Letters to the Editor
October 01, 1999
Opinion
What's going on with "voting and Latinos"?
To the Editor:What's going on in town about voting and Latinos is amusing to me.I, myself, usually vote absentee, so I vote a little earlier then most. As I think back to that day in November, as I sat down to vote, I remember looking out my window and guess what? I didn't see Don Johnson, Robin Sullivan or Jim Garfield standing outside on my lawn pointing guns at me, telling me I better vote their way or else!I sat down at my table with my ballots and all the information I needed and felt free to vote for whomever I wanted to vote for. I'm sure there are others who felt as free to vote as I did. I'm sure we are intelligent enough to know what we are doing. I don't think we need any redistricting.If they do have it done that way, then I feel we will be robbed of our freedom, because then we will only be able to vote for those who fall into that area. As it stands now you are free to vote for whomever you want, no matter what part of town they live in. And I think that's the way it should be.Alicia DeSotoSanta PaulaIt still stinksTo the Editor:Some folks think racism is something "whites" do to "non-whites" and it's bad. It sure smells bad to me, too. Some folks think "reverse racism" is good and well deserved. That's where "non-whites" call "whites" names and accuse them of all sorts of things, whether true or not. Also, some politicians love to stir the racist pot thinking it will get votes. We have an example in town now, supported by Ventura's Star.A recent Star article about 83 year old Bert Corona caught my eye. I liked his comments about recognizing racism by phrases like "One of our own should be there" and "One of our own will understand our specific and concrete problems." Boy, do those phrases ring bells locally. But really Bert, where is the relevance today of the Ku Klux Klan meeting on Hospital Hill 80 years ago when you were 3 years old? After all, they're all explaining their views to the highest authority by now.You may be wondering how I could possibly understand those who have experienced racism. Well, going to public school during World War II with a German surname didn't make me popular with some schoolyard idiots. During this time my Grandma Schmidt said no one was to speak German in front of the "kids." She was proud of our heritage but knew that English and a good education would be best for us in this great country. Smart lady. I know she would agree that from whichever direction racism comes it always stinks.I liked reading a recent National Geographic article that said all modern human beings are identical except for one tenth of one percent of our genes. Maybe we could all focus on that and learn to accept our one tenth of one percent differences.Jerry Schmidt
Santa PaulaHeritage Valley Festival a successTo the Editor:Three cheers for a successful Heritage Valley Festival September 25 and 26 in Santa Paula and Fillmore!Lots and lots of people worked hard and made it possible. We would like to specifically thank the key people who made the quilt displays part of the weekend very special.Thank you for a fabulous job, well done, carefully executed, and creatively displayed: Pam Lindsay of Santa Paula and Lynda Edmonds of Fillmore were the co-chairmen of the Quilt Show. Indispensable committee members and workers were Betsy Accord, Carol Day, Christy Grimes, Sandra Perello, and Sandy Reinke. Thank you to all of the Santa Clara Valley Quilters who hung the quilts, acted as "white glove" hostesses, manned their booth, and did countless other jobs, large and small. Of course, we thank everyone who generously let their quilts be hung and admired for the weekend. "Best of Show" was won for the second year by Anita Seitz of Ventura, one of the quilt guild members.A Great Big Thank You to Helena Keefe for being "The Quilt Lady" on the Fillmore & Western RR train both Saturday and Sunday. She is a real gift to the community, sharing her lovely self, her time and her talent.Thank you, Pat Masterson, for being the Featured Quilter at the Santa Paula Oil Museum. John Nichols, Mike Nelson and Pam Lindsay did an outstanding job of putting together that show (which will be up for two months).When you see any of these hardworking, gifted people, thank them for their wonderful Quilt Show!Cynthia and Fred DavisSanta Paula