1997 NEWS ARCHIVES

NEWS

 

MAY NEWS

 

News summaries for May 22, 1997

 

¥ Post Office site still in dark

¥ Speed limit change slow in coming

¥ 90 day limit for General Assistance

¥ Expect some road delays

¥ Fire season begins early

No news on Post Office site

The U.S. Postal Service looked at possible sites for loca tion of the Alturas Post Office this week, but Mayor John Hagerman said they were tight-lipped about the actual spot.

"We can understand their reticence in disclosing the ac tual location until all the negotiating is complete," Hagerman said Tuesday. "We do know they looked at sites on Main Street and will be getting back to us with their deci sions in the near future. But, they really wouldn't pinpoint the locations."

Sources say the main sites the Post Office checked over include lots on Main Street east of Carstens Chevrolet, east of Jerry's Restaurant and the old Forest Service Building. None of those sites were confirmed by Postal officials this week.

According to Hagerman, the sites are all on Main Street and the former site on West C Street near the California Highway Patrol office has apparently been dropped. The current Post Office location near Bank of America is not be ing considered for continued use, said Hagerman. The Post Office has stated the facility and the lot are too cramped for the needs.

According to Hagerman, the actual location will be an nounced in the next few days.

Speed limit change may take time

Changing the speed limit on U.S. 395 through Davis Creek may take an act of Congress. At least that's what the Modoc County Board of Supervisors heard from CalTrans officials Tuesday.

The board intends to contact state legisla tors and ask for help in dealing with the law involving the speed limits through small towns.

CalTrans, later Tuesday evening, told the Modoc Local Transportation Commission, that it would put up signs in both directions warning of "Congestion Ahead" and "Intersection".

The county is concerned about the speed limit through the small town, and the interest was heightened following a school bus-car accident on the highway in front of the Davis Creek Store last month. There were no in juries to the students on the bus, but a family in the car sustained injuries. Speed was not a factor in the accident, said the CHP, but a school bus stop or turn around area might be better signed.

CalTrans explained that in the past five years only two accidents have occurred in the area, and neither was speed related. The school bus accident was driver error and the other single vehicle accident was because of icy roads.

The county will continue its efforts in de creasing the speed limit in that town.

County limits general assistance to 90 days

Able-bodied adults on General Assistance in Modoc County will only be able to draw that help for three months in any 12 month period.

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday passed a resolution limiting the eligibility to three months and the ef fective date is June 1. Previously there was no time limit on General Assistance.

County Social Services Director Richard, ex plained that counties in the state are adopting time limita tions on General Assistance and Modoc had to follow suit or become a "county of choice" for those people dropped from other counties.

The maximum amount of GA is $295.50 per month in Modoc and comes from the county's general fund.

The new eligibility limits do not impact those folks on interim assistance, who are generally waiting for rulings on SSI or other benefits.

According to Belarde, Shasta and Butte Counties just dropped 500 people off their General Assistance rolls, prompting neighboring counties to do something to avoid a major impact from those people migrating in.

At the present time, Belarde said the county has 25 people on the GA rolls. Belarde is also looking for volunteer super visors who would help with a work program for those people. Those volunteers would supervise crews of General Assistance recipients as they perform some pubic service work. To volunteer, call either Belarde at 233-6501 or the City of Alturas at 233-2512.

Roadway delays in Modoc

There are areas where travelers may be delayed because of roadwork on Modoc Highways.

CalTrans reports that Highway 139 at various locations from seven miles north to 32 miles north of Canby; main tenance project for shoulder repair; one-way traffic con trolled by flaggers and pilot car; delays of up to 15 minutes should be expected. Completion is set for the end of May.

Highway 395 at various locations from 18 miles north of Alturas to seven miles south of the Oregon State line; maintenance project for pavement repair; one-way traffic controlled by flaggers and pilot car; delays of up to 15 minutes may be expected.

Fire season begins early

Fire season began early and with a burst, consuming nearly 200 acres on private and federal lands. Located approximately 30 miles east of Lakeview, Ore., the fire was reported to the Lakeview In teragency Fire Center Mon day afternoon.

So far, six engines, five dozers, two hand crews, two water tenders, and one heli copter have been dispatched to the scene near Drews Valley Ranch (north of Highway 140 west). The fire is burning in slash and is under investiga tion.

No fire restrictions are in place at this time, but every one is reminded to use ex treme caution when burning outside or smoking outside a vehicle or building.

Two Snake River Valley (SRV) crews arrived, just be fore dawn, to assist in fight ing the nearly 150 acre fire. Dozers have put a line around the perimeter of the fire, but afternoon winds caused flames and embers to jump outside the line in spots.

Two more hand crews have been ordered to accom pany the 20 person SRV crews, four dozers, two heli copters, two strike teams of engines (10 total), three wa ter tenders, four additional engines, and approximately 22 overhead personnel in various positions.

At this time, fire officials are taking a look at the fire from the air to better assess Drews' Fire size and situa tion. It is expected to be un der control by Friday evening. The cause of the fire is still under investiga tion.

 

 

Headline Summaries For May 29,1997

The forecast: Variable cloudiness is in the forecast Friday with a slight chance of thunderstorms. The clouds remain through the weekend with more sun on Sunday. Highs should be in the 70s and lows in the upper 30s to 50s.

 

¥ Modoc's High School Seniors graduate

¥ Former Publisher Bob Sloss passes on

¥ City cops nap Reno suspects

¥ Geothermal plant needs comment

¥ Local woman in Hall of Fame

Modoc graduates seniors in Class 1997

Over the next couple of weeks, 108 people around Modoc County will be slap ping mortar boards on their heads, grabbing sheepskins and turning tassels.

It's graduation time again. 102 people will receive high school diplomas from five dif ferent programs. Six other individuals will receive As sociate of Arts degrees through Lassen College. The graduation exercises, distin guished scholars, and lists of graduates are outlined below.

Surprise Valley High School - May 30

SVHS will award 14 diplomas at tonight's cere monies. Kathryn A. Farschon is the Class of 1997 Valedictorian, Sadie L. Smith is the Salutatorian and Ryan J. DePaul is the Historian.

Warner High School and Alternative Education - June 3

Four Warner grads and five Alternative Education candidates will receive their diplomas in Oxley Hall.

Modoc High School - June 5

Griswold Gymnasium at 8 p.m. will be the time and place for 64 graduates to go through their final exercises. Distinguished scholars are Valedictorian Adam Bailey and Salutatorian Kevin Kramer.

Big Valley High School - June 6

Fifteen graduates will be honored at ceremonies begin ning at 8 p.m. in the school gym. The call Valedictorian is Mindy Michelle Haury. Co-Salutatorians are Valerie Kay Darnell and Jessica Lynn Saltzman.

Lassen College - Tonight

Ceremonies will be held in Oxley Hall at Modoc High School beginning at 6 p.m. Six graduates are scheduled to receive Associate of Arts de grees.

Former Modoc Record Publisher Bob Sloss dies

Former Modoc Record Publisher Robert L. Sloss died at his Alturas home May 23, 1997 following a battle with can cer. He was 68 years old.

Mr. Sloss was a life-long resident of Modoc County and spent over 30 years at the Modoc County Record as owner, editor and publisher. He sold the paper in the summer of 1993 and retired, remaining in Alturas with his wife of 42 years, Suzanne.

He was the originator of Modoc's universally ac cepted trademark, "Modoc Mike" and was an accom plished artist, cartoonist, writer, pho tographer, wood carver, jour nalist and histo rian. He was also an expert fly-fisherman. He will be remembered fondly by Modoc'ers for his decades of Modoc Record columns enti tled: "Mike's Memo," which were often hu morous, often serious and al ways allowed Modoc a chance to laugh at itself or see itself in another perspective.

In addition to his wife Suzanne, he is survived by daugh ters Laura Jordan, husband Mike, and grandsons, Jesse and Tyler, of New Plymouth, Idaho; Kerry Sloss of Antioch; Meg Sloss and grandchildren Paul and Annette Malatesta of Alturas; son, John, wife Annie, and grandchildren Anthony and Camille of Martinez; and sister Peggy Dekker of Alturas.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Betty Hironymous, and his parents.

The family requests donations be made to the Robert L. Sloss Memorial Scholarship Fund at Bank of America, in Alturas.

Memorial services for Mr. Sloss were held Tuesday at the Federated Church in Alturas and a private inurnment was held Wednesday at the Alturas Cemetery.

Alturas Police nab suspects in Reno store armed robbery

Alturas City Police arrested three juveniles May 27, sus pected of armed robbery to a Scolari's market in Reno May 22.

According to Chief of Police Larry Pickett, Officer Ryan Burns noticed the juveniles about 10:30 p.m. Monday at Gil's Gas on Main Street. According to Burns, the juveniles were acting in a suspicious manner and he chose to run the li cense plates on the Cadillac they were driving. The plates came back belonging to a GMC truck.

Upon further investigation, Burns and Officer Vern Seevers discovered several items in the vehicle, including cartons of cigarettes, a concealed weapon, a dagger, mari juana and currency. The trio, two boys and one girl, was ar rested for possession of stolen property.

Pickett contacted the Reno Police Department who imme diately made the trip to Alturas to check out the suspects.

According to Reno Police, the three juveniles match the description of the suspects in the armed robbery. That rob bery occurred just after the Scolari's Market closed. The trio, wearing Halloween masks, approached employees who had just closed the store and forced them back into the market at gun and knife point. They tied the employees up and made off with goods and cash.

The two boys were taken to the Shasta Juvenile Detention center and the girl was in custody in Modoc.

Comments sought on Telephone Flat wells

The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service will be holding public meetings the second week in June on a proposed geothermal plant in the Medicine Lake area.

The California Energy General Corporation (CalEnergy) has proposed to develop a 48 megawatt (MW) geothermal power plant in the Telephone Flat area about 1.5 miles east of Medicine Lake. The project is in Siskiyou County, but on Modoc National Forest Lands. The proposal includes con struction of the power plant as well as related pipelines and a 230-kilovolt transmission line that extends about 21 miles to the north and east to a connection with the existing 230kV Bonneville Power Administration transmission line be tween Perez and Flurey Wells.

Scoping meetings are scheduled in Tulelake, June 11, 7 p.m. at the Tulelake Fairgrounds Home Economics Building and in Dorris June 10, 7 p.m. at Dorris City Hall.

Written comments may also be made to Randall Sharp, USFS/BLM, Telephone Flat Geothermal Project EIS/EIR Coordinator, 800 W. 12th Street, Alturas, Ca. 96101.

Cowboy Hall of Fame comes to Modoc County

Tucked away in the high mountains of Modoc County in North Eastern California a lady of rodeo resides in a rest home. Reba Perry Blakely shares a room with her trunks of writings, tapes, newspaper clippings, pictures, memora bilia and memories.

By 1930 Reba Perry had be come a World Champion Re lay Rider. Small and petite she could fly like the wind on race horses and she was in great demand by owners of some of the best horses on the circuit. She was well known for her flat racing, relay races and pony express exper tise throughout Washington, Oregon and western Canada.

At the Ellensburg, Wash. rodeo in 1928 Reba encoun tered some of the world Cham pion Cowgirls, such as Vera McGinnis, Vedal Tindel, Rene Shelton, Mabel Strick land, Tad Lucas and Fox Hastings. Working with these outstanding Cowgirls was a complete thrill for the young horsewoman.

Vera McGinnis, trick rider and movie star from Hollywood, Calif. and Reba soon became close friends even though Reba was fifteen years her junior. Vera in vited the little cowgirl from Washington to come to Cali fornia and she would teach here trick riding. areer until 1954.

A Rodeo Historian and Western Heritage Researcher has been her goal in life to record the history of rodeo on tape and typewriter.

Reba has been on assign ment for many newspapers and magazines in the West and has trunks of articles and clippings to prove it. She is a recognized researcher, au thor, and authority of early days of the West. Her histori cal articles are well known through out the media.

Following the rodeo circuit led Reba to Alturas, Modoc County, California where she was friends with another rodeo great, the late Hippy Burmister. Traveling in her car with her typewriter, tape recorder, trunks of clippings and letters and other meager belongings she moved into a little cabin in 1990 in Alturas.

Reba Perry Blakely was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1979 as a Western Heritage Honoree. Their narration of her was, "Reba became an accom plished trick roper, rider and pony express contestant. She was a World Champion Woman's Relay Rider as well. Reba drew on her knowledge to become a recog nized researcher and author of western and rodeo history. Her articles have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers while she has spent over 50 years document ing the coming of the pioneer and the horse to the west."

After months of correspon dence the decision was made to induct Reba Perry Blakely into the Western Heritage di vision and the Rodeo Histori cal Society of the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

The rodeo historian could not go to the Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Okla. so the Hall of Fame came to Modoc, the presentation must be made.

On April 30, 1997, Cecil Jones and his wife Fran of the Rodeo Historical Society from the Rowell Ranch Rodeo from Hayward, Calif. made the trip to Alturas to make the presen tation. When Cecil presented the honoree with her gold medal lion, plaque and corsage, Reba was ecstatic and thrilled beyond her wildest dreams. Even in her wheelchair with oxygen helping to fill her weak lungs she was overjoyed.

JUNE NEWS

 

News summaries for week of June 5, 1997

The forecast: Partly cloudy is the forecast today and continuing through Sunday. Look for thunderstorms and snow at about 7,000 feet as a cold front hangs on. Lows in the mid 30s to 40s. Highs will be in the 70s and 80s.

¥ Site selected for new Alturas P.O.

¥ Modoc DA fined in DUI case

¥ Attempted murder in Alturas

¥ Post Officer burglars nabbed

¥ Alturas pool set to open

New site picked for Alturas P.O.

Finding the new Alturas Post Office will not take much work, since it's location will be across the street for the cur rent facility.

Bob McGill, U.S. Postal Service Real Estate Specialist, who visited Alturas the later part of May, announced this week that the new site will be on Main Street across from Carstens Chevrolet.

That site was predicted by Alturas Mayor John Hagerman as the probable site last week. The Postal Service will have the site appraised and an environmental study conducted before the site selection is finalized. Construction of the new Post Office will begin as early as August. The Post Office is expected to open in November, 1997.

"We're pleased to find a suitable site in the downtown area," said McGill, who worked closely with the city to iden tify the new site. "We appreciate all the input and assistance we have gotten from the local community."

Originally, the Postal Service had selected a site on West C Street near the California Highway Patrol Office, but protests by the Alturas Chamber of Commerce and City of Alturas prompted a review of that site.

The site selected on Main Street is 46,000 square feet in size and will accommodate the new 6,681 square foot Post Office, which is twice the size of the current facility. It will allow for additional services, onsite parking for postal cus tomers, improved accessibility for disabled persons and ad equate work space and parking for employees.

According to the Postal Service, the existing Post Office was too small to accommodate the carriers and there was no way to expand the facility.

The area selected by the Post Office once housed a Gil's Gas Station and now is used by Carsten's Motors as a auto mobile sales lot.

Modoc DA fined for drunk driving

Modoc County District Attorney High Comisky was fined over $900 in Reno Justice Court last week, after entering no contest pleas to driving under the influence and carrying a weapon while intoxicated.

Comisky was arrested March 17, about 2 a.m. at the corner of Fourth and Eureka Streets in Reno by Reno Police. He had a blood alcohol content of .13 at the time of arrest. He was driving a county van at the time.

Comisky who has served a rocky first term as Modoc DA is up for election in June, 1998.

Three arrested al leging at tempted murder, robbery

Three Alturas men were arrested May 30 on charges al leging attempted murder, robbery, burglary, torture and as sault with a deadly weapon in an incident that occurred the night of May 29 and ran through the morning of May 30.

According to Alturas Police Sergeant Stacy Callaghan, his officers ar rested Daniel Holt, 39, and Nathan Chanaud, 33, about 7:30 p.m. May 30. The third man, Richard Wyatt, 28, also of Alturas, was arrested in Redding May 30 and was transported back to Alturas on June 2. All three were booked into the Modoc County Jail, with bail set at $50,000 each.

Callaghan said the bizarre incident began about 6:30 p.m. May 29 at the El Rancho Apartment of Ron Erickson, of Alturas. The three suspects, involved in a drug deal said Callaghan, confronted Erickson.

Erickson was stabbed in the chest by one of the men, us ing a knife with a six inch blade. The wound was about an inch deep. That assault cut Erickson's fingers as he tried to de fend himself. The sus pects then held a knife to his throat, took his ATM bank card and demanded that Erickson re veal the PIN number. Erickson also suf fered knife puncture wounds to the face and the suspects al legedly told him they were go ing to cut his eyes out.

The suspects then broke the back window out of Erickson's pickup, forced Erickson to go with them to the local ATM to remove money and then took Erickson with them to Redding, said Callaghan. The trip to Redding was appar ently an effort to purchase narcotics, said Callaghan.

Wyatt remained in Redding while Holt and Chanaud brought Erickson back to Alturas, arriving about 6 a.m. May 30. Chanaud allegedly stayed with Erickson for some time that morning and Erickson was threatened with death if he re ported the incident, said Callaghan.

Once Chanaud left, Erickson went to his brother's home in Alturas and his brother convinced him to re port the inci dent. He went to the Sheriff's Officer to file the re port about 7:30 p.m. and Holt and Chanaud were arrested by Alturas Police about 8 p.m. Wyatt's whereabouts were re ported to the Redding Police Department and he was also picked up.

According to Callaghan there were no narcotics seized with the arrest of Holt or Chanaud, but there were drugs in volved in the arrest of Wyatt.

Erickson was treated for his injuries.

Lakeview duo arrested in Post Office burglary

Modoc County Sheriff's Deputies arrested a pair of Lakeview men in connection with a burglary to the Fort Bidwell Post Office May 30.

According to Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix, the pair may be connected to other Post Office burglaries in the area over the past year. The inves tigation into those crimes and the connection, if any, to the Lakeview men is continuing.

Mix said his office re ceived a report that the Frt. Bidwell Post Office was being burglarized about 2 a.m. May 30. Deputies intercepted a ve hicle at the intersection of County Road 1 and 49'er Lane about 2:30 a.m.

The two men in the vehicle, Christopher Overton, 21, and Jerry Caswell, 27, were ar rested at the site. Mix said they initially denied in volvement in the Fort Bidwell Post Office break-in, but later admitted they were involved.

Mix said nothing was re ported missing from the Post Office, but there was damage to the doors as burglars had used pry bars to gain entry. Mail had been gone through, said Mix, He suspects the bur glars were looking for money or drugs.

The two Lakeview men were booked into the Modoc County Jail.

Pool opens, weather may be on cool side

The Alturas Swimming Pool opens for the 1997 season Friday, but the weather looks like it may be a little cool.

Then again, Alturas kids have always been tough when it comes to swimming in cold weather. They have to be. The effort to heat and cover the pool is ongoing, but this season will be just like in the past. Pray for warm weather.

The pool opens with a free swim day Friday, with the doors unlocked at 1 p.m.

From Saturday June 7 to June 15 the pool will be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for open swim and 5.m. to 6 p.m. for lap swim. The pool is open limited hours for the lifeguard training course mornings and evenings. Starting June 16, the pool will be open for regular summer hours. The aquacise class and swim lessons will also begin June 16 with classes available for swimmers of all ages and skill levels. Class times are 9-9:45 a.m.; 10-10:45 a.m.; and 5:45-6:30 p.m. Monday trough Friday. Sessions are scheduled for June 16-27; July 7-18 and July 28-August 8. Aquacise class will be held Monday through Friday, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

The pool manager this year is Eleanor Dorton and she's assisted by Peter Richert. Returning lifeguards are Amie Ambers, Jennifer Kern, David Knighton, Julia Greene, and Joe Duran. New lifeguards this season are: Leah Siegel, Melanie Britton, April Dorton, Lindsay Lieurance, Andrew McLaughlin, David Pimental and Molly Busby.

The regular pool schedule will be 12 noon to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday for lap swim; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the general public; 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for lap swim and 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. for open swim.

On Saturday and Sunday the lap swimmers have from 12 noon to 1 p.m. and open swimming is from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Admission this year is as follows: general admission, 10 years and under $1.50, 11 years and up, $2; season passes, 10 years and under, $40, 11 years and up, $50 and a family pass is $65.

For group rates and pool rental, contact the pool manager.

 

News summaries for June 12, 1997

 

¥ Elk are making inroads to Modoc

¥ Charges dismissed against local attorney

¥ MJUSD befuddled on p[rincipal selection

¥ Midsummer Nite Dream opens in Ft. Bidwell

¥ Summer school opens in Modoc

The forecast: Look for continued unsettled weather and variable cloudiness today with afternoon thunderstorms. Friday and Saturday shows scattered showers, but clearer and some warming over the weekend.

Elk herd prospers in Modoc County

Rocky Mountain Elk are re-establishing themselves in Modoc County and with more and more sightings, the future looks promising.

While there is no purely accurate count of the total elk population in the county at the present time, biologists be lieve their numbers are grow ing at a healthy rate.

"We have no way of esti mating elk numbers at pre sent in Modoc County," said U.S. Forest Service Biologist Tom Ratcliff. "We do know that elk are increasing. Improved ri parian habitats are favored by elk, especially in the spring when cows are feeding heavily in prepara tion for calving."

According to Ratcliff, these elk have been in Modoc County since the mid-1970s but sightings then were usu ally single animals or very small groups. The sightings were sporadic, usually one or two annually.

California Fish and Game and Modoc National Forest personnel recently combined sightings data bases and since 1990 over 200 sightings have been made in the county. Elk are being seen more fre quently and in larger groups.

According to reports, in March, 1997, 50 head of bulls, cows and calves were seen in a large group. Several sight ings of over 20 head of elk have been recorded in the past five years.

According to Ratcliff, sightings of bulls, cows and calves indicate resident ani mals, not just random wan derings of a few elk. Sightings are also accumulat ing to indicate a year-round occupancy of several areas within the county. There have been winter sightings in the Fandango Valley-Lassen Creek drainage in the Warner Mountains and on private lands thereabouts; winter and early spring sightings in the Crowder Mountain-Fletcher Creek vicinity on Devil's Garden. Another group of elk is less frequently sighted, but is known to be very active in the Egg Lake area north of Lookout. In that area, more than 30 elk have been sighted, including bulls, cows and calves.

In 1992-94, California DFG and Modoc National Forest personnel cooperated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Prescott College from Arizona, in doc u menting movements and habitat use by five radio-col lared elk in the Fandango-Lassen Creek area. Extensive sight ings indicate a pattern of year-round use in that area and studies are continuing to document habitat preference, movement patterns and pre ferred habitat.

Ratcliff said the Modoc area is well suited for elk and the groups seem to be thriving.

Elk are known to prefer grasses and forbes, very sim ilar to cattle diets. Use of browse is much less than deer, except during the winter months when diets are simi lar.

Ratcliff said that since elk are larger than deer and withstand cold, snowy weather better, they tend to be very competitive with deer on limited or poor quality winter ranges. Elk can compete with cattle during some seasons of the year.

These elk have not been introduced into Modoc, and the belief is that they moved into the county from Oregon where they have been hunted for several years. Their numbers in Oregon have also been on the increase. The Egg Lake herd may be residual animals from the Shasta Lake-Lake Britton area where elk were introduced several years ago.

There are some anticipated management situations that will come into play as the elk herd grows. In an effort to meet the situation head-on, a local group of agency, private and local governments people meet about every three months, or more often if needed, to share elk informa tion. The group is part of the national Seeking Common Ground working group and tries to address issues prior to crisis.

Ratcliff is optimistic the group can address the issues and help resolve situations fairly. He believes the elk are here to stay and will do well in the county as they continue a south ward move.

The group is hosting an all-day field trip to take a look at elk winter range, calving habitat, summer range, elk use of private lands and elk-livestock-deer interactions. That tour is set June 28 and will depart from Davis Creek about 9:30 a.m. and carpool to various sites. The public and elk enthu siasts are encour aged to participate.

For more information on the tour call 233-2517.

Conviction involving local attorney dropped

Convictions of elder abuse against local attorney Barry Kinman were dismissed in Modoc Court this week and Modoc District Attorney Hugh Comisky was disqualified from the case because of apparent bias.

A conviction against Kinman on charges of attempting to dissuade a witness was upheld and a sentence of a $350 fine and two years summary probation was ordered. Kinman appealed that conviction and the sentence was stayed pend ing the outcome of the appeal. Since Comiksy was disquali fied, the Attorney General's Office will now handle the ap peal.

Kinman was acquitted on five of the nine charges filed against him (all misdemeanors) in April. He was convicted on two counts of elder abuse and two counts of in timidating a witness, also misdemeanors. He then asked for a new trial. Those motions were heard this week.

The four charges he was acquitted on were complaints originally filed by the victim, Mona Phillips of Lookout. Those included two counts of assault, two counts of battery and one count of false imprisonment.

Kinman's attorney Tom Buckwalter, of Susanville, at the time called the conviction on elder abuse the strangest deci sion he's witnessed in decades of law practice -- in private prac tice, in the Plumas District Attorney's office, and as a public defender.

As a result of the verdict in April, Kinman sent out a letter to about 300 local residents detailing his side of the situation and he accused Comisky of playing out a vendetta against him.

Comisky continually denies any sort of bias in the case.

MJU Board can't agree on new principal

It's back to the old drawing board in an attempt to find a new principal for Modoc High School. The Modoc Joint Uni fied School District (MJUSD) Board of Trustees wasn't completely happy with any of the crop of candidates who ap plied for the prin cipal spot, and has decided to readvertise the posi tion.

The position was origi nally advertised back in April with May 9 being the last day for turning in appli cations. MJUSD re ceived ap proximately 18 applications and a commit tee of seven peo ple narrowed that number down to about six applicants, five of whom were brought up to Alturas for in terviews.

In the end, the Board couldn't come to a positive de cision on any of the finalists. Board President Bill Hall identified two rea sons for not choosing out of this appli cant pool -- different Board mem bers had different fa vorites, and there wasn't a single candidate that at least some of the Board members did n't have concerns about.

"The bottom line here is that there were a lot of differ ent opinions on the people we had," Hall said. "We had reservations about some if not all of them.

"We could not get beyond our initial dif ferences."

Hall went on to state that the Board felt a duty to the stu dents to search again.

"These are our kids we're talking about," he said.

The Board had reserva tions about the var ious candi dates because, as Hall indi cated, "A lot of people had left a situation they weren't happy with to come to a new situa tion. We want someone to come up here for the right rea sons who is ready to take on a new challenge."

Hall further stated that the Board's mis givings about the candidates were also shared by the seven member commit tee that screened the applica tions.

The position will be read vertised with no specific cut-off date set for applications. Rather, applications will be taken until the position is filled.

The Board believes there may be two new sources of ap plicants who did not ap ply last time. One group would be peo ple who applied for other prin cipal positions at the end of the school year. If they didn't get that position they will now be looking for other principal spots and may consider Modoc. Hall said MJUSD may also em ploy head-hunters to help bring other qual ified candidates out of the woodwork.

The MHS principal posi tion is open be cause the Board elected not to renew the con tract of Bob Larkins, who has since ac cepted the principal position at Big Valley High School Even though the board is hav ing a tough time find ing the right candi date to re place Larkins, Hall said he is not second-guessing the deci sion to let Larkins go.

"I'm very comfortable with the decision we made," he said. "It was done for all the right reasons. I'm still pretty happy with that."

A Midsummer Night's Dream opens June 13

It's Shakespeare under the stars this weekend when A Midsummer Night's Dream opens in Ft. Bidwell, June 13 and 14.

Meet enchanted fairies, young lovers and Athenian rus tics in the night air outside the Ft. Bidwell Hotel. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair; the Modoc Performing Arts The ater will provide the enter tainment.

The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream has been re hearsing for two months under the direction of Chip Massie and Nancy Bal lard. Their enthusiasm for the play is conta gious. The audience can not help but join in the fun.

The show is anything but "Shake spearean". Rather, it's fun, humorous, bois terous and loud.

The fairies will be decked out in forest camouflage. The Athenian nobles will have leather armor and sandals. Lor raine Flournoy, portray ing Hippolyta queen of the Amazon, will look like Xena the Warrior Princess. And the rustics will definitely be "of the people" No glitter or sequins. The performance is realistic and earthy.

There are three different worlds in A Mid summer Night's Dream: the forest, upper-class Athens and blue-col lar Athens. These worlds are usually quite separate, but thanks to the mischievous fairy Puck, worlds col lide.

The rustics of the blue-col lar Athens were written as male characters. But women fill these roles in the MPAT produc tion, which adds a whole new twist to the comedy. Sandy Boldon plays Bottom, the leader of the rustics.

The rustics have entered a drama competi tion. The win ners get to perform their play at the Duke's wedding. And so on a midsum mer night they enter the forest to prac tice.

Theseus, played by Gerry Gates, governs the world of up per-class Athens. He is ea gerly anticipating his nup tials with Hip polyta. But oth ers within his court are dread ing their marriage cere monies.

Hermia, played by Jen nifer Welty, is in love with the wrong person, or so her father thinks. She and her lover, Lysander played by Jeran Brown, flee to the forest to elope.

But her betrothed, Demetrius played by Matt Jef fers, heard of the plot, thanks to He lena, played by Julie McLaughlin. They en ter the forest to stop the elopement.

The performances of the young lovers are boisterous, pas sionate and feisty, full of phys ical action.

Enchanted fairies occupy the forest. But alas, the King and the Queen of the fairies are arguing. Larry Shippen plays Oberon and Jennifer Risley and Vasiliki Vassil share the duties of Titania.

And on a midsummer night, Oberon de cides to play a lit tle trick on his wife. He charges Puck, played by April Dor ton, with the execution of this scheme.

Puck has a diabolical sense of humor. Through his mis chievous actions, the three worlds interact and inter twine in very hu morous and interesting new ways.

A Midsummer Night's Dream runs June 13 - 14 at 8 p.m. outside of the Ft. Bidwell Ho tel; tickets, $5. The Cal Pines Lodge hosts the show on June 20 for an 8 p.m. outdoor perfor mance; tickets, $5. The show runs in Alturas on June 21-22 at the A.C.T.'s Niles Theater at 2 p.m.; tickets $6 and $4.

Tickets are available at Pizza and Pasta Place, Sur prise Valley Drug, the A.C.T.'s Niles Theater Box Office and at the door.

Still time to register for Summer School June 16

The Modoc Joint Unified School District summer school program will begin Monday, June 16 and con tinue through July 14.

Classes are provided Mon day through Thursday with Kindergarten through fifth grade being served in Alturas at Alturas Elementary School and sixth through twelfth grade being served at Modoc Middle School. School is in session from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon.

Breakfast and lunch are served at Modoc Middle School for all students, in cluding those not attending summer school. Breakfast is served from 7:40 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and lunch is served from 12 noon to 12:30 p.m. Mini summer school pro grams will be provided at State Line Elementary School, July 7 - July 14 and South Fork Elementary School, June 16 - July 3.

The elementary summer school program is provided to help students continue to learn and maintain their skill during the summer in a more relaxed and activity centered program than that provided during the school year. The elementary pro gram includes a daily swimming session at the Al turas City Pool for those who wish to participate. Students in grades six through twelve may earn credits in core con tent areas. Attendance for secondary students is critical for them to earn the credits in the short period of summer school.

All students who wish to attend summer school are en couraged to arrive at school on Monday, June 16, whether they have pre-registered or not. If you have any ques tions, please call the Alturas Elementary School office at 233-7601 or the Modoc Middle School office at 233-7501. Brochures with staff and more information are available from school sites.

 

Record news summaries, June 19 issue:

 

• No change for BLM Area Offices
• Mountain Lion Attacks at Pines
• Girls file suit against MJUSD
• Hazardous household waste collections
• District gets headhunter for principal

Idea to combine BLM offices gets no local support

An idea to combine the Alturas and Surprise Valley Resource Area offices of the Bureau of Land Management was tossed out last week by State BLM Director Ed Hastey.

Hastey met with local individuals last Friday in Alturas and in Cedarville, and received a resounding "no" to the notion of combining the two offices.

Hastey told people at the meeting that he was under no or der to combine the offices and was in the county to find out how the local people felt. There was no support to combine the offices at either the Alturas or Surprise Valley meeting.

Hastey took little time in deciding the idea wasn't good and basically told local people that it was not going to hap pen.

The general feeling among the public is that the two of fices are efficient and accountable to the public they serve. While the two offices are close in proximity, people said, they each have widely different impacts and areas.

Rich Burns, the Alturas Resource Area Manager, who will be moving to the Clear Lake Office later this summer, said what the decision boiled down to was that people think the system in place works well. In addition, he said, BLM employees were also opposed to combining the offices. Susie Stokke manages the Surprise Valley Resource Area. Both BLM managers received praise from people at the meetings.

"What we heard was that people like they way we're doing business now and don't see a need or reason for change," said Burns. ""Ed Hastey was here to get local comment and he heard absolutely zero support to combine offices. And he listened. There will be no combining of the offices or staffs."

At both the Alturas and Surprise Valley meetings, the feeling strongly imparted to Hastey was that the combina tion would not improve the delivery of services or efficiency of the operations.

A couple of years ago, the Resource Area offices were given the same authority as was once held by the District Offices. When the District Offices were scrapped, Area Managers were given the same duties and authorities as once held by District Managers.

Having that decision-making power closer to the ground is a major improvement, according to local users.

"We were pleased with the meetings and received good comments," said Burns. "There is no reason to change the operations."

Lion attack at Cal Pines

A mountain lion is suspected of attacking a man late Tuesday night at California Pines. The man was not seri ously hurt.

According to Nick Shadursky, who had just finished his shift as a bartender at California Pines Lodge and Restaurant, the incident occurred as he was taking out the trash.

"I had closed the bar and watched a television program after my shift," he related. "I then took the garbage out to the bin, which is near the pool about 11 p.m. I heard something walking around the pool, so I walked over to see what was go ing on. I thought maybe someone had come out late to swim or something."

When he walked around the pool, he said he saw what he thought was a large dog about 40 yards away near the swing set on the lawn. He called out to the animal and it turned. He said at first he didn't recognize the animal, but it started walking toward him. He realized that it was a mountain lion and moved to get away. He said when he turned around to see what the animal was doing, it had followed and then stopped about 12 feet from him.

"It seemed like it stood there for about 10 seconds, but it was probably only one or two," Shadursky, who weighs about 250 pounds, said. "Then, all of a sudden it came at me. I punched it and it knocked me down. I figured once I was down it was going to jump me, but when I looked up it was heading off toward the lake."

Shadursky said he got up, shaking, and ran to his pickup. He had a cut to his hand where he'd struck the lion and scratches he figured he received when he fell.

"I just got in my truck and headed to town, but I had to stop after about a mile because my heart was beating so fast," he said. "At first, I wasn't going to say anything, but I figured I'd better report it so people would know the lion was there. People asked me if I'd been drinking and seeing things, but I hadn't had a thing all night. I'll tell you one thing, I don't ever want to see another one of those things."

Cal Albright, a Department of Fish and Game Warden was investigating the incident on Wednesday, but had not come to any definite conclusion by press time.

Drive-by shooting under investigation

An apparent drive-by shooting in the Daphnedale area of Alturas is under investigation by the Modoc County Sheriff's office.

Sheriff Bruce Mix said the incident occurred at the Tina Mobley residence just after midnight June 13. A vehicle drove by her mobile home and the occupants of the home, five adults and two small children, thought they heard one gun shot. Upon investigation, they discovered shotgun pellets in the sheet metal near the front door.

Mix said the case is currently under investigation and he expects arrests in the incident. He gave no motive for the shooting. No one in the residence was hurt.

MJUSD, others sued over shower videotape

Five female basketball players who were surrepti tiously videotaped in a locker room at Modoc High School have filed suit against Modoc Joint Unified School District and four teenage males in Modoc County Superior Court.

The complaint may also be amended to include up to 20 other persons. The School District was served with a complaint on May 30, 1997, and has 30 days to respond.

The complaint does not re quest a specific damage amount, but does ask for gen eral damages and exemplary or punitive damages accord ing to proof, along with costs of the suit.

The case arises out of an incident that occurred on February 20, 1996. The four males named as individual defendants, hid a video cam era in a locker room at Modoc High School that was being used by the MHS girls basket ball team before and after a high school basketball game. The plaintiffs were video taped while showering or changing.

The plaintiffs did not be come aware of the incident until July 14, 1996. By that time, the video had been copied and distributed throughout the community. The complaint alleges that as a result of this, "Plaintiffs were scorned and abandoned by their friends and family, exposed to contempt and ridicule and suffered loss of reputation and standing in the community, all of which caused them humiliation, embarrassment, hurt feel ings, mental anguish and suffering."

House haz ardous waste col lection to be held this Sat urday in county

Need to get rid of old paint, batteries, chemicals and any other househld hazarouds waste?

That waste will be col lected Saturday, June 21 be tween 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., rain or shine, at the Alturas Transfer Station, the Cedarville Fair grounds and the Newell School Parking Lot. The event is funded through a grant awarded to Modoc County by the Califor nia Inte grated Waste Man age ment Board.

Business waste and explo sives, infectious waste, ra dioac tive materials, PCB's and compressed gas cylin ders will not be ac cepted at the event. The Public Works or En viron mental Health De partment should be contacted for informa tion about prop erly dis posing of these mate rials. Proper dis posal of these chemicals is very important. For ex ample, one quart of oil dumped on the ground can contaminate up to 250,000 gal lons of wa ter.

Modoc County Environ mental Health Di rector, Greg Farnam, has this advice for res idents who are consider ing disposing of household haz ardous wastes down the drain: "Chemicals should not be dumped down the drain- espe cially if your home is served by a septic tank treatment and disposal system. These systems do not treat chemicals and are only intended to render pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protozoa non-infectious. Dis posal of chemicals into your system could cause pollution of the ground water and envi ron ment, increase septic tank pumping fre quency and shorten the life of your sys tem. Moderate, necessary house hold chemical use should not affect your sys tem."

California Integrated Waste Manage ment Board Chair man Daniel G. Pen ning ton said "It is gratifying to see that a grant from the Integrated Waste Manage ment Board is al lowing Modoc County to give its citi zens the opportunity to prop erly manage their household hazardous wastes. Each year events like this keep nearly 20 million pounds of household hazardous wastes from enter ing our landfills."

New MHS Principal goes to headhunter

At the request of Sean Curtis, Drennan addressed those assembled at Tuesday's Modoc Joint Unified School District meeting about the search for a new princi pal. He said that the District has engaged the ser vices of a "head-hunter" from the Small School Dis tricts As sociation and is also advertis ing the position out-of-state. One of the parents pre sent at the meeting asked the cost of the head-hunter and Drennan said it was about $3,000.

Board President Bill Hall stated, "There are a lot of ad ministrators and vice-princi pals who haven't fully though about going after a principal position."

He went on to point out the MJUSD's re cruiting practices might bring some of those peo ple into the application process and bring someone to Modoc "that might be a good match for our district."

Record sports summaries, June 26, 1997

 

¥ 3-on-3 hoop tourney sign ups ends

¥ Little League hosts tournament

¥ Cheerful camp a big help

¥ Get into the swim of things

Time's running out for 3-3 team sign-ups - - do it now or just watch

Basketball players interested in compet ing in the Modoc three-on-three tournament July 5 in Alturas must get regis tered by July 1.

The tournament is scheduled July 5 in the Griswold Gym, following the Fandango Parade and the Great Pit River Duck Race. Play will start around 2:30 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the Modoc Record, Pizza and Pasta Place and Coast to Coast. Proceeds from the event will go to the Modoc High School basketball program.

There is a $30 entry fee per team, and teams may have four players. Three players will be on the court and sub stitu tions will be allowed during dead balls. Sponsors are avail able for teams.

The event is open for basketball players ele mentary school age through adult. There are divisions for male and female players.

The age groups for the tourney are as fol lows: grades 1-3; grades 4-5; grades 6-8; grades 9-10; grades 11-12; and an open divi sion.

Younger players can move up a division, but older play ers cannot move down.

The winning team in each division will receive half the division entry fee, plus win ning t-shirts.

Games will be seven minute or longer running halves with one minute halftime. There will be a five minute warm up pe riod. Younger teams will have referees, older teams will call their own fouls until the final games.

For more information contact Rick Holloway at the Modoc Record, 233-2632. Fill out and mail in the entry form in this week's Record or call for registration forms.

Modoc Little League to host District tournament

Modoc County Little League has concluded local play and is now preparing five All-Star teams for com petition in the District 48 tournaments.

The local major league baseball All-Stars will play in McArthur with their first game on July 8 against the winner of the Burney -Intermountain game. This team is coached by Bill Farmer whose U.S. Bank team won the league title.

Both the major and senior softball All-Star teams will play in Burney. Both teams will play their first game against Feather River. The senior softball team, coached by Ron's Keith Jacques, will play on July 10 at 5:00 p.m.

The majors softball team is being coached by Rotary's Jeff Wingate and Ed Harris, with their first game on July 11 at 5:30 p.m.

Modoc Little League is hosting the senior and ju nior baseball tournaments. The tournament begins July 7 with Modoc playing Inter mountain at 5:00 p.m. Mod oc's junior baseball team will play July 12 at 11:00 a.m. against Susanville. The Senior team is coached by Bethel's David Duncan and Brad Server. The Ju nior team is coached by Hol iday Market's Ernie Givan and Craig Miller.

The public is invited to attend the local tourna ments. There will be at least 16 games throughout the week, with eight senior teams and two junior teams competing for the right to ad vance to sectional play.

Modoc Little League would not be possible without community and individual support. The Modoc Little League board of directors thank all those who helped make the season fun and successful for the children.

Cheer Camp training offers fresh season

The cheers rang outside the Griswold Gym at Modoc High, Monday through Wednesday, while inside, Modoc and Burney High School Junior Varsity and Varsity cheerleaders participated in a pri vate cheer camp.

Three instructors from Universal Cheer and Universal Dance came to teach new cheers and dances for the upcoming season performances.

It used to be that Modoc cheerleaders had to travel long distances to attend resident camps. But, last year Burney High hosted a private camp with Modoc attending and this year, it was Modoc's turn to host the camp with Burney attending.

"A private camp like this gives all the girls so much more individual instruc tion. It works out especially well," shared MHS Cheer Advisor VeeAnn Ambers dur ing Wednesday morning's instruction.

The cheerleaders took to the floor while Liz Langford, the Universal Cheer in structor, led them through new move ments. Langford attends University of Oregon and works with Universal during the summer.

"Next year, Burney will host the private camp with Modoc attending. We'll alter nate each year," explained Ambers who will be assisted by parent volunteers dur ing the cheering season.

"MHS Cheer" Varsity cheerleaders are Erica Ambers, Malia Alvarez, Melanie Britton, Courtney George, Amber Knauss, Gretchen Jenkins. "MHS Cheer" Junior Varsity cheerleaders this season include Barbara Carrol, Lindsay Lieurance, Jen nelle Jacques, Amberlee Privett, Tara Northrup and Liz Eatmon. All participated in the camp.

The camp has been funded through local business and individual contributions. In return, the cheerleaders will decorate win dows for Homecoming '97 this fall, at the contributing businesses.

Swim into shape or for fun this summer

Get into the swim of things with an aquacise class or swimming lessons at the J.P. McHugh Alturas Swimming Pool this summer.

Registration is now being taken for swimming lesson sessions, for any age per son. Cost is $20 without a season pass; or $15 with a season pass.

Two sessions are offered: July 14 - 25, Monday through Friday, offered at three dif ferent times: 9:00-9:45 a.m.; 10:00-10:45 a.m. or 5:45 p.m.- 6:30 p.m.

The final swimming lesson session will be offered July 28 - August 8, Monday through Friday, with classes from 9:00 - 9:45 a.m. or 5:45 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

All interested are welcome to join the Aquacise class at any time. Cost is $25 for the entire summer. Aquacise is offered Monday through Friday from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. with in structor Eleanor Dorton.

Monday through Friday Lap Swim is from 12:00 -1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Open Swim runs 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, Lap Swim only, 12:00 -1:00 p.m. Open Swim, 1:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Season passes for 10 years and under, $40; 11 years and above, $50; Family (immediate), $65.

General admission, 10 years and un der, $1.50; 11 years and above, $2.00.

For group rates and pool rental or more in formation contact Eleanor Dorton, pool man ager, 530-233-429.

 

JULY NEWS

 

Record Sports Summaries for July 3 edition

¥ Modoc elk an opportunity or threat?

¥ Elk, ground water on Land Use agenda

¥ Celebrate the Fourth of July with Us

¥ 3,000 rubber ducks out to race

¥ Thena fined for logging violations

The forecast: Weather for the 4th of July weekend looks good. Mostly clear on Friday with party cloudy skies on Saturday predicted. Look for sunny skies to return Sunday. Highs should be in the 80s and lows in the 40s.

Modoc Elk seen as good to some, threat to others

Rocky Mountain Elk are coming to Modoc County. For the past few years sight ings of elk have increased and there is also an increase in the numbers of animals re ported in those sightings.

Having more elk around can be an opportunity or a threat, depending upon one's point of view. Last Saturday, over 60 people interested in elk-ef fects got together to spend the whole day discussing issues and trying to find solutions that will make everyone happy.

The day was sponsored by the Modoc Working Elk Group. The "Group" has brought together a variety of interests including ranchers, hunters, the Pit River Tribe, the U. S. Forest Service and the California Dept. of Fish and Game. The goal of the elk Group is to address issues before they become problems and let everyone have their views be heard and hopefully, respected. The Group has also received a $10,000 grant from a national organization called "Seeking Common Ground" which has also des ignated the Elk Group as the only demonstration group in California.

There are a wide variety of issues to consider. For exam ple, what is the best way to deal with the problem of elk tear ing down fences on ranches and public lands? When should a hunt be started and how big should it be? Are elk coming down to Modoc County from Oregon because there is an elk hunt in Oregon? What effect will elk have on the deer population? How should pub lic grazing lands be divided between elk, deer and cattle? Can humans effectively con trol or predict the way a herd of 50 elk, some weighing over 700 pounds, will act?

On Saturday, U. S. Forest Service wildlife biologist Tom Ratcliff led the Group on a tour that included three stops in Fandango Valley and one stop in Little Bear Valley be fore having everyone head back to Davis Creek for a bar becue (elk burgers of course!) sponsored by the Farm Bureau and the Cattleman's Associa tion and served by the Davis Creek Women's Auxiliary. At each of the stops and after the barbecue, discussions were conducted covering a variety of concerns. Among the participants was a repre sentative of the Rocky Moun tain Elk Foundation and hunters from as far away as Reno.

Ratcliff explained to the Group that there seem to be three groups of elk in Modoc County. The largest group is in the Fandango Valley area, and the majority of those elk seen to use the area in the winter. This may be the newest Rocky Mountain Elk herd in California. Elk herds of up to 30 have also been spot ted on the west-side of Goose Lake and just north of Look out.

Everyone was generally civil in the discussions, but it is clear that there are differ ing opinions on certain is sues. When the discussion during the second stop of the tour started to become a bit heated, Tim Burton of the Cal ifornia Department of Fish and Game turned to rancher Herb Jasper and joked, "It only took two stops."

The good news is that both of them were able to laugh to gether about it.

While it appears that ev eryone wants to make every one else happy, one of the prob lems in all of this may be a time factor. Those on the wildlife side say that time is needed to appropriately ad dress these issues while ranchers are saying that they are already having to deal with problems.

"The problem is now, not when the herd doubles," Jasper said. "When you start affecting the livelihood of peo ple in the area, then the prob lem is now.

"I don't like the approach of, 'We don't know.' We've got to come up with something here pretty soon."

Jasper and other ranchers also said that they feel that if the general public of Modoc County wants to have elk, the ranchers alone shouldn't be asked to pay for the damage the elk cause.

On the other hand, a scien tist like Ratcliff would prefer to get more data in order to make educated decisions about managing the herd. His last comment of the day to the elk Group was, "There were many times today where we didn't give you a quick answer.

"If we as an agency make too many front-end decisions. . . we may end up hitting the wrong target."

Earlier in the day, Ratcliff was candid in stating, "We don't have the foggiest ideas" of the number of elk in Modoc County and, "We have had some very big questions posed to us that we can't answer at all."

The differing view on the timeline for dealing with elk issues was illustrated in a discussion between Rick Delmas, farm advisor from the University of California and Burton, a wildlife biologist.

"I've never seen them (the USFS and BLM) bring these herds down," Delmas said. "You've got a problem now. We know from past experi ence that we're on a collision course."

Burton said he disagreed with that assessment and pointed out that these problems are being dealt with all over the country all of the time. He said that problems can be taken care of individually until enough information has been obtained to start making some of the big decisions.

"To say that it is a problem now is really kind of biasing the process," Burton said. "I think it's an opportunity. Right now we can help people with problems.

"Let's not let this cloud what this process is about. I don't want to see a perimeter fence or choice problem get blown out of proportion. Let's not get excited about incidents that are easily resolved."

Pit River Tribal Chairman Lawrence Cantrell reminded everyone of what may be the "ultimate" solution if the Elk Group can't work things out - frustrated ranchers shooting elk that come on their prop erty.

It should be pointed out that there are no ranchers in the Elk Group who have advo cated this or even suggested that it might happen in the fu ture. Nevertheless, Cantrell pointed out that there used to be a sizable elk population over near Shasta Lake. When the elk began causing damage and the ranchers felt they had "no alternative," they began shooting the elk, causing them to leave the area. Cantrell said the herd near Lookout may well be elk that journeyed from Shasta Lake.

"Bottom line, everybody'll take care of their own," Cantrell said.

Everyone seemed to agree that the purpose of the Elk Group is to make sure that out come is avoided.

At the stop in Little Bear Valley, Prescott College (Arizona) students Taylor McKinnon and Aaron Di Orio shared some of their ini tial findings from a study of what areas the elk are using. From their study of pellet groups, the preliminary indi cation is that elk like "edge" areas that feature meadows with big sage for feeding right next to forest areas where the elk can bed down.

After the barbecue, Nancy Gardner of the Elk Group led a discussion identifying threats and opportunities that may arise from having elk in Modoc County. In making the two different lists, it soon be came apparent that one per son's threat may be another's opportunity and vice versa. It all depends on your point of view.

Elk, groundwater on Land Use meeting agenda set July 9

A discussion concerning the Modoc Elk herds, the county's involvement in managing groundwater and gov ernment agency acquisition of private land are on the Modoc County Land Use Committee's meeting July 9, 1:30 p.m. at the Farm Advisors Conference Room on Fourth Street.

The Land Use Committee meeting is open to the public and the public is encouraged to attend. Additionally, said Sean Curtis, the public is asked to bring the land use com mittee items that it feels the committee should consider or study. The committee is a formal committee set up to study and advise the Modoc County Board of Supervisors on local land use issues. It's important to note that it is not set up only to protect agricultural interests in the county, but also deals with a variety of other issues including recreation, wildlife, economic and environmental.

Also on the agenda is a report on the annual report of the California Department of Fish and Game meeting, as re quired under the county and DFG's Memorandum of Understanding.

That discussion includes items concerning Ash Creek Management Plan, release of surplus land, the Surprise Valley Squirrel Hunt and wildlife habitat maps.

A major item of the agenda is discussion centering around government acquisition of private land with spe cial emphasis on third party acquisitions -- those, for ex ample by the Trust for Public Lands or Land Conservancy,. Those non-profit organizations purchase lands and then transfer them to government agencies such as the refuge.

Also on the agenda is the acquisition of about 300 acres of land north of the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge which is earmarked for donation to the refuge.

The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday di rected the Land Use Committee to get more involved the lo cal ground water management ordinance and bring about some specific language. The board also directed the com mittee to look into the BLM land exchanges in Western Nevada.

The committee will also discus the Draft Integrated Pest Management Plan for the leased lands in the Tulelake area. The plan has caused major concerns with farmers in the Tulelake area.

According to Curtis, one of the goals if the committee is to inform the public and make the public more comfortable and familiar with the processes involving land use issues.

Celebrate Fandango with line-up of events

Ticket holders may be singing, "rubber ducky, you're the one," with great hopes, when it comes time for the Great Pit River Duck Race Saturday, July 5 in Alturas and the many prizes that will be awarded.

Independence Day will be celebrated in all its glory Sat urday, July 5, with the an nual Fandango Day Cele bration in Alturas.

A full day of old-fash ioned fun for all ages is planned. It's a time for re unions and visits in the park, as many who have been away from Modoc, re turn for the weekend festivi ties.

Crowds will line Main Street Saturday to watch the Fan dango Parade starting from Plumas Bank to Veter ans' Park at 11:00 a.m.

Parade entry judging will begin at 9:30 a.m. sharp. Last minute parade entries will not be judged. Pick up an entry form or contact the Alturas Chamber to enter a parade cate gory. Entries are due back into the Cham ber office no later than 5:30 p.m. today, July 3.

The local Honor Guard will lead the parade with Grand Marshal Mary Flournoy of Likely and Lit tle Mr. and Miss Fandango, Justin Derner, 4, and Bre anna Fogerty, 5.

Bill Tierney will an nounce the candidates for the Modoc Fair Queen contest as they ride in the pa rade and include Nicole Robinett, 17, of Cedarville; Stacy Cook,16, of Cedarville; Laurie Nel son, 16, of Adin and Andrea Colesworthy,16, of Alturas. The young campers at the Wood 'n Peg Ranch with camp director Peg Woodrich will return with an animal petting zoo at the Veterans' Park after the parade. Kla math Falls 'Tin Lizzies,' miniature motor ized vehi cles, will drive the parade route while the Modoc High School Concert Band, under the direction of Karen Siegel, brings the music and rhythm to keep toes tapping.

Themed to coincide with California's 150th birthday - anything goes for the "Sesquicentennial" parade.

Once the parade makes it to Veterans' Park, festivities will open with food from In dian Tacos to Federated Church's Hamburger booth and VFW Auxiliary Baked Potatoes with toppings, ice cold watermelon by the slice and much more.

The Alturas Lions Club will be helped this year by the Alturas Elks Lodge to put on the annual pit-barbecued beef meal on the patio tables, serving the public from 12:00 noon - 5:00 p.m. for $6 for adults; $4 for children.

Soldiers of the Cross, the South Fork Assembly of God in Likely Youth Group will organize free old fashioned games for kids of all ages. Games such as bean bag toss, clothes pin fishing, three-legged races, sack races, wheel barrow races, and Chamber-sponsored contests of watermelon eating, seed spitting and pie eating, and a wa ter balloon toss, will be in cluded.

Federated Church will of fer a dime toss game and more are expected to be set in booths around the park.

Parade trophies will be awarded at 1:30 p.m. in the park. Fandango is spon sored by the Alturas Cham ber of Com merce, Alturas Lions Club, Alturas Elks Lodge 1756 and the Modoc County Tobacco Control Pro gram this year. The Great Pit River Duck Race will re lease the 3,000 rubber ducks at 2:00 p.m. to flow down the Pit River to the bridge on Main Street to determine big prize win ners.

The 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, sponsored by the Modoc Record, Pizza & Pasta and Coast to Coast will take place for all age groups following the duck race at approxi mately at 2:30 p.m. in the Modoc High Griswold Gym.

Booths and a flea market will line the park with ev ery thing from crafts to home made jams and jellies from ven dors from Sparks, Nev. and local residents. Music in the park will be provided by local band X3B and the Modoc Clas sic Cruisers Car Show and Shine and draw ing for their GMC '56 pickup will be sta tioned in the park located be hind the Museum.

Modoc High Class of '98 will offer face painting and Modoc Medical Center will hold a drawing for a Llama. The Bookworm will be sell ing books at low prices for all ages. Enter a Horsehoe pitching contest by calling Jim Porter, 233-2739. A ten nis tournament will be ongo ing at the courts on Fourth Street beginning at 4:30 p.m. and continuing Sun day.

The Vet erans' Hall will house a ping pong tourna ment be ginning at noon, July 5. Singles and Doubles begin prac tice at 12:00 with games beginning at 12:30 p.m. Pre-register by calling 233-6230 (evenings).

The evening of July 5 will move to the Modoc County Mu seum for the second an nual "Evening to Remem ber," hosted by the Modoc County Historical Society from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Fireworks, compliments of the California Pines Prop erty Owners Association, will be a gift to all, with the light show over Cal Pines Resort Lake beginning at dark.

For more information call the Alturas Chamber of Com merce, (916) 233-4434 or stop by the Chamber office at 522 So. Main St., Alturas.

Race will send 3,000 rubber duckies down the Pit River

It's all set and Saturday at 2 p.m. the Alturas Rotary Club will dump 3,000 rubber ducks into the Pit River at the Estes Street Bridge to start the second annual Great Pit River Duck Race.

All 3,000 of the racing ducks, at $25 each, were sold as of Tuesday evening, quicker even than last year's duck race.

There are no more ducks available.

The first duck to make it to the finish line at the Main Street Bride will win a new 1997 Chevy 4x4 pickup. There are several other great prizes in the race.

"Boy, we are just tickled," said chief Rotary duck Billy Madison. "I don't know how much better we could have done than we have so far. I am just astounded at the community support."

Congressman Wally Herger will be on hand Saturday to help the Rotary Club snag the winning duck as it goes through the finish line.

All the ducks are placed into a large rotating bin and all are dropped into the river at the same time. The ducks are numbered on the bottom and no-one will know whose duck is the winner until the numbers are matched up at the finish line. No one is allowed to help the ducks move along once they are dropped into the river. It's just pure luck.

Funds raised from the duck races are earmarked for construction of new baseball and soccer fields at the Youth Park in Alturas. With the success of the two races, about $60,000 has been raised to cover what organizers figure will be about a $100,000 project.

Last year the first Duck Race raised over $30,000 for the pro ject and ticket sales for this year's race should near that to tal.

To date, a new parking area has been leveled and grav eled, (and was much ap preciated during the Junior Livestock Show and Sale last week) the area has had the ini tial survey started for a drainage plan, the new main water line has been installed, and the plans are in the works to deep rip the fields, then disk them and have them laser-lev eled. Rotary fully expects the sprinklers to be in and the grass planted this fall.

There are Duck Race souvenirs available at the Alturas Chamber of Commerce Office in Veteran's Park. Those sou venirs include ducks, t-shirts and Frisbees.

Each duck race ticket gets the buyer a yellow racing duck. Those racing ducks are put into a large bin and all dumped at the same time into the Pit River off the Estes Street Bridge . The first ducks to the finish line at the Main Street bridge are the winners. Each duck is numbered with the owner's ticket.

Thena fined for logging violatons

Thena. Inc., was fined a total of $107,600 in Modoc Municipal Court for numerous logging violations in California Pines from late 1994 through February, 1995.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, current president of Thena. Inc.,. James Miller, entered a no contest plea to each of the 575 misde meanor counts concerning violations of the California Public Resources Code and the Forest Practice Rules.

Judge Larry Dier accepted a Misdemeanor Advisement of Rights, Waivers and Plea form from Miller and Wilson Muhlheim, counsel for Thena, Inc. July 2.

Miller was appointed president of the company following a federal raid that shut down Thena and then leader Theodore Combis declared bankruptcy.

Dier pronounced judgment Tuesday and sentencing in the following terms: Thena Inc., was fined $100 per count for a total of $57,500; ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to the victims in the case; and ordered to pay a $100 restitution fine.

Thena remains in bankruptcy proceedings.

Combis, who operated in California Pines and was charged with a variety of crimes, entered guilty pleas to mail fraud and other charges and is expected to serve be tween 51 and 63 months in prison.

Combis, who is accused of stealing $15 million worth of timber from lots in California Pines entered the guilty pleas to avoid a lengthy court case. The federal govern ment, who is prosecuting the case, said it will place the fraud loss at between $800,000 and $1.5 million.

Combis, who resides in Klamath Falls, established Thena Inc. in 1993 and mailed hundreds of letters to California Pines property owners offering to salvage dead and dying timber from their lots. The government said Combis took the dead and dying plus large numbers of healthy, valuable trees from the lots. It's estimated that 7,000 truckloads of logs were hauled from Cal Pines.

The government raided Cal Pines and Combis' busi nesses in Klamath Falls in February, 1995. All of Combis' assets were seized. Thena, Inc. then filed bankruptcy, still owing tens of thousands of dollars to Alturas and Klamath Falls businesses and Cal Pines employees. In total, Thena

owed about $3.4 million to about 500 creditors.

In July, 1996, a federal Grand Jury indicted Combis on 48 counts of mail fraud, interstate transportation of stolen goods, money launder ing, failure to pay payroll taxes, ob struction of justice and tampering with a wit ness. He subse quently was charged with bankruptcy fraud in November, 1996, for trying to hide assets from the bankruptcy court.

 

Record news summaries, edition of July 10

 

¥ Duck Race nets over $30,000 for park

¥ Sierra Pacific forced to go through private land

¥ Buying electricity will be the choice

¥ Miss Modoc competition this week

¥ OIT hosts geothermal seminar

The forecast: Partly cloudy skies on the horizon today with scattered thunderstorms Friday. It goes back to partly cloudy Saturday then sunny and hot on Sunday. Highs through Saturday in the 70s, Sunday to 80s, Monday in the 90s.

Rotary Duck Race adds plenty to Youth Park

The Great Pit River Duck Race appears to have raised over $30,000 this year for construction of new ballparks and soccer fields at the Youth Park in Alturas.

The race, held Saturday on the Pit River from the Estes Street Bridge to the Main Street Bridge as a part of Fandango days, was deemed highly successful by Rotarians. The funds raised this year are combined with about $30,000 raised from last year's first Duck Race.

"We are very pleased with the race and the amount of sup port Saturday," said Rotary's Billy Madison. "There were plenty of spectators and everyone seemed to have a good time."

Crews were working on the Youth Park, between 8th an 4th Street in Alturas this week. The ground was ripped and will be leveled soon. The goal is to have the sprin kler system in and the grass planted by this fall.

While the ducks "swam" a little slower this year, getting hung up on a bend in the river, most of the crowd stayed to the end. Madison said he may have called to shut off the water a little too soon, but the win ning ducks found their way to the finish line where Congressman Wally Herger was waiting to pick them up.

The winner of the 1997 4x4 Chevy pickup was Smoky Andro of California Pines. He was on hand and thanked the Rotary for the new truck as well as for its service to the community.

The 4x4 quad, offered as a prize to Gold Crown Sponsors (those who purchased at least 10 ducks) was won by Bobby Ray of Alturas.

The following were the winners of the other prizes: Re-roofing job, Larry Boulade; Big Buck Fountain, Cliff Grove; 1/2 beef, Dean Neer; live steer, Bob Walton; 18-speed moun tain bike, Harold Rosendahl; Thompson Centerfire Rifle, Bob Walton; weed trimmer, Ray Allen; cell phone, Milo Pepperdine, free muffler, pipe, Blake Williams; two nights Super 8 Motel; load of firewood, Mark Moriarity.

Sierra Pacific forced onto private land

Sierra Pacific Power Com pany plans to seek approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to move a small portion of the route for the Alturas Intertie Pro ject from the Modoc Na tional Forest to privately owned land near Alturas, Calif.

Modoc National Forest Su pervisor Diane Henderson-Bramlette told Sierra Pacific today that her agency will not grant a right of way for the utility to construct a 2.8 mile sec tion of the 345 kilovolt transmission line in the Dev ils Gar den area of the Modoc National Forest west of Al turas. In a letter to Sierra Pa cific, Henderson-Bramlette stated that there are other "en vironmentally acceptable routes that would accomplish your company's purpose. . "

"We believe this decision by the Modoc Forest supervi sor is unsupported by the facts or by the law," said Alturas Pro ject Manager John Owens. "This is not a case of industry requesting permis sion to construct an environ mentally in ferior alterna tive. It is a situation where the Forest Service has rejected the independent judgment of the lead federal and state agen cies that directed the envi ronmental review process to determine the environmen tally preferred route.

"These agencies have al ready designated the envi ron mentally superior alter native that would involve a small and unremarkable amount of land managed by the Modoc National Forest.

"Sierra Pacific has fought hard for permission to build the project with the lease im pact on the environment," Owens said.

"We are now forced to construct Alternative Route Seg ment B on private land. Sierra Pacific will file a re quest with the California Pub lic Utilities Commission for permis sion to build Route Segment B. We intend to work closely with private property owners to compensate them fairly and address their concerns," he added.

Alternate Route B would af fect the first five miles of the transmission line route near Alturas and require construc tion of a substation adjacent to the old lumber mill site off Highway 299 west of Alturas.

Owens said Sierra Pacific will work with the county planning staff to develop a landscaping plan to mini mize the visual impact of the substation.

The Forest Service deci sion does not change the re main ing 131 miles of the transmission line route al ready ap proved in California or the route in Nevada, Owens said. Pending final project approval by the CPUC and the Public Service Commission of Nevada, Sierra Pacific plans to start construction of the power line in the fall of 1997 and to have the project com pleted by late 1998. The Al turas Intertie will provide the northeastern California and northern Nevada area with an additional 300 megawatts of electricity from the Pacific Northwest.

Look for power mar keters soon

Don't be surprised if electric power company marketing representatives start calling in this area to sell power in the very near future as state deregulation kicks in.

According to Pacific Power's Jan Mitchell, the power companies will be trying to sell power by September, or ear lier, and customers will be able to sign up for power suppliers in November. The actual power switch in companies would be on the January bill. The deregulation of the electric in dustry was ordered by Assembly Bill 890

"The bottom line is that customers in Alturas (and all of California) will be able to select a new energy supplier as of November," said Mitchell. "Of course, they could also choose to stay with us. But they will have a choice."

The one choice local users will not have is Surprise Valley Electric. That is unless SVEC opts to market its power along with the rest of the utility companies. To do that however, they would have to open up their customers to other power marketers.

Pacific Power will retain and maintain its distribution system in the area, but does not plan to market its power to current customers. It has proposed to the California Public Utility Commission that it freeze its current rates for the next four years.

Richard Booth, Pacific Power area manager, said he feels the company may lose some power customers and will retain power customers. He stressed that PP&L will retain its local crews at current levels to maintain and respond to problems with the distribution system, poles, lines, etc. PP&L will still be in the power business in this area.

According to Mitchell, once deregulation begins in January, customers will have options on their billing. They could choose to get one bill entirely from the supplier, or one bill entirely from the distributor, or one bill from each the supplier and distributor. It may not be much different from the deregulation of the phone companies.

Mitchell said the power companies will soon start a non-biased public education campaign to inform consumers of what's heading their way. While deregulation sounds a lit tle confusing now, public education will help clear the wa ters. And the CPUC is mandating a public education pro gram.

"If our customers choose to stay with us, they won't see much change," said Mitchell. "We are proposing to freeze our rates at the current level for the next four years." Mitchell explained that PP&L's rates are some of the lowest in the state, especially when compared to the major utilities. PP&L rates she said are still 30 percent lower even after three big three utilities lower rates by the mandated 10 per cent.

Just what happens in the shakedown of competition will be interesting, although not wholly predictable.

With deregulation and utilities being able to sell power over other utilities' distributions systems, the CPUC has made more rigid requirements on the companies who own those distribution facilities. The CPUC, said Mitchell, is en suring that the distribution systems are maintained at very high standards.

Mitchell also said the CPUC is concerned about the in tegrity of the power companies' marketing strategies and will be watching for too many "dinner time" calls and the like.

She said consumers should be ready for the marketing onslaught and pay attention to the education programs that should be hitting the airwaves and print media over the next few months.

Big weekend for naming Miss Modoc

It's time to select a Miss Modoc during the Modoc County Fair Queen Contest on Saturday, July 12 at the Modoc District Fairgrounds in Cedarville.

Three young women will compete in horsemanship, poise, personality and ap pearance as the judges have a difficult decision to make as to who will be Queen and First and Second run ners-up for princess.

The public is welcome to watch the horsemanship competition at 4:00 p.m. with free admis sion. A barbecue will follow at 5:30 p.m., hosted by the Boy Scout Troop No. 48, with tickets $7 per person.

The Queen Contest will be held at 7:00 p.m. along with a fashion show featuring fashions from L&B Ranch Supply and Ardie's Classie Lassie & Calico Cow in the fair ground's dance hall. Judging is based 55 percent on horsemanship and 45 per cent on poise, personality, appearance and personal interview combined.

Three Modoc County resi dents entered include Laurie Nelson of Adin, Nicole Robinett of Cedarville and Stacy Cook of Cedarville.

LAURIE NELSON: Modoc residents may recog nize Laurie Nelson from her summer job at Copp's Cor ner/Texaco in Adin or her many appearances showing her quarterhorse or two Ap paloosas. Nelson will turn 17 on July 20. She stands six feet tall; has light brown hair and brown eyes and is the daughter of Kathie and Alan Nelson of Adin.

The sixteen-year-old will enter her senior year at Big Valley High School this fall, then plans to attend Colorado State University to major in Ag Accounting and Equine Science. "Later I hope to own a horse farm," she confides.

Her interests are many as Nelson names raising horses, training and show ing performance horses, raising and showing a market steer parliamentary procedure, public speaking, working with people reading and student government are among her favorites. Her grandmother owns Nelson's Frosty in Adin and Laurie admits, "I can't cook well enough to work there."

Intermountain Cattle women selected Nelson as the 1997-98 Beef Ambassador and she received the Xerox Award for Humani ties/Social Sciences. She is proud to be a Modoc County 4-H All-Star and being elected Jr. Show Board President.

Nelson attended the FFA National Convention and received the Golden State FFA Degree. She was MHA's Miss Silver Streak Princess at the age of 12 and is a member of numerous associations, among the Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society, California Scholar ship Federation, California Horseshow Association and Providence 4-H Club.

"Modoc is the best county for friendly people, and community pride. I'm proud to live here and would be proud to represent it, as the 1997 Miss Modoc," she states.

Nelson's pageant spon sors are B&V Trucking, Adin and Modoc County Sheriff's Posse.

NICOLE RENEE ROBI NETT, 17, will enter her se nior year at Surprise Valley High School and wants to pursue a college ed ucation to major in Veteri nary Medicine and Animal Sci ence. Her goal is to be come an Animal Health Techni cian.

Robinett, daughter of Di ana Robinett-Prewitt and Chuck Prewitt of Cedarville has brown hair, blue eyes and stands five feet, six inches tall. Robinett has been trained and provides physi cal and communica tion therapy for her father who was injured in an acci dent last year and is recu perat ing.

Her interests range from writing poetry to auto me chanics. She enjoys hunt ing, fishing, riding, helping people in cluding the time she man aged a 120 acre cattle and sheep ranch for an el derly and ill couple. She thrives on ranch work and enjoys meeting and work ing with people.

One of her poems, written when she was 15 years old, is published in the book, Sketches in the Sand.

Her contest sponsors are L& B Ranch Supply in Al turas. " They have been great to me and I owe them a big thanks," offered Robi nett.

STACY LYNNE COOK, 16, blond hair, brown eyes and five feet, five inches tall, is entering her senior year at Surprise Valley High School.

The daughter of Sammy and Wes Cook of Cedarville, she has been competing in horse shows ever since she was five years old.

After high school grad ua tion, she will be a Youth For Understanding ex change student to spend a semester in Argentina studying for eign language. When she returns to the U.S., she plans to attend Cal ifornia State University, Chico.

Cook has excelled in aca demics and sports through volleyball, track and bas ketball and maintains membership in 4-H, Cali fornia Scholarship Federa tion and Junior Cattleman's Association. Last year, she sang the National Anthem for the Modoc County Fair.

She is a life-long resident of Modoc County and is spon sored by Chuck Vermillion's "Huckleberry Does Hay." This summer Cook is help ing with haying and riding on her family's ranch.

OIT to host Geothermal Seminar

The national Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) will co-sponsor a seminar enti tled, "An Introduction to Geothermal Energy and De velopment at Medicine Lake," Tuesday, July 22, and Wednesday, July 23, at Ore gon Institute of Technology.

CalEnergy Co., Inc. and Calpine Corp., companies in volved in exploratory drilling and related environmental issues and the OIT Geo-Heat Center are also co-sponsors.

The two-day seminar is designed as a non-technical introduction for those con cerned with geothermal de velopment, especially in the Medicine Lake region.

According to Professor John Lund of the OIT Geo-Heat Center, the seminar will be "an invaluable primer for planners, technical staff and mangers with city, state and federal government agencies, as well as the general public."

Seminar topics and speak ers include: "The Nature of Geothermal Resources, Ex ploration Strategies and Techniques," Joe Moore, University of Utah Energy & Geoscience Institute; "Drilling and Completion of High Temperature Wells," Bill Livesay, Livesay Consul tants; "Testing and Reser voir Engineering and Field Development;" Jim Lovekin, GeothermEx, Inc.; "Power Plant Selection and Design," Richard Campbell, the Holt Company; "Direct-Use of Non-Electric Geothermal Re sources," John Lund, OIT Geo-Heat Center.

Other scheduled presenters are: Randy Sharp, Modoc National Forest and Ed Mer rihew, Calpine Corp., "De scription of Proposed Geothermal Development at Medicine Lake."

Seminar participants will also have the opportunity to visit Medicine Lake power plant sites on July 23. Cost for the seminar is $50.

To register, or for addi tional information, contact the Geo-Heat Center at 541-885-1750. Registration forms are also available on the worldwide web at <www.oit.edu>

 

Record News Summaries for July 17 issue

¥ Modoc wants time for powerline comment

¥ MJUSD denies wrongdoing in taping

¥ Top lawmen pay visit to Modoc

¥ Adin plans a big party

¥ Family law gets some real help

The forecast: Several scattered thundershowers are in the forecast today with highs cooling to 78. The same forecast holds for Friday with partly cloudy predicted for Saturday and Sunday with highs in the upper 70s.

Representing Modoc MISS MODOC STACY COOK, 16, (center) was crowned Saturday night and will travel to area fairs representing Modoc County with Princesses (right) Laurie Nelson, 17, of Adin and Nicole Robinett, (left), 17. Cook is the daughter of Wes and Sammy Cook of Cedarville. Nelson is the daughter of Kathie and Alan Nelson of Adin; Robinett is the daughter of Diana Robinett-Prewitt and Chuck Prewitt of Cedarville. Each received a gift certificate to purchase a touring outfit and a silver buckle. Miss Modoc also received a savings bond. The trio will be conduct ing fund-raisers to help with their travel expenses. They are planning to hold prize drawings to help cover their expenses for the coming year-long term. Modoc County Tobacco Control helped sponsor this year's Queen contest and prizes.

 

County wants time for views on the Intertie

Modoc County Supervisors Tuesday agreed with some lo cal landowners to request an extension of the comment pe riod on Sierra Pacific Power Company's forced change to Route B for the Alturas Intertie project.

Sierra Pacific is seeking approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to move a small por tion of the route for the Intertie Pro ject from the Modoc Na tional Forest to privately owned land near Alturas, Calif.

The route B alignment moves the line to an area near the golf course, it would run west past the Auction Yard then turn south.

That decision came after Modoc National Forest Su pervisor Diane Henderson-Bramlette told the company that she would not approve a per mit to construct a 2.8 mile sec tion of the 345 kilovolt transmission line on the Dev ils Gar den area of the Modoc National Forest west of Al turas.

In effect, Henderson-Bramlette stated that Sierra Pacific had other routes available, on pri vate land, that would be acceptable.

Mike Maxwell, Modoc County Administrative Services Officer, said the county was not pleased with the Forest Service de cision, which went con trary to a Board of Supervisors' position statement sent to the Forest. The Board, he said, is now dealing with the issue.

Alturas Mayor John Hagerman, speaking for himself, said he was very displeased with the Forest

Service decision and would be working on the issue with the city council.

Alturas Intertie Pro ject Manager John Owens stressed last week that the company did not want to move the power line onto private land, but the Forest Service's decision leaves them little choice. Owens has said the company will not abandon the project.

"Sierra Pacific has fought hard for permission to build the project with the lease im pact on the environment," Owens said. "We are now forced to construct Alternative Route Seg ment B on private land. Sierra Pacific will file a re quest with the California Pub lic Utilities Commission for permis sion to build Route Segment B. We intend to work closely with private property owners to compensate them fairly and address their concerns," he added.

Alternate Route B would af fect the first five miles of the transmission line route near Alturas and require construc tion of a substation adjacent to the old lumber mill site off Highway 299 west of Alturas.

Owens said Sierra Pacific will work with the county planning staff to develop a landscaping plan to mini mize the visual impact of the substation.

The Forest Service deci sion does not change the re main ing 131 miles of the transmission line route al ready ap proved in California or the route in Nevada, Owens said. Pending final project approval by the CPUC and the Public Service Commission of Nevada, Sierra Pacific plans to start construction of the power line in the fall of 1997 and to have the project com pleted by late 1998. The Al turas Intertie will provide the northeastern California and northern Nevada area with an additional 300 megawatts of electricity from the Pacific Northwest.

MJUSD claims no liability in locker video tape case

The Modoc Joint Unified School District (MJUSD) has taken the position that it is not liable in the locker-room videotape lawsuit that has been filed in Modoc County Supe rior Court.

The five plaintiffs in the suit are teenage girls who were surreptitiously video taped while showering and changing clothes in a locker-room at Modoc High School. They have named MJUSD as a defendant in their suit charging that the District was negligent in allowing this to happen on school grounds. The girls have also brought suit against the teenage males that they allege set up the video camera in the locker-room to make the tape as well as those who were later involved in making copies of the tope and distributing it in the commu nity.

The School District has re quested a de murrer for fail ure to state a claim. Under this procedure, MJUSD is ar guing that even if all of the plaintiffs claims are true, there is noth ing in those claims that would make the District legally re sponsible for any dam ages. Therefore, the court should dismiss the claim against MJUSD.

MJUSD attorneys Dennis Halkides and John Kelley of Redding argue in their docu ment that California cases and statutes re quire that it must have been reasonably fore see able for the District to have known that the videotap ing would occur. MJUSD did not have a duty to protect against some thing it did not know, or have reason to know, would hap pen.

MJUSD cites the case of Leger v. Stockton Unified School District which is factu ally similar to the present case. In Leger, a wrestler was assaulted while changing in a school bathroom and then sued the school district. The MJUSD doc ument quotes the California Court of Appeals in that case, which stated:

"Neither schools nor their restrooms are dangerous places per se. Students are not at risk merely because they are at school. A contrary con clusion would 'require virtu ally round the clock supervi sion or prison-tight security for school premises."

The District has also made a motion to strike the plain tiffs' claim that MJUSD acted maliciously and the plain tiffs' claim against the Dis trict for punitive damages. The District states that claims for punitive damages cannot be made against a public en tity under California statu tory law.

The plaintiffs have filed a response to MJUSD's request for a demurrer. The plain tiffs' argument focuses on the rules for when a demurrer should be granted and con cludes that this is not a case where it should be. The plaintiffs' response also states that, at this point in the case, the failure to specifi cally state how the Dis trict knew or should have known about the videotaping is only "minor technically."

MJUSD then filed a reply to the plaintiffs' response which restates many of the positions in their original request for the demurrer.

The plaintiffs have also filed an amended complaint in the action. The original com plaint named four teenage males as defen dants. The amended complaint has in creased that number to seven.

The plaintiffs have also now given exact figures for the damages they are seek ing. Each one of the group of five is seeking com pensatory damages of $50,000 and puni tive damages of $150,000. The punitive damages are only be ing sought against the seven indi vidual defendants and not the School Dis trict. If those totals were granted to all five plain tiffs, the total dam ages would reach $1,000,000. The plain tiffs have also stated that their medical damages are still un known at this point, so the total figure could be even higher.

Of the seven individual de fendants, only one has filed an answer to the plaintiffs' complaint and he has denied all of the allega tions against him.

Top lawmen show up in Alturas

Modoc County seemed to be the capitol of the California legal world for two days last week with back-to-back visits by Attorney General Dan Lungren and the Honorable Ronald George, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.

On Thursday, Justice George visited with local judges John Baker and Wayne Dier at the Modoc County Courthouse before at tending a luncheon at Lyn ne's Deli.

Lungren had two reasons for visiting Modoc on Wednesday. He is visiting all 58 county district attorneys and sheriffs (as he did during his first term at A. G.), but the Republican is also doing some grass-roots work for his run for Governor next year.

In both instances, Lungren said, "I need to find out what's important for each county and I find that if I meet with them on their own turf they're more likely to tell me."

Lungren said that he will sometimes ask legislators, "Have you ever been to Modoc County?" if they are taking a "one-size fits all" to pro grams that will affect the en tire state.

Lungren was also letting people know about the new Megan's Law CD-ROM direc tory 64,000 sex offenders in California (see related story) and hi support of the 10-20-life measure that is currently be fore the Senate Public Safety Committee. The bill would add 10 years to the sentence of anyone who uses a firearm during the commission of certain felonies. If the gun is fired, 20 years gets added. If the victim is wounded, it's an automatic 25-to-life.

On Wednesday, Lungren said the bill had passed the committee by a 5-1 vote. He said he felt that if it got onto the floor of the Senate it would be passed and the governor would sign it.

After meeting with Lun gren, Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix and district Attor ney Hugh Comiskey ex pressed admiration for Lun gren as A. G. and "unequivo cal" support for him in his run for governor.

"He's the best thing to come along for California since Ronald Reagan," Mix said.

Comiskey stated, "Had it not been for him, we wouldn't have had the successes we've had here in my three years in office.

Adin Summer Festival brings out fun, talents

Among the many activi ties during the Adin Sum mer Festival, the fifth an nual Quilt Show and Craft Bazaar will be displayed at the Big Valley Primary School Gym on Saturday, July 26 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Many quilts will be dis played and quilting demon strations are also planned. Craft table space may be re served for $15 and a drawing for quilting supply prizes will be part of the fun.

The quilt show is a benefit to help with the operation and maintenance expenses for the Big Valley Community Swimming Pool. All pro ceeds will be given to assist with the pool.

Quilt show admission is a $2 donation for adult and $1 for children. Children un der age 12 must be accompa nied and supervised by an adult.

To reserve craft table space, display a quilt in the show or volunteer quilting demonstration talents, please call Michelle at 299-3342 or Kelly at 299-3506 for more information.

The Adin Summer Festi val will also include a weekend Co-Ed Softball Tournament, a beef barbecue hosted by the VFW from noon - 7 p.m. on July 26; a dance Saturday night. Sun day, July 27 the Horse Show at Double E Ranch will reg ister participants at 7 a.m. with the show starting at 8 a.m. A parade, crafts, a pool tournament and more activi ties are planned for the pub lic. Call Becky at 299-3426 for Festival info, or Shari, 294-5814 or 299-3351 for soft ball tournament informa tion.

New Family Law Facilitator takes over in Modoc

The state mandated that each county have a Family Law Facilitator on board, and unlike many other such mandates, the state also sent the money to fund the position.

Modoc Superior Court Judge John Baker said several qualified candidates, who had to be attorneys, applied for the position. He hired Tom Buckwalter, an attorney from Susanville, for the position and Buckwalter started the job this month.

Basically, the Family Law Facilitator will be able to deal with most family law matters, including divorces, domestic violence, child abuse, restraining orders, child and spousal support, determining parentage, etc.

Buckwalter said it's impor tant to note that he can help fill out the paperwork, outline the procedures, advise people rep resenting themselves and help mediate differences. The one thing he can't do is be an advocate in court family law or take sides.

Buckwalter comes with good credentials. He began his law practice in civil law in the Los Angeles area in 1968-69, then moved to the Humboldt County Public Defender's Office in 1969, when he later met John Baker, who also worked at that office.

He served in the Public Defender's Office in Santa Barbara from 1971 through 1980 when he moved to Quincy to set up a private practice. In October, 1986, he became Plumas County District Attorney and served until 1991 when he opened his private law practice in Susanville. While the Plumas County DA, he said he did all the Child Protective Services cases, moving Plumas County from a state rank ing of 55 (out of 58 counties) up to a ranking of three by the time he left.

Individuals who contact the county for family law mat ters and pick up the necessary paperwork will receive in formation and a contact number for Buckwalter. There is no charge for his Family Law Facilitator services.

His office is at 208 North Court and the phone number is 233-1158. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Buckwalter may also engage in private law practice, ex cept in the private practice of family law. The position is on a one-year contract basis, renewable upon mutual agreement. Buckwalter is not a county employee and will be paid what was allocated to the Superior Court by the Judicial Council and Department of Social Services, $48,720.

Buckwalter's wife of 43 years, Katy, serves as his secretary and he has two grown daughters and a nine-year-old granddaughter.

Record News Summaries July 24, 1997 issue

¥ MJUSD on way to new principal

¥ Medicine Lake power plant has impacts

¥ Baxter Black comes to Modoc Fair

¥ Work starts on city streets

¥ Impasse declared in hospital negotiations

MJUSD to interview prin cipal candidates

Modoc High School could have a new principal by Au gust 1.

Modoc Joint Unified School District (MJUSD) Superin tendent Craig Drennan stated that the headhunter hired by the District to aid in finding a principal provided names of approximately 20 candidates to consider. Applications and information where sent to those people.

Six candidates have re sponded and sent in their ap plications after the District imposed a deadline of July 19 for receiving applications. Drennan stated that the citi zens' Committee was sched uled to review those six appli cations yesterday and made recommendations to the School Board which was scheduled to meet on Wednesday night.

Drennan said that if inter views and background checks could be arranged in a timely manner, a new principal could be named as early as next week.

In other MJUSD news:

Motion denied: The Dis trict's motion for a demurrer in the videotaping lawsuit has been denied by Judge John Baker of the Modoc Superior Court.

The District was sued for negligence by five teenage females who were unknow ingly videotaped in a locker-room at MHS. The District has asked that the case against it be dismissed be cause the plaintiffs had failed to properly plead that it was reasonably foreseeable for MJUSD to have known that the videotaping would occur.

The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint which appears to have taken care of the problems the District had addressed. After holding a hearing on MJUSD's motion, the case file reads, "Absent a stipulation by counsel, there is nothing before the Court at this time. Motion is moot based on the filing of the first amended complaint."

Funding: Governor pet Wilson has recently proposed to the legislature a $1 billion "middle-class tax cut." Un der the new plan, a family of four making 440,000 per year would receive a $60 tax cut,. while a family making $60,00 would get a $159 break. Fami lies pulling in $80,000 per year would get a $332 cut. A family making $20,000 per year would receive no tax sav ings.

Wilson claims that the tax cut will not harm education funding or the attempt to ex pand class-size reduction into more grade levels. The Asso ciation of California School Administrators (ACSA) begs to differ and is urging people to contact their legislators.

ACSA claims that the pro posal, which will go into effect in 1999, after Wilson leaves office, would result in a reduc tion of $1.8 billion in funding over three years, or a per pupil reduction of $283.

ACSA goes on to state that the tax cut would eliminate the possibility of further class-size reduction in a state that already ranks 41st in the na tion in per pupil spending, or about $1,100 per year below the national average.

A graph sent out by the gov ernors office predicts that spending per pupil will rise from $5,140 per pupil for the coming year to $5,811 in 2001-02. However, the graph does not say whether the figures are in constant dollars or whether they are adjusted for inflation. Assuming an in flation rate of five percent per year, the State would need to be spending $6,247 per pupil in 2001-02 just to stay even with inflation. At three percent the figure would be $5,782 and the State would be just barely ahead of inflation at the pred icated figure of $5,811.

Significant impacts from Medicine Lake steam power plant

Significant visual and noise impacts are possible from a geothermal power plant project proposed near Medicine Lake, one of the area's most popular recreation sites. The Fourmile Hill Geothermal Development Project is being proposed by Calpine Corp., based in San Jose.

The project is getting some opposition from local Native American tribes as the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report has been released for public review and comment.

The plant would produce 49.9 megawatts of electricity us ing hot water from deep wells on Forest Service land. The Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service are accept ing comments on the project through September 16 and public hearings are scheduled in Dorris, Klamath Falls and Yreka.

The meeting in Dorris is August 6, at City Hall; in Klamath Falls at the Shilo Inn, August 6 and in Yreka, August 7 at the Miners Inn Convention Center.

The Fourmile Hill project would be located on the Klamath National Forest about three miles north-northeast of Medicine Lake. The project would mean disturbance of 388.5 acres of land, including 335.8 acres from transmis sion line right-of-way and access roads. Much of the trans mission line would be on Modoc National Forest lands. The power plant would occupy a10-acre site while seven wells would cover about 18 acres. Some 25 acres would be disturbed by pipelines, roads and construction of a new substation.

Another project in the Medicine Lake area called the Telephone Flat project is proposed by CalEnergy in Omaha, Neb., and is in the beginning planning stages.

For the Fourmile Hill project, a 230-kilovolt transmis sion line would run south from the power plant to within a half-mile of Medicine Lake, then east into Modoc County, past the community of Tionesta, finally linking to the Bonneville Power Administration line along Highway 139.

The tallest structure of the plant itself would be about 94 feet, housing the turbines and generators. A cooling tower will be about 70-feet tall.

A decision on whether to allow construction of the plant could come later this year. Calpines states the plant will em ploy 19 people. The company would pay an estimated $1.3 million in property taxes and another $15 to $25 million in royalties to the federal government. One-half of those funds would be returned to the state of California and 40 percent would be distributed to the counties where the power plant and transmission lines are located.

Copies of the DEIS are available at the Modoc National Forest Supervisors' Offices in Yreka and Alturas and at the BLM Alturas Area Resource Office in Alturas.

Written comments should be sent to Randall Sharp, USFS/BLM, 800 W. 12th St., Alturas, Ca., 96101.

Baxter Black Show comes to Modoc County Fair

Modoc - The Last Frontier Fair will be featuring Cowboy Humorist Baxter Black, Au gust 16, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Grandstands. Also, for the crowds entertainment will be up and coming recording artist and actress Charity Allen.

Baxter Black is a unique individual who can shoe a horse, string a barbed wire fence and bang out a Bob Wills classic on his flat-top guitar. He has more hair around his lip than on his head, and his roping skills could use some improvement.

These facts along would make the former livestock veterinarian a fairly typical modern day cowboy if it weren't for one small detail. . .Baxter makes a living as a poet.

Since 1982, Baxter Black has been rhyming his way into the national spotlight, and now stands as the best selling cowboy poet in the world. He's written 12 books (including a rodeo novel), recorded over a dozen audio and video tapes, and achieved notoriety as a syndicated columnist and radio com mentator. From the Tonight Show and PBS to NPR and the NFR, Baxter's wacko verse has been seen and heard by millions. His works are prominently displayed in both big city libraries and small town feed stores.

Yet Black, who still doesn't own a television, fax machine or cellular phone, hasn't changed a thing about his sub ject matter or his delivery. He continues to focus on the day-to-day ups and downs of everyday people who live with livestock and work the land. Driven by a left-handed sense of humor that's been com pared to "Robin Williams in a cowboy hat", Black evokes laughter just by being there.

Baxter's philosophy is sim ple enough, in spite of all the computerized, digitized, high-tech innovations now avail able to mankind, there will always be a need for someone who can "think up stuff".

The businesses sponsoring the Baxter Black performance are Napa Auto Parts, Coast to Coast, Carstens Motors Inc., Modoc Insurance, Holiday Market, Ed Staub & Sons, Plumas Bank, Pioneer Auto Body, K & K Produce, Pizza & Pasta Place from Alturas, and the Surprise Valley Chamber of Commerce, Hempfield's Natural Goods of Surprise Valley and Arreche Enterprises from Cedarville.

Presale tickets are avail able at the Coast to Coast Store in Alturas, Page's Market and the Fair Office in Cedarville. $12 per ticket, 6 years and under are free. Re ceive free gate admission with presale ticket, Saturday, August 16 only. For more in formation call (916) 279-2315 or FAX (916) 279-2555. Visa and Mastercard accepted.

Long-needed repairs to city's long-ignored streets begin

Believe it or not, the repair project for Alturas City streets started this week and will run through most of the summer, with estimated completion in September.

Hutchins Paving and Engineering, Inc. Crews are low ering valves and will start the grinding processes on sched uled streets, followed by the actual paving.

A schedule of the repair project is included in this news paper, and if there are changes in those dates, the Record will try to advise residents early. The contractor has agreed to notify residents 10 days in advance of work.

The schedule shows the dates when the streets will be torn up and paved. Between the dates shown, residents can expect to have access to their homes or businesses impacted. There may be times that people will have to park on a cross street and walk to their home or business or park across the street from their homes or business.

According to Stacy Chase, Director of Public Works, said the contractor will be doing everything possible to keep the streets open and passable at all times, but there will be occa sions when the streets will be closed, especially during paving.

The contractor will be working from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. with occasional work as late as 7 p