Bruce Sutter Volunteers come WILDFIRE PLAN COMPLETE elected to to aid of Solar County approves document Hall of Fame Living Center .............Page 6 ..............Page 3 ......................................Page 1 INSIDE Mendocino County’s local newspaper World briefs The Ukiah ..........Page 2 Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, may rain 7 58551 69301 0 WEDNESDAY Jan. 11, 2006 50 cents tax included DAILY JOURNAL ukiahdailyjournal.com 14 pages, Volume 147 Number 277 email: [email protected] Physician participants sought for new Redwood MedNet system By SETH FREEDLAND Using those respondents, Redwood group’s larger goal: to improve patients’ health be built between March and July. The Daily Journal MedNet, a nonprofit founded by local physi- outcomes. “The key issue that rural communities face A new Ukiah-based organization mailed cians and health technology professionals, Will Ross, secretary of Redwood MedNet’s is that we are not like urban communities,” notices to all 200-plus doctors practicing in aims to test a clinical message and document board, said those doctors who respond will be Ross said. “You listen to conversations about Mendocino and Lake counties Tuesday, in a delivery system for healthcare providers. The asked to take part in the test phases of the pro- those areas’ hospitals -- it’s wonderful to have move that will pave the way to a modern elec- proposed cost-effective clinical messaging sys- ject -- known as e-Referral -- now entering the tronic referral network. tem for Mendocino County understates the year-and-a-half mark. The network is slated to See MEDNET, Page 14 OAK MANOR, NOKOMIS ROLL OUT WELCOME MAT Sawicki Hopland students relocated By LAURA CLARK The Daily Journal blasts It was said to be like the first day of school all over again Monday, when Hopland Elementary School staff and students merged onto the Oak Vroman Manor and Nokomis campus- es. Due to flood damage, Resigns from DA’s Office, Hopland Elementary School -- declares his candidacy for job which will likely remain closed the rest of the school By BEN BROWN year -- relocated 152 students The Daily Journal and 11 staff to other campus- Former Mendocino County es in the district. Assistant District Attorney Five classrooms, and their Myron Sawicki announced his teachers, went to Oak Manor intention to run for district School and two classrooms attorney Tuesday in a resigna- went to Nokomis School. tion letter that was deeply criti- Hopland School Principal cal of DA Norm Vroman. Jeanne Yttreness went with Vroman said he didn’t know them. She is keeping an office why Sawicki, a former ally who has been Vroman’s assis- at Oak Manor and frequents Sawicki Nokomis to check on her stu- tant for six years, was now so dents located there, as well. angry with him. The transition, which “I’m quite puzzled by the vehemence,” required some reconfiguration Vroman said. “I’ve never been attacked on such a of available space, appears to personal level.” have been successful. Amy Wellnitz/The Daily Journal In the letter, Sawicki accuses Vroman of a “The kids are all settled; Hopland Elementary School Principal Jeanne Yttreness reads with Jasmine Rojas gross misuse of power, failing to effectively pros- they are great. The teachers ... in a modular classroom at Oak Manor School. Due to flood damage, Hopland ecute cases, having little knowledge of the law this whole staff has been awe- School students will spend the rest of the school year at Oak Manor and Nokomis. and “engaging in a pattern of capricious, erratic some,” Yttreness said Tuesday and unpredictable behavior.” from Oak Manor. classroom was also delivered “His opinion of me is that I’m stupid and don’t Asked how it works with to Oak Manor on Thursday to deserve to be a DA,” said Vroman. “He’s entitled two principals on one campus, help with housing Hopland to his opinion.” Yttreness said: “We are both students. In the letter, Sawicki details two cases in which principals of our own school, The children are situated he alleges Vroman interfered with the judicial but we are going to work with their own schoolmates in process by disqualifying judges who did not together. It’s a school within a the classrooms, but they are agree with his agenda. school. ... We brought our divided up by grades, not Vroman said he did file affidavits against those school here; Joy moved class- schools, during lunch, recess judges, which are a matter of public record, but es,” she said. and physical education. that the rest of Sawicki’s accusation is just spin. Joy Tucker, the principal of There are two phone lines Sawicki alleges Vroman put Deputy DA Susan Oak Manor, said four class- and fax machines in the office Stacy-Henwood in a difficult ethical position rooms of support staff were now -- one for each school. In over search and seizure laws as applied to tribal cleared out -- and are now other words, when callers dial police. sharing rooms with other staff Hopland School’s phone num- Vroman did not believe in this case that the members -- to make space for ber, it now rings a phone at tribal police were government actors and were Hopland students. Oak Manor. therefore not bound by the Fourth Amendment In addition, the after school A sign in the staff room the way state and city police are. Henwood said program was moved to the her research, including case law and rulings from cafeteria and a new modular See STUDENTS, Page 14 three Mendocino County judges, proved other- wise but that meetings with Vroman on the sub- ject were unproductive. In a statement to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board last year, Henwood said she felt she would be fired by Vroman if she argued what she believed was the correct inter- pretation of the law. “It was my law license on the line,” said Henwood. “I chose resignation instead of defiance, which would have resulted in my firing,” she said in the statement. She was later awarded unemployment insur- ance in a ruling that stated she had been forced to quit. Vroman said he doesn’t feel Henwood was forced to quit, and in fact, that he asked her to stay in the office on the day she resigned. (From left) Nick Myers, Chantial Rodriguez, Wyatt Phillips, Ben Smith and the rest of the Oak Manor students “The letter is fraught with a lot of outright suddenly have lots of new classmates with the temporary relocation of Hopland Elementary students to Oak lies,” Vroman said. Manor and Nokomis schools. Henwood said Vroman never asked her to stay. Sawicki also alleges that Vroman punished See SAWICKI, Page 14 County approves community wildfire protection plan By LAURA CLARK The Mendocino County Fire Safe tion plan was created to protect resi- according to Rogers: One from the Association and the other from the The Daily Journal Council and the Mendocino Unit of dents and resources of the county state agency responsible for forest CDF. The Mendocino County Board of the California Department of from the potential devastation of management, one from the local fire Now, with the final signature, the Supervisors on Tuesday unanimous- Forestry and Fire Protection have wildfires, Mendocino County Fire department, and one from local gov- community wildfire protection plan ly approved the Mendocino County been working on the 148-page docu- Safe Council Executive Director ernment. The first two signatures had is complete, a happy Rogers said fol- Community Wildfire Protection ment since last January. Julie Rogers said. already been obtained last fall -- one Plan. The community wildfire protec- The plan required three signers, from the County Fire Chiefs’ See WILDFIRE, Page 14 2 – WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11, 2006 DAILY DIGEST Editor: Jody Martinez, 468-3517 The Ukiah Daily Journal [email protected] want to be identified because of an ongoing federal investiga- FUNERAL NOTICES tion of Abramoff and members of Congress. The world briefly “We feel that the Department of Justice needs to step in and [\ received the Award of investigate the inappropriate and illegal actions by the tribe, its Merit for the Boy Scouts of financial backers, if any, and the casino equipment vendors,” America. said the letter, which was also signed by Texas Republican Ron is survived by his Alito walks tightrope, pleasing Reps. Pete Sessions, John Culberson and Kevin Brady. wife Chris Bettencourt of GOP senators but not Democrats Redwood Valley who he Doctors say Sharon out of immediate married June 1, 1991, sons WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court nominee Samuel Ronald Eugene Alito picked his way carefully Tuesday through the issues of danger as he recovers from stroke Bettencourt of Madison, abortion and warrantless wiretapping, satisfying Senate Republicans at his confirmation hearings but provoking JERUSALEM (AP) — Doctors reported progress Tuesday WI, Gary Michael by Ariel Sharon, saying the Israeli leader moved his left hand Bettencourt of Madison, Democratic expressions of displeasure. He asserted that the Bill of Rights still applied “in times of and appeared to respond to his sons’ voices in new signs of WI., Michael Eugene recovery from a massive stroke. Bettencourt of Redwood war and in times of national crisis,” but he declined to say whether President Bush acted properly in ordering wiretaps But while doctors said Sharon was no longer in immediate Valley, Ca., Manuel danger, they cautioned it would be days before they could deter- Benjamin Bettencourt of without warrants as part of the war on terror. In a long day in the Senate Judiciary Committee witness mine the full extent of the damage he suffered from a brain Redwood Valley, Ca., sis- hemorrhage and whether he has lost his ability to think and rea- ters Beverley Jean Hand of chair, Alito was asked repeatedly about abortion.