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Belmonte:GeraldineRuth Belmonte, 79, of Red Bluff died Wednesday, April 6at her home. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Thursday, April 7, 2016in 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. Deathnotices This group, to be known as Friends of the Red Bluff Dog Park, is now being formed to gain community support, plan park events, develop op- erational rules and reg- ulations and raise funds for the ongoing operation of the park. One of the positive characteristics of a dog park committee is the coming together of a cross section of the com- munity to work on a com- mon goal. For questions or sug- gestions about the proj- ect, call Tehama Together at 527-2223. Park FROM PAGE 1 A letter signed by those who attended memorial stated: "I would like to bring a very important issue to your attention — new- born screening. For years, thousands of children have died and thousands more have become permanently disabled because they were not screened for all possi- ble diseases at birth. You can prevent other children from needlessly suffering by sponsoring an amendment to the current newborn screening laws in the state." The letter continues to describe the disease itself and mentions how it can be preventable when found at birth through the newborn screenings. Krabbe is a rare, fatal ge- netic disorder that affects the central and peripheral nervous systems. Children affected by Krabbe suffer greatly and typically do not live beyond their second birthday, the letter stated. Lesa, formally Lesa Close, is from Red Bluff and Bren- nan didn't know they them- selves had Krabbe and are carriers of the disease. If the screening for Krabbe was conducted when Tori was born it could have been treatedrightaway,Lesasaid. Lesa and Brennan tried to make each day they had with their baby girl spe- cial. The Brackbills made a bucket list for Tori and were able to accomplish 47 activities from the list. They wanted her to have joy and focus on the good things in life, Lesa said. For more information on the disease, visit hunter- shope.org and for more on Tori's story visit thebrack- bills.com. Screenings FROM PAGE 1 HEATHER HOELSCHER - DAILY NEWS Friends and family of the Brackbills join hands and release balloons Saturday at the Red Bluff River Park in honor and celebration of the life of Tori Brackbill. HEATHER HOELSCHER - DAILY NEWS A southbound Interstate 5crash causes temporary lane closure Wednesday a ernoon due to a GMC Yukon's le rear tire blowing out and the vehicle overturning. According to a CHP of- ficer at the scene, a baby that was in the vehicle seemed to be fine but all passengers were sent to a medical facility as a pre- cautionary measure. The officer said the driver was going south- bound on I-5 when the tire blew out. No other vehicles were involved in the incident. Crash FROM PAGE 1 By Carla K. Johnson The Associated Press CHICAGO The nation's epi- demic of addiction to pain- killers and heroin is fuel- ing runaway demand for a once-obscure form of housing known as "sober homes," where recovering addicts live together in a supervised, substance-free setting to ease their transi- tion back to independence. The facilities are rarely run by credentialed profes- sionals and are only lightly regulated — a situation that has prompted at least five states to pass or consider legislation to impose basic rules on how they operate. Some homes have been ac- cused of tolerating drug use and participating in insur- ance fraud. "The ones that are good are fantastic," said Pam Rodriguez, CEO of Treat- ment Alternatives for Safe Communities, an Illinois nonprofit working to re- duce prison time for non- violent drug offenders. But the rapidly expanding field also includes "people exploiting the vulnerabil- ity of the population and their desperation to find a safe place to live," she said. Ideafrom1970s Sober homes are based on an idea that has been around since at least the 1970s, when many commu- nities had halfway houses — group homes reserved for the most desperate al- coholics with nowhere else to turn. These new houses cater increasingly to people who have become addicted to opiates. In recent years, the epidemic has touched more families who can af- ford to pay for care. The facilities range from former single-family houses in residential neigh- borhoods to apartment complexes. The residents include people recently re- leased from prison or resi- dential treatment and oth- ers who see a counselor regularly or get no treat- ment. They must observe rules and curfews and par- ticipate in 12-step meet- ings. The homes are often run by former drug users who have remained clean after rehabilitation, rather than by doctors or therapists. Residents typically pay rent ranging from $75 to $150 per week. Apparent growth There is no nationwide estimate on the number of sober homes, but experts say the growth is appar- ent. For instance, Prescott, Arizona, a city of 40,000, has 169 homes. That's one home for every 237 people, with more on the way. "We have houses open- ing up two or three a week here," said Mary Beth Hrin, a Prescott resident who supports a bill to al- low cities to regulate the homes. One large network of homes, Oxford House, now has almost 2,000 houses in about 500 cities, up 20 per- cent in the last three years. Families are seeking guidance in choosing a home and pressing for ac- countability for the money they spend there. Some of the laws under consideration would re- quire sober homes to be in- spected and certified and subject to ethical codes and consumer protections. After a scam involving inflated insurance claims for sober home residents, the Florida Legislature last year adopted a law effec- tively requiring certifica- tion of homes that receive patients from licensed re- hab centers. Florida has an estimated 1,200 homes housing 12,000 to 13,000 people. Massachusetts recently set up a voluntary certifica- tion process, and bills are pending before lawmakers in Maryland and Arizona. Some proposals would re- quire owners to undergo background checks, to re- fund money in some cir- cumstances and to make inspection reports available to consumers. In New Jer- sey, a new law requires so- ber homes to notify a family member when a resident is evicted, unless the resident chooses to keep the matter private. Little oversight For now, most homes have little to no governmen- tal oversight. "In most states, there is not a regulatory body be- cause recovery residences aren't considered treat- ment," said Amy Mericle, a scientist at Alcohol Re- search Group, a California nonprofit that studies alco- hol and drug addiction. Relatives often don't know what to expect when a loved one checks into a so- ber home. "Parents like us are blindly placing our children in these facilities," said Jill Martin, whose 22-year-old son, Joey, died of an over- dose in a Loma Linda, Cal- ifornia, sober home where, she said, he was supposed to be regularly monitored. She is among those push- ing for regulation in Ari- zona, her home state. At the home where Joey Martin died in 2013, house managers had no particu- lar qualifications other than two years of sobriety. Res- idents are subject to regu- lar urine tests, but Martin's drug use apparently went unnoticed. "Everyone woke up, from what I know, and he didn't," said Wayne McPherson of the nonprofit Recovering Alumni Association, which runs the home. Justin First, a 46-year- old recovering addict now in his eighth sober home, recalled seeing people drinking beer on the front porch on the day he arrived at one residence in 2012 in Delray Beach, Florida. "There were syringes in the bathroom. I never saw people shooting up, but I knew people were high while they were in the house," First said. The best homes can in- crease abstinence and lower incarceration rates, accord- ing to the little research available. "It instilled back in me the plain and simple things — common sense, stay- ing away from things that would get me back into the streets," said James McDan- iel, a recovering addict who moved into a Chicago sober home in 2010 after leaving prison. The homes are posi- tioned to benefit from ris- ing spending for addiction treatment, which is climb- ing at 5 percent a year and projected to reach $42.1 bil- lion in 2020, according to federal estimates. States have been push- ing more drug offenders into community programs to curb prison costs. Last year, Illinois spent $4.8 million housing pa- rolees in sober homes — up 25 percent in the last three years. West Virginia recently announced $1.5 million in new addiction treatment funding that in- cludes a women's recovery residence. Ohio gave $12.5 million in grants to sober homes in the past three years. TRANSITIONS National addiction epidemic fuels runaway demand for 'sober homes' M. SPENCER GREEN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Darnell Johnson, 50, a resident of a sober home in Chicago, looks out the window of his apartment. ROBERTJ.KLEIN November 3, 1928 ~ April 1, 2016 Robert J. Klein passed away on Friday, April 1, 2016, in Red Bluff, CA at the age of 87, after a lengthy fight with cancer. He was born November 3, 1928 in Stockton, CA to Joseph and Katherine Klein. He spent much of his ear- ly life in Stockton where he married Edna Styles and had 5 sons. In his early years he worked as a carpenter build- ing luxury boats. In 1967 he moved to Red Bluff, CA and worked several years at the Corona Box Factory. He was always a hard worker. Even after retirement from the Corona Box Factory he continued working at his son's furniture store, often doing deliveries with his son or grandsons. Outside of work he enjoyed fishing and gar- dening. He is survived by his 5 sons: Robert J. Klein, Stockton, CA, Tony Klein, Durham, CA, Mike Klein and Bill Klein of Red Bluff, CA, and Tim Klein of Oroville, CA. He also leaves behind many grandchildren and great- grandchildren. He will be missed by all who loved him. No services to take place, burial to be in the Catholic Cemetery, Stockton, CA along with his parents. Obituaries Combining Quality and Low Cost is what we do. www.affordablemortuary.net•529-3655 FD1538 LocatedinChico,CA R ed Bluff Simple Cremations and Burial Service FD1931 527-1732 Now open longer hours 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 7 A