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4A Daily News – Friday, February 17, 2012 Opinion Error error; mottled mills; hunting RAPIT 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 It's going back a few months, but I received a call from an instructor at Shasta College ask- ing for clarification regarding one student's response to an assignment. Not sure what the class was, 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 but it must have been something in the English department. Stu- dents were instructed to find an error in the local newspaper, cor- rect it and submit it to the teacher. That shouldn't be difficult, I hear each of you thinking. The student in question sub- mitted the headline, from the sports page of the Daily News, "Jackets sting Los Mo" with the correction being "linos." I'm the first to admit that we make mistakes here in the news- room, but this wasn't one of them. The instructor suspected as much and called to double check that, in fact, Los Mo is a somewhat common abbreviation of Los Molinos. I confirmed, explaining that the nature of headlines and the space available for them often lead to things such as "Los Mo," "RB," "mull," and "jobless" — "considering" and "unemploy- ment" are unwieldy beasts. *** Speaking of the quiet hamlet down 99E from Red Bluff, many of you may already know that Los Molinos translates to the mills. But how many know the ori- gins of Berrendos? Until a few days ago, because I had looked it up when I moved next door to the school in 2008, I believed it meant mottled, as in blotched. Assuming salmon, which are mottled when spawn- ing, once swam through the area's creeks, that was good enough for me. Berrendos also translates to pronghorn, which, according to Word Magic translation soft- ware, means "Fleet antelope-like ruminant of western North American plains with small branched horns." Creatures that would have been just as likely to populate the area — hint: Antelope area — in the days of Spanish rule. *** All aboard for tuna. An attorney named Bill Barnum went before the Eureka City Council in December to propose a 130-mile rail line connecting Red Bluff and Fortuna. Barnum, along with representatives from the Rail And Port Infra- structure Taskforce or RAPIT, is seeking $250,000 for a feasibil- ity study for the project, according to a report in the Hum- boldt Sentinel. There was even a meeting held here in Red Bluff a week or two ago, but organizers didn't think to call the Daily News until it was underway and I couldn't get a reporter there in time. Before those of you Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. living along Highway 36W put your homes on the market, know that the project is expected to cost in excess of $500 million and organizers have no idea from where the money would come, the Sentinel reports. It's unlikely the line, if funded and completed, would carry anything but freight that now has to travel 350 miles to tra- verse the state. Too bad, if there was pas- senger service, I would enjoy a weekend at the coast more often. Chip Thompson can be reached at 527-2151, Ext.112 or by email at editor@redbluffdailynews.com. 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. A slippery moment Commentary Shopping at Walmart can be a rewarding experience. Whereas they do not, as yet, sell fresh meat and vegetables, they do sell prod- ucts from exotic lands, such as China. I mention this because I availed myself of a pair of inexpensive bedroom slippers recent- ly, and whereas the product was satisfactory, the procurement process was not. My knee has been giving me discomfort of late, and I have been gimping about on same. Therefore it was particularly vexing when I discovered after arriving home, that the "M" on the slipper tag referred possibly to "Mandarin" rather than to "medium." That meant a hobble back to Walmart for an exchange. Disdaining a cane, I comman- deered a shopping cart and leaning on same...I note most shoppers are prone to this...perhaps they have knee problems as well, proceeded to the exchange counter. I showed the slippers marked "M" but obviously designed for a Lakers player, and told the no- nonsense clerk that I needed to exchange them for a medium. I wheeled to the far side of the store, found the correct size, returned and placed the pair on the counter. The clerk asked for my sales slip. I told her I did not have it. She said, in that case, I would have to prove my identity. I was wearing my trade mark Giant's baseball cap, but apparently that would not suffice. I thought she might be a reader of my column, and the photo therein of Murray and me would do the job. She did not waiver and said I would have to show proper identifica- tion if I wanted to exchange my $12 slip- pers. I said my driver's license was in my truck and my knee was killing me. She said tough darts or words to that effect. I hobbled to the pickup, returned with my wallet and held it up for her to see. She ordered me to remove my driver's license from the wallet so she could scan it into the register. Know- ing I had no relatives living in China, and having no fear of reprisal, I complied. She scanned, returned my license, instructed me to sign the cash register receipt and signaled I was free to leave the store with my slip- pers. Obviously this mini ordeal is company policy and was not the clerk's fault. But still, a well known columnist and writer of books and all... certainly a little noblesse oblige was in order. *** TIME did a comparison study regarding the recent Super Bowl rematch. Tickets to the 2008 Bowl were $700 face value versus $800 in 2012. The franchise value rose from $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion for the Patriots and from $974 million to $1.3 billion for the Giants. However, during this peri- od, the average national new home price declined from $301,200 to $242,300. Tsk, tsk. Real- tors, raise your kids to become professional ath- letes and forget the real estate license. *** Murray Clyde awoke from a nap and said with a start, "You wrote a book!' "So?" I replied. "So am I or little Bert in it? But if a horse enters and does not find his supplement, he gets agitated, kicks the wall and probably thinks another horse has stolen his stuff. This happened the other night to King. I let him in his paddock and started to "No. Most of the chap- ters were written before either of you were born" "Why did you write it?" "It's in the book…why I decided to put years of stories together in one handy for- mat. "Is it selling?" "Yes, we are surprised at its acceptance. We will probably have to go for a 2nd print- ing." "Little Bert and I each want a book." "I will be glad to loan you one, but if you slobber on it you will have to buy it." "Is that what you tell your relatives?" "Very funny. Want to play fetch?" said I. *** Horse story. Ever see an indignant horse? This horse is named King. He is old, big boned and very friendly but is far down the pecking order from the other horses. At night we let them in their paddocks one at a time. They are always in the same order with King last. He hangs back so as not to get bit or kicked. Anyhow, when putting out their supplement, I sometimes either miss a pan or put two rations in the same pan if I am distracted. It is often dark in the stalls that time of evening and I don't note my mistake. Robert Minch I Say walk away as he trotted into his stall, but then paused as he came racing back pro- claiming in horse snorts, "Whoa! No supplement! Something wrong here! Bad show! Must be served immediate- ly! Not good for an old horse!" and so on. I told him that I am sorry, it was my mistake and I will recti- fy the oversight right away. He snorts again but stands his ground until I give him his proper ration. He appar- ently suffered a very human type reaction when deprived of his "fix." *** Last week's quiz was answered correctly by many, but C. Hinton was first in by informing us that a blue stone cast into the red sea becomes simply wet, that the Declaration of Independence was signed at the bottom, and what looks like a half an apple is the other half. This week's quiz: Match the quote with the movie: "Love means never having to say you're sorry." "Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time" and "A heart can be broken; but it keeps beating just the same." Casablanca, Fried Green Tomatoes and Love Story. *** A young lawyer with a large firm, spent most of her time trying to give the appear- ance of being a successful and prosperous attorney. When leaving her office for lunch, she left a note on her door reading, "Will be back in an hour." When she returned, a rival from down the hall wrote on the sign, "What for?" Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com.