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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A peak previously known as Negrohead Mountain in Southern California's Santa Moni- ca range was officially renamed Saturday in honor of a black pioneer who settled the area in the 19th Century. The 2,031-foot moun- tain near Malibu, the highest peak in the area, became Ballard Moun- tain after John Ballard, a blacksmith and former slave who bought land on the mountain in 1880. The name originally contained a vulgar racial slur that even appeared on federal maps, but it was changed to ''negro'' in the 1960s. About 90 people including some two dozen Ballard descen- dants attended the renaming ceremony Sat- urday at the site where Ballard owned a 320- acre homestead near what is now the commu- nity of Seminole Hot Springs. ''I don't know what it means to Los Angeles as a whole, but it means a lot to me,'' Ballard's 85- year-old great-grandson Reggie Ballard, a retired LA Fire Department captain, told the Los Angeles Times. The U.S. Geological Survey's Board on Geo- graphic Names approved the change last year after a request from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. ''It's not often you get a chance to right an his- torical wrong,'' Supervi- sor Zev Yaroslavsky, who made the name- change motion, said at the ceremony Saturday. A permanent plaque with Ballard's name and story is being placed near the top of the peak. Ballard was part of a small group that founded Los Angeles' African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1869 but left Los Angeles for the mountains 50 miles away a decade later. Historians believe that Ballard and his fam- ily were fleeing growing segregationist polices in the city. Monday, February 22, 2010 – Daily News – 7A Combining Quality and Low Cost is what we do. www.affordablemortuary.net 529-3655 Located in Chico, CA Death Notice Minnie Murray Minnie Murray, of Red Bluff, dies Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, in Red Bluff, Calif. She was 77. Arrangements are under the direction of Affordable Mortuary. Published Monday, Feb. 22, 2010 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. stand the amount of water fowl that fly through," Slade said after the com- mission's decision. Slade expressed con- cern that the turbine, which looks like a bill- board, could block his view, especially if it is emblazoned with the Wal- mart logo, and said he and other neighbors should have been notified about the project. Slade and Graves said they were uncertain whether they would appeal the project's use permit. Walmart spokesman Kory Lunberg said the company was not ready to disclose any information about the project. "At Walmart, we've got a well-stated goal to be supplied by 100 percent renewable energy," Lun- berg said. A GEC representative said the company would not be available to com- ment immediately. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailyn ews.com. Continued from page 1A WIND For all the potential controver- sy, the play has been well- received in Red Bluff, director Danna Swanenberg said. Part of that may be because the proceeds go to a charitable cause. "Alternatives to Violence does so much more for our community than people realize," performer Amanda Davidson said. Because the play is about empowerment, audience mem- bers who come in nervous have been known to come out enthusi- astic, she said. "It's a really good show for men, for women and for the whole audience," she said. The same holds true for the performers. Debbie Stewart, of Red Bluff, said she is not a professional actor and this was the first time she had been on stage like this. By the end of Saturday, she had done it twice — perfor- mances were offered at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailynews.co m. Continued from page 1A LOCAL Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson Saralysette Ballard, 25, performs "My Angry Vagina," part of the Vagina Monologues, featured Saturday at the State Theatre in a benefit for Alternatives to Violence. All the actors held scripts as a reminder that the stories are based on real interviews. offsite location. The single-engine Piper Saratoga went down near Pine Moun- tain Lake Airport in Groveland around 7:20 p.m. Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration says the flight originat- ed in San Carlos Air- port, a public-use air- port about 25 miles south of San Francisco. Tuolumne County authorities have identi- fied the two people on board as 70-year-old Albert Halluin, who was flying the plane, and 60- year-old Judy Per- chonock. Their home- towns were not released. Continued from page 1A CRASH News tip? Call 527-2151, Ext. 112 STATE BRIEFING Fire sends indoor pot farm up in smoke SACRAMENTO (AP) — Smoke pouring from south Sacramento home has led police to a large indoor marijua- na growing operation. Firefighters found more than 100 pot plants growing in the home, while other plants were being dried. They also found grow lights and a ventilation system at the unoccupied home. Sacramento Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong says the fire appears to have been started by an electrical malfunction in the attic early Saturday. They're searching for the home's owner. In recent years police across California's Central Valley have found dozens of similar homes converted into sophisticated indoor pot greenhouses. Train derails, toxic gas forces evacuations KEENE (AP) — Several homes in central California remained evacuated Sunday after the car of a freight train that derailed at a tunnel entrance near a small town burned and choked the area with thick, black smoke. A day after the derailment, about seven homes were evacu- ated and the residents of 30 other houses were advised to stay indoors with the windows closed, said Kern County Fire Department Engineer Justin Corley. There were no serious injuries in the derailment about 9:30 p.m. Saturday near Keene, about 15 miles east of Bakers- field. Two cars from the long Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. freight train went off Union Pacific tracks at a tunnel entrance on the well-known Tehachapi Loop south of Keene. A train car carrying plastic pellets caught fire. When the blaze did not burn out overnight, the evacuation order was extended Sunday to a 2- mile radius, Corley said. Fire officials did not expect to have the unruly blaze con- tained until midnight. The fire on the derailed cars was put out, but the flames spread into the tunnel, where it was proving difficult to douse them. Kern County Fire Depart- ment spokesman Sean Collins said that the homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution after a toxic cloud surged from the flames. A temporary shelter was set up at Tehachapi High School for evacuees. ''The car that's burning is putting out a heavy, dark smoke,'' Corley said. ''We're asking most residents just to shelter in place, with windows and doors closed, while our crews try to extinguish the flames.'' The train was bound for Stockton from Barstow, BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said. It was not immediately clear what sparked the fire. Firefighters were being assisted by the Kern County Environmental Health Agency, the Kern County Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol. Fresno police seek help in finding murder suspect FRESNO (AP) — Police are hoping to get more tips from the public as they search for a mur- der suspect who eluded arrest after a standoff at a Fresno motel. After getting a lead from a tipster and believing they had suspect Ralph Navarro sur- rounded for about 10 hours in a room at the Sahara Lodge, members of a SWAT team found the room empty when they entered the room around 10:55 a.m. Saturday. During the standoff, police called in a crisis negotiation team and firefighters were standing by. Residents of the motel were ordered to leave and police blocked off the street leading to the motel. Police say the 27-year-old Navarro is wanted in the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old man earlier this month. Former prison guard to pay more restitution SACRAMENTO (AP) — A former Folsom State Prison guard has been ordered to pay more than $400,000 to reimburse state agencies after she was con- victed of insurance fraud. June Ann Lucena was ordered to repay more than $170,000 to the State Compen- sation Insurance Fund, Sacra- mento County prosecutors said Friday. That's on top of the $244,000 ordered in December for the state's public employ- ees' retirement system. Lucena was sentenced to seven years in prison in August after her 2007 conviction. She received disability pay and workers' compensation after surgery for a work-related fall in 2000. Lucena said the fall limited her physical activities. But investigators filmed her in 2002 riding a Jet Ski at Folsom Lake and riding the water slides at a Manteca water park. Evacuations lifted for SoCal LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE (AP) — Authorities on Saturday lifted evacuation orders for nearly 200 homes in Los Angeles-area foothill communties after overnight rains ended without trig- gering mudslides. Some residents in the La Cana- da Flintridge area will have to show identification in order to return to their homes, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Depart- ment spokeswoman Nicole Nishi- da. Two weeks after a wall of mud and debris damaged dozens of homes on hillsides stripped bare by wildfire, county officials took no chances in ordering the early evacuation Friday of 189 homes in La Crescenta and La Canada Flintridge. Rain arrived in the Los Ange- les area late Friday but passed through quickly, dropping less than a half-inch of rain and most- ly skirting the burn area. No flood warnings had been issued, but scattered showers were possible Saturday. Forecasters also said another storm was expected Sunday evening. ''Of the 189 homes ordered evacuated, 95 refused, so we had about a 50 percent compliance rate,'' Nishida said. A similar mild storm was fore- cast two weeks ago, when mud- flows damaged 43 homes and 25 vehicles. Ron Nakawatase, 62, was among those stuck in their homes when the early morning slide hit Feb. 6. Nakawatase watched neighbors cars float by his house and couldn't leave until later in the day. Many residents criticized county officials for not issuing evacuation orders before the slide as the ferocity of the storm exceeded forecasts, but Nakawatase disagreed. ''It's just an act of nature, an act of God, so what could they do?'' he said. SoCal mountain renamed for pioneer 'It's not often you get a chance to right an historical wrong,' Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky