I am a member of the Almaden Senior Center. My husband and I have lived in Almaden for 26 years. We have been led down the garden path by our council members and mayor. We are promised that we have not been forgotten and they will take care of our needs. But now we find out that is not true. The city of San Jose doesn't care...

My husband and I both volunteer for the SeniorNet classes at Almaden Center; we have no idea where we are going to be holding classes next. We have to move all the computers, etc., and need a secure place to hold these classes. We have worked very hard for four years to build up a membership base and offer classes for seniors. The city of San Jose doesn't care...

We are going to have a new facility in 18 months or two years. What were they thinking when they decided to build this facility? Didn't anyone plan on the interim? Where will the classes be held and where is the staff going to go? The city of San Jose doesn't care...

Why have we been dropped from the city council agenda? We are not even allowed to present our case to the council. The city of San Jose doesn't care...

Enough of this bureaucracy. Perhaps we could spend some of the money the city is wasting on the new city hall for our interim needs. The fancy new furniture for the city is not going to do the community of Almaden seniors any good. The seniors of Almaden are all voters. Does the city care about the voters?

This total disregard for the members of Almaden Community Center is unreal. The city of San Jose doesn't care...

Diane Perovich

Royalwood Way

Good Samaritan stroke
story doesn't tell it all

As one who deals with folks post-stroke I applaud you for providing the public with some information about stroke, in particular, "brain attack" symptoms and the urgency for getting appropriate medical care. However, I am very disappointed in some misstatements and omissions in your recent article, "Good Samaritan hospital receives national 'stroke center' certification" (Jan. 22).

I realize this article was about Good Samaritan. However, to exclude other outstanding services available in the community is a disservice to your readership:

* As of May 2003, Community Hospital of Los Gatos is one of three hospitals in Santa Clara County designated to respond to stroke onset. And to suggest that patients with stroke symptoms bypass CHLG (along with "other facilities") and go only to Good Samaritan or Stanford Hospital is a mistake—this is outdated information;

* Nowhere in your article was rehabilitation mentioned as a means of minimizing the effects of stroke. Perhaps this is again because the article was about Good Samaritan, which does not have an acute rehab program per se. At CHLG, we are proud of our continuum of care for stroke sufferers, from ER to acute medical care to an acute rehabilitation program (including stroke education open to the community) to home health therapy to outpatient therapy and a support group for survivors and caregivers. This continuum of care is unique to the area, and our rehabilitation services are highly regarded.

For additional information regarding CHLG services starting with Code Brain Attack, please, visit the hospital's web site at www.communityhospitalLG.com.

May Goodreau

Speech-Language Therapist,
Community Hospital of Los Gatos

FBI story was good, but
cartoon was not funny

Just a line to let you know that I saw your editorial cartoon regarding the FBI speaker at Bret Harte (DeCinzo, Feb. 12). As the leadership teacher, and one of the organizers of the Guest Lecture series, I was not amused with the depiction of our efforts to enlighten the students on possible career choices.

I feel that your cartoonist has used his bias to distort what actually took place. The article ("FBI looking for college graduates, special agent tells middle schoolers") was great and should be commended, but I did not see the value or humor in the cartoon.

We at Bret Harte strive to be unbiased in our approach to educating our students and to the free exchange of ideas of all philosophies. Your cartoon does not support what we so strongly try to achieve.

Stafford Baham

Leadership, Homework Center teacher
Bret Harte Middle School

DeCinzo's FBI cartoon
was ill-considered

The Almaden Resident has, to date, given excellent coverage to a wide range of school-related topics.

However, your inclusion of the cartoon from DeCinzo (Feb. 12) was ill-considered, to say the least. It took a recent talk at Bret Harte Middle School completely out of context. It was an inaccurate, offensive depiction of an excellent school, its teachers, and the guest speaker.

FBI Agent Schutz has given generously of his time to our students on many occasions and is an informative and popular speaker. I hope that in the future, more care will be taken before an editorial decision is made to include material that causes offense and upset in the community that your paper serves.

Louise Gill

Olive Branch Lane

Paper speaks out of
both sides of its mouth

I have been enjoying reading the Almaden Resident; however, I was greatly disappointed and outraged in the Feb. 12 issue, when the paper spoke out of both sides of its mouth. On page 18, the DeCinzo cartoon depicted a Bret Harte Middle School guest speaker FBI agent speaking to a classroom of students as an unshaven, unkempt person in a T-shirt saying "Spying on your fellow Americans! Violating their civil-rights ... ahh ... it's a great job!"

But page 26 contained an article titled, "FBI looking for college graduates, special agent tells middle schoolers," with a subtitle of "Agency needs diverse agents, Schutz says." The photograph showed a cleanshaven, classy-looking person, casually dressed in a polo shirt (with a collar). Special Agent Schutz was encouraging our youth to excel, and seek a higher education, even if they were struggling now.

We certainly need more positive influences for our youth, and I, for one, applaud Special Agent Schutz for taking the time and effort to care and make a difference with our area students. He certainly didn't deserve the skewering provided by the DeCinzo cartoon.

I would encourage the Almaden Resident to support the positive influences in our community, while saving the negative perspectives to identify and correct the community's problems.

Ed Sattler

Mt. Carmel Drive