Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/639204
OneofthethingsIlearnedin1976wasthat voters are called constituents. Being a new elected official in the California Assembly for almost two decades was both an honor and a most pleasurable experience. Ihadsomeveryfrustrat- ing times, but mostly those times were very rewarding. Let me tell you about just two of those frus- trating times. I shall allow these two individuals to remain un- identified. The first con- stituent would regularly call my capitol of- fice to find out where and when I would be making an- other public appearance. He was vitally interested in one issue and one issue only: Abortion. In his world that was pure and simple "baby killing!" As I would arrive at my next event, he would al- ready be there and eagerly start an another endless con- versation on that issue. I felt it was as close to stalking as he could get without my filing a restraining order. That man was what I learned to call a "one-issue- constituent." Our state legislators don't really have any say on that is- sue anyway. In 1973 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the difficult decision to have a abortion was legal throughout our country. My take is that I have known all my political life that the issue of abortion will never really be settled, probably because each side makes a very good case. After a few dozen such con- versations, I firmly asked the gentleman to step outside where I told him something like "Please listen closely. I do not ever want to discuss this topic with you again. Neither of us will ever change our po- sition." I never saw him again and now I can't even remem- ber his first name. I was wrong. Voters de- serve treatment than what I gave this concerned citizen. On another occasion I was speaking to a few hundred teachers at the Holiday Inn in Chico. I had gotten to the Q&A part in my presentation, which I always preferred, when I pointed to a lady who had a question; "Yes. What is your question?" Well, she let me have it with both barrels. She said something like; "Mr. Statham, I never enjoyed you when you were on Chan- nel 12 reading the news. And, I certainly don't enjoy you as my representative. I did not vote for you and I never will." After that she went on at some length to tell me how "unknowledgeable" she thought I was on all educa- tional issues. By the time she finished I was also angry and did not care anymore. So I answered her attack with something like; "Since I think you are through now, let me respond. As a teacher, you will probably always know more about edu- cational issues than I do. But I do want to tell you that I feel your adrenalin. I would also like to tell you two things. And, please remember the sec- ond. One: I have come to the conclusion that you have very few faults. However, here is the second part and I pray to God you will remember it. You obviously make the most of the faults you have." I was delighted when the audience murmured their ap- proval. As a matter of fact, I can still feel that emotion. Mytakeonthemovies OK then, let's take a breath with this week's movie review I recommend "Revenant," starring Leo DiCaprio. It has already garnered a Golden Globe and a Hollywood's Crit- ics Award. If you like action I think you will love this film. StanStathamserved1976-1994 in the California Assembly and was a television news anchor at KHSL-TV in Chico 1965- 1975. He is past president of the California Broadcasters Association and can be reached at StanStatham@ gmail.com. Mytake Dealing with constituents over the years Questions a er Allen's resignation Editor: Now that Harley North finely seceded in getting Charles Allen out (as superintendent of schools) I wonder if he would answer a few questions for me. By using Mr. Allen's lack of credentials to be a superinten- dent to get him out, will it set an example for teachers who lack their credentials to teach all sub- jects? Do you believe that teach- ers should be exempt from hav- ing to have a license to teach all subjects and still get paid the same as someone who does? If a teacher doesn't have to have a license to teach a subject but has experience in that sub- ject, would that allow any per- son to be hired as a teacher who doesn't have any credentials just the knowledge to teach? If not, why not? What's the different? I know a lot of great teachers that aren't credentialed to teach every subject, will this affect them? What are the laws about hav- ing pedophiles working on our school grounds? I'm surprised that incident hasn't been printed in the newspaper yet. Or is it an- other cover up from our District Attorney's office? When I was speaking to Gregg Cohen a few weeks ago, on a dif- ferent subject, I told him to be very careful in prosecuting Quin- tin Bealer as I had been trying to get in touch with Shon Northam to give him some information concerning Mr. Bealer's case. Within a week Mr. Cohen found over 1,000 pages concerning this case and just turned them over to the Defense Attorney. So please don't try and feed me any crap, as I do know what's going on here. — Kathy Nelson, Red Bluff Good old boys at it again Editor Is it obvious yet? Time for a change don't you think? It seems the good old boys are at it again, doing whatever they want with very little concept of reality, ethics or integrity. The four member of the Board of Supervisors have managed to delete the fifth member of the board, who by the way may be the only one that knows the job description. Bob Williams, who is now the chairman, was recently fined by the California Fair po- litical practices commission for inappropriate use of funds in his run for the assembly. He has stated "no wrong doing." Come on, no one gets fined for doing good. Now he brings into play his deputy Dennis Garton. What do these two co- horts and their two bench men have in store for we the peo- ple? Well, I for one don't want to find out. Instead of a recall, when it's time vote them out. — Joseph Ostrowski, Red Bluff Complain about big rig driver Editor: The driver of the big rig (that jackknifed and crashed Jan. 19 on Interstate 5) was driving in the left lane, the fast lane, at 60 mph, maybe passing another big rig that was doing the speed limit, 55 mph. If Mr. Meza, the driver, had been in compliance with the speed limit this incident would not have happened. His speeding could have cre- ated a situation much worse. As it is he put other people at risk cleaning up and moving his mess. I would like to see 55 mph enforced — use radar. At 55 mph all the traffic would move smoother. — Sam Collins, Red Bluff Thanks to jail sergeant Editor: I write this on behalf of sev- eral female inmates at the Te- hama County Jail. What it means to have some- one believe in you when you can't even believe in yourself. This is only one of the rea- sons so many respect Sergeant Colleen Lewis at the Tehama County Jail in Red Bluff. We think so much of what she does to change lives of individuals struggling with addictions, try- ing to find their place back into society, goes unnoticed. Mrs. Lewis has helped change so many lives, all be- cause she had taken the time to listen, believing that people can change. We the inmates of the Te- hama County Jail would like to say thank you Mrs. Lewis for having the courage to stand alone, to help change lives, for being our voice when we are unable to speak, for see- ing a person, not just an orange jumpsuit. Our respect for you goes deeper than any words could ever say. — Maureen Cahalan, Red Bluff Psychiatric facility a good fit Editor: I took a look at the proposed Restpadd Facility at 925 Wal- nut St. I do see there is limited parking in the area but it is possible there is enough park- ing space available without us- ing the ice cream parlor's fa- cilities. There seems to be enough room for 10-15 autos on Walnut and Johnson next to the building. The article did not say how many staff members would be at the site. Also, this is not a facility that would allow visitors. It's a temporary use facility for men- tal health evaluation and pos- sibly intervention. I don't see it as a place that needs access for family members. If family wants to visit they should wait till the patient is transferred to a permanent facility — a hospital, jail or juvenile hall. — Fred Boest, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take Let's face it: the only thing more pathetic than hosting a pity party is having to shoo the visitors away from your pity party by 7 p.m. Because of various commit- ments and interests, I am for- tunate if I am in bed six hours a night. (Let's not even talk about QUALITY of sleep.) I am made to feel like a masochis- tic idiot every time I see one of those ubiquitous "Stop skating by on minimal sleep" articles. To add insult to injury, AOL. com reports that one of the rea- sons millennials are so successful is that they average eight hours and 53 minutes of sleep (as op- posed to slightly more than seven hours for most older adults). My inner "grumpy old man" jealously snorts that they achieve this luxury by not having to shop for bathroom air fresheners, if you know what I mean. I run a long-term sleep defi- cit even while living a relatively charmed life. I'm only 10 min- utes away from work and have a household with no major medi- cal problems. I shudder to think about the discretionary hours re- maining for people who spend two hours a day commuting and/ or deal with special needs family members. The Huffington Post warned that people getting only six hours of sleep a night can be plagued by angry outbursts, overeating, overspending, a hag- gard appearance and a generally blah feeling. Other sources cite a sleep deficit as contributing to poor academic performance, memory lapses, Type 2 diabetes, the sudden full-blown emergence of the twin you absorbed while in the womb, etc. A study published in Pro- ceedings of the National Acad- emy of Sciences claims that sleep deprivation makes peo- ple 4.5 times more likely to sign a false confession. That's a bunch of hooey, and I told the same thing to Jimmy Hoffa as I threw the first shovelful of dirt into his face. In an infamous 1986 "Sat- urday Night Live" skit, Wil- liam Shatner popularized the "Get a life!" slogan. But sleep researchers would just as soon you took only the daintiest nibble of what life has to of- fer. Don't have a hobby, per- form household chores, write to your congressman, take a night class, go to the gym, at- tend a PTO meeting, rise above the poverty level with a second job, write the Great American Novel, learn a second language, attend worship services, visit a nursing home, care for aging parents or do anything that de- tracts from the pattern "Work, sleep, lather, rinse, repeat..." If you really want to stay guilt free, that bed had bet- ter be 99 percent dedicated to slumbering. Instead of "Honey, put on your Naughty Librar- ian outfit," you'd better specify, "Honey, put on your Naught Li- brarian With A Timer outfit." Those who editorialize about sleep deficits condescendingly tell us to keep a stiff upper lip and make a few simple tweaks and sacrifices — presumably, chitchatting less with our but- ler, chef, maid, personal shop- per and nanny. I'd love to grab 40 winks af- ter uploading this column; but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. I understand that there's a poem to that effect — but the Sleep Police would undoubt- edly give me a guilt trip if I stayed up five minutes later to read it. "You're not sleeping enough! I still don't have grandchildren photos for the mantel! And your newborn twin brother just passed the bar exam!" *Sigh* Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree Be sure and get enough quality sleep — or else GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD 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 Stan Statham "Please listen closely. I do not ever want to discuss this topic with you again. Neither of us will ever change our position." I never saw him again and now I can't even remember his first name. By Danny Tyree OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, February 11, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6