Letters

I would like to thank you for running this year’s VFW announcement for the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest. We received over 75 entries from nine different schools. Thank you.

Whomever removed the U.S. flag from the front of my home at 1231 Sunset Drive in Hollister, please return it. It has great value as it was presented to me when I was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for service in Vietnam. I will purchase you a new U.S. flag. No questions asked.

My husband and I own our home, and we have lived in Ridgemark for 10 years. On the golf course side of our back yard fence, there are three healthy, green trees that provide homes for song birds year round. One of these trees is an Eucalyptus that looks the same today as it did ten years ago when I started admiring it for it's unusual beauty. On Monday, October 13, I witnessed Alex Kehriotis in the passenger seat in a golf course vehicle with a white-haired man as his driver. I saw Alex direct this man to healthy trees on Gabilan, and the white-haired man would stop the vehicle, get out with a paint bucket and a paint brush, and he would mark the trees that Alex directed him to mark, with red paint X's. The Eucalyptus as well as one of the Monterey Pines has been marked with a red paint X for destruction. The TRO from Judge Tobias was in force on Oct. 13 when I witnessed this happen on Gabilan Golf Course. Alex Kehriotis is NOT an arborist.

Election Day is finally upon us. As a longstanding San Benito County resident, landowner, and water district director, I couldn’t be happier. We get to say goodbye to the hype and hysteria that has overtaken our community over the last several months. Now is the time for reason, not emotion. That is why I urge you to vote no on Measure J.

The small population of San Benito County is at a crossroads of two futures. Measure J gives the people a choice. One future has been offered to you by local citizens who collected thousands of signatures to put Measure J on the ballot. I know the supporters of Measure J and have discussed with them their vision for a brighter future for their county which builds on their rich agricultural heritage, natural beauty and cultural history. In contrast, the oil industry is spending millions to persuade residents to embrace another, darker future.

Last week we published a piece distancing this newspaper from the political campaign to oppose Measure J, which has prominently featured our logo. The campaign is centered around some quotes picked from a May piece that represents the opinions of community members who served on a volunteer editorial board.

I think most San Benito County residents believe that energy companies should be able to continue to operate here—and perhaps even expand—provided they are held to stringent environmental regulations. I fall into this camp, too. It is why I am voting no on Measure J.