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Letters to the EditorsCity has been a help to Rose Cemetery© St. Petersburg Times published February 28, 2003 As a volunteer for the Rose Cemetery in Tarpon Springs, and after consultation with Alfred Quarteman, president of the Rose Cemetery Association, I am writing for two reasons. First is to thank the St. Petersburg Times for the extensive support and coverage of the Rose through the years. By providing this you have enabled the Rose to attract more volunteers and create community awareness of the historical importance of the Rose. The second reason is to clarify an article preceding the Civil War Veteran's ceremony of Feb. 22. In that story, which was to be an awareness piece for the events of Feb. 22, a reader might have gotten the impression that there is some acrimony between the Rose and the city of Tarpon Springs. The city is prohibited by the Florida Constitution from expending any public money on behalf of private property interests. We understand that and the Rose intends to continue, as it always has, as a private cemetery. Even so, the city, under two administrations, has extended itself by provision of periodic considerations. The ground-penetrating radar project that helped locate more than 200 previously unknown graves would not have been possible without joint cooperation between the city and county governments. From that project, the resting place of Private Quarls, the black Civil War veteran's grave, was confirmed. Without the assistance of the Tarpon Springs Historical Society, a city department, the remains could not have been positively identified. From our experience and conversations with mayors past and present, as well as city commissioners and employees, all of us working for the future of the Rose Cemetery are pleased with the commitment of the city to assist in any legally available way.
City should act to keep dogs off soccer fieldsRe: Dunedin dog park. I was somewhat relieved to finally read about Dunedin building a dog park -- but not for reasons that one might assume, although I, too, am a dog owner. Residents of Dunedin, mostly those who reside in the area of Jerry Lake Soccer Complex, have been using our soccer complex as a dog park for years, leaving behind unhealthy dog droppings and costly soccer goal nets that are ripped up from Fido. These same people, for many years, have argued with me at the field about their right as citizens of Dunedin to have Fido on our playing fields. Unfortunately, I do not think the residents in the vicinity of Jerry Lake Soccer Complex will inconvenience themselves and put Fido in the car to drive him across town to the Louis A. Vanech Complex. Certainly, they have had better options than using a youth soccer complex. The city commissioners need to develop a dog ordinance (Manatee County proudly displays its ordinance sign upon entering G.T. Bray Park) to put a stop to this disgusting behavior before someone gets sick from it.
The rules are the rules; food must be destroyedThe associates at Oldsmar Kmart would like to make a response to the letter Feb. 14 by G. Robinson. She claims that we throw away perfectly good food that could be used to feed the hungry farm workers. If Robinson had inquired, she would have found that it was outdated food that cannot be sold and, because of liability or vendor requirements, must be destroyed. This does not mean we are insensitive to problems , but we must follow regulations. I feel G. Robinson is not as altruistic as she wishes to appear. On one hand she laments the plight of the hungry farm workers, yet cheers the fact that many hard-working and dedicated Kmart associates are losing their jobs.
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