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Valley Voices: Forests need care too
What if you needed to have a tree removed in your yard and one tree service quoted a thousand dollars to do the job, while another one said they would pay you for the fire wood value of the tree? I bet you would choose the one that pays you instead of paying for the same job.
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Our Opinion: Keeping the Focus Local
In an effort to strengthen, support and reinforce the community focus of the Sun, letters to the editor that speak to issues of community interest and/or concern or relevance will receive priority for publication. Space for letters to the editor is limited, therefore topics that address larger national issues will not be given the same priority.
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Top 10 Reasons to Support Locally-Owned Businesses
Our readers may have noticed the Sun has joined forces with the Sierra Business Council and its “Think Local First” campaign. We have and will continue to feature locally-owned businesses. By choosing to support locally owned businesses, we help to maintain our communities’ unique character and keep our community strong and vibrant. Learning to “Think local first” may take some getting used; old habits die hard, but worth the effort.
More of this storyIt is regrettable that a quote in last week's article reporting the death of Ben Gaylord was included in the story. Even though the quote from the neighbor, who along with his wife found Ben's body, was accurate, its inclusion in the article was unfortunate and insensitive. Ben's family, you have enough grief; we apologize for adding to it.
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Letters
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Well done, Edison crews
As a large number of valley residents struggled with the recent power outage, I heard a number of folks blame the power company. This could not be further from the truth. I was privileged to have a front row seat to the sequence of events that took place. Though I was not at home when the initial fire broke out, I do know that there was a Raven’s nest in that pole and that there were young ravens in the nest. My guess would be that one of the young ravens some how caused a short, which started the nest on fire, then the pole and finely the ground. No matter how it started the resulting fire caused serious damage to the power pole. The damaged pole was not the only obstacle facing the repair crew; this pole was located on a hill which made access almost impossible. As the power company’s crews began to arrive it was clear that this was no ordinary quick fix job. They began hand digging the holes for the new poles late that first night and continued through the next day. As more equipment arrived there was a constant buzz of activity. The new power poles arrived, which were staged in the field next to my home and the men went to work immediately preparing these poles to be set. On Friday morning the helicopter landed and by 8:30 am the crews began setting the new poles. Amazingly by Friday evening the power had been restored, the men and equipment were gone and all was quite in the neighborhood once again. During these few days I had an opportunity to observe the Southern California Edison crews working and interacted with one or two of them, and they were all very professional. Considering the amount of men, equipment and two very large power poles that had to be brought into our valley, not to mention the difficult task, I think it was accomplished in a timely manor. My hat’s off to all the Southern California Edison crews, Job Well Done!
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Hatchery EIR/EIS hearing: Should be in/near KRV
With the frustrating Dept. of Fish & Game Fish Stocking meeting last month, mention was made that DFG is doing an EIR/EIS. EIR is Environmental Impact Report (required by Calif. State Law) and EIS is Environmental Impact Statement (required by Federal Law). I applaude Assemblymember Jean Fuller for making that meeting happen and keeping watch on this important issue for the Kern Valley. As a former planner who wrote EIRs, I urge locals to watch the Hatchery EIR/EIS process and participate in the upcoming comment process. DFG’s James Starr, who is Program Manager for the Hatchery EIR/EIS, recently e-mail me that, “We anticipate having a public draft of the EIR/EIS out in early June of 2009, instead of late-May as presented in our earlier time-line of events.” He also said, “At this time we have not set our dates for the Draft EIR/EIS Public Hearings. Once these dates and locations are set we will post them on the DFG web page.”
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Students ask support to help keep Camp KEEP
My name is Evan Moore. My most memorable Camp KEEP experience was doing back flips off the sand dunes. At Camp KEEP I learned about all types of habitats and wildlife. It is a great experience for 6th graders because it caps off all the Earth Science that they have been studying all year. Possible solutions for getting money for Camp KEEP is: start doing fundraising in 5th grade and continue in 6th grade for this amazing program.
More of this storyI wasn’t affected by the outage but I know many that were. If if was a planned program it was a complete failure. If it was an unexpected problem then they now know that they aren’t very well organized for the unexpected.
More of this storyI believe that most all of our local business owners try to create goodwill and support the community. It was business owners who encouraged me to write a letter to the editor, so appalled were they by the following event:
More of this storyIs the Postal Service still working to give “service” to the public or are they just there to fill their time card? Why is it open only about two hours on Saturday? I can remember when the postal employees really performed service; now it is all for their benefit. At one time a person went to work there for job security; now it seems they are there to find ways to inconvenience the public. The higher the stamp goes the less service is given. Some act like they are doing us a big favor by being there.
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Remove Kern River from no-stock list
We need your help, the local biologist for California Department of Fish and Game has informed me that, DFG is getting ready to negotiate with the Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Rivers council about removal of certain bodies of water from the no-stocking list. That would be good news but, she indicated that the Kern would not be included in those negotiations. She also indicated that she did not understand why not but the decision came from the head of Fishery Department.
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Community Voices: Lake Isabella: Recreation Opportunities Knock
Tina Terrell, Forest Supervisor
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Sequoia National ForestAs most of you know Camp Erwin Owen is a facility operated by the Kern County Probation Department. Camp Owen has been an important part of the Kernville community since 1938. Camp Owen is an open, non secure setting. There are no locks, bars or fences. The youth at Camp Owen are here by order of the Superior Court Juvenile Division. They range in age from 14-18. The crimes which brought the young men here include, but are not limited to: drug use/possession, burglary and assault. Many of our wards are drug users and/or gang members.
More of this storyOn May 13 at the Forest Service’s Regional office in San Francisco, officials gave a presentation of the Sequoia National Forest’s recreational fee program. I took time off from work for the 11+ hour round trip to find out exactly what this was all about. These are some things I learned:
More of this storyWe have a wonderful resource here in the Kern River Valley in the Audubon Preserve in Weldon. The Preserve not only protects some of the most valuable areas of the Valley, but it goes to great lengths to educate anyone who will listen about why these areas are valuable and the wonders of nature around us. The recent Spring Nature Festival is a perfect example of the hard work the people associated with the Preserve do.
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A big 'thank you' for donations
The Fish & Game Habitat Club, a volunteer group, would like to give a hearty thank you to the folks that donated money to the club through the Chamber of Commerce during their 20th annual Fishing Derby.
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Appeasement jeopardizes national security
President Obama is making mistakes impacting our foreign policy. The Administration tried appeasement when it declared Chavez’s president-for-life referendum was “for the most part…..a process that was fully consistent with a democratic process.”
More of this storyI want to send out a huge “thank you” to an anonymous customer of RiteAid pharmacy. You, dear lady are responsible for finding and turning in my lost wallet, with its contents still in place. Thank you so much for your honesty and (for) derailing a very possible disastrous outcome. Thanks also goes out to Cindy, the clerk in the pharmacy who took charge of my possessions and kept them safe for me.
More of this storyOn Saturday, May 16, just like the third Saturday of every month, a group of volunteers drove around the valley, collecting food to be distributed by The Food Pantry, God’s Storehouse, and The Salvation Army. At the Kernville stop, again, a Family Life Center (Wofford Heights) van pulled up with food donated by the compassionate folks at the Family Life Center – lots of food (two red collection barrels overflowing, plus a number of boxes) – thanks to Brian Polston and all the compassionate members of the Family Life Center for all that food! Thanks, also, to the compassionate persons who used the collection barrels at the Southlake Sierra Gateway Market and Mt. Mesa Market and the Sierra Wellness Clinic (Mt. Mesa) as well as the collection container at Vons. A special Thank You to those folks who met us at each of the six stops around the lake to bring boxes and bags of food directly to the Caravan. To all the compassionate people in the KR Valley who are out there donating to caregiving organizations – thanks! Let’s hear from you – tell us what you’re doing – share your compassion! The Compassion Caravan Volunteers.
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Separation of church and state, redux
In the April 29th issue of the Sun I had submitted an article explaining the truth about the phrase. Separation of Church and State and how activist judges are using it to deceive the public thus restricting Christians from displaying their beliefs in the public square. Now I want to add a thought to strengthen that article.
More of this storyI don’t know how to put into words the thanks I feel for those great “chipper-men” last Saturday. I had a pile of heavy limbs and they asked me if that was all. I have more in the backyard but haven’t trimmed them yet and they are awkward and heavy. They wanted to go get them and I said “no” and insisted on “no”.
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Three cheers for the young men of Camp Owen
I live in Squirrel Valley and have been involved in Chipper Day for seven years and have worked side by side with the young men (wards of Camp Owen), and have marveled at their enthusiasm and dedication in making a hot, dusty, dirty and noisy project such as Chipper Day a success by assisting the KCFD Fuels Reduction Crews in making our community more resistant to wild fires.
More of this storySpecial thanks to Kern Valley “Last Call Tent Revival” sponsors. We would like to thank Bill Sheffer for the use of his property, Tim Connor (Connor’s Construction) for lot preparation, Gary and Maryiann Harkey (of Mobile Home Care) crew put up/down tent & other tasks, and Pastor Bill Blanton (of Christian Service Center) use of his many services. And thank you to all of the other various businesses and organizations, for their support. You made a difference. You all know who you are! We pray the Lord will bless you for all you have done. Many were touched by the power and presence of the Lord. And we pray the “revival” has made an impact on this community. Once again, we say “thank you” and God bless you.
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Brief stint in journalism leads to questions
In what school of journalism did it say that it was proper reporting of a news story to write deflamatory (sic) opinion without substantiated facts, to sensationalize a piece in a reputable newspaper? I thought only the cheap tabloids did this kind of trash! Twice this week I read articles that trashed people who were deceased, so that the Sun could make something more of a news story. I worked at a newspaper for a while and nothing of personal opinion was ever allowed to contaminate a news story.
More of this storyThe week I spent in Camp KEEP was the best week of my life! All my memories from camp are the best memories. I’m sad that the younger kids will not be able to have that experience. My little brother has wanted to go since I got home from there, and now he is sad that he can’t go. I wish that we could find a way to keep this tradition around school.
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Twist of events leads to happy ending
Last week I had the opportunity of relaxing at the River Lodge. While I was there I met two brothers, Dan and Neal. They told me the story of a lady who was passing fliers looking for her lost dog. It turns out that Dan and Neal went to Kern River to fish and decided to go to a location which was not there usual place to fish. When they arrived Neal went down by the river and was surprised to hear a dog growl at him. Much to his surprise it was the same dog that was on the flier. The poor dog was trapped and was not able to get out. He had been trapped there for several days and his paws were red and sore.
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Power outage cause for concern
Regarding the recent and presently ongoing power outage, I’m dismayed that Southern California Edison did not have any spare transformers available and had to truck one in from afar. This short-sighted supply policy does not portend well for the valley if/when a calamity such as a major earthquake or fire occurs.
More of this storyI have often wondered why the quips, quotes, comments and recipes from Don Tolle’s Cook’s Corner have not been published in a book. I for one would be first in line to purchase one. It certainly would be a tribute to his years with the Kern Valley Sun.
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Beware false, anonymous information
Someone has been posting anonymous notices around town regarding last year’s destructive fire in the Piutes, accusing Sequoia Forestkeeper, a local environmental organization, of preventing the Forest Service from properly managing the forest. The notices imply Forestkeeper’s legal actions, designed to protect forest resources, are causing fires such as this one.
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Columns
Stylish Skivvies
Jackie Papandrew
More of this storyBrandon Muncy
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Gene Parks celebrates 35 years in insurance
Marsha Smith
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Locating the North Celestial Pole and our North Ecliptic Pole
Daniel Pope
More of this storyJackie Papandrew
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Children given tattoos, body piercing, advice for living as adults
Bob Powers
More of this storyBrandon Muncy
More of this storyKathleen Brown
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Twelve-year-old credited with heroic actions
Marsha Smith
More of this storyDaniel Pope
More of this storyMarilyn Benoit
More of this storyKathleen Brown
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Amber Siratt
More of this storyDaniel Pope
More of this storySusan Barr
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Who’s heading out to the Kid’s Fishing Derby?
Brandon Muncy
More of this storyValerie Cassity
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Special to the Sun
Marsha Smith
More of this storyDaniel Pope
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