Letters to the Editor
Mobile home rent rebuttal
Dear Editor:
In response to “Feeling The Squeeze” and comments from Town Mgr. Dan Holler and Sierra Holiday Mobile Home Park Manager Lonnie Newbry, I would like to first say to Dan you claim that rent control would be a “nightmarish issue.” You also claim that the Riverside ordinance that I presented doesn’t really apply because they have so many more park than we do. I still don’t understand the reasoning behind that comment. I used the Riverside ordinance as an example because it’s simple.
Mobile Home Park Rent Stabilization is an issue that has been addressed by many communities through out the state, not just Riverside. It’s about protecting the citizens from the overwhelming greed of some property owners.
As for comments made by our on-site manager Lonnie Newbry, first she claimed they “repaved a bunch of driveways” last year. In fact the Black Gold guys showed up late in the day with leftover cold asphalt from what ever job they had been working at that day. They threw the stuff on some cracks and ran over it with a truck. Repaving is a complete exaggeration. The junk crumbled and stuck to our feet.
She also stated that “trash removal is a huge cost.” It’s not uncommon to find the dumpsters filled with things like furniture, refrigerators, old carpet etc. People who don’t even live in the park use our dumpsters. An example of poor property management: The simple solution is to put locks on the dumpsters and give each unit a key.
She also refers to “landscaping andpool maintenance costs.” There is one manager and two assistant managers and yet they hire a landscaper to mow the lawns and a pool guy to clean the pool. Why can’t the assistants push a lawn mower and a pool brush?
She also claimed that the park is a peaceful place to live. Another ludicrous statement. We have had police chases through the park. The traffic never stops. There are packs of children roaming the park. They destroyed my landscaping and smashed my window screens with their soccer balls etc. One assistant lived adjacent to me and it was not uncommon for him to sit in his driveway at 12 or 1 a.m. and blast me with Mexican music. When I asked him to turn it down his response was to turn it up. I had to call the police no less that six times. This is a clear example of the disregard the park employees have for the people who pay their rent.
Peaceful?. The numerous letters I have written about these issues are always ignored Ms. Newbry’s statement that they “raise the rent because they can” is a excellent display of the arrogance and disconnect of our “management team” and the owners as well. Ms. Newbry failed to mention the fact that the park is being sued by some of my neighbors due to violations of state law and harassment by management.
Steve Osterman
Mammoth Lakes
Praise for Armstrong
Dear Editor:
Several years back, I purchased some property in McCall, Idaho with the intent of building a summer home there.
When the time came to start it, a place to live was needed while I did the construction. A newspaper classified led me to Pat Armstrong.
I spent three months there that summer, and got to know Pat. The more I knew about him, the more I liked him. Per your review of his book “Log Of A Snow Survey” in your March 7 issue, I think the word to describe him is “understated.” Modesty is truly a virtue.
I was one of the first to read a draft of the first two chapters of his book. He was sitting at an outside table with a pile of paper and a pen. He says to me, “I’m writing a book.”
“What is it about,” I ask.
“Snow surveying,” he replies. This means nothing to me, and my ignorance shows in my reply. He asks if I want to read it. I act polite, and say, “Sure.” Then he says, “I am having trouble with the introduction.”
That night, I pull out the draft, and start with the introduction. It’s just horrible! He is trying to describe the whole book, and it’s really not working. I think to myself, “What have you gotten yourself into!”
But then, Chapter 1 opens with a completely different voice, very nice. By page five, I’m thinking, “Holy cow, this guy writes like E.K. Gann.” I have found Ernie Gann on a ranch in west central Idaho. He is 67 years old, and has never written before.
I stayed in touch with Pat randomly over the next couple years, witnessing a first-time author’s frustration with the business of getting published. More than twice I figured he gave up.
Then the book showed up in the mail one day early in January. Hot damn, he did it!!
Pat tells me he selected his own art for the jacket and contents too. Amazing story in the book, amazing story behind the book. Pat Armstrong would minimize all I have told you. That leaves the rest of to raise his flag.
Thank you for a book review that is as thoughtful as Pat Armstrong. This man has a pen that needs to be listened to.
Bill Ryan
Jupiter, Florida
