Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/814176
ChipThompson, Editor 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@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 Mail to: Daily News 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS SometimethismonthIhopeourrabidanti- Trump media find a little time to cover a subject that has been very important to me since I was eight — child sexual abuse. Child abuse of all kinds is an epidemic here and around the world. In2015about700,000 American children were vic- tims of neglect or physical or sexual abuse. How many more cases were never re- ported to au- thorities is un- known. Neglect ac- counted for 75 percent of vic- tims, most of whom were un- der a year old. About 17 per- cent suffered physical abuse and 8.4 percent suffered sex- ual abuse. Some kids were abused in multiple ways. The long-term affects of abuse on children are well known. Abused children are more likely to end up arrested as juveniles and adults, more likely to commit violence crime and more likely to end up in prison and develop psy- chological disorders. Child sexual abuse isn't something that affects just poor kids or is committed by a few "celebrity" predators like Jerry Sandusky, the convicted serial rapist, child molester and retired Penn State football coach. American boys and girls of all ages, races, ethnicities and economic backgrounds are vul- nerable. According to the ex- perts, one of every three girls and one in five boys will be sex- ually abused before they reach 18. These innocents won't be victimized by random strang- ers. Sixty-eight percent will be molested by a family member and 90 percent of victims know their abuser in some way. So it's not just the parish priest, the gym teacher or the odd guy down at the end of the street we need to watch. More than likely, it's Uncle Charlie. And whether it's in the family, in the church or in the school, it most likely will be the abuser who is believed and pro- tected, not the child. A child has to tell some- one they've been abused seven times before the first person listens to him or her — and even then they still may not be believed. One predator will sexu- ally abuse 117 kids in their life- time. That means when you see someone arrested and charged with a couple of abuses, it's usually because they didn't get caught earlier in their lives. Predators are quick to attach themselves to vulnerable or troubled children who are look- ing for someone in their lives. The guy who molested me at an after-school day camp and took naked photos of me in 1953, when I was eight, taught me how to throw a football and shoot a basketball. He gave me the fatherly ac- colades and "atta-boys" I was not getting because my father and mother Jane Wyman had divorced and I was living with my mother. Every child needs parental love, accolades and "atta-boys." If you don't give them to your child, they might be given by a predator. So be a good father, a good parent. I never told my mother I had been molested or that the guy who did it took photos of me. I didn't tell anyone until 1987 — 34 years later, when I was in my forties. "Why didn't you tell some- one when it happened?" I've been asked. But that's the worst possible thing you can say to a kid. For an 8 year old, it's not in their lexicon — "I went to school, threw a football and was molested today, Mom. What else do you want to know?" What happened to me 64 years ago, still lingers today. You never outgrow it. You don't outlive it. Sexual abuse is the worst possible thing you can do to mess up the young mind and heart of an innocent child. Un- fortunately, as I know, death can become a welcome option. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. First established by presi- dential proclamation by my fa- ther in 1983, it's a time for fam- ilies and communities to make themselves aware of child abuse and neglect and work to- gether to prevent it. There's are many fine gov- ernment and private social agencies and family organi- zations devoted to preventing child abuse or helping its vic- tims, and there's bound to be one of them not far from your neighborhood. Sadly, they have a lot of work to do. They could use your help. MichaelReaganisthesonof President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). Send comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com. Follow @reaganworld on Twitter. MichaelReagan A subject the media should cover Cartoonist's take Our bullmastiff, All That Jazz, appeared to be sufficiently awake from his daily snooze for me to question him about events of the day. "What about the statistic in Time stating that 6,755 postal carri- ers had been bit- ten by dogs last year, up 200 from the previous year? What do you make of that?" Jazz yawned and replied, "I have no contact with postal people because I am not al- lowed off the ranch." "That may be, but you re- side behind gates for a reason. You have been known to bark at strangers." "Bark, yes. Bite no," Jazz re- plied. "Perhaps, but you have been restrained from biting when it was obvious that was your in- tention." Jazz pondered that one for a moment and then said, "In my guard dog instruction packet I was advised to attack those who threaten our family. Be- sides, don't we still have that sign on the front gate? The one that reads "Beware of Dog." Does that give constructive no- tice or what? The 200-pounder had a point, but I still wanted to in- still in him the concept of not reacting emotionally as did President-elect Trump with his unauthorized missile strikes. "OK, but let's put it this way. If you react to profiling every stranger coming to the ranch as to his way of dress." "If they are wearing a dress, I usually wag my tail." "I mean, what strangers wear often sets you off," I said. "Big coats and hats pulled down low. You should not judge a book by its cover." "I don't read all that much. I skip all the columns in the pa- per except yours," he replied du- tifully. He got me. Nice doggie. ••• Speaking of bow wows, sources say 95 per cent of pet owners think of their animals as members of the family, and about half of them buy their pets birthday presents. Furthermore, pet owners tend to have lower blood pressure, heart rate and heart disease risk than those who don't. Also, children who struggle with reading and read aloud to a dog show less anxiety. ••• A timely article in Time op- posite a full page advertise- ment for Copenhagen chewing tobacco. The article told of the passenger dragged off a United Airlines plane who suffered the loss of some of his front teeth. The ad across the page con- tained the warning: "This prod- uct can cause gum disease and tooth loss." Speaking of Copenhagen, the older workers on the kill floor at our meat plant in the days when the plant was flourish- ing chewed Copenhagen, and when one worker exhausted his supply of the tobacco, he would hit up his fellow butcher for "a pinch of snoose." The addicted did not smoke on the always wet kill floor but could satisfy their craving for Copenhagen. However, despite the warnings, the habit continues with base- ball players with a wad in their tell-tale bulging cheeks. ••• Well known horse trainer Dean Voigt is planning to at- tend the Red Bluff Roundup this weekend, and if you own a young horse that needs start- ing, or a barrel racer that needs finishing, Dean is your man. I learned about Dean from our son Brandon, who pur- chased a tall beautiful Andalu- sian yearling but waited until the gelding was four before se- lecting the right trainer. Once he heard about Dean and his mis- sion statement, "A compassion- ate, holistic and highly skilled safe approach to training; from colt starting to the cross-trained finished horse for a safe and trusting partnership," he knew he had found the right trainer for his valuable animal. Dean can be reached at his Tejon Ranch Training Facility in Lebec. If you are fortunate to see Brandon on his fine mount, Timex, you will see a nicely started horse on his way to be- come a finished product. Both horse and rider. ••• If you are elderly and still working for a living, are you ever asked, "When are you go- ing to retire?" Perhaps your job will dictate your answer. Sources say dentists and finan- cial advisors retire the earliest whereas the clergy, farmers and those who prepare tax returns work the longest. However, it is my experience that those who do retire at, say 65, often find their days void of stimu- lus, which can lead to dire con- sequences. My plan is stay in harness and keep the little grey cells functioning as long as possible. And yet, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." This lament is attributed to Robert Burns who died at 37, so we don't know if he had planned to retire early. ••• Two sisters, a blonde and a brunette, inherited the fam- ily ranch. Unfortunately, af- ter just a few years, they were in financial trouble. So, to keep the bank from repossessing the ranch, they decided to purchase a bull so they could breed their own stock. The brunette went to a ranch where they sell bulls and pur- chased one. She then drove to the nearest town to send her sister a telegram. At the telegraph office, she said, "I want to send a telegram to my sister telling her that I've bought a bull for our ranch. I need her to hitch the trailer to our pickup truck and drive out here so we can haul it home." The telegraph operator ex- plained it will cost 99 cents a word. After paying for the bull, the brunette realized that she'll only be able to send her sister one word. After a few minutes she says, "I want you to send her the word 'comfortable."' The operator shook his head. "How is she ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send her just the word 'comfortable?'" The brunette explained, "My sister's blonde. The word is big. She'll read it very slowly — com-for-da-bul. Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail. com. I say On canines and mail carriers Abused children are more likely to end up arrested as juveniles and adults, more likely to commit violence crime and more likely to end up in prison and develop psychological disorders. Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. I joined the Trinidad Civic Club, a General Federation of Women's Clubs organization founded in 1913in Trinidad. D'Lorah Hurton: On Corning's Maywood Woman's Club turning 115 And park where? I have to fight to get my parking space as it is. Lynn Christiansen: On consideration of off-street parking for street sweeping days Robert Minch StateandNational Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 895-4217, http://ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 ForestAve.,Ste.110,Chico95928, 530 879-7424, senator.nielsen@ senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sacramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558- 3160, governor@governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507 Cannon House Of- fice Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Fein- stein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415 393-0707, fax 415 393-0710 U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, 501 I St., Ste. 7-600, Sacramento 95814, 916 448-2787, fax 202 228- 3865 Your officials Michael Reagan OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, April 21, 2017 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6