Letters (February 12, 2020)

• Vilification
• Unintended Consequences
• Civic Failure
• I Shot The Lion
• Trump First
• Bernie. Please!
• Political & Personal
• First Things First

VILIFICATION

Editor,

Two weeks ago this paper vilified the former Buckhorn owners, Jean and Tom. It was not an opinion piece, they were false allegations. The following week it published a fake retraction, as if it came from Tom, but said nothing like what Tom said, and was twisted back on him to boot. 

This is our statement. 

We closed the Buckhorn because it was losing money. Though summer might have been profitable, we still chose to close in May, when we knew our good employees could get jobs, rather than after the summer, when it would be so much more difficult. We paid every last bill to every last vendor. We paid the various taxes and withholding taxes when due, mostly monthly. We sent out the W-2s in January before the due date. The liquor license is still for sale. An out-of-Valley buyer was turned away. The license is unencumbered, a fact which is easily discovered by a search which shows it as “Surrendered,” which is the proper status since it is not operational, or by a quick phone call. None of what was published herein was true. 

We know who passed these lies around and we know who put them in her little “magic” head. But truly, it was all just a bunch of Bn’S. True to form, the AVA has fanned the flames of discontent. 

Jean Condon

Boonville

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Editor,

“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” — Peter Arnett quoting a US Army source, Vietnam, 1968

We were worried that an unintended consequence of the projects would be a net loss of housing in Boonville. Well, scratch that. It’s clear that loss of housing is an intended consequence of the plan. 

The neighborhoods that were to be saved by the clean drinking water and sanitary sewer plan will be destroyed by it. Consider the Haehl St. neighborhood. Most of the lots in the neighborhood have an original single family house and one or more additional housing structures such as double-wide trailers and other temporary structures that many families call home. Under the plan, only the original legal structure will be eligible for hookups. Worse, the plan will bring scrutiny from the County that will lead to the removal of the additional structures and will limit occupancy of the original legal structure to a single family. 

Proponents of the plan readily acknowledge the truth of this. They shield themselves from responsibility by saying that they will not be the ones carrying out the evictions, that the evictions will be a consequence of enforcement of existing codes. 

Proponents of the plan also tell us that once the illegal structures are cleared, the hookups will allow construction of new granny units on eligible parcels, never mind that most of the parcels in the Haehl St. neighborhood are too small to be eligible. Even for the one or two that might be large enough, construction of a new granny unit will cost in excess of $300,000, putting that option well outside of the modest budgets of most parcel owners. 

Some might celebrate this forced gentrification, but it will come at the cost of untold suffering brought upon the families whose homes will be lost. And their loss will be our loss as a community. These are families that work and contribute. Their children attend our schools. They are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. If this comes to pass, what will those who remain of our shattered community do for them? Hold a bake sale? Take up a collection? Or will we turn our backs and tell ourselves that it was for the greater good? 

Bob Abeles

Boonville

CIVIC FAILURE

Dear Editor,

Lake County’s “Continuum of Care” organization released a quick report on the results of the homeless 2020 “Point in Time” count, at its February 6 meeting. 

Last year’s count has not produced any such report, so there is no way of knowing what changes may have occurred (other than in the selection of coordinators to conduct the 2020 exercise). 

Please note that in my comments on your editorial titled “Credibility Problems” I mentioned the age of the eldest unhoused resident — 94 years old — that inflames my soul, adding a “last straw” sense of ire to the stack of cold kindling that rests at the bottom of social/civic “slash” pile for which able bodied people solicit “participation” from the victims of this civic failure. 

Betsy Cawn

Upper Lake

I SHOT THE LION

Editor,

Mendocino County has a problem keeping their roads in shape, or worse than decent shape because they're terrible, but they cut some brush on Flynn Creek Road and it looks better. 

Mendocino County used to have six or eight trappers. They kept animal predators under control. We don't have any now. None. We had Gary Johnson, he was good. But Mendocino County got rid of him. About two years ago I had a mountain lion problem killing my calves. I lost three calves before I found out what the problem was. I found the tracks. I called Gary and he said I had to have a carcass but I didn't have a carcass because the cat was packing them off. The calves were two or three days old. Gary said he couldn't come out unless I had proof of a kill and he would have to charge me for it. I said never mind I'll take care of it myself. And I did. I solved the problem. I did not go and get on my knees and beg the cat not to kill my calves. I didn't say I would give the cat catnip to keep them off my calves to satisfy the god damn environmentalists. I shot the son of a bitch. Problem solved. 

I wanted to take it down to Yountville and hang it by the tail in front of the Fish and Game office, but my wife would not let me. So Mendocino County people, get your heads out of your ass and bring the trappers back. 

Thanks to the Sheriff's department. They do a great job grabbing the bad people who come to this county even though we have an idiot for a governor who made this a sanctuary state. My wife reads the police logs every day and we see what's going on. I don't know what happens after they get arrested. They probably get let right back out of jail. But the sheriffs are trying to do their job and doing it very well. Thank you. 

Congratulations to Matt Kendall for becoming Sheriff. I will miss old Tom Allman. I liked him. I know Matt will do a great job. A good man. Good luck, Matt. I wish you my best. 

God bless Donald Trump, kick some ass. 

Jerry Philbrick

Comptche

PS. I hope President Trump enjoys tearing up the Democrats running around crying like a bunch of baby goats. They deserve everything they get. Thank you. Good job.

TRUMP FIRST

Editor,

The nonpartisan federal watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that Trump broke the law that limits power to withhold money allocated by Congress, exactly what he was impeached for. So it's not that the Democrats are lying or obstructing it's honestly been the Republicans and Trump. 

The Impoundment Control Act is the actual law that Trump broke. Fact! 

Also the nonpartisan group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, found "unprecedented corruption" in the Trump Administration in a recent report. They found 2,310 conflicts of interest. So if Trump was honestly trying to "drain the swamp," he should start with himself first! That's at citizensforethics.org. 

The Republicans who voted against having witnesses at Trump's "trial" all violated their oaths to God, "impartial justice", the Constitution and all of us US citizens. No witnesses allowed is a fraud trial. 80% of Americans wanted witnesses in a recent poll! 

Trump looks and talks like the devil himself at the prayer breakfast when he says he disagrees with what the minister had just said who was quoting Jesus's own words! Who else but Satan would disagree with Jesus’s central teachings on forgiveness? Trump, who has a beam of wood in his own eye, but yet points out the speck of wood in Pelosi's and Romney's. 

Trump is a lying criminal psychopath. True! 

Best Regards,

Rob Mahon 

Covelo

BERNIE. PLEASE!

Editor,

The degree to which we are battering the Earth we are also battering the human psyche.

The root cause for both disasters can be found in free market, self-interest capitalism.

Bernie Sanders! For President! Please!

David Severn

Philo

POLITICAL & PERSONAL

Dear Last Newspaper:

I have missed the too few impeachment charges debacle, the so-called peace deal that pushed the Palestinians out, the Shadow ap that Hillary helped with and who funded and is trying to slow down Bernie after the Des Moines Register wouldn't tell us what's next. This morning the news was that China probably didn't reveal the coronavirus when first known and that every statistic is over double the amount of sick, or dead; and the possibility that one can catch it more than once because our immune systems have trouble overcoming this one. And what about the accurate and ready nuclear-outfitted submarine positioned presumably to get Iran or…?

Why doesn't the Tom Hartmann show ever highlight the plight of the Palestinians and whistleblower journalists like Julian Assange, etc. It's hard to hear that old gas plants are going to be replaced in Southern California. I wish we could get a full swing effort with green power and jobs and a bullet train revival. 

Things are grim. No wonder I can't throw off the remnants of sickness. What we are dealing with now is worse than just being hungry.

Sincerely,

Susan Knopka

Berkeley

PS. Looking for a single healthy, nonaddicted, easy to live with, grounded, financially stable senior with house who can fix things joyfully, take care of a car, help with a garden who likes physical science (but not data), classical music especially early music, camping on the Lost Coast, sledding, skating in some quiet place near Tahoe in a rustic cabin. Bonus if dyslexic. I have met some measure of success, I'm in my late 60s, not bad looking, brunette, shapely, similar to above but not a fixer upper. Also no money and no car.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

To the Editor:

It occurs to me, we are not putting our hard-earned tax dollars in the right place to solve this problem:

A large portion of these homeless people are not thinking straight and really need mental health evaluations. Forget about building housing facilities for them, spend the money on getting them mental health care.

There are a number that clearly have an addiction that prevents them from being productive citizens. Some them may well have mental issues as well.

And then there are the folks that are just down on their luck that are capable of working and being productive. We need to provide them with job opportunities, perhaps similar to the “Works Programs” when we came out of the Great Depression, and make their Social Services check dependent on their demonstrating they are making the attempt.

Providing housing is an important step, but it is not the absolute solution for these urban campers. Remember in 2017 when we passed Measure B Mental Health Treatment Act? That was a good start.

John B Moon

Ukiah