Saratoga News

Letters

Uneven boundaries do not seem fair

I would like to see all of the children who live within the Saratoga city boundary go to Saratoga schools.

I live within the Saratoga school district boundary. I feel that it is fair for all of the children in Saratoga to be a part of our small community. The people living in the outlying areas of Saratoga join in and support the activities provided by the Saratoga Community Center. They support and use the Saratoga Library and join in many of the fundraising activities for organizations based in Saratoga. This does not seem fair to me. Please consider changing the school district boundaries to be the same as the city boundary of Saratoga.

Joy Wang
Surrey Road

Lumberman, spare that liquidambar!

I've been reading Carl Heintze's Point of View column for some time and enjoying his opinions.

However, the piece in the Nov. 19 issue of the Saratoga News about the liquidambar tree that must be cut down because it is uprooting the sidewalk saddened me. How can he chop down that glorious tree? What's more important, the life of an old tree or a few cracks in the cement?

Sheryl Aslblad
Los Gatos

Parishioners make church what it is

Thank you for your gracious cover story on the 40th anniversary of Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church and for the opportunity to make a few corrections to Mary Ann Cook's very nice article. Saint Andrew's has about a thousand families (not 1,800) and was built to its present size, even larger, long before Highway 85 was built. Highway 85 has certainly increased the availability of the parish to a wider community, but it was the first rector, the Rev. Roy Strasburger, who "grew" Saint Andrew's in a very short time into the large, mission-oriented parish it is today, serving with dynamic leadership for 34 years. We are honored that he has accepted the title of "Rector Emeritus" for all the work that he and his wife, Pat, contributed to Saint Andrew's and to the community of Saratoga.

The "SAMA" of Saint Andrew's Medical Assistance project is actually the Arabic form of the same Hebrew word shma, meaning to hear or listen. The inspiration for the toothbrushes with the candy sent to Haiti (for birthday parties) was actually David Garrison, who expands his own mission work by flying doctors to Latin America and is very aware of health needs all around the world. We are grateful for the clergy and lay staff who minister to the parish, but rather than a "hierarchy" we work together, each of us responsible for facets of parish life: the school, pastoral care, youth ministries, children's ministries, education, administration, health ministries, finance, communications, community service and all the fellowship and service groups of the parish. All these ministries are made possible by the commitment of time, talent and treasure from the members of our parish and school. It is their energy and welcoming spirit that make Saint Andrew's a dynamic place for worship and fellowship, education and service. Matt Cameron is our present senior warden.

We are blessed by the emerging companionship and work of the Saratoga Ministerial Association, expressed in the enthusiastic, well-attended Thanksgiving Day service here--12 Saratoga congregations taking part with clergy, lay leaders, choristers and acolytes. We hope to expand our work together on behalf of Saratoga and beyond.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your fine article.

Ernest W. Cockrell
Rector Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]