Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/48646
MONDAY NOVEMBER 28, 2011 Breaking news at: Dangerous Batteries Vitality www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A RED BLUFF Raiders Wrap SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 63/43 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 Street stars Local agency to take over adoptions By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer State realignment efforts and changes in services have kicked in for social services in Tehama County with the approval to hire nine new employees. Social Services Director Charlene Reid asked the Board of Supervisors Nov. 22 to approve positions she said are necessary to cover increased workloads on county staff. One addition will be the transition of state adoption ser- vices to county jurisdiction. The state adoptions were not meeting outcomes they were expected to, Reid told the board. Having a local adop- tion service will help achieve those outcomes better. "It will have a significant impact on doing services for See LOCAL, page 7A Corning sets date for rate hike hearing By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Daily News photos by Andrea Wagner Above: Lighted floats, including this Christmas manger scene with a living baby Jesus from the Pres- byterian Church, circle downtown Red Bluff Saturday during the annual Christmas parade. Below: Santa Claus entertained crowds of children who waited in the chilly night air at the Cone and Kim- ball Plaza to see him following the parade. By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Stirring up seasonal sentiments, crowds start- ed lining Main and Wal- nut streets as early as 4:30 p.m. in anticipation of the annual Downtown Christ- mas Parade Saturday. The event drew some new and many returning guests to watch the kick- off of the holiday count- down. Marie Buell of Hay- fork brought her five daughters out to the parade, wrapping up a day of making gingerbread houses and holiday fun with her grown daughter who lives in Red Bluff. It was the first time she had come to the parade, she said. "It's just a beautiful display," she said. "It's a neat ceremony." She and her family sat in the intersection of Antelope Boulevard and Main Street to watch. Other families huddled up in every direction. Some said they never miss the parade. Linda Shaffer, 39, of Red Bluff, who brought her 18-year-old daughter and 2-year-old grand- Medicare's dreaded prescription 'doughnut hole' shrinks WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare's prescrip- tion coverage gap is get- ting noticeably smaller and easier to manage this year for millions of older and disabled people with high drug costs. The "doughnut hole," an anxiety-inducing catch in an otherwise popular benefit, will shrink about 40 percent for those unlucky enough to land in it, according to new Medicare figures provid- ed in response to a request from The Associated Press. The average beneficia- ry who falls into the cov- erage gap would have spent $1,504 this year on prescriptions. But thanks to discounts and other provisions in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law, that cost fell to $901, accord- ing to Medicare's Office of the Actuary, which handles economic esti- mates. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 A 50 percent discount that the law secured from pharmaceutical compa- nies on brand name drugs yielded an average sav- ings of $581. Medicare also picked up more of the cost of generic drugs, sav- ing an additional $22. The estimates are aver- ages, so some Medicare recipients may do worse and others better. Also, it's still unclear if the dis- counts will start to over- come seniors' deep unease about the law. daughter, said she comes every year. "The whole lights and spirit of everyone together – it's awesome," Shaffer said. "I wouldn't miss it." All floats, vehicles, pedestrians and animals were adorned with Christ- mas lights and decora- See STARS, page 7A CORNING — The City Council approved Jan. 24, 2012 for the Corning Dis- posal/Waste Management annual rate increase public hearing at its meeting Tues- day. The public hearing is in response to a Nov. 1 formal request from Corning Dis- posal for an increase of 5.23 percent, which is made up of a combination of the 3.76 percent Consumer Price Index and a 1.47 percent increase for franchise con- tract fuel index increase. If approved, the existing residential rate would increase from $19.73 to $20.76, or $1.03 a month. The council voiced con- cerns about rate increases in this recession, but has set the public hearing date, City Manager Steve Kimbrough said. Two items were pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion, includ- ing a Recreation Commis- sion appointment recom- mendation and an Eagle project. Chris Copley was rec- ommended and the council pulled the item to discuss it, since Copley lives outside city limits, said Council- woman Darlene Dickison. The council wanted to bring it to the public's atten- tion that there are others who have served on the commission who live out- side the limits. It is allow- able so long as the majority of the commission lives within the city, she said. Copley, who has worked with several historical soci- eties in preserving buildings that are thousands of years old, is the owner of Chris' Egg Farm. Wyatt Haywood, an Eagle Scout candidate from Boy Scout Troop 62, addressed the council about his project. Haywood plans to pur- chase three new picnic tables with benches, plant trees, add trash cans, make a minor repair to a fence and repaint the existing well house at Children's Memor- ial Park on Edith Avenue, across from the Spring Mountain Apartments. Councilwoman Tony Parkins paid a big compli- ment to Corning Police Administrative Secretary Laura Calkins for heading up the prescription drug col- lection that brought in 116 pounds of old drugs, which kept them out of the land fill and sewers, Kimbrough said. The council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at City Hall, 794 Third St. Meeting min- utes and agendas area avail- able at www.corning.org. Lost calf nursed back to health Nearly frozen to death when he was found in February, Junior the calf of Cow and Calf Opera- tions in Red Bluff, owned by Bob Kerstiens, Sr., is doing quite well, weigh- ing about 575 pounds in late September. The reddish-brown Charlois and Beef Master breed calf, born a twin on Feb. 24, was abandoned by his mother and went missing the day after he was born. He wasn't seen again until Feb. 26. Kerstiens' daughter, located Vicki Mahoney, the calf that she and her father's employee Larry Marshall had spent a few days searching for and Mahoney brought the calf into her home. "When I found him, he was nearly frozen, wet and almost dead," Mahoney said. "He stayed in my kitchen with our family pug for about three weeks. I'm still his moth- Courtesy photo Vicki Mahoney of Red Bluff, daughter of Bob Kerstiens, Sr., who owns Cow and Calf Operations, brushes Junior the calf in this Sep- tember photo. er and he is doing real well out in the corral." Now about nine months old, the calf gets a lot of visitors, including Marshall who continues to visit every week. "He's growing fast and is very healthy at almost 300 pounds," Mahoney said. —Julie Zeeb