Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/5680
6A – Daily News – Saturday, January 2, 2010 A MediaNews Group newspaper 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 Opinion Starting Monday, Jan. 4, the Daily News' Web site, redbluffdailynews.com, will feature a brand new digital edition. Utilizing digital "page turn" technology, visitors will be able to view the entire edi- tion of the newspaper, one page at a time; including comics and some other fea- tures that have not appeared on our site at all, or have not appeared online in the same format as they appeared in our print edition. We will continue to main- tain obituaries, public notices and classifieds in their respec- tive, separate online directo- ries and databases. But now, online readers will have the option of reading them as part of the digital edition, zooming in for closer views of the dig- ital pages on which these fea- tures appear. We'll have our digital edi- tion posted by noon, every day we publish. Previous editions of the Daily News will be stored in online archives, in case viewers want to look back to find some sale ad or story published days earlier. Or in case you're out of town and want to read that day's edition in its entirety before you return home. There are a host of interac- tive features that come with this new technology. We won't be expert at all of them right out of the gate, but we'll crow about them as we're able to put them up: Shortly it will be possible to embed advertis- ers' own Web site addresses in their ads on our digital pages, so readers can click right through to the advertisers' sites. Coupons and features like the crossword and Sudoku puzzles will be able to be printed out right from the digital edition. It will even be possible to add pages exclusively to the digital edition. For example, we might publish an extra page or two of reader photos from a local community event, exclusively in our online digi- tal edition. We might add sponsored pages of educational activities for young people, to enrich the newspaper as a teaching tool and expand our Newspa- pers in Education program. To start, our new digital edition will be available to everyone. Down the road a piece or two, we plan to make unlimited digital edition access available to print sub- scribers, requiring non-subscribers who want to access our digital edition to reg- ister to receive access. A further step might be a modest charge for digital- only edition subscriptions as an alternative for single-copy buyers or mail subscribers. Just in case you're wonder- ing, we do not forecast a digi- tal edition taking the place of the printed Daily News. Like most other community dailies, we've had most of our content online for some years, now. But the format hasn't been the same as in print: The stories here, the ads over there, the obituaries over somewhere else, no comics, etc. We think this new digital edition offers a new kind of middle ground between the printed daily edition, and the traditional newspaper Web site. We hope you will access our digital edition in the days and weeks to come. Please let us know what you think. Publisher Greg Stevens can be reached at 527-2151, Ext. 105 or by e-mail at gstevens@redbluffdailynews. com. New year, new way to read the Daily News N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY 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 Greg Stevens Publisher's Postscript STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), 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), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 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; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Your officials DFG response to Rodney story Editor: Your recent article, "Rodney the deer must go," failed to address the gravity of the situa- tion faced by Department of Fish and Game wardens when they were called to Ms. Adcock's property on Dec. 21. Ms. Adcock's possession of the deer was a clear violation of the California Fish and Game Code, section 3005.5, which deems it illegal possess or take a wild animal from its natural habitat. Wildlife are not pets, and when they are raised as such, the results are often horrif- ic and devastating. This deer was not a tiny fawn. It was a nearly full-grown buck on its second set of antlers, and it displayed aggressive behavior toward the responding wardens. Human safety must always come before animal safety — even for DFG wardens, who rec- ognized that this animal's natur- al instincts could very well result in great injury to Ms. Adcock or others. It would have been irresponsible to leave an unpredictable, dangerous and wild animal in a situation where it could cause harm. In some rare cases, DFG will grant professional exhibitors (i.e., zoos) or certified wildlife rehabilitators a permit to possess or transport wildlife in Califor- nia. Unfortunately, the aggres- sive behavior exhibited by this deer made it an unsuitable can- didate for rehabilitation. Nor could it have been relocated into the wilderness, as it never learned to seek food on its own or survive in the wild. Death by slow starvation would have been almost certain. Once a wild animal becomes habituated to the humans who feed it, it will expect food and will become hostile when food is not provided. Even trained animals have turned on their handlers, trainers and strangers, and well-meaning people who have made the unfortunate deci- sion to feed deer on their proper- ty have been gored and trampled by those same "sweet" animals. Deer are also the primary prey of mountain lions, and if you attract deer to your yard you will attract lions. DFG never chooses euthana- sia as a first option, and we all have great empathy for the woman who was so attached to this particular animal. But under these difficult circumstances, this was clearly the only humane option. The real tragedy is that this deer should never have been taken from the wild. People who see a young animal by itself should never assume it has been abandoned by its parents. Adult animals typically leave their young while they feed them- selves, and the fact that we can't see them doesn't mean they're not near and likely to return. DFG has long tried to impress upon the public the importance of keeping wild ani- mals wild. There is more infor- mation on this subject on our Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild. There is only one way to pre- vent similar sad incidents in the future — leave wildlife alone. When humans interfere with wildlife, the animals almost always lose. John McCamman, Sacramento Editor's note: John McCam- man is acting director of Cali- fornia State Department of Fish and Game. Real crime Editor: This is in response to Kathy Bonner's letter regarding med- ical cannabis and crime. She says that crime in Red Bluff will increase because of people growing marijuana for medicinal use and dispensaries that help patients who, for whatever reason, can't grow it them- selves. Now that the City Council has effectively closed dispensaries in Red Bluff, worried citizens can now rest easy. Or can they? In the last few weeks there has been an attempted kidnap- ping of a teenage girl, a rob- bery at Payless Shoes and the robbery and assault at the Shell gas station. Not to mention the daily police reports published in the Daily News that con- stantly list vehicle thefts, thefts of personal property, domestic violence, and drug crimes. While it is true some of the drug crimes — such as posses- sion — are connected to mari- juana, those arrested are rarely people who use marijuana legally, for medical use. Most of the other drug crimes are connected with methampheta- mine use and sales. Meth is truly a dangerous and evil drug that tears apart families and wreaks havoc on communities, raising crime rates to very high levels. I'd rather be totally sur- rounded by marijuana growers than have one meth user living next door. The crime in Red Bluff is so bad you can't even walk the streets at night safely, as a number of people have been jumped on the streets of Red Bluff after being caught out past nightfall. I just find it comical that so many people write letters to the editor raving about how medical cannabis users and dispensaries are going to bring crime to our small town. Are they blind, or what? The crime rate is already so high in this town — maybe our tax dollars would be better spent on the crime that already exists here, not the crime that might hap- pen. Change is scary. Fear of change and the unknown often ignite everyday people to fight what they don't understand, based on misinformation and ignorance. It wasn't so long ago that it was unheard of for a woman to work outside the home, you could be jailed for possessing birth control and black people couldn't eat in a restaurant that served white people. When changes were made, people fought hard to keep them from happening. And a lot of good people died so that changes could be made so that the rest of society could be free and equal. Now it is hard to imagine a time when certain people were held down because others feared change. I don't care anymore about trying to argue whether med- ical cannabis is good or bad. The voters decided it was OK for medical marijuana to be legal. It's a little late to change that one. And who knows, in the future the voters might decide it's OK for anyone to use marijuana. You can't fight change forever. Society's views on marijua- na are changing, and that is a fact. People will always fear what they don't understand, but let's be sensible. There are far worse things we could focus on, like reducing violent crime in Red Bluff. I ask the City Council and the police depart- ment, please quit wasting valu- able resources fighting medical cannabis and instead use them to make a safer place for our children to live. Jaime Cowley, Red Bluff Your Turn