Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/27887
4A – Daily News – Saturday, March 26, 2011 Opinion Drivers licenses 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 dangerous? Editor: Regarding the letter to the edi- tor of March 23, Drivers licenses are dangerous? What utter poppy- cock. Methinks your gentle reader is 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 watching too much Oprah on the daytime soaps or, more likely, has been spending too much time in my native England hanging around with James Bond. Your gentle reader believes that all DMV licenses have a hidden and secret tracking device that contains all of one’s personal information — including SS num- ber and medical info — embedded inside the license. She further states that anyone can simply point their laptop computer at the indi- vidual and instantly gain access to all this personal information. Again, sheer and utter poppy- cock. The real question here is how on earth did this letter get past the proof-reader and actually make it into print? Unless, of course, you good folks at the Daily News are in on this spoof and are merely being tongue in cheek to help us avid readers get past this dreary rain and wind filled week. If any of your gentle readers truly bought into this joke of a let- ter regarding secretly embedded drivers licenses, then I have a won- derful, slightly used London Bridge that I will sell to you, cheap. Chris Copley, Corning Teen parents Editor: My response to the teen parents — I was a teen growing up in Tehama County and did not get pregnant until I was 29 years old. I for one know that there is nothing to do in Red Bluff and sur- rounding areas. Growing up we only had the movies and bowling alley as well. The teen centers that the area tried to set up and run were always ruined by the kids that wanted to bring drugs and alcohol into the mix. I’m not saying that parties did- n’t happen in the area and sex never existed, but I was very fortu- nate to be able to have a good rela- tionship with my parents so when I felt the need I could get on birth control even before I was sexually active. I know not all teens can talk to their parents about birth control, but even I knew about the clinics that offer free birth control to kids that was confidential. I also had friends that were pregnant when I was a teen and I never felt the need to get pregnant so someone would love me. I wanted to live my life and be able to enjoy experiences without hav- ing to worry about children while I was a child myself. I do understand how things are with kids since I have nieces and nephews as well as friends’ teens kids looking for that little extra. I also see a lot of girls thinking that having sex with a boy will make them want to be with them or make them popular. That is so not the case. Having sex too easily just puts a mark on them. I have children of my own and I try to be there for them as much as they will let me and hope that when the subject of sex comes up they will feel comfort- able enough to come to us for guidance. We all need to be there for our children so they can enjoy their childhood before they become parents themselves. Parents need to teach their chil- dren selfworth and not fall into the peer pressure of having sex too soon and the only way to do that is to be there for them. Teen sex is going to happen but parents, be there for them to learn the safe way. Kids, if you can’t talk to your parents, talk to an adult you can trust. It’s not just pregnan- cy, there is so much more out there that can happen and we adults do not want to see those things hap- pen. Do not blame it on lack of activities in Tehama County because there is so much more you can do with your time. Shawna Chrasta, Los Molinos Obama’s forked Your Turn tongue Editor: In 2007 Obama told gullible voters that the president does not have constitutional power to unilaterally authorize a military attack on a situation that does not involve an eminent threat to the US, Guess what. President Obama, without Congressional approval, attacked Libya, even though Libya posed no threat to our nation. Libya is not needed for their meager 2 percent of global oil use. There are dozens of similar internal civil wars occurring in the Mideast, Africa, and south America that should not involve American military action. President Obama too often ignores the wishes of the people and the voter majority for his own internal motives that have seriously damaged our nation and economy. Americans should be worried about his inexperi- ence and poor decisions. Joseph J. 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 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. Cars, planes, buses and Jeeps Commentary We’ve done a lot of traveling in the last few days, and it brought back memories of almost fifty years ago. Our travels this last week started when we left Red Bluff on Friday and drove to Ash- land, Oregon. The road signs indi- cated we would need chains from Mt. Shasta City to Weed, but we managed to avoid chaining and dutifully lined up in the slowly moving traffic until we made it through the slushy areas when it was relatively smooth driving. After we started up the grade to Oregon just north of Yreka weath- er conditions changed slightly and trucks began to pull over to chain up. A warning sign said chains were required at the Oregon bor- der, but the driving conditions did not indicate why. Some people pulled over and took advantage of the “chain monkeys” who were happy to install chains for $10 per tire. We kept our spot in line and carefully made our way to the summit and down the grade into Ashland. There was more snow coming down on the downgrade and in Ashland than on the way up to the summit. While in Ashland we enjoyed good food and the play adapted from To Kill A Mockingbird. The drive home was less adventure- some, but the gray skies and wet roads made it somewhat challeng- ing. On Tuesday afternoon we drove to the Bay Area in prepara- tion for an early Wednesday morn- ing flight to Chicago and then on to Milwaukee. The security lines were very long, and we dodged under some of the barriers to get to the end of the line and avoid the labyrinth of ribbons, only to be told by an officious looking man with a gray suit and a clipboard that he would call the cops on us if we didn’t’ back out and reenter the line correctly. So we did as we were told, weaved back and forth as if we were at Disneyland, and ended up one person behind where we would have been if we had been allowed to stay where we were apparently illegally parked. They do not have a full body scanner at the United Airlines ter- minal, so I had to have the usual pat down because of my pacemak- er. Just as I was putting my shoes and belt back on an elderly Asian couple stopped at the pat down station, apparently thinking they needed to be patted down as well. A combination of gestures and some English assured them they could go on without stopping. When we reached Chicago we had an email that our flight to Wis- consin had been cancelled; in fact, all flights to either Milwaukee or Madison had been cancelled until the next morning. One of the things we enjoy about flying is being able to pick our seats, and we both prefer aisle seats because they somewhat compensate for lack of leg room. The down side to aisle seats is that you are usually in the last boarding group which means lack of room for overhead storage. This was the case when we left SFO, and we gate checked our luggage; this is a free service and normally a convenience, but when our next flight was cancelled our luggage was in limbo. We chose to accept bus vouch- ers in lieu of waiting who knows where overnight in the Chicago airport area and were assured that we could arrange for baggage delivery when we got to the Mil- waukee Airport on the bus. The bus ride was smooth and the small amount of snow did not seem to slow the driver down. We arranged to have our luggage deliv- ered and picked up our rental car. There was some snow falling as we drove west, and lots of flashing lights and lane changes because of vari- ous accidents. I am a true Californian with very little snowy weather driving experi- ence. The first time I drove in snow was when I was sta- tioned at Ft. Belvoir, VA in the winter of 1963-64. We were called to battalion headquarters and briefed that a B-47 had crashed in West Virginia, and that we would be leaving in a convoy to search for the crew members as soon as the traffic thinned out; we were to pack our gear, pick up some snow gear, and get our jeeps ready to go. My passengers included the chap- lain I worked with and two doc- tors. Joe Harrop which buffeted the high profile jeep, the slush that made things slippery, and the sleep deprivation which made concentration diffi- cult, driving was a real adventure. We made it to a small town and gathered together at the local high school gym. From there we were assigned places to stay. The four of us went to a cabin; it had a pot bellied stove, and we started a fire as soon as we could gather wood. There was no running water, so the chaplain blessed the snow and the doctors pro- nounced it safe enough to melt and use for making coffee. We hung out until mid Apparently the traffic thinned out about midnight, according to the Army, and we began out trek through the blustery snow storm to West Virginia. Between the large Mickey Mouse boots we were issued that made it difficult to feel the gas pedal, the wind morning when our mission was called off because the missing crew had been found, frozen in a creek near the crash. What we were not told was that there had been two nuclear weapons on the plane; we found that out when we read the newspa- per upon returning to our post. I am sitting here, in Wisconsin, where the “spring weather” fore- cast for the next three days is an expected high of 27 degrees. I know the warmth of my three grandsons will more than compen- sate for that. 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.