Oct. 27, 2021
Liz Writes Life
Last
week, I shared information from the Siskiyou Conservative Republican’s meeting
where Siskiyou Co. Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue, Siskiyou Co. District Attorney Kirk
Andrus and Ray Haupt, chairman of the Siskiyou Co. Supervisors’ Board, spoke about
the “state of the county.”
Today,
I will continue with D.A. Kirk Andrus, who said is he “very concerned” about
public safety in the county. Many prisoners are being let out of prison early
and when dealing with “lifers” he works especially hard on the opposition side
-- hoping to keep them out of the public realm. He is quite frustrated with
another issue in California that no longer allows him, as the prosecution, to
tie gang affiliation to other charges. As most can understand, gang crime is
also involved in many other arrests and charges. So, this does not make sense,
but then not much at the California legislative level makes much sense (to me)
nowadays.
On
a positive note, Kirk said his department has the best stable of lawyers that
Siskiyou Co. has ever seen working to prosecute crimes. He then commended the
county board of supervisors for the difficult stand they have taken regarding
the eradication of illegal cannabis, especially knowing that lawsuits would be
brought against the county. They have stood strong. Kirk also praised the work,
investigations and arrests by the sheriff’s department. He emphatically stated
that his goal is to protect liberty and honor the Constitution.
For
nearly two years, because of the pandemic, the Siskiyou Co. Grand Jury has not
been able to convene, but our D.A. said that will change before the end of the
year. There are alleged local civil crimes that will be brought before the
Grand Jury and he is eager to move that process along.
During
the question period, Kirk was asked about the illegal meth business in
Siskiyou. He responded that things have changed in the last 20 years, because
very little meth is cooked locally and meth is now a misdemeanor offense. He
explained that Interstate-5 is a huge problem, because it is used to traffic
meth from Mexico along with huge amounts of other illegal drugs. Illegal
cannabis is sent south and east, once again first utilizing I-5.
During
the question period, illegal cannabis, drug cartel grows, building permit
violations, environmental pollution from toxic chemicals used to grow illegal
cannabis, enforcement of environmental codes, lawsuits brought against the
county, covid vaccine mandates, possible destruction of four hydro-electric
Klamath dams and curtailment of water use were discussed.
A
question was asked Sheriff LaRue about an upcoming rally to protest vaccine
mandates. Would he arrest attendees? His answer centered around the
Constitution and free speech saying that peaceful protests were legal and he
would not be looking to arrest anyone.
Regarding
code enforcement, D.A. Andrus said the county needs more code enforcement
officers along with a significant number of residents that are able to bring
evidence to him that would support civil lawsuits.
Supervisor
Ray explained the county’s frustration regarding environmental codes and
violations on private property. Codes are set by the state and violation
charges must be sent to the owner of the property. But, many properties change
hands – sometimes every few weeks – making it quite difficult to find the
property owners.
Several
in the audience were concerned of the curtailment of water by the State Dept.
of Water Resources. One said that the curtailment letter does not allow for
water that will grow food for cattle – only enough water can be used for
livestock to drink. Not practical. Ray agreed it is frustrating.
He
said the county is actively opposing the recent curtailment by DWR citing the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act that was specifically designed to allow
for local control over groundwater management, providing all communities with
the ability to address short and long-term sustainable groundwater needs.
Siskiyou Co. has pro-actively produced a groundwater plan for the Scott River
watershed and is midway through the Shasta Valley, Butte Valley and Tulelake
area plans.
Surveys
by helicopter planned
On
that note, many with domestic wells along with adjudicated water right owners
recently received a letter letting us know that DWR is scheduling low-level
flights by helicopters for water surveys. A large hoop will be towed beneath
the helicopter that will collect the airborne electromagnetic geophysical data.
DWR said the method is safe and surveys have already been conducted in several
locations in California. The surveys will only be conducted during daylight
hours and the helicopter will not fly over business, homes, other inhabitable
structures or confined animal feeding operations.
So, it looks like the state will be gathering more
data on water, where it is and possibly how much is there.
Veterans’ Parade
It’s time for all of you veterans to get
entered in the Etna Veterans’ Parade. It will be held Saturday morning on Nov.
6, 2021 at 11 a.m. All other individuals and groups are also invited to
participate in the parade. Call Heather Ford at 1-530-467-3193 or me at
1-530-467-3515 ASAP.
This year, Keith Bradley, will be honored as
the grand marshal. Keith has served as Chaplin for the Siskiyou Co. Sheriff’s
Dept. for many years and pastors the Callahan Community Church.
Change in local phone calls
If you are having problems getting your local
phone calls to go through, this is a reminder about the new ruling by the FCC.
We now need to add 1 and the area code to make local phone calls. – Just
thought I would mention it, cuz old habits are hard to break!
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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