Protect America's Environment: For Our Families, For Our Future
Box 3357, Bakersfield, CA 93385-3357
(805) 323-5569
E-mail: kern-kaweah.chapter@sierraclub.org
March Fund Appeal - A reminder
…You should have recently received our annual March Appeal in the mail. The Chapter March Conservation Appeal is our only appeal for money to be spent here locally this year. Please respond to your mailing to help us keep up the fight. Thank you! In case you have misplaced the mailing, make check payable to: Kern-Kaweah Chapter, Sierra Club. Send check to “March Appeal”, PO Box 3357, Bakersfield, CA 93385.
Kern-Kaweah Memorial Fund
In 1980 the Executive Committee (Ex-com) established this fund to honor the memory of those who share the conservation ethic of the Sierra Club. The funds are not to be expended in day-to-day operations of the Chapter, but in ways to recognize those being memorialized. When a donor specifies the use of a gift the Ex-com honors that request, but general donations are useable for conservation related efforts. At the February Executive Board meeting the vote was to plant an oak tree in memory of Ruth Allen our former, long term Historian. If you wish to make any donations in memory of those who care about the earth, please make your check to Sierra Club Kern-Kaweah Chapter and mail it to: Sierra Club, Kern -Kaweah Chapter, P.O. Box 3357, Bakersfield, CA 93385
Not everyone can make a large gift to protect the environment during their lifetime, but you can become a financial hero by remembering the Sierra Club in your will. You can even direct your gift to a specific Club program or to your home chapter. For more information and confidential assistance, please contact Lorraine Unger at (661) 323-5569.
We are hoping to start a Bakersfield Sierra Club Group,
which would meet on a monthly or other regular basis. It would be an
opportunity for members to get together, and there would be programs,
discussions, presentations of trips to interesting places, and
speakers on environmental issues. The meetings would be open to the
public, and would be held at a public place. If you have an interest
in this idea, know of a meeting place, have suggestions for programs,
or any other inputs, please call Glenn Shellcross, 832-3382, email
gshellcross@juno.com or Mel
Rubin, 831-3333, email: melr@netxn.com.
Owens Peak Group executive committee needs one more member.
We have one meeting per month in Ridgecrest, and no experience is
necessary. Most of us have learned on the job and continue to learn
from each other. Set your own limits; we’ll appreciate whatever
you can give. You’ll have the satisfaction of providing a
useful, interesting service for your group. Interested in
volunteering? Call Dennis at (760)3757967 or Jeanie at (760)3758973
to find out more.
Road Runner Newsletter Larry Wailes is our current
“Assistant to the Treasurer” & is also our interim
publisher and editor of the Road Runner newsletter. This is a burden
Larry cannot maintain indefinitely. His preference is to do the
financial work. If you can do our newsletter or you know of someone
who might be able to do our newsletter, please contact Glenn
Shellcross, 661-832-3382.
Sludge Chapter Policy
Here is the sludge policy of the Kern Kaweah chapter:
Only the national government has the resources to scientifically
investigate and address the uncertainties of spreading sludge. No
local entity should spread sludge until safety has been
satisfactorily addressed. Separating the human fecal waste stream
from the industrial waste stream, and from agricultural drainage and
perhaps from hospital wastes is probably a big part of addressing the
sludge problem.
The international Sierra Club is in the midst of writing a complete
sludge policy. Please contact Arthur Unger (661) 323-5569 alunger@juno.com
to ask questions or be involved in policy formation.
Kern Farmers Rally Against Sludge Spreading
In a surprise development in the almost decade long battle to oppose
a national EPA policy in favor of spreading sewage sludge on crops,
Kern farmers have raised a strong voice opposing the practice. In a
public hearing a few weeks ago, local farmers hired their own experts
to challenge EPA’s sludge scientists assertion regarding the
safety of the practice. Concerns have been raised by
environmentalists and some farmers about the heavy metals, pathogens,
viruses, and toxic chemicals that are along-for-the-ride in the
sewage sludge. EPA’s Part 503 regulations are seen by many as
too lax to protect the food supply from the inevitable build up of
cadmium, lead, PCBs, dioxin, and mercury in soils contaminated by
sewage sludge spreading. Still others feel that the pathogens and
viruses that remain in the sludge after treatment are still at levels
that could harm public health or the environment. Environmentalists
have pointed out that it is illegal under current law to dispose of
hazardous waste containing lead, PCBs, dioxin, mercury via land
spreading, but over time the accumulation of these persistent toxins
in the soil will reach the same levels as hazardous waste. Indeed,
some sludge spreading sites in other states have caused damage to
livestock and crops. The state of California is in the process of
developing a general waste discharge permit for the entire state
which would detail the conditions under which sludge could be spread
at any location in California. The permit is undergoing environmental
review via an environmental impact report. The report is expected to
take two years to complete and hearings may be held later this year
on the EIR. Kern County is in the process of establishing a county
ordinance on sludge spreading. To make a difference on this issue
locally you should call your supervisor and tell them that many other
counties in California have outlawed outright the practice of
spreading sewage sludge, Kern County should follow suit. Currently
Kern County is the Sewage Sludge King importing over 1 million tons
per year. by Jane Williams, vice chair of the International Sierra
Club’s Toxics Committee.
The “We Need Your Input Now” article requesting opinions
on the proposed Kern River Freeway, drew many and varied
responses. The following includes the pros and cons presented in the
Roadrunner article followed by excerpts from respondents’
comments in italics (Sorry..not enough room for complete quotes.)
Under discussion: Proposed freeway project to enlarge Highway 178, a
single lane highway, running from Bakersfield to Lake Isabella
through the Kern River Canyon.
PRO
1. Large senior citizen population in Lake Isabella area needs more
sure access to health facilities of Bakersfield.
2. Heavy truck traffic makes road dangerous for general
transportation traffic.
3. Ecotourism development is hampered by “poor road”
Excerpted comments from respondents include the following:
Land (for freeway) heavily grazed by cattle, been burned, and - while
roadless- is not “unique” Moving the traffic out of canyon
will benefit canyon, salamanders, and us river lovers!
Rebuilding the road will cause damage, but not to the canyon. Not as
much as is now being caused by the realignment project!
If the freeway is built, it will take 99% of the traffic off of the 2
lane road and leave it for those of us who love the Kern River.
RIdgecrest needs easy access to Bakersfield.
Detouring on 58 makes for a longer trip.
Present widening of road is doing more harm than a freeway would.
Visual beauty of the canyon will get better; new road isn’t in
the canyon!
Truck traffic has no choice - there are no “other highways”
between Isabella and Bakersfield suitable for trucks. Certainly Hwy
155 is not a truck road!! Nor the caliente road or bodfish.
It’ll be great to have the trucks on the 4 lane all the
way!!
Storms keep (helicopter) service from being available at all
times
CON
1. Rebuilding this road will be the cause of much environmental
damage to area (erosion, destruction of riparian areas,etc.)
2. Visual beauty of Kern Canyon will be altered dramatically.
3. Truck traffic can be rerouted to other highways.
4. Alternate roads should be developed for truck traffic. (through
Bodfish?)
5. Emergency health care needs of citizens could be handled through
helicopter service.
6. Construction of freeway will encourage more sprawl.
7. Construction of freeway will be very costly.
Respondents made the following observations:
Our task in the Sierra Club is to protect the environment, not to be
supporting major construction projects in wild areas and small
communities. Preservation of wild areas (protection of all roadless
areas on public lands) and stopping sprawl are two of the major
Sierra Club campaigns for this year.
The proposed route for the freeway would pass through a forest
service roadless area.
People who feel isolated should move into urban environment rather
than ask for roads to be built out to them.
Re: sprawl. The Isabella area Chamber of Commerce says this project,
if completed, would be the biggest “shot in the arm” this
area would ever experience. That alone says it all. ..
Building a high speed highway would not necessarily make it safer.
Causes of most accidents in canyon are drunk driving and excessive
speed. New highway would not change this.
The freeway will bring destruction of the natural beauty and rural
qualities which we moved here to enjoy.
Timber Sales Lose Money and Habitat The Sequoia National
Forest Revised Kelso Timber Sale sold 498,000 board feet of Ponderosa
and Jeffrey Pine for $8.37 per 1,000 board feet. It sold 319,000
board feet of White Fir for $1 per 1,000 board feet. The total
receipts were $4,487.26. Of the total receipts, $1,121.82 of it was
given to the County, so net receipts for the sale were $3,365.44.
This timber sale is a sure loser. The average sale costs for the
Forest Service, according to the Government Accounting Office, for
the 1995 to 1997 period, were $201 per 1,000 board feet. On a sale of
817,000 board feet, the costs would be $164,000 to take in $3,365.
The taxpayers that own the National Forests will pay $160,635 to have
330 acres of wildlife habitat diminished.
In addition to the increased risk of forest fires, caused by logging,
only 3.9% of our nation's total annual wood consumption comes from
our National Forests and less than 5% of that wood is used for
construction. Hundreds of tons of useable fiber are wastefully burned
in our rice, sugar and other agricultural fields each year that could
be made into all the paper we require. When agricultural waste fiber
could be substituted, do you want to pay Hundreds of Millions of
Dollars yearly to have your National Forests cut down for the
economic benefit of a few friends of Congress?
Ara Marderosian P.O. Box 988 Weldon, CA 93283 (760)378-4574
The Forest Tax Relief Act has been reintroduced in Congress by
California Congresswomen Mary Bono (R-CA) and Lois Capps (D-CA). This
bill will terminate the Recreation Fee Demo Program on the National
Forests, which was originally authorized through a rider attached to
the Fall 1996 Interior Appropriations Act. The user fees have
provoked strong public resistance at most of the 67 sites where they
are currently being implemented. Critics of the Fee program contend
that the fees are only the tip of the commercialization iceberg. For
more information, call Scott Silver of Wild Wilderness at
541/385-5261 or ssilver@wildwilderness.org
We are very concerned that the Forest Service is repeating past
mistakes by relying on receipts to pay for their programs and by
creating an incentive for inappropriate recreational developments so
the agency can collect more receipts. Please call your Representative
at 202/225-3121 or write Your Rep, Washington, D.C. 20515 and urge
them to cosponsor the Forest Tax Relief Act.
The March awards banquet was very successful this year. Answering
a small questionnaire, most people favored continuing at the
Veteran’s Hall in Bakersfield on Mount Vernon Avenue. The
Mexican dinner catered by La Costa was tasty, and table decorations
were very pretty. The Sierra Club Cup award was given posthumously
this year in honor of Mike Stone, an activist who was cherished in
the Porterville/Visalia area for his dedication and effective effort
on behalf of the environment. The award was received by Mrs. Stone.
Leah (Bugs) Fontaine received the Susan Miller award, which this year
also honored the memory of Ruth Allen, and which will be called
hereafter the Susan Miller, Ruth Allen award. Ruth will long be
remembered in the Kern-Kaweah Chapter for her quiet but constant
assistance in chapter work, and the hard work that Bugs has done year
after year has been invaluable. The Long Trail Award went to Lorraine
Unger whose steady efforts have furthered chapter goals for many
years. Our program this year was presented by Mr. and Mrs. John
Hiatt, who spoke to us about the value of the Nevada Wilderness, and
whose slides were especially beautiful. Most of us left the banquet
with a new eagerness to see Nevada. Special thanks for the success of
the banquet go to Michele Hoffman who was the principal planner, to
Thersa Stump for her vivacious conducting of the raffle, and to
Georgette Theotig for helping with decorations and the promotional
flyer.Eva Nipp’s faithful assistance with various details is
always appreciated, as were all the efforts of folks who brought
materials for displays. See you again next year! Bring a friend!
These are Chapter members who stay current on local concerns. If
you have expertise on a Sierra Club issue that you would like to
disseminate to the membership or seek question and comments, please
get included in this list. Call Glenn Shellcross, 661-832-3382 or Mel
Rubin, 661-831-3333
Acting Content Editor: Larry Wailes (661)
873-8060
Contributions of news, articles, press releases, opinion, art and
photographs (black & white), letters to the editor, should be
sent to: lewailes@lightspeed.net
Want to submit an article for the Road Runner or express opinions?
Suggested length: 650 words or less. That’s about a column or 2
1’2 pages double spaced.) Deadline: 15th of the month
BEFORE desired month of publication-mail
Copyrighted articles, graphics and photos can only be reprinted with
the owner’s permission.
Published 12 times per year by the Kern-Kaweah Chapter of the Sierra
Club, Bakersfield, CA. All non-copyrighted material printed in the
Roadrunner may be reprinted in any Sierra Club publications with
acknowledgement.
These are local Kern-Kaweah Chapter, Sierra Club outings, except
as noted. Everyone is welcome; you need not be a Sierra Club member.
Space on some outings may be limited by the leader. So as not to hold
back the other participants, you should be in appropriate condition
and have appropriate expertise for the outing you choose. Note that
Sierra Club outings rules are in effect! Call (661) 872-2432 for
information about future outings.
If you know of an interesting walk or hike that you know of or have
experienced that you would like to see initiated or repeated, please
call Gordon Nipp, Outings Chair, 661-872-2432
Regular Events
Thursday Evening Conditioning Hike
4-5 mile conditioning hike in the northeast Bakersfield area
every Thursday evening to keep us in reasonable shape. Meet at
7pm at the Cadillac Ranch parking lot, just east of Mesa Marin. Call
leaders, Eva or Gordon Nipp, at (661) 872-2432 for details.
Tuesday Morning Birding in the Bakersfield Area. Every Tuesday
from 7:30 to noon, at various local birding hot spots. Novice to
expert birders are welcome! For locations, call La Dona Matthews at
Kern Audubon Society, (661) 831-5637. Please note this is not
a Sierra Club event.
Special Events:
April 7 Wed. 6pm easy evening walk in the Kern River Wildlife
Migration Corridor, Bakersfield - Beginners welcome. Meet at
Albertson’s clock tower, Stockdale and Gosford. Call LEADER,
Lorraine 323 5569, 589-3921, 834 2675 for details.
Apr 10, Sat. 7:30 am. Climb Owens Pk. A moderate to strenuous
6 mile r.t., 3100 ft gain to the 8453 ft summit. Meet in Ridgecrest
at Ridgecrest Cinemas at 7:30 am. For info call Don, (760) 375-8599
or Dennis, (760) 375-7967.
April 10-11, Sat-Sun. &endash; Flock Together with Birds of
a Feather &endash; Enjoy a springtime car .camp as Audubon and
Sierra Club members commingle at Audubon’s Kern River Preserve.
There will be walking, talking, hiking, and birding aplenty. Bob
Barnes and others will lead easy to moderate birding walks. Included
will be an early Sunday morning walk for beginners as well as more
avid birders. Potluck Saturday evening; so bring favorites to share.
Hot barbecue grills will be available. Bring binoculars, scope,
camera, boots, and dress warmly. For reservations and directions,
call leader Mel Rubin at (661)831-3333.
April 18, Sunday. Hungry Valley Oak Grove Hike. Truly special:
600 year old oaks and 600 year old grasses plus (hopefully) a gala
display wildflowers. Kim Matthews, Ranger at Hungry Valley State Park
will be our guide. Meet at Pine Mountain Clubhouse at 12:15 SUNDAY.
If coming from other areas, be sure to be at Hungry Valley State Park
by 1 PM. Easy to moderate walk. Good walking shoes, water, little
snack if you care to, hat, sunglasses, etc. Mary Ann and Jim Lockhart
will be your leaders. Please call 661 242-0432 for further
information and reservations.
April 14 Wed. 6pm - Easy Evening Walk in the Kern River
Wildlife Migration Corridor, Bakersfield - Drive west on Stockdale
Highway, turn right onto the remnant of the former Stockdale Highway
about 30 yards before the Highway crosses the Kern and park. You may
also turn north off Stockdale at Buena Vista. Sneakers OK, boots
better. Call LEADER Lorriane 323 5569, 589-3921, 834 2675 with
questions.
April 16, Fri. 6:30 pm - Mineral King & Kaweah Group,
Dinner at Keothip Restaurant Thai Cuisine, 619 W. Murray Ave.,
Visalia. Join the group for dinner and conversation. For more
information phone Theresa 781-0594 or Beverly 592-9865.
April 19, 7:30p.m. Ridgecrest - Maturango Museum. Janet
Westbrook, Professor of Biology, will show slides of the Galapagos
Islands. Discussion will include impacts of introduced species, El
Nino effects, and tourism industry and the ramifications to the
Ecuadorians. Janet has visited the islands 3 times and will be
leading a trip there this October.
April 23-25, Fri-Sun Angeles Chp/CNRCC Desert Panamint
& Death Valleys Sampler: Hiking & driving tour with
springtime wildflower poss. Meet in Ballarat ghost town Fri eve. Sat
nite we'll car camp in Stovepipe Wells. Hiking will be easy-moderate.
Trip will incl: charcoal kilns in Wildrose Cyn, hist miners camps,
hike into Mosaic Cyn, Keane Wonder Mine, Titus Cyn, Scotty's Castle,
Ubehebe Crater, the Racetrack. Street cars OK. Potluck, campfire.
Expect $10 DVNP ent fee & $10 per nite camp fee. Send lg SASE, H
& W phones, rideshare info to Co-ldr: RICH ABELE, 8442 Naylor
Ave, LA, CA 90045, (310) 649-5403/H, (562) 982-2869/W, rich.s.abele@boeing.com.
Asst: VERONICA GRAY.
April 23-25, KERN VALLEY BIOREGIONS FESTIVAL
Weldon/Kernville Come celebrate spring in the Kern River Valley
The Valley has the highest diversity of species known anywhere in the
U.S. where five Bioregions converge. Pre-festival field trips April
20-22; The festival has hikes, bird walks, kayak outings; Also,
Kernville has lots of good restaurants. Sign up early. Call
780-378-3044 for details on activities. There will be organizational
and arts booths, plus and children’s events in Circle Park in
Kernville. To assist at the Kern-Kaweah booth call Lorraine at
323-5569.
April 28 Wed. 6pm - Easy Evening Walk in the Kern River
Wildlife Migration Corridor, Bakersfield - Beginners welcome. Meet in
the parking lot at River and Panorama Boulevards. We may see blooming
Bakersfield cactus. Call LEADER, Lorraine 323 5569, 589-3921, 834
2675, if questions.
April 30, Fri. &endash; Moonlight Walk in Kaweah Oaks
Preserve &endash; Discover several trails in the Preserve as seen
in a different light. Meet at 7 PM at the entrance to the Preserve on
Road 182, _ mile north of Hwy 198, 10 miles east of Visalia. Call
leader Brian Newton at (559) 627-3571 for information. Note the
annual fundraising dinner the following day at 5 PM.
April 30 - May 2 Fri-Sun SF Bay Ch/Mother Lode Ch/CNRCC
Desert. Wall Cyn BLM WSA, NWNevada. Wilderness boundary study trip
& car camp to faraway area W of High Rock & N of Smoke Creek,
just E of Calif border. Explore this truly lonesome WSA, out in
middle of nowhere. Enjoy permanent streams, moderate peaks not far
from fabled Black Rock Desert: this is NV at its remote best.
Primitive car camp. Send $13 (Sierra Club) central commissary fee,
SASE, h&w phones, rideshare info to Reserv/co-ldr: Vicky Hoover,
735 Geary St #501, SF, CA 94109, (415) 977-5527, vicky.hoover@sierraclub.org.
Co-ldr: Stan Weidert.
May 1, Sat. &endash; Annual Fundraising Dinner for the
Kaweah Oaks Preserve &endash; Sponsored by the Four Creeks Land
Trust, this worthy affair is not a Sierra Club event. Social hour
with live music at 5 PM, catered dinner at 6 PM, and a hayride deeper
into the Preserve following dinner. Donation $30 per person. Call
Brian Newton at (559) 627-3571 for information.
May 1, Saturday. Thorn Point Hike. Strenuous hike to
viewpoint featuring abandoned fire tower from which on a clear day
you can see the Pacific. Trail passes through pinons and sugar pines
with great views. Mt. Pinos District of Los Padres. Meeting Place:
Parking lot of Pine Mountain Club, 9 AM. If coming from outside of
community call to make arrangements for meeting place on Lockwood
Valley Road. Lunch, water, good hiking shoes a must. Leaders: Bernice
and Jack Burns. Call Ches, 661-242-0423 or Mary Ann, 661-242-0432 for
more information and reservations. (Please bring Adventure Pass if
you have one.)
May 5 Wed. 6pm easy evening walk in the Kern River Wildlife
Migration Corridor, Bakersfield - Beginners welcome. Meet at
Albertson’s clock tower, Stockdale and Gosford. Call LEADER,
Lorraine 323 5569, 589-3921, 834 2675 for details.
May 8-9, Sat-Sun Angeles Chp/Toiyabe Chp/CRNCC Desert Owens
Valley Desert Study & Car Camp: Sat, with Naturalist, MIKE
PRATHER we'll tour Owens Lk wetlands, Lwr Owens R; learn how
LA's DWP & Inyo Cty plan to manage Owens Lk restoration. Area is
prime location for viewing seasonal neotropical migrants, waterfowl
& shorebirds. Expl site of 1872 Lone Pine earthquake fault &
visit hist Alabama gates. Sat eve potluck & campfire. Sun,
leaders will provide Mother's Day breakfast. Afterwards easy-mod hike
in nrby Alabama Hills (western movie site); opt trips to E Sierra
Museum, Cerro Gordo Mine above Keeler. Expect $7 per night per
vehicle camp fee. Send $5.00 (Sierra Club) for ldrs exp, SASE, H
& W phones, carpool info to Ldr: BLAIR KUROPATKIN (Antelope Vly
Grp), 3760 W Ave J-14, Lancaster, CA 93536, (661) 943-2603, blair@qnet.com.
Co-ldrs: BARRY MC CORMICK, MIKE PRATHER (Range of Light Grp).
May 14, Fri 7:00 pm - Mineral King & Kaweah Group, get
together at the Wildflower Cafe, 121 S “E” Street, Exeter.
Join the group for coffee and conversation. For more information
phone Theresa 781-0594 or Beverly 592-9865.
May 15, Sat. &endash; “Trail of the Sequoias”
Hike &endash; Experience hundreds of spectacular giant sequoias
on one of the finest loop hikes in Sequoia National Park. Start at
the Sherman Tree in Giant Forest for a 6-mile hike to Crescent Meadow
and back. Meet at 7:30 am; bring lunch and water. Call leader Brian
Newton at (559) 627-3571 for meeting place and carpool
arrangement.
May 16 for training and May 17 (Monday) 3rd annual Sierra Club Lobby
Day in Sacramento. If you are interested in participating call
Art Unger (661)322-5569 or Glenn Shellcross (661)832-3382. More
detailed information will be developed, but now is the time to start
planning to attend. Food and some lodging assistance will be
provided, but transportation will be up to us as individuals to work
out. Early responses will help us to know how many will want lodging
assistance and what kind of transportation arrangements to make. More
next issue.
May 17 Mon., 7:30 pm. Owens Peak Group Monthly Meeting,
Ridgecrest. Glenn Harris of BLM will discuss the ground water program
and the weather stations. Meet at the Maturango Museum, 100 Las
Flores. Call Dennis at (760)3757967 or Jeanie at (760)3758973 for
details.
May 22, Sat. 7:30 am. Exploratory hike up Cottonwood Creek,
the original, now abandoned, trail to Horseshoe Meadows. A moderate
to strenuous hike. Hikers should be in good condition. Meet in
Ridgecrest at Ridgecrest Cinemas at 7:30 am. For info call Don, (760)
375-8599 or Dennis, (760) 375-7967.
June 5, Saturday. Rock Art Sites on way to Mesa Springs, Mt.
Pinos District of Los Padres. 8 hour, down-hill first, hike.
Strenuous. 8 AM meeting time at Pine Mountain Clubhouse parking lot.
Lunch, lots of water, really good walking shoes, layered clothing.
For further information and reservations call Ray, 661-242-2009 or
Ches,661-242-0423. (Please bring Adventure Pass if you have one.)
July 3, Saturday. Peak to Peak (Mt. Pinos to Mt. Cerro
Noroeste) Hike. Mt. Pinos Disrict, Los Padres. More details in future
editions of Roadrunner.
by Ann Williams
As March folds into April here, every day is an invitation for walking. Already grasses are lush and spring flowers are beginning to show. This morning, returning from a lovely ramble in the hills above the Kern River I saw, on China Grade, a bank of white lupine which I don’t remember noticing before. The flowers gave lambent grace to an otherwise unattractive graded slope, and evoked a few phrases from Wordsworth.
I doubt that any spring day in the Cotswolds was better than the best of ours, with these shining distances bounded by a long procession of Sierra peaks that end in the snowy drama of Mineral King and the Kaweahs. On such days I sometimes think of a question posed to me several months ago, rather insensitively needless to say, by an acquaintance from college days: "Why are you still living in Bakersfield? It’s a gritty place, isn’t it?" In spite of myself I regret again my failure to respond with a quotation from Jane Austen. I might have said, as one of her characters did, "Such is the vulgar opinion". But why counter snobbery with snobbery? And anyway, hers is an established and venerable prejudice which no succession of spring days can unfix.
Besides, negative opinions have some base, and turning for a moment from my pleasure in living here, I want to comment upon a genuine local problem of an aesthetic nature which I think merits serious public attention. Why, in a city of so many talented people, among whom are some of the most sophisticated musicians to be found anywhere, is there no symphony hall worthy of the name? We have a fine orchestra and a gifted conductor, but no place properly designed for their music. Even before the sports arena was so easily promoted and built, before the garish electric sign at the entrance of the auditorium flashed red-letter advertisements of such events as truck crashes and bull riding...even before symphony goers were forced to walk long distances across traffic lanes and down dark streets to the automobiles for which no nearby provision remains, the civic auditorium was inadequate. Its visual sterility aside, the place is neither acoustically nor spatially appropriate for symphony performances. Every possible measure has been taken to project the music, from amplification to backdrops, and the musicians perform remarkably under the circumstances. But if you could hear that same orchestra in an acoustically wealthy environment, you would be amazed by the difference in the quality of the sound.
Once back in my high school days several of us came upon a huge abandoned water tank somewhere in the hills near the old county park. Climbing up and peering into the dark interior we discovered that shouts into the tank would reverberate for about five seconds. So I sent a chord down into the blackness, then sang a quick melody over it, and was charmed by the revelation that a single voice, in the right acoustical environment, can be a choir! Now imagine a whole orchestra in an auditorium designed entirely for the enhancement of its sound. An ecstasy of difference!
Surely in this city, with its wealth both of money and of minds, there must be someone sufficiently persuasive to muster support for the building of a symphony hall- a center for musical programs of all kinds which would be a perpetual gift to generations of performers and audiences. Nature has provided us in Bakersfield with symphonies for our eyes. But we must provide our own auditorium for symphonies of sound. Anyone with the vision, breadth of social acquaintance and motivational talent to lead us to that success would be forever remembered with reverence and gratitude.
Ann Williams © 1999
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRPEOPLE
All but noted area codes are (661)
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chair: Glen Shellcross 832-3382
Vice Chair: Neil Fernbaugh 559-798-0343
Secretary: Bonnie East 832-9775
Treasurer: Mel Rubin 831-3333
AT LARGE:
Arthur Unger, Ara Marderosian, Mary Ann Lockhart, Richard Garcia
RCC Delegates: Bonnie East, Glenn Shellcross
Alternates: Neil Fernbaugh, Lorraine Unger
Committee Chairpeople
Membership: Lorraine Unger 323-5569
Political Committee Chair: Harry Love
S.C. Council Rep: Arthur Unger
Outings: Gordon Nipp 872-2432
KAWEAH GROUP (Porterville, area code 559)
Chair: Theresa Stump 781-0594
Vice Chair: Dianne Jetter
Conservation: Carla Cloer Outings: Jim Clark
MINERAL KING GROUP (Visalia & Hanford, 559)
Chair: Neil Fernbaugh
Vice Chair: Brian Newton Secretary: Nina Stone
Conservation: Mary Moy
Outings: Brian Newton
Treasurer: Janet Wood
Membership: Patty
Environmental Education & Computers: Harold Wood
Fundraising: Richard Garcia Social: Bev Garcia
OWENS PEAK GROUP (Desert area code, 760)
Chair: Dennis Burge 375-7967
Vice Chair: Steve Smith Conservation: Jeanie Haye
Treasurer: Dolph Amster At Large: Dorothy Vokolek
Outings: Don Peterson 375-8599
CONDOR GROUP: (Frazier Park & Pine Mountain area)
Chair: Chester Arthur Outings: Harry Nelson
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Treasurers: Jean & Ed Rustvold
Newsletter: Mary Ann Lockhart
SIERRA CLUB KERN-KAWEAH CHAPTER
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