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FRIDAY JULY 27, 2012 www.redbluffdailynews.com Breaking news at: Oh, snap! Sunny 94/60 Weather forecast 8A DAILYNEWS Reader photos 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 Field of dreams Man robs Corning restaurant, flees Corning Police are seeking a man wanted in connec- tion with an armed robbery at 8:55 p.m. Wednesday at Subway, 951 Highway 99W. The man, described as being between 40 and 50, entered the store, pulling a revolver from his back waistband before demanding employees put the money from the cash register into a bag he had with him, according to a Corning Police press release. After obtaining an undisclosed amount of cash, the man ran out the door, heading east where a witness walking her dog in the Super 8 parking lot saw him jump over a fence into the rear parking lot of the Super 8 Motel. Camp starts The man continued north along the rear of Economy Inn Motel, reaching a fence leading to the Taco Bell and Liquor Cabinet I parking lot, however, he was unable to make it over the fence, according to the wit- ness. The man went over the fence at Super 8 Motel and ran to a SUV-type vehicle that pulled into the parking lot and climbed into the passenger seat. The vehicle, which had a two, a seven and an H in the license plate, was last seen heading east on Solano Street. Anyone with information is asked to contact Corn- ing Police at 824-7000. —Julie Zeeb Daily News photo by Andre Byik Mill Creek Park is one of nine finalists in a contest to receive a makeover from Buster Posey. Mill Creek Park part of Buster Posey contest Vote at toyotafanzone.com/ballfield By ANDRE BYIK DN Sports Editor In an online contest, nine Junior Giants programs, including Los Moli- nos, have been selected as candidates for Giants star catcher Buster Posey to come in and give a much-needed makeover to a local ballfield. Of the nine parks selected, the three LOS MOLINOS — The Los Moli- nos Junior Giants are hoping for some big league help to renovate Mill Creek Park. top vote getters will ultimately become finalists for the renovation and Posey will choose the lucky winner. But at this stage of the contest, which is sponsored by Toyota, Mill Creek Park stands as the No. 7 vote getter. with overgrown grass, bermuda, and "gophers the size of cats," in the out- field, said Kendee Vance, a coach with the Los Molinos Junior Giants. She added, "If we don't have good There are four fields at the park, fields to play on, we don't have the opportunity to provide a good experi- ence for all of these kids." The tee-ball field's baselines are drawn with a lawnmower "just so the kids know where to run," said Kathy Hausman, commissioner of the Los Molinos Junior Giants program. "It has a home plate, but that's about it." Hausman, who was inducted into the Junior Giants Hall of Fame in 2010, the same year the Giants won the World Series, said she uses her own lawnmower in the upkeep of the fields. There are five Junior Giants pro- grams in the Tehama County Police Activities League, which comprises Los Molinos, Red Bluff, Corning, Ran- See FIELD, page 7A Stabbing suspect pleads not guilty By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer An August court date has been set for Humberto Perez, Jr., 23, of Los Angeles who allegedly stabbed his estranged wife on the morning of July 12 at her Corning residence. Perez, who pled not guilty at his July 24 arraignment according to court records, will appear in court on Aug. 6 for a pre-trial conference and on Aug. 7 for a prelimi- nary hearing in Depart- ment 3. Corning Police were sent to a residence in the 1600 block of Kauffman Avenue July 12 where Humberto Perez they found a 28-year-old woman who had stab wounds on her abdomen and forearm. The woman, who was flown to Enloe Medical Center in Chico, told offi- cers she had been stabbed by her estranged husband who had fled the scene. Perez was taken into custody shortly after the incident. The large knife Perez allegedly used was found near a residence in the 1000 block of West Street, according to a Corning Police press release. Perez was reportedly outside the residence when he removed the screen to a bedroom win- dow and began stabbing the woman through the open window. He is facing the special allegations of great bodily injury and prior felony; use of dead- ly weapon; first degree burglary, person present with special allegations of great bodily injury and prior felony; use of dead- ly weapon; corporal injury to spouse with spe- cial allegations of great bodily injury domestic violence and Prior felony, use of deadly weapon. He is being held at the Tehama County Jail on $1 charges of attempt: will- ful, deliberate and pre- meditated murder with special allegations of great bodily injury-prior felony; use of deadly weapon; mayhem with million bail. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews .com. Follow her on Twitter @DN_Zeeb. Paskenta area fire burns 300 acres likely be smaller, as fire crews were walking the scene Thursday to get a more accurate count for the multiple vegetation fires that burned in the area of Round Valley Road, one mile north of Newville Road, a CalFire spokeswoman said. The fire was contained at 9:05 p.m. with crews from CalFire, Red Bluff Fire, Corning Volunteer Fire Department, Tehama County Fire and the Mendocino National Forest Fire Department responding. The cause is under investigation. Nothing further Wednesday evening. Final acreage was still unknown, but will more than A fire in the Paskenta area burned about 300 acres was available. —Julie Zeeb company $5m project By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer with irregularities cost a North Highlands construc- tion company a $5 million project with Tehama Coun- ty. A bid package riddled sors Tuesday passed up MCM Construction, Inc.'s bid for the Bowman Road at South Fork Cottonwood Creek Project in favor of one from Shasta Constructors, Inc. for $5,142,060. MCM's bid was $59,566 The Board of Supervi- less, but the board adopted a finding that the company's submitted bid would violate the Subletting and Subcon- tracting Fair Practices Act. Shasta Constructors protested MCM's bid to the county saying "MCM served up a substantial dose of muddle." Questionable bid costs Shasta Constructors said MCM detached documents from the proposal form and left sections blank. MCM's bid also listed the same five subcontractors on both a participation list as well as a do not participate list. A county memo from Public Works Director Gary Antone said MCM substan- tially increased the scope of work to one of its contrac- tors with a subsequent filing within 24 hours of the bid opening. allowed, Tehama County has previously sided with CalTrans that the extra time violates the Fair Practices Act. While the period is Under the Fair Practices Act, the prime contractor is legally committed to per- form any work that is not See BID, page 7A Red Bluff council mulls CalPERS payment options By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer The Red Bluff City Council was presented with a pension refinanc- ing plan July 17 that an investment banker said could potentially save the city about $17,000 per year over the next eight years. legislation mandated Cal- ifornia Public Employees' Retirement System agen- cies with fewer than 100 employees be enrolled In 2003, California together in a risk-sharing pool. When the members were pooled together, side funds were created to account for the difference in funded status between previous plans. decrease to 7.5 percent in the 2013-14 fiscal year. The second is pay off the loan with cash reserves. Those liabilities to public agencies are now being treated as loans by CalPERS. The city of Red Bluff's loan payoff amount was $2,425,077 as of July 30, with a 7.75 percent interest rate. Jeff Land, a Brandis he was there for, was to refinance with a different loan. And the third, the pitch 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Tallman representative, suggested the city has three options to pay off its side fund. The first would be to continue as is, knowing the interest rate will Land said Brandis Tall- man had already worked with the cities of Ander- son and Orland and Colusa County to refi- nance their loans. His suggestion was the city go out to the munici- pal bond market and esti- mated the city could save 4.53 percent with a refi- nancing loan. Land said typically his firm tells clients anything above 3 percent is worth the effort. However the 16-week process of private place- ment refunding could cause problems and potentially alter the city's exact savings. The city would need a be subject to what rate the city could find in the open market. validation judgment from the superior court that would leave any loan rates volatile to the mar- ket for 10 weeks. city would have a $7,500 funding obligation. Land estimated the city During that period the would be paying $379,461 per year for the next years to pay off its side fund obligations. The $17,000 in savings would City Treasurer Donna Gordy asked Land how a recent announcement that CalPERS had a dismal 1 percent return on invest- ments in the last fiscal year could affect his pro- posal going forward. Land said his firm believed the economy would be stable in the next six months because of Eurpoe's troubles, but it was among the uncer- tainties the city needs to consider before moving forward. Director Sandy Ryan said the issue would come back to the council for consideration. CalPERS is a $234 bil- lion pension system for more than 1.6 million state, school and local government workers. TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS MOULE'S SIDEVIEW Although Tuesday's presentation was informa- tional only, Finance for all makes & models MIRRORS Installed 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260