My dad would call to the packing house and ask for four workers for X weeks and they came on time with packed lunches and did a fine job. When I was home on leave from the military or later from college or the aerospace industry, I would help them to do the work properly and to put the tools away and they sure appreciated the learning. They lived at the packing houses with room, board (three meals) and laundry area, and liked it.There are still barracks at Fillmore and Piru. Why aren’t there still barracks such as these today? What happened to the 18-month green card?If 2,000 workers were needed, they were issued cards and there was control. It worked.The illegal situation is rampant and far, far too long. And all the freebies given out and by your tax money including the many who are in the prisons. All of us Americans have family history about our kin coming here legally, spending months at Ellis Island being processed. They saw the Statue of Liberty and they learned our American language, got work, flew the U.S. flag and were no burden to tax monies or jails. They were happy and free and earning their way.I know about “legal immigration.” While I was in the military I married an Aussie gal, and my first son was born there. All that legal red tape for their entry here, I know about. And it should be that way. And she was well schooled and smart for her age then, and easily became a U.S. citizen later. “All legally.” And she spoke our language, prospered and paid taxes.I do think that if the citizens of Mexico were treated properly in their country that they would be very happy there and prosper with their own lifestyle there. Mexico is a rich country with industry, farming and oil, but the living benefits are poor. If I was a citizen there I too would be seeking better for my family. But this U.S. of A. is “our country” and should be protected for our citizens and our benefits the way it once was run, or better.For those who disrespect our flag, our president and our representatives and our own religions, our laws, and our men and women overseas should leave. There should be no amnesty. Citizenship should be earned “the old original way.”Don’t embarrass our forefathers. And mothers.Ken ZimmetSanta PaulaSimple explanationTo the Editor:The reason for the desperation of the people of South America to come to the U.S. is simple. Their economic depression started before anyone living today was born. History tells us the Spanish came to this continent about 500 years ago and brought three things: 1) Spanish language, 2) Catholicism, 3) Corruption. If you practice anything for 400 years, you may get good at it. You compound the problem when you elect leaders that are narcissistic, one after another. Proof of the corruption came when they took the guns away from their own police department in T.J. Their presidents steal from those that elected them and send their ill-gotten gains out of the country.The strongest motivation of all living things on this earth, human and microbes, is self-preservation. If you produce children that you cannot afford to feed, house, clothe, provide insurance or educate, you are producing and perpetuating poverty.Poverty produces desperation and ignorance produces people that throw rocks at someone holding a gun right in front of them, how desperate and dumb can one get? Lack of education causes people to fly the flag that proves that they are from a failed economy. All people vote with their feet.Who can blame someone for deserting an economically sinking ship? Who wants to be the last person getting off?David KaiserSanta PaulaSludge hearingTo the Editor:To the Citizens of the Santa Clara River Valley:The Ventura Regional Sanitation District is proposing a SEWAGE SLUDGE TREATMENT PLANT at the Toland Landfill. We have been monitoring this proposal and had not taken action against it because, as initially presented by the VRSD, we were led to believe this was a small project and would have little impact on our valley. However, it has become evident, very recently, that this proposal is a huge undertaking. The VRSD is having great difficulty coming up with an economically viable project that will not create serious impacts. Ignoring our concerns, the Ventura County Planning Department approved a “minor” modification to the landfill permit that would allow the VRSD to process all 16,000 tons of countywide SEWAGE SLUDGE a month, generating 31 million gallons of untreated sewage water a year. No Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was required!We have had no choice but to appeal this decision to the Ventura County Planning Commission and there will be a hearing on this SEWAGE SLUDGE proposal at: Ventura County Government Center, Supervisors Meeting Room, June 28, 2007, 8:30 a.m.The appeal triggered an automatic hearing at the County Board of Supervisors at: Ventura County Government Center, Supervisors Meeting Room, July 24, 2007, 1:30 p.m.Once again, we are about to be dumped on by the other cities of this county. Toland Landfill is not permitted to accept SEWAGE SLUDGE. The people of this valley were promised over and over again when the Ventura County Supervisors approved the expansion of the landfill in 1996, that SEWAGE SLUDGE would never be allowed. The many serious impacts of this proposal, try as the VRSD has to deny them, are undeniable! And they will affect everyone living in this valley!We plan to ask some hard questions and are hoping for less “spin” with some clear and honest answers from the VRSD, the cities, and the county. Please join us at both hearings to hear those answers. We must be ever vigilant!Anita NelsonGordon KimballCo-Chairs,The Toland GroupSuccessful BeeTo the Editor:On behalf of Blanchard Library’s FLAIR Literacy Program, I want to say “thank you” to everyone who helped make our 18th Annual Executive Spelling Bee a great success! Funds raised will be matched by the State Library!Thank you to the brave spellers from the following teams: KENT HOLLENBACK, DDS - Catarina Casteneda, Kelsey Hollenback and Kent Hollenback; KIWANIS CLUB - Lisa Gunia, Pam Strange and Barbara Suggs; SANTA PAULA TIMES - Peggy Kelly, Marianne Ratcliff and Suzi Skutley; ROTARY CLUB - Wally Bobkiewicz, Elias Valdes and Chris Wilson; SANTA PAULA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT - Diana Del Rio, Robin Holcombe and Tricia Purcell; SOROPTIMIST INT’L - Cindy Jordan, Barbara Kroon and Donna Stewart; WEYERHAEUSER - Mary Babcock, Luann Farley, and Tyler Thessin; to the wise Judges: Ralph Fernandez, Sandra Perello and Luis Villegas; the masterful Master of Ceremonies, Don Johnson; the punctilious Pronouncer, Leslie Nichols; the “BEEutiful” Bee, Samantha Mendez; and to Xavier Montes with his heavenly harp.Thank You to our generous donors: Gary Zaparelli - Round Table Pizza, Fillmore & Western Railway Co., The Oaks at Ojai, McDonald’s, Yolanda’s Mexican Café, Mimi’s Café, Magic Mountain, Disneyland, LA Dodgers, Skating Plus, Golf n’ Stuff, Red Robin, In-N-Out Burgers, Yeyo Lino, Gena Rios, Barbara Rios, Tarcilla Mitchell, Jane Lax, Marilyn Wolever, Scott Rushing, Coastal Harvesting, Inc., Juan Corona Jr., SP Animal Clinic - Angele Blanton, Beverly Haase, Elaine Hunt, Rose Chacon, Robert & Shirley Hargarten, Mendez Concrete, Inc., Loree Garibay, Ed & Norma Geis, Anita Pulido, Patti Douglas, Abel Montiel - FM Pearce Co., Yvonne Rockwell, Joe Lyou, Raymond & Thea Seto, Milt & Jane Lax, Mercer-Prieto V.F.W., Douglas & Sherri Smith, Richard & Hilda Halpin, Karin & Don Bowers, Paula Clarke and Scott Brown.Thank you to: Reverend Kim, Nadine Lamanno, and the board at First United Methodist Church for use of Wesley Hall; all of the helpers who provided bake sale items, set up before the bee, sold Lucky Eggs, staffed stations during the bee and cleaned up afterwards, including: Juan Corona Jr., Cindy Matthieu, Dan Robles, Xavier Montes, Jean McGregor, Peggy Poehler, Aracely Navarro, Yvonne Flores, Joe Lyou, Dora Crouch, Barbara Suggs, Susan Branham, Gene & Marie Marzec, Rosanna Mendoza, Elvira Navarro, Vanessa Mendoza, Isaac Mendoza, Monica Michel, Jerry Newman, Richard (Papa) Mendez, Raquel Michel, and Mr. Owen Bird. Thank you to all those in the audience who stayed to cheer on the teams. Finally, a special thank you to Don & Debbie Johnson of the Santa Paula Times for their continual generosity in sponsoring our annual spelling bee fundraiser.Kathryn BornhauserLiteracy Services Coordinator
Letters to the Editor
June 22, 2007
Opinion
Congratulations!
To the Editor:Congratulations – it finally passed. After a long and tough road and so much of camaraderie, etc., Measure A7, the Adams Canyon project, finally made it and it passed through with flying colors with the votes of you Santa Paulans.It will be a very wonderful project and something that Santa Paula will be looking forward to and everything that they wanted from this project and with affordable new housing as well as all the others – like parks, schools and then some – with all of what we have wanted over the last couple few or several years. Santa Paula is finally getting what it voted for and I hope we all, and that is Santa Paula is very happy.Thank you.John BravoSanta PaulaGrateful thanksTo the Editor:Now that our son, Joey Villa, is home recovering from his severe injuries we want to take the time to give our thanks to many. First and foremost, we want to thank God that He spared our son’s life and that no one else was injured in the car accident.Secondly, we wish to thank the Santa Paula Fire Department and the other rescuers that were on the scene so quickly. Joey never did have the desire to ride in a helicopter, but we are grateful that one was available to swiftly transport him to Community Memorial Hospital.Thirdly, we want to thank the skilled doctors that attended to Joey (Dr. Sparkuhl, Dr. Menz, Dr. Nickel, Dr. Edison, Dr. Handley, Dr. Herman). Each and every one of these fine doctors did everything possible to repair Joey’s injuries.Another group of angels were all the dedicated nurses at CMH, especially Joey’s special nurse Sandy. Each nurse was compassionate and took great care of Joey.We’d also like to thank all of our family, friends, colleagues, community members, SPUHS faculty and students, and even strangers who prayed, visited, brought food, sent cards, delivered flowers, donated money, walked the dog and offered much needed emotional support. Joey’s friends rallied for him by visiting daily, bringing him pictures, gifts, and words of encouragement. They really helped Joey stay positive and focused on recovering.Last, but not least, we want to thank Friends of McKevett parent/faculty group for setting up a donation account that has already blessed our family immensely by helping to supply Joey’s home medical equipment, prescription costs, gasoline, and all the other unexpected costs of this traumatic situation. Joey’s recovery will continue for another year with physical therapy and more medical procedures, and these donations help make it easier to get the best care possible for him.All of you have played an instrumental part in Joey’s recovery, and for that… we are grateful.Ben and Teresa VillaSanta PaulaTaking responsibility for your healthTo the Editor:I was reading several articles yesterday in the Ventura Star in regards to legislation on health care and health care reform and was intrigued by some of the commentary.There is a lot of negative press these days about insurance companies. I am one of THOSE people who work for an insurance company, actually the largest insurer in the nation. The particular area that I work in is State Sponsored Business, better known as Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and CMSP. It is my job to work with members who have diabetes. My co-workers and I work diligently with our members to provide education, guidance, motivation and resources to help people improve and maintain their health. I am proud of the help I provide for others and am privileged to work for a company who supports the members.I wonder how many people realize that diabetes is the largest epidemic in the world today? Yes, I said epidemic, with greater numbers than even AIDS!Diabetes is an insidious disease that creeps up on you. Before you know it, you have trouble with your eyes, then maybe your circulation, nerves in your feet and hands, then maybe your kidneys. There can even be strokes and heart attacks caused by diabetes. If diabetes is in your family or if you are overweight, you could be at risk for developing diabetes. The problem is, when this condition starts, you may not realize that something is wrong because you feel just fine. Once it is detected (by a simple blood test), steps should be taken immediately to bring the blood sugars down to recommended levels.The good news is, the complications related to diabetes can be slowed down and in many cases stopped! But in order to do that, we all have to take a good look at our lifestyles and make some changes.Please take responsibility for your health. If you lose your health, you have nothing.Some simple things you can do include:• Replace sugary sodas with diet soda or better yet, water or Sugar-free Crystal Light!• Watch your portion sizes! A serving of meat should be no bigger than a deck of cards. Eat more vegetables! Potatoes and rice convert to sugar in the body, so limit those to about ½ cup at a time.• Avoid or decrease the amount of alcohol you drink. This also converts to sugar in the body.• Take a walk. Start slowly and work your way up to an hour, 3 to 4 times a week.• See your doctor immediately if you feel thirsty all of the time, urinate frequently or feel weak. Get check ups at least yearly.• Set a good example for your children! Exchange cookies and candy for healthy snacks such as veggies and dip, low fat string cheese, low fat popcorn, sugar-free Popsicles.We can all help lower the cost of health care! It just takes a few simple changes to make a world of difference in your health! Then you can take personal responsibility for helping to abolish the diabetes epidemic. Tell a friend or neighbor!Good luck!Dee Johnston, RNSanta PaulaRespect our bordersTo the Editor:I was inspired to write this after reading Bill Glenn’s good letter in another newspaper.When Congressman Charles “Charlie” Teague was in office he came up with the green card for 18 months for Mexican nationals and it worked well and I wonder what happened to the very well done idea in later years. The cardholder worked 18 months then went back to Mexico. The nationals were honest and worked out very well.
