Today, the last day of February 2023, as I sit in my home by a warm fire and as blizzard conditions continue outside, I got to thinking about a NY Times article I had read about our society suffering from a lack of heroes. I say baloney. On a day like today the heroes are easy to identify. Today, mine are:
The Caltrans and County Road crews (along with private folks) who engaged in the fight to keep the roads open.
The CHP, Sheriff, ambulance crew, and volunteer firefighters and search and Rescue Team who are helping folks in trouble or who standby ready to respond.
The Plumas Sierra Rural Electric Coop. team and their counterparts that have built a system that gives us power and internet even in these conditions and who stand ready to fix the system if it goes down.
The guy uptown with a skid steer, the guy with a tractor on Battelle Street, and the guy from Sattley in a backhoe who takes it upon their shoulders to dig out fire hydrants and fire stations.
The Rancher who has found a way to get feed and water to their livestock or who’s taking care of their cows that are dropping spring calves.
There are so many people who weathered this storm to get to their jobs: food and fuel haulers (and yes beer truckers), medical staff, store and restaurant owner/workers and the list goes on. I’m at risk of missing many others. Perhaps it would have been easier to build a list of exceptions (like those two jerks posting mis-information in our newspapers to satisfy their own egos). If you’re on my heroes list or should be, I send you my thanks for this opportunity to live in this town and to have you as neighbors. Rick Maddalena Sierraville (Photo taken by Joe Maddalena at Yuba Pass on 2/27/23)
