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4A Daily News – Saturday, July 28, 2012 Opinion DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY 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 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. 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I suspect party loyalists and those with a stake in LaMalfa's political success will attempt to minimize or dismiss this as inconsequential or just plain sour grapes. Others, how- ever, with a more objective view, may see cause for legiti- mate concern. cerns be? Well, perhaps we might find some answers in the writings of various endorsement editorials published by north state news- papers during the recent prima- ry campaign. In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that none were inclined to offer Doug their endorsement. Here's what they had to say. "LaMalfa's family farm con- tinues to rely on federal subsi- dies and he continues to argue their merit while insisting that So, what might those con- massive cuts must be made to most other areas of the federal government." Record Search- light Endorsement Editorial, May 12. "LaMalf a's response to the web- site controversy set up by his chief of staff, Mark Spannagel, was a deciding factor for members of the board not to support LaMalfa's candi- dacy. Campaigns can get ugly, but when they step over the line, the candidates not only must bear some responsibility, but those involved must be pun- ished." Paradise Post Endorse- ment Editorial, May 26. "LaMalfa, by contrast, stum- bled in our interview in explain- ing how the uninsured could gain coverage in a purely free- market system of care, which he endorses." Sacramento Bee Endorsement Editorial, May 1. Your Turn "For such an experienced politician, LaMalfa shows a weak grasp of federal issues – most critically the budget. His idea for cuts is to hire an army of auditors to go through everything line-by-line. Really? Wake us up in 10 years when they fin- ish." Record Search- light Endorsement Editorial, May 12. And finally, there's this. "True, LaMalfa, 51, is affa- ble and engaged, and he may well end up representing this district in Congress. There, his reputation for constituent ser- vice will pay off. Yet voters in this district should expect more from their leading candidates." Sacramento Bee Endorsement Editorial, May 1. Dare I say, I couldn't have said it any better. Pete Stiglich, Cottonwood Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, 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), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Finding the fine fines Commentary conversation I overheard in the Philadelphia airport on my way home from Pennsylvania this week. There were three Penn State fans discussing the recent sanctions imposed by the NCAA as a result of the appar- ent lack of responsibility on the part of the university in oversee- ing and reporting the incidents for which assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was con- victed. I'm calling them George, Fred, and Pete. George accused the NCAA of "piling on." That is, jumping on after the play was over. Accord- ing to George, "The NCAA should have nothing to do with this. The university has suffered embarrassment and shame; there will be lawsuits it will have to face from the victims molested by Sandusky; and the university has received and made public a damning investigation by a well regarded panel of experts." Fred responded. "What hap- This column is based on a appropriate punishment; the Freeh Report made it clear who the guilty parties are. The Board has to clean up its act, and the NCAA does not have gover- nance of academic oversight." George then said, "So you agree with me that the NCAA has overstepped its bounds." "I guess so, said Pete," but someone has to prod the Board of Trustees. Maybe the State Legislature or Governor can put some pressure on them." Fred said, "The Governor just said he was glad Penn State escaped the death penalty, and not much more. His statement may bond him with football fans, but it doesn't say much about his sense of justice. It's not likely he'll say any more." A bystander interjected, "I pened was criminal and negli- gent. There is no penalty that can atone for the wrongs that were done. The NCAA was right to sanction the university, even if the wrongdoing had nothing doing with violating amateur status, recruiting viola- tions, or molly coddling ath- letes. The university deserves what they got." "Whoa," said George. "The NCAA is made up of old men who refuse to uphold the rights of student athletes, preens its purity, and does not have the right or responsibility to prose- cute criminal cases. This is just showboating, trying to make the organization look responsible. It is all grandstanding." Pete interjected, "I think you both miss the point. The sanc- tions punish the athletes and the current coach, not those who neglected their responsibilities. The board of trustees of the col- lege has the obligation to impose don't see why so many people are upset. The sun will still come up tomorrow. All that has happened is that we have found out something terrible took place and was apparently cov- ered up. I still like the time I spent at Nittany Lions football games. I think all this hand wringing is wasting time and energy; we should let the proper authorities take care of it, learn from it, and get on with our lives… " That makes the NCAA seem like a hero." At that point, I couldn't help putting in my two cents' worth. "Excuse me, but I couldn't help hearing what you are discussing, and I wondered if the women's soccer team were involved if the NCAA would have to pay the college since it doesn't generate much gross revenue." There was a hint of a laugh before Pete said, "That's an interesting point; what if it were the English Depart- ment?" We all laughed. Fred said, "I'm reported on evidence that did not hold up upon investigation. We tried to err on the side of con- cern for the children. Reporting was not the most Pete interrupted before the bystander could complete his thoughts. "Listen, Joe Paterno was a great coach. This one mis- take besmirches his reputation. He doesn't deserve this; after all, he was just a man, and men make mistakes…." The bystander quickly retort- ed, "This was a big one." "Then the NCAA hit the school with $60 million in fines," said George. "That is arbitrary and allegedly is based on the gross revenues of the football program in a typical year. They said the fines should go toward outside programs devoted to preventing child sex- ual abuse or assisting victims. beginning to get your point about the NCAA. I just remembered reading an Atlantic magazine article about college athletes and the NCAA; it made them seem like oppor- tunists hiding under the umbrel- la of amateur athletics." As the four lined up to board their commuter plane to Harris- burg, I thought back on my years of public school service. We who worked for the public schools were "mandated reporters". We were required by law to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect to either the Sherriff's office or to Child Pro- tective Services. Failure to report could lead to serious legal problems. Such reporting was never a pleasant task, but the Children's Protective Services worked to maintain the anonymity of those who report- ed. variety of incidents and condi- tions; sometimes students would were suddenly transferred to another school wherever their foster parents lived. Sometimes children returned to school but one of the parents was no longer at home. In some situations we Over the years we reported a Joe Harrop The father was waiting for me in my office when I arrived at school the next day. He was surly at first, but then I asked him if he loved his son. He answered he did; I asked him if he would do whatever he could to protect him. He answered yes again. At that point I asked him if he wanted me to care for his son as well. When he answered yes, I explained I was not a trained investigator and rather than try to interrogate his son, I referred the matter to the profes- sionals so the job would be well done. I told him it looked like we were on the same side. He seemed to agree and even shook my hand as he left. enjoyable part of our profession. It usually meant someone would be angry with us. One time an inexperienced Child Protective Work- er made it fairly clear that I was the one who reported an incident of a student with ligature marks on his neck; the student was a little vague how his father had caused the marks, so, knowing the volatility within the family, I filed a report. The CPS worker had interrupted the family dinner and caused a serious dis- ruption at the house. Our public schools have a culture of professional responsi- bility, something that was appar- ently lacking within Penn State. We should be thankful. 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.