Author: Rich Pedroncelli
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Children quieted others at California school as gunman fired
RANCHO TEHAMA RESERVE, Calif. — Teacher Jennifer Bauman threw herself against a classroom door that wouldn’t lock right, terrified that the gunman shooting outside her small Northern California elementary school would barrel in and find the children huddled under desks. Shooter Kevin Neal, 44, bypassed their door, taking out a window before he went on…
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Quick-thinking school staff saved kids at California school
RANCHO TEHAMA RESERVE, Calif. — A school secretary at a tiny elementary school rushed out to shoo children inside. A custodian swooped in, yelling “get into the classrooms,” at kids in the play yard. Inside Rancho Tehama Elementary School, children and some parents huddled under desks as bullets riddled the tan and teal portable classrooms.…
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California’s famous ‘drive-thru’ sequoia toppled by storms
ARNOLD, Calif. — Fans are mourning a giant sequoia in California famous for a “drive-thru” hole carved into its trunk after a massive storm toppled the mighty tree. The tree shattered on impact when it went down Sunday, Calaveras Big Trees State Park volunteer Jim Allday said. “It was majestic,” he said. “Now it’s basically…
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‘They’re a lot like us’: Program pairs inmates, wild horses
ELK GROVE, Calif. (AP) — Jail inmates and wild horses are helping each other learn to adapt through a California program aimed at preparing both for society. Inmates at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in rural Elk Grove spend 40 hours a week training mustangs that federal land managers gather from overpopulated areas in 10 Western…