For me it was a typical Sunday morning. I had a cup of coffee, watched most of Meet the Press, then took the dogs for a long walk that usually turns into some sort of squirrel hunt.
This time, he wasn’t in the mood for long dog antics. It was the first official football Sunday and he wanted to enjoy it before the walnut harvest starts next week. I also had to check with my best friend from Dairyville tennis, Ginger Gilchrist, because we had a men’s final to watch later that afternoon. She was rooting for Ruud and me for Alcaraz, even though we both decided that we each deserved her first title.
While I was busy wasting America’s 9/11, my new Corning hero, Jason Lomeli, was up before dawn.
At 5:20 a.m., Jason began his one-man journey to honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001. He borrowed his uncle’s Corning volunteer firefighter suit, filled it with water, tied a beautiful flag American and started walking, in the dark, from the Java Lanes bowling alley parking lot in Corning to Tony’s Take-N-Bake Pizza in Los Molinos.
For nearly 18 miles, Jason represented the best of America. We are a people, from many parts of the world, all here because at some point, one of our ancestors made sacrifices to be a part of the American dream.
This is the second year that Jason has walked in honor of 9/11. Last year, he walked 2.2 miles in honor of Veterans Suicide Awareness.
“I felt like the distance needed to be a lot longer,” Jason said. “I wanted to be exhausted at the end to symbolize the fatigue and determination to complete the mission just like the first responders did that day.”
Jason has the blisters to prove he walked long and hard. His journey took nearly seven hours to complete, with the help of his sister and even his uncle Jorge, who partially walked despite having recently undergone shoulder surgery.
Coincidentally, Jason’s uncle, Jorge, and I serve together on the Tehama District Fair Board. I can attest to how great Jorge Lomeli is for our fair and the Corning community and beyond.
Jason was 16 years old when our country was attacked on 9/11. He was a student at Gerber Elementary School, Corning Elementary Union School District, and graduated from Corning High School.
“Everything we do in life doesn’t have to be out of necessity,” Jason told me Tuesday night. “It’s okay to do things just because we want to.”
Jason Lomeli wants to thank everyone who honked for him, gave a thumbs up and offered drinks. Next year, I think we should join this fine young man and create checkpoints along the way to cheer him on, stick together for a mile or two, and maybe hold a small potluck at the end of his journey to honor his sacrifice and those. that he left us on that fateful day of September 11, 2001.
Stay tuned.
No new agricultural wells?
I was at a lunch meeting with our nut buyers at the Green Barn Whiskey Kitchen on Tuesday afternoon when I missed a text from Action News Now reporter Tori Apodaca.
He wanted to interview me about “drilling new agricultural wells and how Tehama County may be temporarily restricting that from happening.”
On occasion, she reaches out to me for an answer when the people in the dry well call her to report their side of the story. Being a good reporter, she likes to make sure both sides are represented. This time, she really didn’t know that the county was voting on this or that it was on any agenda.
“I’d love to discuss this, but I don’t know if the county restricts farm wells, so I’m not sure it’s a good resource,” I replied.
After your message, I checked the county agendas to see if I could find such an item on the agenda. I found the Tehama County Flood Control agenda for Monday blah blah blah (aka Board of Supervisors) and Item No. 3 was a Public Hearing on the Groundwater Sustainability Agency. There were letters next to each point of discussion such as: informative discussion, public hearing to receive comments from the public and another point considering the adoption of Resolution No. 11-2022, regulation that governs new and replacement wells. I didn’t see anything with the word restriction.
Maybe next week I’ll take a deep dive into farm wells, aquifers, and the vocal minority that seems hell-bent on getting rid of the almond farmer during this time of unrelenting drought despite the hundreds and hundreds of acres being washed away in the county. of Tehama as we speak. .
In the words of Bill Cornelius, Have a great Thursday everyone.
Shanna Long is a fourth generation journalist and former editor of the Corning Daily Observer. She and her husband reside in Corning and grow almonds, walnuts, and prunes. You can reach her at [email protected], instagram @sjolong.