During the last Newberry Community Services District's (CSD) general meeting on June 23, 2015, director Paula Deel pushed her agenda item that proposed that the CSD should endorse a letter requesting the removal of ravens from the California Migrating Bird list.  Deel's effort appeared to possibly be a private, special interest payoff, to appease a well known pistachio farmer who wants to shoot the highly intelligent birds.

      The agenda was also peppered with an agenda request by the soft spoken and hard to understand Deel, for a CSD letter directed to county Supervisor Robert Lovingood opposing the sale of Cadiz water from the Cadiz water basin.

      Director Robert Vasseur was uppity-quick to oppose Paula Deel's proposals as being outside the authority of the local CSD's scope.  Vasseur cried that any letter, be it opposing birds or the Cadiz water giveaway, was outside of the CSD's jurisdication and would represent an expenditure of time, CSD employee assets, and expenses (such as paper, envelopes, and stamps) not covered by the CSD's LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission) mandate.

      Director Deel countered Vasseur by saying that she, on her own time, would be writing the raven and Cadiz water letters; and that she was only asking for the CSD board's endorsement.

      So much time was spent in arguments over the petty inappropriateness of the letters, that when it came time to vote upon them, the board voted in exhaustion, without any true discussion upon the actual full merits of the letters themselves.  For instance, it isn't clear if there is any immediate need to open Newberry's farms as killing fields, with bullets flying everywhere against California's most intelligent birds.  The merits of the motions got muddled and replaced by personal grandstanding.  This failure rests with CSD president and chairperson Robert Springer who continues to fail to properly control the meetings under Robert Rules of Order.

      Despite Vasseur's staunch self-righteous arguments that Deel's proposed letters represented a wrongful action by the Newberry CSD, with Deel's modification that the letters would be written by herself, director Vasseur did a 180-degree flip-flop.

      Based upon the modification, and despite the letters continuing to be outside the realm of the CSD's jurisdication, inconsistent Vasseur U-turned and he himself seconded Deel's proposal to promote the open killing of the magnificent birds.

      Likewise, despite director Robert Shaw also agruing against the Cadiz water letter, he seconded the motion himself.  Both of Deel's motions for letters passed the board unanimously with yea votes from Robert Springer, Robert Royalty, Robert Shaw, and Robert Vasseur.

      Neither of the two above letters have anything to do with the Newberry CSD's authority.  They illustrate the wasteful incompetence and the bumbling of the inept board; and the board's path of personal special interests, chest beating, followed by the usual taking of the path of least resistence; voting on matters in which the merits are not fully understood; and without any staff report.  This is a continuance of the cycle of previous boards where hundreds of thousands of dollars of precious Newberry CSD funds have been squandered.

      Vasseur appears to want to maintain the limited scope of the Newberry CSD that makes the collection of his stipend easier.  Unfortunately, this severely stiffles the ability of Newberry Springs to progress.  Paula Deel appears to want to see the CSD expand its scope; but self-serving expansion favoring her special interests without proper authority is also destructive and ill fated.

      Currently, Newberry Springs is withering under the pompous pride of wanting to maintain its autonomy by operating its own CSD.  Clearly, if the community is to progress, the Newberry CSD needs to expand its powers.  Unfortunately, under its current and past boards, the CSD has demonstrated that it cannot handle its already-given limited powers, much less the taking on of more responsibilities.

      Applications for the next CSD board election begin July 13, 2015 for the expiration of seats currently held by Paula Deel and Robert Royalty.  The progress of Newberry Springs will largely depend upon the mindset and vision of those who will fill the seats.  Newberry Springs is like an uncut diamond; nobody currently on the CSD board has any clue or understanding of how to properly cut it.  New public servants from the community are needed to make the cut.