Letters

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Written by: Randy Ridgel

Published: 31 December 2012

Here are some thoughts regarding the recent murders at Sandy Hook.

The colossal arrogance and ignorance of elected officials astonish me. Mississippi Sen. Bilbo once offered a bill to simplify pi by reducing it from an unending decimal to the numeral three. If it had passed, wheels would have come off all over America.

Politicians pushing gun control are protected by guards with guns. Sen. Feinstein carried a gun in her purse before she went to Congress. Congresswoman Pelosi appointed Mike Thompson to solve our gun problems. That he owns a gun and served in Vietnam was cited for his qualifications. Really.

Talk about “assault weapons” being unnecessary for hunting is nonsense; the Constitution discusses keeping our guns to form a militia to defend ourselves from oppressive governments, not hunting. The greatest murder rate in the history came from citizens owning no guns and government owning all, i. e, Hitler and Stalin.

Switzerland, with about the world’s lowest crime rate, teaches citizens at an early age to use and carry guns for life.

The largest army in the history of the world consists of American civilian gun owners with three hundred million guns. That’s 60 times the size of our army in WWII. Efforts to remove their firearms would make our earlier Civil War look like a spitball fight.

Mass murderers are crazy, not stupid; they attack gun-free zones like schools and theaters. They don’t attack shooting galleries.

What if the young teacher, Victoria Soto, murdered at Sandy Hook, had been trained and armed with a gun to defend her students instead of just her unprotected body?

If my neighbor has a magazine holding a thousand rounds it’s no concern to me. However, if some nut comes at me with a magazine containing 10 rounds I want one with 20.

Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer all used knives. The greatest mass murder in American history, 911, was accomplished with a few box cutters. What if all the passengers had been armed with pistols firing hard rubber bullets, extremely painful to hijackers but harmless to the airplanes? Likewise with those movie goers in Colorado.

Laws requiring guns to be kept in safes are elderly abuse. Old people with no children can’t pick up a safe and hit an armed intruder before getting shot.

Gun control laws are illogical; a person planning murder won’t surrender his guns because he fears a gun-carrying fine more than the death penalty.

Randy Ridgel lives in Kelseyville, Calif.

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Written by: Nelson Strasser

Published: 27 December 2012

When I was a teenager, many decades ago, there was a constant battle between my mom and me about the messy condition of my bedroom. It was hard to deny the charge; the evidence was in plain view, and there was plenty of it.

One day my dad could no longer tolerate the bickering and, with Solomon-like wisdom proclaimed that everything on the inside of my bedroom was mine, to do with as I willed. Everything outside my bedroom, belonged to my mom, and her compulsive need for cleanliness, had to be respected.

I had always noticed, when visitors were coming, my mother’s notion of clean came close to antiseptic and I always thought this to be an affectation. This mildly annoyed me as well, because I knew I was a slob, and, left to my druthers, I wouldn’t go out of my way to keep it a secret.

Today, an incident occurred that brought all of this back to me. A young colleague of mine, knowing that I am an avid walker and cyclist, asked me to be her walking partner until she established walking as a habit. She was due at my mobile home later this morning.

I woke up and began my routine of brushing, flossing and shaving. But my face seemed a bit out of focus. I squinted, and refocused. There was still a problem. OMG! The bathroom mirror is filthy! I remembered that I had secreted away some Windex. I got it out and cleaned an area, and there I was, back in focus.

Uh, oh! Maybe there is more dirt. Perusing the area left me with an unavoidable conclusion: This place is a pigsty. I don’t want to humiliate myself. I will be found out. I know that I should have some standards.

The more I cleaned, the more dirt I found; the surfaces the carpet, the kitchen floor. It really did not take very much time and effort, plus, I figured that after my friend got a whiff of the ever present odor of old dog (hey, my dog is 13 and I have no fenced yard; more precisely I have a yard, and it would be ample if my pet was a rat) she probably would not have the sensual acuity to notice much else.

My friend arrived at my door and I bid her to enter. I told her to stand in the middle of the living room and then told her to do a 360 degree turn.

“What was that?” she asked. “A tour of my house” I replied.

We had a nice walk and a nice chat, and I was almost sorry she did not ask to use the bathroom, because it shone.

After my friend left I realized that I felt much more comfortable in a clean house. I know that my mom loved me, even though I failed to live up to any of her expectations, and, I must admit, some of her criticism was well founded.

Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.

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Written by: Joyce Overton

Published: 22 December 2012

The Lake County Youth Center would like to thank all those that are participating with the renovation of the building located at 4750 Golf Ave., Clearlake.

This has been a much bigger and longer process then we had anticipated, but it will be well worth the wait.

We are still a few months away from opening, and still need help to finish this project. So through this holiday season please give of your time to this worthy cause: help build a future for our children.  

We will be having an open house on Saturday, Jan. 5. Please come by and see all we have accomplished and what is in store for the future of the Youth Center.

Special thank you to the participating business and organizations: Pacific Gas and Electric, American Legion Women’s Auxiliary, Four Corners Builders Supply, Mendo Lake Credit Union, Grocery Outlet, Foods Etc., Tipsters, City Plaza Businesses, KMOB radio station, LCPTV 8, Mendo Mill Lumber, Best Bass Tournaments, Clearlake Bait and Tackle, Clearlake Fire Department, and Clearlake Papers and Janitorial Supplies.

There have been many community leaders that have given of their time throughout this past year and if it was not for them we would have never been able to move forward with this project.

A very special thank you to Richard Chapdelaine (chappie) electrician; Joe Lavota and Joe Rocker, sheet rocking plus special projects; Bob Hopkins family and friends, yard maintenance; Robert (Bob) Sanders and Anthony (Tony) Spittler, plumbing; Annette and Shaun Lee, Eddie Gonzales flooring; Bruno Sabatier, Bill Williams, Tim Williams and Ron Wallace (a little bit of everything).  

These community leaders gave of themselves to help get this project off the ground and most have continued to work. There have been many more community leaders that have given of their time when possible and we greatly appreciate all of you.  

A very special thank you to Marvin Carpenter for his patience and love for our city.  

Because of the community this Youth Center is possible.

With great admiration and appreciation we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

For information please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-350-2898 before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m., or text during the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Joyce Overton is volunteer director for the Lake County Youth Center in Clearlake, Calif.