'NEEDLE PARK'

Editor - It isn't only the residents of the Haight-Ashbury that are
fuming about the needle exchange program on Cole Street ("Golden Gate
Park sweep - can city make it stick?," Aug. 2). The Chronicle's
article was the first I'd learned of it, and I'm infuriated. No, not
by the program, but by the director's flippant shirk of any
responsibility to address a public health crisis. Mary Howe, the
director, likens her position to that of a purveyor of liquor - she's
not responsible after her product has gone out the door. Well, the
difference in my mind between her and a purveyor of liquor is that
she's paid by the residents of San Francisco. She is beholden to us
and not to her bottom line.

The irony that I found in her comments and position was that she's
trying to stop the spread of infectious disease in only one way. She
only cares about those who are directly using her needles and not the
people who secondarily run the risk of contracting an infectious
disease when they are gardening, jogging or playing in a playground.

Good thing I'm not the mayor because her budget would be eliminated.

Casey J. Sondgeroth

San Francisco