Community Weekend LOCAL sports digest entertainment ’Copter lands at St. Mary’s .............Page 6 ..............Page 3 ......................................Page 1 INSIDE Mendocino County’s World briefly The Ukiah local newspaper ..........Page 2 Tomorrow: Mostly sunny and pleasant 7 58551 69301 0 THURSDAY March 29, 2007 50 cents tax included DAILY JOURNAL ukiahdailyjournal.com 16 pages, Volume 148 Number 354 email: [email protected] Assault and thefts Checking for GMOs keep deputies busy By BEN BROWN to sheriff’s reports. The Daily Journal The victim was airlifted to Three years after Measure H, none on the horizon The Mendocino County the Ukiah Valley Medical Sheriff’s Office has arrested Center for treatment. By BEN BROWN four suspects in two different According to sheriff’s The Daily Journal alleged thefts this week. reports, the victim had According to a report from biotech- Sheriff’s deputies arrested stepped out of his home on nology advocacy group, a record num- Covelo residents Sylvia Sunday morning and was con- ber of genetically modified organisms, Lawanna Hoaglen, 19, and fronted by two people in or biotech crops, were planted last year. Leonard Whipple, 38, on sus- hooded sweatshirts, one of But, in Mendocino County, the numbers picion of robbery in connec- them brandishing a knife. are virtually nonexistent, thanks to both tion with a theft and assault of The victim picked up a a lack of interest and a 2004 county ordi- an 83-year-old Covelo man chair and threw it at the armed nance banning their use in unincorporat- outside of his home on Pitt suspect but the second suspect ed areas. Street in Covelo. approached the victim from According to the study, published by On Sunday, sheriff’s the side and struck the victim the International Service for the deputies were summoned to in the side of the head with a Acquisition of Agri-Biotech an address on Pitt Street on second chair, causing the head Applications, 10.3 million farmers in 22 reports of an injured man who injury and knocking the vic- countries planted 252 million acres of had been attacked and had tim to the ground, according GMO crops in 2006, an increase of 13 $80 taken from his wallet. to the report. percent from 2005. Upon arrival, they found The victim told sheriff’s “Here we have virtually no one grow- the 83-year-old victim outside deputies he kept fighting the ing GMO crops,” said Mendocino his house, bleeding heavily County Agriculture Commissioner Dave from a head wound, according Bengston. See THEFT, Page 15 In March of 2004, Mendocino County voters approved Measure H, an ordi- nance banning the growing of GMO Berg asks for pioneer crops within the county. Mendocino County is one of only four counties in woman to be honored California to ban GMO crops, the others are Marin, Santa Cruz and Trinity coun- By KATIE MINTZ approved Monday by the ties. The Daily Journal Assembly Transportation Bengston said even before the ordi- Isaac Eckel/The Daily Journal A Committee. nance was approved, it is unlikely there Diane Curry, an agricultural specialist with the Mendocino County petite “This is a lasting way to were many people growing GMO crops Agriculture Commission, checks a box of Hawaiian tropical flowers for pioneer honor pioneer women and in Mendocino County because the pri- insects as they are unloaded at the FedEx station in Ukiah. With the woman their contributions to mary GMO crops - corn, alfalfa, rice and passage of Measure H, inspectors are available to check for GMO seeds who California history,” said canola - cannot be profitably grown in entering the county as well as other things such as pesticides, quaran- could Assemblywoman Patty Berg, the county. tined plants and insects. Below, an inspection sticker is affixed to a work a D-Eureka, who authored the “We probably had some people grow- package after passing inspection at FedEx. cross- resolution. “Women like ing GMO corn before the ordinance,” cut saw, Elizabeth helped Mendocino Bengston said. sure no banned pesticides, quarantined expert- County and California There are a number of potential GMO plants, insects or GMO crops are ly fish become what it is today. We crops in research, including winegrapes, shipped into the county. Berg the Eel stand on their shoulders of but none of them are on the market yet, Bengston said inspectors also check River accomplishments and contri- butions to California.” Bengston said. for certain pesticides that are commonly for salmon and trout, smoke Bengston compared the passage of used on GMO crops that have been Rosewarne moved with the salmon in a smokehouse, her husband, Nicholas, and Measure H to counties that declare made resistant to them. pack a mule and haul wood themselves “no nuke zones” when there Bengston said inspectors spend a very three children from San on the family horse may have Francisco to the plot border- is little chance of a nuclear power plant small amount of time actually looking her name immortalized on being located near them. for GMO seeds because of the low like- ing the South Fork of the Eel the northern span of the Eel River thinking the warmer “It’s a political statement,” he said. lihood of any coming into the county. River Bridge on Highway Despite that, Bengston said agricul- However, just bringing GMO seeds climate would improve her 101. poor health. Formerly a pro- ture commission inspectors added GMO into the county does not constitute a vio- A resolution that would seeds to the list of things they look for lation of the ordinance. Measure H fessional seamstress, she took name the Mendocino County to pioneer living well. following the passage of Measure H. applies only to land in the county and bridge after Elizabeth Jane Inspectors visit the offices of major excludes federal land, tribal land and the Rosewarne, who died in Rosewarne, who settled on a 1949 at 82, is remembered by shipping companies, including, UPS, 160-acre parcel across from FedEx and DHL, every morning to make See GMO, Page 15 Confusion Hill in 1897, was See HONOR Page 15 Drug bust St. Mary’s campus gets visit from Guard The Daily Journal A Pave Hawk helicopter from the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard touched down on Saint Mary of the Angels nets three Catholic School campus in Ukiah Wednesday The Daily Journal morning, exciting students and on-lookers alike. The Fort Bragg Police Department, working Principal Mary Leittem-Thomas said the visit -- with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, part of a drug awareness program -- marked the arrested two people on drug charges Tuesday first time in approximately 20 years a helicopter night following a probation search at 100 Ebbing has landed on school grounds. Way, Apt No. 2 in Fort Bragg. Police reports say “They were very excited to have something that significant quantities of marijuana and metham- large land on the field,” Leittem-Thomas said of phetamine were found. the students, who lined the fence on Dora Street as Police and sheriff’s deputies had received the helicopter put down. reports of heavy foot and vehicle traffic at that The Pave Hawk, which is a highly modified residence over the last month and knew at least version of the Army Black Hawk helicopter, was one of the people living there, Brandon Stone, to equipped with a retractable in-flight refueling be on felony probation. probe. When officers approached the apartment a Leittem-Thomas was invited to ride in the heli- woman who was outside ran into the residence copter to the school and said “it was a thrill to yelling to the other occupants that the police look down from the birds-eye-view and see all the were on their way, according to police reports. kids.” Police made a quick entry and found Stone in Once the rotors stopped, the children were the apartment with Kerri Morgan and Jason allowed on the field to look into the helicopter and Miller. Along with Stone, Morgan and Miller hear from members of the Rescue Wing, who were known to have had previous contact with Leittem-Thomas said were very positive role mod- law enforcement for drug related incidents, els for the students not only because of the anti- according to police reports. drug message they brought, but their sense of ser- Stone and Miller ran up to the second floor of vice as well. the apartment when police entered the apartment. The Ukiah Fire and Police Departments were Photo by Jeff Trouette also on hand to enhance the drug awareness pro- St. Mary’s students got a closeup look at a Pave Hawk helicopter See BUST, Page 2 gram. Wednesday. • 100% & fixed term financing Equipment Financing. • All types of new & used equipment • Local Northern California funding source Call today for a free evaluation of your equipment financing requirements! Quick and Easy. 707-524-3470 • 800-546-7822 (toll free) • [email protected] a division of Exchange Bank 2 – THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007 DAILY DIGEST Editor: K.C. Meadows, 468-3526 The Ukiah Daily Journal [email protected] The world briefly FUNERAL NOTICES [\ Michael Hunter of and nephews Char- Delma lived a long and ADELMA “DELMA” EYLE Ukiah, Tony, Trudy, lie, Sarah, Chuckie, Jason, fulfilling life. She will Adelma “Delma” Eyle, a Tammy, Teddy and Todd Christopher, be missed by many, but Iran shows video of captured British member of the Coy- Ramos all of Redwood Dante and Devin Brown. never forgotten. sailors, London denounces move ote Valley Band of Pomo Valley, great-grand- Delma is also sur- A viewing will be held at Indians, left this children Justine, Tristen vived by many other the Coyote Valley TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran aired a video Wednesday of 15 world and began her jour- and Ma-kayla Hunt- nieces, nephews and Gymnasium throughout captured British sailors and marines, showing the only woman ney home on Mon- er, Tony Jr., Tausha, loving family members.