Letters to the Editor
Opinion
Published: December 14, 2012
Christmas Parade
To the Editor:
What a beautiful day for a Christmas Parade!
The weather, the workers, the participants, and the crowd that lined the streets; it was great! What a wonderful sight to behold. “Small town Americana” at its grandest. I just love it!!
A great big thank you to the Santa Paula Optimist Club, parade coordinator Ron Merson, Peggy Kelly and the Santa Paula Times, and all who helped make this Santa Paula tradition such a success. It was a privilege and an honor to serve as Grand Marshal. My family and I had a blast! Many thanks!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Ken, Gloria, Adam, James, Zoey & Dillan Ary
Santa Paula
An amazing parallel
To the Editor:
In the November 28 issue of the Star, there is an interesting article about Port Hueneme’s Police Chief, Kathleen Sheehan, being placed on administrative leave by the City Manager. Here we have a striking parallel with Santa Paula’s former Police Chief, Steve MacKinnon, being placed on administrative leave by Santa Paula’s City Manager, Jamie Fontes. Because both were cited as being personnel matters, few details were released by the respective City Managers, but there seems to be similarities between the two cases. One thing that is significantly different between the two cities is that there is no apparent movement in any Port Hueneme Chief’s fan club to oust the city manager for doing his job, as was the case in Santa Paula, and shades of the Santa Paula movement continue even today in that city.
Government officials are hired to do according to certain rules. “Likeability” of and by itself shouldn’t be a reason for judging whether the employee is abiding by the law and established rules. I hope that all of the citizen of Santa Paula will shift their support to Jamie Fontes, who has done, and is doing an excellent job for the City. Santa Paula has so much potential, but it requires the excellent leadership demonstrated by the current Council and City Manager to realize its potential. Let’s hope this quality leadership continues so that Santa Paula will be recognized as the great city it is.
Larry Sagely
Ventura
A word of thanks
To the Editor:
I would like to say a word of thanks to Fred Robinson for his honest, responsible service on our Santa Paula City Council.
Fred sought openness in government, insisting that all Council committee meetings be open to the press and public.
He saw the need to demand quality and common sense in all community development. As one example, he joined with other responsible council members to insist upon vast improvements in the recently completed Cabrillo project. It was scaled back from a 150 unit 4-story monstrosity, which had been green-lighted by a prior council, to the much better 90 units recently constructed between Santa Barbara and Main Streets. Even the developer realizes that it’s better.
Santa Paula will always be a better place because this fine man came our way.
Delton Lee Johnson
Santa Paula
To Fred Robinson
To the Editor:
You were a very understanding City Council member for four years. You talked and listened to individuals, their problems, their praise or just a visit with grace. You thanked others, laughed at a good joke and were always there at fundraisings and social gatherings and the Chamber mixers. Good people don’t go away and we will see more of you as time goes by.
When you saw me in uniform on the street or traffic control you would say thanks. If you run for any office again, you have my vote. Thank you for your service Fred.
Ken Zimmet
Santa Paula
Best wishes and good luck to you Fred
To the Editor:
Well Fred, what can I say and tell you? Well, what I can say and tell you is best wishes and good luck to you for all of the good work and for all of what you have done and what you also did for the City of Santa Paula by being on the Santa Paula City Council.
You did a marvelous job, and a very good one, too. And for all of what you did for all of us, you did what was expected of you and that is put Santa Paula where it’s at; and by putting Santa Paula where it’s at you made it a very good place to live, to shop, and to visit, too.
We all are very proud of you for doing what you did for us, and that is serve us. And we all are very proud of you for what you stood for, and that was serving the City of Santa Paula and serving the community, citizens and residents of the City of Santa Paula.
And you can be very proud of what you did and you could also be very proud of what you accomplished. And Sharon, you too can be proud of what Fred did for the City of Santa Paula by being on the Santa Paula City Council, by serving the City of Santa Paula.
I know one thing that both of you won’t miss is sometimes Fred leaving home for the Council meetings so they could start early and getting home very, very late at night from some of these late nighters. And I know that Fred will also miss saying hello to all of the people that he sees.
But I do know one thing, Fred, is that if you want to run for a second time around by running for the City Council for the City of Santa Paula again, well you could like Rick Cook did, and try to win a second successful second time around like Rick did. And if so, then you can ask Rick Cook if he wants to be your campaign manager, and that’s if you decide to run for a second time around, and that’s if Sharon will permit you to do that, which I know she will.
Well, you know, to let you know that I know it will be strange to not go to the Council meetings as a councilman any more, but I do know that one thing that I want to tell you is best wishes and good luck to you Fred. And I hope that you consider a second time around to run for City Council again on the City of Santa Paula City Council for the City of Santa Paula. Thank you very much, Fred, thank you.
John Bravo
Santa Paula
This is what you need to do
To the Editor:
To the City of Santa Paula City Council, here are a couple of things that you need to take care of now that we got a new City Council, and this is what you need to do:
1) You need to find a brand new Police Chief to run the Santa Paula Police Department. This is something that you have been wanting to do for a very, very long time. Ishmael is doing such a very good job; I don’t know why you don’t consider him as the brand new Police Chief by taking on the job.
But I also know that I’m sure that he may not want the job and do the job as the brand new Police Chief as well by taking on a devious taskforce as what is expected of the chief. And I’m sure he may have his reasons for not wanting the job, if he didn’t want it, by saying no I don’t want to do the job as the brand new Police Chief. I’m sure that he might have his reasons to not want the job.
But whatever you get, let’s just make sure that they will fulfill and perform the duties and the job just as the two previous Police Chiefs did just before Steve arrived and came on the scene and on board; and they were the likes of former Police Chiefs Walt Adair and our very own councilman and Mayor Bob Gonzales, who know what the duties and the job as the Police Chief requires.
But no matter who you get, just make sure that it will be one that we all can depend and rely on to do the job.
2) You need to do something about these sewer and water rates. They are getting so high it’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous!
I’ll say it again, it’s ridiculous that we as the community citizens and residents of the City of Santa Paula have to pay for so high sewer and water rates that are over $100 a month. That’s ridiculous, and you people have been putting this off by suspending this issue of the sewer and water rates and everything for not just a very long time, but for some time now.
And again I’m going to say it one more time – that’s ridiculous, because this whole thing of charging the community citizens and the residents of Santa Paula over $100 a month on the sewer and water rates. That’s taking advantage of these people – the low-income, the unemployed, and the ones that are living on a fixed income, not to mention the businesses such as yourselves, the City of Santa Paula.
You probably get yours free by getting a discount for being on the City Council. Well, now that we got a new City of Santa Paula City Council you need to do something about this issue, combined as one the sewer and water rates, now that you got a very familiar person and re-elected Jim Tovias and a new team member on the City Council, too, and that is my good buddy and friend Martin Hernandez, who I know will do what he said that he would do as a new City Council member, and that is bring these rates down for us.
And I know he will do the job as well as Jim will by bringing down these rates so it won’t cost so much. Otherwise some people of Santa Paula will move out of town and find other places to live where the rates are not so high.
Well let’s try and bring them down so that way people won’t have to pay so much, so it won’t cost so much, so the community, citizens and the residents won’t have to pay so much either. Thank you.
John Bravo
Santa Paula
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