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FRIDAY OCTOBER 19, 2012 www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 6A Breaking news at: Education Bidwell Carnival RED BLUFF Cardinal Preview SPORTS 1B Weather forecast 10A Sunny 83/53 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 Tree strikes Cops seek clues in Corning shooting By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer investigating a shooting reported at 5:35 p.m. Saturday in the 200 block of Marty Court. Officers were sent for reports of a gunshot victim and found 23-year-old Silva Herron lying in the front yard with family members attending to him, Chief Don Atkins said. CORNING — The Corning Police Department is Herron, who had a bullet wound to his stomach, was treated by medical personnel at the scene and flown to Enloe Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition as of Thursday, Atkins said. See COPS, page 9A Creek land deal County seeks info on Mill By RICH GREENE Daily News photo by Rich Greene The living Christmas tree at Pine and Main streets will soon be removed and replaced with a more traditional Christmas tree. City, businesses to replace living Christmas tree at Pine and Main streets will be removed in the coming days, it doesn't mean all the Roast Beast and Who-hash is next. It isn't a plot by the Grinch, but rather a coordi- nated effort between the city and the Downtown downtown Christmas tree By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Don't worry Red Bluff, even though the city's 17 charged in crackdown on scam artists SACRAMENTO — U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced recent- ly, as part of the national Distressed Homeowner Ini- tiative 17 defendants were charged in six criminal cases with felony offenses in the Eastern District of California during the fiscal year that closed Sept. 30. These cases involved thousands of homeowner victims, and losses estimat- ed by law enforcement to exceed $9 million. owner Initiative is the first- ever nationwide effort to tar- get scam artists that prey upon suffering homeown- ers. The yearlong initiative, organized by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force's Mortgage Fraud Working Group, resulted in 530 criminal defendants charged in 285 federal cases filed in U.S. District Courts across the country. These cases involved more than 73,000 home- owner victims and total losses by those victims are estimated by law enforce- ment at more than $1 bil- lion. The Distressed Home- closure rescue schemes that take advantage of home- owners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. Typically, the con artist in such a scheme promises the homeowner that he can prevent foreclosure for a substantial fee by, for exam- ple, having so-called investors purchase the mort- gage, or transferring title in the home to persons in league with the con artist. In the end, the homeowner can lose everything. Other targets of the Dis- tressed Homeowner Initia- tive include perpetrators of loan modification schemes who obtained advance fees from homeowners after falsely promising that they would negotiate more favor- able mortgage terms on behalf of the homeowners. U.S. Attorney Wagner Red Bluff Business Association to spruce up the traditional Main and Pine streets intersection. The living Christmas tree, which has been part of the landscape since 1980, will be removed by the city during its annual downtown trimming. In place of the bush-like tree that has grown as much horizontally as it has vertically, the associa- tion will plant a more traditional-looking Christmas conifer. The living Christmas tree doesn't have the visu- al appeal merchants and the city were hoping for See TREE, page 9A DN Staff Writer The Tehama County Board of Supervisors for- mally requested more information Tuesday regarding a proposed land deal between Sierra Pacif- ic Industries, Lassen National Forest and the Western Rivers Conser- vancy in the Mill Creek area. Earlier this year around 600 acres near Lower Deer Creek Falls became a part of the Northern Cal- ifornia Regional Land Trust, which secured a 30- mile stretch of the creek from future development. Additional funding for future land purchases was available from a federal Land and Water Conser- vation Fund grant. Western Rivers Con- servancy was coordinat- ing the purchase of anoth- er 2,700 acres from Sierra Pacific, and Lassen National Forest had $1.5 million available for addi- tional land purchases in the nearby Mill Creek Canyon. On Tuesday the board authorized Chairman Bob Williams to send a letter to Forest Supervisor Jerry Bird requesting additional information regarding real estate transactions citing the Freedom of Informa- tion Act and coordination of governmental agencies. "The Board of Super- See DEAL, page 9A Reconstruction to open 48 miles of fish habitat MANTON — Com- missioner of the U.S. Department of the Interi- or's Bureau of Reclama- tion Michael Connor toured the Battle Creek Habitat Restoration pro- ject Tuesday. From Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30. the Distressed Homeowner Initiative focused on fraud targeting homeowners, such as fore- said: "As the housing mar- ket shifted from bubble to bust after 2008, the nature of mortgage fraud schemes also shifted, targeting home- owners rather than banks and mortgage companies. Our enforcement strategy has also shifted, and we will relentlessly pursue scam- mers who victimize home- owners when they are the most vulnerable — when they are in fear of losing their homes." "Mortgage fraud contin- ues to be a priority for the FBI and we will continue to 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See SCAM, page 9A an effort to restore 48 miles of streams and trib- utaries for salmon and steelhead habitat. The project involves modifying the Battle Creek Hydroelectric Pro- ject, owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Elec- tric Co. Connor was accompanied by PG&E's Vice President of Power Generation Randy Liv- ingston and Reclama- tion's Deputy Commis- sioner for Operations David Murillo. "This is an example of Reclamation's and PG&E's commitment to river restoration. The work at Battle Creek underscores the signifi- cance of how a broad partnership among numerous interests can make possible these dra- matic improvements to one of the most important anadromous fish spawn- ing streams in the Sacra- mento Valley," Connor said. The project is part of Restoration is being accomplished primarily through the removal of five diversion dams, placement of screens and ladders on three other diversion dams, and increasing instream flows. "PG&E is proud to have partnered with so many parties all working toward the common goal of improving habitat for Daily News file photo One of several fish ladder projects undertaken by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to restore fish habitat to Battle Creek is pictured in this photo from August 2011. these endangered fish," said Livingston. "The environmental benefits of the project are clear, and PG&E can maintain a viable hydropower facili- ty that coexists with native fish and habitat." The project is already realizing benefits of improved numbers of spawning salmon in an area that had previously been difficult for salmon to access. Late last year, biologists with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service identified a large number of redds — or salmon nests — upstream from where the Wildcat Diver- sion Dam once stood on North Fork Battle Creek. Battle Creek, a tribu- tary to the Sacramento River, is being restored through the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project. The project is a proactive, cooperative increase threatened and endangered Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead trout popula- tions by restoring approx- imately 42 miles of habi- tat in Battle Creek and an additional six miles of habitat in its tributaries, while maintaining renew- able energy production at the Battle Creek Hydro- electric Project. effort to Fish and Game was signed committing each to the restoration project. In addition, numerous stakeholders, including the Greater Battle Creek Watershed Working Group and Battle Creek Watershed Conservancy, as well as landowners and funding contributors, have See FISH, page 9A TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS MOULE'S In 1999, a Memoran- dum of Understanding between PG&E, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and the California Department of Cables Sectional Remotes Rollers WE SERVICE Garage Doors Springs 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260