Sept. 25, 2012 — Hopefully everyone — planning commission members, county employees, members of the board of supervisors and the citizens involved in the dispute between Lassen County and Bullseye Recycling can find a way to take a deep breath, relax and begin anew.

Lassen County District 2 Supervisor Jim Chapman expressed his concern at the board’s Tuesday, Sept. 18 meeting about the process that had been followed and how he believed the dispute between the county and recycling business seemingly had become a personal battle on both sides.

He pointed out the staff report on the possible revocation of the recycler’s use permit was several inches thick and revealed both sides had tumbled down a slippery slope and made matters worse.

District 3 Supervisor Larry Wosick chimed in and complained the county’s staff report contained factual errors, including numerous references to the facility as an auto wrecker when it was, in fact, simply crushing vehicles to be recycled. Wosick noted that assertion by county staff was just plain false.

Now is not the time to take sides in this dispute or to cast blame on anyone. I’m not interested in making anyone wrong or playing the blame game — where’s the virtue in that? Everyone involved apparently has found a way to move forward and resolve his or her differences, and that’s a good thing.

Chapman even recommended county staff should try harder to find a way to make things work for business owners as they move their projects through the system.

One thing’s abundantly clear — when there’s a dispute, it’s frequently a time for cooler heads to prevail. Treating others with respect is always the best policy in any human endeavor. When a negative emotion bubbles to the surface, we all should recognize it’s probably time for a little attitude adjustment.

Let’s learn our lesson and move on.