Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/35576
6A Daily News – Saturday, July 2, 2011 Opinion Letter to the 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 Governor Editor: Dear Governor Brown: I applaud your efforts in bal- ancing our state's budget. I 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 know this has been a daunting task for all involved as politi- cians have become so polarized and are unwilling to compro- mise. I appreciate your efforts in eliminating some of the state's wasteful spending i.e. too many cell phones, gifts, and especially ineffective In addition to my salary, I State "commissions" as well as over- priced projects that do not bene- fit the majority of taxpayers. There is much more work to do. As the spouse of a 64 year old man who is self-employed as an operations consultant to small companies located in Cal- ifornia, I must say that we see the overuse of "regulations" causing many businesses to locate out of California which means more unemployment and fewer taxes for our state. As a former employee of a central California school dis- trict, I saw wasteful spending at several levels. My first job for that school district in the early 90's, was working four hours a day as a Categorical Clerk at an elementary school. received 100% paid medical benefits and contributions made to PERS. As a taxpayer, I thought that was an unnecessary tax burden. I know that paying benefits for part-time school employees is a thing of the past but it was allowed for some time. Pension and benefit reform MUST continue to be addressed! Pay public employees com- parable salaries to the private sector and get rid of future promises of pensions, paid med- ical after retirement, and raise the age of retirement from 55 to 62. My husband and I are paying over $1700.00 per month for health insurance premiums with high deductibles leaving very little to contribute to our indi- vidual retirement accounts. I look forward to my hus- band turning 65 years old in a few months and receiving Medicare so that we can have some relief from the high cost of health care premiums. Isn't that sad, that we need to look forward to getting old in order to get a bit of relief from esca- lating health insurance premi- ums? Of course, now we have to worry about whether there will be funding for Medicare but that’s an entirely different issue. Many (not all) public employees do not have the same worries as they have been promised 80 - 90 per- cent of their salaries and paid medical bene- fits after retirement. Some public-sector retirees have the oppor- tunity to continue to work part time in other public- sector areas and end up receiv- ing generous compensation and various “perks” after they retire at the age of 55. How many in the private sector can retire at 55? Also, I don't understand why some MediCal and incarcerated individuals have received more than basic medical care while I have my health insurance provider denying me various medical services. I have a friend who is an X- ray tech for a county hospital in California who had to take X- rays for a prisoner who was undergoing a sex change! Another friend, who is a pub- lic nurse in a rural area, knows of a young woman who received breast augmentation because her social worker recommended that this young woman's "self- esteem" would be "enhanced". These two examples are NOT made up stories; they are true. What is wrong with these exam- ples and how many more are out there? Your Turn Please don’t ask me to pay more taxes until you can prove that waste and fraud will be eliminated. So far, there is no proof that the State of Califor- nia has been a good steward of my money. I ask you and our Legislators on both sides of the aisle to use common sense and think of the taxpayers of our “Golden State?” Helen Carroll, Red Bluff Thank you Editor: On the far west end of Gerber Rd, just before Truckee Ave, there is a 15MPH sign with a 90 degree arrow to the left. This sign had become completely covered by a walnut tree there at Pacific Farms. I called the office at about 11:00 am and they said that they would take care of the problem. It wasn't a half hour later that I had to drive past that point again, and the sign was visible almost from 99W. I want to take this space to thank Pacif- ic Farms for the attention that they gave this and prevented someone from driving off the road at that intersection. Ron Bruce, Gerber 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. Choosing the Right PATH Commentary "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." Lao-Tzu The Red Bluff City Council will most likely be meeting in front of a large crowd on Tuesday, July 5th at the Community Center, a venue far larger than the normally used Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting starts at 7:00 PM. The major attractant for the meeting is action by the Council to affirm the City Council’s February decision to allow a zoning change on Brecken- ridge Street that, in turn would allow the construction of a perma- nent homeless shelter under the auspices of the Poor and the Home- less Tehama County Coalition, commonly referred to as PATH. City Council held a public hear- ing on this proposal on February 15th from 7:14 PM to 8:03 PM; 21 people testified before the City Council, and after the public hear- ing was ended, the City Council voted 3 to 2 to allow for the rezone. After that meeting, when Sam and I were discussing the City Council he said “The Council seems to have run out of excuses for not allowing a permanent homeless shelter in Red Bluff.” Since that February City Coun- cil meeting there have been a series of letters to the Editor, most of them civil in tone; some letters supported the zoning change and some had concerns about placing a homeless shelter in the Breckenridge loca- tion; in some cases it was not clear if some of the letter writers would want to have a homeless shelter located anywhere in Red Bluff. There was an ad in Tuesday’s Daily News placed by an anony- mous group calling themselves the Community Alliance Group saying that the homeless will not be incar- cerated in the permanent shelter 24 hours per day, but they would be free to occupy the parks during the day, just like the rest of us. I sup- pose the ad means that its sponsors want the homeless to stay in the parks 24 hours per day rather than have an overnight shelter available to them; the ad is somewhat ambiguous, however, and perhaps the group wants the 40 homeless restricted to the shelter. This could be a contentious issue and could be easily blown up, out of proportion. City Council will most likely have a large audi- ence with many vocal participants. We plan to be in attendance. The homeless shelter that is being proposed is fairly structured and limited in scope. It is not a “come one, come all” to Red Bluff. In many ways it will be similar to the current PATH program housed during the cold season by several churches in Red Bluff. PATH is a responsible and care- ful organization. It has had no com- plaints from the churches that have housed the temporary shelters it services. As currently operated, PATH provides meals only to those who stay overnight in the tempo- rary facility. People do not eat and then linger on in the neighborhoods around the shelter; they come in to eat and to spend the night. The pro- posed facility will have the same policy. During this last “sea- son” the temporary shel- ter served 208 families. This is a remarkable number given the limita- tions of some of the church facilities to house those families. Forty-one of those families found permanent housing after staying at the temporary shelters. PATH screens those who come to the shelter; if there are indications of alcohol or drug use, peo- ple are not admitted. This is also true of the two transitional programs for men and women which PATH administers in our community. There have been no complaints about those residents as far as I can tell. One transitional program is housed in a residential neighborhood, more embedded in that neighborhood than the Breck- enridge facility would be. The proposed facility will be able to house up to forty people; those are the only people who will be fed at that location, so there will not be hangers on trying to take advantage of free meals and hous- ing. For the forty who can stay in the shelter (up to nine months) finding places to sleep during the non-win- ter months will not be necessary. Their efforts can concentrate on improving their situation, not mere- ly surviving. Joe Harrop A permanent shelter will pro- vide a location for various training programs to help the homeless get back on their feet. Budgeting skills, parenting skills, mentoring, counseling, and job preparation training are all possible at the permanent shelter. Some have com- mented that this pro- gram will not solve the “homeless problem” and that the problem is too big to tackle. The PATH shelter will not solve the “homeless problem”, but it will make a difference in the lives of those whom it will serve. We have an opportunity right here in Red Bluff to put together a core of already supportive citizens and a permanent shelter to help those who are down and out, per- haps brighten up our community a little bit, and take some pride in offering a hand to our neighbor. The core volunteers who make PATH so effective are living exam- ples of what Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.” 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.