(September 29) Chad Mayes, the Republican candidate in the race for the  42nd District Assembly, gave a generic reason as to why he is running for office this time around.
“I’m running to represent and give the people of the 42nd Assembly District a voice in Sacramento.”
Mayes said the major issues facing the district are economic ones.
“Too many of our neighbors remain out of work or are struggling to make ends meet,” he said. “Simply, I believe we need to address the issue of job creation in our region.  Additionally, our schools need to produce graduates with the skills to compete in today’s economy. So, I’m clearly focused on education policy.”
As to the major issues facing the state of California, Mayes said “Frankly, there is not enough space to cover all of the issues that face our state.  Clearly our schools in both urban and rural areas are failing our students.  When you lose a major employer like Tesla to Nevada, it’s clear our regulatory and tax structures are driving jobs away.  We simply must solve our water crisis and compromise needs to be made by all sides.  And it’s too bad that we have to lock our doors at night to protect our families from the threat of violence.  The issues are too numerous but all of them are important.”
Of his district’s needs, Mayes said, “This district is geographically expansive and that probably poses the largest challenge to any legislator.”
To meet the varying challenges he must deal with as a legislator, Mayes said, “I’ve worked hard to build coalitions in each of the communities of the 42nd district that will ensure that I’m properly informed on the issues that are vital to our neighbors.”
Mayes cited his previous experience in elective office in explaining what he believed qualified him for a stint in the state legislature. “I was elected three times to the Yucca Valley Town Council and served two terms as mayor.  I worked alongside now Congressman Paul Cook when he represented many of these communities in the State Assembly and I currently serve as chief of staff to the chair of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.  All combined, I have proven experience at the local, county, and state level.”
Mays said he is distinguished form his Democratic opponent Karalee  Hargrove by “my years of public service at the local, county, and state level, which has made me uniquely qualified to work with Republicans, Democrats and Independents to get things done. These are tough times and we need a strong and effective voice to fight for our region.  My extensive relationships with local leaders throughout every community in the 42nd district will make me effective from day one.  I’m willing to work across the aisle in a bipartisan manner to address the issues of job creation and retention and stronger schools that prepare our graduates to succeed in today’s competitive economy.”

By Diane Dragotto Williams
On September 15th, in a little village in Galena, Alaska, an unprincipled hunter took advantage of a female black bear foraging for food for her cubs, and shot and killed her for his trophy. He skinned her, carved her up, and took away her head, paws and other body parts for his use. This beautiful sow had spent months in hibernation, giving birth to three healthy cubs, raising them tenderly, protecting them from predators. And at the right time, she brought them out of their den, to teach them how to live in the wild. She had spent hours daily grooming, cleaning, feeding, nuzzling and comforting them from frightful noises, animals, weather, and attacks of any kind. That fateful day, she had left them in a tree to wait for her return, so she could renew the sustenance her body needed to nurse her cubs, and find a new source of food for them. She gave her life for her babies that day, keeping the location of the cubs away from the hunter. Despite the fact that the hunter took this bear illegally in an Alaskan Village where hunting is prohibited, he was able to do this ghastly deed, and get away with it, much to the horror of the natives and residents of Galena.
The hunter also forever altered the lives of the bear’s three offspring.  If it weren’t for the compassionate hearts of the village residents, these orphans would have died slowly of starvation, been eaten savagely by predators, or died a slow death of hypothermia in the approaching snow. Spotted clinging to that tree, the cubs cried out for their mother, and began to search for her in the forest. They found part of her hide and drug it to their only source of protection, that tree, where they kept close her remains as a point of comfort. Abandoned and alone, as they grew hungry, not understanding their plight, they literally reached out their arms to humans that found them. It broke the hearts of all those who happened upon them.
These lovers of nature contacted the Alaskan authorities to find out what could be done. Due to Alaska Fish and Game regulations, the cubs did not qualify for rehabilitation, and the only resort left to them was to find a permanent home in captivity. None could be found in Alaska, so Wildhaven Ranch was called, and we all began to invest our time to help find a home for these desperate cubs. Daily, many natives have protected the trio from danger, diligently seeking for a resolve to the murder of the cubs’ mother. Waiting permits, transportation, and hopefully, a new home in Colorado for the cubs, agonizing days of the unknown have faced these ursines, and the villagers who have respect for the lives of these bears. Finally, September 29, the three bears were flown out of Galena, thanks to the Alaska Humane Society and Fish and Game to a safe place while preparations are made for their new home for life.
What lesson can be learned from this singular, unknown act of selfishness that the hunter inflicted upon the mother bear, the villagers, and, ultimately, the three bear cubs? We live in a world where, daily, hideous acts are done in the name of private beliefs, personal agendas and philosophies.  If we can learn that integrity begins at treatment of the bottom of the life cycle, where we are charged to honor what we have been given, then perhaps there is hope. We must be challenged to be good stewards of life, so that evil unchallenged will not continue to persist, at least in those instances when good can overcome it.  Even seemingly, unimportant to some, the senseless killing of a mother sow in far away Alaska speaks to us in San Bernardino County.  May those little survivors, who, unfortunately must now live in captivity, tell their tale, and cause those who will listen to respect the precious gift of life.
Wildhaven Ranch is a wildlife sanctuary in Cedar Glen that gives programs to the public by appointments only.  Bears, Bobcat, Coyotes, Deer, Eagles, Falcon, Hawk, Owl and Raccoons are seen “up close and personal” in guided tours.  For reservations, call (909) 337-7389.