Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/39490
6A Daily News – Wednesday, August 17, 2011 Opinion Community 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 Colleges Editor: 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 In researching various new careers, I noticed that there are a lot of openings for physical and occupational therapy positions. I would think that Shasta and Butte would offer some type of certification program for these jobs. They do not. I would have to travel to Sacramento City Col- lege for one of these programs. I believe that Shasta and Butte colleges would be doing a great service to the community if they would offer certification pro- grams in these fields. John Bolinger, Corning RB elementary schools Editor: Well, RBESD has done it again; I guess they didn't learn, after the Vista graduation fiasco, to involve the major sharehold- ers in the schools (the parents) when making big changes. Last week I received a small note announcing that all ele- mentary students will be dis- missed at 2:45 p.m., Tuesday through Friday — Monday con- tinues to be minimum Monday, the original waste of time. Simply put, why? Where did the extra classtime that my stu- dent had last year go? When our schools are struggling to meet the No Child Left Behind man- dates, and many of the schools are in program improvement, why are we reducing the class- room and instructional time? As far as I can figure out, the lost instructional time will be spent on the bus, at least for my student. The youngest students will board the bus at 2:45, the Vista students at 2:55 and then the high school students at 3:18. So the kids will sit on the bus, in 100 degree heat or 45 degree cold, in the high school bus loop, waiting. These buses are not air con- ditioned and barely heated. If I left my child or, God forbid, my dog in a car like that, I would be arrested yet it is permissible to let a bus full of students do that; I suppose it is OK because there is an adult bus driver present? This is a safety and health issue. Children are more sensitive to heat illnesses than adults and they are not allowed to have drinks on the bus, even if stu- dents had any food left over by the end of the day. Let's not even talk about bathroom issues. By the way, the elementary district bus schedules don't indi- cate a stop at the high school but somehow the high school kids will be on the same bus number, arriving at the same locations at the same time according to the high school bus schedule. Bigger changes are happen- ing at Vista, where students will have block scheduling — they will not have English and math each day, but only every other day, for a slightly longer time period than last year. They will be given electives, although since the student doesn't get to chose the elective I find that term misleading. How does this help my child? Already over-worked teachers are scrambling to change their lesson plans to fit this new arrangement. Why were parents not involved in this decision? Why so last minute? Why was this not publicized? I am fortunate that I do not have childcare to arrange now, but parents of younger students are scrambling to change childcare plans to accommodate the earlier dis- missal. Will students simply be on their own for that in between time? I am sure some will be. I want my student to be in school for the greatest amount of time possible. I want my stu- dent to have math and English and social studies and science every day. I want my student and every other student in Red Bluff to succeed. To do this, they need to be in a classroom, not on a bus. Deborah Sutcliffe, Red Bluff PATH thanks Editor: Another big thanks to the Red Bluff community for sup- porting our annual Yard Sale we had Aug. 5-6. There were more donations than we could use so we are sharing them with other agencies. As the event coordinator for PATH I am usually more involved with the event. This year found me healing from surgery and radiation treat- ments. I was so disappointed I couldn't do more on my part but it was good to see that our orga- nization has many wonderful volunteers that came forward and worked above and beyond the call of duty. This is what PATH is all about, helping one another. I am very proud to be a part of such a wonderful group of people. I am excited now, about our next event which is our PATH Walk on Saturday Sept. 17 at River Park. We have an anony- mous donor who will match up to $20,000 to what ever we raise. Please come and be part of this exciting event. You can call me at 527-6439 if you are interested in walking or making a team of your own. Pam Klein, Red Bluff Getting richer? Your Turn Editor: Even in recession, average Congressional personal wealth grew to $911,510 from $785,515 in 2008. Nearly one half of the members on con- gress are millionaires, the 10 richest are Senator Dianne Feinstein; Senator Jay Rocke- feller; Congressman Michael McCaul; Congressman Vern Buchanan; Senator Herb Kohl; Congressman Jared Polis; Senator Mark Warner; Senator John Kerry; Congresswoman Jane Har- mon and Congressman Darrell Issa In a time we are asking — demanding — that public sector employees give back pay and ben- efits, can congress continue to vote themselves pay raises. Since 1990, congress has voted them- selves pay raises of 77 percent, in addition to their COLA raises. Also, how many readers get 80 percent of their final salary as a retirement benefit after 5 years of service? Any pay raise I received was on the back of a performance package. My raise, if any, was due to achieving specific goals. Have we set any goals for Congress? Right now, I'd settle for a bal- anced budget. But that will not happen until a Constitutional Amendment is passed. Warren Diun, 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Incivility rising Commentary "Those dirty lousy jerks at my company can put a sock in it!" "Ah, yes, you illustrate the find- ings of a new study by Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion: that incivility is growing in the work- place." "My co-workers are almost as bad as the jerk politicians who are running our country into the ground!" "You illustrate another recent survey's findings, by Weber Shand- wick and Powell Tate and KRC Research: that political discourse is also becoming less civil." "The country's going down the toilet. Nobody's in the mood to be civil!" "The first study makes some obvious findings. Companies have laid off workers and are running lean. People lucky to have jobs must pick up the slack. They are working long hours." "Yeah, every Friday, my co- workers and I say the same thing: only two more working days until Monday." "As for incivility in political dis- course, the cause is also obvious. After years of borrowing our way to prosperity -- remember how people took out home-equity loans to buy nice stuff? -- the bills have come due." "But the wife and I couldn't pass up that home-equity dough or the big-screen TVs, vacations and gas- guzzling SUV it bought us!" "Government entitlements have grown so big, they must be over- hauled. Excessive government spending must end. Some want to address these challenges now, whereas others are in denial." "Who doesn't want to cut waste- ful government spending? We all agree on that!" "Really? How about cutting Social Security? Reason magazine says it will grow from nearly $600 billion to nearly $1 trillion in only eight years as baby boomers retire." "I'll hand over my Social Secu- rity check when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers." "How about Medicare then? It was projected to nearly double to $932 billion in 2018 -- until Democrats created an independent panel to cut Medicare spending as part of their health care reform bill." "But my elderly mother just had her hip replaced. If Medicare does- n't cover the cost, she'll have to tap my inheritance!" "No doubt we are in difficult times that call for drastic actions. No wonder incivility is on the rise. But civility is essential to solving our problems." "You're going to have to explain that one." "Surely you've heard of Judith Martin, better known as Miss Manners. She argues that civility is the heart of a well-func- tioning society." "Sounds like some- thing that old bird would say." name-calling will only stand in the way of solving these problems. We need to get hold of ourselves and, in a civil, orderly manner, do what Amer- icans have done." always Tom "She says manners and eti- quette are the philosophical basis of civilization -- that people must have a common language of behavior that restrains their impulses. She says this is how we prevent our communal lives from being abrasive, unpleasant, even explosive." "I ain't following." "Look, America has some seri- ous problems. Rudeness and Purcell tory." "Pour Worcester- shire sauce in our co- workers' coffee when they aren't looking?" "We need to look squarely at our prob- lems, identify a mix of solutions from every political point of view, then come together to work out the solutions - - just as we've solved many daunting prob- lems in our nation's his- 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. "If you say so -- you jerk!" ———