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Sound Off! calls published July 14, 2010
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• Get bikes out of skatepark

I'd like to let you know of the ongoing struggle at the Ceres skatepark with officers not responding to people getting injured because of reckless bicyclists. A bike is twice as fast as a skateboard or roller-blades and it takes a lot longer to stop than a rollerblade or skateboard and that's why they aren't allowed down there. And all I've seen are fights because of the bicyclists; the skateboarders do not like them. They run over anyone that gets in their way.

Has the City Council considered the safety issues of allowing a BMX bike in a skateboard and rollerblade friendly zone? I don't think they did. Last night I was jumped by them because I said something about a little kid getting cut off and they got in my face and one of them started hitting me and the rest of them started hitting me as well. I made a report of this to the police department and they don't seem to care. They ... wrote a little citation. I asked them if they could step up the patrols in the area because of the drugs and the fighting and they say it's not a priority.Show some police presence down there and all this fighting and drugs will go away.

• Blaming GOP for today's recession

(Regarding Jeff Benziger's column of June 30, "Let's re-evaluate how government spends our cash,") those on the right for the past eight years are the very reason why we are in one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. It's not about left or right; it's about right and wrong. I believe we're on the right track now.

About taxes. I'm not an economist, but I know they're required to pay for state and city infrastructure. Now how much should we pay? I don't know. I guess it depends on the city needs to operate effective. Do the residents want a safer enviroment? Does that cost more? Do they want clean maintained roads and parks? Does that cost more? Do they want good schools? Does that cost more?

• Lunatics in charge at City Hall

Here's a news flash for you. All of the lunatics are not in the asylum. Some of them are loose in Ceres. We've got a town here that's crying about laying off people and now we're going to spend $2.4 million on a sports complex? Come on, people.

• Ditto on roller rink in old Walmart

I'm calling about the lady who said they should make the old Walmart store a roller rink. I think it's a really good idea because your kids have nothing to do and if you did that then you'd probably see a decline in all your tagging problems. It's really boring.

• Wants School Board to respond

As a taxpayer in the Ceres community, I would like the School Board to respond to two articles I read in the Courier about CUSD and CUTA. So, if I have my facts straight, Hanline exits without having to take an 8.5 percent pay cut the rest of the Ceres Unified employees have to take.

According to the contract I read on Ceres teachers.com, the top five administrators will continue to receive yearly perks and salary increases while the state is suffering economic hardship.

The board was elected to represent the community. Why are you protecting the interests of the administrators and not the community?