Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6835
8A – Daily News – Saturday, February 13, 2010 A MediaNews Group newspaper 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 Opinion One of my oldest memories is about a picnic we took at Alum Rock Park on the east side of San Jose. My father worked for Golden State Ice Cream, and since they produced ice cream for our armed forces, he had a gasoline rationing sticker that allowed us enough gasoline to be able to drive from San Francisco to Alum Rock, a real luxury. It was in 1944, and we had been able to tolerate the inconveniences of World War II: blackouts, recycling fat, vic- tory garden, air raid sirens, some food shortages, etc. We sensed we were lucky, but prob- ably didn't realize it at the time. Alum Rock was on the side of a hill, covered with trees and contained a small zoo. My father particularly enjoyed the outside and having some down time. I wandered within sight of my family and found a father walking a toddler. They stopped to say hello, and in imitation of what my father had done to me many times, I put my index fin- ger on the toddler's chest and said "you're full of b… s…" The father was not pleased at my attempt at friendliness and grabbed my hand to lead me to our picnic blanket. He told my parents what I had done and stormed away. I did not know what I had done wrong, my father, in retro- spect, was sheepish, and my mother said something like "you have to be careful what you teach him." It seemed like an awkward ride home, and my mother told me that some things are okay to say at home, but not in other settings. I was unclear what was being said because I had not learned from George Carlin about the seven words. A few years later my mother, brother and I were walking on our block when Mrs. Hill invit- ed us in. Mrs. Hill's house was immaculate compared to ours. The furniture was newer, and everything was neat and tidy. (It helped that they didn't have children.) My mother and she began to talk, and as it wasn't very interesting to me, I lay down on the sofa, with my feet on one of the armrests. My mother immediately told me I couldn't do that, and I immedi- ately replied, "But Pop does it all the time." We left for home soon thereafter. Fortunately I learned many good and valuable lessons from my father, and I still draw on them. When I was 19 I was able to work in his ice cream plant for the summer. The work was hard, replacing floor tiles that had been loosened by the lactic acid in the milk products. It was lonely work. I went to work at 8PM and worked until 4:30 AM. I was on my hands and knees, chipping out the old grout, prying up the tiles, and cleaning out the area beneath the tiles. I found some muscles I never knew existed, and my back and forearms were sore each morning when I went home. When that job was complete, I got to work the day shift mov- ing supplies from the warehouse to the factory floor. The factory had an elevator that was controlled by a rope passengers pulled to start and stop; it was an art to stop the elevator level with the floor. One day I wit- nessed an employee misalign the elevator and floor and spill his hand truck carrying the ingredients for the next batch of ice cream to be made. He fell hard, and it took him a while to get up. My dad hap- pened to be the vicini- ty, and he walked over to the man on the floor and asked him if he was okay. It didn't seem very remark- able at the time, but one of the old timers told me the previous manager would have yelled at the fallen man, told him he had caused a delay in everyone's work, and he should be ashamed of himself…using many of George Carlin's favorite words. I learned a great lesson. We all learn behaviors and lessons from those around us, sometimes we are aware of them, and sometimes they are just absorbed, like stretching out on the sofa. Once I had a third grade boy say something extremely spe- cific and very inappropriate while he was walking to take the bus home. I pulled him out of the line, took him into the office, sat him down and called his mother. She immediately denied he was capable of making such a state- ment; I told her he must have heard it from someone since third grade boys nor- mally do not say things like that. After a few more denials the mother said, "Well, his uncle just got out of prison and is living with us now." The next morn- ing that third grade boy, the boy he had spoken to, and I had a good conversation in which an apolo- gy was accepted. Whether the uncle was kid- ding around or serious, the third grade boy thought it would be cool to imitate him. One of my favorite songs from Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods is Children will Lis- ten. The verse I particularly remember is: Careful the things you say Children will listen Careful the things you do Children will see and learn Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. Learning from my father Commentary N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY 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 Joe Harrop STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), 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), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 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; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Your officials Relentless pursuit is a stale joke Editor: Freedom of speech is our right to speak without censor- ship and limitation. A stale joke is one that is no longer fresh, frequently heard and boring. The office of Attorney Gen- eral Jerry Brown stated that it had not found sufficient evi- dence to remove Jim Nielsen from office. I suggest to you that it would be ridiculous for our Sheriff Parker to follow through with a citizen's arrest, based upon Mr. Bird's relentless pur- suit which has become a stale joke. Mr. Bird has the right to run against Mr. Nielsen and let the votes fall where they may. Tom Robinson, Red Bluff Can't support administration Editor: It is written in the Declara- tion of Independence that when- ever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government. I for one think it is time to abolish the communist party of Barack Obama's and replace it with a new government by using our militia. Obama is not eligible to be president due to the fact that he is not a citizen of the United States, he was born in Kenya. He will never be my president. Vollie V. Bisnett, Cottonwood Where's the plan for Bend? Editor: Last Wednesday evening at the Bend School, a large group of us listened to our county manager front for the BLM in presenting Barbara Boxer's plan for the Sacramento River National Recreation Area. Dur- ing the comment period, many local residents raised legitimate concerns about the impact of the plan on the area and it's resi- dents. Toward the end a number of out of the area people and at least one bureaucrat voiced approval of the Plan. The problem was, there was no plan. Neither Barbara Boxer, the BLM nor the county have prepared a management plan. There have no environmental studies done to determine the impact of the Sacramento River National Recreation Area on the riparian habitat or the thin soils and ground cover found on the majority of the nearly 18,000 acres. Where is the resource management plan? What is the cost of this plan? There have been no studies to determine the increased stress on state and local services. We can be assured that there will be increased demands on law enforcement and fire protection. Jelly's Ferry Road from it's junction with Bend Ferry Road to the Shasta County Line at Battle Creek is a poorly patched sub standard mess. The 60-year old Jellys Ferry Bridge is narrow and antiquated at best. Bend Ferry Road is no better, and has a school and res- idential zones. Where is the plan to upgrade our services and infrastructure? Where do they plan to get the money? The truth is, The only plan is to get increased funding for the local BLM Office. The pitch is "Give us the money and within three years we will develop the plan." They even say they will spell out in the legislation, the formation of a local advisory panel to help formulate the plan. But however the panel is formed, federal law would pre- vent the BLM from giving up any of it's management respon- sibility to any state or local enti- ty. So as history has shown in this county, If the BLM does not like the recommendations of a local advisory panel, the report gets the round file. Don't count on any real input into the BLM Plan. State and County impacts will not be addressed by BLM. In the past BLM has shown it's self to be more than willing to say or do anything to achieve their goals. Past commitments to the board of supervisors were arrogantly ignored, as were commitments to previous and adjacent land owners. Trespass problems and broken fences are sole the prob- lem of the adjacent land owner. The only plan is to get more money. At a time when congress has just raised the National Debt by more than $45,000 for every man, woman and child in this country, and at a time when we owe communist China and Japan more than eight hundred billion dollars ($800,000,000,000) ech, our Board of Supervisors are being asked to vote. but unlike the Democratic Health Care Plan, it isn't that they haven't read the plan, there is no plan. Larry Lucas, Red Bluff Your Turn