Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6806
Lababera's started working in the food industry as a busboy and cook at a Mexican restau- rant in the Bay Area. Over the years, he has collected recipes and added to them to make what is now served on the Burrito Bandito menu. Mexican food has always been a favorite of his, he said. The restaurant offers several varieties of burri- tos and tacos, including breakfast Monday through Friday. The food is made in front of cus- tomers as they decide what gets put in or cus- tomers can call in orders for pickup, though no delivery is available. "Real food real fast, it's just what we do," Lababera said. "We can make a burrito right before your eyes." ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Councilwoman Becky Hill said. "Whether retirement or salary it was part of his compensation packet." Several members of the communi- ty got up to address the council, including Dean Cofer and Bucky Bowen. Cofer was the first to ask the coun- cil to check into what he called an "illegal gift of public funds." Cofer said the issue involving the retirement funds was that the city had enrolled Fitzpatrick in 2005 and should have known that a 1995 rule disallowed contributions from multi- ple employers. Fitzpatrick was also enrolled with Anderson, where he works as city attorney and had contributions from Trinity County where he was employed for four years. "The issue before the City Council is exactly the same as what Trinity County was faced with, except for the fact that Trinity County did the right thing and did not make a gift of pub- lic funds to Mr. Fitzpatrick," Cofer said. "He is not entitled to this money. You can call it a bonus, a gift, or 'we want to give it to him,' but it is not an entitlement." The money has been held without accruing interest in the city's general fund awaiting a decision. A July 2009 decision was made by the council at a closed session to both seek input from an outside source and to give time for other entities contacted to investigate. Of those contacted by Cofer and Bowen, only the Tehama Grand Jury contacted Corning with questions, said City Manager Steve Kimbrough. Cofer asked that Councilwoman Becky Hill refrain from voting on the matter, as he had heard she would be stepping down sometime during Feb- ruary. Addressing Cofer and the audi- ence, Hill spoke of a potential resig- nation. "I have not made a decision at this time," Hill said. "I refuse to be a lame duck. Even if I were voted out in November, I would still have to vote until December. I will not refrain from voting because I'm still a council per- son. I will take the good, the bad and the ugly." Bowen addressed the city on sever- al paragraphs within the summary prepared by staff, saying it was mis- leading and the whole issue came down to the legality of retirement funds. "Our concern is the attempt by the City Manager to interpret a provision of that contract to provide a benefit, which is not legal under its terms," Bowen said. "There are no legally accrued retirement funds. There is simply a desire on the part of the City Manager to have the City Council give the City Attorney a gift of an amount of money he decided might have accrued if there had been a legal authorization to accrue such retire- ment funds." Benny Brown of Corning Ford said, while he is not a resident of Corning, he has had his business in the city for 22 years, bringing millions into the city's coffers. "There comes a time I think when people need to speak up, especially in the misuse of money," Brown said. "The problem we've got in govern- ment is fiscal irresponsibility. Our state is in nothing but trouble and so much of it is because of entitlements." Fitzpatrick said, having been with the city for 20 years, he disliked the implications that he is dishonest and would like to put the matter behind him. "I'll accept whatever the city deter- mines reasonable and acceptable," Fitzpatrick said. An outside opinion on the matter given by Cynthia O'Neill of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore said the non- CalPERS provisions in the 2005 con- tract are legal and binding and it is acceptable for the city to pay an addi- tional amount of compensation in lieu of retirement or other benefits in the 2010 contract. O'Neill addressed the issue of whether or not it was an unconstitu- tional gift of public funds to provide Fitzpatrick a lump sum representing the value of the CalPERS retirement contribution. "Such a contract would not consti- tute an illegal gift of funds as prohib- ited by the California Constitution ...," O'Neill said. "This would not be unlawful, additional compensation, but instead would make good on the value of the total compensation that the City Attorney was previously promised, but did not receive." CalPERS also weighed in on the matter in a Jan. 19 letter from Sheila Arndt, employer services division. "There are no provisions in the CalPERS law which would prohibit the city from returning these funds to Mr. Fitzpatrick," Arndt wrote. The City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at City Hall, 794 Third St. Meeting min- utes and agendas are available at www.corning.org. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527- 2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Friday, February 12, 2010 – Daily News – 9A Red Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service Family owned to provide you the best service & pricing in the area. It's what you can expect from family. 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 527-1732 • FD Lic. 1931 Death Notice Obituaries WILMA NEOMA PUTZEL Wilma Neoma Putzel passed away on February 9, 2010, she was born on Au- gust 5, 1929 in Salem, MO to her parents Clifford O. Woolf and Pearl Ethel Med- douph Woolf. Wilma Putzel was an excellent mother, grandmother, great-grand- mother, sister, daughter, and friend to many. She loved the restaurant industry since her early teens and was a waitress, cook and owner. She moved from MO. when she was 20 to San Francisco, CA., and her journey begins. She leaves behind children Pat Carol, Mike Ramsey, John Putzel and Debbie Clinger, grand- children Robert Carol, Terre- sa Abbassi, May Lis Gross, Dezaree Trent, Mitchell Ramsey, Joe Gould, Joshua Blocker and Heather Block- er, great grand-children Mar- isa Carol, Alania Carol, Courtney Abbassi, Zachary Gross, Hannall, Gross, Bridget Reed, Bryce Gould, Michael Trent, Brayden Trent, surviving siblings June Rippee of OK., Sharon Seats of MO., Shirley George of KS., Tim Woolf of MO., Ina Wilson of MO., Bob Woolf of MO. and Carol Whi- senant of MO. She was a woman loved by so many and loved so many also. Her wish was for us not to be sad in her passing, but to live our life as she did, and celebrate her life , and not her passing. To all her ex- tended family, she loved you all, as you know. Visitation will be held on Monday, February 15, 2009 from 2-4pm at Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers, 527-1174 BETTY M. ROBERTS Betty M. Roberts, 80, of Live Oak, CA. passed away on February 8, 2010, she was born on May 13, 1929. Betty lived in Richfield CA for 40 years where she raised 4 children and drove school bus for Corning School district. After retiring she moved to Oroville Calif, then on to Live Oak CA, where she enjoyed reading and watching the Kings play on television. Betty is survived by her hus- band George of 63 years, son George M. Roberts Jr. of Proberta, CA, son Paul M. Roberts of Richfield, CA, daughter Kathy Awtrey of Oroville, CA, and son Phillip W. Roberts of Colorado Springs Co. Please join us in Celebration of Life on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 at 10:00 am at the Neighborhood Full Gospel, Corning CA. CORBIN M. ASHE Corbin M. Ashe, 75, went home to be with our blessed Lord Jesus Christ on Febru- ary 8, 2010. He fought a very long hard battle with cancer, but he is at peace now. He was born in Sylva, N.C. on 9-9-1934 to the late Shirley and Myrtle Ashe. He met and married Ruth Fisher on Dec. 17, 1954. He was preceded in death by his son Granville C. Ashe, grandsons Charles (Chuck) Bell, Cody M. Ashe, brothers Gordon and Henry Ashe, sister Naomi Shook, brother- in-law Frank Nicholson. Sur- viving are his loving wife of 55 years, Ruth Ashe, daugh- ters Barbara Ashe, Rita & Steve Nachand, Nita & Rex Haggard, Patty & John Boeckholt, sons Kenneth & Laurel Ashe, Keith & Marjie Ashe, sisters Delia Nichol- son, Charlite & Conrad Po- well, Wilma & Walter Young, twenty-two grandchildren, twenty-four great grandchil- dren, and four great great- grandchildren. After moving to California in 1960, Corbin went to work falling timber for several Logging Compa- nies until his retirement in 1997. He loved Blue Grass Gospel music. In 2006 he wrote "Hallelujah Morning" which was published and re- corded by Paul Williams and the Victory Trio Band. Cor- bin wrote several other songs, but as of today they haven't been published. His family and friends was his life, he was a special loving, thoughtful, caring husband, father, grandfather and friend. He enjoyed hunting and fishing with his sons and friends. He loved his dog Zeb, and he could grow the biggest and best vegeta- bles in Tehama County. Ev- ery year he would work to put in a bigger garden than the year before, so he could give to anyone that needed food. He will be greatly missed by all that knew him. Dad, We thank God that you are our Father, Love, Your Children Services will be Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 2pm at the Abundant Life Fellow- ship, 21080 Luther Road, Red Bluff. Wilma N. Putzel Wilma N. Putzel died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 in Red Bluff. She was 80. Visitation will be held 2- 4 p.m., Monday, Feb. 15, 2010 at Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers, which is handling the arrangements. Published Friday, Feb. 12, 2010, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. ment of the Interior, Interi- or Secretary Ken Salazar and Donald Glaser, region- al director of the bureau's Mid-Pacific Region. Mid-Pacific Region Public Affairs Specialist Pete Lucero declined to comment on the pending litigation. In 2007 and 2009 the canal authority made for- mal requests to the bureau to comply with the area of origin law, but the bureau did not. This left the canal authority with no other option but to sue, Sutton said. The reduction of water has caused lands to fallow, reduced economic activity and required the canal authority to purchase water from elsewhere to prevent regional economic loss, he said. "We don't want to see the Northern Sacramento Valley area become syn- onymous with Owens Val- ley," Sutton said, referring to what is commonly known to as the "Califor- nia Water Wars," a dispute over water rights in the Owens Valley and Los Angeles area. The canal authority supplies water to 150,000 acres of irrigated agricul- ture in four Northern Cali- fornia counties — Tehama, Glenn, Colusa and Yolo — and is a joint powers authority consist- ing of 16 water districts. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Continued from page 1A WATER department as the city could receive electricity credits from PG&E, Carlisi said. Commissioners will prepare the application for submission by the March 1 deadline. An application for renovations at McGlynn Pool and River Park will be submitted at the same time. The Blues for the Pool Commit- tee has volunteered to help the com- mission and parks department with that grant. Suggestions for that area include an outdoor stage area, walking trails with exercising stations, a spray park and new restrooms. Everyone agrees the pool should stay, but would like to see some changes, Carlisi said. Most like the idea of increasing the pool's size to meet Olympic dimensions. Specific measurements still have to be taken to see if the expansion is plausible. Enclosing the pool and making it indoor, year-round facility would attract more people as well. The commission did not vote on the specific projects to include on the application for the pool and River Park. "Whatever we decide will be something that will benefit the city as a whole," Carlisi said. "When people come visit our parks, they'll spend money elsewhere." ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527- 2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.com. Continued from page 1A TRAINOR the county, Meunch said. "It's about providing the support for someone to stop doing drugs," he said. "Most drug users want to quit." Felons in the program must volunteer and are then screened for eligibili- ty. If approved, they are frequently tested for drugs — up to five times a week, according to the grant pro- posal — and must meet with a judge regularly. If participants go back to drugs, they forfeit the program and return to jail. But if they stay sober, the county tries to find out where they went wrong. As an example, Muench said the program could help an inmate get a driver's license. The program is still rel- atively new and small for Tehama County, Health Services Agency Director Valerie Lucero said. County documents indi- cate the program has been around since Spring 2007 and, because it takes 14 months to complete, only four out of 23 inmates have made it through the program. But the effect of the program can be life- changing and cost-saving. Though initially expensive and requiring a great deal of staff time, the treatment can save local and state governments as much as $45,000 a year per treated inmate. Drugs have become a way of life for many of the subjects, Lucero said. Putting them in the pro- gram means that they are not only treated for chem- ical addiction, already rare in the prison system, but they are taught, step by step, how to live a life that was unthinkable before. Part of that means encouragement from a system known for doling out punishment. When a judge, a figure of importance and honor, congratulates them on being sober for a week, it means a lot to recovering addicts, she said. Combined with the threat of returning to jail, the strategy is more effec- tive than voluntary treat- ment, she said. The existing program, which can accommodate just 15 people, is funded entirely through state dol- lars and has been suggest- ed for cutting by the gov- ernor a number of times. Each time, cuts have been shot down by the Legisla- ture. If a struggling state turns on the program, Lucero said she will not let it happen quietly. "(Richard) Muench and I would do absolutely everything in our power to keep it," she said. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailyn ews.com. Continued from page 1A DRUG Continued from page 1A CORNING Continued from page 1A SOUTH Burrito Bandito 525 Adobe Road, Ste. F 528-TACO Hours: Monday-Satur- day 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Breakfast served 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feinstein: More water for Central Valley farms WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is considering sponsoring legislation that would divert more water to farms in the San Joaquin Valley, where a drought and environmental restrictions have idled thousands of acres and workers. Environmental groups already are mobilizing against the effort. They said pumping more water from the delta would further dec- imate the state's salmon industry and wipe out native species such as the delta smelt. Feinstein said her pro- posal would be an amend- ment to a federal jobs bill. Under it, farmers would receive up to 40 percent of their federal water alloca- tion for two years. Last year, the allocation was just 10 percent of the water farmers are contracted to receive. Feinstein said recent rain and snowfall have increased the state's water supply, but much of it has been flowing to the Pacific Ocean instead of farms. Feinstein said she was open to other solutions to providing farmers with more water during years with normal precipitation. She also stressed the legisla- tion has not been finalized. Environmental groups said Feinstein's proposal would undercut three years of work in California to find a long-term plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. At least two groups threatened to walk away from collaborative govern- ment meetings if Feinstein is successful. ''This is as serious as a heart attack for us,'' said Kim Delfino, California program director of the Defenders of Wildlife.