Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/296370
Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor Editorial Board How to have your say: 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 no more than two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151 ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FaCEbook.CoM/ rbdailynEwS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @rEdbluFFnEwS Round-Up is Red Bluff's time to shine, let's make sure our civic pride and good old fashioned western hospitality leave a lasting impression on those visiting for the rodeo. Now that Red Bluff and much of Tehama County is in the thick of the 11 Days of Round- Up — today is day 7, if you're counting — it's a good time to take stock of how we are do - ing as hosts for out-of-town vis- itors, many more of whom will arrive in the next day or two for the rodeo. There is certainly no short - age of activities for visitors to enjoy in addition to the rodeo performances, including the pa- rade, a pancake breakfast be- forehand, the Round-Up Mixer and the Mark Chestnut and Chad Bushnell concert set for Saturday night. As individuals we can sup - port these events, many of which raise money for good causes here in the community. But there are many more ways each of us can make sure visi - tors leave Tehama County with the right impression — what a great place to live. Be patient behind the wheel. There will be plenty of folks vis - iting who won't know their way around, so give them a break and back off or safely pass while they search for an address or a parking space. Offer to help out if a visitor looks lost. Being a good embas - sador means giving directions, asking whether the person is OK, recommending a good place to grab a bite. Talk up your town. It's far too easy, especially in a small town, to complain about there not being enough to do or a lack of shopping and dining options. If we do this in front of visitors, they'll believe it. Considering its size, though Red Bluff has plenty to offer and most of it is pretty darn good. Let visitors know about your favorite meals and hidden gems — the more business you send their way, the longer they'll be around. Smile and say thanks. Most of our businesses do a great job of making sure their customers know they're appreciated. Dur - ing Round-Up, everyone who visits our county is a customer, so whether it's in the stands at the rodeo or on the dance floor at the mixer, when you meet somebody visiting from out of the area thank them on behalf of your community. You'll be amazed how that will make the person feel. The 11 Days of Round-Up is one of the best times to be in our community. Let's enjoy our - selves, take advantage of all the events put together by count- less volunteers and, most of all, make sure our out of town guests know how proud we are of Red Bluff and Tehama County. If we all make the ef - fort, these folks will be back. Editorial A healthy dose of western hospitality Red Bluff Police Department is poorly run Editor: Recently, I had to visit the Red Bluff Police Department to de- liver some paperwork and fil- ing fees. The paperwork pro- vided instructions on how to file the information and noted that the filing could be done Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. When I arrived on a Fri - day around 8:30 a.m. I was sub- jected to a dirty waiting room where I was expected to use a phone to speak through a bro- ken piece of Plexiglas. Having to use the phone was harrowing enough knowing that everyone who visited the RBPD must also use that same phone, but the fact that the room was dank, the Plexiglas window was broken and dirty and had a curtain sort of pulled down over it from the other side and there was no one there to assist me was hugely concerning. Even the dispatch represen - tative running to advise she was busy taking dispatch calls and would not be able to assist me. In fact, she never got to finish her sentence as she received a dis - patch call and had to run back to her desk. This was clear indi- cator that there is an issue with how the RBPD presents itself to the public. If it were a private business, I would have taken my business elsewhere. My perspective is that the PD is poorly run and has no desire to manage their cus - tomers' expectations in any sort of positive and professional way. It's a shame. I would be embarrassed to have an out of towner come into our RBPD and see the dis - array or be treated so poorly. I take pride in my city. I cannot take pride in what I experienced. Somebody should take some ownership and clean it up. — Beverly Lynch, Red Bluff No on Measure A Editor: If you didn't attend the SoJ gathering at the Elks you missed out on a "Gimme That Old Time Religion" revival meeting. The good news messengers set their tent up where hundreds of true believers were brought to near ecstasy when they were as - sured of reaching the promised land. — Sue Gallagher, Los Molinos Why is it so hard to do the right thing? Editor: All of a sudden I saw a sher- iff's car pull up to my driveway. The young man politely asks me if I am who I am. I say yes I am. He then admonished me for tres - passing on a nearby property. I explain to him that I have had two surgeries in the last three weeks, one just a week ago. I further explained to the young deputy that I am barely able to walk and have been laid up in bed recovering. It did not seem to matter. I am told not to go to the property again or I will be arrested. What happened next, a neigh - bor of mine owned the situation and went down to the sheriff's department and explained to the sergeant on duty that he was the one that encountered a person at the residence while trying to feed his dog that had run away. I called to asked for the deputy that admonished me to please call the owner of the property and explain to him that some - one came forward and owned the trespass and to let him know that I was innocent in a case of mistaken identity. The deputy, returned a call to me and said he was overworked and the depart- ment is too short handed for him to get involved in the middle of my problems. I believe, that until the dep - uty showed up at my doorstep I was not a part of anybody's problems. And that after I was cleared of trespassing because a man who did the right thing, I was now no longer a part of this matter at all. So how is it the deputy has time to accuse me and admon - ish me does not have the time to make a call and clear me. The deputy advised me to hire an attorney and have the attor - ney contact the owner of the property in order to clear my name. Told me to have a nice day and hung up on me. Why can't a man be a man and follow through for the idea of doing the right thing, espe - cially when this man is a man of the law who is representing the protection and peace of the peo- ple. It was not his mistake there was a conflict in my neighbor- hood. However, he had available to him factual information to get the story straight and declined the opportunity. If I attempt to contact the homeowner and explain to him what the mistake was, he will not believe me probably and I will possibly be arrested. I did make another two calls to the sheriff's department and spoke with the sergeant on duty and was told he would call the homeowner. I do not know about all of you but when I am accused of a crime that I did not commit, it affects my life and upsets my being. — Randy Woods, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take "I can't believe it. The wife and I owe the IRS again!" "You mean you aren't getting a refund this year like millions of working Americans?" "Refund? The wife and I run a small business. We are crushed by taxes. We can barely keep up with what we owe." "It can't be that bad." "We pay 28 percent federal, 3 percent state and 1 percent lo - cal. Then we pay 15.3 percent for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. All told, it's like we're in a 47 percent bracket!" "That's almost half. Surely you have deductions." "You mean the money we spend to run our business? Even when you factor the deductions in, the amount of money we pay in income taxes is astronomical. What is killing us more is the time and cost of completing our tax return." "What is so hard about fil - ing?" "The tax code is incredibly complicated — so complicated that, according to the National Taxpayers Union, Americans spend 7.64 billion hours and $227.1 billion complying with the tax laws every year." "How did filing become so complex?" "It's not hard to understand. When the income tax became law in 1913, the tax code was 16 pages long. Now it is nearly 75,000 pages long!" "How did it get so big?" "Because the government uses the tax code to do ev - erything from redistributing wealth to giving taxpayers in- centives to buy homes, have kids, save money, spend money and so on. "Sounds like we need tax re - form!" "You got that right. Every- one agrees that our complex tax code is hurting the econ- omy. Tax reform could unleash America's pent-up economic en- ergy and increase revenues to help us reduce our deficit." "Maybe we can scrap the whole income tax system and replace it with more simple and sensible ways to acquire the revenues the government needs to operate." "You mean something like the Fair Tax, a national sales tax concept that would al - low us to keep our whole pay- checks and pay taxes only on what we spend? Great idea, but good luck making it happen." "Why wouldn't it happen?" "You really think that all the groups that make their livings off a complicated tax code, and all the politicians who acquire power by promising special tax breaks, are going to let that happen? Complexity is king in Washington." "That's a shame." "It's more than a shame. De - spite all the money the wife and I pay into the system — despite all of the agitation and lost hours — our country isn't even close to paying its bills. Americans now spend more on their taxes than they spend on food, clothing and housing combined." "I did not know that." "Tax Freedom Day is on April 21 this year — three days later than last year, says the National Taxpayers Union. This is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total federal, state and local tax bill for the year." "Almost one-third of the in - come Americans earn is what it costs to pay for government? I didn't know it was so high." "What's worse is that it is not high enough! Our federal gov - ernment is still spending more than a half a trillion dollars be- yond what it is taking in." "You're depressing me." "Here's what's even more de- pressing. If you factor in all the borrowing and money we owe, Tax Freedom Day is May 6. The only time America had a later Tax Freedom Day than that was during the thick of World War II, when it would have been on May 21, 1945." "Now it makes perfect sense." "What makes perfect sense?" "Why you and the wife owe the IRS again!" Tom Purcell, author of "Misadven - tures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review hu - mor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons. tom Purcell Longing for tax freedom in America americans now spend more on their taxes than they spend on food, clothing and housing combined. the 11 days of round-Up is one of the best times to be in our community. let's enjoy ourselves, take advantage of all the events put together by countless volunteers... if we all make the effort, these folks will be back. Smile and say thanks. Most of our businesses do a great job of making sure their customers know they're appreciated. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, april 16, 2014 » MORE AT FaCEbook.CoM/rbdailynEwS AND TwiTTEr.CoM/rEdbluFFnEwS a6