Fires and crime dominate region

As we enter a new year,  Tri-County Newspapers takes a look back at the top 10 stories of 2008 in Glenn, Colusa and Tehama counties.

Reporters writing for the Colusa County Sun-Herald, Orland Press-Register, Willows Journal and Corning Observing sat with editors to made the decision about what to include. It was not easy and some of your favorites may be left out.

Decisions were based on the impact of stories in the local communities and the region.

Three stories earned national coverage – the murder of Steven Furtado and Jennifer Carrigan of Willows; the bus crash near Colusa Casino that killed 10 and injured 30; and the cremation of Ramona Allmond in the family barbecue pit in Corning.

The top story in each community is first on the list, followed by the top stories in the other areas. These stories are followed – in no particular order – by the remaining six.

Willows film icon dies, theater closes

The whole town turned out for Andy Huston on Dec. 15, or so it seemed, as the community gathered to honor the owner of AMH Opus Theater .

Huston, 49, died Dec. 6 in his theater office from a heart attack. He was found on the floor by a theater employee who also rented a place in his house.

He owned and operated the Willows movie theater and video store for nearly 30 years, after starting out renting movies from a room in the back his mother’s home.

At the memorial service, an overflow crowd packed the St. Monica’s Catholic Church parish hall to pay tribute to a man whose kindness and generosity will be remembered for many years.

Five days before the memorial service, a candlelight vigil for Huston brought more than 100 people to the sidewalk in front of the theaters. They weathered the cold to share their fondest memories of the town stalwart.

The theater’s future is unknown, though Willie Beavers and Marshall Masters of Willows are considering leasing the business from Huston’s family and creditors.

Orland burns: five fires in five months

With five major fires in five months, the Orland Volunteer Fire Department showed the community how well trained its officers and crews are in their response actions.

Firefighters from Hamilton City, Capay, Artois and Cal Fire helped battle the fires.

The first big blaze came in early June in the form of two wildfires that required upwards of 500 evacuations, threatened about 100 homes, destroyed four buildings and other property and required about 150 firefighters to bring them under control. Fueled by high winds, more than 350 acres burned.

Agricultural fires made the top of the list with three. On July 8, the Wackerman Dairy saw six acres go up in flames.

An Aug. 22 fire killed 38 calves and a heifer and destroyed about $400,000  of hay at Martin Poldervaart’s farm. A large storage shed burst into flames was fully engulfed within 15 minutes.

In September, a North Valley Nut Co. warehouse caught fire. Several tons of in-shell almonds went up in flames and burned for several days.

The biggest blow to the Orland community came in October when Orland Hardware burned down. Damage was so severe that the building had to be demolished. People drove by for days, looking at the ruins in disbelief. A new building on the Fifth Street site is expected to open  in the summer.

Corning creamation nets mother-son arrests

The daughter and grandson of a Corning woman  – whose body was burned in the family barbecue pit – were sentenced Dec. 22 to 16 months in prison.

Kathleen Theresa Allmond, 50, and Tony Ray, 30, were arrested Oct. 12.

They pleaded guilty in November to one felony count of grand theft and one misdemeanor count of unlawful cremation.

The duo also was ordered to pay $4,501 in restitution to California Public Employees Retirement System and $17,180 to Social Security.

Authorities said the pair cashed Ramona Yolanda Allmond’s retirement and Social Security checks after the 84-year-old died in December 2007.

Ray and Kathleen Allmond told investigators that Ramona Allmond died of natural causes and they left her on her bedroom floor for about a week before they cremated her in the cement culvert behind their Edith Avenue home in Corning.

The case began in October when the Tehama County Sheriff’s office received a call from Ramona Allmond’s son, who lives in Los Angeles, voicing concern about his mother’s welfare since he had not heard from her since December 2007 and  his sister and nephew had visited him without his mother.

Colusa High ‘Redskins’ mascot issue resolved

The road to replacing Colusa High School’s  mascot was a long one.

After years of controversy about the Indian-themed moniker – considered offensive to Native Americans – Colusa Unified School District board members voted in March to replace it starting in 2010.

In May, after facing about two dozen angry, mostly freshman students in the gymnasium lobby, the school board voted to delay introducing a new symbol until August 2011.

The move ensured that all current Colusa High students would graduate as “Redskins.”

Enthusiasm for the retired school symbol was evident when underclass students sported red and black shirts with Colusa High’s arrow-in-a-C logo, and a handful of girls daubed black war paint-like marks under their eyes.

In October, a 22-member committee proposed three options for grades 7 to 12 and all households in the district to vote on. 

In a Nov. 21 election, current Colusa High students, alumni and district residents voted. With 1,310 ballots submitted, the name “RedHawks” won with 48 percent, beating out “RiverHawks” (33 percent) and “Cougars” (19 percent).

Colusa High School’s new mascot will replace the current moniker starting in the 2011-2012 school year.

“Redskins” symbolized the school’s sports teams for eight decades.

Summer smoke keeps residents indoors

Local, federal and state fire agencies fought multiple wildfires that caused dense smoke and poor air quality in June and July throughout the north state.

A series of powerful thunderstorms rolled across the  region June 21 and 22, sparking hundreds of lightning  fires in the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range.

Most fires burned in the Mendocino and Plumas National forests, but fires in Butte and Tehama counties added to smokey conditions for weeks.

Firefighters from Glenn, Butte, Colusa and Tehama counties responded, along with federal and state crews, to help control and contain the fires.

The heavy smoke and ash sat over the tri-county area through July, prompting air quality advisories. Particulates from the fires were especially dangerous for the elderly, children and the sick, keeping them indoors.

A south wind arrived in late July and blew away most of the smoke,  prompting air-quality advisories to be lifted.

Gang violence plagues Tri-County communities

Gang-related crime  in the tri-counties burdened law enforcement, the courts and local residents with murders, drive-by shootings, fights, drugs and graffiti in 2008.

Starting in the north and going south, Tehama County’s the year-long battle against gang violence began Jan. 18 with a drive-by shooting that resulted in four arrests and four prison sentences.

In February. Norteno gang-member Julio Avila, 22, of Corning, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for fatally shooting   rival gang-member Jason Cordova, 23, of Red Bluff.

Gang violence in Tehama county came to a close with a fight between the Sureno and Norteno gangs on  Dec. 6. Three juveniles received knife wounds. No arrests have been made.

Glenn County also experienced its share of gang-related violence.

In April, Alcadio Guillen, 18, was killed in a parked car in Orland by rival gang members. It resulted in a week-long Orland High School lockdown.

Glenn County prosecutors sought the death penalty in October for gang-member Marco Antonio Topete, 35, of Arbuckle, accused of murdering a Yolo County sheriff’s deputy.

On Dec. 18 and 29, gang members in Willows were arrested for pistol-whipping and robbing a man.

In Colusa County, gang activity was little quieter than in the rest of the region.

Gregory Kevin Wilson Jr., 19,  of Williams was arrested Jan. 24 on suspicion of shooting one man to death and injuring another during a gang brawl in Yuba City.

 A series of drive-by shootings in Williams and Arbuckle netted five arrests in 2008.

Casino-bound bus crash kills 10, injures 30

Ten people died and more than 30 were injured in a  charter-bus crash Oct. 5 in rural Colusa County.

Among the dead was  bus-owner Daniel Cobb, 68, of Sacramento.

The  driver, Quintin J. Watts, was returned to prison for a  parole violation – traveling more than 50 miles from his home without telling his parole officer.

Watts was taken into custody after his Oct. 13 release from Woodland Memorial Hospital, where he was recovering from injuries sustained in the wreck.

Watts was on parole after being released from prison in December on a firearms conviction. In November, he was sentenced to 12 months for

The California Highway Patrol continues to investigate the incident. No charges have been filed.

A recent article in the Sacramento Bee raised questions about the effectiveness of the emergency medical helicopters’ response.

The article said officials are considering adopting a regional air-dispatch system that would direct helicopters during emergencies.

It would take more than a year to be implemented, the article said.

Officers shot in Colusa, Gerber

Two law enforcement officers in the Tri-County area were injured during shoot-outs with crime suspects in 2008.

Colusa sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Troughton was shot and wounded in a July in a gunfight with Richard Carl Marez, who was arrested July 19.

Marez’s grandmother, Helga Marez also was wounded in the fight. She was treated and released from an area hospital. Troughton returned to regular duty a short time after the incident.

Judge John H. Tiernan ruled Sept. 10 that Marez was not mentally fit to stand trial and sent the 25 year-old Colusa man to Napa State Hospital for treatment.

The Colusa District Attorney’s Office said they would keep the case open, so Marez could  be prosecuted later, if he is deemed competent for trial.

A nine-hour police standoff near Gerber ended Dec. 2 with one man dead and a California Highway Patrol officer hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

CHP Officer David Madrigal was shot in the leg during a shootout with 60-year-old James Long.

Madrigal was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, where he was treated. He was released Dec. 9.

Madrigal, 41, was assisting Tehama County sheriff’s deputies with a domestic dispute call.  Long opened fire without warning as officers approached his home in rural Tehama County.

Long was found dead in his home later that day. An autopsy revealed he died from gunshot wounds sustained during the shootout.

Double homicide shakes community

A tragic double homicide on Mother’s Day in Chester rocked the Willows community.

Steven Daniel Furtado, 18, was found slain May 11, along with his girlfriend Jennifer Carrigan, 18.

They were just weeks away from graduating high school and were eager to start their lives, friends said.

The victims were discovered  by Jennifer’s mother, Jodi Carrigan. She also lost her son, Billy later that day in a car accident. A 20-year-old college student, he was traveling from the Bay Area to Chester after hearing the news about his sister.

Within hours of discovering the slain teenagers, Plumas County investigators arrested Carrigan’s former boyfriend, 18-year-old Reyes Carrillo-Garcia and charged him with the murders.

At the Sept. 11 preliminary hearing, Plumas County sheriff Sgt. Gregory Hagwood revealed that a friend of Garcia’s told investigators Garcia threatened Furtado about one month before the victims were found dead.

Furtado was remembered by friends and family as a  caring, generous, loving young man.

He was an active Boy Scout, achieving the organization’s top honor of Eagle Scout in December  2007.

Carrillo-Garcia is set to appear Feb. 13 in Plumas County Superior Court for a hearing.

Bad time with birds results in action

For three years, thousands of migrating egrets and herons have made their messy, noisy summer home in Willows’ tiny downtown park.

Neighbors endure the stench from bird droppings that choke the trees and grass, which also gets peppered with half-eaten fish, cracked egg shells and dead fledglings.

The clean up is expensive. The Glenn County Public Works Department collected 1,262 bird corpses in 2008, spending about $4,000 in labor and other  costs. The City of Willows also forked out about $6,000 in labor costs associated with the birds.

Willows and Glenn County administrators agreed in September  to co-fund a large bird-harassment operation with an arsenal that included cracker-shell noisemakers, racket bombs, pyrotechnics, propane cannons, paint-ball guns and slingshots.

Nonevasive techniques – such as placing Christmas or strobe lights in the park – were tried first.

Plans called for major tree pruning operations starting in early December. City work crews thinned tree tops, removed nests and cleaned the benches and sidewalks.

The second phase of the plan – noise harassment – will begin in the spring.