A burning hope for Sierra LaMar, the missing Morgan Hill teen
Dear Editor,
With hills so green,
And skies so blue;
It’s hard to imagine,
This could happen to you.
In an unexpected moment,
You vanished into thin air.
The search now raging on;
The whole town knelt in prayer.
With no clue in sight,
And no trace of your whereabouts;
The authorities hunting for you,
Have growing fears and doubts.
As worries reach their climax,
And hearts ache and moan;
This hope burning like a flame,
Will not cease until you’re home.
Marin Heacock, Morgan Hill, 15
The FFA creates more than just farmers
Dear Editor,
Leadership is a big part of FFA, a large portion of activities and opportunities are offered to students to develop leadership qualities. One recent activity the Morgan Hill Chapter managed was farm work day, where enrolled students and volunteer parents collectively worked together to spruce up the school farm. The event was successful, and another farm work day is being planned.
Other opportunities the FFA has to offer are conferences, which work on developing leadership skills, and character development. A recent conference the Morgan Hill Chapter attended was the MFE/ALA leadership conference in Seaside.
Twenty six students attended the overnight conference which focused on finding one’s inner strengths and weaknesses and applying those strengths and weaknesses to everyday life in order to develop strong character traits. All twenty six students had the opportunity to meet state officers and participate in group activities.
FFA offers extensive opportunities such as running for an officer position at not just the chapter level, but regional and national level as well. Three officers: Clayton Carlson, Steven Baird and Adam Toomire, from the Morgan Hill Chapter participated in regional officer screening. One of those participants, Clayton Carlson, is to be slated for regional reporter at the regional King City meeting on March 16.
Another recent activity of the Live Oak Chapter was public speaking. The public speaking contest is divided in to four categories being: creed, impromptu, prepared and extemporaneous. Creed is exclusively for freshmen students, while the remaining three categories are open to any students.
Students are evaluated on preparation, performance, delivery, and their answers to judge’s questions. Three officers: Clayton Carlson, Abrianna Robles and Angelica Rodriguez from the Morgan Hill Chapter surpassed chapter level and will advance on to the regional level. Robles will participate at the state level in April at the state conference. These contests give FFA members the opportunity to develop exceptional communication skills, as well as improve writing skills.
FFA is a wonderful opportunity to develop leadership and quality character traits in a young adult. FFA also offers traveling experiences, and the opportunity to meet new people. Being enrolled in an agriculture emphasis course is a bonus on a college application.
One must be enrolled in an agriculture emphasis class to participate in FFA.
Both agriculture emphasis physical and biological science (required) courses offered at Live Oak obtain the same amount of credits as regular physical and biological courses.
Angelica “Angie” Rodriguez, 15, LOHS sophomore
A Hale Avenue extension means I lose
Dear Editor,
I thank Rich Bergin for bringing out the fact that I own property on the West Side of Morgan Hill. His restaurant is one of our favorites.
I have owned property at 370 W. Dunne since 1974. At that time there were no homes on Spring Avenue, and it was known as the road to Morgan Hill’s cemetery. At the time, about 7,000 people inhabited Morgan Hill. It was a rural/farming community.
I decided to practice in Morgan Hill due to my desire to be near my relatives and nostalgia of my years growing up here. My children are the fourth generation of my family to have lived in Morgan Hill.
I picked my present location in Morgan Hill in 1972 on West Dunne Avenue because of its open space. I pursued the subdivision and rezoning process necessary to change this formerly agriculturally-zoned land so I could practice dentistry. My colleagues thought I was crazy to locate in the middle of an empty field as the norm was to be located in a more populated, commercial location. There were no homes yet on Spring Avenue. My office was surrounded by meadows of tall grass. From my treatment windows back then, I could see the cattle and sheep raised by neighbor Ann Cretin’s children for their 4H projects. To a former farm kid, this was fun to see the cattle outside my window.
My dental colleagues who have treatment windows which look out at another building wall or onto a noisy street now envy me … When it rains, we see waterfowls land in the rain-filled seasonal ponds outside my windows. I would definitely prefer having this open space outside my treatment windows last forever.
From a business standpoint, why would I want a street like Hale Avenue extension traverse this open field destroying this bucolic scene and raising my property taxes? Why would I want to have potential disturbances from people who can drive or walk behind my complex from Hale Avenue, opening my property to graffiti, vandalism and theft? Why would I want noisy automobile traffic to disturb my patient care? Worse yet, who needs police, ambulance and fire truck sirens blasting by?
West Dunne Avenue recently has been widened which is a huge plus for our patients. It makes no sense to open my property to these other problems, some with serious consequences, that Hale Avenue extension could bring.
It’s a perfect situation the way it is now for our patient care and this property.
Ida Williams was a favorite patient of mine. It was Ida’s Tea Room for many years before it became Mr. Bergin’s restaurant. Even back then I fought for causes which benefitted Morgan Hill as I continue to do so today. However, this proposal to spend all of the remaining RDA funds on downtown does not provide benefits for the other 99 percent of Morgan Hill which needs consideration. Morgan Hill needs improved public safety, police, fire and ambulance service.
Our school district needs better access to its schools. Our community and downtown can both benefit if this $20 million can be thoughtfully allocated.
It could very well be true as Mr. Bergin pointed out, the state may take all the funds to re-allocate elsewhere. If so, I will continue to patronize local downtown businesses as I have always done, especially our many restaurants.
So if my ideas for the use of remaining RDA funds for the community as a whole win, I stand to lose.
Jon Hatakayama, Morgan Hill
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Morgan Hill City Council voted Wednesday night to spend the remaining $19.3 million in former Redevelopment Agency funds on renovating the downtown.
