Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/149455
4A Daily News – Saturday, August 10, 2013 Opinion 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 Call in the National Guard Editor: I second Alan Mills' suggestion that the National Guard gets involved with cleaning up Rancho Tehama. The ecological damage is an absolute shame. Where is the Environmental Protection Agency when we really need them? Sitting in their cushy chairs behind their desks that are made of wood! Where is PETA? I am sure animals out at Rancho Tehama are suffering too! "Get it together" Board of Supervisors and law enforcement! Cathy Sanders, Gerber Effects of marijuana Editor: I just read Jeannette Turner's letter regarding her and others' rights to grow marijuana in Tehama County. After trying to interpret her ramblings, I can only surmise she has a place to grow her own pot. For those of you that think marijuana doesn't cause confusion or alter reality, I suggest you read her letter. Barry LaVette, Red Bluff Good for me but not for you? Editor: Several weeks ago in the early morning a TCSD patrol car veered sharply off of Antelope Boulevard at Sherman Drive into the front yard of the residence at 60 Sherman Drive. As the resident across the street and rather hard of hearing, even I could hear the commotion. Looking out the front window the patrol car had come to rest butted up to the front window and kitchen window. I notified 911 and was advised the wreck was already reported and officers were dispatched. The officer involved seemed to be shook up but not injured. The sheriff's officer out on scene ordered the residents to remove himself from area of wrecked vehicle and proceeded to remove weapons from vehicle. A few minutes later two Fire Department trucks, ambulance and a few more sheriff's vehicles Sounds like National Security arrived. As a sheriff's vehicle and officer were involved a CHP unit Agency good for me but not you. W R Hendrix, Red Bluff with two officers arrived on scene and after about 20 minutes the ambulance's crew removed the involved officer to the ambulance. Editor: A few minutes later, one of the It makes sense to CHP officers entered limit pot growing to the ambulance to talk to Your 12 total plants, no the driver. A few minmatter the acreage. utes later he exited and Too many Tehama went back to the CHP County neighbors are unit. growing and selling My reason for this letter is this — any other taxpayer huge crops of Federally illegal citizen would have been given a pot. Californians who voted for sobriety test on scene, yet this pot legalization, under the false officer involved was not. Is this a guise of it being Medicinal, "behind the shield" free-be as in should fully fund enforcement my experience of 35 years with of the Federal pot laws. through RBFD I do not recall a no test heavy taxes at every level of under these circumstances. I can growing, harvesting, distriburecall a couple of tests given to tion, and end user sale. Long term sale should be city and county officials for calls limited to pharmacies and only we responded on. Further it is my understanding with a doctor's prescription and the county insured carrier has not a pot use recommendation. informed the resident they have As retirees, my wife and I pay no money to pay the claim as no one-third of our combined penone has released any reason for sion and Social Security income said accident, a friend reported to for health insurance, prescripme the cause maybe related to a tions, and uninsured doctor, texting message being sent by dentist, and optics prescriptions. officer involved. Easily checked It doesn't make sense to allow and verified, but as with using a pot sale without similar heavy cell phone it is legal for them but use costs. Joseph Neff, Corning not for the public. Growing pot 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. Commentary Red Bluff, a new view I attended the orientation session for the four of us who have volunteered to fill the vacant position on the Red Bluff City Council. At this writing the Council has not acted to accept one of us or to reject all of us. Personally I thought the quality of the applicant pool was a peg above of what you often see in many local elections, and the City Council will have a difficult time making a bad selection. The orientation session was an eye opener. While I was somewhat familiar with the trials and tribulations the city's finances and its limited resources, I was impressed by two things during the meeting. The first was there was no "woe is me" attitude on the part of city staff. They presented things pretty much without slumped shoulders, or other signs of depression or defeat. They have not given up the good fight to prioritize limited resources and do the best job they can for us in the city. No towel has been thrown in, and no one said "what do you expect?" The second thing that impressed me was just how difficult are the fiscal straits the city is trying to navigate. There is not only the problem of reduced revenues, but also the meager prospect for vital economic recovery in the near future with any significant growth in sales taxes, property taxes, and vehicle registration fees. I promise to quit complaining about the paving on Walnut Street until other more important matters can be addressed; in the great scheme of things my complaints seem petty. One evidence of the financial difficulty is that the projected ending balance for the current fiscal year is somewhere around $350,000, far below the "gold standard" of $1.2 million for a budget the size of Red Bluff's. The problem may seem the city's, but it is also ours individually. For example, the fire department is short staffed because of budget cuts. The department is juggling staff, qualified volunteers, and mutual aide to deal with keeping us safe. It is not an easy task, and it could have some impact on our pocketbooks. If the fire department cannot respond in a timely manner, and if it cannot garner enough staff to fight a structure fire, it impacts not only that particular structure, but also the rating the property insurance companies apply to our community. We currently have a fire insurance rating that is very good, but if that changes the premiums for everyone's property insurance will rise. The collective impact of across the board private property insurance policies would probably cost more than it would cost the city to upgrade firefighting staff, if it had the money. In the winter time when there are fewer Cal Fire staff on duty, there could foreseeably be a scenario when an EMT team is handling a serious medical problem, a structure fire is reported, and there are not enough qualified volunteers or staff from other entities to ade- out for those errant bikes that often catch us by surprise. We quately deal with the fire. can encourage the There is not enough schools to teach staff or time to adebicycle safety. We quately deal with weed can form neighborabatement violations. hood watch proSimilarly the shortgrams in our neighages at the Police borhoods; we can Department could hurt keep an eye open for us in the pocketbook as those cowardly gang well. While the rate of graffitists who lurk violent crimes in Red in the shadows; we Bluff is not as great as can pay attention to many other cities our our local governsize, there are some Joe ment, helping it do things that put us too its job instead of close to the top of the telling it what it can list. DUI's are a major do for each of us. problem here when We are a commucompared with other nity; we are tied cities our size. Traffic accidents, particularly those together with the bond of involving bicycles and cars are locale. We can either work far too numerous. While we together to improve our commay individually be safe dri- munity, or we can bicker and vers, a portion of our insurance moan and tear it down. While premium is based on where we the city government is important, ultimately it is up to us, live. While we cannot pull our- the citizens to make a differselves up by our bootstraps, we ence in our community. The "good old days" when can do some things to help our local economy. The most obvi- we had a vibrant blue collar ous is to shop locally whenever middle class will not return any practical; local shopping gener- time soon. We can talk about ates local sales taxes. Another the many issues we face as a is to encourage those you know community, but we can also to explore Red Bluff, to consid- talk about what we can do, and er moving here, to consider will do. When Eleanor Rooopening businesses here, to sevelt died, Adlai Stevenson employ local people, and gen- said "She would rather light a candle than curse the darkerally promote Red Bluff. We can tell our neighbors to ness." take care of their weeds before Joe Harrop is a retired they cause a fire. We can make sure we and our friends do not educator with more than 30 drive under the influence. We years of service to the North can be more cautious at inter- State. He can be reached at sections, keeping on the look- DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. Harrop