Sizing up schools traffic

Although routes to Los Altos schools can and should be made safer, there is debate over how much of a hazard even the busiest routes pose. They still cannot be described as dangerous, several local traffic experts said last week.

The top five intersections for school-route traffic accidents, according to Tom Ho, city traffic engineer, are Foothill Expressway/El Monte Avenue, Foothill/ San Antonio Road, El Camino Real/San Antonio, Foothill/Edith Avenue and El Camino/Los Altos Avenue.

Los Altos Hills residents raise a stink over septic overload

The Los Altos Hills City Council heard several residents air exasperation over sewage problems Thursday night. One spoke of smelling sewage along Robleda Road, another reported saturated drain fields in that area.

John Husher of Mora Heights Way told the council, “Most of the water smells that comes across my driveway. … Up around Mora Heights, the septic systems are not working.”

Los Altos plans to crack down on door-to-door peddlers

Peddlers in Los Altos may have to undergo a background check before selling goods door-to-door in residential neighborhoods. The Los Altos City Council was scheduled Tuesday night to review a proposed city law aimed at placing tougher restrictions on door-to-door solicitors following a string of crimes that involved a group of aggressive magazine solicitors who canvassed Peninsula neighborhoods last January. Many, police discovered, had criminal histories.

In Los Altos, police arrested one salesman from an out-of-town non-profit group after he allegedly shoved and threatened a resident who refused to purchase a magazine subscription.

Day worker meeting turns up empty

A court-ordered community meeting that was supposed to bring together day workers and Los Altos City officials as part of a settlement following a yearlong legal battle between the two groups seemed to worsen their relationship last week after only one police officer showed up to represent the city.

The 100 or so workers who attended the March 17 meeting at the youth center behind city hall say the lack of city participation spoke volumes about how the city feels about them.

Giant oak narrowly misses home during fall

Residents in one Los Altos neighborhood thought winter’s record-breaking heat wave had brought an unexpected tropical thunderstorm to town last week when a giant oak tree on Patlen Court snapped in two with an echoing rumble that shook nearby homes.

“It sounded like thunder,” said one resident. “All of the neighbors came out of their homes.”

Get ready for record gas prices, experts say

If drivers are discouraged at paying more than $2 a gallon for gas now, they’d better brace themselves to pay a lot more this summer. Especially those who plan to buy premium gas, which has already hit the $2.41 mark at one station in Los Altos.

The fear of disruptions in oil supply and strict environmental regulations are expected to push prices at the pumps sky high this spring and summer.

Hanson Quarry neighbors want scars healed

An expanse of dirt and rock created by Hanson Quarry continues to expand along the hillside neighboring Los Altos and is visible from Milpitas to Palo Alto, according to the Committee for Green Foothills.

Last week, the committee launched a campaign to stop the quarry from increasing the size of the scar, a result of truckloads of waste rock dumped on top of and behind the ridge at the northern end of the quarry.

Berry Avenue challenge

Los Altos officials took advantage of a $500,000 federal grant to make these improvements, but some are scratching their heads wondering if the city and the residents would have been better off with stop signs and a few speed bumps.

Berry, which fronts Loyola School, needs traffic calming. Residents talked of cars traveling 45 mph down Berry before the improvements went in over the past year. Although Berry doesn’t have a history of accidents, the wiser course is to make changes before something tragic happens, not after.

LETTERS OF MARCH 24, 2004

GW of Los Altos and GoodEx have been getting a lot of press lately.

OBITUARIES FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 24, 2004

died peacefully at home in Los Altos Hills on March 4, 2004 after a courageous sixteen year battle with lymphoma. She was 77. At her side when she passed away were her loving husband of nearly 52 years, Robert L. Nelson, her daughters Sandra Ordway and Phyllis Sloan and her two oldest grandchildren, Jeffrey and Andrew Ordway. She is also survived by two sons, Robert H. and Ronald Nelson, her brother and sister-in-law George and Penelope Stokes, nephews George N. and Mason Stokes, niece Alicyn Kozlowski and fourteen other grandchildren.

Ruth was born in Dermott, Arkansas on October 28, 1926 and graduated from Southwestern at Memphis in 1948. For four years, she worked as a mathematician at NASA’s predecessor, NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in Hampton, Virginia. She became a homemaker when she married Robert in 1952. They moved to Los Altos in 1956 then to Los Altos Hills in 1966. Ruth became a member of Valley Church in Cupertino in 1971. She was an avid bridge player and a member of many local bridge clubs. She was also a longtime member of the Federated Women’s Club and the American Association of University Women.

Norbert Hecker, respected longtime NFL champion coach

Norbert Hecker, a respected former professional football player and coach whose 40-year career included championships with the San Francisco 49ers, died March 14 at his son Jeffrey’s Los Altos home. He was 76.

Mr. Hecker was a passionate football player who dedicated his life to playing and coaching the sport for both American and Canadian teams.

J. Gilbert Smith, an important figure in Los Altos history - just not well known

Visitors to the Los Altos History Museum complex learn that its charming old farmhouse was built by J. Gilbert Smith in the midst of his apricot orchard, remnants of which still abound around the Civic Center.

Visitors learn the basic story of how J. Gilbert Smith and his wife sold 8.84 acres to the young city of Los Altos in 1954, keeping over an acre of land and the house for themselves until their deaths.

Prayer breakfast speaker moved by tragedy to help others

Tess Reynolds of Mountain View suffered the worst tragedy to befall a parent: losing her 8-year-old son to cancer.

But Reynolds was moved by that tragedy three years ago to do something for other people. She left her successful company to help at-risk youth, young adults and the homeless.

Lawsuits may be headed district’s way

Four groups interested in suing the Los Altos School District for offering Egan camp school to Bullis Charter School for the next academic year sought legal advice and held strategy meetings last week.

The question is not whether there will be a lawsuit against the district, said Mark Breier, who is leading the efforts, but “how many lawsuits, by whom, and on which basis.” The interested groups, he said, are charter school applicants concerned about “the noncomparability of the site,” Egan neighbors concerned about the portables on the campus, people who want to use the sports fields, and “any community member who objects to the environmental impact at Egan” - which includes traffic, noise and the site’s appearance.

Spartans edge Gunn to remain unbeaten

With one out and the bases empty, pinch-hitter Brad Bertolet was staring at a pitch heading for his rib, and his team at its first loss of the year. Bertolet never moved as he “took one for the team.”

Two batters later, he scored the tying run to send the game into extra innings.

Hills resident named CEO of Borel Bank & Trust Co.

On March 1, after 40 years in banking, CEO Robert Fick of Borel Private Bank & Trust Co. retired and was replaced by John Conover, a 15-year resident of Los Altos Hills.

Conover served as Borel’s president and chief operating officer since April 2003. With more than 30 years of banking experience, he has been involved in every aspect of banking, including managing more than 200 branches throughout the greater Bay Area for Bank of America.

Relief for cancer patients

The Stanford University School of Medicine on March 1 opened its new Cancer Center Complex specializing in cancer treatment and research.

Dr. Richard Hoppe, a Los Altos resident for 23 years and chairman of Stanford’s department of radiation oncology, was involved in designing the building’s concept and determining how different cancer treatment programs could be merged in the new center. He said the improvements the new center brings can be grouped in three categories: improved patient amenities and ambiance; departments consolidated in one location; and the addition of new technologies - particularly the addition of the PET/CT scanner called the GE Discovery. The machine combines x-rays and nuclear imaging techniques to pinpoint tumors for radiation. There are only two such machines in the nation. The other PET/CT scanner is located in Houston, Texas.

Send your wedding, engagement or anniversary announcements to Myrna Hayes at the Los Altos Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022.

Jane and Alex Berger recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.