A Gordon Sadler memory
Gordon Sadler was a mountain of a man. My first impression of Coach Sadler never changed from the first day we met to the last time we saw one another just months ago. He was a mountain of a man both figuratively and literally; his barrel chest housing an enormously kind heart.
I don’t recall the 1980 game date or site, but I’m sure Charlie Diener does. Charlie was an 18-year old senior safety for Lower Lake High School and I was a wet-behind-the ears, first year assistant football coach on Gordon’s staff. We had just given up a touchdown pass and my inclination in those days was to hoot and holler in the face of my players, grabbing a handful of jersey and lifting, in this case Charlie Diener, off his feet — youthful ignorance on my part.
We eventually won the game, as was usually the case with Gordon Sadler-coached teams. Monday morning I found myself alongside Coach Sadler in the principal’s office. She had been at Friday’s game and was particularly agitated about my coach-to-player “encounter.” Again, I had no more than a month or two of “tenure” under my belt and I was standing before my very disappointed boss. After a few minutes (though it seemed like an eternity) of a tongue-lashing, I began to mentally update my resume in preparation for my next job.
“Now Principal Newby,” Coach Sadler bellowed firmly, “What you witnessed was the essence of education … a true teaching moment!” I stood still, as shocked as our principal at Coach Sadler’s firm statement. Coach Sadler proceeded to lecture our principal and me in the value of athletics, accountability, and his own obligation as my mentor. In less than a half hour, Gordon and I walked out of the principal’s office and I still had a job. The door closed behind us and Coach Sadler uttered but one sentence: “Coach White, you had better find another way to motivate kids.”
That was Gordon Sadler; the best possible mentor a first-year coach and teacher could ever hope to have the luck to work under. Like all of you reading these feature stories, I miss him already.
Dr. Michael A. White, President, Woodland Community College
Lower Lake Trojan, 1980-1982
More wasted time
I watched as much of (the 21st so far) Benghazi hearing as I could. My immediate conclusion was that the House had hired the same folks that orchestrated the Republican “debates” to produce this hearing. Don’t I remember it was Shakespeare that came up with the quote: “Much sound and fury signifying nothing!”
As I have heard, overall there have been only 23 hearings concerning 9/11 with all its ramifications. And it would appear that the Beirut bombing has passed from memory.
Guff Worth, Lakeport
Hope for kids
Thanks for the 10/23 front page photo of children fascinated as they study archaeology of soil. It is rewarding to see what fascinates and interests the youth, other than video games, guns, mass murder, and TV violence. All is not lost. There is hope!
Carolyn Hawley, Nice
Putting public safety first
As the third devastating fire of 2015 comes to a close in Lake County, I want to assure the citizens of Lake County that you have a Sheriff of whom you can be extremely proud of. Sheriff Brian Martin has stood tall alongside local, state and federal leaders and has proven that leading from the front is the only way to be a true leader. I have worked closely with Sheriff Martin on all of these extreme and devastating disasters. Each time that I have worked with him, I have driven home to Mendocino County knowing that your new Sheriff is putting Public Safety first in every decision he makes.
I have spoken with dozens of Lake County Sheriff’s Office employees during my trips to Lake County and I have seen confident, satisfied and competent professionals who are doing their job in ways that should make every tax-paying citizen proud. These men and women worked tirelessly during your disasters but always found time to smile and tell me that they loved their jobs. While some had only 4-6 hours of sleep a day, they looked good, worked hard and made a difference.
Sheriff Martin has been a quick learner on his pre-planning, his ability to be decisive during critical moments and in his after action plan on getting reimbursed for these costly tragedies. I have spoken with some State leaders in Sacramento and they have also expressed appreciation for Sheriff Martin’s actions and leadership.
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office stands ready and willing to assist Lake County during any time of need. Sheriff Martin has made the same offer to me, and while I hope and pray that the need doesn’t arise, I sleep better knowing that the Lake County and Mendocino County Sheriff’s Offices are working so well with one another. Taxpayers often question how public funds are being used and these questions should always be asked. I can tell the citizens of Lake County that from my observation, Sheriff Martin is taking his budget and expenditures very seriously and considers improving Public Safety in Lake County his number one priority.
As Sheriff Martin’s first year in office comes to an end soon, I congratulate the citizens of Lake County and the entire Lake County Sheriff’s Office for planning like a team and working like a team. To all of the Public Safety heroes that heard the call for action and worked together, I am proud of you. Thank you for representing all Public Safety team members with pride, enthusiasm and professionalism.
Tom Allman, Sheriff, Mendocino County
