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TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 6A Breaking news at: Vitality Bipolar II Impacts 6M RED BLUFF Bragging Rights SPORTS 10A light winds 96/58 Sunny, Weather forecast 10B 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 Man gets 11 years in prison in cyclist's death By JULIE ZEEB was sentenced Monday in Tehama County Superior Court to 10 years in prison for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Victor Hugo Rodriguez also DN Staff Writer A 33-year-old Red Bluff man was given one year, to be served consecutively, for hit and run with injuries for a total of 11 years in state prison. According to witness state- ments, Rodriguez hit and killed 73-year-old Wanda Pridemore with his pickup, which he was driving under the influence of alcohol. her bicycle in the crosswalk at the intersection of Antelope Boulevard and Main Street on March 26, 2011. Rodriguez, dri- ving north on Main, had a red light. Pridemore had been riding According to Red Bluff Police logs, Rodriguez continued driving after hitting Pridemore until he was boxed in in the area of Jefferson and Hickory streets by three drivers who had witnessed the colli- sion. Prior to the colli- sion at Oak and Main, witnesses told officers Rodriguez Rodriguez Fire camp impact At Monday's sen- tencing, the defen- dant's mother, Maria Rodriguez, took the stand with the help of a court interpreter to plead for mercy in the sentence. "I would like to had been involved in a hit and run with another vehicle at Red Bluff River Park. apologize to the family of the victim," Maria Rodriguez said. "As a mom, I have seen my son growing and know in the last few years of the difficulty with alcohol. He has a problem with alcohol. I see now he has changed quite a bit. He's real- ized he needs to make changes. He is remorseful and he has promised me he wouldn't drink again." See PRISON, page 9A West Nile case in Tehama County Tehama County has its first human case of West Nile virus (WNV) for 2012, according to the Tehama Coun- ty Health Officer, Dr. Richard Wickenheiser. The patient is an adult who was hospitalized but is now recovering at home. West Nile Virus is a potentially serious disease that is spread to humans and horses by mosquitoes. This is turning out to be the worst year ever for West Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb The Trinity parking lot at the Tehama District Fairground was a sea of red and green fire engines during the 20-day CalFire fire camp while the Ponderosa Fire burned in Manton. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer fire camp held at the Tehama Dis- trict Fairground, where firefighters took up residence for about 20 days while battling the 27,676 acre Pon- derosa Fire in the Manton area. The fairground has had a con- tract with CalFire to become a fire camp during bigger fire events for about the last 10 years with a renewal option every three years, Fair CEO Mark Eidman said. The fairground receives about $3,750 per day that the fire camp is on the grounds, plus the cost of util- ities and damages — about $80,000 for the 20-day stay, he said. Numbers are in for the CalFire we've had since I've been here," Eidman said. "They brought in a grader after it was over and fixed the back lot. It's never looked as good as it does now. They brought us a pallet of patch and fixed their pot holes and a few of the old ones." While fairground attendance for the month was down due to the can- cellation of a barrel race and a few church meetings, the fire camp more than made up financially for the lost events, he said. "It was a little chaotic to start "It's by far the biggest fire camp with, but it was a full-on city within 36 hours," Eidman said. "We had people come out and ask to serve food who didn't understand that we were basically a prison because of Teller's tip leads to robbery arrests By ROGER AYL- WORTH MediaNews Group CHICO — It started with a sharp-eyed teller, grew dramatically when a loaded handgun fell out of a car, and climaxed when a man and women were arrested on charges relat- ed to a series of north state robberies. Willows, and Gary Belch- er, 57, of Chico, were arrested around 2:35 p.m. Thursday in a parking lot at East Avenue and Cohasset Road. The situation began in the US Bank on The Esplanade at Mission Ranch Boulevard, when a bank teller reportedly spotted a woman wearing an obvious black wig entering the branch, accompanied by a man wearing a red baseball cap Emily Clark, 36, of and sunglasses. A Chico police press release said the teller was aware a man wearing a red ball cap and sunglass- es was wanted in connec- tion with a Colusa bank robbery. The teller advised her manager what she had seen. When the manager went up to the couple and said "Hello," they abrupt- ly left the bank. The manager called Chico police. According to a press release, Chico police offi- cer Scott Harris was head- ed to the US Bank branch when he spotted a car leaving a parking lot on West East Avenue. The female driver reportedly was wearing a black wig and the male passenger had a red baseball cap and sunglasses. Harris was aware of the circumstances of the Colusa bank robbery. He followed the couple in his patrol car and stopped them in a parking lot at 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See TIP, page 9A the presence of inmates." the first day of the fire, Aug. 18, and crews started showing up Sunday and had everything set up for all the engines and about 2,000 inmates by Monday, he said. CalFire called about 10 p.m. on destroyed 52 residences and 81 out- buildings along with damaging one residence and five outbuildings, was 100 percent contained on Aug. 31. • DEET - When you are outdoors, use insect repel- lents containing deet (N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide). Follow the directions on the package. • DAWN and DUSK - Stay inside at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active. If you must go out- side, use insect repellent and wear long sleeves and pants. Light-colored clothing can help you see mosqui- toes that land on you. • DOORS Make sure you have good screens on your "Because of this case and cases reported in sur- rounding counties, residents need to take precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites, especially at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active," Wickenheiser said. The easiest and best way to prevent mosquito bites is by remembering the five D's: The lightning-caused fire, which The fairground also hosted up to 89 goats from the Heino family, who were evacuated from Manton along with seven of their cats dur- ing the fire. See CAMP, page 9A windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out. • DRAIN standing water from flowerpots, buckets and barrels to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds. Change the water in pet dishes daily, and replace the water in birdbaths weekly. Drill holes in tire swings so water can drain out. Keep children's wading pools empty and on their sides when they are not being used. People typically develop symptoms between 3 and 14 days after the infected mosquito bites them. Most individuals who are infected with West Nile do not experience any symptoms, but 20 percent of infec- tions produce fever, rash, headaches and body aches. People 50 and older and those with chronic medical See NILE, page 9A Event draws hundreds downtown Nile Virus. The Centers for Disease Control have received reports of 2,636 cases of West Nile virus in people across the U.S. with 118 deaths. Two-thirds of these cases are in Texas, Louisiana, South Dakota, Mis- sissippi, Michigan and Oklahoma, with 40 percent of those in Texas alone. California accounts for 92 of those cases, almost double the count in 2011. Wickenheiser is urging all Tehama County residents to protect themselves and their families from mosquito bites. Daily News photo by Andre Byik Sally Erbs, left, of Two Buds Barbecue, prepares samples of tri-tip and beef jerky at the 3rd annual Red Bluff Beef 'N Brew event Saturday in Downtown Red Bluff. Have a news tip? Call 527-2151, Ext. 112 Smog Inspection $ COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR Pass or FREE retest (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 2595 195 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530 527-9841 + cert.