Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 1

Ukiah Daily Sports Heath sets new scoring mark Page A-6 Donrey Media Group 28 pages, Volume 139 Number 236 $1 tax Included Sunday, Jan. 11,1998 It's official: County has a woman judge By DAN McKEE The Daily Journal Calling it "an historic first," Judge Henry Nelson Friday administered the oath of office to Mendocino County's first woman judge as a courtroom full of colleagues, friends and well-wishers looked on. Ukiah attorney Cindee F. Mayfield was chosen by Gov. Pete Wilson to join the Mount Sanhedrin Municipal Court District last November.

She replaces Nelson, who was elected superior court judge in 1996. Although she's been sitting on the bench for two months, Friday's brief ceremony marked Mayfield's formal investiture. Things have been hectic, Mayfield admitted, extending her thanks to her fellow judges and court staff for their help as she began her new job. "You can't have generic justice," Mayfield said. "People bring their own experience to the bench." And Mayfield added she hopes "my experience as a woman, a mother and a civil litigator will bring new perspective to the bench." Mayfield's two children, Ryan, 8, and Jena, 6, looked on as their mother took the oath of office.

They were joined by a roomful of county dignitaries, including former judges James Luther, Jim King and Tim O'Brien, District Attorney Susan Massini, Sheriff Jim Tuso, supervisors Patty Campbell, John Pinches and Richard Shoemaker, County Administrator Mike Scannell and County Counsel H. Peter Klein. After taking the oath of office, Mayfield's mother, Dee Fay, helped her slip on her judge's robe. Sharing investiture duties with Nelson was new county Presiding Judge Eric Labowitz. Labowitz said Mayfield was joining the court during a time of "changes of major proportions" in the county's judicial system.

Changes include unification of the municipal and superior court systems and state- mandated changes in court funding. They are "a move in the right direction," Labowitz declared. "There's no such thing as 'the good old days' when it comes to court administration." He added, however, "The switch in administration is complicated and will take time and hard work to complete." "Judging is one of the most important functions our society provides," Jared Carter, president of the Mendocino County Bar Association, pointed out. "Administrative changes must not stop judges from being honest, fair and intelligent." Mayfield had been an attorney with Rawles, Hinkle, Carter, Behnke and Oglesby since 1987. Her appointment to the bench, Carter said, was "a bittersweet occasion." Carter described Mayfield as "a very hardworking attorney.

Her associates will miss her." Nonetheless, "we love to see someone we admire and respect succeed." Carter, who has been an attorney for more than 36 years, said Mayfield was "among the two or three best lawyers I've ever worked with. She's honest and sensitive to every issue in a case." Mayfield, Carter said, "will bring a balance and sensibility to the bench from which we all will benefit." As a municipal court judge, Mayfield will deal with criminal cases, smaller civil cases, See MAYFIELD, Page A-8 Julia Daily Journal Judge Henry Nelson swears in Cindee Mayfield as the new municipal court judge, the first woman judge in Mendocino County. Massini Massini announces run for re-election By DAN McKEE The Qaily Journal District Attorney Susan Massbli has announced she will seek re-election to a fourth term of office. "Innovative problem- solving is the key to success in a small county like ours," Massini said. "I look forward to continuing that service into the 21st century.

"Through fiscal responsibility and an aggressive approach to obtaining funding from beyond county general fund sources, I have created a responsible, fully staffed program that has been able to meet the needs of county residents as the seriousness of crime has escalated," Massini said. She added her "participation in forming programs such as the District Attorney Bad Check Restitution Program, Adult and Juvenile Drug Court and the Sexual Assault Response Team have provided important alternatives to (county residents) while lessening the burden on our cpurts." elected in 1986, then re- fejected in 1990 and 1994, Massi- jli served as Mendocino County's first countywide public defender for three years before elected DA. In 1996, she v'lost a bid to become a superior court judge. points to her extensive experience as a trial attorney and department administrator as factors that have earned her three terms in office. "The district have the skills to administer an office of 70 employees with a budget of nearly $4 million per See MASSINI, Page A-8 Julia Daily Journal Teri Gow presents the runner up, Kyle Akin and winner, Cody McKay.

Yokayo students test their skills in geography Cody McKay with a correct answer of "El Nino." By GLENDA ANDERSON The Daily Journal ne girl fidgeted, tugging at the hem of her shirt; another sat on her hands, looking tense. Farther down the row of nine chairs, a boy smirked, confident he had the answer to the geography bee question. "How many states make up the contiguous United States?" asked Yokayo school's geography bee coordinator Teri Gow. Already, four of the original nine contestants in the bee had been knocked out of the competition for missing two questions. The remaining ones other than the smirker, fourth-grader Kyle Akin, looked tense.

Nervously, they wrote their answers on pieces of paper, then, when the 15-second timer went off, they turned the answers toward Gow. The contestants who guessed 35, 52, and 40 were out of the game, leaving two contestants, Akin, and fifth-grader Cody McKay, who correctly answered 48, to contend for first place and a chance at the National Geography Bee. See GEOGRAPHY, Page A-8 Administration struggles with forest protection plan Cannabis clubs served with suits Federal government aims to put them out of business By GLENDA ANDERSON The Daily Journal The San Francisco U.S. Attorney's Office Friday filed civil lawsuits against six Northern California cannabis clubs, including the Ukiah club, to stop them from distributing marijuana. The lawsuits allege violation of the federal substance control act, which says the distribution, possession and use of marijuana is illegal, said U.S.

Attorney's Office spokesman Gregory King. The lawsuits caught the cannabis clubs off guard. They'd expected trouble from the state attorney general, but they had no indication the federal government planned to take Ukiah Cannabis Buyers Club cofounder Marvin Lehnnan. is named in one of the lawsuits. "It's a total surprise." he said.

The lawsuits are less complicated than a recent state lawsuit, which was complicated by California's voter-approved medical marijuana law. King noted that California's medical marijuana law has no bearing on U.S. law, "More than 20 states have medical marijuana statutes. But See CANNABIS, Page A-8 Associated Press WASHINGTON The Clinton administration is readying a sweeping protection plan for millions of acres of roadless areas in national forests, but under pressure from the timber industry, is considering excluding some forests in Alaska and the Northwest. The Forest Service is expected as early as this week to announce a new strategy for managing the remaining unroaded sections of the 191-million-acre national for- est system.

Environmentalists say they make up 40 million to 50 million acres of the most pristine, often centuries-old, forests that serve as critical habitat to threatened fish and wildlife, especially in the West. Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck briefed Agriculture Secretary Dan Clickman on the emerging plans on Friday. But Forest Service spokesman Alan Polk said Saturday no decisions had been made and no options ruled out. The agency, its parent Agriculture Department and the White House Council on Environmental Quality have been besieged by a last-minute lobbying effort from environmentalists, who want all national forests included, and industry leaders, who argue special circumstances warrant exclusions in some regions. "I know it is a question that is being debated internally.

I've been told it is a pretty hot potato within the administration," said Jim Geisinger, president of the industry's Northwest Forestry Association in Portland, Ore. Several Western Republican senators believe the administration is moving toward a policy that would place at least a temporary moratorium on logging and other entry into all roadless areas 5,000 acres or larger. The group, including Sens. Larry Craig of Idaho, Slade Gorton of Washington, Gordon Smith of Oregon and Frank See FOREST, Page A-8 Classifieds B-6 Comics B-4 Crossword B-5 Features B-5 Forum A-4 Health B-1 Jumble B-6 Lottery A-8 Obituaries A-8 On TV Inside Sports A-6 Summary, local A-8 Summary, world TV listings B-5 Weather A-8 Journal phones Main numbers 468-3500; 468-0123 Circulation Number 468-3533 Classified Number 468-3535, 468-3536 The Daily Journal is printed on at least 25 percent recycled newsprint. Low rub ink is also used.

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