"A home on Hanna at the corner of Sherwood Court made the decision to install automatic sprinklers so they dug a trench 3 feet deep, 2 feet wide and 8 feet long, a year ago. For the last year this trench has been open between two homes on Sherwood. Of course the grass is all dead and there's a mound of dirt. Now they've parked a vehicle on the dirt (which was once grass) adding that beautiful backwoods touch to the eyesore that is their yard. I don't understand why it's taken over a year to complete this area. The open trench presents a hazard as well as an eyesore. Is there anything we can do?"

Dear Trenched,

Red Phone contacted Code Enforcement Officer Scott Barron, who said he can't understand why such a large trench is needed.

"Trenching for automatic sprinklers would generally only require a trench 10 to 12 inches deep by 8 to 10 inches wide," he said. "An open trench of this size in the front yard area could certainly be a liability for the property owner; however I am not aware of any code violations created by such a trench or the slow progress of the landscaping work. If a complaint were filed regarding the vehicle, the trench could be examined at the same time to verify this conclusion."

So good caller, want to do something about it? File a complaint at 846-0264, then let Red Phone know how things worked out.

Timing mechanism now fixed

"Could you tell me why the historic lamp posts on Monterey Street are turned on at 4 in the afternoon? With energy crunches and all that, it really surprises me that they need those lights on at 4 in the afternoon. I was sitting at the bowling alley and saw all the lights come on last (June 21) Saturday at 4 in the afternoon. Someone should make an adjustment on the timer. Thanks."

Dear What a Waste,

Red Phone contacted Traffic Engineer Don Dey, who sent technicians to check out your complaint.

"They found the photo cell that turns the lights on and off was sprayed with paint, which caused the photo cell to turn the lights on," he said. "It was cleaned and it's now functioning correctly. Thank you caller."

Red Phone reiterates Dey's thank you.

Quick work by graffiti team

"Hi Red Phone, Monday morning, I called the graffiti hotline to report multiple stop signs which had been tagged. Within a couple of hours, I saw a City of Gilroy vehicle out checking the signs, and by Tuesday morning, all of the graffiti had been removed. What a great job, and a terrific resource for our community! Thank you to the staff for their quick action."

Dear Thankful,

Red Phone enjoys hearing from someone with good news. Don't get me wrong, Red Phone relishes receiving daily complaints, answering questions and solving problems for residents, but good news is, well, good news. So Red Phone passed your compliment to Police Chief Denise Turner, who has been on the job about four months. She said the department cherishes positive feedback. Imagine that.

"I checked to see which staff provided this responsive service and learned that Community Service Officer Angela Locke-Paddon received the complaint on the graffiti hotline," Turner explained. "She responded to the area, photographed and documented the graffiti then passed it on to the city street crew to clean up. It was definitely a team approach and I am happy to hear it is working well. Thanks for passing it on."

Chief Turner, you're welcome.

Another number to call

"I work for the city of Gilroy and I'm calling in response to an Aug. 5 Red Phone article regarding scavenging. The title was "Scavengers steal recycling." As a city employee familiar with this topic, we want to add something to what Phil Couchee at the garbage company said. The phone number we want residents to call immediately when they see scavenging is 846-0350 and it's the non-emergency police and fire. They will follow up."

Dear City Worker,

Thanks for providing another number for readers.