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DECEMBER 15-16 2012 WEEKEND Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Start With Children Pets Page 6A DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Rain likely 49/41 Weather forecast 10A TEHAMA COUNTY $1.00 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 Sparty time Special election registration open By RICH GREENE By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer DN Staff Writer The deadline to register to vote in the special election to fill the California Senate's 4th District Seat is Dec. 24. The runoff election between Jim Nielsen and Mickey Harrington will take place Jan. 8. Online registration is available at registertovote.ca.gov or registration cards can be picked up at post offices, all library branches, city halls, the Tehama County Clerk & Recorders office or the Elections office. Cards can also be obtained online at co.tehama.ca.us or by calling the Elections Department at (530) 527-8190 or toll free at (886) 289-5307. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen released Fri- It was a celebration of hoops, pop culture and above all school spirit Friday at the Red Bluff High School gymnasium. For an hour each year the annual Holiday Classic pep rally brings out a side of the faculty students never get to see as teachers transform into zombies, ghouls and even Michael Jackson. Toss in a number of dance routines and the high flying dunk contest and the hometown students and visiting basketball teams had plenty to holler about. This year's faculty See ELECTION, page 9A Fair polls fail to decide date change By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer See SPARTY, page 9A Courtesy photo by We Shoot Ya Photography Main: A member of the Helix basketball team soars over a teammate Friday during the Red Bluff Holiday Classic Slam Dunk Contest. Daily News photo by Rich Greene Inset: Michael Jackson and PSY lead the Red Bluff High School faculty in a dance Friday to close down the annual Holiday Classic pep rally. The Tehama District Fairboard discussed initial results of community outreach to decide whether to move the September fair to an earlier month. Surveys were posted on the Tehama District Fair Facebook page in November, on the Red Bluff is My Town Facebook page, Twitter and homepage of the Daily News website — redbluffdailynews.com. The results were split almost evenly on the Tehama District Fair page, Fair CEO Mark Eidman said. While 569 people viewed the survey, only 27 participated through leaving comments, he said. Red Bluff is My Town put forth two comments wanting a later fair date and Twitter only yielded one comment for summer. The Daily News survey had about 92 viewers of which 35 percent said to leave the fair as is while 64 percent said move it to summer. While some comments for change revolved around the fact that the temperature was often just as hot in September as June or July, others brought up the conflict with Friday night football. One person brought up that summer also had its sports that would create a conflict for some, Eidman said. He was a bit disheartened by the lack of response from the community despite appearing in so many venues, EidSee FAIR, page 9A Providers: Medi- Christmas Past to visit Red Bluff today Cal cuts could hurt health reform By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer SACRAMENTO (AP) — Health providers and advocates for the poor say they are worried that California's cuts to Medi-Cal will hamper the state's ability to expand and improve health care under President Barack Obama's overhaul. A federal appeals court backed California's right to cut payments by 10 percent, saving the state more than $330 million a year. An attorney representing a group of pharmacies said they would appeal next week. Doctors, pharmacies and advocates for the poor say health providers could stop participating in the insurance program for the poor and disabled because the state's payments are already low. Advocates also said it runs counter to the promises of health reform to expand and improve health care. ''I think the question here is, when we expand it, is it actually going to serve the people who need it,'' said Vanessa Cajina of the Western Center on Law and Poverty, which advocates for the poor. Chris Perrone, a deputy director at the California HealthCare Foundation, a nonprofit health policy group, said California already has very low payment rates compared to other states, and some findings suggest that access is already poor. One study found that California reimburses primary care physicians an average of 53 percent of Medicare, the federSee CUTS, page 9A The ghost of Christmas Past will be visiting Red Bluff from 1-4 p.m. today at William B. Ide Adobe State Historical Park where volunteers will host the 35th annual Pioneer Christmas. "This celebration relives the Christmas traditions of the early California Pioneers," Ide Adobe Interpretive Association President Judy Fessenden said. "Many of the Christmas traditions we celebrate today were just getting established during the 1850s. We're inviting the public to come and discover the origins of some of those customs." The Ide Adobe Interpretive Association is a non-profit group who has supported the interpretive programs, including the ever-popular Life in the 1850s school program, at Ide Adobe since 1979. When Ide Adobe became one of the 70 parks out of 278 in California originally slated to Photo courtesy of Bob McConnell A child takes a swing at the Christmas Bag at the 2011 Pioneer Christmas celebration at the William B. Ide Adobe State Park. The event is 1-4 p.m. today. The breaking of the bag is 3:30 p.m. close June 1, the association sought out a donor agreement. While the donor agreement was signed for three years at the rate of $72,000 per year for Ide Adobe to stay open, it is in the process of being reviewed and reworded in light of the money the state recently found, Fessenden said. "We are very happy to report that we will be able to present all of our allday school Life in the 1850s programs with the partnership of Red Bluff and Salisbury High School students," Fessenden said. A letter sent out to park volunteers and donors in October by then California Department of Parks and Recreation Acting Director Janelle Beland announced new legislation to help the parks. "As you may know, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 1478 on Sept. 25," Beland said in the letter. "AB1478 See PAST, page 9A