Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/7183
4A – Daily News – Wednesday, February 24, 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 Now that thick snow has blanketed much of the country, we all know what that means: more sledding bans. In Massachusetts, says The Week Magazine, a movement is afoot to crack down on the pas- time. Many Massachusetts communities are posting warn- ing signs or issuing outright bans. A state lawmaker intro- duced a bill requiring children to wear helmets because "there are no brakes on a sled." In Omaha, Neb., two popular parks banned sledding after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that public parks are not legally protected from being sued. Monteville, N.J., banned sledding in one of its parks after a girl careened into a bale of hay, hurting her leg; a settle- ment cost the town $25,000. It's true. People do get injured sledding. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 23,000 sledding injuries occur each year. On the other hand, sledding is so fun entirely because of the risk -- because you're sliding, pretty much out of control, down a steep grade and laugh- ing aloud as you do. Nonetheless, safety advo- cates have been coming out of the woodwork to share impor- tant tips on sledding safety. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns us to "never sled on the street or on hills that lead directly into the street (because) numerous acci- dents occur when sledders hit bumps, curbs, or rammed a car." You don't say. Even kids from my genera- tion weren't dumb enough to do that -- and I'm from the Mini- Boggan era. The Mini-Boggan was a thin, light sheet of plastic you rolled up and carried under your arm. At the top of the hill, you set it on the snow, sat or lay on it, and proceeded downhill -- at sever- al hundred miles an hour -- until you collided with whatev- er you were inevitably going to collide with. During one of my Mini-Bog- gan runs, I was unable to keep to the center of the hill and slid to the edge of Mr. Ayres' yard, where he'd just sawed six oak trees down to low stumps. My Mini-Boggan carried me over every one of those six giant pis- tons as they pounded into my ribs and belly. I lay there moaning for sev- eral minutes before I summoned the energy to stumble home. To be sure, there were moaning kids all over the hillside then -- mit- tens, earmuffs, boots and even a kid part or two were scattered all over the snow. Which is the whole point of sledding. The speed, the lack of control, the possi- bility of ending up in the middle of Mr. Ayres' ice-covered pond -- as I once did -- are the origins of the thrill. You cannot experience the thrill of victory -- to borrow from ABC's "Wide World of Sports" -- without risking the agony of defeat. It's hard, in our sue-happy culture, to fault property own- ers and public parks for protect- ing themselves against lawsuits, many of them frivolous. But by regulating sledding behavior and banning people from enjoying the steepest hills in their communities, there may be fewer sledding injuries, but there will also be less fun, shrieking laughter and much-needed respite from everyday life. We ought to take precautions and exer- cise common sense. When I sled now, I wear a helmet and plan ahead to avoid parked cars. But can't we also accept the fact that, no matter how many laws or bans we impose, there will always be some risk in life? Let there be sledding -- and be thankful the era of the Mini- Boggan is over. 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. Fun goes downhill 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 Tom Purcell 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 Enough is enough Editor: As we have all read in the papers, three Red Bluff area res- idents — Mr. Wilkie Talbert, Mrs. Clarice Meyer, Ms. Mary Anker and their association — have sued the city for a third time to stop, or at least delay, construction of the Walmart Supercenter. As reported in the Daily News, these residents, one of whom does not live in the city, are not paying the costs of this litigation. It appears that some- one outside the area is paying attorney William Kopper to pur- sue these continuing lawsuits. Aside from the litigation costs, the residents of Red Bluff are also paying for this litigation in the form of lost economic activity that we so sorely need. Let us consider some of these costs. The Supercenter should have been open in January of 2008, following about one year of construction, had the lawsuits not been filed. So, for more than two years Red Bluff has lost: 1. A $27.2 million dollar construction project that would have provided 180 construction jobs and paid the construction workers about $5 million in wages. We have also lost the local sale of construction mate- rials worth about $15 million. 2. The new store would have added about 300 new jobs. Therefore, for two years, so far, we have lost these jobs and the economic stimulus that their $6.8 million in annual salaries would have generated. 3. We have lost the bene- fits of the several new business- es that are expected to start in and around the new Super- center. 4. The city has forgone the public improvements to the intersection of South Main Street and Luther Road and Luther and Jackson Street, the realignment of Luther to Mont- gomery Street and the widening of Luther from South Main to the site of the new store. 5. The city has not received about $100,000 per year in sales taxes very needed to support city services, includ- ing police and fire. Maybe once this latest law- suit is ended, these residents will finally conclude that enough is enough. Mayor Jeffery M. Moyer, Red Bluff Dog was a great friend to us Editor: This letter is to the person who ran over my dog on Sun- day evening, Feb. 14, on Trini- ty Avenue. Would it have been so tough for you stop and see if he was OK? Or a least go to a neigh- bor's house and tell them so when we got home and started going door to door asking, we could of found him? Instead he died in a field all alone. We don't have any kids so he was our kid. To our neighbors Steve and Vickie, thank you for helping and the calls. To Laura, the newspaper driver, thank you for seeing our sign for a lost dog and telling us where to find him so we could bring him home where we needed him to be. By the way, his name was Tinker and he was a great friend. Brenda Gabel, Red Bluff Gas should be measured at Capitol Editor: Regarding the story "State to measure methane gas in California" in the Feb. 3 edition. Instead of placing the moni- toring device on the Sutter Buttes, it should be placed on top of the State Capitol. Hop Brown, Red Bluff Use flashers when under the influence Editor: Driving under the influence of pot, cell phones or alcohol are equal causes for vehicle crashes. It would be great if Cal- ifornia legislators required acti- vation of the vehicle's emer- gency flashers anytime the operator drives under the influ- ence of mind altering pot, alco- hol or cell phones. California already has a law requiring drivers to turn on their lights whenever the wipers are on. A simple sensor of cell phone use, pot use or alcohol use would activate the emer- gency flashers allowing an easy arrest for police. Of course there is no differ- ence in the accident rate from driving under the influence of hand held or non-hand held cell phones as both require distrac- tion of the mind from the task of driving. Both have equal high accident rates. In this age of powerful elec- tronic sensors and microchips, the cost would be minimal compared to the lives saved. Joseph Neff, Corning Academics or sports more important? Editor: Our Red Bluff community seems overwhelmingly inter- ested in Red Bluff High School's coaches and athletic programs. Let's see if Red Bluff values academics as much as athletics. Tonight, the Red Bluff Joint Union High School District Board will be making decisions to layoff teachers and staff members, which will affect our students' futures in the class- room. It would be great to see the same group of community members who are fired up about athletics, focus on academics as well, and attend the board meet- ing at 5:30 p.m. in the Perform- ing Arts Center. After all, if our student athletes aren't success- ful in the classroom, it doesn't matter much about their success on the field or court. Cari Rodriguez, Red Bluff Your Turn