Muddying the waters
Regarding Jim Steele’s letter regarding muddy waters.
In the early 60s the State of California sent William Arnone to shape up the local Health Department. We did not have a planning commission back in those days and everything was run by the Board of Supervisors. Everybody knew everyone, friends and competitors and worked together. The people who installed septic tanks in those days were Lester Trippa in Upper Lake, Tony Lawrence in Nice, Frank Swanson in Lakeport and myself and Howard Day in Lower Lake, Juan Erquiaga in Kelseyville. In Clearlake we had John Kraft, Chernoh Septic Systems and Eddie Fitz. Basically that covered the County. At the time West Lampson was a septic tank manufacturer and an installer and septic tank pumper. Everyone got along and was always willing to help the other one, even though they were competitors.
I can remember when Lang Brothers at West Lampson’s yard in the area where the Lake County Library now is, from there North to the PG&E yard. In that area there was a ready mix yard and a sand and gravel yard. Back in those days they would go to Scotts Creek and Adobe Creek and clean out the creek within six feet of the bank and slope the bank with gravel and it looked like a six lane freeway in Scotts Creek and Adobe Creek. This was on the Wiles Ranch. Adobe Creek was cleaned out almost yearly and the gravel was used for roads in the county and making sand, pea gravel, and concrete rock and drain rock, before the red rock time. Also, at one time we had three lumber yards on the main street of Lakeport, Diamond Lumber, Lakeport Lumber and Stevens Lumber. Every year the lake would come up and flood their lumber yards. Prather had oil tanks in town and sold the oil and blacktop to the County and that property is now part of Epidendio fruit stand operation and Willow Point Trailer Park. Mike Zappone was the owner of Lakeport Lumber and also served on the City Counsel and was Mayor for the City of Lakeport. We had big time boat races and ski races every weekend at Library Park, the Rendezvous Bar on Lakeshore in Lakeport and also boat races at the Harbor Bar in Nice. All were big time racers.
Then came along the Planning Department with rule after rule after rule and that is when things started to go to “hell and a hand basket.” The Planning Department made rules for all the gravel operators, all the business and basically was the start of a catastrophe for the County, the business people, taxpayers and residents alike. I owned gravel property in Middle Creek for approximately 30 years. I owned five pieces of property up there. I owned the gravel property that boarded CC Camp in Upper Lake near Middle Creek. These were the rules that caused muddy water to go into Clearlake. When the water’s running and running fast it brings gravel from the mountains up above. That gravel settles and the creek gets shallower and the water goes around the gravel bars and forces the water to wash out the banks on the right and left.
This is why the water is muddy. The practices are the County’s fault. Maybe now that Mr. Steele is the supervisor he can help solve some of these problems involved in the permit process. Along with the sediment he is talking about, thousands of yards of sand and gravel come down Middle Creek every year. Some of that gravel right there, I believe, is 10 feet deep.
Regarding the septic tank problems. When the new rules came in a lot of people had septic tanks along the lake with the sewer pipe headed towards the lake because of bad drainage along the lake. Many people were afraid of getting fined. I will admit that I cut off pipes going into the lake and moonlighted leach lines to help solve the problems. What it amounts to is, I believe, the county in a lot of ways comes up with rules and ideas that are not even close to reality. This is something that should be looked at with new blood. If I could help Jim Steele anytime to prove what I am saying I would be happy to take him for a ride, or any other supervisor or county official if necessary.
We never had these lake problems in the past, but with all the use and activity. The only thing we had in the past was Clearlake mud gnats that hatched in the mud. You would have to use your hand as a windshield wiper because they were that thick … so we have made some progress.
Ron Rose, Lakeport
Truth and freedom
Radio Free Europe did a magnificent job after WWII confronting the lies of Communism. So why isn’t there a Radio Free Mid-East to confront the lies of radical Islam? Truth is welcomed by questioning minds and can often pry open closed ones.
William Hui, Clearlake
A font of creativity
The fact affecting reading is that a reader is not in the same mental condition as the writer was when he wrote the script. The consequence of this is that the substance the writer wrote is not the same substance as the substance the reader reads. It behooves the reader to find the substance the writer wrote; but this is not possible because the reader has a mind based on different experience than the experience that supports the mind of the writer. There is no way the minds of the writer and reader can get together. Misunderstanding is the only possible consequence. The two minds can get only in the same category, sometimes in only a broad category. We must be satisfied with approximation.
Approximation, like the party game of participants forming a ring and whispering a sentence round the circle that ends in a hilariously different sentence, the meaning of the script can be altered after only a few readings and repetitions. This alteration can be creative as well as different. In fact every intercommunal act between humans is creative. The act has to be conceived by creative thought. The human being could well be called the creative animal.
Dean Sparks, Lucerne
