Community Fair recognizes FORUM sports digest local businesses Our readers write .............Page 6 ..............Page 3 ..................................Page 4 INSIDE Mendocino County’s World briefly The Ukiah local newspaper ..........Page 2 Tomorrow: Breezy and sunny 7 58551 69301 0 WEDNESDAY Aug. 15, 2007 50 cents tax included DAILY JOURNAL ukiahdailyjournal.com 14 pages, Volume 149 Number 128 email: [email protected] BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ AGENDA: MEDICAL MARIJUANA, CHENEY AND A RAISE 25 plants, 2 pounds stands By BEN BROWN The Daily Journal In a 3-2 vote, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted not to reconsider its Aug. 7 decision No action setting possession limits for medical marijuana at 25 plants and two processed pounds. taken on Fifth District Supervisor David Colfax and Chairwoman Kendall Smith voted to reconsider with 1st District Supervisor Michael Delbar, Cheney 2nd District Supervisor Jim Wattenburger and 3rd District Supervisor John Pinches opposed. Colfax asked that the motion be resolution reconsidered because he felt the board had not heard sufficient com- County to forward munity input on the amount of processed marijuana a patient should signatures to be allowed to possess. “We had virtually no discussion,” Rep. Thompson Colfax said. By ZACK SAMPSEL At its Aug. 7 meeting, the board The Daily Journal limited discussion to the number of The Mendocino County Board of plants a patient should be allowed to Supervisors took no action Tuesday possess in accordance with the on a resolution in favor of impeach- motion set before the board by the ing Vice President Dick Cheney. The Criminal Justice sub-committee. agenda item was sponsored by 5th Just before the motion went to a District Supervisor David Colfax, vote, the board included the two- with the intention to initiate an pound limit after discussion with investigation of Cheney to determine Mendocino County Sheriff Tom if his actions warranted impeach- Allman. ment. Smith said it had not been her A motion made by 2nd District intention to rush the item without Supervisor Jim Wattenburger during discussion. the initial discussion of the resolu- “It’s important that we have a MacLeod Pappidas/The Daily Journal Chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors Kendall Smith makes a motion to reconsider the board’s tion moved for the board to take no solid process,” she said. action on the resolution, but rather to “I don’t want it to be said that we Aug. 7 decision to set the legal limit of medical marijuana possession at 25 plants or two processed pounds. approve the signatures before send- limited them,” Smith said. ing them to Rep. Mike Thompson Colfax said he asked that the reso- (D-St. Helena). The motion passed lution be reconsidered because he by a 3-1 vote, with Chairwoman realized that Measure G, on which he $51,594 in Kendall Smith dissenting and Colfax had based the resolution, did not pro- out of the room during the vote. vide clear guidance about the amount “This item is on the agenda by the of processed marijuana a person settlement of request from a number of people,” should be allowed to possess. Colfax said earlier during the discus- Measure G says a patient can possess sion. “It will be an effort to record an “appropriate amount” of Credit Bureau that we took an action that recog- processed marijuana. nized what the United States is doing “Two pounds is inconsistent, on in Iraq is benefiting some elements average, with the amount produced of Ukiah case The Daily Journal in this country at the very great by 25 plants,” he said. expense of those in this country who Arguing against reconsideration, Mendocino County District need the services of our govern- Pinches said he thought the issue had Attorney Meredith Lintott at ment.” been resolved on Aug. 7 and that the Tuesday’s meeting presented the Following Colfax’s explanation limits set then provided a solid work- Board of Supervisors with a check for the need of the resolution, ing base for county law enforcement. for $51,594, the results of a settle- Wattenburger made the motion for “We owe it to this citizenry to ment with the Credit Bureau of the supervisors to take no action on have something definite,” Pinches Ukiah. the resolution, but rather to send the said. The District Attorney’s Office is 830 signatures from county residents “We in law enforcement now have Marshall Seyegh asks the board to let stand a motion that sets charged with stopping false adver- asking for the board to pass the reso- a clear directive on where the Board the legal limit of medical marijuana possession at 25 plants and tising and prosecuting those who use lution to Thompson. of Supervisors wants to go,” said two processed pounds. fraudulent or unfair business prac- The House of Representatives Dan Edwards, president of the tices, and Deputy District Attorney accepts petitions from local jurisdic- Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff’s much time and money on the issue of it put growers in. Brian Newman said the DA takes tions. The petitions are assigned to Association. medical marijuana and should leave Trippet said the resolution would those responsibilities seriously. The the appropriate committee, and in Although public comment was not the rule as it stood to see how it entrap medical marijuana growers DA provides speakers to consumer this instance, it would be the as vociferous as at the previous worked out. because a person growing 25 plants and business groups on a variety of Judiciary Committee. Several juris- meeting, several people appeared to Pebbles Trippet, of the Medical would likely have far more than two topics, including identity theft, bad dictions have sent impeachment res- speak. Marijuana Advisory Board, said she pounds of marijuana. checks and other types of fraud and olutions to Congress, which are list- County resident Marshall Sayegh hoped the board would reconsider scams. To schedule a presentation, ed in the Congressional Record. said he felt the board had spent too the resolution because of the position See MARIJUANA, Page 14 call 463-4211. John Pinches, 3rd District super- visor, followed Wattenburger by explaining his reasoning for support- ing Wattenburger’s motion. Supervisors adopt $20,000 pay raise ordinance “I certainly understand why By ZACK SAMPSEL Mendocino County Superior Court judges earn. The adoption of the ordinance doesn’t come Supervisor Colfax brought this issue. The Daily Journal Serious discussions about the supervisors’ without opposition from the board. At the Aug. 7 It’s an issue that’s out there. I don’t The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors salaries began nearly a year ago with no definitive board meeting, Supervisors Michael Delbar and think this is something that over- adopted an ordinance Tuesday to increase each action being taken until Chief Executive Officer Jim Wattenburger, who had each voted against whelms me. This is something that is supervisor’s salary to $68,000 with a review of the Al Beltrami proposed the idea of linking the previous raises, both voted against the raise. strictly a federal issue,” Pinches said. board salary to occur in April of each odd-num- board’s pay directly to the judges. Comments made by both Delbar and “I just feel that this is not the appro- bered year. Previously, the board’s salary had been set at Wattenburger during board meetings have made it priate place to be discussing this. Not The $20,000 increase follows the previous pay $40,000 in 2000 following a recommendation clear they wanted a third-party consultant, such as with 535 United States representa- raise, which was repealed during the Aug. 7 super- from the 1998-1999 Mendocino County grand a grand jury or citizen’s committee, to help deter- tives that have to deal with it. This is visors meeting, that had directly tied county super- jury. The board received two more pay raises -- mine the pay raise. visors’ salaries to 40 percent of what the each $4,000 -- in 2002 and 2004. Zack Sampsel can be reached at [email protected]. See CHENEY, Page 14 Motorcycle flips end over end in collision with deer The Daily Journal of Primrose Avenue. cycle at 8:15 p.m. Saturday. hard but was unable to stop in roadway. He was transported front, right and rear areas. He A Fresno man suffered According to reports from Corey was traveling at ap- time and collided with the to Frank Howard Hospital was wearing a full-face, wrap- moderate injuries Saturday the California Highway Patrol, proximately 40 mph when a deer, according to CHP with moderate injuries; the around helmet and leather rid- evening when the motorcycle Joseph Corey Jr., 33, of Fresno, small deer emerged from reports. Corey’s motorcycle deer died in the accident. ing gear, which is credited with he was riding collided with a was westbound on Sherwood roadside woods and ran south flipped end over end, and Corey’s motorcycle sus- preventing more severe injuries, deer on Sherwood Road, west Road on a 2004 Suzuki motor- across the roadway. He braked Corey was ejected onto the tained moderate damage to the according to CHP reports. 2 – WEDNESDAY, AUG. 15, 2007 DAILY DIGEST Editor: Jody Martinez, 468-3517 The Ukiah Daily Journal [email protected] officers are innocent until proven guilty. FUNERAL NOTICES POLICE REPORTS People reported as having been arrest- ed may contact the Daily Journal once The following were their case has been concluded so the [\ Oceanside, sister care of Eversole grandchildren, in- compiled from reports results can be reported. Those who feel Sherri Wilette of Sonora, Mortuary. cluding Athena and Dakota prepared by the Ukiah the information is in error should con- [\ tact the appropriate agency.