Mayers Memorial Hospital District’s board of Directors voted to approve placing a bond measure for $14 million on the November election. The vote followed a thorough presentation by a firm that specializes in carrying out such elections.
The phone surveys conducted in the past few weeks indicate a large percentage of registered voters, male, female, democrat, republican and other, of all age groups responded positively to the measure which would place an assessment on the property within the district.
The Board’s committee which handled the location and recruitment of CEO candidates announced that the district’s legal council has approved a tenative contract with an individual who has six years experience as a CEO as well as experience as a chief financial officer. The contract has been forwarded to him and if he accepts, his name will be released.
July 28, 2010
Mayers board to go for bond – possibly hire CEO by weekend
July 26, 2010
Editorial 7/27/10
Whether I like the windmills or not is a moot point. I recognize that and have been trying to stay away from the topic for that reason.
I will admit that I do not find them the least bit attractive and the project’s front people, like all front people, promised whatever they thought the people wanted to hear and then broke the promises. As an example, their promise to paint the windmills a color that would tend to blend into the skyline proved to be just so much wind.
The problem I am currently having is that like them or not they are here and those who live in the town of Burney and Johnson Park are the ones that have to live with them, not the people who live in Cassel, Hat Creek, Old Station or elsewhere.
A lot of money was promised and delivered to smooth the project’s approval. That money was divvied up, a third going to education in the area, a third going toward projects to help the communities from Round Mountain to the Lassen County line. A third was also set aside to benefit the citizens of Burney because of the impact the project had on the community.
The County will undoubtedly get as much if not more in tax revenue than what the grant provides. The citizens of Cassel, Hat Creek and Old Station are not directly impacted day in and day out as Burney is.
The projects currently being discussed at the Chamber of Commerce facilitated meetings are all worthy projects, just as some of the county’s projects, but I submit that the county can use the increase in tax revenue for the county backed projects. The Communities of Cassel, Hat Creek and Old Station, including fire companies and fire safe councils can compete with others for the ongoing monies from the other monies set aside.
The county money should go directly to projects in the towns of Burney and Johnson Park and possibly indirectly benefit the other communities, not the other way around.
Project list ready for county Sups
Mountain Echo editor
BURNEY – The Burney Chamber of Commerce has spent three meetings, each roughly two hours each, going over how they’d like to see the county divvy up the $1 million in grant money earmarked by Pattern Energy “to benefit the people of Burney.”
The money was part of a larger pot given to offset the impact of the string of giant wind turbines which now dominate the entire western skyline. Part of the money was given to the Fall River Education Foundation to benefit the local school district’s education program and part to the Shasta Regional Foundation to be used in small grants to be used to benefit projects from Round Mountain to McArthur.
The $1 million left was to be controlled by the county. County Resource Management Director Russ Mull made a bid for it for a new county general plan study, saying such a plan would benefit the people of Burney. The Friends of the Intermountain Library made a bid for it to buy the old Holiday Market and turn it into a library with other county outreach offices.
The whole process became a mess and the board of supervisors said they would like to see proposals.
Russell Fire at 200+acres
Lightning storms moved through the area over the weekend keeping firefighters busy.
The Lassen – Modoc Unit fought 62 fires, the largest of which, the Russell Fire, east of Straylor Lake southeast of Little Valley started at 6 a.m. Sunday, was at 200 acres at 6 a.m. Monday with no containment. Cal Fire was setting up a command post at the Fairgrounds.
Information on other fires in the Big Valley/ Little Valley area was unavailable at press time.
The Shasta Unit had two fires Sunday in the Burney area. Both were contained Sunday night.
The largest, north of Four Corners was held to a half-acre.
Roll over kills one
OLD STATION — One Rathdrum, Idaho man was killed and another received major injuries in a single vehicle crash west of Forest Service Road 10 near Butte Lake on Highway 44 Sunday morning.
According to the Highway Patrol, Rodolfo Contraras, 18, was driving his 1995 Chevrolet west on Highway 44 at an unknown speed at 7 a.m.. For an unknown reason he drifted off the north side of the highway, over corrected and rolled several times. Both he and his passenger, Marcos A.M. Alamilla, 31, were thrown from the vehicle.
Alamilla received major injuries and was flown to Mercy Medical Center in Redding.
Contraras was killed in the crash.
The cause is still under investigation.
2009 Fall River High School graduate serving on the USS Harry S Truman
By Walt Caldwell
Mountain Echo editor
Imagine yourself, a member of a high school graduating class of 35 students, a sailor whose been in the Navy less than a year getting a look at your new home – The U.S.S. Harry S. Truman
It isn’t a small ship, standing 20 stories from the water-line to top of its masts, with runways 1,096 feet long on a flight deck measuring 4.5 acres.
Fireman E-2, Ashley O’Reilly of Hat Creek did just that 4-5 months ago. After basic training and technical school, her first duty assignment is the Truman.
She sounded happy and confident when I talked with her over the phone.
She said her shipmates have been nice to her, the other women on board answered her questions when she came aboard and, showed her around. She is treated very well.
Asked if she was initiated, a traditional routine that every sailor goes through when they come on board ship, she chuckled and said “yes, but they were well mannered when I came into the work center.”
The USS Truman is the home of 3,000 sailors and Marines, not counting the additional 2,,200 members of the eight squadrons and one detachment of aircraft and personnel which comprises its own embedded air wing supporting a total of 800 aircraft.
Ashley admitted there were lots of people and said it helped to keep her from getting lonely. Everyone is really, really, nice and I enjoy the people.
The nuclear powered aircraft carrier has two nuclear engines, two anchors, each weighing 30 tons and cuts through the water at over 30 knots.
July 19, 2010
EDITORIAL 7-20-10
I attended the Fall River Community Services District meeting. Director Barbara Briggs, who had displayed a definite dislike for former General Manager Stuart Busby twice before in the meeting, stated that all of the managers of the district had been oriented towards operations and not doing an overall job of managing the district.
I disagree strongly. Stuart Busby, in the six months he was there, before he left because, he said, of the treatment he was receiving from Briggs, had, in addition to field operations, commissioned a website that in all likelihood wouldn’t have become a reality if left to the board, brought a district logo which was the result of a contest involving the public to the board for approval, improved collections, gotten rid of an auditor and brought in a cheaper one who has immensely improved the quality of financial data within the district, gotten the district’s secretary the bookkeeping training and support she has needed for years so she can do her job, helped the board with their policy manual, raised the morale of the employees, found 2/3 of the missing water in the district, spend considerable time working with the district’s insurance company to recover some of the money spent over the firing of the previous district manager, and worked with State Unemployment trying to get them back on insurance and avoid future problems as well as working with the banks to find a loan, better interest and a possible bill paying system. That of course doesn’t count following up on board requests. All that in addition to being field and operations oriented.
Give me a break.
Burney Fire Department may join Northern California arson task force
The Burney Fire District will vote on joining a Northern California Arson Investigation Taskforce at next month’s board meeting.
Battalion Chief Jeff Armstrong explained that he had been a part of the task force in the department he worked for previously.
The task force is made up of arson investigators from a large number of departments from Sacramento north along with several District Attorneys from various counties.
There is no cost for membership, however he could be called on to assist in any investigation requested by a member department. Assistance is generally sought in major fires and fires involving a fatality. The investigators have access to arson investigation trailers with all of the equipment and supplies to seal off areas, preserve evidence, and investigate.
Tensions rise on CSD board
FALL RIVER MILLS – Director Peggy Bowker presented a draft contract to engage former District Manager Stuart Busby to oversee the contractors who the district will contract with to repair and rebuild the district’s three lift stations at the Fall River Community Services District if and when they get a low interest government loan.
They hope to get a $120,000 loan from the USDA with payments of $464 a month.
Director Barbara Briggs tried to block the contract, objecting to the $250 a day price (for the approximate two weeks the contract will last). When the other board members pointed out that $250 a day is extremely reasonable and since he had started the project he was familiar with it, she demanded workers compensation, pointing out that the district’s insurance company insisted that outside contractors carry. Bowker told the board that Busby was willing to get it, but would have to add it to the $250 a day. Board Chair Jensen said that would be roughly $9 a day.
Briggs then objected to the generic clause that unforeseen expenses and travel would be billed in addition
Draft audit shows deficiencies
BURNEY – The Burney Pool hosted 2,700 swimmers since opening this season, Pool Manager Nicole Hessler told the board of directors. Due to staffing problems the pool’s last day this year will be August 14.
The problem, Hessler says, is that all of her lifeguards are college students and their classes start the following week. She said she had an “adult” lifeguard at the start of the season and between the two of them, they could have handled it, but that person had been injured and wouldn’t be back this season.
She presented the board with a list of items that needed to be repaired, such as a cracked urinal in the men’s restroom, chipping paint on the floors, and leaky valves.