The following people, organizations and events deserve either a
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down this week.
The following people, organizations and events deserve either a Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down this week.
THUMBS UP: For the new San Benito County Board of Supervisors. The voters wanted a change, and now three new supervisors have been seated to bring it about. Despite grumbling from a few malcontents, there is a general sense of optimism about the county’s future. Let’s give Supervisors Don Marcus, Anthony Botelho and Jaime De La Cruz some time to do their work and then judge them on their actions. It’s time for a fresh start, not more of the same infighting that has plagued our county for too long.
THUMBS DOWN: For another tragic alcohol-related death of a Hollister youth. By all accounts, Adam Baxter was a great friend, a champion athlete and an inspirational person. But last weekend he got into a car with a friend who police say was drunk. Adam wasn’t wearing his seatbelt when their car crashed into a ditch. He was ejected and later succumbed to his injuries. He would have celebrated his 21st birthday two days later. Our community has seen too many of these terrible deaths. How many young lives must be lost before the message to not drink and drive sinks in? Do not let Adam’s death be in vain. Sit down with your kids and teach them about the dangers of mixing alcohol and cars.
THUMBS UP: For a plan being considered to allow some Hollister businesses to expand by using holding tanks rather than hooking into the city’s over-burdened sewer system. Many said Hollister was growing beyond its means in the 1990s and the subsequent 18 million-gallon sewer spill proved them right. But the resulting building moratorium halting all growth in Hollister has proven to be damaging to the local economy. This new plan would allow businesses which had plans to expand before the building moratorium to expand by constructing sewer holding tanks that can be emptied elsewhere. This is not about sewer. It’s a plan to allow businesses to expand, hopefully creating more jobs and giving Hollister’s anemic economy a shot in the arm without burdening city services.
THUMBS UP: For the generous locals who have opened their wallet to help the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia. Nearly 150,000 people are dead – a tragedy the scope of which is nearly impossible to comprehend. Americans have privately donated more than $92 million. San Benito County residents – from business owners donating a portion of their proceeds, to school children taking up change collections – had raised $8,000 for the Red Cross by Thursday. Red Cross officials expect even more local donations to come in once all the fundraisers are complete. We are fortunate to live in such a generous, compassionate community.
THUMBS UP: For Union Pacific Railroad’s apparent interest in taking action to fix the railroad tracks on Highway 25 – long overdue, but still very welcome. After being contacted by the Free Lance’s Red Phone, a Union Pacific representative said the company plans to send out an engineer to take pictures of the tracks early next week as they begin to formulate a plan to fix the problem. It’s an encouraging sign to see UP admitting there is a problem, but we’ll continue to watch this one closely. Read more on page A2
THUMBS DOWN: For another winter storm which is probably raging outside as Free Lance readers are perusing this edition. Weather forecasters have called for another storm to drench, batter and generally destroy all hopes of a weekend outdoors. Though we’d rather endure the cold, windy and rainy days during the winter months, a little longer break to recover from last week’s storm certainly isn’t too much to ask for. Hopefully, Mother Nature will take a little vacation of her own after this one.
THUMBS UP: For Hollister’s own Princess of Pow Kelsey Jeffries. For the second year in a row, Jeffries has been awarded the most coveted award in her sport. This week she was proclaimed the World Boxer of the Year by the Women Boxing Archive Network. The 29-year-old boxer is a hit with the boxing public and is known to be a warrior willing to take on anyone to be the best. Not only is she at the top of her sport, Jeffries serves the public as an on-call firefighter for San Benito County. Way to go.
