The future of Madera should be, for one part, don’t take vineyards down or any of the orchards, just to build houses. Some of the builders around here are so money hungry. And special favors are done in a crooked way.

Even though I came from Texas at age of 15 years, I have been here for most of my life. Eight thousand was the population in 1965. Everybody knew everybody. No drive-bys, no gangs, life was simple. No real crooks.

The long and short of it is that most our elderly are gone, but in the late 1940s the officials and residents came to a conclusion and very much easy to understand. Roads were built then to accommodate the growth of Madera. And that’s along Highway 145 and all the way to 41 on both sides is plenty of room. Avenue 24 1/2 from Road 26, and Madera Lakes Estates. There is all kinds of space to expand in that direction. Keep moving east.

Our agriculture is the best in the world, it is not for buildings.

Joe L. Urena,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Occasionally I am visited by bafflement and surprise when I discover that one of my long-held views is not only wrong, but so far off base as to make me wonder how I could have come to hold the view in the first place.

One example of this is a car I used to own, which I thought for sure was a front-wheel drive vehicle. When I bought it, I recall asking the salesman, “Is this a front-wheel drive car, or rear-wheel?” And, I could have sworn he said “front-wheel.”

From that day on, a doubt never entered my mind to disabuse me of the knowledge that the car I was driving was a front-wheel drive car.

It happened that the car was used, and someone had taken the manual from the glove compartment and sold it, apparently, so I had no written proof that the car was not front-wheel drive, so I believed it. The car felt like a front-wheel drive.

I probably would never have found out otherwise, but Mrs. Doud and I were out driving around in the desert one day, and I wound up stuck in some sand. I decided to apply the front-wheel drive and gradually get back onto the highway, but the car kept sinking into the sand backwards.

Mrs. Doud got out to look, and informed me that the rear wheels were digging the car ever deeper into the sand every time I applied the accelerator.

I couldn’t believe it, but it was true. I still wonder what happened. That car changed from a front-wheel drive to a rear-wheel drive in the blink of an eye.

Kind of like the Democratic race for president. Let’s see, wasn’t Hillary dead certain to be the nominee?

My son returned safe and sound from Iraq. I thank God for his overall protection. The trial of waiting for his return did not change my position.

Although God is changeless in His eternal plan, His ways of accomplishing His plan are subject to change. Until such time that it is God’s will for the U.S. to be out of Iraq, I will continue to support our presence there. As we face the change of command next year, keep hope in God and His unfolding eternal plan, not in the words of man.

The illusion of peace is on the horizon; nevertheless, there will be no true and lasting peace until the return of Jesus Christ. Exercise your freedom to vote, but remember that whoever wins the presidency will be in position by the will of God; this will be the right choice, even if it does not seem apparent.

Since the ascension of Jesus Christ, mankind has been living in the last days. We do not know the exact date and time of His return, but we do know it will be in the last generation, which began in 1948 with the re-establishment of Israel as a nation.

Biblical history and prophecy gives current and future types. Study the Bible and look around. God has foretold all things providing the only peace possible now, peace of mind for believers. This is considered foolishness and negative to unbelievers, but Good News to those who believe in God’s promise of peace, a future, and a hope with Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Government and religion will be one in His coming perfect reign.

Katherine Atilano,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

I read with interest that a new frog has been discovered in a remote part of Indonesia — a frog which has no lungs, but breathes through its skin.

“These are about the most ancient and bizarre frogs you can get on this planet,” said biologist David Bickford of the University of Singapore. “They are like a squished version of Jabba the Hut. They are flat, and have eyes that float above the water. They have skin flaps coming off their arms and legs.”

He wrote a scientific paper about the frog in the journal Current Biology. It seems from this report that if you were going to take a picture to illustrate a dictionary definition of “ugly,” all you would have to do is photograph one of these frogs.

Somehow, that doesn’t seem fair. Who’s to say that looking like Jabba the Hut isn’t the same among frogs as looking like Cary Grant is among humans? And who is to say that this frog doesn’t believe that he, in fact, is the discoverer, and may be writing for Current Frogology describing his own discovery — of this odd, two-legged and exceptionally noisy creature that smells of garlic and wears fabric flaps all over his body?

“This creature, which resembles nothing so much as an orangutan, has something on his head called hair, and ears that look like a taxi with both doors open,” the frog might write. “He is so squishy and ugly he has to cover himself up with these things he calls clothes, which hang down his arms and legs. And on his feet, he has these big tub-like objects called shoes, which almost stepped on me.

“I hope this creature goes back where he came from, and soon. And, I hope he leaves me here in the nice jungle when he goes.”

As a parent I have to comment on the article (sports editor) Paul Stanford wrote about our son, Alec, in The Madera Tribune. Wow! Our family is humbled, excited, touched beyond belief. Wow, is the superlative that seems to fit.

In reading this article, you expressed things that reflected a desire on your part to understand our son — you captured his experience going through this process, to a tee. I would say his best friends didn’t display this depth of understanding.

That’s why I’m compelled to write this to you. You repeatedly demonstrate your caring about our kids in this community to accurately represent them at these critical moments in their lives. If something is happening in a young person’s life that is newsworthy, then it must truly be a watershed moment in time for them. Think about it — an intimate and accurate portrayal in a newspaper is a way of forever stamping this event in the individual’s memory, and their family’s.

Your insight into Alec’s comments, and the time you took to get Coach Hirshcorn’s thoughts, and Coach Mac’s, were above and beyond the call, and will enable us to read this 20 years from now and immediately remember the entire experience as if it were yesterday. You’ve given our family a treasure for life.

My wife and I moved here 18 years ago to rear our kids in a great family environment. We were looking for some place that reminded us of where we grew up, without having to move back to where we grew up, if that makes sense. Reading the Tribune back then reinforced our move as a sound one. While the sports articles had their share of misspellings and questionable phraseology, there was never a doubt as to whether the kids of this community were loved. This told us we were in the right place.

Then this “new guy,” Paul Stanford, came on board, and I was a little nervous. I didn’t want to see our hometown paper lose its sense of intimacy. Needless to say, that hasn’t happened, and in fact the qualities that drew us here are abundantly evident every time I read something he has written. And where I used to amuse myself by circling outlandish errors in red (I am an educator after all), I don’t get to do that any more with your pieces. You’re just a d-mn good writer!

Thank you again Paul. Any paper in America would be blessed to have you as part of their team. I’m just so thankful that you’re on ours!

Randy Mehrten,
and echoed decisively by Tiffany, Alec, and Seth,
Madera

Thank you to the Madera Tribune for the prominent coverage of the overwhelming abandoned pet problem that we face in Madera County. The waves of unwanted puppy and kitten litters coming into the Madera County Animal Shelter are heartbreaking and completely preventable.

For several years now, Friends of Madera Animal Shelter has offered very low cost spaying and neutering for pets of all low-income Madera County families and feral (wild) cats. For only $20 for dogs and $15 for cats you will receive a voucher that covers 100 percent of the cost of the spay or neuter surgery at several local veterinarians. Convenient and affordable spay and neuter options are available for everyone.

Please call the Friends of Madera Animal Shelter at 664-8667. A helpful volunteer will return your call quickly to get you the information you need on local spay and neuter options.

If your pets are already altered, thank you. You have done your part to end pet over-population, a problem that kills more dogs and cats than all pet diseases combined. If you know someone with unaltered pets, please ask them to call Friends of Madera Animal Shelter at 664-8667, as we are reaching out to Madera County residents to help them fix their pets.

Carrie Tuttle,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

I saw a news report about a church in Merced which is divided over whether it should be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The pro-register members want the recognition so that the church can’t be torn down or sold. The anti-Register congregants want to take the stained glass windows out of the building and carry them across the street to a new church that they would like to build.

People who don’t have a dog in the fight say the church probably should have been replaced years ago, because it is architecturally uninteresting and hasn’t been kept up. But they also recognize that many of the older congregants have great identification with the building, and that to tear it down would be emotionally wrenching.

A lot of buildings around the country are being preserved just because they are old — not because they have any historical or architectural significance. Those who built such buildings didn’t invest much in architecture. They got them built as best they could.

The fact nobody tore them down over the next 50 to 100 years gives them a stature they probably don’t deserve.

In Madera, if you had to tear down every building and could only spare one, which one would you save? The old courthouse, naturally. It is architecturally pleasing to the eye, is built of beautiful and durable materials, and is highly functional in its present role, that of museum and community icon.

The old train depot on E Street is another attractive building, restored on the outside and remodeled on the inside. But it isn’t the courthouse.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of nice buildings. Just not great ones. That honor belongs, for now, to the courthouse. In 100 years, will any buildings being built today be great?

Guess we’ll have to hang around and find out.

As you well know Fairmead Community & Friends sponsored a community-wide day of cleanup on Saturday, March 29.

While the Fairmead landfill received the same flyer that I faxed you, apparently the driver that dropped off the dumpsters didn’t understand what the corner of Maple Street, and 22-1/2, the corners of Avenue 23 and Road 19-1/2 and the corner of Hickory and Avenue 22-1/2 meant.

But a corner is a corner is a corner, and not in front of the Head Start building, the back of Galilee Church. While our flyers simply stated that dumping would be allowed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, the dumpsters were left in Fairmead all weekend long, and not picked up until Tuesday morning after 8 a.m.

Needless to say people took advantage of the situation and continued to dump their garbage even though the containers were full. They piled large appliances on all four sides after we had shut down. These actions caused a huge problem for the Fairmead Head Start, as the children were not allowed to attend school for two days because of all of the hazardous materials that were left.

Apparently those people who dumped their unwanted goods don’t have young children, have never had children and do not care about children going to school to receive an education.

Those people who continued to dump because they wanted to save a few dollars make me feel like all that they really care about is that their children and their neighbors children are only attending school to occupy space as they just didn’t think, or care about the little people.

Therefore, the walk-a-thon that was scheduled for April 19, and the food distribution that was scheduled for April 30 has been cancled. Thank you, neighbors, because we were planning to give away fresh produce to the participants of the walk-a-thon and large gift baskets of fresh fruits valued at $150 or more to the top three participants in the walk-a-thon.

So pat yourselves on the back. Your loss is our gain because we need to take a break and rest anyway. Perhaps you can make it up to us at our next community meeting on April 28 by attending and doing more than just appearing late, eating and disappearing after you have bagged up the sandwiches, sweets and beverages that were prepared for the participants, not for the appearance of your presence alone.

Thank you, Fairmead residents and neighbors outside of Fairmead who dumped their unwanted goods as well, and for showing us just how much you appreciated all of our hard work.

Nettie Amey,
Fairmead

On April 2, you posted a letter from the “Fairmead Community & Friends” regarding their “community-wide day of clean up” In this letter they talked about all the good work done and thanked a number of organizations for their assistance.

They failed to mention the generosity of our Madera County Board of Supervisors who approved this project at the expense of county taxpayers by authorizing free bins, which included free delivery and pick up, along with free depositing of the unwanted waste in the Madera Landfill.

This was unprecedented, as evidenced by Supervisor Wheeler ’s comments that firemen in his community were denied the same services in a previous request. The board, however, went ahead and approved the Fairmead Community & Friends request with the understanding that requests of a similar nature in the county receive the same fair treatment in the future.

In their letter to the Tribune, did the Fairmead Community & Friends once thank the Madera County Board of Supervisors or the folks from the landfill who donated their time, equipment and free dumping? No. They complained!

They referred to themselves as being treated like a “redheaded stepchild of Madera County,” then go on to say, “Shame on you for neglecting us for so many years.”

Excuse me? You got what you asked for, and now you complain without even a thank you to supervisors who made it possible.

True, you came to the Board of Supervisors meeting the following Tuesday and said thank you, however, the thank you was lost when you complained to them about placement of bins, ad nauseam.

I think you should add to your characterization of being a “redheaded stepchild,” the word “ungrateful.”

Donald Holley,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the people who work for him were smart to cut the Olympic Torch route in half and get that phony flame out of town as fast as they could. People were getting ready to tear into each other over the silly thing, without really knowing what they were talking about.

The leaders in China, meanwhile, must be scratching their heads over why people in free countries who rant and rave as the torch passes them aren’t rounded up and sent off to build dams or dig their own graves. These are third-generation totalitarians who are used to getting their way in their own country, regardless of what anybody else says.

For all that China is adopting some capitalist ways, the fact remains that it is a political and military creation of one of the worst despots ever to set foot on the planet. Mao Tse-tung and his cronies were murderers, plain and simple, who made the notion of power growing out of the barrel of a gun a frightening reality. It is hard to know who was the worst communist dictator — Mao or the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin. The number 60 million murders comes to mind in each case. They both made Hitler, with 12 million victims, seem amateurish.

Where the former Soviet countries are trying to work their way out of communism and return to the company of civilized peoples, the Chinese communists make no such effort. They continue to oppress their own people, they continue to support despots abroad, they wink at economic crimes such as copyright violations and patent theft.

And we go along with it, in hopes they will see the error of their ways. Maybe that is right, but don’t take your eyes off them.