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4A Daily News – Saturday, July 27, 2013 Opinion Rancho Tehama DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY 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 letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All 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 cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong community 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 vehicles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its communities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the residents 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 Editor: I read your article, on the county discussing more strict penalties for growing marijuana, with interest and was distressed to find that it failed to depict the actual situation in Rancho Tehama Reserve. Obviously, you have not visited the Ranch and have no real understanding of the enormous problems faced by those of us who live here. Consider this to be an invitation to visit the Ranch and drive the 52 miles of road so that you can see first-hand exactly what is happening out here. I suggest that you come with a Tehama County Deputy. Meanwhile, let me point out the serious nature of the issues we face. I must point out that your article failed to set forth the real conditions out here, which, as Lt. Greer accurately pointed out, is "ridiculous and out of control." First of all consider the size of this operation. There are hundreds of gardens growing thousands of plants. By harvest time this crop, using the Tehama County Sheriff's Office estimate of $2,000 per pound, which is low, will easily be worth $20 million dollars. This is not a few folk growing a little weed for their ailments. This is big time organized crime, and the stakes are high. It makes one wonder if some of this drug money has already found its way into the county. Secondly, consider the nature of the people we are dealing with. We are dealing with criminals who have carefully planned this invasion. They have an elite leadership, and a host of followers, mostly illegal aliens, who insist that they speak no English. People out here are fearful of retaliation, and that for good reason. People have received death threats and members of our Board of Directors have been threatened as well. This is intolerable, given the fact that we are pretty much on our own out here. Unfortunately, if this problem is not resolved forthwith, Rancho Tehama, as it has existed since its inception will no longer exist. Instead, we will have 52 miles of marijuana fields controlled by criminals and illegal aliens. Meanwhile, the Ranch deteriorates. At least 200 of these growers are squatters, who have no respect for our governing documents, or for the Tehama County Building Departments Rules and Regulations. They abuse our infrastructure, disobey speed limits, illegally cut down trees, and steal our water. They are draining the wells of many people, and stretching the water supply to its absolute maximum. Our water table has dropped 30 feet since the invasion. These plants, which will total at least 5,000 by the end of the grow- ing season, will be treated with enforce. In so doing they invited nitrates and other chemicals that the criminals in. This is leadership? What we need, and that immewill pollute our ground water forever. The ecological damage to the diately, is to declare a state of emerRanch due to the endless traffic of gency in Rancho Tehama and trucks carrying water over our uproot all the plants growing here. roads is significant. But the heavy They are out of compliance with traffic across open land is also Resolution 1936 to a man, and destroying our fragile ecology, and have no respect for our laws. Why should we show any that cannot be easily respect to them? repaired. Your What we need, and And what about our that quickly, is help children? Fully one-third from both the federal of the Ranch falls under government and Sacrathe school bus stop, parks, mento. Almost 100 churches and child care facilities rule, that is to say no cul- percent of the growers up here are tivation is to take place within out of compliance with Ordinance 1,000 feet of these institutions. 1936. Bring in the National Guard There are 96 gardens that fall into and drive these criminals off of our this category, and school starts in land. Supervisor Bob Williams two weeks. Obviously, the supervisors think we should live with this uttered a lot of true statements consituation. After all, they are not cerning the problems we face, but most of them arise because of the their children. And what about our drinking ordinance that he crafted and the water? These criminals are drain- Board of Supervisors approved. ing our aquifer, and polluting it But the bottom line for him is that with chemicals to speed the growth "he is doubtful any changes in the of the marijuana plants. Are the ordinance will take effect for this supervisors simply going to ignore growing season, but it is hopeful it can make a difference next year." this ecological threat? This is leadership at its worst. Supervisor Williams and his fellow supervisors want to throw up Their solution is to hide their heads their hands and say, "Relax folks, in the sand and abandon our comwe will fix the problem next year. munity to the criminal element. There is nothing we can do right Write your supervisor and demand now." This is leadership? The action now. The community you Board of Supervisors adopted Res- save may be your own. Alan Mills, Rancho Tehama olution 1936 that they cannot Turn Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Homeless in America There has been a lot of coverage about the "homeless problem" both here and in Redding. While I was attending the City Council meeting on the 16th of the month at least two persons addressed the Council about their concerns, and Council members assured those in attendance that the issue was high on their list of priorities. In Redding panhandling, sitting and laying down on sidewalks are issues in the news. I have also received a variety of emails about the issue, and so I decided to do a little research to try to put the issue of homelessness into some perspective. Homelessness is a complex issue, a product of different circumstances for different individuals and families, and it is a concern which many individuals and groups have dedicated themselves to alleviate. Here, in Red Bluff, many are working to lessen the burden of homelessness. Much of what we hear and what is reported is based on anecdotes and strong opinions, often based on negative encounters with homeless people and panhandlers. The purpose of this column is not to refute what people have said about their encounters with those persons. It is also not my purpose to advocate for a particular position or solution to homelessness until I know more, but I would like to share with you what I have learned so far. Beware there are lots of numbers in this adventure; I've tried to put as many as possible in parenthesis so you can skim over them, but I have tried to be accurate, and I do think the numbers help. Homelessness is roughly defined as those people who live in a shelter, temporary housing, their cars, or places not normally considered habitable. A "point in time" count is made across the United States each January to determine the number of homeless persons. While probably not totally accurate, that count gives us some perspective on the size of the problem. In January 2012 the U.S. count indicated there were 633,782 people who were homeless. This is a ratio of 20 homeless people per 10,000 in the general population. ( For homeless veterans the ratio is 29 to every 10,000 vets.) The total homeless population is not a small number; it exceeds the total population of Boston. If all those people lived in California they would exceed the population of every city in the state except Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. Thirty-eight percent of those counted were unsheltered, that is, "living on the streets, in cars, abandoned buildings, and other places not intended for human habitation." This seems strange because the total number of beds available in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing programs exceeded the homeless count by over 65,000. In 10 states more than half the number of homeless are unsheltered. The five states with the highest rates of unsheltered people were: Wyoming (73.8 percent), California (64.9 percent), Florida (64.1 percent), Arkansas (62.0 percent), and Nevada (60.0 percent). In California over 85,000 homeless individuals are unsheltered. California has the largest number of homeless people, accounting for over 20 percent of the total U.S. count, over 130,800 people in 2012. (California's general population is only about 12 percent of the total U.S. population.) California's rate of homelessness is 34.7 per 10,000 of the general population. Three states and the District of Columbia (112.5 per 10,000) have a higher rate of homelessness than California; those states are Oregon (40.0), Nevada (36.4), and Hawaii (45.4). A subset of the homeless is those categorized as chronically homeless. Chronic homeless people are defined as "people who have disabilities, including serious mental illness, chronic substance use disorders, or chronic medical issues, and who are homeless repeatedly for long periods of time." Nationwide the "chronic homeless" make up 15.8 percent of the homeless population, or just less than one in six. Among the states, California has the one of the highest rates of chronic homelessness, with over 25 percent of the homeless population considered "chronic". Those with a higher percentage of "chronic" are Louisiana (35.3 percent), New Mexico (30.0 percent), and the District of Columbia (26.9percent). When homeless counts are taken individuals are distinguished from family groups. While there was a decrease in homelessness overall from 2011 to 2012, there was a slight increase in homeless families. In 2012, 38 percent of all homeless people were persons living in families; the total was 239,403 people in 77,157 families. Many of those families were unsheltered. The five states with the highest rates of unsheltered persons in families were: Wyoming (64.2 percent), Colorado (62.2 percent), Florida (61.8 percent), Oregon (49.5 percent), and Arkansas (47.7 percent). In CaliJoe fornia less than one-third of homeless families are unsheltered. When you examine state data there are some seeming inconsistencies. For example, Mississippi, which ranks last in the U.S. for median household income and has the highest poverty rate as well, has the lowest rate of homeliness! It also spends the second most on per capita expenditures for public assistance. (New Hampshire is number one., California number three.) Next week I will try to knit this information together and write about our local population of homeless people and those who are working to alleviate the problems associated with homelessness. Harrop Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.