On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Ord Bend resident Rodney Wayne Yeager died in Ord Bend alongside his lifelong friend/brother, Lucas Kane Nunes. Rodney Yeager was born in Willows on April 10, 1980.
A lover of nature, he was an avid fisherman and gardener. He loved cooking and family gatherings.
His infectious smile never left his face. He had the biggest, warmest heart and loved his family beyond measure.
He is survived by his children Jacob, 21, Caleb, 16, and Isabella, 13, of Bayliss; mother Debi Forrister (Flint) of Chico; sister, Amber Yeager of Ord Bend; partner and love of his life, Anelisa Nunes, of Ord Bend; brother Jon Harvey of Chico; grandmother Beulah Yeager of Indiana; four nieces and nephews; many cousins, aunts and uncles; and his beloved bonus family, Richard Nunes of Willows and Richard Nunes, Jr., of Portugal.
He was preceded in death by his father, Steve Yeager; sister, Shannon Garnett; and infant niece, Adrianna Garnett.
His loved ones agree, he was greatly loved and will be missed forever.
Barney Gene Cook of Stonyford died in Chico on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. He was born in Ferndale to Edith and Barney Cook on Jan. 14, 1940.
He grew up in Willows. In 1962, he met Babs Griffin and they were married in October of 1963. After their marriage, the couple resided in Stonyford.
Barney Cook worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 32 years. He joined the Bear Valley Indian Valley Fire Department in 1963, and became the fire chief in 1993, a position he held for 31 years until 2024.
He was also on the Stony Creek Unified School Board for 20 years, and was later inducted into the School Board Hall of Fame. He was also partners with his son, Ken Cook, in Cook Construction.
Barney Cook enjoyed spending time with family, camping, his classic cars, fishing, taking his boat on the ocean, and hunting.
He is survived by his wife, Babs; children Pam Moore, Sandy Corbin and her spouse, Barry, and Ken Cook and his spouse, Vicky; 11 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and his sister, Diana Hoggatt, and her spouse, Junior. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Duane and Jack Cook; son, Barney Cook, Jr., and daughter, Sherry Burt.
A Celebration of Life is planned for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 25, at the Stonyford Community Hall.
Two Glenn County men, one from the community of Glenn and the other from Willows, were killed in a late evening vehicle crash in eastern Glenn County.
According to a press release from the Willows Area Office of the California Highway Patrol, at about 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday, July 16, Rodney Wayne Yeager, 44, of Glenn, was driving a 2015 Ford F-250 pickup north on County Road X, approaching County Road 34.
Lucas Kane Nunes, 45, of Willows, was sitting in the right front passenger seat.
For unknown reasons, when Yeager approached the T-intersection at County Roads X and 34, he neither slowed down nor turned the Ford,
The vehicle traveled across Road 34 and crashed into the north embankment of a ditch that runs parallel to the road off the north side of Road 34.
Both Yeager and Nunes were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to CHP Officer Nick DeFrancesco, it is unknown if drugs or alcohol were a factor in this accident. Neither occupant of the Ford was wearing his seatbelts at the time of the crash.
The accident remains under investigation by the CHP.
According to the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office, which conducted the coroner’s investigations, deputies were dispatched to a report of a traffic accident in the area of County Roads X and 24 at about 10 p.m.
Volunteers from the Bayliss Fire Department and officers from the CHP also responded.
The sheriff’s log entry for this incident states that “Rodney Wayne Yeager and Lucas Kane Nunes, both of Glenn, were pronounced deceased by medical personnel.”
Yeager’s next of kin, his mother, Deborah Lynn Forrister of Chico, was notified of the death, as was Nunes’ next of kin, his father, Richard John Nunes of Willows.
According to the Glenn County Superior Court website, over the years the driver in Tuesday night’s fatal accident, Rodney Yeager, was charged with a number of traffic violations that may shed some light on this incident.
In 2021, Yeager pled guilty to speeding over a 55 miles per hour limit (an infraction). In 2019, he was charged with hit and run with property damage (a misdemeanor that was dismissed).
And, perhaps most significant given that neither Yeager nor his passenger were wearing seatbelts, in 2011, Yeager was convicted of a seatbelt violation (an infraction).
A memorial service for Tracey “Mr. Q.” Quarne is well into the planning stages.
Tracey Jay Quarne, 68, known to many as “Mr. Q.”, died Sunday, June 30, 2024, following a vehicle accident south of Minot, North Dakota. The longtime Glenn County educator and community leader was a resident of Bismarck in his home state of North Dakota at the time of his death.
Quarne was born in Williston, N. Dak., to Erwin and Gloria (Orser) Quarne on February 17, 1956. He lived in several areas of North Dakota during his childhood and graduated from Minot High School in 1974.
He furthered his education by attending college at Minot State University, where he received a teaching degree. He also attended Bemidji State College for one year.
He taught in Cavalier, No. Dak., and Surrey, No. Dak.
On August 16, 1985, he married Kathy Burt in Minot. A daughter, Alexandra, was born to them.
The couple divorced in 1996.
In 1995, Quarne relocated to Orland, Calif., and lived there until 2022. While in Orland, he worked as an educator and was perhaps best known as a music teacher at Orland High School.
He was very involved in his community and actively supported such organizations as the Rotary Club, the Orland Patriots, and the Glenn Chorale. In November of 2004, he was elected to the Orland City Council.
A couple of years later, he became a member of the Glenn County Board of Supervisors. Then, in 2010, he was elected as the Glenn County Superintendent of Schools, an office he held for more than a decade.
He is survived by his daughter, Alexandra, of Bismarck, No. Dak.; grandchildren Cru and Ava Enno, both of Bismarck; sister Sarah Pitcher of Willows, Calif.; nephew Joshua and his daughter, Emma, both of Orland; and stepmother Lorna Quarne of Los Angeles. He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, and several aunts and uncles.
A memorial service, still in the organizational stages, is tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 3, inside the Orland Memorial Hall. It is expected that hundreds of people will be in attendance.
Check The Glenn County Observer for possible updates.
Church of Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles.
By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
Have you seen any of those TV commercials that end with the URL, “thewaytohappiness.org”? There are several different ads, but they all end by showing that particular URL.
I have seen four of the commercials, but I have reason to think there are more – perhaps as many as 17 more. The four I have seen promote the following messages:
“Take Care of Yourself”;
“Safeguard and Improve Your Environment”;
“Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others”; and
“Honor and Help Your Parents”.a
In and of themselves, I have no serious complaints about any of these ads, but the last one, “Honor and Help Your Parents”, got me to wondering. The commercial features a teenager talking to his friends. One friend asks the teen how things went, and the teen answers that it made his mom cry.
Another friend asks the teen, “What did you do?” Viewers then learn that the teenager unexpectedly cleaned up his parents’ house while they were away. As I said above, the ad ends with the URL, thewaytohappiness.org.
I asked myself, “Self, what is this ‘Way to Happiness’ organization?” Since the wording of “Honor and Help Your Parents” is similar to the biblical commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother”, my initial thought was that the commercial is probably from an evangelical group employing what is known as “Stealth Christianity” tactics to promote their religious beliefs without being obvious about it. I was wrong, however.
Upon visiting “The Way to Happiness” website, I learned that the themes of the four ads are from what the website calls “The 21 Precepts”. “The 21 Precepts of whom? Or what?” you ask.
After checking out the 21 Precepts, I moved my cursor to “About Us” at the top of the page. One of the five options that was offered under “About Us” read, “L. Ron Hubbard”. I immediately knew who was behind the 21 Precepts and the TV commercials based on them. For those who don’t know, the late L. Ron Hubbard is most famous as the inventor of Dianetics (generally considered to be a pseudoscience by mainstream psychologists); author of the 1950 book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health; and, in December of 1953, founder of the Church of Scientology.
Taking a closer look at the 21 Precepts page, I found the following near the bottom of the page:
“The Way to Happiness Foundation is a purely secular charitable organization, coordinated by the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), an organization dedicated to resolving the major societal ills of drugs, crime, illiteracy and immorality. The Church of Scientology and its parishioners proudly sponsor ABLE and each of its social betterment groups.”
Okay. The Way to Happiness Foundation and its TV ads are ultimately sponsored by the Church of Scientology. So what?
Actually, I fully accept – even support – the right of the Church of Scientology and its affiliated groups to advertise their beliefs – which in no way means that I necessarily accept or support any or all of the beliefs themselves. There is a huge difference between respecting the right to express a particular belief and respecting the belief itself.
However, I am also a big supporter of “full disclosure.” Before anyone connects with the Way to Happiness Foundation, he or she should know about not just that it is affiliated with the Church of Scientology, but also the church’s core beliefs. For example, even according to my very broad and inclusive definition of Christianity, the Church of Scientology is not a Christian denomination. By my definition, to be a Christian, one must believe the following three things:
(1) The God of the Hebrew Bible (the so-called Old Testament) is at most the one and only God and at least the supreme God among a pantheon of gods; and the God of the Old and New Testaments are (somehow) one and the same deity.
(2) Jesus was/is, if not God or the Son of God, at the very least the greatest and most morally perfect human being who ever lived.
(3) The souls of some number of human beings, perhaps as many as the entire human race or as few as 144,000, are destined to achieve immortality.
Thus, according to my definition, committed Scientologists are not Christians. Besides some difficulties with belief number 1, they “flunk” belief number 2, that Jesus was at the very least the greatest human being who ever lived. In his early writings and lectures, L. Ron Hubbard maintained that Jesus was simply a teacher for humanity, one of many such teachers and not the greatest. Later, Hubbard is alleged by some of his followers to have claimed that Jesus was essentially a historical fiction, implanted into our collective minds as a false memory.
Scientology is said to be a blend of a variety of sources, including Buddhism, Hinduism (for instance, Scientologists believe in reincarnation), science fiction, and Thelema (the religion invented by occultist Aleister Crowley, 1875-1947, inspiration for heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne’s 1980 song, “Mr. Crowley”).
There you go. Now, if you want to check out thewaytohappiness.org, you should be well-enough informed to know who and what it is with whom you are getting involved, even if you just plan to keep the involvement very brief.
Last month, more than 40 years after his original conviction, Darrell Lescallett was again found guilty of the brutal murder of Edith Jackson of Willows.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, Sept. 22, 1979, Darrell Lescallett, now 69 years old (25 at the time of the murder); his brother, Gary Lescallett; and companion Frank Kamlan encountered Edith Jackson, a 79-year-old retired teacher from Willows, at the Denny’s restaurant, formerly located on the west side of Humboldt Avenue, south of Wood Street, in Willows. Prior to meeting Jackson, the three men had committed several burglaries in the region.
The three men asked Jackson for a ride, which she apparently agreed to give them; however, when they were inside her car, they pulled her into the back seat and forced her to the floor. Just south of Willows, they locked Jackson in the trunk and drove to Oakland. When the men stopped for gas, they paid for it with money stolen from Jackson.
While enroute, the trio discussed killing Jackson (thereby establishing that the murder was premeditated). Once in Oakland, the three used heroin and cocaine. Darrell and Gary Lescallett then went to kill Jackson. She was stabbed eight times. The nearly 80-year-old woman was also sexually assaulted by Darrell Lescallett.
The precise motive for the crime was unprovoked and unknown.
Darrell Lescallett was originally convicted more than 40 years ago. In mid-June of this year, his sixth parole hearing was held. Parole was denied. His next parole hearing is scheduled for about a year from now.
Under California law (SB1437), Lescallett was granted a new trial to determine beyond a reasonable doubt if he was guilty of the murder. The hearing was held in Alameda County on May 30, 2024. The court issued its ruling on June 24. It found that the People proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Lescallett was the “actual killer.” The court also decided the People had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Lescallett was a “major participant who acted with reckless indifference” to human life.
Lescallett is scheduled for sentencing on October 17, 2024.
Editor:
Here we go again. Another Fourth of July and the OPD will do nothing about illegal fireworks.
When the melee began, we took a ride to see how widespread it was. When we arrived at Yolo near the fairgrounds, we saw there were 8-10 people in the fairgrounds parking lot, shooting aerial fireworks and cherry bombs, so we placed a call to the OPD.
Their response was, “We can’t do anything. That’s state property so you have to talk to the Highway Patrol,” at which point they transferred the call. However, we won’t know if anybody ever arrived to deal with the illegal fireworks on the fairgrounds, because after about a 20-minute wait, we left.
The OPD cannot respond to anything on the fairgrounds? And, of course, the Glenn County Sheriff’s staff is busy in Willows. Didn’t anybody ever think that if the law enforcement in Glenn County would clamp down on illegal fireworks, maybe the charity fireworks stands that sell LEGAL fireworks might fare a lot better? Make more money if illegal fireworks went away?
I know all our four-legged friends in our neighborhood would appreciate the law being upheld and adhered to … policed?
At present, there are only three constitutional requirements for holding the office of President of the United States:
He or she must be “a natural born Citizen” (a term that is undefined); (2) he or she must be at least 35 years old; and (3) he or she must be “fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”
As the 2024 presidential campaign clearly demonstrates, more than the above is necessary to prevent unqualified candidates from occupying the most powerful office in the world.
Hell, most commercial truck drivers must meet more requirements than this – which is not intended to disparage truck drivers in any way, but merely to emphasize the point that we demand more from truck drivers than we do from someone who literally possesses the power to blow up the entire world.
I have been thinking about this for months, but only began composing my ideas for a constitutional amendment the day after the presidential debate of Thursday, June 27.
I don’t expect my specific amendment to be taken so seriously that it would ever become part of the highest law of the land. My hope is simply that it will get citizens, including members of Congress and state legislatures, talking and writing about the need for such an amendment.
This, of course, assumes that our Constitution survives the next four and a half years.
Our Presidents should come from the ranks of the best and the brightest, not the worst and the dullest.
I realize my proposal is a long one, but something similar to it is sorely needed. So, for your consideration:
Amendment
Section 1: No person except a natural born citizen shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President. No person who is a natural born citizen of the United States of America shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President if he or she is or ever has been a citizen of another nation; that is, held dual citizenship. Natural born citizen shall be understood to mean a person born in what is or was at the time of the person’s birth a state, territory, commonwealth, concession, district, or other place in which the government of the United States has or had full or primary legal jurisdiction.
Section 2: No person shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President who has not attained the age of thirty-five years; nor shall any person be eligible for the office of President or Vice President who has attained the age of eighty years or greater prior to the beginning of the term of office for which he or she is otherwise eligible; nor shall any person be eligible for the office of President or Vice President who shall attain the age of eighty years during the term of office for which he or she is otherwise eligible.
Section 3: No person shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President who has not resided principally within the United States for the fourteen years immediately preceding the beginning of the term of office for which he or she is otherwise eligible.
Section 4: No person shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President who, as an adult, has been convicted of one or more felonies, unless said conviction or convictions have occurred in the two years immediately preceding the beginning of the term of office for which he or she is serving, assuming he or she won election or appointment to the office, and the conviction or convictions are currently under appeal. Should all appeals be exhausted and the conviction or convictions upheld, the person serving as President or Vice President shall immediately be removed from office and he or she shall be replaced in the same manner in which the President or Vice President is replaced whenever he or she is unable to fulfill his or her duties for any other reason.
Section 5: No person shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President if he or she owns or has ever owned, in any single nation outside of the United States, property or any other financial asset or assets valued at five-hundred-thousand dollars or more.
Section 6: All nondisclosure agreements, if any, for civil or criminal cases entered into by a candidate for the office of President or Vice President, whose name qualifies for the ballots in at least half of the states or whose name qualifies for the ballots of those states the combined electoral votes of which are equal to or greater than those needed for election to office, shall be null and void, and shall be released to the public no less than one year before the candidate would start serving in the office he or she is seeking. Appropriate redactions to help protect the identity or identities of the party or parties with whom the candidate has entered into a nondisclosure agreement or agreements are allowable, so long as the meaning of the agreement or agreements and all parts therein remain entirely clear to the understanding. No party involved in such a civil or criminal case shall be accused or charged with violation of said nondisclosure agreement or agreements. No person who fails to provide said agreement or agreements shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President.
Section 7: Approximately one year prior to the start of the term of office being sought, all candidates for the office of President or Vice President, whose names qualify for the ballots in at least half of the states or whose names qualify for the ballots of those states the combined electoral votes of which are equal to or greater than those needed for election to office, shall be administered a cognitive screening test and shall undergo a general psychological evaluation. The doctors involved shall have no more than one month to review their findings, then the complete results of both the test and the evaluation shall be released to the public. No person who fails to take the cognitive test or undergo the psychological evaluation shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President; however, the results of neither the cognitive screening test nor the psychological evaluation shall, in and of itself, make the person ineligible for the office of President or Vice President.
Section 8: No less than one year prior to the beginning of the term of office being sought, all candidates for the office of President or Vice President, whose names qualify for the ballots in at least half of the states or whose names qualify for the ballots of those states the combined electoral votes of which are equal to or greater than those needed for election to office, shall release to the public the following documents:
Birth certificates and any other records regarding the birth of the candidates;
Documents regarding places of residency for the fourteen years prior to the start of the term of office being sought;
All civil and criminal court records for the fifteen years prior to the start of the term of office being sought;
All local, state, and federal tax records, regardless of audit status or appeal status, for the fifteen years prior to the start of the term of office being sought;
All records regarding financial investments and other financial activities for the fifteen years prior to the start of the term of office being sought;
All military service records, if applicable;
All higher education records, if applicable; and
All medical records for the ten years prior to the start of the term of office being sought.
Appropriate redactions can be made to the above records only if the release of the material deemed to be in need of redaction would likely make a candidate, his or family, or any other third party the victim of a crime, or if release of the material deemed to be in need of redaction would likely pose a threat to national security. If a candidate is elected to the office of President or Vice President, and takes office, and it is then learned that he or she failed to release to the public one or more of the above records, then a congressional investigation shall commence, and, if it is learned and agreed by at least half of the members of the full Congress present that the unreleased record or records were both willfully withheld and of significant political importance, then impeachment proceedings shall be initiated.
Section 9: This article shall have ten years for ratification following its submission to the states by the Congress of the United States. Upon ratification, Section 4 shall take effect immediately; Sections 1, 2, 3, and 5 shall take effect immediately prior to the first full term of office following ratification; and, if ratification by the states takes place less than two years prior to the beginning of the term of office for President or Vice President, Sections 6, 7, and 8 shall take effect prior to the next term of office. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Longtime Orland and Glenn County community leader Tracey Quarne died following a vehicle collision in North Dakota on Sunday, June 30.
According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, Quarne, known to many as “Mr. Q,” was driving south on U.S. Highway 83 in northern North Dakota. About four miles south of the city of Minot, Quarne, 68, of Bismarck, North Dakota, driving a 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander, began to slow in the driving lane to check on a vehicle stopped on the west shoulder.
A 2014 Grand Cherokee Jeep, driven by Geoffrey Vannerson, 36, of Underwood, North Dakota, was behind the Mitsubishi and rear-ended it as it slowed. The Jeep came to rest in the center divide and the Mitsubishi came to rest on the shoulder.
Quarne was taken to a hospital in Minot, where he succumbed to his injuries. His passenger, Cynthia Batchelder, 63, of Orland, Calif., sustained minor injuries, as did Vannerson, the driver of the Jeep.
All of those involved in the accident were wearing their seat belts.
In March of this year, Quarne narrowly escaped death when he underwent life-saving emergency surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurism. Upon returning home from the hospital, he posted a “selfie” on Facebook showing his bare abdomen and its large surgical scar.
For many years, Quarne was a much-respected educator, teaching Independent Studies for the Orland Unified School District and music at Orland High School and Butte College. In November of 2004, he was elected to the Orland City Council.
A couple of years later, he became a member of the Glenn County Board of Supervisors. Then, in 2010, he was elected as the Glenn County Superintendent of Schools, an office he held for more than a decade.
Friends, former students, and others began expressing their condolences and paying their respects on Monday and Tuesday. Bryana Kelly posted the following on Quarne’s Facebook page:
“I have never met anyone as selfless as you, Tracey. It not often that you find people in this world who care as much for others like you did. There have been many times that I have tried to thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me and you refused to take credit but it’s through your passion to see everyone succeed that I and many other kids from Glenn County have achieved the things we have in life. It’s because of you that we were given the chances to see that there is a world outside of Glenn County. Anyone who has ever been graced by your passion for education or music is eternally grateful.
“Thank you for believing in me and being a huge part of the reason to continue pursuing music in my own time. Thank you for sharing your gift of kindness and musicianship with the world. I can’t wait until our paths cross again but until then, I’ll look for you in music and reminisce on all that you’ve taught me over the years.”
Robin Graff wrote:
“… it just doesn’t seem fair! But Tracey made such a huge impact on so many lives and changed their trajectory in such a positive way! He was so passionate about the Pipeline2Success program and the positive impact it made on so many lives! He will not be forgotten for all the good he did for the youth in Glenn County! Prayers and hugs to his family and everyone who was touched by his kindness!”
Graff further stated:
“Our Pipeline 2 Success leader is no longer with us, but his legacy will live on forever! The passion he had for this program was infectious and he made such an impact on so many young lives! We will never forget his famous saying, ‘What will you learn on this trip?’ And all the students would reply in their loudest voices, ‘You can go to college!’ Thank you, Tracey, for sharing your passion and caring so much about the students you served! You will be missed!”
Monica Schweinfurth said:
“Just saw all the RIPs, Mr. Q. I’m shocked and saddened to hear of your passing. You were and always will be an inspiration. I remember how the district wanted you out because you shook the boundaries of what was the status quo back then. You took a tiny band of, I think, 16 musicians on a parade tour all the way to Victoria, British Columbia. This small-town girl would’ve never experienced that had you not fought for me, for all of us. Personally, I was facing a lot of trials in those last two years of high school, teen mom and all, and you believed in me. Thank you for who you are and all that you accomplished. I look forward to the day that we get to play trumpet together in heaven!”
Gloria Manjarrez commented:
“I’m glad to have known Tracey. He lived big, and I think he died big. He left a positive mark on so many of us. May he be remembered for all the good he did.”
Ginny Kirkpatrick posted:
“Rest in Peace, Tracey. You had a major impact on our community through music education. Your memory will live on.”
And Colleen Carter Watkins wrote:
“Thank you, Tracey, for your friendship, the great music discussions when we went to DCI, your dedication and passion for improving children’s lives, for making it possible for Emily to write and publish the book, for bringing the gift of music to many, and countless other cherished memories. Yours was a life of service to others. You brought light and humor wherever you went. So sad today for the loss of you in our lives, but just know that you did good while you were here. Real good.”
Plans seem to be in the works for a memorial service for Quarne, but nothing definite has yet reached The Glenn County Observer. Check back here for an update.
The Glenn County Observer 