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Blankenship:MurielFay Blankenship, 85, of Red Bluff died Thursday, Dec. 22at Red Bluff Health Care. Arrangements are un- der the direction of Hoyt- Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016in the Daily News, Red Bluff, California. Smith: Shirley Marie Smith, 82, of Red Bluff died Thursday, Dec. 22 at her daughter's home. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016in the Daily News, Red Bluff, California. Wilson: William Ike Wilson, 95, of Gerber died Friday, Dec. 23at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016in the Daily News, Red Bluff, California. Deathnoticesmustbe provided by mortuaries to the news department, are published at no charge, and feature only specific basic information about the deceased. Paid obituaries are placed through the Classified advertising department. Paid obituaries may be placed by mortuaries or by families of the deceased and include online publication linked to the newspaper's website. Paid obituaries may be of any length, may run multiple days and offer wide latitude of content, including photos. Deathnotices fund additional counsel- ors and certified therapists for students who have suf- fered from trauma and need additional help. The college and career readiness program will focus on high school se- niors, preparing them for future careers and educa- tion with extra opportuni- ties while in high school, including increasing the number college counsel- ors. Russell said nearly 80 percent of students enter- ing college in the county have to take remedial math and English classes. These classes could have been taken during high school to be able to move right into college-level classes freshman year of college. The program aims to change that. The first year the tribe will receive $2,705,168 to disperse to the various schools, the second year $3,018,516, the third year $3,054,516, the fourth year $3,039,518 and the fifth year $3,039,518. The total amount dispersed will be $14,657,270. The Tribal Council pushed hard to get the grant and was instru- mental in being awarded this grant, Russell said. The other groups that also played a part in mak- ing the grant possible for Corning were the Tehama County Department of Ed- ucation, Corning Union El- ementary School District, Tehama County Health Services Agency, United Youth and Families, River Cities Counseling and Corning Union High School District. Grant FROM PAGE 1 dispatchers per day, in ad- dition to monitoring ra- dio traffic and other du- ties, Hencratt said. Using that average he figured Bunn had answered about 652,000 calls over her ca- reer. Those calls involved ev- erything from someone calling to say they had murdered their husband to a thank you for the depart- ment finding a lost child. "That's an incredible feat and Penny is as much a fixture at the department as our patches," Hencratt said. "Penny started be- fore we had 911 and be- fore we had computers. She started back when they used teletype and ticker tapes to get state- wide information and to serve subpoenas. There aren't words to describe what Penny has done." Bunn thanked the su- pervisors for the recogni- tion of her career, which included a clock presented by Supervisor Dennis Gar- ton, who worked with Bunn during his time at the department. "It's a great career and great people," Bunn said. "I look forward to time with my family and my dogs." Dispatcher FROM PAGE 1 By Jeffrey Collins The Associated Press CH A R L E STON, S .C. Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof says he won't call any witnesses or pres- ent evidence while repre- senting himself during the punishment phase of his death penalty trial, but he is working hard to keep secret potentially em- barrassing evidence about himself and his family. Just exactly what that evidence is remains a mys- tery. Roof, the judge and prosecutors carefully tip- toed around describing it during a hearing Wednes- day. The judge has indi- cated that it may be al- lowed during the penalty phase of the trial, which starts next week. The same jurors who convicted Roof earlier this month of killing nine black church members in a racially motivated at- tack will hear from Roof as well as testimony from the families of victims. At the end of the penalty phase, the panel will de- cide whether Roof, who is white, should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. Roof was warned by U.S. Judge Richard Gergel that being his own lawyer was a bad idea. "That's your decision," Gergel said. "I think that highlights my advice to you that you aren't served by being your own coun- sel." Gergel told Roof to talk to his grandfather, who is a lawyer, and other family members one last time. He told Roof he has until the start of the penalty phase Tuesday to change his mind and rehire his high- powered, publicly funded defense team. Roof spoke for less than 10 minutes of the 35-min- ute hearing. He told Ger- gel he does plan an open- ing and closing statement. He also told the judge he objects to prosecutors' plans to present a photo- graph of evidence in the court's possession. Roof, Gergel and assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson talked about it without saying what it is. Gergel said there was a hearing in which he de- cided it could be admitted in the penalty phase. Roof also wanted a jail- house statement left out of the penalty phase and evidence that involved his mother. No specifics were given. Gergel told Roof to go back to jail and write a motion for him to con- sider. Roof's ankle chain clanked as he walked back to the defense table in his jail jumpsuit. Roof's defense attor- neys wanted to call mental health experts, but Roof has indicated he will not. SHOOTER Dylann Roof won't work to spare his life in massacre By Vivian Salama The Associated Press WASHINGTON Donald Trump hammered rival Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign for failing to prevent the at- tack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, when she was secretary of state. Soon he'll be the one responsible for protecting America's diplomats, but he's offered little insight into how he'll do that. After the 2012 Benghazi attack, Congress boosted spending on security to pro- tect the tens of thousands of Americans and foreign staff that make up the U.S. diplomatic service. Secu- rity experts and career dip- lomats say there have been improvements, but that sig- nificant shortfalls remain. Last week's assassina- tion of Russia's ambassa- dor to Turkey, Andrei Kar- lov, was a chilling reminder that diplomats are increas- ingly exposed to threats, even in countries that are typically not regarded as hardship posts. The assas- sin shouted, "Don't forget Aleppo," apparently refer- ring to Russia's military en- gagement in Syria. It's not clear whether having a brashly outspo- ken figure like Trump in the White House will com- pound diplomatic security challenges. The foreign pol- icy of Trump and his pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, remains some- what of an enigma. The Trump transition team didn't respond to questions about how his administration will address diplomatic security. Keeping diplomats safe is a costly business. In the last budget year, Congress approved $3.39 billion for the Diplomatic Security Bureau's functions around the world. That accounts for about 7 percent of the State Department's overall budget. Diplomatic security has also become highly conten- tious since the killings of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans at Benghazi. The Republican-led House Select Committee on Benghazi concluded in June that there were lethal mis- takes by the Obama admin- istration, though it found no "smoking gun" pointing to wrongdoing by Clinton. The committee included Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., Trump's pick to head the CIA. Another member of the committee, Rep. Jim Jor- dan, R-Ohio, criticized the Obama administration for refusing to create the po- sition of undersecretary for diplomatic security. He called it the most important change "to enhance diplo- matic security." He claimed committee Democrats "stonewalled and played games while we searched for the truth." The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Com- mittee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, accused Re- publicans of losing interest in diplomatic security now that the election is over. "Since the issue is no lon- ger a useful cudgel against Secretary Clinton, I fear the (Republican) majority's commitment to diplomatic security will once again fade, and the State Depart- ment could face cuts both to security budgets and to core diplomatic functions," Schiff said. A 2012 government in- quiry following the Beng- hazi attacks made more than two dozen recom- mendations for security improvements, highlight- ing serious lapses in man- agement and leadership that left the consulate vul- nerable. The Bureau of Diplo- matic Security declined to answer specific questions on the areas where im- provement is still needed, but said diplomatic secu- rity "constantly balances available resources to pro- vide a safe and secure envi- ronment for the conduct of U.S. diplomacy." Security experts and diplomats say more can be done within individual diplomatic missions to im- prove safety. Mission se- curity chiefs can use more training, and ambassadors and other mission leaders should also be given greater authority over security mat- ters since they are most fa- miliar with conditions on the ground, experts say. Fred Burton, a former diplomatic security agent and vice president for in- telligence at intelligence firm Stratfor, said mission security officials "never had that ability to speak for our- selves at these kinds of de- cision-making meetings be- cause you're pushed down on this flow chart and then you're left ... with all the challenges of being in a place like Benghazi." Burton, author of "Un- der Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi," said he's not optimistic the problem can be fixed un- less Tillerson is confirmed "and his desire is to restruc- ture the bureaucracy inside State." Traditionally, host coun- tries have been obligated by treaty to protect diplo- matic facilities. But with non-state actors gaining ground and capable of de- stabilizing governments, it's falling to the U.S. to take all precautions to protect its diplomats. PRESIDENT ELECT Pressure is on for Trump to make diplomats safer IBRAHIM ALAGURI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Glass, debris and overturned furniture are strewn inside a room in the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, a er an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. The Associated Press LAWRENCE, KAN. Univer- sity of Kansas students are being offered buttons through the school's library system meant to make their preferred gender pronouns clear. Various University of Kansas Libraries employ- ees now sport the square- shaped pins, with extra ones also doled out to in- terested students, the Law- rence Journal-World (http:// bit.ly/2iECeva ) reports. Library leaders say the buttons are part of the li- brary system's "You Be- long Here" marketing ef- fort meant to lure under- graduates and ensure that they feel welcome, includ- ing transgender students. The buttons come in three versions: "He him his," "She her hers" and, for people who don't iden- tify themselves as male or female, "They them theirs." "Because gender is, itself, fluid and up to the individ- ual," a sign at the libraries reads. "Each person has the right to identify their own pronouns, and we encour- age you to ask before as- suming someone's gender. Pronouns matter! Misgen- dering someone can have lasting consequences, and using the incorrect pronoun can be hurtful, disrespect- ful, and invalidate some- one's identity." Expressing gender iden- tity through buttons or other means has cropped up elsewhere in the interest of inclusion. Buttons were given out at the start of this semester at Vermont's Champlain College, home to a new Women and Gender Center. Students and teach- ers at the University of Ver- mont also have worn name tags and made business cards with their preferred pronouns. The University of Michigan this semester began letting students des- ignate their own pronouns that will be reflected on class rosters. At Kansas, library work- ers can choose whether they want to wear them, said Re- becca Smith, the library sys- tem's chief of communica- tions and advancement. Extra buttons are avail- able at some library coun- ters, and the libraries have reordered them at least once to keep up with de- mand, Smith said. "We've told all of our front-line employees, if a student asks, give them a button," Smith said. "A commitment to sup- port the voices of margin- alized people is part and parcel to the libraries' com- mitment to the values of the First Amendment," added Kevin Smith, the univer- sity's libraries dean who is not related to Rebecca Smith. POLITICAL CORRECTNESS Kansas school's libraries offer pronoun pins SARA SHEPHERD — THE LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD In this Tuesday photo, buttons advertising part of the University of Kansas Libraries' "You Belong Here" campaign are displayed in Lawrence, Kansas. By Tamara Lush The Associated Press Princess Leia was our first girl movie heroine, and we made our moms braid brunette yarn so we'd have earmuff buns for Hallow- een. Carol Brady of "The Brady Bunch" was the ideal mother we probably didn't have, because our moms had to work and left us latchkey kids home alone, with TV and processed food our only companions. Carrie Fisher and Flor- ence Henderson — and other icons of Generation X's youth — are now gone, stolen by the cruel thief that is 2016. The year has left the generation born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s wallowing in memo- ries and contemplating its own mortality. "It's a very melancholy time," sighed Shelly Ran- som, a 47-year-old speech- language pathologist in Darien, Connecticut. "This is really bringing back a lot of teen angsty feelings. These people are supposed to still be the voices of my generation. It's sad to see these artists not there to be our voice." Or, as weary, 51-year- old Lawrence Feeney, a filmmaker from New Port Richey, Florida, put it: "You lose George Michael and Carrie Fisher in a three-day span, you feel like you've gotten a couple of daggers thrown at you." Throughout the year, of- fice conversations, dinner party discussions and social media have exploded with incredulity, sadness and fear, as one '80s celebrity af- ter another died, starting in January with David Bowie. The feelings have been particularly acute for Gen X, whose members came of age when many of these cul- tural figures were popular. "We were the generation that was going to change the world. When I was a young man, I watched peo- ple my age stand in front of tanks in Tiananmen Square and tear down the Ber- lin Wall. Now I find myself complaining about arthri- tis in my hands and taking care of my aging parents," lamented Rob Withrow, a 43-year-old landscape busi- ness owner in Palm Bay, Florida. DEATH With the loss of its celebrities, Gen X ponders mortality Combining Quality and Low Cost is what we do. www.affordablemortuary.net•529-3655 FD1538 LocatedinChico,CA R ed Bluff Simple Cremations and Burial Service FD1931 527-1732 Now open longer hours 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 5 A