Measure U comments at BOS
Your article (Record Bee February 6) misrepresents my comments by quoting what I said in July 2024—when the BOS approved the Advisory Measure U—as if I said them on Tuesday. I’d like it left in, but with that clarification.
But thanks for the reminder: I said that Measure U was a question of “Morals not majority,” and that I would be thrilled if we got 30%! The White demographic speaks!
You don’t mention that I was one of the few people who actually talked about the measure at hand and submitted concrete suggestions for the BGN. Since the measure didn’t even receive a second, it failed, and the issue became moot.
My first comment—after some procedural issues—was to call out the lies being spread by White, Boghesani, and now Brown against C4H. Their version of history is pure bunk. I am preparing a line-by-line rebuttal of their falsehoods, which will show that they are, at best, misleading and that they woefully misunderstand the renaming process, not to mention how modern history works. (Yes: newspaper accounts are admissible.)
They say we have no tribal support: from our very beginning, we consulted Tribal History Preservation Officers, who acted as “ambassadors” to their Councils. I have a zoom recording of a critical meeting in early 2022. A THIPO sent us an official email confirming support from all seven tribes —before we even launched our informational meetings. Natives spoke at our meetings and said this was the very first time they’d been invited to talk to whites. We didn’t put words in their mouths, we quoted them. And when we submitted our application, three Tribes wrote supporting letters to the BGN before our case was even published.
They say we did no outreach. They claim they didn’t know about our meetings, yet their leader was featured in a front-page article announcing our first round-the-county meeting. They argue that we should have reached out to the Kelseyville Business Association, but that group immediately voted to oppose our efforts and even created a “Save The Name” subcommittee (by a “small margin,” with many abstaining). They also seem to deny that their own BGN and ballot signatories attended some of our meetings.
They have held no public meetings. They have crashed others, such as the land acknowledgment proposal at the Kelseyville Unified School District, to which they summoned their orange-shirted supporters because it “might hurt their cause.” They demanded that the Visioning Forum report be stripped of its references to the Kelseys. They rejected (I hear) an offer by Supervisor Pyska to mediate. They rejected my recent offer to write a joint letter to the BOS for the December 10 meeting, simply outlining the points at issue and expressing the opinion of each side.
Their hard-hearted opposition to our proposal is what has created division in this county.
At least they’re honest about one thing: they must protect their now-tarnished brand name at all costs.
And let’s not forget—after the BOS voted in December to support our proposal, these same people, without consulting anybody, ran to the BGN with an application to keep the name. The BGN rejected it. Rightfully so.
But they didn’t stop there. They also sent it to then-President-elect Donald Trump.
At this point, I half hope that the President issues an executive order to honor Andy Kelsey (and his brothers) as “Great Americans.” The Kelseys, after all, knew how to handle ‘Injuns and such varmints.’
—Alan Fletcher, Lucerne
Thank you Phil Kirby
I was fortunate to happen to be present at the last meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Brad Rasmussen presented Phil Kirby with a certificate acknowledging and thanking him for his 51 years of service in education in Lake County. A representative of Mike Thompson gave Phil a similar framed declaration of thanks that had been read into the Congressional Record. The Board and the audience stood and clapped, and Phil remarked as you would expect him to that “it’s always been about the kids.”
Phil started out in Lake County as the principal of Lower Lake High School in the Konocti Unified School District. He then went to the County Office of Education and ran the SARB (School Attendance Review Board) for many years. The icing on his educational cake was 17 years as a trustee on the Lakeport School Board. In between he often worked as a substitute administrator at various schools.
Phil just had this wonderful aura. He was all ears and heart. He would listen; he would care. But you also felt that there was absolutely no-nonsense about him. When I was taking a student and their parents to the SARB board, it meant that all the school-based interventions had not worked. They were still truant. Phil would preside like a Solomon; each side, the school, the kid, the parents, would walk away feeling like a solution had been reached. Responsibility had been properly laid out, and expectations and consequences were clear going forward.
When he came to sub for the principal at Pomo Elementary, he was out on the playground at every recess. He was always surrounded by kids.
I wish that more of Phil’s colleagues could have been present on February 4th to witness him being honored. I feel grateful that I have known and worked with Phil who has had such a positive impact on the lives of so many students throughout the county. Thank you, Phil!
—Carolynn Jarrett, Clearlake
