CALENDAR..............PG 2 CLASSIFIEDS..........PG 10 LEGAL NOTICES.....PG 10
February 13, 2019
OPINIONS................PG 9 OBITUARIES............PG 4 SPORTS...................PG 6
VOLUME: 12:07 ■ ISSUE: 404
Suppression hearing set for Arbuckle man accused of murder SUSAN MEEKER susan@colusacountynews.net
After more than a year in jail, Martin Ehrke, 50, the man charged with two counts of first-degree murder of two women at his family’s almond farm in Arbuckle is scheduled to appear in a Colusa County Court on April 4, where his attorney is expected to ask the court to supress statements his client may have made while he was in custody. In addition to a Miranda hearing, Colusa MARTIN EHRKE County Superior Colusa Co. Jail Court Judge Jeffrey A. Thompson set Ehrke’s prelimary hearing for 9:30 AM on May 9, at which time the Colusa County District Attorney could begin showing cause for Ehrke to stand trial. The preliminary hearing had been postponed twice since Ehrke pleaded not guilty to the charges last year. Ehrke is charged with killing Kimberly Lynn Taylor, 39, and Jessica Lynn Mazak, 25, on Jan. 25, 2018, after Ehrke’s roommate reportedly called law enforcement to report finding blood inside the home where the two women had also been staying. Colusa County Sheriff’s investigators found Taylor’s body inside a chest freezer on the property. They later found Mazak’s body submerged in a pond. Both women died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to the Colusa County Coroner’s Office. n
CattleWomen and Cattlemen offer continuing education scholarship PIONEER REVIEW news@colusacountynews.net
In an effort to encourage and reward continuing education, the Glenn-Colusa CattleWomen and Cattlemen are offering a scholarship in the amount of $2,000. This scholarship is being offered to students who will be entering their junior or senior year of upper division college or university work or students who will be entering graduate school for the Fall of 2019. “Candidates must be graduates of a Glenn or Colusa county high school with a GPA of 2.5 or higher.” said Jill Egly, Scholarship Chairperson. “We want to honor and support students planning a career in an agriculture-related field, preferably with an emphasis on beef production or promotion.” The application deadline is April 15, 2019. For more information, please contact: Jill Egly, Scholarship Chair, 438 S. Lassen St., Willows, CA 95988. (530) 934.3776 or eglyjb@yahoo.com. ■
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Colusa Farm Show wraps 54th year
Chris Capaul fires up his 1936 Model A John Deere tractor at the 54th annual Colusa Farm Show on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.
SUSAN MEEKER / PIONEER REVIEW
SUSAN MEEKER susan@colusacountynews.net
F
rom the GM Sierra’s sixway tailgate to the suite of new precision technology on the 2019 Case IH harvester, the Colusa Farm Show was all about the latest innovations in the agriculture industry. About 30,000 people are estimated to have come out to the Colusa County Fairgrounds for the threeday show, which wrapped its 54th year on Thursday. Good weather all three days was likely responsible for the steady stream of visitors, with a far less tapering off in attendance on the final day than was usual, vendors said. “This (was) the best turnout for a Thursday, and I’ve been coming to this show for 20 years,” said Maureen Luikens, of Golden State Farm Credit. “It’s been a great show altogether.” On Feb. 6, more than 450 people attended the 17th Colusa Farm Show Rabobank Breakfast at St. Bernadette’s Hall, hosted by the alumni of the California State University, Chico College of Agriculture, California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, and Alpha Gamma Rho. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea gave the keynote address, speaking about the devastating Camp Fire that destroyed much of Paradise. All proceeds from the breakfast go to scholarships and leadership
Sacramento Valley Museum to offer new programs
SUSAN MEEKER / PIONEER REVIEW
Future farmer Latigo Hext, 3, of Yuba City, test drives a 12-volt John Deere ATV at the Colusa Farm Show on Feb. 7, 2019.
programs, organizers said, and the event has raised more than $450,000 since it was started at the Colusa Farm Show almost two decades ago. About 350 vendors participated in this year’s Farm Show, including a number of new food vendors. Many boasted a high number of sales. Although the Colusa Farm Show is largely to match farmers and ranchers with the suppliers of ever-changing technology, services, and farm implements, there was also plenty of agriculture education to go around. Hundreds of students were bussed to the Colusa Farm Show from
schools around the North State, including a group of 47 students from Upper Lake High School. “Our FFA teacher thought it would be interesting for us to get out of the classroom and explore a little,” said Atlantis Jones, 15, a freshman, whose family raises walnuts and other tree crops in Lake County. This was Jones’ first Colusa Farm Show, and she said what she found fascinating was the size that farm equipment can reach, particularly for flatland crops like rice.
See FARM SHOW | PG 3
Premier Mushroom awards grants by the dozen
SUSAN MEEKER susan@colusacountynews.net
The Sacramento Valley Museum Board of Directors are putting the historic “Treasure Box” of Williams into the spotlight in 2019. The museum, which was built in 1911, housed the Williams High School classes of 1912 to 1956, before it transitioned to a regional museum in 1963. “It is indeed a place where history comes alive,” said Director Dixie La Grande. “History is storytelling, sharing tales from the past and more recent present.” In order to boost interest in the museum, the Sacramento Valley Museum is beginning a number of new programs designed to generate interest in people from Colusa County and beyond. At an event at 2 PM today, the museum will host a guided tour of the two-story struc-
ture that is filled with pioneer history and artifacts. The event will also allow people to sample an old-fashioned classroom session in the newly restored Glen Valley Schoolhouse. The tour will be held prior the Sacramento Valley Museum Association Annual general meeting at 4 PM. The museum has also announced another new program, Local History Readings and Discussions, which will be offered each Friday morning, from 8:30 to 9:30 AM in the Alumni Room, downstairs. That program will begin Feb. 15, and be followed also by an opportunity to sample a classroom session in the Glen Valley Schoolhouse and guided tour of the museum.
See MUSEUM | PG 5
SUSAN MEEKER / PIONEER REVIEW
Premier Mushroom grant recipients attend the annual Awards Breakfast at the Colusa County Chamber of Commerce Business and Visitors Center on Feb. 7, 2019, hosted by Premier Mushrooms Inc. CEO John Ashbaugh and Colusa Farmers Market Manager Jennifer Diaz, left. SUSAN MEEKER susan@colusacountynews.net
The largest group of non-profits to date will be able to pay their good fortune forward throughout the community, thanks to grants provided this year by Premier Mushroom, Inc. An even dozen number of grant recipients – the largest
since the program was stared in 2013 - accepted their grant awards during the annual Awards Breakfast on Feb. 7, at the Colusa County Chamber of Commerce Business and Visitors Center, hosted by Premier Mushrooms Inc. CEO John Ashbaugh and Colusa Farmers Market Manager Jennifer Diaz. Funding for the grants are
generated by selling mushrooms donated by the Colusa grower at the Colusa Farmers Market, held each Thursday during the summer at the Veterans Memorial Park, and the Arbuckle Farmers Market, held each Wednesday during the summer in LaVanche Hursch Park.
See GRANTS | PG 3