A while back, I did a column that compiled a list of scam terms and today I’m going to feature one in particular: Smishing.

As I previously wrote, I hate this word. It sounds gross and feels gross to write and say. According to the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, the term is a combination of SMS (Short Message Service, or texting) and phishing, a scam in which the perpetrator pretends to be a legitimate organization or company. In shorthand, smishing is just phishing but through text instead of email.

Recently, the United States Postal Service had to issue a warning because scammers pretending to be USPS are sending fake package tracking links to people that ultimately put malware on devices.

The target gets a text message from someone claiming to be with the USPS offering to provide free package updates, even though tracking is generally free to begin with through most legitimate carrier websites, and asks you to fill out an online form to see where your package is at.

You go to the website and at that point, the site can begin creeping nasty software to your phone or tablet. The form itself can even ask for personal information directly. The goal of these scams is to get as much information about you as possible to eventually commit some form of financial fraud.

In the case of the postal service, a statement was issued declaring that it would never send text messages or emails without the customer asking for it or agreeing to it beforehand.

Stay safe out there folks and enjoy the spring weather while we have it.

Scam of the Week generally runs every Tuesday. Readers are welcome to contact reporter Jake Hutchison to report scams and potential scams they have come in contact with by calling 828-1329 or via email at jhutchison@chicoer.com.

Paula Daneluk, Butte County’s director of development services, requested just north of $75,000 to offset a grant that would ultimately fund three county positions directly tied to wildfire recovery. This funding request was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

After the Camp Fire, the county applied for funding from the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program via the California Office of Emergency Services to pay for these positions over the course of three years. It wasn’t until 2021 that FEMA notified the county that the funds would come after an environmental review. As of Tuesday, the funding has yet to come.

Daneluk said her department was told last fall that the funding would be available in January 2024. At that time, the board voted to renew the three positions with the knowledge that the money was coming — but once again, it was pushed back.

“They have since changed their tune and have extended that out longer because of the necessary environmental work on the (environmental assessment),” Daneluk told the supervisors. “So we are here today to request a budget adjustment for the remainder of this fiscal year to allow for those positions, which we extended.”

According to the related agenda report, there is currently no timeline on when the county can expect to receive the funds, but Daneluk said the county has been communicating with both FEMA and CalOES.

“Our latest meeting with them was much more encouraging with their commitment to give us distinct timelines that we could then hold them accountable to as they continue to process these grant applications,” Daneluk said. “And it does look like funding will come through sometime in this calendar year but certainly not within this fiscal year.”

The positions, which include a rebuild advocate and building inspectors, will be terminated if the grant is not issued by June 30, 2024.

“These are very specialized positions,” Daneluk said. “These are extremely difficult to find qualified building inspectors and our rebuild advocate position is one that is very much tied to understanding the traumas and the experiences of people who have lost their homes in the various fires that we’ve had.”

In total, the board authorized $75,161 to be utilized from the general fund, specifically from the contingency fund which came to $8,947,044 after the budget adjustment was passed.

Daneluk said her initial budget planning for the 2024-25 fiscal year includes the positions but added that it depends on whether the FEMA money comes through in time.

Butte County Chief Administrative Officer Andy Pickett said, when the time comes to balance the budget, the positions will also be weighed against other county needs.

“This is part of the whole budgeting process, looking at what our outstanding needs are and what our resources are,” Pickett said. “So this is something that we’re grappling with right now as we put the budget together.

“At that time, when we make the recommendations, if we assume no revenue is coming in, we’ll have to look at this need versus what other needs exist and make the unfortunate recommendations that we have to sometimes make.”

Registrar of Voters Keaton Denlay announced before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the final results were in, at which point he asked the board to certify them. During the discussion, Denlay noted that the turnout was about average for Butte County.

“We did have 46.64% turnout, which outpaces the state,” Denlay said. “So that’s pretty good. It kind of lands in the middle ground for where our primaries are in the past but still well outpacing the state average.

“So congratulations to our voters for getting their voices out there and heard. I also want to thank our election workers, our community partners and the Butte County Sheriff’s STARS program. We couldn’t do it without them, so we appreciate all their help.”

The board unanimously approved the results.

Supervisor Tod Kimmelshue, current chair of the board, defeated his opponent, Joanna Warrens, 6,704 (67.07%) to 3,291 (32.93%). District 5 also saw a victory for the incumbent, Doug Teeter, who beat Julie Threet 9,084 (72.31%) to 3,479 (27.69%). Bill Connelly received 100% of the vote in District 1 as there was no challenger in the race.

The Valley’s Edge Specific Plan, slated for 1,447 acres in southeast Chico, was effectively struck down by voters via measures O and P. Measure O lost with 15,843 votes (62.73%) against it and only 9,414 (37.27%) in favor of it. Measure P lost by a similar landslide with 15,750 (62.19%) voting it down and 9,414 (37.81%) showing support.

Proposition 1, a ballot item that would redirect how local behavioral health departments can allocate funding, wasn’t particularly popular in Butte County with 30,330 voters (56.33%) opposing it and only 23,516 voters (43.67%) backing it. Statewide, however, the gap is much narrower with 3,628,366 (50.2%) voting in favor of the proposition and 3,600,681 (49.8%) voting no. It should be noted that state results have yet to be certified and remain unofficial.

Beyond Butte

For California’s First Congressional District, incumbent Doug LaMalfa was the clear favorite in Butte County and the district as a whole. Locally, LaMalfa captured 30,187 votes (55.81%) followed by Rose Penelope Yee with 16,844 votes (31.14%) and Mike Doran with 7,062 votes (13.06%). LaMalfa had an even bigger margin districtwide with 122,301 votes (66.7%) with Yee only garnering 41,527 votes (22.6%) and Doran with 19,656 votes (10.7%).

LaMalfa and Yee will meet in November after the primary narrowed the field to two.

Assemblywoman Megan Dahle enters November with momentum against fellow Republican David Fennell for the state Senate First District race in both Butte County and the district. Butte County numbers favored Dahle, who received 30,553 local votes (76.72%) to Fennell’s 9,272 (24.28%). The total district numbers almost mirrored the local ones, with Dahle getting 153,635 votes (77.2%) and Fennell getting 45,442 (22.8%).

For California’s Third Assembly District, incumbent James Gallagher got 32,656 Butte County votes (60.78%) against Aaron Draper, who received 21,068 (39.22%). District-wide, Gallagher managed 76,487 votes (68.4%) against Draper’s 35,413 (31.6%).

In the race for United States Senator, Butte County heavily leaned toward Republican Steve Garvey, who took 21,462 county votes (40.91%), with Democtatic Congressman Adam Schiff receiving 13,606 votes (25.94%) and the remaining votes going to other candidates including Democratic Congresswomen Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. Schiff is holding the lead slightly statewide with 2,300,866 votes (31.6%) followed by Garvey at 2,294,822 (31.5%); they advanced to the general election.

Caseloads have stockpiled and nearly a quarter of the prosecution positions remain unfilled. However, there could be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Butte County’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a hiring bonus program for the District Attorney’s Office, effectively giving a total of $30,000 to new hires over the course of two payments. The first would be paid to the person once hired and the second after a probationary period.

District Attorney Mike Ramsey spoke to the board during the item, explaining that prosecutors are desperately needed.

“It is important to note that no criminal case investigated by the Sheriff’s Office or city law enforcement can go forward without review by me or one of my deputies,” Ramsey said. “… Without sufficient prosecutors to conduct these reviews, arrests become merely a two-day stay in the jail without further consequences.”

Ramsey added that each of his 21 deputy district attorneys averages a workload of 400 active criminal cases and that prosecutors do not get overtime.

The funding for the program will not come out of the county’s general fund but instead from savings accrued from the office’s Assembly Bill 109 revocation sub-fund.

“The fund has been building over several years, and I considered it to be a rainy day fund,” Ramsey said. “Well, it’s beyond raining. It’s flood season, and our situation is dire.”

It is stated in the resolution that the hiring bonuses are non-pensionable and will only apply to four vacant positions. Additionally, the program will go until March 31, 2025 at which point it will return to the board for review.

The resolution also states that the county will try to recover bonuses paid to those who leave before reaching set milestones.

With little discussion from the board, the program was approved unanimously.

Other hiring programs

Ramsey’s request was far from the only discussion regarding hiring bonuses.

Along with the approval for the DA’s Office, the board approved a change to the bonus programs set for the Butte County Sheriff’s Office as well as a retention bonus for Ramsey’s office atop the previously mentioned hiring payout.

For the Sheriff’s Office, a hiring bonus was set at $10,000 for new hires and $30,000 for lateral hires. A resolution unanimously approved by the board on Tuesday changed how this amount would be paid out. Previously, the bonuses were divvied up into three milestones but the new resolution reduced it to only two.

A second program that provides $1,500 to employees who refer a successful hire got the same treatment and was reduced to being provided immediately upon hiring the new employee rather than having its own milestones.

Ramsey stayed at the forefront and requested a longevity bonus for the sake of retaining current employees which also garnered approval from the board. Full-time employees with his office will be given $7,500 on April 1, 2024 followed by the same amount again in one year, totaling $30,000.

These programs are funded via each individual department and do not affect the general fund. Supervisor Tami Ritter noted that this helped in the decision to approve them.

“I’m supportive of these programs because we will be able to fill positions that have remained vacant for too long but the other piece I want to highlight is that I don’t know that I would be as supportive of programs like this if it had a negative impact on the general fund,” Ritter said. “I think that’s what makes these things palatable is that they’re not coming from the general fund. If it’s within the department’s budget, I think it’s easier for these things going forward.”

Ticks are active year-round, but those most known for carrying Lyme disease, the Western black-legged tick, or ixodes pacificus, tend to thrive in green grass along the foothills and are more active during the winter and spring months when there is consistent rainfall.

Ryan Rothenwander, an ecologist with the Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District, said he and other employees with the district go out to frequented areas within the county to collect ticks for testing.

“(The Western black-legged tick) is our primary Lyme disease carrier,” Rothenwander said. “So a bite from this tick could lead to transmission of Lyme disease or tick-borne relapsing fever. The way we sample this is we travel along established trails at Bidwell Park, Loafer Creek, Lake Wyandotte or Lime Saddle, and we drag what is a fleece blanket on a pole for about 60 to 100 feet and check it and get the ticks off of it.”

Once the test results on the specimens are in, the district posts signs on the trails warning hikers, Rothenwander said, adding that it is important to check parts of the body that see more moisture or darkness such as the armpit after being outdoors for a period of time.

The risk of Lyme disease typically doesn’t increase until the tick has been on the body for at least 24-48 hours. An early sign of Lyme disease is a bullseye-shaped rash around the bite location. Those bitten by a tick should consult with a doctor for testing, Rothenwander said.

“Generally we do tell people to wear long sleeves and long pants,” Rothenwander said. “They can tuck their pants into long socks. Wear closed-toes shoes of course.”

Rothenwander showcased some tools that can be used to remove ticks such as a pair of tweezers or a tick key, which is a thin piece of metal or plastic with a hole that gradually shrinks into a point to lock onto the tick and pull it off. Ticks should be removed by clasping onto them as close to the skin as possible to make sure no part of it is left in the wound.

“We don’t suggest burning a tick because that could influence it to regurgitate,” Rothenwander said. “When it puts the blood it was taking back into you, it’s introducing even more disease particulates.”

Rothenwander added that trying to suffocate the tick using substances such as Vasoline is also ineffective.

Mosquitos

While mosquitos have seemingly been out in full force during the sunnier days recently, the temperatures will need to rise before the risk of West Nile Virus returns.

As the Lyme disease season dies down, usually toward the end of May, Rothenwander said, the district begins to shift its focus toward mosquitos.

“As the tick season subsides, we will be transitioning into a heavier mosquito season,” Rothenwander said. “The water is there after the rains and after irrigation has started on the rice fields and the temperature has come up to anywhere from 65 to 75 degrees at nighttime. That’s when we’re going to start having a higher presence of mosquitoes for the season.”

For Butte County, West Nile tends to show up either toward the end of June or the beginning of July.

“Once West Nile presents, then we notify the Public Health office and newspapers and publications that what we’ve found was West Nile Virus.” Rothenwander said.

Joseph Hasper, 36, was arrested on suspicion of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. He was initially arrested on an unrelated offense and taken to the Butte County Jail, according to a press release issued Monday by the department.

The release said detectives believe Hasper stole tip jars from businesses and was combative with employees during one such incident.

In September, police responded to a call that someone had been stabbed at a business at the 900 block of East Avenue after a man tried to steal a tip jar and run. During this time, a customer was slashed on the arm with a knife and was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

In fact, It would be easy to want to take advantage of a promotion offering to lower those bills from a magical stranger who calls you. But like everything I write this column about, if it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is.

A reader sent us a letter this week regarding a call from “Comcast-Xfinity” offering to lower her bill. As the company has previously said in a statement, it will not call you, you call the company. Looking into this further, commenters on Xfinity’s website have posted about this very scam. The caller rings you up, tells you that you’ve been a great customer and offers you cheap service henceforth.

If only brand loyalty got you that kind of service.

The target for this kind of scam is a broad spectrum. They will likely aim for people who aren’t as tech-savvy or people struggling financially or might be fighting to make ends meet. I don’t need to tell you that’s pretty heinous.

Once the scammer gets your attention, they’ll start asking for financial information such as your billing zip code and card number for verification. Honestly, you can hang up as soon as they say they’re with your provider or start offering you cheap service.

These scams are unfortunately all too common and if you are ever unsure, you can always hang up and call your service provider directly. Never hand over personal information without doing your own verification.

Stay safe out there folks and happy Easter.

Scam of the Week generally runs every Tuesday. Readers are welcome to contact reporter Jake Hutchison to report scams and potential scams they have come in contact with by calling 828-1329 or via email at jhutchison@chicoer.com.

Cal Fire-Butte County Captain and Public Information Officer Dan Collins said the call came in at 10:39 a.m. Monday and firefighters responded and determined that the person had died after falling to the ground. The identity of the person has not been released to the public.

Collins said the Oroville Police Department took over the investigation.

More information will be reported on this incident as it is known.

The Butte County Board of Supervisors will hear updates Tuesday on these programs and how they’ve been working thus far and then decide whether to continue them. They were first approved on Dec. 13, 2023 and have been in effect since.

The first is the hiring bonus for the positions of correctional deputies I and II. For these positions, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office has been offering a hiring bonus of $10,000 for new or entry-level employees and a lateral transfer bonus of $30,000. According to the agenda report, these numbers would remain the same in a new resolution to be presented by Human Resources Director Sheri Waters but what would change based on the proposed resolution is how the money is paid out.

The board previously approved a resolution in December that allows for the bonus to be paid out over three milestones with the final installment coming after a probationary period. The new resolution would change this to two milestones with the final amount provided after the new employee finishes the Field Training Officer program.

“Hiring Bonus Program costs, which are estimated to be between $110,000 and $333,000, depending on the mix of new hires and laterals, are recommended to be funded equally by two sources: Community Corrections Partnership one-time funds and 2011 Local Innovation Funds,” the agenda report reads. “The CCP has approved the use of the funds, and the Local Innovation Funds are under the control of the Board of Supervisors. The budget amendment for this action will take place at the end of the fiscal year once the actual costs are known.”

The next item covers the temporary Law Enforcement Referral Bonus Program which was approved on July 26, 2022. If approved, the $1,500 referral bonus will remain the same but will be paid in full upon hiring the referred employee.

Along with possible changes to Sheriff’s Office bonuses, a new retention system is being introduced for the Butte County District Attorney’s Office. This bonus, however, will focus on those currently employed full time with the office. The related staff report said full-time employees would receive a total of $15,000 with the first half provided on April 1, 2024 and the second half on April 1, 2025 if those employees are still on staff. The cost of the program comes out to approximately $300,000 and would be paid via Assembly Bill 109 funding.

“The budget amendment for this action will take place at the end of the fiscal year once the actual costs are known,” the agenda report reads.

In addition to the aforementioned bonuses for Sheriff’s Office employees, the office will also be pursuing a classification change for employees at the juvenile hall. The related agenda report states that Senate Bill 823 caused state-run facilities to close, putting additional strain on local juvenile halls.

“These new expectations of juvenile hall staff more closely align with the responsibilities of the Deputy Probation Officer series,” the report reads. “The consolidation of all Probation Department sworn positions into one classification series will improve the recruitment efforts and the addition of a Deputy Probation Officer III in the series will address department needs and support retention efforts.”

The Butte County Board of Supervisors generally meets at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at its chambers located at 25 County Center Drive, Suite 205 in Oroville. Meetings are free and open to the public. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26, 2024.

From Friday through Sunday, Chico and surrounding valley areas are looking at one to one and a half inches of rain with Paradise and other foothill areas seeing as high as two inches with the amount increasing as elevations get higher, said Sarah Purdue, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office.

“Red Bluff could see a half-inch to an inch of rain and everything in between from Red Bluff to Chico,” Purdue said.

Additionally, 35-mile-per-hour wind gusts are expected throughout the valley between Red Bluff, Chico and parts of Glenn County.

Snow in these areas is expected to be minimal with the level projected at 6,000 to 7,000 feet in elevation. Purdue said the number will drop to 3,500 in mountain areas north of Redding.

According to the forecast provided by the National Weather Service, there could still be traffic delays, chain controls and icy roads in the mountains. Thunderstorms also have a chance of occurring today and Saturday.

At Lake Oroville, the California Department of Water Resources continues to release between 6,000-10,000 cubic feet per second, said DWR spokesperson Raquel Borrayo, as well as from the Hyatt Powerplant.

“DWR plans to maintain Feather River releases at 10,000 cfs through the weekend, but releases may be adjusted to account for higher inflows into Lake Oroville,” Borrayo said. “Ongoing releases from Lake Oroville provide flood protection to the city of Oroville and downstream communities and ensure storage space remains for ongoing rain runoff and future snowmelt.”

Borrayo added that the State Water Project has increased Lake Oroville’s water storage by roughly 617 acre-feet so far this year.

“Releases are coordinated closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other water operators and are adjusted as needed to account for continuing runoff,” Borrayo said. “DWR continues to monitor lake levels, weather forecasts, and mountain snow levels to optimize water storage at Lake Oroville and meet environmental requirements while allowing for carryover storage into next year.”

As of Thursday, Lake Oroville’s water level was at 865.2 feet, still above what it was for March 21, 2023 when it was at 858.25, but the gap is closing between the two. In 2023, the lake hit its peak of 900 feet on June 21.

Shasta Lake is slowly trending upward in level and was measured at 1,046.12 feet at noon Thursday. The Magalia Reservoir is at 2,192.9 feet and Paradise Lake is at 2,568.8 feet.

DWR will be conducting its next snow survey at Phillips Station on April 2.