Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/475039
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 Sometimesreadingthe news makes me wonder if we work too hard at protect- ing ourselves from ourselves. We read the Su- preme Court is hearing whether or not the redis- tricting commis- sion in Arizona, the one we mod- eled our own California commission after, is Constitutional. Both Arizona and Califor- nia formed their commissions to take the redistricting pro- cess away from the state leg- islatures, which tend to prac- tice what has become known as Gerrymandering. We don't trust our elected officials to do the right thing, so rather than vote them out of office we pass an initiative. We often create one solution to a problem that in turn cre- ates more problems. Prohibi- tion is often cited as an exam- ple of a failed reform because it gave rise to even stronger organized crime. Another ex- ample: we have understaffed Sheriff and Police Depart- ments, but we pass more rules and laws we most likely can- not enforce, like the new mari- juana growth regulations; and of course, we don't have room in our jails and prisons to in- carcerate folks. Most of us are familiar with the parable of the mustard seed found in all three syn- optic Gospels and which em- phasizes that a small seed can grow into a large plant. So too with small beginnings; I used to tell teachers they were planting seeds, and they might not see the results of their work because seeds do not all have the same gestation pe- riod or growth pattern, but their careful cultivation will have results, results that they may never see. I have learned about two mustard seed projects in re- cent weeks. The first is in Colum- bia where our guide, a per- son who had turned his life around, has started a youth center located in a poverty stricken and crime ridden area of Cartagena. He has purchased a simple build- ing and begun reconstruc- tion and transforming it into a place where youngsters can come, feel safe, have help with their homework, and learn English beyond what is taught in the local school. We met some of the stu- dents who come to his cen- ter; they were pleased to be able to practice their English and ask us questions about things we like about Colum- bia, what our home life was like, and things that only children might ask. They were polite, and they said they liked the center. They clearly felt safe and secure in the center. The children came from homes without electricity and indoor plumbing, yet each one looked well scrubbed with clean well groomed hair and great smiles on their bright faces. Our guide has a goal to make sure every one of his charges makes it through high school ready for the next steps in their lives. In area of extreme poverty, high unemployment, low ex- pectations, and social discord, his center will make a differ- ence in the lives of children. It is an oasis he created because he saw the great need and he decided to do something about it. Here in Red Bluff there is another mustard seed proj- ect that may have some great potential for our community. It may be a revival, of sorts, that could lead produce many fruits. There are about nine congregations who have joined together to focus on what Je- sus commands us to do: "Feed my sheep." They gather each Sun- day evening, and their num- bers are growing; their pas- tors rotate pulpits; they sup- port those in need, and they feel a calling. They are doing something rather than preach- ing about which of them is right or wrong; they are focus- ing on what they have in com- mon, which is far more than one might suspect. They want to make a positive difference in our community, and all in- dications is that they will. PATH is another example of a local mustard seed. It pro- vides support and shelter for those without a place to stay or eat during the winter. It is a tribute to local know how. So, what does the parable of the mustard seed have to do with the projects I mentioned, and how do they relate to the items about government and rules? First, the two projects do not rely on others to do some- thing; they are initiated by and supported by those who are trying to make a differ- ence....people who understand the difference between "some- body has to do something" and "I need to do something." Second, they are doing something locally with real people, people they have to see face to face; they are not be- moaning big government, lib- erals or conservatives; they are serving real people here and now. I believe that each of us can plant mustard seeds by the way we live, by the way we fo- cus our energies, and by our example. I hope you do too. Joe Harrop Comparing mustard seed projects Responseregarding supportofveterans Editor: This is in response to Mr. De- Boever's letter on Saturday, Feb. 28. I'm not certain why he says his is the "rest of the veterans services story" but I am truly happy you support all that is hap- pening for Tehama County's vet- erans. I do feel, however, that he may have either missed or mis- stated something. The Veterans Service Officer position was never vacant. When my good friend, Mr. Bill John- son, retired on Dec. 31, 2013, I be- came the interim VSO until the position was filled with a perma- nent VSO. There was an announcement posted by Tehama County on the interim position. I'm not certain who else applied for it but I was eventually hired. Several peo- ple were interviewed during the process for the permanent posi- tion. A permanent VSO, Kelly Os- borne, CDR, USCG (ret), began work on May 1 last year. The pro- cess was fair and followed the rules, regulations and laws as far as I am concerned. The county allowed me to stay on to assist her and I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve my fellow veterans and their families a lit- tle longer. It's a very demanding but equally rewarding job. Our current VSO is diligent and mindful of the problems vet- erans and their families face and she's also doing her best in meet- ing the reasonable expectations of us all. I personally feel that the county is listening to us and our patience is going to go a long way in making the VSO office work for us even better. The VSO position has been 20 hours per week for a very long time. As a disabled veteran my- self I couldn't understand it ei- ther until I was employed as the interim VSO. And I still didn't agree with it. So the question might be, "How are VSOs funded in California?" Yes, it's compli- cated in many ways. I'm not in the office any longer so these are only my thoughts and im- ply nothing official from Tehama County government. Each county has a certain number of veterans and based on those numbers and how many claims are filed each year with VA through each county VSO, workload units are cre- ated within the veteran's county of filing and input into a data- base which goes to Sacramento. Those units are translated into funding from the state to each county. Tehama County is lesser populated with veterans than many of the southern and other counties, thus creating much smaller workload units for the smaller counties throughout Cal- ifornia. So the more the veterans use the VSO, the more money will return to Tehama County to fund more hours. I trust in what our county ad- ministration is doing most of the time and I wouldn't pretend to know about how the machines of government work for many similar issues. I do feel, how- ever, that Bill Goodwin is do- ing a very good job in support- ing our veterans these days as well as the Board of Supervisors. Of course, there's is always a full plate. But I like and respect them all. Also, the day those vet- erans were at the Board of Su- pervisors meeting, the board voted in support of AB 171 for additional funding. The Tehama County Military Family Support Group was able to place the signs along I-5 and erect that wonderful monument for our Desert Storm and Global War on Terrorism veterans. Vet- erans are honored in Tehama County but it will never be 100 percent perfect. Of every seg- ment of the population we veter- ans should know that one all too well. But I'd rather be out here looking for the opportunities to make it better for all fellow vet- erans and their families. There is the newly formed non profit Tehama County Veterans Collaborative. We're an all-volun- teer force serving our veterans and their families in many ca- pacities and we're growing and learning with the support that we receive from the community. Our Tehama County commu- nity supports its veterans and we feel that support is growing all of the time. —JohnMinton,RedBluff Phonescammersfoiled Editor: Someone just tried to phone scam me and I wanted to share my story with you. I received a phone call the other night from a number I did not know, but I answered it any- way. The lady on the other end said Ms. Nelson I'm calling to let you know your computer has been hacked by numerous hack- ers. They've put viruses through- out all your e-mails. We need to hurry and fix this. I'll tell you the truth, I know nothing about computers. My re- ply to her was Oh my God my whole computer is going to be destroyed? Yes, she said, if we don't get it fixed right now. I came back at her sound- ing real upset and said dang my computer is connected in some way to my law firm's monitoring computer system in San Fran- cisco if my computer goes down then ail of theirs will go down to won't they? What can we do to fix this? She replied, you'll have to pay first. I said OK let me get a pen and paper so I can get your name and address so I can mail it to you. She told me I had to have it electronically sent to an account. I told her how the hell do I do that I don't even know how to use my computer? She told me to go to my bank and I stopped her and said I can't do that my kids keep my check book. I need to send you cash give me your address so I can and my attor- neys will want to send a thank you card for saving their com- puters too. She said OK got a pen? Then I heard a male's voice say "hang up, she's scamming you," click. Hopefully they'll lose my number. — Kathy Nelson, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take One of my late father's favor- ite trick questions was, "What does a cat learn if it jumps on a hot stove burner?" The answer, of course, is not "To stay off the stovetop when it's hot," but the overly broad "Stay off the stovetop period." That comes to mind because March 8, 1965 was the date that the first 3,500 U.S. combat Ma- rines were dispatched to South Vietnam, and I wonder if any of us (isolationist, interventionist or in-betweener) have learned the right lessons over the past five decades. Nowadays for something as simple as "Are you or aren't you in a relationship?," Facebook of- fers the "It's complicated" des- ignation. But many people look at a conflict that directly or in- directly affected all the world's superpowers, confounded JFK's "the best and the brightest," brought down a presidency and cost more than 58,000 American lives — and smugly think they have all the answers about coun- tering a guerilla war, the perils of the military-industrial com- plex and the proper role of the news media. True, some individuals have done the requisite heavy lifting of research and wrestled with their consciences about "that old crazy Asian war" (as Kenny Rogers described it in the song "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town"). But a lot of Americans either dismiss the subject as an- cient history, close their ears to anything that conflicts with their entrenched worldview or talk at their opponents over an unpleasant Thanksgiving din- ner. If we can all agree with Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman that "War is hell," one would think that playing Devil's Ad- vocate would be fitting; but too few are willing to try. Too many people get their un- shakeable opinions from frag- mentary memories of things their college professor spouted between bong hits or from 5,000 gung ho sessions of listening to a scratchy 45 rpm record of "The Ballad of the Green Berets." On one side people are dead certain that giving peace a chance was the answer and that the "domino theory" was a bunch of hooey (although doc- uments show North Vietnam at least had aspirations of spread- ing communism to other na- tions). On the other side are peo- ple who think that nuking the Demilitarized Zone (prefera- bly with news anchor Walter Cronkite present) would have solved all our problems, without any lingering ecological or geo- political ramifications. I know that many people are squeamish about reopening old wounds, but quite often reopen- ing old wounds helps with heal- ing and provides useful informa- tion for future patients. Our pol- icymakers and the people who vote for those policymakers need all the information they can get. Somewhere between the ex- tremes of the defeatist "Ah, peo- ple never learn from history" and the optimistic "If we just tweaked this..." exist practical lessons. As the fiftieth anniversaries of various Vietnam War milestones roll along, I challenge you to Google questions such as "Could we have won the Vietnam War?" or "Could the U.S. have won the Vietnam War?" Yes, you'll find a lot of name- calling, exaggerations and ir- relevancies; but somewhere in there you may find facts and perspectives to give you a more nuanced view of the war. As we wrestle with issues such as ISIS and Vladimir Pu- tin's expansionism, we owe it to the war dead, the veterans and future generations to ask the hard questions and make an honest effort to know what we're talking about. Danny Tyree welcomes email re- sponses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page. Danny Tyree 50th anniversary of US combat forces in Vietnam Joe Harrop OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, March 7, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4