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WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2012 www.redbluffdailynews.com Breaking news at: Cookie recipes Mostly sunny 85/61 Weather forecast 8B DAILYNEWS County Fare See 5A RED BLUFF Sports 1B 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 Fire burns structures, field Fair friendly group forming By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Tehama District Fairboard member Tonya Reda- monti said plans are moving forward to create a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) with the county. "We're putting together a draft plan and we should be submitting it within 45 days or sooner," Redamonti said at Tuesday's meeting. The Tehama District Fairboard is looking into a JPA as an alternative governance structure resulting from Gov. Jerry Brown's elimination of all state funding for fairs, a cut equivalent to $200,000 or 25 percent of the Tehama District Fairground budget. Over the next few weeks, Tehama County Counsel Arthur Wylene will be meeting with a member of the Department of Agriculture General Counsel office to work on details, Redamonti said. The board received its first letter of support to be sent in with the draft from the Red Bluff Bull and Geld- ing Sale, but would welcome more, Redamonti said. "We'll take letters from big groups and small," Redamonti said. "They show the government that the community is behind us and will really make the pack- age look good." Photo by Ross Palubeski An orange glow lit up the sky Monday evening after a fire broke out about 8:25 p.m. in the 1900 block of Cody Drive, cross of Probert Avenue and Rawson Road, burning 94 acres and destroying one res- idence and four outbuildings. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer A fire that broke out about 8:25 p.m. Monday on Cody Drive, across of Probert Avenue and Rawson Road, lit up the skyline in the area, shutting down roads and burning 94 acres and five buildings before it was contained. The fire also destroyed five auto- mobiles and five other types of vehi- cles. The estimated loss was $400,000. A CalFire press release said 32 structures were saved amounting to a $7,000,000 save in surrounding prop- erties. riding lawn mower, was contained at 11:44 p.m., however, resources were still at the scene until about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday mopping up, a CalFire spokeswoman said. Of the buildings destroyed, one The fire, which was caused by a said. was a residence and four were out- buildings, the spokeswoman said. Red Cross was notified, but the number of persons displayed was not known, she said. Red Bluff remains in the heart There were no known injuries, she said. While medical was requested at one point, it was canceled before it arrived at scene, the spokeswoman By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer It's been more than 40 years since Hubert Gro- nen, a foreign exchange student from the class of 1969, graduated from Red Bluff Union High School before returning to Ger- many, but the cowboy tra- ditions he picked up remain. Gronen, who tries to visit his host family, Rus- sell and Linda Chris- tiansen, every five to 10 years, was in Red Bluff on July 9 to introduce them to his wife Lia. Gronen has two chil- dren from a previous mar- riage who are both train- ing to be English teachers, he said. and still mean so much in my life." From 1978 to 2005, Gronen spent his time as a teacher and served as chairman for the schools in sister cities Reams, France and Arlington, Virginia, he said. "People noticed the easy hand I had with international relation- ships, so when my job became available I was asked to apply," Gronen said. blowing for miles as an evening breeze sent smoke as far as Red Bluff River Park from the fire, which started in the 1900 block of Cody Drive. Tehama County Sheriff's Depart- ment logs show several roads, includ- ing Cody Drive, Sacramento Avenue Hatfield Road and Rawson Road at Cody Drive, were shut down in the area as firefighters worked to control the blaze. Residents of Red Bluff saw smoke Tehama County Sheriff's Deputies assisted with the traffic control. California Highway Patrol and JPA is the Tehama Fairground Community Alliance, which is in the process of forming a non-profit. Chris Ochoa, a marketing intern who started in May, Another group who has shown its support for the gave a report on the group. The organization has submitted its articles of incor- poration and hopes to have that part of the process com- pleted within a week and will be meeting tonight to adopt its bylaws and elect officers, he said. Ochoa and Mary Jayne Eidman, wife of Fair CEO Mark Eidman, gave a presentation on the group at the June 26 meeting. "We're not reinventing the wheel," Mary Jayne said. All-Stars recap "We're an organization that's here to support the fair- grounds by getting volunteers and encouraging mem- bers to make the fair grounds their own." The Tehama Fairground Community Alliance formed three years ago in the forms of the Tehama Mar- ketplace, which showcases local products at the Tehama District Fair, and the Drop in the Bucket fund, See FAIR, page 7A CSU mulls fiscal woes, but OKs president pay hikes LOS ANGELES (AP) — California State University leaders on Tuesday wrestled with ways to resolve a grim financial picture as they approved 10 percent pay hikes to two new campus presidents. Executive Vice Chancellor Ben Quillian told the board that the 23-campus system faces deficits ranging from $177 million to $427 million for the 2012-13 fiscal year. Returning to Germany after graduation, Gronen wanted to be a lawyer and was studying English and French with that goal in mind when his father died and he did not have the money for law school, he said. Instead, Gronen's trav- els took him to Romania, where he is superinten- dent of German for 19 schools, he said. "I travel a lot in Tran- sylvania and I always where my cowboy hat, which turns me into somewhat of a Bird of Paradise and if for some reason I have forgotten about it, people ask me about it," Gronen said. "I've taken a part of your culture and made it mine. I have tried to show it to other people as a token of thanks to the people of Red Bluff that have meant Gronen's organization helps with seminars to train Romanian teachers in modern methods and provides financial support for Romanian schools with books and teaching appliances, he said. "We coordinate activi- ties with nine other Ger- man teachers dispatched to Romania," Gronen said. "The most important thing is we enable Romanian students to pass the German language diploma, which entitles them to go do their studies in German universities without having to prove proficiency in German." "Working with stu- dents is the most reward- ing and best thing about the job," Gronen said. "Plus my wife is always there to help me." It was while he was working in Romania that he met his wife, to whom he has been married for three years. She is a Ger- man and Spanish teacher. His experience in Red approve tax increase measures in November and whether CSU accepts a ''tuition buyout'' deal offered by the state Legislature. If voters reject the tax measures, CSU would lose $250 million in funding. Meanwhile, if CSU accepts the buyout, it would lose $132 million in revenue from a 9 percent tuition increase this fall in return for an extra $125 million in funds for 2013-14. The final amount will depend on whether voters would create ''an administrative nightmare'' because about 300,000 of the system's 430,000 students have already paid their fall tuition. The university could offer tuition credit instead of refunds, if trustees decide to roll back the fee hike, he said. Chancellor Charles Reed said accepting the deal Reed noted the system stands to immediately gain $132 million from the tuition increase. ''It's not the greatest deal in the world,'' he said. Even without those factors, CSU faces a $130 million structural deficit caused by $750 million in funding cuts since 2007-08, as well as $47 million in increased health and pension costs, Assistant Vice Chancellor Robert Tur- nage said. ''We still have a $130 million nut to crack no matter what happens with the tax measures,'' he said. Turnage outlined a series of options to close the deficits, including tuition increases, layoffs, enrollment cuts and employee pay reductions. The board took no action on finances on Tuesday. It is slated to decide on a budget plan at its September meet- ing. However, it approved salaries for four new campus presidents, two of whom were given the maximum rais- es of 10 percent, or $29,000, over the outgoing presi- See CSU, page 7A Bluff — staying with the Christiansens with their children Theresa, Cindy and Chester — is a large part of what paved the way for the job he has today, including preparing him for public speaking, 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See HEART, page 7A PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Hubert Gronen, an exchange student from the Red Bluff Union High School class of 1969, visited Red Bluff the first week of July to introduce his wife Lia to his host parents, Russell and Linda Christiansen. PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971