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Hit » Schreter pitches no-hitter This one's a hit because of the lack of hits. Red Bluff Union High School junior Eric Schreter pitched a no-hitter April 4 as the Spartans beat Enterprise 12-2. Schreter struck out 11 of the 26 batters he faced. And if that wasn't good enough Schreter went for 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run. Miss » Negligent pet owner On April 4 a Corning police officer shot and killed a pit bull, who earlier had bitten a woman and wouldn't settle down after being pepper sprayed. Where was the pet's owner? He hadn't been home for days according to witnesses. It might not have mattered anyway. According to the police report a resident at the home said he was afraid of the dog an d w ar ne d o ffice rs o f h ow v i - cious the dog was. It's stories such as this that continue to give all pit bulls a bad reputation. A dog's behav - ior typically has more to do with its owner than its breed. Hit » Designer with a message The fashion designs of Corn- ing's Tara Calderon are on dis- play through today at Chico State's Ayres Hall. In addition to Calderon's eye for fashion, we applaud the message she sends with her ex - hibition — especially important to teen and girls, who are most likely to admire her work — media and celebrities exercise too much influence in what we find beautiful. "My intention is to steer peo - ple away from that and not be pulled into the deception that these are the things you need or this is the way you need to look — that's not beauty," Calderon said. While the message is not a new one, it is more likely to hit home with young people when being delivered by a peer. Miss » Dumb criminals While we don't intend to make light of criminal activ- ity and illicit drug use, we had to chuckle in the last couple of weeks over two tales of hapless scofflaws from the police blot - ter. The first involved a man on a bicycle who, after being con- tacted by police, fled on foot into an orchard near Tehama. He forced several workers out of the cab of a tractor in the or - chard and climbed aboard be- fore realizing that a tractor was, perhaps, not the best ve- hicle for a speedy escape. You think? The other involved a Chico man breaking into a residence on Rio Street to collect money the occupant owed him for drugs. The man attacked the resident, who was found sleep - ing, demanding $40 for an early heroin purchase. At one point the pair rain into the kitchen and each man armed himself with a frying pan. As if the image of these pil - lars of society squaring off with skillets raised isn't amus- ing enough, the resident agreed to pay the Chico man what he owed, if only he could go to the bank to get the money. En route to the bank, the res - ident reached into his pocket and realized he had the money to pay the debt all along. Hit » Ride for Life continues to be a hit The 6th annual Ride for Life event to raise money for the American Cancer Society was once again bigger than before, bringing in more than $33,000 and topping last year's total by $4,000. This is particularly impres - sive considering the founders of the event — Jessica Mac- donald and Bailey Brownfield — are well past the 4-H Emer- ald Star project that prompted the inaugural event and off to college. We're always impressed when young people make ac - complishments beyond their years, but these young women have created a lasting event that continues to grow over the years. They deserve a tip of the hat from the whole com - munity. Send your suggestions for hits and misses to editor@redbluffdai- lynews.com or post them as com- ments to this column. Hits and misses No-hitter is Daily News' first hit Sports fans are aware of the extravagant sala- ries paid to professional athletes these days, and they know that every pro- fessional player has an agent. But they might not know that in the 1930s, baseball players could not have an agent and could be banned from the game if they hired one. Joe DiMaggio, in 1938, had a cou - ple of productive years under his belt with the New York Yankees and decided to ask for a raise from $15,000 to $40,000 a year. The owner, Colonel Rupert, offered him $25,000, and after a long holdout, where Joe's pay was docked daily, the great slugger finally took the offer after the owner labeled him, in the press, as greedy and not a team player. Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, the first baseball Commissioner, hauled Joe into his office and made him swear he did not have an agent. Baseball play - ers and agents have come a long way since. • • • If you own a pet...a dog or cat, you know they are often on your mind…and apparently in your wallet. Writer Laura Stampler reports, "American spending on pe ts r ea ch ed a r ec or d $ 55. 7 billion last year, more than the GDP of Luxembourg!" These numbers come from the purchase of pet food, treats, toys, bedding and veterinary costs...let alone the cost of purchase of a purebred pet. If you find your pet at a shelter and feed it table scraps, you might get along with a lot less overhead. I've noted less than prosperous ap - pearing people on the street with a dog on a lease, but for the most part, they are tiny creatures (the pets) and consume only a thim - ble of food at a sitting which may mean they are affordable even if their owners are on food stamps. It is my experience that the big - ger the dog the bigger the cost of feeding and pampering one's pride and joy. And what if they cost a mint? The companionship and loyalty of a pet is immeasur - able. As they used to say in the Packard automobile ads, "Ask the man who owns one." • • • Would it not be more worth- while to show a star of stage, screen and radio as they looked in their prime instead of the pres- ent day remnant of a once vibrant personality? I would rather see Mickey Rooney with Ava Gard - ner on his arm many years ago, than a more recent shot of him hobbling along a red carpet with a caregiver propelling him for - ward. I watched a vintage film re- cently of the handsome and vir- ile James Garner…and then came a cross of a photo of him, ostensi- bly with little time remaining in his life. Neither of us could possi- bly profit by such a transforma- tion. Tsk, tsk, I'll say. When the time comes for my fi- nal bow, dig out a print of Mur- ray and me to salute…if you can find one. • • • A local columnist twice used the expression "meticulously re - searched" when describing a cou- ple of anti-Obama books. It is my experience that such books are seldom described as "shoddily" or "casually" researched. So when "meticulously researched" hits the printed page, the readers can rest assured that what he or she is reading, is gospel. Most of the time, however, it is not. The word the columnist was searching for is "slanted." • • • And speaking of "meticulously researched," the recently well at - tended meeting at the Elks Lodge, in which proponents of statehood for a new state of Jefferson voiced their enthusiasm, suggests that opponents of such a movement have yet to be heard. Those in fa - vor of the status quo seldom find it necessary to defend their posi- tion, thinking that cooler heads will prevail. But if 500 people show up at the meeting...and the majority find merit in the move - ment to break away from the state of California, then perhaps an ad hoc committee should follow every Jefferson oriented meeting with one of their own to show the ut - ter folly and ultimate rejection of this hot air balloon. Cutting loose from California poses such obsta- cles that one does not know where to start. An informed and "me- ticulously researched" speaker might give all 500 attendees pause to consider just what they are get- ting into. "Be careful what you wish for," comes to mind. • • • Last week's quiz was first an - swered by L. Brown who knew that the most common letter spo- ken is the letter "I," that "U" is the only major vowel that, when spoken, begins with a conso- nant...and that "W" is the only letter in the alphabet that is sounded with three syllables. This week's quiz: The sound of "E" is embedded in the pronunci - ation of eight other letters of the alphabet. Name them. The let- ter "X" can be pronounced in at least 10 different ways, one be- ing a musical instrument. Which? And if writer Albert Camus is ob- served looking at singer Yma Su- mac, compose a three word palin- drome based on the event. Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and au- thor of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmur- ray@hotmail.com. Robert Minch Players have come a long way since DiMaggio's day Cartoonist's take Ordinances not curbing pot growers Editor: I live in a prime area for mar- ijuana growers and I am here to tell you that the new ordinances passed by our county have done absolutely nothing to curb their activities. Actually the new or - dinances have done just the op- posite. Instead of limiting the activ- ity in my neighborhood it has in- creased the activity. Owners of larger properties have divided their parcels and now are gearing up for multiple smaller grows in - stead of one large grow. With that has come an influx of additional workers to manage the grows. Now we have what seems like a never ending stream of traffic on our road, multiple trailers be - ing towed in to the grow sites and the constant sound of generators and heavy equipment clearing the land, digging holes and, most con - cerning, digging wells. What was once a quite, safe community has now become a mecca for illegal activity. I know some will say that is legal to grow for personal use. I understand that but how many people do you know that grow for personal use spend up to $80K for a parcel of land, $15K plus to drill a well, thousands of dollars on fencing and live in a 20-year-old travel trailer on the property only part of the year? These people are in it for the money and nothing else and have no regard for what they are do - ing to the land, the community, the safety of the residence and our home values. — Christina Stanley, Red Bluff Silver bells Well, I can see from George Will's article of April 10 that he maintains his attempts to secretly channel William Buckly's elitist 1 percenter's view of life in general and economics specifically. He uses the technique of ob - scureness to imply special, hard to understand knowledge of his subject. He understands it as you struggle to, grateful for his at - tempts to pass his superior knowl- edge to you. He's got you fooled. He doesn't know nuttin'. He's fak- ing it. The simple issue he is talking about, under the guise of a bal- anced budget, is the issue of how much money there should be. As any dufus conservative does, he attempts to apply static reme - dies to a non static world. It's the same thing as applying algebra to a condition that requires calculus. Remember, these are the people who brought you the housing bub - ble and still won't listen to those who said it was going to bust. That kind of defines dufus. Some- one who will not listen. If you're interested in perceiv- ing reality instead of the snow Will puts about at length, use Wiki on the populist movement, the Cross of Gold, and look up the Wizard's of Oz's metaphoric yellow brick road and so on, on Helen Brown's site. It's just a matter of keeping money tight so labor will take whatever the 1 percenters want to give them. It is not compli - cated. It's the same old thing. Knock labor. Add the diver- sion from talking about issues that matter like a topsy turvy tax code and a banking industry without Glas-Stegall rules. — James Bryant, Red Bluff Mind boggling Editor: The depths of stupidity our government sinks down to are simply mind boggling. We waste the most precious commodity on earth to extract energy which could be produced by any num - ber of less environmental de- structive ways. Property in which fracking is done is soon rendered useless and worthless. And besides all of the above we waste more energy extracting the oil then we get from that oil itself, now how stupid is that. We allow corporations to poi - son our food supply with genet- ically manipulated crops con- taining harmful herbal and pes- ticides. And to top that we, that is our government allows this to blindly flow to the consumer. Now why would a corporation hide their product from consumers unless their confidence in it was non-existent? First the Supreme court gives corporations the right to patent and own the very basic essence of life (genes) then they say debt notes have the same rights, as far as elections go, as people. I say debt notes instead of money be - cause that is exactly what they are. Paper money were histori- cally thought of as fancy ware- house receipts because they could be redeemed for a valuable com- modity like gold or silver. Take a good look at your Federal Re- serve note. Sure you can buy gold and silver with them if you have enough of them but you can't re- deem one bill for one ounce like when it was real money. Now with all the real problems plaguing our country what do the Republican backed tea-party pundits complain about? It's hav - ing to contribute to the well be- ing of poor folks. That's it, not that we are subsidizing rich cor- porations up the ying yang or of the prospect of perpetual wars, no, what really raises their ire is having to pay more for health in - surance so the less fortunate can afford to have some too. — Orval Strong, Gerber Your opinions Cutting loose from California poses such obstacles that one does not know where to start. Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EditoRial BoaRd How to have your say: 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 no more than two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151 ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FaCEbook.CoM/ rbdailynEwS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @rEdbluFFnEwS Robert Minch OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, april 11, 2014 » MORE AT FaCEbook.CoM/rbdailynEwS AND TwiTTEr.CoM/rEdbluFFnEwS a4