november-december 2009 roadrunner newsletter, kern-kaweah sierrra club

A BI-MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE KERN-KAWEAH CHAPTER OF SIERRA CLUB NOV./DECEMBER, 2009

HECA FACILITY TO CREATE POWER BY GASIFICATION Kern Kaweah Chapter concerns include added traffic, farmland loss, endangered species habitat

FALL DINNER COMING TO THE RICE BOWL ON NOV. 7; RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

Our chapter will try to mitigate the negative effects of a proposed local plant that will produce electricity by gasification. For this plant, gasification means combining petroleum coke (the tar-like stuff left over after crude oil is refined and the gasoline and other chemicals are separated) and coal with water at extraordinary temperatures and pressure to make hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The hydrogen and carbon monoxide will be burned to carbon dioxide (CO2), water and heat. The heat makes water into steam to turn turbines and generate a net of 250 MW of electricity. The plant will be just west of Bakersfield and south of Buttonwillow. CO2 is trapped and piped to the Elk Hills oil field for injection and enhanced oil recovery. That is called carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Experts assure us that in this case CCS is a safe and effective way to produce energy from fossil fuel

without releasing CO2, the chief global warming gas. We hope that the success of this plant will mean that soon all fossil fuel plants will require CCS. The company that will build this plant is called Hydrogen Energy California (HECA). It is a project of British Petroleum and Rio Tinto, a coal company.. HECA received a $308 million subsidy from the US Department of Energy probably because it will demonstrate CCS: Here are our biggest concerns: The plant and its truck and train traffic will make a lot of air pollution for the polluted southern end of the San Joaquin Valley . They plan to “off set” this by paying to reduce pollution elsewhere. We demand the pollution be mitigated by removing an equal amount of pollution from local polluted areas like Arvin and Lamont. The plant will occupy 473 acres of the best prime farmland. We hope they will be required to

guarantee that twice as much farmland of equal value is allowed to remain farmland forever. The roads and pipelines of this project cut across endangered species habitat. We want them to set aside other land to preserve some of the affected species of concern—the kit fox, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, badger, loggerhead shrike, Hoover 's eriastrum and horned lark. The project claims to capture only 90 percent of the carbon dioxide it makes. The remaining 10 percent is appreciable and should be mitigated. In order to present our concerns and have them acted upon, our attorney, Babak Naficy, will intervene at our expense before the California Energy Commission (CEC). We hope CEC will require HECA to mitigate these and other concerns.

—Gordon Nipp/Arthur Unger Chapter ExCom Members

This is a reminder to register for the upcoming Chapter fall dinner on Saturday, Nov. 7. (The reservation deadline is Nov. 5.) Thanks to those of you who have already signed up! Our dinner this year is at the Rice Bowl restaurant at 1119 18th St. (same street and just west of last year’s place). The social hour starts at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. and a great program at 7:30 p.m. Chapter Outings Chair Jim Nichols will show us beautiful photos of scenic drives and

hiking destinations in the High Mojave Desert and adjacent Sierra Nevada mountain range. The title of his presentation is “Gems of the Eastern High Sierra and the High Desert.”

The cost of $17 per person includes an eight-course dinner, tax, and tip. Drinks are separate (but hot tea is included with dinner). Dinner includes egg flower soup, orange chicken, sweet and sour pork, and more. See reservation form in the last Roadrunner or call Georgette Theotig at 822.4371.

The Roadrunner

THE ROADRUNNER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER, 2009

FROM THE CHAIR: ‘Paying it forward’ is in spirit of season The November – December season is traditionally a time of giving, and our generosity towards others is part of the holiday spirit. We’ve learned that giving is better than receiving. As Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” I am asking that you consider giving to the Chapter in two important ways. First, we ask for your time. One way to give your time is to help the Roadrunner committee mail out Roadrunners once every two months. This only takes two to three hours in someone’s home, with refreshments and camaraderie to help the time pass. Another important way to give time is to support our local activist, Gordon Nipp, by

attending hearings and making a brief statement of support when he speaks on behalf of the Chapter. Here’s another saying for you – “giving money has a price, but giving time is priceless.” Next, you read about long-time member Jean Bennett’s passing in the September-October Roadrunner. Jean generously left a bequest of $75,000 in unrestricted funds to the Chapter. The Executive Committee is asking the membership for ideas on how these funds should be used by the Chapter. As you plan your own bequest, we respectfully suggest mentioning the Kern-Kaweah Chapter specifically as a beneficiary. Many of us have been fortunate to live comfortable

lives, and we give back by offering our time and money to causes we support, to make a difference in the world. If you feel the same, we ask that you “pay it forward” by helping the Chapter. Call Georgette, 661.822.4371, to find out how you can help. Thank you in advance for your gift of time.

—Georgette Theotig Chapter Chair


California Gov. Arnold Schwarze-negger signed legislation early in October that will create aEuropean-style above-market tariff, called a feed-in tariff, for small solar-panel generators. California's abundant sunshine, relatively high utility rates andsolar subsidies have already made the state one of the world's top solarmarkets. This measure seeks to expand the market by requiring California utilities to buy power from solar-panel generators of up to 3.0 megawatts in size, at set rates above what the utilities would pay for wholesale power from conventional sources. Utilities would have to purchase a certain amount of solar power fromcustomers using the feed-in tariff until a statewide total of 750 megawatts was reached. They could count the purchases toward a state requirement that they use renewable sources for a third of the power they sell by 2020. California's renewable-energy mandate is a key component of thestate's 2006 law to combat climate change. Some solar companies said the bill's pricing scheme would create a

feed-in tariff of about 15 to 17 cents a kilowatt-hour, which they saidwouldn't be high enough to spur significant investment. But others said the program would create opportunities for lower-cost projects for which there isn't currently a market. Supporters of the legislation, including the California Solar Energy Industries Association, said the bill's feed-in tariff will be high enough for schools, local governments, farms, warehouses and other low-cost property owners to take advantage of it. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (STP), SunPower Corp. (SPWRA), Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) and other companies have pointed to a separate effort at the California Public Utilities Commission to establish a feed-in tariff-type program as more viable. The CPUC staff has proposed requiring the state's three largeutilities, owned by PG&E Corp. (PCG), Edison International (EIX) and Sempra Energy (SRE), to collectively buy 1,000 megawatts of power from solar-panel generators sized between 1 MW and 20 MW over four years through "reverseauctions" in which they would pick the projects with the lowest bids to

meet their requirements. The agency is still reviewing proposals for the program and could make a decision sometime next year. In a letter to the state Senate on Sunday, Gov. Schwarzeneggersaid he was signing the bill because the state "will need to use all of thetools available" to meet its goal of using renewable sources for a third of electricity sold by utilities by 2020. The CPUC should proceed with its own feed-in tariff program, he said. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric are required to tap renewable sources for a fifth of their retail power by next year. All California utilities will have to userenewables for a third of the power they sell by 2020 under an executiveorder Schwarzenegger signed last month. A pair of bills passed by thelegislature last month also would require the state's utilities to userenewables for a third of their retail power by 2020. Schwarzenegger hassaid he plans to veto one of the bills because it would limit out-of-statepurchases.

—Cassandra Sweet Dow Jones Newswires

Sierra Club warns againstPG&E initiative requiring 2/3 majority for electricity providers

Sierra Club California is urging voters not to sign an initiative entitled “New Two-Thirds Requirement for Local Public Electricity Providers.” This measure would allow utility companies to use the state constitution to beat back local governments that try to provide energy choices for their communities. PG&E, which provides electricity to about three quarters of Northern California, has put $750,000 into signature gathering for a statewide ballot measure that is likely to be up for a vote next June. It needs 694,000 signatures by Dec. 21 in order to qualify for the ballot. The measure came to the Attorney General from PG&E’s Beale Street corporate offices in San Francisco and, so far, PG&E is the

only contributor to the campaign, according to California’s Secretary of State. If it passes, the referendum would amend California’s Constitution so that communities that wish to give consumers an alternative to investor-owned utilities would first need two-thirds approval from voters. PG&E is trying to trick voters into thinking that this is about taxes and taxpayers when in fact it is about choice of energy service. PG&E also makes it sound like the initiative would “give taxpayers a choice.” But PG&E has designed this “choice” to be as difficult as possible for voters. With a two-thirds vote, where the utility can spend an unlimited among of the campaign and local governments are banned from campaigning at all, would set up a hurdle too high to get over. —Adapted from an article in the Santa Lucia Chapter newsletter in San Luis Obispo

Governor signs solar power feed-in tariff into law


KERN KAWEAH ROUNDUPPLEASE READ CAREFULLY IF YOU PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN SIERRA CLUB HIKES:Everyone is welcome, Sierra Club members and non-members, to join in any of the outdoor activities. Requirements: You must be in condition for the type of hike, equipped appropriately for the activity and prepared to sign a Sierra Club release for liability. You must be willing to follow the leader’s directions. Be sure to bring any personal medicines you might need. Customary appropriate equipment includes good hiking shoes, plenty of water, snack, sunglasses, suntan lotion, and layered clothing. The following might be helpful but definitely is not required: compass, whistle, matches or lighter, and a good first aid kit. Long paints are recommended. Unprepared for the prospective hike? It will be a no-go for you. Participation must be leader approved. Please let the leader know ahead of time that you are intending to participate. Check individual group listings for the desired means of communication.

Since unexpected change of plans may be necessary, it is recommended that YOU contact the hike leader the night before to be assured that the hike is still going to happen.

New California legislation designed to protect the consumer requires us to publish this notice: CST 2087755-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California. This legislation is designed to protect the user of outdoor activities that require cash payments of more than $50 for participation.

BUENA VISTA GROUP More info? Call Donnel Lester at 661.831.6784 or e-mail [email protected] or Isabel at 661.246.6195. Tuesday Conditioning Hikes of 4 or 5 miles at 7 p.m., meet at corner of Highways 178 and 184. Contact Gordon ([email protected]) or Larry (661.873.8107) for more information.

Saturday, Nov. 7— Joe Fontaine, former Sierra Club President (1980-82) and currently Vice Chair of the SC Sequoia Task Force, presents “The Kern Plateau and Other Gems of the Southern Sierra” at 10 a.m. Camino Real Restaurant, 3500 Truxtun Ave. at the corner of Truxtun and Westwind, just west of Oak Street. Brunch is $7.50/person (plus tip). Info: 661.246.6195

Saturday, Nov. 21—Adopt-A-Highway cleanup, 9-11 a.m. Meet at the corner of Old River Road & Highway 119. Bring water, a hat, and sturdy hiking shoes. We will provide gloves and cleanup gear. For info call 661.319.6996.

Saturday, Dec. 5—Horizon 2010: Open discussion of issues and concerns for the coming year. Ask questions. Share your ideas. Camino Real Restaurant, 3500 Truxtun Avenue at the corner of Truxtun and Westwind, just west of Oak Street, at 10 a.m. Brunch $7.50/person (plus tip). Info: 661-246-6195

Saturday, Dec. 19—Buena Vista Holiday Party in Bakersfield, 7 p.m. to ??? Come one, come all to socialize and share good food! Arthur and Lorraine Unger are opening their home for a holiday party. Bring an appetizer or dessert to share. Please call for info & directions: 661.323.5569.

No Adopt-A-Highway clean-up scheduled in December. Meeting Notices—If you would like to receive Buena Vista Group meeting and activity notices by email, please contact Donnel Lester, at [email protected], with Add me to the email list. You can opt out of the email notices at any time. We try to limit this to once-a-month emails.

CONDOR GROUPMore info? Mary Ann Lockhart (661.242.0432). Hikes? Dale Chitwood (661.242.1076)

Saturday, Nov. 28— Visit Condor Group booth at Holiday Fair, Pine Mountain Clubhouse.

Saturday, Dec. 5—Holiday party at 6 p.m. Pool Pavilion Room. Please bring a white elephant, wrapped, for gift exchange and dish to share. Be ready for a cheery evening with new friends and old.

mailto:[email protected]







KAWEAH GROUPMore info? Call Pam Clark (559.784.4643) or Diane Jetter (559.781.8897).

Saturday, Dec. 12—Christmas potluck at the home of Boyd and Mary Levett, 5:30 p.m. Bring side dishes. Everyone is welcome.

OWENS PEAK GROUPMore info? Chair Dennis Burge (760.375.7967) or e-mail [email protected]. Jim Nichols, hikes (760.375.8161) or e-mail [email protected].

Saturday, Nov. 21—FABULOUS MINER'S CAMP (a few mi NE of Ridgecrest in the Argus Range, 5000 ft max elevation, 2400 ft elev gain, 11.5 mi RT (maybe only 1300 ft elev gain, 4.2 mi RT, more about this later!)). This cabin is a little visited treasure from a lost age. Historical and cultural aspects of these early times are documented here at this site in a most unusual fashion. Bring your camera. We have a known route, a moderate hike, but there is a possibility of an easier route. Watch for a hike reminder email, or call Dennis Burge at 760.375.7967 or Jim Nichols at 760.375.8161 for more info.

Saturday, Dec. 12— GREAT TRONA SAND DUNE (5 mi NE of Trona, 3000ft max elevation, 1100 ft elev gain, 5 mi RT) We will visit this unusual deposit of blow sand in the Searles Lake valley. We will learn how dunes can form in the most unexpected places. Looping on up and around, we will descend into an interesting drainage via burro trail. We will visit a peculiarly eroded canyon and explore the ruins of a mine and mill site. This will be a good photographic and physical workout for December. Easy hike. Call Dennis Burge at 760.375.7967 or Jim Nichols at 760.375.8161 for more info.

MINERAL KING GROUPMore info? Please also visit mineralking.sierraclub.org for more info.

Wednesday, Nov. 4—Dinner Social. Please join us at 6 p.m. for a “no host” dinner at Mimi’s Café, 4004 S. Mooney Blvd., Visalia. Contact Beverly for reservations at [email protected] or 559.624.0199. Saturday, Nov. 14 —An easy 3.5 mile hike on the Congress Trail in Sequoia. This will include a visit to the General Sherman Tree and then a stroll through the magnificent grove. Rain cancels. Call Joanne or David at 733.2078.

Saturday, Dec. 12—Kaweah Lake hike. We'll see if we can hike around the lake and either up one of the surroundinghills or up the river depending on what the group wants to do. Moderate difficulty. For more information contact Dave Keller, 688.4813, [email protected]

—PEN & INK DRAWING (right):Courtesy of a Sierra Club/ KernKaweah Chapter member










California/Nevada Regional Conservation CommitteeDesert Committee Outings

For questions about, or to sign up for a particular outing, please contact the leader listed in the write-up. For questions about Desert Committee outings in general, or to receive the outings list by e-mail, please contact Kate Allen at [email protected] or 661.944.4056.

Friday-Sunday, Nov. 6-8—Mojave National Preserve service trip. Help the Mojave National Preserve clean up a large illegal dump that has built up over the years. Work Saturday and until noon on Sunday. Barbecue dinner provided on Saturday evening. Hike on Friday morning, Ranger talk about the Preserve on Friday evening. Camping is rustic, but there will be a portable restroom. High clearance vehicle is recommended to access the site, but we can shuttle people and gear if needed. Email or call leader for reservation information. Leader: Rich Juricich, [email protected], 916.492.2181. CNRCC Desert Committee

Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 7-8—“Bowling Alley” car camp & hike. This narrow strip of land between Death Valley National Park and Fort Irwin is lovingly referred to as the “Bowling Alley” and is an ideal wilderness candidate. With unique and beautiful geology, several perennial springs, and habitat for desert tortoise and bighorn sheep, we’ll have lots to explore! We’ll drive in on some rough routes and then day hike from our car/tent campsite. Potluck dinner Saturday night. Leader: Carol Wiley 760.245.8734, [email protected] . Reservationist: Kate Allen [email protected] 661.944.4056. CNRCC Desert Committee

Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 12-13—Service and hiking in a Southern desert. This is the cooler season to visit the southern deserts. Our project on Saturday will be on the east side of the North Algadones Dunes Wilderness, approximately 20 miles east of Brawley, CA, where we will rebuild facilities at the Watchable Wildlife Site. Saturday evening is a carcamp with potluck dinner. Sunday we will take a recreational hike either from our work site or else in the nearby Indian Pass Wilderness. For information contact leader Craig Deutsche, [email protected], (310.477.6670). CNRCC Desert Committee

Monday-Saturday, Dec. 28 - Jan. 2, 2010—Holiday service in Carrizo Plain National Monument. Celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of the next in one of our new national monuments. The Carrizo Plain, west of Bakersfield, is a vast grassland, home to pronghorn antelope, tule elk, kit fox, and a wide variety of birds. A welcome hike Dec. 28, three and a half days of service modifying barbed wire fencing, and a full day for hiking and exploring are planned. Use of accommodations at Goodwin Ranch included. Limited to 14 participants, $30 covers five dinners. .for more information, contact leader: Craig Deutsche, [email protected], (310.477.6670), or co-leader Melinda Goodwater, [email protected], (408.774.1257). CNRCC Desert Committee

Genetic engineering threatens Mexico’s corn culture

Proud native corn in Mexico may soon be a thing of the past, overwhelmed by or cross- pollinated with the imported biotech corn flooding the Mexican market. Corn genetically engineered to contain a toxin produced by Bt, Bacillus thuringienis, comes courtesy of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which opened the Mexican market to cheap grain from El Norte. In 1999, Mexico imported 5.5 million tons of corn, three times as much as before NAFTA. No one knows how much of that corn is genetically engineered. Cargill, the world’s largest grain dealer--and the dominant grain distributor in much of Mexico--doesn’t separate Bt and natural corn imports. Maseca, which monopolizes tortilla production on both sides of the border, concedes that it is milling Bt corn, but can’t say how much. Hector Magallon, who directs Greenpeace-Mexico’s campaign against genetically engineered foods, guesses that since at least a quarter of U.S. corn is Bt-embellished, Mexico imports at least the same proportion. “But it really could be much more,” he says, “since major U.S. corn exporters take pains not to send genetically modified products to Europe or Japan, where they are subject to prohibitions. We get what’s left over.” —John Ross, whose latest book is The War Against Oblivion—Zapatista Chronicles, 1994-2001

SAVING RESOURCES PDF version of Roadrunner now available Want to stop extra trees being cut down for a paper Roadrunner? To switch to an online edition Type to enter text of the Roadrunner, please do the following two things:

1. Email Lorraine Unger <[email protected]> and ask to be taken off the hard-copy Roadrunner list.

2. Log on to http://kernkaweah.sierraclub.org/email.html and join the KERN-NEWS email list. Alternatively, send an e-mail addressed to: [email protected] a one-line command in the message body stating [substitute your first and last name where indicated]:

SUBSCRIBE KERN-NEWS Yourfirstname Yourlastname

If you do both these things, you will then receive bi-monthly notification when the Roadrunner is posted, instead of the paper Roadrunner. (Please allow up to eight or ten weeks for the change.)

















http://kernkaweah.sierraclub.org/email.html







MIDGEBUZZINGS When I joined the Sierra Club in 1972 we were living in another world. The passing of the Wilderness Act was still being celebrated, the Kern-Kaweah Chapter was much smaller, and first time members found themselves solicited right away for various activities including appearances at hearings, letter writing, and hosting executive committee meetings. Old-timers like Ardis Walker, the legendary Kernville poet, were campaigning diligently with dynamic young people like Joe Fontaine toward such goals as the establishment of the Golden Trout Wilderness, or quietly working behind the scenes as Ruth Allen did creating chapter scrapbooks. I typed my monthly Midgebuzzings columns on a standard typewriter, and delivered them by hand to the editor, who arranged the Roadrunner cover page using gorgeous black and white photographs by our brilliant photographer, Bev Steveson. When the copy was put together, it went to one of our most dedicated and generous members, Will Dallons, who, with his wife, Sue, had a printing business in Bakersfield and later in Tehachapi. Reviewing photographs from outings in those days is like going through the pages of history, and I’m one of the old-timers now. Ruth Allen, historian that she was, kept all the original Roadrunners, and they rest on a book shelf in my study. Major issues were almost exclusively about wilderness protection, and the time was right for them. Public opinion supported such heroic efforts as those of John Harper, who, with others, was instrumental in helping save Mineral King from becoming another Disneyland. That atmosphere began to change in the 1980’s with the appointment of James Watt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Since that time the struggles for protection of wilderness values have became more intense. Increases in population and corporate domination of the media have resulted in more demand for vehicular recreation, more timber sales from public lands, and increased losses of farm and forest land to housing, along with many other threats to the environment, both urban and rural. Today many chapter activists, Gordon Nipp prominent among them, work in urban areas to protect air quality and endangered species from corporate abuses, and to oppose urban sprawl and the loss of prime farm land. Always before us is the issue of global warming and the task of increasing public awareness of its causes and possible effects. Years ago agendas for the chapter’s executive committee were relatively simple and included plans for outings, ice creams socials and the like. Today, given the number and immensity of threats to our environment, they are intense and many-faceted. Now chapters include groups that gather in a more social setting for discussion of environmental matters. Programs are given by presenters concerned with single issues. The invitation to attend is extended to all interested people, and the discussions are lively and engaging. Social events like those once generated by our governing board have been relegated to these groups. Now, as secretary for the chapter executive committee, I appreciate more than ever the valuable work being done by its members in an era of constant and growing environmental challenges. Our concerns range from urban sprawl near our immediate communities to county and state problems. The advent of the internet has changed entirely our ways of communicating, making them swift and immediate. A completed copy of Midgebuzzings goes from my computer to the editor with a single click on “send.” The Roadrunner can be read online, for that matter, though I have to confess preference for a hard copy in my hand that I can shelve, when I’ve finished reading it, alongside Ruth Allen’s ancient volumes. For old-timers, there is still comfort in archaic ways. —Ann Williams

Executive Committee of the Kern-Kaweah ChapterChair: Georgette Theotig (Tehachapi), 661.822.4371. Vice-chair: Gordon Nipp (Bksf), 661.872.2432. Secretary: Ann Williams (Bksf), 661.324.1055. Treasurer: Lorraine Unger (Bksf), 661.323.5569. Donnel Lester (Bksf), 661.831.6784. Richard Garcia (Min King), 559.624.0199. Arthur Unger (Bksf), 661.323.5569. Mary Ann Lockhart (PMC), 661.242.0432. Ara Marderosian (Kernville), 760.378.4574.

Chapter ExCom Meetings: All Sierra Club members are always welcome to attend these meetings. Call 661.323.822.4371 to confirm all meeting dates as well as location and time.


STAYING INFORMED:Join our KERN-NEWS & KERN FORUM e-mail lists at: http://

kernkaweah.sierraclub.org Submit articles (your own or suggestions for reprints) to The

Roadrunner at [email protected]. To contact Marjorie Bell, the editor, by phone, call 661.322.4891.

The Roadrunner is printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper.

The Roadrunner Non-Profit Org.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPermit No. 498Bakersfield, CA

2815 La Cresta Dr.Bakersfield, CA 93305-1718

Forest Talk

Two days in the forestDoes wonders for me.I pause and everythingThere talks back to meWhen I listen,The sights, the sounds, the smells. One small tree spoke the loudest,Barely eighteen inches tall,Maybe a year or two old,A cedar growing out of a rockWith no visible soil at its roots. I stood there gazing at it,Amazed at what it was doing,Amazed at its determinationAnd then it spoke:“Do you not seeThe same in yourself,Your own beliefIn the strength within you?” I stepped back,Startled by the question,Not certain that I had heard it.Then the tree spoke again,“You would be amazedAt who you could beAnd what you could doIf you believed in yourself”;I thought I heard a slight chuckle,And the forest breathed a soft “amen.” —Donnel Lester

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SIERRA CLUB ELECTIONS In accordance with the Sierra Club bylaws, annual chapter and group elections are required in the fourth quarter of each year to elect replacement Executive Committee (ExCom) members for those whose two year terms are expiring. All members of the chapter are eligible to participate in the chapter election process (and group members in the group election process). Each ballot must contain the membership number of the voter; membership numbers are located above your name on the Roadrunner address label or on your membership card. There are two spaces for couples so that each person can vote if both are members.

Kern-Kaweah Chapter Executive Committee 2009 electionNominations for the Chapter ExCom have been received by the Chapter Nominating Committee and are shown below. Your ballot voting selections (no more than four) may be submitted to the Election Committee (ElCom) by mailing them to the Kern-Kaweah Chapter Election Committee, 1626 19th Street, Suite #3, Bakersfield, CA 93301 in an unmarked envelope placed inside another envelope. Ballots will not be accepted after Dec. 1, 2009.

Kern-Kaweah Executive Committee 2009 Election CandidatesInstructions: Check the column to the left of the candidate you wish to vote (a maximum of four) for. Cast your completed ballot using the instructions above.

Member Number(s) #_____________________

( ) ( ) Arthur Unger

( ) ( ) Georgette Theotig

( ) ( ) Peter Clum

_______________________Write-in Candidate

_______________________ Write-in Candidate

Kaweah Group BallotElect no more than two persons. Mail ballot by Dec. 1 to:Pam Clark631 North “G” St.Porterville, CA 93257

Member Number(s) # _____________________

( ) ( ) Diane Jetter

________________________Write-in Candidate

Mineral King Group BallotVote for no more than five candidates for office.By Dec. 1, mail ballot to:Sierra Club MKGP O Box 3543Visalia, CA 93278

Member Number(s) #______________________

( ) ( ) Beverly Garcia( ) ( ) Richard Garcia( ) ( ) Dave Keller( ) ( ) Brian Newton( ) ( ) Janet Wood

________________________Write-in Candidate

Owens Peak Group Ballot

Send to: Dennis Burge 624 Randall St. Ridgecrest, CA 93555

Member Number(s) #______________________( ) ( ) Steve Smith( ) ( ) Dennis Burge

_______________________ Write-in Candidate

Remember: All members are allowed to vote for both Executive Committee candidates and group candidates. All ballots are due back to their respective addresses by Dec. 1, 2009.

Group leaders who did not send ballots to the Roadrunner for publication should contact their group membersto give further informationon open leadershippositions.

november-december 2009 roadrunner newsletter, kern-kaweah sierrra club

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