Red Line for Sept. 18th
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 Due to content some calls may not be published.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 Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.
A woman called about an “incident with my father.” A senior citizen, “he went down to Madera South to pick up a form from the Department of Social Services. They told him they could not fill out the form until after school hours and he was told to return on Monday. He went back (Monday), the secretary wasn’t there, the one that took his paper didn’t have it. Are all senior citizens getting the runaround?” the caller asked. “What really upsets me,” she concluded, “is that these are the people that will go out there and protest wanting more money. I hope Madera north doesn’t treat people the same way.”
“Great letter (to the editor), Steve Sanford,” began a lady’s call. “And here I thought Gordon Skeels was writing all those letters because he didn’t approve of Doonesbury cartoons.”
A woman had great things to say “concerning the food bank at the Pan-Am Center on Thursdays. I want to say thank you. It is really a great help in food. Thanks to those that donate the food and to those that help pass it out.”
A lady responded to last week’s caller about retired teacher’s insurance. “The retired teachers are not part of (Madera) Unified. We cannot cover them.” She also suggested, “the letters to the school board (members) should be sent to their homes.”
“The Madera South High varsity girls volleyball team are the male chauvinist’s mascot name: Stallion girls volleyball team. Get a new mascot name.”
A female commended “the Madera District Fair employees for putting on such a wonderful event this year. The fair was extremely pleasant. The look on my children’s faces was just wonderful. This town can put on a great event. The concert on Friday night was just absolutely fabulous.”
A woman called about Leon Emo’s series of articles “remembering his time in San Francisco 40-years ago. I really enjoyed his first-hand account of those times. Unlike most, he also brought to the reader’s attention that it was not always the Summer of Love as most like to remember. Excellent articles, it is too bad no photos were included. I would have liked to seen your columnist back then.”
A man commented about a woman “who commented in the Sept. 11 Red Line about all the lives that have been maimed and lost in the war. However, the men and women in the service are volunteers.” He meant to say 9/11 but continued, “the 7/11 loss of about 3,500 lives did not volunteer.”
A woman, who temporarily was at “a loss for words,” thought it was “sad that they let go many professionals in Madera Unified School District because of the No Child Left Behind mandate. It (only) mattered if you had units and passed the test you kept your job. If not you were let go.”
“I’d like to address the comments from a woman on your Sept. 11 Red Line,” said a lady. About that caller, this lady said, “she seems to think we sold out the retirees. The party responsible for that,” she continued, “was the Central Valley trust. It is the
organization we buy our health benefits from.”
The caller added, “she didn’t bother what plan she had. There’s the Cadillac plan and other plans available for them to choose from.” She left her phone number and said she was “a member of the bargaining unit.”
A regular male caller, after viewing “the water levels at Hensley, Buchanan and Millerton,” suggested the state’s problem with water is not building more dams, but receiving more rain.”
A lady called about coverage of the Thomas Jefferson Middle School football team. “Someone needs to get out and watch these boys play. We are defending our championship from last year, and these boys are kicking butt.”
“People are always complaining about the colors of businesses downtown,” began a lady’s message. She asked if “they ever look at (a long time restaurant’s prominent sign north of town); it makes Madera look tacky. It hasn’t been taken care of in 20 years.”
A woman mentioned, “You are still advertising the farmer’s market in the community calendar. It ended on Aug. 30.” She asked, “can’t someone edit that?” (Copy editor’s note: The obsolete calendar notice has been removed now. Thank you.)
“Are they using white chalk to stripe the streets?” asked a lady. “The white lines, the pedestrian crossings, that were just done, are already blacked out. Is that what the taxpayers are paying for?”
Comments from maderatribuneredline.com:
”If it (is) about location, then why are the majority (of) kids on Country Club going to (the) north (high school), when I live on Road 28 1/2 and Ave. 18 1/2 and my son is going to South. And it is not like South is a bad school, but their mark is like lepers because they’re not at north.”
”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 courteous, 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 appointments and are late to almost everything else they have to do. I hope that something can be done about this …”
Thank you for your messages. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478 or by visiting maderatribuneredline.com.
