Letters to the Editor : Bittersweet Tale of Cruelty, Compassion

* I cried while reading Michael J. Marshan’s letter in the July 11 Letters to the Editor column. Whatever would possess anyone to be so cruel as to throw a pet from the back of a pickup truck while driving down a major highway?

I just shake my head in bewilderment as to what kind of people these must be. Doesn’t it make you wonder what other atrocities they are causing in our society to animals and humans alike?

My husband and I are becoming more and more concerned about the increase of crime and violence in our society today. We just want to thank Michael Marshan, and others out there like him, who try to put a little kindness, caring and sanity into our society. I hope Michael finds some comfort knowing that there are others out there who commend his actions and appreciate his kindness. God Bless him.

SALLY CHRYSTAL

Thousand Oaks

One Decent Man Restores Our Faith

* When Michael J. Marshan stopped his car and administered to the dog that was thrown out of another vehicle, I’m sure the poor dog felt his love and tenderness. He did all he could but to no avail. But he tried.

A great thank you to Michael for his kindness. It gives one faith there are still some decent people in this world.

CHERIE VAUGHN

Camarillo

A Feeling of Anger, Disgust, Sadness

* All that I can say is that we should be thankful that there are individuals such as Michael J. Marshan who risk their own safety to help ameliorate the callousness of others.

The person who threw the dog from a moving truck not only has committed an illegal act--if anyone witnesses such acts, they should get a license plate number and a description of vehicle/persons involved, and immediately report it to the police--but the complete disregard for this animal as well as the safety of fellow motorists can only leave one with sentiments of anger, disgust and sadness.

The redeeming factor is that there are decent, upstanding persons like Marshan who act upon principles of compassion, thus setting an example so needed in today’s “who cares” world.

SIMON OSWITCH

Organizational Vice President

Animal Emancipation, Inc.

Ventura

VanderKolk’s Muting of Oak Park

* As a former member of the Oak Park Cityhood Steering Committee, it does not surprise me that Maria VanderKolk is now attempting to effectively disband the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Committee (the MAC).

In essence, Mrs. VanderKolk disbanded our cityhood committee by having her staff inform each member that after a poll we had “collectively decided” to cease meeting, based on our “findings” that Oak Park would be better served remaining an unincorporated area of Ventura County. In reality, our committee had not reached that conclusion, and Mrs. VanderKolk pulled the rug out from beneath us before we could effectively make our own independent determination.

Now, she is trying to minimize Oak Park’s only voice, the MAC, simply because she does not agree with the positions it has taken. The MAC is the only forum that Oak Park residents have to voice their concerns and discuss local problems. It has always been Maria VanderKolk’s agenda to keep Oak Park as an unincorporated area to ensure that Oak Park’s significant tax revenues can be used by the county in any manner she chooses.

By dismantling the MAC, Maria now will have carte blanche to ignore Oak Park altogether. Residents of Oak Park, I suggest to you that the time has arrived to elect a new supervisor to our district who has our best interests at heart. Maria VanderKolk certainly does not.

PHILIP GARRETT PANITZ

Oak Park

Money Well Spent or Simply Spent?

* I read with interest your profile of Roger Honberger, the county’s lobbyist in Washington (June 28). I find him to be an extravagance and an expression of poor judgment by our county officials.

For $30,000 a year, Mr. Honberger should be able to specifically tell us what he is getting for our county. His difficulty in “pinpointing his specific accomplishments” tells me we aren’t getting much for our tax dollars. What’s worse is that he admittedly doesn’t have a working relationship with Ventura County’s own congressmen, Tony Beilenson and Elton Gallegly, who have been bringing home the needed results.

I have held positions in local government and national industry that have employed the use of Washington lobbyists. You can bet I knew the score card of what they did for us or I canceled the agreement.

WILLIAM W. CREW

Ventura

Revised Creekside Plan Smaller, Better

* We at Raznick & Sons would like to thank The Times for its July 6 article on our Creekside project in Newbury Park. We felt the article was balanced and unbiased.

There was a statement in the article which we would like to correct. Our project contains 17 acres of open space. However, not all of the open space will be publicly owned. Twelve acres of upland oak woodlands will be dedicated to the park district. The balance, a five-acre wetland corridor, will be owned by project homeowners as common area open space since no public agency wishes to assume responsibility for maintaining this sensitive habitat. Accordingly, our project’s 17 acres of open space will be split between public park area and private park area.

Secondly, we wish to clarify the issue of our lot sizes. Creekside was originally approved as a 98-lot subdivision in 1990. The project was stopped from proceeding by state and federal agencies concerned with wetland preservation. Our original project did not provide for any preservation for wetland habitat on our site.

The project now before the city is a modification of that original project. There are 94 lots, of which only 40 are smaller lots of about 6,000 square feet. The balance range from 7,000 square feet up to 20,000 square feet. The downsizing of some of our lots was done to accommodate the wetland corridor.

The reality is that Creekside has fewer homes, more open space, fewer impacts and is a better project than the project approved by the city with neighborhood support three years ago.

ELLEN MICHIEL

Woodland Hills

Michiel is assistant vice president and director of forward planning for Raznick & Sons.

In Praise of Oak Park Schools

* I recall going door-to-door in 1976 and 1977, asking for support for the formation of the Oak Park Unified School District. Look what has been done--from one school (Brookside), we are now preparing to open our sixth school (Red Oak Elementary School) in September. Four of our current schools have received state or national recognition.

Not every child performs in the same manner, yet there seems to be something for everyone in Oak Park. If a student doesn’t succeed, it isn’t because the opportunities aren’t available. As we meet new families in Oak Park, it is very common to have them comment, “One of the main reasons we moved here was for the schools.”

Though our son is now in college, my husband and I are actively involved in the Boosters Club and the 2-year-old Oak Park Optimist Club. We want the upcoming children to have all the advantages that our son had.

EILEEN KAHN

Oak Park

The Ventura Edition of The Times welcomes the views of readers. Letters or phone calls should be as brief as possible and may be condensed for publication. Phone your views in to 658-5546. Or, dial toll-free on 1-800-LA TIMES, Ext. 8-658-5546. Written letters must include signature, valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms and initials will not be used. Send letters to: Ventura County Editor, 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura CA 93003.