KMUD broadcast on Southern Humboldt's visit to the Capitol
The link will take you to the archives. Scrool down the list until you come to "Local news, 6:00 PM edition" Tuesday January 24, 20012.
(The school issue starts about halfway through.)
This Broadcast is a report done By Lisa Morehouse who works for KQED
The photo is by Lisa Gribi. It is a thankfully fuzzy photo of me holding a sign walking in circles in front of the California State Capitol.
I wasn't part of the meetings inside the capitol with Senator Evans and Congressman Chesbro. We stayed outside and peacefully walked in circles. One of the demonstrators asked me if I was having fun, because I was doing a lot of smiling. It hadn't occurred to me before, that I was smiling. But I guess that I was. I was glad to see such a large turnout, because a few people that I know, who wanted to come, didn't make it. I estimate that there were around 300 people there. That is an outstanding turnout for a small community. To put it colloquial terms, that Southern Humboldt is so uniquely known for, the lady standing next to me said, "Wow! We don't have this many people show up to a spaghetti feed!" I knew most all of the people there, and most of the kids. It was about all the people that I thought might be there, plus a few that quite suprised me for being there.
Jim Baker and I had a talk about the history of the early settlement of the Sacramento Valley. It's much more fun when you can stand there and point out all the places. We get to talk about things that you just can't talk about without a deep background in California history. Some things just take too much explanation if you are not familiar with the players.
When the school reps came back outside, I was with Dennis O'Sullivan. When I looked to my right, Congressman Chesbro was approaching me. We shook hands and stared talking about how many people were there. Chesbro addressed the crowd and told us that he very much understood the bus situation and he was very much on our side. He told us that he expected the funding bills to pass but he was afraid that Governor Jerry Brown might veto them, but he was trying to get a personal meeting with the Governor to explain the dynamics of a small widely spread school district, and how very important busing was in so many ways.
As I was listening to him talk, I looked to my left and Senator Noreen Evans was standing beside me. Dennis O'Sullivan Introduced me, and I mentioned that Robin Shelley said to tell her hello. The Senator said that they were teen-age friends. I mentioned to the Senator that I used to do the refrigeration at A-1 Foods in Laytonville. She said that surely we had met before because she used to be a clerk there for her grandparents(?). Ain't small towns great? I told her that I was pleased that she understood small town dynamics. She replied that she was very familiar with small towns, and their people. It left me feeling like smiling a lot more. Robin has great taste in friends!
Evans echoed Chesbro in that they were on our side and they would try hard to fulfill our wishes. Evans said she had never seen such a large percentage of people from such a small town show up on the capitols steps. Wesley Chesbro said that he had listened to Lisa Morehouse's KQED's California Report and knew that other legislators had listened to it also, they mentioned that Chesbro's district was in the news that morning.
The other, most important thing that Chesbro said when he shook my hand, that he had read my blog this morning! I have witnesses! Eat your heart out Kym Kemp!
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| Branscomb, Evans, O'Sullivan, and Chesbro. Photo by Lisa Music More info at Lost Coast Outpost, Kym Kemp e |
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2 comments:
I'm so jealous that you got to go and I had to stay home that I can't even think about my poor little neglected blog ;>
Seriously, thank you Ernie and Janice for being there!
Seiously Kym, you're very welcome. I sorry that you couldn't be there. You would have had sooooo much fun.
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