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Monday, December 19, 2011 – Daily News 7A K-9 Continued from page 1A The dog will be trained to augment the department in narcotic searches, apprehending violent offenders and searching for missing people and suspects. VCSI is a Red Bluff business that provides international canine ser- vices. Choosing VCSI provides several advan- tages, including having the initial and annual training held locally, Nan- fito said. It will save the department from having to pay travel costs associated with sending the dog and its handler to training. The department's goal is to raise $30,000 to fund the initial training pro- gram costs, annual main- tenance fee for the first year, as well as equipment for the K-9, handler and car. To date, the department has received well more than $25,000 in donations. SOLANO Continued from page 1A Strack said. If approved, the project, which originally covered a two -block area when planned in 2005, would include a four-block area of Solano Street from City Hall on Third Street to the West Street Intersection, Brewer said. The question was raised Tuesday of why the project was not extended about a block to include Houghton Avenue. "We felt the boundaries here worked best for the application," Strack said. City Manager Steve Kimbrough said the idea for the project came from the Hometown Revitalization group. The Tehama County Transportation Commission has included this project in the recently approved regional Transportation Improvement Program, which is a prerequisite to receiving California Transportation Commission Funding, Brewer said. Being marked as the No. 1 priority for the Tehama County program should help the project, which is seek- ing $2.2 million in funding, he said. Approval by the California Transportation Commis- sion is the first step in getting Transportation Enhance- ment funding, according to the staff report. The application requests $1.94 million in enhance- ment funding and an 11.47 percent state match, equal to about $250,000 for the total of $2.2 million. The earliest funding date for the project would be the 2014-2015 fiscal year, Brewer said. The next council meeting will be Jan. 10 due to Christmas. The Corning City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at City Hall, 794 Third St. Meeting minutes and agendas are available at www.corning.org. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. LA Continued from page 1A ny for 29 years, company officials said. He was mar- ried and was a father. Ser- rano, a manager in the same area, was with the company for 26 years. All five people worked in the same area of the same building at the office park in Irwindale, a small industrial city in the San Gabriel Valley, authorities said. Authorities have released no information on a possible motive for what the Edison statement called ''one of the most horrific events the company has experienced in its 125-year history.'' Turner's wife, Jean Turner, wrote in a brief statement given to KTLA, ''We are in shock and still trying to process this tragic event. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families.'' Deidre Corbin, a neigh- bor in an upscale neighbor- hood near a golf club in Norco, said she spoke with Jean Turner shortly after the shooting was reported. ''I had asked her if she received a call, a text, or anything from him,'' Corbin told KCAL-TV. ''She said that she hadn't heard anything.'' It was not until hours later that Jean Turner learned it was her husband who authorities identified as the gunman. Horrified employees barricaded themselves behind locked doors and hid under desks Friday afternoon as Turner walked through the office firing a semi-automatic handgun, authorities said. The office complex and nearby schools were locked down as the Los Angeles County Sheriff Depart- ment's SWAT team responded to several 911 calls. exchanged after officers arrived, and police believed Turner acted alone. In the hours after the shooting, police cars, ambulances and fire trucks surrounded the building, and dozens of workers emerged with their hands over their heads. The complex is sur- rounded by a fence and patrolled by a security guard. Employees need a security card to get into the building, said Gil Alexan- der, a spokesman for Southern California Edi- son. About 230 employees work in the building where the shooting took place, and about 1,100 employees work in the complex. Edi- son didn't say whether the facility would be reopened Monday. The company said it was offering grief counseling for employees and is estab- lishing a fund to support the victims' families. Edi- son will donate $100,000 and seek employee contri- butions. Irwindale is a city of about 1,400 residents, 22 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It is home to the Irwindale Speedway auto racetrack and large rock and gravel quarries. Southern California Edison, a huge utility that provides power for most of the region, is one of its largest companies, employ- ing 2,100 people. The first fundraiser, a running event in the Bend area hosted by the K-9 Steering Committee and other community mem- bers, raised about $4,000. In November, a Red Bluff Sunrise Rotary Club event in which dogs from VCSI were auctioned off, raised another $6,000. Other groups and indi- viduals have made a num- ber of generous donations, Nanfito said. Funding continues to come in from residents through dona- tions on their water bill. The only cost to the city will be veterinary bills associated with the K-9 and a slight increase in pay for Officer Michael Brown, who will be the K- 9 handler. He'll receive about $1,460 more in annual salary for his time providing care to the dog during off-duty hours. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Moose Lodge spreads holiday cheer Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Santa's helpers deliv- ered gifts to every child who sat on Santa's lap Saturday at the Red Bluff Moose Lodge as the club hosted its annual Christmas Party for children up to 12 years old. Everyone who par- ticipated was offered a free hot dog lunch, coloring pages, face painting and candy while lines of families waited to see Santa. The Moose members also took pictures with Santa for families. 49ER Continued from page 1A together and have holiday spirit," she said. She appreciates that Red Bluff has events like this that are community and family centered, she said. "Here in California, you don't always get that kind of thing," she said. The annual Christmas party lasted into late after- noon and included a piñata for the children to take a swing at. However, until less than two weeks ago, the park was not sure there would even be a party, said State Park Interpreter Debbie Chakarun. With state bud- get cuts limiting staff to basically her alone, she wasn't sure there would be enough help to put the event together. When so many people called in to volunteer and/or offered donations, she decided to go ahead and have the annual party, although on a smaller scale than they've done before, she said. The cookies, Christmas tree and cider were donated this year, instead of being provided by the park, Chakarun said. Some vol- unteers were new as well. "Everybody stepped up to do it," she said. Overall, the event went well, with good weather and plenty of guests, she said. WIN Continued from page 1A for Hands of Hope. "It's about being grateful for our lives and No gunfire was Sierra resorts wait for snow RENO, Nev. (AP) — Sierra Nevada ski resorts are heading into the tra- ditionally busy Christ- mas season missing only one thing: natural snow. Plagued by a skimpy snowpack, most resorts have relied on snow- making machines to open with limited opera- tions. Kayla Anderson of the Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe resort above Reno said her resort wouldn't have been able to open Dec. 9 without its snow-making machines. ''Luckily with cooler temperatures, we've been able to run our snow guns practically nonstop,'' she said. Boreal Mountain Resort has produced more than 32 million gallons of snow this sea- son, a record for the resort located atop Don- ner Summit north of Lake Tahoe, spokesman Jon Slaughter said. While it offers top-to- bottom skiing and snow- boarding, only five of Boreal's 41 trails were open Sunday. Other Tahoe-area resorts reported a similar story, with eight of 170 trails open at Squaw Valley USA and 20 of 97 trails open at Heavenly Moun- tain Resort. Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner Teaching children about writing letters back east during pioneer times, volunteers let them try their hands at ink-dipped pens Saturday during the William B. Ide Adobe State Park's Pioneer Christmas Party. One new addition was two "figgy puddings" donated by Judy Fesseden. Although lighting the heat for the puddings didn't quite work, it was still deli- cious, Chakarun said. The William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park, what this season is about," said The Gold Exchange owner Jessie Woods. off Adobe Road in north Red Bluff was bought by the state in the 1950s. It is one of several parks, includ- ing Woodson Bridge State Park and Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, that are tagged for closure next year due to state budget cuts. Many people have come in just to bring food, she said, which is what the drawing is real- Measures are being taken to try to preserve the educational programs and opportunities offered by the Ide Adobe Interpretive Association. For more information, call 529-8599 or email ideadobe@nor- cal.parks.state.ca.us. ly about. The Gold Exchange is at 413 Walnut St. and can be reached at 528-8000.