Letters to the Editor

Ramona loves and

protects animals

You know who you are. You are the person who drove up Deviney Road (Barnett Ranch Open Space Preserve) on Tuesday, Nov. 27, around 11:45 a.m. You drove halfway up the road into the preserve, opened your vehicle door, and dumped your puppy there—then sped off at a high rate of speed with your white puppy running after you. He gave up and returned back to the spot you dumped him at.

Shame on you! Fortunately, you were seen. We picked up your sweet white poodle type puppy and took him home. We called Animal Services and reported you. The officer was able to identify you through your pups’ microchip. The officer took him back to you, and you admitted abandoning him. You said you didn’t know what else to do.

Shame on you! There are so many rescue and adoption outlets available, or just place an ad in the local newspaper. Not only did you dump him once, you tried to dump your dog twice. Through a network of friends, we found out that you tried to dump him on Monday, the 26th, near 11th Avenue, in town.

That time, someone found him, but it was too late in the day to call anyone. That night he slept curled up on a child’s bed.

The next morning he was taken to a local vet. Again, you were ID’d through the microchip, and you took him back. You took his collar off, and tried to dump him again, this time at the open space preserve.

You left your beautiful dog there to be attacked by coyotes or any other large creature. You left him to die. How could you be so cruel? Through a network of animal lovers in Ramona, your dog survived. He has a new home already. In fact he was adopted within 24 hours of being at the shelter.

I hope you are sorry for what you have done. In this town, we are animal lovers, we protect and love our animals. At least you relinquished him to Animal Services, but only after trying to abandon him, you got caught!

A lot of people helped rescue this dog, and we will always protect our furry creatures of all sizes. Thank you to all of you who helped.

The Parkers

Ramona

Small Business Saturday,was a great time

Saturday, Nov. 24th, was Small Business Saturday. American Express began this movement some years ago, encouraging people to shop and support their local small business owners within their community. Our good friend, Glenda Snell, my mother Vicky Timmerman, and myself, Sara White, spent our Saturday afternoon strolling down Main Street and shopping for Christmas gifts at all our wonderful Mom and Pop shops.We started with coffee from Starbucks, admittedlynot a small business and then headed north up Main. We made purchases at The Ramona Food and Clothes Closet, Affordable Treasures Fine Gifts, Treasure Christian Bookstore, Ramona Family Naturals, and Packards Coffee. We even made our own “Keep It Local” badges to wear while we shopped!We had a great time and really enjoyed supporting the business owners of our hometown.

Sara White

RamonaSend new fire fee‘under protest’I’m writing this for homeowners who may want to protest the new “Fire Prevention Fee” (tax) now that the bill has arrived in the mail.Many taxpayers, County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) believe this tax is in direct violation of Proposition 13 which mandates that it should have been subject to a two-thirds vote requirement in the legislation. In addition, we already pay extra into a local fire suppression district. It is my understanding that none of the money raised from it will go into fighting fires or providing new services.For these reasons, the HJTA has filed a class-action lawsuit against this tax. The good news is that if HJTA is successful, the money will be refunded to those who have paid the bill AND filed a “Petition for Redetermination” with the responsible agencies. The bad news is that you must pay the tax first.If you want to pay your bill on time but under protest, please visit the firetaxprotest.org website for simple instructions on completing the petition, which only takes a few minutes to do, and a listing of the three agencies to whom copies of the petition need to be sent. The petition must be submitted within 30 days of the date of your bill. The website also recommends writing “under protest” on the memo line of your check.I hope you find this information and the website helpful.

Becky Hatch

Julian