Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/226269
6A Daily News – Wednesday, December 11, 2013 Opinion DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong community newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehicles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its communities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the residents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Tehama County Landfill Editor: If you don't live next to the landfill in Tehama County, then it is out of sight and out of mind. Still as members of this community I am hopeful you would be in support of those homeowners who do border the landfill. Tehama County promised a buffer area between the landfill and residential homes, they did so when purchasing 30 acres of residential land for that purpose. Now the county wants to renege on that buffer area by rezoning and incorporating that land into the landfill. The result would be to encroach on existing homes and degrade the environment. Two thirds of the landfill area borders unused agriculturally zoned areas which they could make use of if really needed. Although at this point, there is not a stated necessity to expand at all; leading one to question the real motive for acquiring 30 acres. Furthermore, the landfill is actively dumping garbage on the open north face of the hill surrounding the landfill pit in view of homeowners. The question this raises is obvious, how many of us want to look at garbage dumping in our neighborhood? Consideration of homeowners by landfill management is clearly absent. As a community none of us want a landfill to become blight on the landscape. Consider a pleasant drive out Adobe as you pass a large expanse of garbage spread on the side of a hill adjacent to the road. If properly managed, which has been mostly the case up until now, there would be no complaints and no threat to the environment; the garbage was hidden behind hills. Up until proposed expansion and open dumping of garbage, the landfill existed behind rolling hills and could not be detected. The County Supervisors reportedly have $385,000 to spend on developing the residential buffer zone, even though there is ample land available on the landfill site. Thus there really is no need to usurp residential property unless there are other plans that have not been disclosed. Perhaps that taxpayer money could be better spent. Employees currently work off site and no reason they can't continue to do so. Perhaps there are more worthy projects needed in the county, the roads for instance. Already the county has approved $13,000 to develop plans for new buildings to appease employees. As we know there are empty buildings around town as a result of economic decline and that can house a small office staff. We need to unite against wrong headed decisions by landfill operators and illinformed county representatives. The open dumping and proposal to usurp residential land for landfill use are an embarrassment. One only needs to look at other landfill sites in northern California to see that they operate quite some dis- 1964 that the "Federal Plan" tance from residential proper- violated the Equal Protection ties in keeping with EPA guide- Clause of the 14th amendment. lines. But is that not exactly what the Tehama County's landfill current makeup of the State borders a subdivision and sev- Senate does? Do the rural areas eral homes are in close proxim- of the state have little say in ity to the landfill. County repre- how things are done? sentatives need to assure homeMounting a challenge to this owners that they will ruling and having it respect their residenrevisited by the tial neighbors and Supreme Court based Your maintain existing dison the impact it has tances from any landhad for nearly 50 years fill activity and will would be a better not create a ghetto by course of action. I moving closer to homes. believe they too would find this Lorraine Graves, Red Bluff unfair makeup of the State Senate violates the equal protection clause for all of the citizens of rural California. Editor: William Moore, Red Bluff The idea of forming a new state, the State of Jefferson, has been around for a long time. Even if it could pass a statewide Editor: vote, I seriously doubt any of The 3rd annual Bowling for the smaller states would want Shrine Kids tournament was put their power diluted by adding on by The Tehama County two more Senators from the Shrine Club Ladies. It was once west. again held at Java Lanes in A better strategy might be to Corning. Bev, Jerry,Nicole and revisit the 1964 Supreme Court Kendall are unbelievable in ruling that required California their commitment to this cause. to change the State Senate from The money raised is donated geographical boundaries to to the transportation fund for those defined by population. Shriners Hospital in SacramenThe original 1879 State Con- to. This enables children to get stitution had the Assembly and to the hospital with no charge to Senate seats based on represent- the family. ing relatively equal populations. A special thank you to all In 1926 we changed to the who participated and made gen"Federal Plan" and had the Sen- erous donations. ate seats based on counties. The There were many wonderful rural areas of California domi- businesses who were lane sponnated the State Senate for 40 sors, and donated gifts for our years and we had a say in how drawings. Thank you to everythe state was governed. one. The Federal Courts ruled in Joanie Conatser, Corning Turn State of Jefferson Bowling thanks Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 150 Amber Grove Drive, Ste. 154, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Commentary Gender differences hard wired A new study has come out that finds men and women really do think differently. According to The Independent, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used a new and very precise brain-scanning technique, diffusion tensor imaging, to create a neural map of the human brain. The technique has found that male and female brains are wired differently. "Researchers found that many of the connections in a typical male brain run between the front and the back of the same side of the brain, whereas in women the connections are more likely to run from side to side between the left and right hemispheres of the brain," reports The Independent. Why is this important? Because "the brain could play an important role in understanding why men are in general better at spatial tasks involving muscle control, while women are better at verbal tasks involving memory and intuition." Which reminds me of my sister Lisa's favorite joke: "Men are only good for one thing! But who cares about parallel parking, anyway!" The fact of the matter is that men and women are and always have been wired differently. It's written in our DNA. Women tend to be more intuitive than men. Ragini Verma, a professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania, told The Independent why. "Because the female connections link the left hemisphere, which is associated with logical thinking, with the right, which is linked with intuition, this could help to explain why women tend to do better than men at intuitive tasks," she said. "Intuition is thinking without thinking. It's what people call gut feelings. Women tend to be better than men at these kinds of skills, which are linked with being good mothers." In this nutty world, it is considered sexist, in some places, to compliment a woman for being a good mother — or to insist that mothers have some unique parenting skills that fathers likely lack. But don't ask me, ask humorist Dave Barry, whom I will now paraphrase: The difference between fathers and mothers is that mothers are far less likely to drive off with the baby still sitting on the roof of the car. used in the University of PennMany other studies over the sylvania study will not only help understand differences years have gained between men and insight into the differwomen, but also proences between men vide more insight into and women. neurological disorTake dust. Whereas ders, which are often the male brain is more gender-related. wired for navigating It's a grand thing outdoor activities, such that modern as hunting woolly researchers continue mammoths, the female to make strides into brain is wired to notice human biology and more sensory detail. behavior. It's just too Men are less likely to Tom bad that we need studnotice dust, which, ies to affirm what women tell me, is a most of us have mix of fine particles always known to be that settle on furniture. Listening offers another true. That men and women are difimportant distinction between men and women. One brain ferent — and we should celeimaging study shows that men brate our differences rather than listen with only one side of their pretend they are not so. brain, whereas women use both. Tom Purcell, author of (Women would be shocked if "Misadventures of a 1970s they knew how many other things we do using half a brain.) Childhood" and "Comical Since women listen using sever- Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes al regions on both sides of their on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Tribune-Review brain, they are more likely to Pittsburgh remember things — in particu- humor columnist and is syndicated lar, every single wrong thing we nationally exclusively by Cagle Cartoons men have ever said or done. The Independent reports that Inc. Send comments to Tom at the brain-mapping technology Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Purcell