School Bus, or, the missing link.

While most people are reasonable and understanding, some are remarkably small minded and selfish. The recent school bus transportation crisis is a good (bad) example. Some of the small minded and selfish people are saying that Southern Humboldt parents are greedy in wanting their children transported to school at taxpayers expense. Most of these comments are coming from an area that just took the money that was going to be spent to repave Garberville’s Redwood drive. They intend to spend it to make the “safety corridor” between Eureka and Arcata “safer”.


“Stip” money is used to spend on needed road improvements. However, it is more often stolen to help balance the state budget. Mendocino spreads their stip money throughout the county, like Laytonville’s new sidewalks, street lighting, and brick crosswalks. Also Cloverdale, and Fort Brag have had many improvements. The county seat, Ukiah, has not used as much of this funding as the rest of the county. But, Eureka seems to soak up most all of the stip funding. Just recently the board of supes just gave them the money to improve the safety corridor. It seems that they feel justified because Garberville has an “underground economy” that should take care of those things. WRONG! We have no control, nor any vote on how the underground economy spends their money.

Garberville’s only resource is through our elected officials. If they take the money away from road projects and School Bus transportation we simply will not get any. Our elected officials should be taking care of Garberville, and they are NOT. To be fair Garberville pays more than it’s fair share already. Southern Humboldt pays @80% of the Humboldt County Bed tax. Plus the “underground economy” feeds the whole county. Like it or not, if you live in Humboldt you are part of the underground economy. Marijuana is a major supplier of the new money coming into, and feeding our county’s wealth. I don’t use marijuana, never have, never will. I don’t grow marijuana, never have never will. But, the fact remains that we are almost totally dependant upon it. The clear thinking people will realize that fact. Like it or not.

Now, let’s get back to the “unfairness” ditty. How many times have we heard people say that “if you want services, you should live in town?” Isn’t a little two faced to slap the face of the very people that provides the cities with most of their wealth. The timber industry that supported the cities sure didn’t grow their trees in the city. Is it still okay to spend that money in the city? The tourists that come here to see the trees sure don’t see them in the city. They sure as heck don’t catch the fish in the city. The Eel river is a major source of tourism and sport fishing. Does it flow through your city? I mean other than the wealth that it brings into the county.

I know that it is, thankfully, only a small handful people that think that it is unfair to spend any tax money in the rural areas. But, darn, it is hurtful when people say that our roads and school children don’t deserve the tax money that mostly comes from rural industries. Isn’t it a little counter productive to have a Richardson Grove Park Ranger live in Eureka, just so they can send their kids to school? Doesn’t that end up using more road and gas money in the long run? People need to live in rural areas, it is out of the question for everybody to live in town. No offence, because I love Eureka, but I would wither and die if I had to live there. I love the sunshine and can barely make through a Garberville winter let alone continual dreary weather that some people love. How long do you think that those people would like to live in the 100 degree weather that I love?

Now, to get back to more unfairness directed toward rural folks. Just a few short years ago, we had a thriving timber industry, selective cut, sustained yield, and all that. We had small schools in every small town; Ettersburg, Fort Seward, Alderpoint. We even had a Southern Humboldt school in Eel Rock, we called it “The Eel Rock institute of higher learning”. I won’t go into all the reasons for the demise of the timber industry, but it happened through no fault of the people of Southern Humboldt. As the logging and lumber mills closed, it was deemed prudent to close the schools and bus the remaining children to school, thereby saving money in the long run. In fact it was mandated by the state that now doesn’t want to pay for the transportation to school.

Now back to a plea for understanding. We have no problem spending our money in the cities, we just want a little tit-for-tat. I don’t have any children in school, but I can see the wisdom in getting the kids to school so they can learn. They need transportation funding!

I know that some of you don’t know, but about 25% of the kids that come to school in Southern Humboldt come malnourished and under clothed. Tired, hungry, and cold is no way to learn anything. The Rotary club is doing what they can to make sure that the kids get fed. Other groups are helping clothe the kids. But without busing it is likely that they just won’t get to school. Now, you can moralize, point fingers of blame, and talk about all the problems, but when you get to the other side, almost all clear thinking people will realize that it is not the kids fault. And, if it makes you feel any better, I have personally witnessed the success of getting the kids to school. More than one of the kids, that might have given up, have gone on to become award winning students and even more than one have become foreign exchange students. Giving up on a kid, or their education is the worse possible thing to do!

Oh, by the way, don’t let the City’s business people hear you say that marijuana doesn’t bring them any money. I’m sure that they don’t want them to stop shopping in the city.