Foothills Sentry April 2020

Foothills Sentry April 2020 Page 5 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 29 Years of Specializing in the Service and Repair of Mercedes-Benz Gary Johnson 714-997-2567 982 N. Batavia # B13, Orange, CA 92867 gary@johnsonmotorcars.com Circulation … 43,400 • Published on the first Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. 714-532-4406 Fax: 714-532-6755 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 ©Foothills Sentry 2020 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Design Jackie Steward graphics@foothillssentry.com 714-588-1748 Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry.com Scouts' honor Dear Editor: What a wonderful treasure trove of memorabilia from the 1950 National Scout Jamboree Jacob Augustine and BSA Troop 850 received from Peter Chiarle! A Scout is friendly. It is interest- ing to see photographs and learn what the Jamboree was like 70 years ago. Just a slight clarifica- tion ... the Boy Scouts of America marked their 110th anniversary on Feb. 8, having been founded in 1910. The Orange County Coun- cil BSA will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year in late Sep- tember with a grand gala event. Michelle Chilvers Murphy Orange Hold your fire Dear Editor: I understand OUSD is involved in a transaction for a part of the Santiago Middle School prop- erty. I am very familiar with that property, as my daughter attended Santiago. I am also familiar with the property because I know the adjacent property owner, Mi- chelle Gregory. It recently came to my attention that the district has been mak- ing defamatory statements about things Gregory has allegedly done. I have lived in the Orange area for 10 years, and have known Michelle Gregory for most of those 10 years. I have worked with her both professionally and personally, and she runs her busi- ness with honesty, integrity and professionalism. Anyone who LETTERS to the EDITOR DearEditor claims she has said or done any- thing dishonest, or done anything that is not 100 percent above board is flat wrong. And a school district using such smear tactics to strong-arm a successful busi- nessperson and supporter of the community is even more wrong. I am very disappointed in OUSD’s actions, and urge it to act ethically in its dealings related to this project. Don Bradley Orange Park Acres Good vibes Dear Editor: I just want to give a “thumbs up” to [Villa Park City Council- man] Robert Collacott. I met him while we were both walking our dogs and after chatting for a few minutes, we found we had a few common interests. I didn’t know who he was. It’s nice to know that with this “Asian phobia” going around, Bob would take the time to be- friend me. In California, we’ve been through periods of discrimination before (Chinese, Japanese, Mexi- can, poor whites), and we’ve learned that our diversity is what gives us our strength. Native Cal- ifornians judge people by their character, not their face. Villa Park is one of the most beautiful residential cities in the world. So somebody must be doing some- thing right. Suki Nishizaki Orange Self-defense Dear Editor: When I served on the Villa Park City Council, I met with the edi- tor to discuss the misinformation published about me on a routine basis. Now that I am off of the council, I thought this practice would end. Well, it hasn’t. In your March issue, the article “Villa Park council chooses compro- mise over conflict” stated: “His- torically, committee assignments made by the mayor have been accepted by the council members. This dynamic changed when Di- ana Fascenelli was mayor and then-councilman Bill Nelson pro- tested his assignment.” There is absolutely no truth to this statement. I have never protested my committee assign- ments. What I did do at the De- cember 2014 council meeting, is tell the mayor she could not make changes to committee structures because it was not on the agenda. As a result, the committee re- structuring was put on the Janu- ary 2015 agenda. The second item of misinfor- mation was, “The disagreement led to the first council vote on committee assignments.” Again, this is totally false. The mayor has always recommended com- mittee assignments to the council and the council has always voted to either approve or disapprove of the mayor’s recommendations. The third item: “Last year, af- ter leaving the council, he refused to relinquish his seat on the Vec- tor Control board, overriding the mayor’s option for his own ap- pointment.” I was appointed by the council to serve a two-year term knowing that I had only one year left on the council. This same situation occurred in 2010 when Jim Rheins lost his reelec- tion, but continued to serve on the Vector Control board for another year. Bill Nelson Villa Park Uno mundo Dear Editor: Life as we knew it has changed drastically, as we social distance, trying to flatten the curve of CO- VID-19 cases. Deaths from coro- navirus occur soon after contact, unlike the seven million slow deaths occurring each year, due to increased air pollution and tem- peratures. The World Health Or- ganization and climate scientists have been sounding the climate emergency alarm for years. Worldwide mobilization, not seen since World War II, to com- bat the pandemic is also required to stop global warming. The best and fastest way to reverse the global warming is to switch from fossil fuels to Community Choice Energy (CCE) to provide resi- dents and businesses with clean and renewable energy, at less cost, from solar and wind power. In California, more than 170 cit- ies and counties provide CCE to more than 10 million customers. An online petition asking the Or- ange City Council to study CCE can be signed at change.org . Another way to help is to email the Orange City Council at coun- cilinfo@cityoforange.org . The city can also be asked to declare a climate emergency, as done al- ready by more than 30 cities in California, and to adopt climate action and mobilization plans. We can also stop the money pipeline by divesting from companies and financial services that fund fossil fuel industries. As we act responsibly to reduce the spread of coronavirus, we can do likewise for environmental health now, and after, our global health crisis subsides. Jeffrey Bauman Orange Dear Editor: I was raised a carnivore, but now follow a vegan diet. From all that I have learned, a vegan diet is the most important action one can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the impacts of global warming. The threat of a changing climate led me to ma- jor in broadcast journalism and documentary film at Chapman, in hopes of educating others about the climate crisis. The imminent danger of a sixth mass extinction has be- come so prevalent, I’ve observed an increasingly fear of the fu- ture among other students. I am president of the Mission Envi- ronment club on campus, which has become a haven for students suffering from eco-anxiety and eager for change. In the midst of this global pandemic, we’ve ob- served governments across the world saying that solutions for this crisis are based on science and facts. Yet, when it comes to climate change and the extinction emergency, they consistently ig- nore science and facts. To help provide a livable planet for my generation, the Orange City Council should pursue Com- munity Choice Energy. Please sign the “Tell City of Orange” pe- tition at change.org . Julia Curry Orange Say it again, Sam Dear Editor: What is wrong with negotiating with Milan, the developer for the Sully-Miller property? Negotiat- ing means there is give and take. In the end, if you don’t or can’t agree, you don’t need to sign a thing! OPA is an equestrian commu- nity. OPA needs an arena site. To give up 7.5 acres that would be owned in perpetuity by OPA is just plain crazy. To look for another site would be cost pro- hibitive. The only land that would fit an arena site would be land that belongs to Holy Sepulcher, owned by the Diocese of Orange. If that deal were to be negoti- ated, the Diocese would want its one property, a residential site, at the north end of the cemetery ,re- zoned to a “facilities” designa- tion to house its equipment. This could set a precedent for future OPA development. OPA is at a crossroads. It needs to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight this developer and the city. If it loses the measure that will be on the November bal- lot, it will lose everything. If OPA wins the ballot measure, it wins nothing. No arena, no trails, no open space. Traffic will continue to get worse, and the blight we all see will be a reminder of what not negotiating gets you! Tom Davidson Orange Park Acres