Opinion and Commentary by Samuel Strait Another County Board of Supervisor's Meeting and it is safe to say that nothing of real importance was accomplished. The supervisors are like robots with preprogramed actions and responses for any and all situations that come to their attention. Occasionally some sort of animation peeps through the screen that surrounds them, when the unexpected or unusual slaps them up beside their otherwise indifferent continences. It becomes a scene from the fantasy of a movie when the Board recognizes that they are being addressed by someone they do not wish to hear from. Aside from the inability for the Board to have any form of meaningful interchange with the petitioner in front of them, they most likely will only address the unorthodox mechanisms that appear before them if the message massages their collective egos. Heaven Help the petitioner if they were to complain about something that was with in the power of the Board to address and the Board hadn't. Their have been a number of comments found in the pages of the CCTimes recently excoriating both Linda Sutter and Brandon Bieber's appearance at that April 26th Meeting of the County BOS. Neither have been asked by the public to invest their time in calling attention to issues that have beset County government, not just recently, but for decades. The County used the power of elections to receive a 1% sales tax increase closing on two years ago promising to address issues particularly at the Sheriff's Department and with other vital services. The County has received the additional funding for over a year now, and the age old problems continue to exist, if not escalate. The County, including three supervisors who are up for election beginning in June, insist that the continued sales tax receipts are essential to fund the solutions for the many issues that plagued the County in the past and with the new funding continue to plague the County in the present. One might ask, just how with a straight face, is it that the sales tax increase has had anything to do with correcting issues that it was promised it would. For years no complaint was made of Eileen Cooper's spittle drenching rants before the BOS as she preached her evironazi religion that made development of almost any sort in the County a path ladended with mines. The summer of 2020 saw urban centers the scene of looting, fire bombs, and criminal behavior in abundance. All in the name of efforts to be recognized as advocates for change. Quite often advocacy does not take conventional paths in order to be recognized. Sometime it takes screeching or the appearance of being the "fool" to force recognition on the intransigent in power. Clearly the Del Norte County Board Of Supervisor's have been put on notice no matter what is made of Ms. Sutter's appeal to the Board that something beyond throwing money at the Sheriff's Department has to be done immediately. This, however; does not appear in the make up of the Board. Excuses, continue to be the main source for explaining away the ugliness. The monstrosity hasn't left the room, nor will it if the current Board has anything to say about it. Supervisor Howard, in two consecutive forums, doesn't appear to understand that simply listing all the "barriers" for solving the issue, is no longer acceptable. There are similar issues at Health and Human Services where Measure "R" funding has freed up money in the County's general fund to expand services in HHS with no apparent effect. Mr. Bieber has made it his mission to expose the fact that neither HHS or Public Health have been much of a benefit to the County's residents for some time now yet consume an inordinate amount of the County's budget. Mr. Bieber and Ms. Sutter's reward for calling attention to the County's continued failure to take corrective action has been derision and labeling as malcontents. Yet the question remains, the County has a new slush fund, how long will it take for any measure of improvement to correct issues that have plagued the County for decades? What will it take for the Board to understand that a bigger government will not fix the problems? When will the Board realize that beggaring the community with more tax demands doesn't solve problems as much as it creates new ones and adds to long standing and existing problems. More and more local residents have begun to recognize the ineffectiveness of local government in its present form. Over the course of my residency in Del Norte County the local governing powers have grown to be almost unrecognizable in size and cost yet the problems I would like to say remain the same. Unfortunately that is not the case. Not only do problems that existed when I first became a permanent County resident continue to persist, other pressing issues have surfaced in increasing numbers with no relief in sight. Much of that has to do with the explosion of the reach of government within the County. Add that to the expansion of government at the State and Federal Levels, the Country has become a foreign nation compared to that of my youth. I wish that I could say that it was a "good" thing, but clearly no matter how well you dress it up it isn't. I continue to hope that those in County and City government will "hear" the pleadings of those that foolishly continue to appear before you at public meetings and say very clearly that what the current governing Boards have to offer, DOES NOT WORK! Not only does it not work now, but it has never been the path to success throughout human history. It is well past time to reduce, shrink, condense, diminish, and decrease local government. The local population who do not depend for every breath they take on the approval of local authority will thank you, otherwise many of us are looking for representatives that do understand this imperative. I as a voter am looking for candidates to represent me that understand few in the local population have need of the constant attention given to them by their government. I am looking for a representative that understands the effect of increasing cost of government on the people they represent. I am looking for a representative that understands the difference of what is a benefit to the local community and what is another burden. I am looking for a representative that will be motivated to actively work to be that benefit to the community and not simply another member of the 5-0 club that currently occupies seats behind the dais…