The Supes

Covering meetings, especially government-type sessions, is a task most all reporters have encountered sometime in their careers.

And pholks, over the close to 40 years I've toiled as an ink-strained wretch (an old journalistic and printer term), I covered lots of meetings. Hundreds, I am sure.

And I would not be an honest man if I claimed I had never dozed off at a city council, school board, county supervisors, town hall meeting, campaign speech, or other such event. And any real newsperson who denies doing that should not be trusted. I'm sorry to say, pholks, but even Viagra or Cialis wouldn't perk up any routine government meeting agenda, be they on grass root or Congressional hearing levels. So it is with a welcome frame of mind that I'm happy to have maintained focus in recent months covering the Tulare County Board of Supervisors almost every Tuesday morning. The current board seems to get along in most cases, a statement not true in times past with most governing bodies – including past board of supervisors. This board, Allen Ishida, Connie Conway, Phil Cox, Steve Worthley and Jim Maples, has a sense of humor. And county staff members, including County Administrator C. Brian Haddix, for the most part, seem to provoke a chuckle or two each meeting. It keeps most of the gallery, including reporters, a little more alert than normal.

Recently there have been some pretty good moments, including the presentation of the annual Tulare County Crop Report, a big event for the media and an indication of how the county's prime industry, fared the previous calendar. Announcement that Tulare County has topped the $4 billion mark for the second time brought smiles to the board. But Bill Appleby, assistant Tulare County Agriculture Commissioner, already had produced a smile when he prefaced his presentation by noting that the introduction page included an error – County Executive C. Brian Haddix's name was misspelled. It reads “Brain” instead of Brian. That was good for a minute or two of by-play but the subject came up several times, including when County Librarian Brian Lewis made a presentation.

The good news in the 2005 Crop Report seemed to set the mood of the meeting with Supervisor Connie Conway, referring to herself as the “Dairy Queen,” relating how she uses the term when conducting county business or representing Tulare County making sure everyone knows she is from the number one milk producing county in the nation. She garners more smiles by adding that she is not to be confused with the “Dairy Princess.”

Prior to this week's session, Supervisor Jim Maples told a reporter to get her camera ready because a girl was going to pop out of a large corrugated box, part of a display being prepared for a presentation for Weyerhaeuser's expansion plans. That joke sparked several other good-natured responses.

Maples gets some ribbing about being from the “snow country” a reference to his representation of Springville, Camp Nelson and other high country parts of the county.

And more than once Supervisor Worthley has been described as being ready “to break out in song” a reference to his singing abilities and work with choruses and other singing groups. He often is called upon to lead a “Happy Birthday” rendition.

Phil Cox is the top questioner during board discussions on agenda items and often makes note of that prior to posing his query or comment.

Eric Coyne, the county's official spokesman who works closely with the members and birddogs details for the media, says Cox “is probably the only board member who reads every word on just about any staff report.”

Supervisor Ishida, who farms in the Exeter area, is an avid outdoors man and has been asked more than once if he is going to “do any hunting” while working on county business in the national forests or the national parks.

Pholks, I must admit that there are times when even a perky board of supervisors can't keep everyone awake. But they try.

And I give them a nod for that.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com