Page 3 - Sanger Herald 5-31-18 E-edition

Random thoughts Does the city council realize that what it permits, it promotes?
George kept the program moving so quickly and smoothly in his down home, folksy, aw shucks kind of way that there was no time, without running, to get from one place to another to take photos of the various parts of the ceremony - flag raising, 21-gun salute, National Anthem and playing of taps. That's why some of the photos I posted on the Sanger Herald Facebook page are a little out of focus.
Pat, who has been there and done that as
a military chaplain assigned to some of the toughest combat teams in the world, gave one of the best, on point, Memorial Day speeches I've heard in the 12 years I've covered the event. That's why I put the text of his entire speech in today's edition of the Herald.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7168 will be in charge of the ceremony next year and it will be difficult to top what Niemeyer
Thanks for the trees
I want to thank city councilman Daniel Martinez in working with Tim Chapa, Sanger’s city manager, for enabling the replacement of some 49 trees along the walk- ing trail from the end of the park at Church and Greenwood, to the beginning of the park at Acacia and Greenwood.
The watering systems were also enhanced.
In my OPINION
"Advocacy journalism" is just
another name for propaganda
SANGER HERALD 3A THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 EDITORIAL & OPINION
By Dick Sheppard
Big time waytogos to pastor Patrick Niemeyer and AMVETS Post 98 com- mander George Willhoite.
They were, in my opinion, the stars of the Memorial Day ceremony at Sanger Cemetery.
Dick Sheppard
and Willhoite and AMVETS Post 98 did this year.
•••
The final part of pastor Niemeyer's com-
ments at the Memorial Day ceremony, the part about "I am the Flag" were particularly touching and caused me to look more closely at the small flags displayed along the streets in our town - the state headquarters of the American Legion - and I was generally pleased and proud.
But the tattered and faded flag displayed on O Street between the post office and the Sanger Bible Church should be retired and replaced.
•••
It was deja vu all over again at the
Tuesday evening special meeting of the Measure S Citizens Oversight Committee.
It was a do-over meeting to review a pro- posed Measure S budget and a Measure S 10 year spending plan that were supposed to be presented at the committee's regular meeting back on May 1.
Once again, they didn't get reviewed - this time for a different reason - and there will be an attempt to have a do-over of the do-over at the committee's next regular meeting on June 5.
I can't help wonder how much longer the
Thank you very much on behalf of all trail users.
While I estimate that over 150-200 missing trees and numerous bushes still need to be replaced, this was a good start.
Sanger’s administration and council need to commit to maintaining our existing neigh- borhood green spaces before new green spacesarecreated. Shoddymaintenance and deterioration shows and our community image and the quality of life of our children and of our community suffers.
Poor and inconsistent upkeep in the past and a long drought have done their damage.
It is now time to ensure these types of resources are well-managed so that the trees cleaning our air can be maintained at their original levels and this well-enjoyed commu- nity “gem” is sustained.
Rosa Huerta
city council is going to permit these series of do-over meetings to take place.
How much longer will the city council con- done not getting it done right the first time?
Does the city council even know it is responsible for all these do-over meetings?
Does the city council even know that it is the boss and is ultimately responsible for what goes on in municipal government?
Does it even care?
Does the city council realize that what it permits, it promotes?
It looks like we will continue to see the tail wagging the dog for at least a while longer.
•••
Mayor Frank Gonzalez did a great job of keeping us informed about what was going on
at the trade show he attended in Las Vegas. He'll probably elaborate at the next coun-
cil meeting on June 7.
His apparent desire to let us know what's
going on is a bright light shining through a chink in the armor of an administration that seems intent on keeping us as much in the dark as possible.
No, occasionally surfacing to apparently attempt to baffle us with BS does not count as a meaningful way to communicate.
Maybe the administration is just way too busy with all those do-over meetings.
•••
It's too bad that just when Gonzalez seems to have figured out what he's supposed to be doing as mayor it's time for him to start cam- paigning for re-election.
That's the fault of Measure L which was the subject of a 2012 grand jury report.
It makes the mayor's term of office two years, while the other members of the coun- cil serve for four years.
The few advocates of Measure L point out that under the old system where all the councilmembers were elected for four year terms, they selected a presiding officer, a mayor, from one of their own every two years.
What they fail to point out is that the councilmember selected by other council- members had a four year term of office, four years of experience.
It wasn't like they were bringing in some- one new, with no experience at every two- year council reorganization meeting.
It's not a good system and it should be changed.
That's one do-over I would support.
Comments, complaints and sugges- tions may be emailed to sangerherald@gmail. com or may be made by calling 875-2511.
By Fred Hall
For any readers who regularly—or even occa- sionally—visit this column, it'sbeenabundantlyclear over the years that I con- sider advocacy journalism an oxymoron.
Journalism is report-
ing on the facts as they
occurred while advocacy is public relations which is designed, by nature, to be opinion forming.
This profession of journalism has, in recentyears,takenadarkturnintoanarea where one is often challenged to determine the dividing line between facts and embel- lishing hype!
Aperfectexampleofadvocacyjournal- ism would be an article in one of the area papersaboutwhatwasessentiallyanon- story. Theonlyapparentmotivewasthe continued bashing of Devin Nunes, first of
all because he is a Republican - an elected Republican is indeed rare in California - and secondly because he has been supportive of our President. “Resisters” can't tolerate those people!
When one takes a civil lawsuit, which was not even filed in this area and is far from current in nature, and attempts to place the blame of malfeasance of company manage- ment at the feet of one of the company's stockholders it doesn't pass the “smell test.” Apparently the congressman has a minority stake in a bay area company where sexual shenanigans occurred aboard a fundraising cruise and an innocent employee of the com- pany was exposed to harassment.
From all empirical evidence U.S. Representative Nunes was not on board, not a participant and was unaware of such an occurrence. Thestorywasjuicyandreplete in detail, appealing to the lascivious nature of those
withanysortofperversion. Thestorywas old, unrelated to anyone from this area and, inmyopinionunnecessary. Inshortthe entire sorry episode was a non-story.
Many of us own stock in companies that, from time to time, are involved in wrongdo- ing or involved in some accident and the story never places the blame on individual stockholders.
Following closely on the heels of that “late-
breaking” news was full coverage of three billboards on Highway 99—just south of Fresno.
When was the last time anyone heard of a group of three billboards making the local newspaper? Apparentlythetriggerforcov- erage of any event is “if it's anti-Nunes, we cover it wall to wall.”
About the same time all of this is occur- ring, there is an editorial cartoon panel fea- turing the deliberate misspelling as “Devil Nunes.”
Know what?
I have absolutely no problem with that because it is being proffered as editorial opinionontheireditorialpage. Thatisentire- ly legitimate - it's just when the straight news columns are abused and the paper attempts to force feed propaganda as real, legitimate newswhenitobviouslyisn't. Thecartoon and its message were infantile but, at least, theywere legitimatelypresentedontheedi- torialpage.
The desire to defeat Devin Nunes is one of those rights which has been constitutionally guaranteed but the press should not be about destroying the reputation of an entire busi- ness which has always supplied correct infor- mation to the American voting public.
Nunes, to me and millions of other Americans, has always been something of a bright spot for California in his pursuit of the truth involving the Mueller investigation and his representation of this state.
California's real embarrassment, so far, has been our governor, attorney general, Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and the others who have so adamantly resisted the results of a legitimate election.
Certainly everyone is entitled to a dis- senting opinion but don't try to package a load of garbage as a Trojan Horse and sell your jaded view as being important and basedonfact. Idon'tknowDevinNunesand have never even met him, but I implore that everyone judge him on his record and not the wordsofa“sniper.”
But, as always, that's only one man's opin- ion.
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.
Fred Hall
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