A bomb threat, written on a wall Thursday at the Chico Winco, 2060 East 20th St. and discovered by an employee, is being investigated by the Chico Police Department, according to a press release.
The department stated they do not believe there is a threat to the public at this time, and if in evidence of a credible threat is discovered, it will issue warnings to the pubic with media and the Code Red system.
A manager with Winco said the store reopened with a short staff 6 a.m. Friday after being closed at 11 p.m. Thursday.
Pictures of the written threat, shared online, prompted Chicoans to report the incident; but calls about the threat seen on social media inundated the department’s dispatch center, the release said.
The department said that, while it appreciates the public’s help, it asks that calls should not be made with information discovered online, because it delays dispatchers from taking priority calls.
Park Fire waste
Local and state agencies working with the state Department of Toxic Substances Controls are beginning to inspect fire-affected properties and remove hazardous waste that may pose risk to the environment and human and animal health, according to a press release Friday by Butte County.
Cal OES teams, in its first phase of work, will be using damage inspection data to prioritize watersheds at the highest risk of spreading post-fire runoff contamination from items like batteries, herbicides, pesticides, propane tanks, asbestos siding and paints, the release said.
Components of this phase of work include measures safely remove hazardous waste without contaminating the environment, and to inspect and assess damage, the report said.
A dashboard to track progress of properties is reported to come soon at buttecounty.net/2025/Phase-I-Household-Hazardous-Waste-Remova.
Standoff
A Chico woman, accused of shooting at an armored police vehicle during a 10-hour standoff Aug. 10 that left one officer injured, was ordered to be examined by a psychologist after her public defender expressed doubt of her present mental capacity, according to a press release from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.
Sharna Christie Potter, 36, of Chico, during a hearing Thursday at Butte County Superior Court, pleaded not guilty to counts of assaulting a peace officer with a firearm and denied allegations of intentional discharging a firearm.
According to District Attorney Mike Ramsey, Potter was arrested Aug. 10 after responding to gunshots heard near Rogue River Drive around 10:15 p.m. Aug. 9.
Officers met Potter during a canvas of the area, and said she reportedly told them she was the one who fired the gunshots, according to the release. Potter reportedly retreated into her home, closed the door, did not respond to officers’ attempts to communicate and appeared several times in the window, holding a handgun on at least one occasion.
During the seventh hour of the standoff, police used pepper gas on Potter’s house, and police say after a short time, she allegedly fired two shots at a Chico police armored rescue vehicle, with one shot striking a police detective as it deflected off the vehicle, according to the release.
After a statement by her legal counsel about her mental fitness, the judge suspended the criminal proceedings for an examination by a psychologist, according to the release.
Torres Shelter
True North Housing Alliance received a $100,000 grant from North Valley Community Foundation toward construction of a centralized navigation center at the Torres Community Shelter, planned to break ground in 2025.
The foundation’s president Alexa Benson-Valavanis said a need for wraparound services “is more evident than ever as the city of Chico enforces laws prohibiting camping in public places” and that staff at the Torres Shelter have workable solutions to help end chronic homelessness in the community.
The donation brings True North within $1 million of its $2.5 million goal, the release said.
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