Opinion

Thank you, firefighters

Aug. 28, 2012 — Northeastern California is in flames, and for many Lassen and Plumas, Tehama, Shasta and Modoc county residents, ranchers, farmers, homeowners and landowners, a group of brave and dedicated firefighters is the only defense standing between them and a heart-wrenching and devastating wall of fire.

These teams of firefighters — from the men and women on the blackened ground with hand tools to the fire engine and water tender drivers to the heavy equipment operators to the management teams that direct the firefighting efforts to the folks who manage the communications — come from our own local fire districts, from state and federal agencies and from fire departments from all across the United States.

Yes, firefighters working this week in Northeastern California have come from all over the country with one goal in mind — to protect us. Of course, there are firefighters and equipment from Oregon, Washington and Colorado, but we’ve also noticed firefighters from as far away as Minnesota and Hawaii.

Preparedness is a virtue all should strive to obtain

Aug. 28, 2012 — Friends of mine had to leave their home in Canyon Dam because of a mandatory evacuation during the Chips Fire. They had more than a week to secure important records and select items to move, which was helpful.

As I looked around my home I realized I am not prepared to leave should a forest fire threaten. Yet at a Chips Fire update Rocky Opliger, the incident commander, warned when the fire south of Highway 89 is extinguished there is always a chance another wildfire will threaten homes because the woods are dry.

Fire officials mentioned websites to access information about preparedness, such as wildlandfiresg.org (Ready, Set, Go!) and firewise.org. I think about all the information we have on this topic of preparedness for a great variety of situations — in the event of an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, house fire, blizzard, etc.

I can’t tell you how many times I have watched a video about getting out of an automobile submerged in water but at the moment I cannot remember a single step.

Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish reality from politics

Aug. 21, 2012 — Perception is reality — that’s the message I heard repeatedly from several elected public officials when I first started writing for the Lassen County Times more than a decade ago. I’ve always hated that particular mindset because I believe it’s an obvious falsehood per se.

Let me explain with an example. First you see me as you walk along a darkened alley. Then you decide I’m a threat to your safety. Perception takes over. Your heart races, and your palms get sweaty as we awkwardly pass in the night. Whew. You relax, happy to have survived an encounter with danger. Here’s the problem — the reality of that perception was all in your head because I never intended you harm. Perception is reality? No, it’s not.

Learning to write in an unfamiliar format is frustrating

Aug. 21, 2012 — For as long as I can remember I’ve always liked to write. Since I was taught, “See Spot run,” and came to the realization that I could replace “Spot” with anyone’s name, I was hooked.

I wrote such classics as, “See Dad run,” and “See Spot sit.” The idea of being able to invoke your thoughts so anyone could understand them was something magical.

Another aspect that always interested me is the power of the format. Plays have their own format, as do letters, essays, articles and lyrics to songs.

Poems alone have multiple formats, depending on if it is a prose, haiku, limerick or standard four-line poem.

In grade school at Pioneer Elementary (may she rest in peace), I learned the basics: nouns, verbs and adjectives. If I was feeling real crazy I would sometimes throw in an adverb here and there.

Overwhelming evidence shows deputy acted in self-defense

Aug. 21, 2012 — Few events are as serious as an officer-involved shooting. Law enforcement personnel are supposed to protect us, the public. When they harm us instead, a full accounting is in order. For the officer, a shooting, particularly a fatal shooting, can be career threatening. For these reasons, there are special protocols for handling such incidents.

So it is reassuring to see how Plumas County’s law enforcement community has approached the fatal shooting in June of a Quincy man, Dennis Jason Majewski, by Plumas County Sheriff’s Deputy Tom Froggatt.

In a lengthy and detailed report released last week, Plumas County District Attorney Dave Hollister found that Froggatt was completely justified in his actions. “The overwhelming credible evidence shows Deputy Froggatt acted in self-defense and in defense of others,” Hollister wrote. “I think he saved not only his own life, but a number of lives in that trailer park.”