Liz Writes Life 2-5-2020

Feb. 5, 2020

Liz Writes Life

Ooops! I forgot to remind folks that Scott Valley Protect Our Water would not be meeting in January. The next meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 at the Fort Jones Community Center at 7 p.m. So very sorry!

Three of the six hyacinths that I put in a pot of rocks and water in the house,  a month ago, are blooming and all are pink. I really enjoy the fragrance of hyacinths – makes me think of Easter, which won’t be until April 12^th this year. I thought the crocus would bloom before the hyacinths, but a few are just barely two-inch tall green stems. I haven’t gotten any planted in the garden and don’t know if that is even going to happen, because the garden is sorta not on my radar right now. I am enjoying winter!

Get to know candidates

Several groups are inviting candidates running for a variety of offices to meetings on Feb. 11, 2020. The public is invited to both meetings, which are free.

The first meeting will be held at 11 a.m. starting with a meet and greet and will be held at the Yreka R.V. Park meeting room at 767 Montague Rd. in Yreka. This meeting is sponsored by the Siskiyou Co. Republican Women Federated.

Candidates that have been invited to speak are: Dist. 1 U.S. Congressman Doug LaMalfa and or his Field Rep Erin Ryan; CA. Senator Dist. 1 Brian Dahle and or his field reps Bruce Ross and Alice Bennett; CA. Dist. 1 Assemblywoman Megan Dahle; Siskiyou Co. Dist. 1 Supervisor Brandon Criss; and candidate for Dist. 4 Siskiyou Co. Supervisor Nancy Ogrin.

The Republican Women are also hosting a luncheon at noon with sandwiches, soup, salad and dessert by Jackie. Cost is $10. Please call to make a lunch reservation to Annie at 530-842-2350 and Kathy at 530-905-2492.

Everything seems to happen at the same time and on the evening of Feb. 11, 2020, the Siskiyou Patriots have invited candidates running for Siskiyou Co. Dist. 1 Supervisor position to speak. Incumbent Brandon Criss said he will be attending and one of the two other candidates, Angelina Cook, responded to the invitation.

Siskiyou Patriots meet at 6:30 p.m. at Covenant Chapel at 200 Greenhorn Rd. Yreka. Everyone is invited. For more info call Louise at 530-586-1430.

Census scams

The U.S. 10-year census has started with April 1, 2020 the official date. I saw a news article stating that scammers are already on the move. Gotta say that answering government questions is not my favorite thing, but I do genealogy and the U.S. Censuses are a huge godsend of information, when finding families. So, I will fill out my census form, because I am real and the government already knows it.

Most of us will receive a census form in the mail. Be sure to check that the census mailing form has a return address of Jeffersonville, Indiana. This is the site of the National Processing Center. If it is from somewhere else, it’s not from the U.S. Census Bureau and needs to be reported to the Better Business Bureau.

Census-takers are also being hired to find people that have fallen through the cracks. So, you may have someone knocking on your door.

Please be careful. Here is some information to protect you from scammers.

Genuine census survey agents and surveys will not ask for your Social Security number, credit card or bank account numbers. Do not give out that info! Census takers will not ask for money or threaten jail time, if you don’t answer their questions.

To be extra cautious, you should verify a census agent is legitimate. He or she should have a Census Bureau photo identification badge with a U.S. Dept. of Commerce watermark and an expiration date and a copy of the letter the bureau sent to you. Oh, that is important to know. You can also search a census agent’s name in the Census Bureau’s online staff directory.

A census will not be sent by email. Delete immediately!

Klamath dams

Last week, I talked with our Dist. 5 Siskiyou Co. Supervisor, Ray Haupt, and he said the county recently responded to several state agencies’ comment periods as the State Water Board is still in the process of revisiting the Environmental Impact Report. He added that the county is still waiting for the non-profit Klamath River Renewal Corp. to submit its revised Definite Plan for taking out the Klamath dams.

KRRC, again, missed its last deadline, which was in December 2019. I believe this was to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. When KRRC submits its final Plan, the county will be scrutinizing the Plan and submitting its responses.

LaMalfa

Congressman Doug LaMalfa is not happy with the newest infrastructure plan released by the Democrats, who are the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

LaMalfa said: “Infrastructure bills that move through the House are typically passed with broad bipartisan support. At a $760 billion price tag with unknown financing, this proposal is sadly nothing more than a set of talking points. I’m concerned that more taxes and things like increased airport passenger fees are going to be a big part of this financing proposal, yet much of the new spending will go towards projects that middle-income families cannot afford, like electric car infrastructure that no one uses and green energy projects.

“Our country is in desperate need of an infrastructure revamp. We can’t pass one without working it out together. The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, on which I serve, has a bipartisan history, which is not so common in the House these days. Republicans remain ready to work with Democrats on real infrastructure proposals – proposals that people can actually benefit from – not just talking points.”

This is too bad, because our freeways and bridges certainly need to be updated.

Liz Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past year can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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