The Red Phone is back for its first round of calls this week.
The Red Phone does its utmost to help you with questions you can’t
get for yourself. Call us at 635-9219.
The Red Phone is back for its first round of calls this week. The Red Phone does its utmost to help you with questions you can’t get for yourself. Call us at 635-9219.
We hate to say we told you so, but we did
As an article by Luke Roney elsewhere is this edition of the Free Lance reveals, several drivers on Highway 25 last week had their tires punctured as a result of a deteriorating road bed over the railroad tracks just north of the county line.
Red Phone harped on Union Pacific for almost a month to fix the problem, to no avail. Only after the metal began to protrude into a traffic hazard and damage occurred did the railroad get on it and fix the road.
Did they think we were kidding? Why did they not do anything earlier?
If your car was damaged by the road bed, there is a number at the end of Luke’s article you can call to get reimbursed. And if you have any trouble, call the Red Phone at 635-9219 and we’ll look into it.
A caller asked about our news story a week ago reporting the resignation of Hollister school district superintendent Judith Barranti, who left with two years remaining on her contract. Are the taxpayers on the hook for paying the rest of that contract, at $140,000 a year plus benefits? According to Jesus Romero, administrative assistant to the superintendent, the answer is no. Because Barranti voluntarily resigned, the district owes her nothing.
Saturday we ran an item about irrigation water along Highway 25 spraying traffic along the road. Nancy Griffin, head of the local farm bureau, stepped right up to the plate and recommended that anyone having such a problem call her, and she’d try to fix it. We then printed her number – her fax number.
Oops.
Here’s the correct number: (831) 637-7643.
A caller asked Red Phone why there appeared to be language problems with Hollister police dispatchers:
“I was wondering with all the Hispanic people in our community why the Hollister police do not have a bilingual dispatcher. I listen to my scanner all the time and they have problems understanding Hispanic callers.”
Department spokesman, officer George Ramirez, told Red Phone that the department does have bilingual dispatchers, although he wasn’t sure how the staffing is distributed. As a backup there is a statewide interpretation service that has been around for decades.
Sometimes there is a problem when the first officer at a scene doesn’t speak Spanish, or whatever other language may be in use, and in those cases the dispatcher will give the officer a heads-up about possible language problems en route.
The department also tries to have a Spanish-speaking officer on duty 24 hours a day, Ramirez said. When one is needed but not available internally, the HPD will contact the sheriff’s office or the CHP for assistance. Those agencies will also contact the Hollister PD if they find themselves in the same situation.
A caller wanted to know who to contact to get a firebreak cut in a dry, overgrown area near a home on Steinbeck Drive. The California Department of Forestry fire station will send a letter to property owners asking them to cut vegetation at least 15 feet from structures, but they depend on the public to alert them to hazardous conditions. Call Capt. Jim Dellamonica at the CDF at 637-4475 if you have such a condition to report.
