GROWING IN TRINITY? YES, BUT STICK TO FACTS

I was amazed at the fiction that appeared in your newspaper on
Sunday. Either Evelyn Ward is living in an alternate universe or
she's been using some of the weed she is ranting about.

My great-grandfather and his two cousins (Hitchcocks) were some of
the first settlers up here in 1849, and Uncle Dan had mining claims
up here from 1890 to 1958. I've been visiting family and friends in
Trinity County since the 1940s and we bought a place up here seven years ago.

You bet there is a lot of growing. And the Pines is a disaster.
However, the Pines was never some place you wanted to go unless you
knew someone, and not somewhere to visit after dark. The Pines has
always been a place where people went to hide and a whole bunch of
them were and are living pretty much the way the growers are -
without wells, electricity or "indoor plumbing" if you know what I mean.

You don't read continually about pit bulls attacking people, and
quite frankly that misguided hysteria is getting old. Yes, a very
nice gentleman was attacked by a pit bull, her pup and a Rottweiler.
They weren't owned by some evil cartel or big-time grower. So let's
stick with the facts. Fear-mongering is getting old.

Furthermore, you can't drive down Highway 3 and see grows all over
the place. Pure fabrication! One place about nine miles north of town
has a fence covered with shade cloth. One place about a quarter-mile
closer to town is "in your face" and right on the road. Yes, they cut
down trees. Sounds like they scalped the land the way our budding
author wrote about it. They cut down about eight scrub oak trees.
They didn't cut "roads," which brings to mind big construction; they
cut two terraces. The oak they are cutting and selling for firewood,
and it is neatly piled. There is no "different" look to Hayfork. It
looks the same as when we bought out place except for the one grower
- - with a porta potty, new fifth wheel and powder-coat carport. Oh,
and he doesn't have a fancy new truck either. It's about 10 years
old. There are no "shanty" towns. There is no "circus" tent. The only
bunch of U-Hauls is at The Feed Store, and it is a U-Haul rental center.

If you don't like the pot growers and pot growing, stick with the
facts. This raging case of Pinocchio Syndrome and wild exaggerations
are just too much. The facts are that pot growing is somewhat out of
control. However, might I suggest that Ward and the rest of the
fantasy writers head on over to Weaverville and sit in court some
morning? You'll see a parade of the folks from out in the Pines, all
cited for the damage they have done. All without lawyers unless they
paid for them with their own dime. (If you own land, you aren't
eligible to get help from the Public Defender, and boy did that
surprise the beejeebers out of those folks!) All with plans to fix
the land that have to be approved by the Forest Service. All with
wallets in hand as they face some might hefty fines.

Do we need regulation? You bet'cha. What we don't need, however, are
people with overly fertile imaginations like Ward and the local high
school principal. I'm not sure what is more offensive, the rude
growers or the folks who write letters like this and think that all
your readers are too stupid to find out the facts.