 |
|
|
|
|
Letters
Citizens should consider all options for fire service before making commitment
Coverage of the second positive report regarding the Saratoga Fire Department included comments from pro-county department proponents that tended to obscure the facts. The report was clear that Saratoga citizens are well served by the present arrangement.
When personally faced with the need for emergency medical help, we were under county jurisdiction. After three 911 phone calls and an interminable wait of 20 to 30 minutes (despite a fire department located near La Hacienda, so close to our home), I find it difficult to believe that the county department is the only and best way to serve our community. I will always wonder if a quicker response would have had a different result for our family.
Each district offers positive factors. For firemen, the county system may be favorable for career advancement. For the citizens, the prudent course would be to reasonably weigh the options before reaching a conclusion. I urge everyone to study the ramifications of both systems without being swayed by the obfuscation of facts by emotional and baseless rhetoric.
Reiko Iwanaga
Springer Court
Board member refutes chancellor's rendering of events of board meet
In the Mar. 28 Saratoga News, Linda Salter, the West Valley-Mission College District Chancellor, wrote to answer previous complaints that she and members of the governing board had been discourteous to Saratoga residents who were speaking at a public board meeting. Chancellor Salter also criticized the Saratoga News for its coverage of the issue and said, with regard to rude behavior towards members of the public, "there was absolutely no such behavior." I wish that were the case.
Unfortunately, Chancellor Salter's letter is simply false. I know. I was sitting there with the rest of our governing board during both the meetings in question. I will refresh Chancellor Salter's memory: At our Feb. 15 board meeting, eight or 10 students and faculty addressed the board under "oral communication from the public," asking the board for support for global education, in general, and the international student program, in particular. Immediately following that, several Saratoga residents addressed the board about, among other things, the board's lack of responsiveness to community concerns raised at the prior board meeting on Feb. 1. While these residents were addressing the governing board, the consultant who is working with our district on strategic planning twice walked up to the dais and Chancellor Salter and he engaged in lengthy sidebar conversations about whether or not to continue with the board's scheduled agenda once communication from the public was completed.
On several occasions during the Feb. 1 and Feb. 15 board meetings, Chancellor Salter turned to Board President Nancy Rucker and the two of them had side conversations, while members of the public were trying to address the board. On several other occasions at both meetings, Trustee Don Wolfe pushed his chair back, crossed his arms in disgust and began making negative comments to the trustee sitting next to him. I sit five feet from Trustee Wolfe and 15 feet from Trustee Rucker and Chancellor Salter. These behaviors were also witnessed by a number of residents in the audience at both meetings.
The Saratoga News story was accurate. When we treat the public rudely, we should acknowledge our mistake, apologize and commit to do better in the future. Cover-up and lies do not help the situation.
Jeffrey A. Schwartz
Trustee, West-Valley Mission
Community College District
Alarms and fees go to fire district, but service comes from the county
Jim O'Donoghue's Mar. 28 letter in the Saratoga News states how he is pleased with the caliber of firefighters that responded to his needs. What was omitted is that his alarms and subscription fees go to the Saratoga Fire Department, but he lives in and receives services from the county fire department, just a few hundred yards away from a county fire station in Cupertino.
The firefighters of both departments in Saratoga take great pride in their profession, firefighters who could better serve if this was one city with one fire department for one goal--safety. For more information on this subject, please visit www.ald.com/fact.
Kevin Schott
Saratoga Glen Place
Commission should not consider mutual aid to be 'adequate'
Mr. Farrell's letter in the Mar. 21 issue of the Saratoga News is essentially accurate, but misses the point with mutual aid. While the Saratoga Fire Department is rightfully proud of its rapid response, only after the firefighters arrive on scene can they call for mutual aid.
Since they always have insufficient resources, the call to county fire is delayed by Saratoga's initial response time, thus yielding, at best, a response time that is twice as long as necessary.
While the public safety commission may consider this "adequate," it's certainly not as good as county fire protection. Why should half of the citizens of Saratoga settle for less?
John Keenan
Mt. Eden Road
|
|
|
|
Saratoga, California Since 1955
