Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/617850
anon-profitWestEdincre- dentialing and teaching at Chico State. I get to see the reality in teaching and be a voice at the federal level. I'm incredibly lucky and having the time of my life." The fellowship is a great opportunity and allows her to see the whole cycle of learning while doing what she loves to do, she said. The group launched the year with a Ready For Suc- cess bus tour led by the US Secretary of Educa- tion Arne Duncan visiting schools from Missouri to Pennsylvania. Veatch's focus was on vis- iting highly successful rural schools and meeting with students teachers at Pur- due University who are pre- paring to teach in rural set- tings, according to an Ever- green School District press release. "The Back-To-School Bus Tour allowed the Depart- ment of Education to high- light some of the amazing programs that are happen- ing across the nation," Ve- atch said. "It was energiz- ing to see the department recognize significant con- tributions of the rural ed- ucation community." Teacher FROMPAGE1 In response to concerns about the criteria for who was included, it was not ar- bitrary and was developed by staff, Moore said. "Zoning changes can im- pact the environment and the level of scrutiny for ag conversion could be a liabil- ity," County Counsel Bryan Briggs said. The commissioners set a time line for the item to ap- pear before the board and it should be heard again within the next 90 days, ac- cording to the motion made at the meeting. Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor meeting minutes and agen- das are available at www. co.tehama.ca.us. Rezone FROM PAGE 1 was made to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey. In the video, of- ficers arrive after Feaster shot Thomas but aren't told for several minutes that Thomas had been shot. Feastertellsawatchcom- mander, who is preparing to leave for the bar Thomas left to see if he'd been shot there: "No, no. I had an A.D. (accidental discharge). ... I don't think I shot him. I wasn'tevenpointingathim, but the gun did go off." "As you know I cannot comment on Officer Feast- er's actions that night since we have an open Internal Affairs Investigation," she said in an e-mail to this newspaper. "However, what I can say is that the video you prepared accurately depicts what occurred that night and shows that Ms. Ehorn was being attended to by the assisting officers." Darien Ehorn, Thomas' estranged wife, was thrown from the vehicle in the roll- over accident and died. Feaster has been criticized by citizens who say he should have tended to the gravely injured Ehorn. Tazzari-Dineen said it was important to note the integrity of the process mustbekeptinordertosus- tain any decision rendered. If the process is violated in any internal affairs inves- tigation, it could open the department to legal claims bytheemployeeinquestion, she said. "Fines can be attached and they are per violation," she said. "I am protecting the process that has to be fair, thorough and confiden- tial." While the public may be demanding quick action, the process doesn't appear to allow that. She expects Buzzard to have his report to her by the end of the year. How- ever, she won't "rush" him in order to ensure the pro- cess is thorough. If Buzzard does get the report to her by the end of the year, she expects a decision sometime in the first week of January. Any decision, including any punishment, must be pro- vided to the employee and his representative. They must have a rea- sonable time frame to re- view all of the facts to de- termine whether to ask for an administrative hearing. If Feaster does that, Taz- zari-Dineen expects the re- view to take one to two weeks to complete. Then the hearing in front of her, called a Skelly hearing, could place. That's where the em- ployee can present facts that may not have been taken into account. The em- ployee could also plea down any potential punishment. After that Skelly hear- ing, she said a final decision would likely occur about a week later, into the third week of January. Protestscontinue The body camera video published Wednesday by this newspaper from the night of the shooting has renewed calls for account- ability. "We just feel (Thomas) deserves justice," said Joshua Turner, a friend of Thomas' who has orga- nized protests calling for Feaster's firing. "We feel there's a cover-up going on, and we're trying to get it ex- posed.ThetownofParadise deserves it." Turner said the release of body camera footage by the District Attorney's Of- fice came as a shock to him. He alleged the videos show Feaster attempted to cover up the shooting. Ramsey has previously said the shooting was unin- tentional and possibly neg- ligent but not criminally so. No criminal charges have been filed against Feaster. Turner said protesters have regularly met outside the Paradise Police Depart- ment for about a week, and a larger protest is scheduled for noon Saturday at Para- dise Community Park. Turner said he was able to visit Thomas in the hos- pitalMonday.Thomas,how- ever, was sleeping at the time. "His condition was get- ting worse," Turner said. He added that members of Thomas' family were thank- ful for Turner's involvement and supported the protests. Turner added that pro- testers understand the Par- adise Police Department's investigation into Feaster's actions will take time. "We're mainly just letting the police know we don't want him on the street," he said. A Change.org petition that has used the shooting to call for police account- ability reached more than 1,000 supporters Thursday. "I feel the officer who did the shooting should be punishedandtheDAshould be pursuing charges," sup- porter Shannon Karlstrom of Chico wrote on the web- site. "The police dept. & this officer MUST be held ac- countable for this criminal act," supporter Ronald Cox of Paradise wrote. The American Civil Lib- erties Union of Northern California also has called for accountability and transparency following the shooting. "Police should use no more force than is abso- lutely necessary," said Mi- caela Davis, staff attorney for the ACLU of Northern California, in a statement provided to this newspaper Thursday. "Paradise Police Department leadership and the District Attorney should prioritize transparency and accountability in the after- math of this tragic shoot- ing." Enterprise-Recordreporter Andre Byik contributed to this report. Shooting FROM PAGE 1 gestion from Councilman Robert Schmid, with the affected employees' jobs as they are. The department and city staff will get back to the council with the re- sults, City Manager Rich- ard Crabtree said. It will be brought back for fur- ther discussion if the Parks Department situation does not improve. Time cards for the em- ployee would help the city know how much that new position would cost, Schmid said. A mainte- nance person will have jobs throughout the week but will not necessarily have normal job hours. If the city goes to time cards, the department would still need a supple- mental appropriation for that person's salary, Henz said. Some suggestions during deliberation by Mayor Clay Parker were to approve the request and check with the budget committee to look for other ways to han- dle the situation in future budgets or wait for a cou- ple weeks to approve the re- quest. Councilwoman Dan- iele Jackson was in favor of filling the position for half a year and then going back to the budget committee to see how that worked. Parker and Jackson voted to approve both the rearrangement and sup- plemental appropriation. Councilmen Gary Jones, Suren Patel and Schmid voted no. The Public Works De- partments has strived to provide in-house main- tenance and repair ser- vices for many city facili- ties, whenever it's deemed feasible, according to the report. This rearrange- ment was what the Pub- lic Works Department sug- gested would best achieve the goals of the city. This new maintenance employee would have been solely responsible for ad- dressing maintenance is- sues in the parks, at the pool, the Community Cen- ter, the City Hall complex and other city facilities as required. The transfer of the Streets Department em- ployee was because the Street Department has ex- perienced several chal- lenges to staffing and pro- duction capabilities, in- cluding work restrictions on personnel, Henz said. That employee is no lon- ger allowed to do the main- tenance for the Parks De- partment because funding from the city's Transporta- tion Fund must be utilized only for efforts applicable to the city's streets. The Street Department budget has sufficient iden- tified funding to support an entry level salary to fill the new open position, so there would have been no impact on the city budget for this fiscal year. Personnel FROM PAGE 1 By Paul Elias The Associated Press SALINAS Prosecutors said Thursday they plan to file first-degree murder charges against a woman and teen- ager in the death of two children found in a Califor- nia storage locker. Monterey County Dis- trict Attorney Dean Flippo made the disclosure at a news conference in Sali- nas, where authorities be- lieve the children — ages 3 and 6 — had been killed. Prosecutors say they will decide later whether to seek the death penalty. Police have said the chil- dren were killed in a Sa- linas apartment around Thanksgiving then taken 300 miles to the locker in Redding. The Associated Press typically does not identify abuse victims; it is not nam- ing the woman and teen- ager because their relation- ship to the children is un- clear. The investigation began on Dec. 11 when a 9-year-old girl suffering from neglect and abuse was found near a house in Plumas County, where the woman had re- cently moved. Police later found the two younger children dead in the storage locker about 150 miles away from the home. The 39-year-old woman and 17-year-old male were charged with child abuse, torture and mayhem in- volving the 9-year-old child. Their lawyers have declined comment. Elliot Robinson, head of the Monterey County De- partment of Social Ser- vices, said the woman was visited by county child wel- fare workers four times over the course of a year to check on complaints of neglect. None of the five children living in the apartment was removed from her care be- cause there was no evidence they were at risk, Robinson said. The complaints between September 2014 and August were about general neglect, a category that includes poor supervision, improper feeding, lice infestation and dirty household conditions, Robinson said, adding that none of the complaints al- leged physical abuse. "General neglect calls rarely will result in the re- moval of the child," he said. "More often than not it's about poverty." Social services officials were reviewing the agency's handling of the four neglect complaints. REDDING ANDREASFUHRMANN—RECORDSEARCHLIGHT A commercial storage unit facility is shown on Tuesday where two children were found dead in Redding. By Julie Watson The Associated Press Paralyzed Army veteran Gene Laureano cried when he first walked again with robotic legs at a New York clinic as part of research sponsored by the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. But when the study ended, so did his ability to walk. Now he may get the chance to walk everyday: The VA has agreed to pay for the powered exoskeleton for eligible paralyzed vet- erans with spinal cord in- juries — marking the first national coverage policy for robotic legs in the United States. Veterans have been pe- titioning the VA to do this because many cannot af- ford the $77,000 needed to pay for the device called the ReWalk. The electronic leg braceswereapprovedbythe U.S. Food and Drug Admin- istration in 2014 for individ- uals to use at home. VA of- ficials told The Associated Press that that the agency sentamemorandumDec.10 outlining its plans to train staff to be able to provide the ReWalk. News of the VA's decision sent shares for ReWalk Ro- botics up over 100 percent Thursday. Sales have been sluggish since the FDA ap- proval of the system, with few private insurers agree- ing to cover it. Most of the 36 individuals who bought the ReWalk in the United States so far paid for it through fundraising or out of pocket. But the company hopes the VA's policy will prompt more private insurers to fol- low suit. "The VA is leading the world with this," CEO Larry ReWalk Robotics said. "It's fabulous. It really gives in- dividuals a much better life, and makes them much healthier to be able to walk again." The company said it has evaluated 45 paralyzed vet- erans who meet the height and weight requirements for the technology — which consists of leg braces with motion sensors and motor- ized joints that respond to subtle changes in upper- body movement and shifts in balance. Laureano, 53, is pray- ing his application will go through soon. The former Army corporal remembers the day he first tried the Re- Walk at New York's James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx two years ago. "The tears came down," said Laureano, who was left paralyzed five years ago af- ter falling off a ladder. "I hadn't spoken to somebody standing up in so long." "I just kept remember- ing the doctor told me it was impossible for me to walk, and then I crossed that threshold from the im- possible to the possible," he added. The ReWalk was in- vented by Israeli entrepre- neur Amit Goffer, who was paralyzed in an accident in 1997. Several competing products that use similar technology — nicknamed "electronic legs"— are also being tested in U.S. rehab hospitals. None, including the Re- Walk, are fast enough or can be worn long enough to replace wheelchairs. "The research support and effort to provide eligi- ble veterans with paraly- sis an exoskeleton for home use is a historic move on the part of the VA because it represents a paradigm shift in the approach to rehabil- itation for persons with pa- ralysis," said Dr. Ann Spun- gen, who led VA research on the system. VA pilot studies found paraplegics who used the exoskeleton as little as four hours a week for three to five months experienced better bowel and bladder function, reduced back pain, improved sleep and less fatigue. POWERED EXOSKELETON VA sets national policy to provide robotic legs for paralyzed veterans MEL EVANS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Paralyzed Army veteran Gene Laureano wears an Army veteran cap Wednesday in Bronx, N.Y. First-degree murder cha rg es pl an ne d a er children found in locker THOMASJAMESSHRIVER December 24, 1944 ~ November 23, 2015 Thomas James Shriver was born December 24, 1944 in Vallejo, CA. He passed away on November 23, 2015 in Redding, CA. He was a long-time Red Bluff resident. He retired from the US Navy in 1991 after a 20 year ca- reer. Upon his retirement, he worked at the Red Bluff Post Office for 13 years. Tom loved horses and dogs, and often had both by his side at his ranch; many of his volunteer efforts included them. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Julie, as well as his children, James, Jason (Melissa), and Jennifer Rodebaugh (Will), and 4 grandchildren. Also mourning his passing are his siblings, Diana Munn and Barry Shriver, and many other family and friends. A celebration of life will be held at the Red Bluff Com- munity Center on Sunday, December 20, 2015 from 2-6 p.m. A military funeral honors service will be held at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo, CA on Monday, December 21, 2015 at 2 p.m. Obituaries 527-2151 FAX 527-3719 545DIAMONDAVE., RED BLUFF TheDailyNewsofficewill CLOSE AT NOON Thurs., Dec. 24 & Dec. 31 CLOSED Christmas Day, Fri, Dec. 25 New Years Day, Fri, Jan. 1 Retailadvertisingdeadlineforthese editions is Tuesday, 10AM Classified deadline Wednesday, 10AM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 7 A