Carol Myers has proven that she can and will fight on behalf of the Willow Glen schools and all students in San Jose Unified School District. Many people do not trust the school district. Carol Myers is constantly asking tough questions, demanding more information, and pushing the district to rethink policies that don't work.

Carol Myers has fought for the last eight years to return the schools to the neighborhoods. At Willow Glen Elementary, almost all of the students now attend from within the neighborhood. As a result of better parent and community support, the school is getting better every day. Test scores are up and there are more enrichment and after-school activities for the children. We are very proud that the school is becoming a focal point of the community for the farmer's market, tree-lighting ceremony, summer concerts, and other activities.

Willow Glen Middle and High schools are also attracting more and more neighborhood families. Busing is down and community involvement is up. Test scores are up too. The WGM&HS Music Boosters are starting Thursdays at the Theater performances for neighborhood families. More activities like this will benefit the students and the community as the school returns to the neighborhood.

In addition, Carol Myers is very concerned about the way categorical funds are being spent for the most disadvantaged children in our district. She is also very involved in decisions about spending Measure F bond money. These are vital issues, especially during our current budget crisis.

Andrea Wheeler

Kotenberg Ave.

Foley will build on
what Myers started

It saddens me to see our Willow Glen Community polarizing in the race for San Jose Unified School District board trustee. It seems to have become a race between supporters of magnet programs (Pam Foley), and supporters of neighborhood schools (Carol Myers).

I have friends whose children have been very happy attending neighborhood schools, friends who have been happy at magnet schools and friends who have taken advantage of both.

I support Pam Foley because she is committed to building upon the effort that Carol Myers has made to bring the Willow Glen schools to the forefront without feeling the necessity to destroy the successful magnet programs. Wouldn't we all like for the school with the long waiting list and the enviable programs, test scores and facility to be right here in our own neighborhood? Certainly Carol's heart is in the right place in regards to supporting the Willow Glen schools, but after 12 years in office, it's Pioneer and John Muir that have built their attendance, not Willow Glen. Maybe it's time for a fresh approach and a leader who has a very personal, vested interest in making Willow Glen Middle and High schools stellar programs, someone who has a third-grader and stands to gain a very personal benefit from that improvement.

Not enough progress has been made in the past decade. It's time for someone new to go to work for the children of Willow Glen—all of the children of Willow Glen. I hope that you'll join me in supporting that new person, Pam Foley.

Kathy Hopp

Riverside Drive

Awareness about HIV
is important at home

Thank you for Beth Walker's informative article about local women and their support of children with AIDS in Africa in the Sept. 29 issue of the Willow Glen Resident. Here in California, we are so far removed from the reality of day-to-day life for the Third World children impacted by this epidemic. I was happy to see local women taking action and our local paper writing about it.

The article contained a very significant error regarding the epidemic here in the U.S.; unfortunately, this widely held misunderstanding may be partly responsible for the spread of HIV infection here in the United States, where appropriate prevention practices could prevent most new infections with HIV.

The article refers to Julia Lane, who unknowingly contracted the virus 17 years ago and has been able to control the disease with antiretroviral therapy. In a quote, Mancuso says, " ... medicine helped her go through remission."

With successful treatment, cancer patients often see their disease go into remission (elimination of cancer from their systems). HIV patients who undergo successful treatment see a decrease in viral load, often to a level that is undetectable by commercial lab tests, but there are few if any cases of complete remission. The daily dosing of three to five antiviral drugs suppresses viral replication but does not fully eliminate viral activity. That is why short-term or intermittent treatment with antiretrovirals is ineffective: If an HIV-positive patient does not religiously take her/his medication as prescribed, the virus can rebound, mutating to a form that is resistant to current treatment.

I am very pleased to read that Ms. Lane is doing well, and I wish her continued success. And in spite of drug side effects she does not dwell on, she is certainly better off than HIV-positive people who do not have access to treatment. I realize that was the point in the article.

Unfortunately, there are many who believe the current treatments make the threat of HIV no big deal here in California. This is not the case.

Dee Danna

Sparkling Way

Poking fun at couple's
problem is not funny

I'm writing about DeCinzo's so-called cartoon on the Espinozas' rat problem, which appeared in the Sept. 8 issue of the Willow Glen Resident.

I can't imagine how any normal-thinking person could find humor in the problem of having rats appear in their toilet or any other place within their home. We've lived in Willow Glen for 54 years and seen a few rats run along the back fence but fortunately that has been all.

Cartoonists have a lot of liberty to express themselves and that I guess is as it should be, but to demean a couple in such a "below the belt" way is, in my opinion, inexcusable.

Let's try a little experiment with DeCinzo and place a rat in his toilet and just see how long he would sit there. The First Amendment rights are great, but his freedom ends where my (or the Espinozas') nose begins. I suggest you have a heart-to-heart talk with your cartoonist and promote the idea that he refrain from any further derogatory illustrations. Thanks for listening.

John Satterstrom

Willow Glen