Red Line (Feb. 19)
All comments are edited for length and content. Some weeks, due to the number of comments and space, some may not be published.
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“It’s garbage day today,” began a woman, “and all up and down Schnoor, there’s trash everywhere. With the wind blowing it blows all over the street and the garbage people don’t do anything about it.”
A man had the same problem as last week’s caller who said, when she went to vote, “her party affiliation had been switched. I have never registered as a democrat and when I went down to vote they had me as a democrat. “I’ll be watching,” he warned, “to see if this happened to anybody else.”
Another caller suggested to “all drivers of Madera to wait at the light.” He admitted, “I also am guilty at waiting at a light when it turns green. I’m guilty of waiting five seconds. The reason I wait he explained, “is because of the idiots that try to beat the light. By waiting it might keep me from getting killed.”
“I agree,” said a woman about the “letter today (Thursday) from Steven Ingle regarding the changes in the city.” She wondered, “if the mayor of Madera is listening to this or reading this letter. Something needs to be done to clean up this place.”
A gentleman called about the timing of the recent meeting by the school district concerning possible budget cuts and adjustments. “They hold the meeting at 4 in the afternoon on a Friday. Most people are still working. Then hold it on a Friday before a three-day holiday. Is it any wonder many of us didn’t make the meeting and were not able to give our opinion?”
“How do you like the newly painted orange building in downtown Madera?” asked a woman. “Evidently our city managers, if we have any, could care less about the appearance of our town. All we need now is a bright red one and a yellow one to further beautify the surroundings.”
A man had “a comment about the article concerning yard sales.” He believed “that most of the people that have yard sales should not have more than four a year. If they are, they are buying things and selling them and not paying taxes on any of that money. They are professional yard sale people.” He said he knew “from very reliable people, that sell at the swap meet at the fairgrounds and the drive-in, these people do not pay taxes on any of that money. They are getting away with highway robbery. Four yard sales a year. Any more than that, you should be fined. Pay your taxes,” he concluded.
“There are young kids crank-calling our home,” said a woman. But she had a warming. “They will be caught because I am setting up caller ID. These kids need to get professional, medical help because when they grow up they will do worse crimes.”
A man asked, “could the Tribune please find out why the city authorities are not enforcing the codes?” Referring to the “proliferation of so-called roach coaches on Country Club Drive, Road 26,” he said, “there is sometimes four parked along the road. One even looks like they built a restaurant with tables and chairs for dining. They are in code violation and possible health codes.”
As did a caller last week, he also referred to the “mobile home park on Avenue 17. It’s still there. The mobile homes have been rented out. A bunch of trailers, and who knows where the sewage is going. This was printed in the Tribune,” but, he asked, “could you do follow up stories on these items.”
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A “concerned citizen” who visited www.MaderaTribuneRedLine.com wrote, “I was driving down Raymond Road this past weekend and could not help but notice the enormous pot holes throughout the entire road. As I swerved around them trying to avoid these holes, I found myself also trying to avoid oncoming traffic … Its ridiculous that there are no lights out there and the city should consider this when re-paving new roads that don’t even need fixing.”
A “supporter of a clean city and the arts” proposed a few solutions to the city’s struggle with graffiti before writing, “So, maybe as the last and probably best/easiest solution to this problem is to have a legal graffiti wall somewhere in the city or barely outside of the city limits. The city, or whoever maintains the location it is in will be able to charge for its use and that money will either go towards the city or towards some other cause. Just look at the legal graffiti walls in Venice Beach and in Calwa. These both cost money to be able to use and great works of art can be seen on both constantly. Maybe it is not really cameras and more lighting that are needed to solve this problem in our city and at Town and Country Park.”
Reader “David Soto” expressed concern about the proposal by North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians to build a casino in Madera because, he said, “The Madera Indian census is on the Internet and the American Indians in the Madera city area were Yokuts and not Monos. I believe that the Yokut families in the city of Madera during the earliest times are not even in the North Fork Mono tribe. It would appear that the North Fork Monos are claim jumping another tribe’s area for a casino. The North Fork Monos are doing this because if they constructed a casino in their traditional tribal area it would not be profitable to them. So this whole casino deal is not because of tribal pride, but only for casino profits.”
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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 visiting www.MaderaTribuneRedLine.com.
MELINA SANDOVAL
You are already missed, my adopted daughter. I can’t believe you are gone.
I miss your laughter, your crazy makeup and just knowing that you and Shandi are safe in Fresno shopping. You were a joy to have in my life and I’m glad I met you.
I would also like to take the time to say, know if your driver is sober — if not call someone else — I wish she would have called me.
The State of Education in California is sad. It is a fact that many will agree with. Don’t get me wrong, there are great teachers out there, and some really good schools…but it seems to me that there are far to few of them.
Some time ago N.C.L.B., the No Child Left Behind Act, began to run amok in our schools. For the almighty government dollar, we have sold our children out. They no longer shine in the wonderment of art, science, history and physical education. But have now learned to fill in bubbles on a sheet. Teachers are no longer given rein to teach anything but a test.
And just what is testing? Well, it really is an arbitrary set of numbers that will follow and track your child. In fact your child’s test scores are posted in their classroom. In theory other students don’t know who is who because their score is listed by an identification number. The chart displays in color codes proficient, basic, far below basic where your child has scored. My question as a parent and educator is why? These kids know who scored what on what and the level each is on; believing anything else is just self delusion. Not only do I say enough with testing, but don’t even think about posting my child’s private information on the wall. Just how many students have low self-esteem now because of their score being posted? How many will just give up trying? No, I am not a disgruntled parent; my kids did well until I said no more testing. Then the threats came. Parents have the right for their child not to be subjected to testing.
Then there is deployment to other classrooms for E.L.D., English Language Development. What happened to total emersion? If I were to send my child to another school, in another country, do you really think their education system would bend over backwards to teach them in English? Lost classroom instructional time due to deployment is about 20 minutes, daily.
School districts all over California are teaching only reading and math. It is simply disgusting. Art requires math and reading, as well as P.E. history, science, plus something that filling in a bubble does not require. That something is the gift of imagination. The right to dream, to create to interpret subjects that hold meaning in life long experiences, and that challenge us to be the best we can be. Without imagination, which gives purpose and meaning to all of us, where will our next writers, artists, historians, scientists and inventors, (as well as others) come from? A bubbled in score
sheet? I think not.
This brings me to the budget cuts. I went through this before. I have known teachers on food stamps and they could not make their house payments; and God bless them because they took those salary cuts and kept right on teaching. I lost jobs to budget cuts and up until a few months ago I probably was the only homeless teacher with a master’s degree in Madera. But you know I have lived a rich and full life.
What I worry about with these budget cuts, is just how much more do our children need to lose? How can we call it a full rounded education when there is no science, art, history or P.E.?
Honestly, as a parent, I would be looking at a private school, charter school or home schooling my child. As an educator I am sad at the state of education in our local schools. But I have to tell you PARENTS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Attend your next school board meeting and let them know our children’s futures cannot be cut anymore.