Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/7766
Corning to leave council seat vacant By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — With very little discussion, the City Council chose to leave open the fifth coun- cil position created by the Feb. 19 resignation of Becky Hill, who moved to Oregon. Four residents, includ- ing former Council- woman Darlene Dickison, Planning Commissioner Jesse Lopez, Sheree Parish-Liddell and Melodie Poisson, had applied for the opening. Parish-Liddell withdrew due to a time conflict. Mayor Gary Strack and Councilwoman Toni Parkins expressed an interest in filling the posi- tion with one of the remaining three candi- dates, but Councilmen John Leach and Ross Turner said it should be left vacant until the November election. "I'd like to see some- one who has had city experience, which makes Darlene (Dickison) stand out and Jesse (Lopez) has been on the planning commission," Strack said. Parkins said with the elections coming up in November it would be "no harm, no foul to put a person in now." "In the budget crisis, Darlene's the best choice because she knows it like the back of her hand," Red Bluff Outdoor Power Weather forecast 8B Partly cloudy 64/44 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ THURSDAY MARCH 11, 2010 Mr. Spartan Named Diamond Update Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY 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 See Page 3A SPORTS 1B Local 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Business Connections Has added another service! LIVE SCAN FINGERPRINTING With results electronically sent to DOJ & FBI Appointments and/or walk-ins. 332 Pine St., Red Bluff 527-6229 Since 1979 CALL TODAY (530) 529-1222 237 South Main Street As Local As.... • "Main Street or Wall Street" banking, which do you want • Still offering better than free checking • Now offering Health Savings Accounts • Local decision making • Community Support • ATM - FREE anywhere Confirmed case of meningococcal disease A Red Bluff toddler became ill in late February with a con- firmed case of meningitis, according to a press release issued Wednesday by Tehama County Public Health. The meningitis type was confirmed as type B, which is not related to the type C menin- gitis contracted by two Tehama County children in January. The toddler was hospitalized and is recovering at home. All of the close contacts of the toddler have been identified and treated by Tehama County Health Services Agency, Public Health staff who are continuing to follow through on the disease investigation, Public Health Director Sydnei Wilby said. So far no one else has con- tracted type B. No vaccine is available and no plans for a quarantine are pending, she said. Public Health is working closely with the Tehama Coun- ty Health Officer Dr. Richard Wickenheiser, who said the meningitis vaccine being administered to school children is not effective against this vari- ety of the disease. "The only way to prevent the spread of this type of meningitis is through careful and frequent hand washing and not sharing food, drink, glasses, water bot- tles, lip balm, cigarettes, etc.," Wickenheiser said. Parents should be alert for the symptoms of meningitis in their children and seek medical attention if they suspect the dis- ease, the release said. Most people who have meningitis complain of stiff neck, fever and headache. These symptoms can develop over the course of several hours or take as long as one to two days. There can also be a rash that does not go away with pressure. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, dis- comfort in looking at bright lights, confusion and sleepi- Plant it forward Daily News photo by Tang Lor Student teacher Jennifer Hurst hands out trees Wednesday to seventh- graders Tessa Jones, Emalee Kourani and Destiny Boer following a presentation about trees at Lassen View Elementary School. By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer A string of oohs and ahs filled the gym while students learned of the importance of trees in everyday life from botanists Wednes- day. The excitement came courtesy of the pho- tos of trees and wildlife in a presentation Jes- sica Moeller and Stephanie Puentes of Sierra Pacific Industries gave students at Lassen View Elementary School. In California, Arbor Day is celebrated dur- ing the week of March 7-14. Part of the cele- bration includes presentations to school-aged children in order to foster a sense of appreci- ation for trees and relay trees' importance in every day life. There are more than 35.8 million acres of forest in California, which results in a multi- tude of purposes for trees. The daily uses for trees vary from wildlife habitat to lumber and products such as cereal boxes. Trees are important because they provide Teachers and administrators square off over budget cuts By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Talks on the budget continued at the Red Bluff Union Elementary School District board meeting Tues- day. What is encouraging is that the budget is balanced and the district has a positive certification, Superin- tendent William McCoy said. A positive rating means that the dis- trict has a balanced budget and will be able to meet its budget require- ments in the upcoming year and two years out. The district's second interim report and the certification will be forwarded to the Tehama County Office of Education and then to the state. The board and union representa- tives continue to grapple over equi- table cuts. Despite what administrators say, the cuts are not being shared equal- ly, said Sharon Barrett, president of the Red Bluff Elementary Educators Association prior to the meeting. The administration's decision to give up three working days is not equitable to the number of teachers that have or will lose their jobs. "If we lose a quarter of our teach- ing staff it only makes sense to lose a quarter of our administrators," Barrett said. The association gave McCoy a list of 166 suggestions on how to make cuts and balance the budget, but instead McCoy has ignored the list and decided to cut certified and Jobless rate sets record By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County's unemployment skyrocketed in January to hit a record high of 16.9 percent. California Employment Develop- ment Department statistics only go back to 1990. The highest unemploy- ment recorded in the county previ- ously was in February 1993, at 16.7 percent, according to department sta- tistics. Rates also grew in Shasta County to 17.6 percent, in Butte County to 15.1 percent and in Glenn County to 18 percent. Unemployment typically rises in January in counties where jobs are seasonal, department spokeswoman Sheila Stock said. In January, that seasonal rise in unemployment was accompanied by a rush of people into the labor force. Though there were just 160 jobs lost in the change from December to January, the available labor force grew by 630, suggesting hundreds of county residents started the search for work again. As unemployment statistics only account for people working or look- ing for work, a large-scale return to the job market can tilt statistics in a less populated county like Tehama County. People beginning anew the search for work could be motivated by any- thing from children leaving high school for college to the sustained pressure of recession, Stock said. A few categories still saw an increase in jobs. The mining and log- ging industries experienced the biggest increase, adding 40 jobs. Leisure and hospitality jobs saw the largest drop, with 30 fewer jobs available in January. Artists' group to make debut By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer After 45 years, the Tuesday Art Group from Corning will be hold- ing its first exhibit as a group Fri- day. "We're pleased and rather hon- ored," Sylvia Meents said. "We were asked to exhibit and we were pleased just to have been asked to do a show." The opportunity to show at The Big Picture in Red Bluff came to the group because many of the artists go there to their get paintings framed and matted and several have shown there as individuals during previous shows, Meents said. Meents, a former nurse at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, has been painting for about 40 years and is one of the original members of the Corning group. Marji Raymond, who will exhib- it at Friday's show, said members call Meents "the glue that's held TAG (Tuesday Art Group) togeth- er" and refer to her as "honorary madame president". The group, which meets 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays, started in 1965 as an art class Robin Blomquist taught out of her home, Raymond said. Since then, it has traveled to a variety of locations, including the basement of the Methodist Church in Corning, and has been a class at Shasta College through the school's outreach program taught at Corning High School by Richard Bower. The class also was taught by Maryanne Beaulac and later Libby Shipley through Shasta College at its present location — the Corning Senior Center, corner of Fourth and South streets. The group has since become independent of the college, but con- Courtesy photo Buttercup, by Sylvia Meents. Then there were four See CASE, page 7A See CUTS, page 7A See PLANT, page 7A See DEBUT, page 7A See FOUR, page 7A