Letters for July 28, 2005

Flagging respect
Michael Jones thinks flying numerous flags of the United States on the streets of Chico adds a festive air to our town [“Flags aplenty,” Letters, July 14]. If the flags were properly displayed, there would be no disagreement. However, the flags are flown day and night, in rain and wind, until half are wound around their poles. Some are tattered, and one looked like someone had taken it down, wadded it into a ball and stuck it back on its pole.

If a flag is going to be displayed for an extended time, it needs to be tended to and not ignored. Treating the flag in this manner does not add a festive air to Chico, nor is it patriotic. It is disrespectful. And Mr. Jones would like to extend this disrespect to the California Bear Flag and flags of other countries.

Perhaps the patriots of Chico, along with the ever-civic-minded Mr. Jones, could come up with a respectful manner of displaying the U.S. flag. Then we can move on to other flags.

Donald Smith
Chico

Suckered
Ye of bountiful faith! Are you partaking of the governor’s steroids, or what?

Why do you think “three retired judges” would be any more objective than the Legislature, which at very least stands for election, however bought and paid for that election may be [“Put it on the ballot,” Editorial, July 14]?

And who appoints those judges? I thought so.

I’m neither a Republican nor a Democrat, but this thing is so obviously a Republican end-run around majority politics that I’m flabbergasted the News & Review would be suckered by it.

So far from being the “one initiative he’s sponsoring that is clearly worthwhile,” it is the worst of the whole lousy bunch!

We can’t hate democracy this much!

This passes, and it’s advantage Texas, which has no problem with the majority writing new boundaries. As long as that majority is Republican, I suppose.

Len Fulton
Paradise

Ed note: The status of Prop. 77, the redistricting initiative, is currently in limbo, and it may or may not appear on the November special election ballot.

Orovillian like me
I thank you for your tenacity and especially the people interviewed for the “Race matters” article [cover story, July 14]. The people interviewed for this article were courageous and concise, sharing their life’s lessons with restraint, grace and class.

I too have seen the stink-eye batting in Chico, and I am predominantly Swedish, with a touch of English, German and Cherokee thrown in. The “but” is, I’m from Oroville.

Relocating to Oroville in the early ‘80s and working in Chico, I found myself doing much of my shopping in Chico. I learned quickly how welcome an Oroville check is there. They took my money, with a preponderance of ID, but not without a snide remark—or attitude, as it is called today. That was 1980.

As an Orovillian working in Chico, I have experienced the local charm. Upon my promotion the smallness of the women I worked with only escalated, they being locals and me not. Ignorance is bliss, ignorance is dull, ignorance is. Not one of us has control of the circumstance of our birth, but we sure do have control of our character, and the responsibility to develop it.

Yesterday while I was out shopping, the CN&R stand caught my eye. Put a pick-up with a dog on the cover or a trophy fish, and you might have to pay for a copy. Sadly, a week after publication with the picture of a black man on the cover, the issue is yellowing in the sun. Very telling, wouldn’t you say?

P. Nelson-Leis
Oroville

School tragedy
We’re embarrassed that it took a grand jury to say what we all knew about the corruption of Chico Unified School District.

We’ll never forget parents criticized for questioning the district. Where’s the apology and retribution owed to Jeff Sloan, Frank Thompson, Lisa Reynolds, Anne Stephens and Marsh Junior High? The grand jury said they deserve an apology and retraction of all allegations. They deserve much more.

Amazingly, it concluded that serious abuses only happened under the new principal and at other schools. It was covered up. Will they be disciplined? If not, why not? Or will we attack only the innocent?

We commend Scott Huber for asking for Superintendent Scott Brown’s immediate resignation. Jeff Sloan stood in front of his staff, took the unwarranted hits and paid the price for his courage. Now we need to make it up to him and his family.

We are impatiently waiting to hear apologies from the district for its ignorance. Reinstatement of Sloan and Thompson is certainly necessary, and until it happens this will never end.

This process has lowered the level of education in our community for years to come. Who would be foolish enough to go the “extra mile” for our children? We hear this from many teachers.

We’d like to thank Jeff Sloan and Frank Thompson for going the extra mile for the children of Chico, and I’d like to apologize to them for the terrible treatment from Scott Brown. We cannot imagine how devastating the last year has been. Our community, our schools and Marsh are less without them.

Dr. Robert and Shawn Rippner
Chico

Appalling negligence
This letter is in regard to the article in the News & Review concerning Chico Police Chief Bruce Hagerty and his apparent filing of a workers'-comp claim with his employer, the city of Chico [“Chief wants workers’ comp,” Newslines, July 14].

How dare you go around poking and prodding at personal work- and health-related issues simply because they have to do with a police chief? The fact that he may be retiring within the next year or so is completely irrelevant in your attempts to justify his supposed worker’s-comp case. I find it appalling that your negligence is so blatant for all of the public to see.

It is indeed against the law to go around conducting free-lance investigations into a person’s personal health information, and quite honestly it is disturbing to find that a newspaper would go about doing this instead of some low-grade criminal. Not only is any information related to health care to be 100 percent protected under federal law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), moral restraints usually intervene with this sort of an issue long before it makes it to the printing press.

As a “professional” organization the News & Review should know better than to even investigate such affairs. Shame on you.

Shea Cardinalli
Enloe employee
Chico State student