Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/551444
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 Goodmorning,RedBluff. I am writing this column on a sweltering early Thurs- day morning. The tempera- ture is projected to reach 113 de- grees; and as life would have it, our home air conditioner de- cided it didn't like to work in the heat, either. Consequently, it currently blows more hot air than I do. My initial reaction to sleep- ing in the heat, and the po- tential for having to part with thousands of dollars to replace one crotchety old air condi- tioner was one of despair and self-pity. I have quickly decided, however, that worrying about such an unimportant event in my otherwise idyllic exis- tence is silly, and a total waste of time. My mother, who incidentally was a better mother than your mother, raised my sister, my brother and me in a single-par- ent household in the decade of the 1950s. For several years she was employed as a maid at the iconic Tremont Hotel. On her salary, we never wasted time worrying about the lack of air conditioning in our home or automobile; in fact on her sal- ary we never wasted time wor- rying about owning an auto- mobile. So as I sit here this morn- ing at my big deal computer and as I look out my window at a covey of quail drinking from our swimming pool, I fully re- alize just how lucky I am. I have a healthy, happy, produc- tive, community-minded fam- ily. While I am by no means wealthy, I am able to pay my bills and splurge on an occa- sional $8 box of wine and one of them extra-large bags of Cheetos. Who's got it better than me? Nobody, that's who. •••• Speaking of family, yester- day my much older sister Judy, brother-in-law Henry, the wife Billie and I drove over High- way 36 to Fortuna on a day trip to visit our cousins, Diane Smith and JoAnne Hancock. Their mother Margaret and our mother Hazel were sisters. I hold very special memories of times spent at their family home in Chester as a small child. Both JoAnne and Diane have resided on the north coast for at least a couple of decades. As often happens, we seem to see each other mostly when a member of our extended family gets married or passes away; a shame in that we only live three hours apart. Both Diane and JoAnne are special people. I have always looked up to Diane because of the entire family clan, Diane was the very first to attend and graduate from college. Working with special needs children, Di- ane enjoyed a very successful teaching career at Antelope El- ementary School and in Clear Lake. Unfortunately, Diane has long been saddled with med- ical issues that would cause most of us to consider throw- ing in the towel. Fortunately, Diane Smith is not most of us. Rather than dwell on her own medically-related limitations, Diane in retirement signed on and flourished in her role as a foster parent to abused and ne- glected children. Rather than engage in self- pity, Diane has traveled the world to work with disadvan- taged children in South Amer- ica. Diane Smith is a very strong lady. JoAnne too, is cut from spe- cial cloth. For the past 30 years or so she has been the rock for her entire family. While hold- ing down full-time stress-in- ducing employment, JoAnne has pretty much been the go- to person for family members needing propping up or dress- ing down. Now retired, JoAnne spends most every day holding down the fort with her big sis Diane, and she wouldn't have it any other way. That's what sis- ters do. Diane and JoAnne are special cousins, indeed. We love them both. •••• Speaking of family again, those folks who have contrib- uted to the acquisition, restora- tion and operation of the the- atre are considered to be part of the State Theatre family. The Harry Dudley family is cer- tainly an important part of the State Theatre effort. Way back in calendar year 2011, Harry pulled out his checkbook and made a very meaningful contribution in support of our efforts to pur- chase the State Theatre. Subsequent to making that significant contribution, he used his considerable influ- ence and convinced his fel- low members on the Red Bluff Round-Up Board of Directors that investing in the State The- atre would be beneficial to the entire community. We thank Harry and the Round-Up As- sociation for their support. But wait, there's more. Sometime after we opened for business in 2011, Harry and his wife Betty were attending a concert at the theater. Upon settling in their favorite State Theatre seats Betty suggested that Harry go to the conces- sion stand and return with a beverage and large bag of pop- corn. Harry, being the wise man that he is, immediately rushed down to the snack bar where he ordered the bever- age and a large bag of popcorn. I will never forget the look on his face when he was informed that we were not yet able to af- ford the high cost of a commer- cial popcorn maker. Muttering to no one in particular as he walked away, I heard him say "Betty ain't gonna be happy— and when Betty ain't happy, ain't nobody gonna be happy." The next morning we re- ceived a call from Harry con- firming that Betty really missed having popcorn at the theater. Harry suggested that we imme- diately acquire the best possible popcorn machine in the indus- try and send him the bill. Be- ing of sound mind and desiring to keep Betty happy, we imme- diately acquired a magnificent popcorn machine fully paid for by Harry and Betty Dudley. Not only that, the Dudley's continue to purchase the popcorn that is served at State Theatre events. Thank you Harry and Betty Dudley. You are simply the best. •••• On Sunday August 9 at 4 pm The State Theatre will be showing the movie Grease in a sing-along version at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9. Gather up your family and friends and head on down for this fun event. Adult beverages will be avail- able along with Harry and Bet- ty's popcorn. 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 Perspective helps cool sweltering day Cartoonist's take "I wanted to go to the beach, but the wife tells me we barely have the funds to go miniature golfing!" "Ah, yes, you speak of a com- mon experience for many Amer- icans in recent summers. Ac- cording to a 2014 Google Trends re- port, there has been a 10 percent increase in online searches for 'stayca- tions,' getaways that are close to home." "A vacation to me is going to a beach and staying in a nice condo and forgetting all of our worries for a week or more — not driving 45 minutes to stay in some dinky motel at a lake!" "There is a reason so many families are short on funds. According to The Wall Street Journal, the economy is only growing at an average of 2.2 percent a year since 2009, when the recession ended. It is the slowest economic re- covery in more than 70 years. The growth rate is more than a full percentage point lower than in the second worst recov- ery, which occurred from 2001 through 2007." "But wasn't President Obama just on the Jon Stew- art show, claiming that every metric under his presidency is better than when he took of- fice?" "That is correct, but the Tampa Bay Times' PolitiFact took exception to some of his claims. Here's what they said about real weekly median earn- ings under Obama: 'Between the first quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2015, infla- tion-adjusted weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers fell from $348 to $344, a decline of about 1 percent. Comparing the second quarter of 2009 and the second quar- ter of 2015, weekly earnings fell from $342 to $337, a decline of about 1.4 percent.'" "That doesn't sound so good." "Median income is not do- ing so well under Obama, ei- ther. PolitiFact says that 'infla- tion-adjusted median house- hold income, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, fell from $54,059 in 2009 to $51,939 in 2013 — a decline of about 4 per- cent.'" "No wonder the wife and I are so broke." "It gets worse. Says Politi- Fact: 'The data show that 13.2 percent of Americans were liv- ing in poverty in March 2009. By March 2014, that percentage had risen to 14.5 percent. That was down slightly from what it was in the previous three years, but not enough to match the 2009 level.'" "The wife and I are headed to the poorhouse if things don't improve. The government is telling us there is low inflation, but making ends meet is get- ting harder every month. Have you seen the cost of milk, meat and produce? Costs keep go- ing up as our income keeps go- ing down!" "The big picture could be worse, however. GDP is up, the number of employed Americans is up, and the unemployment rate, by and large, has improved since 2009, but the fact is a measly 2.2-percent growth rate is not going to cut it. Until that is corrected, many families will lack the growth opportunities they need in their careers to put money in the bank to have the funds they need to enjoy a de- cent summer vacation." "You mean like the mid- 1990s?" "Yes. The National Bureau of Economic Research says the 1990s was the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. The growth rate was double what it is now. The expansion lasted 10 years, from March 1991 to March 2001." "In the '90s, the wife and I toured Europe and every year, we flew down to the Salesb- bean. Now we get to go minia- ture golfing. Yippee!" "It's very simple. Until our government gets back to pro- growth policies, staycations will be staying with us a while." 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 Weak recovery has 'staycations' here to stay Muttering to no one in particular as he walked away, I heard him say "Betty ain't gonna be happy— and when Betty ain't happy, ain't nobody gonna be happy." Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. That's great. I went to that train as a kid and I like taking my daughter there now. Thank you. Laney Weiper-Brown: On repairs by volunteers to a play structure at Diamond Park. I grew up living next to this park. It's good to see it still cared for. I used to work with these guys. They're great to work with. Nicholas Mangum: On repairs by volunteers to a train play structure at Diamond Park. Tom Purcell Bill Cornelius StateandNational Assemblyman James Gallagher, 2060Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530895-4217, http://ad03. asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530879-7424, senator.nielsen@ senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sac- ramento 95814, 916445-2841, fax 916558-3160, governor@governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug LaMalfa, 507Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415393-0707, fax 415393-0710 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700Montgomery St., San Francisco 94111, 510286-8537, fax 202224- 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, Richard Crabtree, 527- 2605, Ext. 3061 Corning City Manager, John Brewer, 824-7033 Your officials OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, August 5, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6