Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/429074
ByMaryClareJalonick TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON American Indian groups are fighting a plan to create a new chari- table foundation with more than $380 million in federal money left over from a 2011 government discrimination settlement. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on Tues- day was to review a pro- posal by plaintiff's attorneys to form the new foundation with money unexpectedly left over after the Obama ad- ministration settled a class- action suit filed by American Indian farmers. The farmers said they had lost out on de- cades of farm loans because of government discrimina- tion. If the judge eventually approves it, the foundation could be the largest charity Indiancountryhaseverseen. The judge is not expected to make a final decision until next year. The settlement agreement approved three years ago calls for any leftover money to be distributed to Ameri- can Indian farmer organi- zations, but the lawyers said none of those groups was set up to handle so much money — thus the idea for one large foundation, headed by In- dian leaders, says Joseph Sellers, the lead lawyer for the American Indian plain- tiffs. The government has not opposed the plan, but Amer- ican Indian groups — includ- ing the plaintiffs themselves — have split with the lawyers originally representing them and opposed the idea, saying the money should be spread out among existing Ameri- can Indian charities as orig- inally intended or the case should be reopened for an- other round of claims. GeorgeandMarilynKeep- seagle, the lead plaintiffs in the case first filed in 1999, wrote Sullivan two letters earlier this year saying they felt like they had taken a "back of the bus" role as the lawyers and the court — or the "suits" as the Keepsea- gles referred to them in their letter — decided what to do with the money. "Being discriminated against is an ugly feeling," the Keepseagles wrote in a March letter to Sullivan. "A feeling that non-Indian suits or lawyers have no clue, un- less a large sum of money is entailed and then all the suits suddenly get it and go to work and determine what is best for Indians." The Keepseagles say the remaining money should be redistributed to the mem- bers of the class-action suit, including themselves. The Choctaw Nation of Okla- homa has petitioned the court to allow the money to be distributed to existing charities as the settlement originally called for, submit- ting its own charity plan to the court. Another group, the newly formed Association of American Indian Farmers, is calling for a second round of claims. The government hasn't agreed to any of those op- tions, so all parties are wait- ing to see how Sullivan han- dles the case. It was difficult for the gov- ernment to pay out claims because the Agriculture De- partment did not keep re- cords of who was denied loans, Sellers says. And it turned out that many poten- tial recipients had died, lost any evidence of discrimina- tion or felt too distrustful of the government to even apply. Lawyers expected around 10,000 people to file claims, but the number was around half that. Some of the American In- dian groups say that process may not be the most efficient way to direct the settlement to farmers who for years struggled to farm while gov- ernment loans went to white neighbors. "It should be paid to farm- ers directly, not to indirect services provided by non- profits," said Kara Brewer Boyd, president of the Asso- ciation of American Indian Farmers. The original lawsuit, named after the Keepsea- gles of Fort Yates, North Da- kota, was filed in 1999. It was based on a similar law- suit settled between the gov- ernment and black farmers around the same time. After more than a decade in the court, the government of- fered the $680 million set- tlement in October 2010. AMERICAN INDIAN FARMERS Gr ou ps ar gu e ov er settlement money The heavy rain storm on Wednesday, Dec. 3, the creeks and sloughs rising with rainwater reminded me of how my father, Ly- man Willard, Uncle Ora Willard and Uncle Chester Willard would hire a Cat- erpillar to come clear the Salt Creek bed of young trees and debris, like dead trees and limbs. Every time I drive over Salt Creek overflow on 99-E, and see the cotton- woods growing in the creek bed near the bridge, and how the west bank is being cut away by the rushing water I think of those early men who knew that blocked creeks would flood. Homes and businesses were flooded on Wednesday. I measured 2.3 inches by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, after emptying .7 inches at 7 that morning, .1 on Dec. 2, and .3 on Dec. 1. On Wednesday, Walt and Tracey Brown to the east, a mile or two, had 3.25 inches of rain during same time. This time Salt Creek was overflowing into ev- erything on both sides of 36E to nearly Ante- lope School, and Petticoat Junction at the Y had wa- ter covering both High- way 99E and 36E. The debris that was caught on the Salt Creek overflow bridge was amazing. There was a large plastic pipe, and dead trees when I drove past after 4 p.m. before the highway was closed. Happy that I was driving a large pickup, instead of a low compact. Drove over to my cousin Jacqueline Leini- nger's home to give her pictures of the Salt Creek flood, and have a drink at 5:30 p.m. We visited un- til 6:30 and when I went to go home, Hogsback Road was flooded. It was mid-calf when I got in the pickup, and her ga- rage was flooded. Water was rushing past the Sun- sweet Dehydrator from the south east to Hogs- back Road. Got home, and there was water flowing in a strong current toward the house and garden from the south-east. Wa- ter on the front and back porches, but not in the house. It had been a heavy tor- rent of water by the prune dehydrator coming from the slough and I knew that Antelope Creek was flooding. The levee on Antelope Creek, at Mill- race Creek had broken. Back in 1937, we had An- telope Creek come across the plains and flood my parents' land. I remem- ber using an empty water trough as a boat, and pad- dling it north of the barn, until Antelope was back in its proper channel. This is the first time since 1937 the Salt Creek high water had washed out fences on the lane, and permanent pasture at my folks' place where Kendra and Mike live. The house was built on an In- dian Mound, and was dry. The current had washed gravel bars into the per- manent pasture from the road. A pile of wood had been between the house and barn. There are chunks of wood scattered where the water had car- ried them. Drift on the lane fence was four feet high. My cousins Charles Willard and Jacqueline Leininger cannot remem- ber Salt Creek being so high, so quickly as this time. Weatherman said the storm was east of Red Bluff where Battle Creek, Paynes Creek, Salt Creek and Antelope Creek have their headwaters. They were fortunate they have moved the cows and calves to the north field last weekend, so they were on the hillside. One neighbor had a group of cows standing in water, while another said he was chest high in Salt Creek water when he was mov- ing his cows and calves away from the creek. First time the fence across the slough in my horse pasture has fallen from the force of the wa- ter. My father was given a typewritten history of Usual and Unusual Weather at Red Bluff and Vicinity, 1858-1970, by Keith Lingenfelter, Al Nel- son, Bob Fulton. 1937 Flood. After a wet November during which 6.40 inches of precipitation was mea- sured here, 1.82 inches fell on the 10th of Decem- ber and 2.72 on the 11th. The minimum tempera- ture on the 10th was 50 degrees and on the 11th, 55 degrees, indicating rain to high levels in the mountains. Heavy rains, driven by warm gale- like southerly winds, fell even on Mt. Lassen, caus- ing a heavy snowpack to melt, and brought a rush- ing torrent of water down the streams on that side of the valley. Consider- able damage was done to the Lassen Park Road, es- pecially in the sulphur Works area. A large sec- tion of Highway 36 up the road from Dales Sta- tion was washed out, and much damage to Dale Sta- tion, as Paynes Creek rose to a record level. Deer Creek also reached an all- time level, as indicated by the destruction to the Sli- gar Place on Hwy. 99E. On December 11th, a crest of 31.95 feet was re- corded on the river at Red Bluff, a foot and a half higher than the previous record of 30.5 feet in 1909. The washing away of the river banks across from Manahan's Auto Court gave indication that this was indeed the highest water in many decades. The Daily News re- ported: "The heavy toll of property damage caused by the inundation of Ger- ber, the railroad termi- nal town, driving hun- dreds from their homes was hardly received when reports came in from Los Molinos, stuck by heavy flood waters from the Si- erra Nevada streams. A section 200 feet long on the highway near Mill Creek and the north ap- proach to the bridge across the stream near Idylwild was washed out. Valley sections remained acutely flooded today as rivers and creeks through- out Northern California receded after inundating 30 town and driving peo- ple from their homes. Millions of dollars of damage were inflicted. Thirty square miles of Colusa County was un- der water. In Corning, so heavy was the rain- fall Friday evening that more than a foot of water flooded the basement of the Maywood Hotel." Photographerofthe year Dave Ramelli had posted on Facebook that Larry Smith is winner of pro-rodeo's Photographer of the Year Award, in Las Vegas. Congratulations Larry. He is in Las Vegas for the Wrangler National Finals that started on the 4th. If you can't be there, CBS Sports Network has the finals each night start- ing at 7 p.m. DirecTv is 221, and Dish is 158. Winter Dinner Pre-sale tickets for the 63rd annual Winter Din- ner and 12th Ag-Schol- arship Fundraiser are now available for $25 at The Loft, Hawes Ranch & Farm Supply, Animal Health International, Red Bluff Bull and Geld- ing Sale, Crossroads Feed, Farm Credit, and Rabo- bank in Red Bluff. Shasta Farm & Equipment in Cottonwood, and Rabo- bank in Corning. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Tehama District Fairground auditorium. Jean Barton has been writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbar- ton2013@gmail.com. JEAN BARTON The flood waters of Salt Creek When you're in a jam be- cause you've grown more apricots than you can sell before the fruit quality de- teriorates, what do you do? Make apricot jam. Farmers, food artisans, agricultural support orga- nizations and representa- tives from Sonoma County agencies recently gathered to share ideas for creating small-batch and artisanal "value-added" products featuring locally grown fruits and vegetables. On Nov. 3, UC Cooperative Ex- tension hosted "Taste the Possibilities: Adding Value to Your Ag Business" in So- noma County. "Value-added produc- tion is an emerging food trend with the potential to help grow the local econ- omy and support farmers' livelihood by tapping new revenue streams from pre- serving the peak of harvest and farm seconds that may otherwise go to waste," said Julia Van Soelen Kim, UC Cooperative Extension advisor for the North Bay Area. Farmers shared their in- spiring success stories and business people provided insight on sourcing local produce, using commer- cial kitchens and co-pack- ers, obtaining the right permits and registrations, and leveraging best prac- tices in business planning and marketing. There are new and emerging opportunities for value-added production in- cluding Cottage Food Op- erations, which allow in- dividuals to prepare and package certain shelf-sta- ble foods in home kitch- ens, and Tehama County allows small-scale agricul- ture processing on farms. But not everyone has the time, interest or ability to make the products them- selves, said Merrilee Ol- son, a specialty food pro- ducer who participated in the workshop. There are businesses that offer custom co-pack- ing services and private labels for growers and food entrepreneurs. As a co-packer, Olson makes value-added products in her commercial kitchen and cannery. She also helps food entrepreneurs connect with farmers and other sources of local pro- duce. "I started this busi- ness (Preserve Sonoma) to help farmers get value- added products made," said Olson, who opened in 2011, before the cottage food law passed. At that time farmers were losing money to overproduction and they didn't have very many options. When a farmer found himself with an extra 1,500 pounds of ripe apri- cots, Olson turned them into apricot jam, which he is selling at the farm's store and farmers mar- kets. Some people come to her with old family rec- ipes and their own ideas for products. For tomato growers, she has made pasta sauce, salsa, tomato soup and bloody mary mix. "The bloody mary mix was the farmer's idea, and that will be on Whole Foods shelves," Olson said. "The idea of value-added products is well-known to farmers, but they may not know they don't have to do it themselves," Olson said. "Some farmers don't really want to make the product, they want to farm. Even if you have a well-equipped home kitchen, making cottage foods isn't for ev- eryone and you need in- surance so it's easier to pay someone else to do it. We are a licensed can- nery, which means we can make products like pick- les, which are not covered in the cottage food law. " Olson thinks of the value-added farm prod- ucts as preserving a way of life as well as food. The workshop was of- fered as part of the "Op- portunities in Ag Busi- ness" series presented by UC Cooperative Ex- tension and Sonoma County Department of Health Services and was sponsored by American AgCredit. UC COOPERATIVE EXTENSION Farmers get a taste of value-added farm products COURTESYPHOTO The flood waters of Salt Creek. The Tehama County De- partment of Agriculture will beconductingcontinuinged- ucation training for certified applicators 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Dec. 12 at the Tuscan Room, Tehama County Ad- ministration Building, 727 Oak St. in Red Bluff. Certified private applica- tors are required to obtain two hours per year continu- ing education in order to re- newtheircertificationorthey arerequiredtoretakethepri- vate applicator examination. A private applicator certif- icate is required for persons that use restricted pesticides or if they train employees in pesticide use safety. Two hours of laws and reg- ulations credit for state qual- ified applicators has been ap- proved. There is no charge to attend the class, however space is limited, so pre- registration is required. To register for the class or for additional information, call 527-4504. TRAINING Pe st ic id e ap pl ic at or continuing education offered RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 No Money Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. LIC#829089 STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICESATLOWERPRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K MembersWelcome FARM » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, December 6, 2014 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5