Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/7952
S A C R A M E N T O (AP) — California's budget crisis could cost nearly 22,000 teachers their jobs this year. State school districts had issued 21,905 pink slips to teachers and other school employees by Monday, the legal deadline for districts to send preliminary layoff notices. Not all the threatened layoffs will be carried out. The final tally depends on the state budget to be adopted for the coming fiscal year. Last year, 60 percent of the 26,000 teachers who received pink slips ended up losing their jobs. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell expect- ed this year's actual job losses to be high, given the state's persistent budget problems and the smaller pool of educa- tion stimulus money available from the fed- eral government. ''These layoffs would be devastating to our schools, would harm our communities and would harm our education delivery system,'' he Kickboxing class gives students a workout By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Tuesday and Thursday afternoons those visiting Body Projex, 1450 Schwab St., Ste. A, will find Pep Roa and Bill Handel teaching a kick- boxing class for high school students. "It's a great cardio workout that tones mus- cles and provides some- thing for students to get away from video games and away from gangs and violence," Roa said. Studying kickboxing requires a lot of disci- pline, said Roa, who has studied for seven years. Handel, who helps Roa with the class, is the for- mer owner of the Black Dragon on Walnut Street, which closed in 2004. He studied with great martial arts instructors like Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. The class started as a Police Activities League class, but has since been combined with After School Student Education Tutoring Services, or ASSETS, which provides after school recreation opportunities in addition to tutoring, Roa said. Funding is provided through the 21st Century grant, which the group received three years ago, he said. The class is open to high school students in Tehama County and transportation can be pro- vided for students in Ger- Weather forecast 8B Partly cloudy 69/47 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ TUESDAY MARCH 16, 2010 Return To Ellis Island Niners QB Shuffle 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 Inside SPORTS 1B American Profile 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 STOP THE PAIN FROM NEUROPATHY, SHINGLES, ARTHRITIS, AND POST SURGERY. DR. SWAIM'S PAIN CREAM NOW AVAILABLE IN OUR OFFICE AT 2530 SR MARY COLUMBA DR. RED BLUFF, CA 96080 (530) 527-7584 Smog Inspection $ 29 95 (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) Pass or FREE retest 195 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530 527-9841 COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR + cert. Learn QuickBooks (April 7 to May 12) 6 Wednesday Evenings Time: 5:15 pm to 7:15 pm Cost: $99.00 per person Location: Job Training Center, 718 Main St., Red Bluff Call 529-7000 to Register Jack the Ribber CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE 1150 Monroe St. 527-6108 St. Patty's Day Special, 5-8pm ~ RIBS ALWAYS ~ $ 11 00 Communication breakdown over game refuge By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County Fish and Game Commissioners say the state has left them in the woods on the future of a major deer migratory corridor. "We've been totally left out of the loop," Chairman Warren Duke said. "There's no other way to describe it." In January, the California Department of Fish and Game will submit a report to the Leg- islature on whether to maintain or close 19 state game refuges, including 90,000 acres in the eastern county. State Game Refuge 1-G includes land owned by the National Forest Service, Sierra Pacific Industries and Collins Pine. But no matter who owns the land, hunting remains pro- hibited by the state as long as the refuge status is in place. Some commissioners, Duke included, want to keep it that way. Turning it into a hunting ground could make the eastern Tehama deer herd extremely vulnerable to hunters. The problem is the state has done little to update the com- missioners on the situation, he said. "We would like to have some input into this procedure and so far the department is just absolutely saying nothing about anything," Duke said. The law requiring the depart- ment to reevaluate its refuges also requires it to do public out- reach, provide refuge maps both online and on paper and to offer an opportunity for public comment. The refuge's status dates back as far as 1906, department spokeswoman Dana Michaels said. She said the department wants the input of the local commission and would be send- ing biologist Scott Hill, out of its Redding office, to solicit that input. 'We would like to have some input into this procedure and so far the department is just absolutely saying nothing about anything' Tehama County Fish and Game Commission Chairman Warren Duke Getting their kicks Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Jeremy Norman, 16, of Lake California blocks a kick from Instructor Pep Roa Thursday at the Police Activities League/Assets Kickboxing class. City to look at roads, budget By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Roads and budget will be the main topics of discus- sion when the Red Bluff City Council meets tonight. Streetlights along Walnut Street between Main Street and the railroad tracks need to be replaced. The council will be asked to approve the project and to allow for funds from a $172,103 allocation from the Tehama County Transportation Commission to be used. The money has to be used for road related pro- jects. If the council does not approve the funds, the money could be used for road maintenance. The project was introduced at the March 2 meeting but was tabled until tonight as requested by councilman Wayne Brown who said the Downtown Business Asso- ciation wanted more time to give its input on the pro- ject. Brown is the council representative to the associa- tion. • Public Works Director Mark Barthel will give a presentation on the condition of streets and roads in the city and the cost to improve or maintain the streets in an acceptable condition. The city spends and estimated $60,000 annually on maintaining 65.4 miles of road. • The council will continue its discussion on reorga- nizing the street and water departments. The discussion was tabled from the previous meeting. The council asked Barthel to come back with information on the organization of the two departments and asked Human Resource Director Tessa Pritchard to write up a job description for the new public works supervisor posi- tion. Earlier this month the street department supervisor retired. Instead of filling the vacancy, Barthel is propos- ing that the street department supervisor's duties be taken on by the water department supervisor. The city would save about $71,000 next fiscal year by having one supervisor for both departments. • A quarterly budget update on the 2009/2010 bud- Branding Tehama County By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Be specific. That is the key to cre- ating a marketing brand to attract visitors to the area, said Roger Brooks, the keynote speaker at the third annual Seeds of Opportunity event. "A brand is a percep- tion," he said. "It's what people think of you not what you think you are." In the brand new world of marketing, the concept of advertising to fit everyone's needs is over. To create a brand there has to be a plan for specification. The more narrow the focus the bet- ter. "You must jettison the generic," Brooks said over and over again. Identify a primary lore for the area and every- thing else, such as com- plimentary activities, will follow. The days of marketing using a list are over, Brooks said. The mistake that most cities make when they market their communities is they use general lists of things that their cities offers. Things such as providing a place for outdoor recreation or having a historic down- town no longer make cities unique. Give people some- thing they cannot get closer to home. Offer them something to do when they get here and deliver on that promise, Brooks said. Daily News photo by Chip Thompson Planning Director George Robson, left, is congratulated by Bill Moule, chairman of the Tehama Economic Development Corporation, after receiving the Person of the Year award. Pink slips sent to 1,000s of teachers See REFUGE, page 7A See KICKS, page 7A See CITY, page 7A See TEHAMA, page 7A See TEACHERS, page 7A