Letters to the Editors

Do the right thing with creek

Re: Putting the "clear' back in Clearwater, editorial, March 24.

Once again you have helped us to see the real damage to the environment if we ignore the Stevenson Creek problem and do less than the whole job and do it now. I, for one, did not have any idea of the enormity and the consequences if they fail to do the complete job, as is certainly the best solution.

I hope that your fully explained editorial is read by the whole Clearwater city staff and that they step up to the plate and do the right thing for the residents and the environment as well as for the future of the area. To do less than the proposed project will not only harm the environment, but will be throwing good money after bad, as the job will have to be done sooner or later. The cost in the long run will be less to do the job right and not have to redo it if they just do the smaller retention pond on a small portion of the golf course.

It is always better to do something right than to do a makeshift job and have to redo it later. All they have to do is think about the wasted money on the roundabout.
-- Fran Glaros, Clearwater

What Stevenson Creek needs

Re: Putting the "clear' back in Clearwater, editorial, March 24.

In order for any significant ecological change to occur in Stevenson Creek, two impossible events must happen: Move the sewage treatment plant, and change the environmental attitude of the folks who have access to the creek.

The hardest to stomach are the fish kills; dead birds, otters and raccoons; a big, bloated dog; and the best for last: a gunnysack which, when opened, revealed five kittens.

After 55 years in the same house at the Palmetto Street end of the creek, I feel I've seen it all except for the human body.

I wish the crusaders well.
-- Robert M. Wolff, Clearwater

More good than bad at library forum

Re: Library suggestions include "don't do it,' story, March 22.

Reporter Monique Fields' article, with its slanted vagueness,made me wonder if we had actually attended the same public forum on the proposed new Largo library. I was one of the 50 in attendance, and I heard many more positive comments than negative ones. Ms. Fields' references to "some" and "many" gave a very disproportionate value to the few comments made that might have been viewed as not being in favor of the proposed new library.

A large majority of the 50-plus people in attendance -- which included members of the Friends of the Library, the Library Advisory Board, library employees, city commissioners and city staff -- were very much in favor of the new proposed library. We were there for the stated purpose of helping the architects from Coleman & Karsky arrive at a library design that will reflect the history and special qualities of our community and to have input into the design and layout of a building that we will all be happy with and proud of in the future.

Every project that the city has presented for citizen input has been met with "some" negative comments, even our much-loved and often-visited Largo Central Park. But thanks go to our elected officials, who have proved our faith in them by responding to the positive comments as well as the negative ones.
-- Ken Hall, Largo Library Advisory Board

The business of major league ball

I have made it a tradition with my son to attend at least one Dunedin Blue Jays spring training game a season during the last few years. In the past, we have shared greetings with players, had balls signed and received broken bats as souvenirs. We also have gone behind the left field fence afterward to field batting practice balls.

For this year's game, we were amazed how little respect the players had for the fans, especially the young boys. What effort does a player need to put forth for a little eye contact with a fan or signing a ball? Bat boys hoarding broken bats after the game and players making hasty getaways was what I saw today. Even security ran us off from our normal postgame opportunity for fielding home run batting practice balls.

I now realize that I need to explain to my son that this is not a game but a business.
-- Jeff Mogensen, Palm Harbor

Cutting oak trees at mall is wrong

How can the city of Clearwater allow more than 600 oak trees to be cut down in order to build a shopping center at the Clearwater Mall site? Clearwater Mall went out of business because we have too many malls and shopping centers. Put in some interesting shops, but leave the trees alone.
-- Rita Farquhar, Clearwater

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