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Statement - Ojai Youth: "You Gotta Save the Kids"

Sept. 8, 2010:

Good Evening,
Thank you for letting me speak.
There's a lot of things I can gripe about. I want to ask you all a personal question. How do you get up in the morning, and shave and put your make-up on when you're doing the kids wrong in this city? Skate Park's on one day, and it's off the next day. What exactly happened? The kids deserve something. That's our youth, that's our future. And if you don't wake up to it soon... well...


Next thing I'd like to know, is on your budget. I didn't see the city budget. I'd like to know what's going on.
I am very upset tonight. I was told, 'be nice'. I'll be nice. And another thing I raised a months ago... the police department up here. How come we went to the county? I didn't see a detailed record said what we're paying the county... the Sheriff's department up here. Look it, I was a kid once, believe it or not - I was a little punk. And I came from a tough part of town. And let me tell you one thing, I wasn't friends with the cops, every cop in town knew who I was, but yet I could communicate with them. We don't have this up here. You ought to have a cop walking the beat, at the "Y", downtown... help the kids. You gotta save the kids today, and I thank you tonight, thank you very much. I want to see a detail on the budget and where all the money's going to.

- Ed Martel, Ojai