The search is over for a rape suspect in Willows. Thomas Adam Fred was taken into custody on the Grindstone Reservation.

He's accused of attacking a woman inside her home on Sycamore Street in Willows earlier this month.

Fred was booked into the Glenn County jail. His bond was set at $300,000.

A 60-year-old woman has become Shasta County's first confirmed death from the H1N1 Swine Flu. Officials tell us the woman had pre-existing health conditions.

The woman died in late October, but recent lab tests revealed her death is connected to the flu.

So far, her name has not been released.

A big rig truck that crashed on Highway 299 just west of Junction City Monday morning spilled 70 gallons of diesel fuel onto the roadway, a CHP officer reported.

That diesel also spilled into a drainage ditch, but probably not all the way into the river, he said.

The CHP contracted with a company to clean up the spill later Monday.

The crash happened just before 5 a.m. Monday. A big rig driving west near the 41.7 mile mark was forced off the road by a second truck going the opposite direction.

The truck crashed into a rock wall alongside the road, spilling debris and rocks into the road before coming to rest in the westbound lane against an embankment.

No one was injured in the crash.

It was the second big rig crash in under 12 hours in the region. It followed a crash on I-5 outside Redding around 8 p.m. Sunday.

A collision caused a tangled mess on Lake Boulevard at around 5 pm and Redding Police say alcohol may have played a part.
Authorities say the driver of a white jeep was turning left onto southbound Interstate 5 from Lake Boulevard. That's when a car came barreling through the intersection on a red light. The passengers inside the second car were rushed to Mercy Medical Center. We're told some of those were kids. A sergeant on scene told KRCR that the driver admitted he'd been drinking. The driver and passengers inside the white jeep were not hurt.

Highway Patrol was on the scene in Shasta County, after a big rig toppled over. The rollover happened at around 8 pm in Redding, snarling traffic on Interstate 5. Officials say the driver was traveling northbound when she drifted off the road, less than a mile from the Twin View Exit. Officials say she was taken to Mercy Medical Center before they had a chance to speak with her. Her condition is unknown.

Lassen Medical Group H1N1 Flu Vaccine Clinic

Wednesday 5-8 pm
Cottonwood and Red Bluff

Thursday 5-8 pm
Red Bluff

Saturday 9-3 pm
Cottonwood and Red Bluff

Red Bluff Location:
2450 Sister Mary Columba Drive
Red Bluff, CA 96080

Cottonwood Location:
20833 Long Branch Drive
Cottonwood, CA 96022

NSCIF Website:
http://www.cifns.org/playoff/archive/2009-2010/Volleyball/

NSCIF Website:
http://www.cifns.org/playoff/archive/2009-2010/Football/

A Red Bluff mother is facing charges for allegedly putting a marijuana pipe in her 2-year old daughter's mouth and taking a picture of it.

19-year old Mindi Crow was taken into custody Thursday after someone gave police a photo of Crow holding the pipe in her child's mouth.

Crow's two children are now in protective custody.

The heated debate swirling around medical marijuana continues. On Tuesday, the City of Red Bluff passed ordinances against medical marijuana, including banning all collectives, co-ops and dispensaries.

On Thursday, the Blue Toad Inc. collective told us they were going to fight the ban and keep their doors open.

we checked with Red Bluff Police Friday morning, who told us they were going to visit the collective and cite them for going against the ban. But on Friday, there was no marijuana in the building, so no citation was given.

As it turns out, just one day after telling us they were staying open, the Blue Toad Collective in Red Bluff has decided to shut down.

They say it was a hard decision to make, but they could not handle their landlord getting fined because of their fight.

The collective was open for less than a month. Owners spoke their minds at Tuesday’s city Council meeting, and they say they feel good about that. But for now, the doors will stay closed.

However, the founders say that does not mean they will stay silent.

Swine flu concerns are now affecting the way people worship. When Catholics go to church starting this weekend, there will be no common cup to share.

The bishop for the Northstate area has asked all pastors to discontinue using the cup until the threat of flu passes. Only communion wafers will be distributed. The ban is not primarily because of the contents of the cup, but the handling of it.

Worshippers have also been asked to refrain from touching one another during the greeting of peace to cut down on spreading those germs.

A City of Shasta Lake teen is still nursing second-degree burns after his friend accidentally set him on fire. 17-year old Jordan Salinas’ stomach and right-hand were badly burnt in Sunday's accident.

According to him, it happened when one of his friends was squirting lighter fluid on some plants. The friend turned and accidentally doused him with lighter fluid.

At the same time, Jordan was lighting a cigarette, which immediately caught him on fire. Despite his injuries, Jordan says he forgives his friend for what happened.

Authorities in the City of Shasta Lake say the young man with the lighter fluid was issued a citation. The case has been turned over to juvenile probation.

Police arrested three people on Orange Street in Redding Thursday afternoon after what police called a drug deal gone bad.

According to police, Fred Urban, Thomas Dannacker and Benjamin Dannacker hit 25-year-old Spencer Powell of Montana with a wooden board.

All three suspects will face assault charges.

Powell was treated for his injuries.

Reed's Creek School in Red Bluff will be hosting a fundraiser Friday night in honor of the boy who died after a rock wall collapsed in Lassen National Park.

Tommy Botell was on a hike with his family when he died.

The Reed's Creek Family Entertainment night will include an event that supports the Tommy Botell Memorial Fund, which supports boy scouts.

The event will begin at seven.

A state of emergency has been declared for Modoc County because of what officials are calling a “fiscal crisis.” According to the resolution, written by Modoc County’s Undersheriff, the county has not been meeting its obligations to creditors in a timely manner and will be forced to reduce essential services. The Board of Supervisors is holding a meeting Friday at 9AM. KRCR spoke to a few of the supervisors tonight, but they were not able to provide any more details and weren’t sure what, if any actions, would be taken at the meeting.

A Butte County man was beaten and tied up at a park in Forbestown early Thursday morning according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Department. The victim, 37 year old Rigoberto Lopez, is now in critical condition at Enloe Medical Center. One of the suspects, 25 year old Joseph Baker, was arrested on Thursday and charged with attempted murder and kidnapping. His bail is set at $1,050,000. Authorities say they are still investigating the motive and other people could be involved. They also told KRCR that the crime could be drug related.

Just two days after the Red Bluff City Council voted to ban all medicinal marijuana collectives, co-ops and dispensaries, one group says that they are not going away. It is called the Blue Toad Inc. on Hickory Street.

At first, the founders told us they were going to follow the new ordinance. That is until they saw our story about the impact it would have on medical marijuana patients, including a woman we told you about Wednesday night with multiple sclerosis.

The co-founders say they will take on City Hall and will face the consequences. They plan to stack up the citations and stay open for those who need the cannabis, until things are resolved in court.

On Thursday, they were open for business despite a City ban. They say they have already received eight citations, which already totals thousands of dollars. They are ready for more.

They closed their doors after the City Council approved a ban on medical marijuana collectives, co-ops and dispensaries, but they changed their minds.

They will sit and wait to see if the ban gets overturned. As for the fines? They say they are already far in the hole because of attorney fees, so they are not going to quit.

Police say the Blue Toad's previous citations were for operating without a permit. The founders says the city has repeatedly rejected their application.

This week our KRCR News Channel 7 team has been getting to the bottom of the new Red Bluff ban on medicinal marijuana. Collectives, co-ops, and grows were all zoned out of the city limits.

Red Bluff is not the only Northstate area taking a hard look at the role of medicinal marijuana in the community. A food pantry in Shasta Lake City is switching its stance on canned food donated by a local medicinal cannabis collective.

The need has never been higher for food in the City of Shasta Lake. But their community pantry leader is putting his beliefs over the people's needs, praying it pays off at Thanksgiving.

Just last weekend, we reported that the 530 Collective had agreed to donate canned foods to the Shasta Lake Community Food Pantry. They would accept donations from members of the collective and then donate it to the pantry at Thanksgiving.

Just four days later, the Director of the food pantry Ray Siner says he has had a change of heart and decided he could not in good faith accept any donations from the medical marijuana collective. He told us his Christian beliefs played a big role in his decisions.

He said, “It would help. I'll admit that, but I believe that the need will be met anyway, just like it has for the last four or five years [that] I've been running it out there.”

The Shasta Lake Community Food Pantry serves 180 families every month and had told us donations are down.

The 530 Collective says they will continue to accept donations. They are hoping to find a food pantry or group willing to work with them.

A Tehama County man admits his guilt in shooting his dad to death in the back. 44-year old William Baymiller was scheduled to begin his trial on Tuesday, but he struck a plea deal before his trial began.

He pled guilty to second degree murder, instead of facing first degree murder charges at trial. Baymiller shot his 89-year old father in the back in September of 2008.

Prosecutors say there were some questions about the mental state of Baymiller. The reported reason he shot his father was because he believed his dad was working with Muslims to ruin his life.

The judge in the case approved evidence the prosecution gathered to validate his mental competency. He will be sentenced at the end of November, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.

An unidentified pedestrian was hit by a Washington State man driving a Ford Focus at Lake Boulevard and Black Marble Drive in Redding Wednesday night.

The pedestrian was seriously injured. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center where he eventually died.

Redding Police and the Shasta County Coroner's Office are working on identifying the victim. According to a police department press release, he was approximately 40 years old with brown hair. He was about six feet tall and weighed 200 pounds.

The driver was Andy Wangstad, 62, of Kent, Washington. Police say he was driving through the intersection on a green light and couldn't stop in time to avoid the collision.

Caltrans will break ground on the replacement to the Antlers Bridge across Lake Shasta Thursday afternoon.

According to a Caltrans press release, it's the largest transportation project ever undertaken in their far northern California district.

The groundbreaking will be at the Antlers Boat Ramp in Lakehead, at 2 p.m. Thursday.

The bridge will be built over five years, and will eventually be 1,942 feet long and 104 feet wide. It will be parallel to the existing bridge.

The Antlers bridge currently carries I-5 traffic across the lake.

The construction will be done by the Los Angeles-based Tutor Saliba Corporation. Their cost estimate for the project comes to $125 million, about half of what officials once predicted.

Family and friends are remembering a well-known northstate coach and educator.

In the gymnasium that bears his name at Shasta Lake School, James "Jim" Teel's life was celebrated Wednesday night.

At times in his life, Teel was a teacher, coach, referee and Vice-Principal of Shasta Lake School.
At that time it was known as Central Valley Intermediate.

Teel also worked at Shasta Dam as a tour guide in the summer.

Jim passed away last week.
A Navy veteran, Teel will be buried at the Veterans Cemetery in Igo.

There is a new ban on marijuana in Red Bluff. It is a very complex and complicated issue. We will start with the new regulations approved by the Red Bluff City Council Tuesday night.

The council actually approved two ordinances on medicinal marijuana. The first, called ordinance 1000, prohibits growing medical marijuana inside city limits. That includes all home grows. That ordinance will not go into effect until 45 days after Tuesday’s approval.

Red Bluff's Police Chief tells us it is because the ordinance will not be official until the council makes a final vote on it, which will be November 17th. After that, there is a 30-day waiting period before officials can start enforcing it.

The second ordinance, called ordinance 1003, prohibits any marijuana collectives, dispensaries, and cooperatives from operating within city limits. That was an emergency ordinance and went into effect immediately following Tuesday night's vote.

If officials do find a dispensary, collective or co-op open in Red Bluff, they can cite the owners and landlords for breaking the law.

Why did the City Council approve the ban? That was the question many people were asking Tuesday night after council members approved the new ordinances.

City Council members we spoke with say that Tuesday night's vote was not personal; they were just doing what the people told them to.

Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Jeffery Moyer says he respects the California voters who passed Prop 215 13 years ago. He said Tuesday night's ordinance was not about the right to use medicinal marijuana, but was more about whether Red Bluff wanted to be associated with it.

Councilman Moyer says city officials in Red Bluff have been opposed to medical marijuana collectives for a while now, and the new ordinance simply lays out in black and white that medicinal marijuana collectives, dispensaries, co-ops and grows are not permitted in the City.

A Red Bluff City Councilman was put under citizen’s arrest after he allegedly poked a collective owner in the chest during a break in Tuesday night's meeting. It reportedly happened during a heated exchange between Councilman James Byrne, and the founder of Tehama Herbal Collective in Corning: Ken Prather.

Prather says the incident happened during a break in the meeting in a crowded hallway. He says he could not believe the City Councilman's behavior. Prather says Byrne was dozing off while he was addressing the council. Prather then told the councilman to wake up.

According to Prather, he says he tried to apologize to Byrne during the break. But he says the city councilman got in his face and started poking his finger into Prather's chest and yelling expletives.

At the end of the meeting, Byrne was issued a citation for misdemeanor battery. We tried to contact the councilman several times to get his side of the story, but his wife told us they had no comment. The case will be forwarded to the District Attorney's office for review.

It took them into the wee hours of Wednesday morning and several decades, but lawmakers have finally agreed on a bill to help fix the State water problem. Governor Schwarzenegger plans to sign it, calling it an historic achievement.

The proverbial leaky pipe that is the State's current water system may be getting a much needed and expensive repair.

The $11 billion bond was passed in the Senate Wednesday morning. It includes five separate bills and aims to balance the growing demand for water, while preserving the environment.

The bill includes $3 billion to build two dams in northern California, and $2 billion in ecosystem restoration in the Delta. It also includes more groundwater monitoring and the creation of a seven-member Delta oversight council to develop a long range management plan, including a canal.

Some are praising the bill, but others say it does not do enough to protect the Northstate's water rights. Assemblyman Dan Logue said, “A lot of that money goes towards peripheral canal approval. That's a major problem, because once the peripheral canal is built, the south can get as much water from the north as they'll ever want to get, and that's the thing we need to protect.”

There is also a conservation component that will require urban areas to reduce water use by 20% by 2020.

The bill is not a done deal. The bond would still have to be approved by voters a year from now.