2010 Modoc Record Archives

The Modoc Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to hire Mike Martin as District Superintendent. He will replace current Superintendent Lane Bates who will retire as of July 1.
Interviews were held Tuesday with the Board and a Community Committee also involved. The position was advertised only within the District and the Board was satisfied with the applicants.
Martin, who will continue to serve in his existing position as Modoc Middle and Alturas Elementary School Principal, has been in the MJUSD for 17 years, the last five in administration. Prior to that, he taught mathematics and was a coach in football, basketball and track.
Martin said he likes the fact that the transition from Bates to his leadership will take place over the next few months and should go smoothly.
He said the district is in “as solvent as it can possibly be” and understands the budget and its issues will be the major challenges moving forward. The MJUSD is stable, financially, he said and the morale in the district is good. Additionally, he believes the District is blessed with quality staff and has good community support.
Bates, who was not involved in the interviews, said he was pleased that there will be a good transition period and that the Board chose someone who is local and is vested in the community. He said Martin, being part of the existing management team, is well aware of the issues facing the District.
“This is home,” said Martin. “We’ve been here 17 years, our sons are in school here. We understand the community.”
Martin said he sees some budget challenges coming, largely from the State of California, but believes the District will be able to weather the current situation. As the budget stands now, there are no layoffs expected in staff, although both Bates and Martin said there will be in-depth discussions involved around filling positions that are vacated.

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to support an effort for continued funding of the Modoc District Fair and others Fairs throughout the state.
The issue came up because Governor Brown’s budget proposal includes eliminating or greatly reducing Fair funding. While that cut is on the table, statewide and local Fair organizations are mounting a campaign to change the Governor’s mind.
According to Modoc District Fair Manager Dannette DePaul, in the end, shutting downs the state’s Fair system might cost more than it would save initially. In the long run, losing the Fair would have a severe economic impact on the local and state’s economy, she said.
According to DePaul, the state portion of the Modoc Fair funding is $198,000, about 60 percent of its annual budget. She told the Board that the Fair funding was secure for this year.

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday gave its blessing and agreed to be lead agency for a potential grant on a major Geothermal project in Surprise Valley.
A Resolution from the Board approving and supporting a pre-proposal application to the California Energy Commission (CEC) for Geothermal Resource Development Account (GRDA) program and Agreeing to act in the Capacity of the Lead Agency for this project was adopted unanimously.
The application seeks to collect and analyze environmental data in the Surprise Valley geographic area and the project is estimated to cost approximately $600,000.
The Board was responding to a request from Surprise Valley Geothermal LLC.
“The purpose of this application is to seek the support of the Modoc County Board of Supervisors as the lead entity in a pre-proposal application to the California Energy Commission (CEC) Geothermal Resources Development Account (GRDA) program,” Curt Rose of Surprise Valley Geothermal said. “If Modoc County is the lead entity there is a reduction in match costs from 50 percent of the total budget cost to 20 percent. This will allow project partners; UNR and the LLC to apply for this funding. The 50 percent costs share would be impossible for them to meet otherwise.”
According to Rose, the application seeks to collect and analyze environmental data in the resource rich Surprise Valley geographic area, which is in an area of the state that is currently a focal point for geothermal exploration. Surprise Valley has long been identified as a high-potential known geothermal resource area (KGRA). The USGS, in a 1981 miscellaneous field investigation map, identified a broad region spanning from Lake City southwest and along the eastern flanks of the upper and middle alkali lakes.

The construction of one new home at over $300,000 inflated the value of five Modoc County Building permits for January, which totaled $374,129.
Only two permits were issued in December, worth an estimated $46,386.
Building activity in the City of Alturas in January stayed slow as only four permits valued at $14,500 were issued. That compares to December, when five building permits were issued, with an estimated value of $14,733.
A wireless installation accounted for $12,000 off the January total.

Juanita Bicondoa, 92 years young, went to be with Jesus on February 7, 2011. She was a long-time resident of Surprise Valley. In 1941, she married her husband, Jose Bicondoa, and moved to Eagleville for 57 years. Juanita Satica was born November 1918.
The funeral will be Tuesday, February 15, at 11:00 a.m. at the Cedarville Catholic Church. There will be reception at the Eagleville Hall immediately following the graveside in Eagleville.
The Rosary will be February 14, 4:00 p.m. at the Cedarville Catholic Church.

Among life’s many challenges that JC Tierce faced, he will long be remembered for maintaining a good outlook on life, no matter what came his way. Mr. Tierce had called Cedarville home since 1984. He passed away at the age of 90 years on January 28, 1911, at Surprise Valley Hospital, Cedarville, CA.
He was born in Rocky, Oklahoma on June 28, 1920, to William E. Tierce and Ola (Montgomery) Tierce.
Donations in his memory may be made to Surprise Valley Senior Citizens Center, Surprise Veterans of Foreign Wars or Surprise Valley Hospital.
A memorial service and potluck fellowship will be held Friday, Feb. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Surprise Valley Senior Center, Cedarville. Burial at a later date.

Jacob Ray Cavasso
Jacob Ray Cavasso passed through this world briefly at 7:15 a.m. February 4, 2011 in Fall River Mills. The 5 pound 10 ounce boy is the son of Christina Hamilton and Chris Cavasso, both of Canby. Jacob will be buried at the Alturas Cemetery and will remain in our hearts forever.

Woody Fields, 83, of Alturas, CA, passed away February 7, 2011, in Alturas, CA. Mr. Fields was born in North Carolina on May 22, 1927. At his request, no services will be held. “Woody went home to be with his Lord Jesus,” expresses his wife Marty Fields. Arrangements have been entrusted to Kerr Mortuary, Alturas.

Services for Richard “Dick” Greene
Richard “Dick” Arlen Greene passed away peacefully at his Alturas home on February 10, 2011.
Dick was a friend to everyone he met and truly loved the real-estate profession and worked for numerous real estate agencies including 15 years at California Pines which he cherished. He earned his broker’s license and took pride in his real estate office Warner Mountain Realty.
He was greatly admired and loved, and will be deeply missed. A memorial service will be held on Friday, February 18, 2011, 11:00 a.m. at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall, 500 So. Main Street, Alturas. Interment will be a private only inurnment.

The Chester Volcanoes just nipped the Modoc Braves 172-170 for the Shasta Cascade League championship last weekend.
“Sometimes, I’d rather get blown out than lose that tight,” said coach Shaun Wood. “The kids wrestled really well and I was pleased. If we had just won one more match in the day, we would have won it all. It was that close. Overall, I was very pleased with the team. They really stepped up.”
Modoc is idle this week and then heads to Willows for the CIF North Section Small Schools Championships Feb. 19. Wood believes Durham, Willows, Trinity and Modoc will be in the mix.
Team scores at the SCL championships were as follows: Chester 172, Modoc 170, Tulelake 95 (Small Schools division winner); Etna 73; Dunsmuir 68, Burney 60, Fall River 31, Weed 30, and Big Valley 14.
Modoc placed 10 wrestlers in the 14 final matches at the SCL.
Benny Bevil won the SCL title at 119 pounds and Collyn Server won the Heavyweight division.
Taking second places for the Braves were: David Buckley 103 pounds; Austin Kresge 112 pounds; Ethan Dunn 125 pounds; Bradley Widby 135 pounds; Colton Reed 160 pounds; Tyler Kuhn 171 pounds; Ethan Haas 215 pounds and Brazilio Hernandez heavyweight.
Third places were won by: Ryan Jacques 113 pounds; Max Munguia 119 pounds; Jesse Silva 130 pounds; Wyatt Valena 189 pounds; Nick McMasters heavyweight.
Taking fourth places were: Matt Froeming 215 pounds; Corey Hall 130 pounds; and Brad Breiner 112 pounds.

In a turnaround, not quite epic, the Modoc boy’s and girl’s varsity basketball teams should make the CIF Division Five section playoffs this year, seeded 12th and 13th out of 16 teams respectively.
Last year, the teams combined for a miserable 1-40 season. If the current seedings stand, both teams will have to travel in the first round.
The boys fell victim to the Shasta Cascade League leader, Weed 50-31 Friday night. Modoc started with a 10-2 lead in the first, but the wheels fell off after that. Weed took a 20-17 lead at halftime and 34-24 after three. They topped the Braves 16-7 in the fourth. In the final three periods, Weed scored 48 points to Modoc’s 21.
Brett Boudreaux led the scoring with 10.
Modoc beat Fall River Tuesday night 63-52, thanks in part to a solid first half lead of 30-12. Modoc led 45-29 after three. Boudreaux had 19, Kristopher Traylor had 16 and Jonathan Jones added 12.
Modoc’s girls demolished a winless Weed team 51-14. The Braves were up 19-5 at halftime and scored 32 points to Weed’s nine in the second half. Rochelle Keller led with 15 points and Monica Eppler added 10.
The girls lost to Fall River Tuesday 50-40. The Bulldogs held a 22-13 lead at halftime and Modoc fought back to lead 32-26 after three. Fall River won the fourth 24-8 for the win. Courtney Knoch led with 13 points and Jodi Boudreaux added 10.
The junior varsity boys beat Weed 58-32 Friday. Modoc led 21-10 in the first and 32-12 by half. The JVs led 51-17 in the third. Cam Anderson led with 19 points and 14 rebounds, with Jac Derner getting nine, Riley Larranaga and Randy Schmid added seven.
The JVs beat Fall River Tuesday 66-49. The Braves got up 22-11 in the first and led 35-27 at half. A big third period put them up 56-36. Anderson led the scoring with 14, Larranaga added 12, and Alex Torres had 11.
Modoc’s JV girls had a tough night against Weed, losing 43-20 after trailing 10-1 in the first and 28-5 at halftime and trailing 36-9 after three. Jordan Marquardt led with eight points.
The girls rebounded Tuesday by beating Fall River 23-19. The game was close the whole way, with the Braves leading 9-6 at halftime. Marquardt led with 16 points.
Modoc rounds out the regular season with a home game against Burney Feb. 11 and at Etna Feb. 18.
The playoffs start Feb. 22 for the girls and Feb. 23 for the boys.

The Tulelake High School varsity girl’s basketball team beat Surprise Valley 75-45 last Friday.
The game was tight in the first quarter with Tulelake taking a 21-19 lead, but the Hornets couldn’t keep pace the last three periods, trailing 36-25 at half and 54-34 after three.
Paige Green led the Hornets with 19, Allie Berryessa had 12 and Marisol Quintana added 10. Tulelake’s Lexie Greenbank had 17 points and Madee Boyd added 15.

The Modoc County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a suspect, Jimmy Dewayne Cantrell, Newell, on murder charges in the death of a three-year-old boy in March 2000. The case sat idle for years as little, if any, real investigation had been done by former Sheriffs.
Cantrell faced arraignment on Tuesday before Judge David Mason, who held him over on $500,000 bail. He did not arraign Cantrell because he had represented him in the past. On Wednesday morning, Cantrell entered a not guilty plea before Judge Fritz Barclay and Barclay released him on his own recognizance.
On or about January 19, 2011 the Modoc County Sheriff’s Office began looking into the death of three-year-old Dylan Birch Brown. The death was initially listed as “suspicious” nearly 11 years ago.
The case started with a call to Modoc Sheriff’s Office Dispatch at approximately 6:21 p.m. on March 8th, 2000 requesting an ambulance for an unconscious three-year-old male in the Newell area. Brown was transported by ambulance to Merle West Hospital in Klamath Falls, Oregon where he was pronounced dead at 7:45 p.m.
According to Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter, at that time it was the general consensus that there was evidence of, “possible foul play.” This case was brought to the Sheriff’s attention by William (Bill) Duncan of Eagleville. Duncan learned of the case approximately four years ago from former Sheriff Mark Gentry. Duncan was advised at that time that the case would be looked into.
“Our investigation now indicates that aside from the initial cursory examination in March of 2000, this case generated little interest or investigation,” Poindexter said.

Last week it was learned that in the fall of 2009 nearly 200 wild horses lived in the Carter Reservoir herd management area. Today according to the latest official figures posted by BLM there are six horses left.
Riders looking for the Carter herd rode the range for ten hours in late Spring of 2010 specifically looking for the wild horses. They found seven horses, six adults and one foal.
Unofficial counts report that there may be more wild horses, but no proof has been offered. The questions then arise, if there are more horses, are these wild horses from the Carter herd? Did they move in from neighboring herd management areas?
Perhaps it’s time to try something different. Take the good from the existing management program, continue the birth control, listen to the old timers and how they handled the wild horses, get out of the office and check the range in areas where trucks can’t get to, check to see if the promised range upgrades are being done, if not, why not? Enforce the agreed upon rules with the cattlemen, evaluate the true costs of managing the wild horses, evaluate the actual expense of managing the cattle, create a wild horse sanctuary to increase tourism and educate the public, hire locals to check the herds and do range repairs, implement horse training clinics, promote tourism on the Carter Res. Herd management area as one of the few places in the west where you can see wild horses in their natural habitat, develop agri-tourism, the list goes on and on.
The ultimate choice of the future of America’s wild horses or their extermination, is in the hands of the American public.
The questions posed to BLM in last week’s article, some of which were asked more than a month ago remain unanswered.

Curt Rose is in the process of talking to several different entities concerning partnership and progress of his Surprise Valley Geothermal, LLC project.
“Our focus at this point is on working together with the landowners and the universities to develop this project to its full potential,” said Rose.
Rose hopes to give some talks to the community explaining the project, the geothermal resource in the valley and its potential for energy development. Rose is optimistic and encouraged by the Modoc County Board of Supervisors giving their blessing to the project.
“With all of us working together we can make this happen,” said Rose.
Rose and his family developed the Surprise Valley Hot Springs Resort, which is heated by geothermal energy and offers elegant lodging, massages and hot tub soaking.
“I guess you could sum up my philosophy about this project in three words, “Patience, persistence, and passion,” adds Rose.

Richard “Dick” Arlen Greene passed away peacefully at home on February 10, 2011 in Alturas, CA. Born August 21, 1930 in Cortland, NY to Frank and Florence Greene, Dick showed his adventurous side when he ran away at 14 and then again at 16 to Bristol, TN where he enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1946.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, February 18, 2011, 11:00 a.m. with full military honors at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall, 500 So. Main Street, Alturas. A luncheon will follow, provided by the American Legion Auxiliary and LDS Church members, where memories of Dick can be shared. Interment will be a private only inurnment.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the Modoc Medical Center Auxiliary AutoPulse account at Plumas Bank, 510 North Main St., Alturas, CA 96101 or to the Likely Volunteer Fire Dept., P.O. Box 515, Likely, CA 96116.

Kesner Toney, fifth generation Surprise Valley rancher, passed away during the evening of February 10, 2011 at the Surprise Valley Hospital in Cedarville, CA. Kesner was 90 years of age. He was born in Lake City, CA. June 8, 1920 to Harry J. Toney and Josephine I. (Quirk) Toney.
Services for Kesner will be held at the Surprise Valley Community Church on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 2:00 p.m. A fellowship potluck will be held following the services. Arrangements have been entrusted to Kerr Mortuary, Alturas. Burial will be at Lake City Cemetery. Memorials may be sent to Surprise Valley Hospital District, Box 246, Cedarville, CA 96104 or to the Modoc County Library, Cedarville Branch, Box 573, Cedarville, CA 96104.

Linda Fay (Curtis) Loomis passed from this life January 31, 2011 in Clackamas, Oregon. She was born October 31, 1946 in Alturas, California to Arthur and Gertrude Fay Curtis and spent her younger years in Alturas. At her request, no service will be held.

Clare Sofia Dunnebeck Kimmel, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, gently passed away February 10, 2011, in the arms of her daughter, Virginia “Ginger” Kimmel Ray in Cedarville, CA., where she resided the last years of her life. Clare was born January 30, 1917, in Lakeport, CA, to Francis and Viola Dunnebeck
A graveside ceremony will be held at the Kelseyville Cemetery on Friday, February 18, 2011, at 10 a.m.

George Jessen Hollesen, a native of Clovis, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on January 15, 2011. Services were held January 20 at the Clovis Valley Bible Church, with burial at the Clovis Cemetery.
George was born on March 7, 1917, to Nels Jessen Hollesen and Mabel Daisy Barcus Hollesen.

Modoc’s varsity boy’s basketball team is in a must-win situation this Friday night at Etna. A win and they get a nod in the North Section CIF playoffs, a loss eliminates them.
According to coach Keith Weber a poor shooting night against Burney at home Friday resulted in a 44-39 loss. “We only made 14 of 52 shots taken,” said Weber. “The loss puts Modoc in a must win to make the playoffs. Shasta Cascade League rules dictate that to be eligible for the postseason, a team must finish with at least a .500 record in league or overall. Modoc is 4-5 in league and 9-9 overall with one regular season game remaining.”
Fortunately for the Braves, their last game is against the worst team in the league, Etna.
The Braves got off to an 8-2 start against Burney, but trailed 17-16 by halftime. They tied the score at 29-29 after three, but the Raiders outscored them 15-10 in the fourth.
Brett Boudreaux led with 12 points and Brandon Bains added 10.
Modoc’s girls had no trouble with Burney, winning 41-13. The Braves jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first and led 19-3 by half. They led 31-11 after three and added 10 to Burney’s two in the fourth.
Cheyenne King led with 12 points, Jodi Boudreaux added nine and Monica Eppler and Courtney Knoch each had six.
According to coach Jennifer Slinkard, the game against Etna Friday is for sole possession of second place in the SCL. Modoc and Etna are now at 6-3. Fall River is atop the league and Mt. Shasta sits at 5-4.
Modoc’s league leading junior varsity boys crushed Burney 54-19. Modoc got up 16-3 in the first and 34-7 by halftime. At the end of three, the Braves led 44-13. Cam Anderson led with 14 points; Riley Larranaga and Randy Schmid had seven each.
The junior varsity girls also had a good night, beating Burney 44-26 after spotting Burney an 8-4 first period lead. The Braves led 19-14 at halftime and 32-19 after three.
Jordan Marquardt led with 21 points and Kelsey Clay added eight.

Boys varsity:
Weed 9-0
Mt. Shasta 7-2
Fall River 4-5
Modoc 4-5
Burney 2-7
Etna 1-8
Girls varsity:
Fall River 8-1
Modoc 6-3
Etna 6-3
Mt. Shasta 5-4
Burney 2-7
Weed 0-9

Modoc County Supervisors on Tuesday opted not to go from three to two meetings per month, even though they had voted to do just that on February 8.
The original vote was a part of a Rule of Procedures document that had initially been approved. One of the main reasons for the change was that one of the three meetings per month in the past was dedicated to Modoc Medical Center business. Since MMC is no longer under the county, that meeting is unnecessary.
However on Tuesday, the board opted to stay with the three meeting schedule. The meetings will be held on the first, second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. They did agree to go to a winter schedule of a 10 a.m. start, based upon the time changes. During Daylight saving Time, the meetings will go back to 9 a.m.
The Board also held Chief Administrative Officer applicant interviews Tuesday afternoon, following a very confusing morning session concerning appointment of a proposed citizens committee to assist with the interviews. Unofficial reports indicated the Board was interviewing two of 15 applicants.
Following closed session interviews on Tuesday, no decision was made on the hiring of a new CAO. The issue will come back for more information on the Board’s next meeting. It is not clear, at this point, whether the Board will choose to hire a new CAO at that time.

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors decided to go forward with the insurance claim concerning Modoc Officials’ performance bonds, following a closed session Tuesday.
The initial claim was filed by former Modoc County Chief Administrative Officer Mark Charlton in early 2009 with Trindel Insurance, and was actually completed by former District Attorney Gary Woolverton, just before he left office in January.
The claim is seeking to secure the performance bonds on some county officials in connection with the “improper loans” made to Modoc Medical Center over several years. Some of that money came from restricted fund departments. The total of those loans is considered to be from $12 million to $13.5 million. Those performance bonds could be valued up to $15 million.

The Alturas City Planning Commission tabled a new outdoor smoking ordinance at its Feb. 16, public hearing at City Hall.
The public hearing started somewhat raucous, with the public in attendance mostly against the proposal. It even degenerated into threats against at least one government official.
Following the public comment period, the Commission opted to table the issue, tweak the proposal in response to some of the public’s ideas and bring it back for another public hearing. That hearing has not yet been scheduled.

On Tuesday, the Modoc Board of Supervisors held the first reading of a management structure ordinance, that defines and codifies certain job responsibilities.
The Board was interviewing candidates on Tuesday for the Chief Administrative Officer position, which is one of those positions whose responsibilities are set out. The new ordinance appears to give the CAO more authority of employees.
The ordinance states: “The primary responsibility of the CAO is too oversee the administration and operations of the County on a day-to-day business (basis?) and the CAO is accountable for the hiring/firing of County Department Heads (non-elected) as per county ordinances and with direction and input from the Board of Supervisors and is accountable for the hiring/firing of County employees as per County ordinance and with approval of the Board of Supervisors.”

Audrey L. Wickenden of Alturas, California passed away February 15, 2011 at Surprise Valley Hospital, Cedarville, CA. She spent 55 years of her life in Modoc.
Audrey was born to Henrietta (McDonald) Traynor and James Traynor in Goldfield, Nevada on September 8, 1917.
Graveside Services were held on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 2 p.m. at the Alturas Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be directed to Modoc Senior Citizens, 906 W. Fourth St., Alturas, CA 96101.

Former Modoc resident Barak “Barry” Oren McElroy died of Cancer in Lodi, CA on February 12, 2011. He was 59.
Born August 14, 1951, in Lodi, CA, he moved to Canby, CA in 1962 and was proud to be a “Canby Kid.” He attended Arlington Elementary and later Modoc High School, graduating in 1970. Barry loved Modoc. In his youth, he hauled hay in Canby.
Barry was dearly loved and will be deeply missed.
Interment was at the Galt-Arno Cemetery in Galt, CA.

Dorothy Kimbrough
Dorothy Kimbrough passed away on February 20, 2010, at the Windsor Care Center in Redding California after a lengthy illness.
Dorothy was born in Eagleville, California on August 31,1926 to Ellmore Steward and Eulalio Miura. She attended school in Surprise Valley and graduated from Healds Business College in Sacramento.

T. Van Der Eyken
Theodore Andrew Van der Eyken of Alturas passed away February 20, 2011, in Alturas, CA. Memorial services will be held at a later date. Mr. Van der Eyken was born in Winnepeg, Canada on August 27, 1939. Arrangements are under the direction of Kerr Mortuary, Alturas. Obituary to follow.

Lucille Daisy Chandler a native of Cedarville, CA, passed away February 21, 2011 in her hometown. Lucille was born April 26, 1915. Memorial services will be held on Monday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. at the Cedarville Community Church. Potluck fellowship to follow in the Community Hall. Obituary to follow.

Regina Lynn DeGarmo passed away February 15, 2011, from complications of pneumonia in Reno, Nevada. Her funeral will take place at 11 a.m. on February 25 at Fort Bidwell Community Church, Fort Bidwell, CA. Interment will follow at the Fort Bidwell Cemetery.
Regina was born in Cedarville, CA on May 9, 1960 to Clarence and Julia DeGarmo. The family moved to Gasquet, CA in 1966, where she graduated from Del Norte High School in 1978.

Modoc’s Braves will send eight wrestlers and one alternate to the North Section Masters Championships in Redding Friday and Saturday.
Modoc placed fourth in the Division III Championships held at Willows last weekend. Durham won the event with Willows, second and Trinity third. Chester won the Division IV title.
“Our young wrestles performed very well and they improved all year long,” said coach Shaun Wood. “I was very pleased with our performance at small schools and look forward to watching these kids progress through the years.”
Austin Kresge, at 114 pounds took a second at small schools as did Tyler Kuhn at 171 pounds and Ethan Dunn and 125 pounds.
Taking third places went to Benny Bevil at 119 pounds and Collyn Server at heavyweight. Coming in fourth were Jalen Estes, 215 pounds; Colton Reed 160 pounds; and Wyatt Valena 189 pounds. Jesse Silva placed fifth at 130 pounds and David Buckley was sixth at 103 pounds.
The top four finishers qualified for the Masters and Silva will go as an alternate. The top two finishers at Master qualify for the state championships.
Wood has taken wrestlers to state in most of the last 10 years, but is not certain he’ll be going to state again this year. However, he said in the next few years, he anticipates several of his younger wrestler to be in that category.

The Modoc varsity girl’s team fell victim to a frozen third period and lost to Biggs 55-36 in the first round of the North Section basketball playoffs Tuesday night there.
Biggs came in seeded six and Modoc 11. The Braves started well, leading 13-12 after the first period and were in the game trailing 22-20 by halftime. But in the third period, Biggs pumped in 18 points and Modoc only two, taking a 40-22 lead into the fourth quarter. Modoc scored 14 and Biggs 15 in the final period. The loss eliminated the Braves from the playoffs. There were no stats reported from the game. Modoc finished the season at 9-9 and 7-3 in the Shasta Cascade League, a major improvement from last season when they didn’t win a game.
The boy’s varsity played Chester last night after presstime in the first round of the playoffs. Modoc was seeded 12 and Chester five.
Modoc varsity boy’s team survived a scare at Etna Friday night, winning 47-46. They had to have a win to move into the North Section Divisions V playoffs.
Etna was the worst team in league, with a 1-8 record and what should have been a cakewalk turned into battle. Modoc finished with a 5-5 Shasta Cascade League mark.
The Braves started well, leading 12-6 in the first period, but Etna roared back with an 18 point second period to tie the game at 24. The Lions took a 40-38 lead after three and Modoc put up nine to the Lion’s six in the fourth.
Brett Boudreaux led with 20 points and Brandon Bains added 15.
Modoc’s girl’s varsity had little trouble at Etna, winning 56-47 after taking a 13-5 first quarter lead and leading 23-20 at halftime. Modoc led 38-32 after three and put up 18 to Etna’s 15 in the fourth.
Monica Eppler led the scoring with 16 points; Cheyenne King added 12 and Rochelle Keller had nine.
The Modoc junior varsity girl’s lost to Etna 53-34 Friday night. Etna took a 21-2 lead in the first and led 31-15 at half. The Braves played better in the second half, scoring 19 points to Etna’s 22.
Jordan Marquardt led the scoring with 13 points and Kelsey Clay added six.

There is plenty of snow in the high country of Modoc County at the start of March, with more storms predicted.
Last week’s storm dumped 18 inches of new snow in Surprise Valley near Eagleville and the south county received more snow than the north in many cases. Likely had about 14 inches, while Alturas was covered with about five.
Cedar Pass measured 50 inches of snow Feb. 27 and 47 inches of snow with 15.7 inches of water on March 2. In February last year there were 34.6 inches of snow and the long-term average for the area is 34.6 inches.
Adin Mountain had 41 inches of snow on March 2, containing 13.2 inches of water. Last year the site had 34.4 inches and the long-term average is 28.2 inches.
Dismal Swamp had 77 inches of snow March 2, well above last year’s 57 inches. The area had 83 inches on Feb. 27.
Crowder Flat reported 14 inches of snow on March 2, down from 16 inches on Feb. 27.

Methamphetamine use in Modoc County has been a problem for years, and the Modoc Interagency Narcotics Task Force is aiming to make times tougher for users and, more importantly, suppliers.
Task Force Commander Tex Dowdy, Deputy Mike Klassen and Modoc Sheriff Mike Poindexter discussed the issue Tuesday.
Dowdy said the new level of cooperation between the Task Force and the other local law enforcement agencies is making a difference and more arrests involving methamphetamine have been made since the first of the year than in the past few years.
Dowdy stresses methamphetamine and prescription drug abuse (white drugs) is increasing in Modoc County and that’s where much of the Task Force’s efforts will be directed. They will also continue their massive effort at marijuana garden eradication on public lands.
Specifically, Dowdy said local dope houses and dealers will get the most attention from the Task Force and local law enforcement. Stopping the supply lines is the most effective way to disrupt the increased use.

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors indicated Tuesday that they will revert to two meetings per month, on the second and fourth Tuesdays.
Following some confusion at last week’s meeting, the Board sought to change the schedule from a unanimously approved two meetings per month to three. The Board had voted to approve the two meeting schedule on Feb. 8.
This week, four of the five Supervisors said they would go back to the schedule of two meetings per month and tabled an item that would have tied them to the three meeting schedule.

Last week the Modoc Record was invited to listen in on a conference call made by Bob Abbey, BLM director, concerning changes in the nation’s BLM Wild Horse and Burro program.
During the call Abbey outlined some fundamental reforms that will be taking place in how the agency manages their wild horses and burros for the next two years.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will reduce the number of wild horses removed from the range from 10,000, to 7,600 per year. This will maintain the current numbers of wild horses at their present levels.
The agency also will expand the use of fertility controls and increase the number of animals adopted by individuals or groups.
The BLM proposes to significantly increase the number of mares treated with fertility control – from 500 in 2009 to a target of 2,000 in each of the next two years. Director Abbey said the BLM’s ultimate goal is to make various fertility control measures the primary means to maintain healthy population levels.

Lucille Daisy (Royce), (Gysin), Chandler peacefully passed away in her Cedarville home to be with the Lord on February 21, 2011.
Lucille Daisy Chandler was born to John Edward and Georgia Elizabeth Royce on April 26, 1915, in Cedarville, California.
Memorial services were held on Monday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. at the Cedarville Community Church. Potluck fellowship followed in the Community Hall.

Herman Townsend went to be with the creator on March 1, 2011 at the Surprise Valley Hospital in Cedarville, CA. He was 95 years of age. He was born to Albert and Nellie Townsend on March 28, 1915. He attended school in Fort Bidwell, CA then at the age of 13, he attended Sherman Indian School in Riverside, CA from which he graduated as a certified Dry Kiln operator.

While none of Modoc’s wrestlers placed in the North Section CIF Masters tournament, coach Shaun Wood said he was pleased with their efforts.
According to Wood, the Braves drew some of the top wrestlers in the section for their first round opponents. The Masters is double elimination and losing the first round puts a wrestler in an unenviable position.
Heavyweight Collyn Server, who was giving up about 50 pounds to his opponents won two of his last three matches, and losing his first round match-up. Had he won one more match he would have placed.
Colton Reed at 160 pounds went 1-3 in the Masters as did Wyatt Valena at 189 pounds and Jalen Estes at 215 pounds.
Tyler Kuhn at 171 pounds, Austin Kresge at 114 pounds, Benny Bevil at 119 pounds and Ethan Dunn at 125 pounds drew top North Section opponents and were unable to win a match.

Chester beat the Modoc Braves boy’s basketball team 67-44 in Chester last Wednesday, knocking the Braves from the North Section playoffs.
Chester started with a 21-15 first period lead and built that to a 35-23 halftime lead. Modoc fought back to within three points in the third, and Chester outscored the Braves 26-11 in the fourth.
Brett Boudreaux led the Braves with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Cam Anderson had 11 points and Brandon Bains 10.
“I’m excited to see Modoc back in playoff basketball,” said coach Keith Weber. “The boys have got the program going in the right direction.”
Modoc did improve dramatically from last season with they won just one game. They finished the season at 10-10 and will get a lot of help from a junior varsity team that tied for the Shasta Cascade League title.

The wait is almost over for local basketball fans! This weekend, 15 teams from as far away as Los Angeles and Carson City, Nevada and as close as Alturas and Cedarville will gather to compete in the 14th Annual Hoop Wars Tournament.
All games will be played in the Surprise Valley High School gym on Bonner Street in Cedarville. Games are scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The tournament’s final awards will be presented at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Modoc will have a Fair for 2011, but it may be trimmed substantially. That was the proposal made Tuesday night following a public forum on the Fair held in Cedarville.
About 50 people attended the forum, including the Fair staff and Fair Board, and they came with good suggestions and a positive attitude about keeping the Fair alive.
The pending problem is the State of California’s intention of cutting all funding for Fairs throughout the state. Modoc receives about $198,000 in state funding plus a performance rating of $35,000.
The cuts proposed Tuesday were severe and amount to a savings of $121,301. That action will keep the Fair open this year, hoping that alternative funding will be available next year. In addition, the California Fair Alliance and Western Fairs Association have proposed legislation to fund future fairs.
Modoc Fair Manager Dannette DePaul stressed that people need to write letters, call or email the state legislators and Governor to support Fair funding measures. Modoc’s representatives are Senator Ted Gaines and Assemblyman Jim Nielsen.

The population of Modoc County increased to 9,686 according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, who released the figures Tuesday afternoon. That up from the 2000 Census total of 9,449.
The City of Alturas dropped from 2,892 in the year 2000 to 2,827 for 2010. The Census County Division for Alturas (including areas around Alturas) showed 6,511 people.
The Surprise Valley CCD had a population total of 1,265 down from 2000’s 1,301. The individual cities in Surprise Valley had the following populations for 2010: Cedarville 514; Eagleville 59; Lake City 61; and Fort Bidwell 173.
California Pines showed a population of 520, with Canby 315; Adin 272; Likely 63; Lookout 84; Newell 449; New Pine Creek 98 and Daphnedale 184.

According to the Census there are 5,192 housing units in Modoc County with 4,064 occupied and 1,128 vacant.

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday met in closed session concerning the hiring of a Chief Administrative Officer, but took no action other than to continue the hiring process.
Currently, Rick Rudometkin is serving as both CAO and Road Commissioner. He was placed in that position after the last CAO, Mark Charlton, resigned.
Apparently, the Board will bring the issue back at a future meeting. According to officials, the county received between 13-15 applications for position. They have not interviewed all of the applicants and screened those down to a few to interview.

The price for a gallon of regular gas went up to $3.99 per gallon this week in Modoc. That’s not the highest in California, that “honor” belongs to West Covina at $4.79.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded stood at $3.51 Tuesday. The average price for premium was $3.71. Premium in Modoc was $4.21.
A year ago the national average for regular unleaded was $2.73.

Barbara June Burrows, 68, of Alturas, passed away Sunday, March 6, 2011 in Alturas, CA. Memorial services will be held Saturday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at Federated Church in Alturas with Rev. Ben Zandstra.
Barbara was born in Chico, CA on December 29, 1942. She spent 32 years in Modoc County, where she made wonderful friends, during her career with the US Forest Service.
Interment will be at a later date.

Ted L. Vaughn passed away Saturday, March 5, 2011, at his home in Keno, OR, with his family by his side. A service of tribute and love, celebrating Ted’s life will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, March 11, at the Eternal Hills Chapel in Klamath Falls, OR. A reception will follow.
Ted was born July 28, 1937, in Lakeview, OR, to parents Lewis and Gloria (Warren) Vaughn. He was raised in Fort Bidwell, CA where is parents owned and operated a general store and gas station.
Ted attended Surprise Valley schools, graduating from Surprise Valley Union High School in 1956.

Joyce Merrill Robison, 69, of Shelton, Washington passed away peacefully at home in her sleep on February 24, 2011, from complications caused by cancer. She was born July 5, 1941, in Dallas County, Texas. Joyce was an avid quilter, fantastic interior decorator and a private airplane pilot.
As Joyce most identified with California’s Contra Costa County, her ashes will be spread on a beautiful hillside of Mount Diablo in perfect view of the towns where she achieved so many successes and where most of her life was spent. Services and a celebration of life for Joyce will be private, at her request.

Ronald Lee Lafferty, born July 6, 1958, in Lynwood, CA to Billy and Virginia Lafferty, spread the wings of his free spirit on Friday, February 25, 2011, to join our precious Lord in Heaven.
The family is asking that donations to help pay for his funeral expenses and services may be made to a trust account that has been established at Plumas Bank, 510 North Main Street, Alturas, CA. Donations may be made directly at the bank payable to: Ron Lafferty Memorial Fund or mailed to Sandra Lancaster-Lafferty at 515 East 10th Street, Alturas, CA 96101.
A memorial service is still pending and will be announced when the date, time, and place have been determined by Ron’s family.

Charles Allen Crist of Vacaville, beloved husband, father, son, grandfather, great grandfather, great great grandfather, brother and friend passed away on February 21, 2011
Allen and his twin sister, Elsie Alawayne were born to Charles and Elsie Crist in Hutton, Texas on February 9, 1923..
A Celebration of life will be 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 311 Alamo Drive in Vacaville.
Arrangements by Vaca Hills Chapel Funeral Home 707-446-3233 www.vacahillschapel.com

Several Modoc Braves were named to the Shasta Cascade All-league team Monday.
Juniors Brett Boudreaux and Brandon Bains were selected to the boy’s team and Austin Hoy received an honorable mention.
Mike Carpine of Weed was named the Coach of the Year and Weed’s Jake West earned Most Valuable Player honors.
The Braves Monica Eppler, Cheyenne King and Courtney Knoch were named to the girls All-league team and Jodi Boudreaux received an honorable mention. The MVP went to Lauren Vestal of Fall River.
Modoc’s Jennifer Slinkard was named the SCL Coach of the Year.

While it’s not unusual, Modoc High School spring sports – baseball, softball, golf and track – are held hostage by the tenacious winter weather.
Baseball, under coach Tim MacDonnell, was supposed to start practice February 22, but that didn’t happen. Wading practice would have been in order. The team is scheduled to play at Lost River March 15, at Bonanza March 17 and at Henley March 19.
Modoc’s softball under coach Jodi Larranaga was also ready to start practice on Feb. 22 and has the same opening schedule.
Modoc’s golf team, which can play in more inclement weather, a requirement in Modoc, has a Shasta Cascade League match at Trinity March 10 and at Anderson March 17. Harold Montague is the coach.
The Modoc Track team will open with the Burt Williams Invite at Shasta Lake March 26. Wendi Lowrey is the head coach.

The change in ownership of Modoc Medical Center from Modoc County to the Last Frontier Healthcare District is nearing completion and should be on the agenda of the March 22 meeting of the Modoc Board of Supervisors.
While the transition should be orderly and smooth, there are certainly some issues that will create some heartburn for some Supervisors.
Probably the biggest issue is the fact that County will retain and be responsible for the $12,561,928.66 negative balance in the Treasury. That “debt” was incurred by the County over about a decade as it continued to pay MMC bills as the hospital lost money. That debt has also put the county in a bind, since it does not have the funds readily available to reimburse some restricted fund departments. The state has “ordered” the County to replace those funds “as soon as possible.”
A transition team, consisting for Hospital Board members and County Representatives has been working on the transition agreements for months. Approval was tabled at the March 10 meeting and continued to the March 22 meeting.

It was understood that the County would retain the debt when the voters approved formation the district and the per person property tax of $195 per year in August. The District is not responsible for making payments to the County to retire that debt. Once the transition is complete, the County will have no ties or management status at the hospital.

SV geothermal project moves forward at state level

Modoc County Planner Kim Hunter received notice March 15 that the pre-application for the Surprise Valley Geothermal project grant is eligible to compete in the final application process.
According to the California Energy Commission’s Geothermal Resource Development Account, “The project you propose is eligible for funding, and we conclude your proposal, as presented in the pre-application, is competitive in this solicitation. You are encouraged to submit a final application.”

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors agreed in February that the County could be lead agency for a potential grant on a major geothermal project in Surprise Valley.

Modoc building activity near nothing

February was not a good month for building in either Modoc County or the City of Alturas. In fact, it was possibly a record low for building activity.
The County issued just two building permits for February, with an estimated value of $5,575. The City issued just one permit valued at $111. For math lovers, that’s a total of $5,686 in building activity for the entire month.

One new home permit with an estimated value of over $300,000 inflated the value of five Modoc County Building permits in January, which totaled $374,129.

March snows increase snowpack

Spring may be showing up on Sunday, but winter continues to hit Modoc’s high country hard as snow keeps piling up.
On March 15, Cedar Pass’s Snotel site showed 62 inches of snow containing 20.7 inches of water. That’s an increase from March 3’s 47 inches of snow. It’s also nearly double the average of 34.6 inches. Update: The storm Tuesday and Wednesday added three inches to the snowpack at Cedar Pass, making it 65 inches yesterday morning with 21.5 inches of water. More storms are projected throughout the weekend.
Adin Mountain had 41 inches of snow with 15 inches of water March 15, the same depth as on March 3, but above the water content of 13.2 inches. The average for Adin is 28.2 inches of snow.
Dismal Swamp showed 84 inches of snow March 15 with 31.7 inches of water. That compares to March 2 when it had 77 inches
Crowder Flat sill has 10 inches of snow containing 4.7 inches of water. That’s down from 14 inches on March 2.

In addition, the ground in Modoc is pretty well saturated with the rain and standing water is clearly visible in most fields and pastures.

Squirrels in jeopardy in Surprise Valley

Surprise Valley ground squirrels are in serious jeopardy this Saturday as hunters invade for the 20th Annual Squirrel Round-up.
There’s no lack of squirrels ravenous after months of hibernation. And that can only mean one thing – the hunters will also arrive soon, ready to do battle before enjoying a social evening hosted by members of the Surprise Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Accoridong to SV Chamber President Mary Cook-Davis s over 110 participants from throughout California, Oregon and Nevada have registered for the 20th Annual “Squirrel Round-Up”.
Local fields will serve as the site of everything from casual plinking to high-tech combat as hunters help ranchers thin the ranks of the extremely destructive rodents that ravage their acreage and cause serious injuries to cattle and horses that stumble into their burrows.

Obituaries:

Diane Howard

The Bob Howard family would like to invite everyone who would like to join them in a celebration of the life of Diane Howard. The event will be held at the Brass Rail Restaurant at 6:00 p.m. on March 26 with a no host bar and hors d’oeuvres. This is to be a joyous occasion, so please check your tears and long faces at the door. It’s not dress up, so come as you are. It’s just good friends and family raising a glass to a very special lady.

Robert Alwyn Warner

Robert Alwyn Warner passed away March 11, 2011, at Redding Medical Center after a tragic accident in Yreka, CA. Robert was born in Cass City, MI, in 1934, the oldest son of Hilton Warner and Beryl Brackenbury
A celebration of his life will be held at the old St. Marks Church on the corner of Lane and Fourth Streets in Yreka at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 19, 2011. Food and stories of Bob are welcome.

Tammy Fuqua

A Memorial Service for Tammy Fuqua, a resident of Alturas, is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 19, 2011, at 11 a.m. at the Alturas Baptist Church on West Fourth St., Alturas. Minister Evangelist Bobbi Jean Melbourn will lead the service to comfort friends, family. Please call 530-640-3124 to confirm service time/date.

Tammy was born June 30, 1968, in Napa Valley, CA. The daughter of Ray and Joyce Fuqua, she is survived by her parents, her older brother Clifford and her two daughters Sarah, 21 and Rebecca Modesto, 24 of Merced, CA. Tami and daughter Rebecca were former Modoc Estates residents for 15 years. Tammy will not be forgotten.

Sports

300 youth wrestlers invade Modoc

About 300 youth wrestlers from throughout the region invaded the Griswold Gym Saturday for the annual youth wrestling tournament.
“Boy, with gas prices the way they are now, I didn’t think people would travel,” said coach Shaun Wood. “But we had kids from Weed, Etna, Crane, Chester, Reno, Los Molinos, Chiloquin, Lakeview and Tulelake.”
The wrestling started at 9 a.m. and finished up at 4 p.m.
“It was a full day,” said Wood. “We couldn’t have done it without the help of parents, volunteers and the high school wrestlers, who refereed the tournament.”
The Modoc Youth wrestlers head to Tulelake this Saturday.
Local results for the Modoc tourney are as follows:
First Place: Chantz Albrecht, Tristen Osborne, Alex Valencia, Sean Anderson, Anthony James, Josh Vierra, Wyatt Larranaga, Chance Galvin, Hunter Williams, Case Picotte, Coltin Smith Connor Boyle, Calvin Boyle, Deaven Niacum, Zeik Christensen, Sean Jones, Chris Ware, Tytus Potap, Carter Smith, D.J. Wellemeyer, and T.J. Robbins.
Second Place: Alex Valencia, Jarett Royce, Brandon Hays, Scott Lewis, Josh Vierra, Wyatt Larranaga, Titus Christensen (two), Gage Northrup, Timmy Chainey, Adam Wisser, Wesley Gray, Dillon Valencia (two), Bing Christensen, Basil Vickerman, and Logan McLaughlin.
Third Place: Kyle Royce, Chantz Albrecht, Jess Picotte, Brady Mills, Lane Galvin, Jordan Royce, Scott Lewis, Nash Warnock, Hardy Ingraham, James Lloyd, John Thompson, Caleb Sittig, Tre Larranaga, Lance Jayo, Christian Givan, Jacob Worch, and Body Northrup.

Fourth Place: Tim Reed (two), Vivian Hamm, Tom Chainey, Chris Swindle, Robert Dowdy, Marlehna Torres, Leonard McLaughlin, Isaac Farmer, Christian Wisser, Tre Larranaga, Brett Waterman, Kylee Singleton, Trevor Sailors, Katelyn, and Richard Long.

Modoc wins opening golf match

The Modoc Braves won their opening golf match of the season at Trinity March 10.
The Braves won both nine-hole matches, shooting a 208 and 206. Trinity was second shooting 211-214, while Weed was third at 222-220, Fall River shot 244-234, Mt. Shasta 246-256 and Etna was disqualified.

Modoc’s Trent McQuarrie had the best day for Modoc shooting a 73 on the par 62 Trinity Alps course. Jonathan Morgan shot 79, Bradley Widby 82, Matthew Weber 86, Alex McQuarrie 93 and Garret Larsen 128.

Weather stalls diamond sports

The nasty weather over the past two weeks has slowed down and cancelled softball and baseball games for Modoc High School. And practice, well that’s been hit and miss and mostly inside.
Both the softball and baseball fields are pretty much underwater at the moment with no relief in sight.
Softball coach Jodie Larranaga comes into the year with a strong team, expecting the challenge for the Shasta Cascade League title. Two games have already been canceled due to weather this season, but the braves are set to go to Henley Saturday and have home game against Big Valley March 22.
The softball roster includes: Rochelle Keller, Nicole Hall, Ashlie Conner, Monica Eppler, Cheyenne King, Telese Dowdy, Dorothy Long, Courtney Knoch, Jodi Boudreaux, Morgan Bagwell, Kristen reed, Lily Hallmark and Valeria Froeming.
Modoc’s baseball squad is at Henley March 19 and hosts Big Valley March 22. Both those games are weather-dependent.

Coach Tim MacDonnell is expecting a solid season this year. The roster is as follows: Ty Hammerness, Tre Hawes, Brett Boudreaux, Tyler Kuhn, Webb Dunn, Austin Carreker, Wyatt Valena, Tee Wilson, Grady Server, Jonathan Jones, Drew Culp, Jalen Estes, Justin Mcdaniel, Patrick Danley, Blake Williams, Colby McAdams, and Ben Jones.

Modoc runners dominate at Nor-Cal Mile Championships

On March 5, 34 Modoc Middle and Alturas Elementary School runners competed against 190 other runners from the north state at the Nor-Cal Mile Championships.
Competing against 25 other teams ranging from first through eighth grade, Modoc teams won the sixth-eighth grade overall championship, won the kindergarten-second grade championship and were second in the third-fifth grade championship.
Besides winning the two-team championships, Modoc Middle School runner Anthony James was the overall male winner. Jacklyn Vansickle was the female winner in the girls kindergarten-second division.
Other medal winners were Daniel Bratton, Max Blankenship, Ruben Orozco, Tucker Lowrey, Jeff Carey, Jacklyn Vansickle, Kayleen Miner, Emily Lowrey, and Beth Derner. Overall the runners combined to win $850 of the possible $1,300 in prize money.

March 24th, 2011

News

Modoc hospital takes hit from state

The problem with the California state budget is coming home to roost for Modoc Medical Center.
MMC Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that hospitals have hit a roadblock in the battle to exempt themselves from the State’s budget cuts.
“As of last week, the word is that the state will proceed with 23-25 percent rate cuts on the skilled nursing facilities,” she explained. “For us, that means there will be a hit for approximately $1.2 million as an annual number beginning June 1.”
In the recent past, small rural hospitals have been exempt for the rate cuts, but not this year, Derner said.

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Times lean, but City has balanced budget

While times are lean, the City of Alturas remains fiscally sound for the year.
Mayor John Dederick said with 75 percent of the fiscal year done, the budget is on track to end the year balanced. That’s more than a lot of Mayors in California can say at this time.
“I attribute the City’s success to an involved City Council, knowledgeable, dedicated Department Heads and employees,” he said.
According to Dederick, the 2010 City budget is $6,871,844, and the General Fund portion of that is $1,257,262. The General Fund portion has dropped from last year’s $1,484,710.
The biggest portion of the City’s General Fund comes from sales taxes, not property taxes. That revenue has dipped this year to $560,000, still accounting for 45 percent of the General Fund. In 2008, the sales tax brought in $700,000. The City Property Tax revenue for 2010 is $340,000.

Dederick explained that the State gets the largest percentage of property tax, but the county gets 25 percent of Modoc’s share and the City just three percent.

Heavywater content causes flood concern

More snow is expected over the next few days in Modoc, which will add to an already heavy pack in the mountains. The key to the latest measurements is the large amount of water in the snowpack.
A warm spring, especially a spring rain, could create some flooding issues in this area.
On March 23, Cedar Pass’s Snotel site showed 71 inches of snow containing 24.7 inches of water. The water content increased by about four inches since last week. That’s an increase from March 3’s 47 inches of snow. It’s also more than double the average of 34.6 inches.
Adin Mountain had 50 inches of snow with over 15 inches of water this week. The exact water content was not posted. The average for Adin is 28.2 inches of snow.
Dismal Swamp is buried with 110 inches of snow containing an astounding 37 inches of water. Last week it had 84 inches of snow March 15 with 31.7 inches of water. Long time Modoc residents are cautiously predicting that water will again be a part of Goose Lake. It has been nearly dry.
Crowder Flat sill has 13 inches of snow containing 5.4 inches of water.
Unofficial, but reliable sources, state that Medicine Lake now has 10 feet of snow.

Obituaries:

Opal Lee Hammack

Longtime resident Opal Lee Hammack passed away unexpectedly at her Alturas home on March 18, 2011. Memorial services were held Tuesday, March 22 at 2 p.m. at Kerr Mortuary in Alturas.
Opal was born March 1, 1935, in Battiest, Oklahoma, now known as Enid, OK today. The family made their way to Modoc County, when Opal was about 10 years old. Her father James Drake died in a logging accident when she was young.
Condolences may be sent to 113 W. Henderson St., Alturas, CA 96101.

Milo Peppredine

Milo Thomas Pepperdine passed away peacefully in Renown Medical Center in Reno, Nevada on March 18, 2011, with his family by his side. He was born to Ethel A. Anderson Jameson and Milo Thomas Jameson, Sr. on April 27, 1923, in Eureka, California.
Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the Likely Fire Hall on Saturday, March 26, 2011 with interment in the Likely Cemetery. There will be a potluck fellowship to follow at the Likely Fire Hall.

Diane Howard

Sports

Modoc wrestlers place in Tulelake

First: Basil Vickerman, Bing Christensen, Troy Lewis, Zeik Christensen, Jimmy Thomason, Lance Burrows, Tytus Potap, Chris Ware, Tre Larranaga, Brandon Hays (two), Josh Vierria, Alex Valencia (two), Jarett Royce, Anthony James, Blair Joanette, Wyatt Larranaga, and Scott Lewis (two).
Second: Tristen Osborne, Dillon Valencia, Trevor Sailors, Wes Gray, Logan McLaughlin, Case Picotte, Adam Wisser, Gage Northrup, Marleanna Torres, Lane Galvin, Chance Galvin, Titus Christensen, Nash Warnock, Christian Wisser, and Jordan Royce.
Third: Boden Northrup, Lance Jayo, Chris Ware, Tim Reed, Jess Picotte, Leonard McLaughlin, Kyle Royce, Isaac Farmer, and Chris Swindle.
Fourth: Hunter Williams, Robert Dowdy, Sean Anderson, John Thomason, James Lloyd, Hardy Ingram, Jesus Torres, David Wheeler, and Vivian Hamm

March 31st, 2011

News

Quick response
THE ALTURAS FIRE DEPARMENT responded to a house fire at the Alan Kiser residence last Thursday. The fire was apparently caused by an electrical problem. Kiser had initially called Pacific Power because of power issues, but when the electric company arrived, smoke was seen coming out from under the eaves. The fire had started in a bedroom. Sixteen firefighters were on scene for about an hour. According to the AFD, there was extensive damage to the bedroom and major smoke damage throughout the home. There were no injuries.

County, city meet on impending 9-1-1 crisis

Currently Modoc County is blessed with a very efficient 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch System, handled out of the Modoc County Sheriff’s office.
But that may take a turn for the worse at the end of June, unless the County Board of Supervisors-Alturas City Council workshop tonight can come up with some options. That meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall in Alturas. Neither City nor County officials are wholly optimistic a resolution can be found.
The one thing everyone agrees with, is that the problem is not the fault of the Sheriff’s Office under Mike Poindexter. He inherited a dispatch center without an approved revenue source. There was a plan offered by former Sheriff Mark Gentry, but it was never formally implemented or agreed to by the entities using the dispatch service.
And therein lies the current problem. Some entities have agreed to share in the cost, while others are reluctant, or not in a financial position, to make the payments.

Spring runoff could fill many lakes

There is still plenty of snow in the high mountains of Modoc, and in most cases well more than average snow and water content in lower areas. Even parched Goose Lake is filling up with water.
On March 27, Cedar Pass’s Snotel site showed 75 inches of snow and Wednesday it still had 72 inches of snow with 25 inches of water. The average of that area is 34.6 inches.
Adin Mountain had 57 inches of snow this week. It dipped to 54 inches yesterday. The exact water content was not posted. The average for Adin is 28.2 inches of snow.
Dismal Swamp got 14 inches of new snow since last week and now has 119 inches containing 41 inches of water. On March 28 it showed 124 inches of snow.
Crowder Flat still has 14 inches of snow containing 6.3 inches of water.

Modoc County RAC looking for private sector projects

The Modoc County Resource Advisory Committee is soliciting project proposals for funding under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.
Modoc County RAC Chairman Sean Curtis said the RAC is looking for more private sector generated projects for this round of funding. He also stresses this may be the last round of funding for the RAC, as no one yet knows whether the Secure Schools Act will be continued.
Curtis said there have been agency-generated project proposals for this year, but there remains a need for creative and valuable projects from the private sector that can enhance or improve service in a variety of areas.
He said the number of private sector projects submitted this year is the fewest the RAC has seen. While the private sector projects can be off-forest, they do require a forest buy in. Curtis would be happy to explain or discuss projects with anyone interested in submitting one.
The application process will require a two-page concept paper or pre-application. Pre-applications due date has been extended from February 28, 2011 to May 2, 2011. Please send applications to: Modoc County RAC, c/o Modoc National Forest, 800 West 12th Street, Alturas, CA 96101, Attn: Stephen Riley.

Obituaries:

Minerva C. Hess
Minerva Christina Hess passed away at Surprise Valley Hospital on March 24, 2011. She was born to Walter and Carrie Scott on April 4, 1916, in Gridley, CA. Minerva was a lifetime member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Services were held at the Church of Jesus Christ at 13th and Main Streets, Alturas on March 28, 2011.
Donations may be made to Surprise Valley Hospital District, P.O. Box 246, Cedarville, CA 96104.

Kerry Vern Minto
Kerry Vern Minto passed away in Eagleville, CA on March 24, 2011 at the age of 47.
Kerry was born in Chico, CA August 13, 1963, to Merril and Sharlene Minto. He attended Chico schools, graduating from Chico High School in 1982.
There will be a Memorial Gathering in Kerry’s memory, Saturday, April 2 at 11 a.m. at the Eagleville Community Hall, with a potluck social.
The family requests that anyone wishing to make a donation in Kerry’s name, do so to the Surprise Valley Health Care District or charity of their choice.

Margaret Landrith
Margaret Jean Miller Landrith died March 24, 2011, in Moscow, Idaho. Margaret was born in Lakeview, Oregon on August 12, 1925, to David and Hazel Miller. Margaret grew up in Davis Creek, CA, where she played a vital role in her community for years.
A Memorial Service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 18, 2011, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Lakeview, OR, followed by burial in the Davis Creek Cemetery, followed by a potluck luncheon and time of remembrance at the Davis Creek Grange Hall.

Effie B. Myers
Adin resident Effie Beatrice Myers, 78, passed away on March 22, 2011 at Mayers Memorial Hospital, Fall River Mills, CA. Mrs. Myers and her husband James had moved from Dixon, CA to Adin in 1896.
A native of Magazine, Arkansas, she was born on May 28, 1932. MrsPrivate family services will be held at a later date with burial at Pine Grove Cemetery in McArthur, CA. Memorials may be made to any charity of choice. Condolences may be posted at www.mcdonaldschapel.com

Elvira G. Picotte
Alturas resident Elvira Guerrero Picotte passed away March 28, 2011, in Alturas, CA. She was born in Ft. Collins, CO and celebrated her 91st birthday on March 6. Services are pending and will be held at a future date. Obituary to follow.

Elizabeth June Porter
A Memorial service for Elizabeth June Porter will be held April 8, 2011, at 2 p.m. at Kerr Mortuary, Alturas, CA. Mrs. Porter passed away November 29, 2010 in Alturas.
Elizabeth June Anderson was born on June 18, 1927, to May and Round Anderson in New Pine Creek, Oregon
Memorial donations may be sent to Service Clubs, Inc. for the Alturas Rotary Youth Park, 326 N. Main St., Alturas, CA 96101.

Fred W. Butler
Former Alturas resident Fred William Butler, 79 years of age of Challis, Idaho passed away on Friday, March 11, 2011, at home. Fred was born the eldest of seven children on January 3, 1932 to Floyd and Wortha (Hill) Butler in Frederick, Oklahoma.
He was raised and attended school in Oklahoma and later resided in Merrill, Oregon and then Alturas, California before moving to Challis, Idaho in 2006.
Graveside services will be held on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. at the Eternals Hills Memorial Gardens Cemetery.

Sports

Modoc beats Tulelake in pair

Modoc’s baseball team beat the Tulelake Honkers in a double header Tuesday, 6-1 and 8-5. They meet Etna at home Friday, with games starting at 2 p.m.
Modoc opened the first game with a 3-0 first inning lead and led 5-0 in the second. The Braves led 6-0 in the fifth and Tulelake scored one run in the sixth.
Brett Boudreaux got the win, pitching three innings, allowing one hit and striking out six. He was relieved by Tyler Hammerness who went four innings, allowing two hits, fanning six and walking three.
Grady Server, Hammerness, Jalen Estes and Wyatt Valena each had a hit for the Braves.
The Braves Tyler Kuhn got the win in the nightcap, going three innings, allowing two runs and two hits; struck out four and walked three. He was relieved by Drew Culp who allowed three runs in four innings, struck out six, gave up six hits and walked four.
Webb Dunn led the hitters, going 3-for-4, with Valena 2-4, and Boudreaux, Estes and Hammerness all 2-3.

Braves won opening softball games

It took about a month, but the Modoc Braves finally got to play a softball game Tuesday.
According to coach Jodie Larranaga the rustiness showed early, but Modoc beat Tulelake in a doublebill 5-3 and 15-5.
Ashley Conner got the win in the opener, striking out eight, walking two and allowing five hits. Rochelle Keller led the offense going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in. Cheyenne King also had two RBI. Both hitters had a double.
The Braves cruised in the second game behind the pitching of Conner, who had six strikeouts, four walks and allowed five hits.
Courtney Knoch and King went 3-for-3 at the plate, while Keller was 3-for-4. Monica Eppler 2-for-3, Dowdy 2-for-2, Conner 2-for-4 and Valerie Froeming 1-1. Knoch, King and Keller had doubles.
The Braves face Etna here in a Shasta Cascade League game Friday, starting at 2 p.m.

Yes, there are spring sports

Although you wouldn’t know it, there are spring sports going on in Modoc. This week, there might even be some games. Up to this point, most games or events have been canceled because of the wet and cold weather.
In baseball and softball, the Braves are scheduled to open Shasta Cascade League play with a home game against Etna, April 1. Game time is 2 p.m. for both teams and both are double-headers.
The golf team is scheduled for a home match at Arrowhead April 12 and will go to Fall River April 14.
Modoc’s track team is scheduled for the Bonanza Twilight meet April 15 and the Burney Invitational April 22.

Pair of Braves on All-Star team

A pair of Modoc Braves was selected to compete in the Lion’s Club annual senior All-Star game, April 3, at Shasta College in Redding.
Rochelle Keller was named to the girl’s team and that game will start at 4 p.m. Austin Hoy was named to the boy’s team and that game will start at 6 p.m. Both players had outstanding seasons for Modoc. Representing Tulelake will be Gabriella Rascon and Dominick Hernandez.

April 7th, 2011

News

9-1-1 workshop fails to bring dispatch rescue

The possibility of rescuing the emergency dispatch system in Modoc County
went from serious to critical condition following last Thursday’s workshop between the Modoc County Board of Supervisors and the Alturas City Council.
The only thing that was clear was a serious difference of opinion, probably one that cannot be bridged, between the County and City. The takeaway is that the City of Alturas and other agencies will investigate channels to do their own dispatching.
Modoc Sheriff Mike Poindexter stated that if other agencies, especially the major users, are unable or unwilling to pay for the service, then his office will go back to just dispatching itself. That’s not the result he’d like to see, but he feels he has no other option. He said his 2011-12 budget, in its preliminary stages, is looking “grim.”
The Sheriff’s Office, the current dispatch center for 23 different entities and agencies in Modoc, will simply go back to dispatching for its operations. The SO would answer 9-1-1 calls and forward those calls to the agencies. All of those people involved agree the system will be less efficient.

Water watch

GOOSE LAKE is filling up with water, although it still has a ways to go. It looks much better than it has in the recent past. The good news is there is still plenty of snowpack in Modoc’s mountains.
Cedar Pass’s Snotel site showed 61 inches of snow with 24.2 inches of water April 6. The average of that area is 34.6 inches.
Adin Mountain had 43 inches of snow this week. The exact water content was not posted. The average for Adin is 28.2 inches of snow.
Dismal Swamp now has 105 inches containing 42.7 inches of water. On March 28 it showed 124 inches of snow.
Crowder Flat snow has melted down to two inches with 1.7 inches of water.

Governor signs bill to move some prisoners to county jails

Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter is keeping a wary eye on a bill just signed by Governor Jerry Brown that could move some state prisoners to county jails.
While he’s not objecting to housing some prisoners, the state is going to have to cover the costs, or it could be devastating.
By its terms, AB109 will not go into effect until a community corrections grant program is created by statute and funding is appropriated. "I will not sign any legislation that would seek to implement this legislation without the necessary funding," Brown said.
Under AB 109: no inmates currently in state prison will be released early; all felons sent to state prison will continue to serve their entire sentence; all felons who are convicted of a serious or violent offense - including sex offenders and child molesters - will go to state prison; felons who are not eligible for state prison can serve their sentence at the local level.
One of the main problems now is that Republicans in the state legislature have refused to allowed the people of the state to vote on extending some existing taxes to help balance the state budget as well as take care of some public safety issues.

Hospital CEO reports changes

Modoc Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner updated the Hospital District Board of Directors on several issues during the April 6 meeting.
“So far, it appears that the state will continue with its MediCal cut to skilled nursing facilities,” she reiterated. “Projections approximate 25 percent of current rates (which is technically factored back to a 10 percent cut going back to 2008-09 rates). The estimate is a $1.2 million hit to MMC.”
She also had a phone conference with U.S. Congressman Tom McClintock on March 25.
“We expressed concerns that Critical Access Hospital’s face,” she said. “His outlook at the federal level was very grim. I asked for a progress update on Medicare interest rates at 11 percent. He said they would have to check and let me know.”
She also reported that notice was given to vacate the old Adin Fire Station by April 30. The ambulances will move to the new fire station, saving $4,800 in annual rent plus utilities.
In addition, Dr. Chuck Colas’s last day is April 22, 2011. He’s moving.
“It is possible we might have to bring the ambulance portion in house,” she said.

Obituaries:
Helen Server
Helen Marie (Strange) Server passed away on Saturday, March 26, 2011, at her home in Prescott Valley with family members at her bedside. She was born in Ely, Nevada, on December 27, 1934
Her funeral services were held on Thursday, March 31, 2011, at St. Germaine Catholic Church in Prescott Valley and burial was at Heritage Memorial Cemetery in Prescott Valley. If a donation is being considered, the Saint Vincent DePaul Society of the Catholic Church would be Helen’s preference.

James Sheld
James Franklin Sheld of Alturas, CA passed away at home on March 29, 2011. He was 77 years of age. Born in Chino, CA on June 30, 1933, “Jim” as he was known, had many siblings.
Services will be private. “With all our love and prayers, be at rest and see ya soon. We love you and miss you, Dad.”

June Porter
A Memorial service for Elizabeth June Porter will be held April 8, 2011, at 2 p.m. at Kerr Mortuary, Alturas, CA. Mrs. Porter passed away November 29, 2010 in Alturas.
Memorial donations may be sent to Service Clubs, Inc. for the Alturas Rotary Youth Park, 326 N. Main St., Alturas, CA 96101.

Helen V. Graham
A graveside service will be held at 1p.m April 8, 2011, at Hillside Cemetery in Nubieber, CA. A potluck will follow the service at the Grace Bible Church.
Helen Graham was 94 and died March 31, 2011. She was born March 19, 1917, in Los Angeles, CA. Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Bible Youth Center, P.O. Box 187, Bieber, CA

Sports

Baseball opens with pair of SCL wins

The Modoc baseball team had to score in the last innings to win, but beat Etna twice Friday, 6-5 and 11-10, to open the Shasta Cascade League loop. They travel to Fall River April 12.
Etna took an early 1-0 lead in the first and went up 3-0 in the third. Modoc cut the score to 3-1 in the fourth and Etna bumped it to 4-1 in the top of the fifth. The Braves added three runs in the sixth to tie it and took the lead when Boudreaux drove in two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Etna scored one in the seventh but fell one run short.
The second game turned out to be a slug and run fest as Modoc slammed 17 hits for 11 runs and Etna scored 10 runs on 11 hits.
The Braves started with a 2-0 lead in the first and added one in the second, after Etna had taken a 4-2 lead, The Lions went up 6-4 in the third and then 9-4 in the fourth. Modoc trimmed the lead to 9-5 in the fifth and Modoc upped it to 10-5 in the sixth, before the Braves exploded to take the lead with a six-run sixth and held on for the win.

Braves drop opening SCL games

Modoc’s softball team dropped the opening two games of the Shasta Cascade League to Etna Friday in Alturas. The Braves head to Fall River April 12.
Etna won the first game 8-2, with Ashlie Conner getting the loss. She allowed 14 hits, struck out one and walked one.
Etna won the second game 4-0, with Conner again getting the loss. She allowed five hits, struck out four and allowed two walks. Monica Eppler led the offense, going 2-for-3, while Dorothy Long slammed one double and Keller, King and Courtney Knoch each had a hit.

Modoc runner sets Nor-Cal record

Alturas Elementary School Fourth Grader Tucker Lowrey recently set an age group record, ages 1-9, in the Nor-Cal three-mile championships. He ran an impressive time of 22 minutes, 10 seconds, breaking the old mark by nearly a minute. Mason said Lowrey is a hard worker who has a very bright future as a distance runner. Other runners who broke into the top five all time list for their age groups were Mason and Ruben Martinez, while Jeff Gouveia, Paden Smith, Jordan Wade, Hailey Hopkins, Kayleen Miner, Beth Derner, Emily Lowrey, Haley McPeek, Madelyn Binning, Cindy Cohen and Mattee Vickerman broke into the top 20 all time.

April 14th, 2011

News

Ft. Bidwell assault victim not expected to live

The victim of a vicious assault in Ft. Bidwell early Saturday morning is on life support and is not expected to live.
The victim, Francisco Iracheta from Oregon, was transported by ambulance to Surprise Valley Hospital. He was treated and subsequently transported by air ambulance to Redding. Iracheta had reportedly been beaten to the point of unconsciousness.
Update Wednesday: All four suspects in the case are now in custody and charged with attempted murder. Sasha Leton Cress was arrested by Modoc Sheriff’s Deputies in Ft. Bidwell Tuesday and is in custody in the Modoc County Jail, while Alden Alan Contreras, Miguel Guerrero Zarate and Crystal Denae Wilson turned themselves in to authorities in Reno and are in custody there. There are no other suspects in the case.
“Early details are sketchy, but it appears that several people related to the incident including Francisco Iracheta, all from Oregon, were staying with friends in Ft. Bidwell while applying for work with the Ruby Pipeline,” said Modoc Sheriff Mike Poindexter. “Mr. Iracheta remains hospitalized in Redding; he is not expected to survive his injuries.”

More odd twists in CAO issue

Just when people think the Modoc County Board of Supervisors could not get any weirder, the Board steps up and proves it can.
On Tuesday an agenda item put on by Supervisor Geri Byrne read: “Appoint a committee to negotiate a contract to hire Chester Robertson in Administrative Services.”
Chester Robertson is currently the Public Works Director for the City of Alturas and did apply for the Chief Administrator’s position, along with several others months ago. The Board has interviewed him, but not offered a position.
Both Supervisors Jeff Bullock and Patricia Cantrall objected to the agenda item, saying correctly that the board had not decided to hire anyone and putting a contract negotiation issue on the agenda was “putting the cart before the horse.”
They asked that the agenda item be removed for the meeting. Supervisors Byrne, Dave Allan and Shorty Crabtree voted to leave the agenda item on the table.
County Council John Kenney said there probably wasn’t anything illegal about the agenda item, but stressed the Board needed to consider two issues, first the selection off a person to hire, which would be done in closed session, and second, negotiating a contract with that person which would be announced in open session.
Bullock stressed time and time again that the selection had not be made by the full Board and having one or two Supervisors negotiating a contract with anyone was out of line.

Lions take 64 Bare Ranch sheep

The Bare Ranch, Estill Ranches LLC, located at the south end of Surprise Valley on the California/Nevada border lost 52 marked and turned out lambs, plus 12 ewes due to mountain lions attacking the herd.
“We had a herder with them and he had his dog, but we still lost a total of 64 sheep in one night,” said Lani Estill, one of the ranches owners.
The value of the sheep killed is estimated to be $13,400.
Although adult lions are usually solitary hunters, family groups will hunt together as it appears happened in this case.
Nevada has a year round hunting season on lions. In California hunting of lions is prohibited. A depredation permit can be issued if the lions are causing harm to livestock or humans.
Because the incident occurred on the California and Nevada border, trappers were called from both states and six lions were taken.

NOAA mulls listing of Klamath Chinook

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced this week that it will decide whether to list Chinook salmon in the Upper Klamath and Trinity rivers basin as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
The agency found that a petition to list the fish contained substantial scientific information that warrants federal review.
NOAA’s Fisheries Service received the petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, Oregon Wild, Environmental Protection Information Center and the Latch Company in January 28. Under the ESA, if a petition presents substantial scientific information, a status review of the species must be conducted by a biological review team of federal, state and academic experts.
As a part of the review, NOAA is asking the public for information pertaining to this species and its habitat to assist in completing the status review. The review team composed of scientists with diverse backgrounds, will use the best available scientific and commercial information to evaluate the status of the species.
NOAA will make a listing finding on January 28, 2012, which will be published in the Federal Register. If listing is recommended, a proposed rule will be published requesting public comment on the proposed listing and any proposed critical habitat.

No resolve in 9-1-1 dispatch debate

There has been no lack of debate on the Modoc 9-1-1 dispatch issue, but the resolution to the problem remains as distant as ever. And following Tuesday’s Supervisors’ meeting, the gap may have actually widened.
Supervisor Patricia Cantrall said she wanted to see the dispatch system remain the way it is, saying it works very well now, it saves lives and she would hate to do without it. Funding is the overriding issue.
She understands the City of Alturas Police and Fire Department may want to do their own dispatch, and wondered then if they would also provide their own jail.
Alturas Mayor John Dederick said the City would prefer to have the dispatch system remain as it is now, saying the dispatch center serves the public not agencies. He said City residents are also County residents and should be provided the same services.
The major issue comes down to who pays for the dispatch service. The County believes that those entities that use the service should also cough up funding. The City, for its part, says City taxes already go to the County to pay for the service.
Sheriff Mike Poindexter, who inherited the dispatch center as part of his department doesn’t believe it should be a Sheriff’s Office function. He would rather see a stand-alone dispatch center. He said the Sheriff’s Office simply can’t afford to fund the center, and is facing a huge budget shortfall this next year.

Death Notice

Lois “Gertie” Golden

Lois Gertrude “Gertie” Golden, age 95, passed away at Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls, Oregon on Friday, April 8, 2011. Services are pending.

Sports

Baseball also splits with Bulldogs

The Braves baseball team won the opening game Tuesday against Fall River’s Bulldogs 7-1, but dropped the nightcap 6-4.
Brett Boudreaux was on the mound for the win the opener, going all seven innings, allowing one run on six hits, fanned eight and walked three. He also led the offense going 3-4. Tee Wilson doubled in the game and Jalen Estes had a two-run homer.
In the second game, Tyler Kuhn got the loss. He went all seven, allowing six runs on seven hits, struck out nine and walked seven.
Wyatt Valena went 3-4 at the plate and he, Webb Dunn, and Wilson doubled. Wilson and Grady Server knocked in two runs each.
Modoc started with a 4-2 lead in the first inning, but gave up four runs in the bottom of the sixth and could not recover.

Softball splits in pair with Fall River

Modoc’s softball team split in a double header at Fall River Tuesday, winning the first game 7-4 and losing the second, 9-6.
Ashlie Conner got the win in the opening game, striking out two, allowing 11 hits and walking five. Monica Eppler and Telese Dowdy led the hitting going 3-4, while Conner, Rochelle Keller and Cheyenne King were each 2-4.
I was very pleased with the team; they came out strong, making great defensive plays and batting well,” said coach Jodie Larranaga. “Dorothy Long made several nice plays in left field.”
Conner got the loss in the second game, going four innings, fanning two and allowing five hits. Morgan Bagwell relieved her and allowed one hit, walked six and struck out one.
Courtney Knoch and Bagwell went 3-3 at the plate, while Long was 3-4, Conner and Jodie Boudreaux 2-4 and Kristen Reed 1-1.
“We struggled early in the game and Fall River was able to hit a home run in the second inning, putting them up 4-0,” said Larranaga. “In the fifth, we got into some pitching trouble and allowed four unearned runs with passed balls, putting us down 9-3. We fought back to 9-6 in sixth. I was proud of the girls for not giving up.”
The Braves play at Henley Tuesday.

Modoc High School Golf Results

Modoc’s Golf team played Lakeview at Arrowhead Golf Course. Lakeview only had a two-man team.
Modoc won with a team score of 420, which is their best score of the year. Individually, the results were as follows: Bradley Widby, 76; Jonathan Morgan, 79; Trent McQuarrie, 82; Matt Weber, 85; Alex McQuarrie, 98; Dusty Prevette, 110.
Modoc played at Weed on Wednesday and plays Fall River today.

Modoc runner in Boston marathon

Dr. Stephen Bratton, school psychologist at Modoc County Office of Education, has qualified to compete in the prestigious Boston Marathon April 18.
Bratton will be in the first flight of runners, along with about 8,999 others. The total expected for the entire race is 25,000, almost three times Modoc County's population.
The MCOE is pretty excited for Dr. Bratton, and to keep track of his progress go to www.baa.org.

April 21st, 2011

News

Ft. Bidwell victim remains in critical condition in Redding

The victim of an assault in Ft. Bidwell early Saturday morning is on life support and remains in critical condition.
The victim, Francisco Iracheta from Oregon, was transported by ambulance to Surprise Valley Hospital. He was treated and subsequently transported by air ambulance to Redding. Iracheta had reportedly been beaten and stomped to the point of unconsciousness.
The cause of the fight, which had two other victims, neither one seriously injured, remains under investigation, according to the Modoc County Sheriff’s Office.
Four suspects were arrested and charged with assault or attempted murder. Sasha Leton Cress was arrested by Modoc Sheriff’s Deputies in Ft. Bidwell Tuesday and was released on bail, while Alden Alan Contreras, Miguel Guerrero Zarate and Crystal Denae Wilson turned themselves in to authorities in Reno and remain in custody there. The three suspects in Reno should be transported to the Modoc County Jail within a week. There are no other suspects in the case.

Some good news for MMC

While things remain tight, there is some good news coming out of Modoc Medical Center.
MMC Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner reported to the last Frontier Healthcare District Board yesterday that an interim report on the hospital’s cost report showed a receivable of about $269,000. The hospital will file an interim rate adjustment with Medicare.
In addition, she said the State is now processing the hospital’s AB915 outpatient supplemental funding and that could mean between $400,000 to $500,000 for the hospital.
Derner reported a loss of just over $5,000 for the month of March and net income increased by $120,110. There was an overall increase in gross patient revenue from $2.1 million in February to $2.5 million in March. Inpatient revenue was up $176,831 and outpatient up $211,488.
By department, the inpatient increases were up $33,576 on medical/surgery; $76,775 in Warnerview; $13,767 in ambulance; $22,438 in pharmacy; and Respiratory Therapy was up $18,633. The outpatient departments were as follows: emergency room up $75,084; ambulance down $17,906; clinic up $28,250; lab up $44,937; radiology up $33,359; CT up $29,470 and physical therapy up $21,187.

Sheriff’s Neighborhood Watch program starting

Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter, faced with a shrinking budget and manpower, is establishing a Rural Neighborhood Watch program for the County.
The start-up kicks off April 25 when Umatilla County (Pendleton, Oregon) Sheriff John Trumbo and Sergeant Greg Hodgen will present an overview of their nationally recognized Rural Neighborhood Watch Program. The event will be presented April 25 at 9:30 a.m. and then again at 6 p.m. at the Sheriff’s Annex, 102 South Court Street.
Trumbo said his Neighborhood Watch Program, which now has 17 Watch Groups and about 700 active members has reduced crime in his County. “The biggest asset of the RNW Program is the decrease in crime,” he said. “Our active Neighborhood Watch groups are seeing a 50 to 60 percent reduction in criminal activity.”

Be aware of phone scam

Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter is advising residents to be aware there is a telephone scam operation occurring across the Country. The scam has bee tracked back to Toronto, Alberta Canada.
“A local elderly gentleman recently left my office,” Poindexter said. “He received a phone call from a female claiming to be his granddaughter. She stated her name, which was that of one of his granddaughters. She claimed to have been involved in a traffic collision in Dallas, Texas. She stated she did not have insurance and could get out of the situation by paying $3,800 dollars to the other party. He asked a few questions to which she had answers to, but when he asked to talk to the police officer, she would not put him on the phone.”
He was to send the money via local Western Union, which he was told would be available at the local Rite-Aid. He did not send any money and would like everyone to know that they should ask questions and not send money if this happens to them.
“It appears that this is occurring across the country,” Poindexter said. “People may want to dial *69 immediately after such a call and document the telephone number of the caller. The number in this incident, as well as numerous others across the country is 416-777-7775.”

Lois Gertrude Golden

Lois Gertrude Golden passed away on April 8, 2011, at Sky Lakes Medical Center,
Klamath Falls, Oregon. She was born to Mildred M. and Harvey O. Darst in Lake City, California on September 1, 1915. She graduated from Surprise Valley High School, Cedarville, California in 1934.
Services will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Alturas, CA on Friday, April 29, at 11:00 a.m., followed by a reception in the church Parish Hall and burial at the Cedarville Cemetery.

Service: Elvira Picotte

A Catholic mass in honor of Elvira Guerrero Picotte’s life, will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alturas on Saturday, April 30, at 11 a.m. Reception to follow at the Alturas Elks Lodge Hall.
Mrs. Picotte is survived by her sister Alicia and brother Guillermo of Leon, Mexico; son John (Natalie) Picotte; daughter Maria (Elwood) Cantrall; daughter Norma Cole, all of Alturas, CA; grandchildren Michael (Sylvia) Olds, Elk Grove, CA; Raquel (Victor) Casali, Reno, NV; Joe (Mikele) Picotte, Alturas; Zach (Hope) Briggs, Providence Village, TX; Krystal Kaczmarek, Barnegat, NJ and stepchildren Spencer Fullerton, Chico, CA; Brett Fullerton, Alturas; 11 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews in the U.S. and Mexico.
Mrs. Picotte passed away on March 28, 2011, in Alturas, CA. She was 91. Donations may be made in Elvira’s name to the Alturas Garden Club.

Charles M. Jones, Jr.

Charles Maxwell Jones, Jr., a 13-year resident of Alturas, CA, passed away in Reno, NV on April 18, 2011. Memorial services are pending for the end of May. Mr. Jones was born in Dallas, Texas on June 25, 1937.

Sports

Modoc Golf 2nd at Shastina

Modoc finished in second place behind Weed in both 9-hole matches April 13 at Lake Shastina. The Braves maintain a slight lead in the league overall standings.
Scores were: Trent McQuarrie-84, Bradley Widby-84, Matthew Weber-86, Jonathan Morgan-90, Alex McQuarrie-92 and Justin Valena-104. Team scores were Weed-413, Modoc-436, Trinity-492, Fall River-509 and Mt. Shasta-549. Etna and Anderson Tech Prep did not field full teams.
Modoc split the two 9-hole matches with Weed, April 14 at Fall River
in a very close team contest. Weed won by two strokes (220-222) on the front nine and the Braves beat them by one stroke (214-215) on the back nine. Scores were: Jonathan Morgan led all Modoc players with an 80 followed by Trent McQuarrie-86, Bradley Widby-88, Matthew Weber-90, Alex McQuarrie-92 and Travis Johnston-103.

Henley drops Modoc softball team

Henley took a double-header from the Modoc Braves 10-5 and 7-5 this week.
The Braves have Big Valley here April 26, are at Bonanza April 27 and at Burney Friday.
Ashley Conner got the loss, allowing one walk and nine hits in the second game against Henley. Dorothy Long went 2-3 at the plate with two doubles. Rochelle Keller went 2-4.
“Henley hit the ball well and was able to hit their balls to the right spots,” said coach Jodie Larranaga. “We struggled at the plate but the defense was pretty good. Henley is undefeated and their coach said our pitchers did a better job stopping their hitters than anyone they’ve faced this year.”
Keller got the loss in the first game; giving up eight hits four walks and struck out two in five innings.
Monica Eppler led the offense going 2-4 with a pair of doubles, Lilly Hallmark and Long went 2-3.
Modoc led 5-3 until the fifth, when Henley put up five runs.
“We hit the ball a lot better in the first game and the ladies played good defense. Telese Dowdy had a good game in centerfield, catching five fly balls.” Hoy breaks CV records.

Modoc wins Bonanza track meet

Modoc’s track team has been stymied by the weather this season, but got out of the blocks well by winning the Bonanza Twilight Meet April 15.
The Modoc boys won with a total of 127 points to second place Lost River with 82.
Zach Goulden won the long jump at 19-7 and placed second in the 100 and 200 meters. Landon Aarstad placed third in the 400 at 56.9 and Patrick Bratton placed second in the two-mile with a time of 11:17.7.
Cam Anderson was second in the high jump at 5-10 and in the 300 hurdles at 45.32. He was fourth in the 110 hurdles.
Jeremy Brandsted placed second in the shot at 38-2 and in the discus at 109-11.
The Modoc boys won the 4x400 relay in 3:38.3. The relay team was freshmen Brandon Witherspoon, Tristan Axlerod, and sophomores Landon Aarstad and Cam Anderson.
Ashley Hoy placed second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:43.3 and came in third in the mile at 5:35.3. She also won the discus with a throw of 92-05.
The team then competed in the huge Burt Williams meet in Central Valley.
Ashley Hoy broke two meet records, winning the mile in 5:51 and the discus with a throw of 86-6. She also placed second in the 800 in 2:41.
Courtney Yamagiwa won the 300 hurdles in 57.52.
Landon Aarstad placed second in the 400 meters in 55.9 and fifth in the 200 at 25.89. Basileo Hernandez put the shot 42-01, placing third. Goulden was fourth in the 200 meters in 24.62 and fifth in the 100 at 12.25.

Bratton runs Boston Marathon in 3:28.51

It was a really long run Monday with about 27,000 people competing and one of those was Dr. Stephen Bratton, of Alturas.
It was the Boston Marathon, the most famous of all, and Bratton completed the course in 3:28.51, placing 7,273 overall and 6,005 in gender and 1,267 in his division. There were 26,895 runners in the race.
The overall winner of the race was Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutal who clocked 2:03.02, followed by Kenya’s Moses Mosop who ran 2:03.06. Let’s just say it was close and it was also a record time for the race.
Bratton’s split times are as follows: 10k, 45.53; 20k, 1:32.08; half 1:37.07; 30k, 2:21; 40k 3:16.18. Bratton is the school psychologist for the Modoc County Office of Education.

April 28th, 2011

News

County was to hold special meeting next Tuesday

Following a closed session Tuesday, the Modoc County Board of Supervisors opted to hold a special meeting Tuesday, 10 a.m. in the Courthouse Supervisors Chambers concerning the possible appointment of a Chief Administrative Officer/Director of Administrative Services.
Late Wednesday, the Board opted to cancel Tuesday’s special meeting as their ducks were not in a row.
It is anticipated the Board will make the appointment of CAO following that closed session. That appointment will have to be announced in an open session of the Board.
The CAO issue was on this Tuesday’s agenda as a closed session item to “discuss public employee appointment of CAO/Director of Administrative Services.”

April precipitation well above average

If the old adage “April showers brings May flowers” holds true, Modoc should be very colorful next month . . . if the sun comes out.
April is more than double its normal precipitation now, with 2.60 inches of moisture measured as of this week. The average to date is .82 inches and the average for the entire month is 1.07 inches.
So far the wettest days were April 17 with .68 inches, April 21 with .54 inches, April 18 with .43 inches and April 20 with .45 inches.
Since October, Alturas has measured 11.49 inches of precipitation, compared to the average of 9.19 inches for that period and nearing the average annual total of 12.13 inches.

Ft. Bidwell victim remains critical

Francisco Iracheta, the victim of a beating April 9 in Ft. Bidwell, remains in critical condition in Redding.
According to Modoc Sheriff Mike Poindexter, Iracheta’s family said he was unplugged from the respirator and was breathing on his own, albeit with difficulty.
Poindexter said the three suspects in custody in Reno should be brought back to Modoc this week. The Sheriff said his office is continuing to pursue leads and do interviews in the case and the investigation is moving forward.

Cal Pines looks for help on fireworks

For decades the Fourth of July Fireworks for the Alturas area have been sponsored in whole by the California Pines Property Owners’ Association.
As its funding has decreased, the CPPOA is hoping for community help to fund the 2011 fireworks display. Outside donations will be appreciated to help defray the cost of those fireworks, which are about $9,000.
The fireworks are currently scheduled for July 2 over Cal Pines Lake and attract thousands of residents each year.
“Any financial help from any organization or agency would be welcome,” said Hank Drury, Cal Pines On-Site Administrator. “We just want to inform the community of the situation now. An outside pyrotechnic company puts on the fireworks display and must meet certain standards to be permitted. We still want to put on the fireworks show, but we need outside organizations to participate in the fundraising as Cal Pines cannot legally hold fundraisers per federal regulations.”
To help or offer suggestions, contact Drury at 530-233-5747.

Obituaries:

Elvira Picotte

Elvira Guerrero Picotte, beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, gracefully passed away on March 28, 2011 in Alturas, CA, with her son John by her side. She was 91.
Elvira was the first of nine children born to young immigrant parents Eduardo and Jesusa Guerrero on March 6, 1920, in Fort Collins, CO.
A Catholic mass in honor of Elvira’s life will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alturas on Saturday, April 30 at 11 a.m. A reception will follow at the Alturas Elks Lodge. Donations may be made to Sacred Heart Church, 307 E. Fourth St., Alturas or to the Alturas Garden Club, P.O. Box 2102, Alturas, CA 96101, in Elvira’s name.

Mary Ann Prock

Mary Ann (Kelley) Prock passed away on April 20, 2011, at the hospital in Alturas after a long illness. She resided with her husband William Prock on the Prock Ranch near Alturas. She was born on April 4, 1940, in Alturas, CA to Beatrice (Rinehart) and Dexter Kelley. She attended Alturas schools and graduated from high school in Reno. She completed her studies in education at Fresno State.
The family will be holding a private service. In lieu of flowers, Mary Ann’s wishes would be to make a donation to your favorite charity.

Linda Grove-Pollock

The family of Linda Lee Grove-Pollock wish to invite all who knew and loved her, to a memorial service to be held at the Community Church in Eagleville, Ca. on Saturday, May 21, at 1:00 p.m. Following the service, a gathering with refreshments will be held at the Eagleville Hall. Please bring photos and stories to share; they will be greatly appreciated.

Dennis M. King

Dennis M. King, age 49, a resident of Standish, Lassen County, CA, passed away in Medford, Oregon, while visiting on March 19, 2011. He is survived by his wife Kim King, six children and ten grandchildren. Memorial to be held in June.

Sports

Brave boys split with Burney

Modoc’s baseball team beat the Burney Raiders 6-3 in the opener Friday, but got nipped 6-5 in the nightcap. The Braves are tied with Mt. Shasta for the Shasta Cascade League lead with 4-2 records.
Modoc took a 1-0 lead in the second game, but Burney scored five in the fifth for a 5-2 lead. The Raiders led 6-2 after six. Modoc added three in the seventh, but came up just one run short.
Modoc split a double-header at Bonanza Tuesday, winning the first game 10-6 and dropping the second 14-11.
In the opener, Modoc led 4-1 after three and added six in the final two innings. Bonanza scored one in the first, two in the fourth and three in the seventh.
The Braves lost the second trailing 14-5 in the sixth. They pushed across six runs in the seventh, but fell short.
Modoc meets Big Valley here today and Weed comes to town on Friday. Game times are 2 p.m.

Braves take pair from Raiders

Modoc’s softball team put together two good games to win a pair from the Burney Raiders last Friday in Burney, 4-1 and 15-0. Modoc faces Weed this Friday in Alturas with games starting at 2 p.m.
Winning pitcher in the first game was Ashlie Conner, who fanned six, allowed three walks and five hits.
The Braves blew the Raiders out in the second game behind the pitching of Keller, who struck out seven, walked three and gave up five hits.

Golf team plays at Running Y

Modoc played in a non-league event at the Henley Invitational at the Running Y Resort in Klamath Falls on April 22. The Braves finished 10th out of 11 teams, but had very good performances by Jonathan Morgan (80) and Alex McQuarrie (98).
Other scores: Brad Widby-90, Trent McQuarrie-90 and Matthew Weber-97. Tuesday at Mt. Shasta the Braves finished second to Weed in both 9-hole matches. Weed won by two strokes on the front nine and by 10 strokes on the back 9.

May 5th, 2011

News

County CAO resigns position

Modoc County Chief Administrative Officer Rick Rudometkin presented a resignation letter to The Board of Supervisors Wednesday morning, saying he will revert to his position of Director of Transportation/Public Works Director.
“Due to the direction that the Board is taking, I have decided it is in my best interest and the County’s best interest that I resign from my position as CAO,” Rudometkin said. “I hereby give 30 days notice per the terms my contract. My last day as CAO will be Thursday June 2, 2011. I would like to thank the Board for the opportunity to serve as your Chief Administrative Officer.”
Apparently, negotiations by Supervisors Geri Byrne and Dave Allan on a plan to hire current City Public Works Director Chester Robertson part time as the head of administrative services while keeping Rudometkin as CAO broke down this week.
Rudometkin chose not to comment publicly on the negotiations.

MHS grad killed in Afghanistan

Tragic news is reported this week as 2006 Modoc High School graduate and former Alturas resident Army Specialist STC Preston Dennis, age 23, was killed April 28 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
Dennis, 23, now of Redding, died of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Dennis was the squad leader of that unit and was in the sixth week of his second tour in Afghanistan. His first tour was from June 2009 to May 2010 and the second tour began March 18, 2011.
Dennis is the son of Maria Mix and the stepson of former Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix, who now reside in Redding.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. He had reenlisted during his first tour, with a guarantee that he would be assigned to the 10th Mountain Division.

Major injuries in Dorris Reservoir crash

Four people sustained major injuries, one critical, in a single car rollover on County Road 56 at Dorris Reservoir May 1, 2 p.m.
The California Highway Patrol reports that the seriously injured included three children and two adults. One of those adults, Dawn Rosenthal, 25, Alturas, remains in critical condition in a Redding hospital.
Also sustaining major injuries were Phillip Skaggs, 27, Alturas, and three four-year-old boys.
The driver of the vehicle, Sheena Keyes, age 26, of Alturas, sustained minor injuries. Keyes was arrested Wednesday afternoon alleging felony driving under the influence.
Several ambulances responded to the scene Sunday afternoon, and airflight ambulances were called almost immediately.
According to the CHP, Keyes was driving a 1996 Nissan westbound on CR 56 east of CR 57 at an undetermined rate of speed and she allowed the vehicle to go off the road and out of control. The car overturned, coming to rest on its wheels. Several occupants in the car were unrestrained, resulting in major injuries.

Modoc Fair gets seat at State hearing

The Modoc District Fair was one of three invited to testify at the Joint Fairs Committee hearing last Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Sacramento.
Fair Manager Danette DePaul expressed her disappointment in the passage of AB95, which completely eliminates Fair funding for 2012. There are severe implications for the Modoc District Fair.
“Our legislative analyst team states that we are still part of the budget process and hope we will be part of the budget process that is scheduled for the middle of May,” DePaul said. “The Modoc District Fair has a very small reserve account and will only be able to operate on those funds for approximately six months or less, as pro rata expenses currently absorbed by Division of Fairs and Expositions are passed on to the Fairs unexpectedly and as we assume other unknown expenses, the Fair will close in 2012.”
She said Modoc County is not in a financial position to assume the Fair as an additional department or offer any financial assistance.

Obituaries:

James Marr

James Marr was born August 23rd, 1931, in Modesto, CA. The Marr family moved to Alturas in 1941, where Jim attended local schools and worked on the family farm.
Jim passed away the morning of April 27, 2011. He had battled cancer for over a year, with his companion Margaret Lightner at his side. A celebration of Jim’s life will be held in Alturas in July of this year.

Frank Kawagoe

Services are pending for Frank Masao Kawagoe, who passed away April 28, 2011, at Warnerview Skilled Nursing Facility in Alturas, CA after a long illness. Mr. Kawagoe was 90 years of age.
Frank was born on January 11, 1921, in Los Angeles, CA where he attended public schools and Japanese School, learning the art of Sumo wrestling and the cultural ways of his ancestry.

Vickie Savage

Susanville native and Alturas resident Vickie Savage passed away at her sister’s house in Susanville, CA on April 18 at the age of 72. Vickie was born in Susanville on December 2, 1938. She was the first child of Norberto and Gregoria Cordoba.
A rosary was held at Walton’s Mortuary on Wednesday, April 27 at 7:00 p.m. Funeral services were held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Thursday, April 28 at 10:00 a.m. Donations may made to the American Cancer Society in memory of Vickie Savage.

Claude McIntire

Claude Lavern McIntire, 81, of Gig Harbor, WA passed away November 26, 2010. He was born in Medford, OR on September 12, 1929, to Claude and Esther (Beattie) McIntire. In 1941, his family moved to Lake City, CA.
A memorial service was held in Sumner, WA.

Lalo Codona

Lalo Alfred Codona passed away peacefully on April 26, 2011, in Cedarville, CA. He was born to Edward and Irene Codona on April 5, 1929, at the beginning of “The Crash.”
For the many and varied things he has done over his life, Lalo said, “I only want to be remembered as pointing to Jesus.” The Lord took Lalo to be with Him in the gentlest way he could on April 26, 2011, in his sleep. He was laid to rest during a private service in a family cemetery at Lalo’s request. Goodbye Dad, you are loved and missed dearly.
There will be a public memorial service on May 14, 2011 at 859 Patterson Street, Cedarville, CA from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. All are welcome.

Helen Haldorson

Helen L. Haldorson passed away on April 16, 2011, in Citrus Heights, CA. She was 80 years old.
She was born to Harold A. Parman and Leonore L. Parman in Standish, California on November 29, 1930, and was raised in Surprise Valley of Modoc County.
Memorial services will be held on May 14, 2011 at 6:00 p.m., at the Roseville Elks Lodge, 3000 Brady Lane, Roseville, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to any charity on behalf of Helen Haldorson.

Glenn Alan Nelson

A Memorial Service for Glenn Alan Nelson of Adin, will be held on Friday, May 6, 2011 at 1:00 pm at the Adin Cemetery. Dessert potluck and coffee to follow at the Adin Community Hall. Mr. Nelson passed away on Sunday morning, May 1, 2011. Obituary to follow.

Linda Lee Grove-Pollock

The family of Linda Lee Grove-Pollock wish to invite all who knew and loved her, to a memorial service to be held at the Community Church in Eagleville, Ca. on Saturday, May 21, at 1:00 p.m. Following the service, a gathering with refreshments will be held at the Eagleville Hall. Please bring pictures, stories and your favorite dessert to share, they will be greatly appreciated.

Sports

Braves drop Weed in snowstorm

Modoc’s baseball team weathered a blinding snowstorm Friday afternoon to defeat the Weed Cougars 7-0. The second game was canceled and will be played Monday at 2 p.m. here.
The Braves sit atop the Shasta Cascade League with a 5-2 record and face a tough Mt. Shasta Bears team (5-3) there May 6.
Last Friday’s game against Weed saw the Braves put up a seven run sixth inning and hold the Cougars to nothing.
The Braves beat Big Valley 10-3 last Thursday with Patrick Danley on the mound. He went six innings, struck out eight, walked four, and allowed three hits and one run.

Braves with SCL Golf title

The Modoc Braves Golf team had a home field advantage for the Shasta Cascade League championship May 4, and took the Arrowhead advantage to win its eighth title in the past 11 years. It was tense.
Montague said Both Matt Weber and Alex McQuarrie have been playing exceptionally well. The Braves posted their low 18-hole score for the season (422) and look forward to the NSCIF Division II Championships at Gold Hills Golf Club on Tuesday, May 10th.

Braves have makeup game Monday

The Modoc Braves softball and baseball teams are at Mt. Shasta May 6 and have a makeup game here against Weed May 9, at 2 p.m.
The second game of last Friday’s Weed doubleheader was snowed out.
The softball team is coming off four wins last week and will have the unbeaten Bears in a game coach Jodie Larranaga feels is winnable.
“Mt. Shasta is our toughest competition, and they are unbeaten,” she said. “However, I have no doubt that if the Braves play the ball they’ve been playing, they will be in good shape.”

The team has put together a string of four strong wins, beating Bonanza 14-2 and 22-1, Big Valley15-1 and Weed 22-4.

May 12th, 2011

News

County hires Robertson as CAO

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, as expected, voted 3-2 to hire Alturas Public Works Director Chester Robertson as part-time Chief Administrative Officer at a salary of $80,000. The start date of that contract was May 11.
Supervisors Geri Byrne, Dave Allan and Shorty Crabtree praised the choice and voted to hire, while both Patricia Cantrall and Jeff Bullock voted no because they didn’t believe he could function effectively as the County CAO and the still remain part time as the City of Alturas Public Works Director. Both said they would support Robertson after he was hired.
The issue had not be approved by the City Council as of the time the Supervisor voted to hire, but was discussed at the City Council meeting Tuesday night. Some City Council members are also expressing concern about the dual responsibilities.
Actually, none of the Supervisors had met with City Council members formally to discuss or negotiate the arrangement.

Sgt. Preston Dennis service today

Funeral services will be held today for Sergeant Preston Dennis, a 2006 Modoc High School graduate, who was killed April 28 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
His body was returned to Redding this week and was escorted with full military honors to McDonald’s Chapel in Redding, with the California Highway Patrol, Patriot Guard Riders, and Missing in America Project riders in procession.
Services will be held May 12, 1 p.m. at the Northern California Veteran’s Chapel in Igo, with burial in the Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery. A reception will follow at the Veteran’s Hall on Yuba Street in Redding.
Dennis, 23, from Redding, died of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Dennis was the squad leader of that unit and was in the sixth week of his second tour in Afghanistan. His first tour was from June 2009 to May 2010 and the second tour began March 18, 2011.
Dennis is the son of Maria Mix and the stepson of former Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix, who now reside in Redding.

FS hosts firewood meet

A second meeting to discuss current fuelwood cutting practices and policies on the Modoc National Forest will be held on Wednesday, May 25 at 6 p.m. in the Modoc County Sheriff's Annex . All interested parties are encouraged to attend as the 2011 fuelwood season has begun.
Currently the Doublehead, Big Valley and Devil’s Garden Districts are open for fuelwood gathering, while the Warner Mountain District remains closed due to poor road conditions. Please call and check current restrictions and conditions at (530) 233-8819 before you head out.
Fuelwood permits may be purchased at the Ranger District offices in Cedarville, Adin, or Tulelake or you may come to the Forest Supervisor’s office in Alturas.
Questions concerning permits may be directed to Steve Riley at (530)233-5811, any questions about the meeting may be directed to Jim Gumm at (530) 233-8713.

MMC disputes hospital employee union charges

Modoc Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner sent a terse clarifying letter to Union Representative Christopher Darker May 6, responding to what she called unfounded charges.
“There was an accusatory tone to your letter that is both unprofessional and unappreciated,” Derner wrote. “It would be beneficial to all concerns if the allegations were investigated prior to your insinuating that we have performed inappropriately.”
Derner said her and the hospital district board’s goal is to treat the employees fairly, with the understanding that the facility has to remain solvent, unlike the history under the county operation.
In addition, the hospital district has not yet been licensed by the state, as it is waiting a signed transition agreement from the County Board of Supervisors that has to accompany the application. The agreement has been held up at the county level, as it sorts out some insurance details.
“In the meantime, the Board of Supervisors has signed an agreement that allows us to manage the operations of the hospital in preparation for the conversion,” said Derner. Hence, checks and other documentation may reflect the district name in anticipation of the transfer.”
Basically, the district is waiting on the county, before it can send the application for licensing into the state.
“Never have I mistaken the staff’s ‘commitment and flexibility to the success of MMC with stupidity and ignorance of the law,’” she wrote to Darker. “Frankly, I am appalled and offended that you would make such personal attacks on me. Your statement is slanderous to my character and I fail to see how this type of behavior from you will be conducive to any favorable relationship between MMC and the Union. We have some of the best talent in healthcare and supporting services right here, and I am very proud that they are part of our team. Together, all of the staff has survived many tribulations over the past couple of years. Through it all, we have become a stronger facility.

Obituaries:

William Beaty

William M. Beaty, a well known and respected timber and forestry leader, who had holdings and forestry operations throughout northern California died April 21, 2011, in Redding at the age of 94.
A public celebration of Beaty’s life will be held May 24 at the Riverview Golf and Country Club on Bechelli Lane, Redding, 3 to 6 p.m.

Wilma Andrews

Wilma Andrews beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend to many, went to heaven on May 4, 2011, in Reno, Nevada. She was the first-born child of Wilson and Lucille Conklin in Alturas, California on March 23, 1933.
Memorial services in Wilma’s honor were held on May 9, 2011, at the Federated Church in Alturas. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Wilma’s name may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Freida Tilson

Freida Ann Tilson was born on May 19, 1945, in Alturas, California to parents John and Mabel (Blankenship) Tilson. She died on May 9, 2011 at her residence in Keizer, Oregon.
She is survived by her brothers, Lewis Tilson and Perry Tilson of Davis Creek, and was preceded in death by her sister, Ida Lee Butler and her parents.
A memorial service will be held at the Chapel at Peoples Church at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 21, 2011. A private entombment was held at Belcrest Mausoleum. Arrangements by Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service.

Roy Joseph Ramsey

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3327 will conduct services for Roy Joseph Ramsey, 87, of Alturas at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 14, on the Alturas Park Lawn. Mr. Ramsey passed away May 4, 2011, in Alturas.
Born in Branson, MO on November 3, 1925, he attended Galt High School and was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Force.

Glenn Nelson

Glenn Alan Nelson passed away in his home in Adin, California on May 1, 2011. Mr. Nelson would have celebrated his 86th birthday, having been born May 26, 1925 in Adin, California.
He served his country during World War II in the Navy
Jeff Bidwell conducted a graveside service at 1:00 pm Friday, May 6th at the Adin Cemetery.

Robert Hugh Dukes

A potluck barbecue in remembrance of Robert (Bob) Hugh Dukes of Alturas, will be held Saturday, May 14 at 2 p.m. at 511 East Street, Alturas. Robert Dukes, loving husband of Bonnie Dukes, passed away April 21, 2011, at Modoc Medical Center, Alturas, CA.
Mr. Dukes was born in Alturas on July 9, 1942, where he attended schools. He served as a Pvt. E-1 in the U.S. Army from 1961 until his discharge March 22, 1962.

Charles M. Jones, Jr.

Memorial services for Charles Maxwell Jones, Jr., 74, will be held on May 21, 2011, at 11 a.m. at 500 So. Main St., Alturas.
Mr. Jones had retired and relocated to Alturas, CA, 15 years ago, where he joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3327 and AmVets Post 2003. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served from August 16, 1954 until November 15, 1957
Donations may be directed to the American Heart Association Donation Processing Center, File 30947, in memory of Charles M. Jones, P.O. Box 60000, San Francisco, CA 94160 or American Cancer Society, 1710 Webster St., Oakland, CA 94612. Condolences will be received at HCR3-Box 346, Alturas, CA 96101.

Theodore (Ted) A. VanDerEyken

On Sunday, February 20, 2011, at the Modoc Medical Center, Theodore A. VanDerEyken passed away. Born in Canada August 27, 1939.
Please join the family as they celebrate his life on May 14, 2011, at noon for a barbecue potluck at 396 Starpine Drive, located in California Pines.

Dennis M. King

Frank M. Kawagoe

Services for Frank M. Kawagoe will be held Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at Faith Baptist Church in Alturas. All are welcome. Mr. Kawagoe, 90, passed away April 28, 2011, in Alturas.

Sports

Braves win Division II golf title

The Modoc Braves won the North Section Division II Golf Championship at the Gold Hills Golf Club in Redding, under warm temperatures with a light breeze May 10.
Jonathan Morgan had a spectacular day shooting the best round of his life to lead all Modoc players with a 74.
“It was apparent as the scores started coming in that the two Shasta Cascade League teams, Modoc and Weed, would get the two team bids to next week’s NSCIF Masters at Whitehawk Ranch in Clio,” and coach Harold Montague. "It all came down to the last group. We (Modoc) knew that if Weed's final golfer came in with anything under a 105, Weed would win the Section Title. When we saw that he posted a 109 we were elated."
"It's been like that all year in our league with Weed and us jockeying back and forth for League, and now Section, supremacy," he said.
Not only did the SCL sweep the team competition, but the lone SCL individual, Dalton Davis of Mt. Shasta, was among the top four individuals, not of a qualifying team, to advance to the Masters tournament at Whitehawk.
Morgan started the day birdieing the first hole and then getting an eagle on the second hole. He played strong despite a triple bogey on the final hole. Matthew Weber also played better than expected, shooting an 81 on the Gold Hills course. Other Modoc scores include Trent McQuarrie-87, Bradley Widby-91, Alex McQuarrie-98 and Travis Johnston-103.

Modoc’s baseball meets Etna in playoffs Friday here

Modoc baseball team meets the Etna Lions here Friday, 4 p.m. in the first round of the North Section baseball playoffs. Modoc comes in as the number three seed. The Braves nipped Etna earlier in the season 6-5 and 11-10.
Modoc’s last appearance in the playoffs was 2007 when they won the section title.
The Mt. Shasta Bears toppled Modoc from the Shasta Cascade League baseball lead Friday in Mt. Shasta, winning a pair of games 8-4 and 13-7. The loss put Modoc in a tie with Etna for second place at 6-4, while the Bears sit on top at 7-3.

Modoc makes Bears earn title

The Modoc Braves softball team is expecting to meet East Nicolaus in the first round of the North Section Playoffs Tuesday. As of this week, where or when that game will be played was unknown. We will post the time, opponent and place as soon as we know it on our website.
Modoc’s softball team went into Mt. Shasta May 6 knowing they had a chance to knock off the unbeaten Bears. While they came up just short, they made the Bears afternoon tense.
The Braves lost the opening game 4-2. The Braves lost the second game 3-0 with Conner going four innings, giving up eight hits and one walk and relieved by Keller for two, who allowed one hit and struck out one.

May 19th, 2011

News

City Council weighs impacts of Robertson County deal

While the County Board of Supervisors voted to hire Chester Robertson as Chief Administrative Officer last week, with him still remaining as the Public Works Director for the City, the issue has never been formally approved or even presented to the Alturas City Council.
At no time during the months of negotiations between Supervisors Geri Byrne and Dave Allan and Robertson, did Supervisors bother to ask the Council for its opinion or input.
That is about to change.
“As the Modoc County Board of Supervisors moves forward with a somewhat evolving plan to contract with the City’s Public Works Director Chester Robertson to provide administrative services while he continues in his present position, I have directed the City Clerk to schedule a special meeting of the Alturas City Council on May 23, 6 p.m. for the purpose of discussing how this impacts the City and whether or not the City wants to move forward with this rather unique proposal for sharing resources,” said Alturas Mayor John Dederick Tuesday.

Residents voiced concerned over Lake City PO closing

Lake City community members joined together Thursday evening at the Lake City Fire Hall to ask about the proposed closure study the USPS is conducting on their local Post Office.
Rene Brown and Charlene Balz from the Reno USPS office spoke to the public. They are conducting studies on 18 Post Offices in the Nevada-Sierra District, also including Madeline. The offices being studied for possible closure are non-career employee offices, meaning they are not full-time employees receiving benefits. Studies are being conducted due to the national budget crisis, economy and the loss of revenue that the USPS has suffered.
With Lake City having 44 box holders (38 of whom attended) and over 10 miles of rural route boxes, the community was worried. The majority of the community is elderly and living away from most amenities. Residents raised major concerns about the possible closure of the Post Office. How would they receive mail? Where do you buy stamps? What about home businesses and offices who use the Post Office? What about bad weather conditions, wildlife and much more.
Many of the questions that were asked were answered with vague, general answers. Unfortunately, this is to be expected with the study’s unknown outcome, the fact that the USPS is reporting a net loss of 2.2 billion in its fiscal second quarter and has seen a 3.1 percent decline in mail volume throughout the nation in the last year.

Chief of the Forest Service Tom Tidwell visits Modoc

A memorable occasion recently occurred (May 4, 2011) on the Modoc National Forest when a Super KingAir twin-engine aircraft landed at the Alturas Municipal airport.
Onboard were the Chief of the Forest Service, Tom Tidwell, Regional Forester Randy Moore, Deputy Regional Forester Ron Ketter and Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Communications Ray Mooney.
In the collective memory of the “elders” of the Modoc, this was the first visit by a Chief of the Forest Service to the Modoc National Forest. Greeting the Chief and his party at the airport was a small welcoming committee headed by Forest Supervisor Kimberly Anderson and, as the Chief noted, his first banner.
From the airport, the Chief was given a quick tour of Alturas on the way to the Desert Rose Casino Event Center. Once at the Event Center, Chief Tidwell gave a unique service award.
Lonnie Lewis, of Alturas, was recognized as the reigning tenure champion of the Forest Service. Mr. Lewis has worked for the USFS for 56 years. He began his career in May of 1955 on the North Umpqua Ranger District of the Umpqua NF at Steamboat Ranger Station as a lookout.

FS hosts firewood meet
Woodcutters are reminded that a second meeting to discuss current fuelwood cutting practices and policies on the Modoc National Forest will be held on Wednesday, May 25 at 6 p.m. in the Modoc County Sheriff's Annex.
All interested parties are encouraged to attend as the 2011 fuelwood season has begun.

Tax collection down in County

“It is a tough time to collect taxes right now,” said Modoc County Treasurer/Tax Collector Cheryl Knoch this week.
She compared the percentage of property taxes collected as of April 30, 2010 and April 30, 2011. In 2010, 92.5 percent of the taxes were collected by April 30, and that dropped to 87.1 percent in 2011. That drop of 5.4 percent for all of Modoc County also prompted her office to send out 1,500 more reminder notices this year.
Modoc Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner reported to her Board of Directors that year-to-date $2.1 million of the hospital assessment had been collected, out of the about $3 million projected.
In addition, Knoch said she offered 144 parcels at her last tax sale April 30-May 3, 2011, and only sold 54 of those. She will re-offer 90 parcels June 18-21, but is not encouraged by the turnout.
She suspects the California Pines area tax collection percentages will be substantially down and is researching those numbers.

24th Children’s Fair brings back old times

Rain or shine, “Medieval Times in Modoc” are coming this Saturday for the 24th Annual Modoc Children’s Fair on the Modoc High School campus in Alturas.
If the weather is too wet, the bulk of the booths and the main stage will be moved into Griswold Gym. Costumes, decorations and the grounds should be decked out in Medieval Times, leaving open a creative way to celebrate the special May 21 event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Young and old are invited to participate in this day of fun.
A pancake breakfast will start the day, for those getting up early enough to be there from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Pancakes, sausage, juice, coffee and milk will be served for $3, adults; $2 children. The breakfast proceeds benefit Modoc County Sexual Assault Team and the breakfast is co-sponsored by Victim Services, Modoc Crisis Center and local Law Enforcement.
At 9 a.m., a parade around the high school will kick off the round of active games, good food and fun times. Bagpiper Dan Williams of Klamath Falls will lead off the Children’s Fair parade. Deck yourself out as a king, queen, princess, knight, or whatever suits your fancy for a day and join the parade.
Bounce houses and the traditional dime toss head the list of games. Decorating face masks, making hats, putting out the fire in the castle, a ball toss game, dart throwing and sand and bubbles are just some of the activities aimed at the younger set.

Obituaries:

Delbert Jones

Longtime Modoc County rancher Delbert Jones passed away in the early morning hours of May 17, 2011. Funeral arrangements are pending with a memorial service in Cedarville. Kerr Mortuary is handling the arrangements. Please call their recorded message at 530-233 5795, for the day and time of the service. Obituary to follow.

Charles M. Jones, Jr.

A Memorial service for Charles Maxwell Jones, Jr., 74, will be held on May 21, 2011, at 11 a.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Hall, So. Main St., Alturas.
Mr. Jones had retired and relocated to Alturas, CA, 15 years ago, where he joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3327 and AmVets Post 2003. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served from August 16, 1954 until November 15, 1957. On September 30, 1957, in San Diego, CA, he and Dorothy were married. Mr. Jones loved to fly airplanes and model airplanes. He passed away in Reno, NV on April 18, 2011.

William M. Beaty

William M. Beaty, a well known and respected timber and forestry leader, who had holdings and forestry operations throughout northern California died April 21, 2011, in Redding at the age of 94. A public celebration of Beaty’s life will be held May 24 at the Riverview Golf and Country Club on Bechelli Lane, Redding, 3 to 6 p.m.

Linda Lee Grove-Pollock

The family of Linda Lee Grove-Pollock wish to invite all who knew and loved her, to a memorial service to be held at the Community Church in Eagleville, Ca. on Saturday, May 21, at 1:00 p.m. Following the service, a gathering with refreshments will be held at the Eagleville Hall. Please bring pictures, stories and your favorite dessert to share, they will be greatly appreciated.

Sports

Braves nip East Nicolaus in playoffs

Modoc’s softball team survived a nasty weather day Tuesday to beat East Nicolaus, there, 3-2. They will probably meet number one Colusa there today at 4 p.m. in the second round.
Ashlie Conner got the win for Modoc, pitching all seven, giving up six hits, four walks and striking out five.
Jodi Boudreaux led the offense going 2-3 with a double, while Courtney Knoch doubled in a 2-4 day and Dorothy Long was 2-4.
East Nicolaus took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and Modoc tied it in the second. East Nicolaus took a 2-1 lead in the fifth, but Modoc took the lead for good with a two-run sixth inning.
“We played in our usual rain and wind storm,” said coach Jodie Larranaga. “Our defense was outstanding, with Long catching three fly balls and Knoch turning two double plays at second base. The whole team played very well and I was really proud of them.”

Etna beats Braves 10-5 in playoff

Etna’s Lions beat the Modoc Braves 10-5 in the first round of the North Section CIF Playoffs Friday in Alturas.
The loss eliminates the Braves for the postseason.
Modoc’s home field advantage didn’t play out as the Lions opened with a 3-1 lead in the first; led 7-1 at the end of three and 10-1 after five innings. Modoc scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Brett Boudreaux got the loss, going five innings, giving up 10 runs on 14 hits, three walks and he struck out four. He was relieved by Tyler Kuhn who went two, allowed no runs on one hit, one walk and struck out four.
Boudreaux and Jonathan Jones were 2-4 at the plate, while Wyatt Valena, Tee Wilson, Grady Server, and Drew Culp each had a hit.

Golf ends successful season

Modoc’s golf team finished its very successful season Tuesday at the Masters Tournament at Whitehawk Ranch in Clio Tuesday, but will not advance to the CIF NorCal Championships May 23.
“We played under cold, wet and windy conditions, but I was very pleased with the way my kids played at the championship,” said coach Harold Montague. “We entered the day hoping for a fourth place finish and accomplished that goal. I know a few of the kids were disappointed in their individual performance, but we are a very young team and this experience will help us improve next year. I don’t have any seniors this year, so we will be returning the entire team and they are very committed to improving on this year’s accomplishments.
“This is the most successful team that I have coached, winning both the league and Division titles in the same year and we also finished in our highest position at the Master’s Championships.”
The Braves shot 433, behind winning Pleasant Valley’s 392, Chico’s 409 and Redding Christian’s 415.
Weed’s Jake Reed was the individual winner, shooting a 70 and won on the second hole of a sudden death playoff against Chico’s Kurt Kitayama.
Modoc’s individual scores were as follows: Jonathan Morgan 81; Trent McQuarrie 82; Matthew Weber 88; Bradley Widby 89; Alex McQuarrie 93; and Travis Johnston 108.

May 26th, 2011

News

Cal Pines tax payments weak link

Last week, Modoc County Treasurer/Tax Collector Cheryl Knoch
compared the percentage of property taxes collected as of April 30, 2010 and April 30, 2011. In 2010, 92.5 percent of the taxes were collected by April 30, and that dropped to 87.1 percent in 2011.
That drop of 5.4 percent for all of Modoc County also prompted her office to send out 1,500 more reminder notices this year.
The chief suspect in the lower tax returns was the California Pines subdivision, and figures released this week prove that to be factual. But, Cal Pines has historically had fewer people paying their taxes than the rest of the county. There are 14,496 parcels in Cal Pines, out of the 27,831 total for the county. The area generally accounts for over 30 percent of the total property tax value in Modoc.
According to Knoch, as of April 30, 2011 Cal Pines (Adin side) had 69.2 percent of taxes collected, down from 76.4 percent in 2010. Another section of Cal Pines had 70.6 percent collected this year compared to 77.7 percent last year. The biggest Cal Pines area with 7,412 parcels showed 71.6 percent tax collected compared to 79 percent in 2010.
Cal Pines is not a norm reflecting Modoc County taxpayers; most other areas come in above 90 percent.
Only two areas show an improvement in taxes collected for 2011 -- Day with 98.5 percent collected in 2011, up from 95.1 in 2010 and Surprise Valley south, with 98.8 percent collected compared to 95.9 percent in 2010.
Actually, the biggest decrease in the percentage of taxes collected was in Surprise Valley north, down 9.2 percent, from 96.8 percent in 2010 to 87.6 percent in 2011.
The remainder of the areas in tax collection percentages were as follows: Alturas, 95.1 percent in 2010 to 93.9 percent in 2011; Adin, 90.6 percent in 2010 to 89.6 percent in 2011; Lookout, 98 percent in 2010 to 96.1 percent in 2011; outside Alturas, 93.6 percent in 2010 to 90.2 percent in 2011; Newell-Tulelake, 96.8 percent in 2010 to 92.3 percent in 2011.

Ft. Bidwell host BBQ

On Sunday, May 29, Fort Bidwell residents are rolling out the welcome mat for crowds of visitors eager to participate in a traditional Memorial Day celebration, the 36th Annual Fort Bidwell Barbecue.
From 11:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., an army of volunteers will be serving succulent barrel-roasted chicken and seasoned barbecued beef. The crowd customarily includes valley families, past residents, curious new neighbors and adventurous travelers nostalgic for an old-fashioned get-together marking the holiday when we remember those who have died in our nation's service.
It all takes place at the Fort Bidwell Civic Club Park on Main Street. Just follow the aroma of sizzling meat and the line of cars bringing folks home to Bidwell. It’s a day of old fashioned fun that includes outdoor games, amazing raffle prizes and some of the best barbecue ever.
Tickets will be available at the entrance to the picnic area. For $12, adults will have their choice of a meal featuring chicken or a seasoned New York steak expertly barbecued on huge outdoor grills.

Committees formed on CAO contract details

While the actual details have not been put down in writing, the Alturas City Council on Monday set up a committee to come to some sort of agreement with Public Works Director Chester Robertson for his new and now shared part-time position as Modoc County Chief Administrative Officer.
On Tuesday morning, the County Board of Supervisors adopted the fifth version of the contract with its amendments. There are no firm requirements in the contract as to how much time Robertson will spend working for the City and for the County.
While the County has agreed to pay Robertson $80,000 per year, the City is still looking on how the split position and time requirements would impact Robert’s $60,000 City salary.
In addition, both entities agreed to form a committee to look into sharing the planning services, which Robertson now handles for the City. They will be looking at how to come to terms on a contract with County Planner Kim Hunter.
The County and City shared planning services before, with the City kicking in about $40,000 annually. The reviews are mixed on whether that arrangement worked out well for either or both entities.
The two committees will meet soon and try to come to terms.

Advice on forest marijuana grow discovery

Over the past few years, more and more illegal marijuana plantations have been discovered on the Modoc National Forest.
The Forest seeks to provide a safe environment for the public, its employees, and natural resources. So while only a fraction of forest lands are affected by illegal marijuana cultivation, the Forest Service believes that safety risks are real and visitors and employees should be informed about them.
“The safety of forest visitors and our employees is our top priority,” said Forest Supervisor Kimberly Anderson. “Marijuana cultivation has occurred on the Modoc National Forest and it’s important for visitors and employees to be aware of their surroundings.”
Here are some clues that you may have come across a marijuana cultivation site: sometimes marijuana smells like a skunk on hot days; hoses or drip lines located in unusual or unexpected places; a well-used trail where there shouldn’t be one; people standing along roads without vehicles present, or in areas where loitering appears unusual; grow sites are usually found in isolated locations, in rough steep terrain; camps containing cooking and sleeping areas with food, fertilizer, weapons, garbage, rat poison, and/or dead animals; small propane bottles, used to avoid the detection of wood smoke; individuals armed with rifles out of hunting season.
As soon as you become aware that you have come upon a cultivation site, back out immediately.

Most MNF campgrounds opening

Campgrounds across the Modoc National Forest are scheduled to open for Memorial Day Weekend except for those in the Medicine Lake area and higher elevations in the Warner Mountains due to late, heavy snow.
Lower elevation campgrounds of the Warner Mountain, Devil’s Garden and Big Valley Ranger Districts are now accessible to vehicle traffic. Changes in weather conditions may cause some of the remote campgrounds to become inaccessible. Please use caution as roads are still soft and vehicles pulling trailers may be difficult to maneuver or create resource damage.
Several sites on the Big Valley Ranger District will have limited services until further notice. Willow Creek campground is scheduled to open Friday, May 27, 2011, however the Day Use area does not have running water, but it will be open for use. The water system at the south end of Red Tail Rim Trail is also undergoing maintenance. Once the systems are repaired an announcement will be made.
Blue Lake, Mill Creek, and Howard’s Gulch campgrounds are open with drinking water available. Fees are $6.00 to $7.00 per night.
Soup Springs campground will remain closed until further notice for water system upgrades.
Surface work and general maintenance will be ongoing throughout the summer at Stough Reservoir; this may impact campsite availability; as the construction progresses more announcements will be made.
For more information on recreation and current road conditions, please call any of the following Forest offices: Supervisor’s Office, 530-233-5811; Warner Mountain Ranger District, 530-279-6116; Big Valley Ranger District, 530-299-3215; Doublehead Ranger District, 530-667-2246.

Obituaries:

Jack Gaskey

Jack Gaskey of Alturas, went to be with the Lord on May 18, 2011. He was born on October 8, 1930, to Lige and Mae Gaskey in Wright City, Oklahoma. He graduated from Modoc High School in 1949 and joined the U.S. Air Force as a jet plane mechanic in February 1951. In May of 1951, he married Marcia Ballard of Alturas, in Witchita Falls, Texas.
A graveside service at Alturas Cemetery was held on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, with Pastor Clarence McCarty officiating.
In his memory, donations may be sent to Shriners Hospitals for Children or a charity of the donor’s choosing.

Delbert Jones

Delbert Willard Jones, a long-time resident of Surprise Valley, passed away at the age of 89 years at the Warnerview Convalescent Hospital in Alturas, California on May 17, 2011, following a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Delbert “Deb” was born October 15, 1921, in Eagleville, California.
Memorial services were held graveside on Friday, May 20, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. at the Cedarville Cemetery. Rev. Dr. Ben Zandstra officiated. Pallbearers were Scott Gooch, Ben Gooch, Bob Gooch, Billy Gooch, Bill Laxague and Benj Zandstra. Reception potluck followed at the Cedarville Community Hall. The family provided meat and bread. Kerr Mortuary was in charge of the arrangements.
Memorial donations may be made to the Lake City Fire Department, c/o Darrel DePaul, PO Box 3504, Lake City, CA 96115.

Bobby Newman

Bob was born in June 5, 1930 in Canyon City, Colorado to James and Velva Newman and died May 3. He was the youngest of 14 children. He and his family moved to the Oregon coast in the late 30’s, where they lived for awhile before moving to Klamath Falls.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Michelle D. Young

A Memorial Service for Michelle Denise Young of Alturas, will be held June 11, 2011 at 3 p.m. at Alturas Baptist Church, 500 West Fourth St., Alturas. Pastor Ed Allen will conduct the service.

Mrs. Young passed away from cancer on December 16, 2010, in Redding, CA. She had worked as an In-Home Care provider during her 20 years in Alturas.

Sports

Hamilton City beats Braves in title game

Modoc’s solid playoff run ended in the North Section championship game Monday evening when Hamilton City beat the Braves 3-1.
“Hamilton City had a great pitcher and she was able to limit our bats,” said coach Jodie Larranaga. “Overall, the girls still played a great game, it just wasn’t our day. I’m so pleased at how well our team came together and I look for these girls to be very strong next year.”
Modoc took an early lead 1-0 in the fourth inning, but Hamilton City put up two runs in the bottom of the fourth and added one more in the fifth. Modoc could not muster another run.
Rochelle Keller started on the mound, went two innings, allowing no hits, struck out three and walked one. Ashlie Conner relieved and finished the next five innings, striking out five, walking five and allowing three hits.
Cheyenne King, Keller and Jodi Boudreaux each had one hit in the game.

Braves knock off number 1 Colusa
Modoc’s softball team knocked off the top seed in the Division V North Section CIF playoffs Thursday to get into the title game against Hamilton City.
They dropped Colusa is a tight game 2-1 in Colusa, surprising the host team with solid pitching from Conner and Keller and an outstanding defense.
A couple of base hits by Keller and Morgan Bagwell put them on second and third in the second inning, then Boudreaux slapped one into the outfield to score them both. That put Modoc up 2-0 with five innings left against a team that was 32-2 on the year.
Colusa loaded the bases in both the fifth and seventh with one out, but the Braves held them off, allowed just one run in the bottom of the seventh.
Conner started and went the first five innings, giving up four hits, no runs, struck out seven and walked eight. Keller relieved in the sixth, struck out one allowed two hits, no walks and only one run.
Courtney Knoch led the offense with a 2-4 day, while Keller, Bagwell, Monica Eppler, King and Boudreaux each had one hit.
“Colusa was on a 27-game win streak and was favored to win the whole thing,” said Coach Jodie Larranaga. “I don’t think they were expecting us to give them a game, but our girls showed up determined and ready to play. We took the lead in the second, but were never able to get anyone else around to score. But we had rock-solid defense and got out of two innings where they had the bases loaded and just one out.”
Larranaga said the umpires had squeezed the strike zone for both sides, but Conner and Keller handled it well.
“It felt like the championship game to me,” she said. “I am so impressed with this team and it’s so rewarding as their coach to see how well they came together and see them playing such outstanding ball.”
The Braves got off to a slow start this year as winter weather postponed or cancelled many of the early games.

Three Braves head to section track finals

Three Modoc track athletes are heading to the North Section CIF championships Friday in Cottonwood. Zach Goulden, Basileo Hernandez and Ashley Hoy qualified at the Division IV championships last weekend by winning an event.
Hoy won the 800 meters in 2:39.53, the discus at 105 feet and was second in the 1600 at 5:46.17.
Goulden won the long jump at 21-3 and Hernandez won the shot at 43-10.5. Goulden placed third in the 100 meters at 11.81 and in the 200 meters in 24.55.
Other varsity athletes placed as follows: Brandon Bains, third 300 hurdles 47.4; Jeremy Brandstead second in discus at 121-9 and fifth in the shot at 39-7; Sophie Hamann, third in shot at 27-1.5
Only the varsity goes to the section finals. The junior varsity boys won the small schools title.
Cam Anderson won the 110 hurdles in 16.86; the 300 hurdles in 42.78 and the high jump at 6-1. Tristian Axelrod won the 800 meters in 2:11.74 and was part of the winning 4x400 meter team of Anderson, Brandon Witherspoon and Landon Aarstad.
Daniel Martin won the 3200 meters in 11:54.68.
Witherspoon was second in the 100 meters in 12.13 while Aarstad was second in the 800 at 2:18.93 and Patrick Bratton was second in 1600 meters in 5:10.54. Aarstad was third in the 400 meters in 54.14 and Witherspoon fifth at 54.92. Aarstad was sixth in the 200 meters in 25.74.
Matt Froeming was third in the shot at 35-6.5 and Ben Correa was third in the discus at 90-7. Jesse Holloway was fourth in the triple jump at 34-5.25 and Martin was fifth at 30-0.75. Holloway was sixth in the 300 hurdles at 54.62.
For the junior varsity girls, Claudia Serrano won the discus at 78-04 and Courtney Yamagiwa won the 300 hurdles in 58.94. Serrano was second in the shot at 24-2.5 and Yamagiwa was second in the 100 hurdles at 20.3. Jordan Marquardt was third in the 100 hurdles at 21.6 and in the 300 hurdles in 60.75. Serrano was fourth in the 100 at 16.17. Kenna Funk was fourth in the 400 meters in 1:14.9 and fifth in the 800 at 3:12.

Braves make All-league

Several Modoc Braves were named to the Shasta League All-league Team this week.
Telese Dowdy, Ashlie Conner and Cheyenne King were named from the softball team while Monica Eppler was honorable mention.
Jalen Estes, Tee Wilson and Webb Dunn made the team for baseball while Jonathan Jones was honorable mention.

Rochelle Keller was selected to play in the Lions All-star game June 4 in Redding.

June 2nd, 2011

News

State prisoners returning to Modoc should not be crippling

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, which ordered the State of California to reduce its prison population by tens of thousands in an orderly fashion over the next two years, is a wake-up call for the state and counties.
But, according to Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter, the impact will not be as severe to Modoc County as it is to other counties. He explained that Modoc would only see non-violent, non-sexual and non-repeat offenders who were sentenced to State prison from Modoc returned. There just are not that many of those types of prisoners.
Poindexter said the Modoc Jail is currently running at about half capacity, so it has room. The key, however, is whether the State Legislature provides the funding to house those prisoners in county jails. Governor Jerry Brown has vowed not to implement the program, unless funding for counties is included.
The County Supervisors Association of California is pressing the legislature to provide the necessary money.

Woman victim of beating by most wanted suspect

An Alturas woman was the victim of domestic violence May 27, allegedly at the hands of Luis Albert Parrish, one of Modoc’s most wanted suspects.
The Modoc County Sheriff's Office received a report of a female down near 118 South BIA Route 77 in rural Alturas, about 6:30 p.m.
It was reported that the female victim was unconscious and bleeding from her reported injuries. Sheriff Deputies and medical personnel from Alturas Rural Fire Protection District, CalFire and Modoc Medical Center were dispatched to the incident by the SO’s Emergency Dispatch Center.
Deputies located the unconscious female, made the scene safe for fire and medical personnel, while attending to the needs of the victim at scene. The female was later transported to Modoc Medical Center for the treatment of injuries she sustained in the domestic violence incident and subsequently flown out to Redding.
During the criminal investigation, the suspect was located by Deputies at his residence. After resisting arrest, Deputies used a Taser to subdue him and took the suspect, Luis Albert Parrish, age 39, of Alturas into custody on an outstanding no bail warrant issued by the Modoc Superior Court in relation to a previous assault.

Modoc teen dies in Burney Falls accident

A 16-year-old teen from Long Beach, who had been living with his grandmother in Adin, died Monday after falling while trying to cross the rocks at the bottom of Burney Falls.
According to state park officials, the 16-year-old was trying to hop from rock to rock around 2 p.m. Monday when he fell, sparking a massive multi-agency search.
Lieutenant Janet Breshears of the Shasta County Coroner’s Office reported that Cody Austin Butterman was in an unauthorized area of the park near the falls when he slipped and hit his head.

Ft. Bidwell beating victim condition unchanged

Francisco Iracheta, the victim of a vicious beating April 9 in Ft. Bidwell, remains in critical condition in Redding.
According to Modoc Sheriff Mike Poindexter, Iracheta has shown no real signs of improvement. The family is hoping to transport him to Idaho, but there is concern the trip would be harmful.
Iracheta, an Oregon resident who was trying to get hired on the Ruby Pipeline project, had reportedly been beaten and stomped to the point of unconsciousness.

Four suspects were arrested and charged with assault or attempted murder. Sasha Leton Cress was arrested by Modoc Sheriff’s Deputies in Ft. Bidwell just after the crime and was released on bail, while Alden Alan Contreras, Miguel Guerrero Zarate and Crystal Denae Wilson turned themselves in to authorities in Reno. There are no other suspects in the case.

Sports

Goulden, Hoy 2nd, 3rd at section finals

Modoc’s Zack Goulden, a junior, and Ashley Hoy, a sophomore, placed second and third, respectively, at the elite CIF North Section Large School Track meet last Friday in Cottonwood.
They had to win their events at the Small Schools meet the week earlier to qualify for the large school finals, meaning they were competing against the best track athletes in the North Section.
Goulden leapt 21-3.25 in the long jump for second place and Hoy tossed the discuss 111 feet for third.
Hoy also placed seventh in the 800 meters at 2:27, shaving 10 seconds off her best time of the year. Her 111 feet in the discus was also a personal best for the 130-pound sophomore.
Bazileo Hernandez took eighth place in the shot put.

Modoc rider qualifies for AMA nationals

Ryan Holloway, age 14, of Alturas, has qualified for the American Motorcycle Association National Finals at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee this August.
Holloway qualified for the national finals by winning the area and regional races this year in the youth beginner stock class for 12 to 15 year olds. He rides a Honda CRF 150.
More next week.

June 9th, 2011

News

School’s out, watch out for kids

Modoc County Schools are out for the summer the end of this week, meaning more youngsters will be on bikes, skateboarding or crossing streets.
Alturas Chief of Police Ken Barnes advises divers to be more observant and aware of the children, especially darting across streets at intersection or often, not at intersections.
In addition, he reminds bicyclists and skateboarders that they are not allowed on Main Street sidewalks. He said violators will be cited and the law will be enforced.
In addition, he advises bicycle riders to obey traffic laws. Riders must ride on the right side of the road with traffic flow and must obey traffic signs, especially those highly visible red ones that say “Stop!”
Barnes also said incidents of vandalism increase in the summer and stresses businesses and homeowners should be vigilant and wary of abnormal activity in their area.

Congratulations, Grads!

Modoc High School will have 56 students receiving diplomas Friday night, June 10, at 8 p.m. during Commencement in the Modoc High Griswold Gym. MHS Teacher Myron Reynolds gives the keynote address, along with Modoc High Valedictorian Deanna Jones and Salutatorian Ruth Diaz.
Surprise Valley High School Commencement will be held June 10 at 8 p.m. in the SVHS Gymnasium. Surprise Valley co-Valedictorians are Jennifer Mueller and Lauren Soletti; Jonathan Harmon is Salutatorian.

City will spray for mosquitoes soon

The City of Alturas will begin its mosquito-spraying program as soon as weather permits, following a very wet winter and spring, and the pests are expected to be thick.
According to the City, the spraying should start in the second week of June and will be done twice a week. Staff will alternate spraying in the early morning hours before the sun comes up and then in the late evening as the sun begins to set.
The City’s spraying program has proven to be effective in controlling mosquitoes and residents pay a small fee on their monthly water bill to help cover the cost.
The City asks that residents help by making sure all containers full of water be dumped out and not to over irrigate or leave standing water for mosquito breeding ponds.

More building in City

The month of May showed an uptick in the building activity in the City of Alturas with nine permits valued at $136,350 issued by its building department.
That compared to just four building permits valued at $7,100 issued in April. That topped March when the City issued just three permits worth an estimated $4,285.20.
That came off a terrible February when just one permit valued at $111 was issued. In January, the City issued four permits worth an estimated $14,500.
In May, a large renovation project, two garages and fire damage restoration projects also helped with the totals.

Chance to put Modoc on National Geographic map

How many know where the largest gold mine holdings and explorations in the United States are currently taking place? How many know where rare obsidian that glints gold and silver or glows blue, green and purple is found?
How many know the location of a perfect example of a cirque lake? How many know where virtually undisturbed sections of the Lassen Applegate Emigrant Trail are located? Where is a 126-year-old elevator that still works located?
The answers are all the same—in Modoc County. These and many other special places are what makes Modoc County unique, not only to locals but to tourists also. Each location elicits a sense of place, revealing the special geographical character of the county.
Geotourism is tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place -- its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. It encompasses a range of niches including adventure and nature based travel, eco- and agri-tourism, cultural and heritage travel.
The National Geographic Society, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and the Sierra Business Council are developing a geotourism project that seeks to celebrate the Sierra Nevada (and the Modoc area) as a world-class destination, while contributing to its economic health and promoting long-term stewardship of the region.
The Sierra Nevada Geotourism Project is seeking local residents to help in identifying and nominating places, people and events that are distinctive to the region and sustain or enhance the geographic character of the area. Examples include local restaurants and shops, historic hotels, museums, local artists, hiking trails, festivals and events, as well as volunteer and recreational opportunities. The nomination forms are found at www.sierranevadageotourism.org.
Modoc County’s representatives to the Sierra Nevada Geotourism Council are: Lorissa Soriano, 640-0125; Valerie Lantz, 233-5540; Neneekah Forrest, 233-3758; and Jean Bilodeaux, 279-2031.They will be glad to help individuals or clubs by further explaining or presenting a program on the project or assist in filling out the nomination forms.
It is hoped to collect at least 200 nominations from within the county.
Modoc County has many natural and human attributes that make it a place worth visiting. Included in the nominations might be flora and fauna, history and historic sites, archeological sites, geology, scenic vistas, traditional architecture, local music, cuisine, crafts, dances, arts, and other places. If anything comes to mind, nominate it. The National Geographic Society website gets thousands of hits each month from people around the world. Modoc County can offer tourists that something special, a vacation that is unique and memorable.

Obituaries:

Roy Moore

Alturas resident Roy Malcolm Moore, age 73, passed away at home of a massive heart attack on Saturday, June 4, 2011. His wife Velda of Alturas is among the many family members who survive.
Graveside services will be held in Lincoln, CA, where he will be inurned at the family plot at a future date. Service announcement and an obituary will follow at a later date. Mr. Moore was born in Sacramento, CA.

Gloria Richardson

Gloria Richardson, born August 28, 1943 passed away at her home in Santa Rosa on June 6, 2011.
Family and friends are invited to attend her Celebration of Life at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 10 at Eggen & Lance Chapel at 1540 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa. All are invited to the Brandt Family picnic grounds in Healdsburg following the service. Arrangements made under the care of Santa Rosa Mortuary Eggen & Lance Chapel, 707-545-3747.

Beulah Robinson

Former longtime Alturas resident Beulah Robinson peacefully passed away on June 3, 2011, at the Country Villa, Quincy, California, where she resided for the last four years.
Born Nov. 16, 1919, in Sand Point, Idaho.
Graveside service and Interment at Alturas Cemetery Wednesday, June 8 at 2:30 p.m. Services conducted by Dr. Ben Zandstra.

Cathe Smith

A Memorial/Celebration of Life Service for Catherine Raye (Burrows) Smith, will be held on June 11, 2011, at 3 p.m. at the Cedarville Fairgrounds.
Please bring your memories and stories of Cathe.
There will be a barbecue after the service. If you have a favorite side dish or dessert you would like to bring and please do B.Y.O. beverage. For info, call (530) 279-2473.

Michelle D. Young

A Memorial Service for Michelle Denise Young of Alturas, will be held June 11, 2011 at 3 p.m. at Alturas Baptist Church, 500 West Fourth St., Alturas. Pastor Ed Allen will conduct the service.

Thomas (Tim) Power

Thomas (Tim) Moore Power, 69, of Eagleville, CA passed away June 3, 2011, in Eagleville, where he had been a resident for the past 12 years. His obituary and plans for his Memorial Service will be published at a later date. Kerr Mortuary is handling arrangements.

June Keller

Fort Bidwell resident June Keller passed away May 31, 2011, after a brief illness. She was 89 years old. June was born in Petaluma, California to John Keller, Sr. and Edna Cordelia (Smith) Keller on June 5, 1921.
A memorial service in her honor is planned for Friday, June 10, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at the Church of Latter Day Saints, County Road 1, Cedarville, CA.

Sports

Local rider heading to AMA nationals

Ryan Holloway, age 14, of Alturas, has qualified for the American Motorcycle Association National Finals at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee this August 1-6.
Holloway qualified for the national finals by winning the area and regional motocross races this year in the youth beginner stock class for 12 to 15 year olds. He rides a Honda CRF 150 with the number 920.
“I’m pretty excited about the chance to race at the finals,” Holloway said this week. “There will be plenty of competition and everyone will be good.”
He’ll be competing on a track with a 40-rider start gate.
He got his start in motocross racing at age 11 when his father, Jeff, bought him an older dirt bike. That progressed to a bigger dirt bike, then mom, Diane Fogle, bought him an 85cc bike. The 150cc Honda he rides now came from his parents.
He credits the support of his parents and the local Modoc Motocross Association for his success and interest in motorcycle racing. The Van Slyke family, of Alturas, has also been instrumental.
Over the past year, Holloway figures he’s raced in about 50 races throughout the region and won 40-45 of those. His favorite track is the Honey Lake racetrack between Susanville and Doyle. It’s a professional quality track, with a lot of big jumps and special grooming which tests a rider’s skill. He also has won on that track. This year he won the AMA area-qualifying race at Honey Lake before winning the regionals in Washington.
He’s raced in Cedarville on the local track, with another race coming up there on June 18-19, and in Klamath Falls, Salem, Medford, and Washington. He hopes to race several times before the finals in Tennessee and will go to a race this weekend in Klamath Falls.
“I like the competition and I like winning, it feels good,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of support from family and friends and have made a lot of friends from other areas. It’s fun.”

Kids pull out 40 fish at Derby

An overcast day didn’t deter Modoc County youngsters who were determined to catch some fish. And catch fish they did!
Nearly 40 fish were weighed and measured during Alturas Rotary’s two-hour long fish derby at Pine Creek Reservoir. Excitement was in the air as children ran from their favorite spot to the judges, showing their prize catch and lining up for the official statistics.

When the final bell sounded, results of the diligent efforts were announced, with Tony Stafford catching the first fish by a boy and Layla Williams the first fish by a girl. Troy Lewis snagged the biggest fish caught by a boy, weighing one pound, eight ounces and Brianna Sittig claimed the biggest catch in the girl’s category with her fish weighing eleven ounces. Josh Vierra and Karlee Pedrola were proud to claim most fish caught.

June 16th, 2011

News

Special districts stand to lose tax funds

Modoc County special districts are facing a decline in revenue, primarily because of lower tax receipts, and a possible change in County policies.
Auditor Darcy Locken explained to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the county could not front the money to those districts this year. In the past, the County used a “teeter plan” and funded special districts their entire allocation before the taxes were all paid.
This time around, she said many of those districts have about a 25 percent tax delinquency rate and the county can’t afford to pay them their entire allocation. She said a delinquency rate of about three percent is manageable. Once the tax funds come in they will be directed to those districts.
The funds Locken is addressing are special district assessments, and some include the hospital taxes for Modoc and Surprise Valley, the Library Tax, solid waste fees, California Pines and other service districts.
A number of taxpayers have paid their property tax portion or their tax bill, but in protest have refused to pay the hospital or other taxes on the bill. While that may make the taxpayer feel good, it shouldn’t.
According to Locken, if all the taxes on the tax bill aren’t paid, the county cannot accept any of the tax payment. That means the taxpayer is delinquent on his entire property tax and as importantly, the county cannot use the funds. What that means is the protest is actually costing the entire county funds, since the payment is invalid.
Locken said she will bring back a proposal at the next Board meeting June 28 asking that the County not “teeter” the tax funds.

Fire near Cougar Butte contained

The Cougar fire, near Cougar Butte on the Modoc National Forest, was declared 100 percent contained at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The 1,800-acre fire is located about two miles south of Lava Beds National Monument.
Aircraft assigned to the fire and some fire crews were released Saturday afternoon. Additional crews were released Monday morning. Remaining crews are involved in mop-up and other fire suppression activities.
Contrary to initial reports that the fire was started from slash piles the Forest Service burned last fall, the new story is the fire was human-caused, and is under investigation.
“It has been determined, however that the fire was not a result of slash burning by the Forest Service, or any other government agencies, nor was it caused by any other industrial source,” the forest news release states.
On the weekend, the fire reprtedly had burned 1880 acres, but was 50 percent contained and a dozer line had been completed and strengthened throughout the day.
At that time, incident Commander Steve Murphy expected full containment to be achieved by June 12th.
There were no structures threatened, however there are high voltage lines and a natural gas pipeline in the area that were areas of concern.
Smoke from the fire has decreased but was visible for miles, including in Alturas and in the Fall River Valley.
The fire started June 8, and was reported initially as three to four acres. Fire engine crews could not get to the fire early, because of muddy road conditions. On June 8, the fire increased to 150 acres and there was no containment on the fire.

RAC wild horse gathering project bumped up

The probable 2012 summer gathering of wild horses on the Devil’s Garden, normally a regularly funded portion of Modoc National Forest operations, this year will take $50,000 of the Secure Community Resource Advisory Committee money.
Not only are those funds being used to fund what is normally a MNF responsibility, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday bumped the funding ahead of any other funding approval by months.
County Resource Analyst Sean Curtis told the Board the MNF simply did not have experienced staff on Board to handle data collection and environmental documentation for the wild horse gathering. In addition, he said the reason for jump-starting the project was time sensitive.
He explained that quality environmental documents had to be prepared this year and there needs to be a fresh population estimate done to justify the gathering of the horses. His main concern was that both the environmental documents and population estimates need to stand up to what will surely be a court challenge.
According to Curtis, the Forest Plan calls for a population of 250 to 300 wild horses on Devil’s Garden. The existing population estimate is there are in excess of 1,500 wild horses on the Garden.

Bright globes dance in SV sky

They’re back! Maybe they never left and no one noticed. Who are they? What are they? Why here? No one knows, but theories abound.
Surprise Valley has long been known for its UFOs, all shapes and sizes, day or night, and other phenomena. Reports come in every year. From beautiful airborne glowing globes or darting lights dancing in the night sky, to cigar, spherical, oval or triangular shaped objects, small or incredibly large, they appear. All are part of an unsolved, ongoing mystery.
Last week was no exception. Huge globes of light, red, orange, yellow or white were seen primarily, but not exclusively, to the northeast in Surprise Valley.
Last Tuesday afternoon Dave Akers, P.E., electrical engineer, who has worked on the Hessdalen Project and is head of the Vogel Study on nocturnal lights appearing on the Yakama Indian Reservation near Yakima, Washington, drove to Cedarville to spend a few days examining the area. (www.vogelstudy.org).
In the early evening Akers drove to the main intersection in Cedarville and saw two lights hovering in the northeastern sky. Driving north he observed other large lights in the night sky.
Parking at the gravel pit near County Road, 18 Akers took a photo of some of the bright globes appearing and disappearing in the sky. One four second photo was taken by his Nikon D90 digital SLR camera, 55mm lens, f5.6 aperture at 4 seconds, with an equivalent ISO value of 1600, GPS date: 2011:06:08 GPS time: 5:41:03.0 (UTC) Altitude: 1439.0 m.
The photo shows two lights making 90 degree turns, dipping down, then up, turning again and traveling south before hovering stationary in the sky.
The next evening Akers set up his cameras and scientific instruments east of Cedarville near the causeway. He called local UFO researcher Jean Bilodeaux when he saw the first lights appear. She called Curt Rose at the Surprise Valley Hot Springs and asked him to grab his video camera and step outside.

Obituaries:

Mick Doss

Elwyn Keith “Mick” Doss passed away on June 8, 2011, in his home in Alturas, CA. He was 80 years old. Mick had served as Director of Public Works for the City of Alturas until 1991, when he retired after 28 years with the City. After his retirement, Born on March 10, 1931, in Ft. Bidwell, CA
At Mick’s request, there will be no funeral or services. Donations may be made to the Humane Society; High Plateau Humane Society, P.O Box 1383, Alturas, CA 96101 or any Veterans organization including Veterans Guest House, 880 Locust St., Reno, NV 89502-0948, which provides veterans and their families with caring support during times of medical need.

Joy Murphy

Alturas resident Joy D Murphy, age 74, passed away June 4, 2011, in Redding, CA, with loving family at her side after a courageous battle with cancer. A Memorial Service is planned for 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 25 at the Federated Community Church, 307 East First St., Alturas.
Joy was born October 11, 1936, in Mason, Ohio, to Adams and Mildred Dickinson.
Donations in Joy’s name may be made to the Modoc County Library, 212 West Third St., Alturas, CA 96101 or the American Cancer Society.

Marshal Kemper

Marshall I. Kemper was born March 30, 1939, in Fillmore, California to Gerald L. and Jessie O. Kemper.
Marshall passed away on June 11, 2011, at Modoc Medical Center
A memorial service will be held Friday, June 17, 2011, at Alturas Baptist Church. Officiating the service is Minister Curtis Barber.

Vyra Stringer

Vyra Nell (Stever) Stringer of Bieber passed away June 3, 2011. Born Sept. 18, 1929, in Red Bluff, CA, she was the first born of seven children of Hazel and Harry Stever. Private family graveside service will take place June 17 at 2 p.m. at Exeter Cemetery, Exeter, CA. Contributions may be made to the Big Valley 50 Plus.

Norma Messner

Norma Neva Mathews Messner, age 92, passed away on Thursday, June 9, 2011, at Christmas Valley, Oregon.
Norma was born in Fort Bidwell, California on October 21, 1918, to Curtis and Fay (Mason) Mathews.
A funeral service will be held at the Fort Bidwell Peoples Church Building on Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. with a private, family committal in the Fort Bidwell Cemetery. Following the services a reception will be held in the Fort Bidwell Civic Center. Visitation will be Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 to 5 at the Desert Rose Funeral Chapel, Lakeview, OR.
Contributions in Norma’s memory may be made to the Fort Bidwell Cemetery, c/o Jane Higgins, P.O. Box 85, Fort Bidwell, CA 69112 or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Roy Moore

Roy M. Moore passed away on June 4, 2011 at home in Alturas, CA, where he resided for the past 20 years. He was born Feb. 2, 1938, in Sacramento, CA and raised on the family ranch in Lincoln, CA.
Graveside service will be held at Lincoln Cemetery on Saturday, June 25, at 11:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the charity of your choice.

George Breunig

Surprise Valley cheerleader and Cedarville resident, George Breunig, passed away on June 2, 2011. Born May 2, 1937, and raised in Los Angeles
A Gathering in Honor of George Breunig will be held on July 2, 2011 at the Breunig home, 670 Center Street, in Cedarville from 4-6 p.m. All are welcome.

Earl Cravens

Canby resident Earl W. Cravens passed away at his home on June 12, 2011, a month shy of his 66th birthday.
Earl was born July 15, 1945, in Downey, CA. He served in the Merchant Marines from 1965 until 1971. Memorial donations may be directed to TEACH Food Bank or the Modoc County Senior Citizens Center, 906 West Fourth St., Alturas, CA 96101 on behalf of Earl Cravens. Services are pending.

Sports

Pool opens with free swim day

Alturas Municipal Swimming Pool will open with a free swim day on Saturday, June 18 at 1 p.m. at Fourth and Warner Streets, Alturas.
The Pool hours of operation will continue with Recreational swim Monday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. and Saturday from 1-5 pm. Lap swim Monday-Saturday Noon-1 p.m. and Monday-Friday 5:30-7:30 p.m.
General admission for the pool remains $3 per person; $2 for senior citizens. Season passes $75 for an individual and $100 for a family (single household up to five people; each additional person, $10).
A swimming lesson schedule will be available on opening day, and lessons can be scheduled at that time for private, semi-private or group lessons.
Costs: Group, two weeks-40 minutes, $45; one week - 40 minutes, $22.50; Private one-on-one lessons, $75 for one week, 30 minutes per time; Semi-private, (two students) $40; three students, $30.
The pool may be rented for private parties - One hour minimum, $50 per hour (includes one lifeguard, additional lifeguards, $9 per hour), available Saturday mornings and evenings; all day Sundays and weekday evenings after regular pool hours.
The public pool is open at Fourth and Warner Streets, Alturas. Please call 233-4299 for additional information. Eleanor Dorton returns as Pool Manager.

CAL FIRE Begins Fire Season

The Lassen-Modoc-Plumas Unit of CAL FIRE officially declared the opening of wildfire season Monday, June 6th. This announcement is made each year to remind residents that as the weather warms, fire risks increase.
CAL FIRE began staffing fire stations on June 6th and anticipated full staffing by July 11th. Though fire restrictions are not currently in effect, residents need to be safe with fire and pay attention to conditions that will begin drying out as we move into the summer months. Permits for outdoor burning have been required since May 1st. Those permits will be suspended on July 1st which is just around the corner.
CAL FIRE encourages residents to continue working to create 100 feet of defensible space around their homes. Defensible space is essential to improve your home’s chance of surviving a wildfire. It’s the buffer you create between a building on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs and any wildland areas that surround it. This space is needed to slow or stop the spread of wildfire and for the protection of firefighters defending your home.

Start with the following steps to help keep your home safe: remove all dead or dying plants within 30 feet of your home. Remove dead leaves and pine needles from roof and rain gutters. Trim trees so branches are a minimum of 10 feet from other trees. Remove or prune flammable plants and shrubs near windows. Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches. Remove vegetation and items that could catch fire from around and under decks.

June 23rd, 2011

News

City says no water, sewer rate increase

Faced with a weak economy, the Alturas City Council chose not to raise sewer and water rates for its citizens over the next year.
Instead, the Council chose to make cuts in those departments’ operation and management budgets for the next year.
The council’s decision came as a relief to residents, even though the rate hikes would have been pretty small.
Last week the Council also granted formal approval for Public Works Director Chester Robertson to perform that role as well as a new position as Modoc County Chief Administrative Officer. He is splitting his time, although the exact percentage of time for each agency is not specified.
The City reduced Robertson’s salary from $63,321 to $40,000 as part of the deal. The County will pay him $80,000 annually as CAO.
The Council also adopted an ordinance prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation in Alturas, other than by qualified patients or caregiver. The ordinance does not prohibit personal cultivation for those people who have medicinal marijuana recommendations, as long as those people stay within the limits of the state law.
The City is also looking for ways to handle 911 dispatch services, since the Modoc County Sheriff’s Office is unable to continue funding the full program.
Mayor John Dederick and Chief of Police Ken Barnes have no problem with the quality of service currently, but stress the City cannot afford to pay the $6,000 per month requested by the Sheriff’s Office.
The City is currently negotiating with the California Highway Patrol to provide the dispatch service, at a much lower rate. The details of that contract are still in the works.

Lion sightings in SV more frequent, in town

In late May about 6 p.m., a mountain lion was brazen enough to saunter across Dan and Sonja Macsay’s Eagleville backyard, well within their vision.
Later, a lion jumped a five-foot fence, entered their barn and took off with a lamb. The barn is adjacent to the house. Macsay contacted state trapper Kent Mullis.
Mullis tracked the lion for two days, then set up a box trap at the lamb kill site, about 60 feet from the Macsay barn. The 110-pound lion came back and sprung the trap. It was dispatched by Mullis.
Soon after, Macsay’s neighbor opened the front door of his home to let his dog out for the morning and was stunned to see a full-grown mountain lion on his lawn not far away. He closed the door, shaken, without letting the dog outside.
In both cases, the lions were observed during daylight hours.
According to Macsay and other Surprise Valley residents, the sightings of mountain lions have become frequent and unnerving. They have been seen north of Cedarville, near Lake City and in the Warners. One group of five lions was seen not far from County Road One on the road to Sworinger Reservoir.
This spring several lions killed more than 40 Bare Ranch sheep just south of Eagleville on the Nevada side.
“We know they’re out there, but it seems they’re being seen in and around town more often,” said Macsay. “People just need to be aware and be careful, especially with children.”

Fandango is coming

Amid the class and family reunions, the traditional Fandango activities will be part of the Fourth of July weekend in Alturas, starting Friday, July 1 at 7 p.m. at Veterans Park Pavilion, So. Main Street. The Little Mr. & Miss Fandango contest starts at 7 p.m. Entries close Monday, June 27 (see display ad for application/info). Polish up a classic for Friday night’s Main Street Cruise starting at 7:30 from Veterans Park. Then dance under the stars from 8 p.m. ‘til midnight at the Park Pavilion, where a beer garden and food will be provided.
Saturday, July 2, join the annual Loop Bike Race around the Modoc Wildlife Refuge by registering at 8 a.m. at the Locomotive behind the Modoc County Museum. This year the Alturas City Fire Department will celebrate its 100th Anniversary and AFD Fire Chief Keith Jacques has been selected as Parade Grand Marshal. Fandango Parade line up begins at 9 a.m. at West Eighth St., at Amerigas. The Parade starts at 10:30 a.m. Vendors/activities open at 11:30 a.m. at the Veterans’ Park. Alturas Rural and City Fire Departments will participate in a Muster at the park. A Car show will be held at the park. Events are sponsored by the Alturas Chamber of Commerce.
Cal Pines will offer activities all day long and a barbecue at 2 p.m. (see display ad this week for details). Watch fireworks over Cal Pines Lake at dusk Saturday night.
Watch next week’s Record for more details.

SV BLM seeking public comments on EA for wild horse roundup

The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Surprise Field Office is seeking public comments on an environmental assessment (EA) addressing wild horse population management, including a proposed roundup and removal of an overpopulation of wild horses, from five herd management areas collectively referenced as the High Rock Complex in far western Nevada.
“It’s important that people submit comments,” said Allen Bollschweiler, Surprise Valley BLM Field Manager. “The comment periods are real and will be a part of the record.”
Bollschweiler has managed the SV office since November, arriving from Sante Fe, New Mexico. He has worked for the BLM for the past seven years.
The EA, titled "High Rock Complex Wild Horse Population Management Plan," is available online at http://www.ca.blm.gov/ 345c. Those who prefer the document in written or computer disc form should contact the BLM Surprise Field Office at (530) 279-6101. A 30-day public comment period runs through Friday, July 15. The BLM will consider comments in developing a Decision Record to be released this summer.
Comments can be sent to Surprise Field Office, Attn: High Rock Complex, PO Box 460, Cedarville, CA 96104. Comments may also be sent via email to cahighrockcomplex@blm.gov. To be most helpful, comments should be specific to the alternatives presented in the EA.

The BLM proposes removing about 1,090 wild horses from the Bitner, Nut Mountain, High Rock, Fox Hog and Wall Canyon herd management areas to bring the population to within the appropriate management level. Additionally, about 400 wild horses roaming outside of established HMAs would be removed from the range in accordance with the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act. If needed, wild horses would be added to specific herd management areas to bring population levels up to the appropriate management level (AML).

Sports

Super Bull bucks off Saturday

It’s finally summer in Surprise Valley and that can only mean one thing – it’s time to celebrate the “Cowboy West” at the 15th Annual Super Bull Rodeo at the Modoc District Fairgrounds in Cedarville.
It all begins at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 25 in the Grandstand Arena.
Cowboy clowns and mutton bustin’ (featuring kids 4-8) will start off the fun. Then it’s down to work as competitors from the tri-state region serve up some serious rodeo.
The night’s thrilling competitions all culminate with the always-popular “Short Go” where the six top-scoring bull riders vie for a grand cash prize and the right to wear a shiny winner’s buckle. This year’s $2,000 added purse will also be awarded if at least 30 bull riders compete overall.
Les Schwab Tires is sponsoring the prized silver belt buckle awarded to the night’s Bronc Champion while Surprise Valley Auto Parts and Modoc Auto Parts of Alturas are teaming up to donate the top bull rider’s silver buckle.
Super Bull pre-sale tickets are $12 if purchased at one of many local outlets, including Page’s Market, Woody’s Saloon and Surprise Valley Auto Parts in Cedarville and Modoc Auto Parts (NAPA), Seab’s True Value, and Jay’s Clothing Store in Alturas.
Tickets are $15 at the gate. Children 7 and under enter free if accompanied by an adult.
The fairground gates open at 5:00 p.m. so come early and plan to stop for a beverage and some great food. Volunteers from the Surprise Valley Chamber of Commerce will be grilling burgers and serving up a wide assortment of dinner and snack items at the concession stand near the arena.

June 30th, 2011

News

SV man shot and killed in Lake City

A Surprise Valley man, Kevin Scott Konz, was shot and killed June 24, in the early morning hours at a residence in Lake City. The investigation into the shooting continues, but Craig Gordon Lafferty, of Lake City was arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter.
Memorial services for Konz were held Wednesday at the Modoc Fairgrounds in Cedarville. Konz is a 2005 graduate of Surprise Valley High School and was back in Surprise Valley working for the Bureau of Land Management.
According to Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter, on June 24 at about 2:08 a.m., Sheila Sanford called the Modoc County Sheriff's Office to report a possible burglary in progress at her residence located at 4669 County Road 17 in Lake City. Sanford told the on-duty sheriff's dispatcher that someone was trying to get into her residence, that the father of her children was outside, but he could not see anyone about the outside of the residence.
Sanford told the sheriff's dispatcher that she had seen a subject looking in a window of the residence, but could not provide a description. She told the sheriff's dispatcher that the father of her children had advised her that he found no one outside of the three-story home. Sanford told the sheriff's dispatcher that they were unable to locate the person and were fine for now and they would call back if they needed anything further.
Approximately 45 minutes later, Sanford called the Sheriff's Office to report that a subject had been shot at her residence. Sanford told the on-duty sheriff's dispatcher that Konz had been shot by the father of her children, Lafferty. Medical personnel and Modoc County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to the scene.

County stops Teeter method fro tax allocations

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to discontinue the “Teeter” method for tax allocations, on the strong advice of Auditor Darcy Locken.
Not holding much back, Locken told the Board that even if they didn’t approve her request to stop the “Teeter” allocations, she would probably not pay out anyway because it could be illegal.
The change in policy actually will mean less revenue for all special districts and the county itself for those entities whose collection percentage is below 97 percent of their total tax charge.
Basically, under the Teeter plan the county bills all the taxes on one statement and then fronts the money to entities based upon the total amount of the tax billed, not on the actual amount collected. This time around, the allocations will be based upon what’s collected.
Locken has explained to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the county could not front the money to those districts this year. In the past, the County used the “teeter plan” and funded schools, special districts their entire allocation before the taxes were all received. The entities will receive the full amount of the taxes collected.

Modoc faces Supervisor redistricting issue

While the issue may become contentious, Modoc County is facing a requirement to adjust Supervisor District boundaries and bring them closer in population.
The Board of Supervisors Tuesday appointed a redistricting committee, led by Clerk of the Board Stephanie Northrup.
A couple Supervisors suggested leaving the district the way they are now, but that may not stand up to state and federal election scrutiny.
The committee will study the issue and bring back options to the Board at the second meeting on the fourth Tuesday in July.
The goal is to have each of the County’s five Supervisor District contain about the same number of people, based upon the latest census numbers. As it is now, the Districts are out of balance.
The current population for each District is as follows: District One, 1,253; District Two, 2,222; District Three, 1,864; District Four, 2,378; and District Five, 1,959.

Fandango celebrations open Friday

Alturas’ population will swell this weekend, as residents past and present, gather for class and family reunions, special celebrations and the traditional Fandango Days activities as part of the Fourth of July weekend.
The big weekend events open with The Little Mr. & Miss Fandango contest Friday night, July 1 at 7 p.m. at Veterans’ Park Pavilion, So. Main Street, Alturas. Fourteen children have entered the contest to claim this year’s titles of Little Mr. and Miss and Junior Mr. and Miss Fandango and the chance to ride in the parade. The Alturas Chamber of Commerce presents the annual Fandango Days Celebration.
Polish up a classic car for Friday night’s Main Street Cruise starting at 7:30 from Veterans Park. Then, dance under the stars from 8 p.m. ‘til midnight at the Park Pavilion, where a beer garden and food will be served to keep the crowd dancing. Music will be provided by Golden Rose Productions, D.J. Harry Boulade.
Saturday morning, join the annual 12.5 mile Loop Bike Race around the Modoc Wildlife Refuge by registering at 8 a.m. at the Locomotive behind the Modoc County Museum. Riders will be finished in time to join the parade.
Parade entries will line up Saturday at 9 a.m. on West Eight Street at AmeriGas. The Fandango Parade will kick off at 10:30 a.m. from north to south on Alturas’ Main Street. Alturas City Fire Department has been selected to fulfill the role as Grand Marshal in honor of the AFD’s 100th Anniversary. AFD Fire Chief is Keith Jacques and Alturas Fire Marshal is Steve Jacques. The City Fire Dept. will face off with the Alturas Rural Fire Department in a crowd-pleasing Muster at the park following the Fandango Parade. Alturas Chamber President Stephanie Northrup says 30 booths have been reserved bringing food, games, vendors plus a Kids’ Corner of activities, which all open at 11:30 a.m. at the Veterans’ Park.
Plan to enjoy an afternoon in the park. Dual Stix will be playing music live from a park stage with Gary Bell on Keyboard, Shawn Esola, lead singer and rhythm guitar, Robert Nesbitt, Drums and Larry Floyd, Bass. Wander through the Classic Car Show. Alturas City Fire Dept. will be serving barbecued Tri-tip sandwiches on the park patio, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3327 will offer hamburgers and hotdogs and the Lions Club will have a beer wagon for those old enough to imbibe. Numerous additional groups will be offering food and cool treats. Vendors will offer everything from handblown glass jewelry to organic food products.
California Pines will offer activities all day long on the Lodge grounds, plus a barbecue starting at 2 p.m. and live music (see the Cal Pines Lodge display ad this week for details).
Join the crowds to ooh and aahh at the big fireworks show over California Pines Lake at dusk Saturday night. The California Pines Property Owners Association in conjunction with community donations makes this year’s show possible.

County grows, City shrinks for 2010 count

Modoc County’s overall population grew 2.5 percent from 2009’s, 9,449 to 9,686, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It had dropped from 1990 to 2000.
The City of Alturas shrunk during the same period from 2,892 in 2009 to 2010’s 2,827, a loss of 65 people.
Countywide, 37 percent of the residents are ages 55 and older, 3,539, while 1,770 are schooled aged children, 18.2 percent. Only nine percent are aged 20-29. The largest age group is 60 to 64 years at 827 people.
In a tribute to longevity, 797 residents are age 75 and older with 221 of those age 85 and older.
The County is also fairly evenly split among the sexes with 50.4 percent being male and 49.6 percent female. There are 4,878 males and 4,808 females in Modoc. The breakdown by age groups looks like this: ages 16 and over, 3,936 male, 3,888 female; 18 and over, 3,783 males, 3,776 female; 21 and over, 3,654 male, 3,628 female; 62 and over, 1,194 males, 1,190 female; 65 and over, 946 male, 959 female.
On the race breakdown, 83.5 are white, 13.9 percent are Hispanic or Latino, 6.1 percent are American Indian or Alaska native, and 1.2 percent are black or African American.

Obituaries:

Keith Wood
Keith Wood of Alturas passed away on Thursday, June 23, 2011, at home. He was born in Plainview, MN on February 19, 1946. He was a Vietnam War veteran, having served in the U.S. Army from 1972-1974. He lived in Cottonwood, CA for several years before moving to Alturas 20 years ago.
At his request, no services will be held.

Richard Bath

Services for Adin native Richard Ben Bath will be held Sunday, June 26, 2011 at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, ID. In Lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in memoriam to Cocolalla Lake Bible Camp or Morgan Acres Community Church. In keeping with his request Rich’s remains will be returned to Ash Valley at a yet to be determined time. He passed away Tuesday, June 21 in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. Mr. Bath’s obituary and photo will be published in the Record’s July 7 issue.

John Conlan

John Joseph Conlan, age 63, died on June 21, 2011, at Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital in Portland, OR after battling a rare blood disease. John was born on October 11, 1947 to Jack and Nora Conlan in Alturas, CA. He grew up in Fort Bidwell, CA on his family’s ranch.
Memorial contributions can be made to Fort Bidwell Volunteer Fire Department, PO Box 296, Ft. Bidwell, 96112 or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Services will be July 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm at St. James Mission in Cedarville, CA with burial at Ft. Bidwell Cemetery.

George A. Breunig

A Gathering in Honor of George Breunig will be held on July 2, 2011, at the Breunig home, 670 Center Street, in Cedarville from 4-6 p.m. All are welcome. Mr. Breunig of Cedarville, passed away on June 2, 2011.
He is survived by his wife Mary; sons Thomas (El Cerrito), Kevin (Colorado Springs), and James (Richmond), four grandchildren Ian, Jennifer, Austin, and Kyle; sister Joan and two brothers David (wife Cynthia), and Paul (wife Barbara).

Lindsey Harris

On June 24, 2011, Lindsey Harris passed away at his home in Fernley, Nevada. Lindsey Arthur Harris was a native of Surprise Valley, born in Cedarville, CA November 20, 1957.
Please join in welcoming Lindsey Harris home and celebrate his life Friday, July 1, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. Graveside Eagleville Cemetery; reception to follow Eagleville Community Hall.

Charles Buzz Brown

On June 11, 2011, loving father and husband Clark Louis “Buzz” Brown departed from this world on a westbound train the “Midnight Special.” Buzz was born April 1, 1935 to Dudley and Anna Brown, in Weaverville, California. His family relocated shortly after to Davis Creek, California. He grew up on a California Department of Transportation Maintenance Station on Sugar Hill.

A funeral was held Friday, June 17, 2011 and a Rosary on June 16, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Carlin, Nevada. Family and friends gathered after the services at Pacini Hall. Donations for Buzz can be made to the American Legion Scholarship fund in his name. Send Donations to P.O. Box 763 Carlin Nevada 89822.

Sports

Free Fishing Day is Saturday, July 2

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) invites anglers to celebrate Independence Day by fishing in California’s spectacular waters. Saturday, July 2 is the first of Californias two 2011 Free Fishing Days (the other will be Sept. 3), when people can try their hand at fishing without having to buy a sport fishing license.
All fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. Every angler must have an appropriate report card if they are fishing for abalone, steelhead, sturgeon, spiny lobster or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity River systems.
DFG offers two Free Fishing Days each year usually in conjunction with the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend when its legal to fish without a sport fishing license. This year, the Free Fishing Days were set for the Saturdays preceding Independence Day and Labor Day (July 2 and Sept. 3) because they fall on holiday weekends, when its likely to be the most convenient for the public. Free Fishing Days provide a low-cost way to give fishing a try. Some DFG Regions offer a Fishing in the City (www.dfg.ca.gov/fishinginthecity/index.html) program where you can go fishing in major metropolitan areas. Fishing in the City and Free Fishing Day clinics are designed to educate novice anglers about fishing ethics, fish habits, effective methods for catching fish and fishing tackle. You can even learn how to clean and prepare your catch so you can enjoy it for dinner that night.
Anglers should check the rules and regulations (www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations/) for the waters they plan to fish. Wardens will be on duty to enforce them. For more information on Free Fishing Days, please visit www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/fishing/freefishdays.html.

Medicine Lake campgrounds closed through July 4th

Campgrounds at Medicine Lake on the Modoc National Forest will be closed through at least July 4th due to snowdrifts blocking access to the area. Currently, access is blocked 5 miles or farther from the Lake by large snowdrifts on the roads. Future weather conditions will determine how long these snowdrifts actually persist and roads remain blocked. Once the Lake is accessible and water in the campgrounds is potable, the Forest Service will release the opening date for the campgrounds.

Also, the water system at Willow Creek Day Use area is currently undergoing repairs and water is unavailable. The Day Use area, located about 15 miles south of Adin, California along Highway 139, remains open to the public, but visitors are advised to bring their own water. An updated news release will be issued when repairs to the water system are complete.

July 7th, 2011

News

Investigation continues in SV shooting

The ongoing and intensive investigation into the shooting death of Kevin Scott Konz June 24 in Lake City is revealing more details, but some parts remain a mystery.
Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter said he and his investigators are working to piece together what actually transpired that night.
“We’re talking to a lot of people and sorting through reports and records,” Poindexter said. “We have the recording of the 911 calls, but there are lots of questions on this case. In past some local investigators had a theory of what happened in a crime and worked hard to collect evidence just to prove that theory. That’s not how we work. We’re doing our best to find out exactly what happened and try to determine why it happened based upon the facts we uncover in the investigation.”
Konz, was shot and killed June 24, in the early morning hours at a residence in Lake City belonging to Sheila Sanford. Craig Gordon Lafferty, of Lake City, the father of Sanford’s twins and a neighbor, was arrested by the Sheriff and charged with voluntary manslaughter. He has been released on his own recognizance.
Poindexter was not surprised with the release of the suspect, but that decision rests solely in the hands of the judge. He also acknowledges the rumors and theories running rampant in Surprise Valley. He doesn’t discount all of those rumor’s validity, but stresses the only two people who know what happened are Sanford and Lafferty. Whether they are telling the truth is what is driving the investigation.

June building activity falls off

While the month of May showed some improvement in building activity in the City of Alturas, June was anemic with just four permits valued at $7,950 issued.
Two of the permits were for re-roofing projects and a third for a porch cover.
May had showed an increase in the building activity in the City with nine permits valued at $136,350 issued by its building department.
That compared to just four building permits valued at $7,100 issued in April. That topped March when the City issued just three permits worth an estimated $4,285.20.
That came off a terrible February when just one permit valued at $111 was issued. In January, the City issued four permits worth an estimated $14,500.

Cal Fire fee could be restrictive

The budget just passed in California includes an increase in the vehicle license fee of $12 and property owners who live in State Responsibility Areas (SRA) will face a $150 fee for fire protection.
SRAs consist of lands on which Department of Forestry and Fire Protection/CAL FIRE is responsible for fire protection. The fee does not impact people who live in the Cities.
California Pines and Canby Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ron Sherer said that extra fire fees might break the backs of some local residents, especially in the Cal Pines subdivision.
Sherer believes that many people simply won’t pay the fees, on top of the other property taxes, special fees for the hospitals, library, solid waste and so on.
A large part of Modoc County is under SRA protection, Sherer said. He sees the fee as being a potentially huge problem.

RAC meets July 11

The Modoc National Forest Resource Advisory Committee will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday July 11th in the large conference room at the Modoc National Forest headquarters in Alturas.
The committee will consider projects that have been proposed for funding under provisions of the Secure Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. The meeting is open to the public.

Obituaries:
Jim Marr

Come enjoy good food and memories at a Celebration of Life for Jim Marr on July 23 at 2 p.m. at Federated Community Church, 307 East First St., Alturas.

Richard Ben Bath

Richard Ben Bath, a husband, father, pastor, cowboy, grandfather, friend, went to be with his Savior at 3:55 a.m. Tuesday, June 21, 2011, in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.
Born January 1, 1931 in an old ranch house in Ash Valley, CA, 20 miles outside of Adin,
Services were held June 26 at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, ID. Memorial contributions may be directed to Cocolalla Lake Bible Camp or Morgan Acres Community Church. In keeping with his request Rich’s remains will be returned to Ash Valley.

June (Fulfer) Boyd

June Jacqueline Boyd of Alturas and formerly Canby, CA passed away July 3, 2011, at Modoc Medical Center, Alturas. Born June Fulfer in Oklahoma City, OK on June 22, 1927, she was 84. Her husband Bill preceded her in death. The Record will publish further information as it becomes available.

Bob Bushey

Canby rancher Bob Bushey, Sr. passed away at his home on July 2, 2011. Services will be private.

Patricia Ann Miller

Alturas homemaker Patricia Ann Miller, 64, passed away July 4, 2011, at Modoc medial Center, Alturas, CA. Memorial Service information and her obituary will be published at a future date.

John R. Woodman

John Robert Woodman, age 54, passed away July 3, 2011 at Modoc Medical Center, Alturas, CA. Mr. Woodman of Alturas and Likely, is survived by his daughter Amber Castellanos of Alturas; son Erin Woodman, Alturas; mother Claudia Woodman, Klamath Falls, OR.; brothers Ron Woodman of Merrill and Don Woodman of Taft, OR; sister Kelly Smith of Roseburg, OR and numerous relatives.
Mr. Woodman’s service announcement and obituary will be published at a future date.

Donald H. Streiff

Former Alturas resident Donald Homer Streiff of Redding, CA, age 74, passed away on July 3, 2011, in Redding.
Born on July 28, 1936 in Alturas, CA. Don is survived by his sons Pete and Josh Streiff.
Services will be held 2 p.m. Friday July 8, 2011, at Allen and Dahl Funeral Chapel, 21853 Topland Drive, Palo Cedro, CA 96073; (530) 547-4925.
Burial ceremonies will be held 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 12 at Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery, 2720 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento, CA; Ph (916) 443-8598.

July 14th, 2011

News

Task Force clears 20,000 pot plants in Warners

The Modoc County Drug Task Force put a dent in marijuana cultivation on public lands last week, knowing full well that it’s just the start of the season.
On Friday, July 9, the Task Force with assistance from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, California Highway Patrol and Washoe County Sheriff’s Department, raided and eradicated a marijuana plantation on Forest Service lands in southeastern Modoc County. The area was on the east side of the Warner Mountains in a canyon above Sworinger Reservoir.
According to the Task Force, over 20,000 plants were removed from the site, with a street value of about $25 million. No suspects were apprehended, but officers did locate evidence indicating the growers were armed. The growers left a box of 9mm ammunition at the site along with camping gear and a variety of other items.
The Task Force eliminated close to 50,000 marijuana plants last year from public lands and expects to exceed that number this year. Task Force officers want to remind the public to be careful when exploring the National Forests and to be aware of their surroundings at all times.
“If you come across water lines, trails, camps or plants that seem to be out of place for the area, do not attempt to confront the growers,” they advise. “Exit the area in the direction you came from and report the information as soon as possible to the Modoc County Sheriff’s Office. Your names and information will remain confidential.”

MMC study funding state of emergency

Modoc Medical Center’s Board of Directors debated Wednesday evening on whether to declare a state of emergency because of negative cash flows to the hospital. They also debated whether to proceed with layoffs on Monday, July 18th.
If necessary, the initial layoff could involve 15 employees, and the total could be about 25 people.
“It is important to note that special district taxes collected thus far are not considered available resources to the hospital until such a time that the district transfer is complete,” said Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner. “The hospital is still operating as a County facility under an interim operating agreement granted by the Modoc County Board of Supervisors. All of the documentation has been submitted to the proper governing agencies, but nothing has been finalized as of yet.”
Derner figures the entire licensing process should be complete in September.
According to Derner, in June all departments came together and put forth a balanced budget despite MediCal cuts with only one possible layoff. MMC reviewed the budget with Union representatives on June 9th and requested support before the end of June to avoid either layoffs or severe cuts in services provided.
“To date, the Union has not agreed with the Hospital on the pending budget proposals to allow the hospital to operate within its means,” Derner said. “MMC is fiscally obligated to operate within a balanced budget, therefore the negative cash flow trend cannot continue. Non-union members have already taken five percent wage cuts and salary freezes. Yet, these changes are not enough to achieve the decreased costs necessary to balance the budget.”

Schools in Financial Bind, state officials Wimpy

While Modoc schools will be able to weather the budget storm and declining enrollments for the next year, they may not be able to weather “irresponsible” budget decisions at the State level.
That’s the view of Modoc County Superintendent of School Gary Jones.
“Another state budget cycle places an ever-increasing financial burden on our public schools to meet the educational needs of students,” Jones contends. “The undeniable fact is: public school funds have become the trough at which government officials feed. Our government officials remind me of the Popeye cartoon character, Wimpy. ‘I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.’ The Wimpys of the world keep eating the hamburgers and Tuesday never comes!”
Jones said even clear state law doesn’t seem to dissuade the government. “Through Proposition 98, the voters of the state set a minimum guarantee for funding education,” he said. “The purpose, language, and formulas of Prop. 98 are constantly ignored, manipulated, and reinterpreted to prevent the full funding, or even honest funding, of public schools. Not only are schools receiving cuts in funding well below the guarantee (20%), but the state actually defers (borrows) cash from the schools to fund the state’s debt.”
In addition, local school district boards and superintendents face new obstacles, besides the insidious manipulation of Prop 98, ongoing cuts to state aid, and greater deferrals of cash?

MJU can weather 2011-2012 school year

Mike Martin just took over the reins as Superintendent of Modoc Joint Unified School District. It should have been a smooth summer transition, but the State of California passed its budget, which doesn’t do a lot of good for schools.
From Martin’s point of view, the best word to describe the state’s budget and its impact on local schools is “irresponsible.”
“Honestly, we’re in as good a position as we can be and feel comfortable going into the school year that there will be no major changes,” he said. “The following year may be different.”
In essence, the District is to budget for 2011-12 using the same figures as 2010-11. The flat funding model is troublesome, especially based upon the fact that the District has to keep the same level of staffing, regardless of possible mid-year funding cuts.
MJUSD is also looking at a decline in enrollment of 47 students, from 850 to 803. The loss of Average Daily Attendance funds is huge. At $5,786 per student, it amounts to $271,952. In the not-too-distant past, the MJUSD had an enrollment of over 1,200.
Martin said the District has been “living on” its Secure Schools and flexibility funding for the past few years. The Secure Schools money may be in its last year, erasing over $464,000 and flexibility funds of $300,000 are flexible and could be returned to their categorical uses.

Fire fees generating plenty of heat

The recent approval of legislation setting a $150 annual fire protection fee, which impacts rural areas hard is generating a lot of opposition. On Tuesday, the Modoc County Board of Supervisors blasted the issue, but since it was not on the agenda, did not take action. It will be on the agenda for the July 26 meeting.
The budget just passed in California includes a provision where property owners who live in State Responsibility Areas (SRA) will face a $150 fee for fire protection. The fee does not impact cities nor areas under local fire protection responsibility.
“This is a big deal!” said Modoc Planning Director Kim Hunter. “There is a difference between SRA zones and fire districts. These zones include our ‘recreational subdivisions’ including all of Cal Pines, Modoc Recreational Estates, Thoms Creek Estates and some of the community ‘urban’ areas. For example: the west side of CR 1 in Eagleville. However, this type of fee has been in the works for a long, long time so it’s not surprising. With the State budget situation it's the year for it to happen.”

APD catches potential arsonist in the act

The Alturas Police caught a potential arsonist in the act Sunday night about 10:40 p.m. at the Gibson House on West Third Street in Alturas.
According to Chief of Police Ken Barnes, Eric Foreman had been in an altercation with one of the residents of the home, Brett Fullerton. Police received a report that Foreman went to get his bow and arrows and was coming back to shoot Fullerton.
Barnes said Foreman apparently had a change of plans and instead set up papers at the old home and lit the pile of papers. The stack didn’t burn well, according to Barnes, so Foreman obtained five gallons of gas and was returning to light it.

Obituaries:
William Laxague

A service of Tribute, Love and Respect will be held July 15, 2011 for William Donnell Laxague Sr., who passed away peacefully at his home in Cedarville, CA. Services will be held at 11 a.m. at his home at 695 Patterson Street in Cedarville. Dr. Reverend Benjamin Zandstra will conduct the services and celebration of his life. Burial in the Cedarville Cemetery will follow the services.
William (Bill), the eldest of three children was born to Pete John Laxague and Buena Donnell (Jones) Laxague in Cedarville, California on December 16, 1931.

Kevin Konz

Kevin Scott Konz was born on Feb. 21, 1987, in Alturas, CA, and passed away on June 24, 2011 in Cedarville, CA.
Kevin attended Surprise Valley Elementary School and graduated from Surprise Valley High School in 2005. He was active in 4-H, FFA and various school sports and activities.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been set up at Plumas Bank.
Services were held Wednesday, June 29, 2011 in Cedarville, CA.

Jim Marr

Jim Marr: Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, July 23, 2 p.m. at Federated Community Church, 307 East First Street, Alturas. Come share your stories, enjoy the camaraderie. Catered by Antonio’s.
The Marr family moved to Alturas in 1941, where Jim attended local schools.
Jim passed away the morning of April 27, 2011. He had battled cancer for over a year, with his companion Margaret Lightner at his side.

Harry Braff Jr.

Harry (Harry Boy) Braff, Jr. passed away peacefully, July 8, 2011 at Mercy Hospital in Redding, CA, with his mother and father at his side.
Harry was born June 28, 1962, in Harbor City, California, to Harry and Lilia Braff. He attended school in Los Angeles, graduating in 1980. He enjoyed his life with a home full of love and family. In 1974, he moved with his parents to Alturas, CA.
The DART Center will hold services on Friday morning, between 10 and 10:30 a.m. Services will also be held in Carson, CA.

Hazel V. Toney

Hazel Violet Hartlerode Toney was born April 28, 1928 to Mary Fae and Ernest C. Hartlerode in Lakeview, Oregon. She passed on of natural causes on July 8, 2011, in Redding, California, at the age of 83.
Services were held Wednesday July 13 at 2:00 p.m. in Redding, CA at the funeral chapel of Allen & Dahl, 2655 Eureka Way. Graveside services will be held Thursday July 14, at 11:00 a.m. at the Lake City Cemetery in Surprise Valley, CA.
Those wishing to do so may make contributions to Interim Home Care and Hospice, 970 Executive Way, Redding, CA 96002, in memory of Hazel Toney.

Grace Bath DeForest

Grace Margaret Bath DeForest died peacefully at her home in Loma Rico, CA on July 7, 2011. A memorial service will be held at the Adin Community Church, Adin, CA on Friday, July 22 at 1 p.m. at the Adin Community Church.
Contributions in memory of Grace DeForest may be made to Yuba-Sutter Cowbelles Scholarship Fund, c/o Val Middleton, P.O. Box 402, Oregon House, CA 95962; Intermountain Cattlewomen c/o Rose Marie Thompson, P.O. Box 98, Bieber, CA 96009, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Sports

Cross country runners get started

Modoc’s Cross Country team has started training for the 2011-12 season under coach Don Mason.
Any fifth through 12th grade student interested in running Cross County should contact Mason now at 233-2201. Practice has started but there’s still time to get involved.

Arrowhead hosts Rotary Golf Tourney

The Alturas Rotary Golf Tournament and dinner will be held August 6 at Arrowhead Golf Course in Alturas.
Registration is required by August 3. The fee is $60 per player for golf and tri-tip dinner, payable to Alturas Rotary Club. Dinner only is $15 per person.
The tourney format is a four-person team 18-hole scramble, with handicap used. The first place team will win $75 per player and there will be more prizes along with drawing prizes. A $10,000 hole-in-one prize is also offered.
Carts are available at Arrowhead for $16 per cart or $8 per person to share a cart.
Proceeds will be used by Alturas Rotary to support local projects and international polio needs.
For more information contact Jim Wills at 530-233-6282, or his cell at 530-640-1963.

July 21st, 2011

News

MMC issues layoffs in financial emergency

Modoc Medical Center is now in a declared financial state of emergency and issued five layoff notices on Monday. There will probably be more layoff notices next week if the employee union does not agree to the hospital’s contract offer.
The Hospital Board of Directors declared the state of emergency last Wednesday, with the implicit notice that layoffs would be forthcoming if the union did not agree to the contract offers.
The union was given a deadline of last Friday, but did not vote on the issue, so the layoffs were started on Monday. The union still has to vote the contract up or down.
Yesterday, the Hospital Board of Directors voted to implement “the proposals within the balanced fiscal year 2012 budget . . . without further delay.”
Putting that balanced budget into effect will trigger more employee layoffs if the union balks at the hospital’s offer. Estimates are that between 15 and 25 employees could be affected.
“We’ve been talking with the union since June 9 and the longer we wait, the deeper the hole we dig,” said hospital Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner. “We’re in cash flow negative and we can’t go there.”
Derner said her conversation with other hospitals indicates the downturn in hospital usage could be a symptom of the economy. She said people aren’t going to the hospital as much as they normally would and are trying to save money.

SV Hospital facing several serious issues

Last year three of the Surprise Valley Health Care District board members ran for re-election. All three long-time board members were defeated by challengers.
Dissatisfaction about how the hospital district was communicating with the public and handling problems were said to be the primary reasons new board members were elected.
Soon after the elected board members were seated they started receiving calls from concerned citizens and employees. The calls, questions and concerns fell into several categories.
Questions concerned the hiring of friends and relatives, with Megan Grove, the administrator’s daughter-in-law, as an Accounts Clerk, being one of the latest issues; CNAs wanting a pay raise and asking the board to explain certain perceived inequities in pay; and whether a discussion of the hiring of Grove that was asked to be placed on the agenda was a violation of the Brown Act.
The public was questioning whether the administrator, Wanda Grove was legal by not adequately advertising an open position in the financial department and then hiring her daughter-in-law for the job. It was explained that Megan Grove was employed as an EMT in the district in Jan. 2011 and four months later was promoted to Account Clerk.

Fire protection fees subject of Supervisors meet

Modoc Supervisors are scheduled to discuss the recently passed and signed Fire Prevention Fee at its July 26 meeting. The fee will impact property owners in Modoc. Supervisors expressed their opposition to the new fees at the last meeting.
The legislation setting a $150 annual fire protection fee, which impacts rural areas hard is generating opposition statewide.
The budget just passed in California includes a provision where property owners who live in State Responsibility Areas (SRA) will face a $150 fee for fire protection. The fee does not impact cities nor areas under local fire protection responsibility.
Modoc Planning Director Kim Hunter said the fee will impact recreational subdivisions including all of Cal Pines, Modoc Recreational Estates, Thoms Creek Estates and some of the community ‘urban’ areas. For example: the west side of CR 1 in Eagleville. While there are a lot of questions concerning this issue, Hunter provided the following information from the Sonoma Fire Chiefs Association to clarify some concerns.
The SRA Fee is a "Fire Prevention Fee" of up to $150 for each "structure" on a parcel within SRA. The bill language defines a structure as a "Building used or intended to be used for human habitation" including but not limited to a mobile or manufactured home.

Scorpion Fire fully contained at 2,943 acres

The Scorpion Fire Complex on the Modoc National Forest was declared 100 percent contained at 7 a.m. Monday. The 2,943 acre fire was located about 20 miles southeast of the city of Tulelake.
While many fire crews have been released, there are still five engines, one hand crew and one water tender continuing with mop-up operations.
The fire burned through grassland, sagebrush and Juniper forest. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Modoc National Forest firefighters were aided in the suppression efforts by equipment and personnel from Lassen National Forest, Klamath National Forest, the National Park Service and Cal-Fire.
The fires were spotted around 6:15 on Friday evening about 20 miles southeast of the city of Tulelake. Originally there were four fires that ignited almost simultaneously. The smallest one, Track, at .1 acre was contained Friday. The other three were Mammoth, which burned 1,351 acres, Point, which burned 5 acres and Scorpion, at 1,587.

Obituaries:

David Knighton, Sr.

David Merrill Knighton, Sr., passed away July 15, 2011 at Renown Hospital in Reno, Nevada, with his family at his side. The memorial service will be held on August 13, 2011, at the Federated Community Church in Alturas at 11 a.m. A potluck will be held after the service and meat will be provided by the family. A complete obituary notice will follow next week.

Patricia “Patti” Miller

Patricia Ann “Patti” Miller passed away on July 4, 2011, at the Modoc Medical Center in Alturas, CA, after a prolonged battle with lung cancer, at the age of 64. Patti was born on May 16, 1947 in Chico, CA.
She has been a resident of Modoc County for the last 25 years. For the last 20 years, she has been a companion, homemaker and mother to the Jake Coffey family in Alturas.
A Memorial Service for Patti will be held at the Alturas Baptist Church, 500 West Fourth St., Alturas on Saturday, July 30 at 11 a.m. Pastor Curtis Barber will officiate.
Donations in Patti’s memory may be made to a charity of your choice.
Interment will be in the Coffey family plot at the Alturas Cemetery.

Grace Bath DeForest

Grace Margaret Bath DeForest died peacefully at her home in Loma Rica, CA on July 7, 2011. A memorial service will be held at the Adin Community Church, Adin, CA on Friday, July 22, at 1 p.m. Grace was born in Ash Valley, Lassen County, CA on December 23, 1922 to John Thaddeus and Amy Gladys Crow Bath. She was the oldest of five children who all attended the old Ash Valley School and later high school in Adin. Upon graduation, she attended Sacramento Junior College.
Contributions in memory of Grace DeForest may be made to: Yuba-Sutter Cowbelles Scholarship Fund, c/o Val Middleton, PO Box 402, Oregon House, CA 95962; Intermountain Cattlewomen c/o Rose Marie Thompson, PO Box 98, Bieber, CA.

Jim Marr

Celebration of Life will be celebrated on July 23, 2011, 2 p.m. at Federated Community Church, 307 East First St., Alturas, CA. Come share your memories, enjoy the camaraderie. Catered by Antonio’s. We look forward to seeing you there.

Jim passed away in Reno the morning of April 27, 2011.

Sports

Football players need physicals

Ladies golf results

The Ladies Golf Club scramble tournament was held last weekend at Arrowhead Golf Course in Alturas.
The team of AJ and Alex McQuarrie took top honors with a score of 54. Second place went to Dina McElwain and Traci Silva with a 63. Third place went to Susan Gibbons at 64. Two teams tied for fourth with 65: Pat Kerr and Sheila McKenzie and Beth Weber and Janie Bell.

Arrowhead hosts Rotary Golf Tourney

For more information contact Jim Wills at 530-233-6282, or his cell at 530-640-1963.

July 28th, 2011

News

Several local Post Offices on closure list

If the current U.S. Postal Service study for closing small Post Offices comes to fruition, Modoc will be left with just Alturas, Cedarville, Canby and Adin still operational.
According to the latest Postal Service list, the following Modoc Post Offices are scheduled for closure study (which probably means closure): Likely, Davis Creek, Eagleville, Fort Bidwell, Likely, Lookout as well in Ravendale and Nubieber.
The Postal Service announced the closure of the Lake City and Madeline Post Offices early this year.

MMC loses more jobs, Union given Aug. 10 deadline

Last week, Modoc Medical Center issued five employee layoff notices and this week it trimmed another 6.5 positions through attrition -- meaning it won’t fill positions when someone retires or will not fill some open positions.
In addition, MMC Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner sent a letter to the employee union, giving them a firm deadline of August 10 to make a decision on the contract offer. There would be more layoffs in the picture if contract negotiations fail to resolve the issues.
The union has not voted on the contract yet, said Derner, but a negotiating session is currently scheduled for today.
One of the main sticking points remains the elimination of the current PERS, (Public Employees Retirement System), and the creation a 457 Retirement Plan wherein the hospital will pay three percent with a possible increase to six percent if financial conditions allow.
The other option would keep PERS, but continued employer contribution reduced to three percent plus administration fees up to three percent for a total of six percent. The employee would pick up any additional costs (approximate share of additional 13 percent) and any additional possible increases each year would also be employees’ responsibility.
The Hospital District Board of Directors declared a financial state of emergency two weeks ago, with the implicit notice that layoffs would be forthcoming if the union did not agree to the contract offers.

KFalls man killed on CR91

A Klamath Falls man died in an accident July 14, 2:55 p.m. on County Road 91 south of CR85.
According to the California Highway Patrol, John Ramos, age 58, was northbound on CR91 in a 2002 Ford Expedition at an undetermined rate of speed. For unknown reasons, he allowed he vehicle to travel out of the northbound lane and onto the right shoulder. The vehicle continued off the shoulder and into a field covered in rocks, vegetation, pine and juniper trees. The left side of the vehicle struck a large pine tree, inflicting fatal injuries ot the driver. He was seatbelted and airbags did deploy.

FS looks to reduce Devils Garden wild horses

The Modoc National Forest has announced the public scoping period for revision of the Devil’s Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory Management Plan. The scoping periods opens on July 30, 2011 and runs through August 30, 2011.
The revised plan will specify how the Devil’s Garden wild horses will be managed in the short and long term to maintain suitable habitat components (forage, water, cover and space), to maintain animal health and genetic viability, and to maintain animal characteristics historically found in the herd.
The Territory is approximately 268,750 acres in size and falls within the Devil’s Garden and Doublehead Ranger Districts of the Modoc National Forest. The southern boundary of the Territory is roughly seven miles north of Alturas, California.
The Territory, established through the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 as amended, serves as a specific range on public lands to protect, manage and control wild free-roaming horses.
An environmental assessment (EA) will be prepared to analyze impacts associated with wild horse use of the resources and implementation of the plan. The planning process is scheduled for completion by early next summer.
Ray Torres, Warner Mountain/Devil’s Garden District Ranger, encourages the public to participate in this planning effort. Individuals may request a copy of the scoping notice, which details the proposed action, from the Modoc National Forest Supervisor’s Office, located at 800 West 12th Street, Alturas, CA 96101. The phone number is 530-233-5811.

Obituaries:

Stanley Sylva

Stanley Glenn Sylva went home to be with his Heavenly Father on July 21, 2011, at the age of 62. He died at his sister’s home in Chico, California, surrounded by family.
Stan was born in Yreka, California, on July 27, 1948, to Edward and Rae (Fisher) Sylva. He was the second of four children. He grew up on the family ranch that has been in the Sylva family for over 100 years
Services were held at the Faith Baptist Church with burial in the Alturas Cemetery at 1 pm on July 27, 2011.
Contributions in Stan’s honor may be made to the Alturas Baptist Church, 500 W 4th Street, Alturas, CA 96101, or to the Back Country Horseman-High Country Unit, P.O. Box 271, Alturas, CA.

June Boyd

June Jacqueline (Fulfer) Boyd died on July 3, 2011. She is survived by her daughter, Alexis Jackson, her son-in-law, Bruce Jackson, grandchildren Stacey Hall, Erin Jackson and Brad Jackson, great grandchildren Breana, Bruce and Rex as well as many nieces and nephews.
June was born in Oklahoma City, OK on June 22, 1927, to Jack and Alice Fulfer, the last of six girls, followed a few years later by a brother
June’s family will miss her and ask that any donations be made in her memory to the Friends of the Modoc Wildlife Refuge. One of her fondest memories was of looking across the Pit River valley to the Warners every day from her home in Canby.
There will be no services as June requested.

Patti Miller

A Memorial Service for Patricia Ann “Patti” Miller of Alturas, will be held at the Alturas Baptist Church, 500 West Fourth St., Alturas on Saturday, July 30 at 11 a.m. Pastor Curtis Barber will officiate.
Patricia Ann “Patti” Miller passed away on July 4, 2011. Patti is survived by sons Sean Miller of Kentucky, David Grove of California and brother J.R. Connelley of Kentucky; companion and life partner Jake Coffey, Alturas; stepchildren Jeremy Coffey of Oregon,Lance and Slate Coffey of Alturas; Calley Coffey Cox of Dallas.

David M. Knighton, Sr.

David Merrill Knighton, Sr., was born February 24, 1936 in San Jose, California to Merrill and Eoline Knighton. He passed away July 15, 2011 at Renown Hospital in Reno, Nevada, with his family at his side.
The memorial service will be held on August 13, 2011 at the Federated Community Church in Alturas at 11:00 a.m. in Alturas. A potluck will be held after the service, and the family will provide the meat.
David wanted donations in memory of him to be made to one of the following four choices: Academy of Model Aeronautics/ National Model Aviation Museum, 5151 E. Memorial Drive, Muncie, IN 47302 (Please put “For Memory of David Knighton” and AMA # 939053 on your check); Blue Lake Camp, P.O. Box 1708, Alturas, CA 96101; Federated Church, P.O. Box 1708, Alturas, CA 96101; Society of Antique Modelers (S.A.M.) c/o Ron Boots, 860 Tamlei Ave., Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 (Please put “For Memory of David Knighton” on your check).

Dorothy Gerig

Dorothy Mae Gerig was born on September 26, 1916, to George and Mary Elizabeth Brewster in Dana, California. She passed away July 19, 2011, at Shepherd of God Assisted Living Facility in Grenada, California.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Big Valley Recreation District, P.O. Box 457, Bieber, CA 96009, or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Joseph H. Stevenson

Joseph Harley Stevenson passed away on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 in Cedarville, CA. He was one week shy of his 88th birthday. Services were held on Tuesday, July 26 at 10 a.m. at the Surprise Valley Community Church. Burial followed at the Cedarville Cemetery.

James Dennis Simmons

James Dennis Simmons passed away July 17, 2011 in Alturas, CA. The Memorial will be held on Friday, July 29th at the Alturas Cemetery; Services will begin at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers or gifts, it was Dennis’ wish that donations be made to High Plateau Humane Society, PO Box 1383, Alturas, CA 96101.

Antonette Weldon

The family of long-time Adin resident Antonette Weldon, age 76, reported she died at her home (no date given). She had been a resident of Adin since 1958. There were no services.

Sports

Football players need physicals

Modoc High School Football Coach Shaun Wood will start practice for the 2011 season August 8 on the football field.
He reminds players that they must have sports physicals and information cards turned in prior to the first day of practice. Get necessary forms from the District Office on Fourth Street.
Any player who has not yet picked up football gear should see Wood starting Monday in the weight room at Modoc High.
In other news, Modoc’s Collyn Server will play for the North Team in the annual Lions’ All-Star Football game in Oroville Saturday with game time set for 7 p.m. Server was on last year’s Braves’ team and graduated.

Soup Springs Campground temporarily closed

The Modoc National Forest campground and stock corrals at Soup Springs will be closed until approximately Wednesday, July 27th for contractors to install water lines throughout the campground.
It is expected the water system upgrade will be completed in three to four weeks and access will be limited during that time. Drinking water and stock water will not be available until after the completion of the installation, sometime in mid-August.
Various campsites will be affected throughout the duration of the construction project and campers may be required to change campsites during their stay. Heavy equipment will be operating daily moving dirt and digging producing noise and disturbance that results from such work.
An alternate campground for family camping nearby is Mill Creek Falls. Alternate campgrounds with stock corrals are Pepperdine at the north end of the South Warner Wilderness and East Creek at the south end of the South Warner Wilderness. Both are some distance away from Soup Springs. For additional information on camping contact the Warner Mountain Ranger District in Cedarville at 530-279-6116.
The Modoc National Forest appreciates visitors understanding and cooperation during this construction period. For information on when the campground will reopen please call the Warner Mountain Ranger District office in Cedarville at 530-279-6116.

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August 4th, 2011

News

Sheriff 911 dispatch has August 19 deadline

The Modoc County Sheriff’s Office on Monday sent letters to the six entities stating they could stop dispatch service as of August 19.
According to Sheriff Mike Poindexter, those six “have either failed to respond to our request to assist with funding in some manner or formally chose not to contribute.”
The six are Ft. Bidwell Fire, Davis Creek Fire, Alturas Rural Fire Department and Alturas Police Department, Fire Department and Public Works. The letter basically advises them that they can still choose to participate financially, stipulating that the original amounts are prohibitive for most entities due to the state of the economy.
While the SO’s original plan called for fees to cover the dispatch service, and a resulting budget of over $300,000, that plan has been scrapped simply because few of the entities in Modoc could afford the entire amount. In the APD’s case, the annual fee would have been around $75,000, pretty much out-of-reach.

No Union agreement at MMC

Modoc Medical Center last week set an August 10 deadline for the employee union to decide on the proposed contract. The union has not agreed to the contract, and that deadline will probably not be met.
MMC Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner said the union had presented a list of desires last week and while most will probably not be met by the Hospital, a retirement program is under study.
Basically, Derner said that the union is investigating what it could do for the employees, as opposed to accepting the hospital’s office, which terminates the current PERS (Public Employee Retirement System) program.
While the Union strives to come to terms, the hospital has issued five employee layoff notices and it trimmed another 6.5 positions through attrition. This week scheduling changes included one more layoff and a couple of people being reassigned.
Derner has predicted as many as 15-25 employee could lose their jobs if the two sides cannot come to agreement.
“We are taking away a lot, but we have to live within our means,” said Derner. “We’re trying to keep the doors open. We have to live within the balanced budget.”

Convicted sexual predator avoids sentencing hearing

Shannon Damron, who was convicted of 14 felony counts, was scheduled for sentencing August 2, 1:30 p.m., but failed to show up. He could be facing more that 15-years in the state penitentiary.
Following a five-day trial, on June 27, a Modoc jury convicted Damron, of the Tulelake area, of 14 criminal charges based upon a two-year illegal relationship he had with a 14-year-old female.
According to law enforcement, the reason Damron failed to show was because he had ingested several sleeping pills early Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, reports in court were that he was at home recovering. He had been released from jail on his own recognizance following the jury trial.
Modoc Superior Court Judge David Mason on Tuesday issued a no-bail warrant for Damron’s arrest, but stayed the execution of that warrant until August 16 at 1:30 p.m. Basically, the warrant doesn’t kick in unless he fails to show again on August 16.

Police seek missing phone booth

Clark Kent is having a heck of a time trying to change into Superman since someone stole the Frontier phone booth and payphone from the Main Street Shell Station in Alturas recently.
Alturas Chief of Police Ken Barnes said his department is continuing to look for the phone booth, but needs the community’s help. Whoever took it managed to take the entire full size phone booth.
“It’s something you’d notice if it showed up in your yard, living room or one of the kids’ bedrooms,” Barnes said. “It took some effort to steal it.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the APD at 233-2011.

Obituaries:

Janice Aldridge
Janice Ethlyn Aldridge of Alturas passed away at the age of 86, on August 2, 2011 at Modoc Medical Center, Alturas, CA. A native of Paso Robles, Mrs. Aldridge moved to Alturas five and a half years ago to be near her daughter Terri. She remained active until three weeks ago. Services will be held Friday, August 5 at 12 noon at the Paso Robles District Cemetery, Paso Robles, CA.
Donations may be directed to the American Cancer Society or High Plateau Humane Society, P.O. Box 1383, Alturas, CA 96101. Obituary to follow.

Martha Roberts
Martha Lee Roberts was born to Murray and Martha Burrous on January 7, 1924 in Westville, OK. She passed away at 87 years of age on July 29, 2011 at Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls, OR.
At the request of the family there will be no services. Burial will be in the family plot at the Alturas Cemetery.
Donations in her memory may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Heydn Hileman
Heydn Joseph Hileman, infant son of Maxine and Kenny Hileman of Cedarville, CA, passed away just after midnight on July 26, 2011, at U.C. Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA.
Heydn proved himself “a fighter,” who was dearly loved during the five days he had with his family.
A private service will be held at a later date.

Patricia Ann Voss
Patricia was born on July 15, 1954 in Taipei City, Taiwan to Joseph William Peironnet, III of California and Mary Anne McIver-Peironnet of Great Britain. She passed away July 30. A celebration of Trish’s life has been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Monday, August 8, 2011 at the resident’s dining room of the Warnerview facility on McDowell Avenue in Alturas.

Thomas Newman
Thomas Mason Antrim Newman, born June 18, 1935 in Camden, New Jersey, died July 19, 2011 of cancer at home in Newark, CA.
He was preceded in death in 1997 by his wife Nancy Jane (Busch) Newman who was born and raised in Alturas.
A graveside service was held Monday, July 25 at Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery in Hayward, CA. He was buried next to his wife.

Sports

Holloway wins first race at Nationals

Alturas’ Ryan Holloway, age 14, won his first qualifying race Tuesday at the American Motorcycle Association National Finals at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
He has two more races to go in the Nationals. He also won $100 for his hole shot win in the first race.
Holloway qualified for the national finals by winning the area and regional motocross races this year in the youth beginner stock class for 12 to 15 year olds. He rides a Honda CRF 150 with the number 920.
They expect thousands of people and riders for the Nationals, covering the entire week. Holloway will race in three heats. There is also a pretty good chance Loretta Lynn will make a personal appearance.
The 30th annual AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships, is presented by Amsoil. Racers compete nationwide from March through June in the various Area Qualifiers and Regional Championships to determine the final rider roster for the National.

MHS netters start August 11

Modoc High School Girls Volleyball will begin practice/try-outs on August 11 at the MHS Gym. Junior varsity try-outs will be on the 11 and 12 from 8-10 a.m. Varsity try-outs will be from 6-8 p.m. on Aug. 11 with the Aug 12 try-out time to be determined by the team for Friday.
All players must have a current MHS Athletic Card on file prior to the try-outs in order to participate. A current physical, which is good for one calendar year, is required. MHS Athletic Cards are available at MHS.

Football players need physicals

Hunter Education Class

A hunter education class will be held at the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Saturday, August 13 and Saturday, August 20. The class hours are from 9 am to 4 pm both days.
Individuals interested in taking the class must pick up a student packet and sign the class roster before August 12 at the Belligerent Duck located at 212 South Main in Alturas. There is no age requirement or fee for the class. The handling and firing of a provided firearm is required.

Additional information is available with the student packet or you may call the California Department of Fish and Game volunteer instructor, Mike Wolter at 530-233-3632.

August 11th, 2011

News

Murder investigation in man’s disappearance

The Modoc County Sheriff has initiated a murder investigation into the disappearance of Timothy Cooley, of Alturas, who has apparently been missing since November.
According to Assistant Sheriff Mike Crutcher, deputies arrested Rochelle Amber Cooley, the victim’s daughter, August 8 alleging murder and Brenda Cooley, the victim’s wife, alleging accessory to a felony.
Crutcher said details about the case are emerging as the investigation is continuing and witnesses are being questioned.
The alleged crime scene was cordoned off Monday night as a forensic team from the California Department of Justice investigated the Cooley home and property on Saralane in Daphnedale Tuesday afternoon. In addition to gathering evidence, they were also searching for Timothy Cooley’s remains.
According to Crutcher, early suspicions are that Cooley was killed and then his remains disposed of on the property. No motive for the crime has yet been determined or released.

Earthquake shakes Alturas Tuesday

A 3.4 magnitude earthquake shook Alturas Tuesday at 9:28 a.m. according to the U.S. Geological Service.
The jolting quake was felt throughout the downtown area, including reports from the Modoc Courthouse, Seab’s True Value, Carstens’ Chevrolet, the Niles, the Modoc Probation Office, the Modoc Record and most other businesses in the area.
The quake was centered 3.3 miles northeast of Alturas at a depth of 10.5 miles.

Task Force targets ‘squatter grows’ in Cal Pines

A growing (literally) problem in California Pines has gotten serious attention from the Modoc County Interagency Narcotics Task Force. The problem is the proliferation of “squatter grows” on lots.
“Squatter grows” are where trespassers come onto another person’s property and begin marijuana growing operations without the permission of the landowner.
According to the Task Force, since the fall of 2010 reports of these clandestine marijuana grows in the subdivision hill units have increased and have been investigated.
The grower may have a doctor’s recommendation to grow and use marijuana, but without the landowners’ permission, they are trespassing.
“In one case, subjects entered a property and cut down large old-growth conifer trees to form a barrier between the road and the grow,” the Task Force said. “Additionally, a fence was erected and additional trees were cleared to make room for the grow. Trash, downed trees and chemicals were left abandoned at the site.
“In another case suspects drove an RV onto a forested lot and set up a clandestine grow. The owner of the property was contacted and said the subjects did not have permission to be on the property. Aside from cutting live trees and plants to make clearings for the marijuana grow, the RV eventually caught fire, burning approximately a half acre of the lot. The fire killed multiple living and mature trees.”

Missing phone booth found, recovered

The missing pay phone booth from the Main Street Shell Station in Alturas was located this week and Frontier Communications has recovered it from a person in Surprise Valley.
The details of how it turned up in Surprise Valley remain questionable, said Alturas Chief of Police Ken Barnes, and the case remains under investigation. No charges have been filed in the case yet.
Barnes had reported the phone booth missing last week in the Record and it didn’t take long, he said, for the person who had it to call his office.
Frontier was pleased to get the booth back, but it is unclear whether they will replace the pay phone at the Shell Station.

Obituaries:

Glenn Talbott
Glenn Somer Talbott/Tent Killer/Papa was born December 1, 1953 in Alturas, CA, to Harold Raymond Bud Talbott and Edna Talbott. He died August 3, 2011 in Alturas.
Services will be held August 11, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the Old Beeson Ranch in Likely – follow the signs. The Alturas Elks Lodge B.P.O.E. 1756 will be officiating the services, along with David Misso.

David M. Knighton, Sr.
A Celebration of Life service for David Merrill Knighton, Sr. will be held Saturday, August 13 at 11 a.m. at Federated Community Church in Alturas. Bring good memories and a potluck dish to share. The family will provide the meat. Dr. Ben Zandstra will conduct the service.

John Woodman
John Robert Woodman died at Modoc Medical Center, Alturas, CA on Sunday July 3, 2011, with his children by his side. John was born Dec. 11, 1956 in Bakersfield, CA to Claudia and Don Woodman. Closed services will be held at a later date.

Leonard “Len” Gibson
Adin rancher and Norco resident Leonard “Len” Roy Gibson, 75, passed away May 25, 2011 at home in Norco, CA. Born on a farm in Menlo, Iowa on February 21, 1936.
The family would like to invite you to a Celebration of Life for Len and Memorial Service on Saturday, August 27 at 2:30 p.m. at the Gibson Ranch, 677-200 Lorna Lane, Hwy. 139, Adin. A service was also held in Corona on June 4.

Janice Aldridge
Alturas resident Janice Ethlyn Aldridge passed away on August 2, 2011 at Modoc Medical Center, Alturas, CA. A native of Paso Robles, Mrs. Aldridge moved to Alturas five and a half years ago to be near her daughter Terri. She remained active until three weeks ago. She was 86.
Born in Paso Robles, CA, on March 9, 1925, she graduated from Paso Robles High School in 1943.
Services were held Friday, August 5 at 12 noon at the Paso Robles District Cemetery, Paso Robles, CA.
Memorial donations may be directed to the American Cancer Society or High Plateau Humane Society, P.O. Box 1383, Alturas, CA 96101.

Sports

Braves make mark in ASA softball

Telese Dowdy and Cheyenne King, Modoc High School softball players, played key roles on the North Valley Rapids 16U ASA traveling softball team over the summer.
The team began practicing in March and finished up their season on August 3 after participating in tournaments in Sacramento, Yuba City, Elk Grove, Davis, Stockton, and Redding .
Dowdy and King finished among the team leaders in batting average, runs-batted-in, and runs scored. Dowdy batted .415 on the season while driving in 32 runs and scoring 25. King batted .391 for the year while scoring 30 runs and also driving in 30 runs. King played catcher, third base, and shortstop while Dowdy primarily played center field.
The Rapids, based out of the Redding area, finished the season with a record of 28 wins, 7 losses and 3 ties while competing primarily against teams from Sacramento, Stockton and the San Francisco Bay Area. They won tournaments in Yuba City and Redding while finishing second in a Sacramento Tournament.
Coach Russ Weatherbee said King and Dowdy had multiple game-winning hits during the year and also played vital roles on a strong defensive team. “Cheyenne is very versatile defensively and also carried the team with her hitting at times, even while battling some injuries. Telese was an RBI machine during the second half of the season and we were always excited to see her coming to the plate with runners in scoring position," said Weatherbee.
Team members were from Shasta High School , Foothill High School , West Valley High School , Paradise High School, and Central Valley High School.

Good day for Rotary Golf

A total of 48 players of all ages, men and women, hit the links for the Alturas Rotary Club’s 3rd Annual Golf Tournament August 6 at Arrowhead Golf Course.
The winning team was Dick Mackey, Ryan Jacques, Brad Widby and Matt Weber. Two teams tied for second place, the first being Marty Yamagiwa, Steve Riley, Buck Silva and Paul Bailey and the second team was Fritz Barclay, Justin Mason, Stacy Case and Dale Case.
The longest drive for men went to Matt Weber and Linda Wills claimed that honor for the ladies. The longest putt winner was Dave Koolvord.
In addition to the tourney, 55 people shared dinner following the event. All proceeds will be used for local Rotary projects and to help fight polio throughout the word.

MHS netters start August 11

Hunter Education Class

A hunter education class will be held at the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Saturday, August 13 and Saturday, August 20. The class hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
Individuals interested in taking the class must pick up a student packet and sign the class roster before August 12 at the Belligerent Duck located at 212 South Main in Alturas. There is no age requirement or fee for the class. The handling and firing of a provided firearm is required.
Additional information is available with the student packet or you may call the California Department of Fish and Game volunteer instructor, Mike Wolter at 530-233-3632.

August 18th, 2011

News

9-1-1 service to continue after City pays

Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter told the Modoc County Board of Supervisors they did not have the authority to dictate how he runs the 9-1-1 system or his department.
County Auditor Darcy Locken agreed with that stance, saying County Counsel explained the Board has control of some of his budget, but not how he operates his department.
The exchange came up because Supervisors called for a special emergency meeting Wednesday to issue a board order that Poindexter continue 9-1-1 dispatch as currently operated and not discontinue on August 19 as he had stipulated.
While the issue became contentious, Alturas Mayor John Dederick put things in perspective by saying the Alturas City Council had agreed last week to pay $4,500 into the dispatch fund, but had held off on sending that letter until the results of this meeting.
Once Poindexter heard that the City was willing to put up some money, he said he considered the issue moot and would continue 9-11 dispatch as it now operates. He said he had not been given any written documentation that the City was willing to pay anything.
In no way does the city’s funding, nor funding from the other agencies, cover the $300,000-plus cost of the dispatch service, but would help. Actually, those funds, according to Poindexter may amount to about $30,000.

Bones found at Cooley home

Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter reports the investigation into the disappearance, and presumed homicide, of Timothy Cooley is progressing.
“We are still conducting interviews; evidence obtained from the processing of the residence and property is being analyzed,” Poindexter said Tuesday. “We did locate some bones; they have been sent to California State Chico's Anthropology people to determine species and gender. We also hope to get some DNA evidence as a result.”
The murder investigation into the disappearance of Cooley, of Alturas, who has apparently been missing since November, started last week.
At that time, deputies arrested Rochelle Amber Cooley, the victim’s daughter, August 8 alleging murder and Brenda Cooley, the victim’s ex-wife, alleging accessory to a felony.

Convicted sexual offender hangs self

Shannon Damron first failed to show up to his August 2 sentencing on 14 felony counts because he took several sleeping pills. He had been released on his own recognizance following a five-day jury trial conviction June 27.
The courts did not revoke his OR when he failed to appear and he was rescheduled for sentencing August 16.
Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter reports that Damron apparently committed suicide by hanging Monday night at his Newell home. He was facing a prison term of more than 15 years.
A Modoc jury convicted Damron of 14 criminal charges based upon a two-year illegal sexual relationship he had with a 14-year-old female.
The court had issued a no-bail warrant for Damron’s arrest August 2, but stayed the execution of that warrant until August 16 at 1:30 p.m. That warrant would become actionable unless he failed to show again on August 16.

It’s Fair time in Modoc this week!

By Nicole Frutuozo

Hooray it’s fair time! Tonight the 2011 Modoc District Fair kicks off in Cedarville. For the next four days Modoc’ers from far and wide will join together in celebration of what may be the “last” Frontier Fair. Each person will enjoy the sights, sounds and attractions that the fair has brought them since a young child.
Thursday evening fairgoers can enjoy the Pee Wee Showmanship on the Livestock Barn lawn area at 4 p.m. Young showkids, ages 3-8, show everything from their pet turtle to their best friend, Fido. Then take a walk to the carnival and make sure to grab a plate at the annual Surprise Valley Chamber of Commerce Basque Barbecue at 5 p.m.
Once you’ve enjoyed some good food, great conversation and local music, head on up to the arena to catch the Mark Walgenbach Memorial Sheep Dog Trials at 6:30 p.m. The Sheep Dog Trails are always amazing to watch, even for the avid dog enthusiast. Handlers, herders and ranchers from across the north state come to show what their dogs can do. Within the last two years, many youths have been encouraged to participate.
Friday morning brings the galloping of horses in the arena. Junior Horse Show contestants compete in rail classes, trail, the junior stock horse and junior roping. Parents make sure to bring the kids for lots of fun today. Carnival rides begin humming through the air at 12 p.m. The Diaper Derby begins at 1 p.m. with a king and queen to be crowned. The Kid’s Day Rodeo starts at 3 p.m. with the Modoc County Cattlewomen organizing all kinds of rodeo games. Ages 8 and under will be riding stick horses, penning “cows” and walking away with a lot of loot. Then run over to the Fort Bidwell Fire Department Chicken Barbecue and watch the Kid’s Greased Pig Contest at 5 p.m. You’ll squeal with excitement when you see all the youngsters trying to bag a prize hog.
But wait, there’s more, for the adults that is. Make sure to sign up for the Adult Greased Pig Contest, which will be held during the Bronc Riding at 7:30 p.m. in the arena. For $25, teams of two will catch as catch can! If you’re not really into participating you’d better make sure you’re in the stands because this is a sight to see. After the bronc riding, dance the night away with Big Sage playing live music on the park stage.
Cows will be mooing on Saturday morning as Rancher’s Day participants enjoy their first morning in the area. Men’s Softball players start their day on the diamond and the Livestock Show begins. Senior Citizens are invited to enjoy a free luncheon and music by the park stage. Local talents will be playing throughout the day.
The grill will get going around 5 p.m. with the Surprise Valley FFA Barbecue. Livestock Show awards will be handed out at 6 p.m. on the Livestock Lawn area. Soon you’ll hear those engines rev. Head over to the Demolition Derby at 7:30 p.m. Wylde Side will be down at the park stage after the derby, so get to dancing.
Sunday morning parade goers will pick a spot on Main Street to enjoy the show at 11 a.m. After the parade, head back up to the arena to watch the little buckaroos at the Mutton Bustin’. Then, catch a glimpse of ranch life with the team penning, open and mixed branding.
With such a busy weekend you won’t want to miss the fair. For a full schedule of events please see the Modoc District Fair display ad or visit www.modocfair.com.

Obituaries:

Wesley McGirr
Wesley Neil McGirr, born February 12, 1938 in Davis Creek, CA, to William ‘Curly’ and Zelma McGirr, was the youngest of four. Wes attended grammar school in Davis Creek and attended San Juan High School.
Wes passed away August 8, 2011 in Napa, CA. Private services will be held at a later date.

David A. Smith
David Allen Smith, who grew up in Willow Ranch, CA passed away August 11, 2011 in Eugene, OR. David was born January 19, 1936 in Lakeview, Oregon. He was the second son of Benny and Barbara (Harris) Smith.
David traveled to the New Pine Creek Barbecue each year, before his health declined. Private services will take place at Willow Ranch, CA.

Sandy Gouveia
Sandy Brooke Gouveia was born January 12, 1982, to Ellen Gouveia and Eugene Chuck Ochnser in Klamath Falls, OR. At age 29, Sandy passed away on August 6, 2011 in Alturas, CA. A private memorial gathering will be held at a later date.

Stanley M. Kinyon
Former Adin resident Stanley “Stan” Neil Kinyon passed away August 7, 2011 at La Pine, Oregon. Born in McCloud, CA on August 3, 1930, Mr. Kinyon had attended high school in Adin and worked in the area mills until relocating to La Pine, where he worked in a cabinet shop.
Contributions may be made to Partners in Care Hospice. Please call 541-382-5882 for information.

Richard Ben Bath - 1931-2011
A Memorial Service for Richard Ben Bath will be held Saturday, August 27 at 1:00 p.m. at Adin Community Bible Church. Mr. Bath passed away in Idaho June 21, 2011.

Leonard “Len” Gibson

The family of Leonard “Len” Gibson would like to invite you to a Celebration of Life for Len and Memorial Service on Saturday, August 27 at 2:30 p.m. at the Gibson Ranch, 677-200 Lorna Lane, Hwy.139, Adin. The Adin rancher and Norco, CA resident passed away May 25, 2011 in Norco.

Sports

Braves hold inter-squad scrimmage Friday

The Modoc Braves varsity and junior varsity football teams will hold an inter-squad scrimmage Friday night, 6 p.m. at the Modoc High football field.
They were scheduled to scrimmage Tulelake Saturday there, but the Honkers were still short of players.
Modoc coach Shaun Wood is looking for a good year with 31 varsity players out and 30 junior varsity players at practice.
“We’re actually looking really good right now, especially our line,” said Wood. “They look really good. They’ll be the key to our success.”
That line will be anchored by Basileo Hernandez, 6-2, 280; Colton Reed, 6-1, 175; Zack Ratliff, 6-3, 225; Alfonso Bautista 6-1, 250; Carlos Chavez, 6-1, 220; and Jeremy Brandsted, 6-2, 280.
Wood is also impressed with the early start of his receiving corps of Zach Goulden, Riley Larranaga, Cam Anderson and Brett Boudreaux. Wyatt Valena and Anderson will share quarterback duties with Valena getting the start.
There are several running backs competing for positions, including Luke Smith, Alex Torres, Drew Culp, Austin Carreker, Gabe Kerr and Jesse Silva.
Wood stresses it’s early in practice and a lot of players are going to be seeing substantial playing time this season, especially during the league games.
Those players include Jonathon Morgan, Benny Bevil, Travis Johnston, Grady Server, Anthony Vaughn, Taylor McPeek, Tim Eames, Blake Williams, Colby McAdams, Garret Padgett, Ben Correa, Matt Froeming, Hector Hernandez and Nick Gray.

Holloway places second overall at Nationals

Motocross can be a tough event at any level and Ryan Holloway, proved he could hang with, and beat most of the top riders in his class in the nation.
Holloway, age 14, of Alturas finished second overall in the American Motorcycle Association National Finals at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee last week.
Holloway started the big event by winning the first race fairly easily in the three race series. He was leading his second race, with 42 other riders, when he crashed. He got back up, crashed four more times and still finished seventh. It was 104 degrees with extreme humidity that day.
In the final race of the series, he was leading going into the final turn and last jump, but while lapping slower riders, was forced into a deep rut and could not keep his speed up to effectively handle the jump. He was nipped at the finish line and took second in the race.
“I thought I did good, but could have done better,” Holloway said this week. “I could have won all three races and was leading in all of them. I learned you really have to stay focused the whole time and keep your head on straight. You really have to be mentally prepared from start to finish.”

Deadline nears for Ash Creek hunts

Two apprentice pheasant hunts are scheduled at Ash Creek Wildlife Area in Big Valley, and the deadline to make application is August 23.
A junior hunt is September 10 with a choice of 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The hunt is open to all junior hunters with current 2011-12 hunting licenses and accompanied by an adult.
A women’s hunt is Sept. 11, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and is open to all women with current 2011-12 hunting licenses.
Applications for both hunts are available online at http://www.dfg.ca.gov or contact Ash Creek Wildlife Area at 530-294-5824 for paper applications or for more information.
The hunts are co-sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Game and the Pit River Rod and Gun Club.

Hunter Education Class

August 25th, 2011

News

Modoc sees major decline in property values

While the stark assessment roll report from Modoc County Assessor Sheri Budmark didn’t elicit much interest from the Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, it should have.
Budmark reported an overall drop in the secured roll net base value of 2.49 percent, a $21,266,326 decrease. In addition, she reported that 49.49 percent of the total county parcels reflect a decline in value status.
The decline in the assessment rolls means a direct decrease in the amount of property taxes collected by the county.
Budmark reported the secure roll amounted to $825,010,424 for 2011-12, down from 2010-11’s $846,041,535. The unsecured roll dipped from $33,580,483 to $33,540,381.

Fire chars 2,000 acres at Lake Annie

A wildland fire burned 2,076 acres near Lake Annie from August 18 until it was contained August 21.
Lake Annie is about four miles northeast of Fort Bidwell. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
According to the Northern California Interagency Incident Management Team, there were 295 people assigned to the fire, including: nine hand crews, five engines, five water tenders, one dozer, two helicopters and at least one fixed wing aircraft. There were no injuries. The estimated cost of containment as of August 21 was $825,000.
Fire crews were patrolling the fire on Tuesday and mop up had continued from August 21.

Missing man on 3-wheeler turns up in Gerlach

While Walter Menkee indicated to family members he was headed from Alturas to Quincy on an old Honda three-wheeler, he actually turned east and ended up in Gerlach.
According to his brother Nick Menkee, of Alturas, Walter was last seen in Ravendale August 10 and it was thought he was heading across Horse Lake Road toward Eagle Lake. But, he turned up in Gerlach on August 16 and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office reported contact with him the next evening.
He was sunburned and dehydrated, but otherwise okay, said Nick.

Modoc Courts being squeezed by state

California’s courts are being asked to trim expenses by $350 million as part of the system's share of hits in the newly passed state budget.
This is the highest single-year reduction since the state began paying trial court costs 14 years ago, equating to around a 6.7 percent reduction for all county superior courts.
For Modoc Superior Court, as well as for most other county courts, it’s just another push to tighten their belts as they’ve been doing consistently for the last several years.
For the past three years, Modoc County Superior Court has lost up to $65,303 annually from a combination of direct cuts from the state and other decreases. This fiscal year the Court lost $186,653 in its yearly allocation.
Another state plan carried through by the governor took away state support for court security, leaving that function solely to the counties. This decreased Modoc’s baseline budget by a little over $102,583. The security funding will now be deposited directly with the County and it will be their responsibility to see that the sheriff’s office receives the money to pay for bailiff and security services.

Obituaries:

David Capik
“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away!” What a perfect adage for David Capik, as he faded from this life on 15 August 2011. David was born on 21 March 1949, the third of eight children born to Evelyn and Marcel Capik of Davis Creek. He attended grammar school in Davis Creek and graduated from Modoc Union High School in 1967. In September of 1967, Dave enlisted in the Army. After training, Dave was sent to the DMZ zone in Korea. His time there was immediately followed by a tour in Vietnam. Throughout his Army career, he served proudly and gallantly as an Airborne Ranger. During the time spent in Vietnam, Dave was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for heroism and the Air medal for participating in 40 aerial missions over hostile territory.
Friends are invited to “pay their respects” at Kerr Mortuary in Alturas, from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Friday, 26 August. A funeral Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, 27 August. Burial will follow immediately in the Davis Creek Cemetery.
Donations may be made to the Davis Creek 4-H Club, 202 West Fourth St., Alturas, CA 96101, in lieu of flowers.

Violet Jackson
Violet Smith Jackson, better known as Vi or Auntie Vi, peacefully passed away at the Hearthstone Rehabilitation Facility on Sunday, August 21, 2011, ten days after her 92nd birthday celebration.
She was born August 11, 1919 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. She married Charles Richard Jackson on January 26, 1948. They left England for better opportunities in America.
A service will be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Alturas on Tuesday, September 6 at 10:00 a.m. A graveside service will be held at the Likely Cemetery at 11:30 a.m. A potluck will follow at the Likely Fire Hall.
Donations in Violet’s memory may be made to the High Plateau Humane Society or the St. Michael’s Endowment Fund. The service is under the direction of the Kerr Mortuary of Alturas, California.

Jilda Comisky
On Wednesday morning, August 17, 2011, Jilda Ellen Comisky, passed from this world at the age of 61, with her long time husband, Hugh E. Comisky, Jr. at her side.
Donations to honor JILDA’s memory should be directed to the American Cancer Society, 2625 Park Marina Drive, Redding, California 96001, or on-line athttp://www.cancer.org/Involved/index.

Tony Madden
Tony B. Madden, 73, passed away at the home he loved on August 10, 2011 in Alturas, CA. Tony was born in Minco, Oklahoma on December 1, 1937 to Dorothy and William Buren Madden.
The family is grateful to the Reno VA for their fine care of Tony and would be pleased to see memorial donations directed to the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, 1000 Locust Street, Reno, NV 89502; ph: 888-838-6256.
Pastor Curtis Barber conducted graveside services on August 15 at 11 a.m. at the Alturas Cemetery.

Erma Jean Packnett
Modoc resident Erma Jean Packnett passed away in Redding, CA on August 19, 2011, at the age of 87. She was born July 11, 1924.
Graveside services will be held Monday, August 29 at 11 a.m. at Alturas Cemetery. Kerr Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Richard Ben Bath
A Memorial Service for Richard Ben Bath will be held Saturday, August 27 at 1:00 p.m. at Adin Community Bible Church. Mr. Bath passed away in Idaho June 21, 2011.

“Len” Gibson
The family of Leonard “Len” Gibson would like to invite you to a Celebration of Life for Len and Memorial Service on Saturday, August 27 at 2:30 p.m. at the Gibson Ranch, 677-200 Lorna Lane, Hwy.139, Adin. The Adin rancher and Norco, CA resident passed away May 25, 2011 in Norco.

Sports

Braves open against Bears Friday night

While it might seem a little early, the Modoc Braves travel to Mt. Shasta Friday night to open the 2011 football season.
“I think we’ll do well against Mt. Shasta,” said Wood. “They seem to be a little short of numbers, but I figure we’ll make enough mistakes to keep it close.”
According to Wood, Shasta Cascade League teams are having some trouble filling rosters. Tulelake is in danger if scrapping its whole season and Weed is also struggling to put players on the field.
Modoc had a successful intersquad scrimmage here last Friday and coach Shaun Wood was able to see the team in competition. Overall, Wood said he’s pleased with the progress and the talent level, although there are some players who still need to study the playbook.
The strength of this year’s team will be the offensive and defensive lines, said Wood, but he feels very good about his passing game and defense. The running game still needs to have players step up, he said.
Junior varsity looks good
The Braves’ junior varsity squad has just over 30 players out this year, down from 50 at the start last year. But the mix is good according to coach Dominic Budmark.
“All in all, I’m pretty pleased with this group,” he said. “They’re working hard, they’re very coachable and they are a smart team.”
Budmark said he has 18 sophomores and 12 freshmen on the team, but the sophomores didn’t get all that much playing time last year. But, he has good size on the line, is very pleased with the running backs and quarterback potential.

Budmark expects the team to open up strong against the Bears Friday night.

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September 1st, 2011

News

Grand jury report calls for investigations

The vanilla flavored Modoc Grand Jury report for 2010-11 continues previous grand jury recommendations for a criminal investigation into the county’s fiscal crisis, but doesn’t plow much new ground.
The Grand Jury issued an open letter to the public, which appears on page 2 of this Modoc County Record. The Courts opted not to publish the full report because of budget shortfalls.
Some of the highlights of the report are still aimed at the Modoc County officials. They asked County Treasurer Cheryl Knoch whether she had the power to refuse to pay warrants, which she answered she did. They also asked if restricted funds are still being used and she said they were.
The Grand Jury “found” that: “The Treasurer failed to insure government funds were legally spent and accounted for.”
The Auditor also confirmed that restricted funds are still being used. The Jury “found” that restricted funds are being used on the advice of County Counsel and there is no guarantee the funds will be paid back by the end of the fiscal year. They recommend that County Auditor Darcy Locken review and comply with laws associated with restricted funds.

Late News: Fort Bidwell incident now a murder and assault

The victim of a vicious beating in Fort Bidwell April 9 has died, according to Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter.
“The Modoc Sheriff's Office has been in constant touch with the Idaho officials and Francisco Iracheta's family. We are saddened to report that Iracheta passed away on August 31, 2011,” Poindexter said late Wednesday. “Idaho officials have scheduled an autopsy for September 2nd. Modoc County Sheriff's Office investigators will attend the postmortem. The Sheriff's Office will be requesting the District Attorney amend the complaint. Four suspects were originally sought and ultimately arrested for the then attempted murder of Iracheta.”

Murder case moving forward

The two suspects in the suspected homicide of Timothy Cooley were bound over in Modoc Superior Court and will face arraignment next Tuesday.
Rochelle Amber Cooley, the victim’s daughter, is facing murder charges and Brenda Cooley, the victim’s ex-wife, is facing accessory to felony charges.
Both remain in custody in the Modoc County Jail. The investigation into the disappearance of Cooley is ongoing and searches are continuing at his property on Saralane in Daphnedale.
Earlier searches uncovered some bones and those are currently undergoing testing in Chico.
The suspect in the June 24 shooting death of Kevin Scott Konz, in Lake City, Craig Lafferty, is scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 20. He is currently charged with voluntary manslaughter. Lafferty entered a self-defense plea.
Konz was shot June 24, in the early morning hours at a residence in Lake City belonging to Sheila Sanford.

Fire officials urge caution with fire in area wildlands

Labor Day weekend campouts, fall hunting and firewood cutting outings will bring visitors to northeast California wildlands over the coming weeks, and fire officials are urging everyone to be careful with fire.
“Even though we’ve had a quiet fire season so far, people should not be complacent about fire safety,” said Jim Hedges, a manager at the Susanville Interagency Fire Center. “Wildland conditions are continuing to dry out and we have very high fire dangers in many areas. The recent Annie Fire near Cedarville burned over 2,500 acres in a day, showing that we now have the potential for large fires.”
Officials said outdoor visitors should always follow basic fire safety tips:
· Drive only on established roads and trails. Keep vehicles away from tall grass and brush that could be ignited by hot exhaust systems.
· Keep campfires small. Be sure they are cold to the touch before leaving camp. Douse the fire with water, stir the ashes and douse again.
· Chainsaws and other small gas engines must be equipped with spark arrestors.
· Wood cutters should always have a shovel and fire extinguisher handy, and operate chainsaws in the cooler part of the day.
· Smokers should light up only in areas clear of flammable debris. Cigarette butts should never be tossed from vehicle windows.
Information on current fire dangers is available from any office of the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, CAL FIRE and local fire departments.

2,800 Marijuana plants eradicated

On August 24, agents from the Modoc County Interagency Narcotic Task Force, United States Forest Service (USFS) law enforcement, and deputies from the Modoc County Sheriff's Office eradicated a marijuana growing operation on USFS public lands near Adin, California.
Officers eradicated and destroyed 2,800 marijuana plants’ bringing this year’s total to 24,000 marijuana plants that have been removed from public lands. The Modoc County Interagency Narcotic Task Force continues to work with Federal Law Enforcement agents to eliminate illegal large-scale marijuana grows.
If anyone has any information regarding suspected illegal activity on public lands please report it to your local USFS, BLM Office or the Modoc County Sheriff's Office.

Deaths Notices—

Erma Hess
A memorial service for Erma Hess will be held today, Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. at the Kerr Mortuary Chapel, Alturas. Born Erma Kelly in Adin, CA on October 23, 1923, Mrs. Hess passed away in Susanville on August 27, 2011.
Mrs. Hess’ obituary will be published in an upcoming Record issue.

Violet “Vi” Jackson
Services for Violet Smith Jackson of Alturas will be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Alturas on Tuesday, September 6 at 10:00 a.m. A graveside service will be held at the Likely Cemetery at 11:30 a.m. A potluck will follow at the Likely Fire Hall.
Donations in Violet’s memory may be made to the High Plateau Humane Society or St. Michael’s Endowment Fund. The service is under the direction of the Kerr Mortuary of Alturas. Violet peacefully passed away at the Hearthstone Rehabilitation Facility on Sunday, August 21, 2011, ten days after her 92nd birthday celebration.

Sports

Braves open with 27-6 win at Bears

Last week, Modoc coach Shaun Wood said the Braves varsity would make enough mistakes Friday against the Mt. Shasta Bears to keep the game close. He felt his prediction came to pass even though Modoc won 27-6.
“They were a little better than I thought they would be and had some good backs,” said Wood. “It was good for us. Our tackling was kind of poor; we were trying to strip the ball before we had the runner stopped. We only had one fumble, but they were successful on an onside kick, and we had practiced against that.”
Neither team scored in the first period, but the Braves scored 20 before the first half ended and the Bears put up six points late. Modoc kept the Bears scoreless in the second half and added seven points in the fourth.
Wood was pleased with the defense, which allowed 168 yards on 45 carries. But 100 of those yards came from Jordan Hanna on 27 runs.
Meanwhile, Modoc rushed the ball 28 times for 223 yards. Austin Carreker led the runners with 91 yards on six caries while Jesse Silva added 53 yards on six, Riley Larranaga 32 on two, Alex Torres 29 on five, Luke Smith 14 on three, Gabe Kerr 11 on three and Anthony Vaughn three on three.

Braves JVs get 8-6 win

Modoc’s junior varsity football team beat the Mt. Shasta Bears 8-6 Friday night there, but coach Dominic Budmark felt they dominated more than the score shows.
“It was one of those games where we could move the ball between the 20s, but mistakes and penalties stalled drives,” said Budmark. “Overall, we should have scored a few more times, and a lot of that was my fault. I could have called different plays.”
The one area Budmark is not concerned about is the defense, which limited them to 120 yards total offense. He said 70 of those yards came on two plays.

September 8th, 2011

News

Fire protection fee could be even higher

The proposed firefighting fee for rural homes could be even higher if Governor Jerry Brown has his way. He is pushing a firefighting fee on rural homeowners of $175 on the first house, much more than the $90 charge passed last week by California's Fire Board.
The new proposal would impose a minimum of $175 on the first building and $25 on each additional structure. It would also assess a land fee starting at $1 per acre for the first 100 acres.
Those fire fees would impact a large part of Modoc County and northeastern California.
Homeowners who live in fire districts qualify for a $25 discount. The fees would be added to property tax statements next spring. The fees do not impact homes within city limits.
More California residents have moved to rural areas, and the Governor has said it’s fair to have them put up a greater share of firefighting costs.
The new proposal will erase the budget bill intended to raise $50 million in the first year and $200 million annually thereafter. That bill capped the charge at $150.
Under Brown's latest proposal, the board would scrap last week's Fire Board plan.

MJUSD pleased with test results

The Modoc Joint Unified School District met 17 of 18 criteria on the just release Academic Performance Index report.
MJUSD Superintendent Mike Martin was very pleased with the overall results and scores for individual schools in the district. The district's API score overall jumped from 761 in 2010 to 775 in 2011.
Martin said schools in the district have successfully met their growth targets, since in order to miss that target; it has to drop for three years.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that a record 49 percent of California schools met or exceeded the state’s Academic Performance Index (API) target, even as the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) formula threatened to label 913 newly identified campuses as failing.
The API is a numeric index that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1,000. School and subgroup targets are set at five percent of the difference between the school or subgroup’s Base API score and the statewide target of 800, with a minimum target of five points. All numerically significant subgroups at a school must meet their growth targets for a school to meet its API growth target.
Modoc High School showed the biggest improvement in its score, coming in at 762, well above last year’ score of 720. Alturas Elementary moved up from 790 to 792 and Modoc Middle School fell back from 806 to 794.

Burning Man had nearly 54,000 in temporary city

The Burning Man festival, which concluded last weekend, saw 53,735 people set up the temporary city on the Black Rock Desert outside of Gerlach. That was a record crowd, and more than the 50,000 the Bureau of Land Management had permitted.
The BLM has stated it will address the over population issue with Burning Man organizers in the near future. Burning Man had cut off ticket sales last month at 51,000.
The BLM said there were no major problems during the festival and Modoc County was very accommodating to the Burners. Local businesses, in Alturas and Cedarville, stayed open late and ordered extra supplies to take care of them as they traveled to the festival.
On their way back through town, two separate car washes were held in Alturas and one in Cedarville. Those washes were well used to help get the alkali dust off their now chalky-white vehicles. In addition, restaurants in Cedarville and Alturas did a booming business over Sunday, Monday and Tuesday as the Burners headed home.
According to residents, Cedarville was packed Monday, almost overflowing with folks stopping to get a good meal and heading home.

Fire danger prompts restrictions

Based on predicted weather and existing dry conditions, fire officials have announced that fire restrictions will begin September 8, 2011 on the Modoc National Forest. Fire restrictions are designed to provide for public safety and protect natural resources.
While under fire restrictions the rules for forest users include: campfires are permitted in designated campgrounds in existing fire pits without a campfire permit; California campfire permits are required in the South Warner Wilderness; other areas of the Modoc National Forest are closed to campfires; smoking is restricted to developed campgrounds, enclosed vehicles, or in an area at least three feet in diameter that is cleared of all flammable materials; operation of internal combustion engines is prohibited except on roads or designated trails; fuelwood cutting is regulated by the terms of the fuelwood permit, permit holders are advised to follow the terms of their permit.
California campfire permits are required for wood fires, barbeques, portable gas stoves and lanterns used in most outdoor situations. Campfire permit holders should refer to their permits for specific information.

Obituaries:

Lester McKenzie
Lester A. McKenzie passed away August 31, 2011 at Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, in Elko, Nevada.
Les was born July 23, 1927, to Lewis (Ed) McKenzie and Esther (Womack) McKenzie at Mahoney Ranger Station in Jarbidge, NV. He was raised in Lamoille attended school there and graduated from Elko High in 1945.
A memorial service was held September 3rd.

Mildred (Beebe) Adair

Born July 20, 1920 in Lake City, CA, Mildred (Millie) passed away September 3, 2011 in Ely, Nevada. Obituary to follow.

Sports

Braves head to Lakeview Friday night

Modoc’s Braves continue the age-old rivalry against the Lakeview Honkers this Friday when they head to Oregon.
The Braves are coming off a week’s rest while the Honkers will try to rebound from a 20-12 loss to Mazama.
Modoc looks favored on paper as it generated 316 yards offense in its win over Mt. Shasta, while Lakeview put up 253 against Mazama. Modoc rushed for 233 yards in its opener, while Lakeview ran the ball for 182 yards. Neither team was overly impressive passing the ball with Modoc getting 83 yards and Lakeview 71.
Modoc Coach Shaun Wood said he scouted the Lakeview-Mazama game and credits the Honkers with fielding a strong team.
“They’re pretty good and they do some weird things, so we’ll have to be ready for their formations,” Wood said. “But, I think we’ll be fine and we’ll have to play well.”
The Braves then travel to a tough Trinity game in Weaverville Sept.16 before finally getting a home game against Lost River Sept. 23.

Punt, Pass, Kick Sunday

Alturas Sunrise Rotary Club will host the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competition on Sunday, September 11 at 12 noon at Ed Carver Stadium, Modoc High School, Alturas.
Competition is open to all boys and girls ages 6-15. There are five separate age divisions for each boys and girls. Parents can log in online at nflppk.com and find information about the competition. Just fill out the online registration and be ready to go on the 11th. Sunrise Rotary will still sign up students on the day of the event. For any questions call Bill Hall at 530-410-5240.

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September 15th, 2011

News

Jury acquits Schulz in murder trial

A Modoc jury voted to acquit Danny Schulz, age 60, Alturas, of murder and manslaughter charges Wednesday following a five-day trial.
Schulz was charged in the Nov. 10 shooting death of Barton Beddes on Schulz’s property at the end of Modoc Street. According to defense attorney Jordan Funk, the jury deliberated less than two-and-half hours before voting unanimously to acquit Schulz.
Schulz had claimed the shooting was in self-defense. The jury agreed with that stance. More next week.

Local fire departments frustrated by county

“We’re not fighting to volunteer anymore,” Ron Sherer, president the Modoc Fire Chiefs Association told the Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning.
Sherer and representatives for 13 of the 14 fire departments in the county were on hand, in response to the County ordering them to audit their accounts, a latest cost they say they can’t afford.
Sherer said this new fee will come on top of an earlier instance where they now have to pay the Sheriff’s Office to be dispatched. He said the county had always supported the volunteers, but that the support has “gone downhill” for the past 10 years.
Fire Departments packed eight fire trucks in the street adjacent to the Sheriff’s Annex where the meeting was being held.
Sherer told the Board he was not willing to take another dollar out of his pocket to pay to volunteer and that they were willing to give the Board the keys to the trucks outside. “We’re not fighting anymore,” he said. “We’re tired of it. We’re willing to give our communities our time to help; we’re just not going to fight to do it. These volunteers are the real heroes of our community. They’ve saved lives and property.”
The audits will cover those property tax funds that go through the county treasury. In most cases the audits should be pretty simple, and the costs could be from hundreds to low thousands. The audits will not cover the individual fire departments’ outside accounts, which are generally held in non-profit status in area banks. The fire departments deposit their fundraising money into those accounts.

State to fund locally developed regional plan for water management

The California Department of Water Resources has awarded a grant to fund local creation of a plan for sustainable water management efforts across the Upper Pit River Watershed.
The plan will identify watershed-level priority objectives by engaging and expanding community involvement over the entire watershed, and will help guide water resource funding decisions for the next 30 years. The plan will build on the efforts over the last four years that developed watershed assessments and management strategies for the Upper Pit River, Burney Creek, Hat Creek and Fall River.
The watershed planning process is a collaborative effort among the Northeastern California Water Association (NECWA), the Pit River Watershed Alliance and the North Cal-Neva RC&D, who worked together to secure the funding, and will involve input from stakeholders across the region over the next 12 to 18 months.
Creation and adoption of the plan, formally called an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP), will also make the region eligible for State funding to implement local water projects for reliable water supplies, better water quality and enhanced environmental stewardship. Roughly $6 to $8 million may be available over the next three to five years for local water resource projects through competitive processes. See www.UpperPit.com for additional information on the IRWMP.

Obituaries:

Jarrell D. Ryan
Jarrell D. Ryan passed away September 1, 2011 in Alturas, CA. She will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her. She was 81 years of age.
She was born October 10, 1930, in the great state of Texas, to Gladys and James Hargrove. She had two younger brothers Jim Hargrove and John Tice.
Services will be private.

Irma Kelly Hess
Irma Kelly Hess, age 88, passed away on August 27, 2011, at Country Villa Rehabilitation Hospital in Susanville, California. Irma was born and raised in Adin, California.
Memorial services were held on September 1, 2011, at Kerr Mortuary with interment at XL Indian Ranch Cemetery, Alturas, CA.

Lloyd Hanks
Lloyd Hanks passed away in Cedarville, CA on September 12, 2011. Visitation will take place on Friday, Sept. 16 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Kerr Mortuary, Alturas. Graveside Services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m. at the Ft. Bidwell Cemetery. A potluck Fellowship will follow at the VFW Hall in Cedarville. Mr. Hanks was born in Cedarville, CA on March 9, 1922. Memorial donations may be directed to the Surprise Valley Community Church or Surprise Valley Hospital District. Obituary to follow.

Marvin Pochop
Marvin Pochop was born October 12, 1953 in Lakeview, OR to Leon and Ramona Pochop. He died September 8, 2011 in Redding, CA.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Allen’s Golf Course, 2780 Sacramento Dr., Redding on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Marvin was a huge fan of his granddaughter’s soccer team. Donations can be made to RYSL Missfits Valkyrie, P.O. Box 991523, Redding, CA 96099-1523.

Sports

Lakeview overpowers Modoc 21-7

In a scenario Modoc Coach Shaun Wood isn’t used to, the Lakeview Honkers overpowered the Braves physically for a 21-7 win Friday night there.
“They were more physical than us,” said Wood. “We just weren’t very tough and their nose guard stopped our running game. I was surprised, but we had our chances. In addition, their quarterback played much better against us than he did in their opening game. We got beat.”
Lakeview limited the Braves to 103 yards rushing on 31 carries. Austin Carreker had 79 yards on 14 carries. Wyatt Valena was 3-for-7 passing for 84 yards and Cam Anderson was 4-for-7 for 49 yards.
Wood said he was very pleased with the lay of linebacker Grady Server, who led the team with 15 tackles.
Modoc led 8-0 in the first, and Lakeview cut that to 8-7 by the end of the quarter and took that lead into halftime. The Honkers added seven in the third and six in the fourth.

Modoc JVs crush Lakeview

Modoc’s junior varsity football team crushed the Lakeview Honkers 26-0 Friday night in Lakeview. They travel to Weaverville this Friday to take on a very strong Trinity squad.
Modoc got off to a good start at Lakeview in the first period when Brandon Witherspoon busted free on a 54-yard touchdown run. K.C. Brandsted added a two-yard touchdown and Tristan Axelrod hit Austin Rush on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the second to put the Braves up 20-0 at halftime when Witherspoon scored the two-point conversion.
The Braves final score came on a six-yard run by Anthony Duran in the fourth.

Braves open volleyball season

Modoc High’s volleyball teams opened their season at the Lassen tournament last weekend and they faced Big Valley Sept. 13. They play Surprise Valley at home tonight and head to the Lakeview tourney Saturday.
In Lassen, Modoc’s varsity lost to Lassen 21-25, 25-14 and 5-15; lost to Westwood 18-25, 25-16 and 10-15; beat Loyalton 25-16, 25-22; and lost to Portola 15-25, 23-25.
They beat Big Valley 22-25, 25-23, 25-12 and 25-15.
The junior varsity team pool play results were: lost to Westwood 27-29 and 22-25, split with Lassen purple 11-15, 25-21; split with Lassen Gold 25-22, 22-25 and beat Quincy 25-15, 25-21.
In single elimination play, they beat Quincy 25-23, 25-14 and lost to Lassen 14-25 and 22-15.
They beat Big Valley 25-21 and 25-18.

Modoc cross-country competes well at Shasta College

On Friday, September 2, Modoc High and Junior High competed at a cross-country meet at Shasta College. Despite 100-degree heat, several runners placed well.
The team was led by Ashley Hoy’s 14th place in the varsity girls’ race. Her time of 20:39 for the mile course was over a 90 second improvement over her best time. Furthermore, her time placed her second in the Division V rankings in the North Section. Freshman, Madelyn Binning had a great showing as she finished fourth in JV girls.
Jac Derner lead the varsity boys with a time of 18:09, a personal best, by over a minute on the three mile course. He was followed by Patrick Bratton with a time of 18:54, Landon Arested with a time of 19:06, Daniel Martin with a time of 19:31 and Jonathan Jones with a time of 21:22.

Braves soccer team opens Sept. 20

The Modoc Brave Soccer Team opens its 2011 season at home against the Tulelake Honkers on Tuesday, September 20 at 4 pm.
It will be a busy week for the soccer team with another home game on Thursday against Fall River and then they travel to Weaverville on Saturday to play the Trinity Wolves. After these first two home games, the Braves are on the road until October 13th. The Braves Soccer team plays its home games at the Alturas Elementary School field. Most of the weeknight games start at 5 p.m. and Saturday contests start at 2 p.m.

September 22nd, 2011

News

Haralson to be paroled to Alturas today

According to Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter, Robert Chad Haralson, convicted in the death of Betty Lou Parks, will be released on parole to Modoc County today.
Apparently an error in the original sentencing calculations also means Haralson will be released from state prison two years earlier than projected.
The Modoc District Attorney’s Office said they received a letter from High Desert State Prison Tuesday stating that Haralson would be released to Tehama County. That letter was dated Sept. 16.
But on Tuesday, Poindexter said he received a phone call stating Haralson is scheduled for release here today. He was surprised that the release was this early and to Modoc. He served more time in the Modoc County Jail awaiting trial than he will have served in state prison.
The error in the sentence calculation was on an enhancement to the crime that local officials felt would mean serving full time for that enhancement. But, apparently a new calculation put his actual time served to one-third the time.
In May 2010, Haralson entered a “no contest” plea to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury in the 1992 killing of Alturas teenager Betty Lou Parks.

County jobless rate dips to 13%

Modoc County’s unemployment rate dropped from 13.9 percent in July to 13 percent in August.
According to the California Employment Development Department the County’s civilian labor force numbered 3,990 in August, up from 3,940 in July with 3,480 employed, up from 3,400 in July. There were 550 people unemployed in July and that dropped to 520 in August.
The unemployment rate in August 2010 was 12.5 percent with a workforce of 4,220 and 3,690 employed.

Don’t let the cooler temperatures fool you

It’s the time of year when the early mornings and late evenings mean putting on an extra layer of clothing. CAL FIRE would like to caution residents that even with the cooler temperatures, fire danger remains high. Lack of precipitation this summer has made forests and grasslands extremely dry.
Even though the recent showers brought by thunderstorms have moistened fine fuels, such as twigs, pine needles and grasses; one or two warm dry days can cause these fine fuels to be easily ignited. Large fuels; such as big branches, logs and downed trees are still very dry inside and can burn with great intensity. Living vegetation still has low moisture content and can be easily ignited.
The following activities can start wildfires, which destroy homes, threaten lives, and damage natural resources: sparks from chainsaws; discarded smoking material; fireworks; abandoned campfires; hot vehicle exhaust systems; welding.
Cooler temperatures do not mean less risk of fire. Please continue to be fire safe – not sorry.

Obituaries:

Bonita Boyer
Bonita Boyer passed away September 8, 2011, in Alturas, CA at the age of 92. She was born on July 13, 1919, to Herschel and Rena Wing in Traverse City, Michigan. As she was growing up, her family alternated living in Traverse City and San Antonio, Texas.
Bonita was a member of the Church of Christ in Alturas, volunteered at the Bookworm, Senior Center dining room and Federated Church Thrift Shops. She took great joy in her family, her yellow lab, her home and her flower garden.

Larry Fleming
Larry David Fleming, 70, of Jess Valley, died the afternoon of September 16, 2011, at Modoc Medical Center in Alturas. Born in Fowler, CA on January 24, 1941, to George and Nadine (Sons) Fleming.
Burial will be private at Likely Cemetery. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. at the Alturas Church of Christ, N. Warner Street with Dewey Potter officiating.

Bob Shaw
Robert “Bob” Jasper Shaw passed away due to cardiac arrest on September 5, 2011 in Redding, CA. He was 79 and a lifelong resident of Lookout, Modoc County, CA.
A memorial service will be held at the Lookout Fire Hall on Oct. 1,
2011 at 11:00 am with a potluck lunch to follow

Lloyd Hanks
Lloyd Hanks, 89, passed away Monday, September 12, 2011 at Surprise Valley Community Hospital in Cedarville, CA.
Lloyd was born to George and Dollie (House) Hanks on March 9, 1922, south of Cedarville, CA in what is now known as the Peg Houser house.

Sports

Braves take Trinity to wire

Modoc’s varsity football team was leading 26-21 with nine seconds left in the Trinity game Friday night, on their way to a major upset.
The Wolves were threatening and a questionable pass interference call on the Braves and some interesting clock management helped the Wolves take the lead.
Modoc Coach Shaun Wood said on the Wolves first play they completed a pass and the Braves tackled the receiver in bounds. Strangely, only five of the nine seconds had clicked off the Trinity scoreboard clock. Then a pass interference call on Modoc gave the Wolves another chance at the one, and Trinity scored.
“We played great and it was a tough way to lose after we played that well and I felt we had stopped them,” said Wood. “Trinity’s good and I told the team if they could play that well the rest of the way, we’ll be fine.”
Modoc took the early lead in the first period when Austin Carreker took the ball in from the 11. He scored on two more runs, one of 11 yards and another of five yards in the second period. Trinity scored one in the first and once in the second as Modoc went into the halftime talks leading 19-14.
The Braves added a Drew Culp eight-yard touchdown in the third period to go up 26-14 before Trinity cut the lead to 26-21.
The Braves defense held Trinity’s vaunted running game to just 147 yards rushing, with Luke Curran getting 111 of those on 17 carries. But Modoc got burned in the passing game, giving up 219 yards, with 158 of those to one receiver.
Modoc rushed for 202 yards on 53 carries. Carreker led the way with 84 yards on 20 carries, while Jesse Silva has 54 on 15, Alex Torres 38 on nine, and Riley Larranaga 17 on one.

Trinity blanks Modoc JV

Trinity’s junior varsity football team scored on their first play from scrimmage, added another on two plays and took a 22-0 lead in the first period against Modoc’s Braves.
By the end of the first half, the Wolves had a commanding 28-0 lead. Modoc stiffened in the second half, and the final score was 28-0.
“We should have played better, but they are a good team and they came out fast,” said coach Dominic Budmark. “We just couldn’t get going in the first half, but played respectable ball in the second half.”

Modoc 3-1 at Lakeview tourney

Modoc’s varsity volleyball team went 3-1 at the Lakeview Tallman tournament Sept. 17. Modoc travels to Tulelake Sept. 22 and to Mt. Shasta Sept. 27.
The Braves beat Lakeview 23-30, North Lake 34-26, and Tulelake 24-30. They lost to Mazama 3-23. In bracket play, they lost to Bonanza 25-15 and 24-26.
Coach Harold Montague said the team jumped out to a great start in the first three matches, but “played like a tired team” against Bonanza and Mazama.
He said Courtney Knoch set and served well, while Jodi Boudreaux and Lily Hallmark played well at the net. Justine Collier led the team in passing.
Modoc beat Surprise Valley Sept. 16, 13-25, 8-25 and 13-25.
Jordan Marquardt served 15-15 with seven aces; will Knoch was 15016 with seven aces. Hallmark had six kills, Leah Berryessa had five and Kelsey Clay added four.
The junior varsity Braves beat Surprise Valley 25-9 and 25-20. Kelly Jo Schmidt had five aces, Morgan Bagwell had four and Kristen Reed had three.
In the Lakeview tourney, Modoc beat Lost River 25-22, with Reed getting six aces and Bagwell four. Sierra Kerr and Priscila Madrigal had three kills each.
They lost to Lakeview 15-25 and beat Paisley 25-19.

Tulelake drops Braves 3-1

The Modoc High Soccer team opened its season in a non-league loss against Tulelake 3-1, Tuesday afternoon.
After Modoc held possession for the first 15 minutes, Tulelake powered through to score its first goal, and again a second goal shortly before the first half ended.
Modoc had a rough start of the second half as Tulelake put in a third goal in the first 10 minutes. From the 50th minute on, Modoc again held possession most of the time seeing Fili Arceo through to knock in Modoc’s only goal in the last couple minutes of the 80 minute game.
Today at 5:00 p.m., Modoc will take on Fall River at the Alturas Elementary School field in their first league match. Saturday, the squad will travel to Weaverville to face Trinity at 2:00 p.m.

September 29th, 2011

News

Haralson was not paroled to Modoc

Contrary to documented reports last week from local officials, Robert Chad Haralson, convicted in the 1992 death of Alturas teenager Betty Lou Parks, was not released on parole to Modoc County.
Individuals close to the issue said Haralson was paroled last week, but would not confirm where. They also stated part of his plea deal with Modoc County included an agreement that he would not be paroled here.
Haralson was released from state prison two years earlier than local justice officials expected.
The Modoc District Attorney’s Office last week said they received a letter from High Desert State Prison Tuesday stating that Haralson would be released to Tehama County. That letter was dated Sept. 16.
But last Tuesday, Modoc Sheriff Poindexter said he received a phone call stating Haralson is scheduled for release here today. Haralson served more time in the Modoc County Jail awaiting trial than he will have served in state prison.
In May 2010, Haralson entered a “no contest” plea to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury in the 1992 killing of Parks.
Parks, who had just graduated from Modoc Middle School, was reported missing in June 1992 and her remains were found by a hiker at a remote location in Modoc Estates in May 1993.

Public questions BLM wild horse practices

Last Saturday the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) gave approximately 30 interested members of the public and government officials a tour of the Fox Hog Herd Management Area about 40 miles south east of Cedarville. The Fox Hog HMA is one of five HMAs scheduled to have wild horses removed from their lands.
Currently BLM estimates that there are between 371-390 wild horses ranging on 127,618 acres in the Fox Hog HMA. There are also 1,800 head of cattle permitted for the HMA.
The entire gather is called the High Rock Complex and includes five HMAs and adjacent lands, covering close to 616,000 acres with an estimated 1,200 to 1,300 head of horses. BLM has determined that 250 to 450 wild horses are the appropriate population levels.
In addition to wild horses, the area supports wildlife including mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, upland birds and small mammals, as well as the permitted livestock.
“The current population of wild horses in four of these herd management areas is above what the range can handle,” said Northern California district manager Nancy Haug. “We have decided to move forward with the gather.”
During several stops members of the public voiced concerns and questions about government practices used at wild horse gathers.
Why are the very old horses chased by helicopter for miles across rugged terrain and into traps; then if they don’t die on the way into the traps they are too exhausted to protect themselves from the other younger stallions fighting in the small corrals?
If the animals are severely injured they are shot.

Mt. Bidwell Celebration comes together in Ft. Bidwell Saturday

The Mt. Bidwell California Indian Day Celebration and Reunion
will get underway this Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 10 a.m. in Ft.Bidwell on Main Street.
Starting off in full regalia will be a Native American Indian Parade. Humorist, from Portland, OR, Gilbert Brown (Paiute) will make an appearance. At noon, dinner will be served with a $5 donation. Indian Tacos will also be available at $6 each.
The honoring of the Fort Bidwell Indian Boarding School Elders will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Ft. Bidwell gymnasium. Storytellers and specialists will tell their stories, perform songs and dances, passed down from generation to generation. Participants will converge from Alturas, Fallon, Schurz and Yeringtion, Nevada, Vancouver, WA and Ft. Bidwell.
Vendors will offer their goods at the conclusion of the parade. Also, beads, shell, leather, pine nuts, abalone and more will be available. Vendors may set up at 7 a.m. at the gymnasium; ask for Michele Barker on Saturday.

APD seeks help in engine theft

The Alturas Police Department is seeking the public’s help in the theft of an engine from a damaged vehicle on Pioneer Auto Body’s north lot.
According to Alturas Chief of Police Ken Barnes, the theft occurred sometime between Sept. 20 and Sept. 22. He believes the theft was probably during the night.
The stolen engine is from a tan 2003 Chevy Tahoe. In addition to removing the engine, the thieves also took the license plates from the vehicle. The vehicle identification number is 1GNEK13V73J268773 and the license plates are California 6HEA959.
Barnes said the owner of the vehicle had offers from individuals who wanted to purchase the engine. He said pulling the engine would have required some equipment and knowledge and he’s hoping the public can provide some clues and recover the engine.
Anyone who may have heard anything suspicious or saw unusual activity on the lot is asked to call the APD at 233-2011.

Obituaries:

Martha Justine Ward Osborne
Martha Justine (Cook) Ward Osborne of Cedarville, California passed away at the Surprise Valley Hospital, on September 21, 2011, at the age of 90.
She was born on November 22, 1920, in Portola, California to Ernest and Alta (Franklin) Cook.
Services were held on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at the Eagleville Community Church with interment at the Eagleville Cemetery, where she rests with her family and her beloved Ray Ward.
Donations may be made in her name to the Surprise Valley Health Care District, PO Box 246, Cedarville, CA 96104.

Helen Harris
Helen Margaret (Lyon) Harris was born in Sacramento, CA to Helen Louis Lyon and William Darrell Lyon
Her entire family would like to thank the caring professionals at Mercy Hospital of Folsom. Though they touched our lives for such a short time they helped to make Helen’s death a dignified ending to a life well lived.

George Warren Sloss
On April 11, 2011, George “Drummer” Warren Sloss passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at Sutter Roseville Medical Center during surgery. George was born in Alturas, CA. He was born February 29, 1940.
George is survived by his wife of 49 years, Carolyne (Cookie); his son Dale, daughter Lynne Sex; grandchildren Rachel, Trevor, Sylvia, Haylee and Hanna; his sister Marilyn and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Warren and Maude Sloss

Craig T. Minto
Craig Travis Minto born February 15, 1962, joined his father Vrle in heaven on September 21, 2011. He is survived by his wife Shona of Stonyford, CA; son Wesley; daughter Kylie; daughter-in-law Katie; mother Barbara; brother Vince; sisters Karla, Tami and Karlicia. Graveside Services will be held on October 8 at 11:00 a.m. in Eagleville, CA, the place he found peace.

Thomas J. Hudson
Tom J. Hudson, husband of the former Donna Courtney of Alturas, passed away September 11, 2011, at a Redding, CA hospital. He was born Jan. 20, 1931 in El Centro, CA.
and moved to Anderson from Woodland in 1964. In 1968, he married Donna Courtney formerly of Alturas. Tom retired from Simpson Paper Co. in 1993. Tom and Donna spent a lot of time in Modoc County, visiting family and friends. He was a member of the Alturas Elks Lodge.
Private family services will be held at a later date.

Robert “Bob” J. Shaw
Robert “Bob” Jasper Shaw passed away due to cardiac arrest on September 5, 2011 in Redding, CA. He was 79 and a lifelong resident of Lookout, Modoc County, CA.
A memorial service will be held at the Lookout Fire Hall on Oct. 1, 2011 at 11:00 am with a potluck lunch to follow. Please feel free to bring photos and stories to share. Instead of flowers or gifts, a donation to High Plateau Humane Society, P.O. Box 1383, Alturas, CA 96101 or to a charity of your choice would be preferred.

Joyce Reid
Former Alturas resident Joyce A. Reid passed away September 25, 2011. Joyce had made Alturas her home for the past 14 years, until moving away in March 2011. The twin sister of Judy Moore of Alturas, she was born July 9, 1940 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Among those who survived are her daughters Karen of southern California; Susan of Florida and Stephanie Urban; older sister Maryjane Corder of Nampa, Idaho; younger sister Kathleen Susan Bowman of southern California; twin sister Judy Moore of Alturas, CA and several grandchildren. An obituary and service announcement will be published in a future issue.

Matthew Piper
Matthew “Matt” Barr Piper peacefully passed away on September 15, 2011 at his home at the Piper Ranch surrounded by his close family. Matt was born in Healdsburg, CA on May 30, 1940 to Harriet Jean Piper and the late John Robert Piper. He loved to hunt, fish, camp and spend time in Modoc County. He was very loyal to his family and close friends.
In lieu of flowers please make contributions to Living Well (Hospice), RCMS P.O. Box 1100 Gualala, CA 95445. A celebration of life and potluck will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at Manchester Garcia Grange from 11:00-3:00. Eversole Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Howard R. Clark
Howard Richard Clark of Adin passed away peacefully on Monday, September 26, 2011. He was 91 years young. Graveside services will be held Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. at the Adin Cemetery. Potluck luncheon will directly follow at the Adin Community Church gym building. Donations in his name can be made to the Adin Ambulance Fund, c/o The Big Valley Endowment Foundation; The American Cancer Society, or any charity of your choice.

Sports

Lost River trips Modoc in final seconds

Lost River scored and kicked the point after with 30 seconds left in the game Friday night to beat Modoc 28-27.
The Braves meet Fall River in a non-league game here this Friday night. Both teams come in with 1-3 records, but coach Shaun Wood feels his team should be able to handle the Bulldogs.
The Lost River game was tight all evening with four lead changes and plenty of action. The big difference in the game was Lost River’s solid defensive line limiting Modoc to just 105 yards rushing on 31 carries.
“They were good sized, but they were also good athletes and they pounded us,” Wood said. “Sometimes we just didn’t block well and at times when we did, the backs didn’t hit the hole. They have a good team and it was a real battle.”
Lost River scored seven in the first quarter, but Modoc scored 14 in the second to lead 14-7 at half. Lost River added 14 in the third period and Modoc had seven to put the teams in a 21-21 tie going into the final period. Modoc scored to go up 27-21, but missed the point after, which, as usual, would come back to haunt them. With 30 seconds left in the game, the Raiders scored and made the point for the win.

Braves beat Lost River

The Modoc junior varsity football team beat Lost River 12-7 here Friday night and Fall River comes to town this Friday.
Neither Modoc or Lost River scored in the first half, but K.C. Brandsted scored on a 27-yard run in the third and added a six-yard run in the fourth for Modoc. Lost River scored seven in the third period.

Braves beat Tulelake at the net

Modoc’s varsity Volleyball team beat Tulelake 25-22, 25-16 and 25-19 Sept. 22 in Tulelake. The Braves travel to Weed tonight and have Burney at home Oct. 6.
Modoc lost its opening Shasta Cascade League contest to Mt. Shasta Tuesday in four games, 25-18, 18-25, 20-25 and 17-25.
“We took control of the fist game early and played strong throughout the game,” said Montague. “Mt. Shasta controlled the next two games. In the fourth game, we jumped out to an early lead, but our inability to get our passes in our setters’ hands led to too many soft attacks and freeballs that allowed Mt. Shasta to regain control of the final and deciding game of ht match.”
Modoc’s junior varsity team lost to the Bears 16-25, 25-18 and 12-15.
“After having a week off, it took us the first game to get ourselves back into swing,” said coach Carolyn Bridwell. “By the second game, our ladies were passing and serving well. Mt. Shasta us a good defensive team, but I’m hopeful for the next time we play them at home if we continue to work on our offense buy hitting around their defense.”

Modoc x-country doing well

On Thursday, September 15, both Modoc High and Modoc Middle School runners competed at the very competitive Mt. Shasta Invitational. Modoc entered 32 runners in their respective divisions.
The most impressive finish was by Ashley Hoy in the varsity girls race where she finished 14. At this point in the season she is still ranked in the top two in Division V. Kenna Funk finished 25 in the JV girls’ race.
The varsity boys’ team turned in its best performance in at least 10 years as they finished tying for first in Division V with Mt. Shasta. Landon Arested finished 31, Jac Derner 32, Daniel Martin 34, Patrick Bratton 40 and Jonathan Jones 59.
The JV boys were led by Nando Alcala, and then Mike Blankenship followed by Brandon Baines and then Cameron McCarty.
Both the Middle School boys and girls team did well as they dominated both divisions with first place team finishes. In the boys, Anthony James was 2, Rubin Orozco 3, Jordan Wade 4, Sean Anderson 5, Turker Lowrey 16, Logan VanSickel 18, Jeff Gouveia 20, Lane Galvin 21 and Chance Galvin 34. Meanwhile the girls were led by Haley McPeek 2, Emily Lowrey 3, Beth Derner 4, Cindy Cohen 5, Mattee Vickerman 11, Alena Vickerman 15 and Kimberley McCarty 50.
Modoc travels to Henley on Tuesday, September 27.

October 6th, 2011

News

The message to PO: closures major hardship, unfair to rural America

“The answer is ‘No.’ We won’t close our post office. Why are we expected to drive at least 60 miles, and in some cases, 100 miles to pick up a package, when closing a post office in a city might cause customers to drive an extra two miles to do the same thing? Are we second class citizens?”
“Or, is it just that we don’t have the numbers to vote someone out of office? Has the USPS ever done a comparison study on the costs of closing our post office and delivering mail?”
“Is this proposed closure a political move? Are we pawns in a game you are playing?”
These are just a few of the questions asked when approximately 75 to 80 people attended the proposed post office closure meeting in Fort Bidwell. Everyone attending in the standing room only crowd was adamantly opposed to the possibility of losing their post office.
As frustrations grew during the meeting someone asked, “You’re here, you say you can’t do anything to help us save our post office, you can’t tell us the criteria the USPS is using to judge whether the post office will be closed, are you just fulfilling some legal obligation to hear our complaints? Does anyone in the USPS consider the impact this closure will have on our community? Why are we even here?”
Early in the meeting it was asked if the meeting was being recorded so officials would know the concerns voiced at the meeting. The audience was assured that all concerns and questions were being written down for further consideration. It was noticed that even though most questions were noted, not all of them were written down.

Schools, roads payments program expires

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 expired Sept. 30 at the end of the federal fiscal year.
It provided between 15 percent and 20 percent of operating revenue for California rural schools.
Historically, the program was a major source of funding for Modoc County Roads and Schools. Local schools were not counting on the funds for the 2011-2012 budgets,
The funds for the program since 2007 were on a progressive downward trend starting at $3,447,895, dropping to $3,109,487 in 2007-08; to $2,798,538 in 2008-09; to $2,522,139 in 2009-10; and going up to $2,752,351 in 2010-11. But that allocation was the last unless new federal legislation now under discussion to address the problem proves fruitful. A bill has not yet been introduced in either house of Congress.
The $500 million funding program for rural schools and roads is designed to fill the financial gap created by a steep decline in timber receipts in forest counties, primarily in the West.
Established more than a century ago, a county-federal partnership agreement recognized that federal land ownership deprives local counties and communities of tax revenue. Federal ownership in Modoc County totals more than 75 percent.

BLM Wild Horse Roundup set for Oct. 15

The Bureau of Land Management has announced that operations will begin Saturday, Oct. 15, to round up excess wild horses from public lands in northwest Nevada, about 40 miles east of Cedarville, Calif.
The BLM said about 1,300 wild horses will be gathered and about 1,090 removed from the range to bring populations to within the appropriate management level range of 258 to 451 animals.
Wild horses removed from the range will be taken to the BLM's short term Litchfield Corrals near Susanville and the Palomino Valley National Wild Horse and Burro Center north of Reno. They will be made available for public adoption after receiving vaccinations or other needed veterinary care.
Horses that are not adopted will be held in large Midwestern pastures to live out their lives.
“Our goal is to manage healthy wild horse herds on healthy rangelands in balance with other authorized users of the public range,” said Nancy Haug, manager of the BLM’s Northern California District, which oversees these wild horse herd management areas. “To keep the herds and the land healthy, we need to keep populations at levels the range can sustain, while meeting needs of users such as wildlife and livestock.”

Obituary:
Howard Clark

Howard Richard Clark passed away peacefully on Monday, September 26, 2011. He was 91 years young. Howard was born to Donnie and Earl Clark on January 6, 1920 in Adin, CA. He was born on the ranch where he spent most of his days. Howard worked the ranch with his parents and then eventually took it over himself.
Howard met the girl of his dreams, Freda Smith, and married her on December 30, 1941. They had three children, Janice, Donna and Perry. The couple reared their family on the ranch, where they raised cattle, horses, lots of 4-H and FFA animals and many acres of hay. Countless young men, family and friends, have memories of hauling hay on the Clark Ranch.
Howard served his country in the Army from January 20, 1942 to July 17, 1943, in the 33rd Armored Regiment. He was honorably discharged due to the hardship his absence placed on the family business.
Known for his quick wit, he loved to tell stories and would soon be laughing so hard at his own story, he’d have you in tears! He was also known for his love of sports. Howard could always be found attending a ball game, whether it be one of Perry’s or one of his grandson’s games. He loved to brave the cold at a football game or be one of the first spectators to arrive at marathon basketball games. Once his grandsons graduated from high school, he changed his attendance at games to attendance in the living room, watching all kinds of sports on TV. Basketball was always his favorite and he loved to tell stories of his glory days in high school.
He also loved Halloween! Howard and Freda would spend days decorating for Halloween and took great pride in scaring many generations of children.
Howard was preceded in death by his wife Freda; brothers Jack and Raymond Clark; sister Fay Badger; sons-in-law Dale Weigand and George Woolery and grandson Ryan Clark.
He leaves his children Janice Weigand of Chico, and her family, granddaughter Vicki and her husband Tim Dahl, granddaughter Valerie and great-grandchildren Nick and Jacquie; daughter Donna Woolery of Dairy, OR and her family, granddaughter Natalie Turnbull and her husband Jeff and great grandson Alex Turnbull; son Perry and his wife Sammi of Nampa, ID, and their family, grandson Chris Clark and his wife Michelle and great- grandson Tucker, grandson Bryce Clark and his wife Katie. He also leaves his sister June Siemer, her husband Harold and numerous loving family members.
Graveside services were held Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. at the Adin Cemetery. Potluck luncheon directly followed at the Adin Community Church gym building.

Donations in his name can be made to the Adin Ambulance Fund, c/o The Big Valley Endowment Foundation; The American Cancer Society or any charity of your choice.

Sports

Fall River no match for Braves

Fall River was no match for the Modoc Braves Friday night, foretelling what might be an easy march for the Braves through the Shasta Cascade League this year.
Modoc beat Fall River here in a non-league game last weekend 34-0 and the two will meet again in an SCL match-up Oct. 28 at Fall River.
The Braves travel to Weed this Friday night to actually open league play. Wood doesn’t expect the Cougars to present a huge challenge, but will have his team ready. Weed is very low on players this year.
While Wood won’t take any of the games lightly, he felt and still feels, that Fall River is probably the toughest team they’ll face in league this season. Modoc has won 34 of the last 35 league games.
Friday’s game was decided early, with Modoc taking a 14-0 first quarter lead and a 27-0 halftime advantage. They added another touchdown in the third period and allowed a running clock in the final quarter.
While the Braves offense did pretty much what it wanted, especially in the passing game, the defense limited Fall River to 98 yards total offense, with all but one yard coming on the ground.

Modoc High alum inducted into Utah softball hall of fame

Mikki Abbate Jackson, formerly of Likely, was honored in July for her impressive success as a fastpitch softball player and coach, by being inducted into the Utah Softball Hall of Fame.
Jackson, a 1983 Modoc High graduate and outstanding athlete, continued her education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. During her time at BYU, she played on the university softball team, and worked toward a medical career. She also served from 1986-87 as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Hong Kong, where she learned to speak Cantonese, and spent time caring for Vietnamese refugees in a camp near Hong Kong.
She then returned to BYU, graduating in 1989 with a degree in Biology and a co-major in Secondary Education.
She began her career in 1990 at Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah, where she taught various science disciplines, including chemistry, biology, general science, and medical anatomy & physiology. She also took over as head coach of the girl’s fastpitch softball team, and wasted no time making her presence known. She won the state championship her first year as head coach and never looked back.
For 20 years, Jackson has taught in the Salt Lake City area, and coached softball. Most of that time has been spent at Bingham High, except for a few years while raising her children, during which she taught part-time at other schools in the valley. She currently teaches the medical anatomy & physiology classes at Bingham.
Thus far in her coaching career, Jackson has led her Bingham girls to eight State championships, 11 Region championships, and one AAU National Championship.

Modoc beats Weed in four

Modoc’s varsity volleyball team beat the Weed Cougars in four games Sept. 29: 25-18, 19-25, 25-18, and 25-19. They host Burney today and travel to Etna Saturday and Fall River Tuesday.
“We played very well against a much improved Weed team,” said coach Harold Montague. “We played a great first game and controlled the tempo the entire game. I was very pleased to see the girls come back and win the next two games after dropping the second game.”
The fourth game was tied at 13 when Jodi Boudreaux served 10 consecutive points, sealing the win.
“I am very pleased with the girls intensity and they are executing our skills better each game,” said Montague.

Soccer beats Weed, ties Bears

The Modoc High School Soccer team this past week has been able to do something it has not done for several years. The Braves played strong defensive matches to tie Mt. Shasta 1 to 1 and beat Weed 1 to 0.
The Braves scored first in the match against Mt. Shasta on their home field with a goal by Max Munguia with an assist by Marvin Serrano. The team continued to shut down the Bears attack, under the strong defense of goal keeper Fili Arceo and defender Jonathan Jones.

In spite of the one goal by Mt. Shasta, Arceo was able to block 26 shots on goal in that game. Mt. Shasta is a nationally ranked team and the strongest team in our Shasta Cascade League sitting first with a record of 9-1-1.

October 13th, 2011

News

Alturas Police arrest resident after shots fired

The Alturas Police Department arrested Ronnie Harden at his Fourth Street home early Wednesday morning after a report of shots fired from the residence.
APD units, the California Highway Patrol, Modoc Sheriff’s Office and BLM Ranger responded to the 8:15 a.m, call and blocked off the street while trying to convince Harden to disarm and come out of his house.
After about a half-hour stand-off, officers entered the home and physically subdued Harden without injury. He was arrested alleging recklessly firing a weapon, a Winchester 243 rifle, in the City of Alturas along with other charges.

Supervisors take stand for fire departments

Modoc County Supervisors Tuesday effectively took a stand in support of area volunteer fire departments and special districts. The Board voted unanimously to submit a letter to the State Controller’s Office seeking its opinion on whether additional audits ordered by Auditor Darcy Locken would have to be performed.
Supervisor Patricia Cantrall brought the issue to the Board following several meetings and discussions with fire departments and state legislators.
Representatives for 13 of the 14 fire departments in the county protested the audits in mid September, and parked several fire trucks outside that meeting, stating the county could just have the keys if the audits were required. They stated they just don’t have the funds to pay for audits that they feel are already part of the county budget.
Those audits would cover of County funding, not any of the funds held in their own bank accounts. Those accounts generally hold the fire departments’ fundraising proceeds.
In the letter approved and signed by all five Supervisors this week to Controller John Chaing, the Board seeks some conclusion to the issue.

Driver charged in fatal DUI crash

The driver of a car involved in a fatal accident Oct. 1 has been charged with felony driving under the influence and felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Eliseo Munguia, age 18, Likely, was driving a 1997 Lincoln eastbound on Jess Valley Road west of County Road 258 at an undetermined rate of speed at about 1:35 a.m. Because of his state of intoxication, he allowed the Lincoln to go off the road and out of control. The car overturned, coming to rest on its roof.
A passenger in the vehicle, Edwardo Fabian Chavez-Lopez, 19, of Alturas, was unrestrained, and died in the crash. According to eyewitnesses on the scene, the roof of the vehicle had to be cut off to retrieve the body.
Munguia sustained major injuries and was arrested by the CHP. He was booked into the Modoc County Jail and later released on bail.

County looks into marijuana grow ordinance

The Modoc County Planning Department has been authorized to set up a committee dealing with marijuana grows on private property in the county.
While Modoc County Planner Kim Hunter told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that it wasn’t an issue she was anxious to undertake, she felt it was necessary for public safety.
The issue will be land use and what uses are permitted, restricted or regulated. The private property grows have become more prevalent in the County and Hunter said law enforcement believes they could become more of a problem. The committee will study the issues and make recommendations concerning a possible ordinance dealing the grows.
For instance, the marijuana-growing problem in California Pines has gotten serious attention from the Modoc County Interagency Narcotics Task Force. The problem is the proliferation of “squatter grows” on lots.
“Squatter grows” are where trespassers come onto another person’s property and begin marijuana growing operations without the permission of the landowner.
According to the Task Force, since the fall of 2010 reports of these clandestine marijuana grows in the subdivision hill units have increased and have been investigated.

Obituaries:

Gregory D. Harris
Gregory David Harris passed away unexpectedly at his home in Alturas on October 10, 2011, at the age of 49. Born May 8, 1962 in Alturas, California, he was reared in Likely and graduated from Modoc High School in 1980. Mr. Harris was a current City of Alturas employee.
He is survived by daughter Alissa and son-in-law Naoki Ishihara of Kent WA; grandson Joey of Kent, WA; daughters Ellen and Misaki of Japan; mother Grace and stepfather Rich Firman of Likely, CA; stepmother Yvonne Harris of Alturas; sister Melissa and brother-in-law Ed Bucher of Lakeview, OR; nephews Jeffrey, Darryl and William Bucher of Lakeview, OR.
Private family services will be held at a later date. Mr. Harris’ obituary will be published next week.

Sports

Modoc hosts Etna for 2011 Homecoming Friday

The Modoc Braves will play host to the Etna Lions for the 2011 Homecoming game set Friday night at the Modoc High School Field. The junior varsity game will start at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity game will follow.
Modoc comes into the Homecoming game after a 52-12 win over Weed. Etna beat Weed 41-7 earlier this season, but also lost to Chester 55-12, Bonanza 14-0 and Hoopa Valley 62-0.
“Etna really isn’t that bad,” said coach Shaun Wood. “They pass well and have a good running back. I expect a pretty good game, but we should be able to handle them. They might be a better team than Fall River.”
The Braves opened the Weed game with a 20-0 first quarter lead and led 46-6 at halftime. Weed added six in the third and Modoc capped it off with six in the fourth.

JVs come back to beat Weed

Modoc’s junior varsity football team tailed Weed 21-14 going into the final period in Weed Friday night, but scored a touchdown and added the two-point conversion for a 22-21 win.
They will face Etna in the Homecoming game Friday night, 5:30 p.m.
“I was very proud of our kids and they handled the Weed situation well,” said coach Dominic Budmark. “It was one of those games where we just couldn’t tackle in the first half. We could move the ball well though, and in the second half only gave up 53 yards.
“What I’m most proud of is in JV ball you don’t usually sustain long drives, it usually comes down to big plays or mistakes, but we’ve put together drives of 12 to 15 plays, and scored at the end.”

Braves win pair of league matches

Modoc’s varsity volleyball team knocked off Burney here in three games Oct. 6: 25-10, 25-3 and 25-15.
The Braves then beat Etna in three games, 25-21, 25-22 and 25-21 Oct. 8 in Etna.
Modoc lost to Fall River 12-25, 12,25 and 21-25 Tuesday at Fall River. Modoc’s junior varsity team beat Burney 25-15, 19-25 and 15. They then beat Etna 25-14, 22-25 and 16-14.
The jayvees beat Fall River 25-16 and 25-21.

Modoc NWR needs your help with poacher

Modoc National Wildlife Refuge is looking for help collecting information regarding a mule deer buck that was taken illegally on the Grandma Tract of the Refuge sometime between Saturday night, October 8, and Sunday morning, October 9.

The buck was shot illegally on the refuge along the north side of County Road 56 east of the Desert Rose Casino. If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact Brian Gallaher at 530-233-5104.

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October 20th, 2011

News

Auditor cautions County to adopt funding plan

Modoc County Auditor Darcy Locken sent a memo recently cautioning the County Board of Supervisors and Departments that she would not issue checks unless the County adopted a plan that satisfies the law concerning the debt issue.
That memo could mean she would withhold payroll, something she emphatically does not want to do, and something she said could be solved with a simple adoption of a cash flow plan.
While the County Chief Administrative Officer, Chester Robertson has discussed his proposal to handle the debt and cash flow issue during budget hearings and in the adoption of the budget; the board has not yet formally adopted an actual version of that plan.
On Tuesday, Robertson said he will be presenting a plan to the Board that should satisfy Locken’s concerns. That plan, he said, will be a reaffirmation of the proposals discussed during the budget hearing, including the sale of certain fixed assets (buildings), partial financing with revenue bonds, dealing with deficit spending problems in both the Library and Waste Management, and dealing with the issue of accrued comp time.
Locken’s concerns are centered around legal exposure to the County if a plan to deal with the debt and cash flow issue is not in place. Currently, the County is operating under a plan put together by former Chief Financial Officer Richard Arrow, which has been in place for a couple of years, but may not fit the current direction of the County.

MMC transition moving forward

Most of the issues involving the transition of Modoc Medical Center from a County hospital to a district hospital have been completed, and the state and federal licensing issue should be forthcoming soon.
According to hospital Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner, one of the holdups was whether it was simply a change in name status or a change in ownership for the licensing. It was determined that the status was a change in ownership.
Now that that question has been decided, the actual issuance of licensing should be sped up. Once the licensing is in place, the full transition process will be completed. One of the issues is the District cannot use the assessment funds, about $2.1 million, until the transition is complete.
Voters in the district approved the formation and a $195 tax assessment for the Hospital District in August 2010. Some people have questioned whether the transition taking more than a year, partly held up by the County, could have an impact on the district. That does not appear to be a valid concern.

Thunderstorm starts 5 fires on the Modoc National Forest

Sunday’s thunderstorm produced more than 600 lightning strikes across Modoc County and started five small fires on the Modoc National Forest. Each of the fires was 1/10th acre or less.
Two fires were located on the Big Valley Ranger District near Rush Creek, one was on the Warner Mountain Ranger District in the Fandango Pass area and two were near Big Sage Reservoir on the Devil’s Garden Ranger District. The two fires on the Devil’s Garden were in the Big Sage Fire Management Area. These two fires were allowed to burn and are being monitored daily. The remaining 3 fires have been suppressed.
Natural fires in the Big Sage Fire Management Area may be allowed to burn if fuel and weather conditions are suitable. Lightning fires are a natural component of local ecosystems. As such, they help maintain the diversity of native plant and animal communities.

MNF campgrounds closing for season

Campgrounds across the Modoc National Forest are reducing services in preparation for the end of the traditional camping season. Trash and water services at all campgrounds will end by Friday October 21st.
Visitors are welcome to use open campgrounds, but must bring their own water and remove all trash when they exit. Gates to some campgrounds will be locked; these campgrounds are closed to vehicle traffic. The gate to Upper Rush Creek Campground near Adin will remain open until further notice to allow for late season camping.
Visitors are advised that changes in weather may cause roads to become soft or impassable. Please do not create resource damage by driving on soft roads or saturated soils.

Additional information on recreation opportunities and current road conditions is available by calling the following Modoc National Forest offices: the Supervisor’s Office at 530-233-5811, the Warner Mountain Ranger District Office at 530-279-6116, the Big Valley Ranger District Office at 530-299-3215 or the Doublehead Ranger District Office at 530-667-2246.

Sports

Modoc continues dominance of SCL teams

The Modoc Braves varsity football team continued its cakewalk through the Shasta Cascade League Friday night with a 37-0 drubbing of Etna’s Lions.
Burney comes to town Friday night and won’t provide much competition for the Braves either.
The Braves will finish out the league season against Fall River, there, Oct. 28. They beat Fall River 34-0 earlier this year in a non-league contest.
Modoc has tentatively scheduled a game with Hosanna Christian of Klamath Falls Nov 4, 7 p.m. in Alturas. That would be a fill in game, varsity only, to replace the Tulelake game. Tulelake cancelled its football season this year.
“This was one of those games where we played well and I tried to call every play we had in the book,” said coach Shaun Wood. “Alex Torres had an outstanding game on both sides of the ball. And a lot of players got to play, so that was good.”
Modoc’s defense simply stopped Etna’s offense. Modoc allowed just 25 yards rushing and 27 passing for the entire game.

Bears beat Braves netters

Modoc’s varsity volleyball team played undefeated Mt. Shasta tough Oct. 13, but wound up losing 23-25, 16-25 and 26-24.
Modoc then beat Weed Oct. 18 by scores of 14-25, 26-24, 25-22 and 25-20.
Modoc’s junior varsity volleyball team had a slow start against the Mt. Shasta Bears Oct. 13, ending up losing 15-25 and 23-25.
The JV beat Weed Tuesday 25-22, 17-25 and 15-13.
Modoc meets Etna here tonight and is at Burney Oct. 25. They finish the season Oct. 27 with Fall River here.

Soccer ties with Weed 4-4

The Braves Soccer team has a busy week in store for their last week of the season. Last Tuesday the Braves faced Weed in a challenging match. Modoc got on the board first with a goal in the first four minutes of the game, but the score was Cougars 1-1 late in the first half. Weed went up 3-1 in the second half. The Braves fought back and took the lead 4-3 by the final minutes of the game.
However, the Cougars took one of their last possessions swiftly up field and scored the tying goal in the last couple of minutes of the game.

Modoc runners dominate at Bizz Johnson Half Marathon

On Saturday October 8, five Modoc High cross-country runners and their coach traveled to Susanville where they competed in the Bizz Johnson Half Marathon. The 13.1-mile race was to be used as a long workout, but instead, being the young competitive runners that they are, they decided to race it.
Patrick Bratton led the team with an overall eighth place finish out of 210 runners. He was second in the 19 and under division while averaging just over seven minutes per mile. He was followed by Daniel Martin, 16, third in his division. Jac Derner was 17, fourth in his division. Jose Perez was 85th and seventh in his division. Ashley Hoy finished second in her division while placing 44th overall.
Meanwhile their coach, Don Mason, was second in his age group (60-65) while finishing 63rd overall.
The team will now start concentrating on qualifying for the state championships. The first qualifying race is November 2 at West Valley High School.

October 27th, 2011

News

CAO plan relies on building sales, financing, cuts, taxes

Modoc County Chief Administrative Officer Chester Robertson presented a detailed fiscal restoration plan to Supervisors Tuesday, which they adopted unanimously.
The plan aims to restore the treasury the $13 million hospital debt and relies on financing, sale of county buildings, cuts in expenditures and increasing revenue. There are plenty of “ifs” in the plan, and Robertson predicts a very tough year for County government.
One key to his plan is to reduce the amount of required financing to a level the county can afford. He suggests a debt service (repayment) of between $800,000 and $950,000 annually. He stressed the County could not afford to borrow the full $15 million, as initially suggested, and would like to see that amount in the $7 million to $9 million range.
In order to get to that level, he projects the sale of County buildings, which could bring in about $3.4 million and continued budget austerity at the county level. He also believes the County should save the first debt service amount of about $1,050,000 rather than include it in the finance package.
In addition, he figures the County is going to have to increase its tax revenue and may have to go to the voters with a ballot measure to raise some taxes.
Robertson said he disagreed with “some” people who state the county hasn’t moved forward on the debt issue. He stressed there have been substantial efforts to address the debt, cut costs and credited efforts in working with the financial experts to come to acceptable terms. There is still plenty to do and while he doesn’t expect everything to fall into place easily, he believes the County is going in the right direction.

Major problems in hospital tax assessment

The phone has been ringing off the hook at Modoc Medical Center and Modoc County offices concerning an error in the hospital assessment on the tax bills just received by county taxpayers.
On Tuesday, hospital district board chairman Dick Steyer told the Modoc County Board of Supervisors he was well aware of the issue and as far as he could tell, the mistake was made by the hospital.
“The screw up is on our end, it’s our fault,” Steyer said. “I take full responsibility and we’re going to need a different policy, and we’ll get right on it. We need to change the policy so it won’t overburden people.”
In essence, the $195 annual assessment should be for one unique property per property power. What happened this year is several people received the $195 assessment for each piece of property they own.
That’s created a major problem, not just for taxpayers, but tracking down what happened and how to resolve the issue without undue hardships on the taxpayers.
As it stands now, taxpayers have to pay 100 percent of their tax bill and then ask for a refund through an appeal. That means they have to put up money for the entire erroneous assessment now and wait for the appeal.
Steyer and the county understand that people having to pay those taxes up front can causes serious financial problems for some people.
Just what the change in policy will mean for taxpayers is not clear at this time, but Steyer said the hospital district is taking the issue seriously and will get information to the public as soon as possible.

Hospital, union comes to terms

Modoc Medical Center and the employee union have come to terms on an agreement through June 30, 2012.
According to an Oct. 20 news release from the United Public Employees of California, Local 702, the 90-member hospital bargaining unit will give up their Public Employee Retirement System, PERS, to save the hospital “over $600,000 annually.”
MMC wasn’t budging on the PERS issue and had offered a 457 retirement plan to replace the PERS plan. In addition, MMS had frozen all salaries from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012.
According to MMS Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner, a transitional Memorandum of Understanding between the union and the hospital had actually been signed by her on Oct. 10 and the Union on Oct. 6.
That agreement also included a side letter concerning a CalPERS Retirement Study. Derner does not have a signed copy of that side letter agreement.
Basically, the side letter is a pact between the hospital and union where the District “agrees to participate with the Union and CalPERS to determine if the District is eligible for CalPERS, and if so, what would the cost be for a two percent at 60 and/or a 1.5 percent at 65 retirement plan.”

High Rock horse gather continues

The Bureau of Land Management’s High Rock Complex Wild Horse Round up started Oct. 15 and is expected to continue into Nov.
As of Tues. night 545 mustangs have been captured, seven of them are dead, 37 have been returned to the range and 522 have been shipped to Litchfield where they will be put up for adoption. Many injuries of horses, primarily from running in the rocks, have occurred and it is unknown if any of the wounds were treated with antibiotics or bute, especially since the posted vet report states they were all received in good condition.
BLM is allowing public viewing of the captures and the holding pens seven days a week. Public observation pens are placed well away from the action and binoculars will be needed to see the wild horses in any detail. Public viewing from a platform at the holding pens is at least 100 feet away. Although a supervised walk-about of the pens may be authorized if the public stays a minimum of 30 feet from the fences.
If any disruptions by the public occur the viewing will be stopped. There is no cell phone service. The public meets at the BLM office, 602 Cressler St., Cedarville at approximately 6 a.m. Viewers must drive their own 4x4 or high clearance vehicles. The public is urged to bring a lunch and snacks, and a chair to sit in. Do not wear bright clothing and be prepared for temperature extremes. Viewers may have to hike up to two miles to the designated observation area.
Call 530-279-2816 the day before to check in, for details of the trip, and the exact times and places.

New Supervisor district plan has changes

The 2010 Census created an issue in all of California as far as electoral districts goes, and Modoc County is no exception.
On Tuesday, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Stephanie Northrup presented a redistricting map proposal for County Supervisorial Districts to the Board of Supervisors. There are some major changes in a couple of districts, which won’t actually come into political play until the November 2012 election.
The fact that the census pointed out major population disparities among the County’s five Supervisor districts prompted the boundaries adjustments.
Supervisor District One, which has covered Surprise Valley was extremely out of balance. That district would have the biggest adjustment. Other than just representing Surprise Valley, the change would add Davis Creek, New Pine Creek, Willow Ranch, Thoms Creek, Summerland and Parker Creek. That would bring the population of the district to 1,827, up from the current 1,253, and closer to the target of 1,937.
The proposed changes would put the population of the other districts as follows: District Two, 2,018 (from 2,222), District Three, 1,968 (from 1,864), District Four 1,948 (from 2,378) and District Five, 1,905 (from 1,959).
The Board voted to adopt the changes as a first reading or the ordinance, with Supervisor Patricia Cantrall voting against. She lost some of her district to District 1. It will come back for second reading at the Nov. 8 meeting and would go into effect 30 days later.

Obituaries:

Cecil Pierce
Cecil Pierce passed away at the age of 92 in Reno, Nevada, on October 15, 2011, following a two-week illness at home. His family was with him.
Cecil Durwood Pierce was born on September 24, 1919, in Roseburg, Oregon, the son of Elmer Asa Pierce and Minnie Myrtle (Maddox) Pierce. He spent his childhood on the family homestead in Cleveland, a tiny community west of Roseburg, receiving his elementary education at the one-room Cleveland schoolhouse

Clint Baldwin
Clint James Baldwin, 39, of Caldwell, Idaho, passed away Friday, October 14, 2011 in Malheur County, Oregon.
Clint was born January 26, 1972 in Lakeview, Oregon, the son of Mickey and Charline Baldwin. He was reared and educated in Alturas, CA and graduated from Modoc High School in Alturas, CA in 1991
Memorial services were held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011 at Dakan Funeral Chapel in Caldwell. Honorary Pallbearers were Kyle Baldwin, Chance Baldwin, Roy Brutsman, Jason Winters, Dean Hunsberger, John Anderson, Tom Craft and Chet Blair. A reception followed at the family home in Caldwell.
A fund for Clint’s sons’ education has been established. Memorial contributions to this fund may be made out and sent to Stephanie Baldwin, 1823 Marshall Ave., Caldwell, ID 83605-4750.

Cecil R. Kemble
Cedarville resident Cecil R. Kemble, 69, passed away at a Reno, NV hospital on October 20, 2011, a few days following back surgery. He was born in Alturas, CA on February 15, 1942.
Services will be held Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. at the Modoc District Fairgrounds Hall in Cedarville with Interment to follow at the Lake City Cemetery. A fellowship/wake will take place at the hall, following interment. Mr. Kemble’s obituary will be published at a future date.

Earl Roberts
Earl Stanford Roberts passed away in Reno, NV after a short and unexpected illness on October 16, 2011. He was born in Oroville, CA on May 6, 1930 to Carlyle Conrad and Doris Rosalie (McNabb) Roberts.
A memorial gathering will be held Friday, November 4 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Hall in Alturas. Lunch will be served and potluck desserts are welcome. Those who wish to may donate in his memory to the Order of the Antelope Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 613, Lakeview, OR 97630.

William DeCroix
William Bryan DeCroix of Alturas left his mark on Modoc County and its residents, by way of his commercial and residential paint improvements throughout the area over the years; the sharp edge he honed on the equipment brought to him by customers; through his visits and interaction with family, friends and customers, in addition to his devotion to his faith. At the age of 89 years, Mr. DeCroix better known as “Bill” to many, died on Oct. 20, 2011 in Alturas, his home for the past 57 years.
He was born in the family home on Dec. 4, 1921, in New Eagle, PA, 27 miles from Pittsburg, to August A. DeCroix and Nellie (Towner) DeCroix.
A Memorial Service will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1400 W. Fourth St., Alturas.

Oren Goodwin
Mr. Oren Dallas (Jack) Goodwin died peacefully at the age of 90 at Rose Linn Care Center in West Linn, Oregon Sept. 114, 2011. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the Cedarville Cemetery.
Mr. Goodwin was born on August 13, 1921 to Earl Dallas and Dora Blanche (Puckett) Goodwin in Cedarville, California.
Baird Memorial Chapel in La Pine is in charge of arrangements. 541-536-5104. www.bairdmortuaries.com,

Frank Rider
Frank Arnold Rider, born in Alturas, passed away after a long battle with cancer on October 7, 2011 at his home in Lincoln, CA.
Frank was born March 23, 1942 in Alturas, CA. He lived with the Brewster Ebbe family in Alturas during his high school years, until graduating with Modoc High’s Class of 1960.
Services will be held December 3, 2011 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Lincoln, CA at 10 a.m. with inurnment at Lincoln Cemetery (no services).
Cremation arrangements by Heritage Oak, Rocklin. Donations may be made to Shriners Children Hospital, Sacramento, CA.

Alta Battram
Alta Lela Battram, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, passed away peacefully at Modoc Medical Center in Alturas on October 24, 2011.
Alta was born in Marlin, Texas, on September 16, 1925.
Private family services will be held at a later date.

Barbara J. Kirkreit
Barbara Jean Kirkreit, 67, of Alturas, passed away October 21, 2011 while at Renown Hospital, Reno, NV. Services are pending for November 7, 2011. Born Barbara Knudson in Graffton, N.D., she leaves her husband Willy and son Christopher, both of Alturas, CA. Obituary to follow.

Sports

Burney no match for Braves, Fall River next

The Shasta Cascade League’s weaknesses continue to show against the Modoc Braves. On Friday, Modoc trounced the Burney Raiders 46-13, in a game that was never close.
Modoc will travel to Fall River this Friday night for the SCL “Championship” game, but unless the bus breaks down, that game will be a formality. Modoc beat the Bulldogs earlier this year in a non-league game 34-0. Fall River did beat Etna 50-14 Friday night.
“I expect Fall River to be tougher this time around,” said Modoc coach Shaun Wood. “I still think we’ll be able to handle them, but since it’s the championship game, I think they’ll be up for it, and we’re playing the game down there. We have been balanced, running and passing, and I think we’ll be able to continue with that plan.”
In the depleted SCL, the Braves beat Weed 52-12, Etna 36-0 and Burney 46-13.
Modoc has scheduled a makeup game with Hosanna Christian of Klamath Falls Nov. 4, 7 p.m. in Alturas. That game will be varsity only, replacing the Tulelake game. Tulelake cancelled its season this year because of low player turnout.

Modoc JV blanks Burney 42-0

Modoc’s junior varsity football team had been starting slowly this year, but that changed Friday night against Burney.
The Braves put up 21 points in the first period and added 14 in the second for a 35-0 lead. They scored one more touchdown in the third for the 42-0 win.
“It was a pleasant surprise that we came out and scored in the first period and proved we could play in the first half,” said coach Dominic Budmark.
Their toughest game and final will be against Fall River this Friday night, in Fall River. A Modoc win will give them the outright Shasta Cascade League JV title.
Modoc beat Fall River 20-14 in a non-league game this year, and Budmark is preparing his team for a tough contest. Fall River will have one of their better running backs return for this game.”

Brave netters drop Etna in three sets
Modoc’s varsity volleyball team played its best match in two weeks and dropped the Etna Lions 25-17, 25-18 and 25-12 Thursday. They finish the season against Fall River, here, today. Fall River and Mt. Shasta are now tied for the league lead, with Modoc in third place.
Modoc beat the Burney Raiders 25-19, 25-23 and 25-19 Tuesday. Boudreaux led the team in serving going 20-20 and had 10 kills.
Modoc doesn’t have any games set for the week of Oct.31-Nov 4 and will use the time to prepare for playoffs. Playoffs will begin Nov. 8. At this time Modoc is hoping to secure at least one home game.
The junior varsity beat Etna 25-19 and 34-32, and the second game was a real nail-biter.
The JV beat Burney 13-25, 25-16 and 15-11 Tuesday. Kerr and Madrigal each had six serve receptions.

November 3rd, 2011

News

No injuries in UPS truck, car crash

There were no injuries Oct. 27, 12:36 p.m. in a crash involving United Parcel Service truck and a Dodge sedan at the intersection of State Route 299 and Crowder Flat road.
According to the California High Patrol, the UPS driver, Randy Christensen, age 60, of Likely, was coming down the Crowder Flat Road approaching the intersection and he couldn’t get vehicle stopped.
The truck went onto the highway, into the path of a westbound 2008 Dodge Avenger driven by Megan Wright, 26, of Alturas. Wright did not have time to completely avoid the UPS truck and hit the front of the driver’s side with the left front of her vehicle.
The impact caused major damage to both vehicles, knocking the UPS truck part way off the highway. Traffic was delayed or stopped for about 30 minutes, but neither driver nor two passengers in the Wright vehicle were hurt. Everyone involved in the accident was seatbelted.

CAO’s finance plan satisfies Auditor’s concerns

Last week. Modoc County Chief Administrative Officer Chester Robertson presented his fiscal restoration plan to Supervisors, which they adopted unanimously.
Modoc County Auditor Darcy Locken had previously asked for the plan in writing and formally adopted by the Board as a condition of paying county bills and payroll.
Robertson had claimed the plan was a part of the approved budget, and did not need to be formally adopted in written form, but agreed to put it out for formal adoption by the Board.
The plan aims to restore the treasury the $13 million hospital debt and relies on financing, sale of county buildings, cuts in expenditures and increasing revenue.
“This is the most comprehensive, well-written plan that we've had so far,” Locken said this week to Robertson. “It answers all of the questions that I had, and then some. While we obviously have a lot of work to do, I believe we are on the same page. I know you are busy and I appreciate you taking the time to put the plan in writing."
Locken had detailed the policy for continuing to issue warrants (checks) as follows: cash flow, based on current budget must show the County’s ability to support the non-general fund departments’ expenditures through the fiscal year; and multi-year cash flow projections must be maintained to show when the County could potentially need to augment cash flow with either financing or other solutions.

Hospital board working on assessment bill issue

The Last Frontier Healthcare District Board of Directors is working to ease financial burdens caused by some problems with the just released hospital district assessment.
The issue is the $195 annual assessment should be for one unique property per property owner. What happened this year is several people received the $195 assessment for each piece of property they own.
That’s created a major problem, not just for taxpayers, but tracking down what happened and how to resolve the issue without undue hardships on the taxpayers.
As it stands now, taxpayers have to pay 100 percent of their tax bill and then ask for a refund through an appeal. That means they have to put up money for the entire erroneous assessment now and wait for the appeal.
According to Steyer, the District has been working with and came to an agreement with Modoc County Treasurer Cheryl Knoch to send corrected bills for those people affected by the double billing.
Steyer said the District is currently going over the list of taxpayers with a fine-toothed comb in order to ferret out those that should not have to pay more than one assessment.
The key, said Steyer, is to get those resolved so people will get the corrected bills and not have to pay for the extra assessment and wait until February for a refund on appeal.

High Rock wild horse roundup operations continue into second week

A wild horse roundup designed to return herds to sustainable levels is now in its second week on northwest Nevada public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management's Surprise Field Office in Cedarville, California.
As of Wednesday, Oct. 26, crews had removed 573 wild horses from three of the five herd management areas (HMA) in the High Rock Complex in Washoe and Humboldt counties, Nevada.
In the roundup, three horses have died from gather-related incidents, while one horse died in a post gather accident and three were euthanized due to poor health or medical conditions that existed prior to the roundup.
In the population management project scheduled to run well into November, the BLM hopes to remove about 1,000 horses from the range to reach a combined appropriate management level of 251-458 wild horses for all five HMAs.
More information on wild horse management and adoption opportunities is available at www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.

Obituaries:

Cecil Kemble
Cecil Ray Kemble passed away unexpectedly in Reno, Nevada on October 20, 2011, at the age of 69. He was born February 15, 1942 in Alturas, CA to Vivian and Carey Kemble.
Cecil was a life-long resident of Surprise Valley. He graduated from Surprise Valley High School in 1960. Here he met Joann M. Smith, his first and only love
Services were held Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. at the Modoc District Fairgrounds Hall in Cedarville with interment at the Lake City Cemetery. A fellowship/wake followed at the hall. Pallbearers: Link Grove, Joe McFarlan, Randy Reeves, Mel Dollarhide, Marty Laxague, John Bunyard; Honorary Pallbearers: Mickey Bunyard, Jerry Minto, Gary Benner, Dannie Grove, Brad Server and Rudy Azevedo.
Memorial donations may be made to Hoop Wars c/o Bank of America, Alturas or to Surprise Valley District Hospital, P.O. Box 246, Cedarville, CA 96104.

Earl Roberts
A memorial gathering for Earl Roberts of Alturas will be held Friday, November 4 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Hall in Alturas. Lunch will be served and potluck desserts are welcome.

Gloria LaVerne Tenbrink
Gloria LaVerne Tenbrink died in Alturas, California at the age of 85 of heart failure. She was born December 18, 1925, in San Francisco, California, to Navy Commander Charles and his wife Mary Lawlor Nopper.
At Gloria’s request, there will be no memorial service, but contributions in her name can be made to the Modoc Medical Center Auxiliary, 228 W. McDowell, Alturas, CA 96101 or to Save the Redwoods League, www.savetheredwoods.org.

Oren “Jack” Goodwin
A memorial service for Mr. Oren Dallas (Jack) Goodwin will be held on Saturday, November 5 at 11:00 a.m. at the Cedarville Cemetery.
Jack is survived by his wife Maxine; two step-children, Calvin Lee Heryford and Carolyn Heryford Watts; three brothers, Robert, Jim and Jerry Goodwin.

Sports

Braves continue dominance of SCL football championships

The revolving Shasta Cascade League football championship trophy hasn’t spun much in the last seven years, with Modoc winning six of seven titles, the latest this year.
Modoc beat Fall River 34-6 Friday night in the Bulldog’s house, completing an unbeaten season in a weakened SCL.
“Fall River played us a lot better than they did the first time around this year,” said Modoc coach Shaun Wood. “But we played well and got off on an early start.”
The Braves are now the fourth seed in the North Section playoffs. Wood expects to have the first playoff game at home Nov.10 against Quincy, 7 p.m., but that could change as other teams finish out their seasons.
Modoc was supposed to have a league game against Tulelake this Friday night, but Tulelake cancelled its football program. In its place will be a game here against Hosanna Christian of Klamath Falls, Nov. 4, varsity only, at 7 p.m.

Braves get 8th seed in playoffs

Modoc’s varsity volleyball team secured the eighth seed for the North Section Division Five playoffs and will play the first game Nov. 8. Whether that game will be here or away has not yet been determined.
According to coach Harold Montague, other teams are still finishing up the regular season, so the brackets won’t be set until Friday.
Modoc finished the regular season with a four-set loss to Shasta Cascade League leading Fall River, 22-25, 22-25, 25-19 and 22-25.
Modoc’s junior varsity beat Fall River 25-18, 22-25 and 15-11, securing second place in the SCL with an 8-2 league mark and 15-5-2 overall.

Bulldogs nip Braves JV

The Fall River junior varsity Bulldogs ised a 16-point second period to beat the Modoc Braves 16-12 Friday night in the Shasta Cascade League junior varsity title game.
Modoc went up 12-0 early, on a four-yard touchdown run by K.C. Brandsted in the first period and a 12-yard TD scamper by Tristan Axelrod in the second. Then the Bulldogs woke up.
Fall River scored 16 points in the second period, amassed 135 yards offense in that quarter. They had only 100 yards in total in the other three periods.
The Braves played very well, with Brandon Witherspoon running the ball 26 times for 165 yards and Brandsted carrying the rock 11 times for 89 yards. Modoc rushed the ball 44 times for 256 yards.

November 10th, 2011

News

New MMC tax bills coming soon

Modoc County Auditor Darcy Locken said corrected Last Frontier Hospital District tax bills should be mailed within the next 10 days.
She said the corrected versions, where applicable, were presented to her by the District Board of Directors this week and those corrections have been made and entered.
Anyone who has already paid their taxes will get a refund from the hospital district if it is warranted. Those who have not yet paid, will have the corrected bill soon.
The problem was the $195 annual assessment should have been for one unique property per property owner. What happened this year is several people received the $195 assessment for each piece of property they own.
That’s created a firestorm, not just for taxpayers, but tracking down what happened coming to terms on how to handle the situation.

Supes adopt new district boundaries

There will be some changes in Modoc Supervisor districts, with the new maps formally adopted at Tuesday’s Board meeting.
While a little confusing, the new districts become effective in 30 days, but won’t really matter until the June 2012 elections. Even then Supervisors will continue to represent their constituents under current district lines through to Dec. 31, 2012.
Supervisors and challengers running for office in the June election will run in the new district boundaries. Winners will take their seats in January 2013.
The new boundaries were adopted by a 4-1 vote with Supervisor Patricia Cantrall voting against.
The reapportionment was spurred by the 2010 census pointing out major population disparities among the County’s five Supervisor districts.
Supervisor District One, which has covered Surprise Valley was extremely out of balance. That district has the biggest adjustment. Other than just representing Surprise Valley, the change adds Davis Creek, New Pine Creek, Willow Ranch, Thoms Creek, Summerland and Parker Creek. That would bring the population of the district to 1,827, up from the current 1,253, and closer to the target of 1,937.
The proposed changes would put the population of the other districts as follows: District Two, 2,018 (from 2,222), District Three, 1,968 (from 1,864), District Four 1,948 (from 2,378) and District Five, 1,905 (from 1,959).

Museum winter hours in effect

The Modoc County Historical Museum, Alturas Chamber of Commerce and The River Center began winter hours as of November 1. Volunteers will check messages daily, Monday through Friday, except for holidays, from November through April. The public is invited to visit by calling for an appointment.
Regular hours will resume beginning May 1, 2012.

Sex offender on loose

The Modoc County Sheriff’s Office is looking for Alan Bernard Flores who is a recently paroled high-risk sex offender who has removed his GPS device. Flores is 5-foot-5 inches tall, 110 pounds, a Hispanic male, brown hair, and brown eyes.
Do not attempt to contact individual, please contact law enforcement at 530-233-4416.

Obituaries:

Irving Towne
Irving Towne, longtime resident of Tulelake, passed away at the age of 79 after a car accident on Highway 39 south of Klamath Falls on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011.
Irving was born June 18, 1932 in French Camp, California to Truman and Elsie (Howlett) Towne
A Memorial Service of Tribute and Love will be held at the Tulelake Fairgrounds at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 with gathering immediately following. There will be a Burial Service in Colusa Cemetery at 3 p.m. on Nov 14.

Perry Skinner
Former Alturas resident Perry Skinner, 84, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, peacefully at the home of his daughter.
Perry was raised in Sutter Basin where he farmed with his grandfather Felix Rossi. He attended college at Humboldt and UCD where he played semi-pro baseball.
The family gathered with others over fond remembrances, food and cheer on Nov. 5 at the home of his daughter, Charlotte & Mark Gove 234 S. 19th Ave, Pocatello, ID .
The family will honor Perry in Woodland, CA and arrangements will be announced at a later date. Perry will be buried in Alturas, CA.

Tiffany A. Bagwell
Services for Tiffany Ann Bagwell, daughter of Melanie Bagwell of Rocklin and the late Robert Bagwell, will be held Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Parkside Church, Auburn, CA. Tiffany passed away October 27, 2011 in Auburn, CA. Obituary to follow.

Sports

Playoffs set for volleyball, football

Modoc football and volleyball teams made the North Section CIF Playoffs, with the volleyball team seeded eight and beating Tulelake Nov. 8 and heading to the number one seed Hamilton City Nov. 15.
The Braves football team plays host to Quincy tonight, with game time set at 6 p.m. Modoc earned the number three seed and Quincy comes in at number six. Hamilton is number one, Chester number two, Modoc three, Maxwell four, Portola five, Quincy six, Fall River seven and East Nicolaus eight.
If the Braves beat Quincy, they’ll face the winner of the Fall River-Chester game. If Chester wins, the game is at Chester, if Fall River wins, they’ll come to Modoc.

Modoc hosts Quincy in first round of North Section playoffs

Modoc’s Braves will host the Quincy Trojans in the first round of the CIF North Section Division IV football playoffs at 6 p.m. tonight at the MHS football field.
Quincy lost to Portola last Friday 42-21 while Modoc comes into the game after a 39-8 win over Klamath Falls’ Hosanna Christian. The Braves bring a six-game winning streak into the playoffs, but have not faced a tough opponent in those six games.
If the Braves beat Quincy, they’ll face the winner of the number two seed Chester versus number seven Fall River game. Chester was expected to win that game, and Modoc would then travel to Chester Nov. 18. But times have changed.
Chester, who held the number one ranking most of the year and slipped late to number two, lost six of their 18 players last week to disciplinary action and that changes the entire playoff scenario.
While Fall River was a serious long shot to beat Chester, the loss of some of Chester’s skilled players gives Fall River a good chance of beating them.
If Modoc beats Quincy and Fall River tops Chester, Fall River would have to play here in the semi-final game. Further, if number one Hamilton would lose in that bracket, and Modoc wins the first two, the title game would be here.
The dizzying set of circumstances isn’t lost on Modoc Coach Shaun Wood.
“I figured we’d get hosed and get dropped to a number five seed, but we secured a three,” Wood said this week. “A five seed would have meant we were on the road for the whole playoffs. I never had a thought we could have three home games. It’s not probable, but it is now possible.”

Braves beat Tulelake, head to Hamilton

Modoc’s volleyball team beat the Tulelake Honkers 25-8, 25-9, 15-25 and 25-20 here Tuesday and now head to the top seed in the tourney, Hamilton City Nov. 15.
“We played very solid ball in the first two games, capitalizing on several Tulelake serving and hitting errors,” said coach Harold Montague. “In the third game, we came out flat and a little too confident and basically needed a wake-up call for the fourth set. In that set, we played well and maintained a small lead throughout the set.”
Lily Hallmark led with seven kills, while Kelsey Clay and Jordan Marquardt added five each and Jodi Boudreaux had four. Boudreaux and Leah Berryessa each had three serving aces, while Hallmark had 2.5 blocks and Boudreaux two. Courtney Knoch had 16 assists, Berryessa had three and Boudreaux added 10 digs.

Modoc cross-country wins league championship

For the first time in recent memory, Modoc cross-country came home with a Shasta Cascade championship. On Wednesday November 3, 2011 Modoc High competed against 14 other schools at the Small School Championship at West Valley High School.
The varsity boys ended up edging out highly-ranked Mt. Shasta for the title.
The team was led by Jac Derner’s fifth place finish. He was followed by Daniel Martin in ninth, Patrick Bratton in tenth, Landon Aarstad 24, Nando Alcala 27, Jose Perez 33, Tim Prisco 34, Mike Blankenship 37, Jonathan Jones 38, Brandon Bains 47 and Matt Weber 63.
Despite only entering two girls in varsity, Modoc placed really well. Ashley Hoy had her best time ever on the West Valley Course with a fourth place overall finish. Madelyn Binning finished 16.
On November 10, Modoc competes at the Large School meet for a berth in the CIF State Championships. Currently the boys are ranked third in Division V behind Number One Durham and Number two U-Prep. Comparing times against both of the schools on the West Valley course, Modoc matches up really well against them.

November 17th, 2011

News

SV Hospital union vote clouded by District

By Jean Bilodeaux

Reports of unethical, if not illegal conduct against the Surprise Valley Health Care District’s administration surfaced shortly before the hospital employees were to vote on joining the Teamsters Union.
Information concerning mismanagement, discrimination in hiring practices, pay scale irregularities, nepotism, invasion of privacy and the use of district funds for seemingly private purposes, have surfaced since three new board members were elected nearly a year ago in response to the community’s growing concerns about the management of the district hospital.
Last week the turmoil and unrest at the hospital came to a head with the narrow defeat of the vote to join the Teamsters Union.
“We ran a clean campaign which is more than the hospital administration did,” said David Hawley, Teamsters Local 137.
In a letter to the Hospital District Board from the Union Nov. 16, Hawley took a more deliberate step.
“With what has gone on and the breach of trust by your Administration, I am concerned that our Union organizers and supporters may be targets for retaliation,” he writes. “In addition, we believe that through their actions they improperly influenced the vote, The only remedy would be to re-run the election and let employees vote without fear and intimidation. I have reviewed this issue with our legal counsel. It is his opinion that it is within the elected Board’s authority to order a new election based on the actions of the Administration.”
Hawley is referring to a letter that was included in the employees paychecks just prior to the election.
Months ago it was agreed in a hospital board meeting that the administration and the Board of Directors would remain neutral in the election.
The Friday before the election, the administration without the board’s knowledge or approval included a “Questions and Answers About Unions” letter with the employee’s paychecks.

Woman shot, attempted murder alleged

A 52-year-old woman was shot twice at a home at 12155 Centerville Road Nov. 9, about 5:30 p.m. She was flown to Redding for surgery and was listed in critical, but stable condition.
According to the Modoc County Sheriff’s Office, when officers arrived at the scene they found the victim, name not released, wounded with two gunshot wounds from a .410 shotgun.
After investigation at the scene of the shooting, officers arrested Paul Nivard Beaton, 55, alleging attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, torture, intentionally inflicting great bodily injury while armed with a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon and assault with the intent to commit rape.
Beaton had originally called 911 to report that a woman who had been shot knocked on his door. The on-site investigation ruled out that scenario.
Beaton was booked into the Modoc County Jail with bail set at $500,000.

Burglar nabbed in Alturas

Alturas Police report a burglary at 216 North Danhauser that occurred sometime between last Thursday and Monday.
Breaking: Wednesday afternoon, Chief of Police Ken Barnes said that Keith Morrow, a neighbor was arrested alleging burglary, possession of stolen property and felony vandalism following a search of his home. Barnes said all of the stolen items were recovered in Morrow’s possession.
He was booked into the Modoc County Jail.
The resident was out of town during that period and discovered the burglary when he came home. APD reports that a television, tie tacks, several clothing items and some food was taken. It appears the burglar forced his way in by using a screwdriver on a door.
The case is under investigation.

State fire protection fee of $150 is back

On Nov. 9 the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved an updated fire fee for State Responsibility Area, SRAs, which is an increase to $150, with a $35 credit for persons who pay into a local fire district.
The new fee, which has been debated for most of the year, will have a severe impact on rural property owners. Local fire officials are looking into the issue and will have more comments in the near future.
To get a handle on the issue, the Canby Fire District is hosting a public meeting Nov. 21 at Canby Fire Hall, 7 p.m. to access public opinion on putting its fire district lands back into local response areas and getting out of the SRAs.
The California Pines Fire District will hold a similar meeting Nov. 22, 7 p.m. at the California Pines Lodge. One of the major issues will be how to handle protection of the lake units and the hill units.
The Modoc County Board of Supervisors, and State Assemblyman Jim Nielsen and State Senator Ted Gaines have opposed the measure, saying it’s a tax not a fee. There is a probability the issue will be challenged in court.
Modoc Planning Director Kim Hunter believes the fee will impact recreational subdivisions including all of Cal Pines, Modoc Recreational Estates, Thoms Creek Estates and some of the community ‘urban’ areas. For example: the west side of CR 1 in Eagleville.
The fee does not impact cities or areas under local fire protection responsibility.

Obituaries:

Estelle Britton
Estelle Britton of Alturas passed away November 13, 2011 at the age of 85. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 18 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Alturas.
Mrs. Britton was born Estelle Whitmore on July 30, 1926 in New Mexico.

Ida Mortimer
Ida Arlene Korhonen Mortimer, 73, of Alturas, California, passed away due to cancer on November 10, 2011 in Alturas.
Arlene was born on September 27, 1938, in Ironwood, Michigan to Toivo and Julianna Korhonen
A service was held in her honor on Tuesday, November 15, at the Alturas LDS chapel, 104 E. 13th Street.
Arlene’s family wishes to thank the Modoc Medical Center staff for their kindness and care during the past several weeks.

Donna Stern
Donna Stern, longtime resident of Tulelake and Alturas, passed away at the age of 86 in Alturas, California on November 7, 2011. Donna was born on February 22, 1925 in Ojai, California to Donald and Betty Johnson
Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements and there will be an inurnment on Sunday, November 13 at 1 p.m. in at Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens in Klamath Falls, OR.

Tarrell Smith
Tarrell Thomas “Tommy” Smith, 74, of Willow Ranch, CA, passed away on Monday, November 14, 2011 in Santa Clarita, CA.
A memorial will be held on November 19 at Eternal Valley Cemetery in Newhall, CA, at 10:00 a.m.

John “JK” Metzker
John Kenneth “JK” Metzker, KTVN Channel 2 , Reno sports director was killed from injuries sustained by a hit and run driver. Metzker is the son of John G. Metzker, part-time resident of Surprise Valley.

Tiffany Bagwell
Services for Tiffany Ann Bagwell will be held Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Parkside Church, Auburn, CA. Tiffany who was born in Alturas, CA on April 28, 1968, lived in Alturas for eight years before relocating. She passed away October 27, 2011 in Auburn, CA of respiratory failure and congestive heart failure.
Tiffany attended Del Oro High School, Loomis, CA and Sierra Community College in Rocklin. She was often seen motoring around Auburn in her electric wheelchair, wearing her color coordinated bright hat with her lighted flag waving as she happily drove through the streets - rain or shine. She frequented many of the restaurants and businesses near the Bel Air and Target area. Over the years, Tiffany became well know by many people in the community due to her friendly nature and her desire to meet new people and make new friends.
Tiffany was known for her sense of humor and her contagious laugh. She loved teasing and giving others a hard time. Tiffany also loved babies and animals and especially adored her cat, named Angel. Tiffany was an amazing person and an inspiration to the people who had the opportunity and pleasure of knowing her. She demonstrated to those around her that she was not going to let her physical challenges stop her from being independent or from getting out, seeing her friends and doing what she loved. Her determination and perseverance are what kept her going every day, as she chose to live each day to the fullest. She will be greatly missed by many.
Her father Robert Bagwell preceded Tiffany in death, in November 2007. Her mother Melanie Bagwell of Rocklin, CA, her sister Stacy Barsdale of Roseville, CA and her four nephews Hunter, Zachary, Wyatt and Will, also of Roseville, survive her.
Donations may be made to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital at 1-800-241-4438.

Sports

Derner, Hoy qualify for state finals

Modoc’s Jac Derner and Ashley Hoy will compete in the California Interscholastic Federation State Cross Country finals Nov. 26 in Fresno.
The two qualified for the finals with outstanding performances at the North Section Large Schools finals in West Valley Nov. 10.
Modoc coach Don Mason said this is the first time in five years that Modoc runners have qualified for the state meet.
Hoy ran her personal best race, covering the challenging three-mile course in 20:13 and placing 13th out of 133 runners from all divisions and third in Division V. She and Derner had to place in the top five to go to state.
Derner finished 54th out of 196 runners in the boy’s varsity three-mile, and fourth in Division V, leading the Modoc team to a 13th place overall (out of 37 schools) and team fourth place in Division V out of 17 schools.

Braves beat Quincy, Fall River here Friday night

The Fall River Bulldogs must be thinking they were the beneficiaries of really good luck and really bad luck during this playoff season.
The good luck – they faced a depleted Westwood team (several starters had been removed for disciplinary reasons) in the opening round of the CIF North Section Division IV playoffs and beat them 40-27. The bad luck – that means they get to face Modoc in the second round here Friday night, 7 p.m.
The Braves have already beaten the Bulldogs twice this season, the first 34-0 and the second time 34-6. Modoc will be the heavy favorite in this semi-final game.
“I expect them to be better this game,” said Modoc coach Shaun Wood. “But, I just don’t see them being able to match up well against us. We just have to make sure we don’t overlook them and treat it as a win before we play.”
On the other side of the section playoff bracket, number five seed Portola upset number four Maxwell, 33-21, and number one Hamilton City beat East Nicolaus, 28-14. Portola meets Hamilton Friday night.
The two winners of Friday night’s games will meet for the Section Championship Nov. 23. If Modoc and Hamilton win, Modoc will travel to Hamilton. If Portola and Modoc win, Portola would have to come to Alturas. If Fall River upsets Modoc, they would be on the road.
Modoc beat Quincy Thursday night here 27-6 in their opening round game.

Modoc loses to Hamilton

Modoc’s volleyball team lost is second game in the North Section playoffs to Hamilton City 12-8, 12-8 and 12-11 Tuesday night ands were eliminated from the playoffs.

November 24th, 2011

News

Improvements to SR299 up for public input

So, what should a multi-million dollar improvement project for State Route 299 from 4-Corners junction in Alturas west to the City limits include?
That’s one of the main subjects of a public hearing in front of the Modoc County Transportation Commission Dec. 6, 1:30 p.m. at Alturas City Hall, 200 W. North Street in Alturas. Construction on the project is expected in the summer of 2013. It has been in the pipeline for the past 12 years.
The public’s views and input will be considered at this meeting before the project is approved in its current form and the pubic is encouraged to attend.
In a nutshell, the current project calls for maintaining the existing two-lane highway alignment, constructing shoulders or separate paths to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian movements, paved aprons to Caltrans right of way at proposed future street locations, and extending pavement to store fronts starting 80 meters east of Juniper to Main Street.
In addition, the projects would install concrete swales and culverts to accommodate drainage, develop ways to maintain drainage system in perpetuity through easements or detention areas, include a future bus stop at Thomason Lane and construct a pedestrian crossing feature at Thomason Lane.

SV hospital board removes employee issues

Following a contentious meeting last Wednesday afternoon, the Surprise Valley Hospital Board of Directors opted to remove two items dealing with employee discipline/dismissal.
The two items were removed after a letter from the District’s legal counsel concerning a possible violation of the Brown Act was read into the record.
The two items had been placed on an amended agenda by Board members and that agenda was posted at 9 a.m. Nov. 13. While the posting may have met Brown Act (open meeting requirements) the Board decided it did not meet the board policy.
The issue involving the Brown Act surrounds what’s called a serial meeting, where a majority of the Board meets outside a public meeting and comes to a decision. While there was suspicion of that serial meeting happening, there was no proof offered and a Board member who put the items on the agenda maintained there was no such meeting.
Whether the employee issue will come back to the Board in the future is questionable as at least three members of the Board – John Erquiaga, Jason Diven and Bonne Hartmann -- have publicly expressed their support of both Surprise Valley Hospital Administration Wanda Grove and Assistant Administrator Bill Bostic.

BLM to return gathered horses back to High Rock Complex next week

About 100 wild horses captured in a Bureau of Land Management population management roundup over the past few weeks will be released back onto the range next week to maintain wild populations at sustainable levels.
The BLM will release mares that have been treated with a fertility control drug and groups of stallions into several pastures of the Fox Hog Herd Management area in northwest Nevada.

MMC demonstrates well-coordinated response

Last Friday’s snow storm gave Alturas the first real taste of snow for the season. It also created hazardous road conditions that made driving dangerous.
“This resulted in multiple vehicle accidents that created the necessity for several persons to be seen in the Emergency Department at Modoc Medical Center,” said Monica Derner, Modoc Medical Chief Executive Officer. “Over a four-hour period there were 11 ambulance transports, nine emergency care patients, and one ground transfer, in addition to the patients already admitted to the hospital that still needed care.”
Communication played an important part in Friday’s success. Ambulances were well positioned and staff was notified of the expected influx of patients into the emergency room prior to their arrival. This allowed the hospital staff to anticipate needed resources and prepare for the patients.
“It was literally an all hands on deck situation, and everything went very well,” said Derner. “Two physicians and a Medical Assistant from the clinic came over to assist with triage and emergency care. We were able to provide each patient with a dedicated team due to the number of staff members who responded to the calls for assistance. Even non-clinical staff from Warnerview, Medical Records, Utilization Review, Accounting, Business Office, Information Technology, Housekeeping, Laundry and Administration was able to help. Non-Clinical staff helped with the admitting process, running supplies, answering the influx of phone calls and providing information and assistance to the families of those involved.”
Derner and the MMC Board of Directors would like to thank the staff and community for their dedication to MMC.

Obituaries:

John B. “Jack” Rice
John Bermingham (Jack) Rice, passed away peacefully in Reno, Nevada on Friday, November 11, 2011, Veterans Day. Jack was born on December 14, 1919, in San Francisco.
Jack was a long time member of the Sonoma County Trailblazers, Nevada Cattlemen’s and Sheepmen’s Associations and the Likely Roping Club. He served on the California Boxing Commission and refereed many fights in his younger years. He was known for his strong work ethic, quick wit and helpful ways with neighbors.

Thomas Chappell, IV
Thomas Lloyd “Tommy” Chappell, IV, of Alturas and Wichapec, CA, passed away November 17, 2011 at Mad River Hospital in Mad River, CA. He was 28 years old.
Born November 4, 1983 in Galveston, Texas to Victoria (Mulkey) and Kenneth Chappell, Tommy moved to Modoc County with his mother in April 1984. His father died when he was a toddler.
Family and friends are welcome to share memories of happy times and stories of Tommy during a Celebration of Tommy’s Life on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 11:00 a.m. with a potluck at the California Pines Lodge, Alturas.

Tarrell Smith
Tarrell Thomas “Tommy” Smith, 74, of Willow Ranch, CA, passed away on Monday, November 14, 2011, in Santa Clarita, CA, after a long illness.
Born in Lakeview, OR on May 21, 1937,
A memorial service was held on November 19 at Eternal Valley Cemetery in Newhall, CA.

Stephen Slinkard
Stephen D. Slinkard, 88, passed away Sunday, November 20, 2011, peacefully at his home with his sons Gary and Don at his side.
Steve was a lifetime resident of Modoc County. He was born on Dec 2, 1922, in Eagleville, California, to Stephen Allen Slinkard and Mary Josephine (Connelly Stephen D. Slinkard, 88, passed away Sunday, November 20, 2011, peacefully at his home with his sons Gary and Don at his side.
Mr. Slinkard’s Memorial Services will be held on Monday, November 28, at the Alturas Federated Church at 11:00 a.m. Anyone wishing to donate to Steve’s memory may do so to the Federated Church in Alturas.

Jo Ellen Hewitt
A Memorial Service for Jo Ellen Hewitt of Alturas will be held Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. at Kerr Mortuary Chapel in Alturas. Pastor Rod Bodmer will conduct the service. Inurnment will be private. Mrs. Hewitt passed away at her Alturas home on November 17, 2011.
Born Jo Ellen Reed on December 3, 1939 in Wichita Falls, Texas, she earned her RN Degree through Howard College, San Angelo, Texas.
She was predeceased by her son Robert Duerkson and her only sibling Danny Reed in 1999.

Sports

Modoc faces Hamilton City for title

There’s one thing certain about the Wednesday evening North Section Division IV football championship game – the Braves will win.
Modoc’s Braves traveled to the Hamilton Braves, after Modoc Record press time last night. Results will be in next week’s newspaper.
Modoc goes into the game as the underdog, but coach Shaun Wood is expecting a pretty tough game and believes his team will be up for the challenge.
The Hamilton Braves come in with an excellent tailback, quarterback and a solid defense. They beat Portola 38-6 Friday night in their semi-final game. Modoc had to stage a comeback here Friday on a frigid field to beat Fall River’s bulldogs 22-18.
“I expect the weather to be at about 40 degrees down there, and that will make our passing game a little more productive,” said Wood. “Against Fall River, it was hard to do any throwing. The field was frozen and the temperature dropped to about 19 degrees. I think we can deal with Hamilton, but we definitely have to stop their tailback and offense.”
Hamilton City is between Orland and Chico and it means a long bus ride for Modoc, plus a short week. Hamilton is the topped ranked team in Division IV and Modoc came into the playoffs at number three.
“We’re not going to be trying to add any new plays or anything this week, there isn’t time,” said Wood. “We know what they run, it’s a lot of the same plays we run, so we’ll be ready. We’ll just have to execute properly.”
Friday’s Fall River game proved to be a lot closer than Wood thought it would be. Modoc had beaten the Bulldogs twice this year, 36-6 and 34-0.
“Actually, I hate playing teams three times,” he said. “We’ve beaten them twice so you really don’t change much, while they know what they did before didn’t work so they add new things. I was glad to see Fall River have a good game – they probably played their best game of the season – but we came back to win and that was positive.”
Fall River opened the game with a good drive and went up 6-0 in the first period. Modoc came back in the second period when Wyatt Valena punctuated a long drive with a one-yard plunge. The point after was good and Modoc led 7-6.
The Braves added a second score before half when Drew Culp took the ball over from the seven. A two-point conversion pass to Cam Anderson put the Braves up 15-6 at halftime.
The third quarter was a bust for the Braves as they only ran seven plays to Fall River’s 21 and Fall River cut the score to 15-12. The Bulldogs took the lead in the fourth at 18-15.
Modoc mounted a solid drive with Alex Torres scoring the touchdown and Anderson added the point for the 22-18 win.
Torres led the offense with 106 yards on 22 carries, while Austin Carreker added 31 on 12, Culp 16 on six and Riley Larranaga 17 on one.
Valena was 5-11 passing for 93 yards. Zack Goulden caught three for 77 yards and Larranaga one for 16.
The Braves hurt themselves with turnovers on a couple of good drives and had been flagged for 80 yards in penalties at one point, while Fall River was ticketed for five yards in penalties.

Winter sports get jump start

With Modoc’s volleyball and football teams in the midst of section playoffs, the basketball and wrestling programs are going to have to jump start their programs and drive right into games.
Wrestling starts practice next week and will have to head to the big Chester tournament on Dec. 2-3. Modoc’s Northeast Classic Tourney is scheduled for Dec. 9-10 at the Griswold Gym in Alturas.
Modoc head football coach Shaun Wood is also the wrestling coach.
While some of Modoc’s basketball players have been able to practice, those on the football and volleyball teams got a late start.
Modoc’s varsity and junior varsity girls’ teams will meet Fall River Dec. 1 there to start the season, while the boys will open with the Fall River Block F Tourney Dec. 1-3.
The varsity girl’s team is coached by Bill Hall, with Amy Ward taking over the junior varsity. Keith Weber is the varsity boy’s coach with Jim Widby handling the JV squad.

December 1st, 2011

News

MMC, SVHD facing major cuts in Medi-Cal payments

Modoc Medical Center in Alturas and Surprise Valley Medical center in Cedarville are staring at a possible 20 percent cut in their Medi-Cal reimbursement rate.
A cut of that size could jeopardize the financial stability of both hospitals’ long-term care facilities and those patients who depend on that service.
The Budget Act of 2011, signed by Governor Jerry Brown on March 24, includes a reduction to Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for Skilled Nursing Facilities that are distinct parts of hospitals. Medi-Cal rates for these facilities will be reduced to “rates that were applicable . . . in the 2008-09 rate year, reduced by 10 percent.”
“The anticipated $1.2 million dollar cut by Medi-Cal to our Skilled Nursing Facility (Warnerview) reimbursement was passed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” Modoc Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner has said. “Even though they say it’s a 10 percent cut, it is effectively 25 percent because they reduce rates to 2008 and then reduce by 10 percent. We will update the cash flow projections and present them next week. Management will do all we can to have a positive (at least break even) budget and continue operations to keep the hospital open.”
“The retro payback would be $157,515.21,” said SVHCD Administrator Wanda Grove. “Our projected annual loss from the Medi-Cal cuts would be $537,975.”
MMC has joined with the California Hospital Association lawsuit filed Nov. 1 against the state Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) challenging rate cuts to Medi-Cal reimbursement for distinct-part (DP) skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs) within acute-care hospitals.

SV hospital issues continue to fester

There are still wounds festering in the Surprise Valley Hospital District, with one goal of some officials and community members being the resignation of District Board member Jim Laacke.
Laacke was accused of a wide variety of board member “misconduct” at a meeting Nov. 16. He has denied any such issues and has said he has no intention of resigning. He declined to comment any further this week.
One of the major issues brought up during the meeting and at other times is an alleged “conflict of interest” because Dr. Chuck Colas has an office in a building owned by Laacke.
Conflict of interest is defined as follows in the hospital district’s personnel manual: “An actual or potential conflict of interest occurs when an employee is in a position to influence a decision that may result in a personal gain for that employee or for a relative as a result of Surprise Valley Health Care District’s business dealings.”
Laacke explained to the Board that night that there is no conflict of interest involved because he realizes no personal gain from Dr. Colas’ business. He does not charge and Colas does not pay rent. He further said he has no interest in his business and has not promoted Colas in any way.
Dr. Colas told the Record this week that his only involvement with the Surprise Valley Hospital District will be when he needs to use their services for his patients and Laacke will have no influence on those decisions.
That may not satisfy the critics of Laacke, who object strenuously to the fact that a Cedarville physician not directly connected to the hospital can be a detriment to hospital business.
Voters in the Surprise Valley Healthcare District ousted three incumbent members of the Board of Directors last November and elected Laacke, Cindy Linker and Bunne Hartmann. It’s no secret there has been conflict between hospital administration, older Board members and the new members.
That conflict came to a head on November 16 when two items were placed on the agenda concerning discipline, dismissal of employees. Those two items were scheduled for a closed session, but a legal opinion requested by Chairman John Erquiaga from the District’s attorney stated they may violate the Brown Act. The Board then voted to remove those items from the agenda and did not reschedule them for a later meeting.

Modoc poverty rate figured at 21.9 percent

The overall poverty rate for Modoc County came in at 21.9 percent according to figures just released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
While that figure is alarming, meaning 2,061 people are living in poverty out of the just over 9,600 the percentages become worse when school-age children are considered. The poverty rate for those under the age of 18 is 32.5 percent and for those ages five to 17 it stands at 29.1 percent.
Neighboring Lassen County shows a poverty rate of 16.8 percent, Siskiyou is at 21.5 percent and Shasta is at 18.2 percent.

Dec. 6 meeting will help determine 299 project

The public will have the chance to comment on the proposed State Route 299 project at a Dec. 6 meeting of the Modoc County Transportation Commission.
The multi-million dollar improvement project for State Route 299 goes from 4-Corners junction in Alturas west to the City limits.
The public hearing will be Dec. 6, 1:30 p.m. at Alturas City Hall, 200 W. North Street in Alturas. Construction on the project is expected in the summer of 2013. It has been in the pipeline for the past 12 years.
The public’s views and input will be considered at this meeting before the project is approved in its current form and the pubic is encouraged to attend.
In a nutshell, the current project calls for maintaining the existing two-lane highway alignment, constructing shoulders or separate paths to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian movements, paved aprons to Caltrans right of way at proposed future street locations, and extending pavement to store fronts starting 80 meters east of Juniper to Main Street.

Obituaries:

Nolan LeeRoy “Doc” Holloway
Nolan LeeRoy “Doc” Holloway spent half of his 70 years as a Modoc County resident. He passed away at Modoc Medical Center, Alturas, CA on November 28, 2011 from cancer.
A graduate of Modoc High School and the son of Theron and Velma (Hammack) Holloway, LeeRoy was born in Socorro, New Mexico on October 1, 1941.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cancer Society. Condolences may be sent to the Holloway family at 703 N. East B St., Alturas, CA 96101.
LeeRoy’s family will respect his request of no service.

John A. Gilstrap
Johnny Gilstrap must be running and jumping, shouting and laughing today, having been released from his mortal body on November 24, 2011 at Sierra Oaks Assisted Living in Redding, CA.
He was born November 21, 1937 to Lonnie Allen Gilstrap and Johnnie Elizabeth Whatley in Wickenburg, Arizona
Services are Thursday, December 1 at 11:00 a.m. at Allen and Dahl, Anderson, California.

Kathrin Jane Crosby
April 11, 1945 - November 23, 2011
Kate to some, Katie to others, was born to Donn and Jane Baldwin in Modesto, California
Kate passed away at home in Alturas with her family by her side on Nov. 23.
At her request a private gathering will be held at a later date.

Thomas “Tommy” Chappell, IV
Thomas Lloyd “Tommy” Chappell, IV, of Alturas and Wichapec, CA, passed away November 17, 2011 at Mad River Hospital in Mad River, CA. He was 28 years old.
Family and friends are welcome to share memories of happy times and stories of Tommy during a Celebration of Tommy’s Life on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 11:00 a.m. with a potluck at the California Pines Lodge, Alturas.

Sports

Modoc whips Hamilton for CIF Division IV crown

Modoc’s Braves put up triple sevens and held Hamilton City to just a pair Wednesday, winning the CIF North Section Division IV football championship 21-14.
The game was played in a rainstorm at Hamilton, and Modoc coach Shaun Wood contends the game was not as close as the score appears. Leading 21-7 in the late fourth period, Modoc went for it on a fourth and one at the Hamilton one. Wood said it appeared quarterback Wyatt Valena had crossed the goal line for a score, but the referee spotted the ball at the one-inch line, turning to ball over to Hamilton.
On the next series, Hamilton hit a 75-yard touchdown pass to cut the score to 21-14 instead of 28-7.
“Our boys played great,” said Wood. “We went into the game loose and relaxed, while I think they were nervous. We took what they gave us and played excellent defense. Our line on both sides of the ball played really well. Once the game started, I knew we were fine and from that point on, I wasn’t surprised we beat them. We played better.”
Hamilton was the number one seed in Division IV and Modoc came into the playoffs ranked third. Wood liked going in as the underdog, feeling he could take advantage.
Hamilton scored in the first period, but Modoc answered in the second with a six-yard pass to Brett Boudreaux. Modoc then added a touchdown pass of 10 yards to Riley Larranaga in the third period and added a 19-yard scoring pass to Zack Goulden in the fourth. Cam Anderson was good on all three point after kicks.
To say that Modoc is not known as a passing team would be an under statement. But against Hamilton, Valena completed 18 of 25 passes (Wood has never called 25 pass plays in a game) for 194 yards and the three touchdowns.
Larranaga was Valena’s favorite target, grabbing 10 passes for 102 yards. Boudreaux caught five for 62 yards, Goulden two for 25 and Alex Torres one for five.
“Riley made some outstanding catches and our line protected Wyatt all night,” said Wood. “He had plenty of time to throw and was never really pressured or sacked. He had a great night and the receivers helped him out.”
Torres led the rushing attack with 88 yards on 12 carries and Austin Carreker had 19 yards on 19 carries.

Winter sports get jump start

Modoc’s wrestling team heads to the big Chester tournament on Dec. 2-3. Modoc’s Northeast Classic Tourney is scheduled for Dec. 9-10 at the Griswold Gym in Alturas.
Modoc head football coach Shaun Wood is also the wrestling coach, and at this point figures he’ll have 30 wresters on the team. Practice just started Monday, so figuring out the weight classes by this weekend will be about all that can be done. Most of the wrestlers were also on the football team.
A number of Modoc’s basketball players were also on the football team and will not have much practice under their belts by the time they head to Fall River tonight and this weekend for the Fall River Block F Tourney.
Modoc’s varsity and junior varsity girls’ teams will meet Fall River Dec. 1 there to start the season. Bill Hall coaches the varsity girl’s team with Amy Ward taking over the junior varsity. Keith Weber is the varsity boy’s coach with Jim Widby handling the JV squad.

December 8th, 2011

News

State Route 299 project approved, 2014 start

The Modoc County Transportation Commission Tuesday approved the multi-million dollar improvement project for State Route 299 from 4-Corners junction in Alturas west to the City limits.
According to MCTC Chairman John Dederick, construction on the project will begin in the spring of 2014.
While the original project, started about 12 years ago, was designed with three lanes, the one approved on Tuesday keeps the highway from the intersection of U.S. 395 west to Mill Street at two lanes, with eight foot pedestrian and bike shoulders on each side all the way to Mill Street. It will include a bus stop at Thomason Lane.
Dederick said the goals of the project were to improve traffic and pedestrian safety, pave the areas in front of local businesses along the route and improve drainage. The MCTC believes the project will address those concerns and made the decision following Tuesday’s public hearing.

Hospital transfer clarification on Supes agenda

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors will take action to clarify the transfer of ownership of Modoc Medical Center to the Last Frontier Healthcare District at its Dec. 13 meeting.
An addendum to the agreement details that included in the transfer of ownership is the hospital, skilled nursing facility and rural health clinic.
In addition, the Modoc Independent Tea Party is asking the Board to adopt a resolution “protecting all property owners’ water, mineral rights and other natural resources as they are the property of the landowner and may not be usurped without a Court Order.”
Also on the agenda will be several issues concerning hours of operation and staffing in the Modoc County Library system.
Those changes recommended by the Library Advisory Board are as follows: the Adin, Cedarville and Lookout Branch Libraries would be reduced from two days operation to one day per week. Adin would be open five hours on Tuesdays, Cedarville open six hours on Tuesdays and Lookout five hours on Wednesdays. Those changes would be effective January 1, 2012. Another item would be to reduce the hours of the Library associates at those Libraries to match the change of hours.
Another item would be to reduce the hours of operation at the Alturas headquarters. The change will be developed by County Librarian Cheryl Baker in coordination with the Library Board. Also recommended is the layoff of one staff person at the Alturas Library and reduction in hours for the Library Assistant and Branch Library Associate Substitute position at Alturas headquarters.

Glimmer of hope in court action on Medi-Cal cuts

Modoc Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner said a “glimmer of hope” has emerged in the battle to avoid state cuts to Medi-Cal reimbursements.
She said in a decision handed down December 2, the U.S. District Court, Central District, denied the state’s request to suspend the court case against the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) challenging the rate cuts for distinct-part skilled-nursing services (DP/NF).
The decision represents a positive step in CHA’s challenge to the payment cuts, and paves the way for CHA’s lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction to proceed.
MMC anticipates a $1.2 million dollar loss to the Skilled Nursing Facility (Warnerview) while Surprise Valley Hospital predicts an annual loss of $537,975 if the cuts go through.

National Geo map has been completed

The Map Guide section of the National Geographic’s Geotourism project, which included all of Modoc County, has been completed. National Geographic, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the Sierra Nevada Business Council working together with area locals created the Sierra “MapGuide” web-based project.
When thinking of the Sierra Nevada tourists from around the world think of Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe, but there are a myriad of other equally interesting sites to see.
As of last week, the Map Guide site is live and packed with attractions from the Oregon border to south of Sequoia National Park. Visitors can use the free interactive online service, which features write-ups and photos posted by local residents, as their vacation or traveler’s guide through miles of breathtaking landscapes and historic towns of the Sierra.
Modoc County was included as part of the Sierra Nevada project to complete the geographic concentration on eastern Calif.
More than 150 new points of interest were recently added to the MapGuide from Sierra, Yuba, Butte, Tehama, Shasta, Plumas, Lassen and Modoc counties.

Obituaries;

Lucy Williams
Longtime Modoc resident Lucy Hulda Williams of Canby, CA passed away December 2, 2011. She was 87-1/2 years of age. Graveside services will be held Friday, Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. at the Alturas Cemetery. Pastor Curtis Barber will conduct the service.
Mrs. Williams was born in San Diego, CA on May 5, 1924. She graduated from Modoc High School and also went to welding school in Sacramento.
Memorial donations may be directed to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary 3327, c/o 414 Archer Ave., Alturas, CA 96101.

Alfred Crudele
Alfred Orlando Crudele passed away on December 5, 2011 in Sparks, NV. Services for Mr. Crudele, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 11 a.m. at the Alturas Cemetery. A time of fellowship will follow at the Brass Rail in Alturas.
Al was born Feb. 27, 1911 in New York, NY.
Al was a longtime Alturas resident, decorated war veteran and volunteer fire department member for many years. He was 100 years of age.

Virginia Sue Edgerton
Virginia Sue Edgerton passed away September 28, 2011, at Mayers Memorial Hospital in Fall River Mills. Graveside service was held on November 5, 2011 at the Adin Cemetery.
Sue was the second of two children born to Zip and Johnnie Perrin on December 6, 1935, in DeQueen, Arkansas.

Sports

Brave runners top times at state

Modoc High School runners, Jac Derner and Ashley Hoy competed in the California State Cross Country Championships on November 27.
Running against the best runners in the state for a very tough course, both runners achieved their best times ever for 3.1 miles.
In the boys’ race, Derner finished 119 out of 182 runners while running a time of 18 minutes and 32 seconds. Ashley Hoy finished 51 out of 180 in the girls’ race while running a time of 20 minutes and 35 seconds.
Being only juniors, both runners walked away with a deep appreciation of how talented runners are throughout the state of California. Furthermore, they both felt that if they work as hard as they did this year, they should be able to move up in the standings next season.
Coach Don Mason was pleased with their performance as they both ran their best times ever. He truly thinks that with some adjustments in their training next year, they should improve in their standings.
Coach Mason would again like to thank the Modoc Booster’s Club, Jim Widby at Arrowhead Golf Course and the many parents that helped out this fall to make this such a successful cross country season.

Braves head to Portola tourney

Modoc’s basketball teams are heading to the Portola tournament this weekend. They will host the Block M Tourney Dec. 15-17.
The boy’s varsity opened with a 2-1 showing at the Block F Tourney in McArthur last weekend.
The Braves beat Chester in a nail biter 55-54. Modoc led 17-11 in the first period and 32-20 by half. Chester took a 42-41 lead into the fourth where Modoc scored 14 and Chester 12.
Brandon Bains led the Braves with 19 points; Riley Larranaga added 12 and Brett Boudreaux had 11.
Modoc lost to Trinity 63-57 after leading at half 25-23. Trinity crushed the Braves in the third period, outscoring them 23-12, but Modoc fought back to make it respectable in the fourth with a 20-17 effort.
Cam Anderson led Modoc with 21; Bains added 14 and Jonathon Jones had 11.
Modoc had no trouble with Burney, beating them 43-30. The game was tied at 6-6 in the first, but the Braves jumped out to a 22-11 by half and led 34-19 after three.
Jones led with 12 points, Bains added nine and Anderson eight.
Modoc’s junior varsity boys lost to Weed 47-26.
Modoc’s varsity girl’s team lost its opening game of the year to Fall River 49-44. The Bulldogs led 12-11 in the first and 23-18 by half. They maintained a 34-26 lead after three and Modoc outscored the Bulldogs 18-15 in the fourth. Jodi Boudreaux had 10 points, Monicah Eppler added nine and Cheyenne King had seven.
The JV girls basketball team won its first game of the season against Fall River 34-16. Jordan Marquardt lead with 10 points, Kelsey Clay had six, Morgan Bagwell added four, and Kelly Schmidt scored three.

Modoc hosts top wrestling invite

Modoc plays host to the Northeast Classic wrestling tournament this weekend with more than 20 regional schools on the way.
Some of the top schools include Anderson, Lassen, Klamath Union, Lakeview, Durham and Chester. Modoc will be very competitive.
Wrestling starts with dual meets at 1 p.m. Friday and individual competition will begin about 9 a.m. Saturday and run through early evening.
The Braves come into the tourney following a very respectable fourth place finish at last weekend’s Chester Invitational. Chico won that event, with Fernley second, Lassen third and Modoc Fourth. Other teams followed in order: Chester, Chico II, Lovelock, Trinity, Etna, Live Oak, U-Prep, Fall River, Modoc II, Mt. Shasta, Loyalton, Dunsmuir, Tulelake and Burney.
“We did much better than I expected,” said coach Shaun Wood. “We only had four days of practice and really gassed in the end. We are not in wrestling shape.”
A number of the Braves wrestlers were on the North Section Championship football team, which had just finished their season at Thanksgiving.
Leading the way in Chester was Colton Reed, who won the 170-pound division.
Benny Bevil took a third at 138 pounds, Zack Ratliff took third at 220 pounds and Jeremy Brandsted took a third at heavyweight. Basileo Hernandez was fourth at heavyweight and Ethan Dunn took fourth at 32 pounds.
Taking sixth places were: Jesse Silva 170 pounds; Stephen Aceves 106 pounds, and Garrett Padgett 195 pounds.
In addition, Wood said many of the 23 Modoc wrestlers who went to Chester did well and had several matches.

Shasta Cascade selects All League

Modoc Braves quarterback Wyatt Valena was selected as the Shasta Cascade League Most Valuable player for 2011 and coach Shaun Wood was named Coach of the Year.
Basileo Hernandez earned Most Valuable Lineman honors. All League honors went to Zack Goulden, Riley Larranaga, Colton Reed, Carlos Chavez, Jeremy Brandsted, Cam Anderson and Alex Torres.
In volleyball, Jodi Boudreaux and Courtney Knoch were named All-League and Lily Hallmark earned honorable mention.
Ashley Hoy, Jac Derner, Patrick Bratton and Daniel Martin were named All-League for Cross Country.
Fili Arceo was All-League in Soccer with Jonathan Jones getting an honorable mention.

December 15th, 2011

News

USPS delays closure of offices

The United State Postal Service, in response to a request made by multiple U.S. Senators, has agreed to delay the closing or consolidation of any Post Office or mail processing facility until May 15, 2012.
The Postal Service will continue all necessary steps required for the review of these facilities during the interim period, including public input meetings.
USPS hopes this period will help facilitate the enactment of comprehensive postal legislation. Given the Postal Service’s financial situation and the loss of mail volume, the Postal Service states it must continue to take all steps necessary to reduce costs and increase revenue.
One Post Office in Modoc County, Lake City, has received its final determination letter for closure, but that now will probably be on hold through May 15.
In addition, major distribution centers in Redding and Reno have been targeted for closure.
There are several local Post Offices in Modoc on the potential closure list, and public hearings in each town were crowded and people weren’t shy in voicing their opposition to losing their Post Offices. The public can continue its pressure on Congress to take action to save local Post Offices and their related jobs by writing or calling their elected representatives.
In addition to Lake City, Post Offices in Madeline, Davis Creek, Eagleville, Ft. Bidwell, Lookout, New Pine Creek, Likely and nearby communities of Ravendale and Nubieber were on the chopping block.

County approves cuts in Library services

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to approve reduced hours and staffing in the Modoc Library system.
The reductions were recommended by the Modoc Library Advisory Board and supported by County Librarian Cheryl Baker. Supervisors Jeff Bullock, Geri Byrne and Shorty Crabtree voted for the cuts while Supervisors Patricia Cantrall and Dave Allan voted against.
Those changes recommended by the Library Advisory Board are as follows: the Adin, Cedarville and Lookout Branch Libraries would be reduced from two days operation to one day per week. Adin would be open five hours on Tuesdays, Cedarville open six hours on Tuesdays and Lookout five hours on Wednesdays.
Those changes will be effective January 1, 2012. Another item would be to reduce the hours of the Library associates at those Libraries to match the change of hours.
There will be reduced hours of operation at the Alturas headquarters. The change will be developed by Baker in coordination with the Library Board. Also recommended is the layoff of one staff person at the Alturas Library and reduction in hours for the Library Assistant and Branch Library Associate Substitute position at Alturas headquarters.

New MMC hospital plan ready

The Modoc Frontier Healthcare Coalition (MFHC) will be holding its next meeting at the Strong Family Health Center, 1203 Oak St., Alturas (across from the NAPA store) on Monday, December 19 at 3:00 p.m.
“We strongly encourage all to attend this important meeting as the Sanderling Healthcare team will be presenting their final Hospital Master Plan to the Board. This project has been in the works for the past four years and we are all very excited to be at this point of obtaining a Master Plan,” say Coalition members.
This is the tail end of the MFHC HRSA grant, which was awarded to Strong Family Health Center (who serves as grant administrators) back in 2009.
Agendas will be available at Strong Family Health Center.

Obituaries:

James Souther
James O. Souther, 78, passed away peacefully at the Modoc Medical Center, Alturas, CA on December 8, 2011. Jim was born to James A. and Alta Cox Souther on May 12, 1932, in Santa Rosa, CA.
Mr. Souther will be buried in Chico, CA, alongside his parents and grandparents. In keeping with his wishes, there will be no memorial service.
A scholarship is to be established in his name for deserving high school students. If you wish to donate to this scholarship fund in honor of Mr. Souther or would like to find out more information about it, please contact Tom O’Malley, Principal, Modoc High School.

Vivian Smith
Vivian Marie Smith was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon to James A. and Esther LaDieu. She was raised in Oregon, Idaho and California and graduated from Alameda High School in Alameda, California. On May 4, 1957, Viv married K.E. Smith, Jr. in Reno, Nevada.
Vivian passed peacefully at home on November 22, 2011. Funeral services were held on Saturday, November 26, 2011 at Weddles Funeral Home. She was laid to rest at Lone Oak Cemetery in Stayton, Oregon.

Barbara Hagenhoff
Surprise Valley native Barbara Jane (Hapgood) Hagenhoff passed away in San Diego, CA of natural causes on December 9, 2011. She was born to Olive and Jess Hapgood on Dec. 23, 1916 in Lake City, CA at her grandmother Mary Jane Jones’ home, also where her mother was born. She grew up in Surprise Valley.
There will be no services.

Sports

Modoc does well in wrestling invite

Modoc’s wrestling team did well in its Northeast Wrestling Classic tourney held over the weekend in Alturas.
They finished six of 29 teams in overall competition and second in the small schools division. Overall Mazama was first, following by Anderson, Klamath Union, Henley, Crane and Modoc and the rest.
“I was pleased overall,” said coach Shaun Wood. “We’re still getting in shape, and the competition was good.”
Steve Aceves was the only champion for the Braves in the tourney, winning the 106-pouud divisions.
Benny Bevil took a third place in the 138-pound division, while Colton Reed was third at 170 pounds. Jeremy Brandsted took a third at heavyweight.
Basileo Hernandez took a fourth at heavyweight and Ethan Dunn was fourth at 132 pounds. Cody Tiffany was fourth at 106 pounds.
Taking sixth place was Garret Padgett at 182 pounds.
In the junior varsity division Marvin Serrano took a first at 182 pounds, Matt Server won the 160-pound division and Matt Froeming won the 220-pound class.
Second place went to Dusty Prevette at 160 pounds, Cory Hall at 138 pounds, Destry Tiffany at 126 pounds and Taylor McPeek at 160 pounds. Phil Thompson took a third at 126 pounds.
Modoc travels to Lassen for a dual meet and heads to Grants Pass this weekend.

Modoc hosts Block M this weekend

The Modoc Braves boys and girls will host the Modoc Block M Tournament this weekend in Alturas. Play starts Thursday and runs through Saturday.
Modoc’s boy’s basketball team took a second at the Portola Tourney last weekend
They beat Portola 66-43 after a sow start trailing 19-014 in the first. They pumped in 23 second period points added 13 in the third and 16 in the fourth. Portola added just 11 in the second, three in the third and 10 in the fourth.
Brett Boudreaux led with 15 points; Cam Anderson added 14 and Jonathan Jones had nine.
Quincy beat Modoc in the second game 46-43. The Braves ked 14-6 in the first and 26-18 at halftime, but Quincy outscored them 28-17 in the second half. Anderson led Modoc with 15 points.
Modoc beat Loyalton, 62-42, in the third game jumping out to a 21-4 first period lead. The Braves led 33-16 by half and scored 28 to 26 points in the second half.
Brand Bains led with 10 points, Schmid added nine and Drew Culp eight.
Modoc’s varsity girls lost to Portola 44-43, in spite of a solid second half, Portola led 26-17 at the half but Modoc fought back to trail 32-31 after three and each team scored a dozen in the fourth. Jodi Boudreaux led Modoc with 16 points and Courtney Knoch had 13.
The girls beat Quincy 49-19 in the second game, jumping out to a 25-7 first half lead and adding 24 to Quincy’s nine in the second half. Boudreaux and Jakea Ratliff each had 10 points and Monicah Eppler added eight.
The Braves beat Loyalton 59-41 to round out the tournament. They led 16-6 in the first and 31-16 by half. They increased their lead to 39-24 after three. Loyalton managed 17-fourth quarter points and Modoc added 16. Cheyenne King and Boudreaux each had 12, with Ashley Hoya and Eppler getting eight each.

Modoc shooters win hoop shoot

Modoc County free-throw shooters do well at Elk’s District free-throw competition in Portola. Kellen Gerig from Bieber competed in the 12 and 13 year old boys division and took first place hitting 19 out of a possible 25. Konnor Gerig, also from Bieber, competed in the 10 and 11 year old boys division and took first place. Christian Givan from Alturas competed in the eight and nine year old division and took second place hitting 15 out of 25 shots.
In the girls division, Kendra Ramos of Alturas took second place in the 12 and 13 year old girls division. Matea Wilson also took a second in the 10 and 11 year old girls division. Also competing from Alturas was Katelyn Marcott in the girls eight and nine year old division.

Kellen and Konnor will travel on to the state competition, which will be held in the Sacramento area in February.

December 22nd, 2011

News

Maybe good news for MediCal cut case

If initial reads are right, they may foretell good news for both Modoc Medical Center and Surprise Valley Hospital, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for each facility.
According to Modoc Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Monica Derner, the California Hospital Association’s motion for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Department of Health Care Service (DHCS) from implementing reductions to Medi-Cal reimbursement for distinct-part (DP) skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) was heard by United States District Court, Central District Monday.
The judge apparently issued a tentative ruling in CHA’s favor. A final formal ruling is expected within the next several days.
This decision follows another positive decision handed down December 2, when the U.S. District Court, Central District, denied the state’s request to suspend the court case against the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) challenging the rate cuts for distinct-part skilled-nursing services (DP/NF).
MMC anticipates a $1.2 million dollar loss to the Skilled Nursing Facility (Warnerview) while Surprise Valley Hospital predicts an annual loss of $537,975 if the cuts go through.

Modoc jobless rate goes up to 13.4%

The unemployment rate in Modoc County went up to 13.4 percent for November, an increase from 12.9 percent in October.
Last month’s rate was lower than in November 2010, when it stood at 14.3 percent.
In Nov. 2011, the Modoc civilian labor force numbered 3,940 with 530 unemployed. That compared to November 2010 when the labor force numbered 4,140 with 590 unemployed.
Of the 3,410 employed in November, 1,300 were government employees. That’s down from 1,360 from last year. Local government dropped from 1,040 in 2010 to 990 in 2011.
Modoc’s 13.4 percent unemployment rate ranks it 37th out of the state’s 58 counties for highest unemployment. Lassen County ranked 31st at 12.5 percent and Siskiyou ranked 52nd 16.5 percent.
The federal unemployment rate was 8.2 percent and the state unemployment rate was 10.9 percent.

Beaton will face torture charge

Paul Beaton will face torture charges in Modoc Superior Court in connection with a shooting Nov. 9, 2011 in a home on Centerville Road.
Beaton was held to answer on the single county of torture following a preliminary hearing Dec. 19, and the enhancement of personally using a firearm, causing great bodily injury.
Modoc Superior Court set the case for arraignment Dec. 27. Beaton was remanded to the Modoc County Jail with bail set at $500,000. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
The case involved a shooting on Nov. 9. Modoc County District Attorney Chris Brooke argued that Beaton shot the victim twice in an effort to force the female victim to have sex with him.

Obituaries

Alfred O. Crudele
Alfred Orlando Crudele passed away in Sparks, NV on December 5, 2011, at the age of 100. He was born February 27, 1911 in New York, NY to Giovanni (John) and Anna (Annie) Crudele.
The family wishes to thank the caring staff at Bonaventure in Sparks, NV and the Saint Mary’s Hospice nurses for their kindness and care during the past few months.

Rulon Kay Oyler
Alturas resident Rulon Kay Oyler, 65, passed away at his home unexpectedly on December 15, 2011. The retired Modoc County Public Works employee, husband, father, grandfather, and professional Glazier, had made Modoc his home for the past 30 years.
Born November 19, 1946 in Loa, Utah, he graduated from high school in North Highlands, CA in 1964.
At his request, there will be a family gathering on January 13, 2012 at the Oyler home, 2405 N. East St., Alturas.

Pete Smelcer
Oliver Peter (Pete) Smelcer, Jr. died December 15, 2011 at his home in Burney, CA after a long illness. He was 87. Graveside services were held December 20, 2011 at the Adin, CA Cemetery with Reverend Jeff Bidwell of Grace Bible Church officiating.
Pete was born September 13, 1924 in Adin to O. P. and Imogene Smelcer. He graduated from Adin High School in 1942 and subsequently served in World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations from 1943-1945
Donations may be sent to the Fort Crook Historical Society and/or to Intermountain Hospice, both located in Fall River Mills, CA.

Dr. Thearn G. Jarvie
Dr. Thearn G. Jarvie, of Adin, CA died Monday, December 19, 2011 at his home. Thearn was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 3, 1935 to John and Jennie Jarvie.
The funeral service will be held at 11:00 December 28, 2011 at the Adin Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Rifle Association.

Sports

Modoc girls win Block M, boys second

Modoc’s varsity girl’s basketball team won the Block M Tournament last weekend while the boy’s varsity lost a pair of games.
The girls beat Tulelake in a tight one, 44-43. Tulelake jumped out to a 13-3 first period lead and led 22-16 at halftime. Modoc cut the score to 27-25 after three and tied it up at 38-38 at the end of regulation. Modoc outscored Tulelake 6-5 in overtime for the win.
Jodi Boudreaux led with 18 points and Courtney Knoch and Cheyenne King each added seven.
The Braves beat Lakeview in the tourney 39-28. They had a slow start trailing 9-7 in the first, but took a 20-14 lead into the halftime talks. They increased their lead to 29-18 after three and each team scored 10 in the fourth.
King led the scoring with 14 and Monicah Eppler added 11.
The girls beat Big Valley 44-32 after taking a 10-0 first quarter lead and leading 29-9 at halftime. Big Valley outscored them 16-14 in the third and 7-1 in the fourth.
King led with 10 points, while Eppler and Boudreaux added none each.
Boudreaux was named the tourney Most Valuable Player and King made All-Tourney.
Modoc’s boys lost to Tulelake 64-43, allowing the Honkers to dominate the second half. The game started with a 15-15 first period, and Tulelake took the halftime lead 26-24. They outscored Modoc 38-19 in the second half.
Brandon Bains led the Braves with 13 and Cam Anderson netted 12.
Modoc lost to Lakeview 66-59, also falling victim to a weak second half. Lakeview led 18-15 in the first and Modoc took a 35-32 lead by half. They held a 46-42 lead after three, but Lakeview blew them out with a 24-13 fourth quarter.
Brett Boudreaux led with 14; Bains added 12, Jonathan Jones 10 and Drew Culp 10.
The Braves opened with a lopsided 64-14 win over Big Valley. The game was never close. Bains led with 14, Jonathan Jones added 12 and Brett Boudreaux had eight.
Modoc’s boy’s junior varsity won the tournament with a 45-30 topping of Tulelake. Ben Jones led with 23 points and Fernando Alcala added 12.
The beat Lakeview 41-35 after taking a 21-18 first half lead and outscored Lakeview 20-17 in the second half. Alcala led with 10 points and Tristan Axelrod added 10.
They beat Big Valley in the last seconds 42-41. Modoc led 12-10 in the first and 23-18 by half. After three, Modoc held onto a 33-28 lead. Big Valley put up 13 to Modoc’s nine in the fourth. Zackary Delette led with 15 points and Jones had 13.
Modoc’s junior varsity girls beat Tulelake 31-28, using a solid third quarter to pull ahead. Jordan Marquardt led with 15 points.
They beat Big Valley 26-17, again coming out with a good third quarter. Marquardt led with 13.
They could not gain their footing against Lakeview and lost 29-13, Lakeview led 15-2 at halftime. No Brave scored in double figures.
The Braves head to the Lost River tournament this weekend.
Modoc’s boys beat Bonanza 56-45 in the opening game of that tourney. They jumped out to a 19-9 first quarter lead and led 31-11 by half. They scored 25 and Bonanza 31 in the second half. Riley Larranaga ked with 14, Jones added 10 and Anderson had nine.

The girls beat Bonanza 55-46, getting on track with a 17-point second quarter and scoring 34 in the second half. Bonanza scored 35 in the second half. Boudreaux led with 19, Eppler added 13 and Knoch has 12.

December 29th, 2011

News

County tax collection levels near last year

Modoc County’s tax collections for the first installment, through Dec. 21, 2011 are just shy of receipts last year, according to Modoc County Auditor Darcy Locken.
The one percent Property Tax has 56.7 percent collected. That is .53 percent under 2010, equating to about $51,000 less.
The Last Frontier Hospital District assessment shows 49.37 collected, that’s .9 percent less than 2010 or about $26,000 less.
The Modoc County Library tax had 51.43 percent collected, .82 percent less than 2010, amounting to about $3,000 less.
The California Pines Community Service District, Fire and Refuse shows 46.55 percent collected, one percent less than 2010, equaling about $5,500.
The Surprise Valley Healthcare District had 58.48% collected, which is .49% less than last year, less than a $1,000 difference.

New Cottage Food Act proposed in California

Modoc County Environmental Health Director Warren Farnam said there might be some changes in the works for the Cottage Food industry, something that may be beneficial here.
The Sustainable Economies Law Center is launching the Cottage Food for California campaign.
“There have been some interesting developments in cottage food legislation in the U.S. and California,” Farnam said. “Quite a few people in Modoc County have expressed interest in cooking and preparing certain types of food from home and are unable to do so under current California Law. This movement does not cover all types of food, but will allow less risky foods to be produced and sold without a commercial kitchen. I have mixed feelings about this but there seems to be a significant number of people who would like and support a cottage food movement in the State of California.”
Farnam is charged with enforcing the cottage food industry regulations and part of the enforcement is the requirement that the food be prepared in a commercial kitchen. This bill could change that part of the law for certain foods.
“I suppose the best reason I can support this movement is the government is creating laws that will let you do more than less, and I can support just about any movement in that direction,” said Farnam.
The following is a website for people who are interested: http://www.theselc.org/cottage-food-laws/

Little rain falls

Some rain fell in Modoc Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, but the .02 inches didn’t put much of a dent in the December precipitation levels, and it did not provide any snow. More rain is predicted with a slight chance of snow showers later in the week. The normal December precipitation to date is .91 inches and the normal of the month is 1.56 inches. Snowpack at 7,200 feet on Cedar Pass is just eight inches. A more foreboding issue is the average snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas is just 1.4 inches.

Parades ring in the New Year!

The 11th annual Juniper Berry Parade on January 1, 2012 will start at high noon (12 p.m.), on Plum Street (Co. Rd. 133b) at the community hall in downtown Davis Creek. Be a participant or just watch. To follow, a baked potato feed for $3.00 per person. Proceeds go to the Davis Creek Fire Department. For more info call Betsy Ingraham at 233-3009.
A New Year’s Day Snowfest parade will start at 12 noon on Ft. Bidwell’s Main Street, come rain, snow or shine on January 1. Join the parade with bicycles, a favorite pet, hay wagons, quads, tractors, vehicles and more. Come as you are or just share your favorite dish at the potluck to follow.
Please register for parade entry, by the Old General Store at 11 a.m. A potluck will be held at the Fort Bidwell Indian Community Building, after the parade. Please contact Anita 279-2067, Susan 279-2028 or Leslie 640-0443 for more information.

Obituaries:
Jeanne Brooks
Jeanne Evelyn Brooks was the sole child born to Carl and Blanche (Enderlin) Baehr on September 24, 1929 in Long Island, New York. Jeanne died on December 22, 2011 in Alturas. A service to honor her life and love will be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Alturas, CA on January 7, 2012 at 11 a.m. According to her wishes, Jeanne will be cremated and her ashes buried later, next to Robert in the Alturas Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be directed to St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 310 W. North Street, Alturas, CA 96101.

Donna Kay Lewis
Donna Kay Lewis passed away at Modoc Medical Center in Alturas on December 20, 2011. She was a resident at Warnerview Skilled Nursing Facility.
Donna was born to Stanly and Myrtle Burnham on February 17, 1937, in Deadwood, South Dakota. Donna was preceded in death by her parents, Stanly and Myrtle Burnham; husband Robert Lewis and son Bob Lewis.

Sports

Braves win pair in Lost River tourney

The Modoc Braves varsity boy’s and varsity girl’s basketball teams each won two of three games in the Lost River Tournament last weekend.
The Braves open Shasta Cascade League play at home against Fall River Jan.10
The boys beat Bonanza 56-42 in their opener. They opened with a 19-9 first period lead and by half led 31-11. Bonanza outscored them 29-25 in the second half.
Riley Larranaga led Modoc with 14 points; Jonathan Jones had 10 and Cam Anderson nine.
The Braves dropped the Klamath Union junior varsity team 72-57 in the second game. Modoc was up 17-16 in the first and 38-29 at halftime. They added a 14-point third and 20-point fourth period. KU scored 28 in the second half.
Brett Boudreaux led with 23 points and Anderson added 11.
Lost River beat the Braves 47-32 in the final game. The Raiders were up 8-6 in the first and 21-16 by half. The added 26-second half points while Modoc only managed 16.
Larranaga and Anderson each put in nine points.
Modoc’s girls opened with a 55-45 win over Bonanza. They started slow; trailing 7-4 in the first, but took a 21-11 lead into the halftime talks. Each team scored 34 in the second half.
Jodi Boudreaux led with 19 points; Monicah Eppler added 13 and Courtney Knoch had 12.
They beat Chiloquin in the second round 59-35. Modoc led 12-8 in the first quarter and 28-16 by half. They outscored Chiloquin 31-19 in the second half.
Cheyenne King and Eppler each had 15 points and Boudreaux added 12.
Gold Beach beat the Braves 32-31 in the final game. Neither team could score in the first half and were tied at 11 by intermission. Gold Beach buried the Braves with an 18-6 third quarter and Modoc fought back with a 14-13 fourth, but well behind Gold Beach.
King put in 10 points while Eppler added eight.

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