Dear Editor:
I pay taxes (income, property, sales, etc.). I vote in elections
(primary, presidential, special, etc.). I am involved in my
community (GDNA, VIP, UNSCC, etc.). And I live in GILROY. As such,
I humbly offer my opinion as a sample of some cross-section of
Gilroy’s population.
Dear Editor:
I pay taxes (income, property, sales, etc.). I vote in elections (primary, presidential, special, etc.). I am involved in my community (GDNA, VIP, UNSCC, etc.). And I live in GILROY. As such, I humbly offer my opinion as a sample of some cross-section of Gilroy’s population.
I welcome a Super Wal-Mart. I welcome a new police station, with a clock tower. And I welcome radical changes in our current educational system.
I worked for Wal-Mart many years ago. I have known the company to be a generous supporter of its community by not only creating jobs, but by donating merchandise for local events and charitable causes. It is an American success story that has become a cultural icon. I think a Super Wal-Mart would be good for GILROY. Hopefully, this Super Wal-Mart will be open 24 hours a day like others I have been to. A clean, 24-hour grocery store is needed on this side of town because PW just does not cut it. So I don’t think PW will lose any more business than it already has due to it’s own way of business. As far as air quality, wouldn’t emissions be reduced by only going to one place for grocery, household, automotive, etc. items?
Instead of starting vehicles several more times and traversing more of the city to spread more emissions, we could make two starts (one there and one back). I am hopeful that the additional tax revenue will offset the money the state is not returning to GILROY’s coffers.
We desperately need a new police station. I have been in our current police station on numerous occasions and to describe it as crowded would be a gross understatement. Let’s have a facility we will not outgrow in the next two decades. The men and women who protect our city deserve better than what they have been efficiently managing so far. But there, space is finite and, if we do not act soon, it will only get worse. There are only so many broom closets you can turn into offices. GILROY does not have vast amounts of vacant industrial real estate that desperate owners need to liquidate, like, let’s say, Morgan Hill. Our city leaders have the foresight to plan for the long-term with efficient and effective use of space and interaction of city services. I believe with the original design, the station’s completion date was in 2005. But with the redesign, I believe it is slated for 2008. The difference in overall cost does not justify a three-year delay. The time to break ground is now, because the longer we wait, the higher the cost.
Education is a critical element to the evolution of our society. We, the United States of America, have lost a common thread that connects us. The founders of our country had a common education. Approximately, 34 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention had studied law. Thomas Jefferson wrote in a private letter, “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”
It seems that there is a tyrannical force present in the educational system that is oppressing the minds of our youth, There can be no level field of play. This is not a sport, it is life. It is survival of the fittest. Our educational system should not be lowered to the standards of the weakest member of the group. The standards should be set higher, so there are goals and a sense of accomplishment when the goals are achieved. The educational system is committing a great disservice to the public when it is more concerned with having a body in a chair so that funding is continued than with fostering an environment that prepares children to become functioning members of society with the potential to become anything the set their minds to.
I have seen my niece and nephew struggle to learn to read by memorizing the spelling of a word instead of sounding it out with phonics. Memorizing the spelling of a word to read is like giving a man a fish to eat for a day. Teaching phonics and using it to sound out words is like teaching a man to fish so that he may eat for a lifetime. I also believe that the language of this country is English. Therefore, if you are to be a functioning member of society, you should learn English. The educational system is not only not serving its English speaking population by providing instruction in Spanish, which leaves minds idle, but it is also disserving a Spanish speaking population because the will not have the basics of English to higher educate themselves as well as compete for higher salaries in the job market.
I applaud our City Council for their foresight in the recent decisions they have made for GILROY’s future with regards to new revenue sources. I applaud our police officers who protect and serve us and deserve a more appropriate place to continue their good work. I applaud Denise Baer Appuzo for publicizing ideas that are grounded in logic and common sense. Finally, maybe I haven’t been as informed on GILROYAN’s discontent with the issues I have discussed. I have only noticed three GILROYANs, who “could not be reached for comment”, who have “filed an environmental critique” on the Super Wal-Mart issue. The rest of the opinions I have seen have been from Morgan Hill residents, San Jose labor union members, Hollister residents, etc. Let’s evaluate the opinions on GILROY with respect to where the opinions are coming from.
Natalie Schnetzler, Gilroy
Submitted Friday, Jan. 30 to ed****@ga****.com
The Golden Quill is awarded occasionally for a well-written letter.
