After Hours Veterinary Care in Siskiyou County

Our next meeting is Wednesday April 15 at 9am in the Black Bear Diner in Mt. Shasta and given the responses I'm getting we may be making progress. Two veterinarians out of the nine I mailed responded by telephone with ideas and I'm hoping one or more will have breakfast with us and work with us to fix this problem. I'm planning to call any office that has not answered, too.
Here is what one vet said:
1. emergency care is a board-certified specialty so pets get better care if we go to Medford or Redding.
2. an on-call vet often will not be able to get staff to come in which means he or she has to do all the monitoring as well as the procedures. Result can be a lower level of care.
3. very hard on the doctor's health; blood pressure goes up every time the phone rings so they avoid being around a phone.
4. 40% didn't pay the bill compared with 1 or 2% in regular practice.

Valid points. Can any of you readers come back? For instance would any veterinarian here consider getting that emergency care certification? (but would our population support the specialty practice? That's why we don't have brain surgeons here).

More to the point would you please talk to your vet about this meeting and this issue? We need their help to fix it.

CSD Board Meeting August 7

This is an important meeting for residents because the CSD board is discussing what to put on the ballot for us to vote on in November about our police department. Originally the board voted to ask approval to increase funding but due to some issue with public notice, they have instead decided the question instead should be whether we want to keep the PD or not. Apparently that will be the topic on Thursday the 7th at the Community Center at 5:30PM.

There are many pros and cons for each choice; the Citizens Task Force has laid these out in their report which was given to the board a year ago. To obtain a copy for yourself you may wish to contact a board member or call the LSPOA office at 938-3281. The CSD Board members are Beverly Roths, Carol Cupp, Jack Dean, Tom Wetter, and Richard Negro.

Once again, this is a big decision with many, many long-lasting implications and we owe it to ourselves to be well-informed before November rolls around. There are two more Town Hall meetings coming up too, watch the paper for the dates. I will try to announce them here, as well. I'm so convinced we need to be involved that I will try and organize a car pool if enough people call me (938-0385).

Hear Ye, Hear Ye . . . Town Hall Meeting July 12 !

At the request of L.S. Police Chief Alves, a Citizen’s Task Force was formed a year ago to study the Chief’s suggestion for an increase in assessment dues to keep pace with Department’s increasing monetary requirements.

The study was also to consider other law enforcement options, should they become evident. The Task Force, including two retired career police officers from LAPD and the San Jose area, contributed their extensive experience to help reveal a number of startling facts.

When the completed report was presented to the Community Service District board last year in August, a stalemate on implementing the recommendations arose created by conflicting goals of the Police Chief, the CSD Board and the Task Force. Almost a year later, at the June, 2008 meeting, the CSD Board voted to place a ballot issue before the voters this fall to increase our law enforcement tax up from $ 65.00 to $ 97.00 annually.

The sole “NO” vote to this question, explained by CSD Director Carol Cupp’s letter in the most recent Lake Shastina News, sums up, “why we must have Town Hall Meetings first”. “Residents established our police department and only they should vote for future direction, not just be given a option again for higher taxes”.

To provide the facts and options to the voting residents of Lake Shastina - that possibly can improve all of our emergency services - three Town Hall meetings were scheduled, all to be held at the Lake Shastina Community Bible Church on Jackson Rd:

1. --- Saturday, July 12th. 2:00 PM, (Most important to attend because ballot measures can not be changed after August.)
2. --- Tuesday, September 16th. 2:00 PM
3. --- Thursday, October 16th. 2:00 PM

Tom Wetter of the LSCSD Board will serve as moderator. After the presentation of methodology, conclusions and recommendations by Task Force Chairperson, Mrs. Corinne Moller, Lake Shastina Chief of Police Alves will present his plans and reasons for requesting more LSPD taxes. The Under Sheriff, Mike Murphy, will also be in attendance to answer relevant questions on their resources and potential service to Lake Shastina.

After the presentations a question and answer session will follow. All designed for voters to become informed by civil discussion and facts instead of emotional rumors.

New: Townhall Meetings for Lake Shastina

The Lake Shastina Citizens Taskforce in collaboration with the Lake Shastina Community Services District, and the Lake Shastina Police Department is sponsoring a series of town hall meetings. The focus of these meetings is to provide information and give members of the community an opportunity to discuss funding issues relating to law enforcement and public safety services.

Included in the Town Hall Meetings will be a review of the results of a study and survey conducted by the Taskforce, and a presentation by Lake Shastina Police Department relative to the Department’s current and future funding requirements and an associated tax initiative that will be on the ballot in the November, 2008 general election. Representatives from the Taskforce, the Community Services District Board, the Lake Shastina Police Department, and Sheriff’s department will be on hand to answer questions.

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend. These meetings will give community members an opportunity to learn about these very important issues and make informed choices at the ballot box.

All meetings will be held at the Lake Shastina Bible Church, 5826 Jackson Ranch Road, in Lake Shastina. Meeting dates and times are:
Saturday, July 12, 2008, 2PM
Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 6PM
Thursday, October 16, 2008, 2PM