All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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“The joke of the millennium,” claimed a male caller,” is that global warming is a threat. Any anthropologist knows there are warming cycles every 125 years regarding the western United States.” He compared “leading scientists of today,” predicting global warming with “the leading scientists of the 15th century who said the world is flat.”

A man who was “reading this morning’s paper (Saturday) about the new commons at the fairgrounds,” said it was “understandable when the CEO doesn’t even live in Madera. He lives in Clovis. Why don’t him and the fair board sell off the rest of the fairgrounds and make the whole thing commercial. They’ve already gotten rid of the BMX track. They don’t care about the fair. All they’re thinking about is the almighty dollar.”

A lady “noticed people parking over the drain hole at Madera Hospital. I did the same when I spent the night there and was given a citation with a notice that my car would be towed. Parking over the drain hole does not block anything,” she continued. “If they don’t want people parking there they should mark it, no ‘parking’.”

A woman who “lately has been having to drive at night,” had a concern with “people who do not know how to drive with their low beams on. They drive constantly with their high beams on. You blink your lights at them and they don’t even know what that means. It is awfully annoying.”

A man had a “pet peeve that really bothers him and concerns” about two local chain grocery stores and their express lanes. “When are the stores going to get a backbone and enforce this rule (15 items or less, cash or ATM)? So many of us stand in line while somebody with more than 15 items and the checker never says anything. Three cheers for the checker who said, ‘which 15 items do you want to buy?’ They don’t enforce it. We stand there. It is just plain wrong. If other people feel as I do please call in and support what I am saying. If you’re not going to support it, just tell the stores to take the signs down.”

A male caller said, “there’s no excuse, in these times, for the paper to run a headline, ‘Black Home run king indicted.’ (Note: the headline was intended to be “Home run king indicted;” the word “black” was handwritten beside a printed copy of the page as an instruction to use the “black” Helvetica font rather than the “bold” style. The correction request being misunderstood resulted in the silly headline) I don’t remember anything like that when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record.”

A gentleman had this to say about “the property located at the 16200 block of north Schnoor, between Avenue 16 and Avenue 17. It is in despicable condition. All that junk, isn’t there a city or county code to have it cleaned up. I am just appalled. It is a reflection on our city. I expect code enforcement to do something about it.”

A woman suggested, “(Gordon) Skeels is on the Tribune’s payroll. Why else should we be subject to his long rambling letters week after week? They are not interesting and serve no purpose other than he wants the attention.” She mentioned others that have written letters and commented, “they write interesting letters. Give us a break, enough is enough.”

A lady who “recently moved into a house on Schnoor Avenue was quite surprised the speed limit has changed. Now it is like 55 to 75 miles per hour.” She called the police department, “but they said the speed limit hadn’t changed. There are no cops giving tickets. It is ridiculous, the speeding that goes down this street. I am sick and tired of the speeding and the Madera cops won’t do anything about it.”

Another caller asked “the cops (to) patrol Yosemite around 7:30 (in the morning). There are many speeders and they need to learn a lesson before they hit a student going to school crossing Yosemite.”

“I thought Madera had a beautification program,” wondered a woman. “The alley between North G and H is a mess and full of trash. It is right down toward the new city hall. If anyone is moving here from Carmel or Beverly Hills they would think it was disgusting.”

A male caller was pleased after he received his flu shot. “Hats off to the Madera County Health Department. I went to the Pan-American Center and got my flu shot. It was well organized, and that R.N., Mrs. Sibley, is an angel. Thank you, Madera.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478 or visiting www.maderatribuneredline.com.

The main Web site of The Madera Tribune ( www.maderatribune.com ) will be going through a significant change within a few weeks as we shift from our current free online publication to a subscription-only news site. This change is being made, in part, because we realized months ago that it wasn’t cost-effective to keep the main site updated daily for free. However, this Red Line site (www.maderatribuneredline.com) will continue as a free online public forum for the city and county of Madera.

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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A woman called about “the city of Madera water billing.” She wanted “to know why the paying procedure was not updated so you pay the bill online and avoid that long line. In this day of age of computers,” she suggested Madera gets up to date.

“I hope all the citizens of Madera don’t get all burnt out on Christmas,” said a gentleman. “All the stores are painted up and it’s only November. It ruins Christmas when they are put so far in advance.”

A man who “is a homeowner in front of the high school,” called to say he was “getting tired of picking up trash all around his home. Is there any way,” he asked, “if you could get these kids on a weekend to clean up and pickup the trash. I recently saw two girls tearing apart a newspaper and just throwing the pieces on the lawn. I don’t understand. There is a lot of trash all around the high school.”

A gentleman called “about Madera South High being in the football playoffs.” He was “just wondering what happened to all the lessons learned in team sports. How in the world, when a team is 0 and 10, is it even considered for the playoff? What, are we worried about their self-esteem? Lets get serious about this. What does it say to those teams that have worked so hard to get the nice record so they can qualify for the playoffs? Let’s start teaching kids about life’s lessons.”

A man called concerning “the lady who complained about Mr. Emo’s Musings, calling him a draft dodger.” The caller said, “I know Mr. Emo well, and have for many years. I think it is important for the lady to know that when he was called up during the war he did serve. Please quit picking on the man if you don’t know him any better than that.”

Another caller said, “Although I enjoy almost every one of them, Mr. Emo’s column for Veterans Day was the best he has done in a long while. It is too bad that the paper continued the last and best few lines to a hard to find spot on another page.”

A man wanted to “know why it takes the losers so long to take down their political signs. Maybe that is why they’re losers,” he concluded.

A male caller was concerned about traffic “on (Highway) 99, between Fresno to Madera. People drive like idiots. And where are the cops? You never see the Highway Patrol stopping anybody.”

“It was fun,” said a woman concerning “the KMPH 26 early morning show last week. All of the staff interviewed did their own thing and that made it entertaining. Bill Coate,” she said, “should be a standup comedian.”

“The election is over,” said a gentleman and “concerned citizen of Madera County. “It’s amazing how three of the candidates, supported by that one tax payer’s group, failed to take down their campaign signs while the others, you don’t see theirs, and here it is Saturday morning.”

A woman was “very concerned about the (pedestrian) crosswalks from Courthouse Park to the County Government Center,” said a woman. “Sometimes you can’t see people because of the trees planted in the median. I’m afraid someone is going to get hurt or killed. Please remind people that pedestrians have the right of way.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478.

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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–“I was calling concerning property taxes,” said a gentleman. “With the value of new homes going down all over the county and state, does the (property tax) assessment reflect that downfall? They can up your taxes five-percent. Doesn’t it work in reverse also?” he asked.

–A man called about his garbage cans. “I’ve been trying for six weeks to get a green garbage can replaced because the lid is split right down the middle. They can’t dump it because it would dump stuff right out on the ground.” He said he called the city, “and nobody has come out here yet.” He “got to thinking. Maybe I can put the green lid in the blue can and maybe they can recycle it.”

–A lady said, “I have been taking my kids to the Halloween Parade downtown for five years now.” She explained she had two children and added, “this is a wonderful event and I just wanted to say the Madera Kiwanis and the Parks do a great job.”

–A lady called about (Tribune Columnist Leon) “Emo’s articles on the B-17. After reading his column the week before about his trying to get out of the draft while having his physical I don’t know why you had a draft dodger like him writing that story.”

–On the same subject, a man said, “I enjoyed reading Leon Emo’s stories on the crewman and B-17. The photos were fantastic. They put you right in the plane. The paper is doing a good job. Keep it up.” He then added, “I don’t know Emo’s political stance, and one can only imagine, but his respect and dedication to veterans and our soldiers is obvious in the many articles and columns he has written over the years.”

–“Hey, what’s up with our election board?” asked a woman who said “we have been getting absentee ballots for over 13 years and we never got our ballot for the MID election.” When she called she was told, “the postmaster said it wasn’t deliverable. How could it not be deliverable when we have been in the same location for over 13 years.” She suggested, “someone should check on what’s going on with our Postal service or our election officials.”

–A man, whose son played on the champion Huskies Pee Wee football team said, “you guys didn’t put anything about it, showing any pictures. Instead you put the losing team. I just wanted to find out what is going on. These kids worked hard, you guys really let them down. (Note: a picture and caption showing the Husikies with their championship trophy appeared in the Thursday, Nov. 1, edition of the paper.)

–A lady “was very concerned that the city council approved the building of a Lowe’s. We already have a Home Depot,” she said. “It is just like when Wal-Mart came into Madera, K-Mart left. There’s not enough room for two home improvement centers in Madera. They need to use their heads.”

–“Hi Red Hat ladies,” began a caller addressing her message in reference to last week’s call from a member mentioning a gentleman had bought all of the Red Hat ladies breakfast. “The gentleman that bought your meals was doing something called pay it forward. The way you thank him is for you doing something nice for a person or two or three.”

–A lady responded “to the writer of the letter to the editor to have pit bull owners be required to have insurance.” The caller said, “insurance carriers will no longer insure pit bulls or certain other breeds.” She said, “she was former owner of two loving pit bulls, who were my only protection for a single woman living in the country. They saved me more than once from intruders. I wish I still had them when I came home to my house recently to find it burglarized. Pit Bulls,” she concluded, “like any other breed of dogs, become mean if they are abused or neglected.”

–A lady was “concerned about Madera High (North) and all the schools in the district. Our Madera High Band was chosen to go the competition in Long Beach for four days. The kids brought home their notes and now it (the trip) is not in the budget. They now have to go all the way to Long Beach and then come home (immediately) when they were told it would be for four days with a day at Magic Mountain. These kids get good grades,” said the caller. “They score well in competition.” The caller then continued with, “I guess it’s not in the budget because I drop my son off every morning at school and I’m dodging all the pregnant mommas pushing their babys in strollers dropping them off at day care at a regular school facility.” She said, “that is not right. They should be made to attend a continuation school. I don’t see how my state dollars pay for this.”

–A man called with a complaint about a bar north of town. “Having a one-year-old boy, I finally got a chance and went out with a friend and arrived at the establishment about 9 p.m.” The message, due to some technical problems not the fault of the caller became difficult to understand at this point. However, the caller seemed to be upset that “the owner, sitting at the bar” demanded a quarter to play pool. He said, “the bartender came up and said the owner wants a quarter.” He gave the bartender the quarter and concluded, “I hope they’re happy because me and my friend will never be back there again.”

–A man, listening to a nationally televised network news channel heard “that we are sending $300,000 to Mexico to aid with flood victims. I think we have already given Mexico enough,” he said, “by taking care of their illegals that keep coming into this country. Let them take care of themselves.”

–“Madera Unified (School District) needs to adopt the same set of parameters that Visalia uses,” began a gentleman’s message. “If your football team doesn’t have a .500 record they should not go to the playoffs. Madera High, 3 wins, 7 losses, made the choice not to go. Madera South,” he continued, zero wins, 10 losses, stop wasting the district’s money on a trip to Easton. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

–“As a Korean veteran,” began a man’s call, “I would like to thank Mrs. Garcia for the admiration and respect she had in her letter to the editor. Thank you.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478.

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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A woman called “on behalf of the Madera Chapter of the Grapevine Red Hatters and in hopes of the nice gentleman that had his breakfast at the same restaurant we did on Saturday morning. Will read this. We would like to thank him. This is the only way we know because we did not know who he was, but when we went to pay our bill he had taken care of the whole thing. There were 13 of us so it was no small undertaking. We just wanted to thank you,” the caller concluded, “and wish you a good life.”

A lady called “concerning the upcoming Madera Irrigation District (MID) election.” She had a “couple of interesting questions. Were deals made under the table during the time Ron Pistoresi, ex-chairman of the board for MID, while acting as general manager?” She also asked if “candidate Larry Pietrowski was sold water under the going rate? MID employees, were these charges hidden from the board?” The caller mentioned to the voters, “MID records are public knowledge. Before your vote become informed.”

“Lets get the sports team on the ball,” began a frequent caller’s message. The man continued, “local boy makes good. Nick Bates, former Madera Coyote star, started at linebacker for Fresno State against San Jose State.” He said, “(Bates) is scheduled to start again Friday night against Boise State.” He suggested, “lets do a little background on this boy and bring him to life.”

“I just wanted to report something good,” said a woman. “A man appeared at my door with my wallet. It had my ID in it, and insurance papers. I was so thrilled because I was going to have to go through all the hassle to renew my Social Security and everything. The man had found it on a roof of a house. I want to thank the man. I don’t know who he was, or where he was, but he sure found it and got it back to me.”

A woman noticed, “last week the garbage truck was picking up two grey cans and two blue cans. I called and reported it.” When she returned home she “noticed her grey can was still full and everybody else’s was gone. Unbelievable,” she concluded.

Another man called about last week’s message concerning the “blue Toyota (pickup) that goes down the alley going through the blue cans for recyclables.” The man wanted everyone to know, “he goes down my alley also and,” he added, “if you look real closely, it (the driver) looks like one of our supervisors.” The caller figured, “he has to make payments on that Toyota you know.”

“This is a great, big thank you to all the firefighters, policemen and volunteers,” began a message from a grateful lady. “All the workers on the southern California fires.” She said, “I had relatives who had to evacuate, some twice, but they made it okay.”

A lady, “just wanted you guys to know on America’s Best Top Model (television show) one of the models was born and raised in Madera.” The caller said, “during her interview she talks about Madera.” The caller left her name and phone number and was wondering, “because you have a lot of readers, and maybe you could do a story on her.”

“What took you so long? said a caller about Tribune columnist Leon Emo. “I read your (Mo’s) Meandering Saturday and it’s about time you got back to the desert. It’s what you do best.”

A gentleman wondered, “when is Lowe’s going to start construction or breaking ground? I haven’t seen any action yet,” said the caller, “but I’m sure looking forward to it.”

“Can anyone tell me why, around 3:30, here in Madera, it starts smelling to high heaven? asked a man. “Almost everyday and it lasts well into the night. It is like we have a cattle ranch nearby.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478.

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.

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A near-record number of calls on the same subject were received concerning cuts in benefits, pay and vacation time for city employees. Far too many to list individually, below is a composite of the comments.

“I think it is unfair,” began a man who identified himself as a city employee. “David Tooley (city administrator) and Wendy Silva (human resources director) are destroying our morale by taking away or reducing our health benefits and options.” The caller, along with several others, said, “a lawsuit is going to be filed.”

Another caller, a woman, said simply, “How can we work with pride for the city of Madera after what our own city hall has done to us?”

Another caller, upset with the loss of vacation said, “Ever since I began working for the city, I have not used a lot of my vacation pay. This is not because I didn’t want to, it is just that I felt my duties, and my job, came first. Now, because of my dedication to the city I am losing over two weeks of earned vacation because after years and years they decided to enforce a rule.”

“Without notice or reason the city has stripped all of us down to under 280 hours vacation, said a man. “Most of us would never have used this vacation because we don’t have the time working for the city or are dedicated to the people of this community. However, in the case of a catastrophic illness and your sick leave runs out, it would have been nice to be able to use that vacation time.” The man had a suggestion. “Forget your dedication. Use that vacation. Keep it below 280 and take the time when you want to take it. The city administrator, human resources, and the city council don’t care about you.”

A woman “wanted to know if Madera is a sanctuary city? All the homeowners get charged with everything and all these wonderful illegals that do the jobs nobody else wants to do, don’t have to pay anything. They never get charged for the garbage they throw all over the place. They urinate in the street. Sure looks like a sanctuary city to me.”

“I read an article in Tuesday’s (Oct. 16) paper about the dedication of the new addition to the Holy Family Table,” said a male caller. “I think it is great. I noticed the story was written by your columnist Leon Emo,” he continued. “Don’t tell me Mr. Emo is finally getting some religion?”

A woman wanted us to “look at how Europe does it,” when it comes to the blue can issue. “A large unit serving about 20 to 25 families. The opening is about one-foot square. Cardboard is broken down. They recycle all items as we do and the city taxes each property.”

“Concerning the blue cans, I think it’s wonderful,” said a gentleman. “I sorted my plastics and cans in there and as I’m looking out my window on Monday when the trash is to be picked up, a brand new Toyota Tundra is driving down the alley picking through the blue cans and throwing them in the back of the truck. Maybe we should get someone to patrol the areas,” he suggested.

A gentleman called to ask why we were not covering a court trial. “In 2002, a gentleman was killed in his home.” He said the Tribune “carried an article about it” as the paper did in 2004 mentioning, “there was going to be a trial.” Now he asked, “the trial started a week ago and I’ve seen no coverage whatsoever.”

A lady watched “Thursday morning the blue and grey containers being dumped into the same garbage truck.” She said, “I will not make an effort to separate my garbage after seeing that.”

The caller also had a comment about the County Board of Supervisors approving a large development near Highway 41 and the San Joaquin. “I think our leaders, and I use the term loosely, have done a very foolish thing in giving the Rio Mesa the go ahead. The Rio Mesa big shots must have made you feel real big and important with their flattery. With the farmers worried about a water shortage,” she continued, “your decision was not only foolish, but stupid thinking and doing.”

A frequent caller said, “I’ve lived in my house for 36 years,” and was wondering why now it seems “I am living under the flight path of LAX (Los Angeles International) with jets screaming down at night and waking me up.” He asked, “what is going on at the airport?”

A woman said, “my husband was almost run over by a car last night trying to cross in front of the VFW Hall on Sixth Street. He was out in the middle of the street, in the crosswalk, when a lady in a car going 45-miles per hour on a cell phone didn’t even bother to slow down. One more step,” she said, “and he would have been hit.” The caller mentioned one lady had already been killed and “it is a very dangerous area.” She strongly recommended the police monitor the area more closely.

A man asked, “how does the (Madera Unified) school board lay off all the P.E. (Physical Education) teachers saying they don’t have any money. They all go to Clovis or Fresno then the board hires them back?” He asked the same question about librarians then asked why they “offered the teachers 1 1/2 percent, saying they don’t have any money, then, all of sudden, give them 8 percent.” He wondered, “is our board not telling the truth? Don’t they have morals? I can hardly wait for the next election,” he concluded.

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478.

As many have noticed by now, The Madera Tribune has slowed the rate of updates to our main Web site (www.maderatribune.com) and this one. For the moment, the plan is to update the main site once a week if possible, and this one at least once a month.

Even so, any comments submitted here will continue to be moderated and posted here as appropriate, as well as passed on for possible publication in the daily newspaper. Please keep your comments coming.

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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–“This message is for the city of Madera,” began a message from a woman. “I’m not using your blue can. You can take your blue can anytime you want. It is sitting out here in front of my house. It will be sitting out here until the wheels have rotted off it. You’re making money off of everybody in this town,” she continued, “and taxing and charging us for the blue cans.”

–A lady called about the article “about the Christian bikers in town. It was really good. I look forward to stories like this. I just want to compliment the writer and newspaper.”

–A woman responded to “the man who wrote the letter in last Tuesday’s paper questioning the Catholic Church.” She suggested, “to get your answers all you have to do is enroll in the RCIA classes in the Catholic Church.” She also suggested an Internet site and a television network.

–A man at Lions Town & Country Park noticed “a group of teenagers all gathering up, brakes slamming and tires squealing.” At the south end of the park he noticed “something was going on, and what appeared to be a fight. There was yelling and screaming.” He decided to call the police and was “surprised to find” the non-emergency number had been changed. He reported what he saw by calling 911 and was told, “by the dispatcher, that officers were already on the way. They never showed up until about 10 minutes later,” said the caller. “By then somebody could have been killed. By the time they showed all the teenagers involved had already taken off. I was really disappointed.” The caller changed his reference of Town & Country Park to “Lincoln Park,” and again stated that the park had become a gang area. He concluded, “I am a concerned citizen and taxpayer.”

–A man who “happened to be attending a meeting of the Madera Unified School Board, when one of your columnists, Jim Glynn, was speaking. It was a little while back,” he admitted, but “was totally appalled at the action of a board member (named), and his outrageous blood pressure thing and the way he stated things.” He said he would like to see this particular trustee “investigated” and wondered if he suffered from “being bipolar.”

–A woman was concerned “about the block on North C Street, from Griffin Hall to 4th Street. It is a disgrace to Madera. The people who live there hang their underwear in the front yard, on the fence and wherever they can. It’s a jungle there. At one time,” she continued, “there were beautiful homes there. The pride of Madera, but now they look awful. Where are the code enforcement officers?”

–“The lawn Gestapo, formerly known as the Madera Redevelopment Agency has taken a big bite. Sitting in their little office, looking down main street for five years looking at the Mexicali colors yet take no action. Now their jumping all over home owners. A 32-year old action being taken against citizens, boy,” he concluded, “is that a way to make friends?”

–A caller said, “I read the front page of your paper this morning about the city going out for a graffiti call then fining the resident for add on’s that were not permitted years ago. My understanding of the laws is that if a citizen calls for help on a item and the city finds something else wrong with another item that is not related to the crime that the city does not have the right to cite you.”

–A woman called about the article Monday “regarding the patio cover. I think the Code Enforcement is being a little ridiculous about the patio cover (shown in the Tribune). They should be more concerned about other issues in the city regarding dilapidated housing, and the trash and clutter in backyards. They need to be doing a better job about what is actually wrong with the city.”

–A man “found it quite funny on (Highway) 145, just east of Tozer where that new subdivision is that is only halfway built they are having a public auction to sell those houses. But,” the caller continued, “let’s go ahead and build more homes when we can’t even sell what we got. And let’s plan more houses like out at Avenue 12 and 145 (the Red Line believes the caller meant to say: Highway 41 and Avenue 12), 6,000 new homes. What were the politicians thinking of? I think the contractors deserve everything they lose on these houses.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478 or going on line at maderatribuneredline.com

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.

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A male caller mentioned a message last week about the dry grass at the fairgrounds. He then asked, “have you ever driven by on Wednesday afternoon to see what the parking lot looks like? That is what Madera is going to look like 25 years from now with the people we have living in this town.” He mentioned walking into two or three (named) large retail stores, “these people don’t even know how to control their kids. They just tear everything up and destroy other people’s property.”

A lady had a comment for the woman who complained last week “about the stores being all cluttered. It is certainly not the employee’s fault,” this week’s caller said, “and certainly not the manager’s. It’s the parents who let their children run wild. They open boxes. They pull thing off the racks and the parents do nothing to stop them. Don’t blame the store. They are doing the best they can with limited staff. They don’t have enough to follow every child around and pick up after them.”

“There is a new store,” said a lady caller, “on Madera Avenue (Highway 145). A guy is selling windows and mattresses right on his front lawn.” The caller “wondered if the city has given him a license to do this.”

A woman who “was reading the sports page of Oct. 2,” about a gymnastics meet. The photo supplied to the Tribune, did not show the top gymnast at the meet and the caller thought we “should show her picture as well.”

A lady “concerned about the teachers’ increase in salary,” said, “it is not half as much as the administrator’s and not half as much as they deserve.” She said she “put five kids through the school system and I would not be a teacher for all the tea in China for what they have to put up with. And they have the parents to put up with, too.” She suggested, “parents get behind your teachers and stick up for them.”

A woman wanted to thank the City of Madera and the Police Department. “In less than 24 hours the graffiti on the back wall at the end of our street was sandblasted off.”

A man called “regarding the blue cans. I’m all for recycling. However, somebody is making money on this and I think we should be given credit off of our bill instead of having it increased. If we’re not going to get some kind of credit,” he continued, “I’m just not going to bother putting anything in that blue can.”

A man who said he was “ a subscriber who enjoys Mo’s Musings and Bill Coate’s articles,” said, “the readers of Emo’s column used to enjoy the full length of the left side of the page in reading his article. You publicize him winning an award for his columns then split the column, sometimes in half, and move it to another page. Give us and Emo back our rightful full length on his page.”

“Is there a color code for this town?” asked a lady. “You might as well call it rainbow Madera by the looks of the downtown and that bright green building opposite of (the former) Lucca’s. It is really too bad this town has changed so much in these years. I guess it’s love it or leave it,” she concluded.

“I really felt bad for my wife and child,” said a man who attended the Old Timers Day in Courthouse Park. “We were having so much fun until they had to use the bathroom. It was so bad we couldn’t use it and had to leave.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478. Or, you can log on to www.maderatribuneredline.com

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
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–“Can we just pay the Madera teachers?” asked a gentleman. “After all, just give them a fair contract. It’s the right thing to do.”

–Several calls were received on Madera’s Vision 2025 plan after the town hall meeting held Tuesday evening.

–“I just moved to Madera from a city in the Bay area and what a relief to live in a wonderful quiet community,” began a woman’s call. “I attended the meeting in Courthouse Park and I firmly believe the city leaders, not only today, but in the future will make Madera an even better place to live.” She concluded with “I’m staying here. This is my home.”

–A man remarked, “Vision 2025 what a joke. In 2025, nobody in Madera…” (Unfortunately, the remainder was inaudible.)

–Another man had hopes for his family’s future. “I have lived in this town for over 25 years and the future looks bright for my kids and grandchildren. I just hope the city leaders and everyone involved stays focused on this Vision 2025 Plan.” He concluded, “I think it’s great.”

–A male caller wanted “to remark on the sprinklers on the west side of town, especially Westberry and the median islands generally around Lincoln (school). It is absolutely ridiculous,” he said, “the amount of water that is wasted. It is flowing all over the street every day. I think the street gets more water than the lawn. I don’t know who is responsible, the city?” he asked. “I don’t know who it is, but it is ridiculous.”

–A man wanted “to know something. Do our (county) supervisors ever shop in Madera? Look at the way it looks like now. I wonder what it is going to look like in 25 years?” he asked. “What is going on here?”

– A lady asked, strangely, “Remember when the ‘Got Milk’ commercials were funny,” then simply hung up.

–A woman “wanted to let everyone know that the city of Madera is totally out of control. Increases, constantly on everything,” she said. “New proposed fees with blue cans and everything.” She suggested, “anyone that lives in this town should pack up and move. It’s only going to get worse.”

– A man said, “I look forward to reading Mo’s Meanderings at the end of every month, but I think the Tribune should get its priorities straight.” The caller added he “remembered the color photos of the desert, mountains, beaches, and other pictures that added so much to the stories, but haven’t seen anything in color for months. This past Saturday,” he continued, “you had a whole page of the mixer in the park and photos of various people, all in color. Those could have been just as easily been in black and white. Yet, you turn the page and there are two photos of Yosemite that would have been pretty nice to see in color.”

–A woman enjoyed the articles on the homeless, but added, “I think one of the places they should start looking at is the Rescue Mission. Does anybody realize they kick them out every day at 7 in the morning and they can’t come back until 5, and people wonder why they are on our streets every day. They don’t teach them anything or any skills.”

–A woman, after receiving her blue recycling can asked, “now, what goes in the grey containers?” She thought the blue containers would take the place of the grey containers and they would “take away our grey containers.”

–A man drove by the fairgrounds and said, “since they quit watering the grass the place looks bad.” He worried about what visitors to the community would think as they drove down Cleveland.

–A woman called after her house was robbed. She was disappointed when she called the police. “We do not come out for that anymore,” the caller said the police told her. “You have to come down and fill out a report. I’m disappointed in our police department. They don’t care anymore. They’re concern is not there anymore.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478.