Letters to the Editor

March 15, 2002
Opinion
Santa Paula needs our protection To the Editor:Santa Paula is a quaint little town that continuously attracts movie studios and people wanting to buy homes here because of our unique family oriented little town. Our town has a charming environment that we are all proud of with a great environment to raise our families with neighborhoods that are safe for our children to play and grow, a variety of churches and places of worship, our downtown is family friendly and most of our schools are doing a good job of educating our children by putting their education first. This is as it should be - so why would Santa Paula High School pay out between $15,000 to $20,000 for a big city look inefficient sign when their students need more books and an updated adequate computer lab to meet the needs of our young adults as they are preparing to go out into the world as the future professionals, parents and leaders of their new world? I find this most perplexing and disturbing the way they went about making this decision, they chose to completely disregard that the citizens of Santa Paula passed an ordinance to specifically ban all animated moving signs. They have pointed out to me that they are immune from our local ordinances, but also the City of Santa Paula is immune to this ordinance but they have told us that they choose to follow the ordinance since it was the decision of the citizens of Santa Paula. This sign does not fit into our environment, is an eyesore at our 100 year old school and is 99% ineffective as you can only read the sign if you are on Fifth Street, if you try to see it as you are driving by you would undoubtedly cause and auto accident or worse yet hit one of the many students that use the entrance that is 10 feet from the sign. We owe our founding fathers and our future generations more than this - we want to protect and cherish our town of Santa Paula!Gerirose SkirvinSanta PaulaHonoredby your trustTo the Editor:I am deeply honored to have been elected District Attorney of this great county and want to thank the voters for their trust and confidence. I will always work hard to protect everyone in this community by running an office of principle and character that vigorously seeks justice.I also want to congratulate Ron Bamieh on his campaign. While this was a hard fought election, the public debate about the District Attorney’s Office was healthy, and I greatly appreciate his offer of assistance.Words are not adequate to express my gratitude for the support of the countless volunteers who gave their time, resources and energy to my campaign. Our victory is a tribute to their dedication and kindness. Above all, I want to thank my family for their patience and unyielding support.As I look forward, I am truly excited about the opportunity to serve as your District Attorney. May I always make you proud.Gregory D. TottenVenturaWDC Talent Show 2002To the Editor:Yet again I am amazed by the generosity of the people of this community! The 2002 Middle School Talent Show, a Washington, D.C. History Trip fundraiser, was last Thursday evening, and yet again, a great success.Not only was the audience entertained by great acts by Middle School students, but they were also enticed to buy homemade pies and other goodies by our famous pie auctioneer Don Johnson! Don, if you ever need another job I think Christie’s, the London auctioneers, are looking....Don was one of many people who helped make this night of fundraising so successful. Nancy Malvasio, Jim Garfield, Patti Harrison and Bob Gonzales all gave up their time to judge. Randy Miller was the techie of the evening, making sure sound and light sounded like we were on a Hollywood production stage! Tammy Mosby was our Talent Show chair and worked with all the acts to make sure the kids would be entertaining, but still realize the evening was supposed to be FUN!Tammy was just one of many parents who helped. I would also like to make a special mention to Judy Phelps, who organized our first ever Silent Auction. So many local businesses donated to this, I cannot mention them by name for fear of leaving someone out! You know who you are...thank you, thank you, thank you!These parents are just some of whom I have had the pleasure of working with for this History Trip. As we wind down, I want to thank you all. I would like to say a special thanks to Peggy Fox and Donna Barnes, who have been at Isbell almost every Friday since September counting money turn-ins, to Debbie Kohr who chaired several fundraisers, to Kathleen Shuel on her second year in a row of fundraising and chaperoning, to Bob Leidig, our treasurer, Pat Untiedt from the school district, and to everyone else who have made this year so enjoyable! I wish I could mention everyone by name, but I don’t think there is enough room in the paper! I look forward to working with you all again, on promotions, school dances, and all the way till our kids graduate from high school!Finally, a special thank you to Mary Stillman, the 8th grade teacher whose vision makes this all possible. We are so glad you have never stopped believing in this trip.To all our supporters: look for your postcards from Washington, D.C. in May!Val OliverFundraising ChairpersonWashington, D.C. History Trip 2002S. P. historyTo the Editor:We recently read in the Times about the “revitalization” of the S-P on South Mountain.It was cleared off in about 1969 by the Boy Scouts of Troop 305 which was sponsored by the Methodist Church. Troop leaders were Boyd Strange and Sheridan Wright.The Scouts we remember were Mike Saviers, David Melton and our son Jeffrey Tubbs. They hiked up and, at a designated time, waved as our family stood in the front yard (with binoculars) watching.
We just thought folks would like to know we love our town!Vernon and Helen TubbsSanta PaulaGood businessTo the Editor:I would like to express how thankful I am to Family Motors on 126 at Hallock. I have gone looking for cars and they were the only ones who would be willing to help me out. I was so impressed at how they treated me like family. But even more impressed at all the people who took time to talk to me. If you are looking for good service go see any one of these people: Matt, Jose, Mike, Oscar and Alexus. And when you do, make sure to welcome them to our community with open arms. May God bless you so very much. And let’s not forget the auto tech, Roger.Fernando and Michelle GarciaSanta PaulaAm I missing something in this equationTo the Editor:Am I missing something in this equation: Latinos make up the Majority of Santa Paula’s population plus At-large/city-wide voting equals diluted Latino vote? Is this some kind of new math? Is it possible that not all of the Majority’s population votes, period? And if that’s the case, why not? Aren’t they registered? (They can be, if they’re legal residents.) Aren’t the ballots written in Spanish? (I think they are.)Are they able to read? (If not, join FLAIR or take an interpreter.) I think the reasons why people don’t vote is an important issue, and dividing one of the smallest cities in the county into 5 different voting districts isn’t going to fix it. Not even into two districts. Is Ventura divided into different voting districts? Thousand Oaks? Oxnard? Surely the vote/racial representation must be “diluted” in those large towns, too, if it’s so “rampant” in Santa Paula. So, why isn’t the DOJ investigating/suing them? Are all races of their towns equally represented by the members seated on their councils? If not, maybe someone had better notify the DOJ to start an investigation.And what happens if we’re divided into “voting districts”, but I can’t stand the candidate in mine and wouldn’t vote for that person if they were the last choice on the planet? Where’s my voting rights? Do I have to vote for that person anyway, or do I just not bother to show up at my polling place that year? Or maybe I just sell my home and move to the district that holds the candidate of my choice each year. And my, but doesn’t the term “voting district” make Santa Paula sound so “big city”? Well, here’s a news flash: we aren’t a big city! We’re little, ole hometown Santa Paula. Come on, City Council! This is a ridiculous idea for such a small town, I don’t care what the DOJ says. You’ve wasted too much money on this issue, and whoever instigated this whole mess in the first place should be ashamed.Councilmembers Laura and John wanted public input. Well, here’s mine: you want Santa Paula to be united? Then, don’t divide us! If you do, then you might as well put “Welcome to Santa Paula, the Small Town of Big Whiners” at our city limits.Jan AllenSanta PaulaHumane Society of Ventura CountyTo the Editor:Gov. Gray Davis recently announced the cancellation of a statewide program that paid Californians to scrap older vehicles that did not meet smog standards.This program paid up to $1,000 per vehicle in an effort to help remove the worst polluters from the road. Nearly 50,000 vehicles were either scrapped or repaired in a year and a half.With this valuable program gone, what are the alternatives?The Humane Society of Ventura County, in conjunction with the Car Program, can offer tax deductions for the fair market value of any car donated to us.Newer vehicles that meet smog standards are resold. Older vehicles that do not are scrapped. The proceeds from the resale or scrapping of these vehicles go to support our efforts to help animals.Anyone with an automobile, boat, motorcycle, trailer etc. they no longer need can contact us at 656-5031 to arrange the donation.A tax deduction, cleaner air and the opportunity to support an organization that has been serving our area since 1932 is a win-win situation for everyone.Tim DewarDirector of Public Relations



Site Search

E-Subscribe

Subscribe

E-SUBSCRIBE
Call 805 525 1890 to receive the entire paper early. $50.00 for one year.

webmaster