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TUESDAY JUNE 12, 2012 www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A Breaking news at: Vitality Moderation For Men's Health RED BLUFF Bulls Sweep SPORTS 1B Sunny 96/62 Weather forecast 8B By JULIE ZEEB DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ 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 Hopper hordes DN Staff Writer The Tehama County Agriculture Department has been flooded with calls about grasshoppers and leafhop- pers that are abundant in Tehama County. "We've been swamped with calls," Agricultural Commissioner Rick Gurrola said. "We've been getting about half a dozen to a dozen calls a day, plus walk-ins and some calling in for commercial permits because of damage to crops." The problem started in May with the grasshoppers in Vina, but has slowly been moving to western Tehama County, said Doug Compton, a biologist with the Tehama County Agriculture Department. This year has been one of the bad years, said Compton, who has been with Tehama County for 28 years. "It's not the worst I've ever seen, Photos courtesy of UC Davis Integrated Pest Management Program but it's early yet," Compton said. "There have been years when the road is slick with bodies of grasshop- pers. The population's risen quite a bit and they can be quite devastating to a yard, a garden, an orchard or any green foliage." While the grasshopper does have natural predators and diseases that act as a control on the population, it can still be overwhelming sometimes. There are some things people can do. For those homeowners with a larg- er area, it will be difficult to control and the best bet is to let them go into native rangeland and try to protect the yard as best as they can, Compton said. yet," Compton said. "There's not a whole lot you can do. You can proba- bly take care of your yard, but a few days later they'll be back. We hope they'll go away as the weather warms up." Attracted to light, the pests will try to get inside so the best thing people can do is make sure their screen doors and weather striping are in good shape, Compton said. Tax revenue down, housing prices up drop off in the 2011-12 fiscal year as home prices con- tinued to plunge from their 2006 peak. The city saw a 2.3 percent decrease from the year DN Staff Report Red Bluff's taxable property values continued to prior. In the 2010-11 fiscal year taxable property values dropped 7.2 percent. Besides the stressed property market, property reduction values for Durango RV Resort and Kimball Crossing through exemptions furthered the decline. Detached single family residential homes sold for an See TAX, page 7A County, fair unite to save fairgrounds By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer grass and a yard earlier in the season would have been helpful, Compton said. Homeowners can look for sprays or other material to combat the prob- lem at the local farm supply and gar- den stores. would be to get chickens or guinea hens, he said. While mowing lawns now may Other options, for those able, just drive the grasshoppers out of the grass and into the yard, mowing a good barrier of bare grass between Leafhoppers are about a quarter of an inch long with some brightly col- ored and others blending with host plants, according to the University of California statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) web- site. "It started in the rangeland on the west side of Tehama County and it will probably be bad for about anoth- er month," Compton said. "It's quite challenging to protect an area for that long." Leafhoppers, the other pest plagu- ing residents, are more of a nuisance, he said. "Right now, they're swarming around so it's hard to walk around without breathing them in, but they haven't done any feeding damage Corning to take first look at budget By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — The City Council will take its first look at the 2012- 2013 annual budget and discuss employing for- mer City Manager Steve Kimbrough and Plan- ning Director John Stoufer as consultants. Stoufer will be retir- ing, effective June 30, but would be willing to work for the city on a part-time basis as a planning consultant. According to the staff report, the new position would be paid $40 an hour with the contract good on a temporary basis through June 30, 2013, unless either party terminates it. Feb. 28 with Public Works Director John Brewer stepping in to fill the position of city manager in a combined role. Kimbrough retired with the proposal to amend things to an as needed basis for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. The contract through June 30 was at a fixed amount of $4,500 per month and, if approved, would change to $60 per hour on an as needed basis. According to Kimbrough's letter, that should not be more than 150 hours within the 2012-2013 fiscal year. Corning looks to end the 2011-2012 fiscal year in good shape thanks to an increase in sales tax revenue and the recovery of sales tax revenue mistakenly sent to another city. The Tehama County Board of Supervisors June 5 agreed to move forward with a plan to untie the Dis- trict Fairground from state control. The bug crawls rapidly sideways or jumps away when disturbed. There are more than 200 varieties of grasshoppers in California, but only a few that cause significant prob- lems in gardens, according to the IPM website. The bugs have long antennae and hind legs with enlarged femurs that are well adapted to jumping. Full descriptions of leafhoppers and grasshoppers, the damage they can cause and solutions are available on www.ipm.ucdavis.edu. County residents can call the agri- culture department at 527-4504. Chief Administrator Bill Goodwin told the board the plan was created not just to save the fair's funding, but take the fairgrounds to a whole new level as a pre- mier complex in the North State. County staff was direct- ed June 5 to formally pro- pose the creation of a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) between the county and the 30th District Agricultural Association. The JPA would eventually take over gover- nance of the Tehama Dis- trict Fair and Fairground. The state's budget prob- lems have routinely put the fair's operating budget in jeopardy in recent years. Supervisor Dennis Gar- ton stressed the local aspect of the plan from a local board to the potential for local contracts. An ad hoc committee made up of supervisors and fairboard members has rec- ommended the new JPA be made up of residents approved by the two boards. The agricultural association would appoint three mem- bers and the supervisors would appoint the other two. Goodwin said a newly created JPA would work alongside non-profits to improve the fairground and market it in alignment with the Tehama County Brand- ing Effort and Red Bluff- Tehama County Chamber of Commerce. See FAIR, page 7A LMHS Class of 2012 average price of $214,108 in 2006. In 2011 the average home sold for $89,163. However, values may be beginning to rise again. Corning signed a contract, effective through June 30, with Kimbrough for his assistance in budget preparation with the option of an automatic renewal the next year if 30-day notice was not given. Kimbrough gave notice to end the con- tract in a May 29 letter employee furloughs by Dec. 31, fill Public Works maintenance and director vacancies by January 2013 and replenish the operating reserve, Brewer said in the staff report. The reserve was pre- viously set at $800,000. During the economic recession, the council lowered it to $500,000. Corning is expected to end the 2011-2012 fiscal year with a $420,000 surplus. The 2012-2013 fiscal year projections for gen- eral fund revenue is at $4,391,310 with expen- ditures expected to be $4,378,800. The goal is to end According to the staff report, about $611,000 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See BUDGET, page 7A Daily News photo by Rich Greene The Los Molinos High School Class of 2012 poses outside Friday for a senior class portrait prior to graduation ceremonies. By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer LOS MOLINOS — The positives of a small school atmosphere were praised along with 47 seniors Friday at Los Molinos High School's graduation. Salutatorian Trevor Morton said what he would take away most from his years at the school were the memories, a lot of them from football. He said knowing every- body in his graduating class was something spe- cial. Morton said he planned on attending California State University, Chico in the fall to study business. Valedictorian Phylicia Hawker also is headed to Chico State to further her education. extra special for her, because it fell on her birth- day. Graduation night was present ever — to get out of high school," she said. Hawker poked fun at the cliche valedictorian speeches usually given at graduations, by working hers around a Pokemon theme. "I wanted to be kind of remembered," she said. Hawker's mother, "It's the best birthday father and grandfather all graduated from Los Moli- nos. That close-knit sense of community and high school is in Alec Hardy's bloodlines. grandfather also graduated from the school. 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