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Speak Out
Broadway relocation to Muir contradicts the Freedom Train
As the Freedom Train pulled from Diridon Station on a day set aside for honoring the memory of Dr. King's contribution to civil rights in America, the San Jose Unified School District exercised raw power over the Robertsville community by commencing the destruction of the John Muir Middle School field that local citizens fought to retain.
The irony was not missed by community members as they passed by the scene. For those who never thought there was a chance of altering the district's course, there was no gloating, only a silent acknowledgment of the inevitability. CAIR members, who have yet to complete the funding for the fight against this action, felt betrayed by the failure of a preliminary injunction that would have prevented physical alteration of the site until after hearings had been completed on the Writ of Mandate their lawsuit requests. It would require the district to complete the site selection process for the Broadway Continuation High School in accordance with state laws, which they believe have been violated. That action continues.
The district delayed any action on site selection until the need for it was urgent. A hasty selection process was instituted without local community input and a minimal impact report was prepared, concerning only issues surrounding the construction process. The impact of additional traffic on neighborhood streets beyond the immediate site, the reduction of neighborhood ambiance, the diminution of open space in comparison to other San Jose neighborhoods were not addressed. Rather, the district will define what playing fields will remain, in what configuration, and the high school age children will be collocated onto the site with 9- to 13-year-olds of the Muir Middle School. Also on the site will be an open child-care center for the children of school-age parents.
Few Robertsville citizens ever questioned the value of the Broadway program or of the need for a campus to serve the students in it. The citizens' organization, CAIR, was formed solely in the hope that residents still might have a measure of control over Robertsville's limited assets. Otherwise, the whole community is run from Lenzen Avenue.
Bud Kremer
Bryan Avenue
Hearing aids are not answer for everyone
In the Jan. 5 issue of the Willow Glen Resident, Rita Baum, a gerontologist, wrote an article about hearing loss and hearing devices. Her descriptions of the obstacles and hardships that confront the hearing impaired and their friends and families were accurate and well stated. However, important information was omitted.
* Hearing aids are not "the answer" for everyone with a loss of hearing. Several options are available: aural rehabilitation teaches specific techniques to improve the listeners' ability to understand speech.
Some hard-of-hearing persons need amplification only when attending live theater performances, watching television or attending classes, lectures or church. These people benefit most from Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs), which include headsets available in all public-access facilities (including theaters), earphones that plug into the TV and individually worn microphone and earpiece devices.
* Hearing aids can be quite beneficial when the wearer has realistic expectations and the aids are fitted properly. Although today's aids can better meet specific demands of a particular hearing loss, they continue to function as amplifiers only. Hearing aids are not perfect, and they do not duplicate normal hearing; they neither prevent nor promote hearing loss.
* Hearing-impaired individuals should not go directly to "hearing-aid specialists," "hearing-instrument dispensers" or "audioproctologists" (an illegal term which, unfortunately, is used by a few hearing-aid sales people). They should first seek professional consultations from their physicians and/or audiologists, who have national certification and state licensing.
* For example, the popular completely-in-the-canal aids may be adequate for one person and entirely inadequate for another; dual microphones may be perfect for one wearer but inappropriate for another. Hearing loss can be a life-altering experience, but with proper evaluation, counseling and recommendations, no one needs to suffer. With professional guidance, hearing-impaired individuals and their loved ones can successfully participate and enjoy our auditorily biased world.
Marcia Fariss, M.A., CCC-A
Clinical Audiologist & Speechreading Instructor, Saratoga Glen Place
Vaccines are essential part of medical arsenal
I was deeply distressed to read the negative article on immunizations by Jessica Lyons in the Jan. 19 issue of the Willow Glen Resident ("A Shot in the Dark").
But then I had to realize that she'd never had to place a patient with paralytic polio in an iron lung; had never watched a child with pertussis gasping for air because whooping cough had collapsed her lung; had never had to tell a mother, who had rubella during her pregnancy, that her infant son had been born with heart defects, cataracts, deafness and mental retardation; had never seen an adult die of diphtheritic myocarditis; had never cared for a youngster with brain damage that was caused by measles encephalitis; had never watched a child die of H. influenza meningitis; and had never had a friend die of liver failure due to Hepatitis B.
Millions of people have been immunized. Vaccines have increased the length and quality of their lives. We owe a debt to scientists who have worked to perfect older vaccines while continuing to work on newer vaccines. An AIDS/HIC vaccine is a priority on the researchers' list. The flu (influenza) vaccine is updated annually especially to protect the elderly and those with a medical need.
Vaccine safety and efficacy is constantly being monitored by the Center for Disease Control, World Health Organization, National Institute of Health, Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics, etc.
Pertussis vaccine (the P in DTP) has been replaced by acellular pertussis (DTaP); it is less apt to cause fever, etc. The inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has replaced the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for the first two doses; the Sabin vaccine (IPV) is safer. The global eradication of smallpox was accomplished in 1977; smallpox vaccination was no longer needed.
In the United States, immunizations--combined with surveillance and increased public health measures--have transformed many viral diseases into memories. But these diseases still exist, not only in our country, but also across porous borders. Automobiles, boats, trains and airplanes carry infected human beings into our country every day.
"Diet, stress-management and exercise" alone cannot protect us from many illnesses. But with the addition of immunizations to our arsenal, we can stimulate our bodies to develop immunologic defenses when we are confronted by exposure.
We must continue to immunize.
Richard M. O'Neill, M.D.
Cabana Drive
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
