New Times - San Luis Obispo

Police got confessions from three people accused of killing Atascadero resident Norma Barto the day before Thanksgiving, according to court records on the case.

Barto, 56, was the subject of an intense search in the county for six days before her battered body was discovered near Highway 101 between Paso Robles and San Miguel.Barto, an employee of Wild Horse Winery, apparently left work and drove to a location near Wilson Lanes on the north side of town. Her vehicle was discovered following her disappearance.Investigators said the woman had been either killed or severely beaten at a Paso Robles residence and her body dumped. One of the suspects said she was killed because she was seeking the return of a loan from Isabel Celis.Celis, 51, of Paso Robles; her son, Miguel Celis, 29, of Lost Hills; and Javier Chavez, 24, of Paso Robles, have been charged with murder in the case.Accounts of the murder in the court papers suggested Celis pushed Barto, who then hit her head. She wrapped Barto in a blanket and summoned her son, who drove from his Kern County residence to help place Barto in the trunk of an automobile. When the woman's body was placed along the freeway, said investigators, Miguel Celis hit her again with a 10-pound chunk of concrete.The trio was arrested after police got a tip from an unnamed source.

Freitas attorney denied bid for documents
The attorney for Kenneth Freitas was denied a bid last week to get documents from prosecutors he said were needed to defend his client against vehicular manslaughter charges.Ilan Funke-Bilu wants to recuse the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office from prosecuting the case against Freitas, 33, the son of SLO County Tax Collector Frank Freitas.The younger Freitas is charged with causing the death of Sarah Scruggs, 17, as she walked in a Grover Beach crosswalk in September 2002. After police investigators turned the case over to local prosecutors, the file sat untouched for six months until Scruggses' parents, Tom and Elizabeth, complained about the delay to District Attorney Gerald Shea.Shea then asked the state Attorney General to investigate the case, citing the potential for conflict of interest. The state's top lawyer declined to prosecute and sent the case back to San Luis Obispo County. Shea backtracked and filed charges, saying he would have done so earlier if the case didn't appear to present a conflict of interest.Funke-Bilu, who believes Shea is politically motivated, will argue for recusal of local prosecutors Jan. 30 in Judge Dody Harman's courtroom.

Strike talks produce no compromise
Labor negotiations between grocery companies and representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers ended on Sunday, Dec. 7 without a compromise. Currently, there are no new talks scheduled.The negotiations had resumed on Dec. 2 with a federal mediator presiding, but ended after the two sides could not reach an agreement concerning the demands by supermarket chains that workers shoulder a larger portion of their health insurance costs.

Margarita development moving along
After years of talks, a neighborhood of new homes near the SLO airport is getting a bit closer to reality.The Margarita Area Specific Plan will include 868 homes, 169 acres dedicated to open space, and 56 acres designated as parks. Seventy-five acres could be used as additional residential development in the form of apartments on the upper levels of businesses. Another 69 acres could be used as a business park.The Margarita area will also offer affordable housing. There will be 43 units designated affordable for lower-income households and 87 affordable for moderate households. ³

What's News is compiled by News Editor Daniel Blackburn and Staff Writer Matt McBride from local and other news sources.

BY MATT MCBRIDE

An early peak in this year's flu season has produced an unprecedented run on county flu vaccinations, and county officials say the supply is almost gone.

Barbara Schwenoha, communicable disease coordinator for County Public Health, said county clinics are just about out.

"We are very, very low. We've got a few people scheduled for [shots in] walk-in clinics, but they're pretty much telling people they're going to run out during those clinics. We're talking small numbers as far as [what's left]."

Dana Robinson of the Ventana Health and Medical Center in Arroyo Grande said the overwhelming demand has put suppliers of the vaccine in a bind.

"In the last couple days the situation with the vaccination shortage has gotten much worse. Our order was not delivered and our supplier doesn't know when or if we will receive any more. It looks like the entire area is having difficulty locating the vaccination," she said in an e-mail.

There are only two suppliers of the flu shot in the country, and they produce the vaccine six to seven months in advance. Schwenoha said the facilities that provide the vaccine are going "full blast," but there's just no opportunity to for the manufacturers to make more. She attributes the high demand for the vaccine to the media.

"I think the [Center for Disease Control] wanted to help get kids immunized this year so they hyped the kid issue a little bit because children do die every year. But when they do die it's a real big red flag in the community."

A problem with early high demand is the manufactures don't make enough vaccine for everyone who might want a shot. Schwenoha said if everyone in the country wanted an immunization, there would be only enough for one out of every four people.

"There probably isn't even sufficient vaccine for all the high-risk people, and now the people that are considered low-risk are getting very worried."

Both Schwenoha and Robinson said there's another option for low-risk people who haven't received their flu shot yet but still want to be immunized.

Supplies of Flumist, a new influenza vaccine that is administered as a nasal mist, are widely available. There are more than 4 million doses nationwide.

But there are drawbacks to the drug that keep it in the freezer.

One is its price. Flumist costs up to $60 and isn't covered by insurance plans.

Flumist can also give the patient flu-like symptoms because the vaccine is a "live" virus. It's only administered to healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49, and that person can't have an infant or any other high-risk person at home. In contrast, the flu shot only contains traces of the virus from wich people aren't likely to get sick.

Flumist also doesn't travel well. It must be kept in a very cold environment at all times and doesn't last as long as the shot.

But as the supply of flu shots run out, Flumist may be the only hope for individuals hoping to protect themselves from influenza this year.

"If it hadn't been such an early [flu] season, [the shortage] wouldn't have been such a big deal," Schwenoha said. "Flumist is around, and it's a really good recommendation for people that are not high risk."

But if you still want the flu shot, she said there is a small amount that is still in the county.

"It is a sparse vaccine, but some providers are getting [it] in separate shipments. Be persistent." ³

Staff Writer Matt McBride can be reached at [email protected].