Back Issues for 1999
1999
- JANUARY, 1999
Record news for Jan. 7, 1999
- Forest looks for varied comments on project
- DUI arrests dropped in 1998
- Land use committee has several issues
- MPAT murder mystery to benefit the Niles Theater
Obituaries:
- McDonald
- Davidson
- Crum
- Minto
- McKelvy
- Dorn
- Weather: Morning fog clouds the picture for the next few days, with mostly fair weather through Friday. Look for a chance of rain late in the weekend. Lows in the 20s and highs in the 40s.
Modoc Forest looking for varied opinions on project
Officials at the Modoc National Forest are seeking and hoping for a wide variety of opinions during a public meeting Saturday concerning the management direction of the forest.
While the ranching and logging communities are usually well represented at these meetings, the Forest is hoping other interests including environmental and recreational attend.
The Modoc Forest is included within a new management project called the Sierra Nevada Framework for Conservation and Collaboration. The project includes 11 national forests, many of which include the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.
"This is an official scoping meeting and we really do want a well-rounded group of people to attend," said Public Information Officer Nancy Gardner. "These meetings are, and will be, very important to the future of the Modoc Forest. There could be some changes in the way we do things and we certainly want the public to have its say. The public also needs to know what it is we're considering and that's what these meetings are for."
A Notice of Intent has been released out lining some strategies and broad problem areas. The major areas of concern on the Modoc Forest are riparian area management, meadow ecosystems, old forest ecosystems, fire and fuel concerns, aquatic areas and noxious weeds.
"During this meeting, we will be looking into how things are done now and if changes are necessary," said Gardner. "We need to look at practices on the Modoc and need to come to terms that make sense in Modoc. It is very important that our people have their say."
The January 9 meeting will be held in the Forest Service conference room in the office on Highway 299. It will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 4 p.m. with an hour break for lunch.
According to Gardner, the first part of the meeting will be used by Forest staff to show the public what is now being done on the Modoc Forest. Slide shows detailing management practices in riparian areas, old forest and fire and fuel management will be shown. The second half of the meeting will be used to solicit comments and suggestions from the public. Gardner said the public will be broken up into discussion groups in their areas of interest.
"We will be focusing on ecosystem management," said Gardner. "We want to know what local people want and how they feel we can manage to get to those goals. The Modoc plateau is different from much of the Sierra Nevada and while some management practices will work in both areas, some may not make sense to us here."
Several workshops and field trips held in Modoc have been well attended. The January 9 meeting is one more step in the environmental process where proposed alternatives can be discussed and examined. There is also an opportunity to pro pose new alternatives. Forest Service specialists will be on hand to answer questions or provide more detail on projects.
For more information contact Robert Haggard or Gardner, Modoc National Forest, 800 West 12th Street, Alturas. Haggard can be reached at 530-233-8840 and Gardner at 530-233-8713.
Drunk driving arrests went down for 1998
Drunk driving arrests were down for 1998, and local officers believe drivers are becoming more aware of the ramifications of a Driving Under the Influence ticket.
According to Alturas Chief of Police Larry Pickett, the city arrested only 13 drunk drivers for the year, a marked downturn from previous years.
"I think people are being more cautious and just aren't drinking and driving as much," he said. "If they are out and drink too much, they're having someone else take them home or they're taking a designated driver with them. People are just more responsible."
According to the California Highway Patrol, their DUI arrests were also down. They made 56 DUI arrests through November, 1998. In 1997 the CHP arrested 63, which was up from 1996 when 41 arrests were made.
Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix said his office was com piling the annual report and didn't have figures at hand. He did say there was a decrease in DUI activity.
"I think people are just acting more responsibly," said Mix. "For some it's a financial incentive (DUI tickets are very expensive) and to others it's a moral choice. For what ever reason, more people are choosing designated drivers or are not drinking as much. They are making good choices."
Pickett and Mix both said drinking is not as socially acceptable as it was in the past and the efforts of Mother's Against Drunk Driving and increased enforcement has had an impact.
Land Use Committee begins new year with issues to discuss
Modoc Land Use Committee will gather for its first meeting of the new year with several "significant issues to discuss," offers Committee member Sean Curtis.
If interested in becoming a part of the Land Use Commit tee or sharing thoughts on the issues to be discussed, plan to attend the Wednesday, January 13 meeting in the Farm Advisor's Conference Room, Fourth Street, Alturas at 1:30 p.m.
Those four issues to be addressed include Reviewing the County's alternative under the Sierra Nevada Conservation Planning effort; reviewing the draft Elk Plan; establishing the role the county will play in the Warner Mountain Grazing Planning effort and considering appointments for several of the 25 seats on the committee. Term appointments are for four years and this will be the first official year, since the group formed by ordinance in 1995, to once again make recommendations to the Board of Super visors as to volunteers who will fill the vacancies in areas of their expertise.
For further information please contact Land Use Secretary Carolyn Carey at 233-2517.
Meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month at the Farm Advisor's Office at 1:30 p.m. Public welcome.
Cantrall will lead board into new year
Supervisor Pat Cantrall of Likely was elected Chairperson of the Board at Tuesday's meeting of the Modoc County Board of Supervisors. She will grasp the gavel through 1999.
Nancy Huffman, of the Newell area, was elected as vice-chairperson of the board for the coming year.
Supervisor Terry Williams, of Surprise Valley, was officially seated and took the place of outgoing supervisor Ben Zandstra. Joe Colt and Ron McIntyre make up the remainder of the board.
The board also accepted the resignation of Modoc County Librarian Godelieve Uyttenhove, effective February 1. She has taken the Librarian position in Fort Bragg. The county will start the search for a replacement.
MPAT wants to keep cold out of Niles with mystery play: Murder Backstage
Modoc Performing Arts Theater wants to help keep the Niles Theater warm, and most importantly, open.
MPAT and Alturas Community Theater, ACT, are presenting Murder Backstage, an original play written by Alturas' Karen Hays. The play will be performed one time only, January 16, 8 p.m. with all tickets $10 each. The proceeds from the play will go into a fund to help offset the theater's heating bills.
"This is our playhouse and we want to help keep it afloat," said Hays. "So, come and help the 'cause' and add to the contribution to keep the theater open and running. This is important and necessary."
ACT is a non-profit corporation, which owns and operates the Niles Theater. A sister non-profit, Niles Theater, Inc., operates the movie portion of the theater.
"We really appreciate MPAT's effort to help with the heating bill," said ACT's Rick Holloway. "It sure beats a 'BYOB--Bring Your Own Blanket' party we thought we might have to do. We share in belief that the Niles is a special part of the community and MPAT performances add to the overall cultural well-being of this area."
Murder Backstage concerns a primadonna actress, who can't act; a supporting actress who has a penchant for throwing paint; an understudy actress who never gets her chance; a leading man who cannot keep the girl; a director who cannot control his cast; a set designer with an Oscar and Tony on his mind; a starlet who doesn't have a clue; and one sheriff who is out of his jurisdiction.
According to Hays, the added ingredients making this play fun are: betrayal, hate, jealousy, lust and desperation.
The cast includes: Sandy Boldon, the primadonna; Nancy North-Gates, the supporting actress; Karen Hays, the understudy; Gerry Gates, the leading man; Paul Warshauer, the director; Mike Halderman, the set designer; Jodee Roberts, the starlet; Sheriff Bruce Mix as himself; Chip Massie as New York detective Alvin Sipalot; the ambulance crew is Sandy Hoxsey and Bob Cummings as the attendant; There will also be a cameo appearance by Judge Larry Dier.
"So come out and help the cause and see if everything you have ever heard about theater people is true," said Hays. "See if the ambulance crew will be on time or will their efforts be in vain? Will Sheriff Mix be able to solve this crime before the boys in NYPD blue arrive on the scene? Come laugh, ask questions and help solve this crime as you also help to support your local theater."
Obituaries:
Ramona LaVerne McDonald
Ramona LaVerne McDonald, a former Modoc resident for most of her life, passed away at her Los Flores, Calif. home on December 31, 1998. She was 61 years old.
She was born Ramona Cates in Socorra, New Mex ico on September 23, 1937 to Simi and Jewell Cates. She lived most of her life in Modoc County before moving to Tehama County 12 years ago.
Mrs. McDonald was a dedicated mother who en joyed cooking, making candy and baking cakes and enjoyed crafts. She also enjoyed being the boss of her dogs.
Preceding her in death were two daughters, LaQuita Mc Donald and Vickie Stevenson, and a granddaughter Mandy Dowell.
She is survived by her two sons, Scott McDonald of Los Flores and Doug McDonald of Susanville; a daughter Robin Greer of Gerber; sister Nadene Baker of Gerber; two broth ers, Ed Cates of Reno, Nev. and Clifford Cates of Canby, Calif.
A memorial service was held on Monday, January 4 at the Memorial Hall in Gerber, Calif. at 1:00 p.m. W. C. Fickert Memorial Chapel of Red Bluff took charge of ar rangements.
Irene Fisher Davidson
Irene Dorothy Fisher Davidson, a lifelong resident of Alturas and an active member of the community, passed away at her home in Alturas, Calif. on Thursday morning, December 31, 1998. She had celebrated her 85th birthday just two days before.
She was born in Alturas, Calif. to Frank and Leona [Claussen] Fisher on De cember 28, 1913. She was reared and attended Busi ness College in Eugene, Ore.
On June 13, 1940, Irene married Stanley Ray Davidson in Alturas. They have been married for 58 years and reared one daughter Marilyn David son-Reeves.
Mrs. Davidson worked for the State of California for over 40 years as the office manager for the Department of Human Resources. She retired in 1977.
She was known as "Nonnie," a name that was given to her by her granddaughter and was carried over and used to her great-grandchildren.
Every Thursday Irene and Stan would help sort clothes for the Thrift Shop operated by Federated Church and spend time with lifelong friends. They have been long-time mem bers of Federated Community Church in Alturas, where Mrs. Davidson served as a Deacon and helped wherever she was needed.
She was a fifty-year member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority and for a number of years volunteered to work the Modoc Medical Center Gift Shop. She was still involved in helping with the monthly birthday parties at Modoc Medical Center's Skilled Nursing Facility. She was also a faithful member of a weekly Bible Study.
In addition, she enjoyed gardening, doing crossword puz zles, letter writing and recording her daily activities in her journal. In the spring, her garden was full of snapdra grons, pansies and other colorful flowers.
She was preceded in death by her brother Marion Frank Fisher, who passed away in 1996.
She is survived by her husband Stanley R. Davidson of Alturas; daughter Marilyn Sue Reeves and son-in-law Denver of Concord, Calif.; granddaughter Marilee Reeves-Boothe of Las Vegas, Nev.; grandson Kenn Ray Reeves of Concord; great-grandsons Jesse Ray Walser of Brentwood, Calif. and Nicholas Ryan Boothe of Las Vegas; and great-granddaughter Emily Claire Boothe of Las Vegas.
Funeral services were held on Tuesday, January 5 at 1:00 p.m. at Federated Community Church in Alturas with the Rev. Ben Zandstra officiating. Burial followed at the Al turas Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be directed to Fed erated Community Church Memorial Fund.
Allan Cyrus Crum
Services for Allan Cyrus Crum will be held at graveside today, January 7 at 11 a.m. at the McArthur Cemetery. Pas tor Mack McKee will officiate.
Mr. Crum died of natural causes on Friday, January 1, 1999 in Klamath Falls, Ore.
He was born May 13, 1914 in Cayton Valley, Calif. to Birdie and Merton Crum who reared their son in the McArthur area. Mr. Crum worked for the Crum Meat Company from 1932 to 1944. The company butchered and supplied meat products to Northeast California. He sold out to his brothers in 1944 and began ranching on his own. He purchased a ranch in Pittville where he raised hay and cattle.
He and Esther Eva Hobson were married on July 10, 1937 and have shared 61 years of mar riage together.
Mr. Crum retired in 1985, but continued to live on the ranch. He was a good carpenter and mechanic and enjoyed hunting and fishing.
He is survived by his wife Esther; sons and daughters-in-law, Melvin and Harriet Crum of Unity, Ore.; Don and Su san Crum of Alturas; daughters and sons-in-law Beverly and Bob Swarm, Bieber; Barbara and Bill Joiner, Lookout; Ida Marie and Jim McAlister, Ione, Wash.; grandchildren Bonnie Kist, Dixie Howard, Craig Joiner, Jennie Joiner, Frank Crum, Allan Crum, Lori McAlister, Annette Galles, Brian Crum and Laura Burrows. He also leaves five great-grandchildren; two brothers Orville and Donald Crum; two sisters Nelda Taylor and Blanch Anders.
The family suggests any memorial contributions be di rected to the Intermountain CattleWomen, P.O. Box 161, McArthur, CA 96056 for a scholarship for a graduating high school senior.
William "Bill" Weild Minto
William "Bill" Weild Minto, 77, of Merrill, Oregon, died December 30, 1998, in Merrill.
Funeral services were held Monday, January 4 at the Ea gleville Community Church with the Rev. Jim Davidson of ficiating. Interment followed at the Eagleville Cemetery.
Mr. Minto was born October 24, 1921, in Eagleville, Calif., as the son of Elmer Weild and Ellen Phylinda Dor ton Minto. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as tech sergeant from 1942 to 1945.
On May 28, 1950, Mr. Minto married Sarah Jane Mankin in Red Bluff, Calif. to them were born two daughters. His wife, family and friends were always the most special in his life.
He was a highly skilled carpenter for many years. He helped build many homes in and around Surprise Valley and Alturas. He also worked on ranches in the Eagleville area and had cattle of his own. His grandfather, Robert Weild Minto, was a pioneer who settled in Surprise Valley near present-day Eagleville. His grandfather donated the original land for the Eagleville Cemetery where Bill is now buried.
His hobbies included gardening, hunting, fishing and helping other people.
Mr. Minto lived in Surprise Valley most of his life until moving to Merrill in 1993, where he was a member of the Merrill Baptist Church. He had also been active in the Al turas Christian Center and the Lake City Church. He was a life member and past commander of the Surprise Valley Veterans of Foreign Wars, was active with the Eagleville Volunteer Fire Department, and whole-heartedly supported the community.
Survivors include his wife, Sarah Minto of Merrill; daughters and their husbands, Patty and Dave Jensen, and Kay and Jim Ellis, all of Merrill; granddaughter and hus band, Shawna and Patrick Bynum of Chico; grandchildren Tracy Jacobs, USN in South Carolina, and Becky Jacobs and Ron Jacobs of Rock Springs, Wyoming; sister Mildred Maupin and Elma Dorton of Alturas, Ellen Boster of Salem, Missouri and Mabel Richardson of Redding; sisters-in-law Sharon Staton of Eagleville and Carol Minto of Gerlach, Nev.; many nieces, nephews and cousins; and a host of friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Ellen Minto; his granddaughter Kathy Jensen; brothers Bud and Jack Minto and sister Phyllis Watt.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Klamath Hospice, 437 Main Street, Klamath Falls, Ore. 97601.
Edward B. "Mac" McKelvy
Former Alturas resident Edward B. "Mac" McKelvy died on Saturday, January 2, 1999 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Red Bluff, Calif. He was 80.
He was born on January 14, 1919 to Edward and Jessie McKelvy in Dallas, Texas. He served his country in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He married his wife Doris on June 7, 1946 and the two shared 52 years of mar riage together.
Mr. McKelvy worked for many years as a highway engi neer for the U.S. Forest Service. Mr. McKelvy made Alturas his home from 1957 to 1963 while he worked for the Modoc National Forest. He moved to Corning in 1963 and worked there until his retirement.
He was a member of the National Association for Retired Federal Employees; a former member of the Lions Club and the Good Sam Club. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, traveling and the mountains.
He is survived by his wife Doris R. McKelvy of Corning; two sons, Forest E. McKelvy and Brad B. McKelvy, both of Corning; a daughter Bobette Bonner of Red Bluff; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 11 a.m. at the Hall Bros. Corning Mortuary Chapel.
Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of choice. Private inurnment will take place at the Sunset Hill Cemetery in Corning. Arrangements are under the direc tion of Hall Bros. Corning Mortuary.
Margaret J. Dorn
Private family services will be held at a later date for Margaret J. Dorn, age 88, who died January 1, 1999 at her residence in Eagleville.
Mrs. Dorn was born April 27, 1910 in Santa Cruz, Ca. She graduated from Watsonville High School in 1927 and Fullerton Junior College in 1929. She married Conrad Dorn in Reno, Nv. in 1932.
She was a member of Eastern Star of Lakeport, Ca., the Presbyterian Church of Kelseyville and the First Congregational Church in San Rafael. She enjoyed trav eling, spending time with her family, interior decorating and journal keeping.
Mrs. Dorn is survived by a daughter, Rosemary Sheppard, of Eagleville; a son, Reid Henderson Dorn, of Kelseyville; a sister, Eleanor Turnbul of Alameda; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Congregational Church, number 8, N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael, Ca. 94903. The Neptune Society of Chico is handling the arrangements.
News for January 14, 1999
- Pair arrested alleging child pornography
- MPAT performs original play to help Niles Theater
- Alturas man markets his tasty dressing
- Building slows down in Modoc
- Obituaries:
- Schadler
- VanLone
- Lynn
- Weather: The weather looks like rain today and tonight with mostly cloudy skies Friday. There will be periods of rain and cloudiness over the weekend. Highs in the lower 40s.
Pair arrested on child pornography charges
Two Alturas residents were arrested January 8 in connection with sexual misconduct and pornography with children.
According to Alturas Police Sergeant Stacy Callaghan, Benjamin Lockhart, 25, was arrested alleging lewd and lascivious acts with minors, and sending child pornography over the Internet.
Stephanie Colvett, 23, was arrested alleging conspiracy and that she was an accessory.
According to Callaghan, the Alturas Police Department received a call from the Police Department of Chehalia, Wa. after a Chehalia resident reported to them at he had received nude pictures of minors over e-mail, allegedly from Lockhart.
A search warrant was obtained and served on the Alturas Gardens apartment where the two lived Jan. 8. Two computers were seized and have bee sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for further investigation.
Original play to help out with the Niles Theater heating bill
Modoc Performing Arts Theater, MPAT, and Alturas Community Theater, ACT, are presenting Murder Backstage, an original play written by Alturas' Karen Hays.
The benefit play will be performed one time only, January 16, 8 p.m. with all tickets $10 each. The proceeds from the play will go into a fund to help offset the theater's heating bills.
ACT is a non-profit corporation, which owns and operates the Niles Theater. A sister non-profit, Niles Theater, Inc., operates the movie portion of the theater.
Murder Backstage concerns a primadonna actress, who can't act; a supporting actress who has a penchant for throwing paint; an under study actress who never gets her chance; a leading man who cannot keep the girl; a di rector who can not control his cast; a set designer with an Oscar and Tony on his mind; a starlet who doesn't have a clue; and one sheriff who is out of his jurisdiction.
According to Hays, the added ingredients making this play fun are: betrayal, hate, jealousy, lust and desperation.
The cast includes: Sandy Boldon, the primadonna; Nancy North-Gates, the sup porting actress; Karen Hays, the understudy; Gerry Gates, the leading man; Paul Warshauer, the director; Mike Halderman, the set de signer; Jodee Roberts, the starlet; Sheriff Bruce Mix as himself; Chip Massie as New York detective Alvin Sipalot; the ambulance crew is Sandy Hoxsey and Bob Cummings as the attendant; There will also be a cameo appearance by Judge Larry Dier.
"So come out and help the cause and see if everything you have ever heard about theater people is true," said Hays. "See if the ambulance crew will be on time or will their efforts be in vain? Will Sheriff Mix be able to solve this crime before the boys in NYPD blue arrive on the scene? Come laugh, ask questions and help solve this crime as you also help to sup port your local theater."
Gourmet dressing originates in Alturas,
The path has been interesting and eventful and gone full circle for entrepreneur Ronald P. McCullough of Auras, originator of Mountain Herb Gourmet Dressing®, now a registered trademark.
McCullough originated his product in Alturas over nine years ago, and it has evolved into its perfected form after years of research on his part and after successfully testing it in "huge retirement homes" in the Bay Area where he had been living until moving back to Alturas a year ago.
The product has also moved into the consistent sales category in those Bay Area retirement homes and stores and more recently is stocked on store shelves in Alturas. It has all the ingredients consumers are searching for with good taste, but still low fat, low cholesterol no salt, preservatives or additives - all which describe Mountain Herb Gourmet dressing.
McCullough has solely created the versatile food item, to be used to garnish fish, all salads, baked potatoes, as a dip for chips and raw vegetables, as a sandwich spread or topping on fruit.
Now going into its ninth year of production, McCullough says the original integrity and taste is the same from years past, but he had to change a couple of base items due to cost.
"I have learned so much over the years and I have always believed in the product," he says.
He now ships 12-15 cases of his five liter containers of Mountain Herb Gourmet Dressing to the Bay Area every 10 days.
After working six days a week for eight years in the Bay Area, where he was reared, he was devoting his seventh day to making, bottling and shipping his product.
McCullough decided why couldn't he move his small scale operation to Modoc County and begin enjoying life more? He had bought land in Modoc in 1972 and first moved here in 1976; then left in March of 1987. While he lived away from Modoc, he lived in Hawaii where he be came a licensed real estate agent and worked with a corporation in leasing Kona Coast properties.
"I loved the weather and always felt so energized there, but I love it here too," he said of Modoc County.
When he decided he'd had enough of the Bay Area he said, "I bit the bullet and gave up two jobs in San Francisco and the business. I enjoyed my time there and loved doing all the traveling as the driver for the residents of the large retirement homes. Wherever they wanted to go, arrangements were made and I took them. We saw beautiful places and things I may never have visited on my own, even having been raised there."
No regrets, though, he says today.
"It took a long time to create credibility and I've done a lot of things better than many manufacturers have done," he says of his product, now licensed and successfully reviewed by the State of California and the Food and Drug Administration. "It has been a huge expense to do individual jar sales versus the five liter buckets. I do what I can do at this time."
"The product sells well and it takes money to promote it. I haven't even begun to promote it any more to area hospitals and restaurants because I have about as much work as I want to do just now," he added. "I do what I can do."
Upon his arrival in Modoc on December 7, he bought a Modoc Record on December 8 in which he read a bus driver was wanted for the Modoc Senior Citizens Center patrons. "I was hired the next day on December 9, and have been doing that since, in between keeping my business going," he described.
"I wouldn't go back to the Bay Area to live for anything. I now have no stresses, traffic or pollution here."
He has made many trips back to the Bay Area for his supplies, which he now looks forward to being shipped or within closer proximity.
"You have to be tenacious and committed. My 10 years of effort is proof and I've done it all myself, but it does take a lot of time and energy to promote your product, but I've always believed in the 'squeaky wheel' theory."
He knows full well the hardships that 'nothing is done overnight in your own business.
"I'm the lousiest salesperson, but a great one for challenge and it has been a challenge. I used to do in-store demos in the Bay Area and I'd like to start doing them again sometime here - - - you know, that personal touch that helps people understand how versatile and good the product is."
Now made in the "hills of Modoc County," with the freshest ingredients and under his Preston Enterprises label named for his son's first name and his middle name the dressing needs to be kept refrigerated and can keep up to six weeks.
"It took me quite a while to set up my spice, mayonnaise and sour cream suppliers, after I moved up here. But my research has paid off," he says in retrospect. "I'm a very patient person and the people who use the dressing want it and keep me going."
Both Four Corners and Holiday Markets in Alturas carry the locally produced Mountain Herb Gourmet Dressing.
"I tried to sell the recipe to Kraft, but until I'm selling massive amounts, they won't be interested. Who knows, it could happen."
Not ready to look too far into the future, the entrepreneur says maybe someday he'll go back into promoting the other products that have been developed within the Preston Enterprises food line and even promoting his gourmet dressing more. "But it would have to be on a full-time basis."
"For now I do what I can do and if it's meant to happen, it will happen," he said.
Building slows in December
Building activity in Alturas and the county slowed to a trickle during December, partly because of the cold weather.
There were 11 building permits issued in the county, worth an estimated $227,596. The bulk of the value came in one single family home in the Adin area and another for work at the golf course near Likely. The county collected $1,729.40 in fees.
There were four building permits issued by the City of Alturas with an estimated value of $40,641.30. A new mobile home installation made up most of that value. The city collected $499.42 in fees.
NEWS FOR JAN. 21, 1999
- County says Modoc not part of Sierra Nevada
- Some hope for city streets this year
- Inmates removed after fight at Devil's Garden
- Elk tracking goes high tech
- County adopts new census tracts
- County appoints interim librarian
Weather: Look for chance of snow today and tonight with partly cloudy skies remaining through Monday with scattered showers probable. Lows in teens to 20s, highs mid 40s.
There's hope. . .
REPAIRS are planned for this portion of Carlos Street this coming year and next year the street should get a whole new overall. City crews will be doing their best to patch this street and will work on a big project next year.
County says Modoc not part of Sierra Nevada
The Forest Service has included the Modoc National Forest as a part of its Sierra Nevada Framework Project, but Modoc County Supervisors are taking a different stance.
Tuesday the board heard a report from the Modoc Land Use Committee and adopted its issues as an alternative management plan. Primarily, the county is saying that the Modoc National Forest is distinctly apart from the pure Sierra Nevada forests, in everything from timber stands, to pography, weather, sociology, economic, cultural wildlife and habitat areas, and should be managed with more local input.
The Modoc Record will present more of the Land Use Committee's report and the adopted county alternatives next week since it is detailed and specific.
"The high desert plateau, which comprises the county and the Modoc National Forest have seldom been considered a part of the Sierra Nevada Range and present unique chal lenges and opportunities that are not present in the rest of the study area, all of which lies far to the south," the Land Use report states. "Modoc County is vitally concerned with the management of its National Forest and dedicated to healthy ecosystems and communities within its boundaries. The very survival of Modoc County stands upon the expressed goals of the Sierra Nevada Framework for Conservation and Collaboration."
The Land Use Committee, which is a subcommittee of the Board of Supervisors, believes it can show it and the county had been working closely with the Forest Service to ensure the health and sustainability of the Modoc Forest. The county worries that an blanket adoption of the Sierra Nevada Framework would be disastrous for the Modoc National Forest and would undo many of the good things accom plished through local cooperative efforts over the past several years.
"Rural Modoc County depends on its National Forest for a wide range of values and services," the committee states. "Stability in commodity-oriented programs and variety in recreational opportunities, as well as aesthetic-based ones are essential to the survival of the communities within the county. The county stands ready to do all in its power to help provide stability within the ecological limits of the land so that companies will make needed investments and provide jobs, in an ecologically healthy manner. In short. as goes the health of our forest, so goes the health of the county."
The stance of the county is that management of the forest calls for maximum local decision making, a thorough so cio-economic analysis be done at the county level, and local flexibility remain a main part of any management deci sion.
The committee believes that old growth forest manage ment should represent a full spectrum of choices, not just those of preservation and that old growth forests must be managed in a way to maintain their longevity. The county states that old growth management should not be on a tree-by-tree basis and that many of the Sierra Nevada strategies for old forests are based on west side (of the Sierras) ideas that may not apply in Modoc.
As far as riparian areas, the committee says forests with proven track records of successful riparian management, and collaboration with local agencies and individuals, should be allowed to keep their local decision making flexi bility. Livestock grazing, while not covered in the Sierra planning effort should not be precluded from riparian areas, according to Modoc.
The committee also says that prescribed fire, natural fire and logging should be available to reduce forest fuels that would increase fire dangers.
The county's options and alternatives will be submitted as a part of the Sierra Nevada Framework management study, and the county hopes its views will meet with objective sets of eyes.
Major city street project in works for this summer
A major city street repair project will get underway this summer, resulting in the upgrading of three miles of streets.
According to Public Works Director Stacy Chase, the city will combine about $300,000 in FEMA funds, another $900,000 in new supplemental State Transportation Commission funding and about $1 million in regular road funding for the project.
Chase said the streets affected would be the ones included in the FEMA storm damage project, but this time around, the supplemental funding will allow the city to repair the streets correctly. That means starting from the base and working up.
The supplemental state funds came about Chase said be cause of a change in the regulations allowing local streets to be included as part of the major transportation system.
While there are several streets involved in this coming project, some include 2nd between Rine and Howard, Henderson to the hospital, the worst portions of East A and some of West C.
This street project will be taken care of this summer, said Chase, as soon as the weather allows. City crews are praying for a light winter so the existing damage does not get much worse, especially on portions of Carlos Street from the Creamery west to West Street. The city plans on repairing that section of Carlos temporarily this summer.
A Carlos-Warner Street project is in the works for the summer of 2,000, which will include reconstruction of Carlos from Main Street to Warner Street and Warner Street from Carlos to First Street. That project has a price tag of about $1.55 million.
The above projects were approved by the Local Transportation Commission.
Inmates removed after fight at Devil's Garden
Following a disturbance, which was reportedly racially motivated, at Devil's Garden Conservation Camp, 20 in mates were removed from the camp and returned to the California Correctional Facility in Susanville.
According to Department of Corrections, the incident oc curred the night of January 14, about 10:10 p.m. when a fight erupted at the camp in volving Hispanics, blacks and a small number of white inmates. The incident started, ac cording to CDC, over the use of the telephone.
The disturbance was cen tered at the hobby room and a dorm. Upon investigation, corrections officers discov ered broken broom handles, sticks, a pool ball and padlock in separate locations. According to reports, correc tions officers did not actually see the fight, but became sus picious when a group of in mates left the dorm heading toward the hobby room in a hurry.
Seven inmates were in jured, none seriously. Most of the injuries were bruises, scratches and small lacera tions.
According to CDC, the in cident is under investigation and a report will be sent to the Modoc District Attorney. The DA could file charges against some or all of the inmates in volved.
New tracking--Modoc Elk study goes high tech
The world of high-tech wildlife studies just got higher, according to the De partment of Fish and Game.
DFG wildlife biologists in the agency's northernmost Region 1 said they are lay ing plans to capture up to eight elk in Siskiyou and Modoc coun ties next month and equip them with satel lite-linked ra dio transmit ter collars that will automat ically record hundreds of earthly locations used by the animals.
The new study, funded largely by the Rocky Moun tain Elk Foundation, will provide the DFG with an un precedented volume of preci sion data sets that under pre vious monitoring methods would have been pro hibitively expensive to gather, the agency said.
"This represents a signif i cant advancement in the world of studding wildlife habitat preferences and the movements of animals, said Rich Callas, DFG wildlife bi ologist in Siskiyou County.
Callas said that as each collar reaches its nine-month data collection limit, biolo gists will transmit a signal to the collar that will disconnect it from the elk. Afterward, they will use a signal emitted by the collar to find and re trieve it.
Once in hand, the collar will be connected to a com puter to download all the elk locations -- expected to be ac curate to as close as 300 feet. This data will be coupled with satellite vegetative im agery to identify the most important elk habitats of northeastern California.
While they are attached to the elk, the collars will record the animal's location once every eight hours. The $3,000 collars will be reusable in future studies.
Callas said the DFG will attempt to capture elk using a helicopter and net guns. They want animals from the north Warner Mountains and Dev il's Garden of Modoc County and may also attempt captures in eastern Siskiyou County, he said.
"Locating animals and then capturing them will be the most difficult part of the project," said Callas. He said citizens have reported seeing elk in the north Warners and in other loca tions, but the large herbivores "have a way of vanishing" when searchers try to find them.
He said elk numbers have been increasing in the north end of the state for the past 20 years, partly due to elk in Oregon expanding their ranges into California. Western Siskiyou County is occupied by Roosevelt elk, whereas the north Warners animals may be newcomers from eastern Oregon herds of Rocky Mountain elk, ac cord ing to Fish and Game.
County adopts new census tracts
On Tuesday Modoc County Supervisors formally adopted four census tracts, up from the previous two.
While there is some concern that the new tracts may impact medical services in parts of the county, especially Alturas, Planner Scott Kessler said the predominate reason be hind the change is to aid in grant writing and overall information about the population and will not have the suspected impact on the medical community.
Modoc Public Health Director Phil Smith is charged with looking into the impact on health care, and a possible change in some upcoming federal regulations.
In the past, Modoc had two census tracts, Alturas and Modoc Estates and the rest of the county. This time around, there will be a sep arate census for Alturas, only within its le gal boundaries, one for Surprise Valley, one for the area west of Highways 299 at Canby and 139, and another covering the rest of the county.
According to Kessler, the tracts will make it easier for grant writers and other agencies to pinpoint which areas need funding and which groups to target within that tract.
Board appoints interim Librarian
The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday ap pointed assistant county Librarian Cheryl Baker as interim librarian effective Feb.1.
Baker will hold the interim position during the search for a permanent Librarian, and will be a candidate to take over for Godelieve Uyttenhove who resigned after a five-year stint to take a position in Fort Bragg.
The board also discussed the use of answering ma chines and voice mail in some county offices during business hours. Supervisor Ron McIntyre put the subject on the agenda following some complaints and personal ex perience in trying to contact county offices.
The board discussed the is sue and will bring it back at a future meeting to set a county-wide policy on the use of those machines and under what conditions their use would be justifiable.
The board also discussed a free dump day throughout the county, but came to no conclusion. That issue will be brought back for further dis cussion.
NEWS FOR JAN. 28, 1999
- Modoc wants local input in Modoc Forest decisions
- Elk management group looks for comments
- Hanks named Citizen of the Year
- Art Center hosts new show in February
- Fish and Wildlife holds meeting on trout
- Obit:
- Sally Cook
Weather: Look for continued cloudy and wet weather, with rain and showers in the picture. There may be some snow flurries. Highs in the mid 40s and lows in the 20s.
Local decisions needed for forest management
Modoc County doesn't want to give up what it calls an ef fective and proven working re la tionship with the Modoc National Forest, and simply be swallowed up by the Sierra Nevada Framework for Conservation pro ject.
The county is making a case, through its Land Use Committee, that the Modoc Forest is distinct and differ ent from the forests in most of the Sierra Nevada range and should not be managed based upon strategies for those ar eas.
To that end, the county last week approved an alternative plan as a part of the scoping and comment period in the Sierra Nevada Plan. While Carolyn Carey was present ing the plan to the county, Sean Curtis was pre senting the plan to the Sierra Nevada project team in Sacramento. Curtis said his recep tion was warm and he felt the alterna tive was being viewed in a fa vorable light.
"Our goal is to have this alternative in cluded as an alternative in the draft Environmental Impact Statement when it comes out," said Curtis. He said that EIS is supposed to be out by the end of February or early March and will have a 90-day com ment period.
"We believe our alterna tive is solid and has a place in the EIS," said Curtis. "The key to our plan is account ability and we have the data and examples of cooperative work on our projects in cluded. We can show that our ef forts in the past have worked and can work, even on other forests."
Curtis said the county's initial stance was to make the Modoc National Forest a sep arate management unit from the Sierra Nevada plan alto gether, but that idea wasn't go ing to pass muster at the Forest Service level, so they went another direction. This alterna tive, said Curtis, should meet with approval and while it can be remolded in some in stances, should prove palatable.
"For instance, we can show examples where our coopera tive work in riparian area has helped with threatened and endangered fish, espe cially in the Goose Lake and Clear Lake drainage area," said Curtis. "We can show that through proper managed grazing strategies, grazing and fisheries are compat ible and thrive."
Curtis is speaking about a several-year project in the Goose Lake area that involves primarily the redband trout. The redband thrives in creeks which empty into Goose Lake. Following a severe drought, several agencies including the Forest Service and Department of Fish and Game, ranchers, the county and environmental concerns orga nized a working group and have been moni toring all facets of the riparian areas in the north Warners. Curtis said the efforts have been fruitful and show that local cooperation is essential.
"The County wants to maintain its stance in the management of the federal lands, as federal law de mands," said Curtis. "That doesn't mean we take the Nye County (Nevada) stance (that county's have superi ority of public lands)," said Curtis. "We sim ply believe we can show a solid working rela tionship here and that we need to maintain flexibility in the management process. We agree with the objectives stated in the Sierra Nevada plan, but argue that it needs to allow strategies that are de veloped locally."
Livestock grazing is a not a issue in the Sierra Nevada Framework project, but it is a major issue on the Modoc National Forest, which has the majority of grazing in the re gion's forest. "While graz ing is not an issue addressed in the plan, our position is that no decision should be reached in the plan that precludes grazing. We can show through on-the-ground examples where grazing, under proper management strategies, is a benefit to the forest and ripar ian areas."
Curtis points to another successful en deavor on the Modoc Forest which dealt with Threatened and Endangered fish.
In 1996, the forest entered into consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service for ac tivi ties occurring in a num ber of drainages containing lost River, Shortnosed and Modoc suckers. A biological study on that area de clared continued grazing to be con tingent upon successful im plementation, monitoring and reporting of the Modoc National Forest Land Management Plan standards and guidelines. The Land Use Committee con tends the progress toward the desired condi tions mirrors those identified in the Sierra Nevada Framework.
The efforts in those drainages were very success ful and photos are included in the re port to the Sierra Nevada team.
"The Forest's success in ri parian restora tion has not been solely constrained to these drainages," said the committee report. "The Modoc's 1997 Draft Monitoring and Evaluation Report states the following: The 1992 Monitoring report identified that moni toring data for the Forest's riparian areas indicated less than 17 percent were meeting Forest Plan objectives. Of 24 allot ments in tensively monitored in 1992, only four were found to be in full compliance with Forest Plan Guidance. In contrast to these 1992 find ings, the 1997 monitoring in dicated that ap proximately 35 percent of the forest riparian areas were meeting Forest Plan Objectives; and of 58 monitored, 52 were found to be in full compliance with forest plan standards and guide lines."
The county is arguing that forest and unit management must be allowed the flexibility to determine needs locally, rather than pre scribing wa tershed requirements blan ketly across the entire Sierra Nevada including Modoc.
"We, as a county, are proud of what we have accomplished in partnership with our Forest Service personnel," said Curtis. "We are anxious to share the results we have gained through experience, with the rest of the Sierra Nevada study area. We are hoping that the collaborative effort will allow for the neces sary flexibility to preserve what we have accomplished by focusing on site-spe cific solu tions.
"The county has long be lieved that ensur ing sustain able forests requires the in volvement of the communi ties that benefit from, and care for, those forests. We be lieve that healthy forests can help to sustain our ru ral communities and that the Sierra Nevada Collaborative effort must work with commu nities to make sustainable forest ecosystem manage ment a reality in the lives of those who live and work in them. We offer our achieve ments as an example of what a true local and Forest Service partnership can ac complish."
When it comes to old growth forests, the county agrees that they need to be maintained and managed. The Land Use Committee and county contend that unman aged old growth forests deteri orate rapidly without a man agement program.
The county suggests the fol lowing options to prolong the life of old growth stands: Thin from below to reduce competition; remove un healthy trees; use appropriate fuel treat ments to reduce risk of fire and use pre scribed burn to the extent possible.
"The vast majority of tim ber stands in the Modoc National Forest fall in the mid-serial stage," the report states. "Aggressive man agement is necessary to move more of these stands to late seral category as rapidly as possible."
Strategic plan for elk out for public review
Management of the grow ing elk herds in northeast ern California is the topic of a draft strategic plan just re leased for public review and comment by the Modoc County Elk Working Group.
The working group, a consortium of government agencies, organizations and private landowners, hope the plan will lay the ground work for future manage ment of Rocky Mountain elk and their habitat. Elk popu lations are increasing in the Warner Mountains and other areas of Modoc and northern Lassen counties.
The draft plan has been sent to requesters and is also available at the Modoc Na tional Forest headquarters, 800 West 12th St., Alturas, or by calling the office at (530) 233-5811.
Comments should be sent by February 28 to: Tom Rat cliff, Modoc National Forest, 800 West 12th St., Alturas, CA 96101.
Committee chair Carolyn Carey said the working group especially needs com-ments in several areas: Have any issues or concerns been missed? Have the identified issues and con cerns been addressed? Are there other management op portunities or problem areas that have not been addressed in the plan? Are there other management tools or options to be considered? Other rec ommendations for the re source management agen cies.
Comments will be consid ered as the working group completes the final plan which will provide elk man agement guidance for local, state and federal resource agencies.
The 27-member working group includes natural re source organizations and agencies such as the Modoc County Land Use Commit tee, California Department of Fish and Game, Modoc National Forest, Bureau of Land Management and the University of California Co operative Extension. It form-ed in 1996 to look at op portunities presented by the elk herds, and ways to avoid potential resource conflicts.
Hanks named Citizen of the Year
Surprise Valley resident Barbara Hanks has been named the Alturas Sunrise Rotary Club's Citizen of the year for 1998.
According to Rotary offi cials, Hanks was selected for her continued and continuing service to her community and her unselfish work to help oth ers.
Hanks is described by a friend who nominated her as the "most caring, giving hu man. . .regardless of her du ties to her immediate family, noth ing is ever too much. She al ways has time for others."
She is a member of the Surprise Valley VFW Women's Auxiliary, Chaplain of VFW District 19, Chaplain of VFW Surprise Valley Unit and SV Community Hospital, District 19 chair for VFW Home Committee, and is involved in the VFW "Voice of Democracy" school essay contest.
She also regular makes visits to the elderly in the nursing homes, plays piano for nursing home church ser vices and gatherings, reads to elderly at nursing homes, or ganizes parties for the elderly and volunteers at the Modoc County Fair.
She is an active member of the Ft. Bidwell Civic Club, the Ft. Bidwell Women's Fellowship, and was a project and community leader for Lake City 4-H groups for sev eral years.
In addition, Mrs. Hanks is the vice-moderator for the Surprise Valley Community Church, and the Lead Deacon for that church. She has taught Church School in Cedarville for over 13 years. She was the organist for the Ft. Bidwell Community Church an a dea con for that church. She also taught church school in Ft. Bidwell for several years.
She was an English citizen who gave up a continuing ed ucation to become a member of England's "Land Army" dur ing World War II. The "Land Army" worked the fields raising food for the English people. She married Lloyd Hanks, an American solider and came to the United States as an English war bride.
The couple settled on the the Hanks family ranch near Ft .Bidwell.
Ski Hill gears for big weekend
Last week the Cedar Pass Ski Hill was nearly barren of snow and crews were concerned it could go the rest of the year without opening.
What a difference a snow storm makes. The ski hill is now covered with two to four feet of great snow and more snow fell during the week. Crews bustled about last Saturday grooming the slopes and on Sunday, the Hill opened with a great day.
This week things are looking even better and the hill will be open both Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All of the equipment is in great working order, said the Ski Hill's Don Lancaster, and the snow is as good as it's been. A new rope has been installed on the rope tow and the T-bar lift is working perfectly.
The ski hill welcomes both skiers and snowboarders and has lots of rental ski equipment on hand. There is no rental snowboarding equipment available at this time. There is also certified ski instruction available at the hill.
Art Center has February show to feature
Alturas' Art Center will feature a double header at its long-standing "First Friday of the Month" show on February 5.
Ceramics and watercol ors by local students en rolled in pottery and water color classes at the Lassen College's Modoc Campus, will be displayed at the gallery at 317 So. Main Street, Alturas. Some of the work will be for sale and some will be for exhibition only.
In addition, Davis Creek print maker Nancy Leslie will present an informal program beginning at 7:00 p.m. on print collecting.
Leslie, whose credentials as an artist and print collec tor are numerous, moved to Davis Creek last year, from Burney, where she had a stu dio. She is in the process of setting up her studio in Davis Creek.
Leslie's work was fea tured at the Art Center's November show. Her spe cialty is etching. She has owned an etching press for more than 20 years and her prints are collected interna tionally. Leslie began her direction in art in water color painting and sculpture while in college, then be came fascinated in etching once introduced to the tech nique while taking classes at California State Univer sity, Chico.
Now a mother of two grown sons and a former teacher for the Burney School District, when not working on her art, Leslie can some times be found working at the "Bug Station," the Plant Quarantine Bureau of Al turas Inspection Station. and helping within the Davis Creek community.
Also a collector of other artists' prints, Leslie will share her experience in print collecting at the February 5 show.
"I'll explain things like how to identify, restore and care for prints. I'll talk about prints as an investment. And, of course, I'll answer questions," Leslie offers.
"In fact," she added, "I invite people to bring a print they own and I will be happy to discuss it with them."
The local Lassen College Modoc Campus art students work will include pieces from both classes which are taught at the Art Center each semester.
Margot Curtis' water color students who will show paintings from the recently completed fall semester in clude Diana Derner, Lorin Small, Marie Roberts, Bill Hall, Betty Chism, Nikki Nelson, Michele Rouse and Gigi Derner.
Also displayed will be watercolors from students enrolled in the current spring semester.
Joe Battram who teaches the ceramics class at the Art Center, says his students will show a variety of work including hand-built, wheel-thrown and raku-glazed pieces.
Students participating in the ceramics show will in clude Sandy Boldon, John Walton, Elizabeth Holt, Joanne Cain, Joan Spencer and Chris Battram.
The February 5 reception will be held at the Art Center from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with refreshments and ev eryone invited to stop by the gallery/gift center at 317 So. Main Street, Alturas.
Fish and Wildlife Ser vice will hold public meeting on trout
The Fish and Wildlife Service will hold public meetings in Lakeview and Burns in order to share in formation on the status of Great basin redband trout.
In November, the Fish and Wildlife Service pub lished a 90-day finding, which initiates a status re view for the Great basin red band trout. A status review is intended to assist the Service in gathering information on the biology, distribution, abundance of Great Basin redband trout and to gather information on activities that could be positively and /or negatively impacting them.
The public comment pe riod for this status review has been extended until March 16, 1999. In addition to obtaining written com ments, the Service would like to meet with members of the community and answer any questions individuals might have about the red band trout or this process. The Service encourages anyone with an interest in redband trout to attend the public meetings scheduled for:
Lakeview: Tuesday, February 2, 1999, Senior Community Center, 11 North G Street, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Burns: Wednesday, Feb-ruary 3, 1999, Museum Club Room, Behind the Har ney County Library, 80 West D, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Any information regard ing the status of Great Basin redband trout can be sent to the State Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon State Office, 2600 SE 98th Avenue, Suite 100, Port land, Oregon 97266.
Obituaries:
Sally Cook
- Funeral services will be held for Sally Florence Cook, 86, of Chico 11:00 a.m., Thursday, January 28 at Newton-Bracewell Chico Funeral Home. She died Monday, January 25, 1999 at a Chico convalescent hospital.
- She was born June 25, 1912 in Chicago. Illinois to Charles and Margaret McKinney. While in Chico she worked in the accounting department for Hearst Newspapers. She later worked as a legal secretary working in Chicago, Reno, Nevada, Sacramento, and Chico.
- On January 10, 1948 she married Lyle Cook in Carson City, Nevada. The couple lived in Cedarville, California and moved to Chico in 1957. In Chico, Mrs. Cook worked as a legal secretary for several law offices. She served as Pastor Ken Backlund's first secretary at Neighborhood Church when it was founded.
- While raising her family she was ac tive as a Cub Scout Den Mother. She enjoyed playing piano and organ for the rest homes, retirement residences and for the Order of Eastern Star Chico Chap ter #104 of which she was a member. She also belonged to the Butte County Asso cia tion of Legal Secretaries and attended Grace Community Church and Neighborhood Church. Mrs. Cook enjoyed visit ing her son and family at the ranch in Surprise Val ley in Modoc County.
- Survivors include two sons, Ardath Pay, Jr. of Shawnee, Kansas and Wes ley Cook, of Cedarville, two daughters, Janet Mussel man, of Oak Forest, Illinois and Kathleen Cook, of Mal ibu, seven grandchildren and 15 great-grand children. She is also survived by her companion, Bob Vil cone of Chico.
- Burial will take place 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Eagleville Cemetery in Modoc County next to her husband, Lyle. Memorial contributions may be made to the Neigh borhood Church Memorial Fund in care of the funeral home.
- February, 1999
- Record news for Feb. 4, 1999
- Modoc Elk get new GPS tracking collars
- There's plenty of snow in them there hills
- New Family Law facilitator takes over
- Ground Hog supper this weekend in Davis Creek
- Modoc High Band Choir members honored
- Building slow in town
- Rotary hosts Snowblast '99 Valentine's Day
Weather: Look for some unsettled weather though the weekend with cool weather and some freezing at night.
Trio of Modoc elk get new GPS units to monitor move
Many local people have had the opportunity to see elk in the Devils Garden, Warner Mountains, Big Valley or even off the high way drivi
This week the California Department of Fish and Game is capturing and fit ting elk with radio telemetry collars. Using new GPS (global positioning system) collars as well as traditional VHF radio-telemetry col lars, Fish and Game hopes to learn more about how the elk are using habitat and vali date a model of elk habitat suitability.
Although occasional bull elk have been spotted in Modoc County since the 1960's, it is becoming more common to spot larger multi-age groups. Little is known how elk use local habitat, Fish and Game is hoping to gain in sights into local elk use so that elk manage ment goals and objectives can be created.
Tuesday the capture started in the north Warn ers, with a helicopter scan ning the slopes and valleys. Landells Aviation has worked closely with Fish and Game and are highly skilled at the precise and risky flying that is needed for this kind of work. Once and elk is spotted, the heli copter flies in low so that the 'gunner' who is hanging out onto the skids can shoot a net over the animal. Once an animal is entangled, the 'mugger' jumps out to gain control of the animal, then a capture team will move in to collar and quickly release the animal. This all takes place in a matter of minutes, reducing stress on the ani mals. Three animals were cap tured Tuesday in the Warners and capture opera tions moving to the Devils Garden on Wednesday.
With GPS collars, biolo gists are provided highly ac curate elk location data dur ing var ious times of the day and night. When the active life of the collars battery is past, the collar is literally 'blasted' off the elk with a mere typing of a command on a field com puter. A small charge located inside the col lar is detonated leaving the elk collar-free and un harmed. The collar is then retrieved in the field and the location data may be down loaded onto a computer.
Major funding for this project was pro vided by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foun da tion. The US Forest Ser vice and the Modoc Elk Working Group were also contributors to this effort.
Lots of snow in them there hills
While the mountain snow isn't as deep as last January, there is plenty of snow in the hills, according to the federal agency snow survey taken last week.
Overall, 1998 was a very wet year. Sue Becker, Modoc National Forest Hydrologist, total precipitation for 1998 in Alturas was 20.89 inches, compared to 12.52 inches in 1997. January, 1999 had 1.47 inches of precipitation, com pared to January, 1998's 2.84. So, the area's starting drier than the El Nino driven year.
Ken Romberger, Big Valley Ranger District, said the to tal precipitation between July 1, 1998 and January 1, 1999 at Big Valley was 11.38 inches. Historically, said Romberger, any year that recorded more than 11 inches at this point led to a year of precipitation well above aver age.
"We have been in a wet trend since the 1994-95 season, which recorded 22.94 inches, followed by 21.58 inches in 1995-96; 18.52 in 1996-97; and 26.03 inches for the 1997-98 seasons," said Romberger. "This is the first time the records show more than three years in a row of above aver age lev els."
Cooperative snow surveys were conducted last week by Tom Hill, Natural Resources and Jake Coffey, Greg Meyer and Doug Shultz, U.S. Forest Service in the Warner Mountains and the Hays Range of Nevada.
According to Big Valley's Romberger, the Sweagert Flat area measured 44.2 inches of snow this January containing 13.6 inches of water. That's well above the overall average for that snow survey at 28.15 inches of snow containing 8.35 inches of moisture.
Cedar Pass, at 7,100 feet, had 35.4 inches of snow con tain ing 10.7 inches of water last week, compared in 1998's 46 inches of snow containing 15.2 inches of water. The 10-year average for Cedar Pass is 35.4 inches of snow and 11.4 inches of water.
Blue Lake's snow survey for January 1999, showed 26.5 inches of snow and 8.1 inches of water. Last year, the area had 30 inches of snow and 9.7 inches of water. The 10-year average for that site is 27.5 inches of snow and 8.0 inches of water.
Mt. Bidwell, at 7,200 feet, in the north Warners, had 48.9 inches of snow and 16.3 inches of moisture. That's be low last year's total of 61 inches of snow and 21.2 inches of water. The 10-year average for Mt. Bidwell is 49.6 inches of snow and 16.6 inches of water.
Barber Creek in the South Warners at 6,500 feet, had 28.5 inches of snow with 8.2 inches of water. Last year it had 32
inches of snow and 10.7 inches of water. The 10-year aver age is 30.8 inches of snow and 8.6 inches of water.
Hays Canyon, Nevada measured 10.8 inches of snow with 2.8 inches of water in January. In 1998, the site had 13 inches of snow with 3.3 inches of water and the 10-year average is 13.7 inches of snow and 3.3 inches of water.
The snow at 49 Mountain, Nevada, measured 12.9 inches deep with 3.4 inches of water. Last January it mea sured 15 inches of snow and 4.6 inches of water. The 10-year average is 15.3 inches if snow and 4.2 inches of mois ture.
In addition to the regular snow surveys, there are two "Snotels" in the Warner Mountains. The "Snotels" are automated snow courses that show actual snow depth and water content.
The Cedar Pass Snotel, which is not close to the regu lar snow survey site, mea sured 59.5 inches of snow containing 17.8 inches of wa ter.
The other Snotel site is at Dismal Swamp, in the north Warners. It recorded 76.2 inches of snow with 25.2 inches of moisture.
New Family Law Facilitator arrives
Leaving the bright lights and rush of San Francisco and the far removed solitude of rural Sierra City in Sierra County, M. Sue Jackson, at torney at law, is happy to re locate to her new position as Family Law Facilitator for Modoc County.
As of January 4, Jackson, who was the District Attor ney in Sierra County for several terms, has been se lected for the position, va cated by Tom Buckwalter who is now Modoc County's new District Attorney.
Remaining in the same location that Buckwalter opened at 208 North Court Street, Alturas, Jackson is now available to schedule appointments, Tuesday through Thursday. She ap preciates appointments so that she can devote her undi vided attention to each party. She is the sole person in the office.
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, how to prepare for a court hear ing, help with legal forms, Family law mediation, and more.
The position mandated and funded by the State of California, is appointed by Modoc Superior Court Judge John Baker. The FLF ser vices are free to all who need them.
The Family Law Facili ta tor is a neutral person who does not represent any par ent/party and who is here to help. No attorney-client re lationship is created between the Family Law Facilitator and a person using the FLF services. The FLF can not be an advocate in court family law or take sides. The Fam ily Law Facilitator is avail able to see both par ents/parties who have ques tions concerning family law matters.
Originally from Sacra mento, Jackson decided to study law after her son graduated from Cal Poly. She had worked in the field of television and public rela tions and worked as the di rector of media and public relations for California Mortgage Bankers.
"I decided it was my turn to go back to school after my son graduated," she said.
While living in San Francisco Jackson worked full-time and attended San Francisco Law School at night for four years until she earned her law degree and passed the State Bar exam. She applied for an opportu nity while in law school that gave her a 60-day position in Plumas County to gain expe rience in trial law, criminal prosecution, mis deameanors and felony pre lims.
"I realized that I loved the rural setting at that time," Jackson said.
When she returned to "The City," and had passed The Bar, she began clerking for law firms, of which the Melvin Belli Law Firm was one.
"We called it 'day and night' law. I became an as sociate there and worked on Mr. Belli's divorce case for one year."
From 1987 until 1991, Jackson worked at the Belli firm, until she felt she needed a change from the City lifestyle.
During her venture to Plumas County, she learned that there were no private law attorneys practicing law in neighboring Sierra County. Needing a change, she made the dramatic move to Sierra County.
"I hung out my shingle, and was ready to begin my law practice. I was the first private law attorney there."
After a successful recall of the District Attorney for that county, Jackson decided to run for the office and was the top vote getter. She was re-elected to a four-year-term and defeated by 56 votes for her third term in June of 1998. She held the DA posi tion for 5-1/2 years.
"I had always had an in terest in Family Law. I think of it as a position where you feel you are help ing people and those people are responding to you in a wonderful way," describes Jackson.
It was an opposite situa tion from her past experi ences. Upon researching, she found out that Sierra County and Nevada County had a shared FLF position and the job was filled. Then, she saw the notice for the FLF Modoc County position and applied right away. Her son already had explored Modoc County with a college friend from the area and shared with his mom enthu siasm of the area, after she told him where her new op portunity was located.
Her office is now open in Alturas, although she is still in the midst of moving her personal belongings to Al turas from Sierra County, a four-hour drive from Al turas.
Her new position is part-time and based on a one-year contract, renewable upon mutual agreement. She may also engage in some private law practice in the near future, once she settles.
No referrals are needed to talk with a Family Law Fa cilitator, although Jackson receives referrals from the court system, Crisis Center, TEACH and Social Ser vices.
Arrange appointments on Tuesdays, 1:30 - 5 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thurs days, 9 a.m. - 12 noon; 1:30 - 5 p.m. by calling (530) 233-5695.
Groundhog Supper brings out food, festivities to herald an early Spring
It's all in community spirit that the Davis Creek 4-H Club will celebrate its 53rd year of their annual Ground hog Supper. The special event is offered to the public this Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Davis Creek Grange Hall.
Join them anytime from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. for the spe cial dinner and fun of games for the chil dren, bingo and a cake auction for the adults, plus a lot of friendly faces and visit ing. Even if you don't know a soul, you'll come away feeling a part of the community.
With just a handful of families with chil dren involved in the small, but energetic 4-H Club, the club also relies on help from their community. Bingo, a cake auction, a 50/50 drawing and fun for kids and adults are all part of the evening.
Dinner tickets prices have been rolled back to $5 for adults; $3.50 for kids ages 5-12; un der age 5 served free. Davis Creek 4-H Leader is Linda LeNeave.
The hearty supper includes grilled sausage patties, green beans, mashed pota toes, applesauce, dessert and beverage.
For tickets please call 233-5488 or purchase them at the door. Four-H families in clude the Le Neaves, Emer sons, and the Cren shaws.
The groundhog did not see his shadow February 2, the traditional Groundhog Day, which indicates Spring will come six weeks early.
Modoc High band, choir honorees selected for weekend in Chico
Modoc High School choir students Cynthia Morris, a soprano, and Jeran Brown, a tenor, will accompany band trumpeter Rebekah Richert today in their travels to Chico State University as se lected participants in the Northern California High School Honor Band and Se lect Choir.
The experience is set for Feb. 5 and 6 at California State University at Chico with six hours of intensive rehearsals on both Friday and Saturday culminating in a public concert at Laxson Auditorium on Saturday evening, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Richert's taped audition earned her a seat with the honor band once again, as a junior this year. She trav eled to Arcata last year to participate as a sophomore. While at the Chico event, Richert will compete through live auditions performing her scales and piece for chair placement on Friday morning. She will then re ceive her music.
The choir students are se lected by their high school director, in this case, Mrs. Karen Siegel. Jeran Brown earned the honor as a sophomore and again this year.
Dr. Bill Ramsey of CSU, Chico will be the vocal direc tor for the special occasion with a choir of 120 selected student vocalists. Dr. Gary Hill, Director of Bands at Northwestern University, will conduct the Feb. 5 and 6 honor band. Students from 47 high schools submitted tapes to qualify for the 100-piece band.
Building slow in town
Building activity in Alturas for the month of January was slow with 11 building permits issued, worth about $26,475.
For the city, electrical upgrades, re-roofing, Monitor stoves and propane heaters were the primary activities. The city collected $374.38 in fees.
The Modoc County Building Department issued 10 per mits for January, 1999, worth an estimated $157,299. Three mobile and manufactured homes made up the largest part of the value. The county collected $1,477.15 in fees.
In December, 1998, the city issued four permits worth an estimated $40,641,50. In December, 1998 the county issued 11 permits valued at $227,596.
Snowblast '99 set up for Valentine's Day
The Alturas Sunrise Rotary Snowblast 1999 is set for Valentine's Day at the Cedar Pass Ski Hill.
The ski festival is sponsored by Sunrise Rotary and of fers a free day of skiing or snowboarding for anyone 18 years of age and younger who is a resident of Modoc County or resides within 10 miles of Modoc County.
The day starts at 10 a.m. and goes through to 4 p.m. In addition to the free skiing and snowboarding, there will be free hot dogs, hot chocolate, cider and sodas. There is also free ski rentals and free lessons for beginners, Those lessons will be held in two group sessions, one at 10:30 a.m. and one at 12:30 p.m. Each group must have between six and 18 students.
In addition to the Sunrise Rotary sponsorship, the Modoc Tobacco Control Program is also providing spon sorship for the event,.
The day has both ski and snowboard races and parents must sign consent forms for their children to participate in the races. Registration forms may be picked up at Coast to Coast or the Sports Hut in Alturas and will also be available at the ski hill.
Record news for February 11, 1999
- Wet snow downs power lines in county
- Cedar Pass safety subject of forum
- Wiz of the West need cast
- Wright appointed VP at Plumas Bank
- MHS wins academic contest
The forecast: Mostly sunny today with temperatures warming. Partly cloudy Friday with lows in the 20s. Expect showers Saturday and partly cloudy Sunday. Lows in the teens, highs mid-30s to 40s.
Heavy snows down lines, power out for several hours
Heavy snows Tuesday downed power lines and created a major mess in several areas of Modoc County. In some cases power was out as long as 20 hours.
The wet snows also created driving hazards and Howard's Gulch, on Highway 139 northwest of Canby, was closed while highway crews cleared a pair of jack-knifed trucks.
Surprise Valley Electric's rural customers were the hard est hit, but Alturas and the Surprise Valley areas remained pretty much unscathed. Surprise Valley was without power two weeks ago when a tree fell through one of the main transmission lines.
While the storm created mostly rain in Alturas, with about four inches of snow falling Tuesday morning late, other areas of the county were buried by snow. Canby had nearly a foot of snow as did the Bieber and Lookout areas. California Pines mountain residents received about two feet of snow during the latest storms.
According to Lynn Culp, SVEC, the main transmission line going over Adin Pass broke because of the incredible weight of the snow Tuesday morning early. That break shut off power to the Bieber, Adin and Lookout areas about 4 a.m. With the storm still in full force, transportation and visibil ity was difficult, but crews located the Adin Mountain breaks and had power restored to most of the Big Valley area by about 2:30 p.m. The ice and snow buildup on the power lines was over three inches thick in some cases.
According to Culp, the problems were magnified because they occurred throughout the service area, from Big Valley, to Madeline, California Pines and the Oregon service area.
Culp said some areas of Big valley were without power longer because there were other problems in the transmis sion lines, especially those serving the Lookout Ranchettes and Day. Some of that power was not restored until about 10 p.m. Tuesday.
There was also a break in a transmission line near Canby and Black's Canyon. That power was out from early morning to about 3 p.m.
A tree fell trough the line serving the California Pines mountain residents and that power was off from early Tuesday morning through about 4:30 p.m. In some areas of Cal Pines, about five and a half feet of snow covers the ground.
There was also an outage in the County Road 68-70 area when a tree fell through a transmission line. That power was restored by 3 p.m.
The power outage in the Madeline Plains was caused by power line breaks and that area was restored by about 5 a.m.
Culp said a switch at the Pacific Power station in Lakeview caused about a 12 hour outage to SVEC's Oregon customers.
Crews from SVEC started work about 4 a.m. Tuesday and many did not finish with repairs until after 10 p.m., said Culp.
"The problem areas were really spread out all over the area," said Culp. "It's been a long time since we're had a sit uation like this. The snow was just very wet and heavy."
The weather forecast through the weekend looks like it will give electric power crews a break. While it's supposed to stay cold, there is no heavy snow in the forecast.
Cedar Pass is subject of road safety forum
On Monday, February 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon the Cedar Pass Intera gency Public Forum will host a Public Forum at the Cedarville Community Church Hall.
The purpose of the forum is to provide an opportunity for the public to voice their experiences or concerns re garding safety issues on Cedar Pass and County Road 1.
Representatives from the Modoc County Board of Su pervisors, California High way Patrol, Cal Trans, Sur prise Valley Health Care District, and the Modoc County Department of Public Works will be present to pro vide di rection and formal recommendations regard ing main tenance and safety issues surrounding Cedar Pass and County Road 1.
There will be an opportu nity for anyone with per sonal accounts regarding Cedar Pass or County Road 1, to voice their concerns.
Any questions regarding this meeting call Nancy Bi condoa at 233-6501.
Students sought for Children's Theater auditions Monday
"The Wiz of the West," a Missoula Chil dren's Theater production, will seek students of all ages from age five years through high school seniors for audi tions on Monday, Feb. 15 from 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. at the A.C.T. Niles Theater, Main Street, Al turas.
Over 50 local students will be cast in the original musi cal production presented by the Missoula Children's The ater. Assistant di rectors, lighting and stage crew members will also be needed. Cast members will be asked to stay for a re hearsal immediately following audi tions.
Rehearsals will be held after school Mon day through Fri day in preparation for the Saturday, Feb. 20 perfor mances at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the Niles Theater.
Because of the sheer number of children who have audi tioned in the past, any child who auditions but is not cast will receive a ad mission to three MCT acting workshops at Al turas Elementary School during the week-long residency from Feb. 15-19. The work shops allow the children to experi ence the creative magic generated by an MCT resi dency. Last year 125 youths turned out for au ditions.
The touring production comes complete with costumes, scenery, and props and the two ac tor/directors who work with the cast throughout the week.
Actor/Director Jacob Hauser will play Cy clone Sam and is on his second tour with MCT. He is a 1998 graduate of Oberlin Col lege where he earned a Bachelor of Arts de gree in theatre. He has performed with Ober lin's Improv Comedy Troupe.
Actor/Director Ryan Young will play the part of Tinhorn and work with youths in Modoc. Young is also on his second tour with MCT and is a graduate of Appalachian State Uni versity where he earned a B.S. degree is Graphic Design and Television/Film. He also attended North Carolina School of the Arts and most recently worked in outdoor drama. Young has appeared in the films Last of the Mohi cans and Eddie.
The Missoula Children's Theater was founded in 1970 by Jim Caron, in Missoula, Montana. Caron remains Execu tive Direc tor.
During the Alturas performance plan to travel through the Land of Oz through the wild, wild west of yesteryear, but with a twist. The local cast will fea ture Dotty, Mooch, Scared Crow, Lionel, Hawknose Halley, Dr. Ozzy, the Munch Kin, Buzzards, Tarantulas, Coyotes and more. Students from age Kindergarten through 12th grade are invited to audition or take on essential backstage re sponsibilities.
No advance preparation is necessary for auditions. Just mark the calendar to attend auditions, which fall on the school holiday of February 15.
Sponsors include Modoc County Arts Council, Alturas Community Theater, Cali fornia Arts Council and the Modoc County Office of Education.
Wright appointed AVP at Plumas Bank
Bill Elliott, president and chief executive offi cer, today announced the appointment of Shirley Wright as Assis tant Vice President of Plumas Bank's Alturas of fice.
Wright has held numer ous loan and administrative posi tions in Alturas and Quincy since joining the bank twelve years ago in 1986.
A native of Northeastern California, Wright was born in Chico and graduated from Anderson Union High School in Anderson. In preparation for her banking career, she has also attended Shasta Junior College in Redding and Feather River College in Quincy.
Best known for her eager ness and ability to solve cus tomer's banking problems, Wright is the assistant Branch Manager in the grow ing Alturas office of the bank.
"Shirley has truly earned this title," said Elliott, "and she really understands what makes Plumas Bank spe cial."
Wright lives in Alturas with her husband, Randy, and enjoys underwater pho tography and quad riding with her granddaughter Kel lie Jo.
Plumas Bank currently with nine offices in Modoc, Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra counties and assets exceed ing $200 million has been serv ing the local banking needs of communities of Northeastern California since 1980. The Alturas of fice opened at the end of 1994.
Students hit books, MHS wins con test
The Modoc County Office of Education held the annual Academic Decathlon this past week, with Modoc High School beating out Tulelake and Sur prise Valley for first place honors. Modoc also had the top individual scorer of the meet in Josanna Clark. Her over all score of 4,651 edged out Jens Kober of Tulelake who had 4,575.
The Modoc team will now get to travel to Stockton in March for the State Competi tion.
Modoc, coached by Dick Cartner, scored 28,674 points fol lowed by Tulelake, coached by Martha Hurlburt, with 26,905 points, and Surprise Valley, coached by Heather Gregory, with 21,601 points.
Modoc also won the Super Quiz at the end of the day. The theme for this year, both statewide and nationally, is "The Brain - Looking In ward."
Teams had to draw from all aspects of their student body, not just the top brains. There are three categories, Honors, Scholastic and Varsity, that are based on different GPA di visions. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded in each event in each of the divisions.
Modoc High School
For Modoc, Clark won the overall title by finishing in the top three in every one of the 10 events in the Scholastic di vi sion. She took first in Fine Arts and Mathematics for a total of three golds, three sil vers and four bronzes.
Honors
For Modoc in the Honors Division, April Dorton took sec ond overall with 4,191 points. She won the Social Sci ence and Mathematics events while picking up a total of six medals.
Christy Cartner was right behind her at 4,181 points. She was first in the essay contest and took four medals home.
Travis Dunn won the En glish and Literature competi tion and finished with a total of three medals.
Scholastic
Besides Clark's top finish, Modoc also had Sonja Wilson place third in total points with 4,225 points. She won silver medals in four events.
Erica Ambers won the Es say contest and a total of three medals.
Varsity
Amber Knauss took first in overall points with 4,201. She did it by winning the cate gories of Interview, Fine Arts and Mathematics. She won a total of eight medals.
Jed Tate was second with 4,065 points. He won in Essay, English and Literature, Mu sic and Social Studies. He took a total of seven medals.
Dan Hoover won four medals, including a silver in Es say.
Tulelake High School
Honors
Kober was the top point-get ter in this category. He was first in Economics and Fine Arts. He also took two silvers and three bronzes for a total of eight medals in all.
Allen Scott won the Inter view and Music categories and took home four medals.
Luke Duval also won four medals, including a gold in the Speech competition.
Scholastic
Socorro Hernandez was second in overall points with 4,305. He took nine medals in all, including golds in En glish and Literature, Music and Social Science.
Jennifer Molder was first in both Speech and Interview, and won a total of five medals.
Jeremy Cross placed first in Economics and won the bronze in Mathematics.
Varsity
Ben Duval was third in overall points with 3,677. He fin ished first in Speech, Mathematics and Economics while winning a total of seven medals.
Nancy Bell tied Duval for first in Mathematics and won four medals.
Kim Hamrick won three medals.
Surprise Valley High School
Honors
Christina Worley took sec ond in Speech and Fine Arts and third in Economics.
Tamara Small took the sil ver medal in Music.
Jodie Jones was the silver winner in Fine Arts.
Scholastic
Scherane Johnson took sec ond in English and Literature and third in Fine Arts.
Cassie Cockrell won the bronze in Music.
Jake Bonham also com peted for Surprise Valley.
Varsity
Jessica Bietz placed second in Mathematics just ahead of teammate Caity Wimer who took third. Nicole Carlock also competed for Surprise Valley.
Record news summaries for Feb. 18, 1998
- Leslie, Aanestad host open meeting
- City raises golf fees by 25 percent
- MJUSD sees decline in enrollment
- The Wiz of the West plays this Saturday
- Modoc Elk satellites talking
- Modoc needs foster families for teens
- Grazing fee for 1999 is the same
- Time to start thinking Duck Race
The forecast: Look for mostly cloudy today with a chance of snow and mostly cloudy Friday. Rain is likely over the weekend. Lows will be in the 20s and highs nearing the mid-40s.
Leslie, Aanes tad host open session
State Senator Tim Leslie and State As sem blyman Sam Aanestad visited Alturas on Wednesday morning. The two held an open meeting at Alturas City Hall where they heard about everything from schools to mountain lions.
Modoc County Supervisors Pat Cantrall and Terry Williams, County Adminis tra tive Services Director Mike Maxwell, and Alturas Elementary School Principal Randy Wise, all expressed concern about the drop-off in timber tax revenues in Modoc County and many other areas across the country. Half of those revenues go to schools and half go to roads.
They also suggested that the legislators be come more in volved with "The Forest Coali tion," a nationwide group that has been formed to petition the Federal Gov ern ment to get some of those tim ber tax revenues back.
Other issues raised by those in atten dance included: the Railroad Museum, fire breaks, back-country trails, the effect of Indian Gaming on the funding of County Fairs, wa ter, mountain lions and education.
With regard to education, Republican Aanestad com plained that Governor Gray Davis' education budget doesn't include measures that Aanestad and other Repub li cans have been fighting for. Those in clude $100 million to repair school build ings and an equalization plan that would give more funding to rural school dis tricts.
Leslie, also a Republican, expressed frus tration at the way the State and Federal gov ernments are treating the rural com munities in his district. He warned those pre sent not to count on the State Govern ment, which he de scribed with terms such as "liar," "cheater" and "thief," when it comes to keeping some promises.
"It doesn't matter if it's Re publican or Democrat," he said. "Every significant fi nancial agreement the State makes, it fails to fulfill."
City raises golf fees by 25%
It's going to cost substantially more to chase the little white ball around the pasture this season at Arrowhead Golf Course. But, the good news is that it will open on schedule March 1, weather permitting.
The Alturas City Council, faced with losses totaling $63,286 over the past three years, approved an overall rate increase of 25 percent for all fees at the municipal course.
City Treasurer Kathy Alves said much of the loss has actually been because of infras tructure improvements over the past couple of years. Last week the council discussed three options for the future of Arrowhead -- close the course completely, raise fees by 50 percent or lease the course to a group or individual and get out of the golf business altogether.
Later in the week, the council chose what amounts to a fourth option, raising the fees across the board by 25 percent. According to Alves, some golfers have stated they may pull their memberships because of the rate in crease and other matters surrounding the course.
Currently, there are 61 family member ships at the course, and another 49 single members. The current membership fee for a family is $300 annually. That fee goes up to $375. The single membership is now $265 annually and will go up to $331.
In a move that could cost memberships, the council opted to drop the long-standing practice of allowing members to pay their fee on a monthly basis. Golfers must come up with the whole annual fee at one time.
The senior family members is now $265 and will go to $331.The single senior fee is now $220 annually and will go up to $275. The tournament entry fee goes to $9. To qualify for the senior rate, golfers must be at least 62 years of age.
The increase also impacts annual golf cart storage and locker fees. Storage of elec tric golf carts goes up from $120 to $175 and for gas carts from $100 to $110. Locker fees increase from $20 to $25.
For non-members, green fees are also in creased. On weekdays, nine holes go from $8 to $10 and 18 holes from $14 to $17. Students rates go from $3 to $4 for nine and from $4 to $5 for 18 holes. Weekend rates for nine holes goes from $9 to $11 and 18 holes from $16 to $20. For students, the rates go from $4 to $5 for nine and from $7 to $9 for 18.
In addition to raising rates, the city coun cil also cut $16,636 in planned infrastructure improvements for the course. With the rev enue and expense changes, the council goes from a projected loss of $20,875 for 1999 to a projected profit of $7,996. With the fee in crease the revenue projections go up from $52,315 to $64,550 and slicing the infrastruc ture work drops the expenditure figure from $73,190 to $55,554.
But as Alves points out, there are a lot of variables that can affect any projected in come. First and foremost on the list is whether golfers will actually drop their memberships. A second potentially fatal problem, she said, would be a major infras tructure repair or breakdown.
The council remains concerned that the golf course should be self-sufficient and states emphatically that the city cannot sub sidize the course any longer. The general fund revenues just are not available.
The golf course will open under the cur rent management contract with Brad Server and Rod Gately, who are each paid $1,750 per month under the contract. They also have the pro-shop operation, and retain any profit from its operation.
In September of 1996, the city loaned the golf course $30,000 from the general fund, recreation and community projects accounts to purchase, repair and maintain equipment and the course. That loan was to be repaid in annual installments over a five year term. So far, none of those funds have been repaid.
The city purchased the Golf Course in March, 1975 for $85,000 from John and Eve Briggs and has operated the facility since that time. Funding for the initial purchase came from a $70,800 grant from the State of California, $8,000 from Carlsberg Industries (Developers of California Pines, which gave all Cal Pines citizens a two-year member ship), and $6,200 from the city.
MJUSD sees decline of near 100 in enrollment
Modoc Joint Unified School District has realized a drop in enrollment of about 100 students this year, which could translate into a loss of about $400,000 in funding.
Following a report at Tuesday night's board meeting, MJUSD Board president Bill Hall said the district is aware of the situation and will be making adjustments where nec essary. The district will also be keeping close tabs on the en rollment fluctuation.
According to Hall. local public service agencies feel the drop in enrollment can be contributed to welfare reform and the relocation of several families out of the district. Hall said the district has also been told that another 30 or so fami lies are expected to leave the county this year.
While the district will be able to deal well this year with the situation, a declining enrollment could have impacts on teacher numbers, administration and overall funding for next year, Hall said.
Students perform Wiz of the West
"The Wiz of the West," a Missoula Chil dren's Theater production will delight audi ences of all ages at the A.C.T. Niles Theater with a local cast of young people in two per formances on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Over 50 students have been cast in the orig inal touring musi cal production, complete with costumes, scenery and props. Assistant di rectors, lighting and stage crew members are also local youths.
The local cast has been rehearsing Mon day through Fri day this week in preparation for the two Saturday, Feb. 20 perfor mances at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the Niles Theater, 127 So. Main Street, Alturas. Purchase tickets at the door for $6 for adults; $4 for students 17 and under.
Two touring Actor/Directors Jacob Hauser as Cy clone Sam and Ryan Young as Tin horn, have spent the week in residency work ing with Modoc youths toward the culminat ing performance. The earlier MCT show times this year, will allow the theater to also offer the motion picture "Prince of Egypt" be ginning at 7:30 p.m.
During the Alturas performance plan to travel through the Land of Oz through the wild, wild west of yesteryear, but with a twist. The local cast will fea ture Dotty, Mooch, Scared Crow, Lionel, Hawknose Halley, Dr. Ozzy, the Munch Kin, Buzzards, Tarantulas, Coyotes and more. Students from age Kindergarten through 12th grade are the cast members.
The Cast:
Amberlee Privett will play the role of Dotty; Shannon King as Mooch; Christina Crawford as Scared Crow; Jeran Brown as Lionel; Kristina Shepard as Hawknose Hal ley; Caitlin Burdette as Top Dog; Alyssa Be larde as Mad Dog; Mariella Nardoni as Bad Dog; Danielle Moriarity as Dr. Ozzy; Roger Cronley as Munch Pa; Alicia Seibel as Munch Ma; Munchkins Leah Vanderhey den, Stacey Parnow; Whitney Baker, Christina Nardoni, Phillip Brooks, Morgan Davis. Assistant Directors: David Toaetolu, Michael Trevail, April Dorton, Savannah Hess, Nicole Morava, Serra Ann McCaffrey, Liz Simmons. Coyotes: Christina Worley, Cierra Madison, Amanda Moriarity, Tara Holloway, Betty Jessup, Stephanie Parnow. Buzzards: Katrina McCaffrey, Lillian Toaetolu, Matt Wilkie, Janel Hughes, Corinne Urroz, Vanessa Thomason, Alysha Northrup, Laura Ramos, Natasha Roberts, Kelly Campagna. Tarantulas - Tarantula Queen Tess Reggentin, Alice Hill, Marina Ramos, Briana Fogerty, Cheyenne Lori King, Walter Roberts, Annie Duvall, Jessica Kresge, Dejah Montague, Amber Randall, Jessica Lowden, Zulet Ramos, Sarah Mon tague, Leah Estill. Piano Accompaniment will be provided by Eileen Ramos. Michael Halderman will be the technical director.
Sponsors include Modoc County Arts Council, Alturas Community Theater, Cali fornia Arts Council and the Modoc County Office of Education, Citizens Communica tions and Modoc County Tobacco Education Coalition.
Modoc elk satellites, 'talking'
The Department of Fish and Game said today it has succeeded in attaching new, global positioning radio transmitter collars on eight northeastern California elk as the first step in a new, high-tech study designed to learn the habitat preferences of the animals.
The DFG said helicopter capture crews "net-gunned" three elk in the north Warner Mountains and two on the Devil's Garden of Modoc County and another three in Siskiyou County's Shasta Valley last week. Crews attached the collars to the eight adult cows and re leased them.
The agency said each elk's collar will use satellite signals to record the location of the animal every seven hours for the next six to nine months. A signal sent by bi ologists will drop the collars from the elk for retrieval at the end of the study period so the positioning data can be fed into a computer.
Bob Schaefer, DFG wildlife biologist in Alturas, said a follow-up aerial sea-rch located all eight elk earlier this week. The ani mals were in good condition and the collars were work ing, he said.
Fish and Game said cap ture crews observed about 25 elk in the North Warner's; about 20 in the Devil's Gar den; and, a herd of about 175 in Shasta Valley.
Modoc needing Foster Families for teenagers
The number one need in Modoc for foster care is attract ing families who are willing to take in teenagers, some times on a short-term emergency basis and sometimes longer.
According to Bernie Banister, social worker for Environmental Alternatives, a private non-profit foster family agency in Alturas, the county is blessed with won derful foster parents but the need is growing.
A new program called Systems of Care, a combined effort by both public and private agencies in Modoc, is aimed at keeping more foster children in the county and getting them back with their parents. Sometimes, foster care is a big step in getting that child pointed in the right direction.
Most of the referrals to Banister's office come from local agencies, including Child Protective Service and Probation. Often there is a need for emergency foster care on a tempo rary, or emergency basis, and often there is a need for a longer term placement.
Banister said he is working with about 10 active foster families now and five others, who have been excellent, but he sees an emerging need for more parents willing to invest in a child's future. During the past year, Banister has been in strumental in placing and working with 68 children in Modoc and is now working with about 20. There are suc cesses, and sadly, said Banister, there are also setbacks.
"Most of the referrals we get are usually abuse related (either substance or physical and emotional) or a child who is out of control of the parent," said Banister. "Some place ments are short term and others are from six months to about a year and there is a percentage that become permanent placements or go into guardianships."
Younger children seem to adapt well and accept the foster parents' roles well, often creating a parent-like bond with their foster parents. Teens sometimes have to adjust to the new sets of rules and restrictions imposed by the foster par ents and monitored by the agencies. It's no secret that the breakdown of the nuclear family has caused an increase in the need for foster care.
"We are seeing a lot more kids who are beyond the control of their parents," said Banister. "Those children just aren't following the rules or their parents just aren't setting limits. We've seen some remarkable turn around in a lot of those kids when they are placed in caring foster homes, which do have stricter restrictions. Times have changed and with both parents working, or more single-parent families, it puts more stress on raising children."
Banister concedes that caring for younger foster children is often easier than dealing with some teenagers. Parents who have teens know that all too well. But, Banister main tains, foster parents working with him in Modoc have done wonders.
So what does it take to be a foster parent. Topping the list is love and patience. For Environmental Alternatives, the re quirements are as follows: 21 years of age or older; good physical and emotional health; possessing skills, attitude and stamina to deal with children; having a non-punitive attitude demonstrating some level of acceptance toward par ents of the children in care; working cooperatively with the foster care agencies and accepting the temporary nature of foster care and helping the child transition back to his fam ily or move on to a permanent adoptive placement.
According to Banister, foster parents are just good people who care about children. They may be married, but it is pos sible to be a single foster parent. Some foster parents have their own children at home, some have not had children and some take in foster kids after their children have been raised.
Anyone wanting to be a foster parent should contact Banister at 233-3366. A background check will be required as well as fingerprinting and there is about a 10-hour train ing session involved. Banister helps with all the paperwork and state regulations and guides the approval process along. According to Banister, the state reimburses for foster care expenses, usually between $625 to $750 per child per month.
Being a foster parent is not easy, but it can have great re wards, said Banister. "We have seen some wonderful trans formations of children when they realize they are living in a safe and supportive environment," said Banister. "And there are other times that cases keep me awake at night, just trying to figure out what to do. Every child and situation is different and our goal is to make sure they feel secure and out of any danger."
The number of children need care has increased, said Banister. That goes along with a problem of substance abuse, a declining or stagnant economy, and the just the overall state of the family.
"I believe this community cares about children," said Banister. "We just need some more families willing to help. It's not easy being a foster parent, but the rewards are mak ing a difference in a young person's life. And foster parents do make a difference."
Banister will be happy to sit down and talk with anyone wishing to become a foster parent. Just call him at 233-3366 and he'll be able to give people a frank and honest picture of the need and the rewards of foster parents. Talking with other foster parents is also a good way to find out whether someone wants to get involved in the process of helping chil dren.
Grazing fee stays at $1.35
The grazing fee for West ern public lands adminis tered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service will be $1.35 per an nual unit month (AUM) in 1999, which is the same amount charged in 1998.
The formula used for cal culating the fee, established by Con-gress in the 1978 Pub lic Rangelands Improve ment Act, has continued un der a presidential Executive Or der issued in 1986.
An animal unit month is the amount of forage needed to sustain one cow and her calf, one horse, or five sheep or goats for a month. Under the 1986 presidential Execu tive Order, the grazing fee cannot fall below $1.35 per AUM.
The annually adjusted grazing fee, which takes ef fect March 1, is computed by using a 1966 base value of $1.23 per AUM for livestock grazing on public lands in Western States, The figure is then adjusted according to three factors; current private grazing land lease rates, beef cattle prices, and the cost of livestock production . Based on the formula, the 1999 fee remains at the same levels as 1998 because there was a small decline in beef cattle prices and a small in crease in both private land lease rates and livestock production costs.
The $1.35 per AUM graz ing fee applies to lands in the West administered by the BLM and to National Forests and National Grasslands administered by the Forest Service.
The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages 264 mil lion acres of Federal land, most of it in 12 Western States, including Alaska, for a variety of pub lic uses and values, includ ing graz ing, outdoor recre ation, wa tershed protection, wildlife habitat conserva tion, and mining. The For est Service, an agency of the U.S. De partment of Agricul ture, manages 191 million acres of Federal lands in 44 states. Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The Forest Service manages these lands for multiple uses in cluding grazing.
Time to start thinking Pit River Duck Race
The Rotary Clubs of Alturas are sending out notices to businesses and supporters this week to start thinking about the Duck Race set for Fandango Days in July.
The letter is asking for either a coupon for inclusion in the valuable Duck Race coupon book, or to donate one of the major prizes for the race.
The deadline for coupons or prizes is March 15 and the 3,000 rubber ducks will go on sale April 15.
If a business does not receive a letter about the Duck Race and would like to participate, or for more informa tion please call Bill Madison at 233-3432.
The proceeds from the Duck race go into the Alturas Youth Park.
Record news for Feb. 25, 1999
- Rite Aid builders just waiting on weather
- Sierra Club to oppose Medicine Lake projects
- Modoc loses 500 voters
- BLM proposes closure of Nelson Corral
- AMVETS donate van for local veterans
- MPAT offer Fiddler on the Roof
Rite Aid builders just waiting on weather
The new Rite Aid store planned for Fifth and Main Street in Alturas is a go, and the contractor is just waiting for the weather to cooperate.
According to Reeve-Knight Construction, Inc. Project Manager Mike Poderick, the Roseville company is hoping to start building sometime at the end of March or early April, but no firm start date has been set because of Modoc's unpre dictable weather and cold snaps. The company last Fall, but decided to wait until spring to begin construction after consulting about the weather.
Poderick said the Rite Aid store for Alturas will be about 11,000 square feet and will take between 120 to 130 days, on the average, to complete. He said some local contractors will be used in the construction project.
According to Rite Aid literature, the store will include a pharmacy, a convenience food mart, cosmetics, gift and de partment store type items, and a one-hour photo counter, sell ing film and photographic items. Rite Aid expects the store to be open and operating by the spring of 2,000. It will employ between 15 and 20 people.
The Reeve-Knight company has built several Rite Aid Stores including one completed last week in Redding and is now working on a remodel of the Rite Aid store in Susanville.
According to Rite Aid's employment phone line, the store usually begins hiring about a month before it plans on open ing. For more information on jobs call 1-800-345-9444.
Sierra Club to oppose projects
The Sierra club voted to oppose the development of the Telephone Flat Geothermal Project near Medicine Lake.
Two geothermal plants are proposed, one to the Northwest of Medicine Lake known as the Fourmile Hill Project, and one to the South east of Medicine Lake known as Telephone Flat Project. Combined, the two projects would construct up to 26 miles of transmission lines, and several miles of associated pipelines and geothermal well pad sites.
"One of our main con cerns was the threat of build ing transmission lines in side the 10,800 acre Mt. Hoffman Roadless Area," said Kyle Haines, Conser-va tion Chair for the Shasta Group of the Sierra Club. "This area provides impor tant habitat for sensitive species such as the northern Goshawk and American Marten, and is popular with visitors who come to visit the large mounds of black glass-like obsidian" added Haines. According to Forest Service publications, the Medicine Lake Highlands are the result of the largest shield volcano in North America, and contain sev eral glass flows. At over 7,000 feet, Medicine Lake has no outlet, and is fed only by snowmelt and several springs. It is a popular des tination site for campers, fisherman and wildlife watchers who often see os prey and bald eagles along the shoreline.
The Sierra Club has a na tional policy that supports renewable energy develop ment projects including geothermal energy. "We look at each project individ ually to determine the im pacts to the "environment," said Rich Ferguson, Energy Chair for Sierra Club Cali fornia. "Sometimes geoth-ermal projects such as the Telephone Flat Project are at odds with club policy," said Andy Sawyer, Legal Chair for the Chapter. "The club has made roadless area protection a high priority be cause we feel that these areas are important to wildlife and personal solitude." Added Sawyer.
The Forest Service is ana lyzing the effects of the pro posed geothermal projects, and has released Environ mental Impact Reports for both projects. Two energy companies, Cal Pines of San Jose, CA and Cal Energy of Omaha, NE are making the geothermal projects as clean renewable energy sources.
Modoc loses 500 voters
Modoc County "lost" 517 voters this month as Modoc County Clerk Maxine Madison went carefully through the rolls.
The Secretary of State re quires counties to go through their registered voter lists and tag voters who have not voted in the past four elections. For Modoc, that amounted to about 10 per cent of the total registra tion.
The total "good" voter reg istration now amounts to just over 5,100 voters. Madison said her office will be sending a notice to those voters who haven't voted asking them if they still reside in the same place or if they wish to remain regis tered to vote.
"We were surprised there were so many voters who haven't voted," said Madison. "We will be curious to see how many of those 517 voters choose to remain or become active."
BLM Proposes closure at Nelson Corral
Although predicting the weather is rather tricky business, one thing is cer tain: as Modoc moves into spring, the northeast Cali fornia back country will be gin to thaw out.
Along with the thaw come the muddy roads. If the re cent past is any indication, damage to roads, lake shore lines, meadows and other areas will occur as people attempt early spring trips onto the public lands.
The Bureau of Land Management's Al turas Field Office is hoping to limit damage with short-term vehicle closures in the Nel son Corral Reservoir and Delta Reservoir areas, where impacts have been es pecially serious.
Temporary closures are proposed for BLM-managed lands bounded by Likely Mountain/South Fork Moun tain Road on the north, Ash Valley Road on the south, High way 395 on the east and Knox Mountain Road on the west. This would close vehi cle access to the Nelson Cor ral Reservoir. BLM also proposes to temporarily close vehicle access to Delta Reservoir at Bayley Dam, from the old Likely Mill, and from the Likely area east of the reservoir.
"We know these limited closures might cause some inconvenience for those who want to get into these areas for some early spring fish ing." said Alturas Field Man ager Tim Burke, "but the damage we have been seeing to roads and adjacent areas has been substantial."
In addition to causing deep ruts and mud holes on roads, people attempting to drive through muddy areas have damaged mead ows as they drive further around stuck vehi cles and mud holes. These meadows pro vide important habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. Burke said the damage also im pacts water quality in streams and lakes, and is expensive to repair.
BLM proposes to close the areas from March 12 to May 31, depending on local con di tions. Anyone interested can comment on the proposal by writing to the BLM, 708 West 12th St., Alturas, CA 96101, by visiting the of fice, or by phoning (530) 233-4666.
AMVETS donate van to Modoc veterans
In a stroke of absolute generosity, Modoc County military veterans have been given a free ride to the Reno or Redding Veteran's hospitals.
AMVETS, American Veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, has donated a new Chevy all-wheel drive seven-passenger van to transport local veterans. According to Modoc Veterans Service Officer Lillian Schoenheide, the new van, which should be here in April is a Godsend. Modoc County veterans have been trying to get a van for years and had actually started a fundraising project. "Originally, the van was going to come though Disabled American Veterans and we needed about a $9,000 match," said Schoenheide. "We were working on raising those funds when my acquaintances with AMVET said they could help. And AMVET funded the whole thing."
The money raised locally, about $2,000 for the van, will be used to help get the new van coordinator's office going. That office will be in charge of scheduling trips and responding to emergency needs. The DAV's Gordon Hueghen will get that started and has 14 volunteer drivers on line. The phone number for the coordinator's office is 503-233-5787.
Schoenheide said the AMVET van will be available to any Modoc veteran and gas, maintenance and insurance are all paid. "There is no county money going into this van or its operation," she said. "This is a very good deal for local veterans." The van will be available to any veteran for trips to the Veterans hospital in Reno or Redding and can be garnered at a moment's notice, if required. The coordinator will also schedule regular trips for veterans to make scheduled ap pointments as well as coordinate with the Susanville van. The ride is absolutely fee to veterans, said Schoenheide.
She explains that as the active veteran population grows older, there are fewer and fewer people able to take veterans to their appointments. The new van will fill that gap and volunteers drivers are still needed.
While there is not an AMVETS chapter in Modoc, it is a long-standing veterans organization. It was born in 1943 and officially formed in December, 1944 as the American Veterans of World War II. It's goals are as follows: "To promote world peace, preserve the American way of life, and to help the veteran help himself."
The AMVETS Post out of Reno, was the benefactor of the van for Modoc's veterans.
Schoenheide also said there is a new phone number for the VA Medical Center in Reno, 1-888-838-6256. That number can be used for all calls but does not connect to patients' rooms.
MPAT sets for Fiddler on the Roof
Exactly three weeks from today, the Niles Theatre will be transformed into the Russian Village of Anatevka, for open ing night of "Fiddler on the Roof," presented by the Modoc Performing Arts Theatre (MPAT).
The production will run Thursday through Sunday, March 18-21, and the following weekend, Friday through Sunday, March 26-28. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances will begin at 8:00 a.m. Sunday performances will be 3:00 p.m. matinees.
"Fiddler on the Roof" is being produced by Leslie Chace and directed by Sandy Bolden. Gerry Gates is assistant di rector and Sally Clark is music director.
The musical, which features songs such as, "Tradition" and "Sunrise, Sunset", is set in 1905 as tremendous changes are about to take place in Russia, and in the village of Anat evka.
The main character, Tevye, played by Trent Judson, is a Jewish milkman trying to make a meager living to support his wife Golde (played by Terri Jacobson) and their five daughters. What keeps them going are their traditions.
"Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as ... as a fiddler on the roof!" Tevye says in the opening scene.
However, those traditions start to break down as Tevye's daughters make their way in the world. Things appear to be taking the usual course as Yente the matchmaker (Nancy North-Gates) sets up a match between Tevye's eldest daugh ter Tzeitel (Rebekah Richert) and the rich widower Lazar Wolf (Geoff Griffin).
However, Tzeitel wants instead to follow her heart and marry her childhood sweetheart, the poor tailor Motel Kam zoil (David Ash).
Motel and Tzeitel convince Tevye to break the deal with Lazar Wolf and let them get married. Lazar convinces Golde that the two should get married by telling his wife about a dream he had where he was visited by Golde's Grandmother (Edie Asrow) and Lazar Wolf's dead wife (Josanna Clark).
Once the tradition of matchmaking marriages is broken, Tevye's next daughter, Hodel (Crystal Bodmer), decides to marry a visiting revolutionary named Perchik (Jeran Brown).
The third daughter, Chava (Wendy Clark) goes even further by marrying outside the faith. Her union with the Russian Christian named Fyedka (Dan Hoover) pushes Tevye to the limit of finding out what he is willing to accept when it comes to breaking the old traditions.
Little does he know that there are even more changes to come. Who knows what might happen with his two youngest daughters, Sprintze and Bielke (Samantha Brush and Alex Griffin).
The cast for "Fiddler" includes many other interesting characters and an excellent chorus. Others in the cast are: Larry Shippen, Robin Brush, Dee Green, David Cohen, Jim Laacke, Midge Dier, Bill Tierney, Phil Smith, Barbara Green, Mark Main, Jeremy Lucier, Mary Bauer, Heather Gregory, Karen Hayes, Christy Kraaz, Linda Lucier, Herb Morrison, Catherine Tucker and Eleanor Dorton.
- March 1999
Record news for March 4, 1999
- BLM reconsiders closing popular fishing spots
- Telephone Flat EIS due out Friday
- Wrymoo looking forward to new year
- Assistant DA hits ground running
- Renowned guitarist in concert here March 17
- Jobless rate gos up to 13%
- Kay Minto art show opens in Los Angeles
The forecast: It's mostly cloudy today with a chance of rain or snow this evening. Showers are expected Friday through Sunday and variable cloudiness prevails. Looks for 30s as lows and 40s to 50s as highs.
BLM reconsiders closing popular fishing spots
Following an informative and rather friendly meeting Tuesday, the Bureau of Land Management said it may re consider closing two popular fishing spots in Modoc County: Nelson Corral and Delta Reservoirs from March 12 to May 31.
BLM Alturas Area manager Tim Burke was on hand for the Supervisors discussion and while the initial report was about why the BLM was closing the areas because of road damage, it moved into a discussion of alternatives. The road closures will not take effect without another meeting with the county.
The BLM was concerned about road damage going into both areas because of the wet and muddy conditions. According to Burke, there was massive damage to the roads last season and to some meadows areas along the roads.
Roads going into both Nelson Corral and Delta are not smooth, under any circumstances, and become more of a problem when they are wet.
Supervisor Ron McIntyre said he was concerned about closing any public land areas and the access into those ar eas. He told Burke he was involved with the agency in the recent past as an effort to make the reservoirs more produc tive as trout fisheries. He said he hates to see them closed now that they have been successful.
Local resident John Dederick said he felt the closure was unwarranted as well as being proposed without enough time for public comment. He asked that the comment period be extended so that people who frequent those reservoirs have a chance to comment.
According to Dederick, the two reservoirs are generally fished soon after ice break in March and are good until about June. After that, the shallow reservoirs become mossy and weed-filled.
"You can't eat the fish out of those reservoirs in the sum mer," said Dederick. "The public only had eight days to comment and that's not enough notice. The BLM is propos ing to close the areas during their prime fishing time." Dederick also said that most fishermen do not damage the roads going into those areas. He said a minority of people may try to get into the areas when it is unwise, but most are aware of conditions and don't do damage. He also pointed out that the area going into Delta was pretty much void of meadow areas, and instead had more adobe flats.
"I would like to see the BLM take a little more time and find solutions to the problem, not close the area," said Dederick.
Burke told the board he saw no problem in holding off on the closure. He also said the closures of the area, if they did happen, would be by signage and enforcement, not by lock ing gates.
In other action Tuesday, the Board adopted the Goose Lake Working Group's plan as a Local Recovery Plan for the Redband Trout. That places the federal Fish and Wildlife Service in a position to detail why the local recovery plan won't work before adopting one of its own. The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing the redband trout of Goose Lake and tributaries for the Endangered and Threatened species list.
The Goose Lake plan, with cooperation from area ranch ers and agencies, was an effort to stabilize and protect the redband habitat and keep the trout off the endangered species list.
According to Sean Curtis, the local plan has been working and the Goose Lake Working Group has data to show that habitat has been improved and population and spawning numbers of trout are increasing.
The Board also interviewed candidates and appointed Cheryl Baker, Alturas, as the new Modoc County Librarian. Baker, who has been working as the Assistant Librarian, and then as the interim Librarian assumes the post held by Godelieve Uyttenhove, who took as similar post near Eureka. Baker has a Master's Degree in Library Science and takes over immediately.
The county also discussed rules of procedure for board op erations, a free dump day in the county, a resolution dealing with answering machines in county offices, and a bounty on coyotes. Those issues were carried over to a future hearing.
Telephone Flat EIS due on March 5
The final Environmental Impact Statement/Envir-on mental Im pact Report (EIS/EIR) on a proposed geothermal devel opment at Telephone Flat, east of Medicine Lake will be avail able for public re view Friday, March 5.
The document, which an a lyzes the environmental im pacts of the proposed de velop ment and several al terna tives, will be mailed to those who have requested it. Any one interested can get a copy by contacting the Modoc Na tional Forest, (530) 233-5811, or the Bureau of Land man agement's Alturas Field Of fice, (530) 233-4666.
Release of the EIS/EIR be gins a notification period that ends April 5. During this pe riod, written informa tion on the EIS/EIR can be submitted to: Randall Sharp, Modoc National Forest, 800 W. 12th St., Alturas, CA 96101.
Following the notification period, the BLM and Forest Service will announce their decisions on the proposed pro ject.
In addition to this notifi ca tion period, the Siskiyou County Air Pollution Control District Board will hold a pub lic hearing regarding the EIS/EIR. That board must "certify" the environmental document before the project may proceed.
The development proposed by the California Energy General Corp. includes a 49-megawatt geothermal power plant, geothermal production wells, geothermal pipelines and injection wells. An elec tric transmission line would connect the plant with an ex isting Bonneville Power Ad ministration line east of Medicine Lake.
Environmental analysis has been completed, but no de cision has been issued, for the proposd Four Mile Hill geothermal development no-rthwest of Medicine Lake. The project, also for a 49-megawatt power plant and re lated developments, is pro posed by the Calpine Corp.
Both projects are proposed within the Medicine Lake Known Geothermal Re source Area on sites leased during the 1980's. They are proposed for geothermal leases admin istered by the BLM within the Modoc and Klamath national forests. Both are in Siskiyou County.
Friends of Wrymoo make plans
Friends of Wrymoo Railroad Museum held their monthly board meeting on February 6. Plans are under way for Railroad Fund Days, scheduled for July 5, 1999. Dis play or food tables will be available for a $25 donation. Suggestions are welcomed.
Friends' members who have received their renewal ap plication should remit them as soon as possible. For more information on any of the above items, please write to Al turas Wrymoo Railroad Museum, P.O. Box 175, Alturas, CA 96101 or call (530) 233-2576.
New Assistant DA hits job running
For new assistant District Attorney Jordan Funk, the transition into the position didn't take long, there wasn't much free time.
Funk came on board the first part of January when new District Attorney Tom Buckwalter officially took office. There was plenty to do and Funk dove right in.
He came to Modoc from Hamilton, Montana where he had set up a private prac tice following a seven-year stint in Contra Costa County as a Deputy District Attorney.
While he enjoyed the private practice and Montana, Funk said he yearned to get back to prosecution and criminal law.
"I missed being a prosecu tor and its diver sity and wanted to come to a rural area," said Funk. "So far, people here have been very friendly and helpful. I like the area, al though was a little taken back at its remote ness. Not many people would be lieve there is a place like this in California."
Funk was raised on a farm in Utah and graduated from Utah State University, in Logan. He then went to California and grad uated from University of Pacific's McGeorge School of Law in 1990.
He said the justice system in Modoc is fair, efficient and professional. His view of a good prosecutor is one who seeks justice in all cases and treats all cases equally in the eyes of the law.
Funk said he enjoys being in the county and likes the area. His wife, De, and four children, ages 16, 12, eight and two will be moving to Modoc when school is out for the sum mer.
Renowned guitarist in concert here March 17
The late Maestro Andres Segovia called guitarist David Burgess, "AnAssistant DA hits ground ent tech nique." Modoc residents will have the rare opportunity to see and hear David Burgess perform in concert in Alturas on Wednesday, March 17 at the A.C.T Niles Theater, 7:30 p.m.
From colorful and romantic haunting melodies to fiery flamenco music, Burgess' polished technique and flam boyant style have been praised by critics through North and South America, Europe and the Far East. A former student of Andres Segovia, Burgess has won prizes in interna tional guitar competitions in New York, Mexico City, Toronto and Munich.
Currently residing in New York City, Burgess has per formed in Carnegie Recital Hall and at Lincoln Center. He has recorded for Musical Heritage Society and record companies as well as recorded Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" with the Philharmonic Virtuosi of New York on the CBS Masterworks label. His CD "Silver Nugget and Fool's Gold" can be heard on KCHO-FM, Chico at 103.4 FM public radio now through March 17.
His program in Alturas will include some of the finest Spanish works by Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados, along with Latin America music by Agustin Barrios and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
This special concert performance is being presented by Modoc County Office of Education, Modoc County Arts Council, Inc., Alturas Community Theater, California Arts Council and Modoc Joint, Surprise Valley Joint and Tulelake Basin Joint Unified School Districts.
Tickets are $6 general admission at the door; $4 for se niors and students. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Pizza & Pasta Place, Alturas.
Jobless rates goes up to 13%
The Modoc unemployment rate rose to 13 percent for the month of January, 1999. That's up from December, 1998's 10.8 percent and November's 9.2 percent.
The good news is that the January 1999 rate is down from the 1998 jobless rate of 16.8 percent.
In January, 1999 Modoc ranked 41 out of 58 counties in highest unemployment. Siskiyou County's unemployment rate was 15.6 percent, ranking it 49, and Lassen County's jobless rate was 11.4 percent, ranking it 38.
Marin has the least unemployment at 2.2 percent and Colusa has the highest unemployment at 31.7 percent.
Kay Minto, Art.Rage.Us. opens at Los Angeles show; educates at Tahoe
Art. Rage. Us - the exhibit of art and writ ing by women faced with breast cancer, will open with Kay Minto's unique, powerful and grace ful "Nike of Mastectomy," as one of the pro found show pieces at the Los Angeles Pub lic Library's Central Li brary in the Getty Gallery, dur ing a public display from March 6 through May 30.
Last April, Eagleville sculptor/artist Minto had the honor of displaying her Nike of Mastectomy at San Francisco's new and mod ern library in a premiere of the Art. Rage. Us. show. Minto's "Nike" combines Modoc's Lava rock with T.I.G.-welded alu minum.
This year's first show in Los Angeles, has also prompted the Art.Rage.Us. show to be considered in other large metropolitan cities throughout the United States, as a unique tool to help educate and make women and their loved ones aware of breast cancer.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Los Angeles Affiliate, will host the formal opening of the Los Angeles show this Saturday, March 6. Art.Rage.Us. is sponsored by Ma cy's and Cedars-Sinai with additional sup port by Universal Care, Peggy Yorkin, Cedars Sinai Pic ture Your Health; and Women's Center Resource Center, Berkeley.
In collaboration, a 176-page commemora tive book with all selected writing and color re productions of the art, will be on sale at Central Li brary, L.A. The writings of fer intensely personal statement that provide a window into women with breast cancer, their hearts and minds. They explore the emo tional complexity of the experience of breast cancer from di agnosis and treat ment to liv ing with the ill ness and contemplating death.
Many breast cancer pa tients, including Minto have used art and writing as part of their healing. The collec tion of work pro vides a unique glimpse into the pri vate world of breast cancer from more than 75 women in the U.S., Canada and Eu rope.
The Art. Rage. Us Coali tion received more than 500 submissions of art and writ ing. Works selected, includ ing Minto's, for the exhibit were chosen through a jury process and include draw ings, sculpture, photogra phy, paintings, textile works and ceramics as well as poetry, essays, short stories and videos. Each selected piece is accompanied by a brief statement about the women's expe rience with the disease and her artistic pro cess.
In addition to the exhibit, the library will also host several breast cancer educa tion and awareness pro grams developed by local community organizations.
Minto will also be reach ing out in her spe cial artistic way to younger gen erations at the fourth annual Board ing for Breast Can cer" event on Saturday, April 17 at Sierra Tahoe Resort.
Last year's event drew five rock bands who per formed with 6000 people at tending. Be cause the event falls at the same time as the Art.Rage.Us. display in Los Angeles, Minto plans to pro duce posters of her Nike of Mas tectomy, and take her self-confrontation sculp ture. "Self Confronta tion," a five-foot, four-inch sculpture with a mirror face, will be dis played at the popular event for a day full of entertain ment and education.
The event targets women in their 20s who need to know they are at risk for breast can cer, "with one in eight women diag nosed as having breast can cer these days, versus one in 20 in the past," says Minto, a survivor of breast cancer.
"This event draws many young people and has proven to be a very valuable form of communication. It's a great way to educate and validates a young woman's responsi bil ity for her body," explains Minto. "If you find a lump [breast], do something about it," she stressed.
The occasion increases aware ness about breast can cer, re search and education and helps raise funds for breast cancer research. The popular event will branch out to eastern ski areas in the near future, notes Minto.
The event was launched in memory of Monica Stew ard, a prominent member of the snowboard industry and co-owner of Bonfire, a snow board clothing company. Steward was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 26 and passed away at the age of 29 in early 1996, shortly before the inaugural "Boarding for Breast Cancer" event be came a reality.
Now considered the largest snowboard benefit in the world, the BBC event has em braced the music com munities with top flight en tertainment.
BBC brings in big sounds, loud and proud vibes and new, donated snowboards to be given in drawings, along with clothing and acces sories, plus world-class pro snowboard ers half pipe and big air exhibitions, free snowboard lessons and demonstrations.
Amid the flurry of ex citement, big spon sors, top riders and big bands will be the solid and enlightening message to young people to "know more, educate plus reduce risk." Photo exhibits, information booths and awareness and education exhibits on Breast Cancer plus Minto's head-turning art will all help to promote that message.
It is by way of "Healing Legacies," an artists' slide registry, that Minto became in volved in BBC. Healing Legacies is housed in the same building that Fuse Sports Mar ket ing is located in, in Vermont. In response to Steward's death, BBC was organized in a few furious months by her friends at W.I.G. magazine and Lisa Hudson of Twist Cloth ing, and Fuse Integrated Sports Marketing. Minto was se lected as the west coast repre sen tative for "Healing Legacies."
In just three short years, BBC, a national non-profit group, is dedicated to doing a bet ter job of detecting, treat ing and curing breast can cer through cutting edge re search and edu cational pro grams.
Record News summaries for March 18, 1999
- Sheriff Mix calls NRA attack a mistake
- Rite Aid Store for Alturas under evaluation
- Treasurer wants more aggressive investing
- Bowling Alley owners sue City of Alturas
- MPAT opens with new play "Fiddler on the Roof"
Sheriff Mix calls NRA attack a major mistake
Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix calls a widely-dis tributed letter from the National Rifle Association accusing him of supporting a new state senate assault weapon bill "ludicrous."
"Anyone who knows anything about me knows better than that," said an angry Mix Tuesday. "My philosophy is and always has been that we deal with the perpetrators of crime not the implements they use. I believe strongly in the Second Amendment and that all citizens have the right to bear arms and protect themselves."
Mix has received several calls and visits from local con cerned members of the NRA and most were not all that friendly in the beginning of the talk. Mix has been able to calm down the anger once he explains the situation.
In a letter from the NRA's Institute of Legislative Action dated March 8, the association accused Mix of being co-chairman of the California Attorney General's "Assault Weapons" Task Force and of supporting a new Senate Bill 23, which the NRA calls the strictest gun ban in the nation.
"I oppose SB 23 and I was not co-chairman of the Attorney General's Committee," said Mix. "I was a member of that committee and I argued against the provisions of SB 23. The NRA made a mistake and I've called them to tell them that. I don't hold it against the NRA, but a couple of their people need to get the facts right."
The NRA letter said Mix agreed to the following provi sions of SB 23: make all detachable centerfire and rimfire magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds illegal to possess; for citizens to pay to have magazines modified so they could not hold more than 10 rounds, the failure to modify the magazines would result in arrest; and make it illegal for law-abiding concealed weapon permit holders, both civil ian and retired law-enforcement, to carry or possess maga zines that hold more than 10 rounds."
"Call Sheriff Mix . . . and ask him why he is attacking our rights," the NRA letter states. "Let Sheriff Mix know that if he seeks re-election, gun owners will not forget this when they go to the polls."
Mix called that document a "hit letter" and said he hoped the NRA would clear up the matter and release a corrected version in the near future. Mix is generally regarded lo cally and statewide as a protector of gun-owners' rights.
According to the NRA, SB 23 would make it a crime to loan a 15-round M1 Carbine magazine to a friend at the range. The proposal also goes as far, says the NRA, as to out law rifles like the Remington 552 tube-fed .22 long rifle and would classify virtually all centerfire rifles -- like the popu lar Browning BAR hunting rifle -- as an assault weapon.
"The .22's in question are what a lot of local folks have and use for shooting squirrels," said Mix. "Many of us had those rifles when we were kids. Who in their right mind would think I'd support anything that banned those rifles?"
Alturas Rite Aid store under new evaluation
Faced with apparent real estate problems nationally, Rite Aid last Friday said it would cut the number of stores it plans to build in 1999 from 578 to 300.
According to Rite Aid Public Relations' Allison Costello, the planned store for Alturas is one of the stores on the evaluation list. She said there has been no decision at the corporate level yet as to the fate of the local facility. Costello said she isn't certain as to a date the final deci sions will be made, but will inform local officials of the outcome.
Rite Aid has plans to build a nearly new 11,000 square foot store at Fifth and Main Streets in Alturas. Construction was scheduled to start this spring on the fa cility, but that date will probably be put on hold until the company analyzes its financial position and direction.
The Alturas store would feature a pharmacy, including a drive through window, convenience food items, general merchandise, cosmetics and one-hour photo service.
According to news reports, Rite Aid suffered a steep shortfall in fourth quarter earnings to the costs of opening and relocating stores. Rite Aid also expects stock earn ings to fall to below predicted values.
Rite Aid is the third largest drugstore chain the coun try, and stresses it has confidence in the new stores it has opened and those it plans to open. It expects 1999 to be a bet ter year.
Treasurer wants more aggressive investment
Modoc County Treasurer Cheryl Knoch, who took office in January, has wasted little time in an effort to make the county's investment activities more aggressive.
Tuesday she presented a proposal to the Board of Supervisors asking them to consider approval of an in vest ment advisory contract with Pillar Point Capital Management, Inc.
Knoch told the board that Pillar Point has managed funds for several California counties, including Plumas, Sierra and Glenn and those counties were very pleased with the re sults.
Knoch said she wanted to be more aggressive in the in vestment of county funds, as well as limiting risk, in an ef fort to give the county the best and safest returns possi ble on investment.
Dan Calabrese of Pillar Point presented his plan to the board, which was generally supportive and pleased with the idea. He told the board his company would help provide goals, planning, strategy and documentation to assist in the county's investment prac tices. He stressed his com pany is fee only and does not receive commissions. Knoch is the in vestment authority for Modoc.
Supervisors did not take action on the item Tuesday, ask ing County Counsel Tom Buckwalter to look into the process set up by county code governing investment prac tices. They are expected to take action at the next meet ing. Only three board mem bers were present at Tuesday's meeting, Terry Williams, Ron McIntyre and Nancy Huffman. Those three felt the entire board should make the decision.
In other action, the Board voted to move forward with the purchase of a new informa tion system, including billing, for Modoc Medical Center at a cost of about $180,000. Administrative Officer Mike Maxwell told the board a re cently awarded state grant of $50,000 would make the down payment and the equipment, which is sorely needed, would be paid off in five years.
The Hospital's Teresa Jacques told the board the new billing system will help the hospital immeasurably as it will produce customer-friendly bills, which should be accu rate. The current sys tem has been a thorn in the hospital's operation for years and is wholly outdated.
Maxwell also reported that the future of the hospital was looking much better as the University of Southern California has completed its analysis and suggests a coop erative management ar rangement with the county. USC staff has been to Modoc and assessed the situation, finding some workable op tions.
According to Maxwell, USC, the county and hospital trustees will meet April 19, tentatively, and the supervi sors may be able to approve a contract arrangement on April 20.
The details of that contract will be made available in April and Maxwell said ini tial conversations with USC have been very promising.
The board also drafted a letter to the Department of Fish and Game requesting a warden be located in the Big Valley area.
Bowling Alley owners sue Alturas
The owners of the now closed Alturas bowling alley, Norm and Mary Lakey, have filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Alturas, the Alturas Volunteer Fire Department and Wayne Bethel.
That suit was filed in January in the U.S. Eastern District Court in Sacramento alleg ing a deprivation of the Lakey's rights of free speech, equal protection and due pro cess.
The city has filed a motion to dismiss the suit as being without merit on all counts, in cluding it, the Police Department and the Fire Department.
The suit emanates from an incident on January 16, 1998, when Bethel fired several ri fle rounds into the back of the bowling alley from the Alturas Fire Department building across the street. The Lakeys are filing suit against the Fire Department, which Bethel was a member, and Bethel as an individual. Bethel pled guilty to two mis demeanors in the case and served 30 days in the county jail, and remains on proba tion.
The Lakeys are alleging the incident caused physical damage to the building and emotional distress to them and their cus tomers. The Lakeys allege that the inci dent and "subsequent loss of business" caused them to eventually move from Modoc and give up their business.
The Lakey's are also ac cusing the Alturas Police Department of mishandling or mis representing the inci dent and the Fire Department of also covering up the inci dent to protect itself and Bethel.
The Lakeys are asking, among other things, for mone tary damages covering the loss of business, emotional pain and suffer ing, inconve nience, humiliation and mental anguish as well as attorney fees and punitive damages.
MPAT openms season with "Fiddler on the Roof"
The Modoc Performing Arts Theatre production of "Fiddler on the Roof", di rected by Sandy Boldon, pre mieres tonight at the Niles Theatre at 8:00 p.m. Along with a brand new show, comes a new talent, Trent Judson, in the lead role of Tevye.
Judson moved from Visalia to Alturas a little less than a year ago and will be making his first ever perfor mance with MPAT.
"Fiddler" will run March 18, 19 and 20 (Thursday, Fri day and Saturday) at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday, March 21, at 3:00 p.m. Next week end, there will be 8:00 p.m. runs on March 26 and 27 (Friday and Saturday) with a final Sun day matinee at 3:00 p.m. on March 28. Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for se niors and students. They may be pur chased at Pizza & Pasta Place, the Niles Theatre box office or at the door at the time of the performance.
Judson, a Wyoming na tive, has performed in other mu sicals in other places be fore, including "Guys and Dolls", "Man of La Mancha" and "Carousel". He also made his living as a musi cian for a couple of years while playing in a band in clubs around Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.
On the surface, Tevye ap pears to be a simple Jewish milkman living in the Rus sian village of Anatevka in 1905. However, the musical shows Tevye having to deal with the very complex strug gle between progress and conti nuity. Tevye tries to bal ance changes that are taking place in the world and in his own family with the Jewish tradi tions that address almost every area of his life, includ ing even eating and dress ing.
"He straddles that line," Judson says of the character he will portray. "He's got one foot in the traditional world where he was raised and one foot in the modern world, where he sees that impor tant things are taking place. He realizes that some changes can't be stopped. Throughout the play he fights these battles within himself."
Some of the changes are ob viously for the better. For ex ample, Tevye convinces his wife Golde, played by Terri Jacobson, to allow their five daughters to be educated, something that was a very novel idea in that time and place.
However, there is also no telling where the road to change will lead once you have started down it. Or as Tevye sings at one point, "One little time you pull out a prop, and where does it stop? Where does it stop?"
Tevye and Golde's five daughters, played by Rebekah Richert, Crystal Bodmer, Wendy Clark, Samantha Brush and Alex Griffin, are giving their parents a first-hand look at the conflict be tween change and tradition. The el dest, Tzeitel, played by Richert, makes a pledge to marry Motel the Tailor (David Ash) without first con sulting her father or Yente the village matchmaker (Nancy North-Gates).
When Tevye allows Motel and Tzeitel to choose to marry each other, something that has never been done before in that community, he probably has no idea that his next two daughters will push things even further in their relation ships with a radical student named Perchik (Jeran Brown) and a Russian named Fyedka (Dan Hoover).
Judson points out that rela tions between parents and kids haven't changed much from 1905 to 1999, just the is sues they disagree over. The children of every generation make changes that the parents try to understand.
In his own life, Judson has seen the times change to the point where, "There's a lot less prejudice in the world than there was in my parent's generation."
In turn, Judson's genera tion has had to try to under stand the choices of their own children.
"A lot of what Tevye goes through is the same sort of stuff we deal with today. We have to do the same battles with our own kids. They make choices that 20 years ago we never would have thought of making."
Besides the changes going on in Tevye's own family, the outside world is also bringing upheaval as Tevye and his Jewish community try to peacefully co-exist with the Rus sian majority. This un comfortable relationship be tween the two groups of people is reflected in the careful friendship between Tevye and the local Constable (Jim Laacke).
Trying to hold on to what is important amidst a chang ing world leads Tevye to reason that, "In our little village of Anatevka, you might say ev ery one of us is a fiddler on the roof, trying to scratch out a pleasant simple tune without breaking his neck."
The rest of the cast in cludes: Larry Shippen - The Rabbi; Robin Brush - Mendel the Rabbi's son; Edie Asrow - Grandma Tzeitel and the Rabbi's wife; Dee Green - Avra ham the Bookseller; David Cohen - Nachum the Beggar; Josanna Clark - Fruma Sarah and Villager; Midge Dier - Shaindel; Bill Tierney - Mordcha the Innkeeper; Phil Smith - Sasha; Chip Massie - The Fiddler; Mark Main - Her schel; Jeremy Lucier - Yakov; Mary Bauer - Miriam; Kerry Davis - Mord cha's wife; Heather Gregory - Devorah; Karen Hays - Ruth; Christie Kraaz - Mirala and Russian Soldier Ivan; Linda Lucier - Rifka and Russian Soldier Josef; Herb Morrison - Yussel the Hatmaker; Eleanor Dorton - Ruth; Gerry Gates - Russian Orthodox Priest; and Geoff Griffin - Lazar Wolf.
"Fiddler on the Roof" is produced by Lesley Chace. Gerry Gates is the Assistant Director to Boldon.
Sally Clark is the Musical Director with accompani ment provided by pianist Carol Richert and violinist Bar bara Green.
Set design is by Mike Hal derman and costume design is by Nancy North-Gates. Props and Set Decoration are being handled by Karen Hays.
Record news for March 25, 1999
- WASC Committee airs report on Modoc High
- Vandals damage several golf carts at Arrowhead
- Layoff notices issued to 4 Modoc teachers
- SV Squirrel hunt is rounding up
- Health Fair is a great deal
- Artist takes own life
WASC Committee gives assessment of Modoc High
After 18 months of forms, correspondences, committee meetings, focus groups and campus visits, the Western As sociation of Schools and Colleges (WASC) finally gave its assessment of the strengths and weaknesses it sees at Modoc High School. The WASC committee gave a report of its find ings yesterday afternoon.
The committee of four educators will make a recommen dation, which will not be disclosed, to the WASC organiza tion about how soon an assessment needs to be done again at MHS. WASC will then make its own determination of when the next assessment needs to be conducted.
WASC can choose anywhere between one and six years for the next assessment. One year would indicate that WASC feels there are many areas that need to be checked up on, whereas six years would indicate that things are going smoothly. WASC will make this determination in the next few weeks.
On Wednesday, the four person committee that has spent several days on campus, gave strong praise for the faculty and students at Modoc.
"I've been very impressed with your students," said com mittee member Bill Zeller, a Vice Principal at Yuba High School. He described MHS students as "bright, candid and conversant," as well as "extremely well-mannered" and even "joyful."
Zeller also pointed out that one-half of all graduating Modoc seniors took the SAT this year.
"That's an exceptionally good rate," he said.
The Modoc faculty got high marks for the many extra things they do, such as informally collaborating on thematic teaching projects, advising students on academic and ca reer decisions, making time to work with students individ ually, and making a wide variety of extra and co-curricular activities available.
"It's because you stretch yourselves that this happens," faculty members were told by Committee Chairperson Sharon Loucks, Director of Secondary Education for the Washington Unified School District in Sacramento.
Committee member Jack Walsh, a teacher at Anderson High School, said, "I met a lot of very caring, intelligent, hard-working teachers here. You're very lucky to have these people."
The Modoc campus also received high marks for cleanli ness and safety. Loucks, who is used to seeing gang patrols and teachers with walkie-talkies in Sacramento, said she was very impressed with how safe it is at MHS as compared with high schools in larger cities.
"I'll tell stories about this place for a long time," she said. "Everyone should die and come up here."
The WASC committee also liked the school's Agriculture and Natural Resources Academy, the Special Education programs, student-teacher ratios and the effort to look at school wide learning results.
However, the committee also identified areas that it would like MHS to take a closer look at and follow-up on.
One area of concern is to make a clear distinction be tween what duties will be handled on-site at MHS, and what should be handled by the Modoc Joint Unified School Dis trict. The committee found there was a lack of clarity on these issues.
In two areas or the report the committee brought up the need for a comprehensive technology plan that gives students more access to computers and the internet.
Other areas to focus on included: greater involvement of parents and the community, creating a leadership infras tructure among the faculty, a cohesive career services plan, making instructional strategies "more consistent across the whole program," and developing a delivery system that will help students "be more connected to health services available to them," including information on drugs, sexually trans mitted diseases and pregnancy.
Vandals damage 12 carts at city's Arrowhead golf course
Sometime after 10 p.m. Tuesday night, vandals damaged at least 12 golf carts, most privately owned, at Arrowhead Golf Course at the end of north Warner Street in Alturas.
According to Alturas Chief of Police Larry Pickett, dam age to the carts ranged from ma jor to minor, but was exten sive. In addition, the vandals broke six expensive sprinkler heads on the nursery portion of the course.
"We found beer bottles on the course and a lot of the carts had broken roofs, crunched bumpers and dented sides," said manager Rod Gately. "It looked as though whomever did this drove all over the course playing fol low the leader and bumper cars."
Manager Brad Server said most of the carts were brought back to the storage sheds, but one was left in a barbed wire fence off of hole number eight.
"The first thing we checked after the carts was the greens, and luckily they did not damage them," Server said. "We were wor ried they might have been spinning brodies on the greens. We're fortunate they didn't."
Pickett said there is reason to believe the incident oc curred after 10 p.m., because neighbors of the golf course were up until at least that time and did not witness anything unusual.
Pickett said police are continuing the in vestigate clues in the incident. A damage es timate has not be tabulated, but Pickett said it could be substantial.
A reward will be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals involved in the vandalism.
Layoffs set to four teachers
Modoc Joint Unified School District, faced with a drop in enrollment of about 100 students, has issued layoff notices to four teachers.
Superintendent Craig Drennan said the district is treat ing this enrollment downturn in a cautious mode and is go ing as slowly as realistically possible in staff reductions.
Drennan said the district is keeping tabs on enrollment figures and is hoping the downturn this year is abnormal and the student population will rebound in the near future.
Several schools throughout the northstate are experienc ing downward enrollment shifts and are making adjust ments to handle the drops. Schools in the Burney-Fall River area are facing several layoff notices and teachers have gone to the public in support of teacher salaries and reten tion.
The MJUSD is also advertising for a new Modoc High School Principal, after accepting the resignation/retirement of Duke Pasquini. Pasquini's retirement is effective at the end of this year and Drennan is hoping a replacement is found by that time, but the job will be left open until filled.
The principal's position is being now being advertised in statewide school publications.
SV Squirrel Rounds up
The one-day annual Squirrel Round-up hosted by the Greater Surprise Valley Chamber of Commerce will kick off Saturday, March 27 with a start time of 7:00 a.m. and ending at 4:00 p.m.
The public is invited to enjoy the awards evening, beef barbecue and silent auction at the Modoc District Fair grounds Restaurant starting at 5:00 p.m. Door prizes do nated by local businesses will be given to lucky hunters. Dinner tickets are available at Page's Market, Surprise Valley Auto Parts and the Chamber of Commerce office, Main Street, Cedarville.
Health Fair offers something for everyone Saturday morning
All ages will be taking a look at personal wellness in a festive setting this Saturday, March 27 when the "Share the Spirit of Good Health" Modoc County Health Fair opens in the Griswold Gym at Modoc High School, Eighth Street, Alturas.
Free health screenings, give-a-ways for free health-related gifts, information and transportation to the Health Fair will be made available to everyone who comes through the doors from 8:00 a.m. 12:00 noon.
Admission is free and all health screen ing services will be free to the public. This fifth annual event is sponsored by Modoc County Health Services, Modoc Indian Health Project, Modoc Medial Center and Families Matter.
"It's going to be a great team effort," offers Kelly Crosby, Deputy Director of Modoc County Public Health and a Health Fair co ordinator. "We should have about 30 booths or stations and all decorated this year."
No one should go without transportation, as reservations for rides to the health fair can be arranged by calling Liz at Sage Stage at 233-3595 starting today.
Modoc Health Services was able to contract the services of Sage Stage through MediCal and Dental Screening grant funding to bring people to the Health Fair for the screenings.
Children will have ample opportunity for fun and learning at the Children's Mini Health Fair being sponsored by Families Matter, Even Start Parents, Systems of Care Parent Advocates, MCDAC and Modoc County Health Services. The area will be set up for children in the weight room and par ents are encouraged to join them.
Sixth graders will have the opportunity to have the State required Hepatitis B immu nizations free of charge and a limited amount of pneumonia vaccine is available for adults.
This year, spinal scans and dental screenings have been added. Free finger stick blood tests will check glucose and ane mia. Weight and blood pressure checks will be available free.
The only charge will be for those who choose a Blood Screening test available for $10, a deal that can't be beaten when com pared to the regular cost of the test. The re quirement is to fast from midnight until af ter the blood test is taken. Only black coffee or water should be consumed prior to the test. The test checks blood sugar levels and cholesterol count.
To break the fast, stop by 1999 Modoc High's Project Graduation Pancake Break fast in Oxley Hall and help yourself and Pro ject Grad at the same time. They will be serv ing from 8 a.m. until the food supply runs out.
"Tons of drawings, such as one for a free mammogram, will be taking place," offers Crosby. Booths will be decorated and three prizes given for best design, originality of decoration, based on this year's theme.
Learn more about medical insurance ben efits available through the new Healthy Fam ilies program and MediCal. Pick up a free toothbrush and dental floss and plan to have fun and learn about health and nutrition.
"A lot of volunteers will be helping with the event and have given up their time this Sat urday to make this a special event," said Crosby. "Modoc Indian Health Project is kindly providing breakfast for each volun teer this year. We're hoping to see a big turnout this year."
Artist takes own life
Noted local artist Margot Ann "Sissy" Freeman died at her own hands March 11 near her Lake City home.
According to the Modoc County Sheriff's Office, Freeman, age 49, had been very depressed and her body was found on a hillside not far from her home.
In addition to her artwork, she was also a seasonal back-country ranger for the Modoc National Forest's Warner Mountain Ranger District.
She had just recently dis played her artwork, mostly sculpture, at the Art Center in Alturas. Skip Arnew, a good friend of Freeman's, said until recently she had a cer tain flair for life, that burned as brightly as her plasma cutter.
She used the plasma cutter to cut much of her metal art work. Her sculptures were displayed locally and in gal leries as far away as the Bay Area.
During her life, she en joyed working with children, teaching various art classes and sharing her love of na ture with the students in the Surprise Valley Schools.
She had been experiencing depression during the last few months, said Arnew. He and friend Gordon Ash became concerned on March 11 when she did not answer repeated phone calls.
"The light of Sissy's life burned as brightly as her plasma cutter," said Arnew. "Surprise Valley and all of Modoc County are now de prived of her talents. It's a shame, she had so much to of fer. Her life's light just burned out too soon."
Freeman is survived by her parents, Harry and Margaret Freeman of Mill Valley, Ca., sons Justin Haet and Ian Haet of Florida, and a brother James Freeman of Michigan.
Following cremation, her remains were inurned at St. John's Episcopal Church Memorial Gardens in Ross, Ca.
- April, 1999
- Record news summaries for April 1, 1999
- City gets started on major street repairs
- Modoc profile, a look at the county
- New Director of Nurses has positive outlook, plans
- Tobacco Education Coalition has new name
- Rap Artist performs at Niles Theater
The forecast: Partly cloudy skies today with clearing tonight. It looks mostly sunny on Friday with temperatures warming up into the 50s. Partly cloudy this weekend with a chance of showers.
Major city street repair project gets underway
The Alturas City Council this week approved a bid pack age that starts a major street project for this coming sum mer, plus another project that will take care of Carlos and Warner streets in the summer of 2,000.
According to Public Works Director Stacy Chase, the en gineering for this summer's FEMA repair project is under way and actual street construction should begin around June.
Chase said the project will involve about 58 blocks, cover ing some 3.5 to four miles of the city's worst streets. The FEMA project covers what were designated as storm-dam aged streets and carries a FEMA approved price tag of about $2.1 million.
"This summer's project should take care of the city's worst streets, with the exception of a couple areas not ap proved for repair by FEMA," said Chase. "It should put the city's streets in pretty good shape."
Chase said the project this time around will be done cor rectly. Each street will be excavated, a new base, strong fab ric and a solid covering of asphalt will be put down. In addi tion, some areas of the recent FEMA project, East Street for example, will also be repaired.
A few of the streets covered under this summer's project are: Maple between 10th and 12th; East A and East D; Northeast B Street; and 2nd Street between Rine and Howard.
There are 12 blocks set for reconstruction in the northwest part of town, nine blocks in the main part of town, 17 blocks on the eastside, 18 blocks on the northside and several other areas.
"There will be work going on all over the city," said Chase. "I don't expect the traffic conditions to be any worse than they were with the last FEMA project. But, there will be a lot of activity going on this summer."
Engineering work will start on the Carlos and Warner Street project this summer. The construction of that street is scheduled for the summer of 2,000 at a cost of about $1.7 mil lion.
Modoc's profile, a look at the county
The school population is facing a downturn of about 100 students in the Modoc Joint Unified School District and other schools in the area are having the same problem.
In some circles, there is a fear that Modoc County's popu lation may have actually de clined this past year. The Center for Economic Development, out of Chico State issued an Economic and Demographic Profile for 1999 that has some interesting as sertions and numbers.
For instance, the profile shows that the city of Alturas lost 20 residents from 1997 to 1998, from 3,160 to 3,140. By con trast, the county as a whole maintained its population of 10,150 both years. The county has increased in population from 9,600 in 1990 to 10,150 in 1998. The city of Alturas, meanwhile, has gone from a high of 3,270 in 1993 to 3,140.
According to Chico State, the county is projected to in crease in population to about 13,500 by the year 2020.
It's interesting to note that in 1995, 86 people left Modoc, while in 1997, 160 came in. In real terms, during 1995 and 1996 the county lost 100 people, but in 1997 it had a net gain of 150. That year the county had 110 births and 120 deaths.
When it comes to age breakdowns of the population the age group in the 50 and above category makes up 3,239 of the popu lation. By contrast, the age group from age 10 to 19 makes up 1,345. The age 20 to 29 group has 950 people and the age 30 through age 49 group has 2,681.
When considering those over retirement age, there are 2,632 people in that group. What's good about that, ac cording to the report is that older people tend to do well here. There are 125 people age 85 and over, 200 between the ages of 80 and 84, 313 between age 75-79, 393 between the ages of 70 and 74 and 652 between the ages of 65 and 69.
When it comes to the level of education achieved by Modoc residents over 18, there are 1,104 with a college de grees, 1,507 with some college and 2,402 with a high school diploma. There are also 1,420 without a high school diploma and an other 575 with less than a ninth grade education.
It's also interesting to note that Modoc's labor force has dropped from a 1991 high of 4,480 to a 1997 low of 3,990. The number of people employed fell from 1991's 4,000 to 1997's 3,540.
The largest number of jobs is found in technical, sales and administrative support services, then managerial and professional specialties, followed by services, farming and forestry.
A telling picture of the eco nomic condition of the county is found in the per capita per sonal income change over the years 1994 to 1996. During that period, the per capita income went down from $15,742 to $14,743. Per captia income is the total personal income di vided by total population.
The county's median fam ily income, that point at which half of all families are above and half are below, is at $27,407. The state's median family income is $40,559. The median household income in Modoc is $22,029, lower than the state's $35,798.
Services remains the area of industry with the greatest percent of employment, with retail trade, second, and manu facturing, third. In agriculture, employment has dropped from 1,242 in 1983 to 871 in 1996. In the construc tion industry, employment went from 114 in 1977 to 139 in 1996. The manu facturing in dustry fell off from 1977's 234 to 57 in 1996. The trade indus tries moved from 600 employ ees in 1977 to 816 in 1996. The service industry employment has gone from 1977's 611 jobs, to 794 in 1996. The best year for that industry was 1987 with 920 jobs.
Government employment in Modoc County went from 1977's 887 jobs to 1996's 1,345. That's down from 1995's total of 1,361.
The latest figures reported in the profile, show food stamp payments to county residents went from a 1977 total of $158,000 to a 1996 total of $1,035,000. Those numbers are ex pected to drop as welfare re form kicks in over the next two to three years.
Payment of Aid to Families and Dependent Children (welfare) went from $525,000 in 1977 to $2,664,000 in 1996, but those numbers and cases are also expected to drop with wel fare reform.
The problem facing Modoc is creating new jobs to place those welfare and other work ers into, once they run out of their benefits. There are sev eral projects in the works, how ever none have come to fruition at this point.
New MMC Director of Nurses sees MMC moving in a positive direction
Maureen Nicholson is no stranger to Modoc County or Modoc Medical Center. She has come full circle from being born at the Alturas facility to returning as the new Direc tor of Nurses.
For 20 years, Nicholson was employed at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center, Reno, Nev. For eight of those years, she worked as a regis tered nurse specializing in Orthopedics and acute medi cal rehabilitation nursing. The following 12 years were spent in management and as Manager of Rehabilita tion Services which included the Inpatient Acute Medical Rehabilitation Program, In Patient and Out Patient Ser vices for Physical, Occupa tional and Communication Therapy, as well as Director of Nursing of the hospital-based Skilled Nursing De partment.
Little did she dream 30 years ago when she left Al turas, that one day she would return to lend her expertise in a variety of disciplines to her hometown.
Nicholson made the choice to go into nursing, only after studying interior design and sociology, which gave her the opportunity to work with children. She was born in Alturas to Harvey Milligan, a Modoc High teacher and Fay Milligan Smith, MHS Librarian and graduated from Modoc Union High School. She also graduated from Reno Busi ness College, attended Uni versity of Nevada, Reno and Truckee Meadows Commu nity College and received an Associate of Science Nurs ing Degree. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Chapman University, Orange, Calif. She holds national certification as a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse.
A year and a half ago, she and husband Walt who re tired from Caterpillar Corp., decided to take a year off to enjoy traveling, their chil dren, grandchildren and life in general.
"We had a highly intense lifestyle with both our jobs, before we made the move to Jess Valley," said Nichol son. "We are loving it here." The Nicholsons are enjoy ing remodeling their cabin to a home, cross country ski ing and getting a start on their newest venture called "Pine Shadows Handcrafted Gifts of Distinction." Walt creates intricately detailed birdhouses of historic sites within the county and rare wood boxes of all shapes and sizes. Maureen does the painting on the bird houses. The two are gearing for big shows in July, August in Graeagle and Genoa in the fall.
But, after keeping an eye on Modoc Medical Center for the past year, and knowing how vital the hospital is to the community, Nicholson was ready to jump back into the hospital scene and applied for the Director of Nurses po sition, which she was offered in November.
"I wear many hats here," she said with a smile of her new post. " I also believe in a team approach to health care and will further develop the whole hospital as a team. We need to look at what our needs are, what the commu nity needs and be flexible and see where we can go from here. We need to see where our Dental, Medical, Acute ER and Nursing fit in."
Nicholson is responsible for Program Development, staff education, meeting regulatory requirements for the clinic and acute care, maintaining current li censes and ensuring their compliance, operations of nursing patient care areas and hiring of staff. She has already instituted several changes, including the hir ing of Linda Wellemeyer as the new Clinic Manager as of March 29; and three RNs and one LVN. She is ad dressing the issue of staff education by bringing in qualified instructors for in service trainings.
The staff recently under went inservice regarding TPA an emergency Throm boletic medication for people with heart attacks. They re ceived updated training in Cardiac assessment, stabi lization and transport; res piratory care at the SNF and acute training inservice.
"Education for obstetrics will be a focus in June," said Nicholson, "And we have a brand new birthing bed."
Developing strong restorative and rehabilita tion services at the Skilled Nursing Facility, is a need Nicholson sees within her community which can be provided.
"Our affiliation with USC [Univerity of Southern Cali fornia] is exciting and will help us tremendously, if it can happen," shared Nichol son. "With USC's help we applied for those two grants, which we received. One is already being put to use in purchasing the new billing system, which is expected to be in place sometime in early Fall. They would also be willing to help us update our hospital equipment. Ra diology would also be a piece of that."
"We're also looking at do ing some work at the SNF - developing the yard area with raised flower beds, so residents can get out and do some gardening. Our focus will be to improve the envi ronment, and the yard area will be one of our first pro jects as the weather allows."
Nicholson was pleased with outcome of the Bureau of Licensure's survey in De cember of 1998. "We did very well," she stated.
After returning from a Rural Hospital conference in Yosemite, Nicholson said it only reinforced what her community's needs are and to be flexible.
"I'm really happy with the physicians in the area and the ones who cover the clinic. We have good staff and they are very flexible. It's just so important to have the hospi tal. I really feel that this community needs it medical center."
Tobacco Coalition changes name
The Modoc County To bacco Education Program has created a new acronym for their Coalition.
The Coalition's new name is "HEAT - Health Education About Tobacco Coalition of Modoc County." The HEAT Coalition spon sors Tobacco-Free Commu nity Events, and Health Ed ucation Programs to cre atively teach the youth and residents of Modoc County about the hazards of tobacco use. They also look at com munity concerns regarding tobacco use in workplaces, or tobacco access/use with re gard to the youth of Modoc County, or other concerns regarding the laws pertain ing to tobacco. The Coalition would also like to receive community input as to how they would like to see To bacco Settlement funds spent that are coming to this county.
The new fiscal year for the Tobacco Education Pro gram begins July 1, 1999, at which time funding will be available for Mini-Grants (educational programs), and Sponsorships (Tobacco-Free Events). Mini-Grant activi ties are defined as activities that focus on three priority areas: Reducing Environ mental Tobacco Smoke, Re ducing Youth Access to To bacco, and Countering Pro-Tobacco Influences. Spon sorships consist of support ing sporting, cultural, or ed ucational events in order to counter tobacco promoting at the event, or sponsoring ex isting cultural/community events as tobacco-free. There are various requirements for each of these programs, but if your organization is interested in either program, you can call Karen or Bill at 233-6311 for further informa tion.
Rap artist Haida, Autumn Hawk in concert Friday
HAIDA, the first Native American female hip/hop and rap artist will return to Alturas to deliver a positive, motivat ing mes sage in Al turas on Friday, April 2.
She will perform with a young East Coast artist, Au tumn Hawk, at the Niles Theater in Alturas. The concert is open to the public and begins at 4:30 p.m., fol lowed by an autograph ses sion.
Haida was well received in her first concert in 1998 in Alturas with LiteFoot. She writes her own lyrics
This year's event is brought to the community by Modoc In dian Health Pro ject, Cedarville Rancheria, and Re sources for Indian Stu dent Education. RISE cele brates a four-year an niver sary on April 2, 1999 with the concert. Compli mentary tickets are provided to all members of RISE. Clients of Modoc Indian Health Project and Cedarville Rancheria should obtain tickets at those office locations.
All remaining concert tickets will be sold at $5 each or three for $10, and may be purchased at RISE. More in forma tion may be obtained at RISE, Mondays through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at (530) 233-2226.
Record news summaries for April 8, 1999
- Treasurer will use advisor for investments
- 2nd court rejects lawsuit on lease land farming
- Pair of homes boost building
- I'SOTs credit Canby Fire Department for response
- Spring lift available at Art Center
Obituaries
- Norris Gerig
- Joe Oates, Sr.
The forecast: Look for a chance of evening showers tonight and partly cloudy with highs near 40 Friday. Rain spreads over the entire area and it could very well snow Friday night through Sunday. It's going to stay cool.
Now aren't you glad you read this?
County trea surer to invest funds through ad visor
Modoc County Treasurer Cheryl Knoch received the go ahead from the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to use an in vestment advisor concern ing the investment of county funds.
The county agreed to a contract with Pillar Point Capital Management, an in vestment firm that presented the board a briefing two weeks ago. The funding to cover the advisor's fees, stressed Knoch, will come from the interest earned on county funds he manages.
Knoch will go through the county's Investment Advisory Committee to set up policy concerning the actual in vestment strategies and Pillar Point will have to in vest according to the county's guidelines.
According to Knoch, she is looking at investing some $6.5 million through the Pillar Point agreement. She said the 10-year record of its managers are impressive and she believes the county will realize a bigger return on the investment than now, even after paying the fees to Pillar Point.
"I have called both Plumas and Sierra Counties (who use Pillar Point) and they have told me the results are excel lent," said Knoch. "My inter est is to get more return on our investment. I believe this is the best way for us to go."
While the county staff and Knoch could invest the fund ing, since Knoch is the "Investment Authority" for the county, she chooses to hire the outside advisor.
"I don't believe I have the time nor staff to do the job right and feel the investment advisor is our best option," said Knoch.
Supervisor Joe Colt said he felt the county should be "more aggressive" in its investment strategies and welcomes the leadership of the treasurer. All supervisors felt the same, wanting an aggressive, but well-managed, fairly safe in vestment policy.
The board also agreed to a Free Dump day throughout the county, but will have drop at sites in four locations: Lookout, Newell, Alturas and Lake City. No date has been set for the free day, but it will be in the near future.
According to Rick Hironymous, Public Works, the free dump day is an effort to help county residents clean up around homes and property to make things look better. The free dump day will in clude old cars (which must have title), white goods (appliances and so on with motors or freon re moved), yard clippings and waste, metal and so on. The free day will not include normal household waste.
Dates and times for each of the free dump days will be printed in the Modoc Record as well as a listing of what items are acceptable for dis posing of on that day. The county is hoping to do the free day on Saturdays to help make sure people participate.
The Board also approved a new blended-account called the System of Care Children's Trust Fund, that will be used to help children in need of a variety of services throughout the county.
Supervisors approved a re quest from Public Health Manager Phil Smith to set up and lease a building for a day treatment facility in Alturas. Smith said the county needs for a place where some of the Health Department's clients can go during the day.
He said day treatment ser vices for chronically men tally ill patients, chronic substance abuse patients and for pa tients with a combina tion of mental and substance abuse problems.
A day treatment facility, said Smith, would help keep them connect to the outside world and give them some thing to do. Typically, said Smith, the facility would be a place for those people to come and meet with other people, talk, do art projects or other constructive things. Smith said the day treatment facility is a project that many people in the county would find bene ficial and that he feels is needed.
Auditor Judi Stevens in formed the board that Southern Pacific property tax funds impounded by the county during a lawsuit in the early 90's have been placed back into proper accounts. She said she placed $13,724 into the county's one-time-money line item in the general fund and distributed the remainder of those impounded funds to the districts and agencies who shared in their use.
The board also rescinded an ordinance that had created eight smoking areas for em ployees., District Attorney Tom Buckwalter said the county had received a com plaint that there was not a "no-smoking" lounge to offset the smoking areas. He said the county's ordinance was con trary to state labor code.
While some smoking members of the board ex pressed some anger at having to obey state law, others said the thought the whole county was "no-smoking" anyway and were surprised there were designated smoking areas. In any case, there will be no "smoking" areas in any county building in the future.
2nd Court rejects lease land lawsuit
For a second time in three months, a federal court has rejected a lawsuit brought by environmental groups op posed to farming on the fed er ally owned "lease lands" in the Klamath Project.
The Oregon Natural Re sources Council (ONRC) and Northwest Coalition for Al ternatives to Pesticides filed the original suit in 1994. Fo cusing on the use of pesticides, the suit claimed that water fowl and other wildlife were killed and in jured in viola tion of various federal laws. On March 31 District Judge Michael Ho-gan upheld the recom mendation by Federal Mag istrate Judge Thomas M. Coffin that the lawsuit be dis missed. Last December a fed eral judge in Sacramento threw out a separate suit brought by ONRC and other environmental groups that challenged lease land farm ing on various arbitrary is sues.
"We are pleased to get this lawsuit out of the way," said Earl Danosky, Tulelake Ir ri gation District Manager. The anti-agriculture rhe-toric and stereotypes are not productive and have now been twice thrown out by the courts. En vironmentally se-nsitive agricultural prac tices have always been part of the lease land program. "It's time to move on." Danosky said that lease land growers are only al lowed to use about 10% of le gal pesticides available to private landowners in Cali fornia and California has the strictest pesticide regula tions in the world. "Only if the rea son is to just elimi nate the lease land farming would the argument be used that there is some adverse ef fect from such rigid restric tions."
The lease lands consist of approximately 22,000 acres within Tulelake Irrigation and Klamath Drainage Dis tricts. The land was in cluded in the area ceded to the federal government in 1905 for the purpose of recla mation and irrigation. Sub sequently, the lease lands were incorporated in the Tulelake and Lower Kla math national Wildlife Refuges, with the stipulation to always maintain the orig i nal intent for agricultural production. Lease moneys paid by growers to U.S. Bu reau of Reclamation for land parcels can be as much as two million dollars. Klamath, Siskiyou and Modoc counties directly re ceive 25% of the net revenue in lieu of taxes each year. In addition, Tulelake Irriga tion District receives a smaller percentage.
At the time this lawsuit was initiated the environ mental groups sued the fed eral gov ernment over the use of pesti cides. The suit was with drawn based on the gov ern ment's plan to prepare an in tegrated pest management plan (IPM) for lease land farming on the refuges. Later the plaintiffs attempted on several occasions to re vive the case, but this most recent or der results in final dis missal. Tulelake Irriga tion District, Klamath Drainage District, Klamath Water Users Association, Siskiyou and Modoc coun ties and sev eral individual far-mers in tervened in the lawsuit.
Pair of homes perks up building
The construction of two new homes, one near Cedarville and the other on County Road 71 south of Alturas, perked up the Modoc County Building totals for March.
The County Building Department issued 14 permits worth an estimated $476,725 for March of 1999. The county collected $3,240 in fees. A large addition to a church and installation of a mobile home also increased the values significantly. In February, the county issued 12 permits valued at $94,980 and in March, 1998, the county issued 12 permits valued at $101,020.
The City of Alturas issued 13 building permits in March with an estimated value of $20,878. New or roof replacements made up several of the city permits.
In February, the city issued eight permits valued at $13,760 and in March, 1998, it issued seven permits valued at $34,353. The city collected $473.13 in permit fees.
I'SOT's credit Canby FD with quick response
When Andrew Janos was little, his family had fire drills.
"They taught us what to do, and to never panic," 14-year-old Janos explained, as he stood in the I'SOT Com munity Rhema House kit-chen in Canby, damaged by a fire Tuesday.
While helping broil steaks for a special dinner, Janos, son of Stephen and Marie Janos of Canby, sud denly real ized that flames where climbing up from un der the meat and quickly reaching into a vented area leading into the roof.
"I didn't even have to think," he explained. "I knew immediately I had to get the fire extinguisher. I knew where it was, and it was the first thing that came to my mind."
Chris Ramey, also help ing with the dinner, was watch ing Janos broil the steaks.
"I saw the flames start moving into the vents, and went to tell the older adults," he recalled. "My aunt went to call 911, and I went outside to bring other extinguish ers."
"As I looked up, I saw that the roof was on fire, and started passing the extin guishers to Uncle Shannon, who had gotten up on the roof."
Ramey explained that a few weeks ago, when he was in the Community Director's office, he had noticed charts diagramming the placement of all fire extinguishers, and had memorized the loca tions."
"The first response people got here really quick," said Janos, speaking of the Canby Volunteer Fire Department.
Upon arrival, the firemen stretched hoses up on the roof, and began to attack flames belching out smoke through multiple vents of the large building.
"When the firemen ar rived," commented Stephen Janos, Andrew's father, "I told them that we had knocked the fire down here in the kitchen, but that it had gotten into the roof. "
"They went up there and chopped a hole to get to it," he added. "They came quickly. They responded. They did n't leave until they knew it was safe," he continued.
Fire Chief Ron Sherer to gether with fireman Charlie Sherer, were heard stating that "We're not going to leave here until we abso lutely know that it's com pletely safe, that everything is cold!"
"You know, some of our your ladies are volunteer firemen," explained Marie Tolbert, one of the I'SOT Community Directors.
"They took over running the pumps on the trucks," said Tolbert.
Ron complimented the girls and said, "They did just great."
"Five of the I'SOT school kids were working in the kitchen when the fire sta-rted," Tolbert continued. "They stayed cool, followed instructions, and put the source of the fire out."
"Their grandmother was very, very proud of them," she added.
The fire would have been a lot worse, according to many of the I'SOT members, if the firemen hadn't moved so quickly to respond.
"I heard the fire siren," explained Janos, and they were in the building about three minutes later."
"Now what's left is the cleanup," he continued.
In the blackened kitchen were the remains of the "ex tra special" steak dinner be ing prepared for the mem bers and guests. The steaks, burned and covered with light gray fire suppressant expelled by the fire extin guishers, were certainly charbroiled - but not as envi sioned by the evening's cooks.
Need a Spring lift? Art Center has it on display
Step into a world of peaceful fountains and the cheerful colors of Spring in a variety of forms at the Art Center dur ing the new April show.
Pottery in lavender and spring hues with blooming iris and fresh looks are featured in a new Pam Anderson's pottery collection. Margot Curtis' framed and matted paint ings in soft spring pastels, photography, bird houses, chimes, wood work and folk art all grace the show. Fea tured local artists include Duane McGarva, Dick and Phyllis Myers, Margot Curtis, Ken Franklin, Debbie An derson, Joe Battram and Betty Chism.
The Art Center is a non-profit gallery that offers a wide variety of art and jewelry as gifts and the large back room area is also used as a setting for community classes.
Each month, a new art show displays the varied works of guest and local artists. The public is always welcome to stop by Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
At this time, with volunteers are sought to help keep the center's doors open. The Art Center is a non-profit commu nity organization. Annual membership dues are $12 a year. If interested in volunteering some time or becoming a member, please stop by Art Center at 317 South Main Street, Alturas or call 233-2574.
Obituary--
Norris Duval Gerig
Funeral services will be held at a later date for Norris Duval Gerig, 83, of Bieber who died March 28, 1999 at Mayer's Memorial Hospital in Fall River Mills.
Mr. Gerig was born August 25, 1916 in Bieber and was a respected and well known rancher in the Big Valley area his entire life. He was married to Dorothy Mae Brewster November 7, 1935 in Reno. He was also a graduate of Bieber High School.
Mr. Gerig served several years as an elementary and high school trustee at Bieber and was an original member of the Big Valley Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees. He was also a member of the California Cattlemen Association and the Farm Bureau.
Mr. Gerig is survived by his wife Dorothy, Bieber, son and daughter-in-law Peter and Lynne Gerig, Bieber, daughter Glenda, Redding, five grandchildren: Lori Salters, Weed, Bryan Gerig, Bieber, Michelle Estes, Dixon, Debbie Jones, Johnson Park, Ca., Johanna Markham, Redding and 11 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Peter Gerig, Sr., mother Leona, brother, Harold and grandson Curtis Gerig.
His remains were cremated and a funeral service is pending. The family asks that donations be made to the charity of choice.
Joe Neal Oates, Sr.
Funeral services for Joe Neal Oates, Sr., of Likely, were held April 7, 1999 at the Likely Community Church with burial in the Likely Cemetery.
Mr. Oates died followed a bout with cancer on April 3, in Alturas. He was born March 14, 1922 in Holland, Missouri, and moved to Modoc County 20 years ago.
He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and was a part the occupation of China. He was discharged in March, 1946. He was also a member of the Free Masons in Steele, Mo.
Mr. Oates was a self-employed trucker/broker in Steel, Missouri and after moving to Modoc, he worked several years for Lyneta Ranches and drove a hay truck for his son, Joe Oates, Jr. He also drove tankers part time for Ed Staub and Sons Petroleum, Inc.
He loved fishing and spending time on the Mississippi River. In Modoc, he enjoyed fishing with companion Betty Driscoll at all the fishing holes. He also enjoyed tinkering with cars and inventing things that would make his life eas ier. He also enjoyed watching his grandsons', Skyler and Dustin, Little League games.
He is survived by his son, Joe, Jr. and wife Kathy, of Alturas, daughter Jean Wolfe and husband Dean of Seal Beach, Ca., daughter Rita Cox of Memphis, Tn., daughter Suzanne Royce and husband Jerry, of Lonoke, Ar., grand children, Jessica, Shalan, Skyler, Dustin, Jerry, Michele, Amy, Brandi, Ciara, Kayla; great-grandchildren Jackson, Julia and Heather; companion Betty Driscoll and family, Bill Hooper and the family of Doug Hooper.
The family asks that donations be made to Modoc County Little League or to the American Cancer Society. Pastor Rod Bodmer officiated at the service.
Record news for April 15, 1999
- Snow pack in mountains well above normal
- PacifiCorp anticipates sales of California properties to Nor-Cal
- Judge dismisses Lakey suit against City
- City studies possibility of owning own inmate facility
- Modoc gas price hike higher than state's
- Ghost town, my b . . . Rick Holloway's column
PacifiCorp to sell California service area to NOR-CAL Electric Authority
PacifiCorp and Nor-Cal Electric Au thority an nounced they have signed a let ter of intent to sele area in California to Nor-Cal for $178 million, pre-tax.
The price is subject to ad justments for changes in as sets and liabilities assumed by the buyer.
The Nor-Cal Electric Authority is a joint powers authority created in Novem ber 1998 by the city of Yreka and Del Norte County in California.
Operating as Pacific Power, PacifiCorp serves Del Norte, Siskiyou and portions of Modoc and Sha-sta counties in northern Cali fornia. PacifiCorp has 65 employees in California and serves about 41,000 cus tomers which account for ap proximately 0.3 percent of the state's total electric sales.
"Nor-Cal's offer is good for our cus tomers, employees and shareholders," said Keith McKennon, Pacifi Corp's chairman and chief executive officer. "Nor-Cal is committed to continuing to provide the reliable service at a competi tive price that Pacific Power customers have received over the years."
The non-binding agree ment between the two com panies is just the first step in selling PacifiCorp's Cali fornia service area. "We see the terms of the agreement as a win-win for PacifiCorp and the cus tomers and communities throughout the service area," said Clyde Eller, Nor-Cal Electric Au thority chairman. "The ag-reement allows us to begin the process that will hope fully lead to a binding agreement once both sides have completed their due-diligence process."
The parties expect the due diligence pro cess to take several months. Once com plete, both companies will sign a binding agreement to move forward with the sale.
As part of the letter of in tent, Nor-Cal has stated that it will offer positions to all PacifiCorp employees in the California service area and will assume all obliga tions under current union con tracts. Wages and benefit packages will be com parable to those currently received and employees will be cred ited for their length of ser vice with PacifiCorp prior to the sale.
The sale must be approved by the Fed eral Energy Regu latory Commission and the California Public Utility Commission. PacifiCorp anticipates completion of the sale early in the year 2000.
PacifiCorp announced it will sell its California ser vice area last July to better focus on states where it had a larger cus tomer base and more significant invest ment in assets. This sale was fully antici pated by ScottishPower during its merger negotiations with PacifiCorp.
PacifiCorp currently pro vides electric ity to 1.5 mil lion customers in Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. California's represented about 2 percent of PacifiCorp's total 1998 retail electric oper ating revenues.
The public is invited to attend two meet ings to dis cuss the letter of intent signed today by PacifiCorp to sell its electric ser vice area in California to the Nor-Cal Electric Authority.
A press conference will be held Mon day, April 12 at 4 p.m., at the Miner's Inn Convention Center, 122 East Miner St., in Yreka. A Town Hall meeting will be held Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at the Crescent Fire Protection District Meeting Room, 255 W. Washington Blvd., in Crescent City. Those with questions or com-ments about the proposed sale are encouraged to at tend.
Snow pack well above normal
Late winter and early spring storms have managed to push the snowpack and water levels to well above normal ranges as of the first of April.
The U.S. Forest Service and Soil Conservation Service took the snow surveys the first part of April, as usual, follow ing their February survey. What they found was a lot of snow. For instance, Cedar Pass has 124 percent of average snow depth and Blue Lake is 116 percent above normal. Mt. Bidwell is 145 percent deeper at 93 inches of snow.
As of this week, Cedar Pass, at 7,100 feet, has 56 inches of snow, containing 22.8 inches of moisture. In February, the area had 51 inches of snow with 15.2 inches of water. The 10-year average for the survey spot is 39.6 inches of snow with 15.6 inches of water. At this time in 1998, Cedar Pass had 44 inches of snow with 19 inches of water.
Blue Lake measured 33 inches of snow last week with 12.2 inches of water. That's up from February's 31 inches of snow and 8.8 inches of moisture. The 10-year average for Blue Lake is 24.8 inches of snow containing 10.3 inches of water. In 1998, the area had 26 inches of April snow and 10.4 inches of water.
Mt. Bidwell, at 7,200 feet, is packed with snow this April, with 93 inches and 32.8 inches of water. The area received 29 inches of more snow since the February survey. In February, it showed 64 inches of snow containing 20.8 inches of water. The 10-year average for the areas is 59.4 inches of snow containing 23.76 of water.
At the Barber Creek site south of Eagleville at 6,500 feet, there is 33 inches of snow compared to 39 inches in February. The April snow pack contains 12 inches of snow. The 10-year average for that spot is 28.7 inches of snow with 10.7 inches of water. Last year there was 36 inches of snow in that area containing 14.2 inches of moisture.
The 49 Mountain site had 13 inches of snow in April, down from 21 inches in February. There was 4.6 inches of moisture in the April survey. The 10-year average for 49 Mountain is 6.3 inches of snow and 1.87 inches of water. Last year the area had 13 inches of snow containing four inches of water.
Hays Canyon showed no snow this year, losing all of its 13 inches in February. The 10-year average for the spot is 6.3 inches of snow and .78 inches of water. In 1998, the area had six inches of snow and 1.8 inches of water.
While the amount of snowpack is good news for water watchers, it also is a concern of flood watchers. With the current warm in trend in the area, the snow is starting to melt quickly. There are no problems with area creeks and rivers, yet, but there is a substantially dangerous amount of water in the mountains.
Judge dismisses Lakey case against City
A federal judge in U.S. District Court has dismissed the lawsuit filed by former opera tors of the Alturas Bowling Alley against the City of Alturas.
Judge D. Garcia ruled Monday that the lawsuit filed in January by Norm and Mary Lakey was "without merit" and dismissed it in its entirety, with prejudice.
According to attorney Dave McEnroth, who represented the city, the action, and the determination of "with prejudice" removes the city from further federal action. The Lakey's had sued the city, saying action by the city, police department and fire depart ment violated their civil rights and eventu ally led the loss of business in the bowling al ley and its eventual closure.
The suit against Wayne Bethel, of Alturas remains in federal court and will be heard at a later date. Bethel is also accused of violat ing the Lakey's civil right stemming from an incident in January, 1998 when he fired his weapon from the Fire Department into the back of the bowling alley, which was directly across the street. No one was hurt in the inci dent. Bethel pled guilt to two misdemeanors in the incident.
City council looks into operating own prison
Members of the Alturas City Council and city officials traveled to the City of Folsom Monday to discuss with Folsom officials their city-op erated correctional facility.
Alturas Mayor Dick Steyer said the trip was very valu able and city officials ob tained excellent information. Whether there is a possibility of the city owning its own cor rectional facility is un known, said Steyer.
According to Steyer, the city of Folsom started its fa cility as a Regional Training Center and since then it has turned into a Community Correctional facility, owned by the city of Folsom under contract to the state of California.
Steyer said Folsom actu ally has a profit of about $375,000 annually from the prison facility. Those funds go directly into that city's general fund. Folsom initially hired a retired California Department of Corrections warden to start and run the facility. The staff is made up of 70 correctional offi cers, who are city employees. The facility accepts only level one inmates and has space for about 400 inmates. It was built on about six-and-a-half acres.
"In my opinion, this type of facility would be a real benefit to Alturas," said Steyer. "My concern is I don't think the state may need any more of them. It would also take some seed money for us to start this project. But, as far as eco nomic development, it is a good project."
Steyer said he'll propose the city send a letter to the California Department of Corrections asking that it con sider an Alturas facility in future requests for propos als.
The Folsom facility also runs a recycling center and while that part of the project does not make a huge profit, it is operating for the benefit of the city. Inmates at the facil ity also do much of the park and city maintenance pro jects for Folsom.
Currently, a private prison corporation, Corrections Corporation of America, owns most of the former Alturas Mill site west of the airport and the Railroad Museum. CCA initially suggested plac ing a 1,000 to 2,000 bed private prison on the site. That project has not come to fruition, but accord ing to Steyer, is also not dead, at least from the devel oper's point of view. Other private prison corporations may be in terested in the site. There is, he stressed, no pro ject in the works at this time.
If the City of Alturas chooses to push forward on establish ing a prison owned by the city, it will be a long road from be ginning to end. But, said Steyer, the financial gains to the city are very real.
Opponents of any prison project showed up at Tuesday night's council meeting to voice their opposition. The coun cil listened to their con cerns under open forum, but did not take any action since the prison was not on the agenda.
Modoc gas price hike higher than state's
In what probably is no surprise to local res idents, the recent jump in gas prices locally puts Modoc prices higher than the average in crease across the state or in Oregon.
The average price for gas in Alturas is $1.799 per gallon, with the average price for regular unleaded across the state hitting $1.639. The price for regular unleaded in Alturas is $1.699, unleaded plus is $1.799 and premium $1.899. According to the Lundberg Survey of gas stations throughout the nation the average price is $1.228 per gallon.
Prices at the Pacific Price card lock sta tion have in creased from $1.28 per gallon March 23 to $1.54 per gallon as of April 1. Regular retail prices at the pump have gone up in Alturas from $1.19 as of about March 8 to $1.69 now, an in crease of .50 cents per gal lon. The average increase in California was 43.11 cents.
Oregon prices have jumped less, with the Herald and News reporting unleaded regu lar gas prices in Klamath Falls at $1.449 to $1.499.
While gas prices may be higher here than other parts of California, local residents have reported that prices in the Redding area are comparable to Modoc's.
The price increase is blamed upon a re duced level of pro duction from OPEC coun tries, seasonal demand and explo sions at two California refineries.
Industry analysts say they do not expect any relief in gas prices in the near future.
Ghost town. . .
Comment by Rick Holloway,
Editor/Publisher
Between the buzzards circling over the courthouse and Alturas' listing as a ghost town on the Internet, we could start wondering if we're caught in the Matrix between the past and the future.
Linda Ochs told me recently that Alturas was listed on a web site detailing Ghost towns of the West. So we called it up and sure enough there we were in all our historic glory. . . dead! The remaining building was the Niles, that's it. And it wasn't listed as operating. While the present owners may find the Niles Hotel not as occupied as they'd like it at times, it certainly isn't a deserted shell of an old hotel. Actually, it's pretty nice.
Let me tell you, the news "of our demise" is somewhat exaggerated, or at least premature.
Well, when we read the notation of Alturas as a ghost town (and we believe someone must have submitted it as a joke) we decided we'd set this guy straight. So we sent him a note asking how many ghost towns he knows that have 3,600 residents? Well, apparently he knew just one, 'cause he changed his site to say that Alturas was a ghost town, but 3,600 residents lived there. We were a little bemused. Was that 3,600 ghosts? While there are times that our residents may act like ghosts and want to disappear, they really aren't. Sometimes that changes if you have a volunteer project.
So, undaunted, we sent "Ghosttowns" another note, detailing that we have schools with live students, government, restaurants, government, businesses, government, movies, government, and all sorts of other services. This time we were being serious. The only ones that can call us a ghost town are us or at least the last person to leave.
We were pleased to receive a note from the webmaster saying he was sorry about listing us as a ghost town, but will leave us on the map as a "non-ghost town". We guess that's a better description, but I'm not real sure what it means, exactly. Is a non-ghost town on its way to being a real ghost town, or is it just a real town where ghosts don't live? Or is it a town where ghosts aren't allowed? Can you exclude ghosts, legally? Actually, we're certain there is a ghost (seriously) who resides in the Modoc Record building, and has been here for decades. Therefore, it really isn't a non-ghost town, right? Anyway, it is probably a good thing we're no longer listed as a ghost town.
However, as the web master said, we probably got a good deal of publicity from the ghost town listing. I'm wondering what kind of tourist activity we are going to get as a non-ghost town? We may have to redefine equal-opportunity.
Those people who came to visit us as a ghost town were probably a little surprised . . . unless, of course, they showed up after 9 p.m. on any given week night. Actually, most teenagers in town probably think it's a ghost town past about 8 p.m. But it's not.
I can understand why people might think we're a ghost town -- this week we have an ad suggesting you all have dinner and get down to dancing with the Undertaker. But really, he's a fun guy and not out trying to drum up business.
But let it be known that we're still alive and kicking, just coming out of a long winter and starting to burst forward with energy. Heck, the private prison project should start up again in the near future and that'll get some people warmed up. Heck, I should have had the anti-prison faction call this guy, they're certain we're not a ghost town and will go to even greater lengths to prove the point.
Record news summaries for April 22, 1999
- County agrees to pact with USC for hospital management
- Sheriff: crime rate is down
- County offers free dump day for spring cleaning
- National Forests all set to burn away
Obituaries:
- Alfred Lewis
County agrees to USC pact for Modoc Medical Center
The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morn ing agreed to a contract with the University of Southern California Department of Family Medicine for a modified management of Modoc Medical Center.
The contract was approved unanimously and enthusias tically following a presentation by the USC Rural Access Program team report, presented by Kiki Nocella, the vice-chair for Finance and Administration, USC Department of family Medicine and CEO, Avalon Municipal Hospital and Clinic.
One of the initial portions of the contract was to promote current Chief Financial Officer Teresa Jacques into the Hospital Administrator's position as of May 1, when the cur rent contract administrator Jim Knight is scheduled to leave.
Nocella told the Board one of the problems with the hospi tal management is the lack of stability in the administra tor's position over the past few years.
"Such an action will represent the first time in over 10 years that there is stable leadership in the role of adminis trator, and will be a breath of fresh air and a vote of confi dence to the Medical Center staff," said Nocella. "Teresa has the respect and trust of all the staff. This, coupled with her knowledge of the Medical Center and all its business lines, makes her the ideal candidate."
USC is going to provide Ms. Jacques with expertise and assistance in the management of the facility and she will become a USC employee.
The contract with USC has a price tag of $426,000, which cover 18 months. According to Jacques, the hospital will be able to cover the cost of the contract as projected in an in crease in the Skilled Nursing Facility to $591, and a cash increase with better collections of $100,000. She projects a $190,000 positive cash position with the USC contract.
The County's Administrative Officer Mike Maxwell told the Board the USC contract was the "best chance" the county has had at making the hospital a viable and thriving part of the community and the recommended approval.
Nocella also commented that the current hospital staff has "dug itself out" of a financial hole and should be com mended for that accomplishment. The hospital is actually predicting it will be in the black for the operational year come June 30.
"Modoc Medical Center, although challenged, has a sig nificant opportunity for improvement and market growth," the proposal states. "Its void in administrative leadership has resulted in a lack of vision, a disempowered culture among its staff, a negative image within its community and misguided efforts to meet the community's health and well ness needs and expectations. The opportunities that exist to reverse the perception of the Medical Center amongst both the staff and community are great . . .the business development opportunities are significant."
Nocella continually stressed throughout her presentation that one of the main components and needs of the hospital and staff is improved training and up-to-date programs. She said USC is in a unique position to provide that necessary training, which should improve the overall quality of the hospital.
In the USC proposal, they point out the following items to make the hospital a facility that can be embraced and sup ported by the community:
¥ A rebirth with a new image, based upon a foundation of quality and service.
¥ Increased access to care and a broader scope of quality services.
¥ Stable and competent administrative leadership.
¥ Improved collaboration and partnership with Medical staff.
¥ Sound financial management.
¥ Improved financial information systems as well as po lices and procedures.
¥ Staff training and education.
¥ Partnerships with other medical providers, both locally and regionally.
¥ Creative, "out of the box" thinking.
¥ Innovative and aggressive business development.
¥ Target marketing for formalized programs in areas of excellence.
¥ An empowered staff that knows they "can do" and will be supported when they try.
¥ Leadership from the Board of Trustees.
¥ Evolving community support, through volunteerism and fundraising.
¥ The unfaltering commitment of the Boards of Trustees and Supervisors to the team undertaking this turn around. The dynamic may at times be tested by different situations, but the success of this project is contingent on such commit ment.
"Although the Medical Center s confronted with signifi cant challenges, they are not insurmountable," USC states. "The Medical Center has recently halted a downward fi nancial spiral while successfully preserving the communi ty's health care safety net. Now it must focus on fortifying its infrastructure, expanding its options and growing its busi ness."
In addition to assisting with the overall management of the facility, USC is also proposing to add to the professional staff and overall training of existing staff.
According to their report, USC Department of Family Medicine graduates about 25 family physicians per year and more than half of those residents spend a four-week rotation in a rural environment.
USC, states the report, can assume the role of recruiting a full-time faculty member to live in Alturas and become the Medical Director of the facility.
"This individual, once selected, would be an employee of USC and thus have all of the benefits and responsibilities of being full time faculty," stated Nocella. "Modoc Medical Center could also choose to benefit by accessing the managed care contracts of the University through this faculty rela tionship."
Nocella also said the hospital needs to better market and perform in its obstetrics division, re-look at the home health programs and mental health programs.
Both USC and Jacques are confident that once the new business office computer system is in place, collections will improve dramatically. The new system, said Jacques, will be able to present easy-to-understand and correct state ments. The billing department at the hospital has been a real sore point for years.
Both USC and the Board of Supervisors understand going into this contract that it is front loaded with expenses and the actual positive outcome may not materialize for 18 months to two years. However, they also suspect the hospital to be able to handle the cost of the contract during that period and make substantial improvements quickly.
Sheriff: Crime rate dipped in county
The good news is that serious crime decreased in Modoc County in 1998, while the overall crime rate remains low.
Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix presented his annual re port to the Board of Supervisors at Tuesday's meeting, show ing an overview of what his department handled this past year.
According to Mix, in addition to himself and Undersheriff Mark Gentry, the sheriff's staff includes eight patrol deputies, a Deputy Sheriff II, nine jail personnel, two dispatchers and one Office of Emergency Services Deputy Director.
The Sheriff said there were 179 felonies, 355 misde meanors, 749 incidents reported in 1998. That means a seven percent drop in felonies and a 14 percent drop in mis demeanors. There was a 20 percent increase in incidents. Those incidents include those things like civil standbys, warrant arrests, runaways, missing persons, dog bits and other items not involving a criminal offense.
The area of Alturas, Likely and Canby accounted for most of the criminal activity with 68 felonies, 161 misde meanors and 425 incidents. It's important to note that the Sheriff's report does not include all the activity of the Alturas Police Department.
Following the Alturas area, the area of Newell had the second most incidents as 285 cases were reported. Surprise Valley reported 224 cases, the Adin area had 107 and the Davis Creek, New Pine Creek, Willow Ranch area had 13.
As far as felony cases, Burglary was the most common with 43 and there were 22 grand thefts. There were 28 spousal abuse cases, 11 child abuse cases and one elderly abuse case. There were also four rape cases, five sexual assaults and four attempted murders.
In the misdemeanor section, the most single crime area was in assault and battery (65), then vandalism (60), vehicle violations (30), theft (22), minor in possession (19), annoy ing calls (18), probation violation (15), marijuana (14), DUI (12), annoying calls (18), and trespass (13).
The felony crime rate for the county has dipped from 218 in 1990 to 179 in 1998. The high year during that period was in 1992 when 310 felonies were reported.
In the misdemeanor statistic, there were 549 in 1990 and that dropped to 355 in 1998. In 1991, there were 620 and in 1992, 564 were reported.
As far as all violent crimes, including rape, murder, rob bery and aggravated assault, the cases have gone up from 1990's 54 cases to 1998's 164. But 1998's total is down from 1997's 169 and 1995-96's 189.
For 1998, the average daily jail population was 36, down from the previous three year's average of 38. The jail served 38,193 meals in 1998, compared to 42,786 in 1997 and 41,278 in 1996. The percentage of first time offenders in jail increased from 194 to 232, an increase of 17 percent and repeat offend ers decreased by 13 percent, from 452 to 395. Still, 63 percent of the jail population is repeat business while 37 percent is first time offenders.
Free dump days for yard cleanup of fered in May
Modoc County and Alturas Disposal are hosting a free spring clean up day for Modoc County. Actually, there will be four clean up days at dif ferent sites, but no house hold trash will be accepted free.
The free dump day is de signed to help local residents clean up their yards after the long winter, get rid of some old cars or appliances and other junk. It is not a day where residents can bring their regular garbage free of charge.
According to Rick Hironymous, Deputy Director of Public Works, the follow ing is the free dump schedule: May 1, the Newell transfer station; May 2, the Lookout trans fer station; May 8, the Lake City transfer station; and May 9, the Alturas Transfer Station. No other dumps in the county will be open for the free service. Residents will have to travel to one of those four sites on the date in dicated.
Hironymous said the county central ized the dump loca tions to give residents a fair chance to do their spring cleaning pro jects and get rid of the debris easily and free.
The transfer stations will accept yard waste (limbs, leaves and wood) appliances (washers, dryers, refrig era tors and freez ers) and scrap metal and junk cars at no charge to all county resi dents. Appliances must have all oil and fluids removed, in cluding freon, or have the com pressors and or trans missions removed before they can be accepted. Refrigerator and freezer doors must be re moved.
Cars must have titles or junk certifi cates from the Department of Motor Vehicles and have all oil and anti-freeze removed.
"No household garbage will be accepted free," said Hironymous. "If you bring household garbage, you will be charged for it. Please have everything separated to help all of us speed up things."
For more information please call Alturas Disposal at 233-2373 or Public Works at 233-6403.
Forest begins prescribed fire program
Modoc National Forest continues to reintroduce fire into the Forest's ecosystems through the use of prescribed burning.
Fire, under prescribed conditions, is one of the most important tools for restora tion and sustainability of ecosystem diversity and productivity.
Randy Hall, Zone Fuels and Fire Ecologist for Warner Mountain and Dev ils Garden Ranger Districts, announced the Modoc NF is conducting planned burns in several locations throu-ghout the Forest start ing immediately and con tin-uing into June as weather permits. Areas involved are located near Long Bell, Wil low Creek, Tionesta, Wash ington Mountain, Crowder Flat, Tournquist Spring, Enquist Reservoir and Jos-eph Creek for a total of ap proximately 4,000 acres.
The purpose of the pre scribed burning project is to protect investments in plan-ted and thinned tree stands, reduce wildfire in tensity and size, and im prove wildlife habitat. Low inten-sity prescribed fire will be used to reduce small fuels which include pine needles, woody debris and vegetation less than six feet tall.
Modoc NF fire manage ment is coordinated with the National Park Service, Bu reau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and California Division of Forestry and Fire Protec tion.
Obituaries
Alfred Emery "Bud" Lewis
Fort Bidwell resident, Alfred E. "Bud" Lewis died at the Surprise Valley Hospital in Cedarville on Friday, April 16, 1999 at the age of 81 from cancer.
A graveside service will be held at the Fort Bidwell cemetery on Thursday April 22, at 10:00 AM with the Rev. Dan St.Clair officiating.
Bud was born to Alfred and Birdie (Richie) Lewis at St. Paul, Minnesota on May 19, 1917. He grew up in Minnesota where he received his education. He worked for the railroad in maintenance as a machinist for a number of years before being drafted into the Army during World War II. He be came a tool and die maker while stationed at Los Alamos, New Mexico. After his discharge he owned and operated a machine shop at Sandia Base, New Mexico for the U.S. Navy. He later ran the experimental machine shop at the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California until his retirement in 1973, when he moved to Fort Bidwell. After re tirement he worked for the Postal Department for about five years delivering mail on the Fort Bidwell to Tulelake run.
Bud served on the Fort Bidwell Volunteer Fire Depart ment as President before he came disabled. He loved the out doors, so as much time as possible was spent fishing, hunt ing, hiking, rock hounding, gardening and taking care of his dogs.
He was married to Bessie Florian in 1952 at Truth or Con sequences, New Mexico.
He is survived by his wife, Bessie of Fort Bidwell; daughter, Joan Gibison of Omaha, Nebraska; son, Richard Lewis of Perris, Calif., step-daughter, Joan Kahler of Lake view and a number of grand and great-grandchildren.
Contributions in the memory of Bud may be made to the Surprise Valley Medical Clinic, 745 Main Street, Cedarville, CA 96104 or to a charity of the donor's choice.
Desert Rose Funeral Chapel of Lakeview is in charge of the arrangements.
Record news summaries for Apirl 29, 1999
- Modoc Middle School sends cards of support to Littleton
- Alturas City Council says golf course for sale
- City, Wrymoo agree to lease arrangement
- Modoc Fair opens queen contest
- Regional job fair set for Modoc High
- Free dump day for spring cleaning
The forecast: It will be mostly clear today and mostly sunny Friday with highs around 60. Look for fair on Saturday and clouds again Sunday with highs to lower 60s. Lows could be in the 30s.
Middle School students show they care
Stirred by Columbine High School's tragic losses in Lit tleton, Colo. last Tuesday, came an inner well of thoughts and feelings the following day, within Modoc Middle School students in Alturas.
Many of the local students, administra tion and staff shared their feelings on four large poster cards mailed this week, to let the students and families who experienced the student shooting tragedy in Littleton, Col orado, know they are not alone in their sad ness.
Julie Sturgeon, a math teacher at MMS and someone who knew some of the people from the Springfield, Ore. shooting, was re ceptive to seventh grader Shannon King's idea the morning after the news of the shoot ing was reported. Shan non said she thought it would be a "nice ges ture" to have stu dents fill out a card to send to Columbine High School stu dents and staff.
The project immediately took off in the classroom, grow ing from one large poster card to four poster cards by Friday, as stu dents and staff put their feelings into words, as best they could.
"Some very deep, surprising and caring things came out of these kids," said Shan non's mother Karen King of Al turas. One hun dred seventy people signed the cards in grades sixth through eighth grades.
The idea had come to Shannon after she had spoken long-distance with her grand mother in the Bay Area Tuesday night. She had shared how disturbing she found the shoot ings at Columbine High.
"Mrs. Sturgeon was a big help with all of this and let us have a quiet period to talk about social issues that Wednes day morning. She gave us time to share our feelings about ev erything," said Shannon.
All of the thoughts that were put into words on the cards ex pressed condolences.
"Not knowing you makes no difference in how I feel about the deaths. Death is a very tragic thing," offered one student.
"I feel so bad for everyone who lost a friend, boyfriend or family member. "I can almost feel your pain and grief for your friends. Talk to your family and re member life does go on," consoled another.
One showed he had learned from Columbine's experience to be more tolerant, as one such message reflected: "I feel sad be cause there is a kid at my school that always is called names by me and my friends. I won't pick on him any more because he is my friend."
Shannon's mother mailed the four-card package Tuesday to Columbine High School, c/o Jefferson County Public Schools, P.O. Box 4001, Golden, Colo. 80401-0001.
City says golf course for sale
The City Council of Alturas is getting tired of replacing divots at Arrowhead Golf Course and has decided to start the process to sell the facility. Tuesday the council took the first step by ordering an appraisal of the course.
According to Mayor Dick Steyer, Arrowhead has been los ing money for the past three years and has only been in the black a couple of times over the past 10 years.
Steyer told the council and public that the city had been ap proached by at least two local people and one family from Oregon who are interested in purchasing the golf course.
The golf course has been a hot political potato over the past several years. Councilman George Andreasen said the time may have come to get out of the golf course business. He noted the city has been unable to fully please the golfing pub lic.
"I believe the public will be better served by private indus try owning the course," said Andreasen.
Councilman Jack Ochs concurred, saying the city simply could not continue to subsidize the golf course. He felt private ownership would be a better way of operating the course.
Kathy Alves, City Treasurer said the course now shows a negative $48,000 cash balance and worries that memberships have gone down this year. The city raised mem bership fees substantially and there is an on going conflict about the management con tract. It's important to note, said Alves, that part of the loss in revenue stems from capital improvement projects (equipment and irri gation system) made over the last few years.
For instance, in 1998, the golf course took in $53,076 in revenue. Including the infras tructure repairs, the expenses amount to $73,339, showing a loss of $20,362 for the year. That's a drop from the previous year's loss of $34,583. If the infrastructure costs are taken out and only operating in come and expendi tures are figured, the course spent $56,880, re sulting in a net loss of $3,804.
"We've been dealing with the golf course for years," said councilman Kerry Merwin. "I think it's time we put out the word that the golf course is for sale. I am not in favor of a lease."
The city course is currently operating un der a five-year management contract with Rod Gately and Brad Server. The status of that contract is also something the city will have to deal with if it decides to sell the facil ity.
Gately asked why the city wasn't looking at a lease as a possible option. That option, he said, would be something he and Server would favor as well as other people in the com munity."
Ochs said leases have been discussed, but the problem with the lease concept is in terms of assets and who would be responsible for re pairs to equipment and so on.
Gately said the lease option should be con sidered and stressed the lease could be writ ten to take the city's concerns into account.
The council voted unanimously to go for the appraisal to find out just what they have to sell. They did not speak in fa vor of a lease arrangement, but did not rule out the option.
The City of Alturas purchased the golf course from John and Eve Briggs in March, 1975 and has operated the facility under a long list of managers since that time.
While Tuesday's vote does not spell emi nent sale of the course, said Steyer, it cer tainly makes a statement that this council is ready to move the golf course out of the public arena and back into the private sector.
City agrees with Wrymoo on lease of Railroad Museum
The Alturas City Council entered into a 50-year lease op eration agreement with Wrymoo Railroad Historical Society on operation of the planned Railroad Museum on city property at the old Alturas Mill site west of Alturas.
Interestingly, the agreement for a lease with the Railroad Museum came Tuesday morning after councilmen flatly shot down a lease option idea for Arrowhead Golf Course management.
The city purchased the site now locating the proposed Railroad Museum for $121,000, and stresses the property was purchased for economic development projects, not just for a Railroad Museum site. The Wrymoo connection came about following the purchase of the property.
Plans are to build and operate a historical railroad mu seum on the site plus a short line excursion/tourist railway.
The city and Wrymoo are agreeing to work in concert for the upgrade and improvements of the land and facilities, through grant funding and other fund raising efforts. Wrymoo has placed much of its equipment and located other equipment for the museum.
Basically, Wrymoo agrees to pay the city initial rent of $1 per month as the railroad museum builds up. Wrymoo also agrees, in the contract to pay the city 80 percent of its rev enues from operations or activities on a quarterly basis. While the term is for 50 years, the contract has a two-year termination clause.
Wrymoo has agreed to pay charges for utility services after January, 2000. The city will also be responsible for real property taxes and Wrymoo for taxes on its personal prop erty.
In addition, the contract sets up a five-member governing board. Two of those members will be appointed by Wrymoo, two by the City Council and one member of the general public appointed by the other four board members.
That board will have pretty far reaching responsibilities, including recommending expenditures of net revenue, ac quisition of historic railroad equipment, establishing pri ori ties for improvements for modification and making other recommendations on the activities and operations of the mu seum and railway.
The City and Wrymoo expect the museum and railway to be profitable down the line, but to date it has returned little revenue to the city. While the initial property purchase is not solely for the Railroad Museum, the city has also spent an other $14,818 on purchases for the entity.
Fair Queen contest opens
The Modoc District Fair is in search of candidates for the 1999 Miss Modoc County contest.
Miss Modoc and Princess will act as official hostesses of Modoc-The Last Frontier Fair, August 19-22, as well as representing Modoc Cou-nty, by traveling to nei-ghboring counties during the summer.
The 1999 Modoc County Queen Contest entry forms will be available Friday in Alturas at the Alturas Cha-mber of Commerce on Main Street, Modoc County Record office on Carlos Street and in Cedarville at the Modoc District Fair Of fice.
The Miss Modoc Contest will be held at the Cedarville Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 10. In connection with the contest will be the Fourth Annual Summer Fashion Show presented by Ardith Ferry with the Classie Las-sie and Betsy Ingraham with L & B Ranch Supply along with a western barbe cue pre-pared and served by the Surprise Valley Boy Scouts Troop 48.
Completed entry forms and $25.00 entry fee must be returned to the Modoc Dis trict Fair office by 5:00 pm June 11.
The contest rules of eligi bility are the contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 21 by August 19, 1999. They must have resided in Modoc County for at least one year. Any contestant attend ing college is eligible as long as their parents are res idents. They must be single, never married and never been a parent; maintain a "C" average if still enrolled in school; and never been placed as a queen or princess in the contest before.
Judging criteria will in clude 55 percent, horseman ship; and 45 percent, poise, personality, appearance and personal interview.
Prizes include a western outfit, silver belt buckle, sash and tiara. A $200 U.S. Savings Bond, sponsored by the Modoc County Farm Bu reau will be presented to the Queen and a $100.00 Savings Bond sponsored by the Al turas and Surprise Valley Rotary Clubs will be pre sented to the Princess.
Regional Job fair out to show stu dents what's up in future
Modoc High School will be hosting the first ever Tri-State Regional Job Fair on Tuesday, May 4. Over 50 participat ing groups, including many employers, all branches of the Armed Forces and 15 colleges, will be on hand.
Some of the employers attending the Job Fair have even indicated that they will be taking applications for positions they need to fill. The Job Training Center will also be giv ing out information on their Summer Youth Employment Program, which offers eligible individuals the chance to work on summer crews focusing on Recreation, Art in the Park, Child Care, Maintenance and Pools.
The event will run from 1:00-6:00 p.m. It is open to high school students from 1:00 to 3:30, and then open to the general public af ter that. High school students from Modoc, Surprise Valley, Tulelake, Big Valley and Lakeview will be attending.
VeeAnn Ambers, Community Coordinator for the Job Training Center, said that one of the purposes of the fair is to give students an understanding of the working world and how their schooling ties into it.
"One of the challenges of academics is that many students don't see how their classroom learning is relevant to the work-world they will eventually face," Ambers noted. "In order to enable them to make wiser choices and de cisions about their futures, it is necessary to show them early-on what is available in and around the communities where they will be living and working.
"Activities like job shadowing, field trips, guest speakers, internships and job fairs help individuals gain a better understanding of what type of education or training to pursue and whether the career they are considering is really right for them."
The Job Fair will offer over 40 booths as well as a wide range of seminars and activi ties. There will also be demonstrations by the California Department of Forestry, the Alturas Rural Fire Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Army, and Pro-Bass fish erman Jerry Sanders.
There will also be a tri-tip barbecue lunch just before the Job Fair begins.
The Tri-State Regional Job Fair is spon sored by: The Alturas Rotary Clubs, School-To-Work, the partners in New Directions in cluding the Job Training Center (soon to be known as the Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc.), the Employment Development Department, Modoc Joint Unified School District, SOLO and Modoc County Office of Education.
Free dump days at various sites.
Spring cleaning time at dumps
It's time to get out and clean up the yard and property. And just to help, Modoc County and Alturas Disposal are of fering four free dump days at various sites.
The free dump day is de signed to help local res idents clean up their yards after the long win ter, get rid of some old cars or appliances and other junk. It is not a day where resi dents can bring their regular garbage free of charge.
The follow ing is the free dump schedule: May 1, the Newell transfer sta tion; May 2, the Lookout trans fer station; May 8, the Lake City transfer station; and May 9, the Alturas Transfer Station. No other dumps in the county will be open for the free service. Residents will have to travel to one of those four sites on the date in dicated.
Rick Hironymous, Public Works, said the county cen tral ized the dump loca tions to give residents a fair chance to do their spring cleaning pro jects and get rid of the debris easily and free.
The transfer stations will accept yard waste (limbs, leaves and wood) appliances (washers, dry ers, refrig era tors and freez ers) and scrap metal and junk cars at no charge to all county resi dents. Appliances must have all oil and flu ids removed, in cluding freon, or have the com pressors and or trans mis sions removed before they can be accepted. Refrigerator and freezer doors must be re moved.
Cars must have titles or junk certifi cates from the Department of Motor Vehicles and have all oil and anti-freeze removed.
"No household garbage will be accepted free," said Hironymous. "If you bring household garbage, you will be charged for it. Please have everything separated to help all of us speed up things."
For more information please call Alturas Disposal at 233-2373 or Public Works at 233-6403.
May, 1999
- Record news summaries for May 6, 1999
- MJU Super suspected of spying on principal, staff
- Nor-Cal says rates with PP&L purchase constant
- Children's Fair enters 12th year
- Land Use Committee hits several issues
- Juried Art show is at Center this weekend
- Duck Race tickets are going fast
MJU Superintendent suspected of spying on principal, staff
Modoc Joint Unified School District Superintendent Craig Drennan is suspected of placing a hidden video cam era in the office of Modoc High School Principal Duke Pasquini. Neither Pasquini, nor high school staff, knew the camera was in the office.
That camera was discovered and confiscated by Alturas Police Tuesday about noon and a report will be filed with the Modoc County District Attorney's Office for possible action.
According to Alturas Chief of Police Larry Pickett, the lo cation of the camera was reported to his office Tuesday and he and Sergeant Stacy Callaghan responded to Pasquini's office and found the camera. Pickett had heard it was either a camera or electronic device, so his office responded quickly.
In addition, said Pickett, the police department had done some investigative interviews in that office recently and he was concerned those interviews, if taped, violated the juve niles' and parents' rights.
Pickett said the camera was placed in the southwest cor ner of Pasquini's office ceiling, and the lens was camou flaged by a fake smoke detector. The camera and related equipment was found in the attic above that office.
Police suspect the camera has been in place and operating for about six months.
On Wednesday, police responded to a call from the teach ers at Modoc High School and investigated the teacher's lounge for other cameras. None were found. Teachers at Modoc High School have expressed serious concern and anger about the practice of installing hidden cameras in the school.
School officials state the camera only recorded video and no audio. The camera is being sent to crime laboratories for further investigation.
Drennan told Pickett the camera was there because he suspected there were information leaks coming out of Pasquini's office. He said the camera did not provide the district with any suspects in the leaks. Drennan also con tends that his legal counsel advised him he had the authority to use the hidden camera.
Wednesday, Drennan said the camera was placed in Pasquini's office because he suspected paper documents had been taken from that office, confidential files were read and information leaked and people had been "rifling" through files. He said the camera was turned off when it did not re veal any such activity.
According to a maintenance supervisor of the District, he would pick up the tapes each morning and deliver them to Drennan's office. Drennan told Pickett on Tuesday that po lice would be welcome to look for the tapes, but on Wednesday morning he told police all the tapes were de stroyed.
Pickett said he was told the camera has not been in use over the past few weeks but when operating it was on 24 hours day, five days per week.
Pasquini, on Wednesday morning said he was "very up set"that the camera had been placed in his office without his knowledge. He said he has not decided what path to take in the situation, but was going to investigate and may contact his attornies.
Pickett said school officials told him the equipment and its installation had a price tag of about $4,500. Apparently, the Modoc Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees did not know about the camera and had not approved any such expenditure. Drennan has the authority to make those types of purchases and apparently only one member of the board knew the hidden camera was in place.
According to Police, other fake smoke alarms were in stalled in other offices at the high school in an effort to defer attention of the one covering the camera lens. There were fake alarms in the high school principal's reception office, the counselor's office and in the counselor secretary's office. Pickett said he was also concerned about putting up fake smoke alarms in a public school.
The investigation into the incident is continuing.
Editor's Note: The Modoc Record received a phone call from an anonymous source Tuesday morning stating there was a hidden camera in Pasquini's office that had been recording meetings with staff and the public. The Record turned that information over to the Alturas Police depart ment at noon Tuesday and they promptly started their inves tigation.
Nor-Cal says rates will remain constant with pending PP& L purchase
The Nor-Cal Electric Authority is in the process of pur chasing the northern California properties of Pacific Power and Nor-Cal Chairman Clyde Eller was in Modoc Wednesday to meet with local officials.
Eller addressed what is the major concern of the area, power rates, and said rates would remain the same with this purchase. He said there is no rate increase projected with the deal.
In addition, Eller met with representatives of the Modoc County Board of Supervisors and is inviting both Siskiyou and Modoc Counties to join and have board member on the Nor-Cal Joint Powers Authority.
The initial participants in the JPA are Del Norte County, where Eller is a County Supervisor, and the City of Yreka. Nor-Cal is negotiating the purchase of PP&L property that includes all or part of Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc and Shasta Counties.
Eller said it will be important for Modoc County to have representation on the Board of the JPA.
Currently Nor-Cal and Pacific have signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the purchase of the facilities. They are now working out conditions of the purchase agreement. Both parties hope to have that agree ment signed and in place in June. The project will then go to the California Public Utilities Commission for review, and Nor-Cal is hoping that the sale and transfer of property will be completed and approved during the first quarter of 2000.
Eller stressed that Nor-Cal will not take possession of the property until Pacific ensures and it is proven there are no Y2K problems. The county and Nor-Cal will be meeting more frequently in the future.
Children's Fair grows into 12th year
Much like the children it was de signed to serve, the Children's Fair con tinues to grow and evolve from year to year. Now entering it's 12th year, this event will practically be an adolescent when it takes place on May 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Modoc High School.
Barbara Weed and Gail Eppler, Co-Directors of the Fair for 1999, say that the Fair has become a big hit in the commu nity for a variety of reasons.
Eppler noted, "It's an escape from reality for a day," while Weed pointed out that the whole family can make an inex pensive day out of the Fair since the booths are designed to be not for profit. Any money made at any booth gets donated to the Fair for next year.
Perhaps the biggest reason for the Fair's success though, is that it involves the entire community.
"It takes a whole community to do this," Weed said. "That is what has hooked people. So many agencies have bought into this."
Community involvement is how an event of the Fair's magnitude can get put on with a budget of a mere $8300. Many employers do nate their employees time to participate in the Fair. Families Matter and Resource &
Referral of T.E.A.C.H. are also big contribu tors. Modoc County Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Counseling both donated $2000 this year.
Getting the Fair to run also requires a number of people to work on 16 different committees.
"There are so many different entities that right now it's a really scary time," Weed said. "Everything seems scattered. The day before is when it all comes together.
The Fair has become such a big deal that Little League doesn't schedule any games that day, Modoc High has moved its prom, and the Modoc Joint Unified School District has moved its inservice day to coincide with the Fair.
This year's Fair will feature illusionist Grant Daugherty, X3B band, camel rides, "Mime Dancers" and the dance group "Belles & Beaus."
The very popular "Wild Things" animal demonstration will also be back for another year.
Bass Fisherman Jerry Sanders will give kids an opportu nity to cast off his boat for prizes.
Of course there will also be the usual smat tering of booths with everything from food to prizes to fun.
Several issues on land use committee
Toping the agenda for the Modoc County Land Use Committee May 12 is a search to replace or reappoint expir ing members terms.
There are 25 members of the committee, and while some are there because of their positions or vocations, many are public members at large.
The committee will also discuss and try to come up with county guidelines concerning public land road closures. The U.S. Forest Service has a directive to close roads and the Land Use Committee wants to see some logical and real guidelines used in the process.
In addition. the committee will be discussing the theory of "grass banks" as a art of grazing tools. Those "banks" would be used, for instance, when an allotment is targeted for a prescribed burn and that grazing area would be out of use of a couple of years. The "grass bank" would be an area held in reserve for those cases and released for use by the permit holder for grazing until the burned allotment regen erates and is usable.
The meeting is held at the Farm Advisors' Conference at the 4th Street complex and will start at 1:30 p.m. next Wednesday.
Juried Art Show, Sale opens with Mother's Day weekend reception
Adult artists in Modoc County will have the oppor tunity to enter the 15th An nual Spring Juried Fine Art Exhibition and Sale over the Mother's Day weekend May 7-9.
The public will be wel comed to the artists' recep tion which will open the show on Fri day night, May 7 at 7:00 p.m. with wine and hors d'oeuvres to be served at the Art Center, 317 South Main Street, Alturas,
The show will continue until 9 p.m. Friday evening, then be open to the public on Saturday, May 8 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and continue Sunday, May 9 until 5 p.m.
"This will be a nice show with local and other artists from Burney and Fall River who haven't been in this show for a long time," offers Ken Franklin, Director for the Modoc County Arts Coun cil which sponsors the event annually.
Artists are invited to leave several pieces for dis play throughout the month of May, if they so choose. "The show/sale will actually con tinue at the Art Center through May 31," notes Franklin.
This year's California State Summer School for the Arts winners will be an nounced during the high school awards night and not during this year's art recep tion, explained Franklin. The winners should be made known within the next two weeks, he added.
- Directions for Artists
Application forms have been sent to last year's par ticipants. To obtain an ap plication to enter the Juried Show or simply to exhibit personal art work, please contact Ken Franklin, Modoc County Arts Council Director at (530) 233-2505. Cash prizes will be awarded for the top three winners in each category with ribbons awarded in First through Fourth places and Honorable Mention. Cash awards will be determined by the amount of entry fees.
Juried show entry fees are $10 each, with five per cate gory maximum. Categories include pencil, pen and ink, charcoal/pastel, mixed medium, watercolor, pastel, oil/acrylic, sculpture, handmade mixed medium, black and white and color photography.
Check in for artists will begin tonight, May 6 from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Art Cen ter and Friday, May 7 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. All paint ings, drawings, etc. must be matted and framed with or without glass, with wire on the back for hanging. Matted only pieces will be accepted only if properly equipped to hang. For more information call Ken Franklin, (530) 233-2505.
Good response for 1999 version of Duck Race
There has been excellent response for prizes and coupons for the 1999 Great Pit River Duck race and the real nitty gritty gets going right now.
The 3,000 rubber ducks will go on sale April 15 at $25 each. Top prize is a brand new Chevy stepside pickup.
A real bonus this year is the donation of a 425cc four-wheel-drive Polaris ATV from Intermountain Farm Credit of Alturas. Intermountain Farm Credit won the ATV last year's Duck race and is returning it (still new) to Rotary for a prize. According to Duck Race orga nizer Billy Madison, there will also be another ATV of fered as a prize. Both of those prizes are only in the Gold Crown category for those people who purchase 10 or more ducks each.
Other great prizes (with value) offered so far this year include: a lawn mower from Coast to Coast ($568); floor covering from Frank's Carpets ($500); Star Tac Motorola cell phone from Napa Auto Parts ($339); a Pamper Packet from Kaleidoscope Salon ($275); microwave oven from J.C. Penney's ($267); compact refrigerator from Phillips Appliance ($239); Traxxas Villian R/C speed boat from Lucy's Ceramics and Hobby, $230; weekend retreat at Cockrell's High Desert Lodging, ($175); free muffler and tail pipe, Ron Campbell, Inc., $150); pair of Oakley sun glasses from Dr. Tom Krauel, $130); Delta kitchen faucet from A&M Pump, ($100); one night stay with meals at Mill Creek Lodge, ($100).
If a business does not receive a letter about the Duck Race and would like to participate, or for more informa tion please call Bill Madison at 233-3432.
The proceeds from the Duck Race go into the Alturas Youth Park. The area for the new Youth Park fields (four baseball and two soccer), has been cleared, leveled, fenced, the irrigation system installed and trees and grass planted. It's moving along well, but more funding is needed to take care of several items, including re strooms, concession area, playground and overall field construc tion.
- Record new summaries for May 13, 1999
- DA files felony charges in hidden camera case
- Elks banquet stuns committee, $42,000 raised
- Children's Fair is big event for Saturday
- Free dump days prove popular
- Modoc Museum opens for season
- Post Office delivers on food drive
- Modoc Fair looking or queen
Obituaries:
- Mitchell
- Hughes
- Hohler
DA files felony charges in case of hidden camera
Modoc County District Attorney Tom Buckwalter has filed felony charges alleg ing eavesdropping against Modoc Joint Unified School District Superintendent Craig Drennan in connection with a hidden cam era in Modoc High School Principal Duke Pasquini's office.
Drennan is scheduled for arraignment in Modoc Justice Court June 8. On Tuesday, Drennan was placed on adminis trative leave until the determina tion of the legal case is fi nal. Alturas Elementary School Principal Randy Wise will fill in during Drennan's absence. Drennan did not attend Tuesday night's board meeting.
Buckwalter filed the charges Tuesday af ternoon after in vestigating the case and hearing from all sides, including the dis trict's legal counsel. Drennan had ordered the cam era installed in that office.
The hidden camera was discovered and removed by the Alturas Police Department May 4 after it's existence was re ported to them. Pasquini was not told the camera was in his office. It was in the ceiling and the lens was covered by a false smoke detector. The camera had been in operation for about six months.
School officials reported to police that the camera operated 24 hours per day, five days per week and was turned off a few weeks ago. The camera, according to school officials, recorded only video and no sound, but Buckwalter said that does not change the eavesdropping charge.
There are no charges pending against anyone else con nected with the installation or operation of the camera, said Buckwalter.
Drennan has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing in the incident, saying he had asked for and received legal advice from the district's legal counsel saying the placement of the camera was a permissible act. Buckwalter disagrees with the district's legal counsel interpretation on the issue.
Drennan said he set up the camera because some sensi tive personnel information had been leaked or files rifled through in Pasquini's office. He has said that some of the in formation leaked concerned Pasquini's records and files.
While Drennan has told staff that he in stalled the camera for Pasquini's and staff protection, Pasquini said he would never have agreed to that camera. He said he cer tainly would have liked to know it was there, but has stated he would have asked Drennan to remove it from his private of fice.
Tuesday the Modoc Teachers Association issued a state ment at the special board meet ing saying the ". . .trust and integrity pre sent in the district has been severed. We urge the Board to assess the professional and ethi cal conduct of the superintendent and his management style. We charge the Board of Trustees with the responsibility of resolving this breach of trust."
The teachers association says it is en trusted with teach ing and modeling basic values, including respect for others, honesty, ethics, courtesy, personal responsibility and so on.
The MTA states it is "dismayed and of fended by Superintendent Craig Drennan's disregard of many of these basic values through his decision to covertly tape the ac tions of staff members, students, and parents in this district."
On Saturday, the MJUSD Board of Trustees held a meet ing to discuss the situa tion, but took no action. Board President Bill Hall, who was informed initially that a surveillance camera would be used in Pasquini's office, re signed as President of the Board. He said he stepped down from that position for the good of the district as well as his family. Hall said he didn't think what Drennan had pro posed at the time (last December) was illegal. Hall remains as a member of the board and Sean Curtis has as sumed the role of President.
No bull! Elk banquet brings in $42,000
The phenomenal success of the first annual Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Warner Mountain Chapter banquet, Saturday evening was a sur prise to some people, and perhaps even to the na tional head quarters.
The banquet, held at the Veteran's Lodge in Alturas, raised a gross of just over $84,000, and after ex penses, netted over $42,000 for the RMEF. There were 225 people who attended the ban quet, both local and from out of the area.
"We surpassed what the foundation expected us to raise by a substantial amount," said local commit tee chair Bill Madison. "Overall, I'd say it was pretty incredible. The committee did a great job and the banquet went very well. We amazed ourselves. The committee worked very hard to make this a success."
The local chapter commit tee includes: Madison, Jim Hays, Paul Bailey, Mark Pence, Walt Tamagni, Dan Silveria, Jerry Hoxsey, John Dederick, Keith Jacques, Wayne Bethel, Chuck McElwain, Rusty Stanford, Vern Seevers and George Wistos. In addition to work ing very hard to make the banquet work, Madison said those commit tee members were also some of the top fi nancial supporters of the event.
A very special guest for the evening was Larry Bucher, of Tarzana, California. Bucher is a member of the RMEF National Board of Directors. He was born and raised in Fort Bidwell and is recog nized nationally for his ef forts and status in the organi zation.
"We were honored to have Larry with us for our first ban quet," said Madison. "It was one of the real highlights of the evening."
In addition, some other former Modoc'ers were on hand and supported the local chapter with sizable dona tions. Included in that group were Roy and Jolene Pace, Yreka, and Andy and Nancy Hoxsey, Napa.
According to Madison, there were many out-of-town guests at the banquet, who had nothing but good things to say about the first offering of the Warner Mountain Chapter.
According to RMEF, the average spent per individual at a local big game banquet is $225. The average spent per person at the Alturas banquet was $375.
"I think it goes to show there is a lot of positive inter est in the elk herd and in Modoc County," said Madison. "It was a very grati fying evening."
Madison said most of the items and firearms were pur chased locally. Many of the firearms were offered as draw ing prizes and other were part of the auction. The RMEF Big Game Banquet 15th Anniversary Rifle, number 183 in a se ries of 425, went at auction for $3,500. That was just $50 less than the number one rifle in the series, which Madison be lieves was sold at the Reno banquet.
An original oil painting by Washington wildlife artist Jim McGee was the high auc tion item, collecting $7,200. A metal frog sculpture was also a highlight as the bids on it topped out at $3,500. The auc tioneer for the night was Boyd Gibbons, who did his part in raising funds.
In addition to the general auction, there was a silent auc tion, door prizes, a general drawing for other items and a special drawing for select items.
Dinner was prepared and served by Pizza and Pasta, who Madison credits with do ing an excellent job all around. The Delta Omega Sorority helped out the evening serving cocktails and wine and funds raised will go into their annual scholarships.
The chapter also welcomed 10 new life members to the RMEF. Usually, said Madison, chapters collect only a few at each banquet. Those new life members of the Warner Mountain Chapter are: Jerry Sanders, Dan and Carol Silveria, Dennis Tate, Steve Miller, Rusty Stanford, Jerry Hoxsey, Andy Hoxsey, David Hoxsey, Josh Hoxsey and Jim Del Bondio.
The RMEF is an interna tional, nonprofit wildlife con servation organization based in Missoula, Montana, who mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat. Local banquets form the backbone of the RMEF's fundraising program. The dollars raised at these ban quets fund habitat acquisi tions, habitat improvement projects, re search, elk trans plants and conservation edu cation pro grams. Since 1984, RMEF has generated $70 mil lion to con serve and enhance more than 2.4 million acres of wildlife habitat across North America.
Children's fair sets for big time this Saturday
Literally thousands of children are ex pected to take part in the 12th annual Modoc Children's Fair "Magical Moments" Saturday at Modoc High School.
The Children's Fair has become one of the most antici pated and well-attended events of the year in the county and this year will be no exception. The weather may be cool, but no major storms are predicted. There are a dozen different committees involved in or ganizing the food booths, games, displays and demonstrations for the event.
The drug, alcohol, and tobacco free family fun day gets underway at 9 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. The grand open ing is at 9:30 a.m. on the Main Stage. There is a fun run at 8 a.m.
Some of the great things to do include sev eral hands-on projects, a school activity area, intergenerational games and contests, art-roni, a fishing booth, optical rubbing, mak ing birdfeeders, kites, stained glass, weav ing, model rockets, clay molding, wooden art magnets, jewelry mak ing, face painting, bean art, paper bag painting, an incredi ble inside zoo and aquarium and more.
In addition, there are plenty of performing acts on line including a magi cian/illusionist Grant Dougherty of Klamath Falls, Old-time Fiddlers, the 3XB Band, Belles and Beaus, the popular Wild Things, and the Desperado Band.
Most of the emergency service agencies in the county will also have their vehicles on display for looking and for touch ing and in some cases actually spraying the fire hoses.
There are camel rides scheduled again this year, which has been a popular activity every year.
If a person gets hungry, there will be plenty of inexpen sive (which is the key word) and delicious food at the fair in cluding: hamburgers, tamales, pizza, quesadillas, corn dogs, beef barbecue, tostadas, candy, na chos, ice cream, soda, onion rings, suckers, strawberry shortcake, popcorn and beans.
The following activities are available: Dandy the Dragon remote control car; a ball toss, darts, kid care photos, paint ing flowers, space walk, fishing, diabetes health screen ing, computer photography, a bass-casting fishing boat, spin art, clowns and bubbles, and more.
Sponsors for the event this year are: Modoc County Health Services, Modoc Child Care Resource and Referral and Families Matter. Supporting agencies for the fair are: Modoc Joint Unified School District, Modoc Child Care Council, Alliance for Workforce Development, Environmental Alternatives, Warner Mountains Group Home, I'SOT, Inc, and the Modoc County Office of Education.
The Coordinators for the event are Barb Weed and Gail Eppler and the committee in cludes: Darla Mandel, Beth Mann, Tara Shepard, Candy Maidens, Linda McManus, VeeAnn Ambers, Charisa Olsen, Debbie Mason, Victoria Velasco, Ivy Ryno, Alan Kiser, Donna Geldreich, Bernice Miller, Betty Holloway, Sarah Cook, Katherine Coppini, Angel Williams and Rosa Fernandez.
Free dump days turn out to be quite popular
While all the numbers haven't been tabulated just yet, the Modoc County Department of Public Works reports that the free dump days in the county were very popular.
Assistant Public Works Director Rick Hironymous said the staff is busy adding up the trash as well as the number of loaded vehicles which showed up at the four landfills over four days the last two weekends. The landfills open in cluded Lookout, Newell, Lake City and Alturas.
Hironymous said the traffic going into the Lake City transfer station on Saturday was very heavy and was well more than he or county staff expected.
On Sunday the wait to get into the Alturas Transfer sta tion lasted as long as two hours as vehicles were backed up from the dump entrance all the way to the railroad tracks just south of town. That's more than a mile.
"It looks as though we got an awful lot of trash and yards cleaned up," said Hironymous. "I know the crews were cer tainly tired after their days. There was an awful lot of traf fic."
No household trash was accepted free, but residents more than made up for that by bringing yard and tree trimmings, old appliances, cars and other steel and metal items.
Modoc Museum displays collec tions
The arrival of May means that the Modoc County Historical Museum is once again open. The Museum will operate from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, until October. There is no charge to visit the Museum. Donations are accepted.
The Museum offers several new displays this year, the most prominent of which is the hat collection which covers the Museum's entire east wall. The hats, as well as several dresses, are from the personal collections of Orletta Word, Gladys Woodward, Iris Turner and Mary Flournoy. The dis play even indicates who wore what hat and when, and offers an interesting way to follow the trail of fashion through the years.
Right underneath the hat collection is a working player pi ano donated by Ralph and Gladys Bowman.
There is also a display fea turing many historical arti facts relating to schools. For example, there is a Modoc High grad uation announce ment from 1908, and a Surprise Valley High yearbook from 1914.
There is also a new display on camping, and the World War I and World War II collec tions have been expanded.
For those who say, "Show me the money!", the Museum has the answer with a display of historic coins and bills. The display includes a collection of valuable dimes donated by Andy Olsen.
Don't forget that Modoc County has had its share of in triguing stories over the years. A new display outlines one of them, the French case, where a rivalry between newspapers led to a murder in the 1930's.
USPS, community donates big delivery
"It was so successful, we really had a tremendous re sponse from the commu nity," said Cheryl Haggard as "Stamp Out Hunger" Al turas coordinator for the Al turas Post Office.
By late last Saturday af ternoon all Alturas area carriers and HCR drivers had picked up 1,035 pounds of non-perishable food items donated by local residents to help stamp out hunger lo cally.
"Single cans were the ex ception," described carrier Brian Harden. "The people of Alturas really outdid themselves. They had notes and colored cards attached to whole bags of food. It was ex cellent."
"We had fun doing it," added Haggard. "We'd open these boxes we'd picked up next to mail boxes and find two and three bags of food in them. It was like Christ mas."
The receptacles in the Alturas Post Office lobby also filled quickly through out the week, as those who had Post Office boxes do nated goods.
The TEACH Modoc Emergency Food Bank and Federated Church Emer gency Food Supplies were re plenished with the deliver ies.
A nationwide Food Drive took place the same day, May 8 as organized by the Na tional Association of Letter Carri ers, the US Postal Ser vice, United Way and AFL-CIO.
The Alturas Postal Carri ers plan to take part in next year's national drive.
Modoc County Queen entries due June 11
The Modoc District Fair is in search of candidates for the 1999 Miss Modoc County contest.
Miss Modoc and Princess will act as official hostesses of Modoc-The Last Frontier Fair, August 19-22, as well as representing Modoc Cou-nty, by traveling to nei-ghboring counties during the summer.
The 1999 Modoc County Queen Contest entry forms will be available Friday in Alturas at the Alturas Cha-mber of Commerce on Main Street, Modoc County Record office on Carlos Street and in Cedarville at the Modoc District Fair Of fice.
The Miss Modoc Contest will be held at the Cedarville Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 10. In connection with the contest will be the Fourth Annual Summer Fashion Show presented by Ardith Ferry with the Classie Las-sie and Betsy Ingraham with L & B Ranch Supply along with a western barbe cue pre-pared and served by the Surprise Valley Boy Scouts Troop 48.
Completed entry forms and $25.00 entry fee must be returned to the Modoc Dis trict Fair office by 5:00 pm June 11.
The contest rules of eligi bility are the contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 21 by August 19, 1999. They must have resided in Modoc County for at least one year. Any contestant attend ing college is eligible as long as their parents are res idents. They must be single, never married and never been a parent; maintain a "C" average if still enrolled in school; and never been placed as a queen or princess in the contest before.
Judging criteria will in clude 55 percent, horseman ship; and 45 percent, poise, personality, appearance and personal interview.
Prizes include a western outfit, silver belt buckle, sash and tiara. A $200 U.S. Savings Bond, sponsored by the Modoc County Farm Bu reau will be presented to the Queen and a $100.00 Savings Bond sponsored by the Al turas and Surprise Valley Rotary Clubs will be pre sented to the Princess.
Obituaries
Mabel Claire Flournoy Mitchell
Mabel Claire Flournoy Mitchell passed away May 1, 1999 in Woodland Hills, Calif. Private interment will be held at the Likely Cemetery at a later date.
Mabel was born in Likely, Calif. on the home ranch to Lutie and Arthur Flournoy on October 5, 1907. She was the third child of ten Flournoy children.
After graduating from Modoc Union High School and the University of Nevada at Reno, she taught schools in Reno and Fallon, Nev. She married Walter "Mitch" Mitchell on October 21, 1932 in Reno. The couple made their home in Seattle, Washington for "quite some time," according to family members, while Mitch was a pilot with Northwest Air lines. They later bought Modern Appliance in Al turas and moved to Alturas where they reared their two children. After they sold the Alturas business, they moved to Santa Monica.
Mrs. Flournoy was an avid bridge player and a beautiful pianist. She remained very close to her family throughout the years and was always there to help when needed. After her husband died on September 7, 1971, she and her sister Hazel shared a home in Woodland for a time, before Mabel moved to Woodland Hills.
"She was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who cherished her life-long friends and was truly a joy to know and love," de scribes her family.
She is survived by her daughter Georgie Green and hus band Jerry of Woodland Hills, Calif.; a son Robert "Rob" Mitchell and wife Jude of Silverthorne, Colo.; seven grand children and five great-grandchildren; a sister Hazel Dor ris of Woodland, Calif.; sisters-in-law Mary Flournoy of Likely and Alice Flournoy ; three brothers and their wives Donald and Shirley Flournoy; Robert and Lizzette Flournoy and Warren and Beverly Flournoy all of Likely and nu merous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her sisters Georgie Flournoy and Helen F. Auble; a sister-in-law Amy Ruthe Flournoy and brothers Kenneth, John D. and Harry O. Flournoy.
Memorial contributions may be directed to a charity of the donor's choice.
Melba R. Hughes
Services for Melba R. Hughes of Alturas, will be held to day, May 13 at 11 a.m. at graveside at the Alturas Cemetery. Mrs. Hughes passed away in Alturas, Calif. on Tuesday, May 11, 1999 at the age of 82.
Born Melba R. Ring in Oroville, Calif. on October 11, 1916, she was a graduate of the Oroville High School. She married Richard "Dick" Hughes August 4, 1945 in Burlingame, Calif. Melba, Dick and family moved to Cedar Pass, Modoc County in 1956, where Dick was employed for the Division of Highways. In 1957, they moved to Davis Creek, where Melba was active in school and community activities.
The family moved to Alturas in 1968. Melba began work at the Sears Catalogue Store and later she worked for many years for Paul and Fran Breshears at the B &W Pharmacy on Main Street, Alturas.
"Melba loved people and they loved her," shares her daughter. After retirement, she cared for her grandson Luke and enjoyed playing pinochle. Melba and Dick also enjoyed taking many bus trips with the Modoc Senior Citizens, trav eling as far as Washington, D.C. Melba was a wonderful cook and home maker. She will be greatly missed by her lov ing family and friends.
She is survived by her husband Dick Hughes; daughter Vicki Hughes; grandson Luke Hughes, all of Alturas; son Richard Hughes; grandsons Benjamin and Justin Hughes of Portola Valley and sister Helen Burns of San Jose.
Memorial contributions in Mrs. Hughes name may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 919 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1000, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1676.
George Berry Hohler
George Berry Hohler, 73, died at his home in Prineville, Oregon, on May 4, 1999.
Mr. Hohler was born on June 9, 1925, to Nicholas W. and Gertrude Berry Hohler, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He married Jeanne Carol Bullard on November 20, 1948. After graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1950, Mr. Hohler moved his family to California. He worked in fi nance and real estate and later for the American Red Cross.
Beginning in 1980, Mr. Hohler owned and operated "The Most Likely Cafe" in Likely, CA. After retiring in 1986, he worked as a meter reader for Surprise Valley Electric in Alturas, CA.
In 1998, Mr. Hohler moved to Prineville, Oregon, where he resided until his death. He greatly enjoyed his canine companions, visiting with family and friends, good food, barbershop singing, playing bridge, reading, crossword puzzles, and collecting old records and books. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, having served as a bombardier in the Army Air Corps in WWII.
Survivors include: daughters Diane Carol Hohler Miller of Napa, California, and Rebecca Louise Addington of Prinevile, Oregon; sons David Berry Hohler of Corvallis, Oregon, and Nicholas William Hohler of Santa Rosa, Cali fornia; wife Jeanne Carol Hohler of Napa, California; sis ter Betty Smith of San Mateo, California; cousin Ruth Freathy of Napa, California; one niece and five grandchil dren. Mr. Hohler was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Treadway and Wigger Funeral Home on June 5, 1999, in Napa, Cali fornia. Memorials or donations may be made to Ronald McDonald Houses, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or Hospice. Whispering Pines Funeral Home of Prineville, Oregon will be handling the arrangements.
Record news summaries fo May 20, 1999
- Thena employees finally to get 1995 wages
- 3,000 people attend Children's Fair
- Appeal filed on Medicine Lake geothermal
- Campgrounds ready for Memorial Day
- Ft. Bidwell barbecue set for May 30
- Stateline students are off an learning adventure
- Wildflower tours set on the forest
The forecast: Mostly cloudy skies today with a slight chance of thundershowers. Mostly clearer and warmer Friday through Sunday, lows 30s and 40s. Highs into the 70s.
Employees of Thena, Inc, finally to receive wages from 1995
After waiting and wading through the bankruptcy pro ceedings, 33 local employees of Thena, Inc. at California Pines are finally going to get paid wages owed them since 1995.
According to information from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon, the employees will receive a total of $42,214.17. Some of the employees will receive from $1,500 to $4,000 each.
The offices of Thena, Inc. at California Pines and offices of Diversified Paper Products, Oregon Racing Products, T&D Properties and Resort Ventures were raided by federal and local agents on February 7, 1995 and all records seized.
One of the principals of those companies, Ted Combis, is now serving a 57-month sentence in Sheridan federal prison in connection with a variety of charges stemming partially from his operation at California Pines.
Combis, 55, was sentenced in February, 1998 for mail fraud, failure to pay taxes and a separate count of fraudulent receipt of property. In addition to the 57-month sentence, he was also ordered to pay a total of $16,000 in restitution.
The law requires Combis to serve a minimum of 85 per cent of his sentence.
Combis, was accused of taking $15 million worth of tim ber from lots in California Pines and entered the guilty pleas to avoid a lengthy court case. The federal govern ment, who prosecuted the case, said it placed the fraud loss at be tween $800,000 and $1.5 million.
Combis established Thena Inc. in 1993 and mailed hun dreds of letters to California Pines property owners offering to salvage dead and dying timber from their lots. The gov ernment said Combis took the dead and dying plus large numbers of healthy, valuable trees from the lots. It's esti mated that 7,000 truckloads of logs were hauled from Cal Pines.
The government raided California 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 em ployees. 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.
More than 3,000 enjoy a magical chil dren's day
More than 3,000 people showed up for a day of fun, food and entertainment at the Modoc Children's Fair Saturday.
"It really was a magical day," said co-co ordinator Gayle Eppler. "The weather was nice and everything ran very smoothly. We had no complaints and everyone had a very good time."
The weather man had predicted partly cloudy and possi ble showers, but while the clouds showed up, the rain stayed away. That was a real benefit to fairgoers. The sun was a welcome relief, and even though it did not get real warm, it was pleasant.
"It was a lot of work for the committee, but we were very pleased with the results," Eppler said. "It's always nice to see the kids having that much fun and having all the families to gether."
According to VeeAnn Ambers, the day went very smoothly and everyone enjoyed themselves. Mental Health's 1,200 hamburg ers, a normal meter of numbers of people at the fair, sold out by 1:30 p.m. Most all the food booths sold out of items by the end of the fair.
According to Eppler, families spent the day mingling and going through all of the booths and activities. There was plenty to do, all the way from face painting, to bubbles, bingo, experiments, eating, camel rides, Wild Things wildlife, bass casting, eating, clay modeling, fishing for prizes, bead stringing, bean bag tossing, treasure hunt ing, eating, spraying the fire hose, dancing, listening to music, dime toss, eating, and more.
The fair got a bit of a slow start at 9 a.m. because of the cool weather, but by noon the crowds started arriving. By the time the fair ended at 3 p.m., the lawns at Modoc High School had been well traveled and the volun teers tired but satisfied with another success ful endeavor.
The winner of the 50/50 drawing was Judi Stevens.
The Children's Fair is sponsored by Modoc County Health Services, Modoc Child Care Resource and Referral, Families Matter with supporting agencies: Modoc Joint Unified School District, Modoc Child Care Council, Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc., Environmental Alternatives, Warner Mountains Group Home, I'SOT, Inc., and the Modoc County Office of Education.
Appeal filed to protect Medicine Lake
Environmentalists, Na tive Americans, and sports fishermen filed an appeal, May 17, with the Siskiyou County Air Pollution Con trol Board requesting prepara tion of an envi ronmental impact report on large-scale geothermal exploration pro posed by Calpine Corporation in the Medicine Lake High lands just north of Medicine Lake and east of Mount Shasta.
The Save Medicine Lake Coalition, a broad coalition of concerned citizens in clud ing Medicine Lake Citi zens for Quality En viron ment, California Wilder ness Coali tion, Klamath Fo-rest Alliance, Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center, and Fall River Wild Trout Foundation, seeks to over-turn a decision by the Sisk-iyou County Air Pollu tion Control Officer on May 5 to allow exploration drilling without preparing of an EIR.
The target of the appeal is Calpine's pro posal to develop a 49.9 megawatt geothermal power plant and well field and 24-mile, 230-kilovolt transmission line in the vicinity of Medicine Lake on the Klamath and Modoc national forest in Siskiyou and Modoc coun ties. Al though federal agencies re viewing this project have concluded that it has signifi cant adverse visual and noise effects on Medicine Lake and cultural resources in the Medicine Lake High lands, an area held sa cred by many Native Americans, the Siskiyou Air Pollution Control Officer de clined to prepare an EIR. The Save Medicine Lake Coalition notes in its appeal that the APCO's refusal to prepare an EIR violates the Califor nia Environmental Quality Act be cause this geothermal project has many sig nifi cant adverse environmental impacts.
"Calpine's proposal wou-ld, if carried through to full field development, trans-form a remote alpine plateau endowed with breathtaking scenery and outstanding re-creational re sources, into a noisy and con gested indus-trial zone of drilling pads, roads, toxic ponds, pipes and high volt age power lines," explained the President of Medicine Lake Citizens for Quality Envi ronment, Janie Painter. "The public is enti tled to full disclosure of this project's harm ful impacts in an EIR so that informed ma-nagement decisions can be made," added Ms. Painter.
Ryan Henson, Conserva tion Director of the Califor nia Wilderness Coalition, hailed the appeal as a vital first step in sounding the alarm that two of Californi a's wildest road less areas, Mt. Hoffman and Dobie Flat, would be destroyed if Calpine's proposed geother mal development is allowed. These roadless areas repre sent a unique intersec tion of the Siskiyou Mountains and eastern Cascade ecosys tems," explained Mr. Hen son, "and should be pre ser-ved for future genera tions to study and enjoy." Kyle Haines, Field Repre sent-ative of the Kla math Forest Alliance, agreed that the Medicine Lake High lands "represents a spectac ular convergence of alpine scen-ery, unique geologic form-ations including Glass Mou-ntain -- the largest ex posed block of obsidian in Cali-fornia -- and extraordi nary cultural resources from cen-turies of Native American commerce and habita tion."
"The Pit River, Modoc, Shasta, Wintu and Karuk Tribes revered the Medicine Lake Highlands because of its proximity to Mt. Shasta and the opportunity it pro vided for communion with the Creator," explained Mic-helle Berditschevsky of the Mt. Shasta Bioregional Ec-ology Center and Native Coalition for Medicine Lake Highlands De fense. "The Air Pollution Control Offi cer ignored recent ethno graphic studies docu ment ing far more extensive cul tural re sources than previ ously reported, and failed to disclose the noise and visual effects of large-scale indus trial intrusions into Native American burial grounds and other lands of cultural significance to the Native American community," poi-nted out Ms. Berditschev-sky.
"The Medicine Lake Hig-hlands is the watershed for several of California's mig-htiest rivers, including the McCloud, the Sacramento and the Klamath," noted Mike Fitzwater of the Fall River Wild Trout Foun da tion. "Calpine has failed to answer hard questions about the effect its proposed ex ploitation of this area's geo-thermal re sources will have on the purity, tempera ture and flow of these head water rivers, includ ing Cal ifor-nia's premier native trout fly fishing stream, the Fall River," he added.
"This appeal seeks to rec tify a profound cultural in justice to the Native Ameri can Community and to pre serve some of Califor nia's most outstanding ecological and recreational resources," explained Stephan Volker, attorney for the coalition. "The Air Pollution Control Board and Calpine now have the opportunity to 'get it right' by fully disclosing and addressing this pro-ject's profound environ-mental impacts. The law demands no less," Mr. Volker con cluded.
Campgrounds ready for Memorial Day Weekend
Most campgrounds on Modoc National Forest will be open in time for the Memorial Day holiday.
Ash Creek, Lassen Creek, Plum Valley and Emerson campgrounds are open at no charge. Mill Creek Falls, Upper and Lower Rush Cre-ek, Willow Creek and Ho-ward's Gulch camp grounds are open with a $6.00 fee per night. The fee for campsites at Blue Lake campground is $7.00 per night.
Other areas on the Forest that are open include the Poi son Flat trail to Clear Lake, Cedar Pass trail and most reservoirs. Dispersed camp sites along Ash Creek are open and equipped with por-table toilets.
Be prepared for winter conditions when visiting these areas. Trail condi tions may vary so use cau tion, and report any trail damage to a Modoc NF of fice. Campfire permits are required and can be obtained at ranger district offices and Forest headquarters.
For more information, and to obtain your free camp fire permit, visit one of the following locations: Big Valley Ranger District, 500 Main Street, Adin, phone (530) 299-3215; Warner Mountain Ranger District, 385 Wallace Street, Cedar-ville, (530) 279-6116; Doub-lehead Ranger District, Hi-ghway 129, Tulelake, phone (530) 667-2246 or Dev il's Garden Ranger Dis trict-/Forest Headquarters, Hig-hway 299, Alturas, (530) 233-5811.
Ft. Bidwell barbecue brings folks together to celebrate Memorial Day
It's a relaxing setting to renew old ac quaintances or meet new friends when the Fort Bidwell Memorial Day Barbecue wel comes the pub lic on Sunday, May 30 from 11:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the park surround ing the Ft. Bidwell Civic Hall in Ft. Bidwell.
The creek side setting, with its tall cotton wood trees, pro vides a shady area for visiting amid the open air picnic ta bles. Always a popu lar event which draws visi tors from far and near for the feast and fun, prize draw ings are also part of the fun as are games of volley ball and horse shoes.
No matter what the weather, the event is well re ceived and everyone seems to have a good time.
The serving of barbecued New York steaks, chicken or hamburgers, plus baked potato, beans and salad will be served from 11:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
The cost for adults will be $10; children, (6- 12),$6. Children five and under served free when ac compa nied by a paying adult.
At 1:00 p.m., join the games of volleyball and horseshoes or purchase tick ets for the drawings.
"Rain, shine, snow or sleet, our annual barbecue can't be beat," offer Ft. Bid well res idents.
A drawing will be held late in the day, for a hind quarter of beef, a beef fore quarter, all cut wrapped and frozen, plus many other lo cally donated prizes. Win ners need not be present to win. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5, available at the entrance.
This year's event is being organized by the Fort Bid well Civic Club. Civic Club members have faithfully done the tremendous food preparation and serving over the years and offered the use of their hall to help make the event happen when they aided the very grate ful volunteers of the Ft. Bidwell Fire De partment with the Department's barbecue each year. The undertaking be came too much for too few to handle within the Ft. Bid well Fire Department.
But, because it was deemed such a success for 26 years, with its well-earned reputation for good food, vis iting and fun, the Civic Club plans to keep the Memorial Day Barbecue tradition go ing, with this now being their of ficial event, starting with 1999. They are hop ing for a grand turnout and in vite everyone to attend. A new addition this year will be booths of crafted items for sale.
Students from New Pine Creek will spend next week on the Oregon Coast
Students from State Line School in New Pine Creek will tell you that school is a day at the beach. Next week 25 of the school's 27 students (everyone from kindergarten through eighth grade) from the two-room school will be spend ing a few days and nights on the Oregon Coast.
Eleven of those 25 have never been to the ocean before in their entire lives. They are es pecially ready for it after spend ing the past semester studying the ocean and the crea tures within it.
"After we've done all this work, we finally get to see the ocean," student Amanda Waterman said. "After a whole year we finally get the payoff."
Another student, Gary Buckland, has been using his math multiplication project to figure out how many hours, minutes and seconds are left until the bus leaves to start the trip.
That will be at 7:00 a.m. on Monday. The students, along with teachers Patti Carpenter and Connie Badgley as well as eight other adults, will not return until Friday.
Along the way they will see Jedidiah Smith State Park, Harris Beach, Cape Blanco light house, a cheese factory in Bandon, Bullard Beach, a rehabilitation center for marine birds and mammals, Couquille Point, Cole River fish hatch ery and Spirit of the Rogue Nature Center. The last activity on the trip will be roller skating in Medford.
At many of the stops the students will con tinue their stud ies, this time up close and with the help of various experts. It won't just be a play trip.
Nights will be spend in YURTS, a year-round type of tent available in the state parks on the Oregon Coast. It's camp ing out while still having air mattresses, heaters and elec tric ity.
Carpenter began planning this trip three years ago with the State Line PTO and school site council. For the past two years, the stu dents have done fund-raisers for the trip. They have also received contributions from many area businesses and groups.
The students are looking forward to the trip for a variety of reasons. For example, Kaylee Widener said she is excited about see ing the tidal pools that may contain creatures such she has been studying such as starfish and sea urchins.
Other students are looking for bigger fish, so to speak. Whales and dolphins are in their migration patterns at this time of year and the kids are hoping to get a glimpse of some.
Capo Blanco Lighthouse is also a source of curiosity. Adding to the suspense, Miranda Miura and Jessica Strain have discovered in their research that the place is supposed to be haunted. The legend is that whenever a group goes on a tour of the lighthouse, they come back with one less person. Miura and Strain are wondering who that one less person might be.
Hopefully, the bus will return to New Pine Creek with 25, rather than 24, students on board.
Wildflower walks set by Native Plant Society
Looking for a way to break those winter blues? How about a walk in the great out-doors?
Plan to take one or all the Wildflower Walks sched uled this year, everyone is welcome to attend. Allison Sanger, Botanist for the Modoc National Forest says that 1999 promises to be an amazing wild-flower year. These walks are given in coordination with the Cali fornia Native Plant Society.
May 29-30, Saturday-Sunday (Memorial Day Weekend) SURPRISE VALLEY SAND DUNES, east of Eagleville, CA. Fea turing Great Basin vegeta tion, in-cluding the only known Nevada population of the rare Eriogonum pro ciduun, and a chance for bighorn sheep sightings at Hayes Canyon. See an en demic Galium at the foothills of the Warner Mountains. Camp out under the full moon. Meet at Coun try Hearth Restaurant in Cedarville at 10:00 am Sat urday. Leader: Gary School craft, 257-0456.
June 12, Saturday SOLDIER CREEK CANYON. This trip was snowed out last year, but we'll try it again, a little later! Walk around the unique volcanic slopes north of Stough Campground and Cedar Pass. Expect to see a California population of Eri ogonum prociduum, and Dimeresia howellii. Meet at the Forest Service office in Alturas on Highway 299 at 10:00 am. Leader: Allison Sanger, 233-5811.
July 10, Saturday COLD SPRINGS MOUNTAIN. Visit an area that was burned under prescribed conditions in 1993 to see rare species Iliamna bakeri, De-lphinium stachydeum, and other surprises. Awe some views of the Great Basin! Four-wheel-drive vehicles required. Meet at the Mad-eline Cafe on High way 395 at 10:00 am. Leader: Mike Dolan, 233-4666.
July 31, Saturday UPPER STEVENS MEADOWS. Joi-nt trip with Lassen Land and Trails Trust to a private meadow with a conservation easement. See a variety of wet meadow and lodgepole forest wild-flowers. Meet at Bogard Rest Area on High way 44 at 10:00 am. Leader: Kim Earll, 257-2151.
August 7-8, Saturday-Sunday THOUSAND LA-KES WILDERNESS BACK-PACK. About a three-mile hike into Barrett Lake, and optional 5+ mile trek from there up to Magee Peak to see rare alpine plants. Meet at the Forest Service's Hat Creek Work Center on Hi-ghway 89 at 10:00 am. Sat-urday. Leader: Beth Corbin, 257-2151.
Record news summaries for May 27, 1999
- Long Bell forest fire in mop up stages
- KFA files suit to protect salmon
- Memorial Day services all set
- Ft. Bidwell stages its annual BBQ
- Talented MHS students in summer art
- Duck Race tickets are moving out
- The Canby 'Blue Bomber' keeps on writing
Long Bell fire in mop up stages
The Forest Service's prescribed burn that got out of control in the Long Bell region is now in the mop up stages, accord ing to Information Officer Tom Lavaginio.
The fire was contained at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. While 600 acres of the fire were planned in the prescribed burn, it ended up charring another 600 acres outside the lines. About 377 acres of the excess was private forest land owed by Beatty and Associates.
Firefighting crews and engine continued the mop up phase Wednesday and are reinforcing the firelines and have instructions to extinguish any hot spot within 500 feet of the fireline and unburned islands of fuel or vegetation. On privately-owned lands within the firelines, the instructions to the fire crews are to mop up 100 percent of the hotspots and smokes.
Initial rehabilitation measures started Wednesday by hand constructing waterbars on the firelines at 350 foot in tervals to control and channel water runoff from future storms. About five miles of firelines have been constructed to contain the Bell Fire.
Temperatures were expected to be a little lower the next day or so and humidity will be slightly higher which will aid firefighters.
According to the Forest Service, emphasis has been placed on the protection of private lands and the twin 500 KV power lines owned and managed by Pacific Gas and Electric along the northwest edge of the fire.
The prescribed burn was initiated about three weeks ago, and according to Lavaginio, winds may have fanned some embers which started the new fire.
As of Tuesday morning, fire crews were busy taking care of some hot spots in the northern part of the fire. Those hot spots were picked up by an infrared camera flight Monday night. Most of those hot spots were embers, not actually ma jor flames.
Long Bell is west of Canby, some 25 miles south of the Lava Beds.
Federal, state and private agencies from around the area have contributed personnel and equipment to the fire, in cluding the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Corrections, California Department of Forestry, National Park Service, and the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The official start of the 1999 fire season begins May 31 in northeastern California.
KFA, others plan on suit to protect salmon
A coalition of conserva tion and fishing groups (and Native American tribes) have presented Bruce Bab bitt, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the federal Bureau of Reclama tion with notice that the coalition intends to sue to compel the federal govern ment to comply with key pro visions of the Endangered Species Act.
At issue is operation of the Klamath Irrigation Project by the Bureau of Reclama tion and the effects these op erations are having on Coho salmon in Northern Cali fornia's Klamath River. Once home to the third largest runs of salmon on the West Coast, Klamath Ri-ver salmon have been in de cline for decades. As a re sult, commercial, tribal sub sistence and sport fishing for salmon has been severly curtailed for several years in the Klamath River and in the ocean off Northern Cali fornia and Southwest Ore gon.
Klamath River Coho salmon were listed as "thr-eatened" under provi sions of the Endangered Species Act on May 6, 1997. The letter to Babbitt and the agencies, alleges that the Bureau of Reclamation is diverting water from the Klamath Ri-ver without first having obtained a biological opinion from the Marine Fisheries Service as re quired by the ESA. "We were compelled to act because Coho salmon are being killed in the Klamath River as a direct result of river manipulation by the Bureau of Reclamation," claims Fe lice Pace, who works on salmon issues for the Kla math Forest Alliance. As documen-tation, Pace refer enced a May 7, 1998 letter from government biologists which he says documents that young Coho salmon were stranded and killed as a result of rapid changes in the release of water from Iron Gate Dam. That dam is operated by Pacific Power but the amount of water released is controlled by Reclama tion's federal bureaucrats.
According to Wendell Wood, Klamath Falls-based representative of the Oregon Natural Resources Council: "Reclamation claims that they are taking care of their responsibility to conserve threatened and endangered species, but in the two years since Klamath River coho have been listed they have failed to complete the most basic requirement of the ESA."
KFA's Pace noted that Re-clamation's disregard for salmon is hurting commu nities along the Klamath River, California's North coast and the southwest coast of Oregon. According to Pace, "these communities depend on the river and es pecially on salmon. Salmon are part of the culture of the Klamath Mountains; they provide livelihoods and a way of life for Native Amer icans, fishermen, almost everyone in these communi ties."
Michael Sherwood, from the San Francisco Office of Earthjustice Legal Defense, an environmental law firm, authored the letter from the conservation, fishing and tribal organizations. "We hope Mr. Babbitt and the fed eral agencies will heed our call and come into compli ance with the law," stated Sherwood. Under provisions of law, those who seek to challenge federal imple mentation of the Endan gered Species Act must no tify the agencies which are alleged to be in violation 60 days before filing a lawsuit. But ONRC's Wendell Wood hopes a lawsuit can be avoided. "It is entirely fea sible for Reclamation to co-mplete consultation dur ing the 60-day period," said Wood. "They (Reclamation) can manage the water so that no salmon are stranded. We hope they will do it," he added.
The Klamath Mountains straddle the border of Cali fornia and Oregon and cor respond roughly to what biol ogists call the "Northern California/Southern Oregon Coast Coho salmon popula tion." The Klamath River drains the central portion of the Klamath Mountains with the Rogue River to the North and Trinity River to the South. The Klamath Irriga tion Project is located par tially in Oregon and par tially in California. The Project provides irrigation water to farmers, most of whom farm on rich lands that were once marches and lake beds. The Project was established in 1905 and be gan draining the vast Kla math Basin wetlands for agriculture soon afterwards.
Remember Memorial Day special services schedule
The public is encouraged to attend any one of the ser vices, to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day and give thanks to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice - their lives - in the line of duty.
Services in observance of Memorial Day will be con ducted in Alturas un der the Big Flag in the Plumas Bank parking lot, Main St., Alturas, on Mon day, May 31 at 11:00 a.m.
Local veterans group will be hosting the program and they encourage the public to at tend. A jet fly-over from Kingsley Field, Klamath Falls, Ore., has been requested for the Alturas service Monday. Veterans groups partici pating include Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled Amer ican Veterans and the American Legion.
On the traditional Memorial Day, Sun day, May 30 ser vices will be held at 11:00 a.m. at both the Alturas Cemetery and the Cedarville Cemetery. Alturas Veterans of Foreign Wars to Pete Christensen Post 3327 and Surprise Valley VFW Post 7888 will conduct the services in their respective com munities.
The VFW Auxiliary and Post 3327 will be out this week, decorating the military ceme tery markers with the white crosses and Buddy Poppies and U.S. flags. The cemeteries at Davis Creek, Likely, Ft. Bidwell and Surprise Valley will be decorated by folks who reside in those communities.
The 48 new flags, purchased by the VFW and Disabled American Veterans in Alturas last year, are now being flown flying along Alturas' Main Street, in honor of Memorial Day weekend.
Ft. Bidwell celebrates with BBQ
The Fort Bidwell Memo rial Day Barbecue wel comes the pub lic on Sunday, May 30 from 11:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the park surround ing the Ft. Bidwell Civic Hall in Ft. Bidwell.
The creek side setting, with its tall cotton wood trees, pro vides a shady area for visiting amid the open air picnic ta bles. Always a popu lar event which draws visi tors from far and near for the feast and fun, prize draw ings are also part of the fun as are games of volley ball and horse shoes.
No matter what the weather, the event is well re ceived and everyone seems to have a good time.
The serving of barbecued New York steaks, chicken or hamburgers, plus baked potato, beans and salad will be served from 11:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
The cost for adults will be $10; children, (6- 12),$6. Children five and under served free when ac compa nied by a paying adult.
At 1:00 p.m., join the games of volleyball and horseshoes or purchase tick ets for the drawings.
A drawing will be held late in the day, for a hind quarter of beef, a beef fore quarter, all cut wrapped and frozen, plus many other lo cally donated prizes. Win ners need not be present to win. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5, available at the entrance.
This year's event is being organized by the Fort Bid well Civic Club. Civic Club members have faithfully done the tremendous food preparation and serving over the years and offered the use of their hall to help make the event happen when they aided the very grate ful volunteers of the Ft. Bidwell Fire De partment with the Department's barbecue each year. The undertaking be came too much for too few to handle within the Ft. Bid well Fire Department.
Because it was deemed such a success for 26 years, with its well-earned reputa tion for good food, vis iting and fun, the Civic Club plans to keep the Memorial Day Barbecue tradition go ing, with this being their of ficial event, starting with 1999. They are hop ing for a grand turnout and in vite everyone to at tend. A new addition this year will be booths of craft items for sale.
Ft. Bidwell is located at the north end of Surprise Valley.
Talented teens selected for State Summer School for the Arts
It will be the first time two students have been selected from Modoc County to partic ipate in the California State Summer School for the Arts.
Alisha Cartner, a sopho more, selected for the Visual Arts portion of the school is the daughter of Richard and Sandra Cartner of Alturas. Jeran Brown, a junior, se lected for the music portion of the school, is the son of Steve and Teri Brown of Al turas. Both are students at Modoc High School.
"The CSSSA selections are not based on county popu lation, but purely based on the student's applications and portfolios. We are pleased to have two Modoc students selected for this ho-nor and fantastic arts trai-ning," offers Ken Franklin, Modoc County Arts Council Director, who will award the Governor's Arts Scholars Medallions to both students during a Modoc High "Hi-ghlights Night" when all awards are pre sented at the school.
On June 1 these students will be honored for their creative talent as well as their acceptance into one of the nation's leading sum mer arts programs. Support ing the need to nurture the state's arts and entertain ment industries, the Cali fornia State Legislation has declared June 4 as the thir teenth annual California Arts Scholars Day.
CSSSA provides talented teenagers with a unique op portunity to develop their artistic skills in a variety of fields including animation, creative writing, dance, film and video, visual arts, music and theater. The summer school offers its students an extraordinary environment in which they are able to explore their imagination and develop their craft through artistic expression.
"Creative minds keep communities moving for ward," says William A. Wise, chairman, president and chief executive officer of El Paso Energy Corporation. "The California State Sum mer School for the arts pro gram provides an excellent opportunity for students in the arts to build on their cre ative talents and strengths. El Paso is proud to support CSSSA in its efforts to im prove and encourage our cultural environment. We congratulate the program and its scholars for their hard work and accomplish ments, and we look forward to another year supporting this program."
Following an intense se lection process, nearly 500 of the 1,275 applicants were chosen to participate in the 1999 summer session. CSS SA's rigorous four-week summer program, being held again this year at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, is de signed to pave the way for talented young people hoping to pursue careers in the arts and entertainment indus tries.
Present among this year's prestigious instruc tors and guests at Cal Arts will be the Pulitzer Prize winning composer Lou Har rison and cartoonist and author Jules Feiffer; anima tion director Faith Hubley, jazz pianist and film com poser Michael Wolff; actress Polly Draper; author Jenny Allen, the Faustwork Mask Theatre and many, many more.
The idea for the program began in 1985 when the State Legislature recognized a need for an effective train ing program for up-and-coming artists in Califor nia, in order to preserve the economic benefits the state derives from the arts and entertainment industries. CSSSA has been an integral part of this effort and is proud to be embarking on its thirteenth year.
The school is funded by a unique public-private part nership between CSSSA and contributors from the private sector to the California State Summer School Arts Foun dation.
Duck tickets moving like . . . well ducks at hunting season
Last year's Great Pit River Duck Race tickets sold out well before race day, and this year sales are well ahead of that pace. Alturas Rotary advises people get their ducks soon.
The Duck Race is held the Saturday during Fandango Days over Alturas' Fourth of July weekend.
The tickets for the Duck Race are $25 each and top prize is a brand new 1999 Chevy 4x4 Stepside pickup, on display at Alturas Tire. Second prize is a new fishing boat, trailer and mo tor on display at J and S Roofing.
There is a limit of 3,000 rubber ducks sold, so odds on winning are much better than average. Other great prizes (with value) offered his year include: a lawn mower from Coast to Coast ($568); floor covering from Frank's Carpets ($500); Star Tac Motorola cell phone from Napa Auto Parts ($339); a Pamper Packet from Kaleidoscope Salon ($275); microwave oven from J.C. Penney's ($267); compact refrigerator from Phillips Appliance ($239); Traxxas Villian R/C speed boat from Lucy's Ceramics and Hobby, $230; weekend retreat at Cockrell's High Desert Lodging, ($175); free muffler and tail pipe, Ron Campbell, Inc., $150); pair of Oakley sun glasses from Dr. Tom Krauel, $130); Delta kitchen faucet from A&M Pump, ($100); one night stay with meals at Mill Creek Lodge, ($100).
In addition, Larry Stafford at Village Video, is donating five percent of his gross fireworks sales this year to construction at the Youth Park.
For people who buy 10 ducks or more, they'll get a chance at two ATVs. The first is a Arctic Cat 500cc four-wheel-drive which is offerd by Rotary. Intermountain Farm credit is donating Polaris 4x4 ATV back to Rotary for this year. Both of those prizes are only in the Gold Crown category for those people who purchase 10 or more ducks each.
In addition to the great prizes offered during the Duck Race, each ticket book contains hundreds of dollars in valuable coupons for the buyer.
On race day, the ducks are dropped into the Pit River at the Estes Street Bridge and they float, bob and weave their way west to the Main Street Bridge where they're collected in order of finish. The owner of the first duck crossing the line wins the truck and the other prizes are awarded in the order the ducks finish. Each duck is numbered on the bottom.
Purchase tickets from any Alturas Rotary Club mem ber, or at Alturas Tire, J&S Roofing, Coast to Coast, Four Corners, Holiday Market, Walt's Market, Modoc Insurance, Plumas Bank, Carstens Motors or Belligerent Duck.
Canby's 'Blue Bomber' keeps on writing
By Julie Conde
It's a small, antiquated, Smith Corona that has been writing stories about local history and local folks for 30 years," and then some".
It lives under Velma Mc Crary's dining room table in her Canby home.
It listens to a scanner spit out current events, waiting for it's weekly trip up to the top of the table to feel its own er's hands telling it the "lat est" Canby news.
And the last time it nee-ded new ribbon, there just wasn't one to be found!
"My first attempts at writ ing," explained McCrary, a lifelong Modoc County resi dent and well known histor ical writer, "were right here in the Modoc Union High School V-Mail News, where we wrote what was going on at the home front, and even little gossip items about kids in school.
"We mailed the papers out to our servicemen, and got letters back from them tell-ing us how much they en joyed receiving the paper.
"Here in a 1946 issue," she pointed out, "you can see where I was worried about the lack of pineapple and cof fee on our grocery store she-lves. There wasn't any butter either, and I wrote that all the cows must have gone on strike," she laughed.
One year later, after mar rying Jim McCrary and moving to Canby, she began helping to write for The Can-by Correspondent news pa-per.
"It was just community news," she recalled, "what was going on, what people were doing, and lots of fa vorite recipes. Those were my first newspaper experi ences, when we had to make the old mimeographs and run them off on the crank machine."
After continuing a writ ing career which included articles for the Intermoun tain News, Modoc Record and Sacramento Bee, Mc Crary still keeps Record readers abreast of Canby news.
Her stories are typed on the same little typewriter that accompanied her 6400 feet up to Happy Camp Lookout Tower, where she worked 25 seasons as a Forest Service fire lookout.
"Happy Camp was the first tower out there in the Modoc National Forest," she explained, "I may not have had every tree memorized, but I drove an old blue pickup, and sure knew every hole in the road.
"My CB handle was "Blue Bomber", she laughed, "and when I got off work, every body knew to watch out for the Blue Bomber, because she was on the way home."
But home, or up in the tower, she wrote.
And she most likes to write about local history, and local people who have played a part in the local history. She has done numerous arti cles on people in the Big Val ley and Canby areas.
"I mostly did general history, and did some ge nealogical work too," she explained, "as you can see here on this timeline. I gath ered it all up, and my granddaughter, Genny, ma-de it up for me. I really love it," she added
She loves to write about people, their lives, what kind of life they've had, their struggles to get ahead and to raise a family.
"And you know," she noted, "It's just about being friends. Friends are the most wonderful people in the world.
"I did a story on an 80 year old mom one year, and she talked about her life and raising her family, and then sorrow crept into her voice as she talked about her daugh ters who were deceased and gone.
"And then there was the Pope family, early day set tlers in this area. They came, and the first years they were here, the winters were so hard, and they just struggled to get ahead.
"One winter there were a lot of deaths in the area, and they took boards off the floors in their upstairs rooms to build caskets for the burials, one of the deaths was their three month old son. It was just to help their neighbors," she explained.
"My interest is just life in general, whatever happened. I just empathize with people, saying, 'Hey, I know what you're talking about.'
"You know," she contin ued, "I grew up in a family that struggled. My grand parents came over in the early days from Scotland, that was when they first came to Modoc County.
"I didn't write things down when I was young, and I didn't ask enough ques tions," she explained. "And many times when I wanted to ask the questions, it was too late. The persons were gone.
As far as talking to peo ple, "Oh I enjoy it very much, very much," she chuckled. "It's just my na ture. And my daughter takes after me," she laughed.
"I could sit and talk to somebody all day long about events that have happened in Modoc County, especially in the areas that I have lived in. I look at old buildings, and think, "What would those old walls tell me," she chuckled.
'If the walls of the Canby Hotel, and the old White Cabin, could speak, they would tell of all the good times that used to be had there' -- Velma
the Holloway band that played there. You know," she laughed, "Swing and sway with Holloway!
"And that old building on the corner there, it was a gro cery store from way, way back. If that store could talk," she continued, "it wo-uld probably talk about the mill days, when this was a really busy little town, and all the people traded there.
"Most people would cha-rge from payday to pay day, when you went to the store, paid your bill, and hoped that you had some thing left over. Milk sold for 10 cents a quart, and you bought gas where you traded the most," she recalled.
"And well, what I miss the most is how we used to get out and visit more, and have more picnics, and more community events than we do now. Nowdays, we sit at home, and talk on the phone, and watch the TV. And I do lots of talking on the phone!"
"And she's sure right about that," laughed daugh ter Margaret Sherer. "I've tried to get her to get call waiting, but she thinks it's rude to be talking to someone and have to say, 'Just a minute, I have to go to talk to somebody else.'"
"If they want to talk to me, they can just call back," her mother laughed, getting ready to pull out her faithful little 30-plus-year-old-type writer for yet another story.
- June, 1999
- Summaries for June 3, 1999
- Cattlewomen help feed young minds
- Supers say no to Modoc Movie
- Local high schools graduate seniors
- Youth Park field work going well
- Modoc Cattlemen host field day
- Class of '49 celebrating its 50th
CattleWomen help feed young minds
This year, 118 first graders were seeking shade from the sun, a major differ ence from the year before, when students huddled in the cold during the Modoc Cat tleWomen's First Grade Field Day.
The Junior Livestock Showgrounds in Alturas provided a ranch-like set ting on a beautiful sunny May 27 for first graders from Arlington Elementary, Canby; Surprise Valley El ementary, Cedarville and Alturas Elementary.
The Modoc County Cat tleWomen present their an nual field day to acquaint first graders with aspects of ranch life and agri culture.
The students were divided into groups to visit stations including Beef By-products and Nutrition with Terri Martinez; Braids and Irons with Jackie McGarva; Butter Churning with Denise Gino chio; Horses and tack and Cowboys and roping with Shane and Cori McGarva; Haying and equipment, plus cube and pellet products from Alturas Ranches and Betsy Ingraham's milk cow "Velvet" and cowdog "Ralph."
Students and chaperones were treated to a hot dog lunch provided by the Cat tleWomen at the close of the morning.
As a field trip follow-up and feedback for the Cattle Women, an essay contest has been added this year. The local essay winner re ceives a sweatshirt and es say submitted to the Califor nia CattleWomen, which makes the class eligible to win up to $500, notes Kim Valena, this year's local field trip coordinator.
Modoc County Cattle Women who also helped with the 8:30 a.m. - noon event included Lesa Dowdy, Jean Bucher and Anni Derner.
County says no to the Modoc Movie
The Modoc County Board of Supervisors Tuesday said "no" to purchasing 100 copies of the Modoc Movie for $2,000 by a 3-2 vote.
Supervisors Terry Williams and Ron McIntyre voted in favor of purchasing copies of the 20-minute movie, which would be used for promotion of the county, while Joe Colt, Nancy Huffman and Pat Cantrall all voted no.
The county argued that purchasing the movie was aiding a private operation.
The producer of the movie, local attorney Barry Kinman, said he was amazed the county choose not to invest in its fu ture. He said the city, the Native American community, the business community and two chambers of commerce had bought into the movie and he has raised approximately $10,000. Kinman has raised those funds by selling copies of the movie for $20 each.
Kinman, who has been at odds with the board on issues in the past, said the supervisors' decision was personal and they should have buried their personal opinions of him and thought more about the county and the value of the movie. Kinman went as far as to take the board a contract for their purchase.
A short sample of the film has been shown over cable tele vision's public access channel and Kinman was presented the short clip to a wide range of organizations. The short version of the movie has garnered good reviews and the film is currently in final editing and production.
The film was done by a professional cinematographer and director.
Kinman told Supervisors he would guarantee delivery of the 20 copies and gave the board a personal check of $2,000 that could be cashed if the movie was not delivered on time.
Kinman is planning a July 3 premiere of the Modoc Movie at the Niles Theater immediately following the Fandango Days parade.
High schools set to graduate seniors
Area students will participate in commencement exer cises throughout the county this week and next week, as fol lows.
Surprise Valley High School, Cedarville, will graduate 14 seniors first on Friday, June 4 at 8 p.m. in the Surprise Val ley High School Gymnasium, Cedarville.
Great Basin High School, Cedarville, will graduate one senior classman Craig Hymer by presenting his diploma on June 4 during the Senior Breakfast at 9 a.m. at Surprise Valley High School.
Big Valley High School, Bieber, will present diplomas to 28 senior students and one Gateway High School student during commencement on Friday, June 4 in the Big Valley High School Gymnasium at 8:30 p.m.
Warner High School, Alturas, will present diplomas to four graduates at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8 at Shirley Oxley Hall, Modoc High School.
Modoc Middle School, Alturas, will graduate 84 eighth grade students at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9 in Gris wold Gymnasium, Modoc High School.
Modoc High School, Alturas, will hold graduation cere monies on Thursday, June 10 at 8 p.m. in the Griswold Gymnasium, Modoc High. Sixty-nine seniors will receive diplomas.
Tulelake High School, Tulelake, will graduate 31 seniors at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 10 at Tulelake High School.
Work going very well on Youth Park fields
The Alturas Rotary Clubs have raised and spent over $100,000 on the construction of the Youth Park in Alturas, but the job is far from over.
Those funds have been raised through the Great Pit River Duck Race held the Saturday during Fandango Days over Alturas' Fourth of July weekend. This year the race is held July 3. The Duck Race nets about $30,000 each year.
The funds for the Youth Park have been spent to build four new baseball/softball fields and full and modified soccer fields. The chain link fence has been installed, sprinklers installed, the grass planted and parking lots built.
Starting this week, ground work will be done on the in field areas of the fields, out side fences and backstops will be built, the grass will be fer tilized and dugouts are planned.
According to Rotary's Roger Dorris, the club will be seeking bidders to construc tion eight 10 by 20 foot dugouts this summer. Anyone inter ested should contact Dorris at 233-4351 before June 24.
The grass was planted last fall and is coming along nicely, said Dorris. Some of the areas that may look brown at the moment are the infield areas and those spots will be cleared and replaced with a decomposed granite surface soon.
Rotary expects the Modoc Youth Soccer Leagues to be able to use the new facilities this fall.
Funds raised from this year's race will be used to build dugouts and hopefully some retained to start build ing the restroom and conces sion stand next summer. The year 2,000 Duck Race will also help offset the construc tion of those facilities.
In addition to the athletic fields, the funds have been used for the paved parking lot of West C Street and the gravel parking lot in the middle of the park.
Tickets for the Duck Race are $25 each and top prize is a brand new 1999 Chevy 4x4 Stepside pickup, on display at Alturas Tire. Second prize is a new fishing boat, trailer and mo tor on display at J and S Roofing.
There is a limit of 3,000 rubber ducks sold, so odds on winning are much better than average. Other great prizes (with value) offered his year include: a lawn mower from Coast to Coast ($568); floor covering from Frank's Carpets ($500); Star Tac Motorola cell phone from Napa Auto Parts ($339); a Pamper Packet from Kaleidoscope Salon ($275); microwave oven from J.C. Penney's ($267); compact re frigerator from Phillips Appliance ($239); Traxxas Villian R/C speed boat from Lucy's Ceramics and Hobby, $230; weekend retreat at Cockrell's High Desert Lodging, ($175); free muffler and tail pipe, Ron Campbell, Inc., $150); pair of Oakley sun glasses from Dr. Tom Krauel, $130); Delta kitchen faucet from A&M Pump, ($100); one night stay with meals at Mill Creek Lodge, ($100).
In addition, Larry Stafford at Village Video, is donat ing five percent of his gross fire works sales this year to con struction at the Youth Park.
For people who buy 10 ducks or more, they'll get a chance at two ATVs. The first is a Arctic Cat 500cc four-wheel-drive which is offered by Rotary. Intermountain Farm credit is donating Polaris 4x4 ATV back to Rotary for this year. Both of those prizes are only in the Gold Crown cate gory for those people who pur chase 10 or more ducks each.
In addition to the great prizes offered during the Duck Race, each ticket book contains hundreds of dollars in valuable coupons for the buyer.
On race day, the ducks are dropped into the Pit River at the Estes Street Bridge and they float, bob and weave their way west to the Main Street Bridge where they're collected in order of finish. The owner of the first duck crossing the line wins the truck and the other prizes are awarded in the order the ducks finish. Each duck is numbered on the bot tom.
Purchase tickets from any Alturas Rotary Club mem ber, or at Alturas Tire, J&S Roofing, Coast to Coast, Four Corners, Holiday Market, Walt's Market, Modoc Insurance, Plumas Bank, Carstens Motors or Belligerent Duck.
Cattlemen host a Field Day
Modoc County Cattle men's Association will pre sent this year's Cattlemen's Spring Field Day on Sun day, June 6, at the Warren Weber Ranch, 8 miles east of Alturas on Parker Creek Road (County Road 56).
Beginning a 10:00 a.m. at the Weber Ranch, there will be a tour discussing the ju niper clearing that has taken place on the D J Ranch and riparian projects and improvements that are oc curring on Parker Creek through the Central Modoc R.C.D.
Intermountain Farm Cre-dit will sponsor the So cial Hour beginning at 12 noon. Dinner will be served at 1:00 p.m. at a cost of $7.00 for adults and $4.00 for children 6-12 years of age. After din ner the Modoc County Cat tleWomen will announce their 1999 scholarship recipi ents.
Following dinner, Dan Macon, AgResource Solu tions, will talk about "Find ing Common Ground Solu tions for Agriculture and Natural Resources." Todd Swichert, CCA 2nd Vice Pre-sident, will discuss what is happening in the Califor nia Cattlemen's Associa tion, and Willy Hagge and Car-olyn Carey, MCCA Di re-ctors, will give an update on current issues locally and nationally affecting the beef industry.
Class of '49 plans for 50th
It has been too long a wait and is definitely time to get together for a reunion for the Modoc Union High School Class of 1949.
The Class of 1949's 50th year reunion will be held July 2 and 3, 1999 at the Wagon Wheel Cafe in Al turas. A buffet dinner is planned for July 2, with DJ music from the 1930-60s and live music will also be available for dancing. A buffet breakfast will be of fered July 3 and a class float is expected to be entered in the July 3 Fandango Parade in Alturas.
Dobbs is asking if anyone knows how to get in touch with four class members: Joan McAdams, Joan An derson, Mary Skelton and Louise Smith. Anyone with information may reach Donna Dobbs at (530) 233-1943.
- Record news for June 10, 1999
- Drennan pleads 'not guilty' to eavesdropping
- City discusses sale of golf course
- Junior board working hard on show
- Fruits of Duck Race popping up at Youth Park
- Main Street will get help from youth
- MHS Art students get real reward
Obituaries:
- Phillips
- Stevenson
- Forrest
- Clark
- Flournoy
- Dannemiller
The forecast: Mostly sunny skies today with highs in the upper 70s. Look for fair weather with a slight warming trend through the weekend. Lows could be in the 30s and 40s.
Drennan pleads 'not guilty' to eavesdropping
Modoc Joint Unified School District Superintendent Craig Drennan entered a "not guilty" plea to a felony eaves dropping charge Tuesday morning at his arraignment in Modoc Court. A preliminary hearing in the case is set for July 19, 1:30 p.m., also in Modoc Court.
The case revolves around the placement of a hidden video camera in the office of Modoc High School Principal Duke Pasquini's office. Drennan allegedly ordered the placement of that camera in the office.
Drennan has been on adminis trative leave ordered by the Modoc Joint Unified School District Board of Trustee since charges were filed in the case. Alturas Elementary School Principal Randy Wise is filling in during Drennan's ab sence.
The Trustees have not stated publicly whether they will bring Drennan back to his position. The Modoc Teachers Association has issued a statement saying Drennan has lost the respect of the staff and there is a serious trust problem. The issue may become moot if Drennan is convicted in the case.
The hidden camera was discovered and removed by the Alturas Police Department May 4 after it's existence was re ported to them. Pasquini was not told the camera was in his office. It was in the ceiling and the lens was covered by a false smoke detector. The camera had been in operation for about six months.
School officials reported to police that the camera operated 24 hours per day, five days per week and was turned off a few weeks ago. There are no charges pending against anyone else con nected with the installation or operation of the cam era.
Drennan has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing in the incident, saying he had asked for and received legal advice from the district's legal counsel saying the placement of the camera was a permissible act.
Modoc District Attorney Tom Buckwalter filed the felony eavesdropping charges following an investigation into the issues. Buckwalter remains firm that Drennan acted ille gally by placing the hidden camera in Pasquini's office.
Drennan has said he set up the camera because he sus pected some sensi tive personnel information had been leaked or files rifled through in Pasquini's office. He has said that some of the in formation leaked concerned Pasquini's records and files.
While Drennan has told staff that he in stalled the camera for Pasquini's and staff protection, Pasquini has said he would never have agreed to that camera. He said he cer tainly would have liked to know it was there, but has stated he would have asked Drennan to remove it from his private of fice.
The video revealed no evidence that anything was re moved or leaked from Pasquini's office and the camera was turned off.
City dis cusses, takes no action on golf course
The Alturas City Council discussed value and options of Arrowhead Golf Course Tuesday night in closed ses sion, but did not take any ac tion on the matter.
The city is considering a possible sale of the golf course, but that action is sure to bring some protest for city residents and golfers alike. Tuesday night the council would not divulge any value that was discussed by their appraiser, or what options on the course they are considering. The council will have to make their options public once it comes time to take any action on the golf course.
According to the City, there are people in terested in pur chasing the nine-hole golf course.
In other business Tuesday night, the city agreed in prin cipal to the Main Street Beautification project offered by the Chamber and the Alliance for Workforce Development and asked VeeAnn Ambers to come to the next meeting for funding. That money would come from the Business Enhancement fund of the city. That fund comes from a $10 fee as part of the City's Business License fees.
In addition to the Main Street Project, the council also asked Barry Kinman, a local attorney who is producing the Modoc Movie to come back to the next meet ing for funding for that pro ject. While the city has put money up for the movie al ready, the council feels it is a worthwhile project and may be willing to add to its support. Those funds would also come from the Business Enhancement fund.
The Modoc County Board of Supervisors last week chose not to fund the Modoc Movie project in what appeared to be a personal af front to Kinman who has battled Supervisors on several issues.
The council also discussed nuisance abatement proceed ings and hopes to clean up a couple of areas in the city in the near future where trash has collected.
Jr. Board prepares for busy week
Next week's annual Junior Show will give young people from all over Modoc County the chance to show off animals they have been working with for months. It will also give a much smaller group of young people the chance to prove skills and capabili ties that they have also been working on for months.
The Junior Show Board, consisting of students from vari ous FFA and 4-H chap ters around the county, has been meet ing since December and looking into everything from ribbons, to announcers, to judges, to clean-up.
The Junior Show is set up and run al most entirely by the 27 member Board, with very little adult involvement.
"All I do is help them out when they ask for it," 4-H Advisor Melinda Sandstrom said. "It's their show. It's their deal."
The Junior Show is a big production. Space and water are needed for hundreds of animals, not to mention an audience, judges, etc. It is a huge amount of respon sibility to hand over to a group of teens, but year-in and year-out they get the job done.
"This is a big time of year for us," said Board President Nikki Allison, a senior at Modoc High. "A lot of hard work goes into it."
Amber Knauss, also a Modoc senior and the Board Vice-President added, "During the show, we're pretty much there 24-7 for the whole week."
Things are so busy in fact, that Allison, who had the Grand-Champion Steer last year, won't have an entry this year.
"It's hard if you have animals and are on the committee," Knauss noted. However, she will still have a horse and sheep in the Show.
Besides organizational skills, the stu dents also learn about compromise, and building consensus in order to get things done.
"We're trying to satisfy everybody's needs to make the Show work well," said Allison sounding like a future politi cian. "A lot of times it involves working with people to find a happy medium for everybody."
Julie Bordwell serves as the Secretary for the Board. The rest of the Board includes: Aimee Boulade, Jeanne Bunyard, Cassie Cockrell, Ashley Cockrell, Desiree Curnow, Tamson DeForest, Allison Ferry, Dan Johnson, Jodie Jones, Emily Kelly, Ginya Lockwood, Mandy McGiffin, Clayton Oilar, Micah Stossmeisler, Joe Waterman, Will Welsh, Blake Wilson, Logan Wilson, Rebecca Crites, Roseann Ginochio and Deidra Jeppson.
Fruits of Duck Race efforts popping up at Youth Park complex
Steel poles are popping up all over the interior of the new Youth Park fields in Alturas. Those posts will make up some backstops and side fences for baseball and softball fields.
Much of the work is being done by crews from Devil's Garden Conservation Camp.
Funds to build new portion of the athletic complex have been raised through the Great Pit River Duck Race held the Saturday during Fandango Days over Alturas' Fourth of July weekend. This year the race is held July 3.
Rotary expects the Modoc Youth Soccer Leagues to be able to use the new facilities this fall. Whether that happens de pends solely upon the grass.
Tickets for the Duck Race are $25 each and top prize is a brand new 1999 Chevy 4x4 Stepside pickup, on display at Alturas Tire. Second prize is a new fishing boat, trailer and mo tor on display at J and S Roofing.
One of the really great prizes is a Monitor Stove which has been donated by Ed Staub and Sons Petroleum.
There is a limit of 3,000 rubber ducks sold, so odds on winning are not too bad. Other great prizes (with value) of fered his year include: a lawn mower from Coast to Coast ($568); floor covering from Frank's Carpets ($500); Star Tac Motorola cell phone from Napa Auto Parts ($339); a Pamper Packet from Kaleidoscope Salon ($275); microwave oven from J.C. Penney's ($267); compact re frigerator from Phillips Appliance ($239); Traxxas Villian R/C speed boat from Lucy's Ceramics and Hobby, $230; weekend retreat at Cockrell's High Desert Lodging, ($175); free muffler and tail pipe, Ron Campbell, Inc., $150); pair of Oakley sun glasses from Dr. Tom Krauel, $130); Delta kitchen faucet from A&M Pump, ($100); one night stay with meals at Mill Creek Lodge, ($100).
Larry Stafford at Village Video, is donat ing five percent of his gross fire works sales this year to con struction at the Youth Park.
For people who buy 10 ducks or more, they'll get a chance at two ATVs. The first is a Arctic Cat 500cc four-wheel-drive which is offered by Rotary. Intermountain Farm credit has donated Polaris 4x4 ATV back to Rotary for this year.
In addition to the great prizes offered during the Duck Race, each ticket book contains hundreds of dollars in valu able coupons for the buyer.
Purchase tickets from any Alturas Rotary Club mem ber, or at Alturas Tire, J&S Roofing, Coast to Coast, Four Corners, Holiday Market, Walt's Market, Modoc Insurance, Plumas Bank, Carstens Motors or Belligerent Duck.
Youth will help Main Street to blossom
Teenagers hanging out on Main Street is nothing new in Alturas. But this summer some of them will be spending time on Main Street with more of a pur pose than just killing time.
One of the youth summer job crews from the Alliance for Workforce Development will be focusing on helping business owners make Main Street more attractive. The crew will be sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.
All business owners have to do is buy flowers, and the youth crew will take care of planting them in the sidewalk flower barrels. The teens will even do the weeding and wa ter ing from June 28 through August 13.
Where barrels don't exist, the crew will build planter boxes if the business owner just buys the materials to con struct them with.
Another project will be to plant the vacant field between Plumas Bank and P.M. Liquor with flowers and wild flowers.
"It helps the kids buy into having pride in their town, and it helps the whole com munity because it creates a more beau tiful Main Street for everyone," Alliance Director VeeAnn Ambers said of the summer project.
Ambers said the Alliance is also seeking donations to put wooden trash can receptacles along Main Street. The City of Alturas has also agreed to provide money for the pro gram. For more information on donations for this purpose call 233-7709.
Besides the youth crew mentioned above, the Alliance will also have three other work crews. One will work at the Modoc pool while another will work in Canby. The third crew will provide a program of art and recreation for children.
MHS students Brown and Cartner earn wonderful arts opportunity
Two very talented students from Alturas will have the chance this sum mer to work with a variety of stu dents and teachers who share their passions and abil ities in the arts. Jeran Brown and Alisa Cartner were two of the 500 students selected state-wide to partici pate in the California Summer School for the Arts held at the California Institute for the Arts in Valencia.
Brown just completed his junior year at Modoc High, and will be focusing on vocal in struction at the Summer School. He has been active in the Modoc Performing Arts Theatre musi cals and plays, and even directed the MPAT Chorale last year. Brown has also been in the North State High School Honor Choir and the Northern California Regional High School Honor Choir.
He currently studies under vocal instructor Kevin Pent and sings in the MHS Choir under the direction of Karen Siegel. He also studies piano with Donna Cooley and plays trumpet in the MHS band.
In the future, Brown plans to attend the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to major in Operatic and Musical Theatre Performance. He would one day like to be part of the San Francisco Opera or Metropolitan Opera, or be part of a musical touring group.
"It's a very big opportunity," Brown said of going to the Summer School. "I'm looking for ward to working with other people who are in terested in the same areas I am."
Cartner said she is also excited to "work with the best" and "meet new people" when she goes to Valencia. She has just completed her sophomore year at Modoc High.
Cartner's specialty is painting and draw ing, with watercol ors being her favorite medium. She said she first discovered her affinity for water colors while taking a class in Redding about three years ago.
"For me it's a really easy medium to work in," she said. "I like the way the picture comes together, the transparency of it."
She has since studied with Margot Curtis and Ann Wise with the result that she has re ceived the "Best of Show" award at the Modoc County Fair three years in a row.
After graduating MHS in two years, Cartner hopes to at tend Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, and learn how to use her skills in the fashion and advertising in dus tries.
Both Brown and Cartner said they wished to express thanks to the many friends, family members and teachers who have helped them reach this point.
Obituaries:
Neal Phillips
A man who for decades championed the future of Alturas and Modoc County, Neal Phillips, died June 2, 1999 in Hemet Hospital (California) at the age of 79.
Mr. Phillips was a long-time businessman in Alturas and was a City Councilman for 18 years and Mayor of Alturas for 10 of those years. He also served as a Modoc County Supervisor four years. He was a 59-year resident of Alturas and a 15-year "snowbird" at Heritage RV Park in San Jacinto, CA.
Mr. Phillips is well known for his steadfast and vigorous promotion of the city and the county. He was always concerned and worked for the economic well being of the area and its people. He was a strong supporter of youth activities and sports of all kinds.
He was born in Savannah, Georgia January 28, 1920 and came to Modoc County in the Civilian Conservation Corps, CCC, at the age of 17.
At that time, when a person could find a job, he could be released from the CCC's. He got his first job as a dishwasher at the Niles Hotel and worked up to the position of cook. In December, 1940, he started working for the Alturas Furniture Store and worked there for eight years.
Soon after his arrival in Alturas, Mr. Phillips met Jewel Cannon, and after a year-and-a-half courtship, they were married May 16, 1940. In May, they celebrated their 59th an niversary.
In 1944 Mr. Phillips was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent two years in Europe with the 29th Infantry Division and was in the famous "Battle of the Bulge". He returned home as a Corporal and went back to work at Alturas Furniture Store.
In 1942, their first son, Richard Neal, was born and in 1949, second son Kenneth Andrew was born.
In 1951, Neal and Jewel and John and Jane McKernan purchased Western Auto. Five years later the Phillips bought out the McKernans and changed the name to Phillips House of Fine Furniture. Mrs. Phillips operated the furni ture store while Neal was out politicking until they retired in 1991.
Mr. Phillips was a long-time member of the Alturas Volunteer Fire department, a past president of the Alturas Rotary and Lions Clubs. He was also a member of the Alturas Elks Lodge, Modoc County Sheriff's Posse and a past president of the Modoc County Fair Board. He also just concluded his position as President of the Heritage Ranch Board of Directors. He was also the 19th District Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Mr. Phillips attended school only through the third grade when he had to go to work to help support his mother and sis ters. His family is very proud that he did not neglect his edu cation and spent a lot of time self-educating himself. He took many correspondence courses and obtained a Life Time Teaching Certificate from the State of California to teach Business and Public Relations. Governor Pat Brown appointed Mr. Phillips to the California State Recreational Commission for a four-year term.
He was also a member of the Modoc Tribe Ride Board of Directors, a businessmen and ranchers ride of approxi mately 160 men which lasts for four days. Neal and his two sons and grandson are the second group of third generations to participate in the ride.
He loved to ride horseback, play golf, read and spend lots of time with his family and friends. He also enjoyed travel ing with his brother-in-law Delwon and sister-in-law Gloria.
The Phillips attended the Christian Life Assembly of God in Alturas and the Assembly of God in San Jacinto.
Mr. Phillips is survived by his wife, Jewel, of San Jacinto; a son, Dick, and daughter-in-law Judy of Bakersfield; son, Ken, and daughter-in-law, Joy, of Alturas; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Delwon and Gloria Cannon, Alturas; five grandchildren Christy, Tracy and Todd Phillips, Dawn and Mike Cummings; one great-grandchild, Steele Gresen; two step brothers, Bob and Bill; and a step sister, Debra Butler. He is also survived by a "whole bunch of friends" in Alturas and at Heritage Ranch. Two sisters, Mattie Treadwell and Avalue Treadwell pre ceded him in death.
A Celebration of Life service was held at Heritage Ranch Clubhouse, San Jacinto, 3 p.m. June 5.
The family suggests any donations be made to the Neal Phillips Scholarship Fund, Plumas Bank, 510 N. Main Street, Alturas, Ca. 96101.
Samuel Elwood Stevenson
Life-long Modoc resident Samuel "Sam" Elwood Steven son passed away at his Cedarville, Calif. ranch on June 6, 1999. He was 74 years old.
Graveside services will be held at the Cedarville Cemetery on Saturday, June 12 at 3:00 p.m. The Rev. Ben Zandstra will officiate.
Sam was one of 10 chil dren born to Joseph W. Stevenson and Emma Marty Stevenson. The family had moved from Big Valley to Malin, Oregon for a short time. Sam was born May 16, 1925 in Malin, Ore. The family moved back to Big Valley where he grew up and attended school.
He worked on ranches in the Likely area prior to coming to Surprise Valley where he worked as a cowboy for the Bare Ranch and for his brother Melvin Stevenson on the Four Star.
He met and married neighboring rancher Dona Fae Stanley on October 3, 1948 in Cedarville. They ranched as a team until her death in 1994. The couple had four children.
"Sam loved fat cattle and to ride a good horse. Secondary to a saddle horse, he loved draft horses and like to work them. He had lots of friends, young and old and enjoyed peo ple," says friends and relatives.
He is survived by his children Rick Stevenson of Alturas; three daughters Dige Cook and son-in-law Wes Cook of Cedarville; Sammy Cook of Eagleville, Gae Quigley and son-in-law Carl Quigley of Dillon, Montana; and grand daughter Stacy Lynn Cook of Cedarville; brothers Joe Stevenson of Cedarville, Wayland Stevenson of Adin, sis ters Nettie Jerkiwicz and Nonnie Niles of Sacramento, Wanda Huggins of Merced.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Russell "Hap," Melvin "Cheese," and Eddie; and sister Juanita Mulkey.
The family requests any memorial donations be made to the Surprise Valley Hospital, P.O. Box 246, Cedarville, CA 96104.
Georgine Forrest
Georgine H. "Gina" Forrest of Alturas passed away on June 7, 1999 in Red ding, Calif., a day following her 67th birthday.
Services will be held on Friday, June 11 at 2:00 p.m. at Kerr Mortuary Chapel in Alturas. Burial will be on XL Ranch Reservation Cemetery. Friends and fam ily will gather at Federated Church in Alturas, follow ing the graveside service.
Born Georgine Hunt in Adin, Calif. on June 6, 1932, she had made Modoc her home for 52 years where she and husband Norman J. Forrest reared their four children Barbara, Nathaniel, Michael and Max Forrest.
Mrs. Forrest was a good wife, mother, grandmother, friend and homemaker and had an inward beauty that many of her friends and all her family knew. Her husband Norman, a Native American Evangelist says, "My own words fail me to describe her inward beauty. I have simply turned to the Book of Proverbs: 31: 10-31: 'Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. Strength and honor are her clothing and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the Law of Kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her Blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hand; and let her own works praise her in the gates.'
Mrs. Forrest is survived by her husband Norman Forrest of Alturas; their four children; two grandchildren Rose Soares and Michelle Forrest; great-grandchildren Margo, Renee and Kiersten; son-in-law Russell Spencer and grandson-in-law Micheal Soares; many friends and fam ily members in Oregon and Alturas. Her grandchild April Pauline Forrest preceded her in death. Contributions in her memory may be directed to Norman Forrest, P.O. Box 1731, Alturas, CA 96101.
Harry V. Clark
Harry V. Clark, a resident of Alturas for the past 24 years, passed away on May 20, 1999 while taking a walk near his home. Harry was born in San Leandro, Calif. on August 24, 1925.
He worked in the lumber industry as a timber faller in Weed and Forest Hill, near Auburn, Calif. until 1973, when he suffered a serious heart attack and could no longer work.
Mr. Clark was a World War II veteran and fought in Germany with the 14th Ar mored Division. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and many other service medals. He was a life mem ber of the Veterans of For eign Wars, Post 3327 in Al turas, Disabled American Veterans and American Le gion. Mr. Clark was one of the veterans instrumental in the establishment of the "Big Flag" on Alturas' Main Street.
He is survived by a son Steven Clark, daughter-in-law Wylene and grandsons Kevin and Jason, all of Granite Bay, Calif. and a daughter Christy Hamel and son-in-law Richard Hamel of Likely.
At Mr. Clark's request, there was no service. He re quested to have his remains scattered at a special place in Siskiyou County where he spent most of his younger life. He loved to hunt and fish and enjoyed the outdoors. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
Myra L. Flournoy
Myra Flournoy 73, died in her home in Fresno, Califor nia on April 2, 1999.
Myra was born in Kingsburg, California, January 7, 1926. After high school she attended Nursing School in San Francisco, starting her nursing career in 1947. She moved to Cedarville, California where she married Jack Flournoy in 1959.
Myra was active with organizations for the handicapped and Eastern Star. She worked many years at the Cedarville Hospital before helping Jack with the family store, Flournoy's Market.
She is preceded in death by a son Charles Flournoy. She is survived by husband John W. Flournoy and children Bruce Flournoy of Bakersfield, Johnny Flournoy of Montana, Nancy Doughty of Montana, Lu Tickle of Idaho, grandchil dren and great grandchildren.
The family request that donations be made to organiza tions for the handicapped or Special Olympics in Myra's memory.
Memorial Services were held April 6 in Fresno.
Orlean Coffman Dannemiller
Orlean Coffman Dannemiller passed away February 8, 1999 in Redding, California.
Please join friends and family Saturday, June 19 at 12:30 p.m. at the Likely Cemetery to "rejoice in the memory of Orlean Coffman Dannemiller."
Born April 23, 1908 in Likely, California, it is unknown whether Orlean first learned to walk or to ride a horse. She is survived by her sister Mona Melville of West Virginia, who claims that "Orlean stuck to the back of a horse like a fly to flypaper."
An agile, skilled daredevil of a horse-woman, she was once offered a job as a bareback rider in a traveling circus. Since she was a minor, her father, Alfred Thomas Coffman, forbade it, but that didn't stop Orlean from showing off her equestrian tricks to her friends and family at outdoor picnics.
While attending grade school in Oakland, California, Orlean's talents as an artist began to flourish. She became especially noted for her beautiful work with pastels. This ability to draw and paint served her well when, as a young woman, she journeyed to New York City in search of adventure. She found a good job there in the production department of an advertising firm, where she designed and illustrated book jackets and covers.
Despite this good fortune, Orlean became homesick and returned to California to work for a real estate/construction firm in Gilroy. She was a phenomenally fast, accurate typist and a valued bookkeeper. Her abilities as an artist were useful there as well, as she also drafted plans for many beautiful homes in central California. Orlean was extremely proud of these homes.
Equestrian, artist, draftsman - Orlean's talents did not end there. She was a great cook famous for her light bread, cakes, cookies and gourmet dishes. She always kept her hands busy, winning many awards at county fairs for her needlework and crocheted tablecloths and afghans. "I think of her often as the supreme family heirloom maker. She once made me a life-size rag doll that was bigger than I was. She made one for each of my two sisters as well, and we all have many examples of her beautiful handwork," says niece Sheryl Coffman Larson.
"A very pretty young woman, Orlean bore a striking resemblance to Bette Davis, with her enormous eyes. I wonder if her life was any less dramatic, adventurous, courageous, talented, glib, intelligent, generous, funny--these are the qualities that I admire most about my "Auntie O". These are the qualities that made her so very popular."
- Record news for June 17, 1999
- County settles deputy's sex bias lawsuit
- Fitch awarded bid on city street project
- Good weather compliments junior show
- Macbeth opens this week at Niles
- Little Mr. and Miss Fandango contest set
- Modoc unemployment dips to 8.7%
County settles in jail hir ing sexual discrimi nation case
Modoc County has settled and dropped its appeal in the sexual discrimination case filed by former Deputy Danyiel Johnston against the Modoc County Sheriff's Department.
According to Johnston's attorney Paul Arons, of Redding, the settlement reached May 13 pays Johnston $328,000. On June 9, the fed eral judge awarded Johnston attorney fees in the amount of $355,000. The settlement alone, not counting all attor ney fees to defend itself and the sheriff, cost the county $638,000. Much of that total will be paid through the coun ty's in surance policy. According to Arons, Johnston has been paid.
County auditor Judi Stevens said she hasn't sees the full award yet and isn't sure how much the county will be liable for and how much of the settlement will be covered by insur ance.
"That's a lot of money to lose when all the county had to do to avoid the lawsuit was to hire Johnston as a deputy," said Arons. "She would much rather have avoided this suit and gone on as a deputy in Modoc but the county forced her hand."
A jury in Federal Court in Sacramento Sept. 22, 1998 awarded Johnston $300,000 in damages, broken down as fol lows: $110,000 for past wage loss; $90,000 for future wage loss; $100,000 for general damage. The trial started September 8, 1998 in Sacramento and was wrapped up Sept. 21.
Modoc County was repre sented by then District Attorney Hugh Comisky and Sheriff Bruce Mix was de fended by Paul Coble, an at torney from Long Beach. Mix was not held per sonally liable for payment of the dam ages, but was found guilty by the jury in the same areas as the County and Sheriff's Department. The county and its insurance carrier opted to appeal that decision, but ended up with the settlement this month.
In the original case, the jury found that Johnston would have been hired as a full time employee of the Modoc County Sheriff's Office, but for the gender-spe cific jail hiring pol icy.
The jury also found that the County of Modoc, Modoc County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Bruce Mix dis criminated against Johnston in employment decisions on the basis of her gender.
Finally, the jury found that the County of Modoc, Modoc County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Mix retaliated against Johnston for com plaining about her alleged dis crimi natory treatment or for pursing the lawsuit.
According to Arons, in January, 1998, Johnston re quested unpaid time off from the department until the law suit was over. He said Mix immediately suspended her peace officer powers and took her badge and gun.
According to Mike Maxwell in September, the county's insurance (Modoc be longs to a self-insured group) will cover the general dam ages, the future wage loss and attor ney's fees, if awarded. The county, he said, would be liable for the $110,000 in back wages.
An April 1, 1997 decision of Judge David F. Levi, in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, ruled that the Modoc Jail's long standing policy that females guard only fe males and males guard only males violates the U.S. Constitution and the fed eral Civil Rights Act.
The issue was brought to light when Johnston filed suit claiming discrimination against the hiring policies. She claims she was origi nally hired in 1992 to fill the next available patrol position in the Modoc's Sheriff Office. She continued to work part-time in the jail, and claims several men were hired to full time po sitions during the time she's been employed. She claimed many were not as qualified.
Modoc County Sheriff Bruce Mix main tained he was fol lowing state law which pre vents deputies from searching inmates of the opposite sex in the gender-specific hiring practices and in no way dis criminated against Johnston.
He admitted that he was hiring gender specific for the jailer jobs, but felt he was do ing so in accordance with state law and in light of a tight budget.
Arons said the practice of hiring female patrol or jail of ficers is common through out the state and the ruling is sued by Judge Levi brought Modoc into modern times.
Sheriff Mix maintains his gender-spe cific hiring policy was in response to section 4021 of the state Penal Code which says, in part, that it's "unlawful for a jailer, deputy . . . to search the person of the opposite sex or to enter into the room or cell oc cupied by any prisoner of the opposite sex, except in the com pany of an employee of the same sex as the prisoner."
Mix argued that his policy protects the rights of prisoners in local detention facili ties who have been arrested but not yet con victed of crimes. Therefore, he said, they have not sacrificed their rights to privacy. Additionally, said Mix, if he is required to follow the ruling it will mean an in crease in personnel at the jail. That's one thing, he said, the budget can not handle.
Other jail and sheriff's of fices in the north state have fe male jailers or deputies who they say do routinely "pat down" male inmates or sus pects.
Fitch will do city street project
Fitch Sand and Gravel of Alturas was awarded the bid June 4 to repair about 4.5 miles of damaged Alturas city streets.
According to City Public Works Director Stacy Chase, the work will start after July 4 and will be completed by September 20.
"The City is very pleased that a local contractor was the low bidder," Chase said. "The contract will enable him to provide employment to local residents and will be a boost to the city's overall economy. We also believe that because the contractor is local, he will have additional incentive to make sure the city gets a first class job."
The streets included in the new project are streets that were severely damaged by storms in 1993 and came under a Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, pro gram.
Chase said most of the streets will be rehabilitated by re moving the existing street and replacing it with a new street consisting of six inches of base and two inches of asphalt.
The exceptions to that method will be West C Street be tween Fourth and Eighth and East Street between Fourth and Highway 395. Those streets will be repaired then overlaid with pavement fabric and two inches of asphalt. The new streets should provide 10 years of reasonable service life with minimal maintenance, said Chase.
Maps of the streets to be repaired under this project are available at City Hall. The street projects are scattered throughout the city but include the damages sections of West, Mill, several on the east side and northwest corner and some north of 12th street.
Chase said the project should manage to repair most of the worst streets in Alturas. Another project scheduled for next summer will do major work on Carlos and Warner Streets.
"This is a culmination of an effort that began in 1993 to repair the streets damaged by the storms of that year,' Chase recalls. " The area was declared a disaster area by FEMA and some funding was made available to the city for repair. The repair method consisted of overlaying the subject streets with one inch of asphalt concrete without provisions for pot hole repair, tack coat or leveling course work. Over the past five years, the city has been appealing the construction method to FEMA."
FEMA held the position that the city had the responsibility to repair the streets to a condition suitable for the overlay. In order to get that done, the city would have to reconstruct the streets prior to placing the one-inch overlay and would also have to add another inch. The city did not have available funding to complete the work and that was the subject of the appeal to FEMA.
"In October, 1988, the state funded cities to do local street rehabilitation," said Chase. "By using some of those funds, in addition to the FEMA funds, the city was able to design a project which should result in some of the best streets in town."
Chase also said that since the Fitch bid was below the en gineer's estimate for the project, the city will be investigat ing the possibility of adding additional streets to the project.
Pick up maps of the project at City Hall, or for more in formation contact the Public Works Department at 233-2377.
MHS has new 2000 principal
Modoc High School has a new principal for the class of 2,000.
John Nichols, of Fallbrook, California ac cepted the prin cipal's posi tion offered by the Modoc Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees this week.
Nichols has held a prin cipal's position in the past and his latest position was as a vice-principal. According to MJUSD's Randy Wise, Nichols comes to the district with administrative and class room experience.
Fallbrook is in Southern California, not far from Temecula. Nichols re places Duke Pasquini who retired this year.
Great weather to compliment an outstanding show
The weather couldn't have been better for the 51st Annual Modoc Junior Live stock Show and Sale. 4-H and FFA members turned out for the Horse Show this past Monday and should be commended for their great performances.
The High Point winners in the Performance Division this year are Emily Kelly, Providence 4-H in Adin, for the Senior Section, Junior Section, Elizabeth Younger and Stacy Parnow in the Novice Section, both from the Alturas New Pioneer 4-H Club.
This year the Junior Show Board added a Novice sec tion for the Gymkhana classes, with buckles being awarded to the High Point winners.
The three Gymkhana buc-kles were awarded to Alt-uras FFA member Jami Harris, Senior, Megan Mc Culley, New Pioneer 4-H, in the Junior Section, and for the Novice Section, Christ jan Bidwell of Bieber. In the Showmanship division the winners were: Emily Kelly - Senior 4-H/FFA, Megan McCulley - Junior 4-H and Meghan Binning - Novice 4-H.
On Tuesday, the weather continued to be gorgeous with a nice breeze to cool things off. The day moved along quickly with members start ing the morning off with the Rabbit Market Classes. Zeke Bonham of Eagleville 4-H won the Grand Champion Fryer Pen of Three, with Jodie Jones of Cedarville 4-H winning Reserve Cham pion. Emily Kelly of Provi dence 4-H earned Grand Champion Single Fryer with Megan Thompson of New Pioneer 4-H taking home Reserve Champion. Earn ing Best of Show in the Rab bit Division this year was Ashley Thompson, Lookout 4-H, and Reserve in Show went to Sara Teuasher of Cedarville 4-H. Ashley Thompson also received the High Point Award.
The Showmanship awa-rds went to Senior - Jodie Jones, Cedarville, Junior - Casey Joiner, Lookout, and Novice - Sarah Teuscher, Cedarville.
On Thursday members will be showing beef, sheep, and swine in Market and Breeding classes, and on Friday the show will con clude with showmanship classes starting at 8:00 a.m., the Alturas Rotary barbecue at 3:30 p.m., an awards cer emony begins at 4:30 p.m. with the Sale following at 5:30 PM.
Macbeth opens tonight!
Many weeks of re hearsal will payoff tonight at 7:30 as the cur tain goes up on MPAT's production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The play will run the en tire weekend at the Niles Theatre. It plays at 7:30 tonight, Friday and Saturday. There will be a Sunday matinee at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students and seniors.
Although the play is set long ago in Scotland, its themes of political ambition, arrogance, remorse and indi vidual charac ter are very much relevant to America in 1999.
Gerry Gates will play the title role as well as direct the production. His wife, Nancy North-Gates, will also be his stage wife as Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth frequently seeks the counsel of three witches, played by Karen Hays, Marnie Atkins and Barbara Sykes. They predict that Macbeth will become King of Scotland, and he does - that is after killing King Duncan, played by Larry Shippen. This eventually leads Macbeth into a rivalry with Duncan's son Malcolm, played by Jeran Brown, and Macduff, a nobleman played by Craig Flournoy.
Other members of the cast include: Landen Flournoy (Donalbain and Young Siward), Miran Reynolds (Banquo and Siward), Ron Jacobs (Lennox), Herb Morrison (Ross and Murderer), Niles Reynolds (Fleance), Ben Casad (Seyton, Murderer and Sergeant), Meg Sloss (Lady Macduff and gen tlewoman), Lesley Chace (Doctor), Marya Gates (Servant), Caitlin Burdette-Massie (Servant), Jennifer Welty (Lady and Servant) and Tessa Siegel (Lady and Servant).
Next weekend, the produc tion will move to Cedarville for two shows in the garden next to the Country Hearth. The play begins at 7:30 on Saturday, June 26, and at 3:00 on Sunday, June 27.
Little Mr., Miss Fandango wanted for coming contest
Boys and girls, ages three to six-years-old, who have been residents of Modoc County for at least one year, are invited to enter the an nual Little Mister and Little Miss Fandango contest .
The chosen 1999 Little Mr. and Miss Fandango will fol low the tradition of riding in the Fandango Days parade in Alturas on Saturday, July 3 for the local Fourth of July celebration.
Applications are now available at the Alturas Chamber of Commerce of fice, open Monday through Friday at 522 So. Main Street. All completed appli cations should be returned to the Chamber office by the deadline June 24, 1999 at 4:30 p.m. There is no entry fee.
All contestants will be asked to attend the contest on Saturday, June 26 at 11 a.m. at the A.C.T. Niles Theater, Main Street, Alturas.
Contestants are asked to wear clean, comfortable clothing. Should the child have a talent he or she would like to perform, whether a poem, joke, song or dance, a three-minute limit will be allowed during the contest for such displays. Only one child per family may enter.
Children entering must be three-years-old by June 1 and not over age six by July 4, 1999.
For further information please call Alturas Chamber of Commerce at 233-4434.
Modoc jobless rate down to 8.7%
Modoc's unemployment rate dipped to 8.7 percent in May, down from April's 11.9 percent as the seasonal job outlook improved. In May last year, the county's jobless rate was at 10.6 percent.
The state unemployment rate for May was 4.9 percent and the national jobless rate was 4.0 percent.
The 8.7 percent puts Modoc as the 41st out of 58 counties as far as highest unemployment. Siskiyou county's unem ployment rate for May was 9.1 percent and Lassen's was at 6.4 percent.
- Record news summaries for June 24, 1999
- Alturas Mill chosen for pilot project
- Indian Gaming Casino set to open near Alturas
- Modoc median income ranks 53rd in state
- Fandango '999 has full plate of fun
- City puts up bucks for Main
- Junior show a big success
- Veterans grateful for AMVETS van gift
- Obituaries:
- Neeley
- Huff
- Garrett
Alturas Mill Site awarded pilot program funding
Good news came to Alturas this week as the Alturas Mill Site was chosen as one of six closed mill sites in the state as a pilot site for potential economic development and future in vestment.
According to County-City Planner Scott Kessler, the award of this project is a major step toward economic devel opment of the mill site. Kessler made application for the pro ject and said the state was very impressed with the site as well as the effort by the city.
"When their representatives came to tour the site they were very impressed that some of the council people were actually out doing physical labor at the site," said Kessler. "Overall, they were pleased with Alturas and the effort al ready put into the railroad museum and school project."
Governor Gray Davis said the six sites will receive a va riety of assistance ranging from environmental site as sessments to community planning efforts. Such programs, said Davis, will pave the way toward luring job-creating projects to communities that have few industrial-zoned prop erties available for redevelopment.
"I believe the pilot project will open up a whole area of other opportunities for agencies to help with the development of the site," said Kessler. He said the pilot project will deal with all environmental aspects of the site, not just hazardous substance, but also wildlife, plants, archaeology and so on. Once finished, the mill site could get a clean bill of health. That clean report, said Kessler, would go a long way in pro moting the mill site and offering incentives to business de velopment.
On Monday, Kessler and city councilmen George Andreasen and Jack Ochs attended a workshop of the project in Redding. They came away from that conference with re newed vigor and hope for the future.
"What we were told is this could be the start of very good things for the community," said Kessler. "It's my feeling that once we get past the initial environmental aspects, there will be money available for development. I know the council is dedicated to working hard on the project. This pilot project will provide a lot of expertise and necessary study."
The six closed mill sites chosen for the pilot program in clude Alturas, Forest Hill in Placer County, Quincy and three in the Crescent City area.
The program is a joint federal and state effort, led by the Trade and Commerce Agency. It also includes cooperative efforts of the California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substance Control, USDA-Rural Development, US Department of Commerce-Economic Development Administration, USDA-Forest Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The former Alturas Mill site under study includes 103 acres with two-thirds of the project proposed for development as a railroad museum and school for repair and mainte nance of railway equipment. The railroad school project is well on its way to fruition said Kessler.
The closed mill project is funded with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Grant, and matching state contributions. The Mill Reuse Pilot Program's approach to redevelopment is based upon a grow ing body of Brownfields philosophy and experience that sup ports the necessary commitment and partnership of owner and community to successfully reuse a property.
Indian Gaming Casino set to open July 15 near Alturas
A new Indian Gaming Casino is sched uled to open at the Alturas Rancheria July 15. The fact that it was coming was kept very quiet until this week.
Plans are to start with a smaller tempo rary facility and if the casino proves suc cessful, a bigger permanent structure will be built. Initially, the casino will be housed in about 2,100 square foot modular and to tal usable space will be about 3,000 square feet. There will be between 60 and 100 gam ing devices and a couple of card tables, ac cording to Tom Sperling, the developer of the project.
Just what types of gaming machines will be used at the casino will not be known until the California Supreme Court issues a ruling on Proposition 5's constitutional ity. That initiative supporting Indian gambling in the state, passed by a wide margin but has been challenged in the court system. Sperling is hoping that deci sion comes in the very near future.
The casino will be owned and operated under the Alturas Rancheria tribal coun cil. Paul Del Rosa is the tribal chairman, who according to Sperling, insisted that as much of the construction and related costs be spent locally. And most of the subcon tracting work has been performed by local companies, including the plumbing, the carpet,. the road work and paving and construction of several items.
In addition, said Sperling, the 15 to 20 jobs offered will be filled with local indi viduals. He is now working with Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc.'s VeeAnn Ambers and Ike Richardson of the Employment Development Department. According to Sperling, the fa cility is an equal opportunity employer that will not give preference to any race. Jobs offered include cashiers, secretary, secu rity, and more.
The casino will have largely electronic gaming -- videopoker and the like -- and will provide no alcohol service. It will have food service, but Sperling says that will probably be contracted out to local restaurants. If the initial Casino proves successful, a larger facility would be built which would include more gaming ma chines, tables, Bingo and a place for live entertainment.
In addition to allowing local folks a place to recreate, Sperling said the impetus will be to stop those travelers on US 395 and SR 299 and get them to spend the night in Alturas.
"We plan on working very closely with Alturas motels and restaurants to get peo ple to overnight here," said Sperling. "We'll be marketing the casino well, but we also plan on marketing Alturas in a big way."
A manager for the facility, Joe Fisher, will be on board this week and things at the site, just about a mile east of Alturas on County Road 56 will be picking up speed this week.
"The Tribal Council wanted to open small and conservative," said Sperling. "We're confident the casino will be suc cessful, and also that we will be a real ben efit to the community and the area. We want to be viewed as a community casino."
For employment opportunities check this week's classified in the Record or call Ambers at 233-7703.
Modoc median in come ranks 53rd
Modoc actually moved up three notches in median income for people filing joint returns. Modoc's ranked 53rd out of the state's 58 counties joint re turns showing a median of $31,856. The previous year, Modoc ranked 56th out of 58 with joint returns at $28,848.
The state's median in come also rose by 5.7 per cent, to $49,210, well above Modoc's figures.
The state median in come report comes from the Franchise Tax Board and is calculated after income tax re turns are filed. Median income is the point where one-half of the tax returns are above and one-half are below the mid point. Median income rep resents the income reported by a typical California in dividual or couple.
When all returns are considered, Modoc's me dian in come is $20,771, which ranks the county 48th. The state me dian in come for all returns is $26,768.
Lassen County, mean while shows a joint median income of $43,794, ranking it 25th and an overall me dian income of $28,995, ranking it 11th in the state.
It comes as no surprise that the highest median in come in both joint, at $80,253, and for all returns at $37,154, is Marin County which also ranks first in the state in lowest unem ployment.
Imperial County, which normally has one of the highest unemployment rates, ranks as dead last in median income for joint returns at $22,929 and in all returns at $16,091.
For Siskiyou County, the median income for all re turns was $20,561, ranking it 51st and for joint returns, the me dian was $32,859 also ranking it 51st.
Fandango '99 has full plate
There will be plenty of family fun for the 1999 version of Fandango Days on July 3 with the Alturas Rotary Duck Race and the Classic Cruisers Car show the real high lights.
The Fandango parade is all set and will start at 5th Street near Jerry's Restaurant and Plumas Bank. The parade travels down Main Street to the park and begins at 11 a.m. The Fandango Theme for the year is "Educators of the Millennium."
The Alturas Post Office and the new Main Street Clock will be dedicated by the Chamber at 10:30 a.m.
Just after the parade, a premiere of the Modoc Movie will be held at the Niles Theater, with admission of $1. It will also be shown again after the Duck Race.
The Modoc Classic Cruisers Car Show and Shine begins at 9 a.m. and lasts through the day. The show and shine is at Rachel Dorris Park, east of the Modoc Museum. The car club is expected to draw nearly a hundred classic cars from throughout the region and is a real treat for car buffs. The lo cal Classic Cruisers Club has some of best classics around and most of the members will display their cars. There will also be several classic cars in the parade, a real treat.
Activities begin at the park at 12 noon. Those activities start with the Elks and Lions Club annual tri-tip barbecue. It's a real down-home feast.
Other activities at the park include the fol lowing: arts and crafts booths, service club booths, a horseshoe pitching contest, the Wood-n-Peg Petting Zoo and live entertain ment by Heartless.
The Alturas Rotary Duck Race will start at 2 p.m. The 3,000 rubber racing ducks will be dropped into the Pit River precisely at 2 p.m. and the race to the Main Street Bridge. The owner of the first duck across the finish line wins a brand new Chevy 4x4 stepside pickup worth about $28,000. The ducks are sold at $25 each and are nearly gone.
Kids game will also be held at the park in the afternoon. Those include a watermelon eating contest, pie eating con test, space walk, wheelbarrow mazes, and a fishing booth.
The annual California Pines Property Owners Association fireworks show will be held at dusk over the Cal Pines Lake on Saturday.
For more information, contact the Alturas Chamber of Commerce at 233-4434.
Fandango Days is sponsored by the Alturas Elks Lodge and the Alturas Chamber of Commerce.
City opts for more funding for Main
Tuesday night the Alturas City Council opted to put its money where its mouth is in community beautification and promotion.
The council earmarked $1,000 from the Business Enhancement Fund for a main street beautification project spearheaded by VeeAnn Ambers and the Summer Youth Program. Part of the project will include building trash containers, flower boxes, planting and caring for those flowers.
Ambers hopes to get some of the street cleanup and beau tification project started before Fandango Days.
Additionally, the council put up another $1,000 from the business fund for the Modoc Movie. That movie, under the direction of local attorney Barry Kinman, is a promotional tool for the county.
The council also appointed Anne ferry to the Library Advisory Board.
The 1999 Modoc County Junior Livestock Show and Sale was a huge success
The 51st Annual Modoc County Junior Livestock Show and Sale was blessed with great weather, impres sive community support, and strong participation in each division.
The newly renovated grounds gave the Modoc County 4-H and FFA kids a nice facility to show off all their hard work.
Monday's horse show kicked off the week's long event with twenty partici pants and their horses com peting in performance and gymkhana events. In the performance category, Emi-ly Kelly from Provi dence 4-H in Adin, earned the Senior High Point Buckle, Eliz-abeth Younger was the winner of the Junior High Point Buckle and Stacey Parnow won the Novice High Point Buckle both from Alturas New Pio neer 4-H Club. In the fast paced Gymkhana events, Jami Harris from Alturas FFA, won the Senior Buckle and Megan McCulley, New Pioneer 4-H earned the Ju nior Buckle. This year, the board added a Novice Divi sion to the Gymkhana class in which Christjan Bidwell of Bieber 4-H was awarded the buckle. In the Showman ship division the winners were: Emily Kelly - Senior 4-H/FFA, Megan McCulley - Junior 4-H and Meghan Binning - Novice 4-H.
Tuesday, the weather continued to be gorgeous with a nice breeze to cool things off. The day moved along quickly starting the morn ing off with the rabbit mar ket classes judged by Jeanette Jesche of Sparks, Nevada. Zeke Bonham of Eagleville 4-H won the Grand Champion Fryer Pen of Three, with Jodie Jones of Cedarville 4-H winning Re serve Champion. Emily Kelly of Providence 4-H took home Grand Champion Sin gle Fryer with Megan Thompson of New Pioneer 4-H received the Reserve Champion. Earning best of Show was Ashley Thompson, Lookout 4-H and Reserve in Show was Sara Teuscher, Cedarville 4-H. Ashley Thompson also rewarded the High Point Award. Show manship was throughout the day, judged by Yvonne Armstrong of Adin, Cali fornia. The Senior Show manship award went to Jodie Jones of Cedarville 4-H, Casey Joiner of Lookout 4-H took the Junior award and Sara Teuscher won the Novice division.
Wednesday was weigh-in day with over 150 animals passing over the scales in preparation for the market classes on Thursday.
Thursday was a busy day as members competed in Market and Breeding class-es. Market Swine started at 9:00 a.m., judged by Tim Brown of Tulelake, Cali-fornia. Grand Cham pion Market Swine went to Landen Brown from the Al turas New Pioneer 4-H Club, the Reserve Champion win ner was Jake Bonham from Eagleville 4-H Club.
Market Beef started at 11:00 a.m. in the arena, be ing judged by J.B. Dimick from Eagle Point, Oregon while Market Sheep was in the sale ring, being judged by Emily Cadmagnani from Susanville, California. The Grand Champion Market Beef was Allison Ferry of Alturas FFA, and Reserve Champion went to Mandy McGiffin of Cedarville 4-H. The Grand Champion Mar ket Sheep went to Rachel Im bach and Reserve Champion was Michael Bates both from New Pioneer 4-H in Alturas.
The Pre-Novice kids did a wonderful job showing their rabbits, dogs, and a kitten, in Pee Wee Show manship. Shelby Anderson won the Pee Wee Showman ship with her rabbit. The judge, Time Brown stated, "This is the toughest judging I've had to do". Following Pee Wee Showmanship was the Breeding classes.
Breeding Classes began at 3:00 p.m. with Breeding Swine as the first class. Landon Brown took Grand Champion with his Jr. Year ling Gilt. There were no Registered Breeding Sheep entries, but Jessica Bietz won the Grand Champion Grade Ewe. Breeding Beef had sev eral entries. Rachel Imbach won the Grand Champion Registered Female, and Ryan Imbach won the Re serve Champion Registered Female. Landen Flournoy, from Likely 4-H Club, won the Grand Champion Grade Female as well as the Re serve Champion Grade Fe male. The Livestock judg ing contest, was the last class on Thursday. Katie Kraft as the high scoring in dividual in 4-H, for FFA Ryan Imbach was the win ner, and in the adult divi sion, Emily Cadamagnani was the high scoring indi vidual, but was not present, so the award went to the run ner-up, Jennifer Vermil lion. Each winner received an engraved knife and plaque.
Friday's schedule in volved Showmanship and the Round Robin competi tion. These classes were judged by Tim Brown for Sheep, J.B. Dimick for Beef, Emily Cadamagnani the swine judge, and assisting with the rabbit judging was Linda LeNeave and the horse round robin judge was Janet Woodworth. The FFA Round Robin winner was Allison Ferry. In the Senior 4-H division the winner was Ryan Imbach. In the 4-H Ju nior division Rachel Imbach earned the top award and the 4-H Novice winner was Kaylee Weidner.
Friday concluded the week-long event with the Alturas Rotary's delicious Barbecue, followed by the awards ceremony then the sale.
Friday evening's cere monies began with the Awards Presentation with Pearce Flournoy announc ing. Sponsors of the awards presented their trophies and cash awards in recognition of the members hard work and dedication to their pro jects.
The Sale followed with a tremendously supportive crowd in attendance. One hundred, twenty-eight lots were sold, bringing in over $82,000. There were many factors involved in the suc cess of this event, but none more important that a strong Buyers Committee and Ju nior Show Board. Both groups should be com mended for a job well done. This year's board was made up of twenty-one members:
Nikki Allison (Pres-ident), Amber Knauss (Vice-President), Julie Bor dwell (Secretary/Treasurer), Ai-mee Boulade, Jeanne Bunyard, Cassie Cockrell, Ashley Cockrell, Desiree Curnow, Tamson DeForest, Allison Ferry, Jodie Jones, Emily Kelly, Mandy McGif fin, Micah Stossmeister, Will Welsh, Blake Wilson, Logan Willson, Rebecca Crites, Roseann Ginochio, and Deidra Jeppson. In addi tion the board had tremen dous assistance and support of 4-H and FFA members, parents, volunteer leaders and the community.
Friday's sale began with the pen of three rabbit divi sion with three lots selling for an average price of $14.00 per pound. The single fryer rabbit division had 13 lots selling for an average price of $18.31 per pound. Sixty hogs sold for an average price of $2.62 per pound. Nine head of beef went for an average price of $1.61 per pound. And in the sheep di vision, forty lambs sold for an average price of $4.59 per pound.
George Wistos from the Belligerent Duck started the sale off by purchasing the Grand Champion pen of three fryer rabbits from Zeke Bonham for $16.00 per pound. Reserve Champion went to Jodie Jones and was purchased by Stan and Leslin Chace for $15.00 per pound. The Grand Cham pion single fryer went to Emily Kelly and was brought by Chuckle Head Farms and Fertile Acre Rabbitry for $22.00 per pound, with Megan Thomp son selling the Reserve Champion Single Fryer go ing for $25.00 per pound to K & K Distribution. Pacific Linen and J & S Roofing purchased the Grand Cham pion hog from Landon Brown for $5.50 per pound. The Reserve Champion hog, raised by Jake Bonham was bought by McArthur Farm Supply for $3.50 per pound.
J. W. Kerns bought the Grand Champion Market Beef from Allison Ferry for $2.25 per pound and Alturas Ranches increased the price $250.00. The Reserve Cham pion Beef raised by Mandy McGiffin was purchased for $2.00 per pound by Modoc Vet Center, Boehringer Ingel heim, Y Tex Cord, Western Vet Supply, Bayer, Surprise Valley Vet, Clinic, Big Val ley Vet. Clinic, Professional Compounding, Macy's Fly ing Service, Inman & Com pany, Inc., Hoeschst-Rous sel and Merial.
Skyline Summit Live stock purchased the Grand Champion Lamb from Rachel Imbach for $16.00 per pound. The Reserve Cham pion raised by Michael Bates was bought by Brass Rail for $5.00 per pound.
Dr. and Mrs. Pat Sabin DDS of Lakeview, Oregon, gave $50.00 to each of their patients at their dental prac tice. Modoc Insurance Ser vices added-on $50.00 to all their clients children. Huckleberry Hay, Chuck and Loren Vermillion added-on $25.00 to each of the Surprise Valley 4-H Lamb project kids. High Desert Online boosted the ten lowest priced lambs with $50.00 each. Additional price boosts were done by: Mike and Cherrie, Bob and Sharon Staton, Ed and Denise Gino chio of EG Ranch, ICU Ram agnola Cattle, Joe and Char lotte Covington, Brown's Pharmacy, Bill and Betty Cockrell, Alturas Ranches, Lake County Stockman's Supply, High Desert Lodg ing, Shasta Livestock Hugh Comisky, Jr. Again, Auc tioneer Eric Duarte did a wonderful job. Mike Mason, Roy Paul Baker, and Roy Bailey worked the ring and sought out the bidders. Ma somy Meats from Klamath Falls, Oregon floored the hog prices, Country Boy Meats from Merrill, Oregon floor-ed the Beef prices, and Fernand Larranaga of Al turas, floored the Lamb prices again. Eric Nelson, Nelson Trucking gener ously donated his time and truck to haul the animals to the appropriate slaughter fa cilities. Frank Watkins of Frank Watkins Agency and Debra Cockrell generously donated their time, and the pictures for the buyers cards. Susie Philpot, Ann Ferry, Rena Harris, David Lile, and Debra Cockrell staffed the sale tables. Rick Delmas assisted Eric Duarte at the Auctioneer stand and Cathy Baldwin helped the sale table run smoothly and pointed out buyers for the kids.
Congratulations to all the members, and thank you to the leaders, parents and Ju nior Show Board members, Rotary, Buyers committee, Ringmen, for all their hard work in keeping the show running smoothly. A special Thank you to Ginya Lock wood and Marita Anderson for all their work in the con cession stand. They were the first ones there and the last ones to leave every day. CDF-Devil's Garden Con servation Camp-Captain Pat Filbin and his fire fighting crew, thanks for all their hard work repairing the John Cummings Memorial Show Grounds.
Veterans grateful for AMVET's van gift
Veterans of Modoc County demonstrated their gratitude to AMVETS -Department of California Service Founda tion by turning out strongly on Wednesday, June 9 for the 11 a.m. dedication of the new AMVETS van, pur chased and donated to Modoc County veterans by AMVETS.
A crowd of 60 plus and numerous guests and speak ers came for the day under beautiful weather outside the Veterans Hall in Alturas. Since April 19, 1999 when the van arrived, the van has rolled on 19 trips, added up a total of 8000 miles to trans port 33 Modoc veterans free of charge to the Veterans Administration Hospitals and medical appointments.
Following the dedication and guest speakers under beautiful skies, guests en joyed a luncheon in the Vet erans Hall, Alturas, pro vided by the three veterans organizations of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and American Legion.
Dignitaries who spoke or attended the special morn ing in addition to local vet erans organization officers, veterans, guests and local county dignitaries were Manny Toledo, President of AMVETS Department of California Service Founda tion; Joseph Kolona, Service Director of AMVETS Cal Service Foundation; Joe Scamihorn, Service Office, Reno, Nev.; Gary Whitfield, Director, VA Medical Cen ter, Reno, Nev.; Tom Iver son, Voluntary Services VA Medical Center, Reno, Nev.; Chet Streible, Lassen County Veterans Service Officer; George Oakley, Lassen County Van Coordinator; Dennis Sutton, District Commander of American Legion and Henri Sanchez.
"We can always use more volunteer drivers," said Lil lian Schoenheide, Modoc Veterans Service Officer and Gordon Heughen, Van Coordinator. They encour age people interested in driv ing, to call 233-5787 and leave a message. Heughen will get back to those who call.
Obituaries
Violet Berniece Neely
Canby, Calif. resident Violet Berniece Neely passed away in Redding, Calif. on Sunday, June 20, 1999 at the age of 73 years. Mrs. Neely had made Canby her home for the past 30 years, where she was a partner in her husband's business "Roy Neely & Sons Excavation and Contracting." She was also a homemaker during their 55 years of mar riage.
Born Violet Berniece Huls on July 15, 1925, in Boatman, Oklahoma, she completed eighth grade at Bryan Chapel No. 5, Oklahoma. When she was 19, she married Elroy Alford Neely in Pryor, Mayes, Oklahoma on October 1, 1944.
Mrs. Neely enjoyed gardening, quilting and taught Sun day School at Calvary Assembly of God in Canby.
Mrs. Neely is survived by her husband Elroy Neely of Canby, Calif.; son Alford Neely and wife Nancy of Little ton, Colo.; daughter Diana Brown and husband Ron of Canby, Calif.; son Arnold Neely and wife Carol of Echo, Ore.; 12 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren plus two on the way; sisters Hazel Mc Cuen, Phelan, Calif.; Alta Emch, Arroyo Grande, Calif. and brother Austin Huls of Chino, Calif.
She was preceded in death by one grandson, five brothers and sisters and her parents William Henry Huls and Bessie May Adams Huls.
Pastor Joe Abinanti conducted services at Calvary As sembly of God in Canby, Calif. on Tuesday, June 22. Burial was private at Alturas Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be directed to Kiwanis Fam ily House c/o Redding Medical Center, 1100 Butte, Redding, CA 96001 or Calvary Assembly of God, Canby, CA.
Richard "Dick" Huff
Richard "Dick M. Huff, age 62, passed away June 14, 1999 at a hospital near his Myrtle Creek, Oregon home.
He was born February 3, 1937 in Oakland, California to Mason and Josephine (DiLeo) Huff. As Dick was part of a military family, he traveled extensively during his youth. During these years he became interested in forestry and subsequently received a Bachelor's degree in Forestry from the University of Minnesota. Dick began working for the Bureau of Land Management and his job took him to many different parts of the country, including Coos Bay and Prineville, Oregon.
After years of working in the forest, he decided to change his career direction, and include a more people-oriented fo cus to his job. With this in mind, he attended a leadership program held by the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C. After the program he went to Denver and began work ing as a training officer, eventually becoming an organized development specialist, which he very much enjoyed. Dick was united in marriage to Linda L. Weisenhorn on Septem ber 9, 1983 in Aurora, Colorado. His work eventually led him to Alturas, California where he retired from the BLM on January 3, 1995.
In 1997, he decided to move to Oregon, having fallen in love with its coast and countryside many years before. Myr tle Creek had since been his home. Dick served his county in the U.S. Army, as well as, the National Guard. He was able to put his teaching experience to good use for many years in the Guard. He spent more than thirty years working with the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, which he considered an honor and a privilege. He worked with Scouts while in Alturas. His expertise in the Scouts led him to receive their highest honor, the "Silver Beaver" award.
He was also an active member of the National Associa tion of Retired Federal Employees and an active volunteer with the Wildlife Safari and the Master Gardeners. Dick was very much an outdoorsman and rock hound. His inter est in the outdoors led him to be an avid camper and hiker. He also loved to travel. Dick was quite the gardener and al ways had a great vegetable and flower garden when possi ble. He was loved by his family and friends and will be greatly missed.
He is survived by: his wife, Linda L. Huff, of Myrtle Creek, Or.; children, Brian Huff and his wife Cindy, of An chorage, Alaska; Diane Schauer and her husband, Paul, of Denver, Colorado; Joanne Dante and her husband, Kevin, of Morrison, Colorado; Julie Huff, of Englewood, Colorado; grandchildren, Lauren and Alex Huff. Robert, Erika, and Elise Shauer and Ben and Grace Dante.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother. A viewing took place, Thursday, June 17 at Taylor's Family Chapel in Winston, Oregon. Funeral services were held Friday, June 18 at 1:00 p.m. at Taylor's Family Chapel. Pastor Wally Gwaltney officiated . Burial followed at Rose burg Memorial Gardens. Military honors were rendered by the VFW District 12 Honor Guard. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to the care of Taylor's Family Mortuary in Winston, Or,
Jeri Rae Heard Garrett
Jeri Rae (Heard) Garrett, 62 died, Wednesday, June 9, 1999 in Greenville, Plumas County, CA at the Indian Valley District Hospital.
She was the third of the four children who have passed on that were born to Vere Walter and Mary Anne Heard. Jeri leaves two grown daughters Joni Rae Musso of Chico, CA and Vera Jane Gunderson of Quincy, CA plus many grand children and one great grandchild. Jeri was so proud of them all.
Jeri Rae Heard was born October 19, 1936 in Prineville, Crook County, OR.
The family moved to Westwood, CA around 1940. Jeri went to high school there, she married her high school sweet heart, Joseph Musso on June 6, 1953. They and their two daughters lived in Greenville and Taylorsville, CA. Jeri & Joe owned and ran a small grocery market in Taylorsville for a short time, the grocery was named the 4-J Market. Jeri made many wonderful friends there. She was a fascinating lady, with many interests, especially the local Maidu In dian culture. She admired the Maidu Indian beliefs, and acquired a special love and respect for their Spiritualism.
Jeri loved to read and owned many good books; her inter ests were broad. She loved to plant and grow miniature in door plants. She had a dream of someday writing a book about her many American Indian friends. The closest she ever came on that project, was a small manuscript she had submitted to the Maidu Tribal Roundhouse Council in Greenville a couple of months prior to her passing. There were stories she had put together, told to her, by her late In dian friends.
Despite the fact of Jeri's misfortune of being a double am putee of both her legs due to some problems with phlebitis and infections, more than fifteen years ago, she never sat around feeling sorry for herself. She had a wonderful atti tude about life. Sometimes she had a child like happiness over simple little things. She touched many hearts with her sweetness and charm.
A gathering at a small country church in Taylorsville, CA brought together her relatives and friends for a memo rial with prayers and song, followed by a graveside gather ing at the Heard Cemetery in Westwood.
- July
- Record news for July 1, 1999
- July 15 remains target date for Indian Casino
- Plenty to do for Fandango 1999
- But, if your want some real fun, wait for Big Valley Days
- Stanley Steamer treks through Modoc
- Railroad Fun Day set for July 4
- Burning permits suspended July 1
- Obituaries
- Berry
- Crabtree
- Wallis
July 15 remains target date to open Casino
July 15 remains as the projected open date for a new Indian Gaming casino at the Alturas Rancheria.
According to Ike Richardson, Employment Development Department, applications for employment at the facility are heavy and coming in strong.
"There is a lot of interest and most peo ple are very positive about the casino," said Richardson. "A lot of people have taken out applications and a lot of people have re turned those applications which are now under review."
Plans are to start with a smaller tempo rary facility and if the casino proves suc cessful, a bigger permanent structure will be built. Initially, the casino will be housed in about 2,100 square foot modular and to tal usable space will be about 3,000 square feet.
The modular units arrived Friday and are being assem bled on the site now. There will be between 60 and 100 gam ing devices and a couple of card tables, ac cording to Tom, the developer of the project.
Just what types of gaming machines will be used at the casino will not be known until the California Supreme Court issues a ruling on Proposition 5's constitutional ity.
The casino will be owned and operated under the Alturas Rancheria tribal coun cil. Paul Del Rosa is the tribal chair man.
Sperling said the 15 to 20 jobs offered will be filled with lo cal indi viduals. He is now working with Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc.'s VeeAnn Ambers and Richardson. According to Sperling, the fa cility is an equal opportunity employer that will not give preference to any race. Jobs offered include cashiers, secretary, secu rity, and more.
The casino will have largely electronic gaming -- video poker and the like -- and will provide no alcohol service. It will have food service, but Sperling says that will probably be contracted out to local restaurants. If the initial Casino proves successful, a larger facility would be built which would include more gaming ma chines, tables, Bingo and a place for live entertainment.
In addition to allowing local folks a place to recreate, Sperling said the goal will be to stop those travelers on US 395 and SR 299 and get them to spend the night in Alturas.
A manager for the facility, Joe Fisher, is on board this week and things at the site, just about a mile east of Alturas on County Road 56 are bustling."
For employment opportunities call Ambers or Richardson at 233-7703. Applications are available at New Directions, the corner of East and Eighth Street.
Plenty to do this week for Fandango Days celebration
July 3 is the big day to celebrate independence in Alturas as Fandango Days gets ready for the dance.
Topping the fun and activities this year are the Alturas Rotary Clubs' Duck Race and the Modoc Classic Cruisers Car show and shine.
The annual Fandango parade is all set and will start at 5th Street near Jerry's Restaurant and Plumas Bank. The parade begins at 11 a.m. and travels down Main Street to the park. The Fandango Theme for the year is "Educators of the Millennium."
The Grand Marshals for this year's parade are retired teachers from Modoc County and include: Ed Carver, Ida Grace Armor, Leonard Weber, Mattie Dunn, Carrie Anderson, Mary Flournoy, Betty Reid, Dorothy Anklin, Linda Conner, Vivian Commons, Maxine Sonnevil, Sigurd Sonnevil, Jesse Arkarro, Chris Starr, Earl Sullivan, Pat and Wanda Tignor, Mary Bauer, Lawrence Beebe, Gus Dekker, Winnifred Coombs, Muriel Griswold, LaVon Coffin, Paul Nielsen, Phyllis Mercer, Francis Archer, Mary Gilmore, Wes Buffum, Victoria Olson, Raymond Page, Margaret Thayer and Virginia Pierce.
Just after the parade, a premiere of the Modoc Movie will be held at the Niles Theater, with admission of $1. It will also be shown again after the Duck Race.
The Modoc Classic Cruisers Car Show and Shine begins at 9 a.m. and lasts through the day. The show and shine is at Rachel Dorris Park, east of the Modoc Museum. Nearly 100 cars are expected for the car show. A real treat is that many of those cars will also be in the parade adding some serious flash and color.
The classic cars come from throughout the region and can be viewed most of the day at the park. The Classic Cruisers are also holding a drawing for a restored 1958 Chevy pickup and the wining ticket will be drawn at the car show.
Car show organizers remind local owners of classic cars that they do not have to be members of the car club to enter their vehicles in the show. All classics are invited and encouraged to enter the show and parade.
The Alturas Post Office and the new Main Street Clock will be dedicated by the Chamber at 10:30 a.m.
Following the parade, activities begin at the park at 12 noon. Those activities start with the Elks and Lions Club annual tri-tip barbecue. It's a real down-home feast.
Other activities at the park include the fol lowing: arts and crafts booths, service club booths, a horseshoe pitching contest, the Wood-n-Peg Petting Zoo and live entertain ment by Heartless.
The Alturas Rotary Duck Race will start at 2 p.m. The 3,000 rubber racing ducks will be dropped into the Pit River precisely at 2 p.m. and the race to the Main Street Bridge. The owner of the first duck across the finish line wins a brand new Chevy 4x4 stepside pickup worth about $28,000. The ducks are sold at $25 each and are nearly gone.
Kids game will also be held at the park in the afternoon. Those include a watermelon eatin
