Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/10872
4A – Daily News – Saturday, May 22, 2010 Opinion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Deaths should prompt Hwy 99 passing zones Editor: Another death occurred May 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 let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. 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 submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity 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 vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents 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 on Highway 99E because there are too few passing zones. Frustrated drivers are forced to take passing risks. Local legislators have failed to lobby Sacramento's power struc- ture to add passing lanes to allow 65 mph vehicles to pass 50 mph trucks. The Daily News should write a series of articles on the Highway 99E death and accident record these past 25 years, to attract the attention of Sacramento power brokers. Vehicle owners have provided the needed road use taxes to improve the safety of Highway 99E, but the funds have been diverted to local mass transit, bicy- cle paths and excess public employee pay and benefits. We limit our trips from Corning to Chico to about a dozen yearly because of the extreme risk of dri- ving on dangerous Highway 99E. Joseph Neff, Corning Hollow promises? Editor: I would like to respond to Ronald Dodd's letter titled "Hol- low promises." First let me say that I am on the fence in who I will vote for in the upcoming election and I have no experience in running a jail facili- ty. What I do have is a vested interest in our community and eyes wide open on current events and budget woes. The attitude of things can’t get any better because I am in charge seems a bit arrogant. Slighting Dave Hencratt for an attempt to improve on a facility that you oversee seems a bit closed mind- ed. I checked Hencratt’s website, nowhere did I see that he intends to provide the inmate work crews as a free service. I also did a little research and located several simi- lar programs where the work crews are an asset to a community and are thriving. The inmates pay a fee to work for 8 hours a day, they provide much needed services and they go home at night. Not much but I see savings of meals, use of an already taxed and shorthanded staff and free beds for more violent offend- ers such as the restraining order violators. Also you indicated that there is a possibility of future layoffs at the department. By implementing a paid work program a correctional officer’s salary could be supple- mented or recouped. I would be curious to find out the number of inmates who do weekends for DUI and other traf- fic violations. It seems like we have a high rate of DUI arrests, many average, working class indi- viduals who would benefit just as well from a work program instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on three hots and a cot. I checked the jail website. There are a lot offenders currently in custody for drug charges. In my opinion most of the drug offenders have probably not worked a day in their life. Most have very little work skills and no work ethic. A program like a farm would be a great way not only to sup- plement meals in the jail, but teach some of these individuals that a hard day’s work is rewarding. It would provide them with experience to do a job that we have an abundance of in agriculture-rich Tehama County. It is quite possible Mr. Dodd that the way you did things when you had similar programs in place simply was not the right way. Very few things in this world are per- fect, almost everything can be improved upon. Your Turn In light of the current budget crisis an attitude of I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing — a statement made by Parker — is not the answer to the question. Its going to take creative thinking and implementation of new methods. Perhaps even spending some money to save some. Megan Bowman, Red Bluff Supporting Miller for DA Editor: In my March 4 letter to the editor I did not hesitate to rec- ommend Ken Miller for Tehama County District Attorney and told of his many excellent qual- ifications. He served his country on active duty in Vietnam; served California as a Highway Patrolman; and served Tehama County as an officer of criminal court. I also said I would research the incumbent District Attor- ney's Office, report my findings to the readers of the Daily News and aid people in vot- ing for the best of the two candidates. To start I believe the citi- zens of Tehama County should know that in 2009 the current DA filed 840 felony cases of which only 112 were convictions found guilty in criminal court. That's only a 13.3 percent success rate. That's about only one out of 10? I'm thinking the other 728 felony cases probably were not felonies in the beginning, or all charges were dropped or dis- missed, or granted probation, or were reduced to lesser misde- meanors. The free-of-charge Court Round-up submitted regularly to the Daily News by the Dis- trict Attorney's Office appears to show a different story com- pared to the numbers above. Maybe someday an explanation will surface. Did you notice at Bob's Tire Service, Walnut and Madison in Red Bluff, how the DA attached his sign immediately behind and above the existing Ken Miller sign? I say the DA should find his own sign location and not rely on his opponent, Ken Miller. Don't you agree? My position in support of Ken Miller is clear so that the readers are in no doubt as to my endorsement of him for District Attorney. Norman Weitzel, Gerber Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. I’ve got the horse right here… Commentary This is the Triple Crown time of the year. Two of the three races have already taken place, and there will be no suspense about winning the Triple Crown this year. With the last minute addition of a write- in candidate for judge, however, we will have a little suspense wait- ing to see if that candidate becomes a spoiler for the other two seeking a majority vote. I find myself humming and attempting to sing the words to the opening of the musical, Guys and Dolls. The tune is a fugue and is fairly complex to sing because it requires good timing. Bach, the master of the fugue, would proba- bly roll over in his grave if he could hear his favorite musical form praising the virtues of play- ing the horses. The words to the Guys and Dolls fugue are quite clever. You may remember those words sung at the very beginning of the show by that inveterate but smiley faced gambler, Nicely Nicely. “I’ve got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere, and there’s a guy that says if the weather’s clear, can do, can do…” A “can do” attitude is important to gamblers; that is probably unfortunate because that very atti- tude can support a bad habit. For “doers”, however “can do” is an essential ingredient in their lives. When “can doers” get together to work on common goals, the results are often unimaginably astound- ing. We are in the end game of the primary election season; whether or not the results of that election will make any difference to us will take time to determine. My guess is that not much will change. Between now and Election Day we will listen to self-proclaimed “conservatives” or “realists” or “axe swinging reformers”. It would all be comical except that we are stuck in a state fiscal crisis with a projected four year horizon of relief if our state leaders can exercise some self- control. Locally we have heard the chest inflated “been there, done that” speech of an Assemblyman who claims local residence; we have wondered who the “us” is in the campaign slogan “He’s one of us”; we have pondered what “The time is now” might mean, and we shake our heads. About the only sane moment in the candidates’ night at the Veter- ans’ Hall in Red Bluff was when one of the candidates for judge had the good judgment to put down the microphone and use his own voice to make his point; the listeners were spared the agony of the high frequency feedback imposed on the audience by the cacophonic sound system, and the can- didate made himself clearly understood. For the most part the candidates told us to believe the “will do” what they pro- claimed they will do. They did not promise; they just asked us to believe. This different from “can do.” On a very positive note, the Relay for Life last Saturday was a sterling example of The only memorials were not for the “good old days” but for those we have lost to can- cer. Joe what a “can do” attitude can accomplish. Cancer has been with us forever, but we are making progress toward prevention and cure a step at time. Each year that I receive a good report from my doctors, put on the new survivor shirt and take the survivors’ lap, I am reminded that the cooperative efforts of diverse groups toward a goal can bring about miracles; I know it was the “can do” research and medicine I should be thankful for. There was no campaigning dur- ing the Relay for Life, except for the campaign against cancer. The only folks honored were survivors. Harrop Sometimes the idealist inside me wonders why we cannot be more united in the task of making our county more economically viable. Surely the “good old boys” referred to in the Chabin Concepts report, which was prepared for the Tehama County Economic Development Corporation, have had their turn at the wheel; we need new blood and new energy the report said. Certainly the eco- nomic and demographic data and the evaluation of our county by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which ranked our county 50th out of all California counties in healthy life style issues, should provide us with sufficient data to focus on key areas we can all agree on to improve our county and keep us from becoming a backwater area. There is a big difference between saying someone has to do something and saying I’m going to do something. Together we can do. Hats off to the Relay for Life team; maybe we can follow their example.