Red Line for Sept. 11th
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 Due to content some calls may not be published.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 Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
Several calls were received when the Red Line on Tuesday, and Mo’s Musings, Wednesday did not appear on their usual days. They were published on following days. We apologize for any inconvenience. The Red Line will again be appearing on Tuesdays and Mo’s Musings on Wednesdays and Fridays. Due to technical difficulties some calls went unrecorded last week. The problem has been repaired.
A caller said he had read a letter to the editor (Monday, Sept. 10) that “compared Gordon Skeels to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. I always felt,” the caller commented, “Mr. Skeels was good, and the writer’s letter confirms it. Keep up the good work, Mr. Skeels.”
“I, too, am tired of seeing Gordon Skeels’ name at the end of a long, radical letter to the Tribune,” began a woman’s call. “He knows who got us in this big mess. How can he write such letters knowing all the lives that have been lost and maimed? He should have respect for the families who have lost their loved ones in a war that we know should not have been. Stop trying to make excuses for this administration. Enough is enough.” She concluded and suggested, “maybe you (Skeels) should move to Arizona with John Sanchez.”
A lady called about the Red Line call “about the Rangel family” last week. This week’s caller took objection to “all those nice words,” last week’s caller used. The lady this week said, “however you look at it, they murdered a young man with three young children.”
A woman called to “make a comment about school bus drivers being on cell phones.” The caller felt “that whoever made that phone call (to the Red Line) should have got the name on the side of the bus as to what county, or school district, and a bus number so they can pinpoint the person (driver) that is doing that so that person can be penalized, not everyone.” She left her name and phone number and said, “give me a call.” (Note: the Red Line does not publish addresses or phone numbers)
“I wanted to congratulate the Tribune on the restaurant inspection (article),” said a lady. “I wish you would do that all the time.” She went on to add, “there’s one (restaurant) in town I really question.” She also appreciated the pictures in the paper. “I just moved into town and I was wondering who the council members were.”
A lady asked, “why shop in Madera?” She complained about a large retail chain having only one cashier at 7 a.m. and a local bank that also had just one teller.
In addition, a carwash that did not complete the cleaning. “My windows weren’t even dry.” She suggested, “Madera needs more shopping centers.”
A woman called “regarding Jim Glynn’s article in today’s (Thursday, Sept. 6) the MUTA (Madera Unified Teacher’s Association) versus the school district.”
She said, “I’m getting a little tired of reading Jim Glynn’s vendetta against the school district. It’s hard to feel any sympathy for the teacher’s union and their insurance benefits when two years ago they sold out their own teacher retirees as far as insurance. The retired teachers have to pay $900 a month for their insurance,” the caller said, “I don’t feel too sorry for the teachers that are paying $168 a month.”
She had one final comment. “It was pretty weenie (by Glynn) to put in the home addresses of the school board members. They have a business address. You can write to them there.”
A man who gave his name and phone number and said he is the union business agent and “represents the public works crews for the city of Madera.” He said, “I have received calls today and in the past about our employees being forced to flush out the street painting vehicles into the storm drain”
The caller said today, “he was able to go over to the public works yard at 1030 S. Gateway and take pictures of paint on the grate itself and the water showing it was washed into the grate. I understand this is a weekly occurrence,” the man continued, “and crews are directed by management.”
A male caller gave the record of the Madera Coyote football team (0-3) and said, “I still believe we have a chance at TRAC. The way these kids play they do not give up.” He went onto support the players, but criticized the coaching techniques.
A caller praised the Tribune for the “History of Madera” series by Bill Coate being run in the Pulse of Madera section every Saturday. “I’m saving those sections, and maybe the newspaper should think about doing the same. Maybe there’s a book in there somewhere.”
Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478.
My property was damaged along Berenda Slough on June 20th due to a fire suspected to be arson started. I think we should start a bounty fund, call it a reward fund so we can catch the person or persons responsible. Anyone who has knowledge of who might be responsible for these fires, please call the Madera Sheriff, thanks
The Madera Dial A Ride bus service is one of the worst public services that I have seen in a long time. The drivers may be polite and curteous but what does that matter when they show up 30 minutes or more past the time that you are supposed to be picked up or don’t show up at all? They need to find a solution to this and because of them, some patrons of this service are missing important appoinments and are late to almost everything else they have to do. I hope that something can be done about this because I do not want to be late to an appointment or miss it completely because the bus does not show up or shows up late.
Concern over school district problems
I am very concerned about the possiblity of a teachers strike and I think all parents should be. I already see problems in the schools that I am concerned about, and in my opinion it’s because quite frankly the teachers are starting to not care.
My daughter goes to a small school that is starting to not be so small anymore because of the growth in Madera, and in my opinion the teachers are starting to be outnumbered. The other day I was waiting for my daughter and I saw a class of older kids maybe 6th or 7th grade lining up to go to the bus. Two girls left the line of students and ran off before the teacher could see them, then when the teacher did turn and looked at her students she didnt even realize they were missing! Worse than that, my daughter has even come home saying her teacher tells them they give her a headache, etc. This is not the kind of thing I want my daughter hearing, it’s discouraging and just plain sad that some of our teachers are going this route.
I dont put all the blame on them, I also blame the school district for not showing teachers they are wanted and therefore making them want to work harder to take care of our children. Because I for one am not confident that my child is having a good experience in school and it doesn’t seem like any issues I bring up ever get resolved by the school, if anything they seem to make matters worse for my child when I do complain. What a sad situation for my child and for alot of other kids I’m sure. I grew up in madera and these are not the memories I
had of school.