For the Givers Among Us, Thanks

In this season when mailboxes fill with remembrances and appreciations, we’d like to write a few holiday greeting cards ourselves. It is important to acknowledge the gifts that so many Ventura County residents bestow on their community just by doing what they do, year in and year out.

One year ago, hundreds of firefighters and law enforcement officers spent Christmas Eve away from their families because they were battling a stubborn wildfire in the hills above Ojai. Last week, many of them were in action again, fighting smaller but no less worrisome fires near Fillmore and Ventura. The vigilance, training and willingness to do whatever it takes to keep the people of Ventura County safe represent a profound gift for which the community too rarely expresses its gratitude.

Late last January, local emergency workers were tested again when Alaska Airlines Flight 261 plunged into the ocean off Port Hueneme, killing all 88 aboard. Again, thousands of Ventura County residents--from sheriff’s deputies to military personnel to fishermen--did whatever they could to help. Their efforts won praise far and wide.

Debate over funding and administration of the county’s many public safety organizations may wax and wane, but nothing diminishes the community’s respect and appreciation for the everyday heroism of the men and women who do tough jobs well to protect their neighbors.

Similarly, nearly everyone who works in medicine or health care was touched by this year’s rancorous debate over how to spend Ventura County’s share of the tobacco settlement money. In the months leading up to the Nov. 7 defeat of Measure O, which would have diverted $260 million from public programs to private hands, the increasingly bitter campaign caused hard feelings in hospitals, clinics and the local medical association.

As we move toward a new year with the intention of using that now-protected money to expand and improve the county’s public health care programs, let us pause to thank all of the local doctors, nurses, medical technicians, paramedics, administrators and others involved in health care for their day-to-day efforts to keep their neighbors healthy. Occasional controversies may put them in the spotlight but their caring and competence are a year-round gift to the community.

In education as well, the year’s headlines have been dominated by test scores and politics. Yet the work of teachers in the classroom steadily goes on, with dedicated people using their talents, training and energy to figure out how to best reach each child, always with too little time, money and moral support.

The most important--if often least prepared and most underappreciated--teachers in most kids’ lives are their parents. Public attention tends to focus on those who falter, yet those who quietly and patiently do their best at the hard work of shaping the next generation of Ventura County residents deserve a note of thanks and appreciation. There is rarely a day off or vacation from the job of being a mother or father, and the entire community benefits from their efforts.

The multihued mosaic that is the population of Ventura County is made up of more than 730,000 individual people, most living their lives the best way they know how. Although we have singled out some high-profile groups to acknowledge here, each person who helps a neighbor or takes an interest in the community contributes to making Ventura County an outstanding place to live.

That’s a gift for which we all should be grateful.