Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Letters

The suggestion clouds reputation of a good judge

Regarding the sentencing by Superior Court Judge Lawrence Terry of twice-convicted felon Anthony Garcia to 20 years in prison, I felt compelled to write.

To imply that Judge Terry would make a decision based on political pressure is just a clever lawyer's means of trying to find a way to deflect the guilt of his client.

I am a recovering drug addict and have appeared before Judge Terry two times in my battle against drug abuse. I have no connection to anyone important or politically connected. Judge Terry looked at the facts in my case, and he gave me a second chance. Because he cared and because he supported me in my rehabilitation, he saved my life. In the courtroom, I have watched him show compassion and understanding. And I have also watched him "come down hard" and unyielding when the circumstances in the case required it.

To say that Judge Terry's decisions are based on political pressure is to cloud a wonderful judge's reputation. I resent this attack on such an honorable man.

Kerry McConnell
San Jose

Thanks to artists and local volunteers

On the evening of Dec. 4, the Arts Commission presented its December/ January arts reception in the Council Chambers. This period's showing is by Los Gatos High art students; all I can say is Wow! I encourage everyone to visit the chambers to view this display (if the doors are locked, the town clerk may be able to unlock them for you). We've got young artists in our midst that rival some professionals.

It was so nice to talk with these young people and their teacher, Scott Downs, and to see the proud parents viewing their children's work. Even vice principal Al Simon was there.

We also had artists of a different kind displaying their work, and those of us who were there were lucky enough to partake of it. The cooking class, under the direction of teacher Wendy Cosgrove, made beautiful and tasty holiday treats for us to enjoy (they were fancy enough to be sold at a specialty shop) with the delicious Los Gatos Roasting Company's Holiday Blend coffee.

The Arts Commission would like to thank Elke Groves (commission volunteer) for working behind the scenes to help put this showing together.

On a different note and wearing a different hat, I would like to thank everyone who helped with the Los Gatos Community Foundation's Annual Tree-Lighting ceremony. Los Gatos is blessed with civic-minded individuals and establishments who are always there to lend a helping hand. They are routinely appreciated and thanked, but I would like to do so publicly this year in that there were a number of minor mishaps that they helped circumvent.

Thanks to volunteers Rich Land and John Roundtree, of the Kiwanis Club (and the Kiwanis Club itself), who hung the banner on the American Savings building at the 11th hour; Pat Elliott, Adu Bagley, Don Calahan, Paul Dubois, and Mike and Christina Cignetti (who were invited guests but ended up working) for helping at the booth; Chris Benson (a.k.a. Santa); Ellen Graff and Marlyn Rasmussen, who helped decorate; the Lions Club (for the use of their booth); the Parks and Maintenance Department; the Police Explorers and Capt. Ty Chew of the Santa Clara County Fire Department (for helping with the toy barrels).

Many of the townspeople may not realize that local businesses are routinely approached by every organization in town to make some kind of donation. They always seem to come through, and they did again! I would like to thank the following Los Gatos establishments: CB Hannegan's, Double D's, Lunardi's, Pro Signs, Starbucks, Thu Cates of 7-Eleven (on N. Santa Cruz Ave.), Thrifty Drugs and Walgreens, and a very special thanks to Le Boulanger (when our rented hot dog steamer didn't work, they loaned us one, and when we found our pretzels frozen, they baked them in their oven, even though they had their own customers to serve and keep up with).

Mary Tomasi-Dubois
Arts Commission
Los Gatos Community Foundation

Drug raids at LGHS waste taxpayer money

With drug bust after drug bust, people who haven't been to Los Gatos would be made to believe our high school was infested with drugs. Dogs sniffing lockers, undercover police officers playing with students' minds, and the war-zone mentality of the LGPD have gone too far.

At first, I said to myself, "Good; put all those druggies behind bars, that'll teach them." But then I thought for a second. What about the overwhelming 85 percent of students who don't do drugs on campus?

Do the benefits of knowing exactly who has the drug connections by these tactics outweigh the rights and sense of privacy and pride of the rest of the student body? It seems clear to me that the answer is no.

I'm a recent graduate of LGHS, and I can remember the 1994 drug raid. I find an interesting correlation, however, between that raid and this year's: 18 less arrests. That's a 78 percent decrease in drug-related arrests! At the same time, drug surveys show that drug use increased 6 percent in 1996.

Maybe, just maybe, these drug raids aren't working after all. So before the police chief decides to surround the school with national guardsmen toting AK-47s, he should reconsider his attack. Maybe we shouldn't spend taxpayers' money to send dogs and undercover officers into LGHS to find "three bottles of beer, a nearly empty fifth of vodka and drug paraphernalia, including a marijuana pipe." That's a whopping 0.3 percent of students with drug-related material!

Instead, we should shift our resources to the home and the parents. A parents' night to talk about drugs and indications of drug activity or fliers sent home might be a better alternative. The conclusion is this: Students aren't stupid. They've heard of the drug busts; they know the dangers of having drugs on campus and will be wary of bringing them there. The problem with teens and drugs correlates with the lack of parental supervision, not campus drug zones.

Ryan Ozimek
Los Gatos

Time to rename Los Gatos again?

The vehicle code requires a following automobile to remain at least two seconds behind the car ahead.

Sixty-five miles per hour is 95.33 feet per second. How often do you see automobiles traveling 65-plus mph spaced 190 feet apart on Highway 17?

After leaving 17 these same drivers continue their chumminess on local streets. Two seconds apart at 25 mph amounts to 73-plus feet.

Before it was Los Gatos the area was known as "Toll-Gate." Perhaps the time has come to rename the place.

E.C. Steffani
Monte Sereno

DeCinzo cartoons have become a personal vendetta

As a representative of Los Gatos Rotary and my church to Community Against Substance Abuse, I would like to thank you for the thoughtful, objective editorial in the Dec. 24 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times regarding the recent drug bust at Los Gatos High School. You have presented both sides of the problem very objectively and fairly. It is a terribly difficult job for school administrators and police to effectively try to keep drugs and alcohol off campus and yet not infringe on individual rights.

I have been impressed at these committee meetings by the very conscientious efforts of local school administrators and police to be both effective and fair.

I have been less impressed by your cartoonist DeCinzo. While objective, incisive and critical cartoonism can be a very effective weapon against malfeasance and abuse of office, it seems apparent that DeCinzo's recent efforts against the police and specifically against Chief Todd exceed the bounds of objectivity and, rather, appear to be a personal vendetta.

We Americans are privileged to enjoy enough freedoms that we may resent being restricted from doing whatever we please, even if it is against the law. Parking meters, speed restrictions, age restrictions, etc. all tend to be annoying. (I recently paid a huge LG parking fine, my fault.)

Frequently that resentment is directed toward the police, whose job it is to enforce laws, without remembering that it is our elected representatives who create those laws, usually with the best interests of the public in mind.

As a 35-year resident, I am grateful for our police force and school officials' efforts to keep our community crime-free. It is tremendously important for the well-being and safety of the community to have an effective and respected police force. DeCinzo's cartoons tend to create disrespect and make the force's job much more difficult.

Don McCleve, M.D.
Monte Sereno

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