The Backyard Batting Cage

Both gov choices lousy, but at least Brown has experience

With election time around the corner, voters are scrambling to decide as to who they are going to vote for.

I can honestly say that, in my opinion, the two choices we have for governor are totally incompetent. But, given the fact that there are only two candidates, Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman, my vote will go to Jerry Brown.

Why Jerry Brown?

Well, Jerry Brown has served as governor before and although the job he did was totally inadequate, hopefully he’s learned from his mistakes. Having that previous experience gives him political knowledge, knowledge and experience that wouldn’t even unlock the door to Meg Whitman.

Meg Whitman is a disaster California can’t afford. Arnold Schwarzenegger has run California into the ground and Meg Whitman is an exact duplicate of Arnold.

The latest ads show Meg Whitman saying precisely the same things Arnold has, proof positive that she will definitely follow in his footsteps and continue to destroy California as Arnold did.

California needs help desperately and we will never get it as long as we have to deal with money-hungry, lying politicians in office.

All we can do as voters is make our best judgment call as to which is the better candidate and hopefully it will be the right choice.

Jill Bausch

Crescent City

Wealth of experience serving community: Vote for England

This letter is in support of Jennifer England for the Del Norte County School Board. I have never written a letter to the editor before, but feel strongly that Jennifer will make a positive impact on the board and ultimately on the learning environment for our county’s youth.

I have known Jennifer since she and her family moved to Crescent City in 2000. She is an intelligent and active advocate for Del Norte County kids. She has the knowledge and experience to make good decisions and the commitment and energy to ensure they are implemented.

She is currently the executive director of the Del Norte Family Resource Center, but has worked with children and families for 13 years as a social worker, foster parent recruiter, Indian child welfare worker and First 5 school readiness coordinator. Jennifer has already shown her commitment to the Del Norte County School District by serving on many committees and groups, such as the Mary Peacock School Site Council and the Children’s Health Collaborative, in addition to chairing the District Parent Advisory Committee.

She understands the importance of listening to teachers and making them part of the decision-making process, because the classroom should be the focal point of our education system. As the Nov. 2 election quickly approaches, I would also like to take a moment to encourage everyone to exercise the right that so many Americans have fought and died for: Get out and vote.

Darin Bradbury

Crescent City

Don’t lose man who knows why decisions were made

Before I leave as a member of the 

School Board, I want to say that it has been a privilege to serve you and the educational interests of the children of Del Norte County. I just have one concern as I leave this board: We could lose our institutional memory.

If all four seats on the School Board are won by newcomers, there would be no one with more than two years of experience on this board. When a board can’t recall the reasons behind the decisions that were made, it can make lots of mistakes.

To avoid this problem I urge you to retain Bob Berkowitz on the board so that you don’t lose the reasons why certain decisions were made. Bob’s dedications to the interests of our kids is unquestioned and his experience in budgeting and finance will be more important as our schools move into a difficult financial future.

Tom Cochran

Crescent City

Volunteer firefighting sample of Schaad’s community work

I for one couldn’t have been more pleased when I found out that Clinton Schaad was running for the county auditor/controller position. There is no one else as capable, qualified and worthy as Clinton to fill the shoes of Christie Babich, who is so immeasurably missed.

I have known Clinton for over six years now. I watched him grow from the “probey” that he started out as with the Crescent City Volunteer Fire Department, to the truly phenomenal leader that he is today.

As a senior firefighter, I speak for all of the firefighters at CCVFD when I say that I trust Clinton’s skill, knowledge and decisions with my life. I would and have, followed him into battle without question.

To be a leader in the firefighting world is no easy feat. And Clinton’s dedication to the Fire Department and our community is only a small portion of what he has given back. “Part time” is not in his vocabulary. His tremendous commitment over the years to our your youth in Del Norte County has been impeccable also.

In conclusion, I ask the people of Del Norte County, on Nov. 2, to not be entranced with titles. A title is just that, a title. It holds no bearing on an individual’s skills and knowledge. There is no doubt in my mind that Clinton will do nothing more than exceed the expectations of the voters if elected into the auditor/controller position.

Andrew Garcia

Crescent City

Show your evidence —?who has been harmed by fluoride?

I am unable to vote for fluoride treatment to continue because I live in the county (City Measure A would remove fluoride), but I do receive the city’s water supply.

I just do not get this quixotic demand to end having a minuscule bit of a naturally occurring component that is present in so many municipalities’ drinking water. Why? Because I see no damaged persons living here, whose health issues have been even suggested as linked to city water fluoride treatment. Show me the list of harmed persons.

The issue is, really, quite similar to the ban on getting cheaper medications from Canada; if it is bad, where are all the dead Canadians killed by the medications that so many fixed-income people wish to purchase to save hugely on expensive drugs?

I read with interest the historical article in the paper (“Fluoridation facts,” Oct. 21), covering how first the city’s populace voted down fluoride, then agreed to it a little later on. I ask this of those who don’t want fluoride in their drinking water: If you have faith and a better living standard because science has produced much you use every day, why be so afraid of a substance that was actually accidentally discovered to, time after time, correlate well to sparing one’s teeth from rotting out?

Selective faith in well-accepted science, is like loving just one child of many you might have.

Vote no, as this will keep the fluoride in the tap; if the measure does fail, thus keeping fluoride in, then just don’t drink what you think is the tampered-with water, if you wanted it out. Simple and logical.

The few naysayers are going to try to stop many others, outside city limits, from getting fluoridated water, not so easy to purchase anywhere. That is wrong and controlling.

Hilary John Herman

Crescent City

Gross mischaracterization of Alexander as big city spender

I read the letter from Dylan Brown in Tuesday’s Triplicate stating that Jon Alexander was “shining” Del Norte County on with his Jersey/Orange County ways and big spending.

First, Jon Alexander has lived pretty much in three places his entire life and not bumped around career-wise like Bob Drossel. The “defense attorney” angle only resonates if you try to fudge about it like Bob Drossel did.

 Hard to be a leper one day and a missionary the next, Bob.

As for the big spender attack, it continues to bewilder me that some would consider it a bad thing to care enough to invest their life savings in their community. Also, Mr. Alexander lives in a small apartment while Bob Drossel owns a nice home and could spend twice as much, if he actually cared to.

Also, regarding the spin that Jon Alexander is an outsider, in his five years here, he’s been put on the Board of Directors of the Red Cross, Marine Mammal Center, Little League and vice president of the Jordan Recovery Center Board.

He conducts mentoring meetings for drug and alcohol at-risk teens twice a week.

He contributes and supports Del Norte Youth Football, Little League, the high school band and Redwood Chorale, the Lake Earl Grange and 4-H, FFA and the Pelican Bay Youth Fishing Association. Add Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Habitat For Humanity. And while some candidates just show up to do one lap and press the flesh at the Relay For Life yearly fundraiser, Jon Alexander walked for seven hours that Saturday.

He give free legal aid to Neighborhood Watches, helping them get rid of crack houses.  He’s also on the Juvenile Justice Commission, was a founding member of the T.E.A.M. anti-meth organization and spoke at the first three Meth Summits.

If this is the kind of big city, big spender that Dylan Brown says is shining Del Norte County on, all I say is “Shine on, Jon, Shine on.”

Georgina Larsen

Crescent City

Westfall’s quixotic quest has done more harm than good

After reading the Oct. 20 article of the insane cost to Crescent City and her citizens that Councilwoman Donna Westfall incurred (“City:?Westfall tab exceeds $93K”), I can’t help but to put in my two cents. First, I can’t remember the last time I felt amused and nauseated all at the same time. Second, when I think of Donna Westfall and her antics the character Don Quixote comes to mind.

Donna Westfall got her constituents to elect her to the City Council under the ideals of exposing corruption, uprooting the “Good Old Boys Club,” and of course with the dissatisfaction over the wastewater treatment plant expenditures — all good intentions. Along the way I believe Donna’s entrenched belief in her crusade got the best of her despite the undisputable facts repudiating her assertions.

Whether it’s simple naivety, misinformed or illusions of grandiosity, Donna Westfall has done more harm than good. She lacks the leadership and common sense to get her point across without resorting to shock and awe, making accusations in an open City Council forum without any substantiated proof.

She has resorted to playground tantrums with her perennial recalls of her colleagues; these are not the traits of a leader. A true leader would take a course of action that works in harmony with their colleagues for the better of the community. If there are egregious issues on the agenda that need to be addressed, do it with civility and facts, otherwise a passion for an issue becomes a distraction.

We are facing dire economic decisions that need to be made now, which will have serious ramifications for years. We need a unified City Council that will keep us on an even keel and be frugal with the taxpayers’ money. Now, think of how the almost $100,000 would have otherwise been spent: city infrastructure, hiring police officers, offsetting city deficit, etc. Something’s gotta give, and it should be Donna.

My advice to Donna is to stop her fruitless inquiries and frivolous lawsuits against an already financially anemic city and get busy with the people’s business, which is what why she was elected in the first place. My advice to her constituents: No, it’s not to recall her, but to boot her in 2012. Hopefully she’ll play nice until then.

Frank Magarino

Crescent City

With his clean background, Drossel an easy choice for DA

It seems like an easy choice to vote for Bob Drossel in the district attorney’s race: Experience as a DA, experienced attorney with current credentials, clean background.

Do we need to go on? Vote Drossel.

Rawlin Radle

Crescent City

‘Command presence,’ high standards found in Schaad 

I would like to take this opportunity to state my opinions and observations relating to Clinton Schaad.

I have had the opportunity to know Clinton and the Schaad family most of my life. I became even more aware of Clinton through our involvement with the Crescent City Volunteer Fire Department. As our acquaintance evolved to a working relationship it became readily apparent that Clinton was a very dedicated individual, not only to his family, but also to his duties as a firefighter.

Clinton is an individual who naturally has “command presence,” sets high standards for himself, and is well respected by his peers and subordinate firefighter personnel. Clinton exhibits sound decision-making abilities, as witnessed over the years on numerous emergency responses.

His background working as an accountant, coach and a fire captain, has afforded him a sound working knowledge of whatever he decides to tackle. I would strongly recommend Clinton Schaad to be our next auditor/controller, knowing that he is a motivated, safety-conscious, community-oriented individual, and would most certainly be an asset to our county. Thank you for the opportunity to share my feelings.

Ray Rook

Crescent City

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