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lOB Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011 Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter
EDITORIAL
A N D
OPINION
• EDITORIAL
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This week, Oct. 2 - 8, is National Newspaper
Week, a good time to reflect on what we do
here at Feather Publishing. We are your No. 1
source for local news. Unroll the paper and
spread it out on your kitchen table or office
desk and take a look at what we offer in your
hometown newspaper. Now, imagine your life
without the paper.
The newspaper is a snapshot of life as it is
lived in your town. We often are the first word,
last word and every other word in between on
all manner of key issues affecting your life and
livelihood. While other media may provide a
headline and a key detail, newspaper stories
can provide the full and continuing coverage
necessary for fully understanding important
issues.
We take the watchdog role on local govern-
ment. At the local level newspapers have
played the lead role in exposing corruption
and making life better for all of us. Think
about what Thomas Jefferson said: "Were it
.left to me to decide whether we should have a
government without newspapers or newspa-
pers without a government, I should not hesi-
tate a moment to prefer the latter."
Recently the state of Florida defeated a bill
that would allow local governments to bypass
newspapers and post public notices on web-
sites instead. One factor in the decision is the
neutrality and independence newspapers pro-
vide.
If not for newspapers, who would make the
rounds at the courthouse? Who would routine-
ly check the police station or sheriffs office?
Who would analyze local politicians' mes-
sages? You can depend on the news team to be
composed of trustworthy, knowledgeable jour-
nalists who deliver an overview of local events
and what they mean to all of us.
:Newspapers alSO do more to contribute :
c6mmnnRy's sen se of oneness than'just about:
anything else. Through news, editorials, let-
ters, sports coverage, meeting notices and ad-
vertisements, the community has a feeling of
interconnectedness.
What is the first thing you look at when you
look at the paper? The obituaries, the birth an-
nouncements, the arts, entertainment, the po-
lice logs, county news or the best deal in town?
We have it all and we continually strive to
bring you the highest quality product possible
each week.
Fea ng
e spaper
Breaking News ....
go to plurfiasnews.com
Michael C. Taborski ............. Publisher
Keri B. Taborsk; ...Legal Advertising Dept.
Delaine Fragnoli .... .... Managing Editor
Alicia Knadler ........ Indian Valley Editor
M. Kate West ............. Chester Editor
Shannon Morrow .......... Sports Editor
Ingrid Burke ................ Copy Editor
Staff writers:
qi
Michael Condon Diana dorgenson
Ruth Ellis Dan McDonald
Will Farris Brian Taylor
Barbara France Kayleen Taylor
Mona Hill Sam Williams
Susan Cort Johnson
Feather River Westwood
Bulletin PinePress
(530) 283-0800 (530) 256-2277
Lassen County Chester Progressive
Times (530) 258-3115
(530) 257-53211
Indian Valley
Portola Reporter Record
(530) 832-4646 (530) 284:7800
Don't sit back and let others
do the talking for you.
Express yourself in our
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
You don't always get what you pay for
have to call the gas station and find out what contractor who handled all phases of the i
meals the guys ate, too. You'll want to call project.
i~.i!~{~~ Safeway and Taco Bell..." The $157,000 project involved putting a
The guy had to be kidding, right? new water main between Lee Road and
But there was no trace of humor showing Highway 70. The new line runs through the
on his reddish straight face. fairgrounds. '
Even if the contractors opted for the "ex- The project benefited the fairgrounds. It
____~__.: ..__ = pensive" rooms and watched a bunch of pay- improved fire protection, in the form of two
MY TURN per-view movies, that still left about $700 for new hydrants, and added another source of
................................................................................................................................................ food and gas. water at no cost to the county.
DAN McDONALD Maybe they filled four gas tanks before re- But it was in the fairgrounds where things
Staff Writer tiring to their family units to munch on 500 got ugly. Apparently an old, unused and for-
dmcdonald@plumasnews.com
tacos? gotten septic tank was buried in the path of
The $940 charge is tiny compared to some the new line.
I had no idea it costs almost a thousand of the extras the contractor is trying to bill Despite the EQSD's decision to just dig
dollars to spend a night in Quincy. the EQSD for a summer project, around the tank, the contractors eventually
That's what a Redding-based contractor In what is looking like a capital improve- screamed "breach of contract" and started
claimed as he was trying t(i justify his bill to ment project from hell, the EQSD is with- the cash meter running.
the East Quincy Services District.holding about $47,000 while Bastian and the I try to attend most of the EQSD board
OK, it wasn't really a thousand. It was board of directors examine thousands ofdol- meetings. So I saw Bastian's growing frus-
$940. lars worth of"change orders" submitted by tration with the contractor as the project
Four guys. Two rooms. One night.., at the the contractor. Change orders are charges progressed. The job was completed several
Lariat Lodge: for extra work. weeks behind schedule.
The Lariat is a nice local motel. It adver- The contractor has threatened to sue the It all boiled over Sept. 13, when the con-
tises itself as "Clean, Quiet and Comfort- district. And the matter may indeed be de- tractor attended an EQSD board meeting
able," ... with rooms starting at 58 bucks, cided in court, and demanded the remaining $47,000 due on
The rate jumps to 98 dollars if you go for I know it's common for contractors to win the contract, plus about $42,000 in charges
one of the family units, business with low bids and make extra mon- for extra work.
"So, if I call the Lariat, are they going to ey with "change orders" when the job The EQSD has paid about $110,000 to the
tell me two rooms cost $940?" EQSD engi- doesn't go exactly as planned. But this case contractor so far.
neer Dan Bastian asked the burly contrac- • is ridiculous. For four hours, until almost 11 p.m., the
tor. EQSD customers should feel better know-board listened as Bastian calmly asked the
"Probably not," one of the contractor's ing that their board, and engineer in partic-
colleagues replied. "But you are going to ular, are questioning every penny from the See Get, page 12B
'I
Where in the World?
Billy Metcalf, of Chester, attends an Oklahoma Sooners college football game Sept. 24 in Norman, Okla. The Sooners defeated
Missouri, 38-28. Next time you travel, share where you went by taking your local newspaper along and
including it in a photo. Then email the photo to smorrow@plumasnews.com. Include your name, contact information and brief
details about your photo. We may publish it as space permits.
+
1
!
R.EMEMBER WHEN
KERI TABORSKI
Historian
75 YEARS AGO ............. 1936
Funds are being sought this week by a
campaign committee to finance construc-
tion of a Grange building in Quincy. The
membership of this local organization will
be asked to subscribe to a $450 loan fund
with cash on hand in the Grange treasury
to provide the other haft.
50 YEARS AGO ......... 1961
Dedication of 4.3 miles of new and im-
proved highway on U.S. Route 40A took
place Saturday with Assemblywoman
Pauline Davis from this district presiding.
25 YEARS AGO ........ 1986
Not since 1979 has Plumas County's un-
employment rate been as low as it was this
year at 6.7 per cent.
Nancy Dembosz retired from the Quincy
Post Office this week after 30 years of service.
10 YEARS AGO., ......... 2001
Gold Mountain has broken ground on
what they describe as the most luxurious
overnight lodging in the area. The Villas
will range from $350 to $975 per night.
Miles of new blacktop has paved over the
dirt road of the Quincy-La Porte Road. The
cooperative effort by the county of Plumas,
the Federal Transportation Department,
CalTrans and the United States Forest Ser-
vice paid for the$11 million project.
Note: items included in the weekly Remem-
ber When column are taken from our bound
newspaper archives and represent writing
styles of that particular period. The spelUng
and grammar are not edited, so the copy is
presented as it actually appeared in the orig-
inal newspaper.
When noisy minority overrules absent majority
MY TURN ]
................................................................................................................................................... !
ALICIA KNADLER
Indian Valley Editor
aknadler@plumasnews.com
Sometimes everything is just so peaceful
and beautiful here in Indian Valley.
Spring babies are born, the grass is
green, people are smiling at nothing in par-
ticular.
Then comes the dry season, when we
fear fires and the creeks run dry.
To me, these are the times when it seems
as if there's a quiet yet terrible war being
waged in our midst, one of opinion and
wordy might.
What's worse, it's usually a war between
newcomers, who have high hopes and no
past history of disappointments to cloud
their rosy visions, and old-timers.
Some of the old-timers will readily testi-
fy to the number of unfulfilled promises
they have been subject to over the years,
the number of closed doors and dastardly
deeds.
A newcomer myself, I was surprised
when one newer than myself took offense
at the term and insisted it pigeon-holed
him, belittled his contribution to the dis-
cussion at hand.
Never mind that the discussion would di-
rect development plans for the future of
everyone, even those who have lived here
for generations.
Never mind the old-timers had already
talked themselves out at a previous meet-
ing, even though it was the wrong one.
It was never clear if their opinions were
ever written down and taken into consider-
ation at the time, and having said their
piece, they were busy going about their
lives and work.
I recall one man yelling at me once that
he was sick and tired of the vociferous mi-
nority trying to rule the absent majority.
His words just keep echoing in my head,
coming back to me at odd moments, like
this.
Recently this newbie has embroiled him-
serf in another stew, mainly with other
newcomers who have relocated here with
their families.
"Young blood," as some old-timers refer
to them with smiles and chuckles.
These are the people who are now busy
volunteering and trying to make lives bet-
ter for everyone in the valley.
Sometimes their decisions are not ones
the old-timers would make, but then the
old-timers are remarkably absent from the
situation.
Many of their children have grown up
and left for greener pastures, leaving them
to get on here as best they can.
The hospital closes,different stores come
and go, taxes and fees go up, schools have
issues -- the struggles of daily life and sur-
vival in such a small mountain town just
go on and on.
But the new things are works to be proud
of, even if the old-timers haven't embraced
them as yet.
It's nice to see the children enjoying
themselves with the fun and enriching ac-
tivities brought to them by these newcom-
ers and a few others who have been in-
volved.
So I hope when there are undercurrents
that make it seem as ifa war of wills is
brewing, maybe someone might step in and
tell them to relax, it's just chaff blowing in
the wind.
Maybe the new seeds will be good for the
fertile ground here and not just some nox-
ious weed to be eradicated later at great ef-
fort and expense.