Letters

St. Mary's still has respect for its priests

I am a 40-year St. Mary's parishioner and wish to advise that all of our priests at St. Mary's parish were and still are respected, and not abusive to their parishioners and their children.

It's very painful what happened on "the hill" (Sacred Heart Jesuit Center) but it truly has brought our parish community closer together.

Once again, 95 percent of our priests are totally committed to their ministry and are not sex offenders. On a personal note--we still remember when our retarded grandson was sexually molested by his nurse over five years ago. We had to pray, let go of our emotions and go forward with our lives after getting him checked by his doctor. It's not easy, but with the power of prayer it sustains all of us.

Yes, it's very wise to be alert on moral issues like this. However, we did not pursue a lawsuit as we did not want to subject our grandson to a court of law. We wanted him to forget what he went through, and thank God he has because of my daughter's suggestion of not taking it to court just to get monetary compensation.

How very, very sad that these two retarded men must face lawsuits, etc., and not be able to move on in their lives, especially at their age.

Dolores Simone
Los Gatos

Caltrans removes trees along Los Gatos Creek

Recently, Caltrans removed all trees in Los Gatos Creek, behind the Little League park and just downstream from the bridge at Miles Avenue. This is the first stage in a project that will restore the featureless concrete raceway in the area, that which eroded in the heavy rains of 1995.

To repair the area in 1995, Caltrans placed massive boulders in the affected area. Over a few short years, fast-growing alder trees shot up amongst the rocks. According to Caltrans, they were not planted, but are natives that grew on their own accord. In the creek itself, huge dislodged concrete pieces and the new boulders parted the creek's flow, creating natural pools and pockets, oxygenation in the water, shading and lower water temperatures, and hiding places suitable for small fish.

Soon birds appeared. Black crowned night herons, Green herons, great Blues, snowy egrets, great egrets and Black phoebes, with their bobbing heads and flickering tail feathers-all birds dependent on healthy riparian (stream) habitats. The trees, slabs and boulders provided hunting lairs and evening roosting branches very similar to naturally occurring conditions. Even bats and swallows have been appearing in greater numbers in the last few seasons, attracted by the insect hatches caused by greater underwater surface area.

According to Robert Haus, public/legislative affairs Caltrans District 4, the channel's main purpose is for flood control and water movement between Vasona and Lexington reservoirs. As for the biological resources, he spoke only of the fish.

I called Mr. Fred Botti of the California Department of Fish and Game, who's responsible for the biological concerns of the project. He said I was the only member of the community who had called him. Obviously well-informed and schooled in resource management, Botti was quite sympathetic and offered examples of other communities that have taken action in bringing more voices to the table, and in so doing, brought about solutions that could better serve the biological resources.

Botti required that Caltrans assure that tree removal would be done before nesting season, and required mitigation for the tree removal with a commitment from Caltrans that they would plant an equal number of trees somewhere else in the area of Los Gatos under their administration.

The fact that Botti was even consulted is relatively unusual. Years ago, biologists weren't consulted when the Lexington or Vasona dams were constructed, or when the original storm-water raceway was constructed by Caltrans when Highway 17 went right up the middle of a portion of Los Gatos Creek. Migratory steelhead trout, Chinook salmon and all the other fish, mammals, birds and other affected species were not considered in the great water resource build out of the past.

Of course, Los Gatos Creek must serve our many needs, foremost among them flood control. Botti said that his agency can't risk taking a stand against Caltrans to preserve a critical habitat, only to face a blizzard of lawsuits if the channel deteriorated and failed in a catastrophic flood some day in the future.

Botti went on to say Los Gatos might do well to look to similar situations in communities around the Bay Area. He mentioned Alameda Creek in the East Bay and the Napa River. In both cases, it was the community that demanded a long-term emphasis on habitat restoration and beautification, and a greater consideration for the natural systems.

Our community should have a long-term vision for the restoration of Los Gatos Creek to a free- flowing natural system serving the needs of the biological resources in our midst. This does not preclude having a safe flood control system, a groundwater restoration system, a drinking water system and a functioning freeway through town.

Whether visually softer and biologically richer solutions could be implemented in this stretch of Los Gatos Creek to steer it back toward restoration over the long term, we will likely never know. The community was not informed by Caltrans of its plan this summer, and the community doesn't have a plan or vision of its own for genuine restoration of a "real" creek.

As we have a need for a new park downtown, parking places for shoppers, and quality schools, how about a stated mission of long-term restoration for Los Gatos Creek?

Scott Partridge
Los Gatos

Pit bulls seem to be getting a pretty bad rap

As a director of BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls), a local nonprofit pit bull education/rescue organization, I am compelled to respond to Chuck Weber's April 3 letter to the editor condemning those who choose American pit bull terriers as pets.

It's common knowledge in dog circles that the pit bull earns the affection of tens of thousands of loving, responsible families and individuals for outstanding qualities that are hard to find in any other breed.

Many wonderful owners in our own organization have been injured by the types of stereotypical images your publication printed, which paint our dogs as wild, dangerous animals and all pit bull owners as shady thugs. Of course, at the root of any prejudice is misunderstanding, which naturally leads to fear.

Pit bulls deserve to be understood by their critics and responsible owners deserve to be supported. I urge anyone who thinks they know the breed to visit our website to learn why these animals have earned such loyalty from their enthusiastic advocates.

Visit the BAD RAP website for more information: http://www.badrap.org.

Donna Reynolds
Vice President, BAD RAP

Pit bulls really make great pets, says reader

I read the letter written by Mr. Chuck Weber printed in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times (April 3). I wish you printed more letters that are written by open minds and healthy souls.

Mr. Weber, people are afraid of the unknown. Do yourself a favor and try to get to know a few pit bulls. Get over your fear and you'll be a fan, too. Not only are pit bulls great pets, they have the right to be on the planet regardless of the fact that some heartless people misuse them.

Nooshi Nayak
San Jose

Measure E is still hotly debated, a month later

It is over a month since the ballot boxes closed, and there are still rancorous exchanges in letters to the editor on Measure E.

Newspaper articles and letters have harped on the stadium as the cause of defeat, but that issue only affected voters in Saratoga, less than 8 percent of the district. Since Measure E did not pass in precincts all over the district, what reasons explain why the other 92 percent failed to pass Measure E?

Over 70 percent of the voters in Cupertino and Los Altos voted for the college district's $248 million bond in 1999. The Foothill/De Anza campuses are 10 years older than those of West Valley/Mission, and the Foothill/De Anza district is twice as large as West Valley/Mission, both in buildings and number of students.

Based on these criteria, one would have expected a West Valley/Mission bond to be less than $124 million, but Measure E wanted $268 million. There was no justification for why West Valley/Mission wanted more than twice as much money as the acclaimed Foothill/De Anza district.

Foothill/De Anza made it clear that the bond funds would be used solely for repairs and education because "childcare, parking lot, theater arts and athletic projects will be funded by other sources, not bond money." West Valley/Mission made no such distinction; in fact, funds were earmarked for non-educational purposes.

The cost of a college district must be kept within the means of the voters in that district, and the average household income in the West Valley/Mission district is less than that of Foothill/De Anza households. This economic fact of life has to be recognized; the measure that goes on the ballot in November should not exceed $124 million.

I.D. Allan
Saratoga

Correction

In the April 10 editorial in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, it was reported that town maintenance personnel were called in to remove trash from a property on Los Gatos Boulevard behind National Avenue and Terreno de Flores. Officials said that town personnel would not be called upon to work on private property, but the town would have instead informed the property owners that such a clean-up was necessary. Trash was, however, moved from one location to another on the property.

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Picture From the Past

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