Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Letters

Where's the serenity in Monte Sereno?

I find it amusingly ironic that, of late, Monte Sereno has been anything but its namesake. Discordant rather than serene might be a better adjective for what is definitely not a "sleepy bedroom community."

Last year, the issue of a law-enforcement provider was a debate not only between the City Council and the police and sheriff's departments, but also between friends and neighbors, some of whom were afraid that we Los Gatans wanted to "take over" our peaceful neighbor.

Then there was the Ann Mitchell cat saga, another good opportunity for neighbors to take sides, this time adding the Humane Society to the mix. Although I don't condone anyone having that many animals on their property, I can't help but find the whole situation--and to some degree its newspaper coverage--a case of reductio ad absurdum.

Lately, it's been property formerly owned by John Steinbeck, a humble little dairy and a band of citizens FOR their community. Even mailboxes are having a bad time of it, as evidenced by the recent spree of pipe bombings.

I think of all the residents of Monte Sereno, the bovines at Claravale probably have it the most peaceful--at least for now. Ignorance is bliss.

I'm glad I live in Los Gatos.

Jennifer K. Sharp

Los Gatos

Truckee, the town, is a place to love

I was outraged to read the commentary by Carl Heintze comparing Los Gatos to Truckee in the Feb. 7 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. Clearly, he is out of touch in regard to Truckee and some of his facts.

My husband and I are new residents of Truckee (we are in our second winter), and we love this town. We are transplants from Cupertino and also have much affection for Los Gatos. It is really not necessary to denigrate Truckee to make Los Gatos look good. They are really quite different places.

Contrary to his claim, we have found that there is a real sense of community in Truckee, and in the short time we have been here, we have made many friends and found it generally easier to get to know people in a small-town atmosphere. My husband recently took a stroll through the Dairy Queen mall on his way to lunch and stopped in at several of the shops where he knew the proprietors or employees on a first-name basis.

Tahoe Donner actually has 6,000 lots, and Donner Lake is approximately 2 miles from the center of town. The trains are never heard by us--and, in fact, unless you are living downtown by Commercial Row, no one in Truckee's various subdivisions are disturbed.

The beauty of the Sierra and the joy of living here are hard to express in words, but is the reason that those of us who are permanent residents choose to be here. You would be surprised to know that there are more and more people moving from the Bay Area to live here each year because it is so wonderful.

I was in Michigan on a business trip lately, and Michigan makes Truckee look like high noon in the desert in the middle of summer when it comes to cold.

Heintze is correct about our roads, which the community is doing its best to deal with at this time. I doubt that there is a "town" or a city in this country that does not have some type of problem to deal with--the road problem is Truckee's. Permit us some growing pains because as the writer notes, we are the most recent "town" to incorporate.

Next time, the writer should get his facts right before he speaks and speak for himself in regard to his geographical preferences.

Noelle Hetz

Truckee

Carl Heintze is a former resident of Truckee and still spends time there every summer. --Editor