By The OldTimer
Taking a page from the IrriGator, I would like to submit my Christmas wish list to the Patterson IrriTator crowd. My wishes for the city of Patterson:
1 – My first wish is for better health care for the west side. This would include a move of the health center to facilities better suited for the care we need. It also includes the wish that the specialists have not been turned off by the delays and will be out, caring for us, in the very near future.
2 – Public safety. My next wish is that with a new police chief, the streets will once again be safe for our citizens and that the gangs and drug dealers will no longer consider Patterson a safe haven. I wish that those that want the peace and quiet will get it, that those that constantly play their music loud are finally silenced and those that harass the citizens no longer do so.
3 – Common sense with the traffic lights. I still can’t believe that the signals at 33 & Las Palmas still give the green arrows for left turns when nobody is there to trigger it. The city wants to go green, yet they don’t do anything to stop the fumes and pollution that is being put out with cars waiting for nobody. Also, that the city take another look at the traffic engineering at Ward and M/American Eagle. Talk about idiotic traffic flow. Why do both M and American Eagle get their own greens while both directions on Ward go at the same time? Doesn’t make any sense at all, especially during the beginning and ending of the school days. And, the third item would be that whoever programs the signal at 33 and M is NOT the same idiot that did Ward and M/American Eagle.
4 – No Wal-Mart. As has been mentioned here, on the Pattersontimes and IrriGator websites, the citizens do NOT want the Wal-Mart. There have been a lot of reasons why we don’t want it, and only one (greed) as to why we are going to be forced to get it.
5 – A smarter public works department. When planning a major project that will involve tearing up the streets and alleys, a bit better planning could go a long way. First off, if you know that the alleys will be torn up, why begin the project right before the rains? Why not do the alleys in the spring and summer? This way, the issues that have cropped up with the alleys and the mud wouldn’t appear. Plan the street closures a bit better. Create a time-line that is more suited to reality than what looks good on paper. There are more, but I’ll leave it at this for this wish.
6 – Common sense on the city council. I know this is just about as difficult as asking for world peace, but I gotta wish for it. This has been hashed out so much, I won’t go in to details.
7 – A new city attorney. It pains me to think of all the money down the drain on account of one man. All our tax dollars wasted on bad advice or no advice. As I have said many times, if he were the counsel for a private business, he would have been gone a long time ago.
8 – A good 2010 for John Ramos. I know I have slammed him on the health center, Wal-Mart and other issues. But, when you take a look at some of the other things he has done within our town, he has made a lot of improvements. I appreciate what he has done with the Plaza building and other buildings. Not only has he taken care to improve his downtown facilities, but he also maintains the outsides of them. They are never the eyesore that they could be if he didn’t care. He is also very generous with our community service clubs and organizations, donating money, time and items to almost any of the community service groups if they ask. (Honestly, I am not aware of him ever saying no to a community group request) In reality, the better his year is, the better our community services will be during these hard times. While we all love to get on his case for certain issues, we all also owe him a big thank you for what he has done and continues to do.
9 – A good year for all the readers and contributors to the Patterson IrriTator, even the liberal/socialist red/blue state. 
To one and all, I would like to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The OldTimer
The Patterson Irritator said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:01 AM
Just a few thoughts on OldTimers wish list.
While the health district move will undoubtedly increase the quality of life for everyone living here in Patterson, in the long run, this issue will prove to be of great importance to the people of Patterson, since it revealed larger problems regarding the city council and “special constituents”.
The public safety issue will never be properly addressed unless the Chief recognizes that a “pure” enforcement strategy will not and has never worked. A multi-faceted approach to proper community policing is deeply needed. In particular to our youth, until the council begins to set forth alternative experiences or third places in which young folks can hang without being turned on to gangs and illegal activity, we will continue to miss opportunities to groom active citizens. In doesn’t help when the current council, on numerous occasions has labeled our Patterson Youth as a bunch of loiterers.
Lastly, we do acknowledge that Mr. Ramos has contributed to Patterson for many years, however, his inability to address his conflicts of interest and overreaching has all but diminished his contributions in our opinion.
We aren’t willing to grant him a free pass simply because he keeps his building’s appearance tidy and nice.
He chaired the GPAC knowing that certain recommendations would benefit him financially.
He has single handily brought the health district move to a standstill by exerting his power over his political pawns.
When he addresses these conflicts, we will be the first to give him proper recognition. Until then, we remain quite skeptical of Mr. Ramos and his maneuvers.
What Next said,
December 29, 2009 @ 12:38 AM
I happened to visit a friend of mine today that has one of the houses with an alley next to them. We took a look at it and we came up with a way for the city to make some money.
Right now, the alleys are not in any shape for the residents to use them. If they have their garages in the alleys, they can just forget about using them.
Here is what the city can do. They can charge admission and entrace fees and use the alleys for tractor pulls. Right now that is about all you can do with the alleys so the city might as well make some money. Maybe they had something like this in mind when they planned the project for the rainy season instead of waiting for spring/summer.
I agree with you (The IrriTator) about Ramos. Yes, he does a lot of good for our community, but he also makes sure that he benefits financially from the actions of the city. This by chariing the GPAC, by fighting the zoning for the health center move, and a few other items. I think he and his partners out in the Villages area are doing all they can to screw the system. They are hurting the other land owners, they are hurting the banks, and they are part of the problem with our economy. I know that I, like most (honest) people would not be able to sleep at night if we were to do what they are doing out there on the east side of town. He and his partners in the Villages are doing more damage to our community than the good that they do. It is not very Christian to cheat your neighbor or to cheat the banks. And that is exactly what they are doing.
All in all, I like the list, OldTimer. Thanks. I’ll make sure that come election time, I try to help you get some of the items on your list for the city. I think that at election time, a few of your items can be taken care of.
the recorder said,
December 29, 2009 @ 9:52 AM
This may be difficult to carry out in residential alley. But this would be great in downtown.
http://www.russellmillsstudios.com/collective/alleys/index.php
OldTimer said,
December 29, 2009 @ 11:07 AM
You know, if we didn’t have to spend all of our tax dollars on lawyers, we might have enough money in our funds to spruce up some of the alleys and streets in town. Can you imagine how nice our town could look if we didn’t have to give away so much of our monies?
Just a thought for those that continue to throw away all our monies for their entertainment.