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FRIDAY APRIL 23, 2010 Breaking news at: Boot Drive Continues Community www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 2A RED BLUFF Bats go big SPORTS 1B Sunny 81/49 Weather forecast 8A By GEOFF JOHNSON 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 DN Staff Writer Addressing a packed suite at the Comfort Inn Thursday, Attorney Edie Lerman told roughly 150 medical marijuana advocates to expect a long bat- tle as they prepare for a class action lawsuit against Tehama County. Visitors, who were all sup- posed to be cannabis patients or Medical cannabis supporters discuss suit ‘No one else in the county will be growers, were invited to sign onto a pending lawsuit from Lerman, one which targets Tehama County’s medical mar- ijuana policy. The policy takes effect May 6, requires marijuana gardens to be surrounded by six-foot fences, and would limit medical marijuana growth depending on property size. It would prohibit growth within 1,000 feet of schools, churches or bus stops. enforcing the ordinance. It’s only me, and I want to make sure the ordinance is enforced fairly’ Sheriff Clay Parker Lerman said she expects the suit to be appealed to at least 99E head-on California’s appellate court, regardless of who wins. She also warned signing onto the lawsuit could increase patients’ visibility to law enforcement. “I can’t stand here in good faith and tell you it doesn’t involve some risk,” she said. The door was closed and the media barred from the room for the remainder of the meeting, with organizers citing attorney See SUIT, page 7A CHP look-alike car owner arrested Sheriff’s deputies say an unemployed biologist from Washington may have been pretending to be a Califor- nia Highway Patrol officer before he was arrested on weapons charges Wednesday morning. Timothy Patrick Portillo, 52, of Poulsboro, Wash., was stay- ing at the Travel Lodge Inn in Red Bluff when police spotted Portillo’s Ford Crown Victoria, painted to look like a CHP car — complete with a light bar and police stickers. Portillo Portillo has been in Tehama See CHP, page 7A County celebrates victims rights By TANG LOR Daily News photo by Tang Lor Law enforcement and emergency personnel respond to a head-on collision on Hwy 99E near Ninth Avenue. LOS MOLINOS — A Red Bluff man was airlifted to Enloe Medical Center after being involved in a head-on collision Thursday after- noon. Steve Caps, 32, was driving northbound on Hwy 99E when his Honda Civic drifted into the southbound lane and collided with a southbound Toyota Tacoma dri- ven by Heidi Harman, 31, of Roseville, California Highway Patrol Officer Bradford Jones said. Harman and two passengers, her juvenile daughters, were taken to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital with minor injuries. The Harman’s pomeranian puppy, thought to be missing after the collision, was later found by an officer canvassing a nearby orchard Gerber to vote on fire services By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer An agreement putting the Tehama County Fire Department in charge of Gerber fire protection passed the Board of Super- visors Tuesday but remains unsupported by Gerber officials, who are sched- uled to vote on the matter at 1 p.m. today. Gerber-Las Flores Community Services Dis- trict Manager Michael Murphy said the depart- ment’s proposal comes out to about 17 cents on the dollar for assessed proper- ty values, or more than twice as much as other county areas. By comparison, nearby Los Molinos pays about 7 cents on the dollar, Mur- phy said. The district was paying the Tehama County Fire 7 cents on the dollar even when it had its own volun- teer fire department, anoth- er $35,000 investment. “They were considered mutual backup,” Murphy said. Asked where the volun- teer department’s money was going, Murphy point- ed to the November arrest of his predecessor Lisa Lee Johnson, who is facing embezzlement charges and is expected to enter a plea on May 3. At the time of her arrest, Johnson was suspected of embezzling around $8,000. Murphy said the annual expense contributed to the district decision to shut down the volunteer depart- ment in March 2009, the same month board mem- bers found $25,000 paid to a former fire chief for levee maintenance and wood cutting came from the See GERBER, page 7A looking for the puppy. Jones said Caps’ injuries are major enough that it will probably keep him in the hospital for a cou- ple of days. CHP does not know if alcohol was a factor in the incident. The collision happened around 2:35 p.m. on Hwy 99E near Ninth Avenue. — Tang Lor DN Staff Writer Victims’ rights were celebrated and honored during the county’s first ever Crime Victims’ Evening of Recognition Wednesday. The Tehama County Victim/Witness Office held the event to honor victims of crimes, as the office recognizes the many barriers that victims have had to endure, said Linda Lucas, Victim Wit- ness coordinator for the district attorney’s office. With the theme “Crime Victims’ Rights: Fair- ness, Dignity, Respect,” victims recalled the ideals that inspired the decades- long struggle of the vic- tims’ rights movement and asked the community to honor those rights. A family member of three teen victims involved in a hit and run collision shared the ordeal she went through after the incident, and a candlelight observance honoring vic- tims of all crimes was held. “It was just a time of meditation and remem- brance for those who have suffered adversity,” Lucas See VICTIMS, page 7A Graffiti suspects questioned by cops By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Red Bluff Police officers on Thursday interviewed suspects in a $50,000 act of vandalism to Red Bluff Union High School. Sgt. Kevin Busekist con- firmed police had a lead Thursday afternoon, hours after school officials announced an unspecified cash reward was available for anyone with information about spray-painted swear words and symbols across the football field. At the time, School Resource Officer Michael Colely was still investigat- ing the matter and would be contacting multiple people, Busekist said. “I think it’s premature to say we have a confession,” Busekist said. Busekist declined to state See GRAFFITI, page 7A EXCLUSIVE! Unpublished photos from the www.redbluffdailynews.com Sign in to Online only at The DAILY NEWS Digital Edition 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 A new photo page follows regular pages from the paper everyday through Saturday! Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson Most of the graffiti at the Red Bluff Union High School’s football field had been removed by Thursday. The damage was first discovered Sunday morning. 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