mountainecho.com

At 7:09 a.m. Friday, the Highway Patrol dispatch received the call that a female in a purple Ford Escort pulled over to sleep in the vicinity of Eskimo Hill near the entrance of Lassen Park.
The information CHP had was that when she awoke her 5-year old son was not in the car.
All teams were put on standby. The County’s Office of Emergency Service kicked into gear.
Units began arriving. They couldn’t locate the mother or her vehicle.
The woman called in, saying she was on the side of Highway 44 and her phone had cut out. CHP was out with her. The officer gave their location as 1.5 miles west of A-21.
She said her son wasn’t missing. He was in school at Fort Jones Elementary School.
Highway Patrol Dispatch called the school verified the child in question was there and okay, but she also has a 3-year-old that wasn’t accounted for.
Family members were contacted and verified that the 3-year-old was accounted for and okay.
All units were released.

An 49-year-old man was robbed and assaulted early Sunday morning.
The victim (whose identity is not being released) said that at approximately 1 a.m. two individuals kicked in his door and held him down at knife point
He said that while one of the attackers held him down with a large kitchen knife to his throat, the second ransacked his home.  Apparently not content with their findings they beat the man until he lost consciousness.
When the victim regained consciousness the intruders’ were gone and he called 9-1-1 for help.
It is unknown at this time how much property was removed from the victim’s home or the identity of his attackers.
At this time the major crimes unit is pursuing viable leads.

DOHREN, Germany –  For Vince DeCoito the phrase “Sprechen sie Deutsche?” may be answered by, “Do you speak any English?”  DeCoito arrived here Saturday for a 6-month stint as a player and coach for the Dohren Wild Farmers organization – a group promoting baseball and softball in Germany.  DeCoito admits he speaks, “just a little German,”  but added that in German school’s English is taught for five or six years.
DeCoito is a 2001 graduate of Fall River high, and has played baseball most of his life.  From little league to high school to college to semi-pro ball, DeCoito has spent most waking hours either playing or coaching baseball in northern California.  Now he takes his expertise to Europe.

In December 2009 Sergeant Jason Gassaway’s skills as a SWAT team leader were put to the test when a gunman went into a bank in Burney California, where he preceded to shoot two customers and take the others hostage. Sergeant Gassaway and his team were deployed to and surrounded the building. Sergeant Gassaway was placed in a strategic location at the rear of the bank. This allowed him the ability to see the suspect and hostages. He could have easily ended the situation early on. He had a clear line of shot to the suspect but he was unable to see the hostages, and there for could not take the chance. He had to wait. After a 3 hour standoff, the react team was preparing to enter the building. During this time Sergeant Gassaway saw the suspect moving back towards the hostages. He knew this was his chance; he had to take down the suspect before he could harm anyone else. He took the shot, effectively taking down the suspect. For his professionalism and calm during this crisis he received special recognition from the Shasta County Office of the Sheriff. In addition to being a SWAT team leader Sergeant Gassaway has been a Patrol Deputy for 13 years.

The citizens of the Mayers Memorial Hospital District have been in danger of losing its hospital, as they know it, for some time. Each of the last three annual audits contain the statement from the independent auditing firm Matson and Isom saying “The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the district will continue as a going concern. As discussed in note 11 to the financial statements, the district’s significant operating losses raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”
During those years the board of directors for the district have not gone out of their way to publicize or hide that fact and it went largely unnoticed.
Even though Board chairman Mike Kerns has stated that the financial plight of the hospital was no single person’s fault, his sidestepping of questions regarding the recent negotiated termination of former CEO Katharine Ann Campbell leaves a lingering shadow of suspicion.

LOOKOUT – The body of a 67 year old male of Japanese descent was found February 19 on County Road 91 approximately  8-miles east of Highway 139 near Lookout.
A Modoc County deputy responded on the evening of February 18, to a report of a vehicle that had been parked on County Road 91 for approximately a week. A check of the license plates turned up a felony stop order out of the San Francisco area for attempted murder and a warning that the driver might be suicidal, Modoc County Under-Sheriff Gary Palmer said.

FALL RIVER MILLS – The Board of Directors of the Fall River Mills Community Services District approved payment of a $10,350 to the State Employment Development Department at last Wednesday’s special noon meeting.
That bill was generated by the Department following the district’s protest of an unemployment claim which was pursued unsuccessfully. The department discovered that the district had not paid into unemployment for years, the exact number of which were unknown by district staff. Thus the district became liable for the compensation paid the former employee. Additionally they paid a bill for $985 to Dave Wallace CPA for his continuing work for the district.
They also agreed to open a checking account in the district’s name at Plumas Bank and use that bank’s “Bill Pay” service to pay specific vendors the district uses on an ongoing basis such as PG&E and phone.