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4A – Daily News – Friday, January 14, 2011 Opinion The Trial to Diaryville 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 Their are certain words in English that pre- sent a particular challenge four modern writers, who rely on spell check software to catch there mistakes. Homonyms. Those words that sound alike, witch are spelled differently – the too produce different meanings. Won such homonym brat grate satis- 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 faction to sum acquaintances at a recent dinner. Inn last week’s column having two due with jury duty, I rote that eye wondered weather my work at the news- paper mite somehow impede my ability to make an informed decision during a trail. Of coarse, I meant to right trial. Another such pitfall came up often at another newspaper in the hart of the dairy industry, when wee sometimes found ourselves mistakenly righting diary. Occupational hazard, I suppose. *** Speaking of which, it seems some took offense to the jury duty column, speculat- ing that I considered myself above serving on a jury. Funny, I thought the sentiment was the exact opposite. My apologies if that wasn’t clear. For the record, I welcome the opportunity to complete my civic obligation. Another reader missed the reference in the title of last week’s column, “11 angry men.” No, this headline wasn’t referring to a story about 11 guys “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore,” it was a reference to the teleplay written by Reginald Rose in 1954, later made into films in 1957 and again in 1997. *** Oops. Last Friday’s Select TV guide touted a cover story about "The Cape," a NBC mid-season replacement show that premiered Sunday. We teased the feature on Friday’s front page. Just one little problem, the story Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. wasn’t inside the guide. Turns out that some pages were cut at the last minute due to reduced advertising, and one such page con- tained the story of "The Cape." Thursday’s Pastimes page tried to make up for the misstep with a feature on "The Cape," but we’ll be more dili- gent when faced with late cuts moving forward. *** The Careful Reader Award goes to Bruce, who called to point out the Jan. 7 Annie’s Mailbox headline “Sapphic student suffers sexuality stress” was misleading. The column dealt with a gay male high school student worried about his classmates’s reaction to his sexuality. Sapphic means to be homosexual, but is derived from Sappho, a 7th century BC poet, and refers specifically to female homosexuality. Kudos Bruce. Chip Thompson can be reached at 527- 2151, Ext. 112, or by editor@redbluffdailynews.com. e-mail at Your Turn Venemous years have consequences Editor: The horrible murders in Ari- zona are an outcome of the ven- omous last four years of the left- ist control of Congress and the last two years totally partisan leftist control by President Obama. Our nation is centrist. Left of left youth can do extreme dam- age to our nation. The next two years under centrist and conservative control of Congress should be devoted to recovering our nation from the damage done by totally par- tisan politics including Oba- maCare, stimulus programs and sub-prime loan subsidies. Our nation now needs four years of centrist management of the budget including dramatic cuts in federal spending. Deficit states such as Cali- fornia, Florida, New York, Illi- nois and Nevada will recover through an end of stimulus fund- ing and dramatic cuts in waste- ful spending and job destroying taxes. Joseph Neff, Corning Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3063 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, 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. Blue Ribbon Redux Commentary Jean Barton writes long and informative columns for the DN, and can quote chapter and verse when it comes to the cattle business. Her latest piece, regarding the old Blue Ribbon Bar and Café, was another example of her knowl- edge of old Red Bluff and the players therein. She wrote that the Blue Ribbon was started by Jack Metzger in the early 1950s. However, it was definitely in operation as bar and café in the early 1940s. I know this because I played drums in the bar when I was 14. That would have been in 1943. WWII was raging and musicians were in were in short supply due to the draft. George Dryselt and later Joe Soares managed the bar and cafe for Jack, and the deal worked out with the Board of Equalization was that I could play as long as I did not drink. The experience of watching prominent businessmen cavort while in their cups, convinced me that drink was the devil’s tool. Jean displayed an advertisement welcoming stockmen to “Dance in The Blue Room to the music of Carl Coleman and his Dixie Swing Band.” This was after the war was over. Ronnie Peters was the regular house piano in the ‘40s. He played during week nights and Glen Perrine held sway on weekends. Mostly it was just piano and drums but occasionally we had side men. The dance floor was indeed small as Jean described it, and it is still in place at 648 Main in the back room of what is now First Love Tat- too. Senator D. Jack Metzger died a pauper, but had made a lot of money in sheep and cattle dur- ing the war, and afterwards went to Italy and bought a batch of sculpture which he set up behind glass in the long hallway leading from Main Street to the bar in the rear. The cow pokes got a big laugh out of Jack’s attempt at sophisti- cations. Jean’s article brought back a lot of fond memories. I am reminded of the old place every time I look at a menu from the Blue Ribbon Café that we salvaged when the place was ren- ovated into two retail shops. But when was it first known as the Blue Ribbon Café? The menu contains advertisements of prominent stores on Main at the time. One such was Minch Market two doors south, which closed in 1937. Maybe the good old days for the bar and café began way back in the ‘30s. * * * N. Robeson dropped by and asked why I had a “thing” about Smiley Bur- nette. She said I had written several times about Gene Autry’s comic sidekick…and if I wanted to know any more about him, ask her. Nancy lived across the street from Smiley back in her Studio City days in Southern Cali- fornia. and the ball player trio was Tinker to Evers to Chance. This week’s quiz: What tune did Fran- cis Scott Key use for “The Star Spangled Ban- ner,” what ship answered the Titanic’s distress call and who was Tokyo Rose? Lester Alvin Burnette was born in 1911. He was a very talented musician and com- poser of western songs. One such was “Riding Down The Canyon.” I remember it well because we sang it in Boy’s Glee Club in high school. Sources say Smiley could play over 100 instruments, some simultaneously. In the 62 films he made with Autry, his name was Frog Millhouse and his horse, with a black circle around his left eye, was named Ring Eye. His trade mark was a black floppy hat which he wore in films and when touring the country in the early ‘60s. He started up a chain of restaurants named “Check- ered Shirt” and was on television for four sea- sons in the sitcom “Petticoat Junction.” He died of leukemia in 1967. * * * Ye Editor wrote of jury duty and how the public might assume men and women in the ink trade would be automatically excused from duty because of their occupation. He says this is not true because attorneys often choose them for their knowledge and lack of bias when it comes to writing articles for the media. I was often excused for being against drink. Last week’s quiz was first answered by Joe Angelo who knew that Thumper was a rabbit, that weird Tiny Tim was really Herbert Kuary Robert Minch I Say * * * We spoke of naming rest stops after prominent public servants like Charlie Willard and Mark Colombo when they retired. Too late. The ones north of town have been named after one Herbert S. Miles who was for 42 years head of the Safety Roadside Rest System. Sorry, boys. * * * Last week’s poem went well, don’t you think? People like to find their names in the Daily News when it is not in the police logs. However, I cited Judge Scheuler as our “Supreme Court ruler.” This title is a bit premature. Superior Court ruler for the time being. And Bob Kelley has two e’s in his name and flew a B-17. Otherwise the poem was fair- ly accurate. * * * Allegedly found on an Arizona tombstone: Five rules for men to follow to a happy life: 1) It is important to have a woman who helps at home, cooks from time to time, cleans up, and has a job. 2) It’s important to have a woman who can make you laugh. 3) It’s important to have a woman you can trust and will not lie to you. 4) It’s important to have a woman who is good in bed and likes to be with you. 5) It is very, very important that these four women do not know each other. Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff and former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine. He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com.