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THURSDAY DECEMBER 13, 2012 Most Googled Items of 2012 Classic Results Pastimes Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Mostly sunny 54/35 Weather forecast 8B TEHAMA COUNTY DAILY 50�� T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Teacher by the dozen Corning man beaten near store CORNING ��� A hold-up alarm was pulled Tuesday evening at the 7-11 store on Solano Street, but not for a burglary. Corning Police logs show Tyco Securities reported at 9:09 p.m. a hold up alarm had been pulled. An employee reported that an assault with a deadly weapon, in which a man was beaten with a crowbar by several people, had taken place and the man was laying on the sidewalk. Upon arrival, officers contacted the victim, identified as Anthony Jones, 23, of Corning, Chief Don See STORE, page 7A Herger introduces Medicare reform bill By LARRY MITCHELL Media News Group Daily News photo by Rich Greene Christopher Boles���Vista School classroom celebrates the clock striking 12:12:12 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2012. By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer It was a once in a lifetime moment when the clock struck 12:12:12 p.m. on Dec. 12. 2012 and Christopher Boles��� class at Vista School was ready with party hats and horns to celebrate. Boles said the idea to base a day around the number 12 struck him a few weeks ago, so he decided to come up with a packet the students could use to incorporate the number into their daily lessons. ���Ideas just started flowing,��� he said. With that 12 and the letter L, the 12th in the alphabet, became the center point of education for a day. Students did math problems cluttered with 12s, shot 12 basketballs and worked on their spelling of words that start with L. The morning announcements were read with 12 lords a-leaping in the background. Of course there were pizza, pudding and other goodies, as Boles explained the class hadn���t had a party yet this year and this was as good a time as any. Chad Elderkin, 13, was happy with the decision. He said his favorite part of the day was just hanging out with all of his classmates. Students spent part of the day searching the classrooms for 12s that Boles hid under desks, on a projector and in other random spots. Boles said it helped his students learn to think as they looked around. The triple repeated date was being celebrated elsewhere across the county. Rolling Hills Casino was offering a players reward to tie in to the 12-12-12 theme. Tucker Robert Noble-Peery missed out by 55 minutes of being born at 12:12:12 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2012. Still the newborn son of Charlotte Noble and James Peery will have a birth date hard to forget. The number 12 isn���t just enriched in magnesium, it has a culture of its own as it���s found often throughout human history. Besides the 12 hours on a clock face, 12 inches in a foot and 12 months in a year we take for granted, the number has had religious and mythical meanings through the years. Jesus had 12 apostles. Jacob had 12 sons. In Hinduism there are 12 Jyotirlingas shrines in India. Hercules overcame 12 labors. There are 12 Zodiac signs. A group of 12 things is called a duodecad or dozen, so a dozen See DOZEN, page 7A WASHINGTON ��� Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, on Tuesday introduced a bill he said would Herger r e f o r m Medicare and begin to put it on a solid fiscal foundation. The measure is called the Save and Strengthen Medicare Act of 2012. In a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, Herger said he and staff members have worked on the legislation for more than two years and that hearings have been held on parts of it. Under Herger's bill, private insurance plans would bid to offer Medicare coverage, and the traditional government Medicare program would also bid, said Darin Thacker, Herger's legislative director. The bidding would be done in 26 geographic regions. The amount the government would contribute per beneficiary would be the amount of the lowest bid, whether it came from traditional Medicare or one of the private plans, he said. Beneficiaries would be free to choose any plan they wanted, but if they chose plans that cost more than the lowest bid, they would have to pay the difference themselves. Although he is retiring at the end of the month, Herger said he would send his bill to the House Ways and Means Committee in the hope that the panel would take it up next year. He said he hoped his plan could form the basis for a bipartisan solution to Medicare's fiscal problems. ���Once we get through this fiscal cliff, I think we have to begin reforming Medicare to save it,��� he said. Some of the things Herger's bill would do are: ��� Create incentives for seniors to enroll in Medicare when they are 67 instead of 65. See HERGER, page 7A County boards Newcomer joins District Fairboard plagued by lingering vacancies By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer There���s a vacancy on the Tehama County Public Health Advisory Board and two on the Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board. A tribal representative is needed on the Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee and five appointments are needed for the Mill Creek Park Committee. At some point during Tuesday���s Board of Supervisors meeting, when it was mentioned that a ConsumerMinorities Advocate for the Mental Health Board hasn���t been found since 2004, Supervisor Dennis Garton decided to speak up. ���It���s time to do something,��� he said, mentioning he���s seen vacancy after unfilled appointment continue to cross 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 the agenda for his two years in office. Supervisor Ron Warner suggested more advertising in the Daily News needs to be done, but Garton called for something stronger. He asked county staff to create a study suggestion to examine all of the various commissions, committees, boards and panels that have been created over the years. Garton said the county may find some of the boards may not be needed anymore or could work with fewer members. County Counsel Arthur Wylene said such a study session could be useful, but added it would take a significant amount of time to research given there are more than 100 commissions and committees the board is responsible for. Health Services Agency Executive See BOARDS, page 7A At his first meeting since being appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Tehama District Fairboard newcomer Andrew Meredith volunteered Tuesday to take on an empty seat. Meredith, 32, will be joining Fairboard President Ray Bianchi as the fairboard representatives on the committee for the formation of a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) with Tehama County. Meredith was born in Sacramento and participated in FFA throughout high school including parliamentary procedure and extemporaneous public speaking, he said. It was while visiting the North State for various FFA competitions that he first fell in love with the area, Meredith said. He and his family, which includes three children, moved to Flournoy in 2010. Meredith���s family is one of two registered in Tehama County that raise Jacob Sheep with one other person about seven miles from their residence raising the same breed, he said. Meredith is a part of Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Tehama District Fairboard President Ray Bianchi, right, welcomes new Fairboard Director Andrew Meredith at Tuesday���s meeting. the state Building Trade and Electrical Workers unions and works in Redding. He is a member of the Flournoy School Board. A meeting date for the committee has not been set, but County Counsel Arthur Wylene did give an update on the progress. One of the two primary See FAIR, page 7A The Daily News office will be closed Thrusday Dec. 13 from 11am-2:30pm for our annual Christmas party. Please leave a message and we will return your call. Thank you Daily News staff DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF THE VOICE OF TEHAMA TEHAMA COUNTY C O U NTY SINCE 1885 527-2151 ��� FAX 527-3719 545 DIAMOND AVE., RED BLUFF