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PUS D
sued
Delaine Fragnoli
Managing Editor
dfragnoli@plumasnews.com
J.C. Eaglesmith, a teacher
at the Plumas County Com-
munity School and former
Quincy High School basket-
ball coach, has filed suit in
federal court against Plumas
Unified School District
(PUSD) and Plumas County
Office of Education (PCOE)
and a number of administra-
tors alleging he was discrimi-
nated against, harassed and
retaliated against because of
his race, national origin and
exercise of First Amendment
and other protected rights.
Eaglesmith is joined in the
suit by his wife Ramona
Eaglesmith; son Justus
Eaglesmith; and Quincy High
School (QHS) staff members
Eileen Cox and Bruce Barnes.
The suit names Jeff Ray,
QHS vice principal; Sue
Segura, QHS principal; Bruce
Williams, assistant superin-
tendent/personnel director
and human resources officer;
Terry Oestreich, program
director for alternative edu-
cation; Tori Willits, principal
of Taylorsville Elementary
School and director of special
See PUSD, page 4A
Vol. 81, No. 13 • Feather Publish
INC. SMALL TOWN PAPERS
L{17 WEST CUTA TREE[
BHEL FON WA 9584-226,$
,%
Ranch protected
'le and all of the Indian Valley Area
y, Feb. 16, 2011
The Feather River Land Trust has reached an agreement with the Pearce family to preserve the Pearce Ranch, one of the
county's oldest working family ranches, through a conservation easement on the property allowing wildlife and the ranching
way of life to be protected for future generations. For the complete story, see page 15B. Photo by Susy Pearce/courtesy Feather
River Land Trust
50¢
Cunan
wins
Delaine Fragnoli
Managing Editor
dfragnoli@plumasnews.com
Plumas County Superior
Court has thrown out Plumas
County's lawsuit against for-
mer District Attorney Jeff
Cunan.
Cunan had filed a demurrer
with the court. A demurrer
challenges the legal adequacy
of a suit. A judge can deny the
demurrer, in which instance
the case proceeds. The
demurrer can be granted
with a leave to amend; in oth-
er words, the party making
the claim gets a do-over.
Or, the judge can grant the
demurrer without leave to
amend.
In a ruling dated Jan. 28,
visiting Judge of the Superior
Court Ersel Edwards granted
Cunan's demurrer. The county
did not request the right to
amend its complaint in the
event the demurrer was sus-
tained. Even if it had, Edwards
wrote, "The Court does not see
any reasonable possibility
that County could amend
its complaint ... to cure the
identified defects."
The ruling followed oral
arguments Jan. 10.
Edwards ruled, among
See Cunan, page 4A
Supervisors postponedecision on town hall
Joshua Sebold
Staff Writer
jsebold@umasnews,com
The Plumas County Board
of Supervisors recently post-
poned its decision on whether
the Mental Health Depart-
ment should move its Green-
ville office into the town hall.
This decision allows Super-
visor Robert Meacher more
time to speak with the public
and explore other options.
Mental Health Director
John Sebold brought the top-
ic before the board at a meet-
ing Tuesday, Feb. 8.
"We have no intention of
misplacing anyone in this
process in any way that hurts
the community," Sebold began.
"On the other hand, we
really struggle to find appro-
priate sites in Greenville.
We've had a number of sites.
We've had problems with all
of them. We were hoping
when this concept came
about, the town hall might of-
fer stability, ADA access, safe
working environment, well
located in the community."
He explained the county
would actually save money if
his department moved into
the building, but the public
reaction to the idea hadn't
been ecstatic.
"We ran into .some resis-
tance from the community.
The chamber had concerns
that it might interfere with
the crab feed. The fire depart-
merit had concerns. There's
probably other concerns that
I'm unaware of. Really the
thing to weigh out here is the
cost/benefit piece of this and
I feel like I'm really in the
least adequate position to
make those judgments."
Sebold indicated Meacher
and director of facilities Joe
Wilson were in better posi-
tions to see what was best for
the community as a whole.
In terms of his department,
he said a rejection of this plan
"certainly is going to create
challenges for us in terms of
creating a new site and con-
tinuing services in the same
way we are now. We're going
to do our very best for
Greenville to see that people
get Mental Health services re-
gardless of where this deci-
sion making process goes."
Meacher commented that
the rest of the board should
be made aware of the under-
lying situation causing the
department to look for a new
office location.
Sebold explained he had a
five-year lease with the
Indian Valley Community
Services District, sharing
space with several entities in
a Plumas Unified School
District (PUSD) building.
He said several of the
groups involved in that deal
dropped out after three years.
He said PUSD was being
"very gracious" in providing
a new lease agreement for the
moment but in the long run
the district would be reexam-
ining the use of its buildings
and this situation was less
than ideal for both entities
involved.
In a short interview, the di-
rector explained the boiler
system in the building could
only be used to heat the
whole structure and couldn't
be set to just heat the area his
department occupied, mean-
ing that with the other orga-
nizations moving out he
would have to pay the entire
$1,000-per-month heating bill
during the winter.
Back at the meeting,
Meacher said the health
department built an office
and an exam room in the
town hall when it was a
senior nutrition site.
He added that those facili-
ties were too small for the
mental health department's
needs and didn't provide con-
fidentiality for those waiting
for appointments.
Meacher said the county
general fund currently con-
tributes $13,000 to the build-
ing because concessions can't
cover its operating cost.
He indicated that number
would be cut in half by
additional rert revenue if
Sebold's department moved
in.
The supervisor said he
would be interested to hear if
the local chamber or other
groups would be willing to
contribute that same amount
to keep things as they were.
Meacher told his fellow
board members the town hall
was a constant source of con-
tention.
He said people complained
when senior nutrition moved
into the building, claiming
old people had "taken over
the hall," even though the
health department put in a
new kitchen and improved
the lighting and bathrooms.
He mentioned that people
also complained when senior
nutrition got its own building
and moved out.
The supervisor said some
locals told him the hall would
be used more if he knew how
to properly market it to com-
munity groups.
Meacher concluded by say-
ing the county should review
the financials of all the town
halls in the county, as they
all routinely lost money.
Sebold said he didn't have
an issue with giving the
supervisors more time to
reach a decision, but there
were limits because of the
uncertainty related to the
state budget.
"I can leverage money
right now and I can probably
do that for maybe 60 days or
so, but when we start getting
out beyond that my ability to
come in with money on this
project is going to shift."
Meacher responded that he
felt a resolution could be
reached by the end of March.
Graeagle Supervisor Jon
Kennedy asked how man:¢ con-
cessions would be lost from
community events limited by
the department moving in.
Wilson told him he didn't
anticipate losing any, as none
of the usual large community
events should be disrupted.
Sebold added that the state
funding formula for his de-
partment would compensate
the county for 30 percent of
the building's operating
costs, while the department
would only be occupying 10
percent of the building.
Disclosure: Reporter Josh
Sebold is the son of Mental
Health Director John Sebold.
Crackin' good time
Tables were jam packed, mostly by people in bibs, during the annual sell-out event featur-
ing crab flown in from Astoria, Ore. For more photos, see page 5A. Photo by Alicia Knadler
Outcry over limited access
M. Kate West impressive. The last time I Every forest has a travel
Chester Edit0r spoke to a crowd of this management plan. Each goes
chesternews@plumasnews.com size it was on the topic of through a public process like
waste management," said that conducted on the Lassen
The Almanor Basin Tea Perreault. National Forest. The public
Party Patriots hosted the first He then explained how the was involved, comments
of three planned public educa- process works within the were taken and the plan was
tion meetings Tuesday, Feb. 8, United States Forest Service completed.
in the Chester Memorial and introduced the 30-page When it comes to feedback
Hall and filled the room to document that discusses the to national rules Perreault
.capacity. proposed parameters and said, "In this process, 80 per-
The choice of topic was the restrictions, cent of comments are made
Plumas National Forest He also talked about the re- by e-mail. After they were
Travel Management Plan, lationship between Plumas categorized and summarized
which obviously struck a County and the Plumas it was learned that 18 county
serious nerve with local National Forest and said, and municipal governments
off-road and snowmobile en- "It's important to remember made comments on this
thusiasts, law enforcement, we are partners and joined at nationalrule.
government officials from the hip."
four counties and representa- "In terms of understanding See Access, page 5A
tives from the offices of Con- how the process works: ....
gressmen Tom McClintock when you hear a new rule is
andWallyHerger, comingout, it will all be very ]Jl!l!]!l[l!]JJJ!!! 1]]
Plumas County Public general. You will not hear the
Works Director Bob Perreault name of the Plumas National
Jr. was the guest speaker for Forest or any other forest,"
the first installation of the he said.
series. He also explained that 8 73 "P
"I was expecting to speak to there is a difference between
about 50 people and tonight's a travel management plan To subscribe to the Record,
meeting turnout is quite and a new national rule. ca11530-283-0800