Opinion

Wow! Folks who were unable to attend this year’s Scott Valley Bluegrass Festival missed quite a show. The music was awesome – my feet are still tapping. The valley seems to have adopted fiddle player Annie Staninec and the Donner Mountain Bluegrass Band as their own. This was the second year that they played and it is hoped that they will become a regular feature. I am amazed at all the volunteers who work all year to put this event together. I played a small part in my work as webmaster on the Chamber of Commerce website. Many hands make light work, so if you would like to help with next year’s event on July 15-16, contact Don Murphy (Scott Valley Drug) or Ray Waller in Etna.

Patty Leal, a nurse with Public Health, has been working to establish a committee to work on opportunities for youth in Siskiyou County. A current project is to try to establish a countywide calendar on the internet posted with youth events, clubs and activities. The calendar will be posted on the SOS (Services and Organizations of Siskiyou County) website maintained by the library. http://catalog.co.siskiyou.ca.us/community/irispag1.htm Establishing the calendar and a regular way to keep it current could be a great senior project. If you are interested in helping with the committee or the project, call Patty at 841-2123

Anyone who attended the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board’s (NCRWQCB) scoping session on Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) might want to follow up by attending the next Scott River Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Tuesday, August 2, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Fort Jones City Hall. Topics of discussion will include: the draft sediment TMDL; the draft temperature TMDL; implementation, monitoring, and reassessment; and an update on the TMDL schedule and next steps. Unfortunately, the meeting is being held the same date and time as our Supervisor’s meeting, so I will not be able to attend. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/programs/tmdl/scott/Draft_Staff_Report.html

Local Rancher and former University of California professor, Dr. John Menke, is an expert in vegetation biology. He has protested the credibility of the science used to determine the potential for shade from riparian vegetation along the Scott River. Apparently a 300 foot riparian area is expected to be set aside for the production of large trees for shade. This is alarming and echos back to the 300 foot critical habitat once proposed for coho. At that time, it was determined that the setback was based on the tree height of a typical evergreen in a coastal area of Washington State. If these are the expectations for Siskiyou County, they would be unrealistic in the least.

Years ago, it was also determined that such a setback would take out much of the productive cropland in Scott Valley and render many smaller farms and ranches no longer viable. We need to let the NCRWQCB know that this proposal is not scientifically or economically acceptable.

California Assemblyman Doug La Malfa has joined Senator Tom McClintock http://www.legislature.ca.gov/ in introducing ACA 22 in the Assembly to amend the State Constitution in regards to eminent domain. The legislation limits the use of eminent domain only for a public use and only if a court finds that no reasonable alternative to such condemnation exists. ACA 22 also requires that, once taken, the property must be used/occupied by the entity that did the condemning - not transferred to a private party or developer for their use. I understand that a similar proposal will be made locally.