A little bit about a lot of things:

•  Gustine’s Chamber of Commerce dinner, awards program and dance was a hit with a full house at the Al Goman Community Center Saturday evening.

As usual.

We always marvel at the turnout for the annual chamber fete, which is among the community’s most popular functions.

Whether people just want to support the chamber, want to be on hand when somebody close to them is receiving a prestigious recognition or simply enjoy a good party (or all of the above), the chamber has found the recipe for success with its dinner and dance.

The award presentation is always a special part of the program, as the chamber recognizes those who go above and beyond in promoting the community.

This year’s Lowell N. Peters Award winner was Fred Souza, who I know primarily through his work as a former council member and mayor of Gustine. The challenges and accomplishments of particular councils and council members tend to fade into the recesses of our memory as we focus on current challenges, but the program reminded me of how many accomplishments Souza was involved in. I was also reminded that Souza has been involved in many other organizations......far more than I ever realized.

I do remember that council meetings were never dull when Souza was serving. He is very analytical and direct and was always willing to openly speak his mind. That candor may not always have earned points among those on the receiving end of his comments (and that was probably me a time or two), but I always appreciated his willingness to call it like he saw it.

A host of other community members were honored Saturday evening; all are richly deserving of the recognition.

I was particularly impressed by the chamber’s decision to honor young adults who are already making a difference in their community through volunteerism.

It is important to acknowledge that, in addition to the many dedicated adults who have spent years giving to our communities, we also have many teens and young adults who are learning the importance (and satisfaction) of community service and helping others.

Well done!

•  I’ve always been a huge fan of the Olympics - particularly the winter Olympics - and the recently-concluded Vancouver Games did not disappoint.

It hardly seems possible that eight years has passed since Salt Lake City hosted the Games. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a hockey game there.....and just soaking in the overall atmosphere surrounding the Games was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

For me, hockey is the “can’t-miss” Olympic sport.

Figure skating and ice dancing are all fine and good but, let’s be honest, is a well-executed triple lutz remotely as exciting as an open-ice check or a highlight-reel goal?

I think not.

This year’s hockey tournament was a true highlight for fans of the sport......great games all the way through, leading up to the memorable gold medal game Sunday. The United States’ run for the gold (in men’s and women’s hockey; yes, girls play hockey too) certainly opened some eyes to the sport.

Even though the host Canadians claimed the gold, that game showcased the sport at its best....only four more years until the puck drops on the next Olympic Games!

•  Water continues to be a contentious issue in California, where the promise of relief for agriculture isn’t always backed up by action.

Farmers in federal water districts such as the Del Puerto District along the I-5 corridor have much at stake but little certainty in the issue......and all this winter’s rain hasn’t done anything to make the situation better.

Last year those growers received 10 percent of their normal allocation; this year’s initial allocation was 5 percent, with the doubtful possibility that the allocation could be increased to 30 percent down the road.

I think it speaks volumes that mind sets have shifted to the point where the possibility of 30 percent of normal is seen in some quarters as good news for agriculture. Certainly better than 5 or 10 percent, but when exactly did “30 percent become 100 percent” of what growers could expect, as one local farmer put it.

Urbanites and environmentalists critical of agricultural would be screaming if their water supplier told them that they had to run their household on 30 percent of the water they would use in a regular year, but for some reason farmers seem to be a convenient target.

Protecting our environment is certainly vital, and I don’t know a single farmer who would disagree.

Farmers in federal districts accept the fact that their water allocations may rarely if ever return to the levels they once could rely upon, but are justifiably frustrated by the lack of parity and logic in the allocations.

Nobody in California is going to have as much water as they would like, but excessive environmental restrictions which produce dubious results should not make agriculture itself an endangered species in some parched regions of the state.