What’s that sound? Oh weird, my cell phone is ringing. Why is it doing that? Who would have the audacity to call without texting first to make sure it was OK? Plus it’s past 8pm. Can’t be anyone who knows me.
Still, my ringtone makes me happy every time I hear it. It’s Vin Scully calling the final play of Game 6 in the 1986 World Series – the Mookie Wilson dribbler. “Little roller up along first. Behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it”. Goosebumps.
Photo on eBay.com
The landline rings all the time. Yes, we’re so old we still have one of those. Hardly anybody leaves a message – except Doug LaMalfa. He does these little phone “town halls” during election years and he’s getting kind of stalkerish, honestly.
LaMalfa selfie with a former president – from twitter.com
Phone etiquette and protocol have changed in the past 20 years. Remember when we were kids? The lone rotary dial phone rang and everybody ran to pick it up even though you didn’t know who was calling. We must have been crazy. If my Dad answered, anything could happen. “May I please speak to Liz?” “She didn’t work out. We had to let her go.” What a card.
Bell phone ad 1959 – eBay.com
Now, we are suspicious of, even annoyed at, phone calls. My phone is more camera than phone. And that suits me just fine.
What doesn’t suit me at all is Item #17 on Tuesday’s Supervisors Agenda. A couple weeks ago we talked about a Consent Agenda item to hire the District Manager of the Corning Healthcare District to be Lobby Navigator for the Corning Social Services office, which has been closed since December. It was pulled from Consent, but it’s baaaa-aaack. This time it’s on the Regular Agenda along with another option, which also isn’t great. It never should have been on Consent, but it appears somebody wanted to sneak it through.
A little background. The Corning Healthcare District is a Special District that doesn’t provide healthcare. It buys and develops properties which it then leases to service providers, which is great for people in the southern part of the county. Social Services and Public Health share a building on their Solano St. campus. Tehama County pays $10,000 a month for the space.
Corning Healthcare District campus – corninghealthcaredistrict.org
In case you haven’t heard, there is a staffing shortage. Not just here and not just in government work. Social Services Director Laura Hawkins – who does a difficult job well and with a smile – asked permission to close the Corning office back in December for lack of staff. It was granted with a 4-1 vote, District 5 Supe John Leach opposing. Supervisor Carlson asked for monthly updates at the time of the vote. Social Services posted information on the door of the office directing clients to phone or come to Red Bluff, with the county providing free transportation.
This has worked out well enough, with almost all services being rendered over the phone or online. But it’s not okay with the Corning Healthcare District, who are understandably upset that the citizens of the southern part of the county are not able to access services in Corning. The CHD serves the citizens of Supervisors Leach and Williams.
Representatives from CHD, Social Services, Leach, and Williams met and it was decided that CHD would hire a Lobby Navigator so there could be a live person to greet clients and tell them they will have to either call or travel to Red Bluff. The catch is that the county would pay the $55,000 salary, even though the CHD would do the hiring and the contractor would report to them, not the entity paying the salary. The person named in the contract is Tina Williams Hale, well paid District Manager for CHD and a close relative of current D4 Supe Bob Williams. Hale spent the 15 years prior to her hire at CHD working in the bar at Wilcox Oaks Golf Club.
Photo and bio – corninghealthcaredistrict.org
This is reminiscent of the Jobs Development snafu where an unadvertised contract was awarded to the daughter of one of Williams’ developer buddies. She already had a full time position in Sacramento as the government liaison for the Sacramento Realtors Assoc., so another local gal was hired to assist. Two very nice, unadvertised contracts. History repeating.
After the item was pulled from the Consent Agenda, it was amended before being put back on the Regular Agenda. Another option was added, where Social Services and Public Health would collaborate on a position for a county employee to greet and give information to clients. The citizens, however, already know the office is closed, so putting a person there now is unnecessary. It should have happened when the office first shut down, if at all.
There are other potential solutions, too. Maybe a dedicated phone line there that clients could use to speak directly with SS? Informational brochures in a dispenser? Smart people could probably come up with more and better ideas, if asked. Hint – I’m asking.
It’s convenient for south county citizens to have an SS office in Corning, but at $10,000 a month for the building, the over $4,500 a month for this proposed salary is almost half what we pay for the whole damn thing. If the CHD wants a human greeter there so badly, they are welcome to pony up the bucks.
Will that office ever reopen? The Great Resignation continues. Everywhere you go there are Help Wanted signs. With the crappy pay the County offers, will Social Services be fully staffed before our 10 year lease on the Corning building expires in 2030? We are blessed to have the skilled and loyal Social Services employees we have now. They put up with the pay because they truly want to help others. We owe them a huge Thank You.
And speaking of people who need to be thanked, our IHSS workers will hold a rally outside the Admin Building – 727 Oak St. in Red Bluff – at 9am Tuesday before the Supes meeting. They have been working without a contract for 5 years. Some are homeless while caring for our loved ones so they can stay in their own homes. Please show your support for these wonderful people who are paid almost nothing to wipe your grandma’s butt.
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