Lassen County Times

The most challenging thing I do each week is open up my browser to a blank page. What do I fill it with? I want to tell each person's story in a way that would make them proud, as proud as I feel for the honor of telling it. Even if it's a recipe, it is personal to me. This is also the most rewarding part of my job. News folks do this every. single. day. Wow. Truly terrifying. 

Lassen County Times Managing Editor, Sam Williams has been doing this in the 

'Ville for 20 years. This wasn't the plan though. Sam made his living as a musician but promised his Mom if he didn't 'make it' in music by the time he was 30 he'd go back to college. Gotta like a guy that keeps his word to his Momma. After Sam got his degree in English he was accepted into the Masters program for Creative Writing and came here to work for the Times. Luckily . Because this is where he met and married the amazing Cindie (Tamietti), Times Graphic/Advertising Manager. 

I asked Robert Mahenski from the Times for a quote since I only got "just the facts ma'am" from Sam, here's what he had to say~ 

"He's like a big, soft, cuddly, GRIZZLY BEAR."
That checks out. I absolutely adore what Cindie had to say...

"After 20 years of Sam and I being together both at home and at work, it's very hard to condense anything about him into a sentence or two. He's one of the most intelligent people I've ever met and I don't think people realize just how much integrity he's hiding under his gruff exterior. He's both gentle and tough and I'm crazy about him, still." 

That's a beautiful thing. I'm a sucker for a work, life, love story.

As a side note, Sam's uncle, Ted Williams, considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. Who knew?

Thank you to our Hometown Proud Lassen County Times, Sam, Cindie, Robert and the whole staff that keep our news local!

I LOVE the smell of sagebrush in the morning!

"You know that smell when you get to the bug station on your way home? I CRAVE that."~ Quincy McCort.

That's how you know he's a local. It's almost like Quincy gave me the secret handshake (we don't really have one... but if we did this would be it). Son of contractor Mike McCort, Quincy lived here as a kid and then spent all his summers in Litchfield with his dad. Now he's here full time, working at the City of Susanville and committed to making a difference. 
Then there is Heidi Whitlock. IDK how long she's been at the City now but I know she went there after working many years at Susanville Super. That means Heidi is IGA family. And we couldn't be prouder of her. During Heidi's years at the market we watched her; get married, become a great mom, twice, and graduate from college. 

Heidi and Quincy are quite the Yin and Yang, in their own words. Together this dynamic duo is working to make all our City dreams come true. Some of their goals are so lofty I won't put them here and they wouldn't want me to. Yet. But for now they are partnering with citizens that have a plan. For instance the skate park, citizens came to the City with a plan and since it was such a well thought out plan the City of Susanville got a grant to help it into action. Plus there's the lovely task force clean up going on (take a picture of yourself picking up trash and tag the City!), renovations at Riverside Park and what's this??? An 18 hole Disk Golf Course at Skyline Park! Too cool. Let's take back our parks, our streets, OUR CITY. Whoo. I better settle down. 
How can you help? Volunteer, for clean up or whatever. Share your ideas. Join the City of Susanville Administration facebook page to keep up on all that's happening. After all, a town is just a bunch of building and streets. We have a COMMUNITY. And a very good one at that. The more we help, the more we can get done. 


Thanks Heidi and Quincy for doing all you can to promote that Hometown Proud!

If you can't fly with the eagles, run with the wieners!

You had me at ‘hundred of miles of ATV trails’. But what’s this? Also pull through RV spots with full hook ups so my doggies can hang out in air conditioned comfort while we explore. All this overlooking beautiful Eagle Lake. Yes please!

Eagle Lake Resort is right on the edge of more of our public lands than you could shake a stick at. All open to ATV, UTV, truck, bike, horse or just use your feet, this place is beautiful. Surrounded by healthy forest, cared for by BLM, we saw miles of reforestation rolling through the valleys. The RV park at Stones Landing was well kept and the hosts super friendly. At check in we found out almost everyone (all 5 or 6 of us :) was from Janesville AND that the wiener dog races would be held right there in the morning! This is the 4th year the resort has put on the event as a fundraiser. All prizes, auction items and food donated by our community and served by volunteers. This year they raised over $3000, all proceeds went to Susanville PD’s K-9 unit for training and veterinary care. Excellent cause. I ran into so many friends and had a chance to visit. Local events are the absolute best!  Theresa Phillips brought her buddy Pete the Wonder Dog ready to race. Pete is 12, has an adorable toothless grin and has been stomped by a deer. Twice. Thus the Wonder Dog. Pete Took second in 2 of his heats then he finished with 7th place overall. Way to go! So much community goodness wrapped up in a super fun package. 
On our run up the mountain, with the help of an app called Scenic Maps, we found Dow Butte lookout. All that remains at the site is the foundation, the actual lookout is on display at Eagle Lake Marina, right beside the store. The views up there were astonishing. All in all it was like a full, jam packed, weekend in one night and good thing because we had a trade show to attend Sunday. Don’t let anyone tell you there’s nothing to do here!
Huge Hometown thanks to Eagle Lake Resort and RV Park, all the volunteers and donors for putting on the Wiener Dog Race to benefit such a great cause!
Congrats to all the racers and their coaches!

Let's channel our inner DISNEY!

Walt Disney measured distance in hot dogs. All trash cans at Disney World were planted 25 steps away from hot dog stands. This is precisely how long it took him to eat one. I can't even imagine the amount of trash generated at Disney World or Land. Yet the place is darn near spotless. How can this be?

Recently California Grocers Association put together a Store Leaders seminar focused on Service Excellence. The speaker, Dennis Snow, had a 20 year career with Disney World. What a dynamo. Accompanied by eight Susanville Super employees, we learned many things that day. Mostly I learned how enthusiastic and willing to learn my team was. Totally unified too! Meat, Deli, Grocery, Bakery, Produce! All there and all exchanging ideas. Sometimes you gotta take the Hometown Proud on the road to really see what's happening. 
Anyway, one of the topics was trash. Trash is everyone's job. At Disney even the Princesses pick up trash. Walt himself would do it. That's how you truly set an example. City of Susanville is currently setting a fine example. Thanks to a couple of grants, Cal Recycle and Tobacco Reduction, they've put together a task force (of 2 or so) to clean up the Ville! Rick and I began seeing young people out picking up trash on our morning walks. This got me thinking. What if we all pick up just one piece every time we're out? What kind of crazy clean up could WE get done? What kind of Disney-esque example could WE set? Let's do it! 
                                      Susanville is such a beautiful place to walk in the morning. Friendly faces, wildlife, fresh air, I love it. I picked up a lid on the Bizz today, one piece down :) 

This program really needs volunteers. J & J's Kickettes were spotted wearing the Cal Recycle tees and pulling a shift. If you or your organization would like to help, call 252-5110.
Thank you City of Susanville for showing your Hometown Proud!!