Red Bluff Daily News

July 26, 2014

Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/352847

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 3 of 19

HIT FormonthstheTehama District Fair Board of Direc- tors has been saying it wants to take a new direction in man- aging the fairgrounds and this week it set out in search of that direction by holding a stake- holders meeting to gather in- put from those who most use the fairgrounds. With a recent history of budget shortfalls and stiff competition from other venues the board won't have an easy road ahead, but we are glad to see the directors includ- ing stakeholders and the com- munity in the journey. MISS All of Tehama County was rocked by the 2013 murder of 14-year-old Marysa Nichols in the dry creek bed just south of Red Bluff Union High School, but a lawsuit filed against the school district by Ricky Nichols, Marysa's father, is a miss in our book. The creek bed is a com- mon shortcut for students, but it is not on school property and the district shouldn't be held re- sponsible for students' safety once they leave school. Off cam- pus, it's up to parents to keep their children safe by teaching them how to avoid risky situa- tions, people and places. HIT Corning Little League's Se- nior Division All-Star team of 15- and 16-year-old baseball play- ers has been getting the timely hits all summer and as of Fri- day night were on the verge of winning the Northern California State Championship. Winning the tournament, which will take one win in either of the team's fi- nal two games against Rocklin, would qualify Corning for the West Regional next week. A trip totheSeniorLeagueWorldSeries would be on the line. We're go- ing to print Friday before know- ingwhethertheteamwon.Ifthey didn't we're hoping they'll pull it out tonight. Regardless, getting this far is a hit. MISS This seems to be a tough summer to be a mailbox in the southern portion of the county. Week after week the sheriff's logs seem to be filled with reports of residents waking up to find their mailboxes have been smashed. Youthful prank? Perhaps. Here's hoping the emotionally stunted individuals who believe smash- ing a stranger's private property makes them big shots soon grow up and realize it just makes them lowly pests that hide in the dark — the cockroaches of the com- munity. HIT Few things can prompt a smile and sense of well being as quickly as the companionship of a well-trained dog. Thanks to Veterans and Shelter Pets and Vigilant Canine Services Inter- national area veterans are being paired with canine companions, in some cases as a healing com- ponent for post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain in- jury. The program is new, but or- ganizers say they hope to match as many dogs as possible with veterans — a win for both. MISS We applaud the Tehama County Sheriff's Department for the role it played in the capture of two men who were indicted by a federal grand jury Thurs- day in connection with a mar- ijuana grow in the Lassen Na- tionalForest. But it issad that the forests and mountains that are the treasure of the North State continue to be destroyed by pot growers. Aside from the devasta- tion caused by chemicals and ir- rigation practices, many no lon- ger feel safe utilizing the public lands that belong to all of us. We hopethesebustscontinuebutare not confident the illegal grows willever beeradicated entirely as long as there's money to be had in the marijuana business and a steady stream of willing buyers to ensure its profitability. HIT A report issued this week showed sales tax receipts in Red Bluff leapt by double digits, 11.4 percent, for the fourth quarter of 2013 and the entire year out- shined the previous year by 9.2 percent. We're not ready to de- clare Red Bluff's economy fully recovered, but it is encourag- ing to see steady improvement — the kind that is more likely to lastcomparedwiththeboomand bust days. Hits and misses Fairboard seeks new direction Some good friends of ours are planning to move out of Red Bluff; they say it has become de- pressing, and they want to move to be closer to grandchildren. They see no end in sight for the absence of jobs, lack of economic growth, drug related crime, the unimaginative City Council, the farcical Board of Supervisors and the increased risk to safety in their neighborhood. It saddens us to think we will not see them as often, and not share our com- mon joys and histories as much. We understand that they at least are moving to something as well as away from something. While they may want to leave Red Bluff, they are normally very optimis- tic people. One of my favorite stories is about the Scottish minister who always could find reasons to give thanks. On one Sunday morn- ing the skies opened up and the wind blew fiercely; mud was ev- erywhere, and two congregants were heard whispering, "Just what can he [the preacher] be thankful for on a day like this?" The minister opened his prayer of thanksgiving with, "Lord we are thankful that every day is not like this. I wish more of us could be like that preacher. My parents used to ask why certain people they knew were a Gloomy Gus. I knew what they meant, but it wasn't until I was an adult that I became famil- iar with its origin. Gloomy Gus was a character in the comic strip Happy Hooligan. Both Gloomy and Happy were what were then called hobos. They had a companion who named Montmorency; although he was as poor as his two companions he dressed in a top hat and af- fected aristocratic behavior and snobbishness. Gloomy could find no silver linings on any cloud; Happy could see the positives in most situations. Montmorency was above it all. We have all met people who fit those caricatures or stereotypes. While I may explore Happy and Montmorency later, today I am going to write about Gloomy Gus. My concern is that we are becoming a nation, and more im- portantly, a county of Gloomy Guses. In a recent poll commissioned by the Atlantic magazine the re- sults seemed to indicate we are indeed a Gloomy Gus nation. Fifty-nine percent of those polled stated they felt America was on the wrong path, and only 35 percent of those polled felt it would be on the right path by 2024. Forty-one percent felt we would be even more divided in ten years than we are now. Fifty percent stated they did not think they could afford their children's college education in ten years. Sixty-six percent expected the wealth gap to grow in the next ten years. Sixty-seven percent felt money would have even more in- fluence in politics then as well. These opinions are gloomy. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation publishes county rankings; the purpose of the rankings is to spur public in- vestment in healthy living and lifestyles. Not all the invest- ment necessary to accomplish their goals requires boatloads of money; much requires attitude changes, cooperation and the fo- cus of positive energy. Tehama County is not the worst place to live in California; however, it does present some data that are disturbing. For ex- ample the teen pregnancy rate is well above the California av- erage, and equally well above the rate in our neighbor to the north, Shasta County. The per capita ratio of primary care phy- sicians, dentists and mental health providers is well above statewide averages, and sig- nificantly higher than Shasta County as well. Of the 57 counties included in the survey, Tehama County ranks 50th in Health Outcomes, 50th in Health Factors, and 54th in Physical environment. We rank 49th in Social and Economic factors. For example: 32 percent of our children live in poverty; our violent crime rate is well above the statewide av- erage; injury deaths also; and our unemployment rate remains high. We do have woes; our schools are not meeting the needs of all of our children, and they have to overcome many of the deficits children bring to school; an Oc- tober 2013 reading assessment of the students at Red Bluff High School indicated that more than 40 percent of the students tested are reading at least three years below grade level. There are even more indicators that schools have great challenges ahead of them. We live in a town where the police chief marshals a variety of dismal statistics to extract money from a moribund City Council, and he rarely misses and opportunity to bemoan his lack of resources. Now he is go- ing to have a show and tell meet- ing to show off his department and possibly plead for more money via a tax increase. Crime stories in the newspaper let us know whether the alleged crim- inal was released or in custody; in the past we could assume the criminal would have been in cus- tody. We drive the unmaintained streets, and we look at vacant buildings, we wonder if it is safe to walk in our parks and we snicker as our Board of Supervi- sors is coyly toying with the con- cept of the State of Jefferson to avoid further focus by the true believers. It would be easy to be a Gloomy Gus. More next week. JoeHarropisaretirededucator with more than 30 years of ser- vice to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sb- cglobal.net. Joe Harrop To be Happy Hooligan or Gloomy Gus in Red Bluff? Cartoonist's take Therestofthestory, please Editor: I read articles of impor- tance to me, but many times the information that I need is not in the article. I am sup- posed to go to my computer. I now longer have one. There are quite a few of us that don't have one. My problem is service. I can't even use a cell phone at my house. I'm about seven miles from town and on a main road, but it's worse than a third world country when it comes to service. So how about the rest of the story? — Linda Richards, Cottonwood Greenhouse gas goal set Editor: What a headline. "Green- house gas emission goals set." Followed by nada, nothing, zip. The Board of Supervisors had a meeting and set a goal of reducing emissions by 10% in the next 14 years. In their wisdom they excluded Red Bluff and Corning, the two cit- ies in the county, Interstate 5 and the two State Route 99s. I guess that means that those dang farmers had better shut off their dang tractors, because that's all that's left. And I bet the stupes still haven't figured out why we didn't vote in a raise for them. Another thing. Where do these morons come from? Our vaunted school system? Wild life officials have un- veiled plans to restore the salmon and steelhead fishes to the central California rivers. And what is their plan? They are going to return the fish to the habitats we took away from them with dams. In or- der to do this it will take de- cades and buy-ins from other agencies and groups. What a colossal waste of ink. We pay these people? You call that a story? The only way to restore the fish to their former habitats is to remove all the damn dams. And here's my prognostication on that: Welcome to the new State of Jefferson. This is the place where stupid reigns su- preme. The dams are here to stay; and the fish are gone forever. — Fred Boest, Red Bluff Busing, walking or biking is seldom an option Editor: Columnist Richard Mazzuc- chi is very naive in believing that seniors are going to walk 35 miles in the 120 degree sun to Chico for a doctor's ap- pointment, to pick up a rental car for a trip from the Sacra- mento airport or even a short five-mile round trip to the gro- cers, to the wellness center for exercise, to the Post Office or the 12-mile round trip to the Rotary meeting. The fact is there are no bike paths on any of the local pub- lic roads and highways, buses always cost more to buy, main- tain and operate per average number of occupants versus a midsize or compact car and time is a precious commodity for most commuters. Yes, there have been a few derailments of crude oil trains, but the much safer use of pipelines has been denied by President Obama and his Democrat supporters. My 46 mpg Prius, with its average two occupants achieves 92 people miles per gallon versus the 40 people miles per gallon of the typical 40 passenger 40,000 pound 4 miles per gallon urban tran- sit bus with 10 average occu- pants. Yes, 10 is the average US occupancy of a 40-seat bus. Our family 27 mpg cars used from 1971 through 1994 averaged 54 people miles per gallon, again much more effi- cient than a bus. It is a myth that buses are energy efficient. Having been chief engineer of a major transit bus builder, I am well aware of the energy savings myth. Gasoline and diesel fueled vehicles will remain the pri- mary transportation mode in the US for decades. Elec- tric vehicles, wind and solar energy only exist with heavy taxpayer subsidies. Don't feel guilty about driving a fuel effi- cient 30 average mpg car. — Joseph Neff, Corning Funding of the Afghanistan, Iraq invasions Editor: It is hoped that some one will explain to the American public, who is footing the bill, how these invasions are being paid for, and from what bud- get are they being paid from. Also how is cutting any part of earned benefits — for the simple minded entitle- ments — going to lower the federal budget? Both ques- tions are rational and simple. Why the liberals are not front and center on these is- sues is beyond rational think- ing, or is it that America is such a land of lemmings that even the thought of challeng- ing those in office is never thought of? Come on, you that pro- fess to think, wake up and do something seldom done here in America and think and question. — Robert Hogan, Red Bluff Your opinions Here's hoping the emotionally stunted individuals who believe smashing a stranger's private property makes them big shots soon grow up and realize it just makes them lowly pests that hide in the dark . GregStevens,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 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 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 OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, July 26, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Red Bluff Daily News - July 26, 2014