By Jeremy Couso
Publisher and Editor, SusanvilleStuff
It’s here! I took this picture of Thompson Peak for you guys just to prove it. Spring has finally arrived in the valley! Buds are budding, leaves are leafing, and grass is greening up all over the place. By the weekend we should be back in the 70’s and the big green-up can get underway in earnest.
There are lots of things going on around this little town at the moment and honestly, I feel a little behind, like everything has already started I’m just not prepared for spring yet.
We’ve done the Easter Egg Hunt already, Little League Opening Day, Walk-A-Mile is this weekend and next weekend is the Spring Home and Garden Show followed by the Lassen County Children’s Fair. Who says there isn’t anything to do in Susanville?
A Political Statement
I rarely use this column to make any sort of political commentary, but I would like to say for the record that I think any kind of ‘book banning’ is just ludicrous, and the current hubbub at the Susanville library is just beyond comprehension. This is 2023 and I certainly would have thought we were well past this by now.
Have these folks not read Fahrenheit 451? Well, now that I think about it, probably not.
Okay, off my soapbox. I’ll probably get hate mail from the book banners now. In crayon and with lots of misspellings.
Bubbles
That’s a mighty big bubble! I took this picture at the Lassen Family Service’s Stand Up Against Child Abuse event at the beginning of the month. It was a fun morning for kids and families, and everyone had an enjoyable time. Joe Comino barbecued so you know the food was excellent.
I Got a Plaque and I’m Really Proud of It
I am notoriously negligent when it comes to self-aggrandizement, and normally I wouldn’t post my own picture, but I wanted to share this with you guys because I am very proud of what Crimestoppers has accomplished over the last six years.
I have been President of the Crimestoppers board since 2017 and happily watched as it has grown into a very effective mechanism for fighting crime in this county. The group, which is mostly made up of representatives from local law enforcement agencies, has been instrumental in finding and returning wanted criminals from all over the western United States including some high-profile local cases.
We started out as simply a mechanism for people to anonymously report crime, or to give us the location of a wanted individual in return for a cash reward. But over the years, and through the hard work of people like Probation Chief Jennifer Branning and current President Calli Oxford, the mission has expanded to include an outreach network of law enforcement agencies, allowing Crimestoppers to work hand in hand with our LEO partners to be effective across long distances.
In just the last few months they have helped facilitate the capture and return of Lassen County jail escapees and wanted felons from Nevada and several other western states, as far away as Texas.
Former Chief of Police Jim Uptegrove, the good looking one in the picture above, was actually the person instrumental in the creation of Crimestoppers back in 2017 – bringing the concept with him from down in the valley where he had previously worked. So, he is more deserving of recognition than I!
It was his idea and his vision and there wouldn’t be a Lassen Crimestoppers without Jim.
Also, I should mention Dawn Miller from the Lassen Federal Credit Union who has been our treasurer and an integral part of the organization since the very beginning. She does all the money stuff!
I am truly grateful to be part of an organization that does so much good.
Have an awesome week everybody and I will talk to you soon!
