November 14, 2008

D8CRT congratulates recent election winners

By Bonnie Mace
Special to the Times

The District 8 Community Round Table gave a warm welcome to the local winners of the general election at the November meeting of the D8CRT.

Vice-Mayor Dave Cortese, who won the District 3 seat for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, thanked the D8CRT for its excellent work in the community. “The D8CRT is doing a great job keeping the community together. It was created just for this moment - to help hold people in public office accountable for the quality of life in District 8. This is home for me, and I intend to continue to be very visible as your county supervisor,” said Cortese.

Rose Herrera, who won the District 8 City Council seat, thanked the community for electing her to the City Council. “I’m excited and happy to be the newly-elected City Council member representing District 8. Whether you voted for me or not, I look forward to working with everyone and representing everyone in District 8. The District 8 Community Round Table is, and will continue to be, an important community group for providing input to City Hall on important district needs and priorities. I look forward to working with the D8CRT,” said Herrera.

Also present at the D8CRT meeting were Kalvin Gill, who won the District 7 Open Space Authority Director seat and Lan Nguyen, who was re-elected to the East Side Union High School District Board. D8CRT president Jim Zito congratulated all the newly-elected officials representing our area.

D8CRT President Jim Zito and Vice President Angela McCarren congratulate Richard Velasquez, who was chosen as the D8CRT Volunteer of the Quarter.

The November D8CRT meeting also featured other topics, including the presentation of the Volunteer of the Quarter award to Richard Velasquez. Martha Argandar-Rosales, who nominated Mr. Velasquez for the award, praised him for his impressive work in the community. He has given countless hours of his time in his volunteer positions in the Millbrook elementary school PTA, Montgomery elementary school PTA, Evergreen Council of PTAs, 6th District PTA (Santa Clara County), and District Advisory Committee for the Evergreen Elementary School District.

Mr. Velasquez also donates his time as a volunteer crossing guard at Millbrook elementary school. D8CRT president Jim Zito congratulated Mr. Velasquez and gave him a certificate of appreciation from the D8CRT and a gift certificate. The D8CRT honors members of the community in its Volunteer of the Quarter program. If you know someone who is an outstanding community service volunteer, please look at the nomination requirements on the D8CRT website at www.d8crt.org.

After the presentation of the Volunteer of the Quarter award, Santa Clara County Weed Abatement Program Coordinator Moe Kumre had a discussion with the D8CRT members concerning weed abatement at the Pleasant Hills Golf Course. Kumre explained that the Pleasant Hills Golf Course is unincorporated county land, and therefore the county is responsible for weed abatement.

The county has contracted with a rancher to allow his 60 head of cattle to graze on the land in order to control the weeds. Kumre said that the county is trying to protect surrounding homes from a potential fire by allowing the cattle to eat weeds on the perimeter of the property. By creating a defensible perimeter, firefighters would be able to protect homes if a fire occurred. Several residents of homes adjacent to the property complained about the smell and flies that have been a side effect of the cattle, and Kumre told the community members that the rancher must comply with fly and odor-abatement rules.

The November D8CRT meeting also featured an update by Mike Alvarado and members of the Going EverGREEN subcommittee, which acts as an advocate for adopting green actions and attitudes throughout the Evergreen community. To help residents access and receive information about solar and other energy alternatives, Going EverGREEN has formed a yahoo group forum. To join the forum and participate in discussions, please visit the site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SiliconValleyworkforce. The Going EverGREEN group has also created a new resource site, which is aimed at providing information about alternative energy. The new site’s address is: http://GoingEverGREEN.org.

In addition to the formation of the resources website and yahoo group, Going EverGREEN is working on creating collaborative networks with the Evergreen Elementary School District in order to promote education about alternative energy. Eileen Ong-Osmond, parent at Matsumoto elementary school, said that she supports the efforts of Going EverGREEN because “whether you voted red or blue in the last election, we should all be a little more green.”

Everyone who lives or works in District 8 is invited to join the D8CRT, which focuses on issues of interest to the District 8 community. The next D8CRT general meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 4 at the Evergreen Branch Library from 7-9:00 p.m. The D8CRT holds its general meeting on the first Thursday of every month. For more details on the D8CRT, please visit www.d8crt.org.