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WEEKEND JANUARY 14-15, 2012 Breaking news at: Expert Advice for Stress Relief USA Weekend www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Lassen Visits SPORTS 1B Sunny 61/35 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 Scam Top scams of 2011 in Tehama County Daily News photo illustration by Chip Thompson By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer With the release of the Better Business Bureau's top 2011 scams list recently, the Daily News looks back at some of the scams that hit Tehama County in 2011. Scams come in many forms — from door-to-door hustlers to social media viruses — and they often target elder adults or other vulnerable populations. In 2011, several people lost money and were humbled by scam artists locally. In April, a Red Bluff woman was nearly robbed of a laptop computer and suffered a wound- ed heart from an online scam. A postal worker alerted her just in time. The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, was devas- tated and angry when she found Learn more Visit redbluffdailynews.com for a regularly updated list of scam alerts and tips to help avoid getting swindled out that she was taken in by a man she met on an online dating website. Posing as an Army soldier, the scammer lured her in with stories of life in the military and the love of his life dying while giving birth. He even showed her five pictures of "him." Corning to shoot for grant money By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING —The City Council Tuesday approved on-call Planning Consul- tant Eihnard Diaz seeking a grant to fund general plan work and a landscaping project on city property. "This is a real opportu- nity here," said City Man- ager Steve Kimbrough. "It's under Proposition 84, which is the same proposi- tion as is funding our new park. I don't know how it will pan out, but it's a con- crete opportunity." Diaz will do most of the grant writing with some help from city grant consul- tant JoAnn Landers, he said. The money would come from the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant and Inventive Pro- gram. "This could possibly completely update our gen- eral plan," Kimbrough said. "All Eihnard is asking for is reimbursement of mileage." The estimated cost to the city for the application is about $2,000, which is considerably better than the cost of a new plan, Kim- brough said. "The cost for a new plan is between $300,000 and $1 million or more," Kim- brough said. "It's absolute- ly exorbitant." The last time the general plan was updated, 18 years ago, it cost about $40,000 and that included paying some graduate students a fair wage, he said. "We can't duplicate that," Kimbrough said. In a letter to the council, Diaz said the purpose of the grant program is to develop and implement plans that reduce greenhouse gas and follow program objectives, including improving air and water quality, promot- ing public health, promot- ing equity and increasing housing affordability. Other objectives includ- ed promoting infill and compact development, energy efficiency and con- servation and water conser- vation; revitalizing urban and community centers; protecting natural resources and agricultural land; reducing automobile usage and fuel consump- tion; and improving infra- structure systems. The Corning City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at City Hall, 794 Third St. The Jan. 24 meeting will include a public hearing for the Corning Disposal/Waste Management annual rate increase. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Meeting minutes and agendas are available at www.corning.org. She had family members in the military and could relate. Although she got suspicious when he used "Mum" for "mom," she believed he was who he said he was, and she bought him a laptop computer he wanted. When she went to the post office to mail it to an address in Ghana, the postal worker made a comment about seeing many packages like this going to Ghana from the Red Bluff area, she said. She immediately went home without sending the package and did some research, she said. It turned out that just about a year earlier, www.executiveg- ov.com had posted an article about people pretending to be U.S. soldiers on dating and social media websites to romance women and take their money. There were many other sto- ries of women just like her. In mid-October, dozens of Red Bluff area residents, many elder adults, were rattled by a letter that threatened them with a fine if they didn't pay $76 by See SCAM, page 7A RB woman pleads guilty in bank fraud Staff report A Red Bluff woman who reportedly committed bank fraud over a five-year period has pleaded guilty to two counts, United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner said Friday. According to the plea agree- ment, between April 2006 and October 2010, Laura Vannoy, 58, stole checks that were payable to her employer, a bank, and deposited the checks into her personal bank account. She used the money for her personal expenses. She See FRAUD, page 7A Checkpoint planned for DUI The Red Bluff Police Department will be conducting a DUI and drivers license checkpoint between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m Saturday. DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effec- tive in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes. Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough. Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and drug impairment. Officers will also check for proper See DUI, page 7A Mercy homecoming Daily News photo by Chip Thompson Mercy High School's 2012 Homecoming Court was announced Friday night between the junior var- sity and varsity basketball games. Pictured, from left, are Anna Curry, Chris Bartlett, Jennifer Gentry, Danny Sandoval, Marina Gist, Homecoming King Jordan Stasinowsky, Homecoming Queen Maggie Keller, Isaac Williams, Emily Nelson and Steven Rodriguez. FOR SALE Have a news tip? Call 527-2151, Ext. 112 FULLY RESTORED www.co.tehama.ca.us --- for Bid Form or 527-4655, Sandra. 1948 Ford Scissor- Lift Truck Learn Basic WORD! 8:30am-12:30pm Cost: $ 65 Job Training Center 718 Main St. Red Bluff Per person Call 529-7000 Tues, Jan. 24, 2012