Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/325704
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD 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 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 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 As reported last week, the parent company of the Daily News is look- ing to sell our building at 545 Dia- mond Ave. and I say it's about time. NotthatImind the location so much — easy free- way access, close to shopping cen- ters and one or two places to grab a bite — it's the building itself that I won't miss. Most of you proba- bly haven't visited our 17,000-square-foot build- ing and those who have likely never ventured beyond the front coun- ter. Like most newspa- per buildings, its de- cor is somewhat lacking, not having been updated since the building went up in 1979. When I see the wallpaper in my boss' of- fice I half expect hear Donna Summer belt- ing out "Hot Stuff" some- where in the distance. But the bigger issue is the building's size rel- ative to the greatly re- duced workforce occu- pying it. When I started back in 2008, the Daily News had more than 40 full time employees. We're at half that today. That's just in the last six years. Until about 2000, the building housed a mas- sive printing press and fully-staffed mailroom, where papers were as- sembled, inserts inserted and bundles bundled. Those rooms and one for paper and ink storage are unused today, except as storage for broken and obsolete equipment from other company proper- ties. Even in the portion of the building still being used, we have lots of el- bow room. I could sit at a different empty desk each day of the week in the newsroom. So it was welcome news that the company is looking to put us in a building bet- ter suited to our leaner workforce. And while I don't have any say over where this new office might be, I am hoping it will be downtown. The newspaper busi- ness peaked around 1980 and many papers moved out of cramped down- town offices — close to court houses, police sta- tions, city halls and other places where news hap- pens — into larger build- ing on cheap land in what were then the outskirts of town. Look at where the Record-Searchlight and Enterprise Record build- ings are — miles from the places that make Red- ding and Chico tick. Red Bluff isn't so large, but we still drive every day to the same few blocks of downtown to gather news. Now shrunken in staff, many newspapers are looking to return to downtown — among re- cent such moves, and those considering them, are the Detroit Free Press, San Jose Mercury News, Toledo Free Press, Ann Arbor News, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) and Daily Camera (Boul- der, Colorado). Here's hoping the com- pany follows this trend and the Daily News can one day soon join the bus- tling business community downtown — I'm told the lights are much brighter there. ChipThompsoncanbe reached at 530 527-2151, Ext. 112 or by email at ed- itor@redbluffdailynews. com. Follow him on Twitter @EditorChip. 545 Diamond Ave. Nofinerplace for sure, downtown Cartoonist's take I Say Beware investments promising high yields Headline in the S.F.Chron last week: "In- dustry bans ex-Wells Fargo broker for life." This story, about one Mike Frew, a bay area broker for 39 years, con- tained quotes such as, "I was reluctant to invest with him even though he prom- ised returns of 10 to 15%. How- ever, I contacted several friends of Mike's…and they swore by him." This is one of many quotes from those whom he bilked of thousands of dollars via yet an- other Ponzi scheme. One lady re- ported that he did not repay her investment and she is "now pan- icky and about to lose my home." Advice to those looking for high returns on their investments: For- get it. If you can invest and take back a note of 6 or 7 percent with adequate collateral to back up the loan, go for it. If someone prom- ises to pay you 9 or 10%, best take your money to the casino and get a good meal while losing your lucre to the feuding tribes. ••• Here is a heart-warming local sports happening: My regular tennis doubles partners shall go nameless to protect the innocent, but it is im- portant to know that we have played with the same group for many years,. and, as is our custom, we alternate part- ners and I have found that I win more often with one player than another and conversely win more of- ten with a partner that is younger and quicker than his elderly partner, me. At any rate, his aggressive net play compensates for the dwindling velocity of my serve. But let's cut to the chase. Last week I was partnered up with Harlan. I said no names but we need some points of ref- erence. Anyhow, we quickly lost the first set 6-zip….and the sec- ond set we fared only slightly bet- ter and lost 6-1. This was not go- ing to be a good day and we apol- ogized to one another for playing so poorly allowing our opponents, Jim and Bernie to beat us like a gong. However, the worm turned as it often does and we found our- selves victors in the final set 6-2. This was cause for much jubila- tion and if we did not high five one another we at least shook hands and grinned broadly in the direc- tion of our opponents. True, they had won the match, 2 sets to 1, but still, we had a Pyrrhic victory of sorts. Somehow the day was brighter and I left for work with a smile on my kisser. And then the leveler came into play. The mis- sus asked about my game. I told her of our dramatic reversal of fortune. She took this all in, but then had to add, "Do you think Jim and Bernie let you win?" Talk about taking the air out of your sails. ••• I wonder if the residents of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's home town now feel a bit sheepish about the "Welcome Home Bowe Our Hero" signs as reported in the papers. Perhaps pending charges of de- sertion have yet to be proven. Speaking of veterans, I was surprised, while buying an item at an auto supply store, when they asked if I wanted a senior dis- count…and a veteran's discount as well. I declined but commented that, although a veteran, I was not in combat, and therefore was not deserving of any consideration. ••• Regarding male advocates of open carry gun laws, a reader suggests that if someone wants to open carry, he should be required to expose his privates at the same time. That might help solve that nagging question of whether size has anything to do with gun wor- ship. It might at the least reduce incidents of gun violence. ••• A local building in Red Bluff has been vacate for more than 3 years awaiting a buyer. Over the last holiday, a glass topped personnel door was smashed in and thieves systematically be- gan stripping everything of value. Law abiding citizens would as- sume nothing of value remained in the long vacant building. How- ever, the price of copper evidently convinced the thieves to strip ev- ery bit of copper wire and every piece of copper pipe they could cut into pieces and shove in a bar- rel awaiting their getaway in a ve- hicle. Fortunately we found their stash in the building, sealed all remaining door windows and locked the area in such a manner that they could not retrieve their assembled loot. As they had dis- mantled timers for the exterior lights, we had to put the lights back in service and the premises are now well lit at night. What is the good news? They left their fingerprints all over the place and the police are now search- ing their data banks for matches. Hopefully they will soon be be- hind bars. ••• Last week's quiz was answered again correctly by N. Rick who knew that the 7 dwarfs were Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy and Dopey, and that the Dionne Quintuplets were named Annette, Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile and Marie…and she suspects the father did not exclaim "Oy vey!" when they were delivered. This week's quiz: Take the first 3 letters of each month and com- plete the sentence. For exam- ple, "Jan…" becomes "Jangly" and reads "Jangly spurs complete the cowboy" Feb…. attempts are just that. Mar….. can be lovely. Apr...... ac- tion is the only action. May… are often out of office. Jun…. are the life blood of congressmen. Jul… and mints personify the old south. ••• A blind man was walking down the street with his guide dog when it stopped, lifted its leg and peed on the man's trouser leg. Immediately the blind man pro- duced a dog biscuit out of his pocket and fed it to the dog. A passerby witnessed this act of kindness and asked the man, "Why did you give him a biscuit when he peed on your leg?" The blind man responded, "I did it to find out which end of the damned dog to kick!" 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. Chip Thompson MemorialDayservice Editor: On Memorial Day I woke up to a beautiful spring day and as I later drove to Oak Hill Cemetery I be- held a lovely site. With just a slight breeze, the Avenue of Flags were waving in the wind and in the veter- ans circle the little American flags had been placed on each of the white headstones, acknowledging our vet- erans. My heart swelled with pride to be an American and live in a country where people are willing to fight and even give their lives to protect our freedom. This day was the day set aside to honor these people. But as I paused and looked around, I missed the Red Bluff Com- munity Band and Community Bap- tist Choir with the sound of their mu- sic floating across the cemetery. I missed the opportunity to explain to my great-grandchildren that what they were experiencing was the real meaning of Memorial Day; not just another three day holiday, with no school. I missed taking them to the Mendenhall plot after the ceremony, where their ancestor, Jesse Jasper Mendenhall is buried and who gave his life in France, fighting for Amer- ica during WW I. He was killed less than three weeks before the war was over. I missed being able to watch the laying of the wreaths at the Lincoln Memorial to honor and remember our American Veterans. I have been attending the Red Bluff Memorial Day service for many, many years, but I was so dis- appointed with the decision to hold this year's service inside a sterile building, that I chose to attend a Me- morial Day Service in a neighbor- ing town. Their program was held at their cemetery, as were all the sur- rounding counties services. The pro- gram had everything that was miss- ing at this years Red Bluff Memorial Day service. There are so few of our American Traditions left. Please don't take this one away from us too. Please do not make our Red Bluff Memorial Day service an annual indoors program. Save this for the years when we have a rainy Memorial Day. — Opal Mendenhall, Red Bluff Water conservation should be required Editor: Regarding the column by Michael Casey on water rights, I wonder why the general discussion doesn't in- clude having cities and counties mandate water conservation by ordi- nary citizens in order for more to be available for agriculture. We all share responsibility in this crisis. We can reduce lawn water- ing or replace lawns with less thirsty yards. We can turn off the faucet more quickly. The question is whether govern- ment as a whole is collaborating to- wards solutions that work for all. Red Bluff City Council should be ad- dressing it along with the Board of Supervisors and the state water agencies together, not separately. I worry about the livestock I see while driving to work. Will they survive summer? Will meat prices go way up later and orchards die? Who is looking at the whole pic- ture? Do we need to rally at the capi- tol? The future sure looks shaky and we all have a say and a part to play. What will the city and county do? Nothing? — Jan Ivanoff, Red Bluff Water column makes a splash Editor: Tehama County Farm Bureau President Michael Vasey's article made a splash. Southern California environmen- talists' interests may quite possibly be worse for Red Bluff than the im- minent drought California now faces. Our elected state officials turn a deaf ear towards what they consider to be the little town of Red Bluff's water problems. The only way to revert the wa- ter grab of what was lake Red Bluff is for our elected county and city of- ficials to challenge, through litiga- tion, the controversial ruling that eliminated lake Red Bluff. I urge our newly elected group to fight for our lake, and not to stagnate. — Terry Van Dyke, Red Bluff Appeals court accepts case Editor: I was informed by a clerk at the Ninth Circuit of Appeals that my case "A Right to Fish" has been ac- cepted for review. I stated in my in- formal brief the following argument: The Appellant, Donald Bird, is of- fering an unconventional remedy to his case. I have asked this court to review the complaint and make a strong recommendation to the East- ern District Court of California. The remanding of this case to this lower court should force them to rethink their position. The demand of the Appellant to have this case decided by a jury is the only acceptable rul- ing. It is my Constitutional right. I was informed the Ninth will hopefully offer a Ruling to remand within 90 days. If the Appellant is given a hearing in the lower court, with a court ruling to have this case decided by a jury; it would then be- come a first impression case. The right to fish was the bait to test our right to have all infractions, when de- manded, be heard by a jury. A ruling in my favor will touch ev- ery person who receives a citation in this state. — Don Bird, Rancho Tehama Your opinions Robert Minch OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, June 6, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4