Letter was awfully short-sighted

I read with utter disbelief the Feb. 22 letter by Paul D. Carney titled “Close that open space and put people to work.”

How anyone could have such a short-sighted opinion is beyond me. Carney, I invite you to visit the Verdugo Hills Golf Course on a Saturday or Sunday and see all the “nobodys” that don’t care about the course. These “nobodys” range from kids who are just a little taller than their golf clubs to octogenarians who still relish the game.

And then there are all the “nobodys” in the Glendale-Crescenta Volunteers Organized in Conserving the Environment who are leading the Save the Golf Course effort. These “nobodys” have held fundraisers, put up signs and written numerous letters to government officials to glean support, among other efforts.

And, please don’t forget our Los Angeles County supervisor, Mike Antonovich, another “nobody” who has pledged $1.7 million in the hope that a coalition of government entities can purchase the course.

Judy Seelig

La Crescenta

Turning the tables on golf-course hater

What a great idea Paul Carney (“Close that open space and put people to work,” Feb. 22) has about creating jobs by building on the land now occupied by the Verdugo Hills Golf Course. I wish I had thought of this.

We all know there are a lot of people out of work. But wait. What happens after those 229 condos are built? No more jobs, and we have lost a beautiful scenic vista open space. But, then again, don’t we have more scenic vistas around?

We also will have lost a recreation area that both young and old are enjoying. Yeah, but they can learn to play golf and practice on the driving range at, uh … well, there must be somewhere close by.

I will feel sorry for all the magnificent California oak trees in the golf course area that have been around for 100 years, but then, there are many more around the foothills. And I have eaten in the newly conditioned snack bar at the course. But there are lots of other places to grab a bite to eat within miles.

And can you imagine if 229 condos were built on that spot? That would mean hundreds of more vehicles joining in the morning rat race from Tujunga Canyon Boulevard to the Foothill (210) Freeway onramp at Lowell/Honolulu? And you can reverse that rat race in the late afternoon — cars racing off the freeway to get to the one lane northbound on Tujunga Canyon Boulevard.

Now that I think about all the rambling I have done, I want the golf course to stay, and I think that Carney should “get a life” and join the rest of us by promoting our jewel of a golf course recreation area and pray that the jobless situation will continue to improve.

Bill Caruso

Tujunga