The death penalty and traffic are on reader’s minds
Death for man who pulled gun on officer an ‘outrageous suggestion’
Dear Editor,
I feel compelled to write in response to James Fennell’s outrageous suggestion that Pete Joseph Valdez deserves the death penalty. Fennell’s reaction is as extreme as Valdez himself pulling a gun on a police officer – it was not a rational response considering the circumstances. The death penalty is meant to be instituted upon only the most hardened of criminals.
While Valdez has made some very stupid decisions in his life, he does not deserve to die. He is not a hardened criminal who has been in trouble from his beginning. He was an average kid and teen while growing up, not a “bad seed”. Unfortunately at some point in his late teens like many of our youth, he took the wrong road down “life’s path”; his lack of direction, of course, involved drugs.
It is my sincere belief that God’s hand did play a part that fateful morning, but not only to save Police Officer Ballard; he also saved the life of Pete Joseph!
As a friend of the Valdez Family, I ask that we not judge their son. That duty belongs to God and our judicial system. It seems that God has given him the ultimate “second chance”; my prayer is that he will work with God to clean up his troubled life.
Margaret Myers, Gilroy
Many factors influencing parental decisions to drive kids to school
Dear Editor,
Once again I just finished a article from Nov 20th’s front page regarding bus versus driving your child to school. I really do have mixed feelings about this. I personally do not live in a bus area so I do drive my son to Gilroy High School everyday and also dealt with the traffic at both Luigi Aprea and Solorsano.
I have spoken with many parents about the transportation situation in Gilroy, and the idea of their child riding the bus is great but there are a lot of things that are worrisome. Some children have to be up and out the door before 7 a.m. to catch a bus. A major factor seems that leaving your children on the side of the road to catch the bus is not a option these days so they must have a parent or adult who is trying to get ready for work and maybe getting the other kids ready stay outside.
Sometimes the bus is late causing them to be late also. Ideally the kids should walk that live a mile or less from school, however it’s just not safe anymore. Safety is not dictated by age. I wouldn’t let my 15-year-old walk alone to school. So maybe if the district took a better look at the safety issues that are concerning parents more kids would take advantage of the bus and walking to school. Crossing guards are so important yet non existent at major intersections.
The traffic flow on Santa Teresa at Solorsano at 7:30 or so is horrible. That is a very long cross for a small child to make a speedy cross with all the huge backpacks they have to carry. Cheers for the crossing guard at Glen View who is out there everyday. He is much needed. So while we want out kids to walk to school to help traffic and promote health we need to make things safe. Why some parents don’t take advantage of the bus we might never know unless we ask them. There are probably reasons that the Gilroy School District Transportation Department is unaware of.
Jody Swift, Gilroy
