With all the craziness from last week, I forgot to tell you about our hike up Prospect Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park. We’ve done a bunch of hikes in the park this year, but this was the best one yet. The rest have been a testament to the power of the Dixie Fire, with large swaths of incinerated forest, ash underfoot, low lake levels, and lack of wildlife.
Prospect was a welcome respite from that. The trailhead is on the trail to Cinder Cone, which starts at Butte Lake off Hwy 44 past Old Station. There was minimal damage from the fire and it was almost like pre-Dixie days.
It’s a challenging hike but the views from the top are more than worth it. It’s the third highest peak in the park, but the second hardest hike, in our opinion. 6.6 miles with a 2,277 foot elevation gain. I know – yikes, right? Brokeoff Mountain is harder and Lassen Peak is easier. None of the three have a lot of Dixie damage, but Prospect is the only one on which you likely won’t see another human.
Life will find a way
Lassen Peak
Looking down on Cinder Cone – Snag Lake to the right
Devastation
Lichen rings
Edge of the Fantastic Lava Beds
End of the trail
We hiked Prospect the day before lame duck District 4 Supervisor Bob Williams had his planned meltdown on the dais and things have escalated, not surprisingly. Since then, Supervisor Candy Carlson, who was not present during the Bob Incident, returned to town and must have been thinking, “I leave the dais for one meeting and look what happens.” While the cat’s away, the mouse commits political suicide?
For those late to the party, Bob Williams used two memes which are extremely offensive, vulgar and misogynistic. Check out last week’s column for the details, but he essentially called us all c**ts. An alert reader informed me that he also used another, lesser, acronym – the obscure and almost adorable “There We Are Then”. This confirms that his anger is directed at women, not the man who crushed him at the ballot box.
A long line of speakers expressed their outrage during the Public Comments portion of the meeting this past Tuesday, and everyone showed marvelous restraint. Pastor Scott Camp supported Williams, saying he – and all of us – will be judged later by the Big Guy Upstairs. We just don’t want to take any chances, Pastor.
Williams sat stoically, listening to each speaker – more attentive than usual.
Photo by Tori Apodaca
One can only imagine what was going through his mind. D4 Supe-elect Matt Hansen phoned in a scathing rebuke, possibly emboldened by his 66% – 34% win over Williams in the June primary.
Both KRCR and KNVN covered the meeting – Sam Chimenti followed up on his first segment.
Tori Apodaca did a story for KNVN.
There was no agenda item to discuss the situation, so everyone had 3 minutes each to make their points and no action was taken. This coming Tuesday, however, there will be an agenda item and it actually has teeth. Small but sharp little teeth.
It will be item #19, which is the first item on the Regular Agenda. Here’s what it looks like – three separate votes will be taken on sub-items a, b, and c.
a) Board discussion and possible action to request for the immediate resignation of exiting District 4 Supervisor Robert Williams.
b) RESOLUTION NO. 2022-69 – Board discussion and possible action regarding immediate censure of exiting District 4 Supervisor Robert Williams for comments read aloud in violation of Tehama County Personnel Rules: TCPR §1301: Code of Conduct and TCPR §8103: Respectful Workplace during the 07/19/22 Board of Supervisor meeting.
c) Board discussion and possible action regarding the immediate removal of exiting District 4 Supervisor Robert Williams from all committees, commissions, councils, and other appointments held by Supervisor Robert Williams under appointment by the Board of Supervisors.
The public will have unlimited time to address the board on this item – hint hint. There is additional information in the Agenda Packet, which you can access online if you have good internet. Of course, most people in Tehama don’t and that’s one of the issues we will be discussing in the near future, barring any more emotional breakdowns on the dais.
We’ll never know for sure why Williams decided on a scorched earth exit, but it is clear that he blames his loss on the women who have been vocal in their disapproval of him.
He doesn’t blame his own policies, appointments, attitude, deportment, and decisions, of course. He blames the people who found out, didn’t like it, and told their friends. There are many men who speak against him, too – one wonders why he is only lashing out at the females.
There’s a reason the supes don’t livestream video of their meetings, and it ain’t the money. It’s the same reason they hold all their meetings at 10am on Tuesdays, when normal people are at work. They do not want you to see what they’re doing.
Not all the supes, of course. And the number who embrace transparency has grown and it may be unanimous come January. With gas prices what they are, it would be nice if I didn’t have to drive down the hill every week to livestream the meetings. Over 1,000 views last week.
Will Williams do the honorable thing and step down Tuesday? The smart money says no. He had multiple chances to apologize this past Tuesday and chose not to. Without remorse there can be no forgiveness.
The board cannot force him to resign or fire him. All they can do is request his resignation. And even with a majority of Yes votes, he doesn’t have to resign. If he doesn’t, this will drag out and nobody wants that. We will be keeping track of all the votes for each of the options Tuesday and will not forget who voted how.
It’s all a (planned?) distraction from things we should be focusing on. Environmental Health Director Tim Potanovic told me 56 new dry wells were reported already this year. That means none of the dry wells from prior years were reported again, because why would you do that twice? How many go unreported? Who knows?
Map of basins and sub basins from the Tehama County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
We need a moratorium on new ag well drilling in affected areas, and that won’t happen with Williams on the board. Newsflash, Bob. That right there is a big reason you lost.
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