Our first Red Phone caller, a Hollister woman concerned with all
things aesthetic, asked the Crimson Crusader what was going on with
the weed abatement project near the sound wall on Sunnyslope
between Black Forest Drive and Versailles. Our caller said city
crews had started work on clearing the weeds earlier this month,
but had never finished the job or cleaned up the mess.
Our first Red Phone caller, a Hollister woman concerned with all things aesthetic, asked the Crimson Crusader what was going on with the weed abatement project near the sound wall on Sunnyslope between Black Forest Drive and Versailles. Our caller said city crews had started work on clearing the weeds earlier this month, but had never finished the job or cleaned up the mess.
The Crimson Crusader made a call over to Marcello Orta at the Public Works Department to find out when crews could finish the job. Orta, hit hard by budget cuts, said he didn’t know exactly when crews would return to work on the site, but said he would try to complete the work as soon as possible.
“I have lost five guys in the last two months,” he said. “But we’ll get to it as time and funding allows.”
Extended Vacation Tips
Our next Red Phone caller, a San Benito County woman, told the Crimson Crusader that she was planning an extended vacation abroad and wanted to know what she could do to protect her home while touring Italy.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office offers a special vacation watch program. Call the sheriff’s office at 636-4080 or stop by the office at 451 Fourth St. in Hollister. Undersheriff Pat Turturici highly recommends those going on vacation notify the sheriff’s office. He said officers stop by the homes on the vacation watch list at least twice in every 24-hour period.
Turturici also advised stopping mail delivery. An accumulation of mail can tip off would-be burglars of a homeowner’s absence, he said. Piles of mail are also targets for those troublesome folks who might try to steal your identity.
The Crimson Crusader made a quick call to the Hollister post office to find out how to stop mail delivery. Supervisor Tammy Freitas said the process is quite simple; all you have to do is stop by the post office at 100 Maple St. in Hollister and fill out a form indicating the dates of the vacation. Then you can either have all your mail delivered the day you return or pick it up from the post office when you come back, Freitas said.
The Crimson Crusader also advises readers to put their Free Lance delivery on hold while on vacation. This can be accomplished by placing a call to Free Lance circulation guru Jeanette Hurtado at 637-5566 ext. 326. And fret not, loyal reader, delivery of the Free Lance will continue upon your return.
Education Articles
Our final Red Phone call of the week came from a longtime Hollister resident and loyal Free Lance reader who asked the Crimson Crusader who was behind the recent spate of interesting and informative education stories published in the Free Lance. The Free Lance brought Alice Joy, a recent graduate of Santa Clara University, on as a staff writer, dear caller, and she is responsible for the aforementioned articles. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or aj**@fr***********.com.
