MAILBAG - Feb. 26, 2009

Community can help calm traffic

Regarding “Forum focus is traffic safety,” Monday:

We were pleased to host our City Council candidates forum Saturday at Oakmont Country Club. (For the record, the correct name of our association is: Royal Canyon Property Owners Assn.).

As was evidenced by the questions from our members, speed and safety issues (among other important issues) are indeed major concerns on all streets in Glendale.

In our neighborhood, particularly on Royal Boulevard and Greenbriar Road (wide streets), we routinely see violations of both speed and the failure to observe stop signs.

Our association has been working with the city to address these issues, but it will be a challenging task considering the apparently large number of violators in our community. We will continue our efforts to calm traffic in our neighborhood and will work to come up with creative proposals for the city to consider. We urge all Glendale homeowner and property owner associations, as well as the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council, to do the same.

This is a citywide issue that affects all citizens so we can feel safe on the streets and get our auto insurance rates down. Our City Council must make this a top priority.

JOHN WOLFF

Glendale

Editor’s note: Wolff is the president of the Royal Canyon Property Owners Assn.

Charity notable in tougher times

I want to commend Brian Bergh for losing weight and donating dollars for pounds he sheds to the Glendale Healthy Kids’ program (“Shedding pounds for a very worthy cause,” Mailbag, Feb. 17).

Asking for money, even if it’s for a worthy cause, during times of financial hardship can be a difficult and onerous task. But it’s during these hard times that the able have to step up and do something extra for those who need our help the most — our community’s children. Yet, we understand that it’s not fair to ask members of our community to make a sacrifice that we’re not willing to make ourselves.

That’s why Bergh and I, along with more than 30 other supporters who have signed up for our challenge, have dedicated ourselves to losing weight and donating a set amount for every pound that we lose to Glendale Healthy Kids. It’s not too late to join the challenge: Just set a weight goal for yourself. Participants can be anyone who wants to live healthy and improve our community.

Thanks again to everyone who’s supported this effort either by word, deed or a financial contribution. The outpouring of support has helped lift our spirits when the work needed to lose the weight and remain disciplined seems overwhelming. If you want to learn more about the challenge and read tips on how to live healthier, just visit www.losingitforthekids.org.

ARDASHES KASSAKHIAN

Glendale

Don’t overlook Sahakian’s creds

I read with great interest the recent letter from Linda Guzik stating that Eric Sahakian, who is running for the Glendale Unified school board, should not be elected because he sends his own child to a private school (“Sahakian is not a champion for schools,” Mailbag, Feb. 17). If Guzik had done her homework, she might realize that it was not his decision, but that of his former spouse to have their child in a private school. Sahakian wholeheartedly supports the public school system, as indicated by more than 16 years of service he has provided.

I think Guzik might be missing a very important point here. His personal life and where his child attends school do not delineate the man. He is incredibly passionate about the educational process and the student as a whole person. He is not just about testing and scores.

Of course, they do rate high on his priority list, but key issues also include the safety of all our schools within the district and the well being of those students. If you have never met the man, you might want to attend one of his “Meet the Candidate” coffees. He is sincere, dedicated and works very hard for all students. I had the pleasure of working with him while he was at Toll Middle School and saw firsthand his contributions toward public education. He was one of the most popular faces on campus — among students, parents and staff.

Sahakian not only exhibited a genuine interest in making the school an outstanding center of learning, but he also generated enthusiasm among everyone he came in contact with. Another one of his objectives was to set a positive tone in the workplace so that students would want to be at school.

Often I would walk into his office very late in the afternoon, after the students had left for the day, to find him just getting around to eating his lunch.

The time spent with the kids was not “on the clock,” but he felt that it was important to be there for them — to show what they did mattered.

He has been a mentor and a fine example to staff, parents and students and is a man with a genuine love of the educational system and for all the students who make up the Glendale Unified School District. What should matter here are his qualifications and his desire to improve the quality of the schools in Glendale.

When we moved to this city more than 20 years ago, we were lured by the quality of the schools.

Sahakian’s vision is to take this district to a new level of excellence.

CRISTINA NEEL

Glendale