MAILBAG - Aug. 3, 2000

As a member of the Church of Christ in Huntington Beach, I would like

to thank you for the coverage you have given us after vandalism was done

to our building [“Vandal destroys carpet, not church,” July 20].

We don’t know why someone put a hose in the window and turned on the

water in order to flood the building, but we are all praying for whoever

did it. What started out being a negative experience has turned into a

blessing in many ways. God always turns curses into blessings.I would

like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to come and worship with

us at 301 Huntington St. We meet at 9:30 a.m. Sunday for worship and 5

p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday for Bible classes for all ages. SUE

DODD

Huntington Beach

Singing the praises of the parade panel

We have been so busy with the alleged corruption in City Hall that we

have forgotten to praise the accomplishments of the Fourth of July parade

committee and its dedicated chairwoman, Patricia Stier. They put together

a great local parade with a small-town feeling.

I am not a child, but I could see that the kids and their parents

loved it. Some of us old-timers enjoyed the tributes to war vets and

their families. It was the best of Americana in our proudest moments.

Bravo! Good, clean family entertainment. Do it again, Pat. The only

thing I missed was a Marine Corps band. Maybe next year. Please?

RICHARD McGRATH

Huntington Beach

Problems with city trees strikes a familiar chord

I read with amazement and amusement the letter from Dorothy V.

Nalbandian [“A long wait, still nothing,” June 29]. I was sure it was

written by my neighbor, Joe Bernardo. He has the exact circumstance at

his house -- he has standing water in front of his house that sometimes

covers half the street.

As for myself, I had to have my sewer dug up shortly after moving here

in 1986, at a cost of nearly $800. At the present time, the roots [of

city trees] are lifting my concrete driveway, causing it and part of my

garage floor to crack.

We too have collected the names of our neighbors on a petition in July

1993. Since then, we have waited patiently for work to begin, but nothing

has been done. Joe and I have made repeated phone calls to Don Noble and

Chris Gray. The only response has been from Don Noble, who told Joe not

to worry about the water in front of his house because this year was

going to be a drought.

I left five messages with Chris Gray’s office but never received a

return call. Also, I personally wrote and hand-delivered letters to each

City Council member, as well as the mayor and City Administrator Ray

Silver. The only response I got was from Mayor Dave Garofalo on May 23,

who passed on my concerns to Ray Silver and Robert Beardsley with a

promise of being contacted in three weeks. I have heard nothing.

If they had money to fix the problem streets, why not start with the

streets that had been on the waiting list the longest? That is what we

were told in 1993 when we got our petition together. We played the game

according to the rules, and now someone has changed the rules.

To all the City Council members as well as the mayor -- remember

Nalbandian, Joe Bernardo and myself, as well as our neighbors, are all

probable voters in the next election. You can bet we will all remember

your non-response.

ROGER HUGHES

Huntington Beach

City should help, not hinder wildlife center

I am shocked, saddened and outraged that the city of Huntington Beach

is forcing the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center to close [“Wildlife care

center closes doors, except for emergencies,” July 20].

The city should take great pride in having the only such center in

Orange County and do everything possible to keep it open. Instead of

contributing its fair share to the center, the city is demanding that the

center follow bureaucratic city codes that may not even apply to a

wetland, which is where the center is located.

Paving over a parking lot that rarely holds more than five or six cars

will do more damage than it’s worth. It is this type of mentality that

contributes to the toxic urban runoff into the ocean and to diminishing

the water table. There is too much pavement as it is.

Give me a break. The city is telling the center to pave a

25,000-square-foot parking lot for a place that has no visitors or tours;

it just serves injured animals. Volunteers have no time to accommodate

tourists. They are helping to save the animals, which is more than the

city is willing to do.

MARINKA HORACK

Huntington Beach

* EDITOR’S NOTE: The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center reopened its

doors to animals last week after receiving funds from community members

and businesses.