December 2, 2005

LETTERS2theEDITOR

Reader commends ET for stories addressing children’s special needs

Editor,
I’d like to commend you and your staff for some truly terrific articles recently printed addressing the needs for what many of us would consider to be our most precious and valuable assets—our children.

First the articles from 10/22/05 “What is Autism?” and “Autistic Child in Evergreen Just Needs Some Friends,” and also from 12/2/05 “Attention Deficit Disorder: What’s Happening to our Children?”

What many might not realize is they are both related. ADD/ADHD falls under what is defined the autistic spectrum. Our children are part of a national epidemic with 1 out of 166 children with a counted problem, and many more unregistered. There is something REALLY not right about what the children must go through or how many are behaving.

The easy answer and one we’ve all heard so much about is that discipline and parenting skills are often the root resulting in bad behavior, however there is now emerging proof that something else is going on with these children.

These children often are found to have gut issues resulting in not being able to eat certain foods as outlined by Dr. Tapia and often are dealing with a compromised immune system.

Yes, it is true for reasons not fully understood, things as traditional as milk and bread for some are like poison to their body. Admittedly I would have been a tough sell to convince that horrific behavioral and memory issues could be linked to diet and nutrition, but I have experienced first hand the amazing difference it can make for some children and corresponded with hundreds of other families attesting to all of this.

Dr. Tapia does an excellent job of summarizing how and why this could really be true. I’ve read most of her referrals, and they are great, along with the notation of another really good Web site run by parents called Generation Rescue, at www.generationrescue.org.

How would you act and emotionally feel if you had the stomach flu but didn’t know you had the flu? If the mere touch of the skin gave you the shivers? Having to go through life expected to be like and act like everyone else who didn’t have the flu?

I urge all parents who deep down know something is not right with your child’s behaviors or actions to open your heart and ears and embrace this information presented. Your child might be silently tortured and needs you to help them figure it out. If this sounds intriguing yet seems too overwhelming, I’d be happy to give parents pointers as to where to get started. I can be e-mailed at kari95135@yahoo.com.

Thanks again for making our children a priority and sharing this wonderful information.

Kari Trautman
California Creek

Thanksgiving Teen Scene depicts poor opinion of family

Editor,
What a pity that Arianna Trujillo-Robnett has such a poor opinion of her family [Teen Scene, “How to Survive Thanksgiving,” Nov. 19 issue of ET]. 

She is probably the type who never writes thank you notes to those “annoying” family members who give her birthday and Christmas gifts. Hopefully, she will never be left alone with a young child. Perhaps she will think twice before ever having children of her own.

M. McCandless
The Villages

Teen Scene trashes family tradition

Editor,
The Teen Scene article about Thanksgiving [“How to Survive Thanksgiving,” Nov. 19 issue of ET] was overstated with negation. It trashed tradition, the adults, the kids and family tradition.

I am sure that the writer does not believe in all her statements. This is the wrong message to send to her readers and friends. If she thinks it’s funny, she should put it in the funny page.

If this is the way things go for her on Thanksgiving, she should say it. The retraction on the last paragraph does not excuse her or save her article. Better luck and better thinking in your future writing.

Rick Valdez
Burlingame Way

[Editor’s note: Teen Scene is often written tongue-and-cheek. In the future, ET will label these columns as “humor” when appropriate to clarify that the writer does not intend for the article to be taken seriously.]

Local resident and business owner concerned
about development near EVC

Editor,
I am a resident of Evergreen, and I co-own Silver Creek Fitness and Physical Therapy in the Evergreen Village Center.

I am concerned with the portion of Evergreen Specific Plan that deals with the retail development of the vacant land near Evergreen Community College.

Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to read the report proposed and I feel that it has several issues or questions that should be addressed:

1) Who paid to have it completed and was it peered reviewed?

2) Wording appears to favor an interest group

3) Seems to have left out some major grocery stores on the fringes of the outlined map (Wal-Mart, and Costco)

4) Left out local mom and pop grocery stores (Indian and Asian) in the immediate area.

I am not here to say who is wrong and who is right in the battle of developers. I can only speak on my behalf as a resident of the community and a business owner of SCFPT. Three years ago in December, I personally risked $100,000 in cash and $110,000 on credit cards along with another $300,000 from investors to start a health care business at the Evergreen Village Center. I did this because I fell in love with the area and the community and I wanted to work and live in Evergreen.

After one year of negotiating our lease with Shapell, they agreed to give us an opportunity and assured us that this shopping center would be a success and there would be no further development of large commercial projects in the immediate area.

Struggling fiercely for the last three years, watching Quizno’s change hands, seeing Marble Slab struggle to pay its bills, hearing Lunardi’s managers talk about how slow they are and looking out into approximately 5,000 square feet of empty space, I can honestly say that the Evergreen Village Center still has a long ways to go before it is a success.

I hope the Evergreen/East Hills Vision Strategy task force looks deeply into this project and can answer this question, “Are you doing this for the community or are you doing this for alternative reasons?”

Todd Jones
Silver Creek Fitness and Physical Therapy
Evergreen Village

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