LETTERS: SOAR IS VOTERS' CALL TO PROTECT OUR AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE.

Re November's voter-approved Measure A, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors' July 4 action and the Simi Valley SOAR initiative:

At a time when I had given up on my City Council and county Board of Supervisors implementing the voter-approved SOAR initiative and Measure A, I was delighted to read that the supervisors are finally moving ahead. While I'm grateful to Supervisor Frank Schillo and Supervisor John Flynn, I commend Supervisor Flynn's efforts to safeguard the will of the county voters. This government official has understood the voters' call to protect the county's robust agricultural industry's visibility, history and heritage.

But while some progress has been made by the county, there is still much work to be done. The public should make every effort to stay involved and provide input in the coming League of Women Voters workshops. The many outstanding ideas brought to light by Agriculture Policy Work Group workshop participants to preserve farmland must not fall by the wayside.

As one who for years admired our luscious farms, it has only been since the SOAR and APWG process that I've come to realize just how much our agricultural industry traverses many aspects of our lives - from the food on our plates to sports and government. Oxnard's 16th annual California Strawberry Festival made history this year with its record-breaking attendance - 44,500 people; Moorpark's under-12 division girls soccer team ended its season by winning the AYSO Strawberry Cup championship held in Camarillo; and recent state changes to property taxes have given the county's farmers a much-needed break - 35 percent savings under the Land Conservation Act.

I have no doubt that with everyone working together the close-knit community - instrumental in beating the Great Depression, and whose members contributed the columbine blooms for our fallen comrades in Littleton, Colorado - will continue to flourish for years to come with our blessings, support and Measure A implementation.

Perhaps the county Board of Supervisors' actions will help nudge our City Council to implement Simi Valley's SOAR initiative in order to do right by its voters.

- Teresa Jordan

Simi Valley

Spend surplus on long run

I am a student at Moorpark College, and I am writing in response to an article I read July 4. This was an article about how the GOP is urging tax cuts for families because of the surplus in the federal budget. But why not use this surplus for something that may actually benefit our society? I propose we take this surplus of $1 trillion and throw it into our education system.

Think about it. There is no substitution for a good education. Yet so many Americans walk the streets uneducated. Statistics have proven that people who are educated are far less likely to commit crimes than those who have had no formal education whatsoever. I strongly urge that we teach our children at a young age how important it is to open those textbooks.

As far as paying those extra taxes, I would not mind if they were being spent on the education of our young adults. Instead, I see my hard-earned dollars cast into the construction of a new parking lot or corner mall. Let us get our priorities straight and spend our surplus tax dollars on something that may turn out to be beneficial in the long run.

- David A. Gray

Simi Valley