| Enjoying The Hues Dear Editor, I'd like to share my thoughts with you. I really like your paper. The first copy I picked up was the October 3 edition. I picked up that copy because I recognized the face on the cover (Gladis Benavides) and was eager to learn more about her. As a state employee a number of years ago, I attended one of her minority-training classes. I enjoyed her "bubbliness" and the self-assuredness one cannot help but respect. And when I open the paper, there's another face I recognize -- Jesus Avila. I worked at Bayview Townhouses when the Avila family lived there and I was going to school to earn a master's degree in social work. Bayview Townhouses opened their recreation center to the Avilas to practice. The staff enjoyed the music and the positive demeanor of the Avilas and the group members. It was a sort of "partnership." Bayview Townhouses works very hard to support their residents and advocates for them to retain their cultures, to the fullest extent possible in the United States. I am proud to know the Avilas and several other families from Bayview and to follow their accomplishments. Jesus is truly a gem. I think he embodies the saying that exercise is good for you. Exercise is known to increase serotonin levels that contribute to your happiness and self-esteem. I wish him, Ballet Folkorico Mexico and Academia de Danza Mexico a long, full life of continued happiness and prosperity. I want to finish reading the paper, but I wanted to get this letter off before I read any more -- only to see the Reflections column, entitled "Give Bill a Chance" (about Bill Clingan) on your current website. You must know a lot of the same people I know. Excellent column!! I totally agree that Bill is one of the sweetest guys I know and he's intelligent. I didn't know all the jobs he's held, so I learned more about him through your column. I just know that Bill is a person who is committed to improving human relations -- even at a personal level. He is very "worldly" and I don't know where that attribute comes from. Through my personal contacts with him over a period of time, I know he has a way of being able to work positively with any variety of individuals. He deserves the job. The Mayor deserves to be congratulated on his ability to recognize Bill's qualities. Lastly, I enjoy your paper and am glad you'e confronting the issue of race and the impact on the quality of all of our lives. It's a small world; it's important that we learn to get along in it and respect each other as equal contributors to it. Caroline Werner Oregon, Wisconsin City-County budgets on justice system in opposite directions Dear Editor, It's budget time for both the city of Madison and Dane County. As most people know, it's a very difficult time for local governments to fund our basic needs in order to move forward in a positive direction. One key budget area that both the city and county are addressing in putting together our respective budgets is in the area of our justice systems: the Madison police department and the sheriff's office. You would think that we' see similar themes but there is one striking conflict in budget priorities. The city is proposing a great increase in the number of new police officers. The police department requested an additional 18 and shortly thereafter Mayor Cieslewicz bumped the number up to 30 following two or three neighborhood meetings during which crime was raised as a concern. Of course, there are substantial fiscal ramifications. At the same time, Madison Police Chief Noble Wray has acknowledged that serious crime -- murder, armed robbery, arson and similar violent crimes -- are down 4.5% during the first half of 2007. Yet, there's a perception that crime is increasing. The Chief attributed that to several unrelated incidents which occurred this past year as well as to changes in the geographical areas where crimes are happening. In actuality, the number of police calls this past year increased only on the West side as well as a slight increase on the East side. Everywhere else, they remained stable or decreased. In contrast, when looking at what Dane County is proposing, we see that the two entities are moving in opposite directions. A few months ago, the county board received the finalized version of a criminal justice assessment report developed by an independent "think-tank." One of the most significant themes running throughout the report is how the county can do more for public safety using fewer tax dollars. How could that be possible, one might ask. Actually it's not so difficult. The report identified inefficiencies that have led to higher costs without increased public safety. In the budget we're currently working on for 2008, the sheriff's office has requested an increase of up to 200 inmates placed on electronic monitoring for a segment of our current jail population who have been involved in minor, non-violent crimes and needn't be in the Dane County jail. They are Huber inmates out in the community on work-release programs who are continually monitored on the outside. With the cost saving for this action we'll use the monies by returning inmates back to Dane County who had been sent out of county due to overcrowding. Thanks to the recommendations made by the report, the county is working toward better and smarter solutions by scrutinizing the reduction of unnecessary workload, jail bed demand, escalating costs, all aimed at improving public safety. At the same time, the County Executive has restored much of what had been reduced in the Human Services Department and the board is looking at numerous additional amendments emphasizing prevention efforts for our social network. It would be to everyone's interests to have greater collaboration between the city and the county, especially when it comes to social services. As that develops, there will be inevitable changes in how we deal with our communities and the interfacing between the two regarding prevention, treatment and intervention services. Together we can increase public safety while saving money. A final theme throughout the criminal justice report is that these types of changes will be difficult undertakings. The time has come to put much greater emphasis on prevention efforts by building stronger infrastructure and social needs systems within our communities. In this way, we're building stronger neighborhoods leading to more harmonious interactions among neighbors. This certainly won't end all of our problems, but isn't it a better alternative than having underserved populations with unmet needs and overcrowding in our jail? Supervisor Barbara Vedder And Supervisors John Hendrick /Al Matano /Scott McDonell/Dorothy Wheeler /Ashok Kumar |
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