School should have waited to fire coach...

School should have waited to fire coach

My opinion concerning the firing of the Huntington Beach High

School cheer coach is one of shock that the firing couldn’t wait

until after national competitions (“Squad loses coach, chance to

compete,” March 25).

They had three years of practice and dedication going into this

competition and it seems to me very insensitive that this firing

couldn’t wait until after the much-anticipated event. I know this

coach personally to be committed to coaching other cheerleaders and

helping them to be the best they can be. It seems this could have

been approached with much more thoughtfulness.

MELINDA PITCHER

Huntington Beach

I am a graduate of Huntington Beach High School and friends with

some of the cheerleaders that currently attend.

These girls are some of the nicest girls I have ever met and they

pour their life into cheer. When I found out that Huntington fired

their cheer coach and left the girls high and dry before the

competition, I was shocked. I am involved in competition myself (I

race cars at Irwindale Speedway) and I know how it is to prepare for

a big event and when that hope of competing gets stripped away, a

piece of you gets stripped away. So to answer your question, yes, the

high school should have waited till after the competition, and in all

fairness, they should not have fired the coach at all.

MICHAEL MAY

Huntington Beach

In my opinion, Huntington Beach High School should not have fired

the coach (“Squad loses coach, chance to compete,” March 25) whether

they were going to finals or not. I go to that school and I

personally think it’s very messed up what they did to her.

I think they should have never even have fired her. From a

student’s point of view, and I also know the coach personally, she

would never curse at those girls. And all because a student went home

and complained to her mom. I know many girls on the team and they all

have said that she would never do such a thing! Huntington Beach High

School hasn’t been to finals in four years. Then they get a shot at

it when Sarah Ettinger comes and they take the opportunity away from

the girls when they could have let them go to finals with the coach’s

mother, Becky Ettinger. I totally disagree with what they did to the

team and what they did to Sarah Ettinger.

BRITTANY RENEGAR

Huntington Beach

New electronic voting booths a snap

I did not have any problem whatsoever with voting. I thought it

was a very good new system and I am not that much informed on using a

computer. I just followed the instructions that day.

VIRGINIA BOWMAN

Huntington Beach

I think the new voting booths are absolutely great. There were

several workers at the polls and all that was necessary was to punch

the help button on the machine and someone came to show you exactly

how everything worked. The whole process was very fast and efficient.

VIRGINIA WHIPPLE

Huntington Beach

New voting booths were just OK

I thought that the new voting booths were OK.

I think that the way that it was setup for people to go through

the lines, get their name, get their location, get their number, get

into the lines for the computer, it was all very cumbersome. In

addition, I live over at the harbor and my husband and I usually go

to the fire department on Warner by Pacific Coast Highway, but our

polling place was moved to the community house over by the park,

right behind Huntington Harbour. We were not told and that was

disorienting. The fire department was quick and easy and organized.

Even when we went there and were told that we were at the wrong

place, they had no lines and people ahead of us, there were a couple

of people, they were going right in and right out, not going through

15 different lines. So, I don’t know if it was just over at the club

house, people weren’t organized, or if it was the system that you

people had set up for them, but, that’s the big thing. I had mixed

feelings on the computers and I’m very computer literate.

SHARON COYLE

Huntington Beach

Fourth of July parade too expensive

We, at First United Methodist Church, want to express our

disappointment and concern about the extreme demands and high expense

to participate in the Fourth of July parade in Huntington Beach.

Our church is celebrating 100 years of ministry this year and we

were hoping to include a tasteful representation in the parade. We

cannot justify spending $500 for such an experience, nor can we meet

the demand of nothing less than a professional grade float.

These two requirements communicate to us that it is no longer a

pleasant local event easily shared by the whole community, but is now

something bigger and more professional. This is a great

disappointment to us. We find we are excluded from celebrating our

place in the great city of Huntington Beach.

STEVE ISENMAN

Huntington Beach

Note: Steve Isenman is the pastor at First Methodist Church in

Huntington Beach.

School cuts should start at district

I think Huntington Beach City School District Supt. Gary

Rutherford should consider closing some of his people down in his

Downtown office, eliminating 28 positions down there that have

nothing to do with schools and leave the teachers in the schools.

WALTER LAZAR

Huntington Beach

Pacific City will be a good fit for the city

I wanted to let you know that I think the Makar Properties project

is an excellent project. Good for the city, good for everyone.

CAROL SPEAKER

Huntington Beach

I certainly agree with the Planning Commission’s approval of the

Pacific City environmental report and think we need to have the Makar

project in Huntington Beach.

DON MACALLISTER

Huntington Beach

A thank you to park’s neighbors

To the many residents near Bartlett Park (also known to locals as

Hidden Valley Park), a special word of thanks from the city of

Huntington Beach. Once again, your volunteer participation has made

the Bartlett Park Spring Cleanup event a huge success. More than four

tons of trash and debris were removed from the undeveloped park site

on March 20, bringing the combined weight of collected trash to about

10 tons for this calendar year.

About 70 volunteers met in the morning, taking bags and litter

sticks, and proceeded to scour the park site for debris that ranged

in size from huge to minute. Items as large as shopping carts and

mattresses and as small as gum wrappers and soda bottles were strewn

about the 30-acre park.

We appreciates the participation and continued support.

ART JENSEN

Crewleader,

City of Huntington

Beach Parks Program