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GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD 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, 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Goodmorning.Icallthis week's column "Tidbit Tues- day." I realize that today is not Tuesday, but there is no way that I am going to call it what it really is: "Just Another Wasted Wednesday." It's my column, so I will call it what I want. •••• Tidbit #1: The first school I ever attended was Manton School. My father worked at Forward Mill. I remember liv- ing in one of those platform tents with wood floors and a canvas top. I remember eating deer — probably doe — meat pretty much year around. I re- member my sister Judy step- ping barefoot on a steel rake. I remember my brother Don and I becoming extremely ill from exhaust fumes that somehow seeped into the back seat of our broken-down fam- ily car. I remember our family driving to what I thought was a big city called Red Bluff, and seeing the majestic State sign blinking on and off at the theater as we approached from the east. And I remem- ber attending Manton School. Even though there was no kindergarten class at Manton School, somehow I, along with my friend Jimmy Martin, was allowed to attend school at age five. While I would love to report that Jimmy and I were both excellent students, the truth is that all I really remember about attending Manton School was that the principal caught Jimmy and me trying to light a cigarette that he had stolen from one of his parents. Unfortunately, the very next year my par- ents separated and with my mother, sister and brother, I moved to that big city of Red Bluff where I began my life of anonymity while attend- ing the much larger Red Bluff Schools. Too bad, I think I could have been "somebody" at Manton School. •••• Tidbit #2: The primary rea- son I mention Manton School is that the wife and I re- cently attended an eighth grade graduation ceremony at a cool little country school called the Bend School. For those of you not from these parts, the Bend Elementary School is located in the Bend District about 10 miles from town, across the Sacramento River, east of Jelly's Ferry Road. When you cross that bridge into the Bend district, in many ways it feels like you are entering a different era. Even though most of the folks living in the area work in Red Bluff or Redding, when they cross that bridge the stresses of life in the big city seem take a back seat to loving thy neighbor and taking a mo- ment to stop and smell the roses. While we do not have a blood level relative attending the Bend School, Billie and I were in attendance in support of Michael Molarius. Michael is the grandson of our oldest and closest friends, Trish and Larry Jantzen; therefore Michael is like a member of our family whether he likes it or not. The cool thing about at- tending this close-knit coun- try school is that the gradua- tion ceremony is really a cel- ebration of the success of the entire 80-person student body; no, make that a celebra- tion of the entire Bend com- munity. Billie and I thoroughly en- joyed watching little peo- ple, kindergarten through eighth grade, as they proudly marched up to the podium to receive their perfect atten- dance and honor roll certifi- cates. Another unique benefit of attending Bend School is that each of the nine members of the graduating class was able to give their very own com- mencement address. Individually and collec- tively, they spoke of their friends, their families, field trips, pot lucks, fundraisers and dances. They praised not only their teachers, but also folks like the school's volun- teer athletic director and bar- becue chef Larry Jantzen, and a really nice lady, April North- ern, who has provided child care services to Bend commu- nity preschoolers for the past couple of decades. Those nine young gradu- ates of the Bend School will now cross that bridge to at- tend much larger schools in Red Bluff. While that may be good or it may be bad, there's one thing for sure. Having at- tended the Bend School, they certainly are "somebody." Congratulations Michael Molarius, Cody Garrison, Eli- jah Holler, Trace Lawrence, Jordan Lindsey, Stevie McK- enzie, Bryce Peterson, Evan Scott and Matty Serra. •••• Tidbit #3: Speaking of grad- uations, Billie and I also at- tended the Big Apple Pre- school graduation ceremony. Our youngest grandchild, four-year-old Alix Rose Cor- nelius, received her very first education related degree. In addition to her diploma she was selected as homecoming queen, biggest flirt and most importantly, she was saluta- torian of her class. Many of her classmates also signed her coloring book, posting such remarks as "I really enjoyed sharing nap time with you this year" and "good luck in kindergarten next year." Actually, Alix never re- ceived any of those awards. She was just another kid with a runny nose along with a bunch of other less attractive little kids with runny noses who were mouthing the words to "I'm a Little Tea Cup" while waving to their overzealous grandma who was, with cam- era in hand, precariously tee- tering back and forth while standing on a chair in the back of the room. God willing, the Big Apple graduation ceremony is only the first we will attend featur- ing Alix Rose Cornelius. Next year she attends something called Transitional Kinder- garten. After that it will be real kindergarten followed by fifth grade, followed by eighth grade, followed by high school, followed by junior col- lege, followed by a bachelor's degree, followed by a master's degree, followed by a PhD and…. you get the picture. Sooner or later she is bound to be selected biggest flirt. •••• Tidbit #4: Congratulations to my friend Tim Kuhn for having the good sense to take the beautiful Karen Graves Gardner as his wife on Satur- day last at Wilcox Oaks Golf Course. She's a keeper. •••• Coming to the State The- atre: Documentary, "Janis Jo- plin, Little Girl Blue," fol- lowed by Big Brother and the Holding Company, 6-10 p.m. Saturday, June 25. Tickets are $25-$30. BillCorneliusisalifelong resident of Red Bluff, a retired Chief Probation Officer, a champion of the State Theatre and an exceptional athlete. He can be reached at bill. cornelius@sbcglobal.net. William Tells Tidbit Tuesday delivered six days early Cartoonist's take A thread on the question-and- answer website Quora discussed the stark differences between dog ownership in the 1970s com- pared with today. That made me remember the time my family's beloved dog, Jin- gles, ran away. Jingles was part collie, a touch of Irish setter and good- ness knows what else — and I had no idea how lucky my fam- ily was to have her. Throughout much of Amer- ican history, according to Li- veScience.com, only the wealthy kept pets as companions. Before the 1960s and '70s, few people in cities could afford dogs, particularly during the Depression years. But after World War II, as Americans became more afflu- ent and moved to the suburbs, more families had the means to care for dogs. By the early '70s, the fam- ily dog was fairly common — though it was an era of the rough-and-tumble dog, like Lassie and Old Yeller, not the pampered pets that are com- monplace today. Jingles was loved uncondi- tionally, but the only pampering she got was a rub on her belly — she loved that — or having her coat combed with a wire brush. Though she never got treats from the gourmet pet aisle at the supermarket, she loved her daily can of Ken-L Ration and the occasional leftover burger. She also enjoyed a freedom that few pets ever get to know. My father was adamant that Jingles never be chained. He only agreed to get her if we taught her stay in the yard as our neighbor, Mr. Bennett, taught his dog to do. We followed Mr. Bennett's techniques and Jingles learned the boundaries of our yard well enough. But she suffered from wanderlust and felt the need, now and then, to set off for the hills. If she wasn't home by dusk, my father, grumbling, would get into our Plymouth station wagon and drive around the neighborhood calling her name. He'd usually find her within 30 minutes — usually outside the convenience store soliciting treats from customers. "You get home right now, girl," he'd say, pointing his fin- ger. She'd sprint home ahead of him and greet him as he pulled in the driveway, her body shak- ing, her tail wagging. But one night, after she ran off, my father couldn't find her. He called the police and animal rescue, but there had been no reports. My five sisters and I sobbed most of the night, worrying about Jingles' fate. I rode my bike several miles the next day searching for her. That night my father and I drove around for several hours more, but we couldn't find her. By the third day of her ab- sence, a tremendous funk set- tled over our home — was she gone forever? As I lay in bed sobbing that night, I heard the faucet drip- ping in the kitchen, a couple squabbling a few blocks away, Johnny Carson's monologue playing on someone's television over the next hill. Then I heard her barking. I jumped out of bed and raced downstairs and out the front door. I met her in front of the Kerns' house. I was cry- ing as I held her in my arms, the two of us rolling around under the street lamp. She was covered with mud and burrs. She smelled like a skunk. I didn't care. Soon, the rest of my fam- ily was awake and outside hug- ging her, overcome with incred- ible relief. That happened in the sum- mer of 1974, when dogs were free to roam and sometimes break our hearts, but always fill us with joy and happiness. In any event, Jingles' life re- flects the stark differences be- tween dog ownership in the middle-class '70s and the in- credibly pampered purebred dogs of today that often are owned by Americans with in- credible affluence. With our declining middle class, regrettably, there aren't as many rough-and-tumble mutt dogs like Jingles around any- more. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Wicked Is the Whiskey," a Sean McClanahan mystery novel, both available at Amazon.com, is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom@TomPurcell.com. Tom Purcell Memories of a 1970s dog The cool thing about attending this close-knit country school is that the graduation ceremony is really a celebration of the success of the entire 80-person student body; no, make that a celebration of the entire Bend community. Bill Cornelius Tom Purcell Last week America was rocked by the cold-blooded murder of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Unlike the terrorist at- tacks of September 11, 2001, the Orlando shooter appears to be a lone gunman who, while claim- ing allegiance to ISIS, was not actually working with a terror- ist group. About the only thing Orlando has in common with 9/11 is the way power-hungry politicians and federal officials wasted no time using it to jus- tify expanding government and restricting liberty. Immediately following the shooting, we began to hear re- newed calls for increased gov- ernment surveillance of Mus- lims, including spying on Mus- lim religious services. Although the Orlando shooter was born in the US, some are using the shooting to renew the de- bate over Muslim immigra- tion. While the government cer- tainly should prevent terrorists from entering the country, sin- gling out individuals for gov- ernment surveillance and other violations of their rights be- cause of religious faith violates the First Amendment and es- tablishes a dangerous precedent that will be used against other groups. In addition, scapegoat- ing all Muslims because of the act of one deranged individual strengthens groups like ISIS by making it appear that the U.S. government is at war with Is- lam. The Orlando shooting is be- ing used to justify mass surveil- lance and warrantless wiretap- ping. For the past three years, the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Defense Department appropria- tions bill limiting mass surveil- lance. But, last week, the same amendment was voted down. The only difference between this year's debate and previous debates was that this year de- fenders of the surveillance state were able to claim that the Or- lando shooting justifies shred- ding the Fourth Amendment. The fact that the Orlando shooter had twice been investi- gated by the FBI shows that in- creased surveillance and wire- tapping would not have pre- vented the shooting. Mass surveillance also creates a "nee- dle in a haystack" problem that can make it difficult, or impossi- ble, for law enforcement to iden- tify real threats. Unfortunately, evidence that giving up lib- erty does not increase security has never deterred those who spread fear to gain support for increased government power. The Orlando shooter success- fully passed several background checks and was a licensed secu- rity guard. But, just like those who used Orlando to defend un- constitutional surveillance, au- thoritarian supporters of gun control are not allowing facts to stand in the way of using the Orlando shooting to advance their agenda. Second Amend- ment opponents are using Or- lando to give the federal gov- ernment new powers to violate individuals' rights without due process. One pro-gun control senator actually said that "due process is what's killing us." Ironically, if not surprisingly, one of those calling for new gun control laws is Hillary Clinton. When she was sectary of state, Clinton supported interventions in the Middle East that resulted in ISIS obtaining firearms paid for by U.S. taxpayers! Mass surveillance, gun con- trol, and other restrictions on our liberty will not prevent fu- ture Orlandos. In fact, by pre- venting law-abiding Americans from defending themselves, gun control laws make us less safe from criminals. Similarly, mass surveillance and warrantless wiretapping erode our rights while making it more difficult for law enforcement to identify real threats. If Congress really cared about our security and liberty, it would repeal all federal gun laws, end all unconstitutional surveillance, and end the hyper- interventionist foreign policy that causes many around the world to resent the U.S. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at the RonPaulInstitute.org. Ron Paul Using Orlando to rob us of our liberties OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 22, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6