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TUESDAY DECEMBER 6, 2011 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Chestnut trees See Inside American Profile RED BLUFF Jr. Bulldogs hit mats Sports 1B Sunny 59/28 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 Brown asks voters for tax increases SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown filed a ballot initiative on Monday asking California voters to increase taxes on themselves to generate more money for schools and public safety. Brown posted an open letter to the people of California on his website, saying he wants to temporarily increase taxes on the rich and raise the statewide sales tax by half a cent, to 7.75 percent. The proposal would raise about $7 billion a year for five years. ''The stark truth is that with- out new tax revenues, we will have no other choice but to make deeper and more damag- ing cuts to schools, universities, public safety and our courts,'' the Democratic governor wrote. He said he is going directly to voters because he does not ''want to get bogged down in partisan gridlock as happened this year'' in the Legislature, where he failed to reach a tax compromise earlier this year as the state faced a $26.6 billion budget deficit. Assembly minority leader Connie Conway, R-Tulare, dis- missed the proposal ballot ini- tiative as part of a plan to increase government spending. ''Assembly Republicans will again stand united as the last line of defense for taxpayers ''The stark truth is that without new tax revenues, we will have no other choice but to make deeper and more damaging cuts to schools, universities, public safety and our courts." — Gov. Jerry Brown statement and will fight these reckless taxes every step of the way,'' Conway said in a statement. Brown filed a measure titled ''The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012'' with the state attorney general's office on Monday. It would appear on the November 2012 ballot if supporters collect 807,615 valid voter signatures. It is backed by Democratic leaders and some labor groups and could face competing tax initiatives from groups that want to raise taxes even higher. If voters approve Brown's plan, individuals earning $250,000 up to $300,000 would pay an additional 1 percent income tax, bringing their tax rate to 10.3 percent. Individuals Singers heat up holidays earning more than $300,000 but not over $500,000 would be taxed an additional 1.5 percent, bringing their tax rate to 10.8 percent. And individuals earning more than $500,000 would be taxed at 11.3 percent. The income amounts double in each category for joint filers. See TAX, page 7A Supervisors hear update on Beegum Creek project By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Staff from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest pre- sented an update on the Beegum Creek Watershed Restoration Project to the Tehama County Board of Supervisors during a special meeting Monday. The meeting was arranged at the request of the supervisors in hopes of staying in the loop about the project and overall activities happening in the national forest that may have an impact on the county and its residents. Even though only a small part of the forest extends into Tehama County, it is an important part, said Forest Supervisor Sharon Heywood. She pledged to continue communication with Tehama County officials on forest activities, especially in regards to travel management plans on forest roads. The ongoing Beegum Creek project is a good exam- ple of the management plans that require coordination and supervisors and county staff have been irked by what they say is a failure by forest staff to communicate with them about the project. Seven members of the forest staff attended the meet- ing with environmental coordinator Talitha Derksen See CREEK, page 7A Man arrested in Chico had Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Members of the Sweet Adelines California Heat Chorus perform Saturday at the annual holi- day dinner show "Heat'n Up The Holidays" at Red Bluff High School. A well-known men's bar- bershop quartet, Gesundheit, from the Chico area opened the show and a quartet, Tambre, containing Sweet Adelines members also performed. California Heat Chorus meets Thursday evenings. For more information on the group call 527-6556, 899-7159. Secret Witness hits internet alleged thefts in Red Bluff CHICO — A man being sought for the alleged theft of money and property from several victims in the Red- ding and Red Bluff areas was arrested at the Crazy Horse Saloon in Chico late Friday night. Redding police investigators took Benjamin Wayne Ford, 46, into custody without incident about 11:30 p.m. A $750,000 felony arrest warrant was issued for Ford several months ago on suspicion of making terror- ist threats, obtaining money under false pretenses, and vehicle theft. Investigators continued to receive addi- tional reports of victims of theft by Ford, who had been using the alias Vinnie Bartolli. Tuesday investigators were able to positively identi- fy the suspect as Ford. It was determined he was a parolee at large from Stockton and also had felony war- rants for his arrest in San Joaquin County for fraud, stalking and terrorist threats. Investigators began an intensive search for Ford in the Redding area. Ford learned investigators had found out his true identity and fled to Butte County. Corning school bus vandalized at Orland High wrestling event ORLAND — An argument between a boy from Corning and an Orland boy who used to live there, may have led to vandalism Saturday night to a Corning Uni- fied School District bus, police said. The bus, parked near Orland High School in the 500 block of Tehama Street, had two windows shattered by rocks and sustained some dings and paint chips. The damage is estimated at more than $400, making it a felony. Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Tehama County Secret Witness has offered up to a $5,000 reward on the group's newly-launched Web page for the arrest and conviction of two men who robbed Daisy's Ice Cream Shop in Corning May 24. By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Giving more opportuni- ties for witnesses to come forward in open cases, the Tehama County Secret Wit- ness program has just launched a new page on the sheriff's website — tehama- so.org. Established to encourage public participation in solv- ing crimes through offering cash rewards, the non-profit 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 POWER PRODUCTS DOLMAR Red Bluff Outdoor Power organization hopes putting information online will get even more people involved. The Web page, which launched Thursday, has been in the works since June, said Sheriff's Sgt. Rod Daugherty. To begin, two open cases have been posted offering rewards of up to $5,000 for the arrest and conviction of suspects involved in the crimes. The reward is higher than it would normally be, Daugherty said. A Secret Witness board panel decid- ed to raise the reward offer. The Secret Witness pro- gram, which involves all law enforcement agencies in the county, pulls open cases See WEB, page 7A COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR Smog Inspection $ 2595 + cert. (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) Pass or FREE retest 195 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530 527-9841 Orland police said they have a good lead in the case. Corning High was among several schools with wrestlers in Orland Saturday participating in the Doc Petersen Tournament. Orland High won the tournament.