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WEDNESDAY MARCH 31, 2010 Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Best of Tehama County See Inside RED BLUFF Spartans Soaring SPORTS 1B Showers 58/37 Weather forecast 8B By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County has taken the first steps to stepping away from the emergency medical services agency it helped found. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to send a letter to the Sierra- Sacramento Valley Emergency Medical Services Agency 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 County to explore switching EMS service expressing interest in switching providers away from the pri- vately-run nonprofit NorCal EMS. A contract with an EMS provider like NorCal is required for California counties. Under the contract, the EMS provider not only trains and accredits emergency personnel, it is given the authority to set emer- gency protocol and to deter- ‘Mr. (Bill) Goodwin’s Johnny-come- lately. He doesn’t know any of the history of the board, and how we got there’ NorCal EMS founding member Shan Patterson mine what emergency respon- ders are allowed to do. When NorCal raised com- Go green munication prices up to a level comparable to other agencies, two of the agency’s 11 mem- bers left and applied for the smaller five-county Sierra- Sacramento Valley. Several more are considering the same, and Tehama County officials fear this could lead to greater costs still, eventually surpassing Sierra-Sacramento Valley costs. NorCal members protested the decision, offering to hold See EMS, page 7A Gerber to ease into rate hike through 2013 By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer GERBER — The Gerber-Las Flores Community Service District has decided to delay a $24.97 increase to its monthly sewer rate by increasing the rates over a four-year period instead of all at once. “When adoption of the revised ordinance was placed before the community at the March 18 public meeting, a small group of residents objected to the ‘catch-up plan’ and asked the board to reconsider a gradual increase over time,” said District Manager Mike Mur- phy. “On Wednesday, March 24, at a special session, the board was listening and did just that.” The rate of $19.90 per month has not been changed since 1994 and the Jan. 21 vote would have raised the rate to $44.87 per month to help meet operating expenses and start building a reserve to replace and repair expired assets, Murphy said. “A dedicated board of directors and loyal employees have kept operating expenses to a minimum, but we have to start addressing repairs and complying with new state regulations,” Murphy said. The system is 21 years old and, while it was built using a grant, depending on future grants for capital improvement would be a high risk, especially with funding drying up and California adopting more regu- lations, Murphy said. Daily News photo by Tang Lor The solar panels that will power the Red Bluff Union High School District will be set up just beyond the entrance to the high school’s farm on Spartan Ranch Road. RBUHS goes solar By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Construction of a solar energy system that will supply power to the Red Bluff Union High School Dis- trict is set to begin. Solar Development, Inc. will build and maintain the system. The district will purchase power points from the company, which will enable the district to operate off the grid, said maintenance director Joe Kittle. The 845 KW system will be set up near Red Bluff Union High School’s farm off of Spartan Ranch Road and should be completed by mid-June. During the summer, the system should produce enough power that the district will be operating com- pletely off the grid. Purchased power points will be used during the winter. The district will be 100 percent grid neutral, Kittle said. The annual electricity generated by this system is expected to be more than 1,900,000 KWH, enough See GREEN, page 7A Rates will increase $10 a month to $29.90 on April 25 with $5 a month raises in 2011 and 2012. The remaining $4.97 will be added in 2013, at which time a cost of living index will be reviewed and applied. A new water rate was also approved and will take effect April 25. A flat meter fee of $21 a month was set with a $1 per 100 cubic feet or 784 gallons fee. The previous rate schedule, set in 1999, was based on lot size, which was unfair to those with larger parcels, Murphy said. “The new schedule will encourage good conserva- tion methods, especially in the summer months when water well production sometimes triples,” Murphy said. Board Chairman Larry Long said he was pleased to hear from residents and hopes communication and par- ticipation from residents will continue. See EASE, page 7A SACRAMENTO (AP) — An appellate court hand- ed Gov. Court prolongs state furlough order Herger speaks to local Tea Party group Arnold Schwarzenegger a small victory Tuesday by order- ing thousands of state workers to remain on fur- lough this Friday. The 1st District Court of Appeal issued a stay on three union lawsuits, putting on hold a lower court decision to send cer- tain categories of state workers back to work full- time Friday. Schwarzenegger had imposed three-day-a-month furloughs last year to help save the state money. Public employee unions have filed more than two dozen claims challenging the fur- loughs. ‘‘The furloughs will continue because the state simply must live within its means,’’ Schwarzenegger’s press secretary Aaron McLear said. ‘‘And state workers should not be shielded from the same economic realities the rest of the state is facing.’’ Last week, Alameda Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled the governor could no longer furlough workers from departments that receive most of their funding from sources out- side the general fund. Roesch’s decision meant about one-third of the state’s nearly 240,000 workers could have returned to full-time work this Friday. The Schwarzenegger administration asked the appellate court to intervene. The ruling means state employees will work two days less this week, one for the furlough day and one for the Cesar Chavez state holiday. A hearing was sched- uled next week to decide what happens on the next furlough Friday. Adam Zapala, attorney for the Union of American Physi- cians and Dentists, which represents about 185 state doctors, said the union expects the appellate court to uphold Roesch’s deci- sion. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Red Bluff Outdoor Power The furloughs consid- ered by Roesch also were challenged by a union representing state attor- neys and the State Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents 95,000 workers in various branches of government. Schwarzenegger has asked the California Supreme Court to consoli- date 20 lawsuits challeng- ing furloughs and to decide whether he has the authori- ty to furlough state workers. The administration esti- mates the legal fights have cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars. The governor in late 2008 ordered state workers to take two days off a month without pay for a projected savings of $1.3 billion through June 2010. The governor added a third furlough day last summer citing the state’s continuing fiscal crisis. Under his new budget proposal, the governor wants an end to the fur- loughs in July and is instead asking state workers to take a 5 percent pay cut and con- tribute more to their pen- sions. Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson Rep.Wally Herger, R-Chico, stopped by a meeting of the Tehama County Tea Party Patriots, an offshoot of the Redding Tea Party,Tuesday night at the Trinity Landmark Missionary Church. Due to the length of the gathering, full coverage will appear in Thursday’s edition. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT NOTICES/EVICTIONS PROCESS SERVING Business Connections Located in the Pine Street Plaza 332 Pine Street, Red Bluff 527-6229 Since 1979 PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971 CHW North State Region