Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/530037
"Itwaswithgreatpride that the first Hope Chest officers presented a check to the Family Counseling Center for $3,500 repre- senting the profits from the first five months of its operation. We will be cel- ebrating the 50th anniver- sary with an open house and welcome friends and former volunteers." The business was oper- ated first in an empty of- fice building adjoining the former Bank of America, but that location ended up not having enough space as the business began to prosper, Sale said. Three board members, Connie Crowder Arrow- smith, Laoma Brogger Curtis and Virginia Cole, spearheaded efforts to purchase a large old ware- house with an attached house at the foot of North Main Street in 1973, Sale said. "The building has un- dergone many reincarna- tions, serving as Rubel's Plumbing in the thir- ties and forties, an auto agency and a storage fa- cility operated by Guy Hacker," Sale said. "His daughter, Carolyn Barber of Red Bluff, lived in the connected house when she was young and recalls that the office was down- stairs and the rear sec- tion was for storage rent- als. Her husband, the late Hurley Barber, worked there for her dad and that is where Hurley and Car- olyn met." In spite of all the changes, the building re- mains structurally sound and has adequate space for the huge amounts of merchandise that arrive almost as soon as space has cleared, Dixon said. A crew of long-time vol- unteers gathers weekly Monday mornings to sift through donations and handle sales. "Over the many years of its existence, there have been many loyal men and women who have do- nated their time, efforts and talents to keep the Hope Chest functioning," Sale said. "It is estimated that over the past 50 years approximately $1 million has been given to the FCC to help sustain its contin- ued operations." Records from 2000 to present day show $540,000 given to the Family Counseling Cen- ter, which occupies the connected building rent free and is in the pro- cess of remodeling the upstairs to accommodate expanded counseling ser- vices. In addition to support of the counseling, the Hope Chest does commu- nity outreach based off of third-party referrals to victims of fire, illness or financial disaster, Dixon said. Donations, except for televisions and com- puter monitors, are al- ways welcomed during business hours, which are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. All former and current volunteers are welcome to a luncheon at 11 a.m. Sat- urday, which will be fol- lowed by the open house and a half off sale from noon to 4 p.m. Hope FROMPAGE1 These amounts repre- sent the total increase by area for all affected po- sitions. "The Tehama County Health Services Agency continues to have diffi- culty recruiting and re- taining licensed profes- sional health care per- sonnel," Lucero said in a letter to Personnel Ad- ministrator Sally Hacko. "This chroic problem is not unique to Tehama County. It affects most small, rural counties who have fewer qualified ap- plicants and must com- pete with larger, nearby counties and private health care organiza- tions." The salary increase will help deal with a wage inequality that sees 22 of the 40 nurse, thera- pist and dietician classifi- cations, whose wage rates were lowered in 2008, brought up to the same level as their co-workers, who receive a higher rate while doing the same job. In the 1990s and again in 2006, the Board of Su- pervisors implemented a failed recruitment policy, which resulted in higher wages, in order to help fill vacancies. When the rates were lowered in 2008, some of them were lowered to pre-2006 lev- els, Lucero said. The agency has been using overtime and con- tracted non-county em- ployees to fill in and it's not just the Health Ser- vices Agency that is af- fected. "It's hampering our de- livery of services," Lucero said. "There are at least four other departments that are impacted by va- cancies." Those agencies include the Tehama County Sher- iff's Department, Proba- tion, Juvenile Deten- tion, Department of So- cial Services and Public Guardian. "It is a significant in- crease in cost to absorb that we'll be absorbing internally," Lucero said. The department has a number of strategies for doing so, she said. There are no anticipated layoffs. Wage FROM PAGE 1 The eighth man, identi- fied as 59-year-old Vincent Contreras of Cottonwood, allegedly owes more than $30,000 in back child sup- port and was arrested on three felony counts of fail- ing to provide child sup- port, according to the re- lease. Contreras also was ar- rested on suspicion of marijuana cultivation after investigators alleg- edly found six marijuana plants at his residence, according to the release. "Currently, Tehama County handles 4,222 cases of child support with 82 percent of those cases having past-due amounts totaling over $49 million in back sup- port," according to the re- lease. Those who have failed to pay child support in Tehama County are en- couraged to contact the Tehama County Depart- ment of Child Support Ser- vices at 1005 Vista Way #A in Red Bluff, or by calling 866 901-3212. Sweep FROM PAGE 1 PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thankyou! By Fenit Nirappil TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO Mother Nature isn't the only one blamed for California's drought. The state's historic four- year dry spell has brought with it a flurry of finger- pointing. Now advocates, noting how California's wa- ter shortage ranks as the top public concern, are in- voking the drought to bol- ster their own causes. Animal rights activists, environmentalists and op- ponents of immigration and federal wildlife protections are among those seizing on concern for the drought to build support for their movements. The blame game has left state regulators and water watchers frustrated by what they call distractions from the state's immediate and long-term crisis. "The number one cause of the drought is simply lack of rainfall and snowfall," said Tracy Quinn, a policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Coun- cil, itself fending off attacks that the drought is a "man- made" result of policies that ensure adequate water for fish and wetlands. A look at drought-bol- stered causes: Toomanyforeigners A group advocating for immigration restrictions has aired commercials this month in Los Angeles and Sacramento blaming im- migrants for draining the state's water. "Virtually all of Califor- nia's population growth is from immigrants. Let's slow immigration and save some California for tomorrow," a voiceover says after a be- fuddled child ponders why there's not enough water if births are declining. Experts in demographics and water use find the argu- ment on shaky ground. For starters, California's recent population growth is driven more by new ba- bies than an influx of for- eigners, according to data collected by Department of Finance. Immigration has declined since the re- cession. California mothers born in the U.S. are having more babies while women born abroad are having fewer. Californians for Popula- tion Stabilization says the growing number of immi- grants is still undeniable. "The drought is a symp- tom of a precious resource that there's only so much of," said Jo Wideman, the group's executive director. "Water conservation and being efficient can help be part of the solution, but they can't work miracles, and they can't accommo- date infinite population growth." Conservation experts say California can handle growth by saving water now wasted on East Coast-style lawns, undetected leaks and inefficient appliances. More people doesn't al- ways mean more water. Per- capita consumption has de- clined in the last two de- cades while urban water use has stayed level, accord- ing to the Public Policy In- stitute of California. Los Angeles uses about as much water as it did 40 years ago, even after adding one mil- lion people. "The reality is you can't tell people 'Don't move to California," said Newsha Ajami, urban water policy director at Stanford Uni- versity's Water in the West program. "But you can be smarter in the way you use your water, you can be ef- ficient, you can make sure people who come in under- stand how valuable this re- sources is to us." Abortions A state assemblywoman drew criticism last week af- ter a reproductive health site reported that she tied abortion to drought. As- semblywoman Shannon Grove said she told at- tendees of an anti-abor- tion breakfast that rain fell on drought-stricken Texas after the governor there signed legislation banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. How- ever, the Bakersfield Re- publican said she wasn't trying to say God's wrath over abortion caused Cal- ifornia's drought. Burgers People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has responded to Gov. Jerry Brown's order for cities and towns to cut water use by 25 percent by urging an equal cut in milk and dairy production, citing the thou- sands of gallons of water needed to raise cows. The group says animal-agri- culture is largely to blame for dwindling water sup- plies and exempt from wa- ter conservation efforts, although farmers have en- dured other government cuts to water from reser- voirs and rivers. PETA deployed naked women outside the state Capitol to highlight how far more water goes into mak- ing one burger than taking one shower. Brown recently said people should be eat- ing veggie burgers, but he's reluctant to dictate what crops and animals farmers should raise. HISTORIC DRY SPELL What's blamed as the cause of the state's drought? Basically everything MARCIOJOSESANCHEZ—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Workers plant strawberries in Watsonville. Advocates for various causes are using the four-year dry spell to shore up opposition on everything from unauthorized immigration to eating hamburgers. The Associated Press Wildfires are chewing through parched parts of the West, where temperatures are rising Thursday. Here's a look at the latest hotspots and what crews are doing to control them. Alaska Two wildfires are burning outside Anchorage, one that tripled in size and forced the evacuation of campsites on the Kenai Peninsula and an- other in the heart of Alas- ka's dog mushing commu- nity that firefighters have kept from growing. A blaze in the Kenai Na- tional Wildlife Refuge bal- looned to about 14 square miles as temperatures warmed in low humidity. Eight structures — anything from a home to a chicken coop — have been destroyed since Monday. More than 250 firefighters battled the blaze between a highwayandtheKenaiRiver, Alaska's most popular sport- fishing venue. Up to 500 more personnel are expected from the Lower 48 states. More than 420 firefight- ers have kept another wild- fire at about 12 square miles, this one in Willow, where the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race normally begins. Some resi- dents were expected to re- turn Thursday to the com- munity about 40 miles north of Anchorage. Fifty structures have been lost, including some homes, since the blaze began Sun- day. Arizona A smoky brush fire near a rural Arizona community was contained mainly to a dry riverbed, allowing most of the hundreds of evacuated residents to return home. The flames have burned at least three residences near Kearny, about 85 miles southeast of Phoenix, and torn through nearly 2 square miles of salt cedar trees since Wednesday. A handful of people who live close to a riverbed must stay away because of their homes' proximity to the fire, Arizona State Forestry spokesman Mike Reichling said. Some firefighters who faced triple-digit tempera- tures suffered heat-related problems, but there were no serious injuries, he said. About 200 firefighters have kept it burning away from the town of 2,000 resi- dents, officials said. State Sen. Barbara Mc- Guire said the fire looked "like a war zone." California Firefighters battled two blazes in Southern Califor- nia, one that was growing as it churned through 30- foot pine trees in a remote area of the San Bernardino Mountains and another that was slowing in northern San Diego County. The forest fire sent up a massive plume of smoke af- ter forcing the evacuation of several rural campgrounds some 90 miles east of Los Angeles. Firefighters faced temperatures rising into the 90s in many areas of South- ern California. No structures have been damaged. Nearly 200 campers were evacuated after the fire was reported Wednesday. To thesouth, crews slowed the spread of a wildfire near a casino on the Barona In- dian Reservation, state fire spokesman Kendal Bortisser said. It's burned less than 200 acres of dry brush since Wednesday. Washington A wildfire burning south of Spokane was under con- trol but sent up a massive smoke column in eastern Washington. Brian Schaeffer with the Spokane Fire Department says that air and ground crews got the less than 150-acre blaze halfway contained, Spokane news station KHQ-TV reported Thursday. WESTERN WILDFIRES Blazes burn in 4 states amid hot weather Carroll: Helen Carroll, 79, of Red Bluff, died Monday, June 15, at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. Ar- rangements are under the direction of Blair's Crema- tion & Burial. Published Friday, June 19, 2015in the Daily News, Red Bluff, California. Death notices must be provided by mortuaries to the news department, are published at no charge, and feature only specific basic information about the deceased. Paid obituaries are placed through the Classified advertising department. Paid obituaries may be placed by mortuaries or by families of the deceased and include online publication linked to the newspaper's website. Paid obituaries may be of any length, may run multiple days and offer wide latitude of content, including photos. Death notice ADAM ESCHBACK — THE IDAHO PRESS-TRIBUNE VIA AP Emergency responders carry water to dump on wildfires on Saturday near Celebration Park south of Melba, Idaho. You're there for Mom. We're here for you. Connect with experts and other caregivers aarp.org/caregiving 1.877.333.5885 FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A