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Canty:WilliamCanty,67, of Los Molinos died Sunday, March 26at Sutter Memo- rial Hospital. Arrangements are under the direction of Blair's Cremation & Burial. Published Wednesday, March 29, 2017in the Daily News, Red Bluff, California. Death notices must be 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 The DWR has said its current projects include debris removal from the Diversion Pool below the main spillway, road con- struction and reinforcing the spillways. Work done to reinforce the hillside below the emergency spillway's weir is nearing completion, offi- cials have said. Bill Croyle, acting di- rector of the Department of Water Resources, said Monday that officials plan to have a temporary or per- manent spillway ready for use by Nov. 1. Two more meetings are scheduled for residents to learn about Butte Coun- ty's evacuation zones and newly developed evacua- tion plans. For the Palermo area, a meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Palermo School gym, 7350 Bulldog Way, Palermo. For the Thermalito area, a meeting is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at Nelson Ave- nue School, 2255 Sixth St., Thermalito. Meetings have already been held in Gridley and Oroville. The plans can be viewed at http://www.buttecounty. net/OEM. Lake FROM PAGE 1 Also on April 26 is a free showing of a documentary at the State Theatre about sexual assault at univer- sities titled "The Hunting Ground." Rape Crisis is a place a survivor can turn to for help anytime, Gould said, even for those assaulted in the past. For more information visit rapecrisis.org. To make an appointment, call 529-3980 or come into the office, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. Those who aren't ready for one-on-one counseling sessions are encouraged to call the 24-hour hotline at 342-RAPE (7273). Crisis FROM PAGE 1 The Associated Press LOS ANGELES A man whose attempted-murder conviction was tossed by a California judge walked free Tuesday after 20 years in prison. Marco Contreras, now 41, was embraced by his mother as his lawyers cheered following a Los An- geles court hearing during which he was declared fac- tually innocent. "I just had to be patient, and wait," said Contreras, telling KCAL-TV he always knew he would be exoner- ated. Loyola Law School's Proj- ect for the Innocent, which fought for his release, pointed to a combination of factors that resulted in the conviction for a shoot- ing and robbery at a Comp- ton gas station in 1996. Contreras' vehicle, which he had lent to someone else, was in the vicinity. An eye- witness wrongly identified him as the shooter, despite the fact that he was at home sleeping at the time. A probe by the Sheriff's Department and the dis- trict attorney's office not only determined that Con- treras was innocent, but led to the arrest of another sus- pect in the case. The law school project and prosecutors jointly pe- titioned Superior Court Judge William Ryan to re- lease him. Contreras, who served two decades of a life-plus- seven-years sentence, said his spirituality helped him suppress anger dur- ing his time behind bars. He steadfastly maintained his innocence and fought to have his case re-inves- tigated. Paula Mitchell, Loyola's legal director, said before the hearing that errone- ous eyewitness identifica- tions account for about 75 percent of all wrongful con- victions in the U.S. FREEDOM By Paul Elias and Janie Har The Associated Press OAKLAND Inspectors dis- covered that a California building in a rundown neighborhood lacked fire extinguishers, smoke de- tectors in every apart- ment and a working sprin- kler system just three days before a blaze erupted and killed four low-income res- idents. Officials uncovered mul- tiple fire code violations during an inspection Fri- day and ordered the owner of the Oakland building to immediately fix the fire alarm and sprinkler sys- tems, according to docu- ments released by the city. Residents complained they didn't hear alarms, feel sprinklers or see fire extinguishers early Mon- day as they fled flames tearing through the three- story building that housed some 80 recovering drug addicts and former home- less people. Michael Jones said he was awakened by screams of "fire," bolted out of bed and instinctively pounded on the doors of his elderly neighbors and ushered them to safety. Jones, 43, then found Princess, the "house" pit bull, cowering in the back- yard, and the two ran out the front door as glass shat- tered from the heat. The fourth body was discovered Tuesday at the building where four other people were injured, au- thorities said. The Alameda County coroner has identified one of the victims as Edwarn Anderson, 64. The others have not yet been identi- fied. The fire broke out nearly four months after a ware- house called the Ghost Ship caught fire and killed 36 people attending an unli- censed concert about 5 miles (8 kilometers) away. The deadly blazes have raised questions about the use of some buildings in Oakland for housing amid a shortage of affordable places to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. "At least the rats are gone," said Angela Taylor, 62, clutching her purse, the only possession she man- aged to get out of a room she paid $550 a month to live in. "It's the wrong purse, but it's better than nothing. A lady needs her purse." In 2010, Oakland al- lowed the owner of the 40- unit building that burned Monday to convert it into transitional housing, re- cords show. Since then, it has been the subject of several building department cita- tions and investigations. City records show officials verified complaints about deferred maintenance from a nonprofit organi- zation that rents most of the building. Its owner, Keith Kim, did not return telephone calls from The Associated Press. He was sent a no- tice of violation on March 2 over complaints of large amounts of trash and de- bris, building materials and furniture behind the property. The building depart- ment also has an open investigation into com- plaints of "no working heat throughout the build- ing, electrical issues and a large pest infestation," city records show. The investigation came after fire officials were criticized for failing to inspect the Ghost Ship warehouse and the mayor conceded that agencies need to improve com- munications. Records showed that police re- sponded to a number of complaints there in the months before the Dec. 2 blaze. The cause of the Ghost Ship fire is still under in- vestigation. Fire Chief Te- resa Deloach Reed has said she would retire May 2. Days after the ware- house fire, the owner of the building that burned Mon- day sent an eviction no- tice to Urojas Community Center, which leased the first two floors, said James Cook, an attorney for the center. The center assists about 60 people with transitional housing and services, Cook said. He had complained to the city about clogged toi- lets and disgusting bath- rooms, exposed wires and water an inch deep on the ground floor, he said. "It's like Ghost Ship, but worse," Cook said. Residents said the hall- ways were cluttered with trash and debris. INVESTIGATION Oakland found building lacked sprinklers before deadly blaze An evacuee sits in an ambulance a er fleeing an early morning apartment fire Monday in Oakland. Man exonerated for attempted murder free a er 20 years AP PHOTO — DAMIAN DOVARGANES Marco Contreras, 41, right, is embraced by his mother, Maria Contreras, as his lawyers cheer following a Los Angeles court hearing during which he was declared factually innocent in Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. Contreras, whose attempted-murder conviction was tossed by a California judge, walked free Tuesday a er 20 years in prison. PH OTO S B Y B EN MAR GO T — T HE A SS OC IA TE D P RE SS Fi re figh te rs b at tl e a n e ar ly m or ni ng a pa rt me nt fi re M on da y i n O ak la nd . The Associated Press LOS ANGELES The ring- leader of a Southern Cali- fornia bank burglary crew has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for two break-ins. The U.S. attorney's of- fice says 48-year-old Alceu Johnny Andreis was sen- tenced Monday to 10 years each for burglaries at banks in Rowland Heights in 2011 and Diamond Bar in 2012. The judge also ordered Andreis to pay $12.1 million in restitution to the banks, insurers and safe-deposit box customers. Prosecutors say the group entered banks by cutting holes through roofs, jack- hammered into safes and stole valuables and cash. The 20-year term will run consecutive to a 51-month sentence Andreis received for an attempted bank bur- glary in which he and three others were arrested. The co-defendants pleaded guilty and two were sentenced previously. Another has yet to be sen- tenced. CRIME Bank burglary ringleader gets 20-year sentence MelbourneWilliamHedge,Jr.(Bill) November 28, 1928 ~ March 22, 2017 Melbourne William Hedge, Jr. (Bill), 88 years old, passed on Wednesday morning, March 22, peacefully at Brookdale Assisted Living in Red Bluff. Bill has a kind and compassionate husband, father, grandfather, great- grandfather, and friend. He was born in Stirling City, Cal- ifornia, on November 28, 1928. In December of 1948 he married Carole Jean Maples. He worked at Diamond Match, Diamond International, Kimberly Clark, and Simp- son Paper, from which he retired in 1991 as a Fire Chief. He is survived by his sister, Elizabeth Orner; son, Tho- mas Hedge of Paradise, CA; daughter, Linda Hedge- Rieland of Cottonwood, California; granddaughter Kate Grayson and great-grandchildren Sarah and Drew Gray- son, of Cottonwood, CA; grandson Weston Rieland and great-grandchildren Corbin and Garrett Rieland of Folsom, CA; and granddaughter Ashley Hedge of Sydney, Austral- ia. He was a member and former officer of Vesper Lodge No. 84 F&AM of Red Bluff, and a member of the Tehama County Shrine Club. Graveside services will be held Thursday, March 30, at 2:00 PM at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Red Bluff with a re- ception following at the Masonic Lodge. In lieu of flow- ers, donations can be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento either online (shrinershospitals.org/donate) or by mail (Development Office, Shriners Hospitals for Children - Northern Califor- nia, 2425 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817) Obituaries LaCorona Garden Center & Feed Store 7769Hwy99E,LosMolinos 530-576-3118 LaCoronaHydoponic@gmail.com Home&GardenSupplies AdvancedNutrient•RootsOrganic Humboldt Counties Own • Humboldt Nutrients General Hydroponic Supplies & Fertilizers Scratch • Wild Bird Feeds Is the place for all your Garden Supplies & Livestock Feeds Open8-6pmMonday-Sunday Patrick's Pumping SepticPumpingServices Red Bluff, CA Garet Patrick Owner/Operator 530-366-6899 4patricks@att.net Available 24/7 ThePassingParadeisbroughttoyoubyMinchPropertyManagement, 760 Main Street specializing in commercial leasing and sales. 530 527-5514 THEPASSINGPARADE (Fromfamilycorrespondence, January1989) Dr. Wood died a few days ago. He was our family doctor for many years after succeeding Dr. R.G. Frey. Otho Townsend Wood (called O.T. or Jack by his peers) was a smart handsome fellow with a great bedside manner. He was a partner with R.G. in the Red Bluff Medical Group on Washington, a door down from Elmore's Pharmacy. He invested wisely and left a considerable estate to his two adopted children; Vance, currently a County Su- pervisor, and Linda who runs her bookstore "Facts and Fiction" on Walnut in one of the doctor's buildings. Doctor, and wife Barbara, lived in a gracious house on Willcox high on the hill overlooking the river and the Ide Adobe. They were prominent in all of Red Bluff's society in general and the Wilcox Oaks Golf Club set in particular. They travelled about the country in great style and owned a townhouse at the Silverado Golf Club in Napa in which we were allowed to stay on several occasions. Later, when his wife died, and his children showed no interest in the townehouse, I sold it for him, and in the process our son Brandon was hired to replace the deck facing the fairway, thereby launching his career as a General Contractor. Dr. Wood was a fine doctor and a great guy. Soon after he arrived in Red Bluff, circa 1939, he sewed me up when, on foot, I was h it by a car* near the Baptist Church on Jefferson Street. I have claimed many times thereafter that he saved my life. That is probably an exaggeration, but he was capable of doing so. That was Otho Townsend "Jack" Wood. *As a footnote to said accident, while in St. E. hospital on Main, I was not looking so good with my stitched up face and missing front teeth, I learned that my girlfriend, one Barbara Norvell, was coming to visit me...and so I had the nurse wrap up my head like a mummy. Howev- er, it was to no avail and later on I lost a girlfriend but gained false but serviceable teeth courtesy of dentist Dr. Fred Godbolt. … The weather is great. True, we need rain, but after the morning's chill, the days are warm with with little or no wind. The horses, dogs and cats loll about soaking it up only awakening to find something to eat and then back to animal daydreams, What Do they dream? Dogs dream of chasing things as evidenced by their silently barking with legs in motion though fast asleep. Horses appar- ently sleep standing up so you can't tell what they have on their minds. Itis either food, another horse or filly... or running wild with the herds in Nevada. They do not dream of dog food or becoming same! Cats? Who knows what hey have on their minds, asleep or awake? WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 7 A