Condition of American Flag at Local School is Appalling
Condition of American Flag at Local School is Appalling
Editor,
When I went to Marguerite Maze Middle School on the anniversary of 9/11 to pick up my granddaughter, I was appalled at the condition of the American flag flying in front of the school office. The flag looked like it had been dragged through the dirt and shredded. On any normal occasion, it would be disgraceful to see the flag in such a condition in front of a school, but on this day in particular, when it is flying at half-mast in recognition of 9/11, it was intolerable.
As a citizen and a 20-year veteran, I take it personally when no thought is given to the condition of our flag as it is raised in front of a school or government building. I sent these comments by e-mail to the school principal as well as the president of the district trustees in the hope that I would hear from one or the other that a new flag would be raised. I even offered to buy a flag if the school could not afford one.
Today, when I drove by the school, I saw that the same torn flag was still flying, and since I have not heard from the school or district, I thought I would see if anyone else in the community felt the same as I do about the disrespectful care and handling of the American flag at a public school.
John Chadwell
Hollister
Story of Missing Camera
has Happy Ending Because
of a Good Local Citizen
Editor,
A month ago, I put down my camera bag on the floor below a crowded cafe table while I talked with my friends. Then when we went to a meeting in the Veteran’s Memorial building, I forgot to take my camera bag. In it was an expensive digital camera that I had just purchased for my work as a photographer. When I remembered the camera and came back to the cafe to claim it, it was gone. The proprietor did not know what had become of it, but seemed concerned.
In despair I searched everywhere I had been during my three-hour stay in Hollister. Eventually I put an ad in the newspaper and filed a police report. A month passed and my camera did not show up. Everyone told me that digital cameras are hot and not to expect it to be returned.
Yet, miraculously, one day a month later, a man named Kip Ward called me and told me that he had my camera. Kip is the proprietor of the Main Street Bistro. Acting on a tip, he had tracked down my camera. When I went to Hollister to pick it up, Kip Ward had a gift certificate waiting for me to compensate me for my trouble. My friends and I had a wonderful lunch. The food is excellent at the Main Street Bistro at 650 San Benito Blvd, really fresh and delicious, and the proprietor is a very cool man of integrity.
Lois Robin
Santa Cruz
