Editor: Thankfully, Hanford has the foresight of our newly self-appointed savior of the Hanford City Council, Dan Chin. Only weeks after announcing the Council is contemplating tearing down the Plunge, he announced he is running again on a platform that includes the construction of a new police station. Wonderful, now Hanford will have a place to put the additional misguided youth displaced by the new retail shops at the Plunge.

Looking forward, with all of the experience he brings, I imagine he won't waste millions on feasibility studies, the purchase of virgin ground and the construction of a brand new station. Surely, he knows a police station isn't supposed to serve as a source of pride in a community, but is a tool used to facilitate law and order. When he looks at vacant buildings, such as Wal-Mart and the old Sears building, he will see value in revitalizing vacant buildings to serve the fine people who protect our city. His inherent knowledge will suggest to us that the Cal Trans success in Fresno's Manchester Center could be duplicated here. After all, isn't that what we're trying to be? A big city. Or are we?

The announcement by Sue Sorensen in Saturday's Sentinel is a welcome distinction between herself and Mr. Chin, including his current city council members. Her platform seems to contrast the current plans of Mr. Chin to remove youth activities and increase spending on new government buildings. Mrs. Sorensen is suggesting we enhance youth activities and work to retain our public safety officials, not build a memorial to honor their service and imprison disenfranchised adolescents. Our tax dollars should be spent offering these heroes competitive wages and benefits.

I believe Mr. Louis Martinez said it best in his editorial last week; it is time to throw the bums out. This election will help determine what our city looks like in the future. Voters must decide now if we are going to let it all go to developers or if we will try and maintain some the niceties associated with living in a small Valley town.

Todd Burkhalter

Hanford

(July 14, 2008)