July 17, 2012

Published in Siskiyou Daily News

 First off, I want to mention that the deadline for entering flowers, cooking, vegetables, crafts and 100s of items for the Siskiyou Golden Fair is this Friday, July 20. My zinnias are starting to bloom and a zucchini will be ready this week, so I think I will enter a few things this year. Dug the garlic last week and there were some nice big ones. Sure glad I dug them when I did as the longer they stay in the ground the more roots they have growing.

The Scott Valley Bluegrass Festival is this weekend at the City Party in Etna. It starts on Friday night with Jammin’ on Main Street and then at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Not sure of the prices, but you can call 530-467-4144 for info.

Our Old Time Rodeo will be held at the Pleasure Park arena near Etna on July 28. It starts at 4 p.m. with Kids events of Mutton Bustin’ and Calf Riding. A variety of concessions are available.

Garden

Guess what? Lemon balm doesn’t dry well in the oven. I have always let it dry in paper bags, but decided to give it a shot of extra heat of 200 degrees in the oven. Well, it turned the leaves dark. Luckily, there is plenty of lemon balm growing so I’ll just dry another batch — naturally.

Soaker hoses are laid out with timers, but two timers are not working right. The heat is certainly keeping us busy irrigating. The orange day lilies were not gorgeous until the hot weather hit and the purple butterfly bush is starting to bloom. I love its fragrance. Smells like honey.

Oh, the peaches, plums and apples are really growing on the fruit trees. Trying to irrigate them twice a week now that the hot temps of summer have hit.

Sheriffs Event

Nearly 300 people attended the Support Rural America Sheriffs’ Event in Crescent City on Saturday. It was co-sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots and Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson said it was the most attended of their meetings so far.

Our Siskiyou Sheriff Jon Lopey participated and received a bit of ribbing from Sheriff Wilson and others, because on July 2, the liberal Huffington Post blog slammed our local sheriff. What was his crime? Well the Post claimed Lopey and other sheriffs in the West are acting “Above the law.” What a bunch of bunk! It is these sheriffs who understand the Constitution and the oath they took to defend their citizens.

One of the complaints against Sheriff Lopey is because of his opposition to the destruction of four hydro-electric dams in the Klamath River. Over 79 percent of Siskiyou County voted to keep the dams in the 2010 election, because dam removal will devastate local economies. Sheriff Lopey has explained the reasons to save the dams many times.

A Glen Martin, who claimed to be the author, but I could see huge influences from one of our local Greenies in the written words, also berated Sheriff Lopey for encouraging timber harvest. Martin stated that he had worked for the Forest Service in Trinity County in the 1970s and all the big trees had been cut down. Really? Apparently, he didn’t learn much about trees – because trees continue to grow and grow. Guess he hasn’t visited Trinity County lately or else he can’t see the forest cuz there are too many trees! The absurdity of these myths by the liberals and Greenies are so comedic.

Each of the sheriffs presented local issues and explained the beginnings of solutions: One is to vote. Another is to read and understand the Constitution. Modoc’s Mike Poindexter and Tehama’s Dave Hencratt are finding success in the legal process of coordination with federal agencies – although the agencies tend to drag their feet.

Humboldt Sheriff Mike Downey explained wildlife are dying from a chemical pot growers use to kill animals; and about silting and sediment infiltrating streams from erosion from huge pot fields.

Mendocino Sheriff Tom Allman spoke last and made strong statements. He said he is not against the federal government. Several other sheriffs backed him up, explaining they work cooperatively with many state and federal agencies.

Last year, Sheriff Allman networked with five counties to fight the marijuana growing business. In three weeks, the sheriff departments eradicated 632,000 marijuana plants and took out 57,000 pounds of trash from the marijuana plantations. Wow.

Those who would like to attend a Sheriffs’ Events and learn the critical issues facing them and their citizens, you can attend on Aug. 18, when Sheriff Allman will host the SRA Sheriffs’ panel in Ukiah.

Liz Bowen writes biographies, blogs, radio news and blogs. Check out: Pie N Politics.com and Liz Bowen.com for photos as well.