Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/514584
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@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 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 AlltoooftenIhearsome- one say, "This community is going to the dogs." As a person who spent 40 years working in the criminal justice field, I am keenly aware that there are far too many members of our society who are under-ed- ucated, under-disciplined, un- der-skilled, under-served and perhaps most importantly, un- der-loved. I remember dealing with failing families on a daily ba- sis. I remember going home many evenings with the atti- tude that even my own chil- dren could not be trusted to do the right thing when they headed out to a Friday night football game. I now realize I couldn't have been more wrong about my children. As adults, each is far more mature, far bet- ter-educated, a far bet- ter parent and far better- equipped to deal with life's successes and failures than was their father. And so, too, are we wrong when we pre- sume that this community "is going to the dogs." Let me tell you why. On May 12, I was honored to represent the Rotary Club of Red Bluff at the annual Red Bluff High School Se- nior Awards program. I am proud to say that because of our partnership with the Red Bluff Round-Up Associ- ation, we were able to award twelve $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors. The good folks at the Round- Up have chosen to award our club the beer concession each year for the past quar- ter century. As a direct re- sult, during that time nearly 300 students have received a Rotary/Round-Up schol- arship. We are hopeful the next quarter-century will see more of the same. As part of the Rotary schol- arship committee, I am con- tinually amazed by the num- ber of high-achieving students attending Tehama County schools. A review of Red Bluff High senior transcripts reveals that more than 100 students carry a GPA of at least 3.00; 54, a GPA of 3.50; 44, a GPA of 3.75; and 20 who carry a GPA of 4.00-4.36. It is interesting that of the top 20 students, 17 are young ladies. As an aside, females who are smarter than I always make me nervous. This is why I am nervous most of the time. While I am greatly im- pressed by the quality of stu- dents we are turning loose on the world, I think I may be even be more impressed by the level of support pro- vided to these high-achiev- ing youngsters by virtually all segments of this wonder- ful little community we call home. A review of this year's pro- gram for the award ceremony reveals that some 250 schol- arships with a total value of nearly $1,000,000 were handed out to nearly 100 stu- dents from Red Bluff High School. For me, reading the names of the roughly 100 scholarship sponsors is a trip down memory lane. Te- hama County is blessed with clubs and associations like Rotary, Round-Up, Ki- wanis, Presbyterian Church, Molino Star, Masonic Lodge, Lions, Democratic Central Committee, Cattlemen, Re- tired Coaches, Red Bluff High Faculty, Elks, Sorop- tomist, Realtors, Antelope Faculty, Tehama County Peace Officers Association and the Bend Teachers As- sociation, all of whom sup- port our graduating seniors. Tehama County is blessed to have businesses and orga- nizations such as the Farm Bureau, Umpqua Bank, Wil- cox Oaks, Sierra Pacific Foun- dation, Manton Apple Festi- val, Tehama Shooters, Lassen Medical, Elmore's Pharmacy, Cornerstone Bank and the Dairyville Community Club, all of whom support graduat- ing seniors. Even more impressive are the high number of memorial scholarships honoring mem- bers of the community who have passed on, but will be for- ever remembered for who they were and what they meant to this community. People like the Honorable Curtiss Wet- ter, Gene Penne, George and Sydney Lindauer, Jack Milli- gan, Dr. William Gaines, Bill and Margaret Owens, Connie Crowder, Jack Little, George Growney, the Teisseires, Percy Avilla, G. R. Milford, Jack Ow- ens, Dudley Long, and a quiet little man by the name of Tosh Mitome. People like Carl Ha- vener and Lorna Bonham, both of whom passed this past year and who meant so much to their community. People like David Mobilio, Eric Micke, Konor Fleharty, Tom Kinner, Braden Schoelen, and Skyler Garcia, all of whom left us far too soon. While I would like noth- ing better than to wake up to- morrow to the same Red Bluff High School from which I graduated in 1963, I am not so sure that the current group of graduates would share my vi- sion. With their hard work, and with the extraordinary support they have received from their families, their teachers, their counselors and their community, they are do- ing just fine. Comingattractions Tonight at 6, Maker Sum- mer — free film, "If You Build It," kicks off a busy summer program for kids. May 30 The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band William Tells Like a dog with two tails Cartoonist's take On Friday, the House passed a massive National Defense Au- thorization for 2016 that will guarantee U.S. involvement in more wars and overseas inter- ventions for years to come. The Republican majority resorted to trickery to evade the meager spending limitations imposed by the 2011 budget control act — limitations that did not, as often reported, cut military spending but only slowed its growth. But not even slower growth is enough when you have an em- pire to maintain worldwide, so the House majority slipped into the military spending bill an ex- tra $89 billion for an emergency war fund. Such "emergency" spending is not addressed in the growth caps placed on the mili- tary under the 2011 budget con- trol act. It is a loophole filled by Congress with Fed-printed money. Ironically, a good deal of this "emergency" money will go to President Obama's war on ISIS even though neither the House nor the Senate has debated — let alone authorized — that war. Although House leadership al- lowed 135 amendments to the defense bill — with many on mi- nor issues like regulations on fire hoses — an effort by a small group of Representatives to in- troduce an amendment to de- bate the current U.S. war in Iraq and Syria was rejected. While squashing debate on ongoing but unauthorized wars, the bill also pushed the administration toward new conflicts. Despite the pres- ident's unwise decision to send hundreds of U.S. mil- itary trainers to Ukraine, a move that threatens the cur- rent shaky ceasefire, Congress wants even more U.S. involve- ment in Ukraine's internal af- fairs. The military spending bill included $300 million to directly arm the Ukrainian government even as Ukrainian leaders threaten to again at- tack the breakaway regions in the east. Does Congress really think U.S.-supplied weapons killing ethnic Russians in east- ern Ukraine is a good idea? The defense authorization bill also seeks to send yet more weapons into Iraq. This time the House wants to send weap- ons directly to the Kurds in northern Iraq without the ap- proval of the Iraqi government. Although these weapons are supposed to be used to fight ISIS, we know from too many prior examples that they often find their way into the hands of the very people we are fighting. Also, arming an ethnic group seeking to break away from Baghdad and form a new state is an unwise infringement of the sovereignty of Iraq. It is one thing to endorse the idea of se- cession as a way to reduce the possibility of violence, but it is quite something else to arm one side and implicitly back its demands. While the neocons keep push- ing the lie that the military budget is shrinking under the Obama Administration, the op- posite is true. As the CATO In- stitute pointed out recently, President George W. Bush's av- erage defense budget was $601 billion, while during the Obama administration the average has been $687 billion. This bill is just another example of this un- healthy trend. Next year's military spending plan keeps the U.S. on track to- ward destruction of its economy at home while provoking new resentment over U.S. interven- tionism overseas. It is a recipe for disaster. Let's hope for either a presidential veto, or that on fi- nal passage Congress rejects this bad bill. RonPaulisaformer Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at VoicesofLiberty.com. Ron Paul New military spending bill expands empire Another view It was the most moving Me- morial Day ceremony I've ever attended. The event took place at the ACLD Tillotson School in Pittsburgh, a special-needs school with a pri- vate academic li- cense approved yearly by the Pennsylvania De- partment of Education. The brain is a complicated thing, you see. Even the slight- est deviation in normal brain function can interrupt an indi- vidual's ability to receive, pro- cess and communicate infor- mation. According to the National In- stitutes of Health, one out of seven Americans has Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) — a complex cluster of neurobiologi- cal deficits that can severely in- hibit the ability to process in- formation. Interestingly, some of the world's most inventive people have learning disabilities. Ein- stein had Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. Thomas Edi- son suffered severe ADHD. His third-grade teacher kicked him out of school for being "inatten- tive, fidgety and slow." Tillotson students run the gamut, from children with nor- mal to high IQs who have diffi- culty learning to read, to some with moderate to severe autism, to others with a host of other learning disabilities. Some go on to college. Others succeed in the trades. Some are taught to maximize basic skills, so they can become productive, self-suf- ficient citizens. All of the students require exceptional patience and care. That is delivered in abundance by Tillotson's teachers and ad- ministrators, which was evident when I attended the Memorial Day event. In the spirit of full disclo- sure, Kristine Sacco, the Tillot- son art teacher who organized the event, is my sister. She said the students have been learn- ing about Memorial Day in so- cial studies. To help them bet- ter understand the meaning of service, the school initiated a door-decorating contest — then agreed to take the concept a step further by inviting veter- ans to visit the students. Three veterans attended the event: Air Force Capt. Patri- cia Atkinson, who served for six years following the Viet- nam War and is now a para- professional at Tillotson; Air Force Reserve Maj. Debo- rah Gorencic, who served for 23 years and participated in the 1993 Iraq War; and my fa- ther, Army Pfc. Thomas Pur- cell, a military policeman who served for two years after the Korean War. The veterans were given a tour of the school as stu- dents lined both sides of the hallway, waving flags. They proudly displayed their care- fully crafted Memorial Day decorations that adorned the doors and walls. As the veterans were led to the dais, one group of students walked onto the stage. Each took turns explaining how Me- morial Day differs from other holidays — that its purpose is to remember those who died in active military service. As the first student group ex- ited, a second took the stage. Students took turns recit- ing "The Unknown Soldier" by Roger Robicheau: "You need not ever know my name, this unknown soldier seeks no fame..." The three veterans took turns describing their ser- vice from the podium. One de- scribed her experiences as a nurse in the military, where she assisted wounded soldiers re- turning from battle. One described how, during the Vietnam War, before she had served, her unit was re- sponsible for evacuating peo- ple during the fall of Saigon. She described one tragedy in which a plane filled with babies crashed, killing most every- one on board. Her words were greeted with dead silence. My father explained what it was like to be a military police- man in Germany in the 1950s — what it was like to be drafted. The students had spirited, in- sightful questions for the veter- ans. The question-and-answer session went on for some time. At the conclusion of the event, the students presented the veterans with certificates thanking them for their ser- vice, then gave them hearty ap- plause. Learning may be more chal- lenging for these kids than oth- ers, but they intuitively under- stand the meaning of Memorial Day better than most. They understand that the wonderful school that is help- ing them blossom and prepare for life is a direct beneficiary of the freedom and prosperity made possible by the many vet- erans who sacrificed for their country. As I sat by my 81-year-old dad after the event, one young girl walked up to him and shook his hand. "Thank you for your ser- vice, sir," she said to him. I got choked up by the respect she gave him. That's why this was most moving Memorial Day cere- mony I have ever attended. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@ caglecartoons.com. Special-needs students honor veterans Tom Purcell OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, May 20, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6