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Letters (April 6, 2023)

By AVA News Service on April 6, 2023

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POSSIBLE MASSACRE NEXT TO THE LITTLE RED SCHOOL HOUSE

Editor,

I have read your recent articles on various massacres of indigenous people in California with interest. In early 2020, our friend Elena Diaz Bjorquist, who used to live in the Valley and is now in Arizona, mentioned to me that while researching for a grant proposal in the Mendocino Museum in Mendocino's upstairs Archives, that she came across a reference to a massacre of local indigenous people in a corral next to the little red school house in Boonville. She said that she did not use the information for the grant proposal, but made notes of it. I mentioned it to Jerry Karp of the schoolhouse museum board. Unfortunately, Covid-19 had shut down the state for a while. Elena said that she could not find her notes, but she said that she thought that it came from a book or a journal that she had found in the archives. Might be an interesting research project. I do not know if the Museum that she referenced is the Ford House museum or the Kelly House.

Cheers

Tex Sawyer

Philo

ED NOTE: I've heard of wholesale murders of Anderson Valley's native people in the Ornbaun Valley, but none in the Boonville area where federal troops had rounded up locals for re-location to Fort Bragg, then Covelo.

Prior to that, it's safe to assume, the first white settlers murdered everyone who got in their way, as settlers did everywhere in the West. I don't imagine the federal round-up process was a white glove operation, but a few Anderson Valley natives survived it, some of them making their way home to the Anderson Valley. The local historical record is sparse.

Who among the first settlers would be proud enough of what happened to the natives to make a record of it? We wouldn't know of the Eel River massacres if it weren't for a federal investigation authorized by Lincoln.

The diaries of inland settlers make for scarifying reading. Thanks for the heads-up on the perhaps atrocity in the area of the Little Red School house. Maybe someone will ferret out confirmation.

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A LIFE EXPERIENCE

Editor,

Back in 1948 when I was born in Germany the world there was falling apart. The three of us children eventually lost our parents. Both died by the time I was 5. After that my brother and sister and I wondered on the streets. We had our parents’ home, but now it was not just ours. It was ours, but also the religious people would come by, the neighbors would come by and our ever-present “relatives” would also come by. Not to help us, but to rob us; to take from us the little we had left. I fully remember eating food off the streets. Mainly gum. And I fully remember, actually I will never ever be able to forget having a tape worm inside me. As we were starting to be recognized by the authorities, we were being told that we must go to school; we must go to an orphanage etc. We, my sister, brother and I, at this point were pretty independent and were not accustomed to being directed to do things. We did only what we deemed necessary for our survival. So beginning to go to kindergarten was questionable for me. One day at school I got very sick, was taken to the bathroom by a teacher and started throwing up a tape worm. I started pulling on it, yanking it out of me, pulling more and more and looking to the side of me, the teacher was pale white, ready to faint. Getting back to my mission, I continued to pull on the worm. and then it broke off, went back inside me. I was dumbfounded; I didn’t know what to do. The teacher was at her wits end and about to collapse, when again I got sick the worm started to come back out of me. And again I pulled and pulled… Finally the worm ended up in the toilet bowl. At this point the bowl was almost full of the worm, circular in shape around and around to take most of the bowl area. And at the end was the head. I’ll never forget it. I can see it to this day— a snake like head, two eyes, looking at me. Later, living in the hills of Mendocino we had many animals, goats, dogs, horses, etc. And we would continually worm them, every six months with ivermectin. Usually whenever we did the deworming I would also take some, and I have done this ever since. I take ivermectin on a regular basis. I have not ever had any bad reaction from it. And during the covid never really got sick. I had some mild episodes but nothing major and I never have and never will get the shot. I hope that helps many of you out there.

Pete Gregson

Hopland

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FISH & JOBS

Editor,

Here is an idea to bring back our local economy from Willits to Fortuna. The Eel River is massive. Let's build two fish hatcheries, one at Alderpoint and the other at Piercy. Both of these towns have abandoned mill sites that are adjacent to the Eel River. One is on the main stem and the other is on the south fork. 

The Fish and Wildlife agency policy has been to let the natural salmon process continue since the 1960s flood. After 55 years of that policy there is still no salmon. I am tired of waiting. 

This is a simple idea that is doable. We can bypass CEQA rules like they did with the Giants baseball stadium. Funding can come from the $15 billion state water bond issue that was passed in California in 2014. That has not been used much and there is also recent federal infrastructure funding that could be used. 

By putting these hatcheries on the Eel the salmon will be re-imprinted with the Eel River water which will guarantee that most of the salmon will return to the Eel River after approximately seven years. Once these salmon go out to the ocean and return they are wild salmon and Fish and Wildlife can achieve its goal. 

When I was a kid in Dos Rios we had two small restaurants and many cabins for the fishing season from November to April. This project will add jobs from Willits to Fortuna and after 20 years we can develop this area into a fishing region that would be known throughout the nation. If you build it they will come.

Expert on nothing,

John Pinches

Laytonville

Ernie Branscomb Notes:

John Pinches knows more about the Eel River and northern Mendocino than anybody alive. Indian Creek in Piercy once had a large mill pond. It is an ideal place for a fish hatchery. Cedar Creek in leggett has proven to be an ideal fish rearing creek. Several other clear water pristine creeks exist on the South Fork. The Garberville Rotary Club had phenomenal success rearing steelhead. Fish and game stopped them because they were afraid that the steelhead would eat salmon fry.

Mendocino made a big mistake not reelecting John.

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ADAM GASKA TO RUN FOR MCGOURTY’S SEAT

Editor,

I have decided to run for Mendocino County 1st district Supervisor. Filing is in September and the election is March 5, 2024. While that seems far away, it will be here before we know it. So between now and then, I will be working to get my message out and hopefully garner enough votes to represent the 1st district and work with the other 4 supervisors to improve Mendocino County government. 

Adam Gaska

I am a lifelong resident of Mendocino County. For 41 of my 44 years I have called Redwood Valley home. I am a husband, father, a small business owner, and a farmer. I feel fortunate to have been raised here and appreciate the opportunities available to me. To that end, I have devoted quite a bit of time over the last 20 years in different ways to give back to this community. 

Food, farming and how those support personal, environmental and economic health are passions of mine. In my early 20's, I volunteered for the American Cancer Society going to classrooms teaching the 5 a Day program which encourages children to eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables to prevent cancer. At that time, also started my business, Mendocino Organics, producing vegetables and meats. That business still exists today, producing meat that is featured at The Golden Pig restaurant in Hopland and is locally marketed/sold/distributed through an online software platform and marketed under Mendocino Meats. 

Currently I am involved in local water policy by serving on the board of Redwood Valley County Water District and as the agricultural representative on the Ukiah Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency. I also serve on the Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council. 

While I believe Mendocino County is still a great place to work and live, I think we can do better. Our community suffers from a lack of affordable housing, water insecurity, a large unhoused population, stagnant wages and under staffing at the county government level which affects our ability to be served by our local government. While these challenges are daunting, they are not insurmountable. We must constantly strive for improvement. The county government should play a key roll in addressing these issues to the betterment of our community. I would be honored to represent the 1st district and work to that end. 

I have a lot of energy and ideas on how we can make Mendocino County a better place. I also believe that the role of supervisor is to represent the people of their district and work with the other 4 supervisors for whats best for our county as a whole. While each district has its own issues, we are stronger if we mutually support each other through cooperation. 

Thanks for your time and consideration. Please share this. I look forward to hearing from and engaging with you over the next few months.

Adam Gaska

Redwood Valley

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NO DEMAND, NO FENTANYL

Editor: 

Now that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and Fox News are urging military fury and might in Mexico to exterminate cartels selling fentanyl, it might be time to see American consumers of fentanyl as complicit. After all, American consumers are the buyers. And shipments arrive at American border checkpoints hidden in the massive numbers of 18-wheelers, not migrants. Perhaps it is time to begin educating Americans about how harmful fentanyl is. If we can successfully end the demand, we can save more lives than by invading Mexico, our largest trading partner at $70.3 billion in cross-border commerce.

Dave Heventhal

Windsor

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MARTHA GELLHORN

Editor, 

I urge you to take a look at Knopf’s "The Novellas of Martha Gellhorn", particularly in this six hundred page volume of her work the titles "Till Death Do Us Part" and "A Promising Career". I read some of her war and travel stuff earlier, mostly curious about the Hemingway connection, and see it now as a minor act in her life that ironically retarded what I think should be her reputation as one of America’s great writers, certainly on a par with you know who. I know that sounds like hyperbole but the more of her work I read -- it’s like she wrote with a knife instead of a pen -- the more impressed I get. Her brilliant intelligence, and keen sense alone of the undercurrents that define men and women together, at least never encountered before in my reading experience, is almost alarming. I know you’re busy, but I’d love your reaction to one of the titles in this bank of what has to be her best work.

Best,

Denis Rouse

Sequim, Washington

ED NOTE: Like you, I’ve only known her in her association with Hemingway, but on your recommendation, and I’ve always found your recommendations to be sound, Martha has zoomed to the top of my Must Read list.

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INEQUALITY BUILT-IN

Editor: 

Citizens who believe there are tax loopholes were called envious by Bob Proctor in the Press Democrat, who wrote that the tax laws are applied equally to all in our country. What he does not address is the inequity built into that code — the fact that wealthy people who live on capital gains pay much less than those of us who earn a living. I believe that loophole is a generic term used to disparage a system that is inherently unfair to the majority of citizens.

When you look at the budget proposed by the Democrats and the ghost budget we can’t see from the GOP, it is crystal clear that we have a collection problem more than a spending problem.

I am not saying that there is no room for modifying discretionary spending. But when you see how little the rich contribute to social safety nets and how much most of our taxes went up when Donald Trump blew a big hole in the budget by decreasing the corporate tax rate from 38% down to 21% while taking away California’s state and local deductions, it is easy to see how justifiable anger at the system is easily generated.

Gerry Lazzareschi

Healdsburg

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HOMEWARD BOUND

Editor,

Mr. Scott Chapman posted this today:

I commented and asked him to call me which he did. We had about a twenty minute conversation. Scott is doing great. He is still sober and is still taking care of his parents. He has acquired his drivers license and is working part time fixing E-bikes. 

He is thankful every day that the City of Fort Bragg never gave up on him and helped him get home allowing him a fresh start. A life now without heroin or the cravings for heroin.

Getting Scott home was no easy task and required lots of help. I had tried for over a year to get Scott home and away from Fort Bragg where his addiction ran his life. Once I knew Scott had completed rehab I found him staying in a hotel waiting for a package from his dentist. Scott was very wisely avoiding town and triggers for his addiction. He was ready to go home but was reluctant until his package arrived. I stayed in touch until he was ready. Finally Scott called and said, “Let’s do it.”

This is where it gets interesting. FBPD had agreed to pick Scott up and bring him to the very early MTA pickup to Ukiah The PD got him breakfast and I provided him with some pocket cash for the trip. Scott called from Ukiah worried he was at the wrong location and feared he would miss the Greyhound. I immediately contacted Supervisor Mulheren to verify the bus stop and it turns out he was in fact in the right spot. Mo was great. By now Scott was in a bit of panic and had started drinking. Scott had to get on the bus or this could go south fast. Knowing he had a couple hours left to wait I contacted Sheriff Kendall and asked if he could check on Scott. He of course understood the situation amd went to stay with Scott. About two hours later the Sheriff called to tell me to say that Scott was on the bus and headed towards Utah. 

I cannot express how important it is that our communities get on the same page in this regard. Until we do, the wins like this will come but they will be few and far between. The Fort Bragg Model works; you just have to work it.

Bernie Norvell, Mayor 

City of Fort Bragg

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SAVE WATER

Editor,

I am as surprised and relieved as anyone that Mendocino County and the state of California have received so much rain this Winter. Suddenly we are in a much better position than we’ve been in years, and the dark cloud of drought literally and figuratively washed away, along with related stress and concerns. 

But anyone who’s lived through a few generations in California has seen this before. We shouldn’t fool ourselves that drought will not come again. This is exactly the time, while our reservoirs are filling nicely, to invest in rain harvest barrels for our yards, to collect the water dropping from the sky to water our gardens, cars, driveways, etc. Just a little rain can quickly fill up a 60-gallon tank, and the internet is filled with videos that show how to set one or more up, easily and cheaply. This should be our mentality.

Matt Sarconi

Fort Bragg

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NAME CHANGE ELITISTS

Editor,

It seems to me the Fort Bragg name changers are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. If words are important to them, then how about these from William Shakespeare: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. These politically correct language monitors still don’t realize why the blue-collar folks consider them elitists.

Karl Schoen

Little River

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MEASURE V, AN EXCHANGE…

George Hollister:

Measure V Reality Check:

1) Measure V was put on the ballot to stop herbicide use in the forest, not because of concern for snags and increased fire risk.

2) The County of Mendocino is outside its legal jurisdiction when it comes to having its own regulations on the management of commercial forests, and the use of herbicides. The county is not enforcing Measure V because if it did, it would be successfully sued.

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Mike Kalantarian:

Nonsense and fantasy, George. Educate yourself by reading the actual initiative.

Then consider these two questions:

1) If Measure V was meaningless, would Mendocino Redwood Company have spent more than a half million dollars to try and defeat it? (answer: no)

2) If Measure V was toothless, would the State Attorney General’s office spend over two years considering its jurisdiction before weaseling out with a vague excuse? (answer: no)

Both of those things happened because citizens can declare a public nuisance by referendum. V is legitimate.

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Hollister:

I know what the initiative said, and I know why it was put on the ballot. Nobody attempted to defeat it, either, including MRC. Yes, staff time was spent on PR, but no serious campaign was launched. Everyone in the forest industry knew V had no legal standing, but was going to pass. Anyone with on the ground firefighting experience (with one exception) also knew the V proponents arguments were dubious.

The AG likely wanted to avoid conflicts with part of the Party base. So putting off a decision made sense. Sort of like the Mueller Report taking so long, even when it was obvious the Trump Collusion narrative did not have a leg to stand on from the beginning.

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Kalantarian:

Poppycock! A lot more than “staff time” went into fighting the measure, as MRC spent over $500,000 to outside consultants and advertising agencies. Most everyone in the county got those colorful fliers (I think there were seven in total). That was no incidental effort by a couple staffers.

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Mark Scaramella:

The issue at this point is not the validity or the merits of Measure V. The Measure was passed by a large majority of voters and the County has an obligation to enforce it, not dither and give up peremptorily because MRC might object. In a four-page detailed formal, well-researched opinion, County Counsel Christian Curtis told the Board that MRC was not exempt from nuisance rules and that their claims were not legally valid. Mendo didn’t even ask MRC to respond to that memo, or ask what MRC was willing to do voluntarily to avoid enforcement. Nor did the County follow up on Code Enforcement Chief Trent Taylor’s lame attempt to deal with Terry d’Selkie’s formal complaint. If the Farm Bureau put a measure on the ballot and the voters approved it, wouldn’t Hollister et al want it enforced? Why even have ballot measures if the County refuses to abide by the will of the voters? The Board’s failure to honor several recent ballot measures and, in particular, their failure to pursue enforcement of, much less enforce Measure V sends a message that the voters are irrelevant, a message that should bother everybody, no matter what their opinion of Measure V is.

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THE LIGHT

Editor,

The “light upon the hill,” which we love to think shines for the world from our capital, referring to American progress as an example of freedom and democratic hopes and values to oppressed countries has begun to flicker out. It is hard to tell if it exists anymore. Since January 1, 2023 guns have killed 404 American children. More are dying from gun violence than from highway accidents. So far this year alone, 303 have fallen from mass shootings, including on Monday 3 nine-year-olds in Nashville, TN.

None of these facts make any difference to those in Congress with bloodied hands who serve the gunmakers, the NRA, and themselves. Just tiny steps forward are possible. Better mental healthcare. Every day somewhere in “the Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave” gun shops. gun shows, or, through online patterns, deadly assault guns are produced in massive aggregate numbers. Buying guns, like the ones used Monday at the Covenant School, come readymade to murder.

The light may be replenished first by state actions-not by this frozen Congress-and from sources not yet evident.

Frank H. Baumgardner, III

Santa Rosa

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COUNTY PENSION SYSTEM PROBS

Dear Glenn (Supervisor McGourty),

About finding the balance between making things happen and getting people to see one's point of view, collegiality is the key. In the five years I served on the Retirement Board, I also sat on their Budget and Audit Committees, and on the Search Committee, I learned how to be collegial. 

Also, I learned collegiality through crisis. I'll explain.

Around 2010, or thereabouts, it was a difficult time for MCERA. We were in danger of losing our tax-exempt status with the IRS because we were paying retiree healthcare out of "excess earnings". 

Many public pension systems did the same thing. But it wasn't right. Unrealized returns never should have been drained from the retirement system. 

Unrealized gains should be folded into what's called the Unfunded Accrued Actuarial Liability (UAAL). By law, the UAAL shall mean the excess of the Actuarial Accrued Liability (AAL) over the Actuarial Value of Assets (AVA). The UAAL can derive from three sources: unfunded past Normal costs, actuarial gains and losses (differences between actuarial assumptions and actual experience), and changes to the level of benefits promised.

At about the time I started serving on the Retirement Board in 2012, the IRS gave MCERA a corrective action plan to "cure" the problem with spending so-called excess earnings. The IRS made MCERA refund the system through a funding mechanism known as "negative amortization". And retirees lost their healthcare insurance. They felt betrayed.

It was a stressful time. But we got through it. And thanks to the good investigative work by John Dickerson (yourpublicmoney.com), the problem of paying retiree healthcare out of "excess earnings" was exposed and corrected.

The Retirement Board got through that critical time because we were cooperative, civil, and collegial. We worked together as a team.

Again Glenn, I expect the future for public pension systems to be stressful -- very stressful. Plans like ours, known as 60/40 (stock/bond) plans, had their worst year in 2022 going back all the way to 1937.

Let me repeat: Plans like MCERA, known as 60/40 (stock/bond) plans, had their worst year in 2022 going back all the way to 1937.

Our challenges going forward?

Long-term investment returns are expected to underperform.

Consumer Price Index (Year-Over-Year Change) -- inflation -- will increase.

Many plans remain vulnerable to increasingly volatile market outcomes. 

Plans also remain very vulnerable to stress test scenarios, especially recession.

The forecast for contributions to retirement systems will fall due to fewer numbers of employees.

Thanks.

John Sakowicz

Ukiah

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