The Red Phone appreciates public servants who take a positive,
cheerful approach to keeping the public informed, remembering
always who pays their salaries. This was the week for the Hollister
Fire Department to take center stage.
The Red Phone appreciates public servants who take a positive, cheerful approach to keeping the public informed, remembering always who pays their salaries. This was the week for the Hollister Fire Department to take center stage.
Emergency on Aisle 3?
One citizen called to wonder why he sees a truckful of firemen about town – particularly at the grocery store – so often, when they’re not responding to an emergency. Eager to thwart the reckless spending of taxpayer money, Red Phone called Fire Chief Bill Garringer, who admitted that “Yes, we’re out there every day, maybe even twice a day … because we have to eat, too.” According to Garringer, the department is so understaffed that if just one person left to run an errand and disaster struck, the effectiveness of the entire team would be compromised. Instead, all the firemen run every errand together, with radios, so that they’re never out of service. “If we have a basket of food, we just leave it there. We’re ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Garringer. “And that’s the deal.”
Red Phone would like to take the edge off the above issue by relating a story about firemen being good public servants. A week ago this reporter parked his car in the lot in front of Target. While inside, a fire crew was across Hillock Drive conducting a drill, in the course of which a lot of water was caught by a stiff breeze and sprayed all over the cars in the parking lot.
The car in question is black. The water, as residents of Hollister know, is not clear. It’s full of minerals, and it dries white.
Past experience with hard water suggested the paint job on this car might have been ruined. So Red Phone huffed over to the man in charge, Capt. Charlie Bedolla. He was very agreeable, and suggested talking to chief Garringer Monday morning.
That morning this reporter went to the firehouse and waited patiently for the chief to arrive, so he could see the car and agree to pay for a professional cleaning – or, heaven forbid, a new paint job. Before the chief showed up, the station crew invited said reporter around to the side of the building where they were washing the firetrucks. They said they’d wash the car themselves, and if it wasn’t to our satisfaction, then the chief would take care of it. They were pleasant, helpful, and went to work. Three of them.
The car looks great, and Red Phone would like to take this moment to thank the firemen of Station No. 1 for being so conscientious.
That Crosses the Line
Another caller admired the fancy new center line down Wright Road between Hwy 25 and 156, but it’s his belief that the only thing better than a new center line is a newly paved road. Inspired, he asked the Red Phone whether any plans were in the works to re-pave that particular segment. We called Matt Kelley from the city Engineering Department, who was only too happy to explain that his people had also noticed that work needed to be done, and that Wright will hopefully be a part of their next paving program. The department has already applied to Caltrans for funding, and if all goes well, the project will begin next year, or possibly as early as this winter. While the Red Phone respects that the city has an allotted budget and timeframe, we would encourage the powers-that-be to drop by and take another look at Wright, if only to ensure that the road didn’t suffer during the rainy season any worse than the others on the list for repair. It may well deserve to be moved up the priority list.
We Have A Verdict
Our final caller voiced a concern about a fire hazard – weeds – on a neighboring piece of property. Here’s the catch: the land is privately owned. As sympathetic as the Red Phone is towards those who live in fear of their neighbors, and as keen as our sense of vigilante justice may be, we can only intervene if there’s a problem with public land. The Red Phone is reluctant to play mediator in a dispute between two landowners – that’s why we have Judge Judy (for the interested, www.judgejudy.com has a submission form if you would like your case considered before “The Ultimate Truth Machine”). But good luck getting rid of those weeds.
Don’t forget to call the Red Phone with your problems: 635-9219.
