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MARCH 24-25 2012 WEEKEND High Tech for Seniors Golden Years - 4A RED BLUFF Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com likely Weather forecast 12A Rain 52/41 DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY $1.00 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 Hoop dreams A year on, still waiting for justice By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Almost exactly a year after cyclist Wanda Pridemore was struck and killed by a vehicle in the intersection of Antelope Boulevard and Main Street, police are still seeking justice in the case. Driver Victor Rodriguez was stopped by other dri- vers who blocked his truck in with their own vehicles nearby. He was later arrested by police. Rodriguez is in custody at Tehama County Jail on charges of hit and run resulting in injury or death, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and special allegations for fleeing the scene of the crime. He is scheduled to be in court at 1:15 p.m. Monday for a trial readiness conference with a trial set to begin on May 9. Rodriguez is represented by Berg & Associ- ates. See JUSTICE, page 11A RBPD to upgrade records system By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Kyle scores on for the Maywood/Vista Middle School team Friday at the annual High Hoops tourna- ment held at Berrendos Middle School.The event pairs special education students with peers from general education. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The annual High Hoops basketball tournament for special education students, held at Berrendos Middle School celebrated its fifth year on Friday. "We're proud to host this event and give students the opportunity to show off their amazing basketball skills," Antelope School District Superintendent Todd Brose said. The event, which hosted 10 schools, had about 80 participants from throughout Tehama County and a few from Glenn County, said co-founder and event organiz- er Jody Johnson who is an adapted physical education specialist with the Tehama County Department of Edu- cation. There were another 40 preschoolers sitting in the audience with the younger students who were not quite old enough to play, but came as a class field trip in addition to parents and grandparents who filled the stands. "It just keeps getting better every year," Johnson said. "It's a great opportunity for our kids and its some- thing unique to Tehama County." This year, there were 35 Berrendos students who were paired with the special needs students to help and several students from Antelope and Berrendos played the Star-Spangled Banner on the violin for opening cer- emonies. Berrendos Middle School cheerleaders stood on the sidelines, cheering the athletes on. "We do a training with them to help them understand their jobs and how to work with students with disabili- ties," Johnson said. To keep the games more manageable, the players See HOOP, page 11A Youth to present 2 shows today After a year hiatus, the Tehama County Arts Coun- cil and the State Theatre for the Arts are proud to bring back "the little red truck" that has come to symbolize the Missoula Children's Theatre touring team. The week of residency will culminate in two perfor- mances of an adaptation of the classic children's story The Little Mermaid, hap- pening at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. today at the State Theatre. The residency week kicked off with the show's auditions Monday. Nearly 60 local students were cast and spent an intense week of rehearsing and preparing. The MCT tour directors work with the local cast dur- ing the week and make spe- cial appearances at local schools. Students from Bend Elementary learned stage makeup techniques to achieve Jackson Heights explored improvisational and acting exercises. various effects.Those at Metteer and Thanks to a generous donation from the Educa- tion Foundation these work- shops were provided at no cost to the schools. The residency in Tehama County is made possible by the Tehama County Arts Council and the State The- atre for the Arts with help from the California Arts Council, the Walmart Dis- tribution Center, other local businesses, various commu- nity service groups and indi- vidual contributions from community members. For more information about the performances or to purchase tickets, call the State Theatre at 529-2787. Police reports may get a little easier for everyone now that the city approved a system upgrade for the police records department The City Council approved use of grant funds of more than $22,000 March 6 for the police department to purchase a new server and software to update its records management system. Estimating that it will save them hundreds of hours of staff time a year, Police Chief Paul Nanfito told the council the new system will upgrade the depart- ment's technologically- antiquated system. The department inputs handwritten reports into a Microsoft Word document that is then transferred to the management software, called LEADS. It was the top line program in 1994, when it was installed in Red Bluff, Nanfito said. Now the company has dwin- dled to one man for ser- vice maintenance and he is close to retirement. The department has been working off of one server, which it shares with the fire department, and equipment that is 20 years old, he said. Seven police chiefs have used the same equipment, Nanfito said. Both Dispatcher Cindee Spurgeon and Records Manager Debo- rah Tompkins presented the council with exten- See RBPD, page 11A DN Staff After surviving the Round of 16, eight pizzerias moved on to this week's Elite Ate, where the compe- tition heated up so much it could barely be contained in an oven. Luigi's Pizza vs. E's Locker Room Separated by a brisk walk, two Red Bluff institu- tions squared off with a spot in the Final Four on the line. Luigi's came into the tournament as a heavy favorite with it's memorable dough and savory ingredi- ents. Meanwhile E's might be one of the best places around to have a slice of pizza. But despite the home- made goodness that comes from E's, Luigi's rolls on. Winner: Luigi's Pizza Lakeside Pizza and Grill vs. Firehouse Lakeside turned out to be a secluded gem of a pizza place tucked away in the community of Lake Califor- nia. See MUNCH, page 11A Down to Final Four MUNCH MADNESS Sweet 16 March 10-17 Luigi's Pizza Little Caesars E's Locker Room Lariat Bowl Lakeside Domino's Papa Murphy's Firehouse Round Table Rolling Hills Tony's Take 'n' Bake Safeway Marco's Nu-Way Market Mill Creek Raley's Elite Ate March 24 Luigi's Pizza E's Locker Room Luigi's Pizza Lakeside Firehouse Firehouse April 2, 2012 Chompionship Round Table Tony's Take 'n' Bake Round Table Final 4 March 31 Marco's Marco's Mill Creek Reviews by: Daily News staff