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6A – Daily News – Friday, March 19, 2010 Opinion D NEWSAILY 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 I’m innocent, I tells ya 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. 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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 Reporting legal issues, which we refer to as cops and courts, can be tricky and we reg- ularly get angry calls over our coverage. While it would be easy to say most of these calls come from people who have exer- cised poor judgment and are simply embar- rassed by the notoriety, that’s not always the case. Sometimes people are wrongfully accused of misdeeds. By the same token, anyone who has ever worked in or spent time around the justice system will tell you jails and prisons are full of innocent people — just ask the inmates. As I said, tricky business this cops and courts beat. How do we determine who is guilty as charged and who is really innocent? So much to consider and verify. Fortunately, we have the court system to do this, otherwise we would never get a paper out each day. We also have men and women who are trained and paid to investi- gate legal evidence and enforce the law, so we rely on them, too. booked for a crime. The poor victim is factu- ally innocent. There are some provisions in the law for clearing the victim's name in this type of situation. Factual innocence is NOT an available plea. “Not guilty as a verdict means that the person's guilt could not be proven in court using the ‘beyond a rea- sonable doubt’ standard used in criminal law. It does NOT mean that the person is necessarily inno- cent. California Penal Code Sec- tion 1016 does not give a plea of innocent as a choice for those accused of a crime.” Here’s the explanation I offered Lynn: Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. When somebody calls to claim that we got everything wrong in a story about the per- son’s alleged misdeeds, I explain that we only wrote what we knew — the person was arrested and charged as a suspect. If the per- son is found not guilty, we will report just that. Technically, we will report something like that — that the person is innocent. Which isn’t quite true, but I’ll get to that later. This, according to Lynn Strom, Esq.: “Factual innocence is when the person did nothing wrong. An example might be when a person is the victim of identity theft and someone else uses their name when being cited for a traffic violation, or when being The use of innocent instead of not guilty is an old editor's rule for court reporting. The reason is that it is far too easy to omit "not" when typing up or editing a story and the consequences are too severe if it does happen. Errors in print reporting, unlike television, radio and the Internet, can’t be changed, only corrected. For that reason, we err on the side of caution. For jury findings, we use acquitted. For entries of pleas, though, innocent is the best and most accurate alternative to the risky not guilty. Despite having a family that is positively swarming with attorneys, I appreciated Lynn’s clear, concise tutorial on the nuances of innocent v. not guilty as they apply to pleas and judgments, just as she said she appreciated learning a little bit about the reporting process. Chip Thompson can be reached at 527- 2151, Ext. 112 or by e-mail at editor@redbluffdailynews.com. Mayor apologizes Editor: I would like to apologize to the three citizens who followed our direction and applied for the vacant seat on the Corning City Council and then were treated rudely. If Council- man Turner did not want to make an appointment, Your Turn then why did he agree to it at the previous meeting? He did not give any reason for his change of mind. Councilman Leach was himself appointed to fill a seat a few years back, but now says that’s not a good way to get on the council. Maybe he should not have accepted that appointment. I believe in the election process also, but to leave the position open for eight months is not looking after the best interest of Corning in these very trying times. Do both Turner and Leach and the group that supports them dislike (City Manager Steve) Kimbrough enough to place Corning in such disarray? Neither of these council mem- bers took the 10 percent cut that the council had asked all of the employ- ees to take. They are the only city employees who refused to do so. We had three excellent candi- dates and Turner and Leach did not want to discuss an appointment, just an election. Now we are acting like our state and federal Legislatures and cannot make the tough deci- sions. Mayor Gary Strack, Corning Your officials 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. Props for parents and a great opening day Commentary I told Red Bluff Little League officers I would brag on them a little bit today. So, here it is. Opening Day last Saturday was an amazing experience for me. It was truly special to see over 500 kids gathered together on the green grass, under blue skies, for the same purpose. My heart was warmed to hear the kids talk about God, country, and family. Their youthful, exu- berant attitudes were instantly infectious. And their voices all rising together with an unforgettable, "Yeah," filled my eyes with tears when I asked them, "Are you kids ready to play some ball?" I could have walked off the field right then and been satis- fied. It was the perfect illustration of the theme, Family Values. Coaches and kids standing together, while parents and grandparents watched proudly under a sun drenched sky. If you weren’t there, I wish you could have been. Mark it on your calendar for next year, just in case you missed it. I think it’s something all of us should witness at least once. My heart pounded as I spoke, for it behooved me to say some- thing more meaningful than what I was witnessing. A picture truly is worth a thousand words. I’d like to personally thank Jason Avilla for inviting me to speak. It was an honor that hum- bled me, that’s for sure. I was thinking as I drove home how much room I have to improve being a father. And I scratched my head over and over hoping people would not view me as any kind of expert on the subject just because I write a weekly column in this paper. What I think about now – actually, I think about this a lot – is that I vow every day to try my best where my kids are con- cerned. I know it may not always look like that to them but, as a parent, I need to keep their best interests in proper perspective. For example, there’s a saying by Oscar Wilde printed on one of our picture frames, "The best way to make children good is to make them happy." This doesn’t mean just giving them whatever they want. So, what does it mean to make children "happy?" Based on my short experience, keeping them healthy is number one. I know that whenever they don’t feel good, they are definitely not happy. Rena and I spent countless hours at the doctor with Ethan because of ear infec- tions when he was younger. It was our responsibility to make sure he was cared for in that regard. There have been countless nights over the years we have got- ten little sleep because the kids were sick. I must confess that I viewed having to get out of bed in the mid- dle of the night a real hassle some of those times. But, then Tommy and Braden died, and it changed how I felt about those situations forever. I think number two on my list would be presence, not presents. It’s funny because I know this will change down the road, but our kids love it when Rena and I are around. What makes our little family special – and quite possibly a tad different – is that we love being together. I think the greatest gift a parent can give a child is pres- ence - the gift of self in a posi- tive manner. Number three, I think our kids need right discipline; rather, they need to be taught right behaviors. And, I believe, if done properly, kids will respond the way we desire. Pat Gleason Simply Put Simply put, proper discipline helps to make children happy. Here’s the rub, though: this is where I struggle the most. It’s really hard to make the right call in every situation, especially since Mia and Ethan are so different. I want to encourage all you parents to keep trying your best with your kids. Have a great Friday. ——— Pat Gleason grew up in Los Angeles and has taught English at Red Bluff High School since 1990. He can be reached at phgleaso@rbuhsd.k12.ca.us.