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Speak Out
Lack of pride shows in litter at school
The papers and general clutter that have accumulated on the campus--especially the Junior High side of the campus--is such an eyesore! There are waste cans placed everywhere, but there must be such a lack of responsibility among this age group, that ground clutter does not bother them. I wonder if the Student Body Council has any suggestions as how to manage this. Seems that if a privilege was removed ( a school dance, for instance), there might be some cooperation from the students. There certainly seems to be a lack of student pride in the school.
The tennis courts are another eyesore. They need to be kept locked except for school hours. The nets have been dismantled. The city courts in Wallenberg Park are opened to the public. The school courts should be maintained for the students, if not by the students. I understand that part of the litter comes from organizations using the fields, etc., for the various sport matches. If the field is policed after such events and found to be littered, then that organization should lose their privilege.
Willow Glen Education Park falls short of the beauty that Willow Glenites are trying to maintain. The whole area needs to be cared for by true gardeners. Shrubs need to be cared for, weeds are taking over and general maintenance needs to be much improved.
Mrs. B. Fletscher
Willow Glen
WGHS chorale group takes the top prize
I am a native of Willow Glen and lived most of my life there. The Willow Glen High School Chorale group "Nothing But Treble" hit a high note in their first competition in Anaheim last weekend. Under the direction of Kathryn Donovan, this group took first place in their category. You might already have known about it, but if not it would be a great article to write about. Being an alumnus from Willow Glen, it's great to know that a music program is back.
It was also nice to see that Dick Sparrer is doing the sports. Dick was always good to write about us in the Sun when I played for the Willow Glen football team in the early '70s.
Al Abronzino
via email
City Council elections bear closer scrutiny
So far in the City Council election, the emphasis has mostly been on the relative experience of the candidates and the endorsements they have accumulated. Very little press has been directed to how the candidates would vote on issues likely to be brought before the City Council over the next four years, or on the candidates' priorities. The sole notable exception is the brief account of the candidate forum reported by the Resident. Now that the less experienced candidates have been weeded out, I hope the runoff campaign will focus more on substance.
It is my recollection that in previous City Council and mayoral elections, the Resident posed a number of questions to the candidates in writing and published their written replies. This was supplemental to any public forums that the candidates agreed to hold. I hope the Resident will continue this past practice for the public interest. Questions to ask the candidates should include both citywide issues (growth into the Coyote Valley, airport expansion, traffic, new library facilities, budget priorities, etc.) as well as issues of specific concern to Willow Glen residents (maintenance of Fire Station No. 6, condition of road and sewer infrastructure, speeding on neighborhood streets, etc.).
Finally, the candidate forum for the primary election was poorly publicized in advance. I hope any future forum will merit better advance notice in the Resident, and not just a story after the fact.
Mark Protsik
Spencer Ave
Future cities must be livable and walkable
Our present way of developing, rebuilding and managing cities has brought unanticipated consequences of urban life and has become a serious cause of environmental, social and aesthetic problems. It has destroyed street life, damaged the social fabric, isolated the people, fostered suburban sprawl, caused air and noise pollution and wasted energy and natural resources, not to mention taxpayers' hard-earned money.
The challenge is to the city planners and decision makers that must decide how to move into the 21st century with new ways to convert our cities for high quality of life, efficient use of resources and ways to transport people and goods. Let us start with safe streets and good transportation access to all parts of the city, where it should be possible to get anywhere in less than an hour. Green space is very important and should be made available within 10 minutes' walk of every household. The cities should be designed to reduce the use of cars. This kind of city has soul and would become the norm by the end of the 21st century unless controlled nuclear fusion becomes feasible. The cities (downtowns) should expand upward instead of outward onto farmland where food is grown. We should begin now to prepare for the changes, which are an opportunity to build urban environments superior to others.
In this election year 2000, let us find leaders who can do that; and we can vote for these leaders who can and are willing to plan and build livable and walkable cities for the generations to come.
Sukh S. Chahal
Stockton
How will train yard affect Palm Haven?
Another pet project is being railroaded through the community. There is a train maintenance yard to be operated on Stockton and Lenzen just northwest of the Arena. This is near the heart of the Shasta/Hanchett Park neighborhood. The yard will operate 24 hours a day on about 13 trains at a time. It will generate a lot of noise and thick black diesel smoke. I do not particularly want black soot coating my property every day. Palm Haven will be the most affected in our area. There has been no environmental impact study, no neighborhood meetings and a puppet task force put together just to mitigate the project. All council members but Frank Fiscalini voted for the yard. Remember that when other districts ask for our support.
Patrick Coleman
Willow Glen
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
