Did you know that a Christmas angel lives within our midst? Sandy Knott of Tahoe City is truly such an angel.

On Dec. 21, just blocks from our Talmont home, our 4-wheel-drive skidded into a ditch. We had just begun our drive to Pismo Beach for a Christmas family reunion. Within minutes of our crash, Sandy helped us climb out of our totaled car, called emergency services and even unloaded all of our luggage and presents into her own car. By now it was dark and snowing, but Sandy insisted on helping us carry our things up three flights of outdoor stairs and into our living room. Although we were strangers to Sandy, she stayed with us for two hours and treated us with as-much kindness and compassion as one would show to family members.

I told Sandy that surely she had many things she needed to be doing just a few day before Christmas. She said that the most important thing she could be doing was to take care of us. Sandy, thank you for reminding us about the true spirit of the holidays. Long after the decorations and the presents have been put away, you are still our favorite Christmas memory.-

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Christine and Chuck Young

Tahoe City

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Looking through the Sun’s Friday edition I was alarmed to see that Nevada County has one of the lowest immunization rates in the state. Coincidentally that same day the obituary for my mother-in-law, Cecilia Close, ran in the Sun. She often said she thought the most important scientific event of the last century was the polio vaccine. She had polio as a young child and it affected her for her entire life. She even suffered from a syndrome called post-polio syndrome late in her life that caused her to experience symptoms years after she had recovered from the dangers of the disease.

Science has provided protections from these very contagious childhood diseases and these protections protect communities from outbreaks and epidemics. It’s irresponsible for parents to risk the health of their own children and, even worse, the health of the community, by not taking advantage of these safeguards.

Chris Close

Tahoe Vista

The hard-working crews at the Town of Truckee Department of Public Works are requesting your assistance in the game of Snow Plow vs. Trash Can. In this game, trash can never wins, unless trash can is off the game board, a.k.a. in the street. Which means two things for you as a resident: 1) the need to purchase a new can and, 2) a half frozen mess scattered in front of your house that you get to spend your evening cleaning up.

When the game advances to Snow Blower vs. Trash Can everyone loses. You still suffer the same consequences, however the Public Works folks are out of their trucks pulling cans out of their snow eaters, freezing, and not clearing streets. Did you know that when a blower hits a trash can, it can take an operator one to two hours to remove it from the reels of the snow eater?

Public Works does everything it can to avoid the cans (even having a crew member drive in front of the blower to push cans back on driveways). In those really gigantic machines, trash cans are hard to see when cutting a snow wall. So in order for trash cans to win this weekly duel, please place cans and recyclables at least one foot up your driveway behind the snow pole line. Also, placing the container on the far side of the driveway (the left side while looking at your house from the street) allows the operators a better chance to see and avoid any containers close to the pole line. Rest assured that your trash will get picked up by the disposal company even a foot or two back on your driveway. Simply place your blue bags on top of your can and spotting the can becomes instantly easier.

If you have questions regarding your trash/recycling, give me a buzz at 582-2909. If you wish to speak to one of those fine Public Works officials about their snow plowing operations, their number is 582-7707.

Nichole Dorr

Recycling coordinator for the Town of Truckee