Youth soccer league thanks sponsors
EDITOR: The Cloverdale Youth Soccer League would like to send a resounding thank you to all of our team sponsors. These companies and their generous financial support provided the opportunity for 250 of our youth to play recreational soccer this last fall. These sponsors include Southard Tire and Auto, BC Engineering, Bear Republic Brewing Company, Oak Ridge Angus, Kelder Engineering, Rotary Club of Cloverdale, Munselle Civil Engineering, Nor Cal Tree Care, Indoor Climate Control, Animal Hospital of Cloverdale, Steve Taylor Excavation, Kenley Electric, Farmyard Feed, Mary’s Pizza Shack, Hamburger Ranch, Pavelka & Associates, Reuser, Inc, E&M Electric, Soil King Enterprises, LLC., First Street Barber Shop, Ace Hardware, North County Properties and Papa’s Pizza Café. Again, a huge thank you to our sponsors.
Peter Kruger, Sponsorship Coordinator
Cloverdale Youth Soccer
Cannabis concerns
EDITOR: I want to be as hip and cool as the next person. That is why that I celebrate the repeal of the prohibition against marijuana. I think it’s beneficial for society, in general, that we are releasing non-violent drug offenders to make room for polluters and crooked politicians. But, before we blithely enter this brave new world, there are a few caveats to contemplate.
Carcinogenic risks: There are 33 major carcinogens that marijuana shares with tobacco. (Please refer to p. 79 of the 2009 study by the California Environmental Protection Agency (OEHHA)). The list runs the alphabetical gamut from Acetaldehyde to Quinoline. And this list does not include carcinogens added, through the use of pesticides, residual herbicides and non-organic fertilizers. Please also refer to page 82 of the same report, “For direct marijuana smoking, statistically significant associations were reported for head and neck cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer and testicular cancer.”
Cancer risks to children: “For marijuana smoking by mothers, the categories of cancer that were significantly associated were 1) childhood acute myeloid leukemia. 2) childhood neuroblastoma, and 3) childhood rhabdomyosarcoma.” (Page 82 of the same report).
Legal aspect (major): A few states have decriminalized the recreational use of marijuana. But, that does not affect federal statutes at all. Now the current attorney general has told us that small time users and dealers will not be prosecuted. (That does beg the question; what is a small time dealer?) But that doesn’t mean that at anytime, and without notice, the federal DEA as well as the FBI, and the Internal Revenue Service can raid dispensaries, confiscate goods and cash, without due process, and try in federal court those involved in this trade. Many in the federal government believe that those involved can be tried under RICO. This extends criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. You don’t have to be an owner of the business, if the federal government believes that you have materially benefited (being paid a salary) any assets that they believe came from the business can be confiscated. Again, without due process. Remember that AG Sessions and Trump hates California. They think of California as a rogue state. They rank us somewhere between North Korea and Iran.
Legal aspect (minor): Since it has been determined that marijuana contains many of the same carcinogens as tobacco, it is not a protected activity. Example: If you live in a ground floor apartment and another household lives in the apartment above, or even next door, and your secondhand smoke enters their domicile, you can be successfully sued. And sued separately for each occurrence. The owner of the building as well as any property management firm involved can also be held liable.
One last word: You may want to stop and think before you light up in front of your children a product that contains 33 known carcinogens. Not unless you think inhaling Acrylonitrile and Carbazol (just two of many) poisons is good for them.
C Jeff Kennedy
Cloverdale
What’s that smell?
EDITOR: Where has Jeremy Decker (superintendent of CUSD) been for the last 18 months? For that matter, where were all the others who, at the last minute voiced objections to the award of a dispensary license for Quonset Botanicals?
Seems odd that all of a sudden there are concerns. Have those that voiced objections even bothered to look at the student traffic flow around that location? Noticed perhaps that typical foot traffic is not on that side of the street? Do they know that, unlike the liquor store and smoke shop, no one under 21 will be allowed into a licensed dispensary? Do they know that the new police station will be directly across from that location? Have they considered that the entrepreneurs have a proven track record of responsible business operations and are long time community residents sensitive to the well being of those very children?
We could keep going but perhaps the objections are not founded in any kind of worries for the kids. There has been more than enough opportunity for folks to be involved and voice concerns. Yet somehow the March 13 resolution to award a license resulted in a cacophony of objections from supposedly concerned parents and school board members quite late in the game. Why wait until the March 27 council meeting to finally surface with objections? And why would council reverse their decision? After all the time, effort and money these folks have spent playing by the rules, this sure stinks.
Leonard Von Hoogenstyn
Cloverdale
