Off Beat: Why, Wally, why?

Last Sunday's column may have had more impact than intended.

Two days after it appeared, Wally Herger, your man in Congress, announced he had had enough and would not run for re-election.

So now we say goodbye to Wally, the legislator who railed against "radical environmentalists" and their efforts to destroy the America you love.

We say goodbye to Wally, the legislator who was probably best know in the last few years for being made fun of by Keith Olbermann, when he was still at MSNBC.

We say goodbye to Wally, the legislator who wouldn't debate his Democratic challenger in 2010 because the challenger said some things that hurt Wally's feelings.

So Wally took his ball and went home. He won, anyway, of course. That's how life is in this part of California.

We say goodbye to Wally, who, despite a quarter century in Congress, never rose to any prominent position, preferring to work in the relative anonymity of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Contrast Wally to Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from Bakersfield, elected in 2006, who is already the majority whip. Now that's a climber.

We say goodbye to Wally — actually Walter William "Wally" Herger Jr. — who could always be relied upon to be among the 20 whenever there was a roll call vote of 410-20.

And so how do we honor Wally for his decades of service?

Is it too much to ask to place his face on the Sutter Buttes, making it the local version of Mount Rushmore.

One icon chiseled into another.

You're welcome

An Olivehurst Public Utility District director uttered an interesting observation earlier this month about the fluoride flap.

"I wish there was a way to poll the community and get their feelings as a whole," said Director Gary Bradford.

Why, that's amazing! This is 2012, an even-numbered year. What usually happens in even-numbered years? They have elections!

It's kind of like a way to poll the community.

It's sort of what Bradford had in mind, only he didn't realize it.

So here's how it goes: OPUD has an advisory election on fluoridation in the June primary.

Here's the ballot question: "Shall the Olivehurst Public Utility District continue to fluoridate its water supply?"

It's so simple. All you have to do is get your lawyer to sign off on the ballot language. Maybe it's not complicated enough for him. Maybe he would want another 40 or 50 words in the question.

Try to convince him otherwise. Remember, you're the elected officials.