Letters to the Editor 12/15

Wonderful memory

The Nov. 24 Alex Madonna Viewpoint by Dr. Paul Dean is a true image of him.

In a similar vein, while having a business meeting with him, we drove past his house, and I casually mentioned that I had never seen the inside of his home before. I then stated that we could correct that right now. I tried to beg off my errant comment, knowing how most wives would react to someone going through their house unannounced, but he said, “Not to worry, Phyllis is not home.” He graciously toured us through his home, telling us stories of his family get-togethers and gatherings.

I told him that when my wife and I celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary, it would be at the Madonna Inn. He stated he would supply the anniversary cake free of charge. Even though the beloved Alex had passed away, we received our anniversary cake at a great 50th celebration held in the Garden Room of the Madonna Inn.

My wife, family and I thank Alex Madonna and his family for the wonderful memory he left behind.

Alan and Jackie Martyn

Los Osos

Food drive thanks

The EOPS/CARE office at Cuesta College wishes to express its appreciation to Food 4 Less for its generous participation in our Thanksgiving food drive.

We especially want to thank Mr. Chris Cielatka, director of the San Luis Obispo store, for his assistance. Our students, whose children may not have had Thanksgiving dinners otherwise, beamed as they picked up their gift certificates.

Janelle LaFond

Interim CARE coordinator, Cuesta College

An essential part

The United States Postal Service is an essential part of our lives, as the avalanche of Christmas cards is now showing. I love walking out to the mailbox every day about noon and picking up the cards, the occasional letter, magazines, small packages, even the “junk” mail.

It is quite apparent that the USPS is in financial difficulties, thanks in part to alternate modes of communication (email, etc.) and to a rather archaic structure. The cost of a first-class stamp is going up a penny in a few weeks, which will help a little, as is the price of mailing a magazine and “junk.”

The easiest and least painful way for the postal service to save a lot of money is to go to thriceweekly mail delivery, Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, and over a few years through attrition and retirement, half of those mailpersons who walk or drive a route would be off the payroll. I can easily live with that. If someone needs to get in touch with me right away, there is always the telephone.

Clement Salvadori

Atascadero

Short and sweet

As a daily reader of the newspaper, I find that there are many interesting topics. So here are my thoughts on some of those:

To the lady who doesn’t like “What’s Your Emergency”: Don’t read it.

To Golden State Water Co.: Any company that wants to increase rates due to lost revenue because they asked the consumer to conserve should be fined and made to lower rates for the next five years.

To PG&E: You donated to the Pops Concert and now donated a mile of lights to the Octagon Barn and you want to raise rates to the consumer. Maybe you should stop donating.

And last, to all those who do not like Walmart: Don’t shop there. Merry Christmas to all.

Bob Brimmer

Paso Robles

Thanks for dinner

I’d like to take this opportunity to extend a huge thanks to Steve Sistler of Albertsons on Foothill Boulevard. Year after year, he continues to help make the holidays a good day for a lot of people in SLO who don’t have enough to eat. With his help, we served a sit-down turkey dinner on Thanksgiving to 27 people who have no access to meals in SLO, except on the holidays. Bless you, Steve.

Becky Jorgeson

San Luis Obispo