Homelessness, mass shootings , rampant crimes ... what has come with our town? Is it just an result of our rapid growth? And a veterinarian pleads with people to never leave their pets alone when they are put to sleep

Friday, September 14, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special to live. Send your news tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... OUR TOWN: Homelessness, car break ins, deadly shootings ... what is happening in our community? The latest incident, a shooting off Highway 58 that left six people dead, including the

shooter, has left me questioning what became of the town that I have called home since 1994. Maybe it was all inevitable, with the rapid growth and accompanying issues that come when a sleepy small town becomes the ninth largest city in the state. That's what Carlos Baldovinos, head of the Mission, told me recently in a discussion on the homeless problem. These are issues that come with growth and bigger cities, he said, almost implying that we should just get used to it. Even Donny Youngblood, our sheriff, called the shootings "the new normal." You have to wonder if all these problems will help the initiatives in the county and city to raise the sales tax by 1 percent to help fund public safety. Time will tell.

 * ... WHEN PETS DIE: A post on social media by a veterinarian in South Africa has gotten a lot of attention recently. Its point: if your dog or cat is dying, never leave it alone with strangers in its last momemts. "I beg you DO NOT LEAVE THEM... Do not make them transition from life to death in a room full of strangers in a place they don't like." When that happens, the vet says the dying pet looks into the eyes of every person in the room, searching in vain for its owner. "They search every face in the room for their loved person. They don't understand why you left them when they are sick, scared, old or dying from cancer and they need your comfort." The post, signed off by a "tired and broken hearted vet," has been shared over 87,000 times.

* ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I returned a pair of Nike shoes yesterday for a refund, and the clerk asked me what was wrong with them. I told her they hurt my feet when I stood up for the national anthem."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "You can tell a lot about the mood of a woman by looking at her hands. For instance, if they are holding a gun she is probably angry."

 *  ... ZIPPY THE CLOWN: Who remembers Zippy the Clown? Jim Escalle does and he sent me this note to share: "I was doing some traveling down memory lane in my mind tonight, thinking of days when I was a kid. I grew up in Delano back in the 1960s and 1970s, and was sharing with my sister about some things I remembered about those times. I was telling her about Zippy the clown, and how he came to our home in Delano in the mid to late 1960s for another sister's birthday party. I included a photo of that occasion. I'm the one on the far right with a big smile on my face. I remember Zippy making animal hats from those skinny balloons he twisted and shaped, then placed them on our heads. When I looked up Zippy on Google to see what if anything was on him, I came across one of your blog pages, dated April 12, 2012, and saw Zippy mentioned. So I thought I'd send you a photo of this wonderful character. According to my mother, he did quite a few birthday parties and other events for local kids. I also remember being on the Uncle Woody Show back in the late 1960s or early 1970s. My mother's Camp Fire Girls were going to Bakersfield to be on there, and I asked her if I could tag along. I knew Woody would give away a free toy to any boy or girl who could tell a good riddle or joke, so I went there for that reason. I got a Hippity Hop ball that day, and I was thrilled. Lots of good memories of those times.:

 * ... MEMORIES: Anybody remember the old Peacock Dairy in town? I spotted this on the Kern County of Old Facebook page. The caption said the dairy was founded in 1902 by Harrison Ross Peacock.

Westchester rattled by a second shooting at Jastro Park and more weigh in on union protesters

 * ... JASTRO SHOOTING: The second shooting in a year at Jastro Park has rattled residents of the downtown and Westchester neighborhoods. Blessed with wide streets, century-old homes, a canopy of trees and the charm of Rockwellian America, Westchester has always enjoyed a special allure but also bears the brunt of the occasional opportunistic crime. In the latest case, two known gang members were arrested for opening fire at two other men with whom they had an altercation. As one resident said: "My family has lived here for 60 years and we've never had two shootings in a row like this. There's one home that seems to be at the center of this activity and we're going to do something about it."

* ... PICKET LINE: Stephen J. Haupt, a senior vice president at Colliers International, responded to my post about union picket lines with a view shared by many in the business community. "Personally I do not have a problem with people exercising their First Amendment rights. However, it would be more meaningful if the union members were actually on the picket line rather than the temp workers who probably do not know all of the issues. I wonder if the union is paying these protesters union wages?"

* ... SPOTTED: From a reader: Seen at California Avenue and Oak Street an older, mid-sized truck
with two bumper stickers on the back window. "One shows a cell phone with a red slash through it and the words 'Hang up and drive.' The other says 'Keep honking — I'm reloading.' Is it just me, or would shoving ammunition into a firearm while driving represent a bigger potential traffic hazard than talking on a cell phone?"

 * ... MEMORY: Roger Abonnel asks if anyone else remembers the Kern River flood of 1950. "You are an old timer if you stood on the bluffs, as I did, on Sunday, November 19, 1950, and watched the flood take out Gordon's Ferry,  Rancheria and the Kernville bridges.


* ... FISK HARLOW: Regular contributor John Pryor wrote with some background on Fisk Harlow, who owned the old Bakersfield Hardware store. He said Fisk lived "in a charming home on the southeast corner of Alta Vista and Bernard, directly across the street  from a current news story - the Green Frog Market - whose owner Charles Everett lived across the street from the Harlow's (and my family) in the opposite direction. We witnessed Everett walking back and forth from his home to the Green Frog with a huge bag of money in his grip. It was so heavy he 'listed' to one side as he walked the almost two block distance." Pryor said Harlow also owned the first golf cart used at Stockdale Country Club.


* ... CPA: Longtime Bakersfield resident and CPA Lynn Starr Del Mundo has joined the accounting firm of Daniells Phillips Vaughan and Bock as a partner. Prior to this Lynn had been part of a successful accounting practice with her late father, Martin A. Starr.



* .... BROCK'S MEMORY: Marvin Schmidt weighed in from New Mexico with a memory of his mother, Irene Schmidt, who worked at Brock's until she was into her 80s in the drapery department. "Standing 4 feet 11 inches and weighing a little over 100 pounds, she always wore high heeled shoes and the best dresses. When management changed, they were told not to look at her age but at her abilities," he said. "For years before moving to Bakersfield she rode the bus from Shafter to come to work."

Coming off a weekend of extreme highs and lows: from shootings and crashes to high achievements

Where does one begin after a weekend like we just had? We had the usual weekend fare in Bako: a suspected gangland shooting that leaves one person dead and others wounded, and of course the routine multiple car fatality out near Interstate 5. Let's get to it:

* CRASH CLOSES ENOS LANE... Looks like at least three people were killed - a mother and her two small children - when an SUV collided with a truck towing a trailer out on Enos Lane near Interstate 5. (read KBAK's story here) Who knows if alcohol was involved but it sure sounds like it. Turns out a highway patrol officer saw the SUV speeding northbound on Enos, turned and chased it. The SUV, according to KBAK, was passing cars going 80 mph or faster when it slammed into the truck. A mother and her kids were killed and the driver of the SUV (can we assume it was the dad?) was slightly injured. The picture, courtesy of the KBAK TV website, pretty much tells the story. What are the chances booze was involved in this one?



* SHOOTING ON T STREET... Then there is this from the KGET website: On the evening of July Fourth a couple of teenagers walked into a home on T Street and simply opened fire, killing 37-year-old Anthony Mack Johnson and wounding five others. In one of the great understatements of the year, KBAK reported it like this:

"It was the typical Fourth of July family reunion-type of a party until three teens walked up to the party and one pulled out a semi-automatic handgun. Five party-goers were hit."

Yep, that will quickly turn the typical to the atypical.

* THESE KIDS SHOOT BUT FOR SCHOLARSHIPS ... I spent the weekend way off Enos Lane at the Kern County Gun Club where the California State Skeet Shooting championships were held. Winning for his second year in a row was 17-year-old Brian Foley, a recent Ridgeview High graduate headed to private Lindenwood University in Missouri on a skeet scholarship. Lots of kids involved in this sport, including Richard Riddle, a 16-year-old from San Diego, who won the 20 gauge gun title. He's shown in the picture here with his 13-year-old sister Diana, who shot her first 25 straight targets. These kids shoot, but in controlled environments that can often lead to free college tuition. Hats off to them.



* SKUNKS AND SEVEN OAKS ... Heard from a friend who lives in Seven Oaks that skunks are proving to be quite a problem for folks who live along the golf course. Apparently these skunks are fond of taking over the California kit fox dens that are common on the golf course, and they are making a pest of themselves with golfers and homeowners alike. I did notice, while riding my bike early in the morning through the Cal State campus in the Southwest, that a family of kit fox that have a den in central campus are now gone and yes, there is now a family of skunks living there.