Letters to the Editor 8-21-14

Glass and Slayter
Editor: I was happy to read in last week’s Sonoma West Times & News that both Patrick Slayter and Una Glass are running for re-election to the Sebastopol City Council (“Sebastopol Council, Palm Drive elections full speed ahead,” Aug. 14). Both Patrick and Una have the qualities that make for outstanding public servants. They do indeed see their role on the Council as service, putting the well-being of the community above ideology or personal aggrandizement. Neither seems to need to grandstand or draw attention to themselves.
They are both thoughtful and listen respectfully to all perspectives. They are well-informed and work hard and, above all, are deeply committed to our community. I hope my fellow Sebastopolians will vote to return Una and Patrick to the Council for another term.
Larry Robinson
Sebastopol
Yes on Library tax
Editor: There are two halves of my personality: curmudgeon or someone with a dim hope for a better future.
First, before I start with the reasons to support a 1/8th of a cent library sales tax, please allow a digression. Both of my parents were Republicans. Until he mellowed out, my dad, God rest his soul, always voted a straight GOP ticket. He hated taxes and used to rail against Roosevelt and Truman. Mom was a bit more open-minded about voting; she used to say, “Vote for whoever you think will do the best job.”
So, get to the point or shut up, you say. I am voting for the Sonoma County Library sales tax this November, because the Library (without proper funding) is like a rudderless ship. Check out RestoreLibraryHours.com. You will see the reasons why it is needed. Let’s open the Library evenings and Mondays again.
Come on, people. We can and must do this. The Library asks for your support to do the job it is supposed to do. If the measure fails, the Library will never open a new Roseland branch and will continue to limp along. Everyone benefits from the Library. Thanks for reading this. Whether you’re “fur” or “agin’” it, at least vote.
Frank Baumgardner
Santa Rosa
Friendly advice
Editor: I can appreciate how important it is for journalists to have correct facts and credible sources. Therefore I read with curiosity the “Code Blues” commentary in the Aug. 14 edition of Sonoma West Times & News, where the author wrote about the people he saw in his visit to an emergency room.
How did the author know that the stab wounds were gang-related? That’s for the courts to determine. How did he know that the drug overdose was due to abuse and not an unfortunate mix of medications or improper dosing, which is common? Most disturbing is that, among all the facts in the case of the drunk found in a field near Guerneville, that the author thought it important to say that the man was black.
It is too easy to conjure up clichés of drug addicts (anyone ever think of Rush Limbaugh when you say “drug addict”?), gangs (Are you imagining the Bohemian Club?) and drunks (Dean Martin?). No, in our culture these words trigger stereotypes of poor people and people of color.
The Sonoma West Times & News is an important community resource that I depend on. As a friend, I ask you to put a sign in your newsroom: “Please don’t feed the stereotypes (it only encourages them).”
Briahn Kelly-Brennan
Sebastopol
School bus safety
Editor: As summer draws to a close and children return to school, motorists are urged to always be aware when they are driving around school buses, schools and children walking and biking to school.
School buses are 172 times safer than the family automobile when compared to accident statistics during the morning and afternoon school drive times, according to the National Safety Council.
Recently the National Transportation Research Board completed a study and published its findings. They have declared that, “Children are at far more risk traveling to and from school in private passenger vehicles — especially if a teenage driver is involved — than in school buses.” They go on to report that, “Every year, about 800 school-age children are killed in motor vehicle crashes during normal school travel hours…. of these 800 deaths, only about 2 percent are school bus related … more than half of all deaths of children between age 5 and 18 occur during normal school travel hours when a teenager is driving.”
School buses have a stellar safety record, however we find fewer and fewer families taking advantage of the service that a school bus provides. California ranks dead last among all 50 states in school bus use, with only about 15 percent of our student population using the school bus, compared with a national average of 55 percent.
Encourage your children and families to use the school bus. In addition to the safety benefits, school buses are environmentally friendly, reducing traffic congestion around schools and on our roadways and reducing the large amount of single-car exhaust emissions.
Motorists are reminded to always be cautious when travelling around school buses. Be aware that children can act in unpredictable fashions. Always be on the lookout for a child running out into the street. Whenever the school bus red lights are flashing alternately, please stop and wait until the lights are extinguished. Proceed only with the greatest of caution.
The school bus red flashing lights are used when students are boarding or exiting the bus or when they need to cross the street. There are some times when a school bus does not use the red lights. These are very specific exemptions allowed under the law. There is only one situation in which drivers do not need to stop for the red lights. That is when the bus is on the other side of divided roadway or highway. If you are ever in doubt, stop for the school bus red lights, and always be cautious around school buses.
Michael Rea
Executive Director
West County Transportation Agency