Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/65031
6A Daily News– Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Opinion DAILYNEWS 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 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 Editor: So now you know why stopping printing the Monday paper was a bad idea. What information I got about the rodeo, I got out of the Record Searchlight. You have heard of an Extra edition haven't you? Rodeo coverage The rodeo is one of the biggest events in the county each year. Even so, it needs all the publicity it can get. Part of the branding campaign you know. You missed a golden opportunity to do some in depth coverage of this event; photos of the parade, in depth interviews with the partici- pants and competitors. We did have some local winners you know? The special inserts in the paper before the rodeo were very good, but where was the rest of the story? Better luck next year. Fred Boest, Red Bluff After school Tehama County Office of Education Superintendent Larry Champion's ringing endorsement of after-school programs — Expect More Tehama: Facts about after school programs, published April 28. programs work Editor: I was pleased to see Not only can they help increase academic perfor- mance, they also keep kids in school, off the streets and out of trouble. Invest in Kids, an anti-crime organization of more than 400 sheriffs, police chiefs, district attorneys and crime victims across California, students who are regularly left unsu- pervised after school are twice as likely as other kids to hang out with gang members, three times as likely to be engaged in criminal behavior and three times as likely to smoke marijuana. According to Fight Crime: but we can beat them with our valuable vote. You can help by asking Our neighbors, Shasta, Butte and Glenn counties are all in District 1. Their votes can be the deciding factor who will be holding our important offices. The lack of supervised, constructive activities after school in too many places helps explain why research shows that violent juvenile crime peaks after the school bell rings, with 3-4 p.m. being the single most likely hour on school days for juve- niles to engage in violence. I applaud Tehama County's commitment to after-school programs. They help kids suc- ceed and make us all safer. Sheriff Dave Hencratt, Red Bluff Editor: Mr. Sam Collins' views in the Daily News opinion page May 2 were right on. We can't beat these politi- cal carpetbaggers with money, they have The right view money than Carters has pills., more voters of District 1 for their vote for fresh, new blood, such as retired Col. Pete Stiglich — a 26-year veteran of the U. S. Air Force. Your Turn This message is very important for the years to come. You must get involved. Andy Giambroni, Red Bluff Cinco de Mayo and May On May 2, the Associated Press put out a story by Rus- sell Contreras titled, "'Cinco de Mayo' — plenty of beer, lit- tle history." Madness Editor: The lead into the story starts, "Here's what Cinco de Mayo has become in the U.S.: a celebration of all things Mexican, from mariachi music to sombreros, marked by schools, politicians and com- panies selling everything from beans to beer. And here's what Cinco de Mayo is not, despite all the signs in bar windows inviting revelers to drink: It's not Mexico's Independence Day, and it's barely marked in Mexico, except in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is rooted in a complicated and short-lived 1862 military vic- tory over the French. But don't let that spoil the party." The story goes on to describe all the celebrations that will go on across the United States while it is most- ly ignored in Mexico. The front page story May 3, by Julie Zeeb about Corning Madness, shows a picture of a car burning rubber, as I under- stand it, until the tire blows out and one car after another does this in competition to see who can outlast the their com- petitors to win a trophy and maybe a cash prize as well. Let's just say there will be 5 or 6 cars in this competition, That would equal 10 or 12 tires pouring, God only knows how many, pollutants into the atmosphere. burn a stack of 5 or 6 tires would Air Quality Control come down on me like a duck on a June bug and issue me a citation? How many citations has Air Quality Control issued to farmers who happened to burn the clippings after pruning their orchards on the wrong day? My question is; if I were to Les Wolfe, Red Bluff 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. What are America's pet owners thinking? Commentary civilization was in trouble already, this ought to worry you: Americans are hiring psy- chics to communicate with their pets. If you didn't think American According to Benjamin Rad- ford of Discovery News, pet psychics claim they can use telepathy to communicate with animals, living and dead -- for about $85 an hour. I can tell pet owners what their dog is thinking for half that amount: Rover wants you to scratch him on the belly and give him a treat. I'll pop my invoice in the mail. our sour economy, the pet-ser- vice industry continues to grow by $2 billion a year -- to $52 bil- lion this year. But this isn't about telepathy so much as it is about our obses- sion with pets -- a reflection of a country gone nutty and soft, confused by our emotions. Look: Pets, generally, are a great thing. Social scientists explain that in our fast-paced, transient society, pets help fill the void that was once filled by close friends and extended fam- ily. away from home so often or I'd get one. I love dogs and wish I wasn't But our obsession with pets is getting out of hand. Despite heated waterbeds for dogs, dog- gie personal trainers and doggie weight-loss programs (Biscuit Watchers?). If Rover's feeling down, a doggie psychologist is waiting to help: "Rover, your low self- esteem can be traced to your neutering." Now that people will pay thousands of dollars for veteri- nary care, pet health insurance policies are all the rage. Pet deaths are announced in pet obituaries these days: "Buster is survived by his emo- tionally distraught owner and his favorite toy, Squeaky." And let us not forget another There are gourmet pet foods, growth industry -- pet cemeter- ies and pet headstones: "Here lies Buster down by the levy, we sure do wish he saw that Chevy." and '70s, a dog was part of my family, and we loved her, but there was a line of demarcation between dogs and humans. Jingles ate her own food out of a can, not gourmet home-cooked grub. She didn't go to a doggie trainer for exer- cise. She preferred that we toss her a stick and try to catch her, as she zigged and zagged and raced through the yard. No kid ever did catch her. That's because back then, humans were humans and dogs were dogs. Tom The truth is that many pets in America are living better than three-fourths of the people on this Earth, and something isn't quite right about that. . When I was a kid in the '60s But today, we're not only pampering pets with overzeal- ous affection, we're trying to elevate them to the level of humans. We see a dog's paws move while it sleeps and we assume the dog is having a nightmare. anyway?" says comic Garry Shandling. "Your dog dreams he's drinking out of a toilet bowl and the toilet lid falls on its head?" "What is a dog nightmare, Purcell have souls that live on after their physical bodies cease to work and exist. But I don't think dogs have souls, and I offer proof. When was the last time you saw a dog at confession? ("Forgive me, Father, but I doo- died on the living room rug.") I love dogs as much as the next fel- low, but if I saw a drowning child next to a drowning dog and could save only one, the choice would be obvious. We think today that our dogs Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. it would be obvious to everyone these days. Some might save the dog -- then hire a psychic to apologize to the kid. ——— But I'm not so sure