Sunday was the 66th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944. It went by mostly ignored by all of us, no flags, and no mention, even from the pulpits.

Also, on Sunday, I finished Richard Maybury’s book, “World War II, the Rest of the Story,” which I heartily recommend everyone, from 14 to 100, procure and read carefully.

No offense to the “Greatest Generation,” but Maybury maintains that Normandy was unnecessary: Nazi Germany’s goose was cooked on Sept. 11, 1941, long before Pearl Harbor, when the first snow fell in Russia and the German army had yet to reach Moscow. Winter has always been Russia’s secret ally. (Funny how that date keeps popping up in history.)

Rep. Mike Thompson had an opinion piece in The Triplicate on May 15 recommending no more offshore drilling for California. As a retired civil engineer with 20 years’ experience in the oil industry, I respectfully disagree and provide the following rebuttal opinion.

Rep. Thompson contends that the risks of offshore drilling are too great and that it should not be done off California. He further contends there is not sufficient oil off California to justify drilling and that an incredible amount of marine habitat could be damaged beyond repair. He also contends that tourism and fishing would be hurt. He opines that California’s future is in renewable energy recognizing that this is decades away.

There is no bad choice in the race for Del Norte County clerk/recorder.

Voters can opt to retain acting Clerk/Recorder Alissia Northrup, who took on the role after the resignation of Vicki Frazier last year. Or they can go with challenger Allen Winogradov, currently the county’s assistant director of information technology.

Northrup may be the safer choice. She’s off to a solid start in her new role of overseeing elections, being the keeper of public documents and serving as the county’s public administrator. She’s been working in the Clerk/Recorder’s Office since 2003 and is already smoothly supervising a staff that provides a wide array of public services.

“This is not 1965. The oil and gas companies can drill offshore now with all the new technology they have and do it safely and not cause accidents,” a constituent wrote to me recently in an email. 

“Drill baby drill” was the call from across the country not that long ago. If you didn’t agree that the government should open more offshore area for drilling and exploration you were labeled anti-American, an environmental extremist or worse, a socialist, the latter being the label of choice by some for anyone that disagrees with them on anything.

Drilling offshore is and has been going on for sometime. And from day one, drilling proponents have said that “new technologies make it safe” and that oil spills shouldn’t be of concern.  We heard it again last month when Sarah Palin spoke at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Louisiana.  

If you find the race for superintendent of the Del Norte County Office of Education confusing, you’re not alone.

Jan Moorehouse, who is the appointed superintendent of the Del Norte County Unified School District, also holds the elected post of county superintendent. She’s being challenged for it in the June 8 primary by Dave Zuber, a retiring school principal who has been overseeing some of the alternative education programs run through the county office.

Why are there two school superintendent positions in Del Norte County?

The race for Del Norte County sheriff/coroner is an intriguing contest between an incumbent running on his record as he seeks a third term and a challenger who questions whether that record is good enough.

Sheriff Dean Wilson contends he’s done a solid job of deploying his resources to protect all of Del Norte County in the face of tight budgets, a task that could be complicated by even tighter budgets to come as the state government continues to struggle. This is no time to put a new leader at the helm, according to Wilson and his supporters.

His challenger, Brian Clemann, said there’s room for improvement in interagency cooperation that could make residents safer, especially in the outlying areas of Del Norte. He has worked for the California Highway Patrol for more than 10 years, and before that was a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office.