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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 Inlastweek'scolumn,I shared with you the makeup of the Tehama County Proba- tion Department when I was hired in 1968. Over the coming weeks, I will likely share my experiences working not only in the probation department, but with collateral agencies and individuals as well. Take the Tehama County Superior Court, for instance. A short time after being hired in 1968, I was appointed court officer, meaning it was my responsibility to represent the probation department in juvenile proceedings before the venerable superior court judge, the Honorable Curtiss E. Wet- ter. As only the third superior court judge in the long and rich history of Tehama County, Judge Wetter was, without question, the most powerful person I had ever met. In those days, juvenile court was far different than the ju- venile court of today. In the- ory, juvenile court in 1968 was not adversarial in purpose or practice. On most occasions, there was no district attorney in juvenile court. If Judge Wet- ter felt a juvenile was being less than truthful, he was free to send the minor to Curtiss E. Wetter Juvenile Hall for an- other week in order to refresh his or her memory. In those days, if a mother dared wear pants rather than a dress to court proceedings, the proceedings were suspended so that she might return home to select more proper attire. Like probation staff, attorneys were required to appear in slacks, a coat and a tie, a practice no lon- ger universally required today. Because juvenile hearings were designed to arrive at a disposition that was in the best interest of the juvenile, there were actually times when a child's court-appointed attor- ney advocated for confinement, or another disposition that on its face appeared to be a form of punishment. What a con- cept. Rather than getting a cli- ent off with the lightest sen- tence possible, attorneys were obliged to assist in designing dispositions that offered the best potential for a successful transition into adulthood. For those of you interested in fun facts, you may be in- terested to know that for well over a century the streets of Red Bluff, as well as our beau- tiful, now obsolete courthouse, were legally owned by the Pre- siding Judge of the Superior Court — a fact that delighted Curtiss E. Wetter. It was only after the retirement of Judge Wetter that in 1976 the owner- ship of the streets was trans- ferred to the city of Red Bluff. Ownership of the court- house was transferred to the County of Tehama in 1989, to serve as collateral relating to the present day courthouse annex complex. Because I spent 30 years coming and going from our cramped little probation de- partment to the county court- house, I hold strong opinions about that beautiful old build- ing; and more importantly, the dozens and dozens of folks who were part of my extended work family, many who re- main friends today. People like attorneys Har- old Lucas and Ed Allen. Harold was the primary juvenile pub- lic defender, and as such prob- ably spent more time than any- one teaching me about the nu- ances attached to juvenile court proceedings. Ed Allen had been around the block — I mean that in a good way — and often ap- peared in juvenile court. A for- mer district attorney and jus- tice court judge, Ed was crusty, dry and droll. A 49ers fan, Ed Allen was my kind of guy. People like county clerks Floyd Hicks and Mary Alice George, and their dedicated, hardworking, intelligent staff, like Ro Chapin, Louisa Ehorn, Vera Liebersbach and Bev Ross. I also admired court report- ers like Jack Manwell—who was one of the last court reporters to use shorthand—and Sher- rie Clark and, later, Tina King; true professionals one and all. Ask any judge whom he/ she depends on most, and you will find their bailiff and court administrator at the top of the list. Richard Ras- massen was the dapper, al- ways cool, always in charge, no-nonsense bailiff assigned to Judge Wetter's court. Anyone who ever had the pleasure of sitting in bailiff Don Walters' court will tell you that he was the nicest hu- man being on earth. After Don retired, quiet but capable George Ebenhack inherited the bailiff position and, like Richard and Don, George was a pleasure to work with. It was also truly a pleasure to work with superior court ad- ministrators Janine Butler and later, Irene Rodrigues. Janine started her career as secretary for then-attorney Noel Watkins, and Irene as a clerk at the Red Bluff Justice Court. Each was the consummate professional, and each rose to the court ad- ministrator position, oversee- ing the entire Tehama County Court system. Both Janine and Irene were terrific to work with, as were so many others who worked within the Tehama County Court system. When you spend half your lifetime making small talk with folks while waiting for court to start or while filing court documents, you get to know people pretty well. You either like them or you don't. I like these people a lot. In next week's column. I will write of other people I like as well. ••• A few days ago the Red Bluff High Athletic Boosters Club held their fifth annual induction ceremony where they welcomed Jessie Freitas, Kori Ebehhack-Beiber, J. How- ell, Michelle Larzabal-Head and Bob Clements into the Red Bluff High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Because I once pitched a no-hitter against Shasta High School and I still hold the sin- gle game scoring record — 42 points — in church league bas- ketball, I admittedly wait by the phone each year to be noti- fied of my selection as a mem- ber of the hall of fame frater- nity. But alas, I was passed over again this year in favor of athletes like Bob Clements; just because he was a stand- out five-sport star at Red Bluff High who went on to enjoy a hall of fame basketball career at Chico State. Bah humbug. ••• Coming to the State The- atre: November 10, Pianist and singer Peter Cincotti. Novem- ber 12, Wild and Scenic Film Festival. Check www.statethe- atreredbluff.com for details. 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 Careerworking with the courts Cartoonist's take I had hoped it was going to end this week. I thought the vitriol of the long, nutty presi- dential campaign would be behind us. I figured that, regardless of the winner, Nov. 9 would be a good day for all of us to put our differences behind us and fo- cus on the challenges we face. But now, many argue, the vit- riol after the election is likely to get worse? Just a few short weeks ago, folks were calling for Donald Trump to step aside when his lewd "Access Hollywood" tape was released and played over and over again. How could a fel- low as boorish as he ever bring respectability to the Oval Office, many argued. Now, as new de- tails have emerged about Hill- ary Clinton's reckless use of a personal server, Trump, by com- parison, looks like an altar boy. If Hillary wins — and it's any- one's guess who will win as I write this column a few days be- fore the election — she will be in- stantly dogged by ongoing FBI investigations. For starters, the Clinton Foundation is under FBI investigation, reports Bret Baier at Fox News, and the investiga- tion is far more expansive than anyone had reported. According to RealClearPolitics, "Sources within the FBI have told him that an indictment is 'likely' in the case of pay-for-play at the Clinton Foundation, 'barring some obstruction in some way' from the Justice Department." Indictment? Do we really want the country to go through this mess again? Then there is the email thing — and I am not sure where to start with that one. You see, Hillary's chief adviser, Huma Abedin, had been married to disgraced former congress- man Anthony Weiner, whose last name is a slang term for an appendage he allegedly photo- graphed and texted to lots of fe- males — and, as the newer al- legations go, maybe even sent inappropriate texts to an under- age girl. As the FBI investigated Weiner's most recent alleged mis- deeds, agents seized his laptop and discovered that it was shared by his now-estranged wife, Hill- ary's chief adviser, and that it had copies of lots of lost Hillary emails that had originated on Hillary's secret personal server that "could potentially be classi- fied in nature," RealClearPolitics says of Baier's reporting. But last Sunday FBI direct James Comey, under no small amount of pressure from his democrat bosses in the Obama administration, exonerated Hill- ary on her email yet again — leaving lots of people scratching their heads. But things still aren't looking good for Hillary: "FBI sources say with 99 percent accu- racy that Hillary Clinton's server has been hacked by at least five foreign intelligence agencies, and that information had been taken from it," RealClearPolitics says, based on Baier's reporting. Which means Hillary's secre- tive behavior — her decision to conceal her communications on a private server — put our coun- try at considerable risk by allow- ing sensitive information to be hacked by our enemies. As a result of these new find- ings, Democrat political strate- gist Doug Schoen says he wor- ries about a constitutional crisis if Hillary wins — which is why he can no longer support her. He writes for Forbes that "the prospect of a successful Clin- ton presidency has been thrown into chaos." He says "we are staring down the barrel of a criminal investiga- tion of President-elect Clinton." He says that not only will Abedin be facing investigations, but "there's a very real chance that there will be investigations into the actions of the Justice Department and the FBI direc- tor himself." Oh, goody. Trump's rudeness and boorish- ness have been troubling enough. But now Weiner and his you- know-what are back in the news? And now Hillary's questionable decisions as secretary of State could, if she wins, put the coun- try into a constitutional crisis? I'd hoped the worst of this presidential election would soon be behind us. The country will be raucous if Trump wins, but plenty worse if Hillary does. So much for my hopes that the vitriol would end after the election this week. 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 The worst of the vitriol is yet to come ...you may be interested to know that for well over a century the streets of Red Bluff, as well as our beautiful, now obsolete courthouse, were legally owned by the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court... I have said throughout this presidential campaign that it doesn't matter much which can- didate wins. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are author- itarians and neither can be ex- pected to roll back the leviathan state that destroys our civil liber- ties at home while destroying our economy and security with end- less wars overseas. Candidates do not matter all that much, despite what the me- dia would have us believe. Ideas do matter, however. And regard- less of which of these candidates is elected, the battle of ideas now becomes critical. The day after the election is a time to really focus our efforts on making the case for a peaceful foreign policy and the prosperity it will bring. While we may not have much to cheer in the win- ning candidate, we have learned a good deal about the state of the nation from the campaigns. From the surprising success of the insurgent Bernie Sanders to a Donald Trump campaign that broke all the mainstream Repub- lican Party rules — and may have broken the Republican Party it- self — what we now understand more clearly than ever is that the American people are fed up with politics as usual. And more im- portantly they are fed up with the same tired old policies. Last month a fascinating poll was conducted by the Center for the National Interest and the Charles Koch Institute. A broad ranging 1,000 Americans were asked a series of questions about U.S. foreign policy and the 15 year "war on terror." You might think that after a decade and a half, trillions of dollars, and thou- sands of lives lost, Americans might take a more positive view of this massive effort to "rid the world of evil-doers," as then-pres- ident George W. Bush promised. But the poll found that only 14 percent of Americans believe U.S. foreign policy has made them more safe! More than 50 percent of those polled said the next U.S. president should use less force overseas, and 80 percent said the president must get authorization from Congress before taking the country to war. These results should make us very optimistic about our movement, as it shows that we are rapidly approaching the "critical mass" where new ideas will triumph over the armies of the status quo. We know those in Washington with a vested interest in main- taining a U.S. empire overseas will fight to the end to keep the financial gravy train flowing. The neocons and the liberal interven- tionists will continue to preach that we must run the world or ev- erything will fall to ruin. But this election and many recent polls demonstrate that their time has passed. They may not know it yet, but their failures are too ob- vious and Americans are sick of paying for them. What is to be done? We must continue to educate ourselves and others. We must resist those who are preaching "interven- tionism-lite" and calling it a real alternative. Claiming we must protect our "interests" overseas really means using the U.S. mil- itary to benefit special interests. That is not what the military is for. We must stick to our non-in- terventionist guns. No more re- gime change. No more covert de- stabilization programs overseas. A solid defense budget, not an imperial military budget. U.S. troops home now. End U.S. mil- itary action in Syria, Iraq, Af- ghanistan, Somalia, and so on. Just come home. Americans want change, no matter who wins. We need to be ready to provide that alternative. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at the RonPaulInstitute.org. Ron Paul Americans want a different foreign policy By Ron Paul Tom Purcell By Bill Cornelius OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, November 9, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4