. also gave away baskets of pansies to plant for guests. Tips for a safe Halloween Don't wimp out when it comes to being safe this Halloween. Here are a few tips to keep Hal- loween fun and not dead- ly. For trick-or-treaters: • Plan routes ahead of time on well-lit streets. Avoid busy streets. • Choose a light-color costume that makes it eas- ier to walk, see and be seen. Use retro-reflective tape on costumes. • Select costumes made of flame retardant materi- als (check the labels). Avoid flimsy, lightweight fabrics and costumes with billowing skirts or loose baggy sleeves. • Take off masks before crossing the street. Con- sider using makeup instead of a mask for added safety. • It's best to trick-or- treat when it's still light outside, but carry a flash- light so trick-or-treaters can see and drivers can see them. • Have an adult trick- or-treat with little ones. • Cross only at corners. Never cross between parked cars or in the mid- dle of a block. • If there are no side- walks, always walk facing traffic. • Wait until you get home to sort, check and eat treats. For partyers: • Plan ahead if you will be drinking. Designate a sober driver. If you are already out and have had too much to drink, call a taxi, friend or family member to drive you home. • Party hosts should have plenty of food on hand for everyone throughout the evening and several non-alcoholic drink choices for the des- ignated drivers. Don't allow anyone to leave if you have For a first time, it was a good turnout, Dodd said. She hopes the contest will grow more next year. Hooker and his wife Janice. This would have been before they took a second hostage, Colleen Stan, while she was hitchhiking through Red Bluff in 1977. See BOOK, page 7A Corning PD reorganizes By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — The City Council approved the reorganization of the Corning Police Department, which includes assigning detective duties to a sergeant. The retirement of Det. Mel Allison and a vacan- cy created in June by Officer Tiffany Jourdan, who moved to dispatch, was the catalyst for the restruc- ture, said Police Chief Tony Cardenas. Allison, who had been with the department since June 2000, retired Sept. 28. "These are the two vacancies we are in the process of filling through recruitment," Cardenas said. "They should be filled within the next month or two. When we promote somebody to the sergeant position there will be no back fill on the vacancy created at the officer level by this promotion." Sgt. Don Atkins, who has been with the depart- ment since1986, will take on the detective duties in addition to supervisor duties, Cardenas said. "This allows us to fill the detective position and start an internal promotion to fill the vacant sergeant position," Cardenas said. A fourth patrol sergeant position was approved by the council in 2001, however, it was unable to be filled after an internal promotion examination and outside recruitment were conducted. At the time, an officer was hired with the under- standing that the vacant sergeant's position would be filled at a later date through an internal promo- tion when a qualified pool of candidates was avail- able. The department is in the process of recruiting an officer to fill the vacancy created by Hill. For the past few years, the department has been using senior patrol officers as officers-in-charge when a patrol sergeant was not on duty. Officers received a 5 percent out-of-class See PD, page 7A Moose put the wee in Halloween By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Families lined up inside the Red Bluff Moose Lodge Saturday, joining in games, face painting, a costume contest and lunch given free during the annual commu- nity Halloween Party. An annual event going back at least 20 years, the party is a way for the Moose Lodge to give back to fami- lies, said event co-coordina- tor Helen Wilson. Venturing Crew 1914 of Red Bluff worked handing out lunch and working in the game booths, Wilson said. The group also donat- ed the wood and created the backdrops for bean bag tossing. Crew advisor Roxanne any doubts about their ability to drive. • Avoid driving through residential areas where trick-or-treaters are likely to be present, and obey all traffic signs and signals. For decorators: • Dried flowers, corn- stalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep these and other decora- tions well away from all open flames and heat sources, including light bulbs and heaters. • It is safest to use a flashlight or battery-oper- 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See TIPS, page 7A Chavez helped with the fishing game where chil- dren got bags of candy on their fishing lines. Bigger prizes were given in a costume party split into four age groups. A boy and girl were chosen from each age category. The event was bolstered by community donations through the Women of the Moose, the Legion group and the RV club, all sub- groups of the Moose Lodge, Wilson said. Business from Los Moli- nos, Corning, Red Bluff and elsewhere donated to the event. Co-coordinator Fran Unterbrink worked with Wilson to put the party together. "I enjoy it - getting dona- 49ers Perfect in October SPORTS 1B Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner "Geeky girl" Karli Rainwater, 9, holds 7-month-old Ridge Rainwater, wear- ing a homemade moose costume, as their family enjoys the Moose Lodge's annual Halloween Party on Saturday afternoon. Both won prizes in their age groups in the costume contest. tions - and lots of members donate from their pockets so it's free to everyone," Unter- brink said. "Each child gets a prize." The Moose is known for giving, not taking, she said. Guests enjoyed free pizza and soda as well as apples, pomegranates, and cookies to take home. "We come every year," said Dora Moore of Corn- ing. "They've got a wonder- ful thing going on. It's real- ly nice." Moore came with her See MOOSE, page 7A