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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2011 Breaking news at: Business of the Month Commerce www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A RED BLUFF Athletes of the Week SPORTS 1B Scattered rain 55/42 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 Flores forsaken By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Proposals to build an access road between Interstate 5 and Highway 99W north of Flores Avenue changed course Tuesday as supervisors decided to put funding into improving existing roadways instead. After more than a decade of planning and environmental studies and about $1 million to try to come up with the best new route to divert indus- trial area traffic away from Highway 99W, Tehama County Public Works Director Gary Antone asked the board to forget it. "Though the intentions were good, they won't work for us," Antone said. County staff have looked at 16 different alignments over the years, trying to come up with the best route, accounting for environmental issues and costs, among other things, he said. Originally, the project started as a way to improve traffic flow on 99W with the assumption that with the building of the Walmart Distribution Center and other improve- ments, daily traffic would increase. Industrial development along Highway 99W increased during the 1990s as did truck traffic, and in 1994 several pre- liminary road alignments were proposed and stud- ied, Antone said. Road alignments west of the distribution center were abandoned when Map submitted by Tehama County Public Works At least 16 proposed routes that were studied as possible ways to divert industrial traffic from Highway 99W to Interstate 5 were scrapped due to environmental, economic and social concerns. planners were faced with the impacts on vernal pools and wetlands in the area, habitats for endan- gered species, he said. Between 2007 and 2010, planners started looking at new alignments south of the distribution center through agricultur- al areas closer to Flores UC Davis leader says she did not want use of force DAVIS (AP) — The University of California, Davis, chancellor defended herself Tuesday from criti- cism over the campus police force's pepper spraying of peaceful demonstrators as information emerged about the officer at the heart of the incident. Video footage of Lt. John Pike and another offi- cer clad in riot gear casually spraying an orange cloud at the heads of protesters who were sitting peacefully on the ground has sparked national outrage since it began circulating online Fri- day night. Students gathered on campus Tuesday for the second time in as many days to condemn the vio- lence and urged university officials to require police to attend sensitivity training. UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, who has faced criticism from stu- dents over Friday's incident, defended herself during a town hall meeting Tuesday night. She told an auditori- um filled with more than 1,000 students that she asked police to remove tents from the university's quad but did not direct them to forcibly remove the demon- strators. ''I explicitly directed the chief of police that violence should be avoided at all costs,'' she said. ''It was the absolute last thing I ever wanted to happen.'' She stressed that students have a right to demonstrate peacefully. ''Because encampments have long been prohibited by UC policy, I directed police only to take down the tents,'' she said. ''My instructions were for no arrests and no police force.'' Pike, another officer and the campus police chief have been placed on paid administrative leave in the wake of an incident that has generated international attention for the 32,000-stu- dent campus just west of the state capital, the third most populous in the UC system behind the campuses in Los Angeles and Berkeley. Not all students who attended the town hall in a performing arts complex were satisfied with the response from Katehi, who attended a rally on campus Monday and apologized to students. Puneet Kamal, 22, an environmental science and policy major, was among those lined up to ask questions Tuesday. See DAVIS, page 7A 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Red Bluff Outdoor Power Avenue, he said. County staff worked on a traffic noise analysis, traffic analysis, air quality study, historical property survey reports, biological assessments and haz- ardous materials study and other required analy- ses up until September 2010. In the end, none of the options worked. The last route proposed is considered the most environmentally efficient, Antone said. It cuts between a private orchard and cattle ranch and would cost far more than See FLORES, page 7A Man hit, hurt crossing Main A pedestrian received moderate injuries after being hit by a pickup truck on Main Street Tuesday evening. Michael Grissom, of Red Bluff, was crossing the street near Brearcliffe Drive at about 6 p.m. when he was struck, Red Bluff Police Sgt. Quintan Ortega said. Grissom was not in a crosswalk. The driver of the pickup, Laurence Brown, 75, of Red Bluff said he saw a flash and then a bang. "I think I hit him, but I couldn't tell because he had dark clothes on," Brown said "It probably knocked his coat off or something." Brown said he never saw Grissom until he was right in front of the car. A group of joggers, who where wearing reflective vests, witnessed the crash and said they also heard a bang. Grissom was taken to St. Elizabeth Community Hos- pital. He had moderate injuries but was conscious, Ortega said. CHPurges driver safety during holiday It's that time of the year to be thankful for many things in one's life, and one of those things should be for the careful and defensive driving by fami- ly, friends and other motorists on the road. "Be patient and atten- tive while traveling on the roadways this holiday sea- son," said California High- way Patrol Red Bluff Area Commander Lt. Todd Garr. "People are eager to see friends and loved ones, but it's important to get to your destination safely." The CHP will be keep- ing a watchful eye on the motoring public in Tehama County as they head out on their road trips during the Thanksgiving Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP), which begins at 6:01 p.m. today and continues through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27. This MEP coincides with the "Click It or Tick- et" seat belt enforcement campaign, which begins today statewide. "Our goal is to encour- age motorists to make safe choices to prevent tragedies," said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. The CHP reminds all motorists to buckle up, observe the speed limit and not to drink and drive. During the 2010 Thanks- giving weekend, 21 people were killed in collisions throughout California. Among the five vehicle occupants killed in CHP jurisdiction, one person was not wearing a seat belt. See CHP, page 7A Workshop answers Medicare concern By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Tehama County resi- dents had a chance to find out what is new with Medicare during an Open Enrollment Workshop held Tuesday at the Red Bluff Community Center. Medicare Open Enroll- ment started Oct. 15 and continues through Dec. 7. "We're not the insur- ance man," said Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) Community Outreach Specialist Natasha Coulter-LaTorre. "We're here to give you information and to advo- cate on your behalf." HICAP helps people find supplemental poli- cies to fill in coverage gaps, she said. Medicare has a three- part goal that it tries to fulfill at the same time, Medicare Regional Administrator David Sayen said. "First, better health because we want all the people in the country to be healthier," Sayen said. "Second is better quality Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Gunther Stejskal of Red Bluff, right, talks with Social Security Claim Representative Jennifer Markhart Tuesday at the Red Bluff Commu- nity Center during a Medicare Open Enrollment Workshop. of care and third is the cost." One in three Medicare The Daily News office will be CLOSED Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24 & Friday, Nov. 25 Retail advertising deadlines EDITION DEADLINE Thur. 11/24: Tues. 11/ 22, 10am Fri. 11/25: Tues. 11/ 22, 3pm Sat. 11/26: Wed. 11/ 23, 10am Mon. 11/28: Wed. 11/ 23, noon RED BLUFF Classified deadlines: EDITION DEADLINE Thur. 11/24: Wed. 11/ 23, noon Fri. 11/25: Wed. 11/23, noon Sat. 11/26: Wed. 11/ 23, noon Mon. 11/28: Wed. 11/ 23, noon 527-2151 • FAX 527-3719 545 DIAMOND AVE., RED BLUFF D NEWSAILY TEHAMACOUNTY beneficiaries has a mis- take, which can have a nasty consequence in addition to being expen- sive, he said. See CONCERN, page 7A PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971 CHW North State Region