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Letter: Praise for trio of city officials

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I am writing to express my heartfelt thanks to three La Cañada city officials: Mayor Pro Tem Jonathan Curtis, City Manager Mark Alexander, and Director of Administrative Services Carl Alameda. Here’s the story.

I have been hiking the Cross-Town trail for the last 30 years. Before the last few years, I only saw deer once or twice on my hikes. But the drought has brought an increasing number of hungry deer closer to La Cañada neighborhoods in their search for food, and I now spot deer frequently on my hikes. Unfortunately, the proximity of deer to the Cross-Town trail has brought hunters to our town. On numerous occasions, I have encountered hunters in full camouflage with bows and arrows on the Cross-Town trail. While this is clearly illegal, enforcement was next to impossible. I called the sheriff’s department many times, but they were usually unable to be there on El Vago at the exact moment when the hunters emerged from the trail. More disturbingly, when the sheriff’s deputies did manage to intercept them, the same hunters repeatedly feigned ignorance of the prohibition against carrying weapons on our trails.

This situation was of great concern to me. Our beautiful trails are one of the many benefits of living in La Cañada, and I want to hike with my family and dogs without fear of being accidentally shot. Many other La Cañada hikers shared my concern. I brought this to the attention of Jonathan Curtis, and he took action. Mr. Curtis, along with Mark Alexander and Carl Alameda, contacted the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station and alerted them to be vigilant about apprehending hunters on our trails. More importantly, hunters can no longer claim ignorance of the law. The City Council has recently erected a sign at the base of the Cross-Town trail that clearly spells out the municipal code prohibitions against hunting and carrying any weapons on our trails.

If you also enjoy hiking our Cross-Town trail, please join me in thanking Jonathan Curtis, Mark Alexander and Carl Alameda. They took our concerns seriously, addressed them promptly, and we are a safer city because of them.

Deborah A. Pitts
La Cañada Flintridge

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