Dear Editor,
Now that we have not only one but two high school football
programs , we should see a need for a not half, but a full
community support to to cheer on our boys from Christopher High
School just as much as the Gilroy Mustangs had for last Friday’s
manhandling of the Acorns. It was a great feeling for all to see
the disposal of the boys from next door. But let not the rest of
the community forget the boys from the north side, for they deserve
the utmost respect of the community as well.
Let’s get two times the cheer!
Dear Editor,
Now that we have not only one but two high school football programs , we should see a need for a not half, but a full community support to to cheer on our boys from Christopher High School just as much as the Gilroy Mustangs had for last Friday’s manhandling of the Acorns. It was a great feeling for all to see the disposal of the boys from next door. But let not the rest of the community forget the boys from the north side, for they deserve the utmost respect of the community as well.
We, the community, should be pumped up about this season as much as the boys from both schools , knowing that at every end of the week there will be a football game to go see here in our beloved Garlic Town. When one school is on the road, it will be nice knowing that the other has full support of the community to play at home. I would hope that all the folks from Gilroy would feel the same, as I and the rest of Christopher High join each other every week to show that same support for our new school. After all both schools belong to to us all.
We know it will take time for the Cougers to get where the Mustangs are, but it’s a great feeling to be part of a new generation of Gilroy Football. It’s also a great feeling of being part of a “TOUCH-DOWN COUGERS!!!!!!!” as well as “ANOTHER MUS-TANGS TOUCH-DOWN!” Come out, share and show the support, Gilroy !
Shawn Lopez, Gilroy
The Golden Gate bridge goes both directions …
Dear Editor,
The song “California Here I Come” made famous by Al Jolson in 1924 with its lyric line, “Open up your Golden Gate, California here I come,” has been replaced by the cry of more and more resident taxpayers: “California let me out …”
For this we can thank the liberal tax-happy Democrat gang of politicians, like Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein, and their likes in Sacramento, as well as the crushing costs that illegal immigration continues to place on us.
How tragic that the Golden Days of California are long past, and as long as the Democrats are in power in California, our future does indeed continue to look bleak.
James Fennell, Gilroy
Will Republicans help out now that they’ve won on tort reforms?
Dear Editor,
Now that Obama has “caved in” on tort reform, something that actually needs to be done, I’m hoping that the Republicans can declare victory and get on board and get health care passed. I don’t want to end up in front of insurance company death panels.
Marc Perkel, Gilroy
Signs mean nothing if they point to nothing
Dear Editor,
Just sit back and think of what the downtown is becoming. I am a Gilroy resident and have been for about 25 years, and every year downtown is becoming worse, with no dinning attractions and nowhere to shop. It’s just a bunch of mumbo jumbo attractions if you ask me.
Think about it – you’ve got the main atttraction, which is El Rio Nilo and the soccer mall and the bowling alley and THATS IT. You drive down to Morgan Hill and they’ve got all sorts of good dining areas and semi-good shopping stores.
Oh, and by the way, the salvation army will be vaccant for another year or so – if not more – just like that old Chinese resturant a few feet away, which has been vacant for over a decade.
So you should think twice before you want to spend $500,000 on 91 signs to direct locals and tourists into the middle of nothing. You should use that money and fix up Gilroy’s downtown. Think about putting off the signs until downtown feels it deserves 91 signs for something!
Monica Diaz, Gilroy
Join the Water District CEO in cleaning up creeks
Dear Editor,
As a long-term resident with a family owned business in Morgan Hill, it disheartens me to see trash and debris polluting our creeks, streams and rivers. These pollutants not only impact the natural habitat of local wildlife, but they can also disrupt the flow of water, increasing the likelihood of flooding. I am also the CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Water District and have worked as an engineer for many years planning flood protection projects that restored the natural environment of the county’s creeks and streams. This may explain why I am so passionate about the condition of our waterways.
Fortunately there is something we can all do to help. The 25th annual Coastal Cleanup Day event provides the perfect opportunity to make a difference. To show my support for the event, I’ve decided to host a site on West Little Llagas Creek in Morgan Hill.
Each day millions of Californians enjoy the state’s coastline and waterways, however, many of us are unaware of how our lifestyles may be impacting the plants and wildlife along them. Daily activities, such as driving a car, not properly disposing of your garbage, or even throwing a cigarette butt on the ground can have a serious effect. When it rains, trash on sidewalks and streets accumulates in the gutter and is swept into your city’s storm drain system. Most storm drain systems discharge directly into the nearest waterway, which eventually flows to the ocean. In fact, results of more than 10 years of volunteer beach cleanup data indicate that 60 to 80 percent of beach debris comes from land-based sources. This is why removing trash and debris from our local creeks helps keep the coastal areas clean too.
California Coastal Cleanup Day is the nation’s premier marine environment volunteer event and has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as ‘the largest garbage collection” (1993). When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year.
Each year, Santa Clara Valley Water District joins the Creek Connections Action Group, which includes Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation and the City of San Jose, to host a Coastal Cleanup Day.
This year’s event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 19. There will be 35 specified cleanup locations along the peninsula, in cities ranging from Gilroy to Palo Alto. Individuals, clubs and classes are welcome to volunteer, as well as those looking to fulfill community service requirements. All youth under the age of 18 must have a parent/guardian signature on their Waiver of Liability and will also need adult supervision for the entire event.
Volunteers are encouraged to wear long pants, sturdy shoes, gloves and sunscreen and to bring their own pick-up sticks. Trash bags, extra gloves, first-aid supplies, water and refreshments will be provided at no cost.
Since the program started in 1985, close to 900,000 Californians have removed more than 13 million pounds of debris from our state’s shorelines and coast. Debris, such as:
-1,154,740 Bottle caps
-5,236,619 Cigarette butts
-1,252,749 Food wrappers
Just imagine if no one ever volunteered to help clean up; the banks of our water ways and coastlines would be covered. Just last year, 73,000 volunteers collected more than 1,480,000 pounds of trash and 178,000 pounds of recyclables from beaches, lakes, and creeks across California. In Santa Clara County alone, 1,331 volunteers turned out to remove 95,656 pounds of debris and 16,327 pounds of recyclables from 26 locations throughout the county.
Please join me at my site or consider volunteering at one of our many other cleanup sites. For more volunteer information, Waiver of Liability forms, and specific cleanup locations, please visit www.cleanacreek.org.
Beau Goldie, Morgan Hill
