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Letters
Simple steps to a happier hillside life
I am writing in response to the recent brouhaha concerning wildlife in the hills of Saratoga. I loved DeCinzo's recent cartoon depicting an embattled teen and a deer sharing a bench and bemoaning their shoddy treatment in this town. Call me misguided, but I like teenagers and deer.
I live off of Pierce Road and thoroughly enjoy the four fawns and their mothers grazing under my oak trees. They aren't destroying my lovely garden because, after conversing with a local nursery, I chose plants that did not have gastronomical appeal to deer. This simple step allows me and "my" deer to live in harmony.
The reader who bemoaned the vast increase in the deer population failed to see the irony of his statement: The vast increase in the human population and suburban development is far more disturbing and much more destructive.
Recently, I plucked one of my cats from the jaws of a coyote. The coyote appeared as annoyed that I interrupted his breakfast as the cat was relieved that he did not become it. While obviously I would prefer the coyote to eat kibble, not my cat, I can't fault him for his preference. Much to my cat's dismay, he is now an indoor-only cat. Once again, a simple step that allows our household to coexist peacefully with nature.
I live in the hills because I love the natural environment. If the components of that natural environment were as abhorrent to me as they appear to some of my neighbors, I would consider a nice condo in the city.
It's similar to those folks who move next door to a farm and then whine about the flies or next to a school and complain about the noise of the students' activities. If you don't like what was there before you, don't move in. You'll be far happier elsewhere (and in Saratoga, so will the deer).
Kathy Moore
Vista Regina
If DeCinzo's bored, he should do his own show
DeCinzo's recent cartoon said community access television is boring.
It mostly should be. It is not intended to compete with always-slightly-interesting-to-nearly-everybody commercial television. It is supposed to have special-interest shows that residents of Saratoga cannot find on nationwide television.
The Saratoga parade, local bands, the City Council, telecourses at West Valley College--these are very interesting to some Saratogans, but probably boring to Los Angelenos. Echoes of India or Reading Room are very interesting to some people, including those outside Saratoga, but perhaps not to you.
If none of the current shows appeals to DeCinzo's particular interests (I'm surprised he, as a political activist, isn't interested in the City Council), then he should access our community-access station. He could produce a show that doesn't bore him.
There are eager, trained volunteers to help with the technical details. If he doesn't want to be just a television producer but also wants to learn camera, lighting, directing, editing, etc., he can take a mini-course. The studio is open weekdays, some evenings and Saturdays.
A tag football game in a park will not be on network television, but the people playing it are having fun and making good use of our city's resources. DeCinzo's show doesn't have to aspire to network syndication, but it may be a lot of fun to make, and he may even find there are some viewers who don't find it boring.
Tom Moran
Saratoga Community Access TV board member
Motorcycles, Saratoga are great together
I am a homeowner, living near Sixth Street and Big Basin Way at the start of the motorcycle run up Highway 9. Every Sunday I can hear them heading up the hill. It is music to my ears: the high-pitched whine of the multi-cylinder bikes and the throaty roar of the big Italian twin cylinders. I can even tell if it is a Harley or a sports car going up. I feel it adds an extra facet to the uniqueness of Saratoga--another dimension to our "scene"--and I am glad they are here.
Thank you for the article in your last issue on the motorcyclists. And thanks for maintaining a fair sense of proportion on your reporting.
Ron Ringsrud
Saratoga
Parade group looks for trail walkers
Want to be in the Saratoga Parade? Do you support trails in Saratoga?
What? You did not know there were trails in Saratoga? Yes, there are, and our group is dedicated to keeping these trails maintained and open for you. We need all the help we can get.
To show your support for the beautiful hiking, biking and equestrian trails in Saratoga, please join our group marching in the Saratoga Parade, Sunday, Oct. 3. Let the city fathers/mothers know you're interested! You can walk, bring a bike or bring your horse.
The parade route starts at Fruitvale and Saratoga avenues, then continues up Saratoga Avenue to the Village. It starts at 1 p.m. and lasts roughly two hours. There will be lots of starting and stopping.
If you're interested or for more information, contact Teri Lynn Baron at 408.741.0954 or send a fax to 408.867.6100.
You must sign up and contact me before the parade, since I am required to give organizers a headcount prior to the parade.
Teri Lynn Baron
Via Escuela Drive
Adjusting to a new drugstore is tough
Old habits die hard.
Yesterday I tried filling a prescription which over a period of years has been handled by the wonderful people at Saratoga Drug Store.
Call Ray. Just say your first name. Done.
Questions? Just ask Ray and get a compassionate and detailed response.
Reactions? They're there for you with help.
HMO refill problems? They call your doctor and advocate for you.
Leaving on a trip and need a refill? They are there to help.
I called the Saratoga Drug Store number and was automatically transferred to Sav-On at Lucky's. I couldn't understand the person who answered the phone. She had difficulty understanding my English.
When I went to pick up the prescription, there were three people behind the pharmacy counter scrambling to fill orders. Four people were in line. No one talked.
Questions? No time.
Friendliness? None.
It is just a sign of the times that we have turned our backs on stores and longtime community servants like the people who have run Saratoga Drug Store for the 30 years we have lived in this community.
I worry about the people who often needed extra help from Ray and Francine and their competent people who worked with them. I worry about the elderly and those at Our Lady of Fatima, where Ray delivered. And I will miss the friendly and supportive environment of a local drug store, where you could find a card, a gift and someone who knew every item on the counter.
Sav-On filled the prescription, and did a satisfactory job.
But I say to Marcelle at Golden Mirror that I am sad and think she has done our community and village a grave disservice by not trying to work with Saratoga Drug Store to keep them in our village.
Gay J. Crawford
Saratoga
KSAR certainly not a sleeper channel
I would like to take issue with the DeCinzo cartoon which appeared in your last issue. The dispute between AT&T and KSAR is over now and the big fish has swallowed the little fish, as happens all too frequently these days. Those of us who are associated in any way with KSAR can only hope for the best in our new slot.
Community access television, far from being a "sleep channel," is an important part of the public's right to not only see our local government in action but to air our views as well. Any citizen of Saratoga may speak his or her mind on this station as a forum for free expression and exchange of ideas. This medium is and should be a vital part of community life.
I host a program on KSAR called The Reading Room. My all-volunteer crew and I are dedicated to the cause of children's literacy. Students from West Valley College work on my crew on their own time. Tessa McGoldrick, the coordinator of KSAR and West Valley College Educational Television, personally directs the program. We feature a reading lesson, puppets and a really good story on a weekly basis. We have been given the BACE award for best youth program in the nine Bay Area Counties. We air on a total of seven channels and reach 1 million homes in Santa Clara County and have a tremendous amount of feedback from viewers who are not asleep in front of their sets.
For the Animals, a show dedicated to animal rights, is also produced at West Valley College and airs on more than 20 stations all over Northern California. It too is all-volunteer and is also an award-winning production.
Maybe DeCinzo's cat should catch an episode or two.
Another outstanding show produced at KSAR is Jazzline. Any local jazz fan knows the show and watches it not only for new talent but for big names as well. West Valley.Edu, produced by Dave Fratto, offers students a rare opportunity to have access to "real" television to hone the skills learned in classroom settings. There is also a program in the planning stages that will highlight some of our outstanding young people. It is a project of the Youth Commission. It will be nice to see our teens in the good light they so richly deserve even if some of us can't stay awake for the whole show.
Maybe DeCinzo does not want to watch the Planning Commission meetings as a piece of his obviously busy life, but many others do. A great number of Saratoga residents also watch the City Council meetings. This window into the governmental process is vital to a city like ours and makes all of us part of a process that can determine the quality of life we all share.
Perhaps DeCinzo is flat on his back copping zzzzz's with his cat, but the rest of Saratoga certainly isn't! Thank God!
Judith Lawrenson
Host, 'The Reading Room'
Glen Una Drive
Bikes on wrong side of road are dangerous
It happened again this evening, a bicyclist coming up the wrong side of the street, against traffic. As I began to turn right at a traffic light on De Anza Boulevard, a child on his bike pulled in front of me. Fortunately I was able to use my brakes swiftly. It is a frightening experience and horrifying to think of the accident that almost occurred.
Sad to say, I see many adult bicyclists going up the wrong side--and often with their children. I hope this will remind your readers to be more conscientious while bicycling and teach their children also.
Dorothy Dorsay
Saraglen Drive
Contributors' list to SEF shouldn't be made public
I noted with interest the two-page advertisement in your Sept. 8, 1999, issue acknowledging contributors to the Saratoga Education Foundation and providing the approximate amounts of their contributions. This private data was being made public knowledge by the foundation ostensibly as a means of thanking the contributors. I take satisfaction in knowing that my contributions are being put to good use, and being used to thank me does not qualify. I am only interested in being publicly informed of how the money is being used. The last thing I want or need is for my contributions to become public knowledge. Therefore, I tend to believe that the consequences of making this data public are that it intimidates those who have not contributed to contribute in the future and it intimidates those who have contributed to contribute even more.
Of course, it might be argued that there is the danger some contributors might conclude from the data that they don't need to contribute as much. Since intimidation is the consequence, intended or not, of making this private data public, does it not represent a form of extortion and, thereby, although it is not illegal, is it not disgraceful or, at least, distasteful?
Wes Ferguson
Saratoga
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
