Letters to the Editor for the week of 3/25/20
Guidelines for letters
All letters must contain an address and phone number. Only one letter per week per person will be published; only one letter per person per month regarding the same topic will be published. Feather Publishing does not print third-party, anonymous or open letters. Letters must not exceed 300 words. Writers responding to previously published letters may not mention the author by name. The deadline is Friday at noon; deadlines may change due to holidays. Letters may be submitted at any of Feather Publishing’s offices, sent via fax to 283-3952 or emailed to [email protected]
Thought “Fullness”
Pete Upton is my next door neighbor. He is part of the CHP family here in Quincy.
His thoughtfulness in helping many on my street has been beyond amazing. He has come to my rescue numerous times. I could not have gone to the grocery store, kept appointments, had he he not cleared my driveway. He has taken the mantle for three other people and their freedom to go out and take care of their business as well.
Very thoughtful for him. Makes me feel safe to know he is also in charge of my safety as a law enforcement officer. Thank you, Pete, for all you do.
Bette Maddon
Quincy
Helping our Town
The COVID-19 virus has overwhelmed our lives in the last couple of weeks and continues to raise our concerns about social interactions, which affects everything we do in a small town. While we social distance and/or shelter in place, many of our hard working businesses are already struggling with the typical winter season slow down. We all know how important it is to keep our local economy stimulated and our businesses afloat. Without knowing how long this virus might last, and with many large cities employing the shelter in place idea of quarantine for unknown durations, we might want to think about how we can help our local businesses now.
While I was on the phone discussing ways to mitigate issues that face our community with Matt at the Toy Store I thought, why not just buy a gift certificate over the phone. So, I did! It only took a couple of minutes. He said he would just put it in an envelope and mail it to me, and we finished our lovely conversation. It truly couldn’t be easier. I imagine most businesses would welcome the influx during this quieter time. And, while we’re social distancing, we can still have contact with our wonderful shopkeepers and restaurateurs over the phone.
I did notice on the Toy Store Facebook page, a short video Matt did explaining that he will take orders on the phone for toys and deliver them to you, curbside. Now, that’s a progressive idea! Especially for us older folks. That would be a great idea for restaurants and grocery stores. We call, place our order, give our credit card and pick it up.
Another idea is purchasing Gift Certificates, which might just be a gift now to the local businesses. If we spread out the time of our reclaiming the certificates, it wouldn’t have as big an impact on the businesses, finding their sea legs when life returns to “normal.” Or maybe, we buy the certificate but, if the business has a long road to recovery, we don’t actually use the certificate. I have seen our community come together time and time again, in unimaginable solidarity to help a fellow Quincy friend, whether we knew them or not, through tough times. This could be the Go-Fund-Me idea for our local businesses during the unprecedented Corona Virus pandemic. Share this idea with your neighbors and friends, over social media or the phone, of course. This is just one simple act that might help our sweet town and all of its inhabitants.
Susan Holmes
Quincy
Luck o’ the Irish
At great personal risk the wise, old soothsayer eluded the guards to issue a warning to Julius Caesar: “Beware the ides of March,” from the play, Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare. The warning for this Fifteenth of March came from the meteorologists. Earlier that week, the World Championship Longboard Races at Johnsville were canceled due to a complete lack of snow; then we saw so much snow that the road was nearly impassable. On top of that, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, groups of ten or more are outlawed and anyone over 65 is confined at home until further notice.
Being stranded at home was almost tolerable as long as there was light to read by, a few DVDs to watch, a running refrigerator, stove, and heat. We’re fortunate to have a woodstove and can bypass the electric igniter on the stovetop with a match or lighter; but we discovered one other major disadvantage when the power went out. No electricity means no water pressure and no water pressure means no hot showers.
That is why I am extremely grateful to the crews of electrical workers who braved the storm to restore the power supply to Indian Valley on the afternoon of St. Patrick’s Day, and so was everyone else in the house.
Gene Nielsen
Crescent Mills
Wake up!
It’s obvious people are not taking this virus seriously, though we’ve had no confirmed outbreak in Plumas County, it’s only a matter of time before we do. With people traveling back and forth to Reno where there are confirmed cases no one is using safety precautions to keep it from spreading to Plumas County. Schools, Public Offices, DMV, Courthouse, Welfare Dept., Health Dept., Probation and Child Support Dept., should be closed to the public to prevent any spread of the virus. We as a community should be doing more in preventive measures no one is immune to the Corvid-19 virus. People need to wake up, this is real!
A 10-month-old baby has tested positive to one of the 38 virus panels in Washoe County, this is getting too real! Wake up Plumas County!
Tia Sharp
Portola
Seniors are not the only ones at risk from COVID-19
Seniors are not the only ones at risk from COVID-19. According to an article published in Academic Pediatrics back in 2011, 32 million children in the U.S. had chronic health conditions, and 14 million had conditions that required special health care needs. Examples of chronic health conditions in children include asthma, diabetes, obesity and heart problems (there are many more).
Even if these stats were way off, would you want to endanger even one child? All it takes to protect another human being is hand washing, coughing and sneezing in your elbow, social distancing, self-monitoring, testing and home isolation if tested positive (and medical care as ordered by a physician). Even if it comes down to lockdowns, it’s about saving lives. (And who knows? You may be compromised and not even know it, having a health condition that hasn’t been diagnosed yet.)
It’s so true: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We’re all in this together. Let’s stand united in this world-wide fight against the Coronavirus for every person on the planet — children, teenagers, adults and seniors.
Crystal Williams
Indian Valley
Not a platform
Letters to the Editor is not a platform to make plugs for ones organization or program. Comments and opinions is its intent (in my personal opinion). Enough with all the promotion for one’s special program or favorite politician. Many of these promos are already well worn-out here already. Try to say something new I haven’t heard.
Larry Weaver
Quincy
Town Hall Meeting with Huckbee
Why am I not surprised that people who hold Huckabee in high regard will pay so little attention to a pandemic during which Town Hall meetings should be cancelled, not scheduled?
Are these people not sufficiently educated to understand what is in process right now? That the USA was behind Italy when we got hit with covid-19? That our own present rate of increase in infected persons is running — worse than Italy — where they can’t bury their dead fast enough to keep up?
What is it with this kind of American hubris? I find no explanations suitable for public expression. This is despicable, self-centered behavior.
Imagine people “thinking” like this trying to administrate a new state in the union. Incredible.
Hank Alrich
Greenville
Corona virus, etc.
It’s a problem. But realistically, it could be worse. We are lucky to live in Quincy. We don’t have a lot of people spreading the virus, we have an excellent hospital and the Sheriff and deputies will do a superb job, as always.
We all need to cooperate with the authorities because it will make their jobs easier. Let’s face it neighbors, it is a crisis.
President Trump has done a great job assembling all of the measures and assistance at his disposal. It is well realized that his opposition is critical, as always, but they have not made any helpful proposals. The old adage is still applicable, i.e. “don’t bitch unless you have a better idea.” The swamp people have no ideas, nothing. They stuck their heads in the swamp mud. The two front runners Biden and Bernie, have only smart remarks, but contribute nothing. Make no mistake about it. Biden made millions when he was Vice President and Bernie is a hard nosed Communist.
John Wayne starred in the movie, Green Berets. He made the following statement: “In my day you were either Pro-America or a Commie. You can call yourself ‘liberal,’ ‘Progressive,’ or ‘Socialist’ but you are still nothing more than a rotten Commie.”
It seems that the time has come to take sides.
Bernie calls President Trump incompetent and that kind of statement does not create the needed unity. Let’s take his idea of forgiving the student loans. It sounds good, oil the surface. A lot of the new generation folks have loan debts. Bernie has not disclosed the results, if it becomes a fact. If the government actually forgives the debts, the Congress is hard pressed to start a new student loan program. If there is no federal program, commercial lenders will loan the money. That maybe create many problems. What happens to the people who paid all those years. Will they get a refund? Then there is the thought that you and I, the taxpayers, pay the loans. Are we prepared to pay for the education of other peoples’ kids?
You see, it’s a lure to get votes. He knows he is not being truthful. Again, a lie and no solution!
Stay healthy!
Jan Klement
Quincy
Failure
So, there’s a proposal that every adult be given $1,000 dollars and every child $500 to help with the recovery of our economy. OK.
And who is it to be counted as one to benefit as an adult or a child? There are those in need living close to the border, those living within the cracks of every city. How will they to be accounted for? Who is the authority to say Yes to one and No to another? Each decade the new census is argued over as being true or not. And even for our legal but undocumented citizens who live amid the cracks of our cities, how are they to be found, how are they to participate? When it’s been impossible for authorities to simply keep track of those students here on educational visas — where they live now, how shall we keep track of these Economy Recovery payments made to those without name nor address? How shall that box be checked off, the name identified?
For decades to come this will be political fodder for liberal, social democrats crying about injustice. “This is not enough! … Not enough, not enough!”, “Failure, failure!, too little, too little.” And shall it be too that a President-to-come will speak, from his heart, “Yes, my precious, they’ll remember my thousand kindnesses?” Yes, my precious, failure, failure, more, more.
Julien Howe
Greenville
The Phaistos Disk
This relic was found in the Phaistos ruins in 1908. It is a 7 inch clay disk with 45 small symbols pressed into each side in a spiral pattern. 160 in all. Each side is divided into thirty enclosures. For over a hundred years, scholars have attempted to interpret the symbols as a third Minoan language, along with Linear A (not deciphered) and Linear B, an ancient form of Greek.
In 1960, I walked 24 miles across Crete to Phaistos. Barely a soul was at the site or on the road. The attempted decipherments still bothered me. I finally wrote a letter to the ‘World Archaeology’ staff in Oxford. In my opinion, it is not a language. It is merely a list of available specialists within the 60 small cities controlled by Knossos. The incredibly modern and technologically sophisticated complex at Knossos was devastated by a major earthquake in c1700 B.C. My guess is that the ruling administration moved to temporary headquarters at the equally impressive palace (perhaps less damaged) in Phaistos, while Knossos was being rebuilt. Each small city would provide professionals for Knossos’ reconstruction. The clear impressions indicate such occupations as stonemasons, carpenters, plasterers, fishermen, water works crews, farmers (various symbols for grains, olives and grapes), charioteers, potters, leather workers and messengers (both on foot and on horseback). Most of the symbols are obvious; Cretan boats, three pronged octopus spears, fish, hides, vases, wheels, saws, carpenter’s squares, double oxen team yokes, and beehives — even boxing gloves and a possible dancing bear for entertainment. Some symbols are less obvious, but they also appear to represent forms of occupation. One might denote a mill. My letter was published, but so far no rabid response from disappointed scholars.
Wallace B. Eshleman
Quincy