Briefs: Sex offender staying in Yuba County hotels

A high-risk sex offender has been released from prison and is staying at hotels in the Linda area, Yuba County Sheriff Steve Durfor warned Wednesday.

James Barrie is a registered sex offender whose previous convictions include rape by force, burglary and prowling. His targets were adult women, Durfor said.

"The nature of his previous offenses is considered serious enough for a public announcement," he said.

Barrie, 49, has a shaved head and blue eyes. He is about 6 feet tall and weighs 190 pounds.

Durfor cautioned the public that using official warnings "to threaten, intimidate or harass" sex offenders will not be tolerated and could result in prosecution.

Yuba City

Thieves break into several vehicles

Burglars broke into 14 vehicles Tuesday and four more Wednesday, Yuba City police said.

Multiple vehicles were burglarized at Yuba City High School and at the Cinemark theater, said Cmdr. Jeremy Garcia.

In all cases, burglars broke windows and grabbed valuable items left in plain sight, Garcia said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Yuba City Police Department at 822-4660.

Live Oak

'Pretty sure' of fire victim's ID

The Sutter County Sheriff's Department was "pretty sure" Wednesday of the identity of a woman found dead in a burned-out trailer in Live Oak but had not positively identified her, a spokeswoman said.

The fire in the 10100 block of Larkin Road was reported at 11:53 p.m. Monday.

The cause of death remained undetermined after an autopsy today. Results of toxicological tests are pending, said Brenda Baker.

Sutter County

County sues; says trees infected

Sutter County has filed a lawsuit against owners of an allegedly pest-infested walnut orchard, saying the trees are a threat to surrounding trees.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Sutter County Superior Court, names county Agriculture Commission Mark Quisenberry as plaintiff and six Ghuman Family trustees as defendants: Jasbir S. Kang, Sukjhit Kang, Paramjit S. Everest, Surinder Everest, Tejinder Ghuman and Matlesh Ghuman.

The orchard, on the east side of Caminito Avenue about one-third mile south of Steward Road, contains dead or dying trees infested by codling moths, scale insects and borer insects, according to the lawsuit.

The county received a complaint signed by five neighbors.

Yuba-Sutter

A-D garners two newspaper awards

Appeal-Democrat staffers received two second-place awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association last Saturday, as part of CNPA's annual Better Newspapers Contest.

Kyle Buis was awarded for page design and layout. Steve Nelson, Ashley Gebb and former A-D staffer Colleen Cummins were honored in the online breaking news category for their work covering a double-fatal fire in Sutter.

CNPA's annual competition honors outstanding journalistic achievements in California in various categories. Nearly 4,000 entries were received from daily and weekly newspapers across the state.

Sutter County

Tisdale Weir ramp reopens

After two months, the boat ramp at Tisdale Weir in Sutter County has reopened, but only on a limited basis.

The ramp's launch facility and parking lot are open, but until the possibility of high water lessens and a security fence can be installed, garbage and bathroom facilities will not be usable.

If spring runoff from the mountains causes the Feather River to rise again, the ramp could be closed again, according to Sutter County officials. Mosquito Beach in Yuba City has also reopened.

Mid-Valley

Meetings will cover flood improvements

The Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency will have three meetings in the next week to tell property owners and residents about a series of planned flood improvement projects on the Feather River in Butte and Sutter counties.

Beginning Monday, the three meetings, all at 6 p.m., will tell property owners how the money they approved in the form of an annual assessment last year will be used for those projects to improve levees. State money will cover up to 77 percent of the total cost, with assessments making up the difference.

The first meeting is at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds in the Flower House, 442 Franklin Ave., Yuba City.

The second is Wednesday at the Veterans Hall, 1425 Veterans Memorial Drive in Yuba City, while April 28's meeting is at Gridley High School, 300 E. Spruce St., Gridley.

Yuba City

Bus monument dedication May 7

A memorial monument honoring the victims of the 1976 school bus crash will be dedicated May 7 on Veterans Memorial Drive north of Yuba City City Hall.

The ceremony at 10:30 a.m. will be followed by a reception at the Veterans Hall.

The monument honors the 28 students and teacher who died and those who survived the accident May 21, 1976, when a school bus carrying the Yuba City High School choir went off a freeway ramp near Martinez in Contra Costa County.

Monetary donations for the monument can be mailed to YCHS Choir Memorial Monument c/o Yuba City Unified School District, 750 Palora Ave., Yuba City, CA 95991.