Letters to the Editor
Editor:
It is truly disappointing that the GRF Board elected to “punish” all LW residents by closing the Clubhouse 2 poolroom and game room for a week for the bad behavior of a few GRF members.
I am not familiar with the situation; however, it seems those responsible for noncompliance and confrontation should be held accountable and “punished” rather than taking yet one more amenity away from all LW residents.
The urgent notice from GRF ended with a further threat to remove more LW amenities.
I wish the GRF Board could explain its thought process on this decision and hold members accountable for their personal actions.
Debbie Casper Mutual 3 Editor:
GRF Board members and management should be ashamed of themselves. On Feb. 4, the GRF Board decided to use an isolated incident (Jan. 21) to single out one group of people and punish the entire community. It is unbelievable to me that the Board of Directors sat down and decided this was an acceptable way to handle this issue. This is not about playing pool or games. It’s about rash decisions being made without thought. What in the world is the GRF Board expecting to accomplish? Rewarding the troublemakers and punishing the compliant is not the answer.
Employees of GRF, custodians and Security are allowing noncompliant residents in clubhouses because they say or do nothing when violations occur. Why isn’t the board instructing Security or custodians to remind residents to wear masks when they see violations and handle “repeated” noncompliance with the individual repeat offenders? I believe that shows incompetence. Suddenly closing any amenity without warning is not doing anything to enforce the mandate. The posting is disrespectful to every resident in the community and is condescending.
The residents of this community have paid for these amenities and have a right to use them. The cavalier attitude of this board is out of touch with this community by making pointless, rash decisions. It has started down a path that is a concern to me.
Steve Edrich Mutual 6 Editor’s Note: The GRF closed the poolroom in Clubhouse 2 on Feb. 5 after multiple reports of residents who were not complying with a GRF and state mask mandate that resulted in physical altercations. The GRF cannot staff every venue to ensure compliance and so closed the pool and game room for a week. Masks must currently be worn inside all GRF Trust property to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. During the closure, the pool and game room will undergo a thorough cleaning. The facility will reopen Feb. 12. Editor: I really enjoyed reading about Leisure World’s history in the three articles published in the LW Weekly that were so carefully researched by GRF Director William Thompson.
His research uncovered the beginning roots from scratch and showed the devotion of Ross and Alona Cortese’s immaculate vision for senior living.
I was privy to another significant part of LW’s development because of my relationship with Don Oestreich, a man who was also involved in the early days of Leisure World. He was in the outdoor lighting profession with Shalda Lighting of Burbank and worked closely with Ross Cortese as a consultant for outdoor lighting.
Don and I were engaged at that time in 1964, and he was so excited to work with Ross and found him to be a wonderful man. Ross wanted everything for Leisure World as Mr. Thompson has so thoroughly written about.
And Ross especially wanted everything to be nice! He wanted it to look nice, too, and that included the little outdoor lights along the walkways to be just so. He visualized a theme of unity that began with the amazing globe of the world, which still stands at the entrance.
Ross went a step further and visualized a coordinated look for those seeing LW for the first time. And so, Don Oestreich visualized with him and found the round “globe” outdoor lights for Ross.
You can still see these “golden globes” on each side of the entrance, but mainly on the right side reaching beyond St. Andrews. Those golden globes graced the neatly manicured grounds of LW in the early days, and Ross was very pleased with them.
I wish that Don were here as he would tell you how much he enjoyed working with Mr. Cortese. He greatly respected him and admired his vision for every little detail to make LW what it is today.
Congratulations, LW—60 years and still going strong.
Gail Oestreich Morrison Mutual 2 Editor:
We have been making crosses since last summer and passing them out to those who find spiritual value in them.
We have had some negative responses, but mostly positive.
Today, we wanted to express why the cross and why now.
The cross is more than the near-universal symbol of Christianity. This simple design carries the message of love, finality, fulfilled promises and more to people around the world.
We believe that over 2,000 years ago, a man/God was crucified on the cross and died for our sins as a gift to all men and women who have faith in Him. The cross is empty because Jesus Christ lives, and we would like to share eternity with Him, God Almighty and the Holy Spirt in Heaven.
Having a cross in your garden is not what is important, but what is in your heart. Our purpose for being here is not for any other reason than to prepare ourselves for eternity in our next world with God. Why the cross? For the love of God.
David Harlow, Mutual 15 Debbie Salling, Mutual 9
