Did you celebrate International Women’s Day? It was Tuesday, March 8 but it’s not too late to join in the festivities. We may just milk this baby all month. There were observations globally. On March 15, the Tehama County Board of Supervisors will (did) adopt a proclamation to recognize International Women’s Day for the first time.
Even though every day is Women’s Day at our house because I married well, the very existence of an International Women’s Day begs the comparison against the other 364 days of the year, which one assumes are International Men’s Days.
The California State Association of Counties’ Women’s Leadership Forum, co-chaired by our very own TC Supervisor Candy Carlson, released a statement, including the following: “…it presents us with an opportunity to renew our commitment to working toward a world where each woman and girl can exercise her choices, such as participating in politics, getting an education, receiving pay equity and living in societies free from violence and discrimination.” Consider my commitment renewed.
In other Candy Carlson news, she has thrown her hat into the ring to become Tehama County’s new Auditor/Controller. Nothing against her opponent, Krista Peterson, who works in that department under current A/C LeRoy Anderson. But Candy’s experience as a business owner, finance expert and especially county supervisor make her uniquely qualified to help the board figure out how to better spend our money.
Long time “supies” like me have heard her speak countless times about the unsustainability of the county’s spending habits. This year she is on the Budget Ad Hoc, so will have even more knowledge of the nuts and bolts.
More on this to come, but let’s get back to International Women’s Day and the coincidental connection to the arrest of Redding’s Sherri Papini just days before. We all know the story – the beautiful young mother disappeared while out jogging on November 2, 2016. She turned up 3 weeks later on Thanksgiving morning beaten, branded, and bound with restraints in Yolo County. YOLO. You only live once.
She wove a detailed tapestry of what we now know to have been lies. She bilked concerned, supportive citizens and the State of California out of at least $80,000 – not including the hundreds of hours of law enforcement resources that could have been used to find Lewiston’s Stacey Smart or Corning’s Hilaria Marmolejo, both of whom disappeared around the same time and are still missing.
Photo Tehama County Sheriff’s Office
You may have heard of the other two women, but it’s been years, right? I only remembered because Ms. Papini’s arrest has brought them back into the conversation. A quick search of the Red Bluff Daily News archives showed 1 article on Marmolejo, 2 on Smart, and 23 on Papini, although 2 of those are from after her arrest.
Why did Papini get all this media attention while the other two didn’t? Let’s look at the three women, shall we? Stacey Smart, 51, of white and native descent. Hilaria Marmolejo, 24, Latina. Sherri Papini, early 30s, blonde.
And let’s not forget Gabby Petito – 22, blonde, who disappeared in Wyoming and was soon found to have been murdered by her fiancé. There was 24/7 coverage of her beautiful smiling face. Over 400 indigenous women disappeared in Wyoming between 2011 and 2020. Do you remember any of their names? Of course not – they didn’t make the news.
“Missing White Girl Syndrome” is a thing in this country and it’s just one form of the systemic racism many people don’t believe exists. If you’re going to go missing in America, make sure you’re thin, white and beautiful. Bonus points for being blonde.
Papini’s fake kidnapping is a slap in the face to all women. We believe women when they tell us they’ve been assaulted, abused, raped, beaten. And we must believe every single one, because it’s usually true. When one is found to be lying – for whatever reason – it casts doubt on every other woman’s story.
The fact that Papini lied about being abducted by two Latina women reinforced racist stereotypes and endangered all Latinos in our area. She went so far as to say they played “that really annoying Mexican music”, demonstrating her own disdain for cultural diversity.
It reminded me of when Supervisor Bob Williams was trying to get a countywide noise ordinance passed last year. At one point he talked about how awful it is when neighbors play music too loud, “Everything from Metallica to Mariachi…” he laughed, thereby insulting two segments of society.
Hilaria Marmolejo was a Corning resident and her case was handled by Detective Chad Parker, who is now running for Tehama County Sheriff. Marmolejo’s boyfriend, with whom she lived, told investigators she had run off with another man and left her two children. Does that sound right to you? 6 years later and she has never contacted her family nor tried to see her children? Anybody else not buying that story?
Maybe if Papini hadn’t stolen the spotlight from the other two local women, resources would have been available to find them. This is the greatest tragedy of Sherri’s little drama play.
And speaking of drama plays, there is a petition circulating in Red Bluff to repeal the cannabis ordinance that the city and citizens have spent countless hours working on. Please don’t sign it if given the opportunity.
There is also a countywide petition that just hit the streets that you definitely should sign. It amends the county charter and gives greater responsibility and pay to county supervisors. Term limits, too.
I know what you’re thinking – why should we give them a raise when they suck at their jobs? First, they don’t all suck. Second, because the less-than-poverty-level salary is why we get such crappy candidates. Better pay – better candidates. It’s not rocket science. To sign the petition or help, contact Steve at TehamaTermLimits@gmail.com.
Just a reminder – National Comedians Day is April 1. We’re registered at the Acme Joke Factory. Shop early and often.
