The wrong target
Someone needs to remind Mr. Kaepernick that he is protesting the wrong level of government. The U.S. flag is the symbol of the federal government. The needless killings of the Afro-Americans took place at the city and county levels of government. Hence, these killings are the responsibility of the state in which they occurred.
The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from interfering in the prosecution of these policemen because this amendment reserves all rights not enumerated in the Constitution to the states. Thus, the only way the federal government could get involved is if the victim’s civil rights were violated.
While Mr. Kaepernick’s protest, signaled by refusing to stand for the national anthem is well meaning, it is sophomoric, reminding one of a high school senior who didn’t pay close attention in his civics class.
Mr. Kaepernick is like an army marching off to war — only it is marching in the wrong direction and will never meet its adversary.
Charles Moton, Hidden Valley Lake
Hidden Valley and the vineyard
I was reading in the Record Bee regarding the Letter to the Editor by Elizabeth Montgomery in Hidden Valley Lake. I knew Steve Valusky when he worked for the Lake County Planning Department many years ago, but have not seen nor talked to him in many years myself. But regarding the Letter to the Editor many years ago there was a cattle man that raised cattle on the property that is now where Hidden Valley Lake subdivision sits.
It was all agricultural land for many years and when developers wanted to build Hidden Valley Lake, the zoning was changed from agricultural to residential. The reason at the time was there was not much room for a housing expansion in Middletown, so Hidden Valley Lake was a smart way to go.
Also, it was basically figured at the time it would be a way for people to get from Hidden Valley Lake to Napa and to the Santa Rosa area for commuters and/or shoppers, because in those days there was not much in Middletown. But the property was zoned agricultural to start with and it was the Hartman Ranch as Rartman Road is still the main entrance to Hidden Valley.
I myself personally, before Hidden Valley was ever built, went to a gravel plant along the creek that was a long ways from Hwy 29 and hauled a few loads of gravel out of there at the time for something specific. I am getting old and my memory fails me sometimes, but I think it was around 1968 or 1969.
There has been some arguments about water and water rights. Where I come from when you dig a well and it is on your property, whether it came from a spring down the road, down the hill, up the road or up the hill, wherever the water was coming from any spring belongs to the person that has that spring or water on their property. So for me to say that I have water rights up, down, across doesn’t really matter doesn’t really count.
I believe that the land that they want to put the vineyard on was zoned agricultural many years before Hidden Valley was a thought for rural lands or forest lands of some type.
So I feel that we should always look at everything open mindedly. Everybody pays taxes on the roads and they all have the right to use the road for a vineyard, a winery or for a house. As far as someone playing with the paperwork, I don’t have any idea about that.
As far as Hidden Valley Lake saying that the well for the vineyards would be taking Hidden Valley’s water or out of the basin maybe Hidden Valley Lake water company needs more water storage tanks or maybe now they won’t need extra water due to the fire. Due to the fact that when the subdivision was built two gravel plants and a concrete plant were totally eliminated that were there long before the houses.
So let’s look at things open mindedly.
Ron Rose, Lakeport
