MAILBAG: Take time to learn about conservation
Take time to learn about conservation
Glendale Water & Power sponsored a free, informative water conservation class last week in a nice meeting room in Glendale. Your invitation to this was included in your June bill. These classes will repeat through August, so check your Glendale Water & Power newsletter. That way you can find out about when the water meters will be replaced by individual “smart meter” machines that have online access to your personal mandated water budget. It’s sooner than you think!
Learn about which plants will be illegal to plant. Discover the surefire way to see if any appliance in your house has a silent leak. Learn about what pipes painted purple are for.
I learned that we will all have to pay higher bills for water because our neighbors ignored Glendale Water & Power’s request for us to cut back 10% of their water use. I suggest a letter-writing campaign to our City Council members to seriously limit development in already overcrowded Glendale.
GLORIA BEYSE
Montrose
Retiring teacher went the extra mile
Many thanks to the recently departed Crescenta Valley Sun for covering the retirement of Rosemont teacher Christine Collins-Cross (“She can ‘Cross’ this off her list,” July 3).
It is every parent’s dream that their children encounter teachers like her. While most teachers were running out the door at 3 p.m., Collins-Cross would stay for hours, patiently and kindly helping students finish their work. My son benefited immensely from her class because she “wouldn’t let her students quit.” I have never seen a teacher with such dedication and determination. Every child was special to her.
I thank her for years of exceptional teaching and wish her good luck in her new career.
LINDA SIZEMORE
La Crescenta
Peace be with In Theory contributor
I hope the Rev. Bryan Griem read Pastor Clifford L. “Skip” Lindeman’s entry in the In Theory column of July 4 titled “Bearing arms in church.” Backing up his belief with scripture, Lindeman reminded us that Jesus was a pacifist.
I suggest that the “thwarting evil” movie scene that Griem refers to is a quick fix, not a long-term solution to the problem of people’s misuse of guns. Fighting violence with violence does not defeat violence. Misuse of guns is a symptom of human sin, not the cure.
I am offended by Griem’s parting pun. To take the sacred words, “Peace be with you,” and turn them into a joke that contradicts Christ’s message of peace is a miscarriage of thought and language.
May we all rise to a higher level of thought, prayer and action to solve the challenges we face.
JEANNE LAVIERI
La Crescenta
Teachers have not stalled negotiations
The June 30 article in the Glendale News-Press titled “Teachers’ contract negotiations stall” was inaccurate in its title and some of its substance. As bargaining chairperson and president of the teachers association in Glendale, I can unequivocally assure the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education, and the citizens of Glendale, that negotiations have not stalled; they are ongoing.
After our mid-March bargaining session, the district informed the teachers that the district representatives would be unable to meet again until the middle of May due to the full calendars of the administrators and attorney who comprise the team. The teachers were not happy with the delay in negotiations, but had no alternative but to accept the fact that the district was unable to schedule a negotiation date for two months.
At our last June meeting, the teachers and the district attempted to schedule summer sessions to continue our negotiations. Between conferences, family visits and vacation dates, for both the district and the teachers, it became clear that meeting again before September was impossible.
The teachers did not accuse district officials of leaving the table when they could not schedule a meeting for two months between March and May. We find it unfair and, indeed, a misrepresentation by Supt. Michael Escalante to imply that the teachers have left the table during the present scheduling conflicts. For the purpose of clarification, the teachers have been anxious to finalize contract negotiations with the district. We have offered time and again to meet with the district past our scheduled meeting times and to change our calendars. The teachers have also presented proposals for one- and two-year contracts.
As the new president of the Glendale Teachers Assn., it was not my intent to engage in a public debate with Glendale Unified officials on matters such as these. However, I would be remiss as the spokesperson for Glendale’s teachers to allow Escalante to make false accusations and veiled threats with impunity. I am available to the district board, the community and of course my colleagues for further discussion on this matter at tamicarlson@ glendaleteachers.org.
TAMI CARLSON
Glendale
EDITOR’S NOTE: Carlson is president of the Glendale Teachers Assn. and a teacher at Rosemont Middle School.