Red Line (Nov. 20)
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 Due to content some calls may not be published.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 Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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“The joke of the millennium,” claimed a male caller,” is that global warming is a threat. Any anthropologist knows there are warming cycles every 125 years regarding the western United States.” He compared “leading scientists of today,” predicting global warming with “the leading scientists of the 15th century who said the world is flat.”
A man who was “reading this morning’s paper (Saturday) about the new commons at the fairgrounds,” said it was “understandable when the CEO doesn’t even live in Madera. He lives in Clovis. Why don’t him and the fair board sell off the rest of the fairgrounds and make the whole thing commercial. They’ve already gotten rid of the BMX track. They don’t care about the fair. All they’re thinking about is the almighty dollar.”
A lady “noticed people parking over the drain hole at Madera Hospital. I did the same when I spent the night there and was given a citation with a notice that my car would be towed. Parking over the drain hole does not block anything,” she continued. “If they don’t want people parking there they should mark it, no ‘parking’.”
A woman who “lately has been having to drive at night,” had a concern with “people who do not know how to drive with their low beams on. They drive constantly with their high beams on. You blink your lights at them and they don’t even know what that means. It is awfully annoying.”
A man had a “pet peeve that really bothers him and concerns” about two local chain grocery stores and their express lanes. “When are the stores going to get a backbone and enforce this rule (15 items or less, cash or ATM)? So many of us stand in line while somebody with more than 15 items and the checker never says anything. Three cheers for the checker who said, ‘which 15 items do you want to buy?’ They don’t enforce it. We stand there. It is just plain wrong. If other people feel as I do please call in and support what I am saying. If you’re not going to support it, just tell the stores to take the signs down.”
A male caller said, “there’s no excuse, in these times, for the paper to run a headline, ‘Black Home run king indicted.’ (Note: the headline was intended to be “Home run king indicted;” the word “black” was handwritten beside a printed copy of the page as an instruction to use the “black” Helvetica font rather than the “bold” style. The correction request being misunderstood resulted in the silly headline) I don’t remember anything like that when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record.”
A gentleman had this to say about “the property located at the 16200 block of north Schnoor, between Avenue 16 and Avenue 17. It is in despicable condition. All that junk, isn’t there a city or county code to have it cleaned up. I am just appalled. It is a reflection on our city. I expect code enforcement to do something about it.”
A woman suggested, “(Gordon) Skeels is on the Tribune’s payroll. Why else should we be subject to his long rambling letters week after week? They are not interesting and serve no purpose other than he wants the attention.” She mentioned others that have written letters and commented, “they write interesting letters. Give us a break, enough is enough.”
A lady who “recently moved into a house on Schnoor Avenue was quite surprised the speed limit has changed. Now it is like 55 to 75 miles per hour.” She called the police department, “but they said the speed limit hadn’t changed. There are no cops giving tickets. It is ridiculous, the speeding that goes down this street. I am sick and tired of the speeding and the Madera cops won’t do anything about it.”
Another caller asked “the cops (to) patrol Yosemite around 7:30 (in the morning). There are many speeders and they need to learn a lesson before they hit a student going to school crossing Yosemite.”
“I thought Madera had a beautification program,” wondered a woman. “The alley between North G and H is a mess and full of trash. It is right down toward the new city hall. If anyone is moving here from Carmel or Beverly Hills they would think it was disgusting.”
A male caller was pleased after he received his flu shot. “Hats off to the Madera County Health Department. I went to the Pan-American Center and got my flu shot. It was well organized, and that R.N., Mrs. Sibley, is an angel. Thank you, Madera.”
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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.
