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Thursday, August 5, 2021 • PAGE A-15
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FROM PAGE ONE DROUGHT CONTINUED FROM A1
While the Californian drought is proving to be damaging enough, it isn’t the only state experiencing a drought this year. According to the U.S. drought monitor map, published by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 11 states are experiencing extreme drought conditions: • New Mexico • Arizona • California • Nevada • Utah • Oregon • Washington • Montana • North Dakota • Colorado • Wyoming Additionally, some areas in Idaho and South Dakota are also suffering from extreme drought. Wheat is the fourth top-selling commodity in the U.S., averaging an annual income of $5.13 billion. Four of the states listed above are in the Nation’s top 10 wheat producers. In a Spokesman Review article, a wheat farmer in Washington State said, “This is probably going to be the worst harvest we’ve had for the 35 years we’ve been doing this.” Climates that generally don’t see over 90 degrees are getting tempera-
tures above 100 degrees. High temperatures and lack of water mean lower quality wheat kernels and possible higher protein content— all factors to less tonnage for farmers and buyers wanting a lower price for wheat. California produces over 400 different commodities, including two-thirds of the nation’s fruit and nuts, one-third of its vegetables, and one out of every five gallons of milk. According to the CFWC, the following commodities have already been affected by water shortage in California: • Alfalfa • Almonds • Apricots • Asparagus • Beans • Cantaloupes • Corn • Garlic • Grapes • Honeydew • Lettuce • Onions • Peaches • Peppers • Pima Cotton • Rice • Sweet Corn • Tomatoes • Watermelons • Wheat Basically, the effects of higher temperatures and drought are already affecting farmers, and we
will soon see it in the food supply. Western states are undoubtedly experiencing the start of a potentially horrendous drought. But in California, other factors are taking water from farmers. “It’s the result of changing policies that have shifted the water that is available for farms, homes, and businesses to serve a greater number of environmental purposes. And when we get to a drought year like we have now, there’s no flexibility left in the system, and we end up with a couple of million acres of farmland with no water supply,” explained Wade. On Apr. 15, 2015, Channel 3 News in Sacramento interviewed former California Governor Jerry Brown. At the time, California was in the worse year of the 20142016 drought, and farmers in the California Valley saw water rights suspended. During the interview with Channel 3, Brown stated, “50 percent of the water in California goes to protect the environment. 40 percent goes to agriculture, and about 10 percent goes to urban and commercial uses.” Brown’s statement is backed up by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). “Statewide, average water use is roughly 50 percent environmental, 40 percent agricultural, and 10 percent urban, although the percentage of water use by sector varies
ALL-COMERS
JB DEWAR
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the most of any year to date. Clickard also stated that there was a significant jump in enthusiasm due to the cancelation of several events over the past year and a half because of the COVID-19 restrictions. “The energy level is through the roof, and our numbers reflect it too!” said Rolfe Nelson, AGF Treasurer, and Board member. Like so many other events, the All-Comers Track & Field meet was canceled last year in response to COVID-19 concerns. “I think it was the right thing to do for the safety of our community,” said Robyn Schmidt, from the Board of Directors for Atascadero All Comers Track Meets. “I know it was sad for many families because it is such a favorite summer activity for the youth. But, I knew we would be back and would all be even more joyful being able to be there to enjoy this community event.” “There was a void in not having this,” Clickard said, “because this is one of the best events we do. We just love this.” “We started the Greyhound Foundation to build this track in 1995,” said Clickard. “In 2011, we kind of morphed from an athletic support group into a drug prevention group. So the Greyhound Foundation and Lighthouse are about addiction awareness, prevention, intervention, and education for our adolescent population.” “And that’s any kind of addiction,” added Nelson. “Phone addiction, gaming addiction, alcohol addiction...” “...yes, any kind of addiction,” Clickard agreed. “We’re also dealing with depression and anxiety in children, too, at the Wellness Center at the High School and Middle School.” As children were confined to their homes to avoid the possibility of illness, all indicators have shown a steep rise in mental illness in children. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the proportion of mental health–related emergency department visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31 percent compared to 2019. The most significant increase was seen in teenage girls. During Feb. 21 through Mar. 20, the suspected suicide attempt emergency department visits were 50.6 percent higher among girls aged 12 to 17 years than during the same period in 2019. These are precisely the issues that canceled events like the All-Comers Track & Field Meets were intended to address. “I am a firm believer that physical activity is such an important factor in good mental health. It doesn’t matter how good we are. Physical activity changes us physically, emotionally, and physiologically,” said Schmidt. “It just matters that we are active. Through sports and physical activity, we learn discipline, teamwork, following guidelines, good health and fitness, overcoming challenges, persevering, pushing your limits, setting goals, and achieving them. And from these attributes, we gain confidence in ourselves, improve our self-value, and are better at all we do.” “The Lighthouse Program is pretty all-encompassing,” said Clickard, “so this event is all about seeing families together, developing wholesome kids, and it’s fun.” For more information on The All-Comers Track & Field Meets, visit atascaderogreyhoundfoundation.org/all-comers.html.
Students who participated in the 2020’s program were presented and celebrated before the 2021 winners were announced. This year’s winners are: 1st Place: Shane Brennan (THS)1952 Farmall Super AV 2nd Place: John Paul Schmidt (THS)- 1940 Allis Chalmers Model B 3rd Place: Annika Jensen (Homeschooled in Santa Margarita)- 1964 Massey Ferguson 135 Winners of the program receive
dramatically across regions and between wet and dry years.” As for environmental water use, the PPIC says: “Environmental water use falls into four categories: water in rivers protected as “wild and scenic” under federal and state laws, water required for maintaining habitat within streams, water that supports wetlands within wildlife preserves, and water needed to maintain water quality for agricultural and urban use.” The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is another Californian policy threatening farm water. SGMA was enacted to halt overdrafts and bring groundwater basins into balanced levels of pumping and recharge. SGMA also requires local agencies to adopt sustainability plans for high and medium-priority groundwater basins. According to the Blueprint Economic Impact Analysis: Phase One Results by David Sunding and David Roland-Holst at UC Berkeley: “Based on an analysis of SGMA and other anticipated water supply restrictions, we conclude that up to one million acres may be fallowed in the San Joaquin Valley over a period of 2-3 decades as a result of reduced ground and surface water availability. This amount of fallowing is approximately one-fifth of all acres currently under cultivation in the Valley. The farm revenue loss associated with
award money sponsored by JB Dewar Inc. First place receives $4,000, second gets $3,000, and third place is awarded $2,000. “This past year was a little bit of a different year, so we’re happy that we were able to do the program still to give the students an outlet outside of being stuck at home, doing school online. They were able to get out there, get their hands dirty and work on something,” said Rachel Dewar, the programs coordinator. In addition to restoration winners, one student was awarded the “Spirit of Agriculture” sponsored by Isaac Lindsey and his family.
NIGHT OUT CONTINUED FROM A1
“This is the community I grew up in,” said APD Officer Craig Martineau, “so I love interacting with the community that I’m from and I’m a part of. Now I have a job as a law enforcement officer here, so it’s a good opportunity for the community to get to know me so they can have a little bit of an idea of who I am, that I’m just a normal person, really. It’s a small department, so if you call us for help, the chance of you seeing one of the six of us that are out here is pretty high.” “It’s a partnership between our local businesses and our first responders for our community members,” said APD Officer Lauren Purify. “It’s a night out to get to know each other. We get to hang out with them, and they get to hang out with us.” Children jumped in bounce houses while Galaxy Theaters handed out free movie theater popcorn, SloDoCo passed out free donuts, Wild Fields Brewhouse served up free food options. Barracuda Baking provided free cookies, and an amalgamation of North County Starbucks Coffee stores all came out to serve free iced coffee and tea. All in all, it was a huge meet and greet with the people of Atascadero. “We kind of like to break the rules when it comes to donuts,” said Laura Krause of SloDoCo. “We try to do crazy and fun donuts that taste appetizing.” “We are here connecting with the community, hoping to bring awareness to our law enforcement and first responders,” said Natasha Schlitz of Starbucks Coffee.
this fallowing is $7.2 billion per year.” The report also says, “Counting indirect and induced job losses together with direct losses, the SGMA and future surface water restrictions will result in as many as 85,000 lost jobs and $2.1 billion in lost employee compensation annually.” Wade explains, “It’s going to be difficult to continue to farm in the scale that we are now in much of the Central Valley in California because of the change in the accessibility to groundwater--it could lead to half a million acres or more farmland being taken out of production.” On Jul. 23, the CWB announced an “emergency curtailment” order. The order would inevitably cut thousands of farmers off from rivers and streams in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river watersheds. The order would include pre-1914 appropriative and certain riparian water rights claimants. On Aug. 3 the CWB passed the emergency curtailment order with a 5-0 vote. State regulators said farmers would have to stop diverting water from waters and streams leading into the Sacramento and San Juaquin Delta--the State’s two largest river systems-- because the drought is rapidly depleting the California reservoirs and killing endangered species of fish. The curtailment order will not
Isaac and his brother Louis are past contestants who have each completed three tractors and are familiar with these students’ challenges. This year the Lindsey family honored Cameron McEntire with a $500 scholarship. On judging day, Isaac was impressed when he saw Cameron help a fellow competitor whose tractor wouldn’t start for the judges. Cameron was awarded the “Spirit of Agriculture” for embodying leadership and being a team player. Tractors from last year and this year’s contestants will be on display at the Stockyard Pavillion for the dura-
“We’re just excited to serve and to give back to our community,” said Riley Benado of Starbucks Coffee. “For us, it’s just an opportunity for the community to come out and meet some of their first responders and firefighters,” said AFD Battal-
take effect for another two weeks and excludes some uses, including water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, sanitation and generating electricity, and more. Together, the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems drain 40 percent of California’s land and account for at least a portion of the water supply for two-thirds of the state’s nearly 40 million residents. “The fact remains that water supplies are extremely limited across the State, and we are running out of options,” said Ernest Conant, regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, who supports the new rule. The State has also hired 15 people to help enforce the emergency order, according to Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for the division of water rights. The rule gives State regulators authority to enforce it, including fines for noncompliance. Chris Scheuring, senior counsel for the California Farm Bureau, said, “In general, farmers understand drought, and they understand lean rain years. That’s the business we’re in,” he said. “But they don’t understand the downward slide in water reliability we are facing in California, sort of on a systemic level.” A story on the new curtailment order, its effects on farmers and the general public to follow. For a complete list of resources, see the entire article on pasoroblespress.com tion of the CMSF. The program is open to all high school students from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. All levels of mechanical knowledge are welcome to participate in the program. JB Dewar also accepts tractor donations. If you have a worn-out tractor sitting under a tree somewhere, donating it to the program could be the perfect way to breathe new life into the metal beast! To learn more about participating in the program or donate a tractor, reach out to Rachel Dewar at rachel@jbdewar.com.
ion Chief Matt Miranda. “Our organization is just a small, tightly-knit group, and the reason we stay tight is that we genuinely care about each other, and that’s the same attitude we pour into the community. We genuinely care about the people
that we serve and see on an everyday basis. It means something to us at the end of the day. It’s not just a do your job and go home type of thing.” National Night Out is celebrated annually across the United States on the first Tuesday of August.
Happy Birthday Ed Chidlaw!
Here's to
91 Years of Not Getting Caught
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