• Bleach in pool works
I'm calling because of your article about mosquitos and swimming pools. I think that it would be a really good thing if the next time you publish an article maybe if you started before the mosquito season started and put in your newspaper that if people can't afford their chemicals to put a little bit of bleach in there you might that find your mosquito problem is not quite as bad. Then you don't have to use as many city resources and dollars. That would be a really good suggestion because the people next door to us really needed it because we have a ton of mosquitos in our backyard thanks to them.
• Bad calls not good sportsmanship
This is in response to "Defending umpire son." You said your children were involved with CYB for 20 years and you also state one of the most important things was to teach young athletes good sportsmanship. I totally agree. But if you were at the same Pony League Championship I was at, you could clearly see it was one-sided umping. I'm not the only one who saw it. If you were there, you saw it too.
That is not good sportsmanship.
I don't have to leave my name; that's my right. Go ahead and leave your name and post it all over the paper. Nobody really cares who you are. The only thing people care about is what we're standing up for. That's what I'm teaching my kids.
• Fireworks wholesome activity
I am calling about fireworks. First, I love the Fourth of July and it's my favorite holiday. It is a celebration of our great country's birthday. I want to see and let off fireworks in celebration of that. It's also fun for my three kids to see and talk about why we are celebrating. We've had droughts and fires every year. Fireworks will not change that. Taking away fireworks is just one more fun and wholesome activity that we won't be able to do.
I suggest people who don't like them don't buy them. But it is good fun for some of us and we should be able to use them. All people have to do is use their brain and we'll be fine and won't cause fires.
• Illegals are not needed in USA
I am calling because I am sick and tired of everybody saying that the illegal Mexicans are over here because they'll do the work that Americans won't do. This is absolutely ridiculous.
• Clean Service & El Camino
Regarding the clean-up of the property at Service and Mitchell roads, there was such a ruckus raised that work stopped. Now there is an abandoned house at the corner of Service and El Camino that is surrounded with dry grass. It would surprise me if Ceres Fire doesn't have another training burn that is unplanned. I firmly believe that if someone had said that they were planning a movie theater, skating rink, or bowling alley there would be nothing but praise and adulation but since it was Wal-Mart the ruckus seems to have stopped the clean up of the property. The larger piece did get disked the other day and does look some better and is less of a fire hazard.
• Bill Noble will be missed
So you almost made me cry with that article about Bill you wrote, Jeff! Bill was like a second dad to me; I grew up as his daughter Ann's best friend, almost neighbors until junior high when they moved to Modesto. Many of those stories included my dad Clare Berryhill, who was one of his best friends from growing up in Ceres. I could always count on him to pull a coin out of my ear...but now that I think about it, he never gave me any of those coins. He has always been the storyteller and will continue to be the storyteller, just in a different dimension. I would love to see someone take those stories and create a book. It's worthy of publishing and worthy of the big screen. He will be missed - as much as I have missed my own dad.
Jane Berryhill in Sula, Montana
• Great story on Aunt Grace
Jeff Benziger, thank you for writing such a wonderful article on my Aunt Grace (Freeman) in your newspaper. We were able to attend a 100th birthday party there recently and was so glad that we were able. Everyone loved the article that you did!
Pam Young in Wister, Okla.
• Trucks need to park somewhere
For years my husband and I have grown more and more concerned about the growing truck parking laws being passed, especially in small towns like Ceres. How many times have you gone to the store for milk, bread or other everyday needs and then told your particular brand isn't there? The truck hasn't come yet. Frustrating isn't it? The lack of parking somewhere is often the problem. Most people don't realize how much we depend on trucks for everything we use, including gasoline. Even fewer people have any idea what a truck driver's life is like. For 89 days in a row my husband was in a truck somewhere 17 to 18 hours a day. There were days he had to phone our children to say hello because he couldn't come home. Think about the need for trucks and the sacrifices the drivers make.
If they can't park on all streets, at least designate an area where they can at least park and have a decent meal and hug and kiss their wives and families once in a while.
I'm calling because of your article about mosquitos and swimming pools. I think that it would be a really good thing if the next time you publish an article maybe if you started before the mosquito season started and put in your newspaper that if people can't afford their chemicals to put a little bit of bleach in there you might that find your mosquito problem is not quite as bad. Then you don't have to use as many city resources and dollars. That would be a really good suggestion because the people next door to us really needed it because we have a ton of mosquitos in our backyard thanks to them.
• Bad calls not good sportsmanship
This is in response to "Defending umpire son." You said your children were involved with CYB for 20 years and you also state one of the most important things was to teach young athletes good sportsmanship. I totally agree. But if you were at the same Pony League Championship I was at, you could clearly see it was one-sided umping. I'm not the only one who saw it. If you were there, you saw it too.
That is not good sportsmanship.
I don't have to leave my name; that's my right. Go ahead and leave your name and post it all over the paper. Nobody really cares who you are. The only thing people care about is what we're standing up for. That's what I'm teaching my kids.
• Fireworks wholesome activity
I am calling about fireworks. First, I love the Fourth of July and it's my favorite holiday. It is a celebration of our great country's birthday. I want to see and let off fireworks in celebration of that. It's also fun for my three kids to see and talk about why we are celebrating. We've had droughts and fires every year. Fireworks will not change that. Taking away fireworks is just one more fun and wholesome activity that we won't be able to do.
I suggest people who don't like them don't buy them. But it is good fun for some of us and we should be able to use them. All people have to do is use their brain and we'll be fine and won't cause fires.
• Illegals are not needed in USA
I am calling because I am sick and tired of everybody saying that the illegal Mexicans are over here because they'll do the work that Americans won't do. This is absolutely ridiculous.
• Clean Service & El Camino
Regarding the clean-up of the property at Service and Mitchell roads, there was such a ruckus raised that work stopped. Now there is an abandoned house at the corner of Service and El Camino that is surrounded with dry grass. It would surprise me if Ceres Fire doesn't have another training burn that is unplanned. I firmly believe that if someone had said that they were planning a movie theater, skating rink, or bowling alley there would be nothing but praise and adulation but since it was Wal-Mart the ruckus seems to have stopped the clean up of the property. The larger piece did get disked the other day and does look some better and is less of a fire hazard.
• Bill Noble will be missed
So you almost made me cry with that article about Bill you wrote, Jeff! Bill was like a second dad to me; I grew up as his daughter Ann's best friend, almost neighbors until junior high when they moved to Modesto. Many of those stories included my dad Clare Berryhill, who was one of his best friends from growing up in Ceres. I could always count on him to pull a coin out of my ear...but now that I think about it, he never gave me any of those coins. He has always been the storyteller and will continue to be the storyteller, just in a different dimension. I would love to see someone take those stories and create a book. It's worthy of publishing and worthy of the big screen. He will be missed - as much as I have missed my own dad.
Jane Berryhill in Sula, Montana
• Great story on Aunt Grace
Jeff Benziger, thank you for writing such a wonderful article on my Aunt Grace (Freeman) in your newspaper. We were able to attend a 100th birthday party there recently and was so glad that we were able. Everyone loved the article that you did!
Pam Young in Wister, Okla.
• Trucks need to park somewhere
For years my husband and I have grown more and more concerned about the growing truck parking laws being passed, especially in small towns like Ceres. How many times have you gone to the store for milk, bread or other everyday needs and then told your particular brand isn't there? The truck hasn't come yet. Frustrating isn't it? The lack of parking somewhere is often the problem. Most people don't realize how much we depend on trucks for everything we use, including gasoline. Even fewer people have any idea what a truck driver's life is like. For 89 days in a row my husband was in a truck somewhere 17 to 18 hours a day. There were days he had to phone our children to say hello because he couldn't come home. Think about the need for trucks and the sacrifices the drivers make.
If they can't park on all streets, at least designate an area where they can at least park and have a decent meal and hug and kiss their wives and families once in a while.
