Letters for April 11, 2002

CCSP says thanks
The Chico Community Shelter Partnership (CCSP), a nonprofit working in collaboration with local faith-based organizations to provide emergency winter shelter in the Chico area, continues to be blessed by the support of our community. On behalf of our board, I’d like to thank those who participated in the concert fund-raiser held recently at Faith Lutheran Church. A special thanks to Rebecca Torres for organizing the event and to the musicians who provided an exceptional evening of music.

In addition, the outpouring of support from the construction community has been heartwarming. We’d also like to thank the many generous people who have stepped forward to donate their resources, time and talents. These tremendous contributions serve as a reminder that by joining hands and working together our community is making a difference in the quality of life for our clients who call Chico home.

Homelessness is an issue that in some way touches everyone in Chico, and every person in our community has a role in helping to address the need. Groundbreaking on the Tim Torres Community Shelter, located south of the beautiful new California Water building on Silver Dollar Way, is expected in early May, with completion by this fall’s shelter season.

We continue to need and appreciate the community’s support as we enter into the capital campaign to raise the remaining funds to complete construction. If you are interested in participating, please contact the CCSP office at 891-9048.

Mary Flynn
CCSP Board Chairwoman

Coverage lacking
I am writing on behalf of the Hispanic Resource Council of Northern California to express our dismay with your lack of coverage regarding Dr. Betty Carr’s sudden death and her great contributions to our community.

Dr. Carr dedicated her life to serving our community in a variety of roles. She was a very active president of the NAACP Butte County Chapter for many years, a college professor at Butte-Glenn Community College, school administrator for the Oroville School District and a highly regarded consultant with the California Department of Education. She was well known throughout California for her outstanding work and vision. Dr. Carr often volunteered her expertise, energy and time as a guest speaker to address the community on such issues as civil rights, affirmative action, education, politics, racism and current events. Dr. Carr was a passionate speaker and advocate, often stating that ignorance was too costly for our society. She would often say, “Child, if you do not speak, no one will hear you.”

We suspect that if Dr. Carr had committed a crime you would have placed a color picture of her on the front pages of your paper. Dr. Carr has left a large void in our community; nonetheless, you so far have been silent. I’m following Dr. Carr’s advice and speaking up about the lack of acknowledgment demonstrated so far by your paper’s failure to cover her death and a review of her life achievements.

Jose Luiz Gonzales, Chair
Hispanic Resource Council of Northern California

Useless Animal Control
We awoke to a catfight. A stray cat had again come into our house at night and wasn’t leaving on his own volition anytime soon. He was standing his ground and brawling, threatening more painful and costly injury. I carefully removed my cat into a bedroom and called Butte County Animal Control. I assumed they would save us by coming with a pole and lasso and safely removing the stray to the Humane Society.

Surprisingly, Animal Control informed us that they do not catch stray animals, but if we wanted to catch it and box or cage it for them, they would pick it up. Aren’t they supposed to be the ones professionally trained in such matters? This is like a cop telling me that if I will apprehend and immobilize this dangerous burglar, she will come and arrest him. One of Animal Control’s main responsibilities is to protect the public from stray and wild animals. They fail miserably.

T. Jacobs
Chico

Circle incorrect answer
It is a politically incorrect question to ask, but how exactly are pedestrians and equestrians supposed to cross at a traffic circle on Manzanita? Traffic circles are convenient for motorists, in that vehicles don’t stop. But with four lanes on either side and a two-lane bottleneck in the park, won’t there be a continuous stream of cars through the traffic circle? The area is currently a serious impediment to free passage along Bidwell Park’s trails, and a traffic circle is no cure.

Michael Jones
Chico

Feed the world
Ending hunger is the greatest moral imperative of our age. For the first time in recorded history we live in a world where the grain now produced can provide 3,500 calories of food to every person on the planet. Unfortunately the world food resources are not shared with 30,000 people dying daily and two-thirds of the world underfed.

I have found that www.stophungernow.com with administrative costs of a mere 8 percent of the money contributed is one way I can share my prosperity with the world.

Norm Dillinger
Chico

Legal authority
You did the community a service with your column and picture of a couple of Chico cops’ illegal speed trap [Inside view, April 4]. Drivers need to be aware that the police think nothing of stretching the rules of what is legal in order to catch the rest of us breaking the law. I have seen cops parked in private driveways and well back in orchards with their radar traps. I have also been nearly run over by bike cops riding on the sidewalk, at night, without a light on.

Such ends-justifying-the-means thinking should have no place in law enforcement. One wonders if they use Dirty Harry films for training purposes.

At the very least, drivers who were ticketed by these guys last week should use your letter and photo to have their tickets dismissed, and these two cops should have some sort of reprimand added to their personnel file indicating that they thought they were a couple of hotshot cops who thought they were above the law.

Mike Fairchild
Received via e-mail

Editor’s note: Not so fast, Mike. Please see this week’s Inside view.

Back off Meghdadi
I’m more appalled than ever over the public outrage over Mr. Meghdadi’s conduct. While it may be warranted, it’s also ill placed. It’s offensive to most of us that his trees were cut down; however, he violated no laws in doing so. It’s his land and discretion—period. End of discussion. He’s only guilty of violating our sensibilities and wounding our collective pride.

Officials are ticked off that his behavior is tantamount to insubordination by noncompliance to their overreaching demands. They don’t want to accept just how short their sphere of influence is supposed to be. The long arm of government doesn’t belong in our lives.

The opinions expressed by the eco-fascists were absurd and out of line. This is a hard lesson to learn for all of us. One might contend that there “ought to be a law” against conduct like this. There isn’t. Until there is, people need to butt out of the constitutionally protected rights of a landowner.

I am compelled to warn our local officials of the necessity of a wary and measured response to this perceived transgression. They’re making noises that sound very much like discrimination, unlawful governmental seizure of property and outright extortion. Our local officials will find that over-pursuit on this is going to land them in a losing legal quagmire at our expense that could end up in our highest courts. Everyone needs to back off and create sane constitutionally defensible law to decrease chances of this happening again.

Gary M. Green
Chico