Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/44242
6A Daily News – Saturday, October 8, 2011 Opinion Cemetery Editor: 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 I am responding to Patricia Langley's comments regarding Sunset Hills Cemetery in Corn- ing. 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 Her comment that our ceme- tery is a "pitiful disgrace" is simply not true. She mentioned that our cemetery has won awards for it's beauty year after year. The last time it received an award was 1996 — more than 15 years ago. I have been with the Corning Cemetery District for almost two years and in that time we have received numerous letters and Certificates of Appreciation from our community thanking us for our dedication and devo- tion that we put into our beauti- ful cemetery. We are currently upgrading an inadequate underground sprinkler system to green up some of the hard to reach areas of our lawn. We have come a long way in the last two years with the upgrades that we have made. There are more improvements to come and we will not stop until we reach our goals. On behalf of myself, the hon- orable board of trustees and our grounds crew, our pledge is to make this cemetery the best it can be. Steve Crane, Corning Steve Crane is the Corning Cemetery District manager. Jubilee Editor: Many, many thanks to the amazing volunteers who made the Tehama County Museum's 30th Jubilee such a successful event. The volunteers worked tirelessly for weeks organizing this great event that did what it always does for our community — it brought us together to cel- ebrate all the museum has to offer and provided a venue for many other happenings. There was wonderful enter- tainment; the Central Tehama Kiwanis served breakfast and lunch for a hungry crowd, the Los Molinos Woman's Club served pie and ice cream for dessert, many crafters filled the park with a huge variety of offerings, Judy's Country Store had most anything else anyone could want and last but not least, it provided the time and space for a pie auction that ben- efitted the Los Molinos Library. Auctioneer Lyle Dawson was a one-man show who enter- tained us as he got the crowd to bid on pies, raising $1,000 for the library. Thanks to Lyle and to all the bakers who provided the pies. A good time was had by all. Thanks again to the museum staff of volunteers. Barbara Whitten, Los Molinos Lost cell phone Editor: At 11 a.m. on Sept. 28 some- one lost their ATT Samsung cell phone outside the post office in Red Bluff. I found it. I waited 30 minutes for the owner. Owner didn't show. I inquired inside the post office. No luck. I took it to Radio Shack in the Raley's shopping center to help locate the owner. The Radio Shack employee was about to make a call when the cell phone rang/vibrated. It was the owner, Shelia. Shelia would be right over to claim the cell phone. I left my phone number for Shelia and told the clerk that I would be back in five minutes from next door at Raley's pharmacy. I returned in five minutes. Wow! Shelia had claimed her cell phone and was gone. OK. Most people would wait five minutes to say thank you or per- haps offer a small finder's reward. Not Shelia. Maybe a thank you phone call later to my home. Not She- lia. Was gratitude and apprecia- tion shown? Not Shelia. It's still not too late, Shelia. I guess I would do it again- not for Shelia. Norman Weitzel, Gerber Past employee Editor: In 1958 I was employed by the Red Bluff Daily News as a street paperboy. Living on Jef- ferson Ave. in the Forward Bros. Addition. With my penchant for getting into trouble, I had fond memo- ries of Red Bluff. I have always dreamed about returning to your town, as time passes the dream seems to fade. Please publish this so I may say hello to anyone who lives in the Tehama County area. Thank you for the opportuni- ty at my first job. Michael Hermetet, Albuquerque, NM 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. By the hair on your chinny chin chin Commentary I read the other day about a man who has discovered if he runs his razor blade backward up his arm he in effect re-hones it, and he claims he has gotten 20 months out of a blade. I am not sure if Gillette knows about this. (When I was in high school several of my friends shaved their arm hair in the hope it would grow back darker and thicker; the results depended upon who looked at the hairy arms.) Believe it or not, that got me thinking about the San Fran- cisco Chronicle, in particular about Charles McCabe, one of the big four columnists at the San Francisco Chronicle when I lived in San Francisco. The other three were Herb Caen, Stanton Delaplane, and Art Hoppe. Caen, of course, was the Syd- ney Lindauer of San Francisco; he had numerous contacts with- in the Bay Area, was a notorious name dropper, kept abreast of all the gossip, took advantage of his celebrity to accept free meals at various restaurants, and once referred to Chico as the place where Velveeta was kept in the gourmet foods section of the market. (Mrs. Lindauer, The Farmer's Wife, was not interest- ed in the celebrity part of being a columnist, but she did have her ear to the ground, tried to expand our horizons, and was well regarded by her many read- ers.) Delaplane, a cutesy and whimsical travel writer, often had more ephemeral things to say than real travel tips, but he was credited with bringing Irish coffee to San Francisco, a major accomplishment, cementing the Buena Vista as a prime gather- ing place for both locals and tourists. Art Hoppe was able to put a comic spin on the truth, often focusing on the depth of our own deceptions. One of my favorite books was his collec- tion of columns entitled The Love Everybody Crusade (Except Antarticans). We had the good fortune to have lunch with him at Asilomar almost fifty years ago, and he revealed that he hoped his columns made people think, but he said he did not want the responsibility of convincing anyone of anything. Charles McCabe who penned the Fearless Spectator was an iconoclastic watering hole fre- quenter who had strong opin- ions. He once said "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." He deplored the gentrification of the San Francisco Port, pointing out that the port should be a place of work and productivity, not a simple destination. He pointed out each year that it was a true coincidence that press releases from Scotland about Loch Ness monster sightings coincidently happen to appear just before the tourist season. And he always wrote one column per year about razor blades. McCabe had a fascination with Wilkinson Sword razor blades. He couldn't understand why Americans were not able to produce something as sharp and long lasting as the Wilkinson Sword blade. He would publish the latest tips on keeping your razor sharp; once he claimed that keeping the razor blade inside a glass allegedly kept the blade sharp for a longer period of time. Shaving is a rite of passage for most young men. I can remember watch- ing in fascination as my father would hone his straight edge razor along a leather strop, using it on the rougher side once or twice, and then switching to the smoother side for fin- ishing. He never used the strop on either my brother or me, but we knew friends who felt the wrath of their fathers from a razor strop.(My mother would threaten a wood- en spoon if we were really bad, but she never used it.) My father switched to the Shick injection blade, and that is the blade I learned to shave with; I used that until I went into the Army, and then switched to the Gillette blue blades, a dou- ble edge blade. I switched because you allegedly got twice the number of shave per blade and everyone else used them as well. It made inspections of the barracks more uniform if every- one had the same equipment. There were some disadvantages to the blade; you had to handle it both when you put it in the razor and when you removed it; it was very light and flexible when out of the razor, and if you were all thumbs or in a hurry it often cut more than whiskers. I am still a Gillette man, hav- ing graduated from the double edge to the three blades car- tridge, to the five bladed car- tridge and now the cartridge Joe with five blades plus a trimmer blade. As blades allegedly improved, the prices have risen, and I find myself try- ing to get more and more shaves from each blade, possibly a sign of the economic condition we all find ourselves in. Shaving at first was a thing I felt proud about because I had passed across the threshold into "man- hood." Harrop It soon became a chore. One Christmas time I came home from college with about a two weeks' growth on my face. My father made it clear I would have to shave the offend- ing growth if I wanted to stay home during the break. I had grown the "beard" to look older and more worldly in the naive view that facial hair made the man. Today, of course, stubble is in, and I am not used to seeing teenagers with their thin weak stubble clinging to their imma- ture complexion, or "mature" men with a perpetual two day growth. There is a group called the Beard Liberation Front in Eng- land founded for the sole pur- pose of preventing discrimina- tion against those with beards. I am sure my father would have had something impolite to say about them. 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.