Letter: Don't complain, get involved

Anyone who has been reading the comments being made on the Sun-Herald Web site can see that some of the residents of Colusa and Colusa County are tired, angry and fed up.

They seem to be tired of high prices, high unemployment, immigration issues, growth issues and life in Colusa in general. They seem to be fed up with local leaders, local government, local residents, local businesses, local service organizations and local customs.

They continue to comment on stinky water, high fees assessed by the cities and county, poor service provided for those fees, lack of community spirit and participation, lack of accurate and timely news information and anger at some individuals that they feel are getting a "free ride" or at least a better ride than they are getting because of those individuals' job, their position in the community or family name or their nation of origin.

They continually complain about the "good old boy" system here, the apparent double standard between the "empowered" and the "non-empowered." I can understand a great deal of how they feel.

My question to all of those individuals and every single resident of Colusa County is: What are you going to do about it? Are you just going to sit behind the anonymity of the comment boards throwing around complaints about how badly you are being treated, or will you do the thing that you continue to expect others to do for you and serve your community?

This area did not get into this situation because local leaders decided one day to screw the common man. It got into this situation because local residents stopped taking responsibility for participation in their community. Colusa County has committees, boards and service agencies that are holding open positions, and there are no applicants. I think this is because City and County elected offices and service organizations have limited interest from any but those few who are willing to serve a community that does not give back to its leaders, and which does everything that it can to make serving difficult.

If you want change, get out and make it happen. Attend the City Council meetings, attend the Board of Supervisors meetings and attend the public workshops and town hall meetings. Your supervisors and City Council members are people from the community, just like you. The only difference — they ran for elected office, and you didn't.

We, the residents of Colusa County are the only ones who can change what we don't like about our community. But not if we just complain and don't act. Vote, participate and help to heal the wounds within our community. And remember, that service to your community — in any capacity — is time well spent.

Cheri White

Colusa