Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/673060
"Welcome to the Cal- trans District Two Worker Memorial," Anderson said. "I am honored to be your host for today's event. This ceremony is dedicated to the fallen workers of Cal- trans District Two that have lost their lives in the line of duty, which is some- thing we do on an annual basis to make sure we all keep them in our memo- ries. On this day, we also want to recognize and give thanks to all the men and women that risk their lives every day to ensure our state roads are well main- tained and constructed." Anderson acknowledged the family and friends of those lost including the most recent loss of Tracy Criss in January before in- troducing Tehama County Sheriff's Department Chap- lain Mike Cox for the invo- cation. Criss was a mainte- nance operator II who died near Big Valley Mountain Summit in Lassen County minutes after he was last seen helping a stranded motorist, Anderson said. Caltrans District Two Director Dave Moore, the first of three speakers, thanked the crowd for coming to honor the 184 lives lost over the years and talked of Criss who was a 2005 recipient of a Governor's award for sav- ing a motorist whose vehi- cle had gone over an em- bankment. In his speech, Ander- son talked about the late night call outs and sacri- fices made by employees. The call outs in which one of their own or a sister agency has been killed are the type of call he hopes to never get, Anderson said. "Our men and women risk their lives so we can travel safely to visit our families and friends, but no matter how much we follow safe operations and practices a tragedy happens," Anderson said. "We honor those that have fallen and we honor their families and loved ones for their loss. I am proud to say Caltrans has developed programs that are focused on worker safety both in how we design our road- ways, how we construct them and how we conduct our field operations. It is my deepest hope that no more families have to suf- fer the deep losses we have the last few years." Safety is the number one priority and the goal is to continue to educate the pub- lic on how to drive safely and on obeying the rules so all employees go home safe at the end of the day, he said. California Highway Pa- trol Red Bluff Area Com- mander Lt. Lou Aviles was the final speaker. "We are here to recog- nize the selfless sacrifice of those who have given their lives," Aviles said. "Caltrans and CHP share a long history of faith- ful service to the people of California working to- ward safe, efficient move- ment of people and goods. Your actions every day to keep traffic moving safely often go unnoticed. When- ever CHP has a major in- cident, Caltrans is nearby ready to help. Far too of- ten we share the pain and heartache of a fallen com- rade. Today we remember those who have fallen. Let us rededicate ourselves to safety so their death was not in vain." One cone was placed in honor of each fallen worker including the fol- lowing: 1924 George Rice, maintenance foreman, died in Castella in Shasta County; 1926 Frank Rais, maintenance worker, died near Lewiston in Trinity County; U.S. Grant, Main- tenance Foreman died while extinguishing a fire near Orleans in Humboldt County; 1935 F.S. Chris- tensen, powderman, died in an explosion during construction of the Feather River Highway; Raymond Buland, assistant highway engineer, died near Tule- lake; 1962 Lyle Bilyue, as- sistant highway engineer, died at vehicle accident on Highway 299E; 1964 Ra- phael Kreizenbeck, high- way maintenance man II, died from errant vehicle; 1973 Benny Shreves, equip- ment operator II, died on State Route 96 near Happy Camp; 1976 Carl Taylor, landscape maintenance worker II, died from errant vehicle in Tehama County; 1980 Wade Brewen, equip- ment operator, killed by er- rant vehicle on US 395 near Susanville; 1993 Robert Es- senpreis, civil transporta- tion engineer, died in con- struction zone on Inter- state 5; 2008 Muoi Tran, civil transportation en- gineer, died at auto acci- dent near Red Bluff; 2013 Shawn Baker, Caltrans maintenance equipment operator II died in rock slide conducting scaling operations on Highway 96 Siskiyou County; Rob- ert Jones, maintenance equipment operator II in rock slide while conduct- ing scaling operations on Highway 96 in Siskiyou County; 2016 Tracy Criss, maintenance equipment operator II, died near Big Valley Mountain Summit in Lassen County. Caltrans FROMPAGE1 Curtis explained he put the "fire out" and put the butts in his pocket and later emptied his pockets and placed them on the desk in Marysa's room on Feb. 26. He said he planned to throw them in the trash can after going through it to look for clues as to what happened to Marysa. Northam said dur- ing opening statements Wednesday that Bealer had given Nichols the ciga- rette he was smoking with his saliva on it on Feb. 26. According to Northam, this could be how Bealer's DNA ended up on Marysa. Three classmates of Marysa's also took the stand. All three pro- vided details about seeing Marysa on Feb. 26 walking by the creek in between Bidwell School and Red Bluff High School. Each of them noted that they saw a man, later identified as Bealer, walking a few feet in front of her. All three confirmed they never saw Bealer touch Marysa, grab her or have any type of physical contact with her. Matthew James, a friend of Marysa's also took the stand before the court ad- journed for the day. James, now a senior at Red Bluff High School, said he would normally have lunch with Marysa around 12:30 p.m. James said that she didn't show up where they usually met for lunch on Feb. 26. "I asked some of our other friends and they hadn't seen her," James said. "I walked around campus and checked some other places but didn't think much of it. I just thought she missed a day." Deputy District Attor- ney Donna Daly asked James if he smoked cig- arettes in 2013 and if he had ever smoked in front of Marysa or knew if she smoked. James said he did some as a freshman but never smoked in front of Marysa and didn't know if she smoked. Bealer's trial will con- tinue at 9 a.m. Monday in Department 27. Trial FROM PAGE 1 has railed against what he calls a rigged party system that governs the nomina- tion. He arrives in California after a sweep of Tuesday's primaries, but has also faced questions about his electability in November and his conservative bona fides. The behind-the-scenes cajoling could be as impor- tant as the speeches. The candidates and their allies are seeking to galvanize supporters, sway undecided party members or poach from rival campaigns. "It's going to be a free- for-all," predicted state party vice chairman Har- meet Dhillon. The tableau will be re- markable for a state whose end-of-the-line primary on June 7 has often been ig- nored, coming far after the nominations were locked up. But this year it's possible that California, home to the largest trove of delegates, could provide the margin to anoint nominees in both major parties. The convention crowd defies expectation in a state known as a Democratic fortress. There have been pushes toward modera- tion, but the group tends to- ward conservative leanings and favors calls for a strong national defense, free mar- kets, tax cuts and shrink- ing the size of government. It's also socially conserva- tive: the state party's plat- form defines marriage as between one man and one woman, and wants Roe v. Wade reversed. Trump opposes abor- tion but has spoken favor- ably about Planned Par- enthood. He has warned against cutting into Medi- care, Medicaid and Social Security, often targets for conservatives who want to slow government spend- ing. When Trump earlier this month said transgen- der people should be able to use whichever bathroom they choose, Cruz's cam- paign released a statement saying Trump was "no dif- ferent from politically cor- rect leftist elites." The Cal- ifornia platform endorses free markets; Trump has long criticized U.S. trade policy and advocated steep tariffs on Chinese goods. How Trump fares this weekend could be an in- dicator of his fortunes on June 7. The event marks an unofficial kick-off for the California race, which will award 172 delegates — a rich trove in the race for the 1,237 required to clinch the GOP presidential nom- ination. Currently, Trump has 994 delegates, Cruz has 566 and Kasich has 153, ac- cording to the AP's delegate count. The contest in the na- tion's most populous state — Los Angeles County alone has more people than Michigan — is vastly complicated, playing out in what amounts to 54 sepa- rate races on a single day — one in every congressional district and one statewide. The winner in each dis- trict collects three del- egates; then, the candi- date who gets the largest number of votes statewide claims a bonus of 10 more, plus the state party chair- man and Republican Na- tional Committee members for a total bonus of 13. An independent Field Poll released earlier this month found Trump with a 7-point edge over Cruz, 39 percent to 32 percent, with Kasich trailing at 18 percent and the rest unde- cided. "Donald Trump is not going to agree with every member of this audience on every issue but he remains the rock star of this pres- idential race," said Thad Kousser, who teaches politi- cal science at the University of California, San Diego. But inside the Califor- nia GOP, Cruz has some- thing of a home field ad- vantage. He's been organiz- ing in the state since last summer, and is supported for four former state party chairmen, along with a host of elected officials and ac- tivists. With Cruz's organiza- tional roots in the state, a challenge for Trump will be breaking into the party establishment to line up as many supporters as possi- ble in congressional dis- tricts he needs to win in June. Kasich, the holder of one primary victory, his home state of Ohio, is looking to make inroads in California districts that could be fa- vorable to his more moder- ate credentials and bolster his bid to stay in the race. GOP FROM PAGE 1 DARRONCUMMINGS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight raises his fist a er talking about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign stop at Old National Events Plaza on Thursday in Evansville, Indiana. ROBERT FRANKLIN — SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, greets supporters during a campaign stop on Thursday at Lucchese's Italian Restaurant in Elkhart, Indiana. By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gun con- trol proponents intend to turn in more than a half- million signatures to qual- ify an initiative for the No- vember ballot to tighten California's already tough gun laws, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a sponsor of the measure, said Thursday. The proposal would make California the first state to require back- ground checks at the point of sale for ammunition, although other states re- quire buyers to obtain li- censes and go through background checks ahead of time. "What makes guns dan- gerous is ammunition. Yet we don't do background checks on ammo," New- som said. Guns can pass from hand to hand, legally or illegally, but he said the background checks would stop sales of ammunition to criminals and others who are prohibited from owning firearms. It's one of several provi- sions Newsom hopes would set a national example if voters agree. The initiative would also streamline Califor- nia's unique program al- lowing authorities to seize firearms from owners who bought the weapons legally and were later convicted of a felony or a violent misde- meanor, determined to be mentally unstable, or were the subject of a restraining order involving domestic violence. The ballot measure would also require owners to turn in large-capacity ammunition magazines. California already bans the sale of assault-style maga- zines holding more than 10 bullets but regulations allow those who have that ammunition to keep it. Itwouldalsorequireown- ers to report lost or stolen guns to law enforcement, among other provisions. Supporters expect to turn in about 600,000 sig- natures to elections offi- cials, far more than the nearly 366,000 valid sig- natures of registered vot- ers required to make the ballot. Opponents said those re- strictions would do little to stop killings and would instead make criminals of many law-abiding gun owners. A Field Poll in Janu- ary found the measure is likely to have broad sup- port among voters. The survey was taken a month after the terror attack in San Bernardino killed 14 people. Chuck Michel, co-chair- man of the Coalition for Civil Liberties, which op- poses the measure, said in a statement that it wouldn't stop such con- spiracies. "Politicians like New- som need to concentrate on stopping criminals and terrorists, not law-abiding citizens exercising their rights," he said. CALIFORNIA Si gn at ur es r ea di ed t o qu al if y gun control measure for ballot PHOTOS BY JULIE ZEEB — DAILY NEWS Caltrans employees post colors on Thursday at the Caltrans District Two Workers Memorial ceremony in Red Bluff. California Highway Patrol Officer Briar Segal of the Northern Division Office plays taps on Thursday at the Caltrans District Two Workers Memorial ceremony honoring the 14Caltrans District Two employees and those of sister agencies who have fallen in the line of duty. IL — RICH PEDRONCELLI A custom-made semi-automatic hunting rifle with a high- capacity detachable magazine is displayed at TDS Guns in Rocklin. Northam said during opening statements Wednesday that Bealer had given Nichols the cigarette he was smoking with his saliva on it on Feb. 26. FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 7 A