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THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2012 www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A Breaking news at: Pastimes Trumpet Legend RED BLUFF Panda's big night SPORTS 1B Mostly Sunny 67/45 Weather forecast 8B By RICH GREENE Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) Red Bluff plant received a $95,000 settlement from the company as the result of a fed- eral discrimination lawsuit brought on by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Com- mission. However Sierra Pacific is standing by its claim that it ter- minated the employment of Ahmed Elshenawy because he DN Staff Writer A former employee of the 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 Sierra Pacific settles employee termination suit had been accused by three dif- ferent employees of sexual harassment within the work- place. The EEOC's lawsuit charged that, after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and continuing until his discharge, Sierra Pacific allowed co-workers to harass Elshenawy, who is of Egyptian origin. Need a lift? workers called Elshenawy "Osama," "f---ing Arabian," and "camel jockey." Elshenawy complained and According to the lawsuit, co- 'It is truly a sad day when a gov- ernment agency accuses a company of something that is totally false and unsubstantiated' — VP Kendall Pierson was thereafter subjected to complaints by co-workers. The EEOC said the company retali- ated against Elshenawy by sub- jecting him to harsher disci- pline, ultimately terminating him in 2004. ra Pacific to conduct yearly training of employees, report the details of any future com- plaints of national origin dis- crimination or retaliation, revise its anti-discrimination policies and post information regarding the decree for employees. "I will never forget the mis- treatment I suffered just because of where I come from," Elshenawy said via a press See SUIT, page 7A County adopts zoning changes By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer The Board of Supervisors adopted amendments to the County Code Tuesday as part of the implementation process of the 2009-2029 Tehama County General Plan Update. The modifications mainly deal with administrative procedures and agricultural areas including agritourism within the county's zoning ordinances. The General Plan, which was adopted in March See ADOPTS, page 7A BloodSource salutes student blood drive teams BloodSource recently announced achievements related to area high school blood drives, including two honors earned by Red Bluff Union High School stu- dent teams. High school students and their community ser- vice efforts through blood donation make a tremen- dous difference in saving thousands of lives. Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb CalFire personnel demonstrate a new hoist system Wednesday at the Vina Helitack base. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CalFire on Wednesday demonstrated a new state-funded hoisting system it acquired three weeks ago at the Vina Helitack. "We wanted to get as many agencies as we can here to get information out about our recent- ly acquired equipment so they could know what its capabilities are if they have need of it," Bat- talion Chief Randy Rapp said. "We've been doing air rescues for about 15 years with short hauls." Short hauls are air rescues that are done using rope, meaning the person is riding below the air- craft to where they are lowered to be assessed by emergency medical personnel or until Cal- Fire can land somewhere and haul the person in, Rapp said. "It's a more risky operation," Rapp said. "We had 190 feet of usable rope before. With the hoist we have a 258-foot cable with 250 feet of it usable. That Congressmen rip Park Service for huge blaze — Two California con- gressmen blasted the National Park Service on Wednesday for letting a wildfire burn despite extreme conditions last summer, a decision that conflicted with the prac- tices of other state and federal agencies. U.S. Reps. Wally SACRAMENTO (AP) into an inferno that scorched more than 42 square miles and cost $15 million to suppress. It destroyed private Herger and Tom McClin- tock, both Republicans from Northern Califor- nia, criticized Lassen Volcanic National Park officials for decisions that allowed the Reading fire to eventually erupt property, hurt the region's logging industry and devastated prime tourism destinations in an area known for its remote beauty. Herger said the offi- cials responsible for allowing the fire to burn during ''a terrible fire season'' should be removed and changes made to the national pol- icy that uses managed wildfires as a tool to clear out forests and improve wildlife habitat. McClintock used the hearing to advocate for a 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See RIP, page 7A gives us about 60 additional feet. It can carry about 600 pounds of weight so it can lift two people or one larger person." Year. Red Bluff High School swept the awards in the large school category and smaller schools Mercy High School and Redding Christian High School showed outstanding results. Mercy earned the Award of Distinction for greatest increase over the previous year. The 170-pound hoist, with its stainless steel cable, is not per- manently mounted to the heli- copter and can be removed to be stored when it's not in use. It takes about 10-15 minutes to put it on and get off the ground, Rapp said. "Not too long timewise, but in See LIFT, page 7A "High school blood donors donate are critical to a safe and plentiful blood supply in our region," said Robin Carter, BloodSource account manager. "My hope is to create a sense of community with high school donors so they will make donating blood a lifelong habit." Red Bluff student teams were honored with Symbol of Excellence award for most registered donors, Stellar Perfor- mance for most units col- lected at a blood drive and Blood Drive of the tives thanked students and advisors from high school blood drive teams. Awards for the previous school year were announced and newly appointed crews for this school year's blood drive committees learned important information about a critical communi- ty health need, e.g. just three teaspoons can save a baby's life. BloodSource execu- High school seniors who participate on school blood drive committees are eligible to apply for a $500 college scholarship from BloodSource. Fiddle contest kicks off with concert By JULIE ZEEB Western Open Fiddle Championships, at the Tehama District Fair- ground Friday and Satur- day, start today with Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. "They're coming straight from Disneyland for the concert," said Tex Ash, contest co-organizer and master of ceremonies. "We're especially proud to be here for our 30th year and our 16th year in Red Bluff. It wasn't until Red Bluff that this became a community event." DN Staff Writer Festivities for the The Billy Hill and the Hillbillies concert will be at 7 tonight at the fair- grounds, Ash said. Cost is See FIDDLE, page 7A Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Rich Reynolds, Pat Scott and Tex Ash of Loosely Strung play the Morning Star Waltz at a Corning City Council meeting, at which they invited the council to the Western Open Fiddle Championships. The settlement calls for Sier-