Feel Free to Email: Tedhick@gmail.com

          You know, the longer I live the less I know. In my 20’s and 30’s I knew it all. Everything was black and white, life was easy. Now that many shades of grey have eked into my mind I am even seriously questioning my long held beliefs in Karma.

           Last week was a good example of this when 24 year old Dixon volunteer firefighter James “Cody” Bogdanoff Robben  came across a group of suspicious acting Dixon kids and possibly saved the life of a foolish one who was in dire straights from alcohol poisoning. He reportedly was unconscious and his friends, who were afraid to call for help because they didn’t want to get in trouble, were dunking him in a canal trying to revive him. Robben happened along the scene and intervened over the objections of this Mensa group who told him everything was OK. Robbensaw at a glance everything was not OK, assessed the situation, gave aid, and immediately called for emergency help. The unconscious 14 year old kid, reportedly with an alcohol level of about .49, life was probably saved by being flown by helicopter to the UCD Med center where he was held for a few days returning home to a “welcome home reception”…instead of juvenile hall.

          The boy’s father told me he went to see Cody’s father after his accident and they agreed it could have very easily been a double funeral if not for Cody’s penchant for doing the right thing at the right time.

           Robben, a 2004 Dixon High School graduate, probably saved this kid’s life which was apparently typical of him as he was a member of the Dixon Fire Department where both he and his father, Tony, were volunteers. His dad retired as a Captain, after 30 years of volunteer service with the DFD and Cody virtually grew up in and around the department. You saw this Robben family at all of the local outdoor fund raising events, working at many of them.

          Cody knew the right thing to do and did it, as opposed to the kid who knew the right thing to do and did just the opposite…go figure… “Just a dumb kid” doesn’t go quite far enough to explain an under aged kid getting, way more than just drunk, and “canal surfing”.

          The downside to the story is a dumb kid is alive thanks to the effort of a smart one, but the smart one died just a few days later in an unfortunate mishap. The accident occurred last Friday about 8 am, on Midway Road by the National Cemetery. It apparently happened when Cody tried to turn his pick up truck around and was broadsided by a semi truck traveling the speed limit. The early morning sun was apparently a major factor in Robben not seeing the truck as he pulled out in front of it, was broad sided… and killed. The tragic accident stunned his firefighting brethren who responded to the scene and were shocked to find it was one of their own.
         

Linda and I and our family want to convey our sincerest condolences to the Robben family. His funeral will be held today Thursday, July 29, at 10 a.m. at Dixon Community Church, 955 E. A St., Dixon. Burial will follow at Sillveyville Cemetery, Dixon.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Dixon Fire Department, 205 Ford Way, Dixon, CA 95620. Arrangements were made by Milton Carpenter Funeral Home, 678-2189, www.miltoncarpenter.com.

 
Legion Spaghetti Feed

          First it was Friday night fish fry’s at the new Vet’s Hall sponsored by the Dixon American Legion Post 208 and now that the fish have run their course the menu has switched to “all you can eat spaghetti” with salad and garlic bread. Every Friday from 5 pm to 8ish you can feed the whole family for $10 for adults and half price for kids. For current service folks or members of the Legion or VFW the price is only $8 and $4. There is a full bar and unlimited soft drinks are only $1. We went last week and it was good.
 
          Speaking of the LegionI is (spell check made me do that) currently helping a couple of Vets to try to buy homes. I’ve come out of semi-retirement and am acting as a buyer’s agent for people I know, and military people and/or Vets. Few licensed Realtors want to act as a buyer’s agent and deal with the picky VA and picky buyers. Funny thing is, just like the Outdoor Connection fishing and hunting guide booking service we have, it doesn’t cost our clients a cent for the service we provide. Such a deal huh? The seller of a house has to pay me, your Realtor, and in this day and age you certainly want an experienced Realtor to guide you, as a buyer, through the maze. If you are thinking about buying a home you can do so through my broker, Tom Schouten of Kelly Real Estatein Vacaville. Just call or email me and I’ll be glad to help you out. Tom’s big firm (Tom by the way is a former Dixon resident and brother to former city councilman Pete) can also sell your house for you.

           Another by the way…if you were ever going to buy a home NOW is the time. We will probably never again see these low prices and low interest rates that flood the market place today. You need to get pre-qualified for a loan before you start looking and Dixon’s Jim Modar at SolanoMortgage can help you do that. Give him a ring at 580-2881. He’s worked very hard to qualify buyers for me in the past.

Illegitimate Golf Pro?

          A fellow was getting ready to tee off on the first hole when a second golfer approached and asked if he could join him.  The first said that he usually played alone, but agreed to the twosome. They were even after the first few holes.  The second guy said, “We’re about evenly matched, how about playing for five bucks a hole?” The first fellow said that he wasn’t much for betting, but agreed to the terms.
           The second guy won the remaining sixteen holes with ease. As they were walking off number eighteen, and while counting his $80, the second guy confessed that he was the pro at a neighboring course and liked to pick on suckers. The first fellow revealed that he was the Parish Priest.
         The pro got all flustered and apologetic, offering to return the money. The Priest said, “You won fair and square and I was foolish to bet with you. You keep your winnings.” The pro said, “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” The Priest said, “Well, you could come to Mass on Sunday and make a donation. And, if you want to bring your mother and father along, I’ll marry them…”

Sleeping around?

 It’s ALWAYS the kids that suffer…His name is Zonkey

Natural Born Citizens Beware…

          This just might make your day a little brighter! You, who worry about Democrats versus Republicans–relax, here is our real problem.  In a Purdue University classroom, they were discussing the qualifications to be President of the United States.  It was pretty simple. The candidate must be a natural born citizen of at least 35 years of age. However, one blond girl in the class immediately started in on how unfair was the requirement to be a natural born citizen.  In short, her opinion was that this requirement prevented many capable individuals from becoming president.  The class was taking it in and letting her rant, and not many jaws hit the floor when she wrapped up her argument by stating “What makes a natural born citizen any more qualified to lead this country than one born by C-section?”   Yep, these are the same kinds of 18-year-olds who voted in our last elections!

Cable Vs. Satellite

          Few people know, or care actually, that I was the one that brought cable to back when I was on the city council the first time. At first it was good and then the company violated the franchise agreement, moved its office out of Dixon and kept jacking up the prices. Eventually we went to satellite TV until they in turn jacked up the prices just for TV, had long term contracts and priced us out of the market.

          Over a year ago we had our fair booth for Outdoor Connection next to the Wave Broadband guys and listened to their stuff for four days. When I heard about the “bundling” they offered along with the fact you don’t have to sign a contract of long term commitment I went home and did some math. I went with them (as eventually did our son and my mother-in-law) and several other people we told about it.
   

To make a short story long,add up what you pay for your computer access, phone and satellite and you’ll be bowled over by Wave’s special for Dixon. You get a one year price guarantee for high speed Internet, phone with unlimited calling in North America (US and Canada) and 140 channels with premium channels and On Demand movies…all for $89 a month. That saved us over $50 a month from what we were paying for the three separate services. Take away the Hispanic channels, the religious channels, the selling channels, the BS channels and you reduce the number substantially. We only routinely watch four or five anyway.

              They are the only company that can offer all three services themselves without using outsourced companies. Plus they offer HD for a little more…See why we jumped on it? I’ve waited a year to make sure everything is as they said it was, and it has been. Their customer service (which was completely lacking in the old cable company) is the best we’ve seen. Contact Joaquin Morales at 916-223-3900, confirm what you’ve read here, and have him hook you up on that one year special deal. Remember you are only on a month-to-month with them that’s how sure they are you will like what they have to offer.

The End Is Near
 

          A local Irish priest and a pastor from the two local churches are standing by the side of the road, pounding a sign into the ground that reads: “The End Is Near! Turn Yourself Around Now — Before its Too Late!” As a car sped past them, the driver yelled, “Leave us alone, you religious nuts!” From the curve in the road, the priest and the pastor heard screeching tires and a big splash. The pastor turns to the priest and asks, “Do you think the sign should just say ‘Bridge Out’?”

Carved on a bar stool!

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Rich Reeser

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) completed the release of 16.5
million young Sacramento Fall-Run Chinook salmon in northern California
on June 15. The majority of the young salmon, called smolts, were placed
into acclimation pens in San Pablo Bay prior to release, while others
were released in rivers that flow to the bay. Smolts that survive to
adulthood will return in two to four years to spawn in Central Valley
rivers, boosting the recovery of the species in California waters.

“We hope this year’s above-average water flow and the use of a
variety of release sites will improve the overall survival of the smolts
and increase the return of adult salmon to their home rivers,” said
Neil Manji, DFG Fisheries Branch Chief.

On June 8, the last major release of 650,000 Sacramento Fall-Run
Chinook smolts took place near Mare Island Straits adjacent to San Pablo
Bay. They were trucked from Nimbus Hatchery in Rancho Cordova to the
site, confined in net pens to acclimate and towed out into the bay and
released on the outgoing tide. The acclimation pens are operated by the
nonprofit Fishery Foundation of California (FFC).

Since the collapse of the Sacramento Fall-Run Chinook salmon stocks in
2007, DFG has stepped up acclimation efforts and selected new release
sites to help improve survival rates. This year, new sites for release
included the mouth of the American River (to boost returns to the
American River) and Eddos Harbor on the San Joaquin River near the
Antioch Bridge (to boost returns to Mokelumne and Merced rivers).

“The releases went well,” said Biologist Kari Burr, FFC Acclimation
Project Manager. “Once adults return and information is collected,
biologists will be able to fine-tune release locations for the coming
years.” 

At release sites in the San Pablo Bay and Eddos Harbor, acclimation
pens provided safe haven for the 3- to 5-inch-long salmon when they were
released from pitch-dark transport tanks into bay and river waters. The
pens allow the smolts to adjust to their new surroundings inside the
safety of the net pens.

The release sites were selected in order to minimize in-river losses
due to predation, pollution and other causes, and to help minimize the
number of salmon that return to a different river than the one where
they were raised.

The salmon smolts were raised at and trucked in from four DFG-operated
Central Valley hatcheries. Please see related May 10, 2010 news release,
DFG to Release Three Million Salmon Smolts Near Mouth of American River, at dfg.ca.gov/news/.

 
California Outdoors Q & As

 
Handling wild game safely to prevent trichinosis

 Question: I have a question about trichinosis in wild game. I understand it’s caused by a nematode-like worm that burrows into its host, and is most commonly associated with pork (although it can be found in any game that eats meat, such as bear). But, how common is it? For pig hunters in California, is it something that we should look out for, and if so, how do we guard against it? Thanks for your help. (Ren C.)
 Answer: You can be at risk for contracting trichinosis if you eat raw or undercooked meats, particularly bear, pork, wild feline (such as a cougar), fox, dog, wolf, horse, seal or walrus. The disease cannot be transferred to others as infection occurs only by eating raw or undercooked meat containing Trichinella worms.
 According to Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Senior Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Ben Gonzales of the Wildlife Investigations Laboratory, limited data related to pig hunting indicates that trichinellosis (trichinosis) is relatively uncommon in wild pigs in California. Gonzales says he personally still cooks all his pork — domestic and wild — to well done. The greater risk to human health from wild pig relates to food hygiene and care of the carcass after it is taken.

 
Here are some facts on trichinosis from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) and on how to prevent it:

 
 •  Hunters should practice good field dressing practices and cook all meat well.
 •  Cook meat products until the juices run clear or to an internal temp of 170°F.
 •  Freeze pork less than six inches thick for 20 days at 5°F to kill any worms.
 •  Cook wild game meat thoroughly. Freezing wild game meats, unlike freezing
    pork products, even for long periods of time, may not effectively kill all worms.
 •  Clean meat grinders thoroughly if you prepare your own ground meats.
 •  Curing (salting), drying, smoking or microwaving meat does not consistently
    kill infective worms.
 

DFG recommends hunters take the following precautions when field dressing and preparing wild pigs:

 • Wear gloves when dressing out hogs and dispose of gloves properly.
• Avoid eating/drinking/smoking while doing so.
• Wear eye protection if there is risk of eye splashed with blood/other fluids.
• Wear coveralls over clothes or promptly change into fresh clothes after
   dressing animals.
• Wash hands and equipment thoroughly with hot, soapy water.
• Practice good handling/storage procedures with the meat.
• Properly cook the meat to 170°F to kill bacteria, viruses and parasites.
 
Wild pigs inhabit 56 of 58 counties in California but are most common in the foothills from the central coast region to the western Sierra Nevadas, and on up into Humboldt County. Though widely distributed, hikers and other outdoors enthusiasts may still only catch a glimpse of one as it bolts through brush. Anyone seeing a wild pig that appears ill should report it to DFG’s Wildlife Investigations Lab at (916) 358-2790.“All types of wildlife carry a host of other viruses and bacteria that can be transmitted,” said Gonzales. “By being vigilant about practicing good hygiene in the field and at home, hunters can greatly reduce the chances of contracting disease.”For more information, please go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/trichinosis//.

 Does each fisherman need their own stringer?

Question: Does every licensed fisherman have to have their own stringer to hold their limit of fish? (Ed F.)

Answer: California Fish and Game laws do not specifically require each person to have their own stringer. However, it is a violation to possess more than your limit of fish. If you allow others to share your stringer, make sure they remain with you at all times, or else you are likely to be cited for having an overlimit.

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Analysis is a key to problem solving.  If you aren’t willing to look at a problem and recognize it for what it is, you will never get to that step.  There are two groups of people who get stuck at this point: Pollyannas and whiners.

Pollyannas never see or care about the problem as their minds are either elsewhere or their psyches won’t allow them to address all of the “negativity” surrounding actually having to make cogent and intelligent arguments.  “It hurts my head” is commonly heard emanating from the maws of these gentle folk.

The whiner is found most everywhere, from conservative talk show host to the average person on the street who knows something is wrong but has the aching head syndrome previously described or is just plain lazy.  The most aggravating thing about listening to talk shows is the realization that if they actually solved the problems before them, they would be out of business.  Their basic job is to describe the problem and to provide biased analysis based on their own individual perspective.

A sequence of events has played out on a number of different California stages that demonstrates my points.  We have the towns of Maywood and Bell whose corrupt city government should be considered a valid prognostication of the future if the La Raza groups are successful in taking back Mexifornia.  We have a grand jury in Solano county which did such a poor job of investigating complaints that none of them were held over for a second year.  Dixon itself is not immune but thanks to confrontation from different directions, not only is the tide changing but the exposé is continuing.

To repeat, you have to analyze the problem.  In the case of Bell and Maywood, there is more than one problem or issue compounding the situation.  According to the articles written about Maywood, it was a town of middle class multi-ethnic individuals back in the 1940’s.  Now it is predominantly Mexican and has elected their representatives from that gene pool.  Somehow they can no longer afford to run their city government so they have laid off all of their employees save three (guess which ones) and have consulted out all their services to neighboring cities and the county.

The funny thing is, just as I speculated with Dixon’s Unified Fool District, eventually you have one teacher at full salary teaching all of the kids.  The city attorney of Maywood and the city manager still have their jobs, overseeing the consultants evidently, and the city council is also in place.  Why do you need a city manager?  Simply have the consultant report directly to the council.  Precluded by government code because of a council/city manager type of government you say?  Go to a strong mayor form of government as the city manager position is superfluous.

Even more interesting was the unintended consequence of the spotlight being focused on the cockroaches in Bell.  Here is a town of 40,000 people who pay their city manager $800,000 per year, their fire chief at $457,000 which is more than the LA chief makes, and a city council who was “co-opted” by including them at the pig slop trough to the tune of $100,000 a piece.  The city manager, as do all overpaid and under-worked bureaucrats, attempted to defend his exorbitant and obscene salary by claiming he was the reason the city of Bell was so grand.

Since this came to light, resignations have been called for by the council.  Now it appears that people are demanding the resignations of those on the council.  “How could this happen without the voters noticing over all of these years?” was even asked by no less than Michael Savage.  What have I been telling you about getting involved with city government and not blindly trusting?  It happened because everyone was sitting at home, eating chili verde and drinking cervezas.

What was missed by one writer for the LA Times was that although the council changed from a general law city to a charter city enabling them to set their own salaries, the salaries were increased from $60,000 to $100,000 per year.  According to the government code, 36516, which sets salaries based on population, the council in Bell is only entitled to $400 per month unless they got voter approval for an increase over that amount. Five thousand a year is a long way from sixty.  How did they miss that?

The larger problem it exposes is exactly what many Mexicans complain about in Mexico: governmental corruption, elitism of those in power, and no concern for the proletariat by way of failure to stimulate their economy to produce jobs.  La Raza comes here because we have plenty and they don’t want just some of it, they want “todo por la Raza”, everything for the race.  What they will end up with is the death of the golden goose and exactly that from which they ran away.  Welcome to the future, it is back …

The outrage and reform is welcome.  However, the city manager will be able to retire making $600k per year thanks to the pension system that all of us have allowed.  Don’t think that this doesn’t happen up here in Solano.  Mike Johnson, the county administrator, has been making more than the President with Johnson’s salary of $426,000 this year, all the way down from $429K last year.  Thanks for all that help in balancing the budget.

The monster point is government largesse on the part of the anaesthetized public, the uneducated, duped masses, the people who the “progressives” continue to claim to help but are in actuality viewed only as the pawn’s of the power brokers, has become systemic and systematically accepted.  The largesse is nothing more than subliminally altered accepted corruption.  “Hey, we have to pay these people and we have to attract the best.”  Now where and when did I hear that?

Next we have corruption of a different sort.  We have a grand jury that is empaneled every year.  Applicants used to come from the recommendations of those in office, the same people and agencies who were to be investigated.  You can bet how well that went.  Non-confrontational bad old girls were nominated because those who nominated them knew they would do nothing, period.  One even quit when they actually tried to get her to do her job.  This person is still being appointed to positions and was even appointed to the council.

In a return to the bad old days of yesteryear, last year’s grand jury again did little to investigate or act on citizens’ complaints.  Provided with facts and details, those allegedly acting in a corrupt way were given a free pass.  Evidently it got so bad on this grand jury that only 13 of 19 remained by the end of their term.  After complaints from grand jury members to the presiding judge were received, the judge decided against carrying over any of the participants instead appropriately eliminating all of the rot from the barrel.

However, that is not the end of the story.  Once again, the worms have infiltrated the jury.  One city has already complained about one juror who has an axe to grind against those with specific complaints.  What do you do when the grand jury fails you?  There are lots of solutions.

The one thing that all bureaucrats and their bad old boy buddies hate is the exposure of the truth.  You can write letters to the local papers, you can form a taxpayer group, or you could even go door to door with flyers.  You educate the majority of citizens in your community.  If you can’t do that successfully, then you are stuck with pursuing litigation if you can prove wrongdoing.

The other solution is calling for a reform in how jurors are nominated and selected.  Obviously you can’t let office holders nominate those who will investigate them.  Principled statesmen are all too rare.  Nominations from a pool of volunteers is likewise no guarantee of quality.  I would prefer to see volunteers who would be given a test on their knowledge of principles of the law, not the law itself, and be required to do an interview before a panel of impartial judges.  Even this would not be perfect but it would be a step up from what hasn’t worked.  Maybe you have an even better solution.

Last night’s council meeting again showed the distinct difference between those who “would do the peoples’ business” and those who “would do the people”.  Although the mayor stated he would attempt to be a better mayor, he still continues to directly debate members of the public who give input at the podium.  He also believes that consent calendar items should not be pulled for discussion but rather questions asked out of the eye of the public.

I am not concerned with the mayor’s bedtime schedule.  I am concerned that there is still the attempt to slide things through under consent, meaning that there is little or no need to debate the item, when once we begin to debate it is more than apparent that these items shouldn’t have been there in the first place.  Three 3 to 2 votes plus one 4 to 1 vote should be telling you something.

I might even agree with the mayor that our meetings run too long.  Again, analysis of the cause is more important than jumping to conclusions.  We would have been done before 10pm last night, if the city engineer hadn’t waxed eloquent on his justifications for charging AB 1600 fees on a lot whose infrastructure was already in place.  When I attempted to focus the point to answer the mayor’s question so we could move on, the mayor appeared miffed that someone other than himself had the ability to see a problem and act on it.

Oddly enough the mayor and city manager through their private consultations had determined that an 11 pm deadline is what should be in the new council procedural guidelines.  I am wondering if he has since reconsidered and is looking for 3 hour meetings with a start time of 6pm.  The early start time was supposedly due to a packed agenda.  Just as with eliminating council comment at a previous special meeting, there was no need as both meetings finished in rapid fashion.

On a different note, it should also be readily apparent to those of you who follow these council meetings, which of the incumbents running for reelection is a bureaucrat posing as a friend of the people and which one is actually fighting for the rights of the people.  Similarly, the sides have been drawn with blind support to protect the incorrect use of city finances as well as their retention on a number of items.

The waiving of fees and taxes on veteran’s retail businesses as well as the elimination of the AB1600 fees for John Grahl’s second lot now owned by the Guerrero’s who lost their son to E. Coli poisoning could not have brought this home any better.

Kay Cayler was more concerned with doing things the way they have always been done than in doing them correctly.  Her preference is to nickel and dime the citizens of Dixon to financial ruin rather than cutting expenses so that the taxes currently collected are enough.

She accepts everything that comes from a consultant without complaint.  Landscape and lighting for arterial and collector streets?  Put it on the back of a few.  Linear parks?  Same thing.  Give a veteran a break to get them started generating tax revenues to the city?  Hell no.  Miss a chance to collect fees for infrastructure that is already in place and impacts to the sewer plant which existed years ago?  Collect them twice and more if we can.  According to Kay, you don’t need a break, you need to give more.  Hey, it’s only $2 per month.  Hey, it’s only a one time charge.

This is the same type of perspective responsible for situations like Bell, Maywood, and our county.  Don’t question, just go along.  Had enough yet?…

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          After last Tuesday’s marathon day with me up at 6am to make my 7 am office hours continuing on until 1:30 am in the morning of Wednesday, I had the opportunity to see the antithesis of open government in the town of Cotati Wednesday night before driving home at around midnight.  Thinking about how opposite our city governments are while the communities are similarly rural, and the same problems I have encountered to a lesser extent in the towns of Rio Vista, Crescent City, Rohnert Park, and Petaluma, it led me to make the comment to our city clerk, Janice Beaman, that Dixon’s city government is pretty good in comparison.

          As with most city employees who have been under my fire or in my targets during the course of my vocal as well as literary careers, Janice wants praise along with the constant criticism.  That is appropriate.  For example, Rio Vista’s appointed part time city clerk, Carolyn Parkinson, who makes around $90k per year working only two days a week thinks it is perfectly fine during the three week period for pulling papers for the upcoming election to make those individuals attempting to draw papers to have to make appointments to see her.  I guess she also figures that they need to make appointments when they turn in their signatures.

          Janice, on the other hand, is coming in while on vacation despite the fact that she has deputized the city’s assistant city clerk, Suellen Johnston, as well as trained her to handle the dispersing of election materials.  On top of assuring service to the public, Janice is setting an example of not only doing the job well but accentuating her duty as an election official to encourage the public’s participation rather than making it difficult.

          Even our mayor BJ, backroom Jack or Jack Batchelor, deserves praise for not resorting to speaking time limits as did our former mayor Cowbell who was the only mayor in the past 20 years who ever did this.  My friend from Cotati, former councilman George Barich, commented to me how amazed he was to see a council who actually listened to its constituency.  During Batchelor’s entire tenancy as mayor he has seen no need to repress the public despite wanting meetings to be orderly as well as end early.

          Jack has been aggravated a few times by the lengthy speaking style of either myself or Dane Besneatte.  Jack is also no slouch about speaking at length, barking back at the public, or otherwise extending the meetings on his own.  However, neither Dane nor I see all of this as a problem that needs to be solved.  It is all part of the process.

          By comparison Cotati is in the stone age or has entered the Dark Ages of city government.  Ensnared in some egotistical sense of their own worth, the council there believes they are above the Brown Act and don’t have to take input on every item on the agenda while they are considering each of them.  The mayor, Robert Coleman-Senghor, refuses to pull individual items off of the consent calendar instead telling the public that they must address them during public comment on “non-agenda” items.  Why not just say that everything the public has a problem with on the agenda needs to be discussed at this point and only for 3 minutes?

          Of course, just as with the sub-par councils of Courville, the blame can not be laid only at the mayor’s feet.  You have Pat Gilardi who is running for re-election, a former fireman named Mark Landman who was appointed to the council, and Janet Orchard along with Barich’s replacement whose contributions are so memorable that I don’t even remember her name, all going along with the mayor’s program.  You also have Mike Gogna, a member of Meyers-Nave, acting as city attorney telling the council they can do what they want.  He ran around the issue rather than saying the public has a right to speak to “any” item on the council’s agenda.

          Reading the appropriate section of the Government Code entitled the Ralph M. Brown Act did as much good as reading Robert’s Rules of Order to vice mayor Rick Fuller concerning not interrupting anyone who has the floor to speak.  Of course those of you in Dixon who keep up with my novel approaches to making sure I have the attention of others know I am not easily stopped.  Education is an ongoing proposition.

          It is unfortunate when that education extends to those who have the task and duty of administering the law.  The district attorney of each individual county has this responsibility as a first resort, followed by the county Superior courts.  The Brown act specifically addresses this through any person’s ability, as well as the district attorney’s, to file a writ of mandamus, obtain an injunction, or to ask for declarative relief “for the purpose of stopping or preventing violations or threatened violations” of the act.

          Interestingly enough, even Solano County’s District Attorney Dave Paulson has done the right thing on more than one occasion on this topic.  I guess you just have to be one of his favorite people in order to get action.  This is typical of the “bad old boy” form of government I detest and one of the sources of my continual complaints about his tenure in office.  We will have to see how his replacement, Don DuBain, handles these matters.

          Rather than getting an immediate action by the Sonoma County DA’s office, I was pushed off by an assistant DA toward contacting the council and getting their written response.  This office had already received an initial complaint from someone else, which is one of the reasons I attended the council meeting in the first place.  As education failed, a direct complaint was made, and the entire council and their attorney sat silent, I felt this was enough to compel action without delay.  Of course all of this was made perfectly clear within my email complaints as well as hard copy complaints by the Cotati citizen.

          So now I sit and wait while an “investigator” sorts through not one but three complaints.  Either the law says what it says or it doesn’t.  We all know what the spirit of the law intends.  Why is it so difficult to have it enforced?  Does government, despite these types of laws, really want or encourage citizen participation?  In Dixon the answer is yes.  I intend to export this novelty to other jurisdictions which is the answer to the question of why I get involved outside of our area.  It is the right thing to do and others need our help.

          If we all left this up to Terry Francke, formerly of the California First Amendment Coalition and now of Calaware, would anything change?  If it wasn’t for our good fortune to have had Ourania Riddle volunteer with Francke, who here in Dixon would have even known about this?  The Frasers who filed against the school district back in the late 80’s or early 90’s got the job done the old fashioned way, by litigation.  Should we have to resort to that now, long after the Brown act was encoded?  See any similarities between this and the American’s with Disabilities Act?

          The point is if it doesn’t feel right, if you know the principles of American government and believe in individual freedom, and you find it in writing within government codes, why aren’t you up here with me yelling at the top of your lungs, “just STOP it!!!”  A little of that occurred at the last Dixon city council meeting.  As I said once before, at least our present mayor accepts criticism and has the potential to react to it unlike his predecessors.  However it is those few who aren’t afraid to stand up and speak that should draw the most applause.  In this case it was Shirley Humphrey and Drew Graska.

          What do I expect to happen over in Sonoma and Cotati, a bastion of liberal progressive idiocy?  I expect more obfuscation, more stalling, and to have to file for an injunction which will occur before their next meeting.  To do less means that they win and the public loses.  The same public who placed them in office.  To have to wait for a future election to remove ignorant politicians who are elected by even more ignorant voters is an effort of and in  futility.

          Crescent City’s lone responsible councilwoman, Donna Westfall, was sued by the city when she attempted to halt increased sewer rates unfairly distributed between existing residents and future development. Her case was in court this last week being defended by Tim Bittle of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.  Petaluma has their initiative on the November ballot for a second time.  Rio Vista is not far behind and will be attempting to qualify their initiative for a second time after their council and attorney pulled legal hijinks to stop their first attempt.  All have same thing in common.  They are not listening to the citizens.

          While many of you may think this column is out of character, in that I am giving praise where it is due, I have done this in the past.  It has largely been ignored.  The more important thing is although I believe Dixon is ahead of most communities in citizen involvement and city staff cooperation, it is not a shining light to be held up as an example to others…at least not yet.

          We have a city manager who would usurp even more control from a council whose seeming majority has no problem ceding their authority and with it citizen freedom.  We have a city attorney who politicizes his advice based on the perceived majority.  Lest we forget our troubled school district, there is a large similarity between their board’s lack of desire to be the “boss” and simply rubber stamp their superintendent’s predilections and directions.

          It may be too early to take what some consider drastic action.  I have been calling for an “in house” city attorney since former councilman Chris Manson suggested this when he was in office.  We would have been money ahead many times over if this had occurred.  How this would preclude the attorney’s or lessen his politicization is unclear to me as he would still be dependent on the majority of the council for his job.

          As for the city manager and the superintendent, the hand writing is on the wall.  Elections change many things.  So does the realization among board members and councils that maybe, just maybe, something is broken.  While many would say that managers are only able to do what they are allowed to do by their governing bodies, there is a moral and ethical duty to look beyond their own remuneration to see what service they provide to the community.  I believe neither of the individuals, or those in their position in the past, have done so.

          Continue to ask yourselves is the school district really providing a quality education for our children?  Why hasn’t the Pardi market site been developed as planned over 15 years ago?  How is it that a neighborhood floods almost every year and has done so for 30 years without mitigation?  We finally took some action on this type of problem around Washington and F Street after a home had to be removed as uninhabitable.  Why have past councils failed, yes failed, to be responsive to the public.

          Sitting at home instead of attending council meetings is part of that problem.  Don’t be frightened away through the intimidation of the “bad old boy” group who labels all who object, regardless of the validity of their objections, as radicals and trouble makers.  You are the “real” people and you need to be heard.

Cheerleaders for the status quo need not apply …

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             This past Sunday was the 12th Annual Pro-teen Tournament out of Russo’s Marina in Bethle Island. We had a great turn out for this year’s event. Andy “Cooch” Cuccia puts this event together with the help of many volunteers  and everyone had a great time. I spent a lot of time fishing tournaments and you see more smiles at this single event each year than you do at any other 10 tournaments combined. This event is put together for the kids, but I can guarantee you that the pro’s have just as much fun as the teens. It’s a circuit style run event beginning with the blast off to the weigh in. And after the weigh in is a great meal for all and a award presentations for the teens. This is all put together with 100 percent volunteers and donations. All in all, even with this tough economy we had a spectacular event. So many folks came throough to make this event happen.

 
            Denzel Jackson age 19 of Oakland, California, fishing today with Pleasanton pro Tom Wardrope, bested a field of 69 teen anglers by over a whopping 6 pounds. Denzel, fishing in his 4th and final Pro-Teen event, weighed in a near record weight of 20.51 pounds of Delta Bass to take the win. Denzel and Tom’s five fish limit was anchored by a 6.15 pound Delta toad! Denzel & Tom’s fish came on topwater and some heavy cover punching/flippin’ tactics.

            On a day when the bite changed 180 and got tough for most anglers ,who struggled catching smaller fish and scratching for bites with Senkos, these two anglers managed a solid limit of fish and backed it up with the kicker for the win! Power fishing the River and hitting the right timing is an all to familiar formula for success here. For his efforts today Denzel was awarded a Shimano rod & reel baitcasting combo, a Black Dog 9″ Wooden Lunker Punker, 6″ Injected Punker, 2 Weed Slingers, a Custom Shell Cracker, a Ranger hat & shirt and the commemorative 1st place plaque.

          The teen Big Fish award went to our 2nd place finisher, Angelo Ambrosino, who brought a fat, chunky, prespawn bass that weighed in at 6.41 pounds. Angelo fished today with local pro Guyle Sternat who said they just had to work hard and grind out their bites today and make em count! Angelo walked away with two plaques, two rod & reel combos, the Ranger hat & shirt and a hand full of black dog big fish baits for his efforts. Below is a list of  the complete results.
Highlighted are Gone Fishing Team members and locals that participated this year.

Place–Teen — Pro Angler — # Fish—Total — Teen Big Fish

1—–Denzel Jackson—–Tom Wardrope —–5—–20.51—–6.15
2—–Angelo Ambrosino—–Guyle Sternat—–5—–14.44—–6.41
3—–Kaylee Hicks—–Rich Smith —–4—–12.88—–6.38
4—–Jonathan Seto—–Jim Moulton—–4—–12.70
5—–Christopher Chung—–Tony Peterson—–5—–12.18—–5.83
6—–Daniel Ewing—–Mark Gomez —–4—–11.81—–5.45
7—–Jonathan Heath—–David Solis—–5—–11.71—–6.08
8—–Erik Dornback—–Tom Lutz —–5—–11.50—–5.35
9—–Michael Moffett—-Morgan Proescher —–4—–11.43—–4.72
10—–Peter Archacki—–Isaac Budesilich—–5—–11.3
11—–Sina Amini—–Dan Wells —–5—–10.97
12—–Jaime Rios—–Ed Ortman—–5—–10.78
13—–Josh Donnelly—–Rob Belloni—–5—–10.72
14—–Garrett Ormsby—–Shelly Gentry—–4—–10.51
15—–Nick Daleo—–Mike Moreno —–5—–10.30
16—–Eric Gunderson—–Justin Denison—–5—–10.07—–4.62
17—–Jared Mitchell—–Marc Young —–3—–9.89
18—–Dustin Massey-Peters—–Dan Isaac —–5—–9.55
19—–Omar Gutierrez—–Gary Guffey —–4—–9.52—–5.57
20—–Mitchell Bloomfield—–Rich Reeser —–5—–9.30
21—–Tal Chamdi—–John Clark —–5—–9.22—–4.17
22—–Patrick Bloomfield—–Ron Frye—–5—–8.74
23—–Robbie Waldrop—–Ronald VanAirsdale —–2—–8.58—–6.3
24—–Cody Miller—–Marty Martinez —–4—–8.55
25—–Joey Fortina—–Jason Ballew —–3—–8.01
26—–Clayton Lee Travels—–Paul Buccola —–5—–7.77
27—–Eric Coulter—–Mark Keyes—–4—–7.66
28—–Daniel Carswell—–Kelly Smith —–5—–7.36
29—–Josh Wheat—–Ron Howe —–3—–7.34
30—–Ryan Mechelhoff—–Kevin Ryan—–5—–7.30
31—–Samuel Gatejen—–Michael Wilborn—–3—–6.88
32—–Travis Martinez—–Tom Mulliken —–3—–6.78
33—–William Flagg—–Ron Brown —–2—–6.44
34—–Robert Kidd—–Lloyd Close —–4—–6.07
35—–Adam Roberts—–Ryan Thoni —–5—–5.96
36—–Cody Bales—–Fidel Campos —–3—–5.9
37—–Austen Schmalz—–Tony Bagzocco—–5—–5.86
38—–Andrew Kobayashi—–James Stich —–2—–5.49
39—–Brad Conner—–Gary W. Collins —–5—–5.41
40—–Eric Mechelhoff—–Kirk McIntyre—–4—–5.32
41—–Keaton Swan—–Christopher Lee —–3—–5.26
42—–Stephan Mohajer—–Wes Moffett—–3—–5.13
43—–Nicholas Trinh—–Adam McAndrews—–3—–5.10
44—–Kevin Gunderson—–Jon Hagan —–3—–4.95
45—–Marc Engler—–Jonathan Ashcraft —–2—–4.62
46—–Joseph Roque—–Danny Prodoehl —–4—–4.57
47—–Martin Carreon—–Dave Harwood—–4—–4.50
48—–Tyler Simmons—–John Ewing —–2—–4.28
49—–Teddy Demott-Garfield—–Randy Walker —–3—–4.27
50—–Tanner Burns—–Angel Valdez —–4—–4.22
51—–Tyler Burke—–Jason Conser—–3—–4.12
52—–Cameron Hormby—–Chris Smith—–2—–3.92
53—–Justin Codoni—–Dave Lee —–1—–3.85—–3.85
54—–Daniels Watts—–Steve Marino —–1—–3.82
55—–Tim Carroll—–Travis Huckaby—–3—–3.78
56—–Dylan White—–Ryan Gillepsie—–2—–3.57
57—–Brian Heath—–Mark Sanders —–3—–3.52
58—–Aranz Khalilollahi—–Tim Mello —–2—–3.50
59—–Cody Stanley—–Keith Pineo—–2—–3.13
60—–Josh Shaeffer—–Nelson Blakeman —–2—–2.72
61—–Manuel Munoz—–J.R. Taylor—–1—–2.55
62—–Alexander Robbins—–Cathy Case —–2—–2.49
63—–Joshua Peacock—–Tim Clark —–2—–2.40
64—–Kyle Morrison—–Rick D———-1—–2.08
65—–Jason Colliau—–Billy Hines—–1—–2.07
66—–Corina Huey—–Troyce Taylor—–1—–1.69
67—–Luke Deneen—–Jon Bradford—–1—–1.65
68—–Travis Ortman—–Dick Brimmer —–1.25
69—–Jordan Dionisio—–Dean Ziemer —–0.00

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Feel Free to Email: Tedhick@gmail.com

In a recent interview, General Norman Schwarzkopf was asked if he thought there was room for forgiveness toward the people who have harbored and abetted the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11attacks on America. His answer was classic Schwarzkopf. The General said, “I believe that forgiving them is God’s function …. OUR job is to arrange the meeting.”
Someone tell me again why isn’t this man president?

Bits and Pieces…

           We have a 10 year old grand daughter who has shown interest in the shooting sports (she is a pretty good shot already) so we (her dad and I) figured the best thing to do was to put her in the next Hunter-Safety class that came along. The class was held last weekend and guess who ended up attending with her…Yep, for me its ballet one weekend and a hunter-safety class the next. Anyway, about 20 folks who wanted a hunting license (the only way you can get one in Ca.) or a hunter safety certificate attended the all day Saturday and Sunday class. It was taught by three of the area’s most experienced, knowledgeable and able outdoors experts, John Kett, (also President of the Dixon Game Club) Steve Pryor and John Riechel. They brought in black powder expert Lance Burns to teach that portion of the class. The 100 question test was eventually passed by all and I even took it and got my certificate (now required by some other states to get licensed there) but was embarrassed when I missed one question. If you have youngsters who ever plan to hunt with you, in or out of state, watch for the next class coming soon. It’s really simple, no class, no certificate…no license…nowhere. These guys impart a lot of information in a way that can be absorbed with personal presentations, videos, hands on training and reading material. For information on the next class watch this space or call the game club at 678-9511 and leave a message…they’ll get back to you.

Did you see this…in real small print buried in other newspapers? Halliburton was handling the cementing job on BP’s well just before it blew up on April 20. Their profit has jumped 83 percent since then for exploration for land based drilling sites to make up for the ban on deep water drilling…Humm…just a coincidence I guess.

 

            State Fair has good eats…We went there to get pictures of local kids showing their animals and naturally had to stop by the vendor serving python, alligator, kangaroo, etc. The snake was tough, duh, the alligator was delicious and the alligator sausage sandwich was great but the kangaroo…not as good. We had kangaroo and crocodile before in Australia and liked them both. He was out of scorpions, meals worms, crickets and ants when we were there but has them now. You can’t miss his booth. He’s three stalls down from the bungee jump with big red and black flags. I arranged for my first wife Linda to help cook our own python and alligator with chief chef “Gator Joe,” on the black top, over a very hot grill, in the 100 degree weather. Afterwards she fell ill, suffered from heat exhaustion and almost passed out from the combined hot experience. (Beware of the heat and all of the blacktop when you visit). They also have the regular stuff like frog legs, crawfish, ostrich, Buffalo and of course kangaroo, shrimp and catfish. Yummy…go and enjoy!

            The Dixon Lions Club Third Annual Texas Hold-‘Em Poker Night fundraiser will be held on Saturday, August 28, in the Denverton Hall at the Dixon Fairgrounds. A $75 donation per person will let you gamble the night away with friends and give to a chance to win prizes. The best part is all proceeds go to those in need right here in our community.  For tickets please call Scott Smith at 707-693-1754 or contact any Dixon Lions Club member.

           Tina Baxley, 41, a single mother of two boys of Dixon was killed while out walking her dog in an early afternoon on 2007 on Valley Glen Drive. Although authorities at the time said it appeared to be a senseless murder with no real motive, rumors flew about what “must have been.” The rumor mill was found to be in error, again, and the facts found Page Lindville, 26, killed her in a random shooting just to see what it was like. She and her partner, Mario Raul Moreno, 30 have been charged with two slayings and are awaiting trial. The drove to Dixon and just saw Baxley out walking her dog in board daylight and Lindville shot her in cold blood to experience the “rush” feeling of murdering someone. Karma is awaiting this jewel and her partner. The next hunter-safety class will be coming up soon if you want to learn all about firearms.

           Want to buy the old Legion Hall on North First Street?  It, with a dozen or so other properties is for sale by the county. If you’re interested in any of them call the county’s real estate guy, Keith Hanson at 784-7906.

           Nice house for rent Aug. 15th We will have a newer house in a nice section to rent the first part of August. We are looking for a longer term responsible renter (like military) who wants a three to four bedrooms, two baths with an in ground pool, low maintenance place out in the Wal Mart area. Call 678-2203.

           Would the dirt balls who stole the flight bag from a young United States Air Force crew member’s car Tuesday night please return it. It will do you no good, you can’t use any of it without being identified, its USAF equipment, it’s a federal offense, and the young man who is serving our country is in big trouble with his superiors for leaving it in his trunk and having it stolen. Who would have thought someone would break into a car’s trunk on Sierra Drive and steal a leather flight jacket, air force airplane head set, and a hand held United States Air Force computer and other items worth over $1,000? To the dumb asses who took the stuff: Just bring it back, while you can, no questions asked and put it in the front yard. You can’t sell it, you can’t use it and you might even avoid the FBI looking for you. If you know, or heard about who ever did this tell them to return the stuff…If they won’t, squeal on them. It’s the right thing to do in this case. You can call the Dixon P.D. at 678-7070. To all of my sources…if you hear anything about this please let me know.

 

From the email box:
A warning from Muslim leaders

             This morning a coalition of Muslim leaders warned the United States that if military action against Muslim countries continues, they intend to cut off America’s supply of 7-11 managers and Motel 6 managers.  If this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by DELL, AT&T and AOL customer service reps. Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened not to send us any more candidates for President either. It’s gonna get ugly, people! TNN, Dixon

       (From Ted: I don’t know what’s going on with the library. I’ve received several emails about the library becoming an historic site as a Carnegie Library and the library opposing it? They want to build a new one in the worst economic period for education we’ve seen in decades? The school won’t even fund librarians for each school for the little people who really need that service.  More people need to get involved and set these folks straight about OUR library…It is just fine, where it is, for the time being. If the librarian thinks it is private and it’s “his” he needs to get his head out of his butt. Folks better find our when the next meeting is and be there; like July 27, at 7 pm at Gretchen Higgins School).

         Ted:  “Does the school board still act as the library board? If so that could answer a lot of questions. I am a card carrying member of this organization and I demand my rights to defend my PUBLIC Carnegie Library just where it is, thank you very much. Not clear at all who Gregg Atkins thinks he is? One comment was, “He is the district librarian and one arrogant SOB.  I have no use for him or his ilk…”…He is currently the Librarian…Some of the comments I’ve received…”They say we peasants can send public comments to his email or fax, but neither is given, nor is it clear what address this person will receive snail mail?”… “Gee, just oversights or by design?”… “Dixon is being scammed and these artists don’t even try to hide it.”… “Gregg Atkins is the Librarian his e-mail address Librarian@dixonlibrary.com Phone 679-1805 Atkins reportedly told people at the last meeting that the “library is a private property.” Oh? Live and learn.” MCC, Dixon…

         Ted: One question that bothers me! So where are all the “Save the Gulf” concerts? Where is the T.V. benefits with celebrities and musicians giving heart felt speeches on the poor fisherman, wildlife, beaches, loss of income, and sabotaged gulf economy?  I find it rather strange how these people (including our own government) are so quick to help New Orleans, Haiti and other countries…but sit on their asses for this one. Just the facts. Pass this if you agree…Just 122 days till Election Day! BJ, Dixon.

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Hunter Safety Class

          The Dixon Game Conversation Club will host a hunter safety class this Saturday and Sunday on July 17th & 18th at its headquarters at 250 West Mays Street in Dixon. The time will be 8 am to 4 pm, lunch will be provided on Sat. The cost is only $10 per student. Students must be 10 years or older.
           If you are planning to hunt out of state or out of the country check ahead and see if a hunter safety certificate is required to obtain a license. If so, you can attend this class and get one. Any questions contact John Kett at 678-9155

Local Guy’s Downfall…

           We’ve known the Rotteveel family every since they moved to Dixon and followed the boy’s athletic careers starting while they were attending Dixon High School. John, Hubert’s brother, (who was also a soccer star all the way up and through UCD) has always been the hard working standout, but was kind of like the ignored child next to the flashy Hubert who was always the favored “golden boy”…while John worked Hubert played…They both were good soccer players but Hubert got all of the attention. With his flashy white smile, blond hair and athletic build he schmoozed his way through life. He made a great “first impression” and everyone he met liked him…at first. When the shine wore off many found flaws in his personal ethics and business dealings. He worked for about every real estate office in the area…for a while…but left each one with his co-workers not unhappy to see him leave. Anyone who differs with this can let me know…to date I’ve received only, “I’m glad he finally got his” emails.

          I even coached a soccer team with him for a while. I know Hubert Rotteveel and I know many of the rumors about him. Although I personally have nothing against him I’m pretty sure I won’t be called as a character witness for the defense in his coming trials. I’ve been hearing complaints about him and his dealings for years. Like complaints I received about him renting three quarter million dollar houses (several of the dozens they owned) for $800 a month cash to dope growers and to welfare recipients.    

             He knows I know him so I wasn’t surprised when a Lt. from the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department called last week and said “Rotteveel has refused to grant you an interview”…duh. I just wanted to give him a chance to tell his side of the story. He of course, I guess, wasn’t thrilled at the thought of the questions I might ask…Funny thing is I wasn’t going to ask ANY questions…I was just going to let him tell his side…Oh well…how about some facts instead? (See Rotteveel story on page 1).

The “Dirty Dutch” or the
“Holland Hooligans”

           Sorry to see the FIFA World Cup end as it did with Holland resorting to street brawling rather than skilled European football. With a record setting 14 yellow and one red card issued the Dutch should be ashamed. If it wasn’t for the burly English policeman (how appropriate) being the referee the game would have gotten completely out of hand.

          Our nine year old granddaughter got quite a kick out of the announcers saying things like “KaKa  (a player) is all over the field,” and “a player just kicked Butt” (the goalie). At one time KaKa may have even kicked Butt.

           Since the US was out we weren’t rooting for any one team but ending up rooting for Spain just because of the continued dirty play by Holland. Most all of these guys are well paid pros and this type of behavior was really embarrassing when you realize this is the most watched sporting event on the planet. Little kids everywhere grow up dreaming about scoring the winning goal in the world cup final…Now they can have nightmares about getting cleated in the chest, head split open or a bone broken…That’s all the soccer here for quite a while.

Speaking of Holland…

          A group from Dixon was traveling by tour bus through Holland…As they stopped at a cheese farm a young guide led them through the process of cheese making, explaining that goat’s milk was used.  She showed the group a lovely hillside where many goats were grazing.  ‘These’ she explained, ‘Are the older goats put out to pasture when they no longer produce.’  She then asked, ‘What do you do in America with your old goats?’  A spry old gentleman from Dixon named Bob answered, “They send us on bus tours!”

Dixon’s Juxtaposition
Stone The Council

          Here’s an interesting scenario. The Dixon city council has been discussing how to censor each other and set up stupid kindergarten rules to be managed by the city manager and her puppet city attorney. She/he want to tell our elected officials how to talk, what they can say, how to behave and how to ignore the U.S. Constitution. You know like, “Sit up straight Mikey, don’t chew gum Dane, you can’t say that Mikey, yes your Mayorship what ever you want dear”…etc. Rumors are she and the Mayor are going to start smacking council members with a ruler when they don’t conform to their behavioral modification plan being discussed. At the council meeting Tuesday night several members of the council in essence said for her and the mayor to impose what ever rules they wanted…they would simply ignore them. Pretty stupid huh?
          Thank goodness the police and fire chiefs are pretty much immune from our local version of nasty national Nancy from San Francisco…but apparently our elected council (for whom she is supposed to work) isn’t. So I think I’ve come up with a solution which should make her and the mayor of the council seem happy.
           Since the staff has chosen on several occasions to ignore edicts from the council, why not take a stronger stance and stone members of the council when they say or do something the city manager, staff, or city attorney doesn’t like. Iran is thinking of maybe giving up stoning so city manager Nancy Huston could get it for free.

           I got the idea from a story I read last week about Iran maybe stopping the tradition of “stoning” people to death. I initially thought it meant they made them smoke so much from their hookahs that they died. It didn’t mean that, it meant under Islamic rule a man would be buried up to his waist and a woman up to her chest (with their hands at their sides) and people throw rocks at them until they croak…for all types of infractions…Like cussing at a tribal council meeting I guess. Cheaper than a bullet and the satisfaction last longer I surmise.

          Our Nancy could become a hero to city managers everywhere if she would only institute this policy backed by her city attorney. I don’t know how good her pitching arm is but she could always name other designated staff members throw for her. That way all council members would be afraid of getting stoned if they dared again to disagree with her or her city attorney. Gads, I wonder if I might get stoned for this suggestion.

          Women, (not men of course) who are like owned in Iran, are stoned for adultery. They are letting up somewhat. In 2006 a woman was saved from being stoned and only received 99 lashes with a whip (don’t let the Nancys know about this one) for having a relationship with a man, not her husband, after her husband’s death. The last stoning recorded was reportedly in 2007…but who really knows what goes on in the Islamic world. Personally, if I had to choose, I would prefer the San Francisco method of getting stoned to death…If the ballot measure is passed this November.

          The council would get along better and be able to put up with our ruling Nancy if they all just plain got stoned before each meeting and had some munchies…It would make for better TV too!

A Good Use For A Cat!

           An Elk Grove fireman was working on the engine outside the station when he noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle. The girl was wearing a fireman’s helmet. The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat. The fireman walked over to take a closer look. “That sure is a nice fire truck,” he said with admiration. “Thanks” the girl replied.
          The fireman looked a little closer and noticed that the girl had tied the wagon to her dog’s collar and to the cat’s testicles. “Little Partner,” the fireman said, “I don’t want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat’s collar, I think you could go faster.”
          The girl replied thoughtfully, “You’re probably right, but then I wouldn’t have a siren would I?”

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Don’t Forget About
Hunter Safety Class

          The Dixon Game Conversation Club will host a hunter safety class this Saturday and Sunday on July 17th & 18th at its headquarters at 250 West Mays Street in Dixon. The time will be 8 am to 4 pm, lunch will be provided on Sat. The cost is only $10 per student. Any questions contact John Kett at (707) 678-9155

U.S.A. Fishing Reports: Bodega Bay

          Just as quickly as it started the salmon bite turned off. Scores have dropped to under a fish per boat on Friday and Saturday 7-10. Vince on the Miss Anita trolled a wide area looking for salmon on Saturday to no avail. He switched to rockfish landing a few also uncooperative fish. With the slow salmon action several private boats switched to halibut. We got word that several scored 3 to as many as 7 fish per boat working at Kehoe and down along Ten Mile beach. The one sure bet remains rockfish. Captain Rick on the New Sea Angler had been scoring limits south at Pt Reyes and up north working the kelp beds off Ft Ross. The weather is dead calm here on Sunday morning with 5 knots of breeze and high thick fog.
           The salmon action turned on and lots of boats got into good numbers on Thursday 7-8. The fish are concentrated in a small area off Bird to Elephant Rock in 50 to 80 feet of water. Captain Vince on the Miss Anita posted the top score today with 6 limits of salmon averaging 16 pounds and going to 20. Vince said the smallest in the box was ten pounds and they had no silvers to contend with. They were trolling in 50 to 60 feet and all the fish came on straight bait. Several private boats reported scores averaging 3 to 4 fish per boat with reports of up to 3 limits. Vince is full for the next three days but has room next week. These salmon will be heading south towards the Gate in the coming days so private boaters should be prepared to move around to relocate the fish if they move out of this area due the likely increase in pressure now that the word is out.

Golden Gate

           Rockfish continue to be the sure bet while every few days boats are able to track down decent salmon action. Speaking of salmon there is a small pocket of fish that the Bodega Bay boats have been working for a fish per rod to 6-pack limits the past couple of days. These fish should be sliding down the coast and in about a week we could se decent action at Dux, Rocky Point or Slide Ranch.

 
           Captain James Smith ran a lingcod/rockfish charter up the Marin coast on Wednesday 7-7 with the crew from Johnson’s Bait and Tackle in Yuba City. Despite high hopes, good sticks on board, and good weather conditions, they found the rockfish and ling cod unwilling to bite in the extremely fast drift. They had difficulty staying down with 16 ounces of lead, and after spending the vast majority of the day trying to grind out a score, Smith returned to the bay in the afternoon to arrive on the east side of Alcatraz at the tail end of the halibut bite, and he gave it his best effort by staying out to past 5:00 p.m. to try and salvage the day.

            The rockfish must have bit better at the Farallons with the C Gull II out of Emeryville putting in 17 limits of rockfish and 12 lings to 8-pounds on Wednesday, and the New Salmon Queen followed this up with 25 rockfish limits on today, Thursday 7-8  to go with 9 lings to 9-pounds. The ESC is running rockfishing trips through the weekend and the forecast calls for great weather!

Cal. Delta

            Pam Hayes at Benicia reported on Friday 7-9 that sturgeon fishing has been very good for the few anglers that have been trying for the diamondbacks. A 49-inch sturgeon was landed from a boat off of Ozol in addition to 6 shakers released on grass shrimp. The winds have been intense on the Delta the past three days, and these conditions have limited the number of boats on the water. They have a good supply of all of the baits, including grass shrimp for the first time in a few weeks. Hayes said, “There are definitely a ton of sturgeon out there right now”. Other good locations have been the Eckley Pier for a mid-60-inch sturgeon and the mouth of Montezuma Slough. Striper fishing has been hit or miss, but a 15-pounder was landed near the State Park. There was also a report of a fish die-off with several good-sized stripers floating to the shoreline in Benicia, perhaps due to low oxygen levels from an algae bloom.

           Do at Dockside Bait said wind has been the big story with heavy gusts the past three days. There have been a few striped bass in the mid 20-inch range taken on frozen shad or grass shrimp in the area this week. Sturgeon fishing has been slow.
 

          Allison at Hap’s Bait in Rio Vista said things have been pretty slow with a few stripers taken from the banks on blood worms. They have run out of frozen shad, and their supply of shad has been very limited this summer.
  Don’t forget the 3rd Tuesday of each month @ Gone Fishing Marine, Ultimate Bass University. Professional Bass Fisherman and Guide Bobby Barrack will be the speaker this month. Anyone that plans on fishing the Snag Proof Open at the end of the month, this is a must attend class. Don’t miss it!

DFG Recommends Californians Leave Young Wildlife Alone

          The a. Department of Fish and Game (DFG) urges people who are out enjoying the outdoors not to handle young wild animals they may encounter. People often spot young wild animals they think are orphaned or need help. In most cases they are neither, and should be left alone. In 2008, more than 500 fawns were turned into California rehabilitation facilities by well-meaning members of the public. Many of these fawns were healthy and did not need to be disturbed.

          Once a fawn is removed from its mother, it can lose its ability to survive in the wild. The same danger applies to most animals, including raccoons, bears, coyotes and most birds. Disease is another reason that wild animals should not be handled. Wild animals can transmit diseases that can be contracted by humans, including rabies and tularemia, and also carry ticks, fleas and lice.

          People improperly handling young wildlife is a problem across the nation, most commonly in the spring, when many species are caring for their young offspring.  “People frequently pick up young wild animals because they believe they have been orphaned or abandoned and need to be saved,” said Nicole Carion, DFG’s statewide coordinator for wildlife rehabilitation and restricted species. “However, in the vast majority of cases the parents are still caring for their offspring and the attempt to ’rescue‘ the young animal all too frequently results in harm. Even though California has many capable rehabilitation centers, people need to understand that humans cannot provide the survival training or the perfect diet provided naturally by their wild mothers.”

          The responsibility for intervention should be left to DFG personnel or permitted wildlife rehabilitators. It is illegal to keep orphaned or injured animals for more than 48 hours in California. People can call a rehabilitator, who will determine whether there is a need for a rescue. Rehabilitators are trained to provide care for wild animals so they retain their natural fear of humans and do not become habituated or imprinted.  For more information, visit DFG’s wildlife rehabilitation website at: www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/rehab/facilites.html.

 Remember: Wildlife belongs in the wild. 

As wildlife experts say: “If you care, leave them there.”
 

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…Loud and Clear

          I have never believed in gloating.  Others like to rub your nose in it, whatever that it might be, when they manage to get a “win” on a contentious subject.  As an educator, and that is truly the job I do, the job seems to be endless.  Few of you understand the actual motives behind what I do even when it is explained over and over.

         Tuesday night’s council meeting was extremely satisfying from a number of aspects. As I promised and delivered, the mayor and city manager were going to be very sorry for opening up the can of worms called “procedural guidelines”.  Not only did both get chastised by a number of citizens who stayed until after midnight, but they also found a brick wall in Councilman Dane Besneatte’s refusal to go along with their usurpation of elected officials’ authority and autonomy.  On top of that, the civility surrounding the entire meeting was augmented by the presence of a television crew from Fox 40 news.

          Once again the issue of weed abatement was before the council.  Once again the point was made that there is unequal enforcement of the law.  Once again I attempted to have the police department do a more thorough job.  Not even Besneatte supported me on this and he did not give a reason.  However, he refused to vote in favor with the majority in going after three additional residential violators when I saw a lot more than those during a cursory 15 minute jaunt through the city.

          The implausible denial of saying this was never about me, about retribution for 14 years of articles critical of past incompetent city management including an intellectually and intelligently deficient mayor, is obvious to all of us except my political opponents.  The facts demonstrating the unequal application of the law and the attempt to back up their action by including a few others who they quickly lose interest in once the real target of their animosity has been addressed was again obvious to anyone with half a brain.

          The beauty of all of this is that it focuses attention directly on city hall’s methods and poorly thought out plans.  As those involved with five properties whose weeds were actually removed by the city told the council, the charges were outrageous and the notification process flawed.  Oddly it takes less than $5 to send a certified letter to the property owner.  When you enforce the weed abatement process every other year, oddly coinciding with the attempt to force conformity onto one prominent individual, you end up with these types of problems.

          Has the problem been solved?  No.  Camera crews from local tv affiliates continue to question the reasoning behind the complaints about my property.  Certain portions of my yard are cleared of dormant plants as they are every year.  The real issue is “does the city or any neighbor have the right to impose their aesthetic values on a public or private individual?”  In the process of this dictatorial attempt, is it apparent that “safety issues” such as fire hazards are interpretive and subjectively applied to justify their overbearing discriminatory actions?

          The weed issue is not really about weeds at all.  How is it that residential lots were never addressed up until two years ago?  How is it they weren’t addressed last year?  Again this is nothing more than a fairly thinly veiled attempt to harass a person who has factually critiqued those in power incessantly.  Instead of succeeding in silencing the opposition, it has energized those who are capable of understanding.

          By the time we actually got to the big issue of the night, council procedural guidelines, it was after 11 pm.  Even this was a bone of contention for some who want the meetings ended at this time.  Wasn’t it Stephen Pierce, who worked for our Supervisor Mike Reagan, who was quoted in the Dixon Tribune as saying “we have been trying to shut this guy up for years”?  Combined with governmental harassment over my private property, this attempted mugging to induce fear continued.

          What is missed by those who would stop me, or who attempted to stop Steve Alexander, Dan Supriano, or Chris Manson, is that I am no longer alone on the council.  Dane did a wonderful job of telling the city manager and the mayor in a rather controlled manner to take their rules and shove them.  However, it was the vice mayor Rick Fuller whose reason and civility in dealing with not only the issue which led up to this point, that of my using a “curse” word in reproaching him for interrupting me, but of the proposed constraints that would give the city manager more power than the elected officials, who disrupted the momentum toward a fascist dictatorship in being agreeable to meet as a subcommittee to make a recommendation to the entire council.  This is how we are supposed to handle these types of situations rather than as the mayor and city manager attempted.

          My question “how is it that the mayor can use staff such as the city attorney when other councilmen are prevented from doing this” was pretty much ignored.  I still want to know the cost to the citizens of Jack’s control foray.  A not so pretty picture has now come clear for many, including the mayor, that his actions are being observed and his methods are known.  Even in this arena some progress is being made.

          Given Jack’s comments, it appears he understands the criticism and grudgingly accepts it.  We will see if he changes the negatives in his performance.  He was correct in stating that he does not impose time limits on speakers from the public, something which should be commended.  Courville also did not impose time limits until Alexander and I hit home on a couple of subjects she and her puppet master Warren Salmons didn’t want brought up.

          The odd thing is now that I am a member of the council, there has been a shift away from controlling public speaking time to that of controlling council speaking time.  Maybe it isn’t so odd at that.  But now it isn’t just me.  In fact the focus is more on Dane than on myself as he has a tendency to the familiar, his style from years of being a barrister.

          Do we as a council really want or need to constrain and constrict how the individuals on this council comport themselves?  After all, the reflection is upon the person whose manner is under examination.  The problem with Kay Cayler, the city manager Nancy Huston, and Jack Batchelor is they view the council as a group and a team.

          We are individuals with separate views and we can disagree on the minutiae of issues while coming to a consensus on an overall solution.  Kay, on the other hand, generally is nothing more than Jack’s clone and guaranteed rubber stamp in constricting the rights and privileges of others.  This team play aspect of governance proves the lack of need for a council at all.  Simply let the city manager do whatever he or she wants to do.

          The major difference between the factions within our council are in this area.  Some of us are for individualism and personal freedoms.  Others would dictate what those freedoms comprise and how they can be exercised.  At least one of us is caught between these two philosophies.

          Some would consider this a “divisive” council.  I consider it a “debate” council and something that is long overdue.  We have taken long strides toward governance as it was intended.  Has it been worth the work of getting us to this point?  I believe so.

          I find it extremely unfortunate that more of you don’t understand the problem with our current governance structure on all levels.  We hear the complaints all the time about how we don’t like what our politicians are doing.  Yet nothing ever seems to change.  It has to change starting at the local level.

          There is still much work to be done.  You need to get involved.  You need to educate yourself then participate.  As boring as the material is, the principles of good governance should not be allowed to be mollified or destroyed by apathy from ennui (boredom – see I saved you from having to drag out the dictionary again).  In other words, we must focus on how the job is done not on what the issue is.

          When we do our work in a manner where the facts are quickly presented, proponents’ and opponents’ points given, and there is no need to speak of personal political philosophy, we can accelerate our decision making.  This is quite the opposite of “team play” which is designed to lead to litigation due to poorly thought out decisions rendered through group think.

          This coming election will tell the tale of what you, the electorate, really want.  Do you want a council of stooges, three or more?  Do you want individualism, freedom, and a return to the American style of prosperity taken from us by progressives who continue to tell us they know better than we as to what is good for us?

The council is making progress.  Will you allow that to continue?

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Rotteveel Robbery
The Saga Continues

By Ted Hickman, I.V. Reporter

(This story was taken from the front page of Dixon’s Independent Voice Newspaper published on 7-15-10)

 Hubert now and then….

           The mushrooming story of Hubert Rotteveel, 47, tagged the “bicycle bandit,” of Dixon continues to grow with rumors far out numbering the facts. The facts as of this week are he has been charged with the First Northern Bank Robberies in both Vacaville and West Sacramento. He has not, as of press time been charged with either the Woodland  or Santa Cruz bank robberies where he had been named as either a person of interest or a prime suspect. At last word he is still currently housed in the Yolo County Jail with bail set at $350,000. He was charged with robbing the FNB in West Sacramento and then in making his getaway on a bicycle, had a special money dye pack blow up on him in front of a police officer. At least four law enforcement agencies and the FBI are investigating four separate bank robberies.
           When the IV contacted the Santa Cruz police, officials there said charges had been filed on July 2 in the bank robbery in that city against Kent Lee Maxon 44, who lived only blocks away from the bank he robbed. Maxon is suspected in several bank robberies in that general area.  He too wore a bike helmet and sunglasses and rode a bike.
          Rotteveel currently listed as a realtor in Dixon, is a former high school and college soccer standout, general manager of a professional soccer team in Sacramento, a local youth soccer coach and was involved in several community activities.
           Vacaville Police Department  Sgt. Jeff King, Investigative Services Section Supervisor, verified for the I.V. that, “A handgun was used,” in the Vacaville robbery and, “An arrest warrant for robbery has been obtained in Solano County and Rotteveel is now being held on that charge also in Yolo County on $100,000.00 bail.”
 Sgt. King also told the IV, “Several items were seized during a search warrant service (reportedly of his home and office).  I will not discuss evidence at this time, it would not be appropriate.”
                     An earlier press release from the Vacaville Police Department, in part, read as follows: “On 06/24/10 a masked gunman entered the First Northern Bank on Elmira Road in Vacaville and robbed the employees.  An undisclosed amount of cash was taken during the robbery.  On 6/30/10 similar robberies were reported in Yolo County.  A River City Bank Branch was robbed in the City of Woodland.  Later in the day a First Northern Bank in West Sacramento was also robbed.  These two cases and the one in Vacaville appeared to be very similar in the way the crime was completed. 
(Subject) Rotteveel was captured during the robbery in West Sacramento. Investigators from West Sacramento, Woodland and detectives from the Investigative Services Section of the Vacaville Police Department began working the cases together.    
          A search warrant was served at Rotteveel’s home and his office in the City of Dixon.  Several pieces of evidence were recovered and investigators believe that Rotteveel is the responsible in the Vacaville case. Detectives are seeking an arrest warrant for Rotteveel in Solano County.  He is currently being housed in the Yolo County Jail on bank robbery charges stemming from the cases in that jurisdiction.    The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about this robbery is asked to contact Detective Gary Anderson at (707) 449-5269 or Dispatch at (707) 449-5200.”    

          Wendy Wilcox of the Yolo County District Attorney’s office told the IV that Rotteveel was arraigned last Friday and as of early this week he had not been charged with the Woodland Bank robbery. During that arraignment Rotteveel pleaded “not guilty” to one count of second degree burglary and one count of second degree robbery pertaining to the West Sacramento FNB robbery. Strangely no “weapon enhancement” was added to the charges even though he arresting police officers confirmed he used a hand gun.
             At his hearing last Friday was a former renter identified in the press as Zelda Sereal Page.  She said she first met Rotteveel when he worked at Dream Home Real Estate in 2005. She was quoted as saying she was down on her luck and homeless but Rotteveel moved her into a home without a deposit or first month’s rent. She was quoted as saying, “I never thought a man with his status would help a poor woman on social security. She added Rotteveel, “Was very sympathetic to the minority African-American Community of Dixon and often found homes for those who had bad credit or no income at all. That’s probably why he got so desperate; half of the people didn’t pay him.” This very well could be his legacy.
           Rotteveel’s private Sacramento attorney said in court that Rotteveel was the primary caretaker of his three children who are now in the custody of Rotteveel’s parents.

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