April 6, 2022
Liz Writes Life
Republicans to meet
Reservations can still be made for a Ham buffet lunch during
the Siskiyou Conservative Republicans meeting on Thursday, April 14, 2022.
Grill Master Dave Tyler will be smoking the ham and the luscious desserts are
by Jackie Twilliger. Lunch is $13. Call Annie at 530-842-2350 to reserve your
seat.
Michael Kobseff, Siskiyou Co. Supervisor for District 3, is
the featured speaker. Meet and greet is
at 11 a.m. with the meeting starting at 11:30 a.m. The meeting is held at the
Montague United Methodist church at 150 S 12th Street in Montague.
Sites Reservoir receives funding
Last month, CA. Dist. 1 Congressman Doug LaMalfa announced the
proposed Sites Reservoir is now eligible for up to $2.2 billion in low interest
loans. For years, LaMalfa has pushed to build the Sites Reservoir that will be
built as an innovative off-stream reservoir on the west-side of the Sacramento
Valley in Glenn and Colusa counties.
Sites was initially approved by California voters in 2014
with some initial funding from Proposition 1. But, the lack of funding has
slowed the project.
On March 17, 2022, LaMalfa announced the federal
Environmental Protection Agency formally invited the Sites Project Authority to
apply for a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program loan. So, Sites
will now be eligible for up to $2.2 billion in low-interest loans, which
accounts for 49 percent of the project’s cost.
Back in July 2021, LaMalfa and Congressman John Garamendi (D)
led a bipartisan letter with other members of the California delegation that
asked the EPA to allow the Sites Project Authority to apply for a loan through
the federal program. LaMalfa was pleased with the support from EPA.
“We need Sites more than ever; our state is facing another
historic drought. I’ve been a strong supporter of this project for years. It
will provide water for over 24 million Californians and 500,000 acres of
farmland,” said LaMalfa.
The Congressman added that the low-interest loan will
“drastically reduce costs for consumers and make it affordable for taxpayers to
get the water they need, even in dry years.”
Then a week later, there was more good news for funding Sites
Reservoir. On March 24, 2022, the California Water Commission announced
increased funding for Proposition 1 bond recipients and will include $38
million for Sites Reservoir. This will bring the total amount to $875 million
from the Proposition 1 funds to the project.
For sure, this is great news. Hopefully, the needed funding
will be found soon so Sites can be built. It has been decades since California
has built additional water storage facilities. This drought is causing havoc,
but someday it will rain again and California needs to be ready with increased
storage abilities through our dams and reservoirs.
National Ag Week
March 22nd marked the beginning of National Ag Week. In
California, a variety of agricultural businesses and groups held an event at
the State Capitol. Megan Dahle, Dist. 1 Assemblywoman, attended the activities
that included the California FFA and California Cattlewomen. One of her
favorite stops was talking with an 11-year-old girl, Sophie, who has written a
book inspired by agriculture. Yes, Dahle bought a copy and made sure Sophie
signed it.
In a press release, Assemblywoman Dahle, reiterated that
California’s agriculture is a multi-billion dollar – yep, that is with a “B” –
industry, employing hundreds of thousands of Californians.
“Our state is home to tens of thousands of farms and ranches
and over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s
fruits and nuts are grown in California,” she said.
What a great way to educate folks about the importance of
agriculture. Now we need to be sure and have enough water to grow all that
food!
Garden
Some perennials are starting to grow in the garden, but there
is no sign of any asparagus. Guess it has been too dry and I have not irrigated
it.
Two weeks ago, I felt sorry for the garlic and rhubarb and
gave them a good soaking. It wasn’t too far to drag the hose over from the
frost-free faucet. The rhubarb was just peeking up. I was surprised to see
about 15 garlic plants are growing. It was three weeks ago that my grandson,
Bryce, helped me put horse manure on the garlic and rhubarb. It should have
been put on back in December, so was happy that I finally got around to doing
it!
May peace and calm be with you this week. Smile – just cuz it
makes you feel better!
Liz Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in
newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County. Columns from the past
can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.
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