POSITIONS ON LEGISLATION: The Siskiyou County
Board of Supervisors is opposing H.R. 2421 and S. 1870 the federal Clean Water Restoration
Act which would formally extend federal regulatory authority to intrastate navigable
waters and to non-navigable waters entirely within state boundaries. (Intrastate Navigable
Waters are already under federal jurisdiction under the authority of the Commerce Act.)
The Board also opposed the elimination of federal funding for Rural Development, (water
and wastewater, economic development, microenterprise and small business loans,) from the House version of federal Farm Bill. Federal
bills can be reviewed here: http://thomas.loc.gov/
On the State level, the Board recently opposed SB 331 (Romero.) The
bill proposes to establish a separate offense of trespass on “Indian Lands,”
which would only apply to non-Indians or non-tribal members. Such a law would create
jurisdictional and enforcement nightmares in areas, such as the Quartz Valley Indian
Reservation. Lands within the original boundaries of the Reservation have seen many
changes in land status over the years creating a mixed ownership pattern.
The Board also recently opposed S.B. 1617 (Kehoe,) which proposes to
levy hundreds of dollars in fee assessments on improved parcel owners in the State
Responsibility Area (SRA) served by CalFire. This includes areas also served by many small
non-district fire companies in Siskiyou County. State bills can be reviewed here: http://leginfo.ca.gov/
SUBSTANCE ABUSE COLLABORATIVE
COALITION: I am very excited about a new countywide effort that is being funded by a
grant from Cal-Endowment. The Substance Abuse Collaborative Coalition has started an
intensive planning process that will span the next 12 months. The product will be a plan
for a countywide system for the prevention, treatment and successful recovery of
individuals of all ages and families affected by substance abuse. The effort will involve:
(1) meeting with successful coalitions in other areas to determine what works; (2) meeting
with community focus groups to identify such things as unmet needs and barriers to access;
(3) interviewing service providers, County Department Heads, health professionals and
others to learn about existing programs, funding streams, costs, policies and regulations;
and (4) examining state and federal public policy, funding and trends.
The completed plan will identify specific actions to be taken to
create a comprehensive countywide collaborative system and to increase access to services.
An implementing long-term action plan will identify responsibilities and commitments
needed to make it happen.
TECH. PREP.: Last week I
also attended a meeting to approve a five year “Tech. Prep.” Plan for students
seventh through twelfth grade. I admit to being completely new to this effort, but have
long been interested in providing career paths for our local youth that will: (1) provide
them with a good living wage for their families: (2) keep them in Siskiyou County; (3)
fill jobs that local businesses have difficulty filling.
There are paths to 15 possible technical careers. These include
agriculture, construction, health sciences, child development, engineering, energy
industry, public services, transportation, and computers (IT – information
technology.) Based on student interest and county job trends, schools could incorporate
preparatory curriculum into their classes that will help to build a good foundation for a
particular technical career. When the student graduates, they can continue studies in that
career at the College of the Siskiyous (COS) – often acquiring a certificate. They
can also continue on to a four-year college for degrees such as engineering.
One example is the health science path already offered in some high
schools. COS Yreka will be breaking ground shortly for their new Health Science facility,
offering some wonderful opportunities for young adults to get prepared for interesting
local careers in health and medicine.
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