Yippie-ki-yay it’s rodeo time in Red Bluff. I realize I’m a relative newbie at a mere 28 years in Tehama County, but does any other 11 days see such a wide variety of weather every year?. We’ve all seen it climb into the 90s or higher and stood shivering in the rain the same week. This year we’ll have cool temps and rain, so probably not a lot of tube tops and barebutted chaps at the Palomino Room.
photo by Rick Griffith – AP
I’m personally not a fan of rodeo – few Bronx natives are – but I understand the importance of this tradition and the financial boon it is to Red Bluff and the county. So giddy-up, y’all. Call me when events include bareback bronc riding…on an actual bear. Or junior rodeo kids trying to hogtie a bobcat. Hah. Thank you, Mr. Standish, for those 30 year old jokes. You will find two quarters on your pillow tonight.
And speaking of big ol’ bears, Captain Dave Kain, candidate for Tehama County Sheriff, held a meet and greet at the Manton Grange this week and I learned a lot. There weren’t a ton of people there, but sometimes an intimate event is more informative because everybody gets their questions answered and meaningful discussion can take place.
Captain Dave Kain – terrible photo by Liz Merry
Captain Dave has some terrific ideas for improving on what Sheriff Hencratt has built. Hencratt is old school and Kain plans to infuse more technology into the way the department serves us. High touch and high tech is a good combo. More communication with the public through Social Media and personal interface in the form of deputies out there meeting folks. He is willing to think outside the box and try new things. Ask him about The Pencil Incident.
Kain’s opponent, Chad Parker (no relation to former Sheriff Clay Parker), seems like a good guy, too. I don’t know him as well because Kain represents the Sheriff at supervisor meetings, so we share that hang out. I have noticed that wherever there’s a Parker campaign sign, there is almost always a Dennis Garton or Bob Williams sign.
Chad Parker – photo by Jake Hutchison – Red Bluff Daily News
That means the same people who support Bob Williams and Dennis Garton are the same people supporting Parker. If I were Parker, I wouldn’t be hitching my wagon to the two supervisors who are most responsible for decimating the very department I aspire to lead.
Dennis Garton (l) and Bob Williams (r) – Photo by Julie R. Johnson – Corning Observer
Incumbents win most of the time, so normally it would be a smart thing to do. But that may be changing in Tehama County. People are fed up. Two of the original five supervisors who were serving when I started attending meetings in 2017 have retired and have been replaced with capable men who clearly want to serve the people. That would be John Leach in District 5 and Bill Moule in District 1. Moule is running unopposed for a 2-year term to get that seat back on the right cycle. He was appointed by the board to fill Steve Chamblin’s seat in a well-played hand by Supervisor Carlson. She is a smart cookie and will make a terrific Auditor-Controller if successful in her campaign. More on that in the coming weeks.
The other two seats in contention are the aforementioned D3 and D4. Bob Williams, D4 representative for 16 years, has shifted hard into politician mode. On his Facebook campaign page he takes all the credit for the county trying to secure Federal “Community Project Funding” to repair the Corning Vets Hall. Not so fast, there, Bob.
The Vets Hall Ad Hoc Committee is made up of the only two veterans on the board – John Leach and Candy Carlson. They have been working on getting this funding for over a year. Congressman LaMalfa announced there was money available for NorCal veterans projects at a ribbon cutting for the new Vets Center in Chico. Leach attended that event and he got the ball rolling. It was his idea, not Williams’.
John Leach – photo Tehama County Website
Candy Carlson – photo Tehama County Website
Leach and Carlson enlisted Sam Dorsey, LaMalfa’s staff member, to help the county jump through the necessary hoops to apply. They invited Dorsey to tour the Corning Hall and he has been extremely helpful. He’s also a really nice guy. The County conducted an architectural and engineering evaluation of the facility, which resulted in a detailed report of costly repairs needed. The funding request will be discussed at the April 19, 2022 meeting of the supes, with an application submission deadline of April 25.
Corning Veterans Memorial Hall – photo by George Johnston – Red Bluff Daily News
Watch Williams try to grab all the credit if the funding comes through. If he made a phone call or emailed LaMalfa, we thank him heartily. But he has represented D4 for 16 years and the conditions at the hall did not deteriorate overnight. Now – just months prior to the election – he finally picks up a phone? File that under too little too late. And to take credit for the work of others is unbecoming and deceitful.
Also, he has no business sticking his nose into the projects of an Ad Hoc of which he is not a member. When he talks to staff about an ad hoc item he’s not involved in, he limits what staff can say to the actual ad hoc members because of the Brown Act, which could potentially endanger the status of the funding. Let’s all stay in our lanes, shall we? A simple “thank you” to supervisors Leach and Carlson on behalf of your district would suffice.
Williams’ opponent this June is Red Bluff police officer Matt Hansen. His video series “Behind the Sign” is fantastic. You can find it on Facebook, YouTube and Hansen4Tehama.com. The first two chapters have been released and address issues relevant to southwest Tehama.
Photo courtesy Hansen4Tehama
Matt has been front and center in the groundwater discussions, standing up for the domestic users whose wells have been affected by the megadrought and the surge of ag wells drawing down the aquifers. Tell your friends in Corning, Paskenta, Flournoy, Rancho Tehama, etc…
Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Ramadan Mubarak. To observe all these holidays, eat deviled eggs and latkes while you’re not fasting.
