Highlights, lowlights from the week’s news

HIT >> It’s seldom that a business and its owner earn “living legend” status.

Scotty’s Landing, and owner John Scott, passed that milestone a long time ago.

News that Scotty’s Landing is up for sale came as a bit of a jolt this week, largely because there’s barely a person in these parts who doesn’t have a good number of favorite memories about the place — be it live music, a pit-stop after a river float or (maybe especially) those prime rib dinners.

But, everyone deserves to eventually take a break, and Scott has more than earned his.

“I’m trying to retire and relax but I also want somebody else to have it, take it over so this can keep going — that’s why I’m trying to sell it before I die — it’s historical landmark,” Scott said.

As noted in an E-R story seven years ago, Scott is more than a well-known figure inside the restaurant. His knowledge of the river is not only legendary, it has saved countless lives: “For decades, Scott has been known as the man to call when people need help on the Sacramento River. The Butte County Sheriff’s Office, the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office and the Hamilton City Fire Department are known to call Scott when people floating on tubes get into trouble and because Scott has a boat always tied to his dock, he beats other rescuers to most emergencies.”

No one person can ever replace John Scott. Here’s hoping the right investors accept this challenge and keep his grand venture alive and flourishing for decades to come.

MISS >> We have to ask — why in the world don’t more people vote?

Could the state of California possibly make things any easier for you than they already are?

You get a ballot in the mail. It includes a return envelope. You don’t even need a stamp. Short of sending a person or robot to your home and having them put a pen into your hand and forcing you to sit down at the table and fill it out, how much easier could it possibly get?

And yet, many people still just … don’t.

Look at the Chico City Council races as an example. We have more than 100,000 residents of Chico — but how many people bothered to vote in the four district council races? Just a few thousand?

It’s pathetic. But, considering the levels of partisanship and outright hatred that dominate so many of the local races, it can’t be called a surprise either. Many people are just fed up with the whole mess.

HIT >> We often recognize outstanding athletic achievements in this space. This week we’re presenting one of the most amazing to date.

The Chico State’s men’s cross country team, under the direction of coach Gary Towne, won its 20th straight California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship on Saturday, with six Wildcats earning All-CCAA honors. The streak is the longest in any CCAA sport.

The women’s cross country team, also coached by Towne, finished in second place behind Stanislaus State but has won 16 of the last 20 CCAA titles, finishing second in the other four.

That’s 36 combined championships and four second-place finishes in 40 tries.

It’s one of the best homegrown success stories we know of. Towne, who is in his 27th year as cross country head coach, is a Corning High graduate who received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Chico State in 1991 and his master’s in physical education in 1996. He’s brought out the best in athletes ever since, coaching an incredible 72 AllAmericans along the way.

He’s especially proud of the team’s family atmosphere, saying “Once a part of the Wildcat family, you’re a part forever.”

With a tradition like this, who would ever want to leave?

MISS >> Lest we sound like we’re being too hard on Butte County voters, we must point out that not too far up the road, things are even worse.

Widespread ridiculous theories about “rigged elections” became so commonplace in Shasta County that Cathy Darling Allen, the clerk and registrar of voters, asked Redding police to escort her and her staff to their vehicles. That’s a first in her 18 years on the job. She said election workers had been followed in their cars and some people even slept outside the office “to prevent anyone from tampering with ballots.”

According to a Los Angeles Times story, the day before the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, one man stood before the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and said “When the ballot box is gone, there is only the cartridge box. You have made bullets expensive. But luckily for you, ropes are reusable.”

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Why anybody would want to run for public office in the face of such abhorrent behavior is beyond us.