That is interesting that you would put in that story about Troy. He put those lift posts in a few years ago and has been stopped.

I have fond memories with Troy Caldwell. In the early 70's he was my ski instructor at Alpine. At the time he was on the world freestyle circuit along with old timers like Wayne Wong, Scotty Brooksbank and others. When he was competing we would travel to root for him, and I believe he was the reigning ballet ski champ. He wasn't that good in aerials or bumps, but he did it. And when he was not competing, I was privileged to be in a small group he would ski with on Saturdays... teaching us ballet skiing, aerials and bumps. He was an awesome skier!!!!

It was funny that one day I was skiing and Eppie Johnson stopped me on the hill and asked me to teach him some of the moves I was doing. After I taught him a few things (that I had learned from Troy), Eppie asked me what I wanted in return. At 15 years old I told Eppie I wanted a job in one of his restaurant... Eppie immediately gave me a job. And finally another story, I was at Heavenly Valley and Fred Corfee, one of the owners at the time, stopped me because he wanted to see what I was doing (that is the things Troy had taught us)... that was good for a whole bunch of tickets.

Troy is a good man!

Ken

Kudos for you story (aka anecdote). Stories speak of the formational relationships of our lives. They speak of who helped us along the way and who we helped along the way.

Lee

Hey Ken,

Would Tom be willing to support an "earmark" to help Troy realize his dream? I mean, he's siting between two federal parcels of land and thus would have a federal nexus. Just curious since he now supports federal funds (earmark) for the regional sewer and you can't stand earmarks.

The Auburn Dam Issue Revisited

McClintock surrogates ballyhooed his appearance before the State Water Resources Board on behalf of the proposed Auburn Dam . As is typical of his chief surrogate, Aaron Park posed this news as a gotcha against Lt. Col. (ret.) Charlie Brown.

“Blogger's Notes - What Would Charlie Brown Do? Would Charlie have the courage to speak up for flood protection, water storage and hydro-electric production? After all, Hydro is about the greenest energy out there and flood protection is a primary responsibility of Government (like preventing wildfires) - as in protecting the citizens.

WWCBD? Side with the Enviros or with the People of Sacramento who need flood protection? Does Charlie Brown understand the conditions of the levees around Sacramento? They have all been downgraded recently and thousands of homeowners find themselves suddenly having to purchase flood insurance.”

http://www.redcounty.com/placercountyca/2008/07/wwcbd-tom-mcclintock-speaks-fo/

I said early on in the comments:

Lee Reed said:

Who is going to pay for this dam? Will it be a private enterprise funded venture? If not, why not?

After all, the TVA was decried as being "socialist" by some. What say the current decriers of socialism?
July 23, 2008 7:19 PM

To which, Aaron Park said:

Lee - I know of no dams ever built in the US with Private $$$. The TVA was a gigantic government program to put people to work as FDR introduced Socialism to the US on a massive scale in a misguided attempt to fix the great depression. I think we'd have been better off if the market had been able to rightside itself and fix the problem.

And Ben Mavy said:

Ben Mavy said:
Did I hear this correctly? Mr. Reed will only support the dam if it is financed privately?

To which I responded with a lengthy outline of my idea for taking the Auburn Dam private. That was a thread killer. No one stepped up to comment further. No one wanted to explain to me that my idea was not feasible.

Eighteen months ago, in an article in the SacBee, a cost estimate was given.

“A new study puts the cost of constructing an Auburn dam somewhere between $6 billion and $10 billion -- at least twice the cost of earlier estimates.”

And the then chief proponent, John Doolittle’s rebuttal:

“Doolittle was undeterred by the new numbers Tuesday, arguing the dam is critical to flood control in the Sacramento region

and that the costs could be recouped through water and power sales.

"Cost is only relevant when compared to something else," he said. "This dam will pay for itself through sale of hydropower and flood control benefits. This report doesn't detract from the compelling need for this dam."

http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/site/DocServer/070131_SacBee_AuburnDamcost.pdf?docID=623&AddInterest=1107

All of this is a preamble to the crux of the matter. Tom McClintock issued a battle cry.

“He said he is running to represent the district by championing conservative policies and restoring principles of the late President Reagan. He assailed a free-spending "Republican Congress and a Republican president" that "squandered Ronald Reagan's legacy."

How does asking for a earmark of 6 to 10 billion dollars as a freshman congressman adhere to conservative policies and restoring principles?

What conservative principles are we talking about? Barry Goldwater by all accounts sought to curb public ownership of utilities. McClintock’s position re the Auburn dam is highly at odds with the policies and principles espoused by Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative.

Again, why is McClintock running? And on what principles?

He seems the samo samo earmark seeking pol to John Q who will be expected to folk over 6-10 billion dollars.

I do not have access to McClintock. Ken Campbell does. I would like, on the behalf of we taxpaying John Qs, a statement from McClintock about how he wants the proposed Auburn Dam paid for.