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TUESDAY APRIL 27, 2010 Breaking news at: Highways and Buy-ways American Profile www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Vista Girls SPORTS 1B Showers 62/42 Weather forecast 8B By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Today may decide the fate of an upcoming hemp festival expected to attract as many as 1,800 people per day over Memorial Day Weekend and a long-delayed a 3,370-home development in the north coun- 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 mull pot festival, housing project ty. Whee for WHEE? The World Hemp Extra Extravaganja 2010 is scheduled for May 28-30, just south of Red Bluff. Festival coordinator Donna Will has yet to receive or be denied a use permit from the county, though she has repeat- edly, publicly made her intent clear to the Board of Supervi- sors. Officials say this is because Tehama County’s festival poli- cy is out of date and needs to be thoroughly revised. Tehama County seldom sees major events held outside the Tehama District Fairground. Its existing ordinance, written in 1970, may not be constitutional by modern standards, according to county documents. The ordinance supervisors are scheduled to vote on some- time after 10 a.m. today, would require events attracting 500 or more people outside of the fair- ground to appeal to Planning 10 stations, 8 days Director George Robson, who would have final say over festi- val permits. As an urgency ordinance, the policy would require a four- fifths vote and could take effect immediately. The 14-page document includes 18 reasons Robson See COUNTY, page 7A Corning wrestles with budget woes By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer CORNING — The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. today at 794 Third St. to discuss budget, including the addition of $100,000 to an almost $1.1 million short- fall. The city has received the good news that, due to a low number of insurance claims in the Northern Cali- fornia Cities Self-Insurance Fund, the city will get a one-time dividend of $152,625. Even with the extra money, the city would need another $186,600 to save the jobs of four Corning Fire See WOES, page 7A Avoid the bite, and West Nile By TANG LOR Courtesy photo CalFire Capt. Erick Puckett and Firefighter Dustin Homesley run from Manton to Paynes Creek April 14 as a part of the 10-8 challenge. The men ran from station to station visiting 10 fire stations in Tehama County in eight days, finishing April 21. Firefighters make tracks for kids’ summer camp By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Two CalFire firefighters, Capt. Erick Puckett and Firefighter Dustin Homesley, ran 145.4 miles, visiting 10 county fire stations in eight days as a part of the 10- 8 Challenge, to raise money for the Firefighters’ Kids Camp. The camp, at Lake Tahoe, provides children who have had serious burn injuries the chance to continue rehabilitation and recovery in an outdoor environment that is safe and fun. “It started out last summer as a challenge between the two of us, but then we realized that if we were going to complete it, it would be a chance to raise PG&E under fire for ’smart meters’ SACRAMENTO (AP) — California’s largest utility came under fire from state lawmakers Monday for billing prac- tices associated with its ‘‘smart-meter program,’’ which has generated near- ly 1,000 customer com- plaints to regulators. Members of the state Senate took Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to task over the 3-year-old initiative, which uses electronic data, rather than meter readers, to determine cus- tomers’ monthly gas and electric use. Advocates say smart meters will lower bills, improve billing accuracy and help customers make better-informed decisions about their energy use. Other utilities in the state also are trying the devices, though on a smaller scale than PG&E. But state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said many of his Central Val- ley constituents are com- plaining of skyrocketing costs and bill estimates that exceed what they owe. He said Monday’s hearing of the Senate Select Committee on the Smart Grid would be the first of several to address possible flaws in the smart-meter system. ‘‘This is a revolt,’’ Flo- rez said of the angry cus- tomers. ‘‘The tea party has nothing on smart meters in the Central Val- ley.’’ The $2 billion program covers 5.5 million house- See PG&E, page 7A For Beautiful Spring Flowers And Delicious Summer Veggies We Recommed BUY 3 BAGS GET 1 FREE!! BUMPER CROP GARDEN CENTER RED BLUFF 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 www.redbluffgardencenter.com 766 Antelope Blvd. Next to the Fairgrounds (530) 527-0886 COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR Smog Inspection $ 2995 + cert. (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) Pass or FREE retest 195 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530 527-9841 ARTHRITIS, AND POST SURGERY. DR. SWAIM’S PAIN CREAM NOW AVAILABLE IN OUR OFFICE AT 2530 SR MARY COLUMBA DR. RED BLUFF, CA 96080 (530) 527-7584 STOP THE PAIN FROM NEUROPATHY, SHINGLES, money for a good cause,” Puckett said. “This whole thing was done with the intent to help others.” After training five months, the men started in Man- ton April 14 and finished in Los Molinos April 21, bringing in $1,500 on their own with the Tehama Fire- fighter’s Burn and Benevolent Fund donating an addi- tional $1,000. “This means we can send five children to burn camp for a week each,” Puckett said. The fund was established to support fire personnel and citizens in need and all money raised from the 10- 8 challenge go into the fund to be given to the camp. Puckett said the hardest part of the challenge was the time commitment, since both men have families and work obligations, and the wear and tear on their bodies from all the mileage. “We ran from the east side, to the valley, to the west and back to the valley in order of least resistance,” Puckett said. “We were worried about weather, fatigue See STATIONS, page 7A DN Staff Writer With the weather warm- ing, mosquitoes are swarm- ing. During West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness Week, people are being reminded that it is once again the time of year to protect against the bite. West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease that can result in debilitat- ing cases of meningitis and encephalitis and death to humans, horses, avian species and other wildlife. The California Depart- ment of Public Health and the federal Centers for Dis- ease Control and Preven- tion predict West Nile virus will again pose a public health threat in California this year. Locally, it has been a very unusual year, with more rain than previous years, which has given the Tehama County Mosquito and Vector Control District some problems in conduct- ing preventive control. But the district is doing what it can in spite of the rain and wind, Manager Andy Cox said. “We are doing every- thing we can to reduce the threat of West Nile virus to the public,” he said. Cox cannot predict the impact of the virus this sea- son because activity fluctu- ates year to year, but the district already has received several reports of dead birds. So far, all of the dead birds and mosquitoes that have been tested have come back negative. Anyone wishing to See BITE, page 7A Red Bluff High crowns Prom Royalty Courtesy photo Red Bluff Union High School crowned the 2010 Prom King and Queen Saturday night. Pictured from left, are Nik Kitchel,Trevor Rogers, Clifford Dais, Kailee Fine, Miranda Clawson and Brianna Ross. The court was nominated by teachers and the senior class voted Dais and Fine as the King and Queen.