Tierra Bella and health fair honored exercise and importance of
leading healthy lifestyle
The following events and organizations deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
CHEERS: To the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce for organizing the inaugural Health and Wellness Fair Saturday at the Centennial Recreation Center. The event offered something for everyone, including teaching valuable lessons about eating right, exercising and leading a healthy lifestyle. In conjunction with the YMCA it also observed National Healthy Kids Day and offered resources for the Sandwich Generation. Helping children learn about fitness and healthy behaviors needs to become a priority in our society and meeting the needs of the elderly is the honorable thing to do. According to national statistics nearly 34 million “sandwiched” families caring for aging parents and children at home.
CHEERS: To the Almaden Cycle Touring Club which organized the 2007 Tierra Bella Bicycle Tour Saturday. The tour is celebrating 30 years of riding adventures. The club has about 1,000 bicycle enthusiasts, many of them based in South County. Morgan Hill residents Bob and Kris Thompson define the tour for its quality and riding support. They’re an inspiration to their fellow cyclists and the public for their contributions to the local cycling community. Despite the rain, the couple was serving food and water to the hundreds of cyclists traversing the 120-mile ride who stopped at Gilroy Hot Springs. The tour was a perfect way to celebrate spring.
JEERS: To increasing overtime costs incurred by the city to pay Morgan Hill police officers. Our local cops are frustrated with the situation and leaving the department in search of better working conditions. The Morgan Hill Police Department is so shortstaffed that officers are often required to work overtime for a variety of circumstances. It’s time our elected officials take a hard look at this situation and come up with some workable solutions.
JEERS: For the shortage of farmworkers which is causing havoc in the agriculture community. It’s astounding that South County farmers like George Chiala, of Morgan Hill, are cutting production because the labor supply isn’t there.
JEERS: For those who feel it’s their right to pollute the air we all use with profanity-laced “music” that invades the ears and minds of innocent bystanders, particularly children. Keep your filthy mind-numbing noise to yourself. And to residents, if it’s feasible for you to call and alert the police department, please do so. The non-emergency number for the Morgan Hill Police Department 779-2101. That’s a good one to put in your cell phone.
JEERS: To the Santa Clara County budget deficit of $230 million. Unfortunately on the chopping block this year are confidential birth control counseling and health services for 39,000 teens at 22 high schools. We remind county executive Pete Kutras that our government officials have a responsibility to first and foremost help society’s most vulnerable and that includes our youth, elderly, mentally ill, homeless and youthful offenders.
