Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/599880
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 OftentimesIwillopenmy morning paper, only to find that one of my column-writ- ing colleagues has beat me to the punch in writing about one important community is- sue or another. Such was the case last week when Joe Har- rop devoted the entirety of his column, very capably, to the issue of expanding the jail, and crime in Tehama County. Because I spent nearly 40 years forming a professional opinion, I, too, would like to share a few thoughts on the hot-button matter of crime and incarceration in Tehama County. This is probably an appro- priate time to restate that my views regarding matters not related to the historic State Theatre are mine alone; they in no way reflect the opinions of STFTA board members, vol- unteers, patrons or, for that matter, the homeless folks who frequent the dumpster behind the theater. When I was hired as a dep- uty probation officer in 1968, my caseload was largely com- prised of runaways, tru- ants, shoplifters and other petty criminal offenders. Fel- ons were few and far be- tween, and my job was a piece of cake. When a person was found to have committed a state prison-qualifying fel- ony, the county was given the option of retaining said of- fender within the community. For this the county received $4,000 to provide such ser- vices as job training, educa- tion, mental health counsel- ing and the like. This system (Probation Subsidy Act) actu- ally worked very well. Sometime in the early 1970s, my world as a proba- tion officer and your world as a member of this com- munity began to undergo a drastic change. I remember very clearly the day we re- ceived our first referral for a young man who had been convicted of possessing mari- juana. Being alarmed, we rec- ommended that he be sent to prison for possessing a single joint of marijuana. Long story short, from a criminal jus- tice system designed to deal with petty thieves and run- aways, in a few short decades we have evolved into a soci- ety where pretty much every crime is at least marginally attributable to the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol. Like our response to that very first young man who pos- sessed that single joint of marijuana, this fearful soci- ety responded to the influx of drugs in our communities by forgoing treatment in favor of stiff sentencing mandates that mostly consists of warehous- ing young men and women. They would be released years later, far less equipped to deal with this complicated world than they were at the time they entered the system. Don't get me wrong. Like you, I am deeply concerned about the level of crime in this community, so much so that I live behind a locked gate and set a burglar alarm every time I leave home. I be- lieve there is a sizable group of folks in this world who need to be locked up without ever again walking the streets in a free society. Having said that, I strongly believe that incarcerating so- ciety's miscreants without at- tempting to treat root causes of their behavior is pretty much a total waste of time and financial resources. This nation, and this state in particular, have long led the world in incarceration rates. There are currently 132,000 men and women in- carcerated in the California prison system. The vast ma- jority of these folks will be released back into our com- munities within a very few months or years. While most of these folks leave prison with the hope and belief that they will never return, the grim reality is that, lacking an education, lacking the abil- ity to obtain employment, and carrying a rap sheet longer than the average Christmas card list, the majority of these folks will very likely return to custody over and over and over again. The California Department of Corrections' annual bud- get for housing inmates is set at more than $10 billion each and every year. Our prisons are full of under-educated, under-employed, under-disci- plined, under-esteemed folks who have been failing at most every thing they have done for most of their life. Do we really expect that if we lock them up for 16 months or 16 years and release them back in to soci- ety with $100 in their pocket and a set of clean underwear, they will live happily ever af- ter? If you do, give my best to the tooth fairy next time you see him. It has been my experience that young offenders are of- ten the most stable mem- bers of their families. While I support timely and signifi- cant consequences for unde- sired behavior, I also believe that for many offenders, juve- nile halls, jails and prisons, whether they admit it or not, become a place of comfort and safety. Ask any second grade teacher to provide you a list of children who likely will fail to thrive in our community. I guarantee that teacher will score high on his or her as- sessment. Better yet, head on down to Walmart and observe families as they enter and exit the store. I am pretty sure your own assessment will hit the mark as well. Though not acceptable, practical or legal, it was often my feeling that if we were to correct the behavior of a child entering the Criminal Jus- tice System we would be more successful if we could lock up the parents. Few children en- ter this world with the inten- tion of becoming a criminal when they grow up. Crime is not about individ- ual violations of the law. It's about dysfunctional families, breaking cycles, social pro- motion, parent and child ed- ucation, disciplinary prac- tices, substance dependency, mental and physical health, homelessness, self-esteem, job preparation, and equal oppor- tunity. We currently spend $10 billion a year housing state prisoners, and more than $250,000 a year on each child committed to the Califor- nia Youth Authority. Are we spending our tax dollars on the correct end of the system? You be the judge. •••• This Saturday, Nov. 14, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. the his- toric State Theatre will fea- ture the Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Tour, sponsored by the Resource Conservation District of Tehama County. Call 529-2787 for further in- formation. 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 Crimeand incarceration in Tehama Co. Cartoonist's take "I had no idea that many men and women have served our country in our armed forces." "Ah, yes, you re- fer to Veterans Day facts and fig- ures shared by the U.S. Census Bureau. Did you know there are 19.3 million U.S. veterans living to- day? Roughly half are 65 and older. Nearly 2 million are un- der the age of 35." "That's interesting stuff. Those older than 65 served in World War II, Korea and Viet- nam and the 2 million under 35 served mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan after 911?" "You are correct. According to statistics released by the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs, World War II vets are dying at a rate of approximately 492 a day. This means there are approximately only 855,070 veterans remaining of the 16 million who served our nation in World War II." "The greatest generation!" "My father served in the Ko- rean War. He is 82. Of the 5.7 million who served during that war, 2 million veterans are still with us." "What about the Vietnam War?" "Of the 8.7 million veter- ans who served in that horrific war, 7 million are still alive. To round out the numbers, 5.5 mil- lion veterans served during the Gulf War era, which spans 1990 to the present. Roughly 4.4 mil- lion veterans served during peacetime. Other veterans had it awfully tough." "How so?" "Nearly 63,000 living veter- ans served during the Vietnam War and both periods of the Gulf War. They served from Au- gust 1990 through August 2001 and then from September 2001 and beyond." "God bless them for their ser- vice." "Some of our living veterans served through three wartime periods! Nearly 37,000 served during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War." "Wow." "The makeup of the armed services is changing as our de- mographics change. Though nearly 80 percent are 'non-His- panic white,' nearly 12 percent are black, 6 percent are His- panic, 1.5 percent are Asian and nearly 2.5 percent are Native Americans, Alaskans and Ha- waiians." "What about women who serve?" "Those numbers are grow- ing, too. There are currently 1.6 million female veterans in our country." "We are lucky to still have these men and women with us and the purpose of Veterans Day is to honor all of those who have served. But what about the people who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country?" "Did you know that nearly 1 million Americans have died for their country? Approximately 4,500 died during the American revolution." "I did not know that. What about our bloody Civil War?" "Bloody is the right word. Nearly 370,000 Union soldiers and 135,000 Confederate sol- diers died during that war. We lost nearly 120,000 veterans in World War I and nearly 405,000 in World War II. The Korean War claimed 34,000 and the Vietnam War 48,000." "Those are sobering numbers." "If there is any silver lin- ing as far as war goes, it is that our modern war-fighting tech- niques and medical technol- ogies are resulting in fewer battlefield deaths. Of the 1.5 million who have served in Af- ghanistan and Iraq, we have suffered approximately 6,500 losses. However, nearly 50,000 were wounded and many of them are still suffering from their disabilities." "We need to do more to help our suffering veterans." "That is exactly what Veter- ans Day is about. It is a special day when we honor all of those who have served. It is also a great day to give back." "Give back?" "We can volunteer at a local veterans' organization or pro- vide financial support. Char- ityWatch.org has a list of legiti- mate organizations that provide help and resources to disabled veterans. I'm going to donate $50 now." "Now that's the kind of Veter- ans Day number I prefer!" 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 Veterans Day by the numbers 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@ senate.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 "That is exactly what Veterans Day is about. It is a special day when we honor all of those who have served. It is also a great day to give back." "Give back?" "We can volunteer at a local veterans' organization or provide financial support. CharityWatch. org has a list of legitimate organizations that provide help and resources to disabled veterans. I'm going to donate $50 now." Tom Purcell OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, November 11, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6