Page 4 - Reedley Exponent 5-30-19 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A4 Thursday, May 30, 2019 Editorial & Opinions
Serving “The World’s Fruit Basket” since 1891
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION
Jon Earnest — Editor / Sports Juanita Adame — Panorama Editor Budd Brockett — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“I write down every- thing I want to re- member. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what it is I wrote down, I spend the time look- ing for the paper I wrote it down on.”
Beryl Pfizer
Try to imagine, if you will, what it would feel like to run a business where you had a virtually unlimited access to capital and restrictions and regulations had been care- fully scripted so they did not apply to you. If you were to make really egregious mistakes, there would never be any fear of retribution because, effectively through the years you had carefully stacked and bribed a board of directors who were friendly to any position you chose. Your “customers” really had no choice but you.
Memorial Day event is a homecoming for Reedley native Vernon Schmidt
Fred Hall
The annual Memorial Day cer- emony at Reedley Cemetery proved to be a homecoming or sorts for the guest speaker, Vernon Schmidt. That’s because Schmidt, the commander of the Ex-POWs Chapter 1 in Central California, was born at a house on Lac Jac Avenue west of Reedley in 1926.
“My grandparents on my mother’s side were immigrants from Sweden. My grandparents on my father’s side were immigrants from Germany, but have lived in Poland and Russia, came over here and started a bramd new life,” he said. “I had my father serve in World War I. My mother, three of her six brothers served in World War I. My brother and I both served in World War II. I have a son and son- in-law. My son-in-law served in Viet- nam. And they have a son, one of my grandsons, a West Point graduate who served over in Iraq.”
Schmidt said he’s been gone from Reedley for more than 45 years, but “my roots are still in this beautiful city,” he said. “This city offered a lot of things to a lot of people, and an op- portunity for many people who came here. Even during the dust bowl years in the mid 1930s, they came out here for a new way of life.”
Schmidt said that during World War II, about 40 members of the Full
Gospel Tabernacle Church — then lo- cated at 12th and E streets — went off to fight in the war. And he presented the audience with a fascinating fact.
“Something that is and was lasting to me that I still I feel deeply inside my heart, is [that] someone in that church—24hoursaday—wason their knees, praying for those 40 guys. There was a plaque up in front of that church with a star by each person. All 40 returned, a real testimony.” As the audience applauded, he said “I’m grateful today that I’m open of those survivors.”
Schmidt grabbed the audience’s attention with his experiences from World War II, and his many travels since that war.
Explaining the origins of Memori- al Day, Schmidt said in 1864 Congress- man James Garfield, who went on to become America’s 20th president, came to Arlington National Cemetery and spoke. He read some of Garfield’s words:
“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave or one word they spoke. But we do know they summed up and perfected by one supreme act – the highest vir- tues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts and made immor-
tal their patriotism and their virtues.”
As Schmidt reiterated, words
well said. •••
I mentioned in
our May 23 issue
that a list of Reed-
ley College’s 12 em-
ployees who retired
at the end of the 2018-19 school year would be published in this column.
Here is the list of retirees: Rudy Guzman, automotive technology in- structor (25 years); David Richey, aviation maintenance instructor (12 years); Everett Sandoval, informa- tion systems instructor (22 years); David Borofka, English instructor (36 years); Janice Zigler, English/reading instructor (32 years); Barbara Fowler, instructional technician-Art (PPT) (15 years); Shannon Jefferies, head vol- leyball coach/instructor (22 years); Maria Ortiz, mathematics instructor (34 years); Sharon Wu, computer sci- ence instructor (23 years); Rosemarie Elizondo, biology instructor (27 years); Rebeca Figueroa, food service worker (17 years); and Steven Maciel, alter- nate media specialist (20 years).
Congratulations and best future wishes to all retirees!
What we have essentially identified above are many of the various political bureaucracies — as well as their attitudes — who seem to oversee every aspect of our daily activities throughout this country. That bribed board to which I refer would be those voters who have been endowed — by our educational system with socialistic tendencies — and have become so enamored with the “free” stuff you provide they continue to return politicians to office.
Ballot harvesting and other forms of election scamming pro- vide a solid basis for maintaining the “hands-out” crowd to whom the politicians provide all sorts of manna. Ballot harvesting is problematic at its best and is banned in most states. The chain of control for that ballot should not be allowed to pass through a third party.
A reasonable place to start would be right here in Califor- nia where the state has sued the Trump administration almost 50 times over inane issues. The latest episode involves about $1 million California needs to “finish” the High Speed Rail. We were told recently that there is no way to finish that project. Our governor says that, when finished, the HSR will go from Mer- ced to Bakersfield but will be a tremendous boost to the Valley’s economy. Sure! We would suggest a feasibility study to see if that really does “pencil out.”
What we need is full and complete audit and accounting of where and exactly how all this taxpayer money has been spent. Consultants, cost overruns and absolute waste would surely be identified as the same old government incompetence we’ve all come to expect. What makes the governor and his attorney gen- eral think any investor should be expected to do? Pour money into any project which has been so poorly run from the get-go?
At least this Trump administration is attempting to place some safeguards on whether our money continues to be wasted or properly overseen! Why on earth does Gavin Newsom feel that he is divinely entitled to continue to pour money down a rathole. This is one of the best examples of government incompetence and lack of accountability in our recollection.
When one takes into consideration the huge fraud being per- petrated on the taxpayers of California with the High Speed Rail boondoggle, understand that the Democrats in Sacramento are not through with us. They want to provide free health care to everyone. Illegal immigrants from anywhere in the world are welcome to treatment of your choice by the rest of us who will pay the bill. Add to that mess the fact that there are illegals being housed in our public housing units while American citizens are on an abstract waiting list. The state of California is currently spending roughly $26 billion annually on illegal aliens, arguably showing a preference for them over citizens.
Given the propensity for voter fraud throughout California perhaps we already have our answer why the scale is being tipped.
How does the state continue to excel in-depth dumbness? How about the recent decision by lawmakers to begin the establish- ment of special banks to provide services to marijuana growers? Just forget that regular federally chartered banks are forbidden by the law. California officials apparently believe they can pick and choose which laws they are willing to obey. Surely their cur- rent position on illegal immigration vis-a-vis federal law indicates that such would be their preferred position.
If Sacramento’s actions are, if nothing else predictable, one can expect that preference will be given for those charters for banks to previously convicted felons. At least that was the direc- tive in awarding licenses to operate pot shops. I suppose those are the people most skilled at supplying our young people with a drug that leaves them in a stupor and devoid of any ambition.
That is a somewhat truncated view of how our legislators and officials operate a multi-billion dollar business without those constraints with which all the rest of us face on a daily busi- ness. Need money? No problem — just raise taxes on something or someone. Restrictions and regulations? No problem — they exempted themselves. Doesn’t make sense? No problem — what are they going to do with when the grand idea is an abject failure. Maybe it’s the fact that being governed by this kind of stupidity that is causing taxpayers to flee the state by the tens of thou- sands.
My point is writing this was that government should subscribe to basic business principals. Spend wisely and spend less. They should spend less than they take in. The result would be better government and a contingency fund for emergencies instead of a monstrous debt. That board of which I spoke is us, the taxpayers, and we should demand better.
Jon Earnest
But, as always, that’s only one man’s opinion.
The last of the Bailey Brothers of World War II
By Paul Kengor
Guest columnist
Five years ago, for Me- morial Day 2014, I wrote about the five Bailey broth- ers of World War II. This year, I’m writing about them maybe for the last time.
Yes, there were no less than five Baileys who served in WWII. That fact is known to those who at- tend the annual Memo- rial Day parade in Mercer, Pennsylvania. The parade is pure Americana: local rotary club, high-school bands, church groups, vet- erans of wars.
The veterans marching today largely wear the cam- ouflage of distant regions like Iraq and Afghanistan, or uniforms from Vietnam and Korea. Veterans from World War II, unfortunate- ly, are a dwindling sight. I wonder if we’ll see any this year.
One exhibit has long been part of the proces- sion: a classy old car with a placard announcing the “Five Bailey Brothers.”
Back in 2013, after sev- eral years of watching the Bailey car ride by, I took the time to track down the last surviving brother: Dick. I was pleasantly sur- prised to learn he lived in my town — Grove City. I called and asked if he’d give me some time to hear and write about him and his family. He agreed.
Born Christmas Eve 1922, Dick served in World War II along with his broth- ers Fred, Alphonse (known as “Fonnie”), Jim, and John. All five volunteered after Pearl Harbor and were dispatched into enemy ter- ritory. “All had combat,” says Dick—in Europe, the Pacific, Northern Africa; land, sea, air.
Fred was shot and taken prisoner by the Nazis. “The Germans didn’t treat him well,” Dick told me. “Fred said it was horrible.... He was only 110 pounds when he came home.” He won a purple heart.
Dick was in the Army Air Corps. He and his broth- er John were in the war the longest. Dick served on six Pacific islands. In the Schouten Islands, the Japa- nese bombed almost every night, typically two hours at a time, throughout Dick’s eight-month stay. “You didn’t sleep very much,” remembered Dick.
In all, Dick served con- tinuously from December 1942 until January 1946: “I was never home the whole time until January 1946.”
I asked Dick about the moment he finally got home. It was the winter of 1946. For weeks, he so- journed from the other side of the earth, only to encoun- ter a terrific snowstorm as he neared Western Pennsyl- vania.
He took the train from Pittsburgh to Grove City.
Unbeknownst to Dick, his parents had moved to the nearby little town of Har- risville. Dick arrived very late, consigned to a 24-hour diner by a foot-and-a-half of snow. His parents had no idea he was headed home. Amazingly, they hadn’t heard from him in years, and he hadn’t heard from them—such were the dreadful lines of commu- nication and secrecy. Dick hadn’t been in touch with his brothers either. For all he knew, they might all be dead. He had no clue.
Dick also had no clue of his parents’ new address. At the diner, he saw an old buddy, who informed him where his parents were living. With this useful new information, Dick made his way. He showed up at his parents’ house at 5:00 A.M. His half-asleep mother scurried to the door and saw her son for the first time in four years. She cried, he cried.
Dick’s parents then in- formed him of something he yearned to know: all of his brothers had survived. He was the last one they were waiting on.
Unfortunately, all of Dick’s brothers now lived elsewhere, two of them newlyweds. His two sisters had also gotten married. In 1942, Dick had left a happy, vibrant home of nine. The war had emptied the Bailey household. But at least all were alive.
Dick would go on to out- live them all.
Over the last couple of years, I was curious about Dick’s situation. I often drove by and looked toward his house, the one with the giant flagpole in the front- yard, with Old Glory always raised high. He lived across the street from the firehall, between two churches. Lately, the house looked like it might be vacant. It turns out it was.
A few months ago, I unexpectedly got an email from Dick’s grandson, Kody, noting that his grand- father had passed away a few days shy of his 95th birthday.
And so, with Dick Bai- ley’s passing, so ends an era. The five Bailey broth- ers are all gone, and there will no longer be a car in the Mercer Memorial Day Parade with a Bailey boy wearing World War II badges. They have left us, but they leave us with the eternal hope that the en- tire Bailey family is united again at last.
Paul Kengor is profes- sor of political science and executive director of the In- stitute for Faith & Freedom at Grove City (Pa.) College. His latest book (April 2017) is “A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Rea- gan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century.” He is also the au- thor of “11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative.
Letters Policy
THE REEDLEY EXPONENT invites letters from the public on any topic of local relevance. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity or brevity, and we reserve the right to NOT publish them if they could be deemed libelous or profane. Letters should
be 300 words or less, and bear the author's name, address, and phone number. Letters can be mailed, emailed (jon@midvalleypublishing.com), submitted via our website, or personally delivered to: Editor, Reedley Exponent, 1130 G St, Reedley CA 93654.
Have an opinion? Want to share it?
Weigh in. Let your voice be heard.
Send us your letter to the editor for publication on this page and on our website.
jon@midvalleypublishing.com