Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/90113
4A Daily News – Friday, October 26, 2012 Opinion A few things to say 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. 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 Say cheese— Organizers of a fundraiser held Saturday evening expressed concern that a reporter wasn't in attendance to cover the event. Never mind no one called to ask me to send a reporter, as my answer would most certainly have been that we don't have the staffing to have a reporter on duty at all hours, seven days a week. Aside from staffing issues, there wouldn't have been much to cover at this event except how many attended, how much was raised and who won the competi- tion. That's why I usually ask organizers to snap a photo and send it along with the above infor- mation. I've written this before, but the employee who took the call from the organizers of the event sug- gested it might bear repeating. Say cheesy — Having your picture in the paper, with the exception of mug shots, can be a big deal to readers and most get a kick out of the distinction. I'm not one of these people. I try to make sure I'm not in photos at events I attend. Mostly because the Daily News isn't about me, it's about the community and that's who readers should recog- nize when they open the pages. Event organizers often send in a preview for an upcoming event and include a picture of the previ- ous year's affair in which I am prominently featured. I suppose the thought is that I'm easily flat- tered and will run the story and picture in a better spot because I'm in the photo. prompted resubmissions of sever- al letters I had opted not to pub- lish the first time around because they were potentially libelous or blatant pro- motion of a business. Yes, I'm sure that Nope. Usually I ask the person for another photo that doesn't include me or just skip the pic- ture. Next time you have a photo to submit, which we really like, rec- ognize your organizers and sup- porters and give them the joy of having their picture in the paper. Say what? — I wrote a few weeks and challenged more read- ers to make the opinion page more interesting by writing their own letters about topics important to them. For the most part it worked and I thank those who have taken the time to submit a letter. On the other side of the coin, it Joe's Widget Shoppe is the best widget shop you've ever been to and Joe always give you the best deals and the nicest service when it comes to your widget needs. Joe would be smart to run a series of adver- tisements containing your testimonial, but the opinion page is not the place to plug a for- profit business. Say nothing — Did fee on the board or unplugged the feed at the Redding station Mon- day night. Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. anyone else listen to the Giants' game 7 victory over the Cardinals on the radio? If you stuck with the broadcast for the post-game report, you were treated to no less than 35 minutes of uninterrupted commercials, most repeated a dozen or more times. Seems somebody spilled cof- Like many in our com- munity, I was saddened to hear of the passing of former Red Bluff High School teacher Dwight Evans, whom I had got- ten to know through speaking to The Bluffer staff each year. If you didn't know Dwight well, you should check out the video made by Brian- na Penner last year as a tribute to her teacher. It will tell you everything you need to know about how much Mr. Evans' students adored him. Good luck making it through without shedding more than a few tears. Say goodbye — Chip Thompson can be reached at 527-2151, Ext.112 or by email at editor@redbluffdailynews.com. Fol- low him on Twitter @EditorChip. 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. Putting on a happy face Commentary You have heard of the GNP...the Gross National Product index which is the total value of all goods and services produced in this coun- try in any one year? Not satisfied with such an index with which to relate, TIME reports that the fourth king of Bhutan coined the phrase "Gross National Happiness" index, more than 30 years ago, which was designed to suggest an enlightened Eastern alternative to the pressures of the materialistic West. As a consequence, other countries are now adapting this measuring device to determine if their citizens are, well, happy. You may think it a fool's errand, but after all, we all quest for happiness...and it might be use- ful to know if one is above or below average when it comes to happiness or the experience of same. If it is true that beyond a certain threshold, rising incomes don't bring happiness, the awareness of the newly minted Gross National Happiness index might garner a more accurate reply than the current most asked political ques- tion, "Are you better off today than four years ago?" *** The city's removal of the bush like tree at Main and Pine was with mixed emotions to some. The late Orville Jacobs came up with the idea of a perpetual Christmas tree, and lobbied down town merchants to help fund the project. As the tree grew horizontal rather than vertical, the time has come to replace it with a more con- ventional one. A photo in the DN showed the way it was in the old days, when a huge freshly cut tree was stuck temporarily in the man hole in the center of Main, at first in the Oak Street intersection and later at Main and Walnut. You would have to be over 50 today to have gaped at those huge trees back then. In another 50 maybe we will see the likes alive and well at Main and Pine. If I'm not around, feel free to gape with- out me. *** carefully. In the DN's dutiful reporting of the Police Logs, one such read in Tuesday's edition, "Nuts knicked." The story line, concerned mul- tiple bags of walnuts being stolen from an orchard off Highway 99E, instead of a martial arts cage fight. *** Sometimes it pays to read headlines very The presentation of the Glen Miller Orchestra at the State Theatre last Friday evening appears to have been a rousing success. With a goodly crowd and auction, monies were made towards paying off the mort- gage. The familiar Holiday Market on Antelope has been sold, and a new operator, after a com- plete renovation, will reopen as a full service supermarket. The for- mer owners have 70 days from close of escrow in which to dispose of their inventory and they would like it known they will greatly reduce their prices to com- plete the dispersal within the allotted time. In this case, to paraphrase the Cole Porter tune, "Everything Goes." *** was a good idea and the people behind the ven- ture are to be commended. As to the show, it brought back memories of the Bull Sale shows produced by my father years ago. would not dig tunes from the late '40s and '50s, but apparently they did and applauded old stan- dards such as String of Pearls, Tuxedo Junction and Chattanooga Choo Choo. As to the latter, I wondered how the 15 piece band with just one girl singer was going to pull it off until band leader Nick Hilscher sang the Tex Beneke part, and 3 other band members harmonized doing the Modernairs rendition that first happened a very long time ago. A jolly time was had by all and I suspect we will see and hear more of this kind of entertain- ment in the future. *** I reasoned that young people in the audience The restoration and purchase of the building Robert Minch I Say to the splendid AT&T Park in downtown S.F., the paper contained fascinating bits of informa- tion such as the Giants highest paid player was Willie Mays at $86,000 a year, columnist Prescott Sullivan estimated that some $30,000 would be spent by the opening day crowd on foodstuffs such as 30-cent hot dogs and 40-cent beers, and if they wanted to buy a Giants cap, they could do so for $1.50. And yet columnist Charles Einstein maintained that throughout the National League, San Francisco was perceived to be the worst spectator town on the circuit! ed since then, but the fans have proved to be the most enthusiastic of any teams as evidenced by continuous sold-out games. Go Giants! *** The prices of food and merchandise have skyrocket- Kennedy who knew that Dr. No was a character in the James Bond film, Dr. Gillespie was men- tor to Dr. Kildare, Dr. Jekyll was (in Steve's words) "the bi polar manifestation of Mr. Hyde," Dr. Seuss author of children's books and Dr. Watson obviously the faithful companion (and what would he be called today?) of sleuth S. Holmes. Last week's quiz was first answered by S. This week's quiz: How many gallons of milk does the average milk cow produce a day, what was Winnie the Pooh's donkey's name, how to know an African elephant from and Asian one, and how did Elmer's Glue get its name? *** D. Iverson has dropped off several vintage editions of the S.F. Examiner, the latest being that of 11 April 1960 celebrating the 3rd anniversary of the Giants baseball team arriving at that fair city and the opening of Candlestick Park (leased to the team for 35 years) designed to be the epitome of ball parks. Although it did not prove to be so necessitating the recent move Consider the poor Hippopotamus. His life is unduly monotonous. He lives half asleep, at the edge of the deep, And his face is as big as his bottom is. (Sounds like Ogden Nash, but it isn't) Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com.