August 11, 2005

Street Talk by Carol Rosen

Did the news about last Friday’s raid of a marijuana farm and the shooting of a fish and game warden on the outskirts of Almaden surprise you?
(Asked at Almaden Center)

“While the whole thing was unexpected, it didn’t surprise me because that would be a good place to grow it, somewhere where there’s lots of open land in a very unpopulated area. It’s sad that people got hurt. My husband goes hiking up there and he was planning on going that day, but decided not to go, and I’m very happy about his decision.”

Sheila Rietman, 35
Almaden
Starbucks shift manager


“To be honest, I’m not really that surprised. The area around Hicks Road is kind of sketchy. There are a lot of private roads and no trespassing signs. It’s a beautiful area, but there’s many private homes up there. My wife and I were driving up there past Mount Umunum Road on Hicks and a sheriff and ranger were blocking Hicks Road and would not let us through. They told us there was an officer-involved shooting and that the officer was OK but the perpetrator was shot. They also told us that the perpetrators had opened fire on them and they [the sheriffs] had retaliated. But I plan to continue my hiking because it’s beautiful up there.”

Michael Shirley, 21
Almaden
Starbucks supervisor


“I wasn’t aware of it because we were traveling, but I am surprised because it is so close to my home and neighborhood. After all, this isn’t Mendocino County. I’m not necessarily surprised about the marijuana, but I am surprised at the shooting because it happened near such a well-populated area.”

David Wagner, 44
Almaden
Marketing consultant


“Considering the area up there, I’m not really too surprised. There’s not that much activity up there.”

Matt Christensen, 20
Almaden
Student, University of Colorado


“This is the first I’ve heard about it because we just got back. We’ve been traveling for a couple of weeks. It doesn’t really surprise me. If you look at the statistics, there’s a large number of Americans that recreationally smoke marijuana on occasion. It’s also not that surprising that it’s grown around here in our open spaces. Officials find it in one place, get rid of it and then it springs up somewhere else.”

Rachel Metz, 40
Almaden
Office coordinator


“No it doesn’t really surprise me. It’s such a remote area. I think the shooting is kind of scary though, but any time you are dealing with drugs that kind of thing will happen. ”

Debby Coldiron, 36
Almaden
Homemaker


“No, it doesn’t surprise me at all because it’s a remote area making it a prime place for illegal pot farms. I’ve even read things about hikers accidentally hiking into such remote areas and never being seen again. I feel like in most remote areas, these types of crops are running rapid. This one was a little close, just imagine what’s happening in really remote areas.”

Tom McCollum, 65
Almaden / Retired