Letters to the Editor, Aug. 11: Little Peter’s big heart
Little Peter, big heart
EDITOR: Kathleen Hill’s recent article on the Melody Club (“Sonoma’s Lost Restaurants: Little Peter’s Melody Club,” July 31) brings back sad and sweet memories for our family.
My husband’s mother and stepfather moved to Sonoma many years ago. Only two years after moving to Boyes Springs they were hit by a car while crossing Boyes Boulevad just before the bridge.
My husband, his brother and I were notified of the accident and traveled to Sonoma within an hour.
Their mother survived but their stepfather Emmett Scharetg died a day or so later.
My husband remained in Sonoma and went to the Melody Club to be greeted with open arms by Audrey and Pete Mancuso. They helped him get through the days after the accident. They fed him and provided with clothes until I returned.
The Mancusos’ extended family and friends continued to help us navigate after the accident. We are grateful for their warm hearts!
Madolyn Agrimonti
Sonoma
Amazon doesn’t rule the world, or Sonoma
EDITOR: I want to thank the Index-Tribune for publishing my op-ed (“Sonoma Can Speak Up About Coming Amazon Warehouse,” July 17) online in time for the word to get out to the people of the Sonoma Valley regarding the July 22 Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission hearing on Amazon's proposal for a “last-mile delivery” mega-center at the foot of Eighth Street East.
It is gratifying that, in just a few days, the issue went from “that’s news to me” and “it’s probably a done deal” in the community to the point where more than 38 people from both sides sent in letters, many quite detailed, before the meeting and almost as many testified online at the meeting. Given the time that took, that was quite a response for the Sonoma Valley, and it appears there is more to come.
After a lengthy hearing, the commission voted unanimously, nine to zero, both “not to approve the proposal” and to recommend that the Amazon use of Victory Station and the McCaffrey parking lot proposals be treated as a single entity. They also recommended a new EIR for the combined project with a focus on issues of zoning, traffic, greenhouse gases, flooding and the impacts on other public services. And, importantly, that future review be made open to the public.
And now we hear that Permit Sonoma has moved to require Amazon and the building owners to comply with those requirements. This is quite a step forward in terms of public input and review, and it would never have happened had our local media not stepped up to let the people of the Valley know their opinions. Thank you for that. It is the community at work, even in difficult times.
Norman Gilroy
Mobilize Sonoma
Words matter, I-T!
EDITOR: My heart hurt, my soul suffered, and I knew we as a community had a lot of work ahead after reading the unvarnished truth highlighted in Maurice Parker’s letter to Sonoma (“Sonoma Is Not Hallelujah,” July 3). Mr. Parker has started a conversation with us, which we cannot shut down. The Index-Tribune did the right thing by giving his piece a place on the front page – and for being willing to shine a light on our community.
Imagine then, my surprise at the choice of headings the I-T used in Kate Williams’ Friday, July 31 things-to-do column “Go.Do.Now.” The first blurb meant to inspire you to yell your frustrations away, courtesy of a website in Iceland, under the headline “Rebel Yell.” Please, revisit your American history notes and look closely at the Civil War, what was the “rebel yell”? Yes – that yell – the one the Confederate soldiers used in battle against the Union. The Rebel Yell is a Confederate war cry. The late John Lewis heard the Rebel Yell on March 7, 1965, used by state troopers in Selma on the Edmund Pettus Bridge as they charged into kneeling marchers.
This is how the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee website described the scene:
“On the bridge that day, state troopers in gas masks and Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark’s mounted posse were also gathered. State police confronted the marchers as they started across the bridge and ordered the marchers to halt. Instead they knelt. The troopers then fired tear gas as the posse charged into the ranks of the marchers swinging billy clubs and letting loose with rebel yells.”
The day after Rep. John Lewis is laid to rest, our local paper invites us to partake in a Rebel Yell. Did we really listen to Maurice Parker? Or, to all of the voices calling out from across the country to do better? Have we looked into our own words and actions to make sure we are moving the conversation forward? I urge you, I-T staff and readers to look at your words clearly and understand – they do matter, make them count.
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