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6A Daily News – Saturday, December 3, 2011 Opinion DN to cease publication of Monday print editions 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 Starting Jan. 9, 2012 the 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 Daily News will no longer pub- lish or deliver print editions on Mondays. This reduction of publication frequency is neces- sary due to economic con- straints brought about by reduc- tion in volume of paid advertis- ing. Paid advertising produces about 85% of a newspaper's revenue. Newspapers in general have suffered a "perfect storm" of multiple negative effects to advertising volume over the past few years. Since 2008, the Daily News has reduced page count and per- sonnel to cope with this short- fall. While we've remained in the black and made our budget- ed bottom line over the past two years, those modest successes were driven more by expense reduction than increasing advertising volume. We did show a minor revenue uptick in 2010 over 2009, but this year has been tougher than last year – and our margins are weak. No one at our parent company has yet mentioned ceasing publica- tion of the Daily News, but when a business operation's margins are not as high as the parent company's investors could enjoy from other invest- ments, the local business opera- tor better figure out a way to fix that. Our sister newspapers in Ukiah and Woodland both reduced editions earlier this year. Other newspapers in our group that serve Vallejo, Vacav- ille, Lakeport and Eureka respectively will be ceasing Monday publication as well. When we stop producing a Monday print edition, our biggest savings will be in deliv- ery expense. We pay $24,000 per month for contracted carri- ers to deliver the Daily News to subscribers. Reducing that expense by one-sixth will help. Also we'll save paper and labor charges from our printer, the Enterprise-Record in Chico, and overtime for Sunday evening production in Red Bluff to produce pages for Monday's paper and send them to Chico. We'll keep our weekend reporter on duty. The editor will post those stories on our web- site on Sunday and Monday. Key stories among those pub- lished online over the weekend and Monday will appear in print on Tuesday. Our Health and Vitality page, and our Mon- day editorial page columnists will move to other days of the week. Our offices will still be open Monday- Friday. Our monthly home delivery subscription rates will remain the same, as we propose to provide about the same volume of news and feature content, only spread over 5 rather than 6 printed weekly editions. Should our adver- special editions. Thank them for their support of your local newspaper. If you're in busi- tising volume reduce or fail to improve, we may be required to eliminate another daily edition. Many struggling small daily newspapers across the country have become strong weeklies, biweeklies and tri- weekly print products. What can you do to help? If you're a home subscriber, please stay with us. If you're a single copy buyer, consider home delivery. Subscribe to our website or e-edition. Please patronize the advertisers in our newspaper, TV Select Maga- zine, on our website and in our Greg Stevens Publisher's Postscript ness, give us a call and invite a custom presentation on how Daily News print and online advertising can be an investment, not an expense. We have new research on local consumers' shopping patterns and future purchase plans. Access to this research and a pro- posal that rests on it costs you nothing. I know losing an edition per week will not make anyone happy. But, I remem- ber when I was a much younger man I once asked my father on a landmark birthday how it felt to be as old as he was. He smiled and answered "It sure beats the alternative." So does losing the Daily News' weakest weekly edition, if it helps keep our doors open. Greg Stevens is the publisher of the Daily News. 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), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 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. Long underwear and short fish Commentary The first time John Buriff found out I had been fishing on the week- end, he made sure to ask me how the fishing was. I first replied "fine" to which he responded "how was the catching?" Therein was the rub. Usually I am not as good at catching as fishing. My wife must have felt sorry for me recently, so for Thanksgiv- ing she presented me with a set of silk long underwear, which I wore to my advantage while watching the Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin on a very cold evening. I guess she took pity on me because of my poor catching prowess. You see, I had been fish- ing with my son, Jim, and Bill Gaines above the Bend on the Sacramento River recently; it was a cold (for Red Bluff) morning, and I put on the 50 year old long under- wear that I had been issued as a young GI in 1962. They actually fit, albeit snuggly, believe it, or not. On that fishing trip I had the dis- tinction of having caught the youngest fish and of having worn the oldest long underwear. Fishing was always something our family enjoyed. My father would tell stories of pulling out large blue gills, catfish, and bass from the ponds where he lived in Kansas. In the summer time, my brother and I would dig up a can of worms and walk the two miles to Lake Merced in San Francisco, normally returning with no trout and few worms. We did catch a lot of what we called "bullheads" which were not big enough to eat and were truly ugly. When we found out our backyard neighbor would be glad to use the bullheads for fertilizer, we proudly brought back more than we could count and watched our neighbor bury them under his shrubs. After a while he said he didn't need any more. At this point in my life I real- ize he was probably humoring us. (We had another neighbor who would pay us five cents for a can of snails which she claimed she ate.) Our family used to go to Clear Lake, a blue collar vacation spot. Clear Lake is one of the oldest lakes in North America and has a good supply of bass, catfish, blue gills, and crappies. The wind came up most afternoons when my father would take my brother and me out on the lake in a wooden row boat. He would work hard, rowing to keep the boat from being blown into the reeds that lined the penin- sula where we fished, while my brother and I hauled in some of the smallest fish you have ever seen. He would drop the oars take the fish off our hooks and then struggle to re-position us for more fish. After two years of this, my father bought a used seven horsepower outboard motor that we would take to the lake with us; the fishing became easier, but the catching was about the same. Our next door neighbor in San Francisco was a Marine sergeant stationed at Treasure Island. He would take my brother and me fishing on his days off. My brother and I were very competitive, and we retained bragging rights for a long time after a victory. One day on Treasure Island my brother caught a small shark, some rock fish, a few perch, a small striped bass, and some mackerel. I man- aged to hook a seagull on one cast, finally landing him, putting a gunny sack over his head so we could take the hook out its leg, and standing back to let him fly before he decided to attack us. I also snagged a three inch fish in the eye. My brother had won the bragging rights. I first introduced my children to fishing just north of Proberta under- neath the railroad bridge along Hwy 99W. There is a small pond there full of murky water and hun- gry crappies and bluegills. We used a short poll with worms and a bobber purchased from Jim Waldschmidt at Coast to Coast. The kids took turns landing the small fish which caused great excitement as their polls bent, the bobbers bobbed, and their lines traced patterns in the water's dark surface. We threw most of the fish back, but some were mortally wounded. This was a problem because we told the kids we had to eat what we kept. Using a blender, some breadcrumbs, a variety of seasonings, and ingenu- ity, we were able to make meals we could all eat. One of the lessons a father learns slowly is that when you take your children fishing, you are not going fishing. Between tangled lines, re-baiting hooks, and remov- ing fish, a father is too busy to put a line in the water. Once in a while you even have to fish a child out of the water when he or she waded into a hole, grab a towel, and assure the frightened child all is okay. Sometimes you have to reassure someone the worms are not being hurt. One Mother's Day Joe Harrop weekend my mother-in- law was visiting, so I decided it would be okay if I went fishing that Saturday morning. I quietly crept out of the house and drove north on I-5 past the auction yard in Cottonwood. To my amazement I saw an elephant there. I contin- ued on to Battle Creek, and I caught one eight inch trout before the snow started and I had to leave. I threw the trout back, which every- one believed when I told them; no one would believe I saw an ele- phant, however. A couple of years later I was exonerated when a friend stated she had seen an ele- phant at the auction yard on that same weekend the circus had to stop and wait for the roads north to clear. Both of my sons still fish, but one is an avid fisherman who enjoys fly, deep sea, and lake fish- ing. The three of us went fishing with a guide in Rhinelander, Wis- consin while the rest of the family waited patiently at our rental house for dinner to come. Fortunately they had a backup plan. 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.