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By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The Tehama County Mentoring Program is having a big bash to cele- brate National Mentoring Month. The mentoring pro- gram will have a party today to honor its mentors and mentees followed by a viewing of "Big" at the State Theatre. The public is invited to attend and find out more about the program and how to become a mentor. Being a mentor means sharing what you know and passing that on to a young person and offer- ing guidance and friend- ship, said program coor- dinator Melissa Medonca. "Mentors are just aver- age people that are doing an extraordinary thing," she said. "If you volunteer to mentor you'll find that there are a lot of neat, young people here." All mentors in the pro- gram are volunteers who meet with their mentee based on their own sched- ules. Medonca matches up the mentors and mentees based on the their needs and interests. "A great deal of care is taken in making matches so each one has tremen- dous potential to be suc- cessful," she said. Though the commit- ment to be a mentor is usually for one year, most relationships tend to go beyond that. Brad Carter has been a mentor for about 10 years. "I thought life had been good to me so it was time to give back," he said. Carter has been with the same mentee, who is now 16, throughout the years. They have done simple things such as attending sporting events to working out problems involving family situa- tions. When Carter started, he and his mentee both lived in Red Bluff. Carter now lives in Manton and the mentee lives in Corn- ing. Despite the distance they have to travel to meet up, Carter has decided to Weather forecast 10A Partly cloudy 58/43 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2010 Jack is Back — 24 Bulldog Bounce Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY 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 See Inside SPORTS 1B Select TV 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY Red Bluff Daily News Saturday delivery will be late due to the sports coverage. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. MOULE'S TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260 GOT GLASS! OPEN Saturdays 9:00-3:30 Learn Basic EXCEL Tues., Jan. 19 TH ONE DAY ONLY! 8:30 am to 12:30 pm Job Training Center 718 Main St., Red Bluff Call 529-7000 Cost: $65.00 per person Jack the Ribber 1150 Monroe St. 527-6108 NEW HOURS: Mon.-Fri 11am-8pm Sat. 4-9pm Ribs, Tri-tips Dinners Sandwich, Specials 2nd meningitis case diagnosed, treated Officials: May indicate 'cluster' By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County officials con- firmed Thursday another case of meningitis was found in a 6-year- old Red Bluff girl, but it could be months before it is clear whether it is the bacterial meningitis that killed a 10-year-old boy last week- end. The girl came down with symptoms at the end of her Christ- mas break from school. After being hospitalized at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, she is at home and recovering, Health Services Agency Director Valerie Lucero said. "During the course of the last few days, we have found a tenta- tive link (between the two chil- dren)," Lucero said. But confirming the link means using DNA tests, which could take weeks to come back from the laboratory. Lab work obtained this week revealed both children were infected by a kind of meningitis that can be prevented with a com- mon vaccine. Tehama County has waived its rule of offering the vaccine only to children 11 and older and offered mass vaccination clinics at Vista Middle School, where a cousin of the girl showed meningitis symp- toms but was treated without a meningitis test, and Bidwell Ele- mentary School, where the deceased 10-year-old attended. In the case of the deceased boy, about 50 people, including stu- dents who had been in close con- 'During the course of the last few days, we have found a tentative link (between the two children)' Valerie Lucero, Health Services Agency Bumpy road ahead Daily News photo by Tang Lor Joel Montero speaks to a Tehama County school superintendents and board representatives about the state budget and how it will affect their districts. By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Tehama County school superin- tendents and board members were encouraged to not be like the state when it comes to budgeting and spending cash. In a presentation to superinten- dents, board members and chief business officers from the county's 18 school districts Thursday, Joel Montero, CEO of Fiscal Crises and Management Assistance Team, said he was going to give a not so posi- tive message. Montero analyzed the state bud- get shortfall and gave the adminis- trators advice on how they can make it through the fiscal crises. The state's $19 billion budget shortfall is a result of bad assump- tions made in the past, he said. Don't make bad assumptions. Be accurate on budget assumptions. Districts need to understand the difference between a budget and cash. Budgets are just a list of num- bers but cash is what they have to spend. Administrators must watch their cash if they want to stay in charge of their school districts, Montero said. Districts that run out of cash become insolvent, meaning the state comes in to take over and and make cuts — regardless of board or former superintendent priorities. One way to not become insol- vent is for districts to identify their core programs and decide how many people they need to carry out the programs. When it comes down to making cuts, it is about what the district thinks is the most important for its students, Montero said. Once the Gerber chamber is going under BY JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer GERBER — An e-mail sent out Monday announced that the Gerber Chamber of Commerce is in the process of dissolving due to rising costs and declining mem- bership. Former chamber President Earlene Cullison said the decision to dissolve was made around July, but the final paperwork to start the process was not turned in until Dec. 29. The chamber's final meeting was held Dec. 12. $3.7 million set for LM road projects The California Trans- portation Commission announced Wednesday the allocation of $463 million to 87 transporta- tion projects statewide. The money awarded includes $346 million from Proposition 1B, the $19.9 billion transporta- tion bond that was approved by voters in 2006, and $3.3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvest- ment Act of 2009. Money awarded local- ly includes two projects in and near Los Molinos. A scour-damaged bridge near Los Molinos will be removed and replaced with a single span, precast concrete box beam bridge. The bridge will be fixed to comply with the Bridge Scour Report rec- ommendation. Funding for the project is in the amount of $3,000,000. The area of improvement includes south of North Fork Mill Creek Bridge to north of Craig Creek Bridge at North Fork Mill Creek Bridge, Sunset Canal Bridge and Craig Creek Bridge. In Los Molinos, from Orange Street to Tehama- Vina Road, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, street lighting, drainage and thin blanket overlay will be installed. The total allocated for the project is $1,784,000. The Final Project Devel- opment and Final Right of Way expenditures will Nielsen named top legislator SACRAMENTO — Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R- Gerber, was awarded Wednesday the highest recognition the Regional Council of Rural Counties can give out. In a ceremony at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, RCRC members awarded Nielsen the Patti Mattingly Award for continued efforts in the Assembly to address issues fac- ing rural counties. In particular, Nielsen was recognized for his work in protecting area-of-origin water rights in a package of water bills pushed by the governor, an issue RCRC supervisors said was one of the most pressing facing rural counties. "Rural issues are near and dear to me, receiving recognition as legislator of the year from a great advo- cate such as RCRC not only has special meaning, but it also carries significant weight," Nielsen said in a press release. Nielsen said the award left him both honored and humbled, and vowed to continue fighting in the Legisla- ture for the interests of rural counties. —Staff report Mentors celebrate with movie night Daily News photo by Tang Lor Red Bluff Mayor Jeff Moyer presents Melissa Mendonca, Tehama County Mentoring Program coordinator, with a proclamation celebrating National Mentoring Month during the Jan. 5 City Council meeting. See 2ND, page 9A See GERBER, page 9A See BUMPY, page 9A See ROAD, page 9A See MOVIE, page 9A