Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/468658
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 GreetingsfromthehistoricStateTheatre. I am excited to announce that you are now reading the very first of a regular column designed to inform you of the happenings in the past, at present, and in the future at the grand old State Theatre. Youshouldprobablybe warned that while I plan to give you mostly the straight scoop and tell you the honest truth, it is also my plan, when necessary, to embellish the truth to make us look better — or to keep you from moving on to see what Robert Minch has to say about the library. The history of the State The- atre as the center of downtown Red Bluff actually dates back to 1908 when it was first con- structed as the Red Bluff Op- era House. It served the com- munity as a venue for travel- ling road shows, vaudeville acts, and the first silent mov- ies. Tragically, the Opera House was consumed by fire in ap- proximately 1944. Because of its importance to the commu- nity, special permission was granted to build a new the- ater on the current site, even though this country was in the midst of World War II and ra- tioning of construction materi- als was the order of the day. The State Theatre in its pres- ent form opened in 1946, and from that point through the de- cade of the seventies it served quite capably as our hometown theater. Even in the '50s, for the cost of 25 cents you could gather at the State with your friends and watch a double fea- ture, a couple of Road Runner cartoons, a news reel featuring President Eisenhower and even a Buck Rogers serial. America's favorite actor Tom Hanks spent his summers in Red Bluff while growing up. He was kind enough to do a promotional video during the capital campaign to purchase the theater in which he fondly recalls sitting in the State The- atre while watching Tigger and Planet of the Apes. It is in- teresting to note that the the- ater also served as the per- forming arts venue of choice in the '50s and '60s when the Bull Sale brought to the State Theatre stage entertainers such as Tennessee Ernie Ford, the Mills Brothers, Donald O'Connor and Patti Page. Many long-term residents fondly remember working as State Theatre ushers or con- cession workers while grow- ing up in Red Bluff; and virtu- ally everyone remembers dap- per State Theatre manager Dale Pickell, who dressed in a coat and tie and looked an aw- ful lot like Clark Gable. Oth- ers like myself will likely re- member even more clearly that Mr. Pickell carried a flash light that was about four feet long and when he caught you put- ting your feet on the on the back of the seat in front of you he would sneak up and rap you on your shins with that four-foot flashlight. That was over 50 years ago, and my shins just stopped bleeding last Thursday. In any event, it is safe to say that the State Theatre played a prominent role in the lives of virtually all of us until the out- side world began to creep into this wonderful little commu- nity we call home. More about that the next time. The State Theatre for the Arts is working very hard to provide a high quality per- forming arts product to the community. It is only with your support that we will be able to bring quality enter- tainment to the State The- atre. Please look in this space on a regular basis to find out who or what is playing at the State Theatre, and invite your family or friends to attend an event soon. Comingattractions February 27Nu-Blu, bluegrass concert 28Exchange Club Search for Talent March 7Missoula Children's Theatre — "Blackbeard the Pirate" 17the Count Basie Orchestra 27High Street Band For more information, visit www. statetheatreredbluff.com or call 529-2787. Bill Cornelius The state of the State Theatre Mr. Pickell carried a flash light that was about four feet long and when he caught you putting your feet on the on the back of the seat in front of you he would sneak up and rap you on your shins with that four- foot flashlight. Cartoonist's take It was one year ago last week- end that a violent coup over- threw the legally elected gov- ernment of Ukraine. That coup was not only supported by U.S. and European governments — much of it was actually planned by them. Looking back at the events that led to the overthrow it is clear that without foreign intervention Ukraine would not be in its current, seemingly hopeless situation. By the end of 2013, Ukraine's economy was in ruins. The gov- ernment was desperate for an economic bailout and then-pres- ident Yanukovych first looked west to the U.S. and Europe be- fore deciding to accept an offer of help from Russia. Residents of south and east Ukraine, who largely speak Russian and trade extensively with Russia were pleased with the decision. West Ukrainians who identify with Poland and Europe began to protest. Ukraine is a deeply di- vided country and the president came from the eastern region. At this point the conflict was just another chapter in Ukraine's difficult post-Soviet history. There was bound to be some discontent over the deci- sion, but if there had been no foreign intervention in support of the protests you would likely not be reading this column to- day. The problem may well have solved itself in due time rather than escalated into a full-out civil war. But the intervention- ists in the U.S. and Europe won out again, and their interven- tionist project has been a disas- ter. The protests at the end of 2013 grew more dramatic and violent and soon a steady stream of U.S. and European politi- cians were openly participat- ing, as protesters called for the overthrow of the Ukrainian gov- ernment. Senator John McCain made several visits to Kiev and even addressed the crowd to en- courage them. Imagine if a foreign leader like Putin or Assad came to Washington to encourage pro- testers to overthrow the Obama Administration. As we soon found out from a leaked telephone call, the US ambassador in Kiev and Assis- tant Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, were making detailed plans for a new government in Kiev after the legal government was overthrown with their as- sistance. The protests continued to grow but finally on February 20th of last year a European del- egation brokered a compromise that included early elections and several other concessions from Yanukovych. It appeared disas- ter had been averted, but sud- denly that night some of the most violent groups, which had been close to the U.S., carried out the coup and Yanukovych fled the country. When the east refused to rec- ognize the new government as legitimate and held a referen- dum to secede from the west, Kiev sent in tanks to force them to submit. Rather than accept the will of those seeking in- dependence from what they viewed as an illegitimate gov- ernment put in place by foreign- ers, the Obama administration decided to blame it all on the Russians and began imposing sanctions. That war launched by Kiev has lasted until the present, with a ceasefire this month brokered by the Germans and French finally offering some hope for an end to the kill- ing. More than 5,000 have been killed and many of those were civilians bombed in their cities by Kiev. What if John McCain had stayed home and worried about his constituents in Arizona in- stead of non-constituents 6,000 miles away? What if the other U.S. and European politicians had done the same? What if Vic- toria Nuland and US Ambassa- dor Geoffrey Pyatt had focused on actual diplomacy instead of regime change? If they had done so, there is a good chance many if not all of those who have been killed in the violence would still be alive today. Interventionism kills. RonPaulisaformerCongress- man and Presidential can- didate. He can be reached at VoicesofLiberty.com. Ron Paul Interventionism kills — Ukraine one year late Another view I admit it: I love the snow and the cold. I love to be out- side, gazing up at the stars on cold, crisp eve- nings. I love how the snow blankets my hill- sides. And most of all, I love how snow dis- rupts daily life — particularly in Washington, D.C. I lived in Washington for nearly eight years. No sooner do a few flakes fall from the sky there than incompetent drivers are in a panic and bureaucrats in the Office of Personnel Man- agement make the call to shut down much of the federal gov- ernment. It's ironic, if you think about it. The very same bu- reaucrats who desire to run every aspect of our lives are sent into panic and chaos be- cause little white flakes are falling from the sky. As cities in the North are pelted with several feet of snow, the sissies in Washing- ton, barely receiving a proper dusting, shutter school build- ings and government programs as though the end times were upon us. They do so not be- cause too much snow falls, but because more snow might be headed their way. The pubs in D.C. are always packed on such nights, as thou- sands of non-essential govern- ment employees — and there are lots of those — are required to stay home, which means they can afford a throbbing hango- ver in the morning. Washington has long been unique this way. If you need someone to create a national- ized health-care system or ini- tiate any of dozens of new pro- grams that use our own money to tell us how we must live and work, there are thousands of individu- als at your disposal. These people happily sit in climate-controlled of- fice buildings, crunching statistics, generating re- ports and performing many other activities without any re- gard to reality — so long as lit- tle white flakes don't fall from the clouds. But ask these same people to melt snow so the cars won't wreck and they will look at you the way a dog would if you asked it to discuss quantum physics. If you're from Pittsburgh, or most other places outside of Washington, you tend to have a more practical approach to life. If your furnace breaks, you shop for a high-quality furnace at a good price and hire some- one to install it. If you're self-employed, as I am, and don't deliver, you won't get more work. If you don't get work, you will eventually be without shelter or heat. In Pitts- burgh, you see, you live in re- ality. When snow falls, you get out your shovel and remove it — and you also help make sure your neighbors, particu- larly your elderly neighbors, are safe in extra-cold condi- tions. But if you're from Washing- ton, you're wired the opposite way. You do work that isn't nec- essarily necessary, and are well paid for it. If you work in poli- tics, you can lie, cheat and slan- der others to get ahead — and if you get caught, depending on your political party, you'll not only NOT get fired, you'll prob- ably get promoted. So it's no wonder that many folks in D.C. don't have the first idea how to melt snow, that be- ing something that actually matters. It's no wonder that other- wise all-knowing Washingtoni- ans, who promise to do a bet- ter job running our lives than we can, are barely able to sur- vive the relatively mild win- ters that are common to their region. But that's not all bad. As long as the snow and cold keep their town shut down, no new taxes or spending programs can be launched. That's why I love the snow and the cold so much. Tom Purcell, author of "Misad- ventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor col- umnist. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Snow's silver lining Tom Purcell It's ironic, if you think about it. The very same bureaucrats who desire to run every aspect of our lives are sent into panic and chaos because little white flakes are falling from the sky. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, February 25, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6