Life in the Valley of Riches

March came in like a lion, so if the theory goes, it should go out like a lamb. The dry and warm weather has been a blessing after the wet winter. To the dismay of many, this winter was really more of a typical winter. When I moved here In 2010 the average annual rainfall was more than 60 inches and of late, it’s been closer to 40 inches.
This week I would be remiss if I didn’t hand out a few “Cheers and Jeers.”
Jeers go to our alleged State Representative Dwayne Yunker. I say alleged, as it took nearly three months and a complaint to the minority leader of the house to get Yunker to add us to his email list. Apparently Yunker has spent the last three months alienating himself from the rest of Congress. So much that he didn’t ask for any special money known as the Christmas Tree Bill, HB5201. Needless to say Yunker is quite proud that he brought zero dollars to Josephine County. In years past, Lily Morgan has been a great ally of the Illinois Valley. Instead, Yunker did nothing. One source in Salem told me that he would not have gotten anything for the county anyway because he fought with everyone. Some representation, huh?
The next is not really a jeer or cheer, but I feel I needed to point out that Simon Hare was chosen to run the broadband rollout and has been questioned about his information technology experience. As a project leader, you don’t need to be an IT guru, you just need to understand how to manage a project. The project leader would have IT professionals to do the hands-on work. Yes, Mancuso just stuck up for Hare.
My cheer is somewhat of a backhanded compliment.
While I have had many issues getting snail mail delivered to or from me, and my P.O. Box rate has gone from $180 to $436 a year in just the last three years, I would be remiss not to give our new postmistress a big thank you for allowing access to the P.O. Boxes after hours. Certainly, I am not the only one who is thankful for the expanded hours.
And because this is March 20, happy birthday to my son Jaxon Schatza!
Thank you for picking up this week’s edition. Enjoy! ~ djm