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Southern:PhillipCharles Southern, 79, of Red Bluff died Wednesday, Jan. 25 at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. Arrangements are under the direction of Red Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service. Published Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017in 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 committing rape, willful harm or injury to a child, continuous sexual abuse of a child, oral copula- tion with person under 14 years of age by force, rape: victim incapable of giving consent, sex- ual intercourse with mi- nor and unlawful inter- course with minor per- petrator over 21, victim under 16. Lang is being held on a $650,000 bail. Woman FROM PAGE 1 responded with last year's class, in person, Spengler said. The partnership is a part of something that came out of the school's involve- ment in the No Excuses University movement that promotes college and ca- reer awareness and read- iness in part by fostering connections between stu- dents and universities and colleges, said Gerber Prin- cipal Jenny Marr. "In NEU schools, each classroom adopts a univer- sity to represent and some- times a representative from theUniversitywilladoptthe class in return," Marr said. "Keri Spengler is fortunate tohavealumnifromherad- opted, which is the Univer- sity of Montana Grizzlies that adopted her class." Spengler has been work- ing with Eric and Cinder Dawald who are University of Montana alumni with Eric being a former Griz- zlies football player him- self who helped connect her students to Sprunk. "EricandCinderDawald have played an integral role in igniting college spirit of the third graders in my class," Spengler said. "This year they have once again purchased shirts for every child in class and sent goodies and let- ters, but the most impor- tant gift they have given the children is a pen-pal on the Grizzlies football team in Cooper Sprunk, an of- fensive lineman." Sprunkhasbeenwriting to the students throughout the school year and been a great encouragement to them, Spengler said. "He tells them what it takes to become a college student and motivates them to do their best in school," Spengler said. "Having that personal con- nection with the Univer- sity of Montana has really made a tremendous differ- ence in the climate of the classroom and inspires the students to set goals and to work as a team." Sprunk, who will be a red-shirt senior next year for the football team, is studying marketing with an emphasis in digital marketing with a goal of going into either sports marketing or social media, he said. He has enjoyed his visit to California as well as getting to meet the stu- dents and read with them in the classroom. Though Sprunk is from Portland, Oregon orig- inally, he became con- nected to the University of Montana through his par- ents and attending sports camps at the college in his youth. Eric and Cinder Dawald are long-time friends of Sprunk's family and he said he was excited to be a pen pal when they asked him. "It's been an awesome experience," Sprunk said. School FROM PAGE 1 Staff Reports RED BLUFF Police were dispatched to the Antelope Boulevard bridge over the Sacramento River Wednes- day afternoon for a man threatening to jump. Officers arrived around 1:10 p.m. to find a man sit- ting atop the bridge rail- ing with his feet dangling over the bridge threaten- ing to commit suicide, ac- cording to a press release is- sued Wednesday afternoon by the Red Bluff Police De- partment. A Red Bluff Police Depart- mentSergeanttrainedincri- sisnegotiations,whowasnot named in the release, began communicating with the man. After several minutes ofspeakingwiththeman,he climbed back over the rail- ingontothesidewalk,there- lease said. The man, whose name was not released, was un- harmed during the inci- dent. POLICE Man talked down a er threatening to jump into river By Brady Mccombs The Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY The mother of a Utah man jailed in Venezuela for the last seven months has issued another tearful plea for help to free her son, this time to President Donald Trump. Laurie Holt's reiterated this week in her new You- Tube video her belief that that her son Joshua Holt is being used as a "political pawn" by Venezuela's gov- ernment. The video was posted a week after U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah mentioned the case in a meeting with Secretary of State nominee Rex Tiller- son. During his confirmation hearing last week, Tiller- son did not mention Holt by name but said he plans to demand that Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro release all political prison- ers. Joshua Holt and his Ven- ezuelan wife were arrested on June 30 on weapons charges. Venezuelan offi- cials alleged he was stock- piling weapons at his wife's apartment and have sug- gested his case is linked to other unspecified attempts by the U.S. government to undermine President Nico- las Maduro's socialist rule amid deep economic and political turbulence. Laurie Holt, of Riverton, Utah, has staunchly refuted that claim. She says her son, a former Mormon mission- ary, travelled to Venezu- ela to marry a woman he met online while looking for Spanish-speaking Mor- mons to help him improve his Spanish. In the video, she crit- icizes former President Barack Obama's adminis- tration inability to win free- dom for her son and tries to appeal to Trump's patri- otism. "President Trump, my son's only offense was that he was an American citizen. I know that you surely agree that being a citizen of this great nation should mean something," Holt said. "Josh and his wife and our entire family have been living in a hellish fog for the last months. My son has under- gone the most horrifying and degrading physical and mental abuse." Laurie Holt has endured a series of disappointments in recent months as four different hearings sched- uled about her son's case in Caracas were cancelled. No new hearings are sched- uled. The U.S. State Depart- ment is concerned about the postponements and is fol- lowing Holt's case closely, said Will Cocks, spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. Thedepartmenthasraised the case to the highest levels of Venezuela government, urging respect for Holt's hu- manrightsandanexpedited effort to resolve the case, he said in a statement. Consular officers most re- cently visited Holt on Jan. 16 and will continue to make regular visits, he said. The U.S. House passed a resolution in Septem- ber calling for the release of Holt and other political prisoners in Venezuela. Former Secretary of State John Kerry raised Holt's jailing during a meeting with Maduro in Septem- ber, and a senior State De- partment official traveled to Caracas twice in recent months in part to push for his release. The pressure has so far yielded no tangible results. Human rights groups con- tend Maduro's government is using Holt and his jailed wife, an Ecuadorean na- tional, as bargaining chips to extract unspecified con- cessions from the United States. Holt is being held in a prison in Caracas run by Venezuela's intelligence po- lice. The facility also holds a number of activists that the opposition considers politi- cal prisoners. UTAH MAN Mother asks Trump to help free son jailed in Venezuela RICK BOWMER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Laurie Holt holds a photograph of her son Joshua Holt, who has been jailed in Venezuela for several months, at her home, in Riverton, Utah. The Associated Press ALBANY, GA. Crews searched a mobile home park strewn with twisted metal and other debris Wednesday for a toddler whose parents reported him missing after a tor- nado demolished their trailer during a weekend outbreak of deadly storms. Albany Fire Chief Ron Rowe told a news confer- ence the search for 2-year- old Detrez Green resumed at first daylight Wednes- day. The boy's mother told authorities he slipped away from her Sunday af- ternoon and toddled into their kitchen just before a tornado sent an oak tree crashing through their home. "He was playing with a toy the last time I saw him," Kevian Green, the boy's fa- ther, told reporters. "I just hope they can find him." Crews were searching "every inch" of the Piney Woods Estates mobile home park where the boy lived, including up in any trees the storm left stand- ing, said Albany Dougherty Search and Rescue Com- mander Chuck Mitchell. "He could be anywhere," Mitchell told WALB-TV. The twister was among at least 21 confirmed by the National Weather Service to have touched down in Georgia over the weekend, when a midwinter outbreak of thunderstorms and tor- nadoes threatened millions from Louisiana to the Car- olinas. The storms were blamed for at least 20 deaths: 15 in Georgia, four in Mississippi and one in Florida. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal toured the destruc- tion Wednesday by heli- copter in Albany before heading to nearby Cook County, where seven peo- ple perished in a single mobile home park. He said more than 300 state workers were in southwest Georgia assist- ing with recovery efforts and federal workers were on the ground and ready to help once there's an of- ficial disaster declaration from Washington. GEORGIA Crews search for toddler missing amid destruction By Erica Werner The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA Congres- sional Republicans laid plans Wednesday to act on a health care repeal bill by the end of March and re- write the tax code by Au- gust as they sketched out an ambitious agenda for their first 200 days under Presi- dent Donald Trump. Meeting in Philadelphia for their annual policy re- treat, they also discussed ac- tion to raise the nation's bor- rowing limit, write an infra- structure package sought by Trumpandpushfundingfor defenseandborderpriorities. The gathering was shad- owed by a rocky start to the Trump administration, full of distracting, inaccurate claimsaboutvoterfraudand inaugural crowd sizes that some lawmakers fear could distract from their ability to deliver in a new era of GOP control. Trump will address the retreat on Thursday. "We have to get on to the serious issue of governing, these other issues are dis- tractions,"Rep.CharlieDent, R-Pa,said."It'saveryaggres- sive agenda." Lawmakers arrived in Philadelphia via chartered train Wednesday. The 200- day agenda was discussed at adowntownhotel,inawork- ingsessionledbySenateMa- jority Leader Mitch McCon- nell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Ryan laid out the goals of passing legislation to re- pealformerPresidentBarack Obama's health care bill and replace some portions by the end of March; and pass- ing legislation to overhaul the loophole-ridden tax code by August. Lawmakers and aides said those goals could be achievable in the House but more difficult for the slower-movingSenatewhere Democratic cooperation will be needed. The Senate will also be occupied with confirming a new Supreme Court justice to fill the court's vacancy. McConnell got a standing ovationfromHouseandSen- ate lawmakers in the closed- door meeting for his aggres- sive tactics last year in re- fusing for 10 months to fill the vacancy created by An- tonin Scalia's death, which now hands Trump a seat to fill. Trump has said he'll an- nounce his nominee next week. Details from the gather- ing were described by law- makers and aides speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private con- versations. POLITICS Congressional Republicans sketch ambitious agenda GEORGEROBERTGREEN September 23, 1925 ~ January 21, 2017 GEORGE died peacefully at the California Veterans Home in Redding, California where he resided for the last two years. George was born in Mt. Shasta, California to Phillip George Green and Elizabeth Marie Coughlin. A na- tive Californian with roots going back to the 18th century, George was the last of five siblings. After serving in the Merchant Marines and then the Ar- my in the 188th Parachute Infantry Regiment with the 11th Airborne Division, he joined the Oakland Fire De- partment in 1948. During his tenure of 32 years with the department he was awarded Man of the Year for heroism. He was a respected Captain at 12 Engine and the Oak- land fireboat at Jack London Square. Known as "Granddad" by his 27 grandchildren and his 18 great-grandchildren, he was an inspiration to his fami- ly. His service in both the military and the Oakland Fire Department was a testament to his desire to serve his community and fellow man. George was an adventurer and philosopher of life who carved a unique path for himself. He was a relentless tinkerer who had a keen sense of both the aesthetic and mechanical nature of the objects around him. He literally turned rocks into beauti- ful creatures and looked to nature to find his creativity. He was a captivating storyteller and always tied together his great sense of humor with his interesting ideas. His family will always remember his laugh at Wheeling Hawk Ranch where he created a whimsical world for his grand- children to explore and imagine the natural world. George loved the outdoors. He was an avid backpacker, a fisherman, a marathon runner and a Boy Scout leader. Those passions have given multi-generations a profound appreciation of family, loyalty and exploration. George will be missed by his extensive family that loved him very deeply. George is survived by his six children with his first wife: Patrick Green, Frances (Green) Ilany, Theresa (Green) Jones, William Green, Daniel Green and Andrew Green. He was preceded in death by his second wife, Audrey (Hendrickson) Dworak Green and is survived by her chil- dren Paula (Dworak) Lewis, Andrew Dworak, Michaela (Dworak) Rowland, Claudia (Dworak) Threlkeld and Alan Dworak. A very special thank you to all of the staff at the Veter- ans Home of California – Redding and to Jon Neal and Barbara Tippets of Aloha House who cared for George so lovingly in his last years. Services will be held on Monday, January 30, 2017, 10:30 am, at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, California. Arrangements are being handled by Al- len & Dahl Funeral Chapel in Anderson, California, Obituaries 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, JANUARY 26, 2017 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 7 A