Letters to the Editor

Hats off to Moll, Ray Sullivan, Jr.??Editor: It was tremendous fun to read of Tony Moll’s game as a starter for the Green Bay Packers and to follow Ray Sullivan Jr.’s day as a big-time sportswriter in the Dec. 14 copy of the Sun. As a longtime teacher in Sonoma Valley I had the pleasure of working for years with Tony Moll’s teacher/administrator father Glenn Moll. I enjoyed Tony’s love for life, open friendliness and eagerness for learning several times as he progressed through my classroom throughout his years in Sonoma Valley schools. ?While I most definitely do not claim any credit for his strength and success on the gridiron, I would like to think that the team learning environment at Altimira and the goals he worked toward at Sonoma Valley High School did have a positive impact on the life skills of perseverance, hard work, dedication, cooperation, lifelong learning and others that we try to instill in all of our students. So kudos to Tony for achievements far beyond his initial dreams and congratulations to the village, the family and the schools that served him well. It is important to remember that Tony not only made it to the playing field of the NFL, but he also graduated from college and scored big in the game of life leaving lasting memories with all of us “spectators.”?Ty Krauss
Hospital parcel tax needed in ‘time of crunch’??Editor: Thank you, Sonoma Valley voters, for electing me to the Hospital (Health Care) District Board and placing your trust in me to contribute to decisions that will benefit the entire Valley. My appreciation to the new board for unanimously electing me its chairperson. Thanks to all the candidates and those who voted for conducting a respectful and informative campaign.?As many of you know, I am a physician and a healer. I will need help as I work with other board members to heal our community and secure health care for the valley. We must ensure that our current hospital continues to function until a new hospital plan is decided and that hospital is opened.?My immediate intentions are twofold: First, to secure the emergency room and the connected services that are essential to all who live in our district. Since the ER doesn’t pay its way by itself – and most do not – it must be supported by the rest of the hospital, and, in this time of crunch, by our parcel tax. We can, and must, reduce expenses to bare bones. But the parcel tax is essential.?My second intention is to rebuild the trust of our community in the board and administration of the hospital. An attorney and a parliamentarian will be at all board meetings at which decisions are made to insure that standard procedures and Brown Act requirements are followed.?We are at a critical juncture: We must pass the parcel tax in March to keep the existing hospital going until a new one is built. I strongly encourage public support for the parcel tax and public participation in Sonoma Valley Health Care Coalition meetings and board deliberations to help decide on a new hospital for our future.?Dick Kirk, M.D.
Fund hospital with sales tax??Editor: A recent letter to the editor in the Sun stating the tax burden that property owners in Sonoma carry hit a nerve with me.?I understand the need for affordable medical treatment in Sonoma, and I’m a Kaiser patient, but I too don’t think property owners should bankroll it. As the letter-writer pointed out, property owners have a full plate of taxes already.?This community includes renters and property owners who cover the entire spectrum. Should a well-off renter have the same vote as a hard-up homeowner when it comes to increasing property taxes? If the proposal is to add a parcel tax solely to property owners, then limit the voting to property owners.?A much fairer and more-equitable solution would be to add a small Sonoma City surcharge to the sales tax of, say, 0.25 percent for the next 10 years, or more likely forever. Then everyone pays his or her fair share. Homeowners, renters and visitors to Sonoma would all contribute.?So let’s have an election where all eligible voters can vote for this vital issue, and not just penalize some of us.?Bruce Mackay??Wales Farm Diaries column off mark
Editor: Having been born in South Wales and lived there for the first 36 years of my life I always read, with interest, The Wales Farm Diaries. The most recent one in the Thursday, Dec. 14 issue of FineLife has provoked me to reply.?Shann Nix Honey says that horticulturist Richard Bramley is going “to make a David-and-Goliath style march on that most revered and prestigious of all gardening institutions – The Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show.” I’m afraid that Ms. Honey is behind the times. That march was already stolen by my close friends Robin and Pat Fisher, who won the coveted gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2003 with their display of auriculas in a replica of Cork Abbey Auricula Theatre. They have since built a replica of this theatre, together with a knot garden in the National Botanic Garden of Wales where they are volunteers.?They are both Welsh and have lived in Wales for the best part of their lives. Nothing could be more Welsh than their address: Blaencwm Cottage, Foelgastell, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.?On her aside on the subject of internal British politics, I feel that she gives a view of a subjected Wales that would not be shared by most Welsh people. We are no longer under the dominion of the English government. Wales now has a parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, a Welsh National Opera, a national rugby stadium second to none and a Cardiff Bay waterfront redevelopment to attract business and tourists that has won international acclaim. The national University of Wales and the National Library of Wales have long been very respected institutes of learning. To say that the national Welsh costume is “the costume of a servant “ is also misleading. It was the daily dress of the working-class women who were not of necessity servants but homemakers who were going about their daily business. They were not in thrall to the English government. When I was a schoolgirl in Wales for many years I wore my national costume to school on St. David’s Day with pride.?If Ms. Honey wants to address the problems undergone by Wales many years in the past then she should research the subject of The Welsh Not. However, that outrageous law of discrimination does exist in the Wales of today?Averil Anderson
(Editor’s note: The Welsh Not or Welsh Note was a piece of wood, inscribed with the letters WN, that was hung around the necks of children who spoke Welsh in some schools in the 19th century. The “not” was given to any boy overheard speaking Welsh, and he would pass it to a different boy whom he overheard speaking Welsh. By the end of the week, the wearer of the not would be given a lashing. The idea was to discourage pupils from speaking Welsh. Source: Wikipedia)
Don’t ban the word Christmas??Editor: “Christmas” as a celebration started around 336 A.D. by believers in Jesus Christ assembling in Rome. They celebrated Jesus’ “birthday” in a manger in Bethlehem approximately 300 years prior.?Since then, Christmas has been celebrated worldwide by Christians and non-Christians alike. There are no “qualifications” for celebrating Christmas… everyone can celebrate no matter what their religious beliefs, or if they have none at all. And people do not even have to celebrate if they choose not to. It’s been this way for a long, long time.?The bottom line is that Christmas is a merry season of goodness and giving, intended to be shared by all.?And now it seems that there are some retailers who wish to ban the name of the holiday Christmas, and the salutation “Merry Christmas” from the season and the event and their stores.?Christmas has been Christmas for over 1,650 years. Its sheer longevity qualifies it as an historical celebration. There are some things in life that never change, and this needs to be one of them. Every child should be able to tell Santa what he wants for “Christmas.” Are retailers turning us into a nation of Ebenezer Scrooges??Christmas is the holiday, Christmas is the season, Christmas is the reason we have Christmas!?Christmas is for everybody! Stick with tradition and cut out the politics!?Merry Christmas to all… and pass it on!?Gary Germano
?Infineon staff thanks community??Editor: We want to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the entire Sonoma Valley for the outpouring of support we received for our second annual Race to the Holidays Christmas Party on Saturday, Dec. 16. We received more than 400 toys, which were put to good use as 225 children and their families attended the party. It was an incredible day, and one that we will continue as an annual tradition in the Sonoma Valley.?This is a wonderful community and the generosity displayed for the Christmas Party was incredible. Without community support, this event certainly would not have been as successful.  A special thanks to the businesses that served as drop-off locations for the toy drive, as well as Gundlach-Bundschu Winery; Levy Restaurants; Save Mart Supermarkets; Albertsons; DeVincenzi & Forstadt Dentistry; Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce; and Stephanie Dunn and the Sonoma Sun and KSVY.?The Sonoma Valley community made dreams come true for some great children and their families.  You should all feel good about that. Thank you so much for your support.?John Cardinale and the ?staff at Infineon Raceway