Printed letters, July 22, 2012

By Staff
Sunday, July 22, 2012

In The Daily Sentinel article of July 17, it was reported that the City Council and city administrators met to prioritize capital projects. Although the writer did not report it, I would hope that the rebuilding of 28 and 28½ roads and Melody Lane were near the top of the list.

These are high-speed/high-traffic streets in residential areas that have been completely ignored by the decision makers for decades.

At least 28 Road from North Avenue to I-70B has shoulders for pedestrians to stay out of traffic.

That is not the case on 28 ½ Road between Elm and I-70B. There, pedestrians and kids waiting for the school bus get to compete for the pavement with the cars driving on it. Without any shoulders (or curb and gutter) pedestrians have no choice but to walk out in traffic.

I am only addressing the safety concerns. The drainage problems and flooding during almost any storm are also ongoing issues.

Several other streets in that area are in the same condition. City administrators and council members need to move these streets, as well as the entire area, up on the priority list.

MIKE KELLEY

Grand Junction

Simple precautions can help to prevent crime

As I was watching a video about the assault on a young woman at Barnes Electric, the one thing that caught my eye was that the perpetrator opened the passenger side, got in and proceeded to assault the victim.

I would like to recommend two precautions individuals can take that will greatly impede attacks like this, as well as purse snatching, carjacking and the like.

Whenever you are in your car, whether driving or just parking, lock all your doors as soon as you get in or get out of your vehicle. This also applies to waiting at stoplights, where one can easily be carjacked.

Another suggestion is particularly for women when you go shopping: Attach the straps in the cart to your purse. That way, if anyone grabs for your purse that person will end up taking the cart and all, causing a major commotion.

These are very simple ways we can protect ourselves in this world of those who want what is not theirs to take.

BEVERLY DUZENACK

Mesa

 

Program for Latinos only was unfair and unAmerican

Did you know that School District 51 had been spending $200,00 to $300,000 per year from 1997 to 2009 to counsel only Latino students in the nonacademic Latino Education Achievement to Graduation program?

Only Latinos with a GPA lower than 2.4 could get the free counseling. For 12 years, the program in the district served about 600 to 800 Latino students per year.

In 2010, someone must have questioned the unAmerican program, and the name was quietly changed to “Leadership in Education, Achievement and Graduation.”

In 2011, 390 non-Latino students and 800 Latino students received free counseling from the LEAG program.

In 2012 the LEAG program was cancelled.

My guess is that thousands of non-Latino students missed out on this free counseling from 1997 to 2009.

I feel this is unAmerican, and I’m very disappointed in our school district and our media for not reporting these actions.

BRANDON SIEGFRIED

Grand Junction