Dear Editor,
Yes, Hope Harlan, stealing is stealing, and once the recycle
bins go out to the curb, they belong to someone else
– South Valley Disposal and Recycling Company, not the thieves
who take cans and bottles EVERY week.
It’s stealing, and the people taking the recycling aren’t all destitute
Dear Editor,
Yes, Hope Harlan, stealing is stealing, and once the recycle bins go out to the curb, they belong to someone else – South Valley Disposal and Recycling Company, not the thieves who take cans and bottles EVERY week.
I don’t put anything in my bin that can be recycled for money, however, every week I have to run someone off who thinks there is a “treasure” in there. And, they are not all homeless, they just appear to be in the eyes of the homeowner. I have seen them pull up in modern vehicles, park them, get out, steal and then drive away.
There was one lady every week who drove up in a Sebring convertible, got out to steal, until she got tired of me yelling at her to leave. We had a family next to us that Grandma and Grandpa dumpster dived , making two trips down the street in their “grubbies” daily, dressed so that people would get the idea they were “homeless” when, in fact, they owned the house.
And let me tell you, the smell, flies and ants that gathered in the yards while they stacked up the recycling before taking it in, especially in the hot temps of July and August was not pleasant.
I, personally, don’t put my recycle bin to the street until the sun comes up, and when I see someone looking into it, I go out with my cell phone in hand and tell them to leave or I will call the police. I agree with Christine Taylor, it is stealing and it does need to stop.
Susan M. Baker, Gilroy
Recycling since the age of 6, and the grocery bag tax isn’t needed
Dear Editor,
I have been recycling since the age of 6. I remember when newspapers paid well and when aluminum cans hit 22 cents per pound (making them 1 cent each). I was glad when the city started curbside recycling and expanded it to the large blue containers. However, people need to know a sham when they see it.
The county is looking, as always, to keep nickel-and-diming the people. Remember how long it took the state to offer the CRV refund? They were quick to charge it, and three years later we had a place to cash in. We use the paper bags for food drives and for recycling newspaper. We use the plastic bags for car trash and other clean-up projects.
These get far more use than the single time claimed by the environmentalist wackos. Louise Helland of San Martin (letters, Dec. 16), and her kind, should move to Europe if they think it’s so great to pay for single-use bags. She claims there is less roadside waste, but the roads are trashier than ever. If any Gilroy City Councilman supports this, let’s recall him. If they pass it, we the people can get a referendum going and force them to repeal it.
Alan Viarengo, Gilroy
GHS choral program ‘one of the cultural gems of our community’
Dear Editor,
Perhaps an angel or two paused over Gilroy on Wednesday night as the exquisite harmonies of Lux Aurumque rose to the skies. The voices of the Gilroy High School choirs held a standing room only crowd spellbound. The program opened with a candlelit procession of carolers, continued with a wide variety of numbers both classical and jazzy, and ended with 200 voices singing the Hallelujah Chorus.
As a community, we should be proud of the exceptional choral program that Phil Robb has built at Gilroy High. The quality of the work is worthy of Carnegie Hall. I was delighted to see the collaboration from adult musicians in other South County arts organizations. Musicians from South Valley Symphony and South Valley Theatre, as well as alumni musicians joined the high school singers and instrumentalists. My personal thanks to the Dispatch for reminding me of the program.
I was one of many community members who do not have a child in Gilroy High, but consider that program one of the cultural gems of our community. Anyone who was there Tuesday or Wednesday night knows why we must continue to support the arts in schools.
Louise Helland, San Martin
