A Redding school has chosen to bring its kids indoors as a precautionary move as police look for a wanted man. The Monarch Learning Center brought the kids in after talking to the Redding Police Department about a wanted subject.

School officials say classes will run as normal, but will keep the kids indoors as long as police are still searching for the wanted man.

It was not a mandatory lockdown. It was more of a precautionary move for the students' safety. Police were not able to provide a description of the man they were searching for.

Modoc County officials are being accused of breaking the law. No one has been accused of stealing anything or using public money for personal gain, but KRCR News Channel 7 has learned officials may have taken a short term loan from the school district to pay some county bills, and that is against the law.

It all comes down to what might be considered improper accounting. In addition to taking care of its own money, the Modoc County treasury acts as a bank of sorts for the county's school district.

Much like your bank cannot spend your money on its bills, the county cannot spend school district money on the county's bills. It is against the law. School officials say that is exactly what happened.

On paper, Modoc County has more than $11 million at its fingertips, but there is a catch. Nearly all of its money, 94% of it, is funding for schools and special districts.

As we mentioned, by law, that money cannot be used for anything else. If you do the math, that leaves just over $700,000 to fund hundreds of county departments and pay its employees.

We learned county officials found themselves with a cash flow problem and apparently began using funds designated for the schools to cover other costs. All in all, school officials say the county borrowed some $300,000.

All the money is now back where it belongs. But while school district officials and others are saying it definitely happened, others have decided to take a less direct approach to the questions we have posed about money management.

Modoc County Superintendent Gary Jones is not happy. He says $300,000 of school money was used like an interest-free short term loan by the county. Jones says that school officials did not even find out about it until a Board of Supervisors meeting in June.

Patricia Cantrall, the Chairman of the Board, did not know how the error occurred, but says that there nothing that can be done know. All of the money is back in its right place.

We could not get a hold of the county Auditor, so we went to see the Treasurer instead. Cheryl Knock declined to comment and directed us to the County's Chief Administrative Officer Mark Charlton.

He told us the county's treasury was used a lot more like a communal piggy bank than separate, protected accounts. He says that not everyone was watching the funds that they were dipping into. He also said he was not sure if they dipped into the school’s funds, but they did get close.

To make sure schools are never impacted by the county's budget problems, officials have moved all school funds to a separate account. The school district has been assured from the Board of Supervisors, the Treasurer, and the CAO that school funds will not be tapped into.

Under this plan, all school money should be separate from county money by June of 2010.

We asked, and no one in Modoc County has been disciplined over this alleged misuse of restricted funding.

As the City of Red Bluff considers a permanent ban on marijuana collectives and dispensaries, along with the possibility of home grows, they are not alone in the State of California.

Cities and counties across the state are approaching the subject in different ways. For an article that outlines the possible future of marijuana in California click here.

In Los Angeles County, a judge recently sided with collective operators after the county attempted to shut down hundreds of the stores. To view an article on that situation, click here.

The following is a list of bills that are currently being considered:

• Assembly Bill 390: Introduced in February by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, it would legalize marijuana cultivation, sales, possession and use by people 21 and older, regulating it somewhat like alcohol. A license to grow for sale would cost $5,000 to start and then $2,500 to renew each year, and a $50-per-ounce tax would be placed on retail sales. Ammiano said he hopes this would bring upward of $1.4 billion per year for drug abuse prevention efforts. No taxation would occur unless the federal marijuana ban is lifted; otherwise, the bill's only effect would be legalization of personal cultivation and use. Ammiano held the bill in committee this year, and is now rewriting it to put it forth again in January.
• The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010: Proposed by Oakland marijuana activists Richard Lee and Jeff Jones, it would legalize personal possession of up to an ounce of cannabis and up to 25 square feet of cultivation per home. It also would give local governments the option of whether to permit, regulate and tax commercial sales, a system akin to show alcohol is or isn't sold in "wet" and "dry" counties in some states. This seems to be the measure to watch; the proponents say their petition drive is surging, and its endorsements include that of Oakland mayoral candidate and former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. For details, go to www.taxcannabis2010.org.
• The Tax, Regulate and Control Cannabis Act of 2010: Advanced by proponents Joe Rogoway, Omar Figueroa and James Clark, all of San Francisco, it would legalize personal cultivation and use without limits, but would require -- not just allow -- state and local governments to regulate and tax commercial marijuana cultivation and sales. Tax revenues would have to be spent on education, health care, environmental programs, public works and state parks. For details, go to www.californiacannabisinitiative.org.
• The Common Sense Act of 2010: Advanced by proponent John Donohue, of Long Beach, it would require the Legislature to adopt laws regulating and taxing marijuana within one year, but would let local governments choose whether to also tax marijuana's cultivation, sale, and use. For details, go to www.grasstax.org.

Shasta County has scheduled several free H1N1 swine flu vaccine clinics for the next two Saturdays, according to a press release from Shasta County Health and Human Services sent Tuesday morning.

Vaccines in shot and nasal spray form will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for children six months to eighteen years old on Saturday November 7 at Enterprise High School, West Valley High School and Burney High School.

They'll be available for preschool students only at Monte Vista School, also on Saturday November 7 from 10 to 4.

Finally, on Saturday November 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., vaccines will be available for children six months to eighteen years old at Shasta High School, Central Valley High School and Anderson High School.

Children nine years old and younger will need a second dose of the vaccine three to four weeks after receiving the first dose.

An apparent family feud has an Oroville woman hospitalized with a stab wound to her arm.
It happened at a home on Laverne Lane in Happy Valley just before eight on Monday night.

Shasta County Sheriff's Deputies say the victim is 41 year old Rebecca Howdy.
They say she had been visiting her family since Halloween.

An argument with 46 year old Ralph Johnson, who lives nearby, led to him allegedly stab Howdy.
It's not known how bad her wound is.

Deputies say the Howdy and Johnson families have been having an on-going dispute for years.
They don't think Rebecca Howdy and Ralph Johnson actually knew each other.
Johnson is in jail charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Tensions are high in the City of Red Bluff. A City Council meeting could bring an overall ban on medical marijuana. This is not a moratorium on collectives.

The City of Red Bluff is trying to pass a zoning ordinance that will ban collectives and cooperatives, as well as outlaw growing any medical marijuana.

This does not sit well with the Blue Toad Collective off of Main Street in Red Bluff. They opened up shop just last month and have around 30 patients.

They say California's Compassionate Use Act, or Prop 215, gives them the right to be in Tehama County, and overrules any regulations City officials could implement.

The Red Bluff Chief of Police says some collectives are using Prop 215 to break the law by calling themselves a nonprofit, while turning a profit.

If it passes Tuesday night, collectives and cooperatives could be shut down, and growing medical marijuana will no longer be allowed inside city limits.

The Santa Rosa man who fell up to 2,000 feet while climbing Mount Shasta is recovering at home. Julian Lopez and a friend started climbing Mount Shasta just before sunset on Saturday.

At about 10 at night, deputies say Lopez slipped and fell down the mountain. His helmet shattered and he said that he could not move his legs.

His cell phone lost power after making a few calls, so the men camped out for the night. He was air lifted Sunday to Mercy Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

Law enforcement in Chico anticipated a busy Halloween this weekend, and they were not disappointed.

Between Thursday and Sunday, over 140 people were arrested, including 59 on Halloween night. More than 40 people were also arrested for public intoxication.

Police say things got violent in the north campus area, with a drive by shooting on Rancheria drive. That victim is expected to recover.

There was also a non-life threatening stabbing on West Second Street that is believed to be gang-related.

Children in Butte County will soon have the chance to be vaccinated against swine flu at school.

During the month of November, the Public Health Department will hold 14 vaccination clinics in each of Butte County's school districts, including charter and private schools.

Over 5,500 doses of the nasal spray vaccine will be available. There will be some doses of the shot available for those students who cannot receive the nasal spray. For more information about the H1N1 vaccine clinics, contact your school district.

Unions representing registered nurses working at Mercy Medical Center and 32 other facilities in California and Nevada have reached a contract agreement with employer Catholic Healthcare West, according to a union press release.

The Catholic Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Commitee represent some 13,000 registered nurses. They threatened a strike last month over working conditions related to the spread of the H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic, but called it off to continue negotiations.

According to the unions, the contract resolves the problem by creating an emergency pandemic task force that mobilizes when a disease is declared a pandemic by the Centers for Disease Control.

It will also require the hospitals to follow all relevant local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations; provide nurses with protective equipment like resperatory masks; and train nurses about any infectious disease pandemic to which they could be exposed.

We have not yet reached Catholic Healthcare West for comment.

Veteran's Day is right around the corner. The Shasta Lake Lions are getting ready, armed with cleaners and elbow grease. Volunteers spruced up the Veterans Memorial on Shasta Dam Boulevard just in time for a parade on Saturday, November 7.
The event kicks off with a pancake breakfast from 6 to 10 a.m. at the City of Shasta Lake fire hall. Dozens of people will carry a 30- by 60-foot American flag about 1.5 miles down Shasta Dam Boulevard. Then, a massive military cargo plan called a C 17 will fly over the city at about 10:10 a.m.
"Everybody here pulls together," said Elmer Ellsworth, president of the Shasta Lake Lions. "It's the largest in the state north of Fresno, second largest in California."
The Lions Club is looking for nearly four dozen people to carry the big flag during the parade.
If you're interested, you can show up for a trial run tomorrow at Central Valley High's football field at 5pm on Monday.

Open burn season runs from Sunday, to the end of the month. So before you break out the lighter, remember to pick up a permit first. You can buy one online, or over the phone by calling the Redding Fire Department. You can also buy them the good old-fashioned way, by stopping at the permit center in city hall. The permits cost $8. If you don't jump on the opportunity this month, you can't burn in the City of Redding until April.

A Santa Rosa man is recovering at Mercy Medical Center after he fell as far as two thousand feet, while climbing Mount Shasta. That's nearly a half a mile. He was air lifted off the mountain this morning. Julian Lopez and a buddy set up camp at Lake Helen, and started climbing Mount Shasta, just before sunset last night. At about 10pm, deputies say Lopez slipped and fell down the mountain. His helmet shattered and he couldn't move his legs. His cell phone lost power after making a few calls, so the men camped out for the night. He's being treated for serious injuries.

A local medical marijuana collective is in the limelight, but it's not for what you think. City of Shasta Lake collective, 530 Collective, located on Locust Avenue, is kicking off the giving season with a canned food drive.
Both members and non-members can donate. Members who chip in will get a discount on their medicine. The collective's founders said non-members will get a chance to learn about how the collective operates. They say the want to be as transparent as possible, and that's why they're inviting the public to ask questions while donating their canned goods. They say they hope to dispel negative stereotypes while serving a community need.
All of the food will be donated to the Shasta Lake Community Food Pantry. The director of the food pantry, Ray Siner, said he's uncomfortable with medical marijuana collectives, but the community needs the food badly. He can't imagine turning down donations when so many City of Shasta Lake residents are going hungry.
The food drive will run from Nov. 1 to Nov. 24.

It's every parent’s worst nightmare. A 14 year old boy is hit by a car on Halloween night. Redding Police say the boy was with a group of kids in the middle of the street. Police say he dashed in front of a moving car. This happened at 9:30 pm near Victor Avenue and Vega Street. When emergency crews arrived, the boy was coherent. But witnesses say he was unconscious for a time. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center and and police say he's suffering from some broken bones.

Chico and Red Bluff turned their Main Streets into treat streets today for Halloween. The annual tradition let's stores pass out candy to children coming in for early trick or treating. Store workers said today, "was a great day to work" and called the event, "wonderful." In Redding, families with children 12 and under can go to the Mt. Shasta Mall tonight from 5:30 to 8 for their store to store trick or treating and costume contest event.

The Shasta County parole and probation department will be doing sweeps tonight to check in on registered sex offenders. Offenders are supposed to have their porch lights off through the night, a sign to parents and children to pass by their house when trick or treating. We'll have video of this year's Operation Boo tonight at 11.

The halloween weekend has already gotten off to a busy start for Redding Police. They spent the evening looking for a man who ran from them after he was stopped near Hartnell Avenue around 8:00 Friday evening. Officers combed the area, but weren't able to find the guy. The search was cancelled a few hours ago. Officials tell us there's no reason to be concerned. They have his name and say they'll have the District Attorney's office file charges.

Rumors have been swirling that people who are not in the H1N1 target group have been getting the vaccinations. We did some fact checking and found out that is just not true.

Officials across the Northstate tell us only the most vulnerable people are getting vaccinated.

Here is a break down of those groups:

• Pregnant women.
• Kids under the age of 9.
• Caregivers for babies under the age of 6 months.

Shasta County Public Health held its first H1N1 clinic Friday afternoon. It was by appointment only.

If you have not made an appointment yet, do not worry. Shasta County officials are holding a walk-in clinic during the first two weeks of November.

In addition to the target groups, kids between the ages of 6 months-18 years are eligible. Details on the clinics have not been set yet, but we will let you know the locations and times as soon as we get them.

Enloe Medical Center in Chico is gearing up for the Halloween weekend. Officials tell us they are expecting an increase in alcohol and drug related problems.

In response to the increased workload, they will keep their PromptCare Clinic on Cohasset Road open a few extra hours, until midnight on Saturday. They will also open a command center and have extra staff on hand to respond to any emergencies.

Three Chico State students are doing fine after a fire at their home claimed the life of their dog. The fire, which produced a great deal of smoke but very few flames, broke out just after 8 Thursday night at a home on Alba Avenue in Chico.

The tenants were not home at the time of the blaze, which trapped "Mocha," a shepherd-Rottweiler mix, inside. None of the people living in the home were insured.

The cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in one of the bedrooms, is still under investigation.

Halloween is this weekend and AAA is offering free rides to any one who drinks too much. Their Tipsy Tow program will be available Saturday night through Sunday morning.

All you have to do is call up AAA at 1-800-222-4357. They will tow your car up to five miles for free, along with you and your passengers. You do not need to be a AAA member.

Halloween festivities are underway, and if you are looking for some fun, Tehama County might just be the place to be. Los Molinos has three carnivals set up for Saturday.

No event is complete without a pumpkin carving contest, not to mention costume contests. But let's get to the bottom line here: candy is one of the main reasons for the holiday.

We caught up with organizers on Friday. They are welcoming all the ghosts and goblins in the Northstate, and they say this is a fun and safe alternative to roaming the streets.

The first carnival will be from 1-4 PM at Los Molinos Elementary. Tickets are five dollars.

Vina's Halloween Carnival is from 6-8 PM at Vina Elementary. That is also five bucks.

Lassen View School will host a carnival from 5-8 PM. It is free to get in, but tickets are 10 cents each.

A woman from Trinity County has died of the swine flu, county health officials announced.

She was in her late 40s, and had a pre-existing health condition. She died in a Sacramento hospital.

Her death is the first swine flu death linked to the county.

Nasal spray vaccines are still available in Trinity County by appointment, but vaccine shots have yet to arrive.

Are you afraid to go back to the library because of an overdue book? Well don't be, because the Shasta County Library is starting a new program to try and get those overdue books back.

It is called fines for food. If you have an overdue book, you can get a dollar off your fine for each food item you bring in. The reward is threefold: it brings people back to the library; the library gets their books back; and it helps out needy people in the community at the same time.

The program begins the 1st of November and runs through the 21st. Food donations will be capped at 10 items or 10 dollars. Donations will be accepted at all three Shasta County libraries. Of course, food items will be accepted even if you do not have an overdue book.