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Letters

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Small-town character? It's the people

Los Gatos faces choices about its future as a community. As an architect with experience at the Walt Disney Imagineering studio, I felt especially qualified to serve on the General Plan Task Force, a diverse group of about 26 residents chosen to represent the various communities in Los Gatos.

Our task was to record and prioritize our communities' visions for the future of Los Gatos. After two years, I learned that it is not the architecture but the citizens who communicate and are willing to be known to each other that give Los Gatos its small-town character. It is the communication that makes the community.

The General Plan Task Force was a wonderful experience. I heard hope, frustration, some discouragement and many dreams for what our town will, inevitably, become. But always there was palpable anxiety that the pressure to change created by the burgeoning Silicon Valley will destroy our small-town character.

While I was contemplating the town's future, my husband was compiling a visual history of the town (the book, Los Gatos Observed, is due soon), and I came to realize that Los Gatos has always been changing and will continue to change to the current definition of "better."

It changes for the better because people in this community care enough to speak up about their concerns, whether at a town meeting or in a letter to the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, and we have elected town officials who pride themselves on listening and incorporating the concerns they've heard into town policies.

This is what makes Los Gatos such a satisfying community to live in. It is the communication that gives the town its vitality and small- town character, not the buildings. They are just the physical manifestations allowed by the people who live in this town.

I have learned many things from listening at Task Force, Town Council and Planning Commission meetings. If I could return the favor, I would like to recommend two books: A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, which describes the physical patterns that make environments human, ranging from town design to the smallest details of designing a home. And, Home From Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler, which describes the demise of the small town in America, in an effort to understand how to make things better in the future.

Although it's the people that make the community, the community can be better served by physical environments that allow for natural and comfortable interaction between the diverse members of our community. These books are invaluable resources when trying to quantify and qualify the built (or to remain unbuilt) aspects of our town and especially relevant for the current General Plan Committee and the Planning Commission who are struggling daily with issues on our behalf.

Peggy Dallas
Los Gatos

Housing project could offer benefit to the community

Over the past year, we and our neighbors have attended Planning Commission meetings, Town Council meetings, and study sessions with the developer regarding a large housing development at 330 University Ave., currently a 3-acre park-like parcel of land near Highway 9.

The only access to the property is on University Avenue, 100 feet from the intersection, roughly opposite the driveway to Baker's Square.

Rush-hour traffic at Highway 9 and University Avenue is congested and will only get worse once Old Town is fully operational. The intersection cannot handle the additional cars from this and pending projects. However, town in-fill and traffic policies could allow approval if developer Bill Hirschman demonstrates "strong community benefit."

The current plan which consists of large, expensive homes does not provide such a benefit.

But there is a solution.

That solution is to build a retirement housing complex on the site for senior citizens. There would be less traffic, especially during rush hour. The site is within walking distance of restaurants, shopping, sports activities and public transportation. Shuttle service would further alleviate traffic congestion.

Opportunities exist for the town and the developer to provide a combination of market value units, below market units, and rentals.

The housing could be clustered, which would preserve open space. Much of the park-like setting would remain to be enjoyed by the development's residents as well as their Edelen-University neighbors, and everyone else in the town who would like to enjoy this beautiful, creek side spot.

This idea is a win-win for all of Los Gatos.

Barbara and Ira Spector
Los Gatos

Not everyone feels nostalgic for LGHS's old administration

I have no problem with students or parents demonstrating their opposition or support for a cause. In fact, I believe that strongly held convictions coupled with thorough research of all available facts, may in fact result in some form of demonstration when concerned parties feel there has been no satisfactory resolution. Protests can take various forms: phone calls, letters, meetings, and, of course, picketing. However, I have some comments concerning the demonstration on April 20, held to protest the reassignment of Craig Heimbichner.

First, my two students did not participate. They haven't had any experience with Mr. Heimbichner that inspired them to do so. On the contrary, they did not support some programs that seemed to be his: drug dogs on campus; indiscriminate use of a breathalyzer; implementation of an in-house detention policy which kept tardy students out of class for an entire day.

They also commented that it was mainly underclassmen who left their classes and did so to get out of class and not because they had any strongly held convictions.

Second, my own experience with him was quite contrary to what I believe is good administrative practice. When one of my students was incorrectly assigned to in-house detention, I called Mr. Heimbichner to resolve the situation. At the same time, I offered to collaborate with him to find a more appropriate response to student cutting and tardies. Several days later, contrary to district policy, I had not received a return call. When we finally spoke, Mr. Heimbichner told me that when a problem has been resolved, the school policy was that parents did not receive phone calls. This isn't what I call a family atmosphere.

My third comment is that when some female students needed protection from serious harassment from a few male students, the former administration, with Mr. Heimbichner in charge of discipline, did nothing. The harassment went as far as throwing rocks through a closed window at the victims. There was no suspension or loss of school privileges for this criminal behavior in spite of the fact that the parents of the victims came to school to discuss this very serious matter.

My fourth comment is that my experience with the current administration has been very professional and very unlike every other experience I have had with the former administration. As a member of School Site Council, I am, for the first time, hopeful that we will soon have a school plan that addresses the needs of all students in a coherent and meaningful way. I no longer have to worry that SSC will be told that funds were allocated for a purpose that was not approved or even given to us for consideration.

For the first time in years, new classes are being offered. A peer program to support incoming freshmen is in place. It seems to me that the new administration is just busy doing it's job to make long overdue improvements.

My last comment is this: many families in this community have chosen to send their children to other schools, not just private schools, but public schools where being a star athlete or straight-A- student wasn't the only way to get validation and recognition as a person.

Many have had the type of experience I have had. When my daughter was junior class president, her grades fell drastically. Within several months, she had suffered horrible losses in her life. I don't know if her poor grades were the result of this trauma, but I do know that not one teacher called. Not one counselor called. If this was truly such a loving school family, why didn't anyone care or even notice?

The editorial in last week's Los Gatos Weekly-Times spoke to Ms. McCulloch rekeying the school and that "some teachers got to talking about how former principal, Ted Simonson, would have handled the situation." The point is, the situation wasn't handled by Mr. Simonson. Ms. McCulloch did what needed to be done and I am grateful for her leadership.

Gail Schwartz
Los Gatos

Police Report

Editorial

LGHS Winterguard places eighth at World Championships

Obituaries: John Donch

Picture From the Past

Sports Briefs

Track program coming back

Rollins, Guedenet lock up in Pony pitchers' duel

Wall, Sullivan wear out Little League opponents