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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 TheStateTheatrewascon- structed in 1946. For the first 40 years of its existence, it was regarded as one of the finest movie houses in the north state. Unfortunately, in the early 1980s multi- screen movie houses began to spring up across the country; the State The- atre was sold to a company that made the dreadful deci- sion to subdivide the State The- atre into three different movie theaters. The decision was not only a failure at the box of- fice, it left the walls and ceiling scarred and in need of signifi- cant repair. The State Theatre ceased do- ing business as a traditional movie house during the later part of the '80s, only to sit dor- mant until being purchased by local businessmen Ron Clark and Ben Sale. At about the turn of this cen- tury, a hard-working group of community volunteers formed the non-profit State Theatre for the Arts, and entered into a rental agreement wherein the theater served as a performing arts venue for the community during the entire first decade of the new millennium. While this arrangement provided the community a performing arts experience on a limited basis, the group finally decided that without owning the building, it was not possible to ensure that the State Theatre would serve as a stable performing arts venue going forward. Consequently, in early 2010 an independent community steering commit- tee was formed to explore the feasibility of purchasing the State Theatre. The committee undertook due diligence activities for an entire year before recom- mending that an offer be made to purchase the theatre for $450,000. In March of 2011 a loan was secured with the expectation that it might take as long as twenty or thirty years to pay off our mortgage. Imagine our surprise when, with the support of a generous com- munity, we were able to pay off our mortgage in only 23 months. We realized from the on- set that the theater lacked an adequate green room; as luck would have it, we were able to purchase the old "Taste of Te- hama" building that sits ad- jacent to the theatre. Like the theater, we now own this cool little green room, free and clear. When we purchased the green room building, the al- ley was full of potholes. Little old ladies were falling into pot- holes, never to be seen again. We contacted half a dozen lo- cal contractors who, at no cost to the theatre, not only rebuilt the entire alley, but installed a beautiful new patio, as well. After burning the State The- atre mortgage, we implemented a program to restore the the- atre to its original state of grandeur. In fear of old people falling down our steep stair- cases, we installed safety rail- ing throughout the balcony. We installed a state-of-the- art sound system, at a cost of nearly $100,000. We spent an- other $50,000 on an impres- sive new lighting system. We replaced our 70-year-old boiler with a new $60,000 heating system. We brought the entire elec- trical system up to code. We painted the building exterior. We painted the lobby. We car- peted the lobby. We installed a beautiful new concession stand. We acquired a beautiful grand piano valued at $80,000. We built a beautiful new and expanded stage. We installed a magnificent new curtain sys- tem that adorns that stage. We obtained the best damn pop- corn machine that money can buy. We restored both the inte- rior and exterior marquees and — maybe most impressive of all, we restored the neon State Theatre blade that on a nightly basis signals to the entire com- munity that the historic State Theatre is back, and she is here to stay. In five short years we have received well more than $1 mil- lion from members of this won- derful community in support of the State Theatre. Because of this we have made all the improvements I have just de- scribed. Most important of all, we owe not one cent to anyone. While our progress has been nothing short of amaz- ing, much remains to be done. In addition to addressing other projects, we are kicking off our long-overdue seat replacement program. •••• The 740 seats within the State Theatre are now 70 years old. They are not comfortable, they squeak, and many are in a state of disrepair. It is defi- nitely time to replace our badly outdated seats. Implementing a seat replacement program is complicated at best, but let me share with you how our pro- gram will work. The cost to remove the old seats, renew theater flooring and install comfortable and safe seating with appropri- ate lighting, transfer seating and handicap capability will be nearly $500 per seat, with a total projected cost of around $350,000. In order to pay for the new seats, we are selling seat spon- sorships for $500 per seat. Ev- ery seat sold will have a name- plate on its arm, and seat sponsors will decide what in- scription will appear on said nameplate. While sponsoring a seat does not guarantee the use of that particular seat at theater events, it is important to sign on as a seat sponsor as soon as possible, as the selection of your favorite seat or seat will be honored on a first-come, first-served basis. It is our current hope and expectation that we will be able to install all or at least the lower section of new the- ater seats during the sum- mer of 2017. At our State The- atre gala fundraiser held at the beautiful Prescott Ball- room on Saturday last, attend- ees signed on as sponsors for well more than 100 seats, a re- markable start to this impor- tant campaign. Perhaps best of all is our payment plan. Should you wish to sponsor a seat or a row of seats, simply make a pledge, and then sign a check in calen- dar year 2016, 2017, or split it between both years. The only real requirement is that you pay your sponsor obligation prior to the ordering of seats, which will likely occur in the spring of 2017. Please call 529-2787 for ad- ditional information regarding the State Theatre seat replace- ment program. 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 TheStateTheatre today and tomorrow Cartoonist's take "Five more weeks before the election. I'm not sure I can sur- vive that long." "Ah, yes, you speak of an inter- esting phenome- non this election cycle, 'election stress disorder,' as some therapists refer to it. Ac- cording to several news reports, our cantankerous election is caus- ing increased irritability, heart palpitations and an inability to sleep in more than a quarter of American adults." "You got that right. Trump has been saying nasty things for months. He says Hillary is a cor- rupt politician and should be in the slammer. Meanwhile, Hill- ary has accused Trump of being a racist, a sexist and unfit for the presidency." "To be sure, this election has not been for the faint of heart. But its nastiness is being exacer- bated by 24-hour news channels and social media. The vitriol among 'friends' on Facebook has reached a fever pitch. Strangers are arguing at restaurants and coffee shops. But Yahoo News of- fers some tips to deal with the problem." "Go to the liquor store and stock up on hooch?" "Actually, the first obvious step is to do what you can to limit your exposure to the noise. One therapist suggests that you turn off cable news and stop checking what your friends are posting on Facebook and Twit- ter. Go out and do some volun- teer work." "I've been doing volunteer work, all right. Me and the boys from the local pub have been removing unpleasant political signs from our neighbors' front yards." "That's a bad idea. The right idea, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, is to exercise. It will release endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers and will help you sleep better. You need to get to the gym and do some cardio." "I tried doing cardio at the gym, but some jerk on the tread- mill next to me changed the TV to a news channel that spewed a bunch of lies about my political party. We were exchanging a few choice words until another jerk called the cops." "You need to chill, my friend. The therapist said that adjusting one's tone of voice is something we all could work on. If we must debate the election, we need to be more positive and less judg- mental. We shouldn't carry on like emotional adolescents but as reasonable, thoughtful adults." "I don't argue like an imma- ture teen, you dirty rotten mo- ron!" "The therapist suggests that we be more introspective. If we become angry and emotional about something a candidate says, is it his or her politics that are setting us off or is it some- thing deeper down that is really bothering us? Maybe the source of our anger is that our job isn't going as well as we'd like or that we're experiencing some other unpleasant issue in our lives. By chilling out and thinking things through, maybe this politi- cal season isn't bothering us as much as we think it is." "My job isn't going well be- cause my boss is voting for a moron for president!" "Here's another tip from the therapist. We'd be better off fo- cusing on the areas in which we and others agree, rather than the areas where we dis- agree. And we ought to stop tak- ing politics so personally when a friend or neighbor does dis- agree. The fact is we're not likely to change anyone's mind and he or she is not likely to change ours. So chill." "I'll try. But I sure can't wait until the next five weeks pass and this lousy election is finally over." 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 Suffering from election stress disorder In five short years we have received well more than $1 million from members of this wonderful community in support of the State Theatre. Because of this we have made all the improvements I have just described. Tom Purcell Last week marked the fif- teenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the lon- gest war in U.S. history. There weren't any victory parades or photo-ops with Afghanistan's post-liberation leaders. That is because the war is ongoing. In fact, 15 years after launching a war against Afghanistan's Tal- iban government in retaliation for an attack by Saudi-backed al-Qaeda, the U.S.-backed forces are steadily losing territory back to the Taliban. What President Obama called "the good war" before took office in 2008, has become the "forgot- ten war" some eight years later. How many Americans know that we still have nearly 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan? Do any Americans know that the Taliban was never defeated, but now holds more ground in Af- ghanistan than at any point since 2001? Do they know the Taliban overran the provincial capital of Kunduz last week for a second time in a year and they threaten several other provincial capitals? Do Americans know that we are still wasting billions on "re- construction" and other proj- ects in Afghanistan that are, at best, boondoggles? According to a recent audit by the inde- pendent U.S. government body overseeing Afghan reconstruc- tion, half a billion dollars was wasted on a contract for a U.S. company to maintain Afghan military vehicles. The contrac- tor "fail[ed] to meet program objectives," the audit found. Of course they still got paid, like thousands of others getting rich off of this failed war. Do Americans know that their government has spent at least $60 billion to train and equip Afghan security forces, yet these forces are still not ca- pable of fighting on their own against the Taliban? We re- cently learned that an unknown but not insignificant number of those troops brought to the U.S. for training have deserted and are living illegally somewhere in the U.S. In the recent Tali- ban attack on Kunduz, it was reported that thousands of Af- ghan security personnel fled without firing a shot. According to a recent study by Brown University, the direct costs of the Iraq and Afghani- stan wars thus far are nearly $5 trillion. The indirect costs are virtually incalculable. Perhaps Afghanistan is the "forgotten war" because to mention it would reveal how schizophrenic U.S. foreign pol- icy can be. After all, we have been fighting for 15 years in Af- ghanistan in the name of de- feating al-Qaeda, while we are directly and indirectly assisting a franchise of al-Qaeda to over- throw the Syrian government. How many Americans would applaud such a foreign policy? If they only knew, but thanks to a media only interested in pro- moting Washington's propa- ganda, far too many Americans don't know. I have written several of these columns on the various anniver- saries of the Afghan (and Iraq) wars, pointing out that the wars are ongoing and that the result of the wars has been less stable countries, a less stable region, a devastated local population, and an increasing probability of more blowback. I would be very happy to never have to write one of these again. We should just march home. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at the RonPaulInstitute.org. Ron Paul 15 years into the Afghan War, do Americans know the truth? Bill Cornelius OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, October 12, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4