Couch's Corner - Dec. 12, 2019

As I met with my staff to discuss this week’s Couch’s Corner, we found it hard to pick a subject to write about, not because so little had happened, but because so much was happening. So we decided to quickly touch on some of the things that happened this week. You may get dizzy because we’ve been to a lot of places.

For instance, Friday night you may have seen me at the Delano Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting. Art Armendariz of my staff joined me for this Christmas celebration. I love these events because the community comes together, I get to talk to all kinds of people, and I get to hear from you.

While Art and I attended the Delano event, Sal Moretti and Zack Wakefield of my staff filled in for me at the Buttonwillow Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting. While I can’t be everywhere at once, as a team, we can be more than one place at a time, and we try.

Caring for the less fortunate is a signature trait of District 4. This past week, staff and I were in Weedpatch distributing clothes we’ve collected from our District 4 Clothing Drive to needy families. We’re working with state Sen. Melissa Hurtado on a baby food drive, and while we’re at it, we’ve supported Rep. TJ Cox on his Immigrant Ag Labor Bill, called the “Blue Card” bill, that was in the news lately, that can help farmers and farmworkers alike in Kern County.

In Wasco and Lamont, we worked with Sheriff’s Activity League to make sure they had additional funding (from our office) to help develop the cooperative relationships between the deputies and the youths that bodes well for all of our futures. We also met with the Boys and Girls Club of Kern County to find ways to build those programs for our youth in District 4. And we met with McFarland’s mayor to discuss cooperative efforts to improve McFarland, including some issues with the water bill that I heard of when I recently met with a group of McFarland residents.

We’ve also scheduled the next Delano Homeless Collaborative meeting for Thursday, Dec. 19, to discuss state funding we’re working hard to secure that will allow Delano to provide improvements to their homeless problem. We’re doing this without the fanfare and controversy you may have heard of in Bakersfield, because we, as a community, are working together.

On Dec. 2, I also sent staff to Lost Hills to discuss community improvements that we’re actively engaged in supporting and funding. That same night I was in Arvin at their Christmas Parade. Also during that same day, we were evaluating a potential property acquisition that we initiated that is part of an effort to build a community center in Mexican Colony, near Shafter.

All this while checking in with county departments to make sure potholes, illegal dumping, stray animals and other problems our constituents report are being fixed. We meet regularly with these departments to check in of these referrals.

There is so much more. I told you you’d get dizzy. I do. It’s an around-the-clock, seven-days-a-week challenge to be at all the places where we need to be and to work on all the things our district needs. But it’s a labor of love, and I look forward to this type of schedule each and every week.

We’ll be reporting more in the future on another initiative this week that is, trying to get grant funding to improve the Veterans’ Memorial at the entrance to Delano Memorial Park. We’ll also be reporting soon on the latest Keep Kern Beautiful developments. Volunteer groups and community partners are being trained and organized as we speak. This initiative is a District 4 initiative that will help all of us in District 4 and Kern County as a whole as we affiliate with the national Keep America Beautiful program and learn new steps to beautify and create community pride in our neighborhoods.

As you can see, we work hard to represent you and meet with all of you in District 4 all while conducting the general business of the county as well.

Got any questions? Give us a call at 661-868-3680 or email us at [email protected]. Have a great week.

David Couch represents the Shafter and Wasco area on the Kern County Board of Supervisors. His opinions are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the paper or its management.