LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, 5-17-2012

Praise for Ed
Editor: I just finished your great story on Ed Matteoli ! You captured his spirit of fun and trouble-making! I remember growing up around him, my dad, Clarence Ruonavaara, a lot of the teachers and all the others in the Lighting Committee and witnessed the fun they all had while they bettered the schools and contributed to the community. It was a more modest time then when these men were doing their thing, but it couldn’t have been a more heartwarming or generous time. Those of us who were fortunate to have crossed Ed’s path during our growing up have permanent smiles plastered on our faces. We were lucky! Healdsburg is lucky!
Maureen McCaffrey Gradek
Healdsburg


Measure E Endorsement
Editor: Thank you to the Healdsburg Tribune for their strong endorsement of the school bond Measure E. During this era of budget cuts to schools, the passage of Measure E will support quality education for an entire generation of Healdsburg students. We have the opportunity to put our students first, after years of dwindling resources.
I have visited with many Healdsburg residents in recent months to describe the current condition of Healdsburg High School and Healdsburg Junior High School. If you’ve walked our campuses, you know the poor condition of many of the older buildings. Although some of our buildings were upgraded in the 1990s, the majority of our buildings are aging and in serious need of repair or replacement.
Measure E will replace thousands of square feet of leaky, rotting portable classrooms that were installed more than 20 years ago. These “state emergency portables” were placed on wood foundations, not intended for long-term use and must be replaced.
Fortunately, now is a great time to renovate and upgrade our schools because interest rates are at an all-time low. Building costs are also low so we can stretch our dollars to serve our students better. The term for the bonds will be between 25 and 30 years, depending upon the interest rates at the time of the sale without raising current tax rates.
I appreciate every question I’m asked about our schools and why this bond is important to our continued success. I welcome any member of the community to contact me for further discussion or to schedule a tour of our campuses.
Jeff Harding
HUSD Superintendent


Endorse and enforce stop signs
Editor: 1. I wholeheartedly endorse the installation of additional stop signs at Fitch & North street. I use the intersection daily and have seen my share of close calls. The city should also consider realigning the sidewalks so that there is a defined crosswalk.
2. On the issue of parking meters: why not enforce the stop sign laws? The ticket for running a stop sign might be more expensive than a parking ticket ,and, guess what? Public safety would be improved. On a recent Sunday morning we sat outside on the patio at Oakville and watched cars roll through the stop signs at Matheson and Center. In a roughly five minute span, only one car came to a full and complete stop. Our observations may not be scientific, but they are borne out by experience. And drivers approaching an intersection to make a right turn may be the most dangerous because they seem to look only to their left, not looking to the right – the direction from which a pedestrian might be approaching.
Before we commit ourselves to parking meters, let’s look at some alternatives which might generate more fees and promote overall safety.
Gary Passarino
Healdsburg