All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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A woman called “on behalf of the Madera Chapter of the Grapevine Red Hatters and in hopes of the nice gentleman that had his breakfast at the same restaurant we did on Saturday morning. Will read this. We would like to thank him. This is the only way we know because we did not know who he was, but when we went to pay our bill he had taken care of the whole thing. There were 13 of us so it was no small undertaking. We just wanted to thank you,” the caller concluded, “and wish you a good life.”

A lady called “concerning the upcoming Madera Irrigation District (MID) election.” She had a “couple of interesting questions. Were deals made under the table during the time Ron Pistoresi, ex-chairman of the board for MID, while acting as general manager?” She also asked if “candidate Larry Pietrowski was sold water under the going rate? MID employees, were these charges hidden from the board?” The caller mentioned to the voters, “MID records are public knowledge. Before your vote become informed.”

“Lets get the sports team on the ball,” began a frequent caller’s message. The man continued, “local boy makes good. Nick Bates, former Madera Coyote star, started at linebacker for Fresno State against San Jose State.” He said, “(Bates) is scheduled to start again Friday night against Boise State.” He suggested, “lets do a little background on this boy and bring him to life.”

“I just wanted to report something good,” said a woman. “A man appeared at my door with my wallet. It had my ID in it, and insurance papers. I was so thrilled because I was going to have to go through all the hassle to renew my Social Security and everything. The man had found it on a roof of a house. I want to thank the man. I don’t know who he was, or where he was, but he sure found it and got it back to me.”

A woman noticed, “last week the garbage truck was picking up two grey cans and two blue cans. I called and reported it.” When she returned home she “noticed her grey can was still full and everybody else’s was gone. Unbelievable,” she concluded.

Another man called about last week’s message concerning the “blue Toyota (pickup) that goes down the alley going through the blue cans for recyclables.” The man wanted everyone to know, “he goes down my alley also and,” he added, “if you look real closely, it (the driver) looks like one of our supervisors.” The caller figured, “he has to make payments on that Toyota you know.”

“This is a great, big thank you to all the firefighters, policemen and volunteers,” began a message from a grateful lady. “All the workers on the southern California fires.” She said, “I had relatives who had to evacuate, some twice, but they made it okay.”

A lady, “just wanted you guys to know on America’s Best Top Model (television show) one of the models was born and raised in Madera.” The caller said, “during her interview she talks about Madera.” The caller left her name and phone number and was wondering, “because you have a lot of readers, and maybe you could do a story on her.”

“What took you so long? said a caller about Tribune columnist Leon Emo. “I read your (Mo’s) Meandering Saturday and it’s about time you got back to the desert. It’s what you do best.”

A gentleman wondered, “when is Lowe’s going to start construction or breaking ground? I haven’t seen any action yet,” said the caller, “but I’m sure looking forward to it.”

“Can anyone tell me why, around 3:30, here in Madera, it starts smelling to high heaven? asked a man. “Almost everyday and it lasts well into the night. It is like we have a cattle ranch nearby.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478.

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.

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A near-record number of calls on the same subject were received concerning cuts in benefits, pay and vacation time for city employees. Far too many to list individually, below is a composite of the comments.

“I think it is unfair,” began a man who identified himself as a city employee. “David Tooley (city administrator) and Wendy Silva (human resources director) are destroying our morale by taking away or reducing our health benefits and options.” The caller, along with several others, said, “a lawsuit is going to be filed.”

Another caller, a woman, said simply, “How can we work with pride for the city of Madera after what our own city hall has done to us?”

Another caller, upset with the loss of vacation said, “Ever since I began working for the city, I have not used a lot of my vacation pay. This is not because I didn’t want to, it is just that I felt my duties, and my job, came first. Now, because of my dedication to the city I am losing over two weeks of earned vacation because after years and years they decided to enforce a rule.”

“Without notice or reason the city has stripped all of us down to under 280 hours vacation, said a man. “Most of us would never have used this vacation because we don’t have the time working for the city or are dedicated to the people of this community. However, in the case of a catastrophic illness and your sick leave runs out, it would have been nice to be able to use that vacation time.” The man had a suggestion. “Forget your dedication. Use that vacation. Keep it below 280 and take the time when you want to take it. The city administrator, human resources, and the city council don’t care about you.”

A woman “wanted to know if Madera is a sanctuary city? All the homeowners get charged with everything and all these wonderful illegals that do the jobs nobody else wants to do, don’t have to pay anything. They never get charged for the garbage they throw all over the place. They urinate in the street. Sure looks like a sanctuary city to me.”

“I read an article in Tuesday’s (Oct. 16) paper about the dedication of the new addition to the Holy Family Table,” said a male caller. “I think it is great. I noticed the story was written by your columnist Leon Emo,” he continued. “Don’t tell me Mr. Emo is finally getting some religion?”

A woman wanted us to “look at how Europe does it,” when it comes to the blue can issue. “A large unit serving about 20 to 25 families. The opening is about one-foot square. Cardboard is broken down. They recycle all items as we do and the city taxes each property.”

“Concerning the blue cans, I think it’s wonderful,” said a gentleman. “I sorted my plastics and cans in there and as I’m looking out my window on Monday when the trash is to be picked up, a brand new Toyota Tundra is driving down the alley picking through the blue cans and throwing them in the back of the truck. Maybe we should get someone to patrol the areas,” he suggested.

A gentleman called to ask why we were not covering a court trial. “In 2002, a gentleman was killed in his home.” He said the Tribune “carried an article about it” as the paper did in 2004 mentioning, “there was going to be a trial.” Now he asked, “the trial started a week ago and I’ve seen no coverage whatsoever.”

A lady watched “Thursday morning the blue and grey containers being dumped into the same garbage truck.” She said, “I will not make an effort to separate my garbage after seeing that.”

The caller also had a comment about the County Board of Supervisors approving a large development near Highway 41 and the San Joaquin. “I think our leaders, and I use the term loosely, have done a very foolish thing in giving the Rio Mesa the go ahead. The Rio Mesa big shots must have made you feel real big and important with their flattery. With the farmers worried about a water shortage,” she continued, “your decision was not only foolish, but stupid thinking and doing.”

A frequent caller said, “I’ve lived in my house for 36 years,” and was wondering why now it seems “I am living under the flight path of LAX (Los Angeles International) with jets screaming down at night and waking me up.” He asked, “what is going on at the airport?”

A woman said, “my husband was almost run over by a car last night trying to cross in front of the VFW Hall on Sixth Street. He was out in the middle of the street, in the crosswalk, when a lady in a car going 45-miles per hour on a cell phone didn’t even bother to slow down. One more step,” she said, “and he would have been hit.” The caller mentioned one lady had already been killed and “it is a very dangerous area.” She strongly recommended the police monitor the area more closely.

A man asked, “how does the (Madera Unified) school board lay off all the P.E. (Physical Education) teachers saying they don’t have any money. They all go to Clovis or Fresno then the board hires them back?” He asked the same question about librarians then asked why they “offered the teachers 1 1/2 percent, saying they don’t have any money, then, all of sudden, give them 8 percent.” He wondered, “is our board not telling the truth? Don’t they have morals? I can hardly wait for the next election,” he concluded.

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478.

As many have noticed by now, The Madera Tribune has slowed the rate of updates to our main Web site (www.maderatribune.com) and this one. For the moment, the plan is to update the main site once a week if possible, and this one at least once a month.

Even so, any comments submitted here will continue to be moderated and posted here as appropriate, as well as passed on for possible publication in the daily newspaper. Please keep your comments coming.

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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–“This message is for the city of Madera,” began a message from a woman. “I’m not using your blue can. You can take your blue can anytime you want. It is sitting out here in front of my house. It will be sitting out here until the wheels have rotted off it. You’re making money off of everybody in this town,” she continued, “and taxing and charging us for the blue cans.”

–A lady called about the article “about the Christian bikers in town. It was really good. I look forward to stories like this. I just want to compliment the writer and newspaper.”

–A woman responded to “the man who wrote the letter in last Tuesday’s paper questioning the Catholic Church.” She suggested, “to get your answers all you have to do is enroll in the RCIA classes in the Catholic Church.” She also suggested an Internet site and a television network.

–A man at Lions Town & Country Park noticed “a group of teenagers all gathering up, brakes slamming and tires squealing.” At the south end of the park he noticed “something was going on, and what appeared to be a fight. There was yelling and screaming.” He decided to call the police and was “surprised to find” the non-emergency number had been changed. He reported what he saw by calling 911 and was told, “by the dispatcher, that officers were already on the way. They never showed up until about 10 minutes later,” said the caller. “By then somebody could have been killed. By the time they showed all the teenagers involved had already taken off. I was really disappointed.” The caller changed his reference of Town & Country Park to “Lincoln Park,” and again stated that the park had become a gang area. He concluded, “I am a concerned citizen and taxpayer.”

–A man who “happened to be attending a meeting of the Madera Unified School Board, when one of your columnists, Jim Glynn, was speaking. It was a little while back,” he admitted, but “was totally appalled at the action of a board member (named), and his outrageous blood pressure thing and the way he stated things.” He said he would like to see this particular trustee “investigated” and wondered if he suffered from “being bipolar.”

–A woman was concerned “about the block on North C Street, from Griffin Hall to 4th Street. It is a disgrace to Madera. The people who live there hang their underwear in the front yard, on the fence and wherever they can. It’s a jungle there. At one time,” she continued, “there were beautiful homes there. The pride of Madera, but now they look awful. Where are the code enforcement officers?”

–“The lawn Gestapo, formerly known as the Madera Redevelopment Agency has taken a big bite. Sitting in their little office, looking down main street for five years looking at the Mexicali colors yet take no action. Now their jumping all over home owners. A 32-year old action being taken against citizens, boy,” he concluded, “is that a way to make friends?”

–A caller said, “I read the front page of your paper this morning about the city going out for a graffiti call then fining the resident for add on’s that were not permitted years ago. My understanding of the laws is that if a citizen calls for help on a item and the city finds something else wrong with another item that is not related to the crime that the city does not have the right to cite you.”

–A woman called about the article Monday “regarding the patio cover. I think the Code Enforcement is being a little ridiculous about the patio cover (shown in the Tribune). They should be more concerned about other issues in the city regarding dilapidated housing, and the trash and clutter in backyards. They need to be doing a better job about what is actually wrong with the city.”

–A man “found it quite funny on (Highway) 145, just east of Tozer where that new subdivision is that is only halfway built they are having a public auction to sell those houses. But,” the caller continued, “let’s go ahead and build more homes when we can’t even sell what we got. And let’s plan more houses like out at Avenue 12 and 145 (the Red Line believes the caller meant to say: Highway 41 and Avenue 12), 6,000 new homes. What were the politicians thinking of? I think the contractors deserve everything they lose on these houses.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478 or going on line at maderatribuneredline.com

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.

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A male caller mentioned a message last week about the dry grass at the fairgrounds. He then asked, “have you ever driven by on Wednesday afternoon to see what the parking lot looks like? That is what Madera is going to look like 25 years from now with the people we have living in this town.” He mentioned walking into two or three (named) large retail stores, “these people don’t even know how to control their kids. They just tear everything up and destroy other people’s property.”

A lady had a comment for the woman who complained last week “about the stores being all cluttered. It is certainly not the employee’s fault,” this week’s caller said, “and certainly not the manager’s. It’s the parents who let their children run wild. They open boxes. They pull thing off the racks and the parents do nothing to stop them. Don’t blame the store. They are doing the best they can with limited staff. They don’t have enough to follow every child around and pick up after them.”

“There is a new store,” said a lady caller, “on Madera Avenue (Highway 145). A guy is selling windows and mattresses right on his front lawn.” The caller “wondered if the city has given him a license to do this.”

A woman who “was reading the sports page of Oct. 2,” about a gymnastics meet. The photo supplied to the Tribune, did not show the top gymnast at the meet and the caller thought we “should show her picture as well.”

A lady “concerned about the teachers’ increase in salary,” said, “it is not half as much as the administrator’s and not half as much as they deserve.” She said she “put five kids through the school system and I would not be a teacher for all the tea in China for what they have to put up with. And they have the parents to put up with, too.” She suggested, “parents get behind your teachers and stick up for them.”

A woman wanted to thank the City of Madera and the Police Department. “In less than 24 hours the graffiti on the back wall at the end of our street was sandblasted off.”

A man called “regarding the blue cans. I’m all for recycling. However, somebody is making money on this and I think we should be given credit off of our bill instead of having it increased. If we’re not going to get some kind of credit,” he continued, “I’m just not going to bother putting anything in that blue can.”

A man who said he was “ a subscriber who enjoys Mo’s Musings and Bill Coate’s articles,” said, “the readers of Emo’s column used to enjoy the full length of the left side of the page in reading his article. You publicize him winning an award for his columns then split the column, sometimes in half, and move it to another page. Give us and Emo back our rightful full length on his page.”

“Is there a color code for this town?” asked a lady. “You might as well call it rainbow Madera by the looks of the downtown and that bright green building opposite of (the former) Lucca’s. It is really too bad this town has changed so much in these years. I guess it’s love it or leave it,” she concluded.

“I really felt bad for my wife and child,” said a man who attended the Old Timers Day in Courthouse Park. “We were having so much fun until they had to use the bathroom. It was so bad we couldn’t use it and had to leave.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478. Or, you can log on to www.maderatribuneredline.com

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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–“Can we just pay the Madera teachers?” asked a gentleman. “After all, just give them a fair contract. It’s the right thing to do.”

–Several calls were received on Madera’s Vision 2025 plan after the town hall meeting held Tuesday evening.

–“I just moved to Madera from a city in the Bay area and what a relief to live in a wonderful quiet community,” began a woman’s call. “I attended the meeting in Courthouse Park and I firmly believe the city leaders, not only today, but in the future will make Madera an even better place to live.” She concluded with “I’m staying here. This is my home.”

–A man remarked, “Vision 2025 what a joke. In 2025, nobody in Madera…” (Unfortunately, the remainder was inaudible.)

–Another man had hopes for his family’s future. “I have lived in this town for over 25 years and the future looks bright for my kids and grandchildren. I just hope the city leaders and everyone involved stays focused on this Vision 2025 Plan.” He concluded, “I think it’s great.”

–A male caller wanted “to remark on the sprinklers on the west side of town, especially Westberry and the median islands generally around Lincoln (school). It is absolutely ridiculous,” he said, “the amount of water that is wasted. It is flowing all over the street every day. I think the street gets more water than the lawn. I don’t know who is responsible, the city?” he asked. “I don’t know who it is, but it is ridiculous.”

–A man wanted “to know something. Do our (county) supervisors ever shop in Madera? Look at the way it looks like now. I wonder what it is going to look like in 25 years?” he asked. “What is going on here?”

– A lady asked, strangely, “Remember when the ‘Got Milk’ commercials were funny,” then simply hung up.

–A woman “wanted to let everyone know that the city of Madera is totally out of control. Increases, constantly on everything,” she said. “New proposed fees with blue cans and everything.” She suggested, “anyone that lives in this town should pack up and move. It’s only going to get worse.”

– A man said, “I look forward to reading Mo’s Meanderings at the end of every month, but I think the Tribune should get its priorities straight.” The caller added he “remembered the color photos of the desert, mountains, beaches, and other pictures that added so much to the stories, but haven’t seen anything in color for months. This past Saturday,” he continued, “you had a whole page of the mixer in the park and photos of various people, all in color. Those could have been just as easily been in black and white. Yet, you turn the page and there are two photos of Yosemite that would have been pretty nice to see in color.”

–A woman enjoyed the articles on the homeless, but added, “I think one of the places they should start looking at is the Rescue Mission. Does anybody realize they kick them out every day at 7 in the morning and they can’t come back until 5, and people wonder why they are on our streets every day. They don’t teach them anything or any skills.”

–A woman, after receiving her blue recycling can asked, “now, what goes in the grey containers?” She thought the blue containers would take the place of the grey containers and they would “take away our grey containers.”

–A man drove by the fairgrounds and said, “since they quit watering the grass the place looks bad.” He worried about what visitors to the community would think as they drove down Cleveland.

–A woman called after her house was robbed. She was disappointed when she called the police. “We do not come out for that anymore,” the caller said the police told her. “You have to come down and fill out a report. I’m disappointed in our police department. They don’t care anymore. They’re concern is not there anymore.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478.