The Cupertino Courier

First Word

Jon Hoornstra

Connect the dots .... from cars to birds

Many of you never saw the first "four dot" column that ran last May. We use it only occasionally, so here's a brief explanation of what it's about and why four dots to separate items rather than the usual three.

We use four dots in deference to the late Herb Caen, generally accepted as the creator of the "three dot" column format, and use it to report and comment on several items in the space of one column.

So here we go . ... You already know our high school student population is high, but do you know exactly how many we have? Of course you don't. And haven't you wondered how many of them drive to school? Of course you have. Here are some answers. Cupertino High School is the smallest of our five high schools, with 1,200 students enrolled in grades 9 through 12. About 160 of them, better than 10 percent, hold permits for on-campus parking. Lynbrook High is next with a student population of 1,675 and about 180 parking permits issued to students. Nearly identical are Fremont and Homestead high schools with 1,700 and 1,720 students, respectively. Fremont has perhaps 200 parking permits in student hands, while Homestead has issued 233 for the current school year. Lastly--and definitely mostly--is the monster Monta Vista High with 2,020 enrolled students and 328 parking permits in student hands. The main value of knowing these numbers is that you won't have to guess about them anymore. However, I must say that while the enrollment numbers are solid, totaling 8,315, a couple of these schools really have no idea how many parking permits are floating around . ... And now it's Disaster Planning Quiz Time with returning champion Marie Moore, Cupertino's emergency services coordinator.

I was inspired to call Marie last week because of all the attention given in the media to hurricanes and rumors of hurricanes. I decided it was time to test her with a "spot quiz."

I asked Marie to prioritize the steps she would take if she had just three hours to prepare for foul weather or a significant disaster that would keep her from traveling to stores or other supply sources. She answered without a cough, wheeze or hiccup.

First you must have drinking water--enough for three days, she said. That means one gallon per person per day. Marie said she'd also fill up the bathtub right away for additional water. Second, get batteries to operate portable radios and flashlights. Third, enough food to last three days. Those were her top three items.

Then, assuming some time left in our hypothetical three hours, she added this advice: place a pair of good shoes near the bed so you can safely walk through rubble and broken glass in the dark, and take time to buy the special wrench needed to close the natural gas valves in case of a leak.

But Moore hastened to caution us about the 144,000 people who shut off their natural gas unnecessarily after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

"Don't turn it off unless you smell it or hear it hissing," she said.

"Finally," she concluded, "if I still had time left, I'd fill up my car's gas tank. If the power is out, service station gasoline pumps won't work."

Moore proved once again she is the master.

To her list I add just one item: a supply of prescription medicines sufficient to last a week without needing to get to a pharmacy. Not only might a disaster make streets unsafe for travel, pharmacies without electrical power may not be able to conduct any business. ... And finally, does anyone remember Stella, who ran a bar and related bar-aftermarket business from a perch on McClellan Road overlooking the Deep Cliff Golf Course? Admit it. You do remember. You also remember we wrote about her pet raven, the one that used to screech "Stella!!--answer the phone," when it rang. A caller to The Courier office left a message awhile back suggesting the raven's name was "Johnny." We apologize, but we've lost the original message and telephone number. Please call again. We don't know any ravens trained to tell people to make phone calls.

Jon Hoornstra is a Cupertino resident and a columnist for The Courier.

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