All comments are edited for length and content. Due to content or space limitations some comments may not be published. More than one comment from the same person during the same week will normally not be published. Please limit calls to two minutes or less.

A man who “was driving north on Highway 99” called about graffiti in the city and county of Madera. “It is getting out of hand,” he said. He mentioned a building being covered with graffiti. The caller suggested if they know the gang symbols they should “arrest the whole dang bunch of them.”

“Please spay and neuter your pets,” said a lady. “It is ridiculous that we see all these free kittens, free puppies, free dogs. There is no excuse for leaving an animal when you move. Take it along with you. It is supposed to be your pet.”

A woman called “concerning the tabloid magazine that was put in the paper on Saturday (June 27). I think the Tribune did a fantastic job on the 2008-2009 Athletes of the Year. Kudos to the paper for doing a truly wonderful job.”

A lady called in response to last week’s female caller “about the fireworks show that is going to be going on at the (Madera Municipal) Golf Course and is way too far out.” This week’s caller said, “It is probably the only place in Madera that actually has enough grass and open area that they can view fireworks. It is free admission and free parking. People need to stop complaining.”

A man said, “I drive down Yosemite everyday on my way to work and everyday I see speeders. The police need to place their motorcycle officers on west Yosemite one day, and east Yosemite the next. It is getting ridiculous. Some day a pedestrian or kid stepping off a median in the middle of the road will get hit.”

“A big thank you to The Madera Tribune,” said a lady, “for printing the entire Declaration of Independence on Saturday, July Fourth.”

“When it comes to politics, I’m a conservative,” said a woman who said she “attended the Independence Day Celebration at the Municipal Golf Course. I was handed a copy of the Declaration of Independence almost as soon as I arrived. At first I thought it was nice of the city, but then at the bottom I read it was being handed out by the Tea Party. They even had their Web site at the bottom. I didn’t mind the Declaration, but it was not intended to be used as an excuse to publicize a particular group’s propaganda. Next we’ll see the Green Party or others doing the same.”

“I have nothing against the Tea Party,” a caller said, “but yesterday (July 4) at the golf course my family was out for a good time, and the first thing I was handed was a brochure by a Tea Party representative who immediately started to tell me what’s wrong about our country, on this day no less. I told him I had been to a couple of his meetings already, and my last for now. He and the rest of them sure make it known they don’t like what’s happening now, but they don’t offer any solutions. Where were they when the administration, and Republican Congress for the past eight years, doubled the budget and increased the deficit? Oh, by the way … I’m a Republican.”

(Editor’s note: One of the first contemporary Tea Party protests was held in the U.S. late in 2007, when President George W. Bush was still in office. Also, the Democratic party has controlled the House of Representatives for about three years now and the Senate for about five years.)

A lady was “sorry to hear about the woman that was robbed in the Save Mart Shopping Center parking lot on Road 26. How sad that we can’t even go to a store and take care of our business without being robbed. Thank God the thug is off the streets, but who’s to say that it won’t be one of us next time.”

An online reader, self-identified as “Nancy Hollier (mom),” writes to the late Krista-Rae Pike, “I miss you so much still, I think about you every day. I have your picture on my favorite frog that stays on my bed and I give your pic a kiss everyday … I pray for your family every day that God is with them to help them through their everyday life.”

Another visitor, self-identified as “Jessica (Krista’s Cousin),” writes, “Krista, i just wanted to say that i haven’t been the same person that i was before the ‘event,’ but i can say that I’m happy that you’re in a better place now, and that I and my family will always, always miss you, yet love you all the same, forever and ever.”

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

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