Letters to the Editor 6/10

Shabby shop service

W hile shopping in downtown San Luis Obispo recently, I was saddened at the lack of customer service. Is this economy good enough to be rude to customers? Are jobs so plentiful that clerks can afford to dismiss questions and not say thank you when you leave their store? Or even acknowledge your thank you?  

It amazes me when I ask for help and the answer most often received is, “I don’t know” with a shrug of the shoulders as the clerk walks away. I treat all sales clerks with respect — I’ve been there myself — and when I do run in to a helpful clerk, I immediately tell the manager how pleasant it is to shop in their establishment.

But that hasn’t been the case recently. My out-of-town guests noticed the lack of good service in restaurants, bars, grocery stores, gas stations and stores all around the county. I was very sad to hear that.  

Monica Becker

Garden Farms

Wooden’s legacy

I had just graduated from high school when I met Coach John Wooden (“John Wooden dies at 99,” June 5). He attended different training sessions and time trials for the 1968 Olympics at Mexico City.

I remember Coach Wooden coming by very early in the morning and watching us train, sharing his wisdom and encouraging all of us.

I have always had, and will always have, a place in my heart for Coach Wooden. His legacy lives on with all the people he touched.

Michele Adney

Arroyo Grande

Traffic imperils Avila

We are 12-year residents of Avila Beach.

Articles such as Julie Lynem’s regarding Avila’s future never include the obvious nightmare-in-waiting for the people who live here (“Empathy in Avila for Gulf oil spill,” June 6).

Our valley has only two 2-lane roads out to Highway 101. We are reluctantly home to the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The developers and business owners creating shops and restaurants at the little beach are interested only in making money from our beautiful enclave. They will do anything to bring hordes of cars to choke our exits every day of the year. Each year, it grows worse.

Memorial Day weekend was just a taste. Cars were bumper-to-bumper. There are hundreds of homes in the hills of Avila. Thousands of people could be trapped in the valley if anything happened.

We want it to stop!

The Tribune must be fair and responsible by helping us live in the sane, peaceful, safe community we love. This is simply the wrong place to create another Pismo or Venice beach. Safety issues demand that it be avoided.

Carol Dixon

Avila Beach

Hubby helpers

I wish to thank the couple who helped my husband after he fell while walking behind Walmart recently.

Helping him up and driving him to his car was a very kind thing to do. He has a few cuts and scrapes and a black eye, but he will be fine in a couple of days. Thanks again.

Joyce Fish

Arroyo Grande

Leave dogs home

I love my dogs, as I’m sure you other dog owners love your dogs.

Please understand completely that dogs should never, never be left in a car on a hot day. Even if it’s just 73 degrees outside, the temperature in a car could reach 120 degrees. They could have heatstroke that could cause brain damage and death.

Dogs cannot handle this kind of heat, so just leave them home during hot weather.

Ruth Starr

San Luis Obispo

Dirt track? No

I recently wrote a letter to the editor about how the Beach Cities baseball fields smell bad because there is a sewer treatment plan right next to them (“Smelly fields,” May 6).

Malcolm Roe said that we should just get rid of the fields and put in a motorcycle dirt track. He says all baseball does is get people on steroids and chewing tobacco. First of all, chewing tobacco is illegal to chew while paying baseball, as well as steroids. Second of all, this is Little League.

If you take away these fields and replace them with a bunch of dirt, think of the things that could happen. Thousands of kids will have nowhere to play baseball. Think of all the injuries. A track still won’t get rid of the smell. There is only one thing this dirt track will do, and that is make it noisier for the all the people who live next to it.

So what do I say? I say you can have your dirt track in the middle of the mountains.

Landon Carter

Sixth grade, Shell Beach Elementary

Before and after?

Life is the humanization of hope, said my old professor.

As a salute to our remarkable wildlife veterinarians on the oil-ravaged Gulf of Mexico, why not show a before-and-after picture of the poor brown pelican in your pages?

Ray Clark Dickson

San Luis Obispo

Consider this …

Crashing headlong into a newly-crowded election season, consider this: If claiming to be, or having been, a businessman (or businesswoman) is an indicator of good judgment, how come so many business operators go bankrupt or otherwise fail?   

Marvin Sosna

Morro Bay