Dear Editor,
The community of Victory Gardens appears to have been forgotten or perhaps ignored? The Victory Gardens Subdivision improvements project started on August of 2018 with an anticipated completion of August 2020.
Victory Garden residents and the public have been disrupted and inconvenienced by street detours, road closures, dust, heavy equipment traffic, noise pollution, decrease in business services and safety hazards.
Not to mention the ecological damage to our trees, soil erosion, water flow and animal habitats.
Lack of presence of sidewalks, streetlights, and clear roads, have discouraged outdoor play for children and families. The dust pollution is harmful to residents with prior existing conditions such as Asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. As COVID-19 continues to threaten our community, so does the recovery of these residents. Sunlight and being outdoors is valuable in the recovery from mental and physical health deterioration from this virus.
This lengthy project has been a battle ground for so many and the community is defenseless and vulnerable. Victory Gardens is primarily made up of low-income, elderly minorities with language barriers, many having Spanish as their primary language. Victory Gardens deserves better from their city leaders in charge of this project. It is hard to make our voices loud enough to be heard.
This project has exceeded the projected completion date by 380 days. What is the city doing to compel the contractor to complete this project? Other city residents have learned to avoid this construction zone, but the hundreds of people that call Victory Gardens home must deal daily with the inconvenience and the very real health issues caused by the excessive dust and noise. What is being done to compensate homeowners and businesses? When will the residents of Victory Gardens experience the "quiet enjoyment" of their own homes and what is the city going to do to make this happen? ESTAMOS HARTOS!!
Christina Casas-Moreno, BHA, BSN, RN
San Marcos
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To the Editor:
The Sunday (August 14) letters to the editor caused me to think for a moment that I was reading Facebook or a series of tweets from some politician trying to manipulate voters. Contrary to what was written in those letters, many different science-based research studies show that wearing face masks protects both the wearer and those in contact with the wearer from the coronavirus. Medical masks are better than cloth masks, but both provide important protection against inhaling the droplets exhaled by people in their normal social interactions and from spraying them into the air that others breathe.
From a distance, it is not possible to know whether a person is an undocumented immigrant to this country or has the coronavirus. Making a decision on either factor based on the color of their skin is racist.
When a politician acts out of political motivation, rather than concern for protecting the public health, it is important for other leaders to oppose those actions that do not protect the public health. I have known since I was a child that adults do not always make wise decisions. The majority of the SMCISD Board of Trustees and County Judge Ruben Becerra have made thoughtful, science-based decisions to require face masks for all public school children in opposition to the politically-motivated decision of Gov. Abbott to prohibit such mask protections for children. The SMCISD and Becerra decisions are protecting children; school staff, employees, and visitors; hospital and medical personnel who care for those made sick by the virus; and the community at large, from this debilitating and surging Covid epidemic. Not all parents are being so thoughtful and protective.
Having worked for many years in that part of the legal system that tries to protect children has helped me know that parents do not always make wise decisions for their children. Living in Texas for over 75 years has taught me that some of our politicians do not make good decisions either for our children or for the rest of us. Thanks should be paid to politicians who care about public health. May they grow in numbers and in strength.
Lamar W. Hankins
San Marcos
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Dear SMCISD Board of Trustees:
Thank you for your vote on the masks! It's gratifying to see a public official with some good old-fashioned guts. And common sense. Better, if to err, on the side of caution.
Tom McNair,
San Marcos
