Cheers is fun, safe and deÞinitely under control
The April 17 issue of The Sun featured a prominent article about the popular Sunnyvale night spot, Cheers ["Ex-mayor, top officer accused of bullying bar"]. In this piece, I was amazed that the 50 reports to the ABC from the Department of Safety were so inconsistent with the atmosphere I have experienced as a patron of the club.
The article does not give details on what all the reports were about, but seemed to imply that fighting was one of them. In the two years that I have attended the establishment, I have seen nothing but control at the club. With a complete roster of bouncers on the premises at all times during peak evening operating hours, I fail to see how much could go wrong. And certainly, If I felt that I was ever in a club that was prone to be out of control, then I would remain in the comfy confines of my own home.
The capacity of Cheers makes it one of the largest clubs operating in Sunnyvale. Three reports a year are the average for a nightclub within the city, according to Chris O'Hanlon of Alcohol Beverage Control. However, the average club in Sunnyvale is much smaller than Cheers, so this club would not be in line with the average. And because the detail of these reports are not known, it is more than likely that these violations directed at the club are merely infractions involving individuals who were not even inside the club when they occurred.
Again, the innuendo surrounding these allegations is just not consistent with my experience inside the club. If Cheers handles larger crowds than most clubs in the city, then it is academic that those looking for trouble wherever they are at, just may, at times, end up at Cheers. Does this mean that the club itself is the problem? Or is it really a problem with individuals who are creating them?
In this sense, we are putting the cart before the horse. Perhaps those who are known to be involved in disturbances should be dealt with in a revised fashion judicially. Troublemakers are everywhere these days, but if someone were to cause trouble inside a grocery store, it would never be a consideration to shut down Safeway.
Ex-mayor Frances Rowe's alleged comment about Cheers being a drug haven is utter nonsense. But this is exactly what most people have come to expect following her shamefully inept performance as mayor of the city, so what else is new?
Cheers is a fun club for those who enjoy rock, pop and country music. It's a place where people go to dance, talk and meet new people. Let it not be twisted into what some would like to make others believe of it. Come in and see for yourself. Until then, cheers!
Robert Chambliss
Sunnyvale
Commendations for PG&E crew
Good acts should not go unnoticed, and this one should receive commendations, even though it ended as it did.
Around 11 a.m. on April 22, a little brown-and-white dog was running north on Homestead. I asked my son to try to corral him. That proved difficult because the dog seemed confused, running north and south, then back again. Cars were swerving and honking their horns.
A two-man crew from PG&E stopped their truck and had a pole with a noose on the end. They tried and tried to get that little dog out of the street. Doggie headed onto Wolfe Road, and when he turned south on Wolfe, a fast-traveling car hit and killed him.
The driver did not stop after hitting him. Rather than leave the little dog in the roadway to be hit again, the PG&E crew retrieved its body.
Those two gentlemen are to be commended for their sincere attempts to save the life of a little dog.
On April 23, I picked up a bulletin from a telephone pole showing a picture of "Boo Boo" that looked very much like the little dog. I have called this owner and related the above story. My hope is that the driver who hit this little pet sees himself in the same light the rest of us do . . . not good.
V.K.
Sunnyvale
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 8, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.