OASIS opinions

Dear Editor:I submitted on July 26 one-hundred signatures of senior citizens who had signed a petition to have OASIS reinstated. To this day I have not received any information as to the status of OASIS, instead reading in The Downey Patriot on Aug. 26 that the program is too costly. I would just like for the council members (elected by the citizens of Downey, including senior citizen voters), to revisit my letter of July 26, when I brought to the attention of the mayor, the director of public services, city manager and council members my concerns and positive reasons of the 100 signed petitioners for reinstating OASIS with Harriett Paine's expertise utilized in some manner. Some of the programs brought to OASIS (Older Adults Seeking Information and Skills) were not only entertaining, but educational, i.e. information on home invasions, living trusts and wills, clutter in the home, safety in the home - especially for senior citizens, and many more were a part of the OASIS programs. "Taste of Downey" increased the awareness and knowledge of local restaurants' cuisines, which provided increased business to our local restaurants. We, as citizens of Downey, encourage council members to take another look at the impact on us citizens, who have paid taxes for multiple decades. To add insult to injury, the Patriot's article on OASIS was printed on the front page next to an article about the construction of a dog park at a cost of $35,000 to the city out of the general fund. Will the city also fund someone or more than one person to do the monitoring of the operations of the park? We respectfully request the reinstatement of the program that has meant so much to so many. -- Angie Bonacquisti, Downey

Dear Editor: In response to Ms. Paine's letter last week ("Disputes OASIS Figures," 9/9/10), she never mentioned just how much the senior program would cost taxpayers to continue. She admitted that the program "became an expense" for the school district two years ago, but she failed to say exactly how large that expense became. As a taxpayer, I would like to know what the total expense would be to Downey to continue the program. Ms. Paine left that detail out of her letter, conveniently or not. -- Richard Dolcemaschio, Downey

********** Published: September 16, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 22