Modoc-gate

MMC Spared, Other Buildings Being Considered

While the Modoc Medical Center appears to be free of being saddled as collateral for any long-term bond funding by the county, there are numerous properties to take its place.

It was learned Feb. 12 that MMC, with an insured value of $5 million, would not be used as collateral after county officials met with financial consultants in San Francisco.

This leaves a number of other county-owned buildings that can be used to back up an estimated $12.5 million in loans if the county can find a lender, according to Richard Arrow, chief financial officer.

They include (insured values in parentheses):

Courthouse ($6.4 million)
Justice Center ($1.3 million)
County jail ($3.2 million)
Library ($1.1 million)
Convalescent. Facility ($3.4 million)
Belli Building ($2.9 million)

This comes to $18.3 million, and Arrow points out there “are a number of other buildings that will bring the total to over $30 million.”

There is a specific item on the board of supervisors’ agenda for Tuesday, Feb. 23, in which Chair Dan Macsay is expected to make a detailed report on the San Francisco meeting referenced in this article.

Editorial

Violating the U.S. Constitution
Could Cost Us Money

"I do believe in a prayer to God as does the Congress of the United States. If anybody has a different supreme being in who they believe when the word God is used, please picture or think of your deity."

Supervisor Patricia Cantrall
Modoc Co. Board of Supervisors
Jan. 13, 2009


Lately, at Modoc County Board of Supervisors’ meetings there has been a subtle shift from a moment of silence at the opening of the meeting to religious invocations specifically using the name of Jesus Christ, given by rookie CAO Rick Rudometkin and local clergy, usually at the invitation of Supervisor Cantrall -- thus, the reasoning for her statement as quoted above.

But Supervisor Cantrall needs to do her Constitutional homework.

The fact is, that each time she, or a member of the local clergy, give prayer at the beginning of a board of supervisors’ meeting and they use the reference “Jesus,” or “in the name of Jesus our Lord,” they are violating the U.S. Constitution -- that very law of the land that Supervisor Cantrall believes in upholding.

We advise Supervisor Cantrall to apply her skills of persuasion to educating herself and the clergy. It’s in the best interest of the county and the people who pay the taxes that the supervisors avoid a lawsuit when they ask for spiritual guidance at future meetings of the board of supervisors.

Case in point: The board of supervisors heeded warnings of legal action when it moved its meetings from the board room upstairs in the Modoc County courthouse to the sheriff's annex. Why? It’s because the courthouse is not handicapped accessible and the sheriff's annex has a wheel chair ramp. This change of venue negated the possibility of a lawsuit against the county for not providing handicapped access to board meetings.

Our concern for what may seem a minor issue involving prayer during this time of major financial crisis is warranted because this disregard for the law, intentional or not, is an example of arrogance, perhaps ignorance, and a disrespect for us all.

We hope our supervisors will recall their efforts in resolving the handicapped access issue and show us that they have our best interests at heart, at a time when prayers are needed most.

-- Ray A. March

Modoc County Courthouse -
Rehab Candidate?

What: Workshop - Make History: Public-Private Partnerships to Rehabilitate Historic Buildings

When: March 10th,

Where: Ione, CA

The Sierra Business Council would like to announce the following workshop opportunity hosted by the California Preservation Foundation.

Make History: "Public-Private Partnership to Rehabilitate Historic Buildings"

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Evalynn Bishop Hall, Howard Park
600 South Church Street, Ione, CA

This workshop will explore the most current topics in real estate and community development, focusing on public-private partnerships as the driving force in the rehabilitation of historic properties in today's complex financial environment. The workshop will bring together a panel of professionals from the private and public sectors involved in adaptive reuse of historic properties for office, retail, multi-family, and/or community uses.

The real estate development process and financing to be explored include: development strategies from acquisition to completion, participant roles and objectives, design and use considerations, and financial markets for debt and equity (governmental and private loans, historic tax credit equity, and new markets tax credit equity).

To register go to: http://www.californiapreservation.org/workshops.shtml#navtop

Save the date for the 2010 California Preservation Conference: Wednesday, May 12 - Saturday, May 15, 2010.

The Rudometkin Watch

In Violation of the U.S. Constitution



When Rick Rudometkin (left above) was hired rather questionably by the Modoc County Board of Supervisors last Nov. 10 as interim chief administrative officer one of his first acts was to fire his predecessor Mark Charlton.

When Rudometkin was hired under less than agreeable circumstances by the Modoc County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 9 as permanent chief administrative officer one of his first acts was to violate the U.S. Constitution.

While the first act, that of firing Charlton, was in private, the second act was in broad daylight at a board of supervisors’ meeting when in leading the gathering of supervisors and the general public in prayer Rudometkin invoked the name “Jesus,” not once but twice.

Each time he said “Jesus” in prayer, at Supervisor Patricia Cantrall’s recruitment, Rudometkin was inviting a lawsuit against the county.

It is a violation of the U.S. Constitution to give sectarian prayer at public meetings such as the board of supervisors. If it’s any consolation to the rookie CAO, he is not the only one to demonstrate an ignorance of the law. Prayers led by local clergy on Feb. 2 and Jan. 26 also violated the law.

In the case of Rubin vs. City of Burbank, California courts have upheld the opinion that an invocation offered “in the name of Jesus Christ” offended the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. This opinion was further upheld when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal.

-- Ray A. March

WILDLAND
FIREFIGHTING CLASS

The Modoc National Forest will host its annual Basic 32 Wildland Firefighting Class this spring. The first day of the class is Thursday, April 1, 2010 and it will be conducted at the Modoc High School, Shirley Oxley Hall in Alturas, CA.

This is the introductory course to a career in wildland firefighting and is mandatory for anyone who desires to work on a fireline.

The class will start on April 1st-3rd, and continues April 5th and 6th. Seating is limited to 30 people, and is free to the public.

These classes typically fill up quickly so if you are interested please contact Charlene Johnston at cajohnston@fs.fed.us, (530)233-8843 or Randy Scherr at rscherr@fs.fed.us, (530)946-4141 to register.

MMC Seeking Directors

After a false start of compiling a list of prospective board members without public input, the Modoc County Board of Supervisors has reconsidered. They are now seeking community involvement and are solicting volunteers for the Modoc Medical Center Hospital Board of Directors.

The Board will be comprised of seven members and will meet no less than once a month and will be compensated for travel. The Board of Directors' duties would include oversight of hospital financial activity and hospital issues.

Candidates should possess the following qualities: team building, business management, accounting, finance and budget development skills. Candidates should also possess the ability, desire, and commitment to undertake training required to perform the required duties.

If you are interested in sitting on the Hospital Board of Directors, please submit a resume with qualifications to the Modoc County Board of Supervisors at 204 W. 4th Street, Alturas, CA 96101 . Resumes must be received by March 5th. If you have any questions, please contact MMC Administrative Assistant at 233-5883.

BLM Proposed Horse Gather

(Photo by Jim Halverson)

The Bureau of Land Management's Eagle Lake Field Office is seeking public input on a proposed gather and removal of an overpopulation of wild horses and burros from the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA), northeast of Susanville, Calif. The gather, involving an estimated 1,800 wild horses and 180 burros, is tentatively planned for August and September 2010.

A 30-day public scoping period begins February 5 and ends March 5, 2010. The public is asked to identify issues to be addressed in an environmental assessment (EA) to be prepared as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA and proposed decision will be released about May 1 for public review and comment.

The purpose of the gather is to return the population of horses and burros to its appropriate management level (AML), or population range, established through the Eagle Lake Resource Management Plan, developed with full public involvement in 2008.

The AML, which determines the number of animals the range can sustain, is set at between 448-758 horses and 72-116 burros. The current population is estimated at about 2,300 horses and 250 burros, resulting in ongoing resource damage that will be analyzed in the environmental assessment.

The proposed gather would remove sufficient horses and burros to bring the population within the AML. Under the proposal, most mares left on the range would be treated with a birth control drug effective for one to two years. The wild herd would be structured with more males than females. Both actions are intended to slow the growth rate of the herds.

Comments can be sent to Eagle Lake Field Office, Attn: Twin Peaks Wild Horse Gather, 2950 Riverside Dr., Susanville, CA 96130. Comments may also be sent via email to twinpeaks@ca.blm.gov.

It Could Be A Valentine

LITTLE OWL WHO LIVES IN THE ORCHARD
—Mary Oliver

His beak could open a bottle,
and his eyes—when he lifts their soft lids—
go on reading something
just beyond your shoulder—
Blake, maybe,
or the Book of Revelation.

Never mind that he eats only
the black-smocked crickets,
and dragonflies if they happen
to be out late over the ponds, and of course
the occasional festal mouse.
Never mind that he is only a memo
from the offices of fear—

it's not size but surge that tells us
when we're in touch with something real,
and when I hear him in the orchard
fluttering
down the little aluminum ladder of his scream—
when I see his wings open, like two black ferns,

a flurry of palpitations
as cold as sleet
rackets across the marshlands
of my heart,
like a wild spring day.

Somewhere in the universe,
in the gallery of important things,
the babyish owl, ruffled and rakish,
sits on its pedestal.
Dear, dark dapple of plush!
A message, reads the label,
from that mysterious conglomerate:
Oblivion and Co.
The hooked head stares
from its blouse of dark, feathery lace.
It could be a valentine.