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THURSDAY MARCH 18, 2010 Breaking news at: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Sign on Stage on Tour www.redbluffdailynews.com See Pastimes Page 5A RED BLUFF County Clash SPORTS 1B Sunny 76/49 Weather forecast 6A By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer A man who nearly killed his girlfriend Sunday had been released from jail a week before after violating a restraining order and signing a written promise to appear in court. The man’s release on a promise to appear on March 8, within hours of his arrest for DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ 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 Beating suspect released days before incident violating the restraining order, was against Tehama County Sheriff’s Department policies, Sheriff Clay Parker said. “That is a an absolute ‘you do not do that,’” Parker said. The party responsible for releasing the man will not be facing any repercussions, but the department will be strictly enforcing an internal policy that bars the release of suspected domestic violence perpetrators on a promise to appear in court. All officers will be retrained on procedures for dealing with suspected domestic violence offenders, Parker said. “I’m not happy that he was released,” he said. Parker sits on the board of directors of local non-profit Alternatives to Violence, which provides services and informa- tion to victims of domestic vio- lence. On Sunday the suspect was again arrested on suspicion of violating a restraining order and attempted homicide when his girlfriend was found on Vista Valley Drive in Corning with a fractured arm, skull and facial bones and a ruptured spleen. A 911 call from the woman’s children alerted authorities, Worth the weight? who arrived in time to find her bleeding from the head and suf- fering injuries deputies called “life threatening.” The victim is being kept under observation at a local hospital and is likely to be released in the near future, Parker said. It was not immediately clear whether her recovery will be complete. Collective owners fight City Hall By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer CORNING — The attorney for Tehama Herbal Collec- tive owners Ken and Kathy Prather intends to fight a med- ical marijuana storefront ban by arguing the city’s policy is unconstitutional. The Prathers, cited numerous times for operating with- out a use permit and operating a medical marijuana collec- tive despite a temporary city ban on medical marijuana cooperatives and collectives, intend on continuing the strug- gle. “We’re just going to keep fighting because we believe what we’re doing is right,” said Megan Prather, the 22-year- old daughter of the Prathers. Attorney Bill Panzer said he would be submitting the See FIGHT, page 3A 3 arrests, 1 for Jan. stabbing Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson Tehama County Agricultural Commissioner Rick Gurrola takes apart a confiscated scale Wednesday afternoon. By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County officials say the Treasure Hunters Roadshow broke state law during a stop in Red Bluff. The traveling group evaluates and offers to buy antiques and valuables. It stopped in the city from March 2-6. Almost immediately, inspectors from the Tehama County Agricultural Department witnessed show members purchase goods using scales that were not certified for commercial use, and which did not allow customers to see the weight, Agricultural Commission- er Rick Gurrola said Wednesday. As a result, both scales were seized and taken to the department. The show was issued a $1,700 citation on March 12, Gurrola said. Matt Enright, vice president of Media Relations for the show, down- played the citation and said it was lim- ited to the fact that the weights were not visible to customers. The scales were then flipped around and the show continued as planned. “It was kind of like a warning,” Enright said. Both Gurrola and Enright agree the show was traveling with uncertified scales, which is legal as long as any monetary transactions are based on measurements conducted on certified scales. The show is free to use uncerti- fied scales to get a better idea of the weight before doing a final transac- tion. But Gurrola said an inspector, the See WEIGHT, page 3A Police have arrested a Red Bluff man thought responsible for the Jan. 25 stabbing of a paraplegic. Officials previously stat- ed that Helge Isdahl, then 62, was stabbed while in his motor home in the Walmart parking lot by what police then believed to be an asso- ciate. Isdahl, described as a paraplegic Oregon resident, was reportedly attacked after someone demanded money from him and Isdahl refused to comply, accord- ing to a press release issued Wednesday. Police say they linked the crime to Rene Rodriguez, 18. Tehama Inter-agency Drug Enforcement agents, Red Bluff Police and Tehama County District Attorney investigators swarmed Rodriguez’s Park Avenue residence and arrested Rodriguez on sus- picion of assault with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery, burglary and abuse of an elder or dependent. A search of the residence also turned up Eulices Rodriguez, 19, of Red Bluff, and his 16-year-old girlfriend, also of Red Bluff, whose 1-month-old child had been fathered by Eulices Rodriguez. The girl admitted a continued sexual relationship and Rodriquez was arrested on suspicion of statutory rape, according to the release. See ARRESTS, page 3A Discovery Center's Thurs- day evening program series takes a different direction tonight. Julie Kelley, wildlife biologist for Sierra Pacific Industries, will provide information on restoration efforts of the Pacific fisher on Sierra Pacific’s forest land in the Central Sierra Nevada region of Califor- nia. Sierra Pacific’s sustain- able forest practices look at the long term health of the forest, including the wildlife within. Kelley will present a SRDC program tonight Red Bluff roads get good ranking By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The Sacramento River slide show and video showing the improvement in the lands and some of the programs used by Sierra Pacific to promote healthy wildlife popula- tions. The program starts at 7 p.m. at the Discovery Center, 1000 Sale Lane. For information about the program or other activities of the Discov- ery Center visit the Cen- ter 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Satur- day, call 527-1196 or e- mail center manager Car- lene Cramer at ccramer@tehama.k12.ca. us. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 POWER PRODUCTS DOLMAR Red Bluff Outdoor Power Most streets and roads in Red Bluff are in good condition but are at risk of deteriorating, according to a report Tuesday on road conditions. Under the pavement condition index, 18.5 percent of roads received an excellent rating, 60.5 percent are good, 16.5 percent are fair and 4.5 per- cent of roads are poor. Of the city’s 65.4 miles of road, 7.39 miles are arterial or main road- ways, 10.8 miles are collector, or side roads that lead to the main roads, and 47.2 miles are residential. More than 10,000 vehicles per day travel on arte- rial roads while the residential roads see fewer than 3,000 vehicles per day. The average rating of 72 on the pavement condition index is of con- cern because roads are at risk of dete- riorating if an overlay is not performed to keep them up to standard, Public Works Director Mark Barthel said. The longer the city waits to fix roads the more it will cost to repair them. Roads in excellent conditions would only cost $2 per square yard to Bluff man was arrested for driving under the influence after witnesses reportedly saw him shoplifting. Juan Carlos Nuno was reportedly seen stealing from a local gas station just before 8:30 p.m., according to a Red Bluff Police press release. Police logs indicate officers received a report fix while a poor road in need of recon- struction would cost about $60 to $100 per square yard. Funding for road maintenance could come from taxes on gas, Propo- sition 42, the State Transportation Improvement Program and the local transportation fund. But some of these funding sources, such as the local fund, will soon go away. The city has a budget of $60,000 for road maintenance to cover its 65.4 miles of road. A predicted $12 million shortfall is expected in the next 10 years if more funding is not found. Man arrested for DUI after shoplifting beer A 27-year-old Red of a beer theft from Cir- cle 7 at the same time referred to in the release. Officers eventually tracked Nuno to his Nel- son Drive residence, where he showed symp- toms of intoxication, according to the release. Combined with witness accounts linking Nuno’s vehicle to the scene of See DUI, page 3A