Mike Chapman
Published in April 22, 2003 Editorial Redding Record Searchlight

Here's a passel of attaboys -- or more appropriately, attacowboys -- to Redding's Asphalt Cowboys. Those steadfast, yellow-shirted servers of pancakes and organizers of Rodeo Week activities decidedly toned down their annual publicity kickoff last Tuesday, and for that we're thankful.

The Cowboys' tradition, some 50 years strong, had been to fire blanks from their guns as they rode a trailer through downtown Redding. The commotion would serve notice that it's time to buy tickets for the Cowboys' pancake breakfast, which is served to thousands of people on the Friday morning of Rodeo Week.

This time the group limited its gunfire to the parking lot outside its clubhouse near the Redding Convention Center. Members held a luncheon then took their shots. That was about the extent of it, club member Jim Lamanna said.

Lamanna said downtown was bypassed this year on account of the war in Iraq. Our guess is that the Cowboys also are a little more sensitive because of the ruckus they raised in 2002. Last year, we still were feeling the jitters from 9/11 and it was not the right time to have a trailerful of gun-totin' Cowboys parade through downtown Redding.

As we recall, the police fielded several calls from people worried about a shooter on the loose. One unsuspecting woman on the street heard the shots and took cover behind a car. Another woman in a nearby office building heard the gunfire and worried the shooting was coming from Sequoia Middle School. Memories of Columbine High School weren't that far off last year either.

The unexpected complaints were unfortunate for a group that does so much for the community. Members organize the annual rodeo parade, arrange the Special Kids' Day at the rodeo grounds, entertain us with the mock bank robbery, hold a street dance and stage a children's pet parade among other activities. Last year they raised money to pay for a crime-fighting dog for the Sheriff's Department.

A Cowboys' spokesman last year reasoned the gun-shooting event was needed more than ever to make new residents aware of the group and its traditions. However, newcomers would be the first to become alarmed by the seemingly random gunfire -- blanks or not. It seems as the city's population grows, the better tactic to sell pancake breakfast tickets is through regular channels of media publicity and the plastering of posters.

Lamanna says he's not sure if the downtown publicity stunt will return next year. Our hope is that it doesn't. There are ways to publicize Rodeo Week, like through the recent clubhouse luncheon and resulting media coverage, without unintentionally frightening people downtown.

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