Opinion

Recently I had the pleasure of buying a new vehicle and, of course, I bought it locally. I want everyone to know what a treasure we have here in Greenwood Chevrolet-Buick.

I can’t figure out how this Mayor Velazquez got re-elected. He ran on a platform of moving forward. It appears we are moving backward. It seems he’s good at inaction. The downtown area streets are all cracked and in disrepair. Our only reservoir is still closed after three years. The feds might be in charge of this project but Velazquez and his council don’t appear to be interested in pushing them. There are multiple housing projects currently being built plus a giant housing project off of Fairview Road, which by the way should have been put to a citizen vote. We are still paying exorbitant sewer rates from the last time the city of Hollister went on a building craze. There was also talk about a Walmart being built here, which never got mentioned in the paper. None of these projects benefits me as a resident of Hollister. Keep us informed as our local newspaper. This is your job.

Read this letter, in poetry form, in response to the tragedy in France.

Picture this. Your child is autistic and non-verbal. School has been a real challenge through the years but your child just finished the seventh grade, and had a very good year. This seventh grade class was tailored to the student’s needs. They used technology every day to improve their learning and to help them communicate. They had a school-wide recycling program to help raise money and teach the students life skills. They were in the kitchen learning about cooking and more life skills almost every day. In fact, the district remodeled the kitchen basically for this class. The class had frequent field trips. The teacher was consulting with the high school, where many of these life skills would continue, to prepare for a smooth transition after their eighth grade. Possibly the most important part is the class had an exceptional teacher that understood these students’ needs and the classroom instructional aides were some of the district’s most experienced and compassionate people. You were truly looking forward to having a great final year of middle school for your child. There was no reason to think otherwise. No one knew what was about to happen. This class was going to be dismantled. However, the district found no wrongdoing!