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On Wednesday, state officials proudly reported that California cities and water districts overall cut consumption 29 per- cent in May, the highest yet recorded during the drought. In Santa Margarita, they already know their June saving rate — 28 per- cent — though the state won't release figures for another month. The Santa Margarita district, which includes such cities as San Clem- ente and Mission Viejo, imports all its drinking water from the Colorado River more than 300 miles away. It has no ground- water and no local water source of its own. Officials with the water agency have spent week- ends knocking on 2,000 doors and speaking di- rectly with homeowners. They also held informal "living room dialogues" with customers in Coto de Caza, a completely gated city-within-a-city with a concentration of wealth and plenty of lush green lawns. They have started a Wa- ter Hero award for the top water-saving customers. Winners are honored at the water district's meet- ing and receive a glass plaque along with a sign to put in their yard. The district also sets up a Guess Your Gal- lons booth outside coffee shops, at parades and at other events. Residents are asked to estimate their water use, and then the water district looks up their actual consumption and compares it with that of other houses of similar size. Billboards show a ris- ing blue thermometer of water savings to date. A billboard truck patrols the streets declaring a drought emergency in gi- ant fire-engine-red letters. The water district has also launched a TV campaign. "It's a behavior change. That's a challenge for ev- eryone, and I think we're doing a good job so far, but we have to work to uphold this," said Rich Kissee, the district's operations man- ager. These efforts were helped by an innovative man-made reservoir that went into operation in May, just as district of- ficials were beginning to crack down on water waste. The reservoir collects runoff from a major hous- ing development that had been irrigating with drinking water, filters the water through a series of four pools and then pumps it back uphill to the gated community. The system is saving about 300 acre-feet of wa- ter a year, and that could reach 750 acre-feet a year, Kissee said. An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre to a depth of 1 foot. One resident who bought into the plan early on is Gabrielle Botose- anu, a property manager at a 149-unit complex. She ripped up 3,900 square feet of grass and planted drought-tolerant land- scaping using $90,000 in water district rebates for turf removal. She has seen the complex's water bill cut in half. For her efforts, she re- ceived a Water Hero plaque. "I'm so grateful, you just don't know," she said of the award. "I saw the way things were going and started early." Tech FROMPAGE1 Wenger:BruceWenger,63, of Red Bluff died Wednes- day, July 1at Oak River Rehabilitation in Anderson. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Pub- lished Friday, July 3, 2015 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, California. Deathnoticesmustbe 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 notices Spark arresters are re- quired on chainsaws be- ing used for people filling valid personal use wood cutting permits and may only be used on desig- nated roads and trails. "The rugged terrain that makes the Men- docino such an amazing place can also carry wild- fire quickly, especially as ongoing drought condi- tions have stressed trees and left forest fuels ex- tremely dry," said Forest Supervisor Ann Carlson. "The public can help pre- vent wildfires by respect- ing the fire restrictions and being careful when using anything with a flame or that can throw a spark while enjoying this great forest." Temporary fire restric- tions are put in place an- nually to protect natural resources and limit the threat of human-caused wildfires. Restrictions can vary by forest and visitors should check with the Na- tional Forest they plan on visiting for the latest fire restrictions and condi- tions. Violation of fire re- strictions is punishable by a fine of no more than $5,000 for an individual, $10,000 for an organiza- tion, or up to six months imprisonment or both. Fire season typically ends in late fall following a series of drenching, mea- surable rains in the moun- tains. An announcement will follow when fire re- strictions are lifted. For more information, contact the Mendocino National Forest at 934- 3316 or visit www.fs.usda. gov/mendocino, the Las- sen National Forest Al- manor Ranger District at 258-2141, Shasta-Trin- ity National Forest at 226- 2500 or Klamath National Forest at 842-6131 at www. fs.usda.gov/klamath. Fires FROM PAGE 1 PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. JULIE ZEEB - DAILY NEWS Deputy City Clerk Cheryl Smith swears in two new Red Bluff reserve firefighters Thursday at City Hall. Pictured from le are Smith, Matt Walsh and David Robb. RED BLUFF READY TO SERVE By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Amid in- creasing national scrutiny over shootings of unarmed minorities by police, citi- zen complaints about po- lice are at a 25-year low in California, according to a report from the state at- torney general. "It certainly creates a different impression in re- gards to the recent reports of police shootings," Justin McCrary, a law professor at the University of Cali- fornia, Berkeley, School of Law, said Thursday. Analysts and officials credit several factors, in- cluding better training, a lower crime rate, height- ened sensitivity by offi- cers and seemingly ever- present cameras to record police contact with people. With crime rates down in 2014, it's not surpris- ing that contacts between citizens and police also dropped, leading to fewer complaints, said McCrary, who studies crime and po- licing. The report released by Attorney General Kamala Harris this week shows fewer than 15,700 com- plaints about police last year. That's down from a high of more than 24,000 complaints in 2007 and from an average of nearly 19,900 complaints annu- ally since 1990. Separately, the attorney general reported that most major crimes, including homicide, robberies and burglaries, also declined in 2014. Most of the complaints against peace officers al- lege noncriminal behav- ior. Fewer than 1,300 complaints were upheld, including 109 involving criminal conduct. Those numbers also are down over recent years. Christopher Slobogin, a psychiatry professor and director of Vanderbilt Law School's Criminal Jus- tice Program, said police agencies and officers can't help but be aware of recent incidents making national headlines and are adjust- ing their behavior and pol- icies. "That alone is going to make them more cau- tious," he said. Moreover, "there's no doubt that cameras have become more ubiquitous," Slobogin said. "The police know this and it wouldn't be at all surprising that it affected their behavior on the street." Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan, president of the California State Sher- iffs' Association, is among those who believe that of- ficers increasingly wear- ing cameras will continue to reduce the number of citizen complaints as well as police use of force. But he said too few agencies were using them to have affected last year's rate. More prevalent were cellphone and surveillance camera footage obtained by the public, which can quickly gain traction on social media. Officers are aware they may be pho- tographed, but Ryan said once they are in a danger- ous situation their train- ing kicks in. He also noted that about a third of complaints come from inmates in prisons and jails, who may be com- plaining about conditions. Ryan and Ventura Police Chief Ken Corney credited improved training in Cali- fornia, better background checks and psychological evaluations of police can- didates for reducing cit- izen complaints, as well as increased emphasis on community partnerships. Corney, first vice presi- dent of the California Po- lice Chiefs Association, said despite sensational- ized cases, there are still relatively few incidents of police misconduct com- pared with tens of thou- sands of interactions. "There's been a lot of focus on some things that don't happen that fre- quently," he said. LAW ENFORCEMENT Complaints against cops drop to lowest level since 1990 RICH PEDRONCELLI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A person at right records Sacramento Police officers taking a suspect into custody, who was stopped in what police say was a stolen vehicle, in Sacramento. By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press GRANTS PASS, ORE. Four troopers and two federal agents all fired their weap- ons in a standoff on Inter- state 5 in southern Oregon that left a man dead who had been sought in the slaying of his girlfriend in Northern California, Ore- gon State Police said Thurs- day. Spokesman Lt. Bill Fu- gate said police were in Sunny Valley about 15 miles north of Grants Pass on Wednesday looking for 32-year-old Kaleb Landon of Yreka, California, who had family in the area, when they saw his car get on the freeway. Landon got about a mile before crashing into an- other vehicle. Fugate says Landon was armed and af- ter a brief standoff, the four troopers and two agents from the U.S. Bureau of Al- cohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all fired. Landon was declared dead, but none of the troop- ers or agents was injured. Police in Yreka, Cali- fornia, said they got a re- port of a possible homi- cide Wednesday, and found 34-year-old Erika Lemere dead in the garage of her house. Cause of death has yet to be determined, but she was not shot, said Po- lice Chief Brian Bowles. Investigators identified Landon, who lived with her, as a suspect and Oregon State police located him in Sunny Valley, Bowles said. Landon was driving a blue 1998 Ford Mustang that he had tried to paint a differ- ent color. "It's a very tragic inci- dent," Bowles said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and offi- cers involved." Northbound traffic on Interstate 5 was blocked for about eight hours late Wednesday and early Thursday while investiga- tors gathered evidence, ac- cording to the Oregon De- partment of Transporta- tion. Cars were put on a detour over narrow moun- tain roads, but trucks pulled over and parked. OREGON Police: California man killed in I-5 standoff GILVEGOD May 20, 1926 ~ June 30, 2015 Gil Vegod, 89, passed away June 30, 2015 at Red Bluff HealthCare Center. He was born in Manhattan, NY, May 30, 1926, to Benjamin and Bessie Vegod. Gil was preceded in death by his older brother, Charlie Vegod, Los Molinos, and sis- ter Adele Gordon Fogelhut, Petaluma. His family was in the Retail Business in the early 30's and had a store called "The Fashion", in Red Bluff, where Gil attended grade school for a time. As years went on, the family moved to the Petaluma area. As a young boy of 10, his mother introduced him to building ship models, where he became a master builder. His models are on display in Lawyer and Doctor offices. During the war he worked in the shipyards and then joined the Merchant Marines, which later became became the Coast Guard. In 1947 he married his cousin's best friend, Florence, and they had two girls, Susan and Barbara Ann. The mar- riage lasted 47 years until Florence passed away from cancer. Gil was a avid fisherman, has a boat and travel trailer, and at least 14 fishing poles and reels. He was also a Me- chanical genius, and built a machine that made lead sinkers of various sizes, mag weights, and skin diving weights, of which he was able to coat in several colors. He loved taking old appliances apart just to see "how they worked". In 1994 Gil met and married Sandra Kalar Goodman. They traveled and had a happy 20 years together. He is survived by his daughters, Susan Norris, Barbara Ann Norris, granddaughter Erin Norris and great grandchil- dren, Kylee, Alyssa, and Marcus, nieces, Linda McKay, Carol Hill and nephew Barry Gordon. He was a very caring person, sensitive, and he loved to tell funny stories. He will be greatly missed. Obituaries FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 9 A