OUR VIEW
Don’t sit back and let the local Chinese culture fade out in Marysville
Looks like local folks who are concerned about helping preserve the history and culture of Chinatown and the Chinese community have gained something of a reprieve. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t something to be concerned about.
A couple weeks ago, a polite alarm was struck by members of The Friends of Marysville Bok Kai Temple and Historic Chinatown. Membership in the organization has been decreasing and board members wanted to get other people in the community interested.
“We are at a place now where a decision must be made to continue or disband, and you are encouraged to attend the next meeting to discuss this important issue,” said vice president Billie Single in a story a while back. Active membership, she said, was at an all-time low and they worried there might not be enough participation to keep going.
The group was organized in 2000 expressly to help preserve the temple and work with other groups to support various cultural sites. They helped raise money in conjunction with the Marysville Chinese Community, Inc., and helped complete projects such as roof repair and stabilization of murals, etc.
But recently ... they were dwindling in numbers. They had no president, or secretary, and membership was down. Don’t forget that this group was organized partly because the local Chinese community has dwindled over the years and needed help maintaining local events and buildings.
Groups that came together included the Chinese Community Inc., Marysville-peikang Sister Cities Association, Bok Kai Parade Committee, Citizens for Historic Marysville Preservation, and the Yuba County Historical Society.
The Friends group provided $80,000 for renovations of the temple and last year worked to restore the Chinese school, it was reported.
Single advised that there is lots more work to do and she didn’t want the group to shut down. A special meeting was called for last Monday. It went well.
Single reported that some 20 interested people attended, in addition to half a dozen or so longtime members.
That’s a good first step. Their next meeting is Feb. 11 and they need to fill positions on their board of directors. The meeting (second Monday of each month) is in the Mary Covillaud Room upstairs at City Hall from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. (at 526 C St. – enter through the Police Department on Sixth Street).
It’s important that Marysville maintain its ties to the Chinese community. If you can help out, good for you.
The latest proof that Yuba County folk had a stroke or two of genius when they created the Yuba Water Agency and made then-barely-believable financial arrangements for New Bullard’s Bar Dam: the agency just approved a plan to transfer its property tax revenues back to the Yuba County general fund: $500,000 a year for 10 years.
The agency will get along pretty well off the revenues realized from the sale of electricity generated from the dam and powerhouse, which they took over from Pacific Gas & Electric in 2016.
The money routed back to the general fund can be used as needed by county government – probably sticking to present ratios of around 70 percent for public safety, it was reported.
With the addition of Measure K (1 cent sales tax increase for unincorporated portions of the county) funds, the county should be sitting pretty.
Our View editorials represent the opinion of the Appealdemocrat and its editorial board and are edited by the publisher and/or editor. Members of the editorial board include: Publisher Glenn Stifflemire and Editor Steve Miller.