Letters: Animal rescue group thankful for timely and thorough fire coverage on the Web
Jun 30, 2008
Animal rescue group thankful for timely and thorough fire coverage on the Web
An invitation to Thursday's Patriotic Sing
Dear Editor,
As chairperson of the 19th annual Patriotic Sing, I would like to invite members of our community, families, and friends to this year's program at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 3, at the Britton Middle School Gymnasium. The event, which is free, will feature patriotic songs, essay contest awards, a pictorial tour through this great land of ours, and a chance to celebrate the birthday of America through music. We extend a special invitation to those who have served or continue to serve in our Armed Forces. The 4th of July has become a holiday featuring sales and barbeques. However, it is the birthday of this great country of ours. Please join us for some traditional patriotic music and rekindle your patriotism!
The Patriotic Sing is the first of several events brought to our community by the volunteers of Independence Day, Inc. Following the Sing on Thursday evening, you are invited to dance in the streets of downtown Morgan Hill to the music of the "Usual Suspects." The street dance begins at 7 p.m.
On Friday, 5K runners and walkers will begin the Freedom 5K event at 7:45 a.m. Registration begins at 6:45 a.m. at P.A. Walsh School. Once the streets clear of walkers and runners, get set to watch classic cars cruise the parade route at 9 a.m. Then, at 10 a.m., plan to enjoy Morgan Hill's Fourth of July Parade, "Celebrating the Many Faces of America."
Be sure to take a closer look at the classic cars and then head home, enjoy some family time, grab a blanket, and get ready to watch as fireworks light up the sky over Community Park. The Fireworks Festival begins at 6:30 p.m. with people staking out their viewing areas. Music will be provided by the "The Dadz." After dark, a dramatic Fireworks Show will conclude the festivities of the Fourth.
All in all, some memory-making ways to celebrate a small-town Fourth of July in Morgan Hill. Check out www.mhidi.com for more details! Independence Day Incorporated presents all of the 4th of July events free of charge to our guests. However, donations are gratefully accepted at each event. Please consider contributing to IDI to preserve Morgan Hill's unique Independence Day events. Thank you IDI, and Happy Birthday, America!
Karen Ann Crane
Chairperson - Patriotic Sing and Essay Contest
The stupidity and danger of illegal fireworks
Dear Editor,
As I was getting ready to call it a day Saturday evening, I heard some revelry going on at the clubhouse. Nothing really loud like sometimes we hear ... the amplifiers churned up so that the music can be heard all the way back to our court ... so, I thought, how nice that a party was going on. A graduation, wedding, just celebrating summer? I fell right off to sleep.
Pretty close to midnight, I was awakened by the sound of fireworks. How in the world could somebody be foolish enough to be setting off fireworks in an area that is tinder dry? My call to the Morgan Hill Police Department was not the first ... and I presume wasn't the last either. After giving the dispatcher my pertinent information, I was told that two officers were on their way. My last comment was "how could somebody be so stupid?"
While most of the time I live in my own little world where I feel safe and secure, if something rubs me the wrong way I just piss and moan to my family or my neighbor or to my friend who lives around the corner on Jackson Oaks Drive. This isn't one of those times. As I tried to get back to sleep, I couldn't help but wonder about the person who had set off the fireworks. Maybe they didn't subscribe to the San Jose Mercury News or Morgan Hill Times and weren't aware that there are numerous wildfires blazing in our own backyard? Maybe they didn't have access to the Internet and hadn't read about all of the wildfires blazing throughout the State of California. Maybe they hadn't ventured outside to see all of the smoke in the air and smell the foul odors. Maybe, maybe, maybe? My final maybe was that maybe they just had no common sense.
It's not just the person who brought the fireworks and set them off. It's the group of people who were also present who didn't have sense enough to stop him/her after the first firework was set off. You don't have common sense either.
So, not only did you disrupt my sleep, you have taken away a bit of my security net. I remembered that it isn't only me and my family and my neighbor and my friend around the corner on Jackson Oaks Drive that allows me to feel safe and secure. Part of that responsibility lies on each of your shoulders as well. If you choose to do something stupid, your stupidity could very easily cause harm to every one who lives in our community. I hope the next time you're at a party and decide you just can't make it through your celebration without shooting off some fireworks, you'll give some thought to your surroundings ... a tinder dry area that is home to thousands of humans and wildlife where there is only one way out.
Judy Baker, Morgan Hill
Gay marriage editorial showed courage
Dear Editor,
This letter is regarding your June 20 editorial titled, "The correct gay marriage ruling."
I have close heterosexual and homosexual friends. I love and care for all of them equally. I know homosexual couples who have been together in meaningful relationships for many, many years-some of them longer than heterosexual couples I know. I know fairly intimately their hopelessness, pain, loneliness, and their feelings of anger as a result of intended discrimination or unintended discrimination.
We appreciate the effort made by the Times Editorial Board to address this subject. This is a sensitive and personal topic in our country and needs to be addressed respectfully, accurately, and lovingly. That the paper had the courage to speak out about it shows a certain amount of courage.
Although the Morgan Hill Times does not have any obligation to monitor this board, the Morgan Hill Times reserves the right at all times to check this board and to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to the Morgan Hill Times in our sole discretion and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. The Morgan Hill Times also reserves the right to permanently block any user who violates these terms and conditions. All threats to systems or site infrastructure shall be assumed genuine in nature and will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement authorities. Submission of any comments will be considered permission to use online or in print.
Behind the brews: the origin and making of El Toro beers
