Forum: Tehachapi News

Why not?

I’m 79, but I guess I’m still too young to be a Republican. I still can’t accept the idea that large corporations, the super wealthy and fundamental churches have the right to decide what’s good for my country, what I should think and what our Constitution means.

And I still believe that warrants, habeas corpus and the right to have a lawyer are my best protection against powerful people who might decide that I’m a bad guy, just because I disagree with them . In addition, I still believe that the Geneva Convention and General George Washington were correct when they outlawed torture.

And even at my age I’m still naive enough to think that every American who works hard deserves a livable wage — even if CEO’s and board members have to stop squeezing their employees, over charging their customers, and polluting any land they’re not going to need for their fourth and fifth homes. Add to that the possibility that they might even show enough loyalty to American workers to stop outsourcing jobs for profit, under the disguise of competing in a world economy.

Even at 79, I still haven’t become sufficiently jaded to believe that medical care should have nothing to do with how much money you have in the bank; that it should be exactly the same for the poor as the rich — and that everyone deserves to have it.

Shortly before Bobby Kennedy died he said, “I see things as they could be and ask why not?” When I look at the United States, the way it is today, it’s beyond my understanding why we aren’t all asking that same question.

— Tony Marshall

TVHD hopes to find single contractor to speed up process

When our building program stalled because our prior architect was slow at producing plans and getting them approved by the state agency OSHPD, John Hicks volunteered to be our project manager to coordinate and prod the parties into getting the job done. John gave of his time and went to work with an intensity that will be hard to match. When the plans we received were found to be unsuitable, John recognized that we had a problem, and had experts investigate and demonstrated to us why the plans were inappropriate and too costly.

The prior plans were drawn up by an architect. We were then expected to take those plans and find a builder to construct a hospital using those plans. The plans were too complicated, too costly, did not meet our needs, and builders were reluctant to bid on the plans. To avoid repeating the same mistake, John Hick’s recommendation was that we get professional help and hire a project manager to guide us in designing a hospital.

We have now hired Norm Clendenin as project manager. He is in the process of finding out the various pieces (the number and types of units) that will best fill the needs of the Tehachapi Healthcare District, and is within our price range. When we have a firm idea of what we will need in a new hospital then we can take that conceptual plan and open up a bidding process.

Our current thought is that we would like to have companies that design and build hospitals to give us an idea what they can do for us. When a company designs a plan that they are going to build we can expect them to give us a firm price on the cost.

Using a design/build company will mean that we will have a single contract for the actual construction costs of the hospital. The results we hope for are a speedier process and an early idea of what the cost will be.

— Sam Conklin, M.D.
President TVHD Board of Directors

Thanks to volunteers for promoting civic pride

The Mountain Festival Committee begins work every January in order to make this community event successful, and our 45th Annual Tehachapi Mountain Festival® was no exception. Each committee member gives of themselves by providing valuable support to this community event and promoting civic pride. Being part of this committee, they were able to contribute significantly to the economic growth and awareness of our beautiful community, which encourages people to want to come to Tehachapi to live, work and raise their families. The Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce gratefully acknowledges the committee, for without them there would be no Mountain Festival: Carl Gehricke, Chairman; Susan Burt, Susie Atherton, David and Barbara Shaw, Dennis Stirk, Barbara Allen, Teri Kahn, Chief Jeff Kermode, Richard Perkins and Dave Burt.

Thanks goes to hard working Chamber Directors who volunteered for various tasks: Richard Henry, Lara Roma, Phillip Darling, Susie Atherton, Kathy Carey, Ed Duggan, Tim Kielpinski, Leslie Kimball, J.R. Spriggle and Mary Lou Vachon.

A special thank you to Lara Roma and the Bank of the West employees and their families; Mike Berard, Linda Shaffer, Kasey Dirado, Jackie Wood and Kathy Murray, for manning the carnival ticket booth; Chamber Ambassadors Carla Cook, Jeanne Waterworth, Stella Raymond and Kathleen Ryan; Mike Pera, Dimitry Geler, Maggie Ganczak, Stuart Smith for working at the Beer Garden; Chamber Ambassadors, Lisa Carmel and Mik Mikkelsen; and Vivian Chianello for working at the Chamber Booth; John Lunsford for the awesome job done as Sound Engineer and MC of the Mountain Festival Entertainment; David, Barbara, Taylor and Michael Shaw, Charley Wright, Jill Green, Nicky, Lisa Davis and from Coldwell Banker, Mary Lou, Shelly and Seenie for their work on the Mountain Festival Parade; The Bear Valley Police Explorer's Post 320 for the outstanding job keeping the park clean. Also, thanks to the volunteers from Daughters of the American Revolution, the Rotary Club and Tehachapi Community Theater, who manned Pepsi Booths in the park, while distributing their information.

The Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce would like to extend its appreciation to Chief Jeff Kermode and the officers of the Tehachapi Police Department, the guards of Mountain High Security for all of their hard work to insure that the Mountain Festival was a safe and enjoyable community event.

Carl Gehricke, Mountain Festival Chairman deserves a very special thank you. Carl worked diligently to make this festival the best one yet. He worked tirelessly at arranging the many details for the Carnival, he ordered, setup, delivered and worked on equipment all weekend. He tried to make an appearance at nearly every Mountain Festival event. Carl was particularly mindful of the volunteers making sure that they were provided for in special ways. Thanks Carl, great job!

It is difficult to name and to adequately express our gratitude and appreciation for each and everyone who has done favors, given assistance, offered special help and advice for the Mountain Festival, because surely someone would be left out. There are so many individuals and organizations to thank for helping to make our 45th Tehachapi Mountain Festival® an event that attracts thousands of people to our beautiful home. It is truly a community event and we sincerely appreciate your hard work. Our hats are off to you!

It has been a pleasure to work with such an outstanding group of dedicated individuals on the 2008 Mountain Festival Committee.

The Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce gratefully acknowledges you all.
If you know someone who has been a volunteer, please let him or her know how much you appreciate his or her commitment to our community.

— Ida Perkins, President
Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce

Spay and Neuter Clinic volunteers deserving of big thanks

On the behalf of the Feral Cat program I'd like to express my utmost gratitude to all the people involved in the Spay/Neuter Clinic on Aug 22. To the wonderful Dr. Billingsley and her excellent helpers Melissa and Ray for working lo-o-o-ng hours and fixing 20 cats. Also to Cristina Campbell, Jerry Seville and Cathy Guerra for driving the cats to and from Dr. Billingsley's, and to SPAN (Spay and Neuter Network) and Kern Humane Society for providing additional financial help.

Thank you so much everybody. You guys rock.

— Neide Franzen
Tehachapi Humane Society Feral Cat program

Chamber Thanks Mountain Festival Sponsors

The Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce and the 2008 Mountain Festival Committee would like to recognize and express our appreciation for the following sponsors who supported our 45th Annual Tehachapi Mountain Festival®.

Benz Inc, Exclusive Parade Sponsor; Bank of the West, FPL Energy Operating Systems, Inc., GE Energy, Lehigh Southwest Cement Company and Oak Creek Energy Systems, Inc., Silver Mine Sponsors; Bank of the Sierra, California Portland Cement and Tammy Engel, Mortgage Advisor, Carnival Round Up Sponsors; 'hachapi Tees, Bright House Networks, Del Taco, Law Office of Phillip H. Darling and Red Hot Signs, Designs & Decals, Branding Iron T-Shirt Sponsors; 'hachapi Tees, J. Williams Personal Financial Planning, Inc., National Health Services, Red Hot Signs, Designs & Decals and tech-hachapi.com, Gazebo Entertainment Sponsors; The City of Tehachapi, Tehachapi Valley Parks and Recreation District and the Tehachapi News.
These business sponsors make it possible to do many of the activities that are part of Mountain Festival. As you patronize them throughout the year, please say thank you.
The community calls on them and they willingly support many activities and organizations.

CFL Danger

Compact-Flourescent light bulbs CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS!!!

Read: Mercury leaks found as new bulbs break (The Boston Globe).

Way back in 1982, the Mother Earth News article: THIN-FILM, AMORPHOUS-SILICON PHOTOVOLTAICS inquired:

"But is it really possible that solar cells will sell for $.70 per watt in the next few years?"

Read:

New Thin-Film Solar Panels: Fast, Simple & Smart (Mother Earth News),

Thin Film Solar Power--Cheaper than Coal? (The Oil Drum).

Here consider how the Colossal Magnetic Levitation Wind Turbine's output equals that of a small nuclear power plant--though providing power at $.01 per kilowatt hour (it low-center-of-gravity = perfect for offshore = unlimited potential).

Read:

Nader opposes nuclear, coal, oil energy, supports wind, solar,

The Dirty Truth About Clean Coal (BusinessWeek),

King Coal's Latest Con Job, Clean Coal is Not Clean (CounterPunch),

Ethanol vehicles pose significant risk to health, new study finds (Stanford News Service).

Here consider how:

"... residents in Illinois voiced their outrage two years ago upon learning that the Exelon Corp had not disclosed radioactive leaks at one of its nuclear plants. ... Mr. Obama introduced a bill ... Mr. Obama eventually rewrote it ... The rewritten bill also contained the NEW WORDING SOUGHT BY EXELON MAKING IT CLEAR THAT STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES WOULD HAVE NO REGULATORY OVERSIGHT OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. Exelon's suport for Mr. Obama far exceeds its support for any other presidential candidate." (Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate, NY Times).

Read:

Obama's Sub-Prime Conflict (CommonDreams)(regarding Penny Pritzker--Obama's Finance Chairman):

"... if you traced today's sub-prime crisis back to its origins, you would come upon the role of the Pritzkers and Superior Bank of Chicago."

The Real Legacy of the Reagan Revolution (CommonDreams)(regarding Phill Gramm--McCain's Campaign Co-Chairman):

"Enron, lest we forget, was their baby. ... Here is a man whose legislation created what financial guru Warren Buffet termed 'financial weapons of mass destruction.'"

John McCain and the USS Forrestal Fire:

McCain crashed 5 jets, plus was responsible for the Forrestal fire. ... McCain deliberately 'wet-started' his A-4E Skyhawk to shake up the guy in the F-4 Phantom behind his plane."

Finally, consider how Pres. Bush never actually won a Presidential Election (See The US Commission on Civil Rights Report on the Irregularities of the 2000 Florida Presidential Election, and Rolling Stone article: Was the 2004 Election Stolen?)

Complaints about our corrupted election process can be addressed to the UN: 1503@ohchr.org

Fun now comes with a price:

KEEP IT FREE! I live in New England now and we have alot nicer skateparks here and they are Yes you know it FREE! Our kids that live in Tehachapi have little to do as it is and to do this to the kids and parents is just wrong. Don't the people of Tehachapi pay through property taxes to keep up the City? So now you want to charge them to use a facility that should be FREE! So why not charge mothers taking thier kids to the kiddie parks to play on the swings, slides....whats the difference they also can get hurt! the city has to carry some sort of liability insurance right?

Golden Eagle sighting

On the afternoon of March 18th, I was looking out the window and wondered what had caught the attention of our horses. Since one of the horses was nowhere in sight, I assumed that they were all watching him down in the pasture, that's when I spotted something very dark and large moving on the ground. My first thought was that it might be a vulture. I grabbed my camera and ran down to take a look, moving slowly through the sage and rabbit brush, I was able to sneak up close to observe this Golden Eagle eating a ground squirrel! Just as I got within about 25-30 feet, it noticed me, I had only enough time to quickly stand up and take a photo just as it was spreading its wings to fly off.

Control our streets!

It seems as if the town I have called home has turned into what every small town boy fears, a city. I am all for activities and family functions, but if our town cannot control what happens after these functions then I say do away with them all. I attended the first 3 years of movies in the park and it was great. Then all these teenagers proceeded to take over half of the park. I saw fights, drug use and many other types of unacceptable behavior. I myself as a teenager pulled pranks and had what we call "teenage fun." But I was respectful enough not to do and real damage. Last night I got up to go to work and the back windshield of our car was smashed in. I suddenly thought to two of my good friends whose cars were also broken into. Coincidentally on a Thursday night. I will say what no one else who is a real Tehachapian will say. Give us back our small town. Growth is great and I am all for it but if you can’t control it, slow it down. Our Mainstreet council or whatever you want to call them need to look at the bigger picture. People who have lived here for decades are disgusted with the lack of caring from the people who are in charge. I love my town but let it grow at its own pace. Everyone is so quick to turn into another Bakersfield or Palmdale. Because eventually its going to happen.

— Chris Calvillo

Resentful

Tony Marshall (8/20) accused senator John McCain of lying, without any evidence to justify his assertion. I doubt if he could find proof, not an opinion, to substantiate his claim. I am not a big fan of the Senator, but I resent the besmirching of his excellent reputation.

— Bill Jasper

Courtesy, please

To parents of children at Golden Hills Elementary:

Well, another school year is upon us, and it’s wonderful to see all the precious little munchkins coming and going.

I realize that space and parking is at a premium during the “crunch time” when you deliver and pick up your kids. All I ask is that you please do not park in, or in front of, driveways blocking access to residents on Park Road, Madre Street, etc. I have had people literally pull into my driveway, lock their car and leave. I’m not a cop caller. I wouldn’t go that far. I also try to plan my errands around these critical times, but sometimes it is unavoidable. I have been in a situation on several occasions when I could not get to my own garage.

Thanks for listening and thanks in advance for your cooperation. Best wishes to all with the new school year and God Bless.

— David Hutchison

Disgruntled

My wife and I were at the car show this weekend. It was a great event. We come to a lot of events up there and spend a good amount of money. The thing that upset us was that while we were sitting on the sidewalk in front of Southern Shooters Supply, the owner came out and said we had to move because we were blocking the windows and people couldn’t see in and that he was open for business and we were in the way. He has never opened on Sundays in the past.

As long as Tehachapi has business owners like this man, we will never patronize any business or event any longer. There were other people that felt the same way.
We spend a lot of money in Tehachapi throughout the year, but I guess your town doesn’t need our money or tax dollars.

— Andrew D. Brancato, Bakersfield resident

Animal abandonment

A couple of weekends ago we witnessed yet another despicable case of animal abuse in Tehachapi. I hate sharing these stories, but they need to be told. Situations like this should not be swept under the rug, no matter how uncomfortable they are.

One of our customers is building a new house and it's still under construction. About three weeks ago, someone dumped off some Chihuahuas to fend for themselves. They were seen running around outside, but no one was able to catch them. Then, they somehow managed to get up into the attic of the house under construction, where no one could reach them. The dogs began using fiberglass insulation as bedding. The family tried to catch the dogs for several days, but it took some cat traps with food to accomplish that. One dog was even dry walled into a room and he dug his way back out, hurting his paws and nails.

The adult female dog was brought in to our shot clinic this past Saturday, but the vet said she was too thin and dehydrated to risk shots. The third dog, an un-neutered male (probably dad) was caught on Sunday and brought into the store. He was scared to death and it took me an hour to coax him out of the crate. He had skin irritation from the fiberglass, ticks, drywall in/under his nails from digging at it and stunk like you-know-what. We gave him a bath and he's now at a foster home.

If anyone is interested in adopting these dogs, they will be available shortly through A Safe & Secure Rescue. For more information on these and other homeless animals that need permanent homes, please visit the S&S Rescue website at http://www.asafeandsecurerescue.org.

Other local rescues with adoptable pets include the THS http://tehachapihumane.org/, Canine Canyon Ranch Rescue http://caninecanyonranch.org/ and STOP http://thestoppers.org/

Dumping defenseless animals to fend for themselves is not only immoral, it is a crime punishable by law. No matter how dire your circumstances, there are always options to abandonment. Our website lists numerous organizations you can call, so there are NO excuses for this behavior. If none of these entities are available to help, it's much kinder to euthanize a pet than subject it to pain, suffering and an unknown death.

— Susie Atherton

Coffee, Tea or Homeless Pets?

This is the second year that Gina Christopher, owner of Books & Crannies, has had a booth at the Mountain Festival and it won't be the last. She doesn't do it for the money. She does it to let people know about the gourmet coffees and teas that she sells in the bookstore along with new and used books. This year she also did it to help STOP, Save Tehachapi's Orphaned Pets.

Gina grew up surrounded by animals: birds, dogs, cats, rats and monkeys. When she started working for her dad in the Radio Shack in the late 1990's, she took over rescuing the dogs and cats that people dropped off in the shopping center and finding new homes for them.

Now, as a member of STOP, Gina has taken her volunteering to a new level by inviting STOP into her Books & Crannies booth at the Mountain Festival. She and her helper, Sarah, put a STOP flyer in every bag, pointed out the pictures of STOP dogs and cats, told people about the organization, hosted a STOP donation box and signage and introduced people to the STOP dog just outside the park. In addition, Gina donated 10 percent of the weekend's sales to STOP. The total monies generated from the donation box and sales amounted to $450!

On top of that, a STOP dog, little Tipper, found a forever home right here in Tehachapi!

STOP would like to thank Gina for her kindness and generosity and let her know that we look forward to working with her again next year.

Thanks for support and contributions

The members of the VFW Post 5948 would like to express their gratitude to Savemart and especially Store Manager Tim King for his time, support and contributions before and during Mountain Festival Weekend. Because of his help, along with many others, we were very successful in our fund raising efforts that are dedicated to veterans in the Tehachapi Community.

— Robert Hoffman, Lori Stephens and everyone from the VFW