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6A – Daily News – Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Opinion No encore, please Editor: 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 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 My husband and I retired to Red Bluff for the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. To have thousands of people literally milling around on Memorial Day weekend on the street where we live is not what I ever imagined would ever take place here. I was expecting some unwant- ed quests on our property or even some vandalism to take place. Unfortunately the vandalism took place at the festival instead. Society at it’s worst, how sad. Except for some minor trash of paper items, beer cans and dog stuff — how rude — the street by my home got off unscathed. The boom box noise from cars I expected from the bands was nonexistent. The marijuana smell did not pan out either. What a relief. But, there was the constant walking and driving by of crowds attending the festival. I even saw a woman stop to roll a joint by my home. She then started smok- ing it as she was walking to the festival. I still don’t care for large crowds or the purpose for the fes- tival. For me, to get together and promote the use of marijuana is not a good cause. I feel promot- ing this or making money in your pocket from this festival is con- tributing to the moral decline and values in our country. The only people who should use it are the ones who need it for medical reasons and not for any other reason. You can just get on the Internet to research it. You don’t need a festival to promote it. I’m glad the festival has come to an end and the organizers and promoters seemed to have had everything under control. We would have liked someone from the festival organizers drop a let- ter in our mail informing us — the neighbors — what was going to take place. more law enforcement than I have ever seen on Riverside Avenue. You all did a good job, too, Thank you. But, I’m not looking forward to another one of these. Why can’t the city pro- mote a family oriented festival with bands? Sue Sargent, Red Bluff Cost of death Editor: You think the banks are out of control with the fees they charge for services? Wait until you have a death in your family. My mother passed at Oak River Rehab in Anderson. Her body was removed to Red Bluff, placed in refrigeration, dressed and placed in a closed coffin we had ordered online. Total cost for these services, including fees, permit and two copies of her death certificate was $1,930. All of her funeral arrange- ments were handled by Fresno Memorial Gardens. Our family transported the coffin by van, it was placed on the gravesite by the staff, who had already set up the site for graveside service. My mother had paid for her grave in 1970 when my father had passed. The grave site had to be opened, a cement liner installed, a matching military bronze headstone and a granite slab to connect the matching headstones. Total for these ser- vices, including fees, permits and taxes was $3,943.28. Do the cemeteries and funeral homes need to be under regula- tion? Sharon Spurgeon, Red Bluff Along with the crowds, I saw Volunteers thanked Editor: I just returned from volunteering, for awhile, at the Relay For Life at Vista school. As I am relaxing I really Your Turn appreciate all the people in the community that make this event and the Sacramento River Discov- ery Center event last weekend happen. It is the people and busi- nesses that volunteer their time and talents that help Red Bluff to be the kind of community about which we can be proud. The center held it’s most suc- cessful walk-run event thanks to the work of an all volunteer orga- nization. Joe Brown and Glenn Eicholtz have created a wonderful walk-run course along the trails of the Mendocino National Forest’s Red Bluff Recreation Area. It is accurate to within inches of being 5K or 10 K and when volunteers help guide people correctly it is great. The walk-run had a couple of hiccups but the day was beautiful and with water stations and water donated by Mt. Shasta Spring Water and prizes donated by Prime Cinemas and Lariat Bowl, it was a great day for a walk or run. The volunteers were from Red Bluff High Key Club, Soroptimist International of Red Bluff and advisory board members like Basia Trout, Pat Patterson, the camp host and his golf cart were an invaluable assistance with the great assistance of friends Can- dace Byrne and Earl Bloor of Edi- ble Shasta-Butte fame. After the walk-run people could learn about the watershed and groups that are working to restore, protect and preserve the quality of life and water resources in this part of the state. Once again it was volun- teers that shared their arts and crafts, information about the river like the Tehama County Sheriff’s water craft, the Search & Rescue people, the Red Bluff Fire Department, the Department of Water Resources offering free jet boat rides. Volunteers from several water- shed groups, Tehama Resource Conservation District and Sacra- mento River Preservation Trust all helped visitors learn more about our area. The Spring Plant Sale would not be possible without the efforts of the Red Bluff High Natural Resource interns under the direc- tion of Matt Pritchard, but once again there was a volunteer, Sharon Kessey of the Red Bluff Garden Club, there to help answer plant questions when Pritchard was busy. At any large community event there are more volunteers than there is space to mention, but I think we are lucky to live in a com- munity where there are lots of opportunities to help others by vol- unteering. I certainly want to thank all those who helped the SRDC and gave me a chance to help Deb- bie O’Connor and the Relay for Life group this weekend. Bobie Hughes, Red Bluff 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. For Father's Day: Saving for a rainy day Commentary My father was right -- though it took me a while to realize it. He was born in 1933, when 25 percent of Americans were out of work. His father died when he was only 3, leaving his mother to raise him and his older sister alone. The young family moved from a comfortable house into a cramped apartment. There was little money to spare. My father learned from his mother how to stretch a dollar -- skills that would serve him well. He married in 1956 when he was 23 -- an optimistic time for America. The Depression had ended, the economy was blos- soming. He took a job with the tele- phone company. He supported six children by working over- time every chance he could. As he generated income, my moth- er clipped coupons, sewed cloth- ing and worked her mastery at reducing costs. Though my father was a mas- ter at saving money, too. When it came time to buy a new (or used) car, he had a more polished act than a veteran actor. Wearing his torn "car-buying" coat, he told the salesman and manager about the braces his daughters just got, the private- school tuition, the cost of milk for a family of eight... A few hours later, he'd drive off in the new vehicle, the deal- ership people eager to never see this man again. If any man claims to have bought a car more cheaply than my father, he's a liar. My father's chief skill was never spending more than he could afford -- a skill he strug- gled to instill in me. Whereas my father's world view was shaped by struggle and financial worry, mine was shaped by security and opti- mism. He and my mother provided us a comfortable home. We were never rich in a material sense but we had an abundance of wealth in every other sense. So strong was my parents' love and devo- tion to their children, optimism came naturally to all of us. When I cut the neighbor's grass and earned my first $4, my inclination was to spend, not save. I spent all of it on baseball cards and bubble gum. "When you earn money," he told me, agitated by my spend- thrift ways, "put at least half in the bank. You need to save for a rainy day." I thought of him then, and for years afterward, as a pes- simist, a relic from the Depression era. I was relatively young, after all, when the economy hit the skids in the '70s. I was unaffected by its lessons. I graduated from Penn State in 1984 -- just as an economic boom was under way. I took work with a high- tech company and marveled at its growth. Restless to make real money, I got into sales. I soon jumped to another job, then another. At 28, I joined with an older, established advertising execu- tive. We did very well initially and quickly invested our earn- ings into a high-tech venture -- both of us were ready for big riches so we could retire to the good life. The venture failed. My sav- ings were gone. The rainy day Tom Purcell my father had warned me about had arrived. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 28, I was aston- ished by how much he'd learned in 14 years." I have plenty to cel- ebrate this Father's Day. I'm 48 already. My father will be 77 next month. I'm blessed to still have him in my life. I'm grateful he has lived long enough to see his son -- and other Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Americans lucky enough to still have jobs -- finally saving for a rainy day. ———