October 5, 2007

LETTERS2theEDITOR

Sgt. Lalone returns from Iraq

Dear Editor,
We want to let the community know that our son, Sgt. Joseph M. Lalone, will return from serving his country in Iraq after a one-year tour.  He grew up in the Evergreen area, all his life until he joined the Army at the age of 19.  He graduated from Silver Creek High in 2003.  Shortly after, he went to work for Hitachi.  He has always been an adventurous kid, always daring and looking for excitement.  He joined the ROTC while at Silver Creek.  He completed his basic training at Fort Jackson, SC.  He is based at Fort Sill in Lawton, OK. While serving in Iraq he won Soldier of the Month, then Soldier of the Quarter.  He has also earned a promotion as a Sergeant.  He will return Saturday, Oct. 6, on an 8 p.m. flight at the San Jose Airport.  He is our HERO!  We are so proud of him!

Lalone Family
Evergreen

Residents demand school district enforce Proof of Residence

Dear Editor,
The key facts presented in the Sept. 22 story of “Evergreen Parents up in Arms” are incomplete and erroneous, leading the community to question the impartiality of the report.

At the center of the residents’ demand is for the school district to enforce a strict “Proof of Residence (POR)” to weed out students illegally attending the overcrowded schools before undertaking boundary realignment that will affect families and children who truly reside in the area. The differences between the district’s current practice in residence check, and what they say it is, versus what other districts in similar situations are doing and what the residents are demanding, are where the incompleteness and errors in the report occur.

Area schools currently require two utility bills as proof of residence in order to admit a new student. Due to the ease with which one can transfer a utility bill under one’s name, other districts have adopted fraud-proof, multiple documents to stem off illegal attendants. Such documents are: property tax bill or lease agreement, driver’s license or vehicle registration, and W2 or tax returns.

With 900 signatures, residents in this area speak loud and clear that they want the district to adopt the tried-and-true practices of these other districts before upsetting the life of hundreds of families and children.

Matsumoto Parents Task Force

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