Page 3 - Sanger Herald 6-13-19 E-edition

SANGER HERALD 3A THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019 EDITORIAL & OPINION
Random thoughts No wonder so little gets accomplished ...
By Dick Sheppard
Best wishes for a happy Father's Day this Sunday!
I've already received
a couple of my Father's
Day presents. Last week
I got to see my beautiful
and talented daughter
sing and dance in the 2019
New Wrinkles production
"California Dreamin'" and over the weekend I got a "Fitbit" - one of those electronic gadgets that nags you to walk more, sleep more and drink 8 glasses of water a day.
I was sure I would never reach the walking goal of 10,000 steps a day. But after drinking 8 glasses of water my trips to and from the restroom made it easy.
•••
Hot weather is not waiting for the first day
of summer this year.
A fire truck showed up at my neighbor's
house at about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a day the temperature was predicted to reach 105 degrees.
Somebody saw smoke rising from his backyard and called the fire department.
He was barbecuing.
He had already shifted into his "summer in the Valley mode."
•••
Less than a week earlier, at the WAMS
promotion in Tom Flores Stadium, it had been inthelow80swith agentlebreezecooling the more than 700 students on the floor of the stadium and the probably more than 7,000 families and friends filling the stands and the extra seating area behind the scoreboard.
Itwasalothotter-atleast underthe collar - inside the community center where only about 60 people showed up for a special citycouncilpublichearing.More than
one resident pointed out to the council that the low turnout for the public hearing was probably caused by the huge turnout for the promotion ceremony.
The council listened to comments from the few who showed up and continued the public hearing to a special July 2 meeting without
not have been published and seemed more than convinced that the Herald and I somehow endorsed its position.
Maybe a good response to a letter or column you don't like would be to submit a letter or column of your own.
•••
I have frequently wondered in this column
about why our school district seems to keep getting better and our city does not.
I can't recall in the more than a decade I'vebeen attheHeraldeverseeingcityhall and almost everything it touches in more chaos than right now, not even during the four grand jury investigations it has endured.
Why?
While talking with someone recently who is very familiar with the school district I had a minor epiphany. We were talking about
all the changes that have been going on in the district and how there likely would be another smooth, seamless transition, when I realized I have not ever seen a smooth and
seamless transition at city hall.
The district has created a culture of
success it perpetuates by promoting those who have been marinating in the culture for years and are committed to preserving it.
Each new school district administration praises the former administration and carries its legacy forward.
New city hall administrations, on the other hand, have a history of condemning almost everything the previous administration did and then trying to wipe out its legacy. They start everything all over again including the tricky task of cobbling together a different city hall culture, because the way it used to be done is no longer acceptable.
No wonder so little gets accomplished. •••
"We have met the enemy and he is us."
- Pogo Possum
Please direct your questions or comments to sangerherald@gmail.com.
Dick Sheppard
making a final decision on what has become a controversial city attempt to comply
with state ordered rezoning for affordable housing.
•••
There will probably be a big crowd at a
"Celebration of Life Service" for Dr. Marvin and Jean Call at 11 a.m. this Saturday, June 15, at the Sanger Community Church, 1600 Jensen Ave. Dr. Call died on April 28 and his wife Jean died less than a month later on May 13.
Dr. Call practiced medicine in Sanger from 1963 to 1978. He was also the Apaches' team doctor for 24 years and the press box at Tom Flores Stadium is named after him.
After Sanger, Call continued to practice medicine. He worked two separate stints for the Indian Health Service as well as other jobs, traveling from Arizona, New Mexico and South Dakota.
•••
If they don't violate libel laws the Herald
will publish letters to the editor and guest columns from readers. That doesn't mean we agree with all the letters and columns.
Irecallseveralletterstotheeditorand columns that were very critical of something I wrote in this column and more than one lettercondemningmetohell.
We believe we have an obligation to share diverse opinions about controversial local subjects in order to help readers be aware of all sides of issues.
I mentioned that because I recently encountered someone who was upset by a recent letter to the editor and felt it should
In my OPINION
Is it too much to ask for a common sense
approach to illegal immigration issues?
The best Father's Day present
We welcome guest columns at the Herald
By Fred Hall
care and other ancillary services because of theoverwhelmingcrushofimmigrants. Not only are huge holes in the border left for the benefit of illegals but the drug cartels as well.
Many worry about those who are allowed to pass through who are criminals in their home country and the chaos they bring to America, but one of the biggest concerns
is the sudden outbreak of exotic diseases which had become virtually non-existent here. Routinemedicalcareandvaccinations have eliminated diseases from which many ofthesemigrantssuffer. Addtothatthere is the increased chances of the ebola virus because of reports that many of these people are not only from Mexico and Central America but from African nations as well.
I would ask the Democrats in Congress, the ever expanding cast of Democrat candidates for President in 2020 as well as California state politicians, exactly what is wrong with slowing down this mass at our border so that we might be able to do a more effective job of screening them?
An answer which is composed of common sense would be welcome. We're not talking about a picture of children in “cages” which appeared on CNN and probably goes back
to 2014 when it was originally taken. To my best recollection, Obama was President then. Perhaps that is the reason it was never shown during his administration. That very sort of “fake news” is what helped get us where we are!
All any American could ask is the application of common sense immigration laws which require that people be self- responsible, learn the native language, obey all laws of this couintry and assimilate. When we see that the state of California continues to ignore federal law and provide a lengthy list of official free handouts to those who are newly arrived, perhaps there is a perverted sense of logic after all. Where can I sign up for free health care as well as all of the other “entitlements” and go back to speaking my native language which is Okie! It doesn't seem too much to ask the use of common sense for our government officials.
That word entitlement always bothered me. What the hell did these people ever do to be entitled to the fruits of the labor of hard- working taxpayers?
Seems like welfare any way you parse it.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
In addition to the Sanger Herald, Publisher Fred Hall oversees two other Mid Valley Publishing newspapers - Reedley Exponent, and Dinuba Sentinel. He can be contacted by phone at (559) 638-2244 or by email at fred@ midvalleypublishing.com.
If you've already read
the commentary piece on
the front page of last week's
newspaper, you already knowthatthisweekly
publication is about to get
bigger and more interesting tofulfillyourneedfor
knowledge of what is
happening right here in the Valley. On July 4, Independence Day, we will be combining The Sanger Herald, The Dinuba Sentinel and The Reedley Exponent into one regional package to cover this portion of the Central Valley.
Not only will you be kept up to date
on what's happening in your hometown,
but you'll be kept abreast of every event and news story involving your neighbors innearbytowns. Overtimepeoplehave become less provincial and more interested inthosesurroundingthem. Commutetime has been so dramatically reduced that people often work or shop in one of those neighboringtowns. Webelievethatasingle issue, covering all of those towns and cities, will bring the communities even closer.
The opinion pages with our familiar traditional columns and opinions—love them or hate them—will continue in combination. We hope they will spur discussion and feed back. Nothing serves small newspapers such as ours quite as well as public journalism. Your input and letters to the editor are welcomedandencouraged. Allopinions
and positions are welcomed, guided only by thestandardsofthelibellaws. Unlikethe internet, there are still standards of decency and honesty which govern that which we are allowed to put in print.
Moving along to what is the general thrust of these missives each week, we need to return to the life altering episodes which are occurringinournationalpolitics. The2020 election is still far away but is stirring up a lot of controversy with seemingly du jour topic of socialism and how the Democrat candidates and their young minions feel it would be so great for America.
An other item for discussion is the damage being inflicted on this country on a daily basis by the Democrat party who have chosen to ignore the harm being wrought by out-of-controlillegalimmigration. Forsome unknown reason Democrat politicians feel that the entire mess will redound to their benefit. Thatsimpleactplacespoliticalparty above the general good.
Border Patrol and other immigration officials are being pulled off their positions of safeguarding the security of this country and are being literally forced to provide child
Fred Hall
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Established 1889 • Published every Thursday 740 N Sanger, CA 93657 • (559) 875-2511
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