Wounded Warriors Highlight Annual
Veterans’ Day Ceremony in Big Bear
      A contingent of wounded Marines highlighted American Legion Post 584’s Veterans’ Day memorial at the Big Bear Convention Center on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 11:11 a.m. Some 200 residents, many of them veterans, celebrated America’s military men and women who have faithfully served the nation since the First World War, up to and including the wars in Iraq and currently Afghanistan.
      Big Bear Lake mayor pro tem Jay Obernolte delivered a keynote perspective and salute on our nation’s military, joining American Legion Post Commander Bruce Scott, who encouraged the audience to talk to veterans about their experiences serving their country, Post Adjutant Bill Wilson, who read heartfelt letters from children written to soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan, and Hank Peralas, Post chaplain, who delivered a stirring invocation about veterans past and present.
     James Weinheimer, coordinator of the Mountain Area Tea Party, praised Big Bear residents for again warmly welcoming the Warrior Foundation’s annual visit to the Valley, and the Moose Lodge for hosting a dinner for dozens of wounded warriors and their families who came for the Veterans’ Day weekend – sponsored by the Warrior Foundation and 4X4 Corps – and went four-wheeling around the area’s off-road trails.
     Speaking on behalf of the warriors was USMC Corporal Joshua Hotaling, 25, who lost his legs from an IED in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in May 2011, while conducting a sweep with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. He currently is still recovering at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego. He said the warriors, many of them severely wounded, were honored the residents of the Big Bear Valley welcomed them so sincerely and unselfishly to their community for the second year.
     Glenna Schmidt, vice president of Freedom Station, a component of the Warrior Foundation, thanked everyone for participating in the Veterans’ Day ceremony and for supporting the Foundation’s construction of a facility to house wounded warriors and their families, emphasizing that 100 per cent of the organization’s donated funds go directly to aiding
returning wounded veterans and their families, that it is all-volunteer.
     Dayan Anderson, president of Old Miners’ Association, added her thanks for the veterans’ service and then led the audience in singing God Bless America; Monica and Anthony Marini were again lauded for donating the Convention Center for the annual Veterans’ Day ceremony.
      Following the memorial, the American Legion hosted a chili lunch for the warriors, their families and all veterans. For more information about Post 584, contact 909-866-4845.
      More information about the Warrior Foundation can be found online at www.warriorfoundation.com and www.freedomstation.org.



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Here comes the Fire Tax!
Go to this website to learn how to protest this unjust tax
the governor likes to call a fee.

http://firetaxprotest.org/

REMEMBER: We must PAY the tax while we join the
Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association's lawsuit to overturn it.

     As you may know, last year the California State Legislature approved an annual fire prevention “fee” to help backfill CalFire’s budget. The California Department of Forestry started sending the bills to rural homeowners in early September. The bills for the $150 fee for FY 2011-12 are being sent alphabetically by county and homeowners in San Bernardino County are expected to receive their bills in mid-October.
      After going through many different adaptations, the bill is now set at $150 per habitable structure for residents living in a State Responsibility Area with a $35 deduction if you reside in a local Fire Protection District (County Fire). Once you receive your bill, you will have 30 days from the mailing date to pay it or send a detailed protest in writing. If you pay your bill late you will be charged an additional 20 percent, plus interest, for each 30-day period and failure to pay could result in a lien being placed on your property.
      I have been quite vocal about my opposition to this fire “fee” because I wholeheartedly believe it is an illegally approved tax that violates taxpayers’ constitutional rights. This fire prevention measure was passed as a “fee” and not a tax in a thinly veiled attempt to sidestep state law that requires all new taxes to be approved by a super-majority (two-thirds) in the State Legislature.
     A fee is defined as such because it provides a particular service solely to those who pay it (such as the fee you may pay for parking or the fees levied for water services) whereas a tax is a revenue-generating device that benefits the general public. This fee will provide no new services whatsoever as CalFire is already responsible for providing fire prevention services and many residents already pay for additional fire prevention services at the local level, amounting to double-taxation. Moreover, any benefits from the fee would not be exclusive to those who are obligated to pay it because everyone would benefit if the fee somehow resulted in a reduction of wildfires.
     Furthermore, none of the roughly $80 million the bill is expected to generate will be used to actually fight fires, essentially charging homeowners $150 annually to be just as safe as they were before.
One of government’s most important responsibilities is protecting its residents from fire, either through prevention and/or protection. Although proponents of this “fee” argue that it is only fair for rural homeowners to pay their fair share for fire services, what we have here is, ultimately, a money grab to finance the out-of-control spending by Sacramento legislators.
     While my opposition is unwavering, I strongly encourage everyone to pay their bills to avoid the hefty penalties then, contact my office or the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to join a class action lawsuit. The contact information for my office and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is as follows:

Supervisor Neil Derry
385 N. Arrowhead Ave, Fifth Floor
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0110
Phone: (909) 387-4855

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
621 South Westmoreland Avenue, Suite 202
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Phone: (213) 384-9656

For more information about protesting the fire “fee,” please visit http://firetaxprotest.org/