Dec. 4, 2018
Liz Writes Life
Whoo hoooo! Snow!
I think Callahan received as much snow as Quartz Valley on
Sunday morning. Sure is nice to see the white stuff on the mountains and trees.
We suffered a long, dry spell -- for sure. Didn’t get as cold Monday morning as
was predicted, which was nice. It is so frustrating, when pipes start freezing.
POW
Erin Ryan, who works for Congressman Doug LaMalfa, attended
the Scott Valley Protect Our Water meeting last Thursday. She said his office
is, once again, dealing with a disaster – the Camp Fire that destroyed 90
percent of Paradise near Chico.
FEMA responded quickly and set up a local
assistance center by Nov. 12th. The Camp Fire burned-out most of
Paradise and surrounding towns on Nov. 8, 2018. LaMalfa’s office has received
few complaints about FEMA, which is good. For home owners that do not have
insurance, FEMA will pay $8,300 per person and a little over $30,000 for a
family – to help them during the initial crisis.
Interestingly, Erin has received calls from people who have
called in the past to complain about the congressman, but now demand help. One
even complained she won’t live in a FEMA trailer and expects Doug to find a
better home for her. FEMA has designated 2,000 trailers for the homeless
victims, but a major problem is finding property to place the trailers.
Once again, our congressman met with U.S. Sec. of Interior,
Ryan Zinke, and U.S. Sec. of Ag., Sonny Perdue, to witness the ghastly
devastation. This time, more than 19,000 structures – mostly homes – were
incinerated within the first two days of the fire. When President Donald Trump
flew into Sacramento on Air Force 1, Congressman Doug was with him, along with
two other California Congressmen, Kevin McCarthy and Ken Calvert. They then
toured the ashes of the Camp Fire with Trump claiming the forests must be
managed.
It is amazing to me the accusers against Trump who disagree
with forest management. Those of us who live in and near the forest know they
are tremendously over-grown and must be thinned or they will continue to go up
in huge flames producing air-polluting smoke. Even if environmentalists don’t
care about humans dying, look at the horrible deaths suffered by the wild
animals that cannot race out of harm’s way. Right now, 88 people are known to
have died in the Camp Fire.
Keeping LaMalfa in office will surely aid this process of
changing strangling regulations to thin the forests. At this point, a new
congressperson would not have any connections, clout or understanding of how to
or who to work with.
A Farm Bill has been approved in congressional committee.
Erin said it has some good forest management regulations in it, but the
Democrats are fighting both the forest and farm aspects, instead, wanting more
monies for food stamps. About 80 percent of the Farm Bill is for food stamps.
She also mentioned that since the Congressional House is now
majority Democrat, it will propose and pass a lot of liberal or frustrating
bills. But, she added that most bills are not likely to pass the Republican-controlled
U.S. Senate. There will be a lot of noise, posturing and demands – and in my
estimation much of the news media will loudly support the House bills – yet, the
bills will be worthless without U.S. Senate passage and Trump signing them into
law.
Remember, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House,
but the Senate did not follow suit. So, he was not kicked-out of office. There
will be a lot of hype for the next two years.
Ray Haupt, chairman of the Siskiyou Co. Supervisors, spoke
about his trip to WA. D.C. and the meetings he attended. He explained that
President Trump has held meetings during the past year, inviting local
supervisors and sheriffs, from all the states, to discuss their concerns. This
was the last meeting and 300 local officials from California, Hawaii and Alaska
were invited. Sadly, only about 35 showed up. Alaska had the largest
contingency of about 15. They were mostly Eskimos and “fun people,” Ray said.
He added they love Trump because he opened-up the oil industry.
Siskiyou Co. paid for Ray’s and Dist. 4 Supervisor, Lisa
Nixon’s, trip and Ray said he invited his wife, Pat, to go and they,
personally, paid for her trip. They also paid for their extra day to visit
patriotic attractions.
Although, the group was invited by President Trump, the
meetings were with White House staff, cabinet secretaries and federal agency
officials. But, while Sec. of Transportation Elaine Chao was speaking, several Secret
Service men walked-in and then President Trump. What a surprise! Ray was
sitting on the front row and thoroughly enjoyed Trump as he literally invited
questions from the small group and chatted. He was very personable, Ray
observed.
In other meetings, Ray was able to spotlight specific issues,
like the “must” for forest thinning, management and improving regulations
fighting wildfire, huge problems with the spotted owl Endangered Species Act
listing and NorthWest Forest Plan, water and fisheries. Those meeting were with
the Dept. of Interior Deputy Under Secretary, Interim Director of the
Environmental Protection Agency, Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
U.S. Forest Service Chief, U.S. Under Sec. of Ag. and advisor to Pres. Trump,
Kelly Ann Conway. There may be a few more I missed.
In one meeting, Ray was asked about the Klamath dams.
Apparently, there is a big disconnect between the non-profit Klamath River
Renewal Corp (that claims it is taking four hydro-electric Klamath dams out)
and Trump’s administration. The White House hardly even knows about the KRRC.
Sounds like the KRRC is making a lot of noise in Siskiyou and Klamath Counties
with very little support from Trump’s administration. Oops!
Remember, there still there is not enough money garnered by
KRRC to remove the dams or approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
to re-license the dams under KRRC. Ray reiterated the potential of flooding and
resulting safety and health issues that would affect his constituents, which
was met with great concern.
One of Ray’s new friends, in the Dept. of Interior, gave him
a tour of the capitol. The House was not in session and Ray said he was awed by
the fact he was able to walk onto the House floor and sit and ponder the
significance of being in such an historical and powerful place. He added that
he felt very blessed. It was a humbling, gratifying experience and he was proud
to take Siskiyou County’s concerns and frustrations to WA. D.C.
Ray, like Lisa, planned for the trip. He left briefing papers
everywhere he went and with everyone he met. Siskiyou County has been able to
make its mark at the federal level, thanks to our dedicated county supervisors.
Liz Bowen began writing ranch and
farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County
and lives near Callahan. Call her at 530-467-3515. Check out her blog at:
LizWritesLife.blogspot.com.
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