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I T only T A K E S A S P A R K . O N L Y Y O U C A N P R E V E N T W I L D F I R E S . s m o k e y b e a r . c o m Please DuringFebruary2016, I measured 7 tenths of an inch while the first 9 days of March, 3.8 inches of rain has been measured. Salt Creek didn't flood like in December 2014, but the foothills around Tuscan Springs and Buttes caused the water gaps (fences across creeks) to wash out on 7 Mile Creek and Little Salt Creek. Bill, George Tatro and I had to repair the water gap on 7 Mile Creek sev- eral times, but this time a log washed against the bridge and the flood wa- ters scoured the highway shoulders about two feet deep on each side of High- way 36-E. I don't remem- ber that happening in pre- vious high waters; just the water gap going out. Walt Brown at the neighboring ranch said he had four inches of rain on Saturday night while I measured only 2 inches. I don't remember the Little Salt Creek leaving drift on the fence posts four feet high, like it did on Saturday night. Kevin, Linda and Bryce Borror had several water gaps to replace across the creek to keep the cows in their pas- tures. The drift was high on the gate and washed the road gravel down to the rocky soil. Alookbackto1983 The following was writ- ten by my mother, Anne Willard McNabb, Oct. 26, 1983 for her writing class. I have lived in Ante- lope Valley for the past 58 years; and in the Salt Creek watershed for the past 54 years. More than half the years have been wet years, with more than the average rainfall. The worst to live with, is the big storms and flash floods on soggy wet ground. Since 1902 the Willards kept Salt Creek within its banks, except for the big storms and flash floods. Those days it was teams of horses and scoop shovel. It did not take much to clean the gravel bars from the creek bed and make low levees. They could dry- land farm the ground. During the 1940s to 1960 Ashley Rogers (who purchased Uncle Ora Wil- lard's land), Chester Wil- lard and Lyman, my de- ceased husband did their creek work nearly every fall. Sometimes they hired the Taber Bros.; and Wal- ter Blackwood with their big tractors and blades. No big deal. Times change. Ownerships change. Bureaucracy moved in and said "you can not re- move the gravel, you can not disturb the natu- ral habitat of the creek banks"—-nothing has been done to that gravel bar for perhaps 10-15 years. The McHie Subdivi- sion. It is in a natural drain. Water has been over that land in every big storm, that I know of since 1929. Water would run down the Belle Mill Road (now known as Hogs- back), flooded the high- way from Salt Creek to be- yond the Cone Lane. Yet, the Tehama County Plan- ning Commission allowed homes to be developed on the Salt Creek flood plains. One fellow on that Com- mission told us, he had never seen water on that land — of course not, he was at home, cozily sitting by his kitchen fire during the storms. I live on a knoll, and flood waters surrounds me for maybe 7 hours. mile to the south (highway 99E) mile to the west (highway 36E) mile to the north, to Salt Creek and beyond; and mile to the east. The cattleguard at the end of my lane was built on level ground. Then in 1948-49 the State High- way Engineers came along and raised the roadbed probably five feet, raised and narrowed the bridges across Salt Creek and Salt Creek overflows; causing a dam. Who listens to our complaints? Glenn Williams who built the service station complex at the 36 Wye, built a dike along the west bank of Salt Creek to keep the water off his property. The new owners bull- dozed the dike into Salt Creek. Who complains? Who listens? How do you propose to control Salt Creek? To dig a channel deeper and wider to control the 1200 acres of water for more than 7 hours? Moving wa- ter one to three feet deep. Why were the Division of Fish and Game and an Engineer from the State Water Office out walk- ing over the flooded fields months and months af- ter the high water. Why, are not they in a plane or boat when it is happening? To really observe the real thing. Save the date The Tehama County Cattlemen's Association is hosting their 2-day Cattle- men's Field Day on March 19 and 20 at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning. Com- plete with events like calf branding, ranch sorting, stock dog trials and more with buckles and payouts on Saturday! Don't miss the New York steak din- ner Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. Sunday has sporting clays and golf for the pub- lic. You don't have to be a member of TCCA to partic- ipate either day. Event entries close March 15, next Tuesday, so check out the event today by visiting the TCCA Face- book page or contact Chad Amen at cell: 949-4723, or email: vetboy21@yahoo. com. National Ag Day March 15 is National Ag Day, recognizing and cel- ebrating the contribution of agriculture to our every- day lives. Tehama County was known for its sheep and grain fields a hundred years ago, and now the or- chards are more valuable than our livestock. The Young Farmers and Ranchers will be making visits to the class rooms, and their theme will tie in with the book "How did that get in my lunch box?" Tehama County Farm Bureau will have their gi- ant pumpkin contest kick- off during the week, with seeds and entry forms available at their office. Agriculture is impor- tant in Tehama County, because our walnuts, al- monds, prunes are ex- ported to many foreign countries. Our vineyards are becoming known as producing delicious wines. The peach industry was busy, with the Weeks, Sale, Merrill families drying the peaches for winter use. As a teenager, my mother cut peaches for sulfuring and drying at the Fred Weeks orchard each summer in Antelope Valley. We don't have as many dairies as the old days, but they ship their milk to make the delicious cheese we enjoy. Our beef cattle play an essential role in agricul- ture maintaining a strong economy with the famous Red Bluff Bull Sale in Jan- uary, and the bull sales at the local ranches in Sep- tember. Ranchers from Or- egon and Nevada, as well as local ranchers graze their cattle in Tehama County during the winter and spring months before moving to the mountains for summer grazing. There used to be thou- sands of head of sheep in the county during the win- ter months. The county had a trapper to keep the coyote population down. A sheep herder's life was lonely, and very few men were willing to live such a rough lifestyle. The con- sumers preferred beef over lamb, and too many sol- diers ate mutton during World War II. Synthetic fabrics replaced wool as the fabric to keep you warm or cool, and it cost more to shear the sheep than the value of the wool. We remember the de- licious sweet corn that Farmer Stutz used to have each week at the Red Bluff Farmers Market. National Ag Day, a day to thank a farmer for the food that you purchase at the grocery store. He or she is the one that milked that cow, gathered those eggs, raised that pig for the bacon, ham and sau- sage, grew the grain for the bread. A farmer pruned and sprayed, watered and picked the fruit that grew on a tree. He or she tended the plants that became the vegetables that we enjoy year round. The best thing is that you know your food is safe because we have food safety in mind when we take care of our animals, grains, fruits and vegeta- bles. JeanBartonhasbeen writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbarton2013@ gmail.com. JEANBARTON High water on Salt Creek, other creeks COURTESYPHOTO Kevin and Bryce Borror were rehanging the water gap on Little Salt Creek Sunday morning, a er the high water on Saturday night. Note the debris on the corner post 4feet high, the pine limbs that washed down, and the bank in the background that had been scoured by the rushing water. Googgie, a 17-week-old spayed female Sphynx, was brought to the UC Davis vet- erinary hospital following a three-day bout of inappe- tence,lethargyandvomiting. Originally seen by the Emer- gency and Critical Care Ser- vice,shewasnotedtohavean enlarged, painful left kidney. With ultrasound, it was discovered that an obstruc- tion of the left ureter was preventing flow of urine to the bladder. It could not be determined through imag- ing what was causing the blockage, and surgery was needed to discover, then al- leviate, the obstruction. Specialists from the Soft Tissue Surgery Service were brought in to review Goog- gie's case and work with the Anesthesiology Service to prepare her for surgery. Af- ter opening Googgie's abdo- men, surgeons were able to see the extent of the damage to her ureter. A traumatic stricture(scarreddownarea) was present around the ure- ter, preventing it from being open. There was a solution, however. Dr. Bill Culp and his team had success previ- ously in dogs and cats with a relativelynewprocedurecre- ating an artificial ureter us- ing catheters, and they were hopeful it would succeed in a kitten as well. Bypassing the natural ureter, Dr. Culp was able to create two distinct ends of a new ureter with tubing — one end coming from the kidney, one end leading into the bladder. The two pieces were connected with a ti- tanium shunting port that was placed just under the skin for easy access for col- lecting urine samples from the system. Known as a subcutaneous ureteral by- pass (SUB), the system has primarily been utilized in older animals. The longev- ity of the system for lon- ger installation into young animals is unknown, and Googgie's device will need to be monitored long term to ensure functionality. Tests following the suc- cessful surgery showed nor- mal kidney function. Had Googgie's signs of an ill- ness been delayed longer, she could have lost com- plete function of the af- fected kidney, potentially leading to medical issues later in life. Googgie recovered from the procedure without com- plications. She appeared bright, and was eating and drinking several hours af- ter surgery. The following morning, she continued to recover and maintained an excellent appetite. For the next few days, she remained under the watchful eyes of technicians and veterinari- ans who supported her with IV fluid therapy and pain medications while she re- covered. 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