Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/544658
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 Forthoseofuswhoare lucky enough to have been raised in the fifties, sixties or seventies, we are reminded of the important role the State The- atre played in our young lives every time we look at its neon S-T-A-T-E sign blinking on and off on a warm summer eve- ning. Having graduated from Red Bluff High School in 1963, it is, in my somewhat hazy recollection, my opinion the Red Bluff of my youth was absolutely perfect, with one possible exception. The vast majority of girls with whom I was raised failed to realize what a valuable catch I would be, had they responded to my somewhat clumsy attempts to make them part of my uni- verse. Red Bluff in the fifties and sixties was a hustling, bus- tling American Graffiti kind of town. While cruising Main from Foster's Freeze on the north end of town to the Kreme King on the south, you would pass by business af- ter business that was family- owned and providing a very good living for friends and neighbors. Walmart was no- where to be seen, and I for one am sorry that it ever found its way to my Mayberry way of life. Red Bluff in those days of- fered well-paying jobs to all who were willing to work. Prior to the declaration that the spotted owl was more im- portant than we humans, this community served as a hub for several lumber and tim- ber operations that provided a good living for their em- ployees. In addition to the gi- ant Diamond National opera- tion, many other plants flour- ished during the decades of my youth. Commander Industries was located on property di- rectly north of where the Ral- ey's shopping center is to- day. In 1962, my good friend Larry Jantzen took a job fresh out of high school as a green chain puller at that plant. As part of one of those American dream kinds of deals, Larry eventually rose through the ranks to the po- sition of plant manager. Let me share with you what all this has to do with the historic State Theatre. Bill Schwab and Les Cody were the principal owners of Commander Industries. Mr. Schwab had a daughter by the name of Mary B. Schwab and Mr. Cody was father to one of my classmates and life-long friends, Jean Cody. Mary B. and Jean were the best of friends in the decade of the fifties, and they remain so today. As teenage girls, Mary B. and Jean seldom missed a Saturday matinee at the State Theatre. As with most chil- dren of that era, they often used the State Theatre tele- phone booth to call for a ride home. Upon learning that our non- profit was purchasing the the- ater, these two ladies jointly made a sizable contribution to our capital campaign. In rec- ognition of their support of the State Theatre as well as the positive role played in this community by Commander In- dustries, we are pleased to an- nounce that from this date for- ward the iconic State Theatre telephone booth shall carry the name of Mary B. Schwab and Jean Cody Moran. •••• Great things are in store for the State Theatre. In conjunc- tion with our efforts to maxi- mize the quantity, quality and diversity of State Theatre pro- graming, we have formally im- plemented a 2015-2016 Per- formance Series Sponsorship program. Participating spon- sors receive a variety of bene- fits, including complimentary memberships, complimentary seating, complimentary con- cessions, recognition in adver- tising, posters, playbills, donor wall and much more. Spon- sorship participation ranges from $2,500 to $25,000. If you would like more information regarding the benefits associ- ated with this program, please contact me at 519-4791, or by email at bill.cornelius@sbc- global.net. Participating sponsors thus far are: Haleakala Ranch, Mill Creek Ranch, Tehama Angus Ranch, Rolling Hills Casino, Dignity Health, John Wheeler Logging, Growney Motors and PJ Helicopters. In part because of the sup- port provided by the above listed sponsors, we are filling our 2015-2016 Performance Series calendar. Following is a list of currently scheduled events. 2015 July 25 At 2:30 p.m. the summer program Maker Space will provide activities for children, to be followed at 3:30 PM by a free showing of Goonies. July 29 Food demonstra- tion in conjunction with Farm- ers Market, to be followed by showing of Julie and Julia. Aug. 9 Classic Film Series, Grease Sing-A-Long Aug. 28 World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra Sept. 13 Classic Film Series ET. Extra Terrestrial Sept. 17 Scheil Nessari, World renowned classic pia- nist Sept. 26 Three Still Stand- ing: A documentary about San Francisco comedy, with live appearances by Will Durst, Larry "Bubbles" Brown and Johnny Steele Oct. 10 Reckoning, blue- grass version of Grateful Dead music Oct. 17 James Garner, re- nowned Johnny Cash tribute artist Oct. 21 Classic film series, Back to the Future Oct. 28 Jake Shimabukuro, Ukulele Master Nov. 28 Christmas film, and visit by Santa Claus Dec. 4 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy 2016 Feb. 11 Collin Raye April 22 Motown Experi- ence •••• Finally, I have gotten very little sleep this past week be- cause of something I said in last week's column. I feel a need to correct the record. My friend Tod Dolling, who I guess is otherwise an OK per- son, is absolutely the worst athlete I know. He is 65 years old, and he has yet to decide whether he is left- or right- handed. I know his lack of physi- cal skill and hand-eye coor- dination must weigh heav- ily on him, so last week in or- der to bolster his self esteem I stated that he was a bet- ter golfer than I. This past Tuesday evening I reluctantly agreed to play golf with Tod. After watching him play and getting in his pocket, I de- cided Tod's self-esteem be damned. I am a much better golfer than Tod Dolling. 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 Theater intertwined with bygone days Cartoonist's take "Did you see that the federal government raked in record tax revenues so far this fiscal year? The country must be do- ing great!" "Ah, yes, you speak of the Monthly Treasury State- ment which was recently re- leased. It says that the fed- eral government generated nearly $2.5 trillion in revenue through the first nine months of fiscal 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014, through the end of June). That is more tax revenue than our country has seen before, but the Congressional Bud- get Office just warned that the country is not doing so great!" "It's not?" "In its latest Long-Term Budget Outlook for 2015, the CBO reports that 'The long- term outlook for the federal budget has worsened dramat- ically over the past several years, in the wake of the 2007- 2009 recession and slow re- covery.'" "That doesn't sound so good." "The numbers are sizable and can put a Harvard ac- countant to sleep, but the CBO makes clear that our long- term budget is unsustain- able without drastic cost re- ductions or tax increases. Put simply, our spendthrift ways are continuing to rack up our debt." "Sheesh, you sure are de- pressing." "Sorry, but far too many voters don't have any aware- ness of this issue. We have to get the dreary facts out there." "I'll try to be strong. Go on." "Look, the CBO says the historical average level of publicly held debt over the last 50 years was 38 per- cent of America's gross do- mestic product. But with all the money we borrowed and spent in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and all the money we keep borrowing and spending, our debt-to- GDP ratio has shot up to 74 percent. CBO estimates it will hit 103 percent in 2040." "That sounds like a lot of debt." "The last time government debt was higher than that was in 1945, when it hit 104 per- cent of GDP, and 1946, when it hit 106 percent." "Well, we had to spend lots of dough to win the big one against Nazi Germany and Ja- pan. But now what are we spending all of our money on?" "The rising growth in en- titlement spending. Accord- ing to CNS News, Keith Hall, the CBO director, said in writ- ten testimony that an aging population combined with ris- ing health-care costs will re- sult in government 'revenues that fall well short of spending over the long term, producing a substantial imbalance in the federal budget.'" "That doesn't sound very encouraging." "It gets worse. All of the trillions our government has borrowed are being serviced at record-low interest rates. The Federal Reserve has kept them low since the last eco- nomic crisis. When those rates reset to historic norms, our debt-service costs will ex- plode." "Next time we talk, remind me to bring bourbon." "These are not my opinions, but CBO findings I am shar- ing. The CBO says that to get back to historical debt lev- els of 38 percent of GDP, we'd have to increase revenue by 14 percent or cut spending by 13 percent." "Well, the economic recov- ery continues to languish. I don't see politicians cutting government goodies now that so many voters are enjoying them or raising taxes." "Well, Hall said if we don't resolve the challenge now, we will eventually face a cri- sis. He said that once gov- ernment's creditors begin to doubt our ability to repay our debt, interest rates on the debt will have to increase to en- tice them to buy it. That is the point at which a fiscal crisis will occur and it will 'have a substantial negative impact on the country.'" "With your upbeat attitude, you ought to give motivational speeches at business confer- ences." 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 How to rack up debt even when tax revenues grow According to CNS News, Keith Hall, the CBO director, said in written testimony that an aging population combined with rising health-care costs will result in government 'revenues that fall well short of spending over the long term, producing a substantial imbalance in the federal budget.' Bill Cornelius StateandNational Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 895-4217, http:// ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 For- est Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator.nielsen@sen- ate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sacramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558- 3160, governor@governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507 Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Fran- cisco 94104, 415 393-0707, fax 415 393-0710 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery St., San Fran- cisco 94111, 510 286-8537, fax 202 224-0454 Local Tehama County Supervisors, 527-4655 District 1, Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 District 2, Candy Carlson, Ext. 3014 District 3, Dennis Garton, Ext. 3017 District 4, Bob Williams, Ext. 3018 District 5, Burt Bundy, Ext. 3016 Red Bluff City Manager, Rich- ard Crabtree, 527-2605, Ext. 3061 Corning City Manager, John Brewer, 824-7033 Your officials OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, July 22, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6