Feel Free to Email: Tedhick@gmail.com

Council Person Make An Ass Of Himself On T.V.

 WOW! I heard city council person Dane Besneatte got his panty hose in a knot over a joke (at least I thought it was a joke) when I used an analogy of an elected official falling into the “look at me” syndrome when they do the job they are supposed to do by either posturing or making unnecessary noise on an issue. The bad news is…“We’ve got a wind bag lawyer, former public defender who is clamoring for media censorship…didn’t he take an oath to uphold the constitution including the First Amendment, and the voters put this one term jerk in office,” is one of the nicer many phone calls I had about an obviously stressed city council person who probably now believes in the death penalty. The good news is he has increased the hits on my web site www.tedhickman.com by about 12 per cent (up to over 100 each day 24/7) overnight…thanks Dane. You can go there and read last week’s snippet that got this poor soul so upset. I didn’t hear the ravings of the mad man (or madman) personally but I sure heard ABOUT it from many people who were disgusted with both him, and the Mayor, for letting him vent his personal venom during official city council time, while being paid by the taxpayers to supposedly handle city business. For cripes sake Dane write a letter or something. You can have people see this week’s column (this one) on line at www.tedhickman.com.

The Dane who would be Mayor? 

Last week I used a sports analogy piece which, in part, and out of context read:  “This shameless show of begging for adulation has gotten so out of control that a player making a routine play (for which he is paid big bucks) struts around like girl in a beauty pageant showing off some kind of gesture he’s worked really hard on for the camera… Tell you how bad it is…it’s worked its way all the way down to the city council. When council person Dane Bassinette finally gets two others to back him in something he does a mental lawyer dance and a minor fist pump under the table (at least I hope that’s what he is doing)…shameful”. I could have used any council person; Mike, Thom or Rick and they would have seen the satire in it and take it as the political jibe it was. I never dreamed there might have been some truth to it until I heard council person Besneatte made wild and unbelievable statements (on tape and live TV no less) about what he does and doesn’t do under the table including sexual references…Known for making stupid statements in the past, this tops the cake…so far. Where there’s smoke there’s fire? The Dane who would be Mayor…definitely got a lot of people’s attention!  Kind of makes you wonder what goes on in “closed session” with no cameras on, doesn’t it?  At least in closed session the public doesn’t get bored to death by having to listen to his long winded, boring, drawn out tirades trying to prove to people he really passed the bar. I understand his “special segment” is going to be on U-tube…go figure. I’ve made an internet star out of a local elected curmudgeon.

From a past email (one term wonder) Dane sent me jewels like these, out of context… “I have not wanted to this, but I now must…you are an idiot.” And… “Just so you know I NEVER lie in court for or against anyone and I take great offense at your suggestion otherwise.” (A lawyer who spent his whole career, as a Solano County public defender, being paid by the taxpayers to keep scum bags out of jail and prison time, “never” lied in court…right!)…”You continue to suggest people are my ‘buddies’ when they are not so go **ck yourself and leave me alone.”  Dane Besneatte 100 N. Adams St. 

 I also have quite a few other profanity laced jewels from your elected official that aren’t even fit for my column on line, no less in this family newspaper. But I have them. Maybe he’s been in an altered state of consciousness once too often? With that being said I won’t mention anything else about his long, weird, outburst at Tuesday’s city council meeting…OK? I mean when a guy is obviously on the edge I, being an idiot, wouldn’t want to push him over it and kick him to the curb…would I?

 You can see tirade on line via the City of Dixon web site if you’d like. Once again my apologies to the public for telling you to vote for this unstable person in the first place, who knew?  I’m big enough to admit when I’m wrong and I sure screwed up on this one didn’t I?

No Meningitis Plague In Dixon 

            In a three week period of time, at the end and beginning of the year, I heard about three separate cases of meningitis in and around Dixon…which I thought was very strange…(maybe that’s what Dane has and it itches). Meningitis is simply a swelling of the membrane that surrounds the spinal column and brain stem…If I got my information correct. Many people have cases of it and don’t even know it. For some it turns dangerous and for a few even deadly. I called the Solano County Health department with my concerns and thanks to Dr. Stacey I received an education on the bug. Viral, the most common type can be cause by a myriad of things some as mundane as a mosquito bite. Children, mainly because of their inoculations are not as prone to it, or at least suffer or show the severe symptoms like some adults.

 The one person close to us who had the “viral” type was hospitalized and had several spinal taps to get the fluid to analyze and find a fix for the problem…It was viral not bacterial. The bacterial kind CAN kill you and only quick medical attention can diagnose and cure the problem. The symptoms start flu like, but according to Dr. Stacey, when you have a severe migraine headache, vomiting, high fever, rash and a stiff neck you to need to seek an immediate medical evaluation. I was concerned about there being a cluster in Dixon since I really don’t get to talk to that many people face-to-face and talked to three local folks, two of which had it recently and one who had it just a couple of weeks ago.

  Dr. Stacey’s advice. Duh…Wash your hands, if you are around sick people wear a mask, if you think to have an illness wear a mask to keep it from spreading…both forms of meningitis are communicable. If you or someone you know had contact with someone who is diagnosed with the bacterial kind you better get yourself or that person to the doctor immediately…

 Anyway there apparently is no alarm here…This is what he, after checking his numbers, had to say: “Hi Ted, Good talking to you on Friday. The data for meningitis for Solano County in 2011 is as follows: Viral: 14 cases reported Bacterial: 4 cases confirmed (0 cases of meningococcal meningitis) Based on what has been reported we have not seen a cluster of cases in Dixon since November.

 Thanks, Michael Stacey, MD  Deputy Health Officer,  Solano County Public Health (707) 784-8600

Local Stuff to Do

 The Dixon American Legion Post 208 has come up with a novel idea based on the “find a need and fill it” philosophy. Commander of the Post, Greg Coppes (pictured) came up with the novel idea of Friday Night Live Entertainment for adults consisting of both music and comedy venues. The first offering will be this Friday, January 27 with “Marsellus Briefcase”a rock/funk and punk rock band playing music from the 80’s and 90’s up to today. They will perform from 7 to 11 p.m. tonight. The admission will be a $5 donation which will include one free drink. This entertainment is geared towards the 25 to 40 year old crowd and you must be 21 to attend and there will be an area for dancing.

 WWW.marsellus 2012

 The “Legion Kitchen” will be open each Friday night from 6 to 10 p.m. and during the entertainment the bar will also be open. This Friday the infamous Addison’s Originals Eatery will operate the kitchen with their unique and popular foods. So you can come for the food and stay for the entertainment or vice-versa.

       Coppes said the big name “Fryed Brothers Band” will be playing on February 24^th. This group has opened for big name acts like ZZ Top and Willie Nelson. They are playing the gig as a benefit for the Legion and area Vets. He added a comedy night has been set for March 9. Anyone who has any ideas they’d like to explore for a future Friday Night Live or that knows of a group people would like to see perform live before an adult audience should call Coppes at 678-6308.

The New Boss

Arcelor-Mittal Steel Company, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers. On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning against a wall. The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business. He asked the guy, “How much money do you make a week?” A little surprised, the young man looked at him and said, “I make $400 a week. Why?” The CEO said, “Wait right here.” He walked back to his office, came back in two minutes, and handed the guy $1,600 in cash and said, “Here’s four weeks’ pay.  Now GET OUT and don’t come back.”

 Feeling pretty good about himself the CEO looked around the room and asked, “Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here?” From across the room a voice said, “Pizza delivery guy from Domino’s.”

Thilly Wabbit 

A precious little Texas girl, with two missing teeth, walks into Pet Smart and asks the owner, “Excuthe me mithter, do you have any widdle  wabbits?” As his heart melts, he gets down on his  knees so that he’s on her level and  asks, “Do you want a widdle white wabbit, or a thoft and fuwwybwack wabbit, or maybe one like that cute widdle  bwown wabbit over there?”  She, in turn, blushes, rocks on her heels, crosses her arms, Leans forward and says; “I don’t think my python weally gives a  thit.”

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DATE – EVENT

Weekends – Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve docent-led walks, every
Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Binoculars and bird books
available to borrow at no cost. Visitor Center and main overlook are
fully accessible. Day use fee is $4.32 per person, ages 16 and older.
Groups of 10 or more should schedule a separate tour. Directions and
more information at www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/er/region4/elkhorn.html.

1 -  Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Safety Committee meeting, 9:30 to 11
a.m. at the Port of Long Beach, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach (90802).
Details at
www.mxsocal.org/HARBOR-SAFETY-AND-SECURITY/HARBOR-SAFETY/Harbor-Safety-Committee.aspx.
To obtain an agenda, please contact the committee at (310) 519-3134.

1 – First day of commercial spot prawn trapping season south of Pt.
Arguello. For more information please see
http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=34419&inline=true.

1-28 – East Park Reservoir Pig Hunt application period for eight
muzzleloader-only, two-day pig hunts in April at the East Park Reservoir
in Colusa County. Applications will be accepted via the Special Hunts
Online Registration system at
http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/GameBirdHeritageHunts/Default.aspx or via
postcard. Instructions available at
www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/pig/specialhunts.html. For more
information, contact John Draper, (916) 445-3445.

2 – Fish and Game Commission meeting at the Natural Resources Building,
1416 Ninth St., Sacramento (95831). Please visit www.fgc.ca.gov for more
information. View or listen to California Fish and Game Commission
meetings in real time via Internet webcasting.

2 – Port Hueneme Harbor Safety Committee meeting, 1 p.m. at Oxnard
Harbor District Administration Building, 333 Ponoma St., Port Hueneme
(93041). For more information please contact Ed Boyes at (562) 598-4302
or eboyes@ospr.dfg.ca.gov or Reuben Macaspac (916) 324-0144 or
rmacaspa@ospr.dfg.ca.gov.

2 – Flyway Nights Lecture Series, 7 p.m. at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife
Area headquarters building near Davis. Refreshments will be served. A $5
donation per person or $10 per family is suggested at the door
(excluding Yolo Basin Foundation members). For details please see
www.yolobasin.org.

4 – Free DFG Fishing Instruction Clinic, 6 a.m. to noon at Oak Grove
Park, Stockton (at I-5 and Eight Mile Road). Pond stocked with trout;
DFG rods, bait and tackle available to use. Anglers 16 and older must
have a valid California sport fishing license. For more information,
please see www.dfg.ca.gov/fishinginthecity/sac or call (209) 331-2050.

4-5 – Weekend Wildlife Walks at Gray Lodge Wildlife Area sanctuary,
3207 Rutherford Rd., Gridley (95948), at 10 a.m. Saturday and 1 p.m.
Spectacular views of snow geese and other wintering wildlife. A fun way
to learn about wetlands, wildlife and the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. Cost
is included in the entrance fee for wildlife viewers. Pre-paid passes
are now available online at www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing or from a DFG
license sales office or license agent. Tours are cancelled in heavy
rain. Please contact the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area Naturalist Office,
(530) 846-7505 or see www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/wa/region2/graylodge for more
information.

4-5, 11-12, 18-19 – Sandhill Crane Wetland Tours at Woodbridge
Ecological Reserve near Lodi. Tours begin approximately 90 minutes
before sundown and run to about 30 minutes after sunset. Pre-tour
registration is required online at www.dfg.ca.gov/delta/cranetour.
Reservations can be made up to six weeks in advance. Donations of $10
per adult are suggested. The public is also welcome to visit the
Woodbridge South Unit, open daily for self-guided Delta bird-watching
tours. For more information please visit the website or call (209)
948-7708.

9 – San Francisco Bay Harbor Safety Committee meeting, 10 a.m. to noon
at the Port of San Francisco, Pier 1 Conference Center, The Embarcadero,
San Francisco (94111). For details please see www.sfmx.org/support/hsc
or call Jeff Cowan at the DFG Office of Spill Prevention and Response,
(916) 324-6450.

11 – Public Tour of Yolo Basin Wildlife Area, 9 a.m. to noon with an
experienced field trip leader on the second Saturday of every month.
View 16,000-acres of flooded seasonal and permanent wetlands, native
grasslands and young riparian forests. Look for migrating and resident
waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds, raptors and wading birds. Please visit
www.yolobasin.org for more information.

11 – Free DFG Fishing Instruction Clinic, 6 a.m. to noon at Elk Grove
Park. Pond stocked with trout; DFG rods, bait and tackle available to
use. Anglers 16 and older must have a valid California sport fishing
license. For more information, please see
www.dfg.ca.gov/fishinginthecity/sac or call (916) 358-2872.

18 – Turkey Hunting Clinic, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Tejon Ranch in Kern
County, open to hunters of all ages and skill levels. The cost is $45
and space is limited. Free to youth 16 years and younger, but they must
be accompanied by a parent or guardian. DFG’s Advanced Hunter
Education Program will provide all necessary class equipment.
Registration forms and more information are available online at
www.dfg.ca.gov/huntered/advanced/index.aspx. Deadline is Feb. 4.

21 – DFG Climate Change Stakeholders meeting, 10 a.m. to noon in the
Natural Resources Building Auditorium. For more information please visit
http://dfg.ca.gov/Climate_and_Energy/Climate_Change/ or e-mail
climatechange@dfg.ca.gov.

23 – Wildlife Conservation Board quarterly meeting, 10 a.m., State
Capitol, Room 112, Sacramento (95814). Room is subject to change. Please
check the WCB website at www.wcb.ca.gov.

25 – California Duck Days at Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. A wetlands
festival in the heart of the Pacific Flyway features a full day of field
trips, workshops and other activities at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
Headquarters facility in South Davis. Admission prices vary and online
registration and ticket purchase is required. Please visit
www.yolobasin.org/events.cfm.

26 -Tour North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve near Oroville,
Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., Feb. 25 through April, when flowers are
in bloom. Local field experts will point out and discuss the area’s
unique geology, vernal pools, waterfalls, wildflowers and wildlife. Each
tour is limited to 25 participants. Online registration is required in
advance at www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/er/region2/northtable.html. These
two-hour tours were extremely popular in 2011, so early registration is
recommended. People can also take self-guided tours of the reserve any
day.

28 – Annual Salmon Information meeting, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the
Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa (95403). The
public is invited to attend DFG’s annual meeting on the status of
California salmon populations and the outlook for 2012 ocean salmon
fisheries. For more information contact James Phillips, Environmental
Scientist, at (707) 576-2375 or e-mail jephillips@dfg.ca.gov.

28 – Aquatic Invasive Species Workshop, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Clean
Lakes, Inc., 2150 Franklin Canyon Road, Martinez (94553). Conducted by
DFG Environmental Scientist Catherine Mandella. Free of charge and open
to all interested parties. This event will have a special emphasis on
boat yard companies’ decontamination protocol. Demonstrations will
include a FlowCam by Tyler Fowler of Clean Lakes and quagga dog
detection by Debbi Deshon. For details please e-mail
cmandella@dfg.ca.gov.

29 – Pheasant, quail, chukar, sooty (blue)/ruffed grouse, and
white-tailed ptarmigan falconry only season ends Feb. 29.

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The disjointed nature of politics, with numerous meetings being held over short periods, doesn’t lead to columns of any finality.  Despite this protecting the nature of the job that I do, it would be better for all concerned to handle issues with a little more alacrity than occurs.  So once again we will be talking about the library district and their conflicts.  I suppose Solano Irrigation District will be back on the agenda next week after the joint meeting of the city and this group.  While the nature of most of my writing is to educate or inform you, there also needs to be some entertainment value contained within.  It is not always appreciated by the butts of the jokes …

Making my best effort to give the district librarian Gregg Atkins a fair shake, I continue to look for reasons as to why his moves are apolitical and based on logic and fact.  I am getting very comfortable with disappointment.

It was rather interesting listening to the patent refusal of the library’s county counsel du jour, Lee Axelrad, to address the language of the Brown Act as it applied to the closed session on the agenda of the library commission.  I have yet to find one person in the Dennis Bunting led county agency which defends the right of the public to know what their government is doing.  In fact, it is quite apparent that Bunting and his minions are simple minded status quo supporters of bureaucracy in any shape or form no matter how putrescent it might be.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Brown Act, it lists a number of items that MAY be considered in closed session.  It also forces the agency to identify the reason in specific language such as identifying the parcel number in real property negotiations.  In this case, the item listed was “Public Employee discipline/dismissal/release”.

Specific questions came from David Werrin whose wife Susan works for the Dixon Library and who has been the subject of work place hostility and harassment for the simple reason that she spoke to ADA advocate Byron Chapman concerning compliance issues related to a bathroom at the library.  After acknowledging that the commission would be talking about policy related to the case involving Susan, Rebecca Craig stated that the commission wasn’t considering taking action against Susan but rather would be investigating whether or not Susan had been given her due rights in the hearing process.

David Werrin then read the section of the Brown Act which states that a 24 hour notice must be given to the person being discussed in closed session so that the person has the ability to waive the closed aspect and bring it out before the public.  I, on the other hand, testified that they couldn’t discuss “policy” in closed session as that is not a legal closed session topic which is why it was not listed on the agenda.  You are either talking policy that applies to everyone or you are talking about a specific case and the policy surrounding it.

I will give Rebecca Craig credit as she asked how the commission could go about bringing the discussion into open session.  I will criticize her for listening to the duplicitous arguments and advice from Axelrad who advised the commission not to make this public.  All you have to do is ask yourself why Axelrad gave this advice.  Obviously if the policy was examined in public we would have all heard where and how this policy was not implemented correctly and therefore that opens the door for further litigation against the library.

A more correct listing for the agenda would have been for potential litigation.  Under that topic, you don’t have to make the other party aware of their opportunities to take you to court.  The consistent bad advice from county counsel, whether it be Carrie Scarlata or Lee Axelrad, was to proceed even with improper notice.  I also noticed, as well as pointed out, that Axelrad did not answer Craig’s question when asked.  Lawyers are liars and they are so because they purposely dodge the truth to protect the guilty in many cases, predominantly against the public’s best interests.

The point of all of this nonsense was brought up by Byron Chapman who asked just how long it would be before Susan Werrin could put this all behind her.  This is why this commission is dysfunctional and needs to be disbanded.  This is why the public doesn’t trust Gregg Atkins to open the library door, let alone build a new multi-million dollar facility.  These are just “carnie” games at the circus.  No answer was forthcoming.

Another continuing game by Atkins was in attempting to keep his last vestige of support in the person of Herb Cross at the commission for as long as possible.  It would seem to me that once the dominant agency establishes the liaison to the commission as Joe DiPaola, no further action is needed.  Even this was disputed by BOB Cross.

According to Cross, the trustees of the school district who are also the trustees of the library board, only voiced their “desire” to be on various committees.  Atkins argued that the library board had not met and had not assigned that duty to DiPaola.  In addition, Cross pointed out that the school board hadn’t voted on the appointments.  About the only thing Atkins didn’t do was to say that the commission hadn’t accepted DiPaola in return.  Give me a break. 

This kind of idiocy was apparent a couple of meetings ago when new commissioner Ian Arnold asked to have an item put on the agenda.  He was told that only items approved by the entire commission could be placed on the agenda.  Yet the district librarian is under no such constraint.  Where is the policy which gives the librarian a superior position to those for whom he supposedly works? 

So if you are in the good graces of Atkins, all you have to do is ask and you shall receive?  Sounds like some animals are more equal than others on this Dixon farm.

Whether you consider these stalling techniques or what they really are, the blatant attempt to silence a member of a board with a differing opinion, much as was attempted on Steve Alexander when he was on the council, it still amounts to denying an elected or appointed person the ability to conduct the people’s business.

A final act of futility was the attempt of the commission to waive their policy regarding a commissioner’s absence from three consecutive meetings.  Susan Ostergard missed this many meetings or more because of breaking her hip.  There are no provisions for excusing those absences although there is for non-consecutive absences.  Rather than opening another can of worms, the commission decided to simply recommend to the library board that they reappoint Ms. Ostergard.  Why would I care?

As it stands at this point, this is still the same dysfunctional group along with one smiley, get-along-guy who wants to “consider the circumstances”.  Really?  What is the point?  The meeting scheduled for Thursday, 3 days after this Monday meeting, is to dissolve this group.  Why put anyone on if this commission is going away.  And indeed it must.

This is the same group who endorsed buying a beautiful old home for $500,000 and then torching it for the lot beneath it.  Good investment that was.  I have heard that this group has spent upwards of $3 million so far on a new library design and acquiring property which will destroy the old historical Carnegie Library.  The cost of the rehabilitation of the old building has been inflated to dissuade the public and commission from doing what needs to be done and heading toward a mockery of the town’s history.

This is the group who endorses Atkins’ management style of intimidation and retribution along with continual persecution it seems, of employees who refuse to act as his robots.  This is a group which hides their decisions from the public because they don’t tell the public how they can justify Atkins’ behavior despite hearing from 4 former employees and one current one that it is a long term problem and is ongoing.  Sorry, folks, but if you know the law you can vote to divulge everything that went on in closed session even if it pertains to personnel.  To do otherwise protects illegal activity and encourages it.

I believe we are at a crossroads with the school board and library district as well as the city council.  While I had high hopes for the council, it seems that I have been spending too much time under the bus lately to be positive.  It will take one more election to which I will be speaking shortly.  We have a much better opportunity with the school district and associated agencies.

I have responded elsewhere that I believe it is too early to jump on the Brian Dolan for permanent superintendent bandwagon.  It would be wiser to wait to see some actual accomplishments rather than relying on the potentially false euphoria from the departure of the last superintendent.  I refuse to be suckered in by talk.  I want to see action, positive action, and the beneficial results from that action for Dixon’s kids.  What is the harm of waiting for six months and keeping the position as interim or probational?

I have nothing against Brian Dolan despite the complaints I heard about him when he was the principal at Dixon High.  He seems like the answer to our prayers much as Irina O, Gildardo, and Joe appear to be.  The jury is out on all three.  Resolving the problem at the library will go a long way to establishing the credibility of the latter group.  Dolan and these three must produce some concrete results such as test score improvement or restoration of programs or the financial stability to enable the attacking of low performance.  The schools need to be on their way out of program improvement across the board.

Briefly on the city council scene, after Tuesday night’s chilling performance of refusal to address traffic problems despite a large neighborhood turnout, I have only disgust for the weakness shown by the other two councilmen who caved in to Dane Besneatte’s worries about being sued by the developer.  The developer has no rights.  We were giving him allocations that were lost from non-performance.  Certainly we could have called for a traffic study to address the current situation.

The mayor, as usual, blindly supports anything he thinks will bring revenue to the “city” as in the governmental regime over which he believes he presides.  So vacuous is this man that he had to dredge up commentary on the Lincoln Creek apartments, complaining that these residents just didn’t want “those kinds of people” in their neighborhood.  No one said that Jack and you know it.

I am getting irritated with Jack deciding when there has been enough commentary from the council.  I do not speak in half hour swaths as does Dane, nor would I deny Dane his right to do so, but I do believe we all have the right to rebut any statements made before proceeding to a vote.  Jack’s only right as the meeting moderator is to assure that we aren’t repetitive and that all information is presented.  He fails at both in the attempt to “move the meeting along.”

Therefore, I have decided it is time to put bald leadership up against bold leadership because of his continual demeaning of those who attend and speak at meetings.  Consider this the informal announcement of my candidacy …

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Email at tedhick@gmail.com

Sacramento Sports Show Go, Look, Don’t Buy

Sacramento Sports Show goes Sunday at Cal Expo: go, look, don’t buy).  Go, look around, get prices, GET last year’s REFERENCRES. Don’t sign anything. A good deal today is a good deal tomorrow. We will then check out whatever fishing or hunting trip you are interested and let you know if there’s anything better out there for you through our Outdoor Connection free service. If not, then you can sign a contract. We were exhibitors there for two years and heard scores of complaints from people who had booked trips at shows without doing their homework and got burned.

T.O. Owe-ems

        The end of team sports as we know them can be directly traced to the world’s biggest egomaniac, Terrill Owens, the former Bay Area football player who put himself ahead of his team as a shameless self promoter. He started the ugly “look at me” and “forget the others who helped me shine” attitude while playing with in the Bay Area. When he scored a touchdown and pulled a pen out of his sock to sign an autograph (and show off) in the end zone he should have been thrown out of the game. He’s trying to make a comeback and nobody wants him. His crap has worked its way through the pros, down to college to high school and down to the peewees which are starting to be more concerned about the spotlight being on them they are their team winning or losing.

        This shameless show of begging for adulation has gotten so out of control that a player making a routine play (for which he is paid big bucks) struts around like girl in a beauty pageant showing off some kind of gesture he’s worked really hard on for the camera, instead of high fiving a fellow team mate who helped make his opportunity possible…and the sad part is the league, team owners and refs are allowing this unsportsmanlike flaunting conduct to run rampant.

                The guy who scores a great touchdown and walks over and hands the ball to the official is now my hero for showing both grace and manners…the rest have nothing of which to be proud including being a very poor, but rich, role model. These over paid prima donnas want to see themselves on the big screen more than pay attention to the game. It used to be just a few jerks, but now the majority has their celebrations…It has spilled over to soccer, hockey (a little) and even baseball. What a rotten shame one self idolizing idiot, and an inattentive league, could ruin the whole spectrum of team work and unity; and those even dumber than him follow in his footsteps.

Everyone is praying now, pointing at the sky and thanking God. When they don’t make the catch, fumble or get their butts whipped do they think God arranged it to get even with them? Is God is favoring one player or one team? Does that mean he is personally against the others? IE: Tim Tebow – The last time this much attention was given to a white Bronco… OJ was a passenger in it!

What are young impressionable kids supposed to do and think? Grab the limelight and show off, do a sissy dance and point to yourself and demand “look only at me.” The same goes for a player to wave his arms and ask the crowd to make more noise in an unsportsman like move to help a lesser team gain an advantage…Where does this crap end and the owners take control? When you, who pay the bills, start to object that’s when!

Tell you how bad it is…it’s worked its way all the way down to the city council. When councilman Dane Bassenette finally gets two others to back him in something he does a mental lawyer dance and a minor fist pump under the table (at least I hope that’s what he is doing)…shameful.

The Conceptual Mind

This is a bit different, there are numerals for letters; yet, the mind reads it. Let’s see how many lines you’d go before you get the hang of it and start really reading. Try it!

7H15 M3554G3 53RV35 7O PR0V3 H0W 0UR M1ND5 C4N D0 4M4Z1NG 7H1NG5! 1MPR3551V3 7H1NG5! 1N 7H3 B3G1NN1NG 17 WA5 H4RD BU7 N0W, 0N 7H15 LIN3 Y0UR M1ND 1S R34D1NG 17 4U70M471C4LLY W17H 0U7 3V3N 7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17, B3 PROUD!  0NLY C3R741N P30PL3 C4N R3AD 7H15.
PL3453 F0RW4RD 1F U C4N R34D 7H15.

Local Stuff To Do

wwwlegion

            The Dixon American Legion Post 208 has come up with a novel idea based on the “find a need and fill it” philosophy. Commander of the Post, Greg Coppes came up with the novel idea of Friday Night Live Entertainment for adults consisting of both music and comedy venues. The first offering will be Friday, January 27 with “Marsellus Briefcase” a rock/funk and punk rock band playing music from the 80’s and 90’s up to today. They will perform from 7 to 11 p.m. The admission will be a $5 donation which will include one free drink. This entertainment is geared towards the 25 to 40 year old crowd and you must be 21 to attend. Bar food will be available from 6 to 10 p.m. as will an area for dancing.

Get Crabs…The Dixon Game Club crab and prawn feed dinner will be on February 4, at the Dixon Fairgrounds. The doors open at 6 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. The cost of the dinner is $40 per person (all you can eat). This year the dinner will be served by the Dixon High school FFA students.  Tickets can be purchased at Dixon Power Equipment/Front Line Archery on N. First Street or by calling the Dixon Game Club at 707-678-9155. Leave a message with your name and telephone number and someone will return your call. Better get your tickets soon…this thing sells out about every year.

Registration for the 2012 Dixon Little League baseball season is about to end.  You can sign your kids via their website at www.dixon littleleague.org. Little people within the Dixon Little League boundaries are eligible to enroll to play baseball.  Registration is required even if the child played previously. The $135 fee includes participation, uniforms and pictures per family and there is a discount for multiple players from each family. All registrations and payments must be received by January 25, 2012. The very last day to register is at try outs on January 25...better get on it.

Want To Feel Better?

Ted: How to start each day with a positive outlook

1. OPEN a new file in your computer.
2. NAME it ‘Barack Obama’.
3. SEND it to the Recycle Bin.
4. EMPTY the Recycle Bin.
5. Your PC will ask you:
Do you really want to get RID of ‘Barack Obama?’
6. FIRMLY Click ‘YES.’
Feel better? GOOD! – Tomorrow we’ll do Nancy Pelosi…B.J., Dixon

True Local Story

A local Dixon red neck son named Shane asked his mother the following question:  ‘ Mom, why are wedding dresses white? ‘ His mother looks at her son and replies:  ’Shane, this shows your friends and relatives that your bride is pure.’   The son thanks his Mom and goes off to double-check this with his father.  ‘Dad why are wedding dresses white? ‘ His father looks at his son in surprise and says: ’Son, all household appliances come in white.’

Also A True Story…

Its late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn’t tell what the winter was going to be like. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared. But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, ‘Is the coming winter going to be cold?’ It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,’ the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. ‘Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?’  ’Yes,’ the man at National Weather Service again replied, ‘it’s going to be a very cold winter.’ The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find. Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. ‘Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?”Absolutely,’ the man replied.  ‘It’s looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we’ve ever seen. ‘‘How can you be so sure?’ the chief asked. The weatherman replied, ‘The Indians are collecting a shit load of firewood’.

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Anglers Reminded to Mail in Sturgeon, Abalone, Spiny Lobster, Salmon Report Cards in January

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reminds anglers they are required to return their 2011 Fishing Report and Restoration Cards by Jan. 31. Information collected from report cards provides DFG with data to monitor and manage California’s diverse recreational fisheries.
 
Report cards are due for sturgeon, abalone, spiny lobster and north coast salmon fisheries, as well as the steelhead fishery. Information specific to the steelhead report cards can be found in DFG’s Dec. 23 news release at http://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/steelhead-report-cards-due-by-jan-31-2012/. Please note that although steelhead report card information can now be submitted online, DFG still requires salmon, sturgeon, lobster and abalone cards to be returned via mail or in person at a DFG counter.

Anglers are requested to review their cards carefully and complete the information as accurately as possible. More information about report cards can be found at www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/fishing/sportfishingfaqs.html (see “Validations and Report Cards”).

The cards can be dropped off at any DFG license sales office (see list at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/officelocation.html) or mailed to the following address: 

Sturgeon Report Cards should be mailed to:
DFG – Sturgeon Report Card
P.O. Box 944209
Sacramento, CA  94244-2090 

Abalone Report Cards should be mailed to:
DFG – Abalone Report Card
32330 N. Harbor Dr.
Fort Bragg, CA 95437 

Lobster Report Cards should be mailed to:
DFG – Lobster Report Card
3883 Ruffin Road
San Diego, CA 92123 

North Coast Salmon Report Cards should be mailed to:
DFG – Klamath River Project
5341 Ericson Way
Arcata, CA  95521-9269

You are required to report even if you lost your report card or you did not fish. If you did not fish, write “did not fish” across your report card and return it to the address specified.  If you lost your report card, write a note to DFG explaining the loss. Include your name, address, telephone number, GO ID (from your sport fishing license or report card) and to the best of your recollection, your harvest/catch effort information that was on your report card. 

Please note that license sales agents cannot accept report cards.

Help Save Endangered Species at Tax Time!

California’s wild animals and plants need your help, and there’s an
easy way to do it! Just make a voluntary contribution on line 403 and/or
line 410 of your state income tax return (Form 540). By contributing any
amount over one dollar you can support the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Fund and/or the
California Sea Otter Fund. What you donate this year is tax deductible
on next year’s return. Californians can receive state income tax
credit from the Franchise Tax Board for helping wildlife.

“The voluntary donations made by Californians at tax time are
incredibly important in our efforts to save threatened and endangered
species,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “These funds have
provided critical support for many state-listed species such as the
Bakersfield cactus, Owens pupfish, San Francisco garter snake,
California tiger salamander, marbled murrelet, Mohave ground squirrel
and many more. These donations will help ensure that California’s
extraordinary biodiversity is maintained for future generations.”

There are 387 listed plant and animal species, from little “bugs”
that most of us have never heard of, to the iconic California sea otter.
Hundreds more are at risk. Money raised through the tax check-off
program helps pay for essential DFG research and recovery efforts. Such
work allowed the California brown pelican and American peregrine falcon
to be de-listed in 2009.

California is one of 41 states that allow taxpayers to make a
voluntary, tax-deductible contribution to one or more worthwhile causes
on their state returns. Since 1983, the tax check-off fund for Rare and
Endangered Species has raised more than $18 million and supported
numerous projects, including the establishment of a controlled breeding
program for endangered riparian brush rabbits using a newly discovered
population of wild rabbits. This collaborative effort has resulted in a
significant expansion of riparian brush rabbit populations on public
lands. The critical support of California taxpayers has enabled wildlife
biologists to achieve important recovery milestones to conserve our
vulnerable species.

More information on the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation tax
check-off program is available at www.dfg.ca.gov/taxcheck.

A second tax check-off fund was created specifically to facilitate
recovery of the California sea otter, which is listed as a State Fully
Protected Species and a Threatened Species under the federal Endangered
Species Act.  Based on the most recently completed survey, there are
fewer than 2,800 sea otters remaining in California. This small
population is extremely vulnerable to oil spills, environmental
pollution, predation by white sharks and other threats.  Many sea otter
deaths have been linked to pollution flowing from land to the sea,
including fecal parasites, bacterial toxins and chemicals that have been
linked to coastal land use.

According to DFG Wildlife Veterinarian and lead sea otter researcher
Melissa Miller, the California Sea Otter Fund provides crucial funding
to help scientists better understand and trace causes of sea otter
mortality, identify factors limiting population growth and work
collaboratively with stakeholders to prevent pollution of California’s
nearshore marine ecosystem. This fund is made possible entirely through
voluntary contributions by citizens of the state of California. The
California Sea Otter Fund has become especially vital during the current
economic downturn, because other sources of support for sea otter
conservation and research have decreased or are no longer available.
There are no other dedicated state funding sources available to continue
this important work.

You can support this research by making a contribution on line 410 of
your state tax form 540, the California Sea Otter Fund. DFG works with
Defenders of Wildlife to help promote the Sea Otter Fund. An excellent
video about the sea otters’ current plight is on their website,
www.defenders.org (keywords “tax check-off”).

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Another biweekly episode of the council where it appears that I was on the losing end.  It would appear that I have company as Darth Bogue supported me on both items we dissented on.  I suppose that should be some consolation like honey or sugar added to the sourest lemonade.

We once again had an item associated with the waste of millions of YOUR taxpayer dollars, the train station and its required underpass.  Fortunately for us all, at least those of us with some common sense and a fiscal sense of prudence, we have to find a way to fund the South Parkway Boulevard overpass before spending $25 million, and probably a lot more, on an underpass bottleneck on West A Street.  The Batchelor/Besneatte/Fuller boondoggle continues albeit in slow motion.

Evidently it will take one more election to kill it and the kind of “bold leadership” that is the trademark of the status quo, bad old boy entrenched few still controlling these kinds of decisions in Dixon.  If I get really lucky, maybe I can convince you to take me off the council by voting for more of the same.  Please re-elect Rick Fuller and Jack Batchelor, if they are crazy enough to run again.  And vote for anyone other than me as I refuse to drink the water of insanity.

From the item allowing us to pay for a lobbyist to attempt to get us funds from the Federal government, we move to the second reading of the Social Host ordinance.  I won’t belabor the points of why this ordinance still amounts to a waste of paper.  When the first of you come to the council to complain about the police using this as an excuse to play Big Brother, excuse me if I break out laughing.

How in the hell Dane and Thom voted for this even after their minor points were acquiesced to is beyond me.  You are having a quiet party.  Your neighbor complains because they don’t like the cars on the street.  The complaint is that they “think” you are serving alcohol to a minor so by their warping of the law it is now a “loud” party.  No, it is a quiet party.  Loud is easily recognizable.

Now Dane likes to tell me that lawyers are some of the dumbest people he knows, with judges being even worse.  Even an idiot knows quiet and loud are on opposite ends of the noise spectrum.  This is simply a manipulation by law enforcement to gain entry when there is no need for it.  Saying that something might be wrong or potentially dangerous allows the police to gain access with impunity.  But all we got at the council meeting were the “church ladies of Dixon”, those prudish busybodies who tut tut at others while ignoring their own black pots.

The meat of this meating, (yes, that is intentional), was to reach consensus on the city’s labor negotiating team.  While I am sure that Jack and Rick were gleefully massaging their hands after the meeting in what they thought was a successful effort to stifle responsible and professional bargaining by someone they obviously fear as too strong, they still lost.  In fact they had lost before this item was even considered.

It makes no difference that Dane migrated to the BOB side of the table after having initially endorsed both himself and me for the negotiating positions.  The points and statements of fact have already been made.  The fact is that neither Nancy Huston nor Warren Salmons before her represented anything other than their own self and best interests.

It doesn’t surprise me that Jack Batchelor continues to deny the facts.  When you have the opposite sides’ negotiator tell you in open session that your negotiator is acting unprofessionally, you claim it is an “opinion”.  Just like Jack claimed that it was an opinion that our current DA isn’t concerned about the Brown Act and knows little about it.  That isn’t opinion when it comes directly out of the DA’s mouth or when it is stated to two separate parties.  What do you want him to do, Jack, put it in writing?  You would probably still deny the reality and force us to get a notary’s signature.

The whole point of this is that even though I won’t be on this bargaining team, neither will the city manager.  Although we are getting a new city manager, we won’t be placing him in a potentially conflicted position.  Good.

In addition, we will be watching very closely as well as listening to labor’s positions.  Regardless of whether or not we pass a Sunshine ordinance, this council should be requiring an open meeting update of negotiations, litigations, and property dispositions just like they do in San Diego.  If this were done, it would be quite apparent to the labor side of the table that their viewpoints were being heard by the council.  I wonder what excuse the BOB’s will have for not doing this.

A final item on the agenda was the fireworks program amendment.  Only the mayor refused to get on the bandwagon, as now both police and fire are addressing their concerns and making the Fourth of July the celebration it was intended to be.  Dane thanked both chiefs after the meeting as well as during it in an effort to prove that he wasn’t just putting on a show for the public but really meant it.

This is the way your government should be working.  We have given citizens back a freedom that should never have been taken away.  Non-profits benefitted, the concerns of the public safety officers were met, and citizens got to be neighbors in the old fashioned sense of the word.

So why be dissatisfied?…

* * * * *

I attended the Solano Irrigation district board meeting on Tuesday because there were two items on their agenda that interested me.  The first was a cost allocation study discussion and the second a methodology about raising water rates.

I listened to Paul Minasian, SID’s attorney, explaining to the Board that any rate study, good, bad, or indifferent, could be imposed on the joint body of the water agency unless specific findings of fact are given.  While this is meant to preclude one side simply refusing to raise rates capriciously and arbitrarily, it ignores the fact that the consultant was simply given a wish list of projects and projected expenses with no direction to look at the validity of the underlying assumptions.  When Minasian stated that SID will have a court reporter at the meeting, it appears that they intend to play hardball with us.  I would suggest you don’t throw the hanging curve ball …

The cost allocation study is a large document that SID manager Dave Mansfield insists I already have.  Although I don’t recall leaving with a copy of it, I might just have it.  I will guarantee you it is flawed simply because both Dixon and Suisun pay the exact same rates of overhead.  Just as stand by charges were split 50/50 only to be recently revised, my bet is the overhead rates should be apportioned somewhat the same.  In addition, I seriously doubt we are only paying amortization costs on specific vehicles used in Dixon for work done by SID employees.

Statistics and accounting can be manipulated to force others to pay for what they don’t receive.  How much surface water have you received for that annual assessment that appears on your tax bill?  Although this is allegedly a farm community rather than the bedroom community it has become, we subsidize the farmers who receive our monetary help in paying for maintenance and rehabilitation of their canals.

I must say I appreciate knowing exactly what cards SID is going to play.  It will be interesting to watch backroom Jack and see who he supports.  It won’t be the citizens’ best interest.  We are all just pawns to this major league bureaucrat.

For those of you who don’t know, we aren’t talking about a minor decrease or increase in rates.  Even the citizens’ committee got suckered into the game and gave us a best choice scenario of increasing your water bill by 67% in one year.  The consultant recommended rate increases totaling well over 100% over 5 years.  No problem for any of us because we are all rich in Dixon and have lots of disposable income we don’t need.

I have no intentions in expressing what I plan to do.  It comes back to that old saying my friend told me many years ago.  “Never smarten up a chump!”

Simply said, simply done …

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Feel Free to Email: Tedhick@gmail.com

Friday the 13^th…Watch Your Car Today

            This being Friday the 13^th and all make sure to watch your vehicles carefully because you may get your stereo stolen, your catalytic convertor ripped off or your window broken…why? Because you let your guard down…It has nothing to do with luck or superstition. It has to do with people leaving valuables visible in their cars over night and parking their cars and trucks on the street…What am I rambling on about? I’m talking about the rash of vehicle burglaries and catalytic converter thefts taking place in Dixon and Vacaville…In Dixon? Come on folks we aren’t a safe little burg any more where everyone knows their neighbors and people can trust one another. Dixon American Legion Commander, Greg Coppes, had his big diesel truck stolen recently while it was parked right next to his house.  Just drive around parts of the city and see what you see on the streets. Don’t make it easy to become a victim. Don’t leave anything of value in your car (even in the trunk) and park your vehicle in the garage or drive way with motion sensor lighting…and use alarms. Engrave everything including your CC with your CADL so they can trace it back to you. Also call the police, “Please bother us,” Dixon police Captain Steve Byrd told me Wednesday and said, “Out of sight, out of mind” is a good policy to follow with items in your vehicles he said…It can cost from $1,000 to $3,000 to replace a CC.  The dummies who stole the shotgun and other stuff from a truck here last week might want to drop the guns and items off here, back where they got it or at the PD some late night. They also took a federal government I.D. card which means the FBI could be involved…dummies. 

An alert citizen recently called the police about some early morning suspicious goings on which led to the arrest of a local copper wire thief. When the police investigated further they found a stock pile of the stuff he had stolen in a local storage shed. The city (we taxpayers) have lost tens thousands of dollars in public copper wiring to these yahoos. You see something not right call local dispatch at 678-7080 and if it is really obvious something bad is happening call 911. In most all of these cases “bad luck” had nothing to do with the end result. We need to band together to protect one another…When in doubt call the police. 

You know you aren’t supposed to confront these people but, if you catch one, do remember: “I was afraid for my life and the safety of my family…I thought I saw a gun.” Rehearse this after you beat them to a pulp while you are waiting for the police to arrive. I’m just waiting for one of these poor misunderstood fellows to pick the wrong place and get caught. Commander Coppes’ place would have been a choice spot for this to happen.

Friday the 13th

What does this day mean to you? Friday the 13^th…unlucky? Friday the 13th in the calendar Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year. Any month’s 13th day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga being the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named and triskaidekaphobia meaning fear of the number thirteen), or paraskevidekatriaphobiaof the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning “Friday”), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning “thirteen”) attached to phobía. 

According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a “Friday the 13th” superstition before the 19th century.The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in several theories have been proposed about the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition. One theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that 13 is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day. 

In numerology, the number 12 is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 Descendants of Muhammad Imams, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners. It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday.  

Social impact…According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. “It’s been estimated that $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day”.

Dixon Little League 2012 baseball registration

          Registration for the 2012 Dixon Little League baseball season has begun.  You can sign your kids via their website at www.dixonlittleleague.org. Little people within the Dixon Little League boundaries are eligible to enroll to play baseball.  Registration is required even if the child played previously. The $135 fee includes participation, uniforms and pictures per family and there is a discount for multiple players from each family. All registrations and payments must be received by January 25, 2012. The very last day to register is at try outs on January 25. Hard to believe this local organization has grown to such proportions from the Little League seed Quentin Larsen and I planted over four decades ago. Current league president, Dustin Baumbach, played back when I was on the board again and coaching…Nice to see the next generation giving back. If you have questions you can contact him at 365-4324. For more information you can check out their website at: www.dixonlittleleague.org

The Conceptual Mind

This is a bit different, there are numerals for letters; yet, the mind reads it. Let’s see how many lines you’d go before you get the hang of it and start really reading.

Try it!  

7H15 M3554G3 53RV35 7O PR0V3 H0W 0UR M1ND5 C4N D0 4M4Z1NG 7H1NG5! 1MPR3551V3 7H1NG5! 1N 7H3 B3G1NN1NG 17 WA5 H4RD BU7 N0W, 0N 7H15 LIN3 Y0UR M1ND 1S R34D1NG 17 4U70M471C4LLY W17H 0U7 3V3N 7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17, B3 PROUD!  0NLY C3R741N P30PL3 C4N R3AD 7H15. PL3453 F0RW4RD 1F U C4N R34D 7H15.

Fishing vs.  Sex

 Besides writing this column I am also the Outdoor Editor of the paper so I  thought I would, after lengthy research, pass this useful outdoor information along.

#20 – No matter how much beer you’ve had, you can still Fish.
#19 – A limp rod is still useful while Fishing.
#18 – You don’t have to hide your Fishing magazines.
#17 – It is perfectly acceptable to pay a professional to Fish with you once in a while.
#16 – The Ten Commandments don’t say anything against Fishing.
#15 – If your partner takes pictures or videotapes of you Fishing, you don’t have to worry about them showing up on the Internet .
#14 – Your Fishing partner doesn’t get upset about people you fish with long ago.
#13 – It’s perfectly respectable to Fish with a total stranger.
#12 – When you see a really good Fishing person, you don’t have to feel guilty about imagining the two of you Fishing together.
#11 – If your regular Fishing partner isn’t available, he/she won’t object if you Fish with someone else.
#10 – You will not go blind if you Fish by yourself.
#9 – When hiring Fishing pros, you never have to wonder if they are really undercover cops.
#8 – You don’t have to go to a sleazy shop in a seedy neighborhood to buy Fishing stuff.
#7 – You can have a Fishing calendar on your wall at the office, tell fishing jokes, and invite coworkers to fish with you without  getting sued for “fishing  harassment”.
#6 – There is no Fishing-transmitted diseases.
#5 – If you want to watch Fishing on television, you don’t have to subscribe to the Playboy channel.
#4 – Nobody expects you to Fish with the same partner for the rest of your life.
#3 – Nobody expects you to give up Fishing if your partner loses interest in it.
#2 – You don’t have to be a newlywed to plan a vacation primarily to enjoy your favorite activity.
#1 – Your Fishing partner will never say, “Not again? We just fished last week! Is fishing all you ever think about?!”

Sacramento Sports Show January 19-22, 2012 (Thursday to Sunday: go, look, don’t buy) I’ll explain more next week. Go, look around, get prices, GET REFERENCES, don’t sign anything. A good deal today is a good deal tomorrow. We will then check out whatever fishing or hunting trip you are interested (free) and let you know if there’s anything better out there for you through our Outdoor Connection free service. If not then sign a contract. (See Rich’s outdoor column.)

We heard a neighbor of ours say to his wife, “What would you do if I won the Lotto?”  She says, “I’d take half, then leave you.”  

“Excellent,” he said, “I won 12 bucks, here’s $6, now get the hell out.”

#

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Cal Expo, State Fairgrounds 1600 Exposition Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95815 Parking: $10.00 per car.   Sacramento Sports Show January 19-22, 2012 (Thursday to Sunday) HOURS: Thursday 11:00 am to 8:00 pm Friday 11:00 am to 8:00 pm Saturday 10:00 am to 7:00 pm Sunday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm TICKETS $15.00 Adult FREE - Youth and Children 15 years and under FREE - Active Military with military ID card       Show Information Ready to shop, have fun, compete, learn, and pass on the outdoors tradition to family or friends? ISE Sacramento–California’s largest collection of fishing, hunting and outdoor products, sportfishing boats and travel destinations–is your one-stop place to get everything you need to be successful in the outdoors. Fishing & hunting outfitters & guides Fishing tackle & gear Hunting products & gear Boats, motors & marine accessories  Travel, vacations, lodges & resorts RVs & campers  Apparel & optics Outdoor-media companies   Mountain living furnishings & art Outdoor clubs, groups & organizations Trucks, trailers & aftermarket accessories ATVs, motorcycles & personal watercraft And special features and 200 free seminars spread throughout the entire show, including: NEW: RMEF Great Elk Tour NEW: Eastmans’ Trophy Deer Display NEW: NWTF calling contest NEW: Predator-hunting seminars NEW: Fly fishing within 1 hour of Sacramento Seminars DockDogs National Contest Dutch Oven Demos RMEF Ultimate Rifle Raffle RMEF Adventure Theater Sporting-Dog Arena California Sportsmen Theater World Fishing Network Aquarium Demo Tank Lowrance Sonar Theater & Clinics Fly Fishing Theater Orvis Fly Fishing 101 instruction Accuracy Casting Contest Western Outdoor News Youth Outdoor Sports Fair (Bldg D; opens 3p Friday)   California Outdoors Q&As   Why Shot Shell Limits in Refuges and Wildlife Areas?   Question: During the four duck limit era, the 25 shot shell limit in refuges and wildlife areas made sense. However, now that the limit is seven ducks, and in some cases the goose count can be six, why aren’t we allowed to carry more shells into the field? Inevitably, that limitation leads to one of us doing the “walk of shame” back to the truck to retrieve another 25 shells for a full day of hunting in a blind. That is not the most fun task given some of the walks at refuges like Little Dry Creek can be more than a mile in one direction. (Russ L.)   Answer: This is a rule that applies to many National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) and Wildlife Areas (WA) in the state. It was put into place to increase effective shooting by waterfowl hunters on public hunting areas, thus ensuring a more enjoyable hunting experience for all hunters on the area. By limiting the amount of ammo a hunter can carry into the field, the goal is to reduce possible unsportsmanlike behavior (e.g. excessive and/or less discriminating shooting) which will improve the hunting experience.    According to Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Waterfowl Biologist Shaun Oldenburger, Los Banos WA established the first shotgun waterfowl shell restrictions in 1977 with a limit of 50 shells per day. In 1978, this regulation was expanded to Kern NWR (25 shells) and in 1979 expanded to nearly all San Joaquin Valley NWRs and WAs (25 shells). Grizzly Island was included in 1980. By 1985, shell restrictions expanded to all Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley NWRs and WAs, and in 1986 San Jacinto was included.   In 1979, when the 25 shotgun shell restrictions were first established in the San Joaquin Valley, the waterfowl season length was 93 days with a seven bird bag. By 1988, waterfowl populations had declined and so the season was reduced to 59 days and four duck bag limits. Still, the primary purpose of the 25 shotgun shell restrictions is to increase both the hunting experience and improve overall shot selection by waterfowl hunters. Daily bag limits will not dictate these restrictions, since removing them may increase the unsportsmanlike behaviors that caused their introduction to begin with.   Fortunately, waterfowl populations in California are currently healthy and so a more liberal bag limit is now in place. Hopefully, with this combination of healthy waterfowl populations and the 25 shotgun shell restrictions in place within the NWRs and WAs throughout the state, hunters are enjoying their hunting experiences now and will continue to do so well into the future!

DFG 2011-2012 Hunting Digest Available Only Online

The 2011-2012 California Hunting Digest, Upland Game and Waterfowl issue will be available online only this year, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) announced today. It will not be available in print.
 
“The Digest is a valued magazine,” said Bernadette Fees, DFG’s assistant deputy director for education and outreach. “We are proud of its popularity with California’s sportsmen and women.”

By publishing the digest online, DFG saves taxpayers thousands of dollars in printing and distribution costs. Publishing online is also beneficial to the environment and is in step with DFG’s initiative on Going Green (reducing DFG’s carbon footprint). It also allows California’s hunters to access the information on their home computers and on smart phones and tablets while away from home or work.
 
“This year’s online magazine will be formatted for easier viewing, and efforts will continue to produce future issues using the best publishing technology and most economical methods available,” Fees added. The magazine can be found at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/publications/digest/.
 
The award-winning magazine is published biannually, and provides information on hunting opportunities, regulations and licensing, as well as on wildlife conservation. The Digest’s big game issue is produced every spring and the waterfowl and upland game issue is produced each fall.

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The last couple of days have been nothing but verification and justification of all that has been written here over the years.  The smell of collusion, planning, and plotting by a small faction in town still attempting to protect what is not rightfully theirs is only outdone by their actions and reactions to losing battle after battle.  Yet the war will rage on until they are overwhelmed and swept away by the cleansing flood of righteous logicians who are now coming forward to run our local agencies with more acumen than ever before.

We could start with a little blurb I received about changes to the Brown Act which now requires notification of meetings on the agency’s website.  Welcome to the 21^st century, Solano Irrigation District and Dave Mansfield. No longer will I have to have my agent provocateurs keeping an eye on the board outside your offices for the notices you can’t seem to get up during normal business hours.  You can run but your hiding days are over.

One additional item that SID might be interested in is the fact that the winter wheat that has been sown in our area is undergoing stress from not receiving any rainfall.  It seems that SID has sprayed their unlined canals with herbicide which has not percolated into the soil.  This stops them from using these canals to send water to the fields.

I spoke with a couple of SID employees who happened to be in Dixon and they said water is available from deep wells.  What needs to be considered is why this company is so poorly run that this type of information is not available to the farmers.  What is the management of SID doing, waiting for their phones to ring with their feet up on their expensive desks?  Excuse me if I am wrong but I thought you were in the business of providing irrigation water whenever it is needed.

We can go on from there to the library board meeting attended by the who’s who of Dixon in support of beleaguered district librarian Greg Atkins.  It was more like “who are they” as most of these people hadn’t shown up to any previous meeting of the board or commission where accusations and allegations flew hot and heavy.

Was that actually the county counsel Carrie Scarlata who threw Atkins and his games under the bus when she agreed with Joe DiPaola over legal interpretations?  Seems that Greg still hasn’t gotten the message that he is no longer running the show as he sees fit.  Greg attempted to tell the board that Herb “Bad Old Boy” Cross would run the entire meeting even if they elected a new library board president at the beginning of the meeting.  Wonder why Greg wanted BOB in that position?

The second item to be discussed was the dissolution of the library commission, which DiPaola described as dysfunctional and non-responsive to the community.  As Atkins knows without this little cabal running interference for him, he must report to a school board a.k.a. library board from which he no longer has the blind support of John Gabby, Jim Ernst, and BOB.  Seems like question answered.

What was more interesting than the arguments to dissolve was the solitary argument from those strangers to these meetings who now flocked to the defense of Atkins plus those who sat silently observing.  While arguing that it wasn’t smart to get rid of a commission which had been around for 43 years, they also argued to give the new commission a chance to operate.  You people are really confused.

According to the history given by Atkins, the district was without a commission for longer than it has existed with one.  The specious, subtle and vague argument is that the commission is continuous when it is not.  The last commission was no better than the one before it and this one has been generously stuffed with Atkins’ sycophants just as the one previously was.  So how long are we supposed to wait for change?  There is no need to wait.

I have been rather pleasantly surprised by the fire of Joe DiPaola.  The change in style has drawn criticism from the same group of BOB’s who always complain about calling a spade a spade.  Sooner or later Joe is going to come to the realization that will dawn on all of you in the near future that you don’t have to “perform” in order to get your way, you simply have to have three votes.

The following night we were treated to another entertaining session of “grumpy old men”.  The interviews of three candidates for city manager were conducted by a citizens committee primarily composed of the usual suspects involved in either the Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, or both.  It must be because of the lack of general interest from the community that these groups still can dominate these decision making advisory bodies.

Comments that were heard range from “the council already has its mind made up” to “you were lucky to get on this committee”.  When the “bad old boy” tactic of inundating the potential commission with numerous applications doesn’t work so well, (I have been trying to wake the rest of you up to this fact for years as well as to get you off your butts to get you involved), those in the BOB club start making the latter snide remark.

The former comment is a reaction to the fact that BOB control is being lost.  Exactly who did you think was going to be making the decision?  Do you think the citizens of Dixon voted the council in so that the members would turn decision making back over to the public or to a very small portion of this public?  No, there is more to this than that.

It has to do with the fact that the BOB’s don’t mind if their choice is adhered to as it coincides with the choice of the least open minded of us on the council.  The problem really lies in the fact that the person promoted by the BOB’s wasn’t even endorsed by this committee.  In fact, the committee did a great job asking questions and coming up with the most logical choice for the position while recognizing the point that none of the candidates were perfect.

So what was so noticeable during the session which confirms any of my suspicions?  All one had to do is listen to the questions being posed by Warren Salmons, our former city manager, and then observe his body language during subsequent questions and deliberations of his committee peers.

Warren seems to have a deep misunderstanding of my stance on government, just as many running against Ron Paul have with Mr. Paul himself.  Libertarians are not anarchists.  We believe in limited government as we are realists who have come to the conclusion that man, being the species that he is, is incapable of agreeing to be personally accountable and responsible in unanimous form.  The difference is in what we see as the role of government.

The question as Mr. Salmons stated it drew so much laughter that he evidently thought better of asking it a second time.  Even given his misconception, I thought it was an excellent question not only to derive an answer but to make the public aware of philosophies that differ as well as further defining the political struggle I have pointed out to you over and over.  Certain members of the Rotary Club continue to believe in their viability as a shadow government.

Given Steve Bird’s comments and conclusions, it is apparent that not all Rotarians are complices.  Although that word is archaic and means much the same as being an accomplice, in this case it is more directed toward being associated together.  I have heard from other Rotary members that much as this group is an even smaller member of our total community, it is indeed a minority within this organization.  Someone needs to inform Jim Lindley, the candidate for city manager who expressed interest in joining the local Rotary, that it is not the “apolitical” organization that their bylaws intend it to be.

While I did not see any visible reaction from Lois Cross, who is BOB’s wife, nor did I see it from others including Bert Gaulke of the Chamber or Gary Archer, Warren Salmons’ body language during this whole event was one of a person irritated that his impact and influence had been minimized.  The mayor does a better job hiding his displeasure until he opens his mouth, it seems.  For some, if you don’t get your way, pout initially then find a way to torpedo what has been accomplished.

This is exactly what happened when the social host ordinance was revoked. Rather than accepting that this was a bad law and unnecessary, the other side went back to the drawing board to preserve it by changing pieces while promising not to be naught while enforcing it.  Some people are easily duped.  When our prime candidate is taken out for some less than substantial reason, don’t be surprised when all of the BOBs’ demeanors change.

Aside from making observations as to a factual basis behind my conclusions and opinions, the points are rather simple.  Change is never easy and even more so when you have to be constantly bombarded by people saying “it has always been done this way” or “in my entire career, I have never seen it done that way”.  Getting back to a government responsive to all the people is a continual battle.  This is indeed a war.

It appears that the school district is ahead of the council in making progress.  Perhaps all it will take is one more election for the council.  We have some big issues ahead of us, one of which is the operation of the water system.  That meeting is scheduled for January 31^st.  A new city manager will be on board shortly thereafter.

It will be interesting times.  Some of us will continue to show our bitterness.  Others will be smiling.  As I rarely personalize any of this, I will be doing neither.

When you are a true servant of the people, you can do that…

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Feel Free to Email: Tedhick@gmail.com

The Best Carb/Prawn Around

    The Dixon Game Club crab and prawn feed dinner will be on February 4, at the Dixon Fairgrounds.The doors open at 6 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. The cost of the dinner is $40 per person (all you can eat). This year the dinner will be served by the Dixon High school FFA students.  Tickets can be purchased at Dixon Power Equip ment/Front Line Archery on N. First Street or by calling the Dixon Game Club at 707-678-9155. Lleave a message with your name and telephone number and someone will return your call. 

     The Dixon Game Club is also looking for those with a junior hunting license to participate in their annual junior hunter “Lifetime Hunting License” drawing.  Any junior hunter 15 years old or younger, who has a valid junior hunting license, may enter the drawing.  All you need to do is submit a letter to the Dixon Game Club at 250 West Mayes street, Dixon CA, 95620.  In the letter provide your full name, address, age and telephone number.  All letters must be received at the Dixon Game Club no later than February 1, 2012.  The drawing will be held on February 4, at the crab and prawn feed dinner.  The winner of the drawing will be notified and issued their lifetime hunting license at the Dixon Game Clubs monthly meeting in March of 2012.  You do not need to be present at the dinner to win.

Lower Than Low

          Ever thought you felt really bad about something and thought it was the low point of your life…You know, it made you feel like you were lower than whale poop on the bottom of the ocean. You had a pretty good feeling next to the poor Texas kid kicking for Stanford against Oklahoma State University in the big bowl game Monday night. 

            First, growing up in Texas the first year heavily recruited freshman at Stanford was born with a dislike for all things Oklahoma. The rivalry between the two states and their schools is legendary. He was born with a dislike for all things in or from Oklahoma. The rivalry between the two states and their schools is legendary. So during the big bowl game, being watch worldwide by like a zillion people he shanks his first field goal try and missed….OK. 

         Now with less than a minute to go in a tie game the dumb ass Stanford coach decides, on first down, to run the clock down, try not to score and put the weight of the world on this kid who had already choked. The kid comes up with seconds left on the clock to be the hero of the year in the Bay area…he makes the kick, Stanford wins, the kids a hero and his future is secured.     Oklahoma of course calls a time out to rattle the freshman and as LUCK would have it (an intentional play on words) he chokes again and they go into overtime. Still he has another chance to tie the game and misses that one too. He sat on the bench with his back turned and not a soul within 10 yards of him. Stupid coaching mistake, bad thing for the kid and the sympathy of the sporting world is with him…to no avail I’m sure. He needs only to remember one thing…if he stays in school and keeps kicking; the lower the lows the higher the highs…and he’ll never be lower than he was at that moment. The multi-million dollar coach should be the one disgraced, not him…what a dumb thing to do…they simply took LUCK out of the equation, made a series of bad coaching decisions and put the burden on a young kid. 

          On the bright side for him it is a good thing he wasn’t playing for Oklahoma, he’d been tarred, feathered and run out of the state…The yuppies at Stanford will forgive but will be a long time in forgetting.

Interesting observation…

After the Japanese decimated our fleet in Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941, they could have sent their troop ships and carriers directly to California to finish what they started. The prediction from our Chief of Staff was we would not be able to stop a Massive invasion until they reached the Mississippi River. Remember, we had a two million man army and war ships…All fighting the Germans. 

 So, why didn’t they invade? After the war, the remaining Japanese generals and admirals were asked that question. Their answer…They know that almost every home had guns and the Americans knew how to use them. The world’s largest army…America’s hunters! I had never thought about this…. 

A blogger added up the deer license sales in just a handful of states and arrived at a striking conclusion: There were over 600,000 hunters this season in the state of Wisconsin …allow me to restate that number. Over the last several months, Wisconsin’s hunters became the eighth largest army in the world. More men under arms than in Iran…more than in France and Germany combined.      These men deployed to the woods of a single American state to hunt with firearms, and no person was killed. That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan’s 700,000 hunters all of whom have now returned home. Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia and it literally establishes the fact that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world. Add to that the millions of infidel Veteran’s who own firearms and aren’t afraid to use them to defend their families and stop militant aggressors. 

The point? America will forever be safe from foreign invasion with that kind of home-grown firepower. Hunting — it’s not just a way to fill the freezer. It’s a matter of national security. That’s why all enemies, foreign and domestic, want to see us disarmed. Food for thought when next we consider gun control and the upcoming elections. 

Just look at the crowds at the pro-football games and see if you’d want to go up against those infidels. A smart thing is bring done in Minneapolis. They’re allowed the  group to take over an area and govern themselves. We are paying for their relocation to this country and for welfare, etc. They think they are smart keeping out the non-believers, the police and adopting their strict Muslim laws. I think those who have let them corral themselves are the smart ones. When push comes to shove they’ll know right where to begin house cleaning.

Sure makes ya think…(from the email bag) 

         Ted: I am really concerned about North Korea’s appointment of the “dear leader”, Kim Jung Ill’s (now Kin Jung Dead) youngest son to be the new leader of North Korea– a nuclear power! (Wow! Now I can sleep better at night).

         After all, Kim Jung Un (pronounced Kim’s young-un?) had NO military experience whatsoever before daddy made him a four-star general in the military. This is a snot-nose twerp who has never accomplished anything in his life that would even come close to military leadership: he hasn’t even so much as led a cub scout troop, coached a sports team or commanded a military platoon… …So, setting that aside, next they make him the “beloved leader” of the country. Terrific!

          Oh, crap! I’m sorry. I just remembered that we did the same thing here. We took a community organizer who has never worn a uniform and made him Commander-in-Chief; a guy who has never led anything more than an ACORN demonstration and made him the leader of this country.

         I’m sorry I brought this up, never mind. B.S. Dixon

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