Page 4 - Dinuba Sentinel 3-15-18 E-edition

Opinion
A4 | Thursday, March 15, 2018
In My Opinion
National Sunshine Week uIpholds transparent government
t's once again that time of the soaring costs of a year! With everything that goes college education, on during the month of March it seems to us that
Fred Hall - Publisher
we could be describing a multitude of events. It could be the changing of the clocks for Daylight Savings time; it could herald the arrival of Spring; it could be the adjusting our lives for Lent; it could be the opening of the Blossom Trail here in Central California or simply preparation for the crush of tax time from the Feds and the State of California.
We believe that of equal
importance to all those events is
the acknowledgement that this is National Sunshine Week. Each year, at this time, The American Society
of News Editors drives a campaign which is designed to promote an open and transparent government. An observant private sector and a media which is honest in its critical reporting mandate are both necessary elements in guarding against excessive and unnecessary secrecy. Government entities, especially those with access to taxpayer money must be open and called to account for their actions.
Last week's announcement that
the State Center Community College District had purchased the Guarantee building in downtown Fresno evoked the inevitable question of “why?” Many issues such as the site, size, location and amount of cash involved all seem to cry out for a more public explanation of the decision to
spend that amount of money in that particular location.
The original announcement indicated that the purchase price was $10.5 million but did not indicate whether that number included the parking facility next door which the story indicated was purchased as well. The $10.5 million obviously does not include the interior remodeling of 82,000 sq. ft. which will obviously be required for such a dramatic change of use.
Our only questions would be why that building and why in that particular location. We all know that no one— particularly students, since sources indicate there will be classrooms— enjoys the hassle of having to go into downtown Fresno. With the ever
Guest Column
e stunning new cruelty of Wimmigration enforcement
Fred Hall
administration should worry less about building a monument to themselves than making sure that students are safe
and the price of an
education remains within the reach of Valley residents.
Also, since this money will apparently come from the recently approved bond measure, we would like some assurances that this purchase represents the very best use of that money. There are a lot of local taxpayers and property owners who are being asked to foot the bill for
this “monument” structure and we would rest better knowing that their investment is being maximized.
Keeping in mind that students and property owners deserve an explanation of why this was the
best possible choice, there will be space provided in our newspaper for an appropriate explanation of the proceedings and perceived benefits.
We should not be spending money on expensively paneled and opulently appointed offices by a bunch of educational bureaucrats serving no purpose than that of massaging their egos.
Recently there has been an escalation in concerns about the safety of students. An active local group that calls itself “Advocates for a Better College” has asked, on several occasions, about
the lack of a Police presence on the campuses of SCCCD. The numbers allocated to the protection of students— which ABC cites--are pitifully low.
We would also be remiss if we failed to comment that the quality of the product which is released into the world and being pronounced as fit and capable for career pursuit is extremely questionable. We often wonder if the value of a college education is often over-valued in today's world.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Fred Hall is publisher of the Sentinel.
Guest Column
e legend of the leprechaun
In the minds of many this St. Patrick’s Day will be thoughts of green beer, wearing four leaf clovers to find good luck, and taking a swig or
two of Irish whiskey. Some may also think about St. Patrick, whom many credit for bringing Christianity to Ireland. Others will attend parties dressed in green, perhaps even as a tiny mirthful leprechaun with the green waistcoat, hat, and buckled shoes.
Leprechauns are generally thought of as mischievous Irish fairies that hide pots of gold at the end of a rainbow. In the pot are enough riches to solve all your worldly financial problems. As the legend goes, if you caught a leprechaun, in exchange for his freedom the little creature would divulge either how to find the end of the rainbow, so you could run off with more wealth than you have ever imagined, or
he would grant you three wishes to gain for yourself whatever you liked.
As children, even those of us who are not Irish would have fun imagining what we could do if we ever caught a leprechaun. We would buy so many toys mom and dad would have to get a bigger house. We would buy mom a new dress or dad a new car. We would wish for world peace. As grown-ups, we would wish for being able to help homeless people or send impoverished kids to college or give back to the Church.
Unless they watched horror movies with an evil leprechaun, most kids never thought about the darker side of the leprechaun legend. Amid their childhood fantasies, there was also no need to apply adult logic to the fantasies of getting three wishes or finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Many Irish folktales show leprechauns to
be tricksters. The contract was that if caught, a leprechaun would deliver on his promise to share his riches. These tales show leprechauns rarely if ever delivered. It was a rare hero or heroine that ever caught one of these little men, and if they did, the folktales show they only got the goods by being exceptionally clever.
Most of the time, the leprechaun could extricate
himself from captivity by deceitful means. A leprechaun would also use tricks to get out of paying on his promises and would delight in the misery of a mere mortal who attempted to outthink him.
One example is that a leprechaun might have his kidnapper tie a red ribbon around the bush where the mythical rainbow ended, but when the mortal’s back was turned, the
leprechaun would tie red ribbons around all the bushes in the field. Legends of this type show the human as being so disappointed that he would not care to dig up all the bushes in the field to find the gold. And the leprechaun would laugh at the foolish human.
While leprechauns are part of Irish legend, their real-world equivalents do exist. There are people who make promises on which they never deliver. There are those who dangle shiny baubles as an incentive to believe, yet have no intention of sharing with anyone. All while relishing their superiority.
This type of modern-day leprechaun can be considered a type of dissonant leader. As Daniel Goleman states in his book Primal Leadership “some dissonant leaders are more subtle, using a surface charm or social polish, even charisma, to mislead and manipulate.” The leprechaun will take advantage for their own personal gain no matter the costs. Good- hearted people may not sense the insincerity of a modern-day leprechaun until the rapport is broken and mistrust destroys the relationship.
If you ever catch a leprechaun that delivers on what he promises without thinking of you as senseless, then you will have found the pot at the end of the rainbow. In the meantime, there is no substitute for an ability to think critically wherever chasing the rainbows in life might lead you.
Jennie Ramos is a Talent Management Systems Coordinator in Dinuba.
Jennie Ramos
e’ve reached a cruel especially separately new phase in the U.S. from their parents, government’s war on is predisposing
immigrants without papers. And it should disturb you no matter what your views on immigration.
When undocumented immigrant families are detained, they are being increasingly split up. Not only are whole families being rounded up, but parents are being detained separately from their children — often states away.
Jose Demar Fuentes, an asylum seeker from El Salvador, is being held in San Diego. His one year old son is being held in Texas. “What I would give to have my son close to me,” he told a San Diego radio station through tears.
Some believe separating families is a coordinated tactic of the Trump regime to discourage undocumented immigration.
Separating parents and children is so traumatic to the developing brains of children that it should be considered inhumane. Maybe even torture.
One study counts how many adverse childhood events (ACEs) a person suffered and correlates them with mental and physical health problems. The study — online at ACEstoohigh. com — counts 10 different types of childhood trauma: physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, the loss of a parent, having a parent suffer addiction or mental illness, and so on.
Most Americans score at least a one on the test. But the higher your score, the more likely you are to suffer heart disease, suicide, alcoholism, cancer, diabetes, mental illness, and more later on.
Simply having a parent in prison is a trauma for a child. Being in prison themselves, and apart from their parents, is even more so. So detaining immigrant children at all, and
Jill Richardson
them to a lifetime of illness.
Families coming from El Salvador like Fuentes are fleeing violence. They’ll keep fleeing as long as it remains unsafe. Wouldn’t
you? Odds are you would do just about anything to keep your children from being murdered.
Given what they’re fleeing, their children might well have already suffered traumas at home, and then suffered more on the journey through Mexico.
By ensuring their trauma continues once they reach the United States, it’s questionable we’ll discourage others from coming. But it’s certain we’ll permanently harm the health of the children we detain.
That child will grow up somewhere. Wherever they wind up, we’re making the world a worse place by unnecessarily traumatizing them.
Fuentes’ son is one. Are we really such an inhumane country that we’ll terrorize a one-year-old to make a point to undocumented immigrants that they shouldn’t come here? A blameless one-year-old?
There are many ways to resolve the problems with immigration system. Whatever we choose, surely we can find one that doesn’t fall on the backs of innocent children.
Ideally, we can find a solution that keeps families together.
OtherWords columnist Jill Richardson is the author of Recipe for America: Why Our Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It. Distributed by OtherWords. org.
Letters to the editor
Some voters don't read or don't care
I read the whole page because of Mr. Hall’s articles, why couldn’t we have him as our governor and Jill R. as our attorney general? Why? I know why – they make sense.
As our rights erode away due to the ignorance of a twosome group of California voters, those who don’t need but get the freebies and those who are ignorant period, Jill has the answer but these two groups don’t read or don’t care about California or USA.
Bad people want guns taken so they will be the only ones with guns. During my lifetime I could pretty well know by their actions up to and through high school,
Join the discussion
but unlike my days in school teachers would act, tell the parents, tell the authorities and the school board would take actions. We do need to go after any and all children under 21 to make sure there is a record of poor judgements and unlike sanctuary cities do something towards the flood of law breakers instead of good and loyal citizens who are arming themselves.
Why does this happen? Well I believe it all started when we told “God” to stay out of our personal business. Go ahead and prove me wrong, I’m secure by faith.
Russ Glasscock Cutler
The Dinuba Sentinel welcomes submissions of letters to the editor on topics of local relevance. Word limit is 350.
Letters must include the author’s name, phone number and address for verification. Mail to 145 South L Street, Dinuba, CA, 93618, or e-mail to editor@thedinubasentinel.
com.
Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity.
Libelous letters will not be printed.
Guest columns will be considered for publication. Word limit is 650.