The wave that has been sweeping through Northern California and Southern Oregon seems to be gaining notice…. now, according to reports around the region locally tagged as “the State of Jefferson”, Tehama County has decided to put the proposal regarding “statehood” on its next ballot. Our local paper, the Siskiyou Daily News of Yreka, California, has carried several reports on those counties fighting to be heard, including one that ran last week.

According to that report:
“The Tehama County Board of Supervisors returned to the State of Jefferson question Tuesday and decided to let its constituents choose the county’s response by putting the declaration on the June 2014 ballot.
The vote was 4-1. District 5 Supervisor Burt Bundy provided the no vote.
‘I’m a very firm believer in the democratic process of voting,’ District 2 Supervisor Sandy Bruce said before the board’s decision.”

 
What some see as a ridiculous effort by radical rednecks is, perhaps more importantly, a critical assessment of the aggressive and growing role of federal and local government and its implied impact on many, many people in Northern California and Southern Oregon. They see a number of agencies at both local and federal levels as imposing unnecessary and excessive regulations, fees, permit requirements, and even taxes, on an area that is actually struggling to keep up with the rest of America. Indeed, in Siskiyou County, the unemployment rate is above 10% and some would say that does not actually reflect the REAL rate as many of those not included are part-time workers and seasonal workers. 
 
So who is to say that the cry for recognition is radical? Perhaps it’s nothing more than a historic and democratically licensed effort by Americans —  whose voices have, heretofore (as in the past), NOT been heard. What minority hasn’t tried to voice its disapproval or protest through our ragged history? What minority hasn’t attempted to make a better life for themselves and their children?
 
Perhaps it would be wise for those in political “power” to begin to listen to these voices…Actually, as The State of Jefferson “movement” moves forward, people may have to truly reassess whether Jefferson State is more than a mythical designation! AND it would do well for all of us to listen!
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