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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
David Kirkpatrick, 4, contentedly plays in the sand in Washington park.
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Please, don't let one aberration define an entire community
Recent events, media coverage and letters to the editor have called into question the integrity and commitment of Homestead High School's faculty and staff. For 37 years, one hallmark of Homestead High School has been the total devotion of professional educators and staff to provide a quality education for the students who have attended, are attending and will attend Homestead. That hallmark remains. Parents have a right to expect no less. They entrust their children to this staff, which, in turn, takes this responsibility as a sacred trust. Homestead educators will continue to provide the safest of schools, a quality education and diverse programs for all students who attend this school.
Certainly our community has been rocked by recent events. In fact, our shock has been pervasive. The staff, like a family, expects total security in spite of a precarious world, but often a harsh reality awakens us to the need for even greater vigilance. The one positive fruit that can grow from this unfortunate situation is that we pledge even greater and more renewed dedication to provide a safe environment.
The media and some writers used faulty logic to assume that this one instance defines the whole or that certain conduct was condoned by the staff. This is and always will be false. We still have faith that the system has and will prevail; but that system relies on immediate, clear truths. The students who did come forward are our heroes. Evil often exists because of silence. We will listen even harder, so have your children speak to us loudly not to each other in whispers. We refuse to accept or condone any teacher, staff member, student or parent who uses a position of trust to harm another.
Thank you for your continued faith and support that has lasted for 37 years. Please do not allow one aberration to define a whole community.
58 Concerned Members
Homestead High School Staff
Editor's note: This letter was accompanied by a form signed by each of the 58 teachers.
Hamilton's response was heartfelt
In reference to the letter regarding the Lamson issue, written by Joe Hamilton, superintendent of Fremont Union High School: While I find that a great deal of our area's educational leaders have proven to me that the voucher system is a better choice, Joe Hamilton is one of the few exceptions. For anyone who read his letter of response to comments on Lamson, know that what Joe Hamilton states reflects his sincere and true feelings with complete honesty.
Bob Hendrickson
Cupertino
Smoking is a drag
I am writing in response to a letter written by Mr. Di Leonardo several weeks ago. I have a different opinion with regard to his statements about limits on smoking. He stated that Prohibition failed and that we should learn from that mistake.
Well, excuse the pun, but smoking is a drag! Our society should seek to further limit unhealthy behaviors such as smoking that are "associated" with devastating cardiac and pulmonary disease. The trouble with smoking is these incapacitating conditions don't show up for many years. I witness the suffering they cause almost daily in the intensive care unit where I work.
The Feb. 1 issue of Newsweek has a one-page story written by a man who smoked for some 50 years. It details his efforts to quit, and his bouts with emphysema and lung cancer. I encourage people to pick it up and read it. It says a lot about the true value and enjoyment of life.
I know many smokers feel discriminated against as a result of the legislation enacted to curb smoking. In my opinion, the supporters of Prohibition had the right idea. It's okay to take a stand against teenage smoking, second-hand smoke, and all the issues related to smoking period.
Colleen O'Leary-Kelley
Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale shouldn't
be further developed
Mr. Kuettel sounds like a reasonable person and makes some good points in his March 3 letter in The Sun, which asserts that density doesn't detract from the quality of life in Sunnyvale; but I find his reasoning on the development issue circular and frankly, it leads me to question his motivations.
If Mr. Kuettel enjoys living in density, mass transit and the resulting walls, tall buildings and destruction of the environment, why isn't he living in San Francisco or New York?
Our communities are deteriorating. The reasons are overpopulation, uncontrolled growth and an unwillingness to do anything about it.
I have news for people who wish to overdevelop Sunnyvale: There are still people, young and old, that do believe in stewardship of the Earth. They enjoy the trees, wildlife and views surrounding them and take seriously their commitments to preserve our home and live in harmony with nature--unlike those who don't mind living surrounded by walls in sterile treeless landscapes.
Many people who have lived in the communities of the Bay Area for years have worked hard to maintain its beauty and quality of life, only to see their work falling apart due to the mass influx of transient people who do not have a sense of community and whose only motivation is a quick fix to their own personal lives. I may not be able to stop the continued destruction; but I sure am not going to be quiet about it and will continue to speak out against it.
If it wasn't for caring people who have an interest in the communities they live in, the Bay Area would already look like an ugly megalopolis, like the garbage-dump strewn, polluted landscape of the New York-Washington Corridor on the East Coast.
It sounds like Mr. Kuettel would be happy there, where density, mass transit and sterile environments abound--so why didn't he relocate there?
Sandra Skolnik
Sunnyvale
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
