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TUESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com George Strait See Inside American Profile RED BLUFF Newest Giant Sports 1B Mostly Sunny 62/39 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 Soaring above Light election cycle as 2012 rush awaits By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Election Day in the U.S. falls on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which makes today Election Day. Though there has not been a lot of hype and fanfare in this off-year election, there will be a number of citi- zens exercising their right to vote today. Locally, the two items on the ballot are board mem- ber seats for water districts in Paynes Creek and Lake California. Those in the Sky View County Water District in Paynes Creek will be voting by mail. A voting precinct will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lake California Fire Station for members of the Rio Alto Water District in Lake California and Cotton- wood. Election Day this year should be pretty low key, but next year will be a big one, with a number of local races in the June primary and the presidential election in November. The 2012 elections may seem like a long time away for would-be candidates and some voters, but the Elec- tions Department is always preparing. Every election is important no matter how short or long the ballot may be. This off-year election is no reprieve from the elec- tion cycle for those in the Election Department, said Jennifer Vise, Tehama County assistant registrar of vot- ers. Daily News photo by Tang Lor Masie Veal receives advice from her father Jeff Veal as the 16-year-old took her first solo flight on her birthday. Girl celebrates, honors with solo flight on 16th birthday By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer No fancy dress, tiara and limou- sine for this girl on her Sweet 16. Still, Masie Veal was all smiles as she donned a leather bomber, pilot headset and flew a plane. On her 16th birthday Veal reached a goal she has been plan- ning for many years — her first solo flight — despite facing recent loss- es. Taking to the sky early Monday morning from the Red Bluff Air- port, Veal flew for about 30 min- utes, doing three touch and go land- ings and all the necessary aviation moves required to qualify as a solo flight. "It was exciting," she said. Downplaying an accomplish- ment that only a few 16-year-olds can boast, Veal said she felt a sense of accomplishment but it was not really a big deal. Her family feels differently. "I cried," said her grandfather Bob Veal, who was a professional "We wondered if it was going to be hard to get back on the plane, but it really became a healing process for us." — Jeff Veal, on his daughter's solo flight pilot flying packages for FedEx for 15 years and a flight instructor. Airplanes and flying are a family hobby and soloing has sort of become a right of passage with Masie's brother having performed the same act eight years ago on his 16th birthday. It was seeing her brother Scott do his first solo that inspired the then-8-year-old girl to want do the same. "My brother was 16 when he soloed in the same plane," Masie Veal said. "When I saw that, I just really wanted to do that, too." Scott Veal had planned on watching his sister perform her solo, but he died Sept. 2 in a mid-air plane crash in Alaska. "In the last conversation I had with her brother, he was excited about her flying," their father Jeff Veal said. "He had wanted to be here to see her fly." Just 19 days after Scott's pass- ing, their mother, Lorry Veal, died of an undetermined natural cause. After her mother passed away, there was a moment when they had to re-evaluate the possibility of per- forming the flight, Jeff Veal said. It was not that Masie wanted to give up, but it was more about the time frame of getting it done on her birthday. "We wondered if it was going to be hard to get back on the plane, but it really became a healing process for us," he said. See ABOVE, page 7A "We're still trying to get through this year," she said. It is tough to know exactly what contests will be on the upcoming June and November ballots until after the filing period for each election closes in March 2012 and August 2012 respectively, but there are a number of races that are typically set for each election, Vise said. Petitions-in-lieu for the June 2012 Primary Election will open Dec. 30. The primary will feature contests for U.S. presiden- tial candidates, state offices, judicial offices, central committees and possibly any local or state measures. Three Tehama County Board of Supervisors seats will be up for grabs. Those seats are District 1 repre- sented by Gregg Avilla, District 2 represented by George Russell and District 5 represented by Ron Warner. The passage of Proposition 14, the "Top-Two Open Primary Act", in June 2010, will require an open pri- mary. Under an open primary, all candidates, regardless of their party preference, will appear on a single com- bined ballot, and voters can vote for any candidate from any political party. Only the top two vote-getters will appear on the November ballot. This change only affects state offices, not the elec- tion of the U.S. President or Central Committees, which will remain party-nominated. Local offices are non-partisan and are not effected. The candidate filing period will open July 16, 2012 for the November 2012 General Election. The big race for that election will be for the U.S. president. Races for city council seats, possibly for all three cities, Red Bluff, Corning and Tehama, will be decided then. Depending on the school districts, seats for some school boards will be open. Some state offices will be on the ballot along with any special districts and local or state measures, if there are any. State and local offices that are not decided in June will be on the bal- lot again. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e- mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.com. Metteer students salute veterans via song By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Metteer School stu- dents joined together Monday for a Veterans Day Commemoration, a tradition started in 2007 by Principal Wayne Campbell after receiv- ing a packet on Veterans Day from Washington D.C. "He gave it to a group of staff and wanted to see it develop into something," said Met- teer Teacher Claudia Threlkeld. The first year Threlkeld and staff members Syrie Albright, Rebecca Gal- lagher, Joy Ferraris, Shannon Robertson, Pixie Blaser, Chris Boles and Kent Jungling served on the Veterans Day Committee and every year the commit- tee has added to it, she said. Jungling, a veteran himself, served as the master of ceremonies until 2010. The Vista Band was added with Ryan Heim- lich leading in 2010. Monday, Vista was rep- resented by Trumpeter Corbin Meier who played Taps and it is hoped that 2012 the Vista Band will once again be able to join in, Threlkeld said. "I'd like to thank everyone that has come to honor, support and celebrate our veterans today," said Principal Barbara Gaskin. "My wish is that all here will be inspired by song today and capture the essence of our tribute — courage, freedom and liberty and appreciation and gratitude." Thanking both the 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 veterans present in the audience and those who were not, Gaskin read a few quotes about what she named the essence of the tribute including one which said "more powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin." Gaskin also reminded participants under the section freedom and lib- erty that it is easy to take for granted when it has never been taken away. Members of the Tehama County Young Marines posted the col- ors during the Pledge of Allegiance. Vista stu- dent Hope Wilson, a Metteer alumna, returned to sign the songs sang by students. Students sang patriot- ic songs, during some of them Joy Ferraris' third grade class signed the lyrics. First grade teacher Lori Templeton, who is a Second Lt. in the Cal- See METTEER, page 7A Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Metteer students listen as to a lesson on the Civil War. 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