No Mr. Ferguson, I am not over there ("Letter writer 'stepped outside of his box,' " Feb. 8, letter by Cpl. Tom Ferguson), and frankly, I don't have to be to know that the Bush administration deceived the American public about invading Iraq. It's nice that kids are playing soccer with our troops and new schools are being built, but these are not the reasons President Bush led us to war.

Watching an oppressed society become a democracy is a good thing, but there are many oppressed societies in the world and yet we're not invading these countries to free them.

I'm sorry, but you can't put a "box" over these facts: there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and over 2,200 American personnel and tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed since the start of the war. This act of imperialism has cost the American taxpayer over $250 billion, and Bin Laden is still roaming around four years after 9-11.

We have a simple expression in the business world to describe this--it's called "the bottom line."

James Diaz

San Jose

Fifth-grader
agrees with
phone policy

I'm writing this letter in regard to the article, "Permission to use phones on campus gives kids reasons to cell-abrate" (Feb. 1). I agree with this article that cell phones are a good thing to have to be in contact with your family member. I also agree that they should always be turned off during class and should only be used at the beginning or end of school and at break.

I think it is very disrespectful to have your cell phone on during class where students are trying to work hard, and the teachers are trying to teach. I'm a student who has a cell phone, but it is turned off the whole day and stored away in my backpack. Usually, after school, I call my parents to confirm that they are coming to pick me up.

I feel that it is very important to have a policy set at the school level regarding the use of cell phones because many people would take advantage of the situation. I really enjoyed reading this article because I want to know the cell phone policy at both of the schools I will attend.

Taylor Unger

Los Gatos

Taylor is a fifth-grader at Van Meter Elementary School.

Some changes
were necessary
during project

(This letter is in response to the letter written by Thomas and Janet Downing, "Running water in health office is common sense," in the Feb. 15 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times.)

Thanks to the support of the community, Measure B passed in 1998. Since the passage of Measure B, we at Los Gatos High School have spent the past 7 1/2 years building and renovating our facilities. Those same facilities were in desperate need of refurbishing.

It has been a constant challenge to do the necessary work within our budget, and without major disruption to our programs. We have built new or remodeled all existing classrooms and offices with the exception of our industrial technology classrooms. We will begin work on those classrooms during the summer of 2008. The number of years that we have spent on construction is a result of the ability to work on only a building or a building wing at a time, so as not to disable our programs. We did not render inoperative any of our curriculum or programs to enable construction. Each construction project required the development of temporary rooms and offices and moves of students and staff to those quarters.

Staff, students, parents and community members were part of a Site Facilities Committee that helped plan all construction. Some projects were completed in as short a time as six months, and some required well over a year for completion. Many of the projects presented construction challenges once construction was under way, such as budget limitations, space availability, engineering challenges and project schedules. These challenges sometimes necessitated changes in the placement and location of classrooms and offices.

A sampling of some of the projects that we had to change because of varying factors included location changes for a mathematics class, our photography lab and our journalism class; our world language office was moved with the completion of the classroom building; our teen counseling office changed location twice; our special education office was relocated; our faculty workroom was relocated; and our guidance and attendance offices switched locality.

The two main reasons for the change in locations of the attendance and guidance offices were to improve the traffic flow of our students and families and to allocate space where it is needed most and where it will best serve our population.

The attendance office is now located nearer the High School Court entrance, allowing more efficient access for emergency vehicles and personnel. With its proximity to High School Court, the attendance office is now far more easily accessible to our parents who simply want to pick up their student for a doctor's appointment or drop something off for their child.

The attendance office houses four staff members; only one of these staff members regularly meets with parents and families. The guidance office has six staff members; five of these staff members meet with students, parents and families with regularity. The guidance office needs the larger conference room now available in the new office.

A student bathroom is located 60 feet down the hall from the attendance office, and a portable sink is provided in the health section of the current attendance office.

Douglas Ramezane,
principal

Los Gatos High School

Seaman's visit
to CERT class
was touching

As a member of the latest CERT training class, I would like to thank [Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Chief] Scott Seaman for attending our graduation. He took time out of his day to come to the graduation, present our certificates and have a photo taken with each member individually.

I was touched and honored that he was there. He gave us all a lot of encouragement and thanked us for our support of our neighborhoods and community. The CERT program is terrific, and our training was superb. While I hope to not use these skills in a real emergency, I am sure glad to have them.

Michelle Nelson

Los Gatos

Adults, youth
work together
to clear trail

In 1990, The Search Institute, a nonprofit organization based out of Minnesota, created a list of 40 developmental assets that contribute to helping young people develop healthy, caring and responsible lifestyles. Asset No. 7 states that young people should perceive that adults in the community value youth. Additionally, asset No. 14 states that parents and other adults should model positive, responsible behavior.

On a recent Saturday morning, I participated in a Community Unity-sponsored trail cleanup project along the Los Gatos Creek Trail. Approximately 15 elementary-aged students, 25 middle school students, 10 high school students and 25 adults spent two hours raking, trimming and maintaining the trail. The groups involved included the Boy Scouts; Kiwanis, Lions and Key Club members; Los Gatos Rowing Club; Fisher Middle School Help-A-Thon students; and other concerned citizens.

I would like to take the time to thank those organizations that support our youth and adults working side by side. The four major service clubs in the town support this, as well as Fisher's Club Live, the Los Gatos Rowing Club, the Help-a-Thon Project at Fisher, the Community Unity effort and many other organizations in the town.

If you believe that our community does indeed support our youth, I urge you to consider joining an upcoming service project. We must practice what we preach and model positive, responsible behavior.

Chris Miller

Los Gatos

Groups work
together to clear
'forgotten' trail

As part of the team that put together the Forbes Mill/Boy Scout hut trail cleanup, I wish to compliment and thank everyone who helped out on Feb. 11. The Cub Scouts Pack 556 and Boy Scouts Troop 501 and Troop 539, Fisher school students and the Lions Club, along with other citizens, all pitched in. The results were astonishing. Thank you, and now enjoy the continuation of an "almost forgotten" trail.

E. Gary Schloh

Los Gatos