Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/27247
6A – Daily News – Wednesday, March 16, 2011 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 Be part of the 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. Well, this takes the Irish cake. 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 The Irish “need not apply” in America all over again. Ireland, you see, is not doing so well. Prior to the global economic meltdown, its service industry soared as global companies took advantage of its well-educated, English-speaking citizens. Emboldened by its good for- tune, the Irish government, and many of its citizens, carried on like Americans. They overbor- rowed and overspent. A housing bubble formed and burst spectacularly. Now Ireland's unemploy- ment rate is 13.5 percent. The high-paying service jobs have disappeared. And lots of well-educated Irish folks are fleeing their motherland yet again. But they're not heading to America this time. During the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, hundreds of thousands of Irish immi- grants settled here. They took jobs in mills and coal mines and along rails and waterways. Follow America's waterways and rails and you'll find many places where the Irish settled. My great-great-grandfather came over in the 1840s and set- solution Editor: I would like to respond to a recent letter about the home- less camps in the Antelope sloughs bounded by I-5. The Federal Government requires a “Point-in-Time” count of the homeless in every community every two years during the last week of January. This is to both create a picture of the homeless and to help the fed- eral government and the local government have the informa- tion needed to create a plan to end that homelessness. The Tehama County Con- tinuum of Care is in the process right now of having that data analyzed. Having been one of several surveyors out that day at 7 a.m., I can give you some of my general impressions. Many are young, many have not been on the street long, less than six-months, and they became homeless due to loss of job, loss of housing or evic- tion, domestic violence, a few by choice and other reasons. Several have some kind of disability, either physical or mental. Some do use drugs and alcohol regularly but many more use prescription drugs only. A number are vet- erans who have come on hard times. A very positive step was taken when a family reached out to PATH, Poor And The Homeless, offering land for a permanent shelter. With a zone change, the City Council has made it a reality if the State of California agrees to move the Emergency Shelter Grant from the original location sited to the new location. A permanent emergency shelter will allow those on hard times to become stable, to begin to make neces- sary life changes and to move from experiencing homeless- ness towards again being self- sufficient. The data collected from the Tehama County 2011 Point in Time homeless count will soon be available. A Daily News reporter has already reached out to discuss those results. Knowing more about those on the street needing help and support will only make our community better and stronger. The Second Annual Project Homeless Connect, happen- ing Wednesday, March 30, is another way to help the home- less and the low-income move towards self-sufficiency. A wide array of agencies are coming together at the fair- grounds to provide such free services as DMV Photo ID, County Records, haircuts, showers, how to prepare a job resume, medical and mental health and drug alcohol ser- vices, eye care, housing, Social Security, food stamps and much more. TRAX will provide subsidized trans- portation when the riders say they want to go to the fair- grounds. If you represent an agency wanting to be a part of the solution, please contact part- ner agency, Commu- nity Action Agency, at 527-6159. With services they need to as they need moving forward. The Tehama County Continuum of Care to End Chronic Homelessness meets the second Tuesday of each month, 8 a.m., at the Department of Education. You are most welcome to join us. Gail Locke, Red Bluff Vehicle fees Editor: Who gets the money from vehicle license fees? Who gets the gas tax monies? How many cars, trucks, buses, etc. are operating in Cal- ifornia without having to pay any license fees? This should include federal, state and county agencies. And if the county or state provides fuel, do they pay the same tax as I do? I have these questions because our roads are in sad shape. Also city streets. These license-exempt vehi- cles use them too. Dorothy Domoe, Red Bluff Heartless Editor: I could never be a congressman Your Turn or governor. It just requires a total- ly different mindset. They have to make decisions that are not only tough, but sometimes confuse most Americans. Take for example the Republicans’ pledge to cut $100 bil- lion from the budget. They can only find $60 billion to cut. I would probably not give $900 billion in tax cuts to the super rich. That would have put the budget hundreds of billions of dollars lower. Then there is the conflict in Wisconsin. Forty percent of Americans say that they would approve raising taxes instead of the 22 percent who would sup- port continuing attacking col- lective bargaining rights. But to be fair to Gov. Walker, I must admit that at least he con- ceded a little. He is only going after teachers and other state government employees who tra- ditionally support Democratic candidates. He is not going after the two largest unions who sup- ported his election. It takes a certain type of per- son to hold a government office. Right now you have to love money and have little heart. I think we should lower their pay to find more people with heart. John Blankenship, Red Bluff 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 3070 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. Irish need not apply Commentary tled in Pittsburgh. I don't know if he worked in the mills, but he probably did, and his son, my great-grandfather, was a fore- man in one. His son, my grand- father, became a banker. Today, one in four Ameri- cans can trace their heritage to Ireland's rolling green hills. The Irish influence has benefited America. Bob Callahan, writing in Salon, says the melodies of the Irish fiddle were blended with the rhythms of African music to give birth to today's popular music. Irish vaudevillians, masters of knockabout physical comedy, influenced early Hollywood filmmaking and gave birth to the comic strip. But it's the mischievousness of Irish wit that has most influ- enced American culture. Callahan says the "hard- boiled, darkly humorous, race- track bitten" language of the Irish had a tremendous influ- ence on American language, particularly the words of "bril- liant, wisecracking Irish-Ameri- cans." Which reminds me of the one about the Irish brewery worker who drowns in a vat of Guin- ness. His best friend visits the deceased man's wife to share the sad news. "Tell me, did he at least go quickly?" she asks him, crying. "Not exactly, mis- sus," says the man's best friend. "Your hus- band got out of the vat three times to use the bathroom." In my family, being Irish means laughing easily, never taking yourself too seriously, being cautious of get- ting stuck in the nar- rowness of your own point of view. Boy, America sure could use a fresh infu- sion of the Irish spirit -- but no luck of the Irish this time. It's difficult for the new wave of Irish immigrants to get U.S. work visas now. We don’t have many jobs anyway. going great guns. They are letting in twice as many skilled Irish immigrants as they did five years ago. Ah, well, the least we Americans can do is have some Irish grace about our dire financial situation. Which reminds me of the time Paddy the fisherman died. His wife called the Tom Purcell That's why the Irish are flocking to Canada! According to irishCentral.com, “attaining a one-year visa for Canada is much less complicated and more cost effective in compari- son to the U.S.” Unlike America, our friends to the north got their financial house in order and weathered the economic meltdown won- derfully. Canada’s economy is newspaper to place his obituary. The newsman said the cost was $1 a word. "I only have $2," said Mrs. Paddy. "Just print 'Paddy died.'" The newsman, feeling sorry for her, gave her three extra words at no charge. 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. "A kind man you are," she said. "Print me husband's obitu- ary this way: 'Paddy died. Boat for sale.'" ———