Darn the dams, full speed ahead

In the shadow of Iron Gate Dam, one Siskiyou  entrepreneur boldly presses on.

By Phil Hayworth
Pioneer Press Staff Writer

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones , CA

530-468-5355

mailto:pioneerp@sisqtel.net

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Page W1, Column 1

Dams coming down? Toxic algae? Forget about it, says Jim Burney.

The 77-year-old owner of the Fish and Hook Restaurant about eight miles east of Hornbrook just built a high-end park for recreational vehicles on the banks of the Klamath River, complete with high-speed Internet, plumbing hookups, showers and sewage. He's built a road winding to a peak overlooking his 580-acre riverfront spread where a newly carved helicopter pad will allow well-heeled guests at his planned 15-room "lodge" to be whisked in and out at a whim.

And it's all in the shadow of Iron Gate dam. Burney knows all too well the controversy surrounding the dam - the blue-green algae, the endangered Coho salmon and the power company's billion-dollar lawsuits.

But the former head of the San Mateo Chamber of Commerce said he's "not going anywhere" and that, come hell or high water, he'll press on.

"Hey, if they bring down the dam, I'll be in a flood plain," he said. "On the other hand, I'll be the first guy up there to move all that sediment. Can you imagine the quality of that soil?"

Burney is as cool as the other side of the pillow when it comes to facing and working through difficulties. So Siskiyou County 's growing welfare budget concerns him.

"Have you seen the budget for this place?" he asked. "Sixty-eight percent of the budget goes to welfare. That's disgusting. The question people should be asking is, 'What do we want this county to look like in the future?'" he said.

He said the College of the Siskiyous in Yreka should play a more important role in driving the county's economy. For example, they should offer a hospitality degree, he said, and find ways to keep young people in the county. He said a lack of leadership from businesses, citizens and the board of supervisors are turning the county into a welfare state.

The key to the county's future is to instill pride, he said.

"Back in Redwood City , we lost our timber industry and the government moved in," he said.

Things looked bleak, he recalled, but the city's leadership got together and started a Redwood City-pride movement, complete with buttons and slogans. People suddenly started helping each other, painting neighbors houses, beautifying the city squares.

Today, he said, "there are at least eight Fortune 500 companies there" and, instead of depending on government handouts, those businesses pump dollars into civic projects that make it one of the most desirable places to live in the state.

If Burney were 20 years younger, he'd probably run for a seat on the county board. Heck, he might still do it. He just can't stay at home and settle into retirement, he said. Retirement is, perhaps, one of the few things at which he's a complete failure.

"I'm not very good at retirement," he said.

Indeed, Burney could be wearing flip-flops and shorts, sipping on a Pina Colada while native girls rubbed exotic lotions along his 6 foot, 3 inch frame. After all, he's rich. He's built multi-million-dollar homes in Hawaii, lived in a 10,000 square-foot mansion down the street from Oracle software founder Larry Ellison, and sold more Dodges off the lots of his many car dealerships than he's had hot dinners.

But there always seems to be one more project on his plate before he puts out to pasture.

He said he's got to be careful about getting involved in larger projects that will take too much time. That's why he said he'll start construction on this dream lodge right away, and that the permits are already in place.

 "Hey, I'll be dead in five years!" he said.

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