SLO County Roundup

North County

Commuters heading south on Highway 101 over the Cuesta Grade faced delays for the second time in a week after a big rig jacknifed Friday morning.

The accident happened about 7 a.m. just north of the Cuesta Summit, according to the CHP, and blocked the middle and right lanes.

The roadway was reportedly cleared at 8:07 a.m., but traffic was still slow going for much of the morning on Highway 101 in the Santa Margarita area.

On Monday, some commuters spent up to three hours in traffic after a semi-truck caught on fire near Tassajara Creek Road.

— Larissa Doust

San Luis Obispo

Jeffery Miles Berrett, 25, and Meghan Britnie Gross, 24, were sentenced Thursday for their roles in an attack against 26-year-old Philip Hauser in the early morning hours of Dec. 13 at the railroad tracks near Stenner Street.

Berrett was sentenced to a yearlong term in County Jail, and Gross was sentenced to 270 days in County Jail, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

They pleaded no contest to felony assault with a deadly weapon and the enhanced penalty of causing great bodily injury.

Hauser testified in a preliminary hearing that he was attacked at the railroad tracks near Cal Poly after he questioned them repeatedly about religion, asking why they didn’t believe in God, and “they got angrier and angrier.”

A no-contest plea results in a conviction without an admission of guilt, but the legal effect is similar to that of a guilty plea in felony cases.

— Nick Wilson

SLO County

Kevin Baucom, 47, of Atascadero has been reappointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, where he has served as a member since 2007.

He has served as assistant chief of recovery and mall services, substances abuse services and vocational services at Atascadero State Hospital since 2009.

Previously, Baucom was a psychiatric technician instructor at Atascadero State Hospital from 1990 to 2009 and a psychiatric technician at Mesa Vista Hospital from 1989 to 1990. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1981 to 1987.

This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per day. Baucom is a Democrat.

— AnnMarie Cornejo

Cuesta College

Military members, their families and clinicians are invited to attend a free, daylong workshop to examine the psychological effects of military service and connect with local and statewide military-specific resources.

Military, marriage and family therapist Kimberly Evans will present “Helping Those who Serve: Treating Military Members and their Families, A Cultural Perspective.”

Evans will examine different branches, hierarchies and rituals of service. She will also discuss the effects of deployments on service members, their families and young children.

The presentation will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Cuesta College Student Center, Highway 1, in San Luis Obispo. Parking is free in lots 1A and 2. Continuing education units are available for mental health professionals.

For details, e-mail Cheri Love at clove@co.slo.ca.us or Casey Roos at croos@co.slo.ca.us, or call 788-2061.

— Julia Hickey