Friday, Jul. 25, 2008

Loose Lips: Wildcats found in Bobcat country

Lips readers, there's been a flurry of wildcat sightings in Merced County. No, not the furry felines found in Europe, Africa and Asia. We're talking the party animals from Chico State, one of the state's top schools known for teaching its graduates the fine art of, um ... socializing.

Lips' latest author, who also attended Chico State, took notice of the trend while reading this summer's alumni magazine, where Merced Mayor Pro Tem John Carlisle was called out at the bottom of page 26 for winning a council seat. Other fun facts: He earned a degree in social welfare in 1971 and then spent 35 years as a probation officer. Way to make the alma mater proud!

Besides Carlisle, Merced Councilman Bill Spriggs, Atwater Mayor Joan Faul and Councilman Joe Rivero have spent stints up north in Chico, making Lips wonder whether the university is a breeding ground for Merced County's political leaders.

The similarities are striking: Chico is off Highway 99 and surrounded by agriculture. Many of its residents complain there isn't much to do. Or is that Merced?

After checking in with the politicos to figure out what's caused the alumni reunion in the two city halls, the conclusion remains as foggy as a student's memory of what happened Saturday night.

Carlisle said he has no idea how it happened, and assured us it was mere coincidence.

Unsatisfied, Lips decided to dig further.

Spriggs offered one hypothesis. The triple-digit summer days spent tubing down the Sacramento River may have killed off brain cells, letting many of the graduates go for public office, the class of '74 grad said.

"We weren't smart enough to wear hats," said Spriggs, who majored in political science.

Like cockroaches, he said, the school's graduates are everywhere. A few are bound to crawl into office.

Chico State does tout that it's easier for graduates to find employment because of their highly refined social skills. The school doesn't necessarily drain more kegs than other campuses -- it's just more organized, Spriggs said. On Thursdays, for example, there are pre-parties to usher in the real weekend partying.

Faul, who got her teaching credential there in 1964, suspects that Chico's strong community bond left many graduates wanting to improve their hometowns.

As for partying? "We enjoyed ourselves," she said. "You were kind of out there by yourself."

Rivero went up to Chico in 1951 to play tackle for the football team and said knowing how to party isn't an essential skill for holding public office. He dropped the pint glass for a canteen after one semester and joined the U.S. Army to go fight communism in the Korean War.

Most of the pols agreed that it'd be all right if Merced became a little more like Chico, proving you can take the student out of the party town, but you can't take the party out of the student.

Celeb parade continues

Move over, Merced Police Chief Russ Thomas -- there's a new cop in town. Well, at least he played one in Hollywood.

None other than "Lethal Weapon" star Danny Glover stopped into the Star Club on Saturday night to catch Cynthia Huddleston and the Juke Joint Jokers. Check out a photo at www.mercedsun-star.com.

Lips heard he's buddies with Huddleston and spent the weekend visiting friends and family. No word on whether silver-screen pard Mel Gibson will also hit town.