Cambrian letters to the editor, Oct. 5, 2017

Pinedorado 2017 a big success

2017’s Pinedorado is now in the books. Despite oppressive weather, Lions and many, many volunteers from the community came out to make Cambria’s Lion Club’s biggest fundraiser a success. As club president, I would like to thank each and every one of you.

In addition to making the club’s community service projects possible, Pinedorado is the centerpiece of Cambria’s summer. It brings entertainment and fun to thousands of residents and visitors. But, my reward has always been the smiles and chuckles of local youth.

Middle school kids help after Harvey

Santa Lucia Middle School would like to help students who have been impacted by the destruction of Hurricane Harvey in Houston. We are adopting a classroom to help provide materials and supplies that they need. We have been assigned seventh-grade classes in a middle school and will be able to talk to the students and their teachers through Skype once we have finished.

We are reaching out to our community to see if anyone would like to help us. We are doing our own fundraiser, but the more we raise, the more we can help. You can make your check out to Santa Lucia Middle School and reference “Adopt a Classroom” on the memo line.

Contact Suzanne Kennedy at Santa Lucia Middle School 805-927-3693 for more information.

We are grateful for any donation you can give.

CCSD misses an opportunity

I trust other Cambrians share disappointment at the CCSD’s recent failure.

The inability to select a replacement for Director Michael Thompson is a missed opportunity. It is also telling about the quality of government. Several qualified people offered to serve, so the lack of a decision underscores the failure.

In a fair situation, Dewayne Lee, with the next highest vote total in the last election, should be invited onto the board. He had the support of a lot of voters.

Allan McKinnon, a former CCSD board member and a man known for his pragmatic and rational analysis, would make a good addition to the board. Those two would serve the community well. There is also Peter Chaldecott, another former board member with a record of service, who was also rejected because of the stalemate. It is silly.

It would a helpful and honorable thing if outgoing member Greg Sanders recused himself. Sanders, who has been a handmaiden to recent large expenditures, is cutting and running before the board’s mounting bills come due. Since he is quitting early and departing Cambria, his legacy should not be extended. Sanders should not vote.

This failure would be hilarious, if it were not so sad.

Lee is best choice for CCSD seat

Once again I am disappointed (but not surprised) in the Cambria Community Services District leadership and decision-making abilities.

The latest crisis is determining the person to replace the soon-to-be empty director seat. In my opinion, choosing this replacement director should be an open-and-shut issue: Simply look at the results of the last election.

Gail Robinette had the next highest number of votes; however, she is not a consideration. (In my opinion, she should have never been a director in the first place because of a possible conflict of interest, but that’s another argument.)

It seems clear in my mind that the person who should become the replacement director is Dewayne Lee. He had the next highest number of votes in the last election and possesses no conflict of interest. The people of Cambria have spoken, CCSD directors, and it’s time you listened instead of focusing on advancing your own personal agendas.

This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Cambrian letters to the editor, Oct. 5, 2017."