Opinion

Dear Editor:

I think it’s wonderful that R.O. Hardin received a $5,000 grant from Ag in the Classroom. School gardens are a step in the right direction towards helping our kids become more aware of how our food is grown and to experience the wonderful taste of fresh vegetables. Unfortunately, many of our kids’ exposure to fruits and vegetables are limited to the processed and bagged type (like the produce served by the school cafeterias). I have spent a great deal of time in the lunch area at my children’s elementary school and have seen the enormous amount of wasted produce thrown away every day. After personally tasting the bagged carrots and celery, I don’t blame them for not eating it! They were dry and flavorless. The problem would be greatly improved if the school district put in a kitchen that meets the sanitation standards required to enable the kids to be served the fresh fruits and veggies which are grown by our local farmers. We do live in the “salad bowl” region after all. It would be more fitting to combine Ag in the Classroom and programs like Harvest of the Month on a large scale, with the students eating the produce from local farmers daily, rather than tasteless bagged produce that end up in the trash.

Who owes who an apology?

I have been in the Health Care business for over 20 years and have worked at a number of hospitals in this state and abroad. Every time the surveyors, State or Federal, inspect a facility they find points of "non-compliance" and “deficiencies”. In fact it's their job to find these issues. Just as a driver risks losing his/her right to drive if they do not comply with the rules of the road, hospitals must follow their own set or rules or risk penalty. When a surveyor finds a hospital out of compliance on something, there is the threat of Federal/State funds being pulled. This is nothing new. It happens all the time and at every hospital in the country. This is all part of the process that helps a hospital achieve excellence in patient care and safety. Why don't your reporters report these facts? Why does the local paper here not support their only hospital? The reporting is so negative and full of doom that I believe you are doing your readership a disservice. Do you ever consider celebrating the good work Saint Louise does on a daily basis? I see it from the front row. I’ve seen lives saved here. I see people made well here every day. Do you think we will see a front page story on one of the very many wonderful successes achieved at Saint Louise?

Now's the time for downtown Hollister

Being of the populist persuasion, I am a terminal fan of Thomas

By the strictest terms and in the most fundamental way,

Why have taxpayers allowed four supervisors to terminate 24-year