Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/664411
ThereisalwayslotsoftimetothinkaboutRed Bluff when we travel. Airports and flights can make you grumpy if you do not have some- thing interesting to read. On this trip I read a stimulating article by James Fallows in the March Atlantic Monthly Magazine. Thatarticle,titled "Can America Put Itself Back To- gether Again?," should be re- quired reading for all of those who are con- cerned about our future as a small city; the City Council and city man- agement would do well to read it as well, particularly since our City Council, with its preoccupation with the sta- tus quo, clearly does not un- derstand its role in helping Red Bluff reach its potential. The contrast between all of the excitement and energy surrounding the Round-Up and the moribund attitude of city leadership is dramatic. City leadership needs to look in the mirror. Will they like what they see? When we moved to Red Bluff over 40 years ago there was a vibrant blue collar mid- dle class; the town seemed full of energy, service clubs were very active, and the lo- cal newspaper more closely re- sembled a true local newspa- per, and there was optimism. Things have changed; the mills are no longer a vi- tal part of our economy, the housing bubble burst, and in many ways Red Bluff reflects what has happened to many small cities across America. What has happened here is not unique. All across America, how- ever, small towns are work- ing to put themselves back on the track to recovery with the leadership of local cit- izens and government, at- tracting new enterprises, helping residents get on their feet, and planning ahead. It'd be easy to be discour- aged and forget all the things we have to offer. Our loca- tion along the river and as a gateway to Lassen Park is at- tractive to visitors as well as natives. We are on the I-5 corridor, a logical place for commerce. I-5 provides easy access for visitors, and a commuter corridor for those who would like to live here. Although summer is a bit warm, we have a dry climate, more than tolerable win- ters, and ample vistas to sat- isfy everyone. We are close to lakes and mountains, a short drive to other places of inter- est, and housing is quite af- fordable. There are lots of recre- ational opportunities to con- tribute to healthy life style; children and youth activities abound. We have great potential, and should not be discour- aged about the current condi- tion of high unemployment, bumpy roads, property crime rates, and such. To quote an old Sinatra song, "we need high hopes." Unfortunately, we have a City Council which lacks vi- sion and courage. Most re- cently, for example, rather than encourage a new med- ical facility to occupy a va- cant eyesore building on Wal- nut Street, allow for beauti- fication of the neighborhood, the creation new professional jobs and the provision of ser- vices for those in need in our town, the council whined and worried about parking issues for the eight or so cars that might be involved with the needed facility. The council has acted sim- ilarly on other matters as well to serve those in need in our community. It has played the same obstructionist role in refusing to work with the county to resolve clear issues involving the Tehama County Jail. If our community leader- ship will use any excuse to support the status quo and avoid making decisions that will meet the needs of its res- idents, it will not attract new businesses or new energy. It will seem an embarrassment as well. The reactive knee jerk ap- proach to new ideas that characterizes the City Coun- cil's NIMBY — not in my back yard — thinking will not help us get out of our current dol- drums; it can only tell those who might be interested in planting an enterprise to say "why bother?" "They do not want to help themselves, why can we rely on them to sup- port us in our efforts to plant new enterprises there?" "Why settle in a community with no foresight or concern about its own?" We have a city manager and attorney who asks the council to pass pro-forma laws which both he and the council admit will not be en- forced. To the potential new business, this looks like a sham. An outsider might ask, "Is this a scene from Rod Ser- lings' 'Twilight Zone?'" From all those who rally together to support the Round-Up, to Friends of the Library, to PATH, and to other service groups, we have viable service projects and organizations to better our community; we do have vital organizations making a dif- ference in the lives of others; we do have some hope. Let's get out of the era of any ex- cuse in a storm. Let's not be satisfied with the status quo. The following should be re- quired reading for city lead- ership, courtesy of Shel Sil- verstein: You have a magic carpet That will whiz you through the air, To Spain or Maine or Africa If you just tell it where. So will you let it take you Where you've never been be- fore, Or will you buy some drapes to match And use it On your Floor? JoeHarropisaretired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. JoeHarrop Is it possible for Red Bluff to reach its potential? Cartoonist's take Inmemorium Editor: Thank you for sharing my thoughts about the passing of Bill Martin. Doctor Martin was great man. I came to know him not long after I moved here; his daughter Judy and I worked together at the high school and I was befriended by their family. Doctor Martin loved God with all his heart and soul. He cherished his wife, and his children and grandchildren were his pride and joy. Doc- tor Martin was a kind, sweet, and gentle man. His face would light up a room when he laughed. I would often see him run- ning through the streets of town, envying his passion for sustaining and improving his health in his retirement years. Judy would often run with him, for they had an incredi- ble bond in a father/daughter relationship. Countless people loved Doc- tor Martin. He left a lasting impression on this community, including this teacher. God bless him and his family. — Pat Gleason, Red Bluff Thank you to the Red Bluff Rotary Editor: This letter was spurred with seeing that the upcoming Red Bluff Round-Up Regional Ron & Shirley Judson Memorial Chili Cook-Off is being dedicated to a pair of chili people who were not only huge supporters of the International Chili Society, but to the Red Bluff and Rotary community. I had returned to Red Bluff in 1984 as publisher of your fine newspaper — I had previ- ously been editor of the Daily News from 1973-1977 — and was invited to join the Red Bluff Rotary Club. As I was leaving the Elks Lodge after one of my first noon meetings there I found myself chatting with the High- way Patrol Commander Ron Judson, who I believe had just started a term as Rotary presi- dent. Since I had been involved with International Chili Soci- ety competitions for a number of years in other communities I said, "Ron, you know the club should start up a chili cook-off here and raise money for our scholarships." Without missing a beat Ron said, "That's a great idea, what's a chili cook-off?" The rest as they say is his- tory. We held our first Red Bluff Chili Cook-Off during the Te- hama County Fair in August of 1985 and it has been going strong since. Thanks to the un- believable support of Ron and Shirley Judson. They became a premier cou- ple on the International Chili Society circuit, traveling to cook-offs in their motorhome as far as Mexico and Canada and were finalist at the ICS World Championship Chili Cook-Off a number of times during the years. Their hospitality and that of Red Bluff's was famous among the ICS chili family. Their son and daughters also caught chili fever and still carry on their chili tradition. So I just wanted to say thanks to the citizens of Red Bluff and the Rotary Club for adding their names to the ti- tle of the cook-off, which is now one of the longest continuous running cook-offs held by the International Chili Society. — John Fenrich, Owasso, Oklahoma A vote for anyone but Trump Editor Last Saturday's newscasts show Donald Trump on a cam- paign stage stating that "My numbers are down, because people do not know what my message is." I beg your par- don, but his numbers are down because his message is known to people. My wife asked "Who are you going to vote for?" I replied, "If Trump is nominated, I am not going to vote for anyone. I am going to vote against Trump. I will only vote for someone who has a chance to win, no matter to which party they belong." It will be really hard to make my mark for Hillary. — John Elko, Red Bluff National Volunteer Week Editor: The American Red Cross Gold Country Region is honor- ing its volunteers and the work they do in the community dur- ing National Volunteer Week, April 10-17. Last year, our volunteers helped 739 local families who faced home fires and other di- saster situations. They trained 43,250 people in lifesaving skills and assisted 1,132 mil- itary members, veterans and their families. Volunteers also went door-to-door in neigh- borhoods at high risk for home fires to install more than 2,500 smoke alarms and teach people about home fire safety. We invite the public to join us and become a Red Cross volunteer. Go to the Gold Country Region Volunteer In- formation web page to learn more about the many ways people can help and how to submit a volunteer application. We want to extend our sin- cerest thanks to the 2,700 local Red Cross volunteers who help us fulfill our mission here in the Gold Country Region which serves more than 4.4 million people across 24 counties. The support of our volunteers al- lows us to help people when they need it most. — Gary Strong, American Red Cross Gold Country Region Minimum wage challenge Editor: Employers will be chal- lenged to cut job hours and employee count to match the inflationary increase in the California minimum wage from $10 to $15 per hour. Some employers will need to move out of state to meet the challenge. Restaurants, and many service employers, will need to cut their level of ser- vice through job cuts to keep their employment costs un- changed. Public service employers, as usual, will just increase taxes to maintain excess pay and benefits for public employ- ees. Unions will demand ever increasing pay, to keep their wages at a premium over the minimum wage. There are very few win- ners with increased minimum wage, but a vast majority of losers. This includes the mini- mally educated and teens, who will be the first to lose their jobs, and the poor and middle class who are most affected by the inflationary impact. Once again the 12 percent who are union, and politicians who rely on their lobby funds for re-election, have ignored the wishes of the voting majority to satisfy a small vocal minority. — Joseph Neff, Corning Letters If our community leadership will use any excuse to support the status quo and avoid making decisions that will meet the needs of its residents, it will not attract new businesses or new energy. It will seem an embarrassment as well. 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 State and National Assemblyman James Gallagher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 895- 4217, http://ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 Forest 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 Of- fice Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Fein- stein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 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, Kris- tina Miller, 824-7033 Your officials Joe Harrop OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, April 9, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4