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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter
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COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE
Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011 11B
Your support helps save lives in Plumas County
WHERE I STAND loved ones have access to a
............................................................................................................ quality health care facility --
ALICE KING right here in your community.
PRESIDENT, PLUMAS HEALTH
CARE FOUNDATION
For over 50 years, Plumas
District Hospital has been a
partner in providing vital
health care services to our
community. The PDH physi-
cians and staff are dedicated
to the health and well-being
of every patient that comes
through the door. Whether you
visit for a routine appoint-
ment or during a life-threaten-
ing emergency, PDH is
dedicated to providing the
best health care services
available close to your home.
Some important needs
can't be coveredby the regu-
lar budget alone. By partner-
ing with the Plumas Health
Care Foundation, you are
ensuring that when serious
illness strikes, you and your
The Plumas Health Care
Foundation was originally
established in 1981, as the
fundraising arm of PDH. The
founders' original vision was
to inspire people to work
together for the good of the
community and to sustain
quality health care at PDH.
The Plumas Health Care
Foundation was re-energized
in the fall of 2007. Our mis-
sion today is virtually the
same as it was 25 years ago:
"Promote the hospital in the
community, and enhance the
financial resources required
to sustain quality health
care."
Plumas Health Care Foun-
dation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization that accepts cash
gifts, special gifts and be-
quests, small and large, from
individuals and businesses.
Our volunteer board of direc-
tors and staff ensure that all
contributions are invested
locally and are used solely
for the purpose donated.
Charitable contributions to
• Plumas Health Care Founda-
tion are tax deductible as
allowed by law..
At this time, members of
the Plumas Health Care Foun-
dation board are Bob Darling,
Bob Edwards, Alice King,
Steve King, Keith Nicoles,
Russell Reid, Bill Wickman
and three ex-officio members:
Plumas District Hospital
Chief of Staff Dr. Ross
Morgan; a designated member
of the hospital governing
board, currently Valerie
Flanigan; and the hospital
CEO, Douglas Lafferty.
During the past four years,
Plumas Health Care Founda-
tion has been developing
various fundraising activi-
ties to provide support for
PDH. Some examples of these
activities are the following:
starry Mountain Nights,
scheduled for Aug. 20, is a
social event giving members
of the community the occa-
sion to enjoy dinner, music
and good company under
the starry night sky, while
supporting one of our
community's most vital re-
sources -- Plumas District
Hospital. Admission includes
hors d'oeuvres, dinner,
drinks and entertainment
by local artists Now & Then
and Lost Sierra Ramblers.
Tickets are available at the
hospital main lobby, Flani-
gan Leavitt Insurance
Agency in Quincy or also
from any member of the
Foundation board.
In early December, during
the Share the Spirit Tree
Lighting, the hospital's
Christmas tree is lit for the
holiday season. Your gift of
$10 to Plumas Health Care
Foundation will illuminate
a brilliant Share the Spirit
light on the hospital tree.
When you make a gift, special
honorarium or menorial
certificates will be mailed to
whomever you designate. In
addition, ornaments naming
those honored are displayed
on the lobby tree for all to see.
The Guardian Angel Pro-
gram provides PDH patients
with the opportunity to
recognize a doctor, nurse or
any other employee of the
hospital and express their
gratitude for extraordinary
care. Upon your ift to the
Guardian Angel Program, the
recipient of this recognition
will receive a certificate of
appreciation and a lapel pin
to wear proudly as a token
of the excellent care you
received.
The Annual Giving Recog-
nition Program celebrates
donors who generously
contribute through Plumas
Health Care Foundation to
assist PDH.
Annual giving recognition
is based on the total gifts
received between Jan. 1 and
Dec. 31 of the previous year.
Donors are recognized on the
Annual Donor Plaque in the
hospital main lobby. The
donor lists include many
hospital employees and other
generous citizens.
The citizens of Plumas
County are known for being
very generous, in many
ways. You give of your time,
talents and money to many
worthy causes. When you
give, please consider Plumas
Health Care Foundation.
Your donations ensure that
quality medical care is avail-
able locally when you or your
family needs it most. You can
make a difference right here,
in our community!
LETTERS to th.e EDITOR
Times are tough
My nose bleeds for the
supes who are again follow-
ing one of their safety chutes
when it comes to money.
If you insist to cover your
flubs and. they blossom at an
in-convenient time well,
that's why you're being paid
so generously! That's a
HA. No matter, what you
expected to happen -- did.
I think Plumas County
employees are a dedicated
bunch and you are lucky
to have them, so just quit
slipping in surprises for the
future.
Pinkie Forbes
MeadowValley
Patrol it all
Thank you for the fantastic
coverage of the recent CHP
and community leaders meet-
ing. The overwhelming CHP
presence in this county is
obvious to anyone driving
more than a few miles on its
roads. Perhaps the problem
isn't the number of officers,
but the patrols they are
assigned. During every drive
to Reno, I always see at
least one (but more often at
least two) CHP patrol cars.
And they are rarely more
than a few miles outside of a
town.
Driving down the.canyon, I
rarely see a single CHP patrol '
car. Given how dangerous
the Feather River Canyon
is, and the heartbreaking
number of fatal, and serious
crashes we've had this year,
doesn't it make more sense
to have the patrol cars on
the more dangerous roads?
The roads with spotty cell
coverage, higher speed limits
and a greater need for assis-
tance if something goes
wrong would seem a better
use for all of these bored
young officers than having
them sit in the shade outside
of town hoping to catch some-
one speeding on their way to
work.
My understanding is that
CHP officers are assigned
based on the number of miles
within a county that need
patrolling. Unless that infor-
mation is incorrect, why is
it that these officers have so
little to keep them busy?
Assign them to patrol all of
the highways. Not just the
few miles before and the few
miles after each of the towns.
Amber McMichael
Quincy
Speak up
Thank you all who have
complained about the CHP in
Plumas County. Nothing
much has changed as yet,
but I'm sure it will. Keep it
coming.
Complain here: CHP com-
plaint form chp.ca.gov/prog/
emailCCP.cgi.
Assemblyman Dan Louge,
arc.asm.ca.gov/member/3/?p
=email.
State Senator Ted Gains,
senator.gaines@senate.ca.gov.
Sheriff Greg Hagwood,
sheriff@pcso.net.
Plumas County Super-
visors: Terrell (Terry)
Swofford, terrellswofford@
sbcglobal.net;
Robert A. Meacher:
meacher.robert@gmail.com;
Sharon (Sherrie) Thrall,
sthrall@digitalpath.net; .
Lori Simpson, lorisimp@
inreach.com;
Jon Kennedy, district5
supervisor@hotmail.com.
If you feel your rights
under the Constitution of
the United States have been
violated by anyone with gov-
ernment authority over you,
contact the FBI: fbi.gov/
about-us/investigate/civil
rights/color of law/color<if-law.
Ed Ferguson
Portola
Support the CI-IP
Looks like Railroad Days
came early to Plumas County
this year. I have never seen a
department railroaded like
the CHP was last week in the '
newspaper.
/'Community Leaders,?
Really? It looked like a group
that was formed because
of their negative opinions
regarding the CHP. Was
anyone who supports the
CHP invited?
The article also said that
Plumas County has 32 CHP
officers. It did not mention
that these same officers also
cover a major portion of
Sierra County, and parts of
Lassen and Tehama counties.
Obviously, those in the meet-
ing have no idea how much
geographical area these 32
officers are charged with
covering!
There was also a compari-
son between Plumas County
and Nevada County. The
article made it sound as if
the Grass Valley CHP is the
only traffic law enforcement
agency in that county. The
fact is that Nevada County
also has three police depart-
ments, Truckee CHP, and
Truckee CHP scale facility, to
cover 974 square miles. So
the 23 CHP officers for 100,000
people in Nevada County, as
stated in the article, is simply
not even close to the facts.
These false numbers were
used to make the reader
think that Plumas County
drivers are five times more
likely to be ticketed. Not
true.
By the way, Plumas County
is 2,613 square miles, not to
mention the square miles
added by covering the adjoin-
ing counties.
Do people realize that if
law enforcement is needed,
for any reason in the middle
of the night, the CHP is the
only department with officers
working? Last week, the CHP
caught a couple of kids who
broke into QHS at 4 a.m., all
because the officer was on
duty.
I implore the people of
Plumas County not to take
what they read in the paper
at face value, or as fact. With
a little research, the news-
paper could have reported
the facts, but didn't.
Blair Parrott
Business owner
Quincy
Editor's note: Parrott is a
veteran CHP officer based in
Quincy
Room for improvement
The recent concern from
some about the Highway
Patrol in our community got
my attention and caused me
to reflect on my own experi-
ences with them over the past
30 years in Plumas County.
Over the years I have, on
more than one occasion, been
upset about how I was treated
or how one of my family
members had been treated
during a traffic stop by the
Highway Patrol. What makes
my situation different than
some who have been out.
spoken lately is, I went
directly to the local comman-
der to plead my case. I can
honestly say that each time,
without exception, I was
listened to with respect and
each time my issue was dealt
with to my satisfaction. I
have never had an incident of
retaliation as a result of my
complaints.
While I agree that some of
the officers are overly ambi-
tious in their methods, most
of them do a fine job serving
and protecting us. If there is
an issue, act on it. Nothing
can be done if the person in
charge is not made aware of
the problem. I feel the right
way to deal with any problem
in. life is to personally go to
the source and make your
case. This notion of the CHP
painting a bulls-eye on You
for complaining is, in my
opinion, unfounded and
has never happened to me or
anyone I've known.
I would encourage those of
you who have experienced
what you consider to be
unfair treatment to disctiss it
with our local commander.
Don't be intimidated, I think
you will be encouraged to
learn how receptive he is to
what you have to say. Law
enforcement, just like the
rest of the world, is imper-
fect. People make mistakes
and need to be held account-
able.
while there is room for im-
provement in certain areas, I
must say I'm very grateful
for there being fewer drunk
drivers on the road. This can
only mean that there are now
fewer chances that one of my
loved ones, friends or anyone
might be injured or killed by
one of them. I would like to
think we could all agree with
that.
Mike Beatty
Quincy
Let's talk
As a 32-years-retired CHP
officer, my thoughts are
these: The experience gained
in a metropolitan area is in-
valuable! There are so many
highly active occurrences
and events to break in on.
All transfers and assign-
ments previously were by
seniority. It took me 14 years
to return to Quincy. Now offi-
cers that have just graduated
out of the CHP Academy are
being sent up here. Where is
the experience?
The patrol has always
been heavy into numbers
and statistics, and it has
been proven that heavy
enforcement results in fewer
accidents and fatalities. If the
enforcement lowers locally,
that accident could be yours!
It does happen.
The area commander and
sergeants have a very tough
job, as do the beat officers. It
can be a very thankless job,
at that.
Yes, I wrote my share of
citations. However, I'm sure
that I gave more cautions and
warnings than tickets and I
never heard a "Thank you,
officer, I deserved that."
Both the motoring public
and CHP need more under-
standing and tolerance.
Maybe more talking and less
writing?
Lee DeCamp
Quincy
Community services
Adequate law enforcement
is one of the many commu-
nity services expected by resi-
dents. The recent criticism of
the conduct of the CHP in
Plumas County brings up the
question, "How much law
enforcement is enough?" State
Assemblyman Logue identi-
fied our community as "an
oppressed area by law enforce-
ment. It has to change."
Plumas County has a fine
new sheriff and district attor-
ney who understand our local
situation. They understand
the need to attract people and
protect local businesses.
Their. image should not be
tarnished by overzealous or
inexperienced officers who
are making the public suspi-
cious or afraid of law enforce-
ment.
We are an area which
requires less regulation, we
are poorer than many commu-
nities but we are proud people
and enjoy our living environ-
ment. We are communities
offering helping hands. Much
of our crime comes from out-
siders. We do not need law
enforcement that make people
afraid to go out to dinner or go
shopping.
Overregulation is not our
need. The city of Portola is
more extreme than other com-
munities. Though we have
quality service from the sher-
iff, we also have seven CHP
officers for our 2,000 people.
That is one CHP officer for
every 287 people. We also
have a community services
officer whose pri-mary func-
tion is to write parking tickets.
This service makes people
afraid to shop in the commer-
cial districts. The CSO also
duplicates the sheriff's patrols
without the same authority.
Portola has many officers,
but the city has been exposed
to vandalism and burglaries.
The city officials have not
contracted with the sheriff
for 24-hour coverage. The
CHP may be staked out at
the Bank Club or Jimmy's
Roadhouse 70 to write DUI
citations. This leaves our
community exposed toother
types of criminal activity.
Code and law enforcement
policies have to change.
Larry F. Douglas
Portola
Compromise?
Right after the November
2008 election, I wrote that
even though I had not voted
for Barack Obama, I wished
our country and him, as our
president, well. Now 2.5 years
into his administration, I
consider him our worst presi-
dent every. Yet I give him
credit for what he does well:
talk and spend.
While the debate raged
all year about the federal
budget, Obama was absent --
flying all over the country on
Air Force One campaigning,
fundraising, appearing on TV
talk shows and ESPN.
Last year, Obama paid lip
service to fiscal responsibility
by forming a bipartisan
committee to make recom-
mendations, which he totally
ignored in his 2012 budget.
Even the Democrat-controlled
Senate voted 97-0 against his
budget.
What bothers me more
than his bad policies, is the
ease with whichhe lies -- to
borrow a line from what a
Hollywood mogul said about
his friends, Bill and Hillary
Clinton. On July 25, Obama
addressed the nation in one
of the bitterest partisan
speeches I've ever heard from
a president. He cleverly wove
together grandiose lines of
patriotism and duty through
compromise, with misrepre-
sentations and lies.
Obama said Republicans
refused to include tax in-
creases on the wealthy, and
they "demand a cuts-only
approach, and refuse to ask
wealthy Americans" and
corporations to pay their fair
share.
See Letters, page 12B
This week at plumasnews.com
The most read stories bn our website for the
past week were:
"Leaders vent frustration at CliP"
"Fishing Report"
"Rollover on La Porte Road"
"Body found near PCT"
A July 27 story about the California Highway
Patrol in our Feather Publishing newspapers
has generated sev=ral dozen Comments from
readers. You can read the full story and com-
ments online at plumasnews.com. Following
are a sample of the comments:
"So let me get this right. Folks are com-
plaining because they are being stopped
for violatingthe law. If you don't like the
laws being enforced, then ask the Assem-
blyman to change the laws. Don't blame
honest, hard working CliP officers for
doing their job."
--Chuck
"On the 4th July the CliP parked at the
junction of 70 and 89 and stopped every
4th or 5th driver to check if they had '
been drinking alcohol. Next time one of
these CliPs is enjoying an alcohol bever-
age at some dinner house-I'll report this
*** to his commander."
--Wanda
"Keep up the good job, its obvious you
stopped or arrested someone who
thought the law didn't apply to them in
Plumas County. I thank you for your ser-
vice, and will make sure my brakelights
work, not to speed, be drunk or high,
not on my cell phone, so we will never
have to meet."
--Chris
"1 grew up in Quincy and LOVE the area,
I'm not sure how many CHP were up
there atthe time (1970s), but it was
VERY different than it is now. Besides
'aggressive' behayior, there seems to be
MANY more of them. I am POSITIVE that
it has a HUGE negative impact on local
restaurants etc..."
--Ken G
Editor's note
It appears (looking at the technical side
of things) that some of our readers like
to change their names as they write these
comments, possibly to make it look like more
people are for or against an issue.
, Our webmaster can tell by looking at
a sender's IP address. Though it may
appear there are a lot of readers leaning
toward one side of the issue, it could be
someone submitting dbferent comments from
the same computer, just changing their email
addresses and names.
For instance, in one string of comments,
Dave suddenly became Steve, Edward, Mike
and Fred, based on those comments being
from the same IP address and the majority
being from the same email address.
In another string, Wayne morphed into
Olivia, Jesse, Danno and Kelley; and in
yet another string, Scotty suddenly became
Dick.
Of course, there is always the possibility
that they were all in the same office, using •
the same IP address and all sending
comments within minutes of each other.
Another possibility is they were all using
the same wireless Internet at, say, a coffee
shop or hotel.