75¢ Colusa firefighters bring crab feed back to station
CALENDAR..............PG 2 CLASSIFIEDS..........PG 10 LEGAL NOTICES.....PG 10
OPINIONS................PG 9 OBITUARIES............PG 4 SPORTS...................PG 5
SUSAN MEEKER susan@colusacountynews.net
A
fter nearly three decades, the Colusa Firefighters Association’s annual crab and steak feed was back Saturday where it started – in the engine bay of the Market Street Fire Station. The Colusa Fire Department accommodated a more intimate gathering of some 200 people, about half the number that typically attended the event when it was held at the Colusa County Fairgrounds, but downsizing helped firefighters do what they set out to do - serve hot cooked steaks off the grill and ice-chilled crab to a hungry crowd. Moving the crab feed back to the station also served another purpose, said Fire Chief Logan Conley. “It brings the community back into the Fire Department to see the engines, get to know the firefighters, and be a part of things,” Conley said. The annual dinner is a fundraiser for a number of sponsored programs of the Firefighters Association, including Santa on Wheels, the Senior Citizen Smoke
January 23, 2019
Detector Program, scholarship awards, and other community activities. It also raises money for the purchase of special equipment and clothing. Those attending were as generous with their live auction bids as the local merchants and community members who donated the prizes. Among items up for auction was a San Francisco dinner or brunch cruise for four with a stay at a posh hotel, a set of four tires from Superior Tire, sports memorabilia, a tailgate package from Colusa Meat Market, and multiple opportunities to win a Weatherby 7mm Remington Magnum hunting rifle with bipod, sling, scope, and carrying case. There were also plenty of raffle prizes, including a Valley Tractor bicycle, gift baskets, and resort passes, as well as a number of exclusive raffles for a 12 gauge shotgun, lever action .22 rifle, and various pistols. Jim Dunlap was the auctioneer. The Tap Room at ColUSA Made served beer and wine. DJ Arnold Navarro provided music. ■
Pierce musicians at CMEA Honor Band
SUBMITTED PHOTO / PIONEER REVIEW
Pierce music students performed at the CMEA Honor Band on Jan. 19. (L-to-R) Miguel Tejeda, Will Arens, Will Dafoe, Kelli Joel, and Anjolie Wiederhold and PJUSD Music Instructor Ron Rector. SUBMITTED TO THE WPR staff@colusacountynews.net
On Saturday, Pierce music students participated in the 2019 CMEA Northern Section Junior High Honor Band at the California State University, Chico. Band directors in the area represented were asked to nominate their excelling music students and have them submit an audition tape in early November. Students selected from the Pierce Music Program to participate this year were Anjolie Wiederhold (9th, Alto Saxophone), Miguel Tejeda (9th, Trumpet), Kelli Joel (8th, Trombone), Will Dafoe (8th, Trumpet), and Will Arens (7th, Tuba). These music students and their peers practiced together Friday and Saturday and then presented the concert that night. Ron Rector, K-8 music director, spearheaded these students achieving Honor Band status. Rector said he was proud of the students as well as with their efforts and dedication. “The concert was pretty impressive for junior
high students. I liked how well-balanced they were. The choir did well also.” said Rector. Longtime Colusa Music Director Michael Phenicie coordinated this year’s event. Phenicie retired in 2016 after 38 years of teaching music with 31 of those years at Colusa. CMEA is the California Music Educators Association and it sponsors Instrumental Large Ensemble Festivals, Choir Festivals, and highlight elementary and high school music. The Northern Section is composed of the northern California counties of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sutter, Yuba, Butte, Nevada, Sierra, Plumas, Tehama, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen, Modoc, and Siskiyou. The Association’s purpose is to promote access to a sequential music program for K-12, support and improve existing music programs, promote music teacher preparation programs, and create a greater awareness of the value of music education. ■
SUBSCRIBE TO THE
PIONEER REVIEW
subscribe.colusacountynews.com or call (530) 458-4141 Ext. 100
VOLUME: 12:04 ■ ISSUE: 401
SINGLE C O PY
SUSAN MEEKER / PIONEER REVIEW
Firefighter Anthony Azevedo, front left, and other volunteers serve dinner at the Colusa Fire Department on Jan 17, 2019, during the Colusa Firefighters Association’s annual crab and steak feed, which is a fundraiser that supports activities that benefit the community.
“3 X-ray 33 … 3 X-ray 33 … 3 X-ray 33 … 10-10.. End of Watch, Jan. 10, 2019, 18:43”
Officer Corona laid to rest SUSAN MEEKER susan@colucountynews.net
Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona was laid to rest in her hometown of Arbuckle on Friday, with her family priest comforting her grief-stricken family with the most fundamental belief of their Catholic faith – that life is everlasting. Officer Corona, 22, was shot and killed on Jan. 10, 2019, when a gunman approached her from the shadows around 6:43 PM and opened fire while she was investigating a triple vehicle crash in Davis. She was remembered at an emotional memorial at the University of California ARC Center, in Davis, attended by thousands, as the mournful wail of bagpipes signaled the arrival of her flag-draped coffin from a nearby white hearse, which later carried her to her final resting place. “God himself placed Natalie to be on duty on that date, on that shift, at that hour, responding to that call for service,” said her father, Colusa County Supervisor Merced Corona, during her service. “He himself has called her into his presence.” Law enforcement officers attended the service from across the country, but it was those who knew and worked with her who painted a picture of the kind of person Corona was: a woman who exuded energy, who had a passion for life, who loved law enforcement, who was well respected and mature beyond her years, who stood out among others, and who did everything asked and required of her during her short time as a police officer. Her family, friends, and co-workers described Corona as someone who lived her life with purpose, touching everyone she came in contact with. “To know her was to know greatness,” said Sgt. Eric Labbe, Corona’s supervisor. Country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus paid his respects on Friday, opening the memorial with a moment of silence before singing “Some Gave All,” a song he originally wrote to honor Vietnam veterans. It is a song Cyrus has performed several times at the funerals of fallen police
RICHARD LAU / PIONEER REVIEW
Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel presents the flag to Officer Natalie Corona's parents Lupe and Merced Corona on Friday, Jan. 18.
officers. “Today, this is Natalie’s song,” Cyrus said. “This is for one special lady who represents a face of change. She’s a light in this world that won’t be forgotten.” Corona, an Arbuckle native, was born in Woodland on July 26, 1996. She graduated from Pierce High School in 2014, after which she earned three associate degrees in administration of justice and humanities from Woodland Community College. She got her start at the Davis Police Department in 2016 in community services. She graduated from the Sacramento Police Academy
this past July, and was sworn in on Aug. 2. She had just completed her field training a few weeks prior to her death, and couldn’t wait to return home each night to share with her father and mother, Lupe Corona, the events of her day. Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said being in law enforcement was the only thing Corona wanted to do, and she was determined to be the best police officer she could by following in the footsteps of her father, who served 26 years with the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office. “Officer Corona could have worked anywhere,” he said.
See OFFICER CORONA | PG 7