'YOU'LL KNOW HIM WHEN YOU SEE HIM!" A tribute to Eagle Award winner, Jeff Head.

A Tribute to my friend Jeff Head, Free Republic’s Eagle Award-FREEPER OF THE YEAR

It had only been a few minutes earlier that I hugged blackie, Barb, GrandmaC, redrock and his precious family and headed north out of the narrow canyon, glancing in the rear view mirror at the tiny community of Jarbidge, Nevada. The sun was low in the west, bouncing glistening sparks off the tips of junipers and the winding creek that the narrow dirt road followed. It had been a long three days, my car, gear and my body was covered with a quarter inch of Nevada Dust. and I was distressed that I could not stay for the long anticipated events of the next day, July 4, 2000.

Redrock and the others had already cleared passage through the mountain of dirt and rock that the US Forest Service had dumped to block the S. Canyon Road, the only other road out of the isolated community besides the one I found myself navigating. A “staging ground” and campsite had been set up just over the border of Idaho and I could not resist stopping to meet any other Free Republic members who may have been there.

Remove from your imagination any notion of an organized “camp ground”. This was a big field donated by a local rancher for the gathering. I threw my vehicle into 4 wheel drive and started across the field, which was mostly ruts and foot tall grass. The first group informed me they thought some freepers were…”over that way”. I prayed that I didn’t run over an “endangered” field rat.

I encountered a group deep in conversation, a likely place for a bunch of freepers. After asking if any one there was with Free Republic, a charming man extended his hand, introducing himself as “cc2k”. Leaning against a bumper, with his back to me was a cowboy hat clad man who turned and said, “Who are you?” When he spoke, and I saw his face, I knew it was Jeff Head. Sometimes you meet a soul that you have known forever and you recognize him when you meet him. Then I was back on the road headed west for home for the 800 mile journey.

Jeff and the others finished clearing the South Canyon Road, moved the Liberty Rock, cleaned the outhouses on Independence day. I listened to the live radio reports and knew that all was well. Jarbidge was in good hands.

I never expected to see Jeff Head and my other new friends again. Once was privilege enough. And our work was done. Or so it seemed at the time. In April of 200l, the federal government cut irrigation water off to 1400 farmers in the Klamath Basin. Now, the battle was to be fought in my back yard and once again Free Republic’s incredible resources would be used. The Bucket Brigade was a successful milestone with nearly 20,000 attending in that small community. Many were from FreeRepublic.....MadameAxe, Robert Drobot, forester, Marsh2, Washington_Minuteman, Conservative and many more answered the call.

The residents of the basin were doing all they knew to do to restore some sanity to this process, but finally in desperation, some of them decided to “let the water flow” on July 13. We had a rally that day and I had already arrived home when late that night I got a phone call. It was Jeff Head. He was on his way to the head gates. The farmers were no longer alone.

I arrived in Klamath Falls about 6:00 a.m. the next morning after federal agents had surprised the dozen there trying to protect the water and were now standing armed guard to keep the farmers from obtaining their water. Though tired from the 14 hour drive all night long, Jeff greeted me with that wonderful smile, shaded by his weathered cowboy hat.

All the contributions Jeff made to the community of the Klamath Basin and others cannot be listed here. Until I met some of the fine, brave Americans like Jeff Head, who truly care about their fellow man, and the creatures of the earth as well. I would not have believed such good people existed. The last time Jeff and I met was the big rally at the Klamath County Fairgrounds in August. It had been an exhausting summer for us all. This time he brought his son Jared, who was a delight. These children don’t have to be concerned with not having a good role model and are proud of this Western gentleman they call “Dad”. I situated myself at the front of the building with signs to locate the other freepers soon to arrive. And arrive they did…. in numbers.....nunya bidness, amom, Bump in the night, clamper1797, 68-69TonkinGuilfYatchClub and more. Someone asked me if Jeff was there and I told them, he’s down on the bottom level with some other people. “Look for a cowboy hat with a braided leather hat band.....oh,nevermind, you’ll know him when you see him!.” And they did.

Sometimes, when we are in trouble, good people show up to help. Next time you find yourself in one of those situations, look around. My friend Jeff will be up front…HELPING. I can’t begin to explain it, but you’ll know him when you see him.

YOU are precious. Check this out. Tell someone and I'll love ya forever.

'Smart growth' plan's perils April 3, 2002

F. Patricia Callahan

Scant attention has been paid to legislation currently working its way through Congress that would institute a $250 million grant program to federalize no-growth (euphemistically called "smart growth") regulations nationwide. The result would be devastating for small property investors,both urban and rural.

"The Community Character Act" - Senate Bill 975, House Bill 1433 - would require local governments to implement land management plans using model "smart growth" statutes provided in a 2,000-page "Legislative Guidebook" developed during the Clinton Administration by the American Planning Association, a no-growth trade organization, with almost $2 million in HUD grant money.

Despite giving lip service to the idea that land use planning is rightfully a state and local government function, the CCA undeniably represents a top-down approach to land use management. The legislation will use our tax dollars to create a multitude of jobs for APA members, who will be free to promote their no-growth agenda nationwide.

Rep. Steve Chabot, Ohio Republican, is so concerned about the CCA that his House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution recently held an oversight hearing on the guidebook "and its potential impact on property rights and small business, including minority-owned businesses."

AMA's Stuart Meck, the guidebook's primary author, told the subcommittee that in 1994, when the project began, the AMA sent out memos to 150 groups. It would be interesting to see that list, since those who have the most at risk were completely shut out of the development process. Career environmental groups were consulted, but property rights associations didn't even know about the guidebook until a few months ago. No black or other minority associations were consulted, according to Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, who told the House subcommittee that the CCA would be devastating for minority businesses.

On March 6, 2002, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. James Jeffords, Vermont Independent, also held a hearing on the CCA. When AASPO heard about the hearing, we immediately called and requested to testify. We were totally rebuffed, and were told that the National Multi-Housing Council and several other trade associations had been invited to testify.

Unfortunately, the National Multi-Housing Council supports the CCA, as does the National Association of Realtors. The only trade organization that testified in opposition is the National Association of Home Builders.

The only other person whom Mr. Jeffords allowed to speak against the CCA was David Sampson, the Commerce Department's assistant secretary of economic development - the very agency that would administer the "smart growth" grant under the Senate bill. Mr. Sampson said the Bush administration does not support the legislation, calling it "a centralized approach to land use planning." Instead, he called for locally devised plans that are "market-based." Although he gave several examples, it is questionable whether the good senators understand what "market-based" means.

All in all, the Senate hearing was like watching a horror movie. Seeing the issues threaded throughout, such as "pedestrian-oriented," creating statutes to preserve "vistas and views," and "affordable housing," makes it quite clear that this is just the tip of the iceberg. This type of regulation invariably makes life so miserable for small property owners that they eventually give up. The result is abandoned buildings that give the city justification to come in and bulldoze the area, clearing the way for big developers to come in and put up high-density high-rises. Some would call this the "unintended consequence" of "smart growth." Others believe this is exactly the intent.

Land use involves tough issues, fought out on the local level. It is an exercise in democracy which can at times become very contentious. The intervention of the federal government in land use matters, whether directly or through a funding mechanism, will allow ideologues to exercise undue influence in the process - and thereby disenfranchise local private property owners. The "Community Character Act" must be defeated in order to save the individual characters of our communities.

F. Patricia Callahan, an attorney, is the founder and president of the American Association of Small Property Owners (AASPO). > http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20020403-85887850.htm >

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