(ABOVE: Celeste Draisner, 27, of Mountain Gate, Calif., walks around a catwalk on Knauf’s 199-foot smokestack in Shasta Lake, Calif., on Wednesday. She was protesting the new fiberglass manufacturer
plant.)

http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/1555794p-1632269c.html

Cat Woman protester arrested in Shasta Lake after climbing smokestack

Published 12:00 a.m. PST Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002

SHASTA LAKE, Calif. (AP) – A environmental protestor dressed in a Catwoman suit was arrested Wednesday after spending close to seven hours perched 125-feet above ground on fiberglass manufacturing plant smokestack.

Celeste Draisner, 27, of Mountain Gate said she was protesting health dangers she claims are posed by
the fiber glass plant.

Draisner was dressed in full Catwoman gear, donning a mask, cape, over-sized ears and a tail similar
to those worn by the Batman comic book character of Gotham City fame.

The Knauf Fiber Glass plant in Shasta Lake employs about 140 people, but has been closed for years amid concerns over emissions and water use. It could open within a week.

Draisner snuck up the smokestack at about 5 a.m., stayed there for awhile and told negotiators she would come down “when she was good and ready,” said Shasta County sheriff’s Lt. Harry Bishop.

Good and ready turned out to be about noon when Draisner walked down from the perch and was arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail. She later posted $1,000 and was been released. Her attorney says her choice of protest attire was a mystery.

“The Catwoman risked her life to save the lives of others,” said Draisner’s lawyer Eric Berg.

Berg said those opposed to the plant want an environmental study conducted before the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation grants Shasta Lake’s request for water to serve the fiberglass plant.

Knauf Fiber Glass is a member of the family of building materials companies owned by the Knauf family of Iphofen, Germany.