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Friday, November 11, 2011 – Daily News 11A Obituaries JOHN BART GRAVANO John Bart Gravano, age 84, passed away November 9, 2011. He had four children, Paulette and husband Paul, Jeff and wife Tony, Bart, Ivy and husband Paul (Jim), 3 grandchildren, Melanie, Logan and Nathan, 2 great grand- children, Max & Allie. Per John's request, no services will be held. Death Notices Caroline Chupp Caroline Chupp of Corning died Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, at Brentwood Skilled Nursing. She was 83. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrangements. Published Friday, November 11, 2011, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. WALK Continued from page 1A "Bring Lake Red Bluff back," Lyford said. Herger, who grew up in the dairy business, said he agreed that the loss of Lake Red Bluff was huge, not just with the business it brought to town, but with the impact on the farmers. "The loss of Lake Red Bluff was a huge hit," Lyford said. "We'll adjust and find a different way to have fun." At Firehouse Pizza Restaurant, Herger checked in with Thomas and Andreas Bobadilla, two of four brothers involved in the business. The company has been up and running for about two months and is keeping busy, especially on Fri- ABUSE Continued from page 1A Domestic Abuse. The non-profit corporation wants to establish long-term transitional housing for victims and pick up where crisis shelters and programs leave off. Focusing first on Shasta and Tehama counties, the group has been raising money for four years to establish enough funds to support two families for two years, said Clyde Brandt. They are getting close to that goal and are planning to take on the first family within a few months. Harvest of Hearts, beginning at 6 p.m., will feature a raf- fle, silent auction, live music by Rapture Brass and guest speaker Dave Meurer. Sheryl Georgi of Bodacious Food is catering the dinner. The event costs $20 per person, $35 per couple or $140 for a table of eight. The Brandts want people to know that Homes of Hope is not a "fly by night" kind of organization. They are stick- ing around and taking it slow. In the long term, Clyde Brandt sees Homes of Hope becoming a statewide or national organization helping many more people, he said. "We haven't gotten as big as we want to get, but this is a big step this year," Brandt said. This year's fourth annual dinner has already doubled in ticket sales from last year, he said. There may be as many as 120 people at the event. If enough funding comes in, they may even be able to serve three families instead of two, Brandt said. The idea is not to duplicate the services that exist but to enhance them, he said. They hope to connect the families in the program to agencies that teach job skills, life skills and coping skills. They have seven people trained and ready to mentor the participants through weekly visits, Brandt said. "We don't want to just give them a house and leave them with nothing," he said. What would be ideal is for Homes of Hope to purchase a small apartment building or duplex to facilitate the pro- gram as well as house victims, Brandt said. They are look- ing for someone to help with grantwriting and proposals. For now, they will continue to raise money to support the first families they choose. For more information about Homes of Hope or about the Harvest of Hearts dinner event, call Clyde and Carol Brandt at 347-1330, or visit www.homesofhopeforvida.org. ACE Continued from page 1A 1938 and the end of 1940 that Carlson learned to fly. He racked up 223 hours of civilian flying time before he took off to join the Canadian Air Force, Walsh said. At 21, Carlson enlist- ed with the Royal Cana- dian Air Force on Jan. 18, 1941. By the end of 1941, Carlson had gotten mar- ried to Anne Myson in Vancouver and was pro- moted to Flight Sergeant. Training with the Canadian military, he was promoted to the rank of Flying Officer just before he was given back to the U.S., to the Army Air Corps, through an honorable discharge on April 23, 1943, Walsh said. By the end of his mili- tary career, Carlson had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and had served time as a prisoner of war in Europe, Walsh said. days and Saturdays, said Thomas Bobadilla. "My thing is health- care," said Plum Crazy owner Janell Fitzgerald. A cancer survivor, Fitzgerald is paying for COBRA now, but will only be eligible for so long and the cost for pri- vate insurance is astro- nomical, she said. "One of my highest concerns is affordable, good health care, but it's a tough problem to solve," Herger said. Other places Herger visited included The Sugar Shack Cafe, Holl- brook's Clearance Center and 3 Generations Arts and Shop. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews. com. Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Recycle the Warmth clothing drive co-coordinator Senia Owensby, right, was presented with items collected by the St. Elizabeth Community Hospital staff for the event. Recycle the Warmth offers breakfast and cold weather items to the everyone in the community from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Bethel Assembly Church, at 625 Luther Road. Community agencies will be on hand to give information and support. Items given away include hats, coats, gloves, blankets and scarves. For more information call 527-2151. WWII Continued from page 1A until the war was over five years later." Kerstiens graduated as the head of his class from Red Bluff Union High School in 1943, but had enough credits that he fin- ished early and was done in January, he said. "I joined the US Army right out of high school," Kerstiens said. "They sent me to Camp Grubber in Muskogee, Okla. and I was trained in Engineering S2 Intelligence and Recon. It was just like going to a real good college." From there, he was sent on a 11-day trip by troop ship to England where he spent more time training before eventually being sent to France and Ger- many, Kerstiens said. Kerstiens was assigned to several different units during his time in combat. "It was an interesting job and I liked it," Kerstiens said. "I was a part of a recon team that would go out ahead of the tanks and check the bridges to make sure they'd hold up, evalu- ate the strengths of the enemy troops and some- times take prisoners." The information gath- Carlson was credited for destroying at least 10 Luftwaffe aircraft while flying with one of the fighter groups he was in, Walsh said. Walsh's work on Carl- son's history is part of his ongoing research on the Americans who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. He is working on a book, "Remembering the Canadian Yanks," he said, and is negotiating with three publishers and hopes to have a deal ered would be given over to the top-level staff who would evaluate it before deciding offensive strate- gies to take a town, he said. "They were all great men," Kerstiens said. "Most of them are gone now. We had a good team because we worked well together and trusted each other. We know what the others would do. We weren't professional sol- diers. We were just citizens who were defending our country, but we became very good soldiers." Kerstiens was involved in a major battle in central Europe, the Battle of Remagen, Germany and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, one of which led to his receiving a bronze star. "The Battle of the Bulge is the battle with the most casualties," Kerstiens said. "More than 70,000 were killed or wounded." Kerstiens was assigned to the Ninth Armored Divi- sion during the Battle of Remagen, which is where the Ludendorff Bridge was taken. The group received a Presidential Unit Citation for its involvement, he said. "We were among the first troops to go across the Rhine River into Ger- many," Kerstiens said. In 1946, Kerstiens was soon. The book contains the biographies of 49 "Amer- ican Warriors," including Carlson, who donned for- eign uniforms during wartime, Walsh said. Carlson, remembered at the monument dedica- tion ceremony in 2001 by his sister Barbara Cox and friend Chet Derby, died at 58 in Washington. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailyn ews.com. Red Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service You DO have a choice in the Red Bluff area. Caring & Compassionate Service Full traditional burial service or cremation 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff, FD Lic. 1931 527-1732 discharged in Marburg, Germany rather than back in the United States and stayed another two years to serve in Arolsen, Germany with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Association. There, he served as an engineer officer working on reconstruction and mainte- nance, he said. In October, Kerstiens returned to Germany to visit places like Arolsen and Remagen along with a trip to see family in Ger- many. "I lost some real good comrades there," Kerstiens said with tears in his eyes. While memories of his time in the Army are painful, they have helped to shape who he is, Kerstiens said. "I'm very proud to be a veteran and to have served my country in World War II," Kerstiens said. "I think more people ought to serve. It developed me to do all the other things I've done." At 86, he still works as a cattle rancher, something he has done most of his life. He and his wife, Ursula, live at their Red Bank Ranch while managing land on Trinity Avenue in Red Bluff and in Mineral. In 1949, when he returned to Red Bluff, Ker- stiens worked for the Cali- fornia Department of Forestry as a firefighter foreman. "I worked most of the positions from the bottom to the top, ending a 40-year career as CDF Ranger in Charge," Kerstiens said. He was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson and served more than 11 years on the state Board of Forestry and spent a record 31 years on the Tehama District Fairboard. Kerstiens has served as a Tehama County Farm Bureau Director for three terms and as President of the Tehama County Cattle- men's Association. He spent 22 years as Vice Chairman of the Mid Val- ley Bank board, which later sold to PremierWest Bank, Kerstiens said. Kerstiens has been a wild horse race judge for the Red Bluff Round-Up Association for more than 30 years and a long-time shareholder in the associa- tion. He has also been a mem- ber of the Elks Lodge, Vet- eran of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.c om. Group gathers winter items for needy Over 50 years of serving Tehama County Independently owned Telephone: (530) 824-3792