Frank Sinatra considered Kate Smith the best singer of her time, and he said that when he and a million other guys first heard her sing “God Bless America” on the radio, they all pretended to have dust in their eyes as they wiped away a tear or two.

Here are the facts… The link at the bottom will take you to a video showing the very first public singing of “GOD BLESS AMERICA”.  But before you watch it, you should also know the story behind the first public showing of the song.

The time was 1940. America was still in a terrible economic depression. Hitler was taking over Europe and Americans were afraid we’d have to go to war. It was a time of hardship and worry for most Americans.

This was the era just before TV, when radio shows were HUGE, and American families sat around their radios in the evenings, listening to their favorite entertainers, and no entertainer of that era was bigger than Kate Smith.

Kate was also large; plus size, as we now say, and the popular phrase still used today is in deference to her, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings”. Kate Smith might not have made it big in the age of TV, but with her voice coming over the radio, she was the biggest star of her time.

Kate was also patriotic. It hurt her to see Americans so depressed and afraid of what the next day would bring . She had hope for America, and faith in her fellow Americans. She wanted to do something to cheer them up, so she went to the famous American song-writer, Irving Berlin (who also wrote “White Christmas”) and asked him to write a song that would make Americans feel good again about their country.  When she described what she was looking for, he said he had just the song for her.

He went to his files and found a song that he had written, but never published, 22 years before – way back in 1917. He gave it to her and she worked on it with her studio orchestra.  She and Irving Berlin were not sure how the song would be received by the public, but both agreed they would not take any profits from God Bless America. Any profits would go to the Boy Scouts of America. Over the years, the Boy Scouts have received millions of dollars in royalties from this song.

This video starts out with Kate Smith coming into the radio studio with the orchestra and an audience. She introduces the new songfor the very first time, and starts singing. After the first couple verses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown from the 1940 movie, “You’re In The Army Now.”  At the 4:20 mark of the video you see a young actor in the movie, sitting in an office, reading a paper; it’s Ronald Reagan.

To this day, God Bless America stirs our patriotic feelings and pride in our country.  Back in 1940, when Kate Smith went looking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, I doubt whether she realized just how successful the results would be for her fellow Americans during those years of hardship and worry….. and for many generations of Americans to follow.

Now that you know the story of the song, I hope you’ll enjoy it and treasure it even more.

Many people don’t know there’s a lead in to the song since it usually starts with “God Bless America…..” So here’s the entire song as originally sung…..ENJOY!

Let us pray God still does Bless America, and it’s not too late.

Click on:

VIDEO OF KATE SMITH SINGING “GOD BLESS AMERICA”

REMEMBER TO THANK A VET- TODAY AND EVERY DAY!

You know my opinion already so it makes no sense to belabor the issue, right?  I just pray the Good Lord continues to bless this great nation while granting its citizens the resolve to face and adequately address whatever materializes on our horizon due to the results tonight.    Whatever happens, living in the United States of America is one of the greatest blessings each of us shares and OUR FREEDOM should never be taken for granted.

As always,

my best to you and yours, Lew

THE 1965 PROPOSED SITE

for the

SNELLING RESERVOIR

as viewed from

 ALAMO DRIVE in the Lake Don Pedro Subdivision

(The body of water under the arrow is Kelsey Lake, Merced Falls, Merced County, CA.)

 

 

Judging by the 25 years of traveling Merced Falls Road from the Lake Don Pedro subdivision to the city of Merced and experiencing the traffic first hand, I can comfortably state that many of us utilize this “short cut” rather than traveling HWY 132 into La Grange and then HWY 59 south to Snelling on our way to Merced and else where in the valley.  [I often use both routes (Merced Falls and HWY 59 to Snelling) for a bit of variety on routine journeys – one going downhill, the other returning uphill, just to make that literal “round trip” to Merced and back.]

Did you know our familiar winding Merced Falls Road could have been dramatically changed by a MERCED IRRIGATION DISTRICT water holding proposal documented in Bulletin Number 131, MARIPOSA AREA INVESTIGATION by the Resources Agency Department of Water Resources in November 1965?  Check out the below map found while researching the water issues of this area:

The unincorporated area of MERCED FALLS (middle-left side of map and west of McSwain Reservoir [currently known as Lake McSwain], would have been under the proposed SNELLING RESERVOIR!   Much like the town of Bagby on HWY 49 between Coulterville and Mariposa that was submerged due to construction of the New Exchequer Dam, Merced Falls would have been relegated to similar “underwater status” as water backed up from the (proposed) construction of the Snelling dam.  Notice also the massive holding of water on the Merced River east of Bagby along with the many other water holding/diversion proposals scattered about the area.  Absolutely fascinating with all the engineering and planning involved with such major projects.  This doesn’t have anything to do with current LDPCSD issues but I thought it interesting enough to share.

Now on to burn day preparation!  Rain is on the way!

My best to you and yours, Lew

Here are the lists of Annexation Resolutions, both requests and approvals, from LDPCSD records.

[NOTE: some of the identified “approvals” were never legally approved and are not currently annexed into the district.  Also, all handwritten notes are mine except for page 3 involving the MISSING RESOLUTION 88-4 involving Lake Shore Ranch]

Well this certainly was an interesting, although labor intensive, little experiment.  When I discovered Mariposa County Planning in April of 1985 had originally suggested a “ZERO SPHERE OF INFLUENCE” for the LDPCSD [ie, the District should not expand water service beyond the approved PLACE OF USE UNDER THE WATER LICENSE] I was curious as to how such a lucid and reasonable suggestion for our predicament had been abandoned, so I just kept reading forward in the timeline.

Jotting notes down by hand or typing them into an open word file was cumbersome but I did not want to just summarize in my own words so I decided a “COPY & PASTE” approach might be more convenient and would maintain the authenticity of WHAT REMAINS OF THIS DISTRICT ANNEXATION HISTORY.  Ended up with a 36 page word document full of  annexation “Minute Snippets” from April 1985 to December 1989.  The only problem was when I tried to insert this word document into a blog post my computer refused to cooperate with the format.  Wonderful!  What next?   The good news was the document would at least print – so TO THE INK AND PAPER!!!   After printing I scanned them into the computer to be inserted like any other JPG image.  (Who would have ever thought I would be talking like this?  lol)

You know, it doesn’t matter what the particular issue is or even to what degree innocent taxpayers are victimized,when you start researching how such OUTRAGEOUSLY UNETHICAL ACTIVITY WAS PERMITTED TO CONTINUE, you will discover there were indeed those who recognized it for what it was at the time and spoke up that it was wrong.  Unfortunately, those attempting to “do the right thing” were swimming against a very strong current of greed and focused desire to obtain something that was not theirs.  Honest and sincere efforts to follow the rules were ignored in favor of big money, special interest corruption and continued deliberate violation of established protective regulations….

…regulations specifically designed to prevent the foreseeable harm

this district has suffered for decades.

ANYWAY, that initial proposed ZERO SPHERE OF INFLUENCE was, not surprisingly, met with strong opposition by the numerous property owners and speculative land developers outside the permitted PLACE OF USE who wanted and demanded the subdivision’s water for their varied purposes.

APRIL FOOLS DAY? 

Is every day for subdivision entitled MERCED RIVER WATER customers who continue to pay for this fraud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, October 28th, 2016

While doing a quick check  for open windows and doors around the house this morning during a heavy down pour of rain just after 10am, I saw some of our “regular neighborhood wildlife” quietly waiting for the opportunity to continue their journey to the natural park down by the creek.   Should be plenty of “action” down there today!  MBTYAY, Lew

 

 

 

Sorry.  Never realized the link to that SWRCB ORDER wasn’t working – likely a result of a late night posting marathon.  lol.

Naturally it turned out to be an 11 page order from the STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD so this morning I had to first print all those pages, scan them into a file, create a blog page, insert the SWRCB pages into that page, and re-post….  oh yeah, and make an excuse for screwing up when they were first presented!  lol

Anyway, the point of posting that specific order was to emphasize the incorrect information contained on page 7 where it states:  “Currently, LDPCSD does not have an alternate source of water.”  BUT OF COURSE WE DID! And it was called the Ranchito Drive remedy well!

PAGE 7 of 11:

True,  it was only one groundwater well that was used to supply “replacement water” for the MERCED RIVER WATER that was wrongfully leaving the permitted service area of the Lake Don Pedro subdivision (according to water license 11395 and the water agreement with the MERCED IRRIGATION DISTRICT who holds that water license), but it was an ALTERNATE SOURCE OF WATER never-the-less.

The statement to the SWRCB should have been qualified with a word like “adequate“, “sufficient“, or even “appropriate” to make the sentence factually  correct, such as:

Currently, LDPCSD does not have an ADEQUATE alternate source of water.

Of course, by using such a qualifier in the request, a resulting reasonable question from the SWRCB might have been something like:

After 36 years of operation,  why was no ADEQUATE ALTERNATE SOURCE OF WATER pursued by the LDPCSD?  

But as we all know now, such a question from the SWRCB would have brought up all the illegal water service connections installed outside the MID POU into the discussion – something MID and the LDPCSD certainly wanted to avoid – because having only one groundwater well was an ADEQUATE ALTERNATE SOURCE OF WATER FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE AS A REMEDY TO PAST VIOLATIONS OF THE WATER LICENSE!

Asking the STATE for a special URGENCY ORDER when not following existing regulations already would not be a good starting point – right?

Anyway, sorry about the inoperable link.

My best to you and yours, Lew

 

“At this time, and in the foreseeable future, LDPCSD’s only public service

is the provision of water to residents of the subdivision.” 

Pete Kampa September 18th, 1996

 

 

Interesting that the above 20 year old statement legally reflects

exactly what the LDPCSD should have been doing back then as well as today. 

Once again Pete KAMPA  conveniently side-stepped (others might say concealed) the fact our LDPCSD had been intentionally serving water outside the permitted PLACE OF USE under water license 11395  (the Lake Don Pedro subdivision) since the District’s formation in 1980.  Not only that, but as evidenced by his prior correspondence to the Counties of Tuolumne and Mariposa he quite clearly documented his intention to continue and greatly expand (9,000+  acres) that SPECIAL BENEFIT WATER SERVICE TO LAND DEVELOPERS outside the permitted service area.

This is not a simple matter of knit-picking over the use of particular worlds in one select piece of correspondence, but rather, is just one more crystal clear example of the MANY MISREPRESENTATIONS this DISTRICT (through it’s various “representatives”) has made through the years to customers, the general public, and even more importantly – the many regulatory agencies and departments throughout this state and federal government. 

The above statement is further evidence of the concerted and routine effort to

MISREPRESENT THE LDPCSD’s FACTUAL HISTORY

versus

ITS LEGALLY APPROVED OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS.

Kampa’s 1996 letter identified (and thus quite unintentionally reaffirmed) the District’s INTENDED and STATE APPROVED OPERATION ……..

“… LDPCSD’s only public service is the provision of water to residents of the subdivision”.

 

Just wanted to correct a failure on my part to make this particular point clear in the prior posting which contained the correspondence.

My best to you and yours, Lew

 

WOW!  A little sleep sure makes a BIG DIFFERENCE!

Here are a few items I failed to include in the last posting “ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL”

(aka the District’s proposed redirection of funds formerly dedicated for the raw water line repair to now be used for the new EMERGENCY WATER FILTER WORK).

RECALL: ENGINEER RAYMOND VAIL AND MISSING ORIGINAL LDPCSD SERVICE MAP?

 

Also performed a little online research early this morning on RAYMOND VAIL, the engineer who purportedly created our original District water service map <above>.  He was extremely active in this area from the 1970s forward.   He did much work for Tuolumne County and some for other neighboring counties such as Mariposa and Merced.    Based out of Sacramento I believe.  I noticed he was often associated with  water projects, Cultural Resources Assessments, Historical Property Surveys, etc., and there was even some information regarding  “Community Building”.  He also worked on the La Grange Road realignment in 1979 and  a Sonora Waste Disposal project in 1982 among many other semi-local projects.

One thing that surprised me (and could be another reason why the name was vaguely familiar – besides the possibility of owning property requiring annexation into the District), was his work on the MARIPOSA COUNTY LAFCo Sewer system project back in 1971.

I had NO IDEA Mariposa County was planning a SECOND SEWER SYSTEM and proposing to purchase property for that system way back then.  The SECOND SEWER SYSTEM was required due to all the DEERWOOD CORPORATION speculative model home construction around the golf course because the old sewer system on the golf course could not handle the additional connections.   Unfortunately, DEERWOOD’s big plan never materialized and the sewer system is woefully under financed due to a lack of “active homes” in that sewer zone.  The residents around the golf course pay an extra annual fee for the privilege of hooking up to that system and not being required to construct a private “on site” septic system like the rest of us.

Obviously, when you look at some of the lots in that area, part of the reason for such a system was the fact many of the properties around the golf course were also quite steep and installing a “normal septic system” would be difficult and more expensive.  As you will recall, when the MARIPOSA COUNTY LAFCo established the district it required us to eventually take over that “loser”, but due to a number of variables including the fact the SECOND SEWER PROCESSING PLANT was constructed OUTSIDE THE PERMITTED PLACE OF USE under the water license, our district has refused to take over that mess.

 

LEACHATE DUMPING IN LAKE DON PEDRO

Only a few years after completion of the second sewer treatment facility  the County of Mariposa had to replace a number of expensive components of that system but there was never an explanation as to why (at least that I heard).   Years ago when rumors of tanker trailers “possibly stealing water” were reported, I followed one of those trucks at night from Lake Don Pedro all the way up past Cathy’s Valley towards Mariposa on HWY 140.   Subsequent investigation revealed the many trucks coming and going from that sewer treatment facility on Ranchito Drive WERE NOT TAKING WATER OUT…..BUT BRINGING IN AND DUMPING LEACHATE FROM THE MARIPOSA COUNTY LAND FILL INTO THE SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING!  (Leachate is that often nasty smelling tan-yellow liquid that oozes out from under all the garbage in a landfill when too much precipitation (rain/snow) filters through the garbage.

Depending upon what material is allowed into the landfill, the fluid can vary greatly as to toxicity.   [Potential EPA violations?]     I was amazed that no one in the Lake Don Pedro area (even those who personally worked on planning that facility) admitted to knowing anything about this leachate dumping by the county at the facility.  Again, much of it was done at night – so who would know?   I guess the taunted  “LDPCSD problem child” agency of Mariposa County solved a fairly serious county problem at least.

How far back was that leachate dumping procedure planned?  Or was it just a quick and temporary solution for a NASTY LIQUID SOLUTION PROBLEM?  I do not know if this is still being done, but I guess we will find out when (hopefully) heavy rains return this winter.

Anyway, here is the RAYMOND VAIL & ASSOCIATES  SEWER ZONE NO 1 COUNTY SERVICE AREA DON PEDRO 1-M  map.

(“They” sure didn’t misplace or lose this one huh? – lol)

 

December 1971 MAP

 

People often ask – why did the district continue to provide water outside the POU?  Good question and I believe part of that answer revolves around the GENERAL MANAGER who was in charge at the time who believed the district could serve water where needed – regardless of STATE RESTRICTIONS.  This “District Expansion Program” has been passed on through the years (to some boards/managers) despite clear regulations (and logic) to the contrary.

 

 

FINALLY!  AFTER 21 YEARS A 2001 ANNEXATION PROCEDURE !

One of the reasons the flood of annexations stopped was due to a State wide halting of such actions in the mid 1980s due to obvious confusion and highly irregular additions to existing agencies.   The District in 2001 finally established an ANNEXATION PROCEDURE but it was way too late.

 

 

OK folks, that’s it for now, {as you all breathe a sigh of relief}…   Although there is much more I would like to share with you (I learn more everyday) I MUST GET OUTSIDE FOR SOME YARD WORK – NO MORE EXCUSES! – I think my dog is threatening me – lol

Even though this may all end up being a waste of time in actually correcting the situation, I am never-the-less compelled to try or will for the rest of my life regret not following up on what I believe in my heart and mind to be absolute wrongful and unethical treatment to the residents, and future residents, of our beautiful residential subdivision.

– betcha I left some *&^%$#@ tools out in the unexpected rain last night too -dang it!   🙁

 

My best to you and yours, Lew