Letters to the Editor, Nov. 30
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Sacre bleu!
EDITOR: Just maybe Mr. Tonini (“Lafayette, We Are Here,” Nov. 20) should check his history before chortling about the President’s knowledge of history and understand it is no secret that the U. S. came to the aid of France twice since the Revolutionary War (World War I and World War II). And just maybe the Sonoma Index-Tribune should publish a picture of General Pershing, who was Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI, on the Western Front, which included a large part of France.
Otherwise, after both WWI and II, the French would now be speaking German.
J.J. Dennis
Sonoma
Thankful, no really…
Thanksgiving afternoon brought a kitchen fire to our home. My son, daughter and wife managed to handle the event with the expert help of the Sonoma Valley Fire Authority, who arrived so very quickly. Fire Engine 3381 with Capt. Ted Hassler, Engineer Paul Pedroncelli and Medics Spyro Drossos and Kayla Neel-Grant were professional and caring, helped make my family secure. A young neighbor brought over a fire extinguisher that took care of the flames. By the time I got home from the Thanksgiving feast at the Veterans Building I still had time to return there for four dinners of delicious holiday food provided by Councilmember Gary Edwards and his awesome holiday crew. The Brown/Mathieson family had a beautiful Thanksgiving and we are so very grateful. Many thanks to all who helped us.
Ken, Jewel, Moses, Eden and Ruffio
Sonoma
‘The people are in pure shock’
EDITOR: I spent last Tuesday working at the Chico California Airport Animal Rescue for the Camp Fire and Paradise victims (“Local Group Leads Camp Fire Pet-Rescue Effort,” Nov. 23).
I worked with some fantastic people like John and his family that drove up from San Jose and stayed in a hotel an hour away and had been working for days. Three awesome volunteers lost everything in the fire. There is a plenty of work – and more to come with the impending storms.
People are streaming in looking for lost cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs and don’t know what else. The people are in pure shock. It’s the only way I can describe it. Finding a furry family member was an uplift, but was a rare occurrence - most disappeared into the smoke filled distance without their lost loved ones. We tried to be as uplifting as possible. Happily, there are lots of nice donations of food, bedding, cages for those in need.
What do the people need now? First, money – if you’ve got some “I’m thankful” money that you can donate – please get online and send it to them through your choice of donation method. Second - volunteers are needed for continued support at the Chico Airport. Cleaning, organizing, helping people with the simplest of tasks, and more cleaning.
Life for those that survived the fire is going to get worse before it gets better. Please do anything you can to help.
Stewart Saunders
Sonoma Valley
Water district chose most costly solution
EDITOR: Mark Cruciani’s letter to the editor last week (“Backflow Backlash, Nov. 20) makes sense.
After attending neighborhood meetings on the matter of requiring costly backflow devices in Valley of the Moon Water District neighborhoods, I concluded that someone found a way to solve a problem that simply does not exist. Additionally, the VOM representative seemed disinterested in finding a viable solution to homeowner concerns. It makes one wonder who postulated this bone-head idea to the California legislature in the first place. It is unlikely that they came up with it on their own.
Not only are homeowners paying $1,200 for each backflow device, but are subject to annual inspection fees, currently estimated to be $50 per unit. With 325 homes in Temelec, Creekside and Chantarelle the total cost of this project is estimated to be $390,000. Now add maintenance and repair costs, a homeowner responsibility as well. Someone is surely making a lot of money from this boondoggle.
If a backflow device is necessary, then why were they not put on VOM’s side of the supply line, before they are split and attached to meters? This would have reduced the cost by roughly 50 percent. Better yet, why not install one large backflow device at the junction of the main water supply feeding each community? That would result in one backflow device for each of Temelec, Creekside and Chantarelle. Just think of the cost and maintenance savings that could have been realized. No, instead someone came up with the most costly and inefficient solution possible. Go figure.
David E. Wildmon
Temelec
