A reality show well worth seeing

Elizabeth Gabriel

(Updated: Thursday, October 09, 2008, 6:47 PM)

Lest any of you think the members of the Board of Supervisors who govern Madera County are a bunch of cold fish sitting down there in their government palace in Madera, sign on to the county's website and listen to the discussion on item 9 from the Sept. 30 meeting.

Item 9 was titled "Relocation of the existing North Fork Fire Station to the mill site."

It fell to Resource Management Agency Administration (that is an umbrella for services such as planning) Director Ray Beach to tell the board that it either has to come up with all the money to build the new station or put the project on hold.

Because of logistics, I have to watch the meetings after the fact on my computer. But even through the screen, there seemed to be an ever-increasing level of tension in the board chambers as Beach reiterated the facts, figures a considerably condensed history of the reason North Fork needs a fire station and the efforts to put one on the old saw mill site.

Once he was through, members of the community spoke. They were impassioned and upset that the fire station, which has been discussed for 10 years and worked on -- hard -- for five years, might be set aside.

Then there was a pause and District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler of North Fork claimed the microphone. I could swear his voice was quavering with emotion.

"I'm trying to be calm but ..." he began.

He left no doubt he thought North Fork was getting dumped on -- once again.

"Unbelievable," he said. "I'm embarrassed to be a supervisor right now."

He continued with the trials of the existing firehouse, the trials of trying to come to an agreement with the county on the new firehouse and concluded, "Somehow, some way, the board has to back me on this. (There has to be) somehow, some way to get this done."

Watch the broadcast. Watch Wheeler's posture, the look on his face. Listen to his voice.

The fire station for North Fork is not just an item on the agenda to him. It is something he cares about. You can see that.

There was another silence, then Max Rodriguez, Fourth District, Madera said what everyone in the room must have been thinking. "That was a passionate speech."

In the end, the board did decide to back Wheeler on getting this done.

That's politics on the local level.

To watch, go to www.madera-county.com and click on "board of supervisors meetings" link. When it comes up, click on "video" for Sept. 30. Once it loads, go the "jump to" box and select 9. You'll see something worth seeing.