Keeping Farmers on the Farm, Local Nurse Returns to Ground Zero

Local environmentalists have hailed the County''s draft General Plan as land-friendly. They laud its walkable commu- nities of homes, shops and open space and its village-like developments, centered around cities and existing infrastructure.

But the Monterey County Farm Bureau doesn''t like it.

"The Plan needs to protect the viability of agriculture, not preserve land," says Farm Bureau spokesman Bob Perkins, who calls it a "no-growth" plan, and warns "the General Plan could have disastrous effects for private property owners.

"The County needs to plan for and provide infrastructure for present and future growth, and the county needs to allow for reasonable economic growth."

Annette Chaplin, the project manager in charge of the General Plan Update (GPU) says the draft does all of the above. She wonders about the reasoning behind the complaints.

"We''ve done a lot in the Plan to strengthen the ag industry," she says. "We''ve met numerous times with the Farm Bureau and we really are open to hearing their ideas."

She says the GPU team would willingly sit down with the Farm Bureau''s membership and discuss changes to the plan-although she questions their motives.

"I don''t believe it''s no-growth at all-it''s quite a lot of growth," she says. "It''s making sure it''s compact growth." For this reason, the plan promotes "village areas" as opposed to sprawl, she says.

"In part what they may be raising are issues of individuals that want to convert their farmland."

She''s referring to the 270 requests from farmers and ranchers-who want to change their land use designations from farmland to commercial, residential and industrial, potentially converting hundreds of acres of ag land into condos and strip malls.

Perkins and Farm Bureau VP Wayne Gularte say their gripes are not a thinly-veiled attempt to push zoning changes into the Plan. But they concede that their members aren''t happy with the process for land-use changes.

"Does the help our local farm and ag economy or is it a hindrance to it?" Gularte asks rhetorically. "As it stand now, it''s a hindrance in the sense that we''re just a little bit too limited. Our fear is that our property rights are being taken away, that we''re going to have more restrictions on what we can do with our property."

The Farm Bureau called a special meeting of it''s members on Jan. 24 to discuss the General Plan and encourage farmers and ranchers to get involved in the review process.

At some point, the Farm Bureau will offer written comments on the plan-both criticisms and proposed solutions -to the Board of Supervisors, Gularte says.

Perkins also says the General Plan Update team isn''t listening to the agriculture industry''s concerns. He says the maps of viewsheds, ecologically sensitive land and trails, among others, infringe on property owner''s rights.

"When you look at all of these various maps, every property owner is under some new burden," Perkins says, adding that the housing element of the draft General Plan won''t satisfy the need for affordable housing.

Local Nurse Returns to Ground Zero

King City nurse Kathleen McCommons spent five weeks in New York during October and November working with families who had lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks.

On Jan. 29, McCommons, who volunteers with the Red Cross, returned to New York City for three weeks.

"I hope to follow-up with some of the families I worked with before and check on how they''re doing," she says. "I want to make sure that the children that had to move on are taken care of, and just do some personal follow-up."

Although it''s an emotionally draining experience, McCommons was eager to return to New York, says Red Cross spokesperson Laura Kershner.

"It''s a very somber experience-this assignment in particular-but she was anxious to go and rekindle some relationships and check on some of the families and children she had worked with before."

This is McCommons 10th disaster assignment with the Red Cross.

Several people have been complaining about respiratory problems caused by asbestos in the air, Kershner says, so McCommons will assist other volunteer nurses in checking patients with difficulty breathing. She''ll do everything from supplying Band-Aids and first aid products, to making referrals to mental-health counselors.

"She''ll be interacting with families who might have lost loved ones, and emergency workers, meeting their needs if they need first aid," says Kershner, who also volunteered at Ground Zero in October. "A lot of people have long-term medical needs as a result of the tragedies, and she will be able to asses if someone needs long-term mental health care, or if they need to be hospitalized."