Letters to the Editor 8/23

Simple savior

Two local teenagers were lost this summer to tragic train accidents, including one whom I had watched grow up as my son’s closest friend.

Among the roller coaster of emotions comes the thought, “Is there something that could have been done?”

After much thought, I realize that perhaps something could be done, so I make a suggestion here in hopes that it gets noticed by someone able to make it real.

The suggestion is: Why not add some form of water nozzle to the front of trains? Something like a fire hose nozzle that can be quickly activated by the driver. The engineer would then have a tool beyond the horn with which to get the attention of someone on the tracks. A tool that fits with our modern world where people wear headphones or otherwise make mistakes.

It seems like a simple thing to implement and surely would save precious lives.

Robert Duncan

San Luis Obispo

Real STARs

Thank you for your front-page coverage of the California Standards Test results for San Luis Obispo County (“County students improve scores on state testing,” Aug. 17). Congratulations go out to the students, families and staff at all the schools for the hard work they perform every day.

A huge bouquet to the Lucia Mar teachers and support staff for great gains during difficult times and for accomplishing more with less each year. At 58.3 percent proficient or advanced on the California Standards Test in math K-12, Lucia Mar Unified School District leads the county for unified districts in math. All that with 50 percent of their students living in poverty.

Welcome back to the most important job in the world. Keep up the great work!

Colleen Martin

Arroyo Grande

‘No’ on Measure H

As the former parks and recreation director for San Luis Obispo, I can speak with some authority on the development of the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields and their relationship to Prado Road because I was the lead staff member on the project from beginning to end.

As early as 1995, the city recognized the need for more sports fields. In partnership with youth sports advocates, several sites were considered, and ultimately, the Damon-Garcia site was selected. Among the many reasons for selecting this location was the ability to plan around the site to avoid neighborhood conflicts and yet have a site with excellent and safe accessibility.

The Prado Road and Broad Street connection was viewed as a way to achieve good and safe access. The Measure H dead end will deny this access, thwart open space and cycling improvements in adjacent areas, and create a number of other community problems.

Claims that the Prado Road extension will pose a safety hazard are misguided. The extension will be farther away from the fields and safer than many other roads that are near city parks today. And it won’t be any closer to the fields than Broad Street is.

Please vote “no” on Measure H.

Paul LeSage

Orcutt

Fining feeders

People feeding pigeons in the area of the Pismo Beach Pier should be subject to a fine of $100, and the fines should be enforced.

Every two weeks, the underside of the pier over the beach area should be washed with a high-powered pressure washer. Surely, no one would object to a clean pier, not even the Coastal Commission.

These measures would reduce the pigeon’s feed supply and nesting areas. In 10 months, another evaluation could be done based on a pigeon count versus water bacteria count. This is a very low-cost situation.

The city should also challenge the agency that tests the water as to what data it uses, if any, to determine the criteria for dangerous types and levels of ocean bacteria.

G.W. Peterson

Pismo Beach

Stellar response

Recently, our family experienced an unfortunate circumstance that required emergency services from the Atascadero Police Department, emergency medical technicians and Twin Cities Community Hospital. Throughout the ordeal, we were treated with the utmost professionalism and compassion by all of those who responded.

On behalf of our family, I would like to express a very special thank you to police Sgt. Gregg Meyers and Officer Chris Hester, as well as the entire critical care staff at Twin Cities Community Hospital.

Everyone’s response was very personal in nature and helped to ease the pain of our ordeal. We tip our hat to our local professionals!

Betty Bridges and the family of Fred Frear

San Miguel

Support for center

The United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo supports the proposed homeless center.

The church has hosted the “overflow” from the Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter for the past 10 years. This year, we experienced a more than 100 percent increase in families: 15 to 17 children (most under the age of 10) and 10 to 12 adults (almost all single parents).

These families do not fit the popular image of the homeless as they are not transient, mentally ill or addicted to drugs or alcohol. As the “San Luis Obispo County Enumeration Report 2009” states, 56 percent of our homeless population have been county residents for more than five years and 39 percent are children.

We hope that in your consideration of candidates for local elections, you will evaluate each on the basis of their support and participation in the county’s “10-year plan to end homelessness” and the new homeless center.

Should you be selecting which faith-based organization to support, we trust that you will investigate their commitment to addressing our homeless population. We are grateful that our own Rev. Curt Miner is willing to be an overnight host when the United Church of Christ welcomes the homeless overflow.

Dodie Imel and the homeless overflow team

United Church of Christ (Congregational) San Luis Obispo

Innocent? Yeah, right

Regarding the verdict of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich: If he is innocent, so are O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake (Yeah, right)! Unfortunately, this just goes to prove that sometimes the “bad guys” are smarter than the “good guys.”

Patrick Thomas

Pismo Beach

Homecomings

I have watched all the homecomings of our military forces returning from Iraq after the war’s end, especially the most recent.

When I see these homecomings, I get teary-eyed knowing what the families and the soldiers have gone through.

It’s awesome how the troops are received and celebrated as heroes.

But it also reminds me of my first day back home from Vietnam. It was the worst day of my 12-month tour. The closest that I could get to home by air was SFO and I was greeted with cursing, spitting and middle fingers.

I was going to take the Greyhound bus home, but could not imagine what that four-hour trip would be like, so I called my mother to drive to San Francisco to pick me up. I couldn’t put up with everything going on in the terminal, so I waited in the parking lot for five hours for my Mother. It was awesome to see her after a whole year!

Tom Platz

Paso Robles