Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/528759
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 Thenexttimeyouvisitthe historic State Theatre, stop for a moment to look at the names etched on each of the six exterior poster windows. The windows feature our coming attrac- tions, and each window carries the name of a major supporter of the State Theatre; each is certainly de- serving of individual recog- nition. One of the first to purchase poster window naming rights was the Red Bluff Round-Up Association. These hardwork- ing men and women not only put on the very best Round- Up in the country, they also put money back into their community in support of sev- eral worthwhile community projects every year. See you at the rodeo. The Tehama Concert Se- ries poster window is mean- ingful because the concert as- sociation has been the single largest user of the State The- atre for at least the past de- cade. This dedicated group of folks has long been the major champion for performing arts within the Tehama County community. They sponsor half a dozen events every year. If you are not yet a member of the Tehama Concert Series, you are missing great enter- tainment at a bargain price. You can get your membership today by calling 727-8727. I have never personally met Tom Atwood. A couple of years ago, local legend John Growney gave me Tom's name as a community-minded per- son who might be interested in supporting the State The- atre. I picked up the phone and called Mr. Atwood, who owns a cattle ranch west of town, but is headquartered and lives in Kenwood, Califor- nia. I explained what we were trying to do at the State The- atre, and within a very few days we received a healthy check, and Mr. Atwood re- ceived the naming rights to the Atwood Ranch poster win- dow. Like I said, I have never personally met Tom Atwood, but I think I like him a lot. As some of you know, Tom Hanks is a friend of the State Theatre. A couple of years ago the State Theatre hosted a local premiere for the Tom Hanks movie, Larry Crowne. I will share more about Tom's relationship with the State Theatre in a future column, but I wanted to acknowl- edge that it was at that wine and cheese event that local dentists Jeff Moore and Jon Pascarella made a substan- tial contribution to our ef- forts, resulting in naming rights to the Moore and Pas- carella poster window. Thank you, Doctors Moore and Pas- carella. Oh, by the way, do not forget to floss. From the day we decided to purchase the theater, our friends at Rolling Hills Ca- sino have been a major con- tributor to the State Theatre in several different ways. In addition to making a sub- stantial financial contribu- tion, Rolling Hills has served as our caterer of choice at several State Theatre cele- brations. We are grateful for their support, and are proud to display the Rolling Hills Casino poster window. One of the great things about being a lifelong resi- dent of this community is see- ing how our lives intertwine. Take the Dudley Long family, for instance. I really didn't know Dudley Long, but I am certain that he was a very special man. I can say that with complete confidence, be- cause he was husband and fa- ther to a very special family. Seldom do you end up with a special family unless you have special parents to show them the way. When I was a sophomore at Red Bluff High, my Social Studies teacher was a young lady by the name of Marilyn Long. Incidentally, I was ex- tremely intelligent and well- groomed, and always behaved myself in class. I am guessing I was one of Mrs. Long's all- time favorite students. After graduating college I returned to Red Bluff to begin my career as a probation offi- cer, and who should turn up on my oversight Juvenile Jus- tice Advisory Committee but my high school Social Studies teacher: Marilyn Long. Because things were go- ing pretty well in our lives, my adoring wife Billie and I decided to begin our fam- ily. Our son, Cabe, was born in 1970, to be followed in 1973 by our adorable daughter, Cori. Friend and long-time family doctor Bill Martin de- livered both of our children, as well as a significant por- tion of the current Tehama County community. As life would have it, Dud- ley and Marilyn Long were raising their wonderful fam- ily at the same time we were starting ours. Their oldest child Nancy was and is a very talented singer, and she mar- ried Doc Martin's son Gary. Incidentally, Gary served as an intern at the Tehama County Probation Depart- ment while I was employed there so long ago. Strong, silent, hardwork- ing son Greg Long quietly oversees the thriving family farming operation, and his wife Shanna was at one time the publisher of the Corning Daily Observer. Kathy, the baby of the fam- ily, is the same age as my son. I can unequivocally say that from the time I watched her play soccer with the boys at age nine, I knew that she was the best athlete in her class — male or female. Kathy was inducted into the Red Bluff High Athletic Hall of fame just last year. Kathy mar- ried James Brandt, the son of orchardists Bob and Kathy Brandt and nephew to my friend and classmate Chris Brandt. Kathy and James own and operate Julia's Fruit Stand, located in downtown Dairyville, and where you can find highly delicious produce. In addition to three amaz- ing children, Dudley and Marilyn Long are grandpar- ents to a dozen or so coordi- nated, energetic, hardwork- ing, intelligent, motivated, overachieving grandchildren who keep Marilyn running from event to event as the proud grandma she has every right to be. Sadly, Dudley Long left us far too early, but what a won- derful legacy this amazing man left behind. I shall al- ways think good thoughts when I look at the Dudley Long Family poster window at the historic State Theatre. Comingattractions June 17 — Japanese Taiko Drumming Group, hosted by the Friends of Library June 19 — "Woodstock," the film BillCorneliusisalifelong resident of Red Bluff, a retired Chief Probation Officer, a champion of the State Theatre and an exceptional athlete. He can be reached at bill. cornelius@sbcglobal.net. William Tells Take time to notice theater sponsors Cartoonist's take Boy, was I dumb to pay back my college loans. That is the conclusion of writer Lee Sie- gel, who explained in a New York Times op-ed why he never paid back his. Siegel's par- ents had limited means, you see, so, at 17, he borrowed to go to a pricey private school for two years. When his parents divorced and his father went bankrupt, he transferred, the poor suffering lad, to a lower- cost state college. "Years later, I found myself confronted with a choice that too many people have had to and will have to face," he writes. "I could give up what had become my vocation (in my case, being a writer) and take a job that I didn't want in order to repay the huge debt I had accumulated in college and graduate school. Or I could take what I had been led to believe was both the morally and legally reprehensible step of defaulting on my student loans, which was the only way I could survive without wasting my life in a job that had nothing to do with my particular usefulness to society." Hey, Siegel, after reading your tripe — that it is not your responsibility to pay back the loans you agreed to pay back, but the responsibility of the tax- payers you are fleecing — you'd be far more useful to society if you were a garbage collector. First off, your premise is dead wrong. Great writers have al- most always worked jobs they didn't want, to pay the bills. William Faulkner worked for the post office. Kurt Vonnegut managed a car dealership. Ste- phen King worked as a janitor and dry cleaner. Harper Lee took reservations for an airline. John Steinbeck was a painter and handyman. One of my favorite authors, O. Henry (William Sydney Por- ter), was a ranch hand, pharma- cist, draftsman and bank clerk — he met many colorful characters in these various jobs, who influ- enced some of his greatest sto- ries. I am a professional writer, too, and my parents didn't have enough money to cover my col- lege bills, either. To come up with my Penn State tuition, my father worked overtime while I labored as a stonemason every summer. During the school year, I worked as a dishwasher, jan- itor, handyman, grass cutter and rooming-house manager. I worked as a bouncer, too, which involved kicking drunk people out of bars and mopping up that which some patrons couldn't keep down. I sold my plasma for 10 bucks a pop twice a week — though it nearly killed me (when my mother found out, she nearly strangled me). After college, I wanted to kick around Europe for a year and write the great American novel — like you, Siegel, I didn't want to waste my precious young life in a job I didn't like. But I had debt to repay, and, unlike you, it never occurred to me that I could simply not pay it back. Lucky for me, my parents taught me well: Nobody owes you anything, but when you owe somebody, pay him or her back. Thus, I took the first job an English major could get — a marketing writing job for a technology company. I have been self-employed for years, providing writing services to technology companies — so that I can pay my bills while I work on my novels in my spare time. Nobody put a gun to your head to borrow money for col- lege, bud. You could have gone to a low-cost community college for a few years, as my brother-in-law did, then transfer to a university and do well in life (he's been very successful in the medical busi- ness). Quit your whining, Siegel, and pay back your damn loans. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical 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 Tom@ TomPurcell.com. Tom Purcell Defaulting on personal responsibility Bill Cornelius Tom Purcell Nebraska's legislature recently made headlines when it ended the state's death penalty. Many found it odd that a conservatives- dominated legislature would sup- port ending capital punishment, since conservative politicians have traditionally supported the death penalty. However, an in- creasing number of conserva- tives are realizing that the death penalty is inconsistent with both fiscal and social conservatism. These conservatives are joining with libertarians and liberals in a growing anti-death penalty co- alition. It is hard to find a more waste- ful and inefficient government program than the death penalty. New Hampshire recently spent over $4 million dollars prosecut- ing just two death penalty cases, while Jasper County in Texas raised property taxes by seven percent in order to pay for one death penalty case! A Duke Uni- versity study found that replac- ing North Carolina's death pen- alty would save taxpayers ap- proximately $22 million dollars in just two years. Death penalty cases are expen- sive because sentencing someone to death requires two trials. The first trial determines the accused person's guilt, while the second trial determines if the convicted individual "deserves" the death penalty. A death sentence is typ- ically followed by years of ap- peals, and sometimes the entire case is retried. Despite all the time and money spent to ensure that no one is wrongly executed, the sys- tem is hardly foolproof. Since 1973, one out of every ten individ- uals sentenced to death has been released from death row because of evidence discovered after con- viction. The increased use of DNA evi- dence has made it easier to clear the innocent and identify the guilty. However, DNA evidence is not a 100 percent guarantee of an accurate verdict. DNA evidence is often mishandled or even falsi- fied. Furthermore, DNA evidence is available in only five to 10 per- cent of criminal cases. It is not surprising that the government wastes so much time and money on such a flawed sys- tem. After all, corruption, waste, and incompetence are common features of government programs ranging from Obamacare to the TSA to public schools to the post office. Given the long history of government failures, why should anyone, especially conservatives who claim to be the biggest skep- tics of government, think it is a good idea to entrust govern- ment with the power over life and death? Death penalty supporters try to claim the moral high ground by claiming that the death pen- alty deters crime. But, if the death penalty is an effective de- terrent, why do jurisdictions without the death penalty have a lower crime rate than juris- dictions with the death penalty? And why did a 2009 survey find that the majority of American police chiefs consider the death penalty the least effective way to reduce violent crime? As strong as the practical ar- guments against the death pen- alty are, the moral case is much stronger. Since it is impossible to develop an error-free death penalty system, those who sup- port the death penalty are em- bracing the idea that the govern- ment should be able to execute innocent people for the "greater good." The idea that the govern- ment should be able to force in- dividuals to sacrifice their right to life for imaginary gains in per- sonal safety is even more danger- ous to liberty than the idea that the government should be able to force individuals to sacrifice their property rights for imaginary gains in economic security. Opposition to allowing the government to take life is also part of a consistent pro-life po- sition. Thus, those of any ideol- ogy who oppose abortion or pre- emptive war should also oppose the death penalty. Until the death penalty is abolished, we will have neither a free nor a moral society. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at VoicesofLiberty.com. Ron Paul Death penalty is big government at its worst OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 17, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6