Unwanted herbicides
I walked this weekend in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life at Los Altos High School. The track was lined with luminaria memorializing loved ones who had died of cancer.
I began thinking of the causes of cancer and wondering about the herbicides used by the Town of Los Altos Hills.
For the past five years, Clark Pest Co. has sprayed 40 miles of roads with Simazine pre-emergent herbicide in the fall and Glyphosate Pro II herbicide in the spring for a cost of $20,000 each year.
Herbicides are used because they are “cheaper” than cutting weeds or planting appropriate plants.
When I searched the Web for “simazine+cancer” I found 58 articles.
A search for Glyphosate Pro II + cancer found 66 articles. These articles discussed the likelihood that these chemicals may cause cancer in humans, and some discussed cancer in other creatures. Our dog was diagnosed a few years ago with cancer (the most prevalent cause of death in dogs) and had surgery to remove the cancerous section of his leg.
If the spraying by our town has the potential to cause even one new case of cancer in our community, isn’t this $20,000 payment unwanted?
The town maintains a “do not spray” list of residents who prefer to maintain their own frontage.
I urge Los Altos Hills residents to tell town engineer Henry Louie that they do not want their frontage sprayed - with the understanding that they will maintain it in a firesafe manner.
Karen Lemes
Los Altos Hills
Emergency preparedness
Los Altos and Los Altos Hills have made significant strides in preparing for the “Big One,” but there is still much to do. Recently 170 of your neighbors have been trained as Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers who have learned light rescue skills, practiced extinguishing fires, been introduced to disaster medicine and triage, and been trained in search and rescue. Officer Rod Sayre of our police department has organized this training and reports that we need a total of 1,000 trained volunteers who can help in their immediate neighborhoods and report damage and urgent needs to the Emergency Operations Center. You can reach Rod at 947-2777 to sign up for training.
Since it is likely that both cell phones and regular phones will fail in a major earthquake, we will rely on the scores of trained amateur radio operators who practice regularly to handle emergency communications. Recently, CERT volunteers and ham radio operators conducted a joint drill under the direction of Sayre, officer John Korges and Bob Lacey, our chief of police. Teams were dispatched to 10 local schools to locate and connect to the new ham radio antennas recently installed at each school.
Korges, Sayre and Lacey have spent many hours of their own time bringing us this far. It is now time for the city of Los Altos to have an emergency coordinator who can work with them to take us to a higher level of preparedness. If we cannot afford a full-time coordinator, we could team up with Los Altos Hills.
Barry Sharrow
Pattie Sharrow
(no address given)
Relay article appreciated
The Relay For Life committee is deeply grateful for the article about Relay For Life in the Town Crier (June 28). It was beautifully written and conveyed sensitivity to all of the goals and accomplishments of this event. The participation and donation numbers are awe inspiring, but just as important are the powerful moments of celebrating, sharing grief and healing. Lives are changed and yes, we can also have a great time! Special thanks to Eliza Ridgeway (staff writer) and Joe Hu (photographer) for their excellent coverage of this event.
The support of the Town Crier this year has been instrumental in creating this very special community event. And the Town Crier team “The Walking Papers” adds their spirit and support with their smiles and energy. It means a lot. To date we have raised over $600,000, and donations can be accepted until the end of August at www.losaltosrelay.com.
Together our community is making a difference in the fight against cancer. I look forward to the day when relay will be a memory, because the cure has been found.
Jeanne MacVicar, chairwoman,
Relay For Life Los Altos-Los Altos Hills 2006
Advice should have come earlier
Great advice regarding your recommendations for the reconstruction of Bullis-Purissima School (June 21 editorial). Where was that advice when Santa Rita was about to be designed?
Gary Herbert
Los Altos
