Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/800208
the couple's home during the kidnapping, said he "cannot and will not ever be the same." U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley called the abduc- tion a "heinous, atrocious, horrible crime" as he sen- tenced Muller, 39. He had faced up to life in prison, but prosecutors agreed to recommend 40 years in ex- change for pleading guilty to kidnapping in Septem- ber. In court, Muller said he was "sick with shame" for the "pain and horror" he caused. He looked straight ahead and showed no emo- tion as he was sentenced. Defense attorney Thomas Johnson argued for a 30-year sentence, say- ing his client has been di- agnosed as manic and de- pressive and can be re- habilitated with proper treatment. Muller used a remote- controlled drone to spy on Huskins and Quinn before he broke into their Vallejo home, tied up the couple and made them drink a sleep-inducing liquid, pros- ecutors said. They were blindfolded while Muller played a pre-recorded mes- sage that made it seem as if there was more than one kidnapper. He put Huskins in the trunk of his car, drove her to his home in South Lake Tahoe and held her there for two days before even- tually releasing her in her hometown of Huntington Beach. He claimed in emails to a San Francisco reporter that Huskins was abducted by a team of elite criminals who were practicing their kidnapping tactics. After Huskins was re- leased, Vallejo police called the kidnapping a hoax and erroneously likened it to the book and movie "Gone Girl," in which a woman goes missing and then lies about being kidnapped when she reappears. Investigators dropped that theory after Muller was arrested in an at- tempted robbery at an- other San Francisco Bay Area home. Authorities said they found a cellphone that they traced to Muller and a subsequent search of a car and home turned up evidence, including a com- puter Muller stole from Quinn, linking the dis- barred attorney to the ab- duction. Vallejo police have since apologized. Huskins is su- ing the city and two police officers, accusing them of defamation and inflicting emotional distress. Muller, a former Marine, was admitted to practice law in California in 2011, and his state bar profile says he attended Harvard Law School. He lost his law license in 2015 in an unrelated in- cident. Prison FROMPAGE1 officers and finding acad- emy students interested in working for Corning has become more difficult. De- partments in the area find it difficult to train and re- tain qualified applicants, while demand for these ap- plicants is increasing, ac- cording to the report. Fears said the depart- ment has attempted to re- cruit academy students in the past but could not do so without offering a spon- sorship. This will allow for Corning to compete with other North State law en- forcement agencies who have been sponsoring stu- dents as a general practice. Council FROM PAGE 1 get little cuts and scraps while in the pool, Hurton said. Signs have been put up that recommend wear- ing footwear in the pools. The work is estimated to cost $12,000 to $15,000, with the hope of having the project completed be- fore June, the opening month of the pools, Hur- ton said. Funding for the proj- ect can be accommodated within the Parks and Rec- reation fund if the con- struction proposals re- ceived are within the staffs' cost estimate, according to the agenda report. The work includes re- moving and replacing the tile around the pool to a sky blue color with white grout, installing new Americans with Disability Act-compliant entry rails and steps and plastering the pool, according to the contract documents by the Public Works Department. In 2012, the council au- thorized $177,670 to resur- face the main pool with a fiberglass coating and $52,520 for additional im- provements, including ADA required lifts. The project did not address the surfaces of the auxil- iary pools. Facility FROM PAGE 1 TheAssociatedPress LOS ANGELES President Donald Trump on Thursday approved a disaster decla- ration for California to ad- dress damage from Janu- ary storms that were part of the state's extremely wet winter. The action, in response to a request by Gov. Jerry Brown, makes federal fund- ing available to state, local and tribal governments as well as certain nonprofit groups. The assistance covers emergency work and re- pair or replacement of fa- cilities damaged from Jan. 18 to Jan. 23 in 16 counties, and hazard mitigation mea- sures statewide. Counties named in the declaration included El Dorado, Kern, Los Ange- les, Mendocino, Napa, Or- ange, Riverside, Sacra- mento, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Trin- ity, Tuolumne and Yolo. January saw California come under siege by power- ful storms fed by a series of so-called atmospheric riv- ers, causing flooding and mudslides. More storms fol- lowed in February, continu- ing the damage while cover- ing the Sierra Nevada with a massive snowpack. Earlier requests by Brown for federal assis- tance to help with damage from early January storms and problems at the Oro- ville Dam, where the main spillway broke apart and an emergency spillway eroded, were granted previously. The governor, mean- while, has declared a state of emergency in almost all of California's 58 counties. Work to tabulate damage from storms through Feb- ruary is continuing, said Brad Alexander of the gov- ernor's Office of Emergency Services. The White House says other declarations may be made later depending on damage assessments. March has trended dry and warm — with a heat wave in Southern Califor- nia that spiked into the 90s — but the National Weather Service said "the storm door will try to crack back open" this weekend, usher- ing in several rain systems during the week. WEATHER DAMAGE President approves state storms disaster declaration TRAVEL BAN GREGORYBULL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Nadia Hanan Madalo, center right, hugs her mother, Alyshooa Kannah, le , at the airport a er arriving from Iraq Wednesday in San Diego. By Julie Watson and Malak Harb The Associated Press SAN DIEGO Inside a small apartment in a San Di- ego suburb, Nadia Hanan Madalo sat before tins of kebab, roasted chicken, and tomato and cucum- ber salad. Her refugee flight credential still hung around her neck, as her children played with cous- ins they had only seen on Internet phone chats before this night. The midnight feast marked the end of the ref- ugee family's long journey to leave war-torn Iraq and be reunited with Madalo's 21-year-old son, her mother and siblings in the United States. Madalo, her husband and four other children be- lieved when they boarded their plane Wednesday morning in northern Iraq that they would be among the last refugees allowed in before the latest Trump ad- ministration travel ban was to take effect. By the time they landed, a federal judge in Hawaii put a hold on President Trump's newest ban — the latest development in a fight between the adminis- tration and the courts that has injected more uncer- tainty into the lives of ref- ugees. For Madalo, it all seemed surreal. She smiled. Tears streamed down her face as she gave long embraces to each member of her large extended family amid flow- ers and "welcome home" balloons. "I am lucky. I am lucky," she said as she sat squashed on a couch with her large extended family at her brother's apartment in El Cajon. They held the feast for the momentous reunion as quietly as possible. They didn't want to bother their neighbors. Madalo was looking for- ward to seeing the ocean for the first time. But other than that, she could not think yet of what her new life would hold for her. But she was sure it would be good. "The first thing is being safe," she told her brother who translated her words in her native Chaldean lan- guage to English. The Madalo family waited for four years to get into the United States. Her sister in Lebanon is among those still waiting for final approval. The family fled their Christian village be- fore Islamic State fighters invaded several years ago. Madalo and her hus- band returned to see the town one last time before leaving Iraq. Only devas- tation remains. Roads are filled with land mines. The town has been destroyed. And their family home was burned to the ground. "Thank God we ran from there and come here," she said at the San Diego air- port. Resettlement agencies say more than 67,000 ref- ugees were in the stages of being approved and al- lowed into the U.S when Trump's January order halted travel for 90 days from seven majority-Mus- lim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The or- der also suspended the ref- ugee program for 120 days. After a federal court in California blocked the or- der in February thousands rushed to get in before the anticipated new order was issued. U.S. District Judge Der- rick Watson blocked that order Wednesday, citing "questionable evidence sup- porting the government's national security motiva- tion." Trump, who has said the order is necessary to prevent terrorists from en- tering the U.S., criticized the ruling, saying: "The danger is clear. The law is clear." The 16-page executive order calls for a 55 percent reduction in refugee vi- sas overall. Instead of the planned 110,000 slated for this year, there would be just 50,000. By this week, nearly 38,000 will have al- ready been admitted. Madalo is just happy her family could stop fleeing. Their children had been struggling since they had left their village in 2014 and fled to Iraq's semi-autono- mous northern Kurdish re- gion where they attended an overcrowded school for the displaced. Her brother expected the family to adjust quickly to El Cajon, home to the na- tion's second largest popu- lation of Chaldeans. But for every family cel- ebrating a joyous reunion, thousands of other people remain in limbo. Madalo and her siblings understand the pain of waiting. Their parents spent three years going through the vetting process be- fore they got approved for a flight. Then it was can- celled. There were more de- lays as her father's health worsened. In 2015, as her parents traveled to the U.S., her father died. He was bur- ied in San Diego. His photo is displayed high on the wall in the living room where they feasted at the apartment, as if he was watching over them. Below it, the fam- ily tethered the bundle of "Welcome Home" balloons. 'I am lucky': Refugee family ce le br at es a rri va l to t he U S By Kristin J. Bender The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO An $8.25 million settlement between a California school district and the families of three girls who were sexually mo- lested by a teacher over sev- eral years calls for better training for staff and stu- dents on detecting signs of predatory behavior and sexual abuse, according to a lawsuit settlement. The settlement in the families' lawsuit against the Morgan Hill Unified School District in Silicon Valley was finalized Wednesday in SantaClaraCountySuperior Court. Former teacher John Ar- thur Loyd, 54, is serving 40 years in prison after he pleaded no contest to four felony counts of lewd or las- civious acts on a child by force, violence, duress or fear. Parentscomplainedabout Loyd's behavior to three dif- ferent school principals be- tween 2009 and 2013. Those complaints were never re- ported to police or entered into his personnel file, ac- cording to the lawsuit. "The district was warned that Loyd like to hug his students. They were only girls. And when he did not get enough hugs he would bribe them with candy, tell- ing the girls that he would give them candy only if they gave him a hug," the lawsuit said. Four victims between ages 9 to 11 years old were molested over an 11-year period. Only three families participated in the lawsuit due to the statute of limita- tions on a case that occurred in 2005. "He was basically brib- ing the kids for a sexual act," said Robert Allard, an attor- ney for the plaintiffs. "There is no evidence that the then- principal did a thing. Did not even talk to the teacher. No extra supervision. No warning. Nothing." The school district said in a statement that it is com- mitted to providing addi- tional training for teachers and students. "We are most concerned for the students who were victims of Mr. Loyd's de- spicable and criminal ac- tions," the statement said. "The board of trustees and the district staff sincerely hope that the compensa- tion in this settlement pro- vides the students and their families the opportunity for valuable care and support in the future." Under the settlement, each family will receive an estimated $2.75 mil- lion and the school district must train staff on identify- ing possible predators and providing students with a lengthy sexual abuse pre- vention curriculum. BAY AREA School district settles sex abuse suit for $8.25M I T only T A K E S A S P A R K . O N L Y Y O U C A N P R E V E N T W I L D F I R E S . s m o k e y b e a r . c o m Please BEAR-PRINT-P0964 JOYCELAVERNBAUGUS January 9, 1935 ~ February 18, 2017 Joyce Lavern Baugus, 82, passed away on the morning of February 18, 2017 after a lengthy illness, in her home in Red Bluff, CA. All that loved and knew her will miss her beautiful smile, sparkling blue eyes and sweet spirit. Joyce was born January 9, 1935 in Butler, Oklahoma. She was the eldest daughter of Ruth and J.W Kingsley. On January 12, 1955 in Grants Pass, Oregon, she mar- ried the love of her life, Billy Baugus. They were married 60 years before his passing in 2015. She was a homemaker most of her working life, but when her daughters were in junior high school, she worked as a cook in various school cafeterias in Tehama County. She worked until she became a "Mema". When asked why she was retiring she said, "To be a full-time Grandmother". Joyce loved spending time with family & friends. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting, and traveling with her hus- band to see family, frien,ds and many sites across the United States in their motor home. She was a member of First Church of God for fifty-one years. She is survived by her daughters, Beth Ann (Timothy) Janes, and Brenda Houchins; Grandchildren, Jared Houchins, Hilary McIntyre, Justin (Rose) McIntyre, and Great Grandchildren, Tracen, Jayden, and Cabella Rose; one sister, Lavena Hackworth of Phoenix, Oregon; many nieces, nephews and friends. She was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, Billy Baugus, parents, J.W. and Ruth Kingsley beloved son in law, Gordon McIntyre, and grandson Theodore "Teddy" McIntyre. Services will be held 2 p.m., Saturday, March 18, 2017 at Oak Hill Cemetery in Red Bluff. Simple Cremations facili- tated arrangements. If you care to give a donation in Joy- ce's name please send to Butte Home Health and Hos- pice, 10 Constitution Drive, Chico, CA 95973 or the chari- ty of your choice. Obituaries FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 7 A