I grew up in Los Gatos and attended local schools. I am raising my children here in town, and they have attended many of the same schools. I have been proud to be a part of a close-knit community such as Los Gatos, with a small-town atmosphere.

I have read many letters to your paper recently from citizens concerned with the accident on Nov. 26 that involved four youths from our town. I have attended community meetings that addressed the situation. The horrifying events of that evening continue to haunt us all. It seems to be popular to find a soapbox and lecture the parents of the kids involved. Each of those four families will forever be changed by the events of that night—to what good is it to repeatedly chastise them?

There appears to be an overlying sentiment against the family whose son was driving the car that crashed. I have known this family for many, many years. They are wonderful, loving, caring people who take an active interest in raising their children. Their son, who was driving the car, has grown up alongside my children in town and in our church community as well. This is a family who has been an active part of our town; parents who have driven their kids to sports, church and social activities. Our children have gone off to summer camp and youth group activities together and have been involved in plays and musical productions.

As parents we have often been a part of these activities along with our children. I can say I know this boy and his family better than many of my children's friends. He is a good kid who made a bad decision that night. Does that give the community of Los Gatos the right to moralize to his parents and ostracize his family? Is there a family in this community so perfect that they can cast the first stone at these people, who suffer as a result of that fateful night in November more acutely than the rest of us? Should we not rally around them and support them in this difficult time?

I have heard it said that the drinking of children in Los Gatos is a community problem; if so, then why are vocal members of town so quick to condemn the parents of a few kids? How can we allow this boy to be used as a scapegoat for what is a community problem?

We as parents do have a responsibility to our children, and the parents of the driver of that car are responsible, loving parents whose son made a mistake. To those in our community so quick to point the finger of blame, maybe they could spend a little time in their own family dealing with their own kids instead of continuing to publicly condemn a family that is dealing with enough pressure as it is.

—Elizabeth Stephens Panighetti, Los Gatos


Weed abatement deadline is set too soon

I have received the notice about weed abatement—the rules, time frame, costs, etc.—as well as the scheduled date (Jan. 21) for the Monte Sereno City Council hearing on the subject.

I was planning on attending the meeting, but I will be out of town that week.

I have just one minor issue about the proposal and that is the date by which the weed abatement must be completed. I believe that April 1 is too soon to remove or cut grasses and weeds and disk a lot. The weeds are still green, more will grow and they are not a fire hazard that early in the season.

I have always complied with the rules and I have used the city for a while to disk my lot (until the price became outrageous)—and that usually was not done until May or June. I have used private contractors for disking—and they do not like to disk when the soil is still moist and tractors have a problem with traction. I have hired a crew to use "weed eaters"—but that normally suggests that weeds be "golden."

So, I would like to suggest that the date for compliance be amended to a later date, like June 1, or with a proviso like "30 days after the weeds turn golden."

—Don Schmidek, Monte Sereno


Limo company shows integrity still prevails

In September of 2002, we made a limousine reservation with Wine and Roses Limos for New Year's Eve. The day of our service we were contacted by Wine and Roses of an error that was made when our booking was taken. The employee who took our reservation was new and had quoted us a price for an airport transport, not a New Year's Eve package. After some discussion, Wine and Roses backed up their promise and fulfilled the agreement as previously committed. The driver was friendly, courteous, on time and went out of her way to see to it that we had an excellent time.

—Randal and Michelle Nelson; Liz and Brian Floyd, Los Gatos