Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Re: Smoking bingo players, feeling unwanted, will play elsewhere, Aug. 20 letter to the editor:
Editor: Oh, the cruelty of the no-smoking ban against these poor creatures who like to fill their - and our - lungs with toxic, carcinogenic, noxious fumes. Do writers like this really expect the community, which democratically and overwhelmingly voted for this ban, to take her right to inflict cancer, emphysema and a host of other diseases, seriously as a model case of discrimination?
If I wasn't dabbing my eyes to stop the tearing from cigarette smoke, I would be doing it to wipe away tears of laughter.
Her woe-is-me tirade emanates from the prohibition of her and her smoker buddies to gas away in their local bingo halls. Her apparent inability to sit through an hour or two of bingo without lighting up has culminated in a new and profound desire to pay homage to the history of the Native American Indian - via their bingo halls, of course.
Blowing venom-filled smoke is not a human right. This bane of theirs kills 300,000 to 400,000 Americans per year. One in four victims will be a nonsmoker who will die so others can puff away happily while their addiction erodes the lining of the lungs of innocent people.
Want to know what end-stage emphysema feels like? Grab a soda straw and try breathing through that. Given all of the factual data that has convicted smoking of being a merciless and abundant killer, Mrs. (Tina) Starr is part of a diminishing minority that is crying a moribund rallying call to their cause.
Put cancer-sticks up to $20 per pack. Ban smoking everywhere, even in the comfort of your own home. Anybody who lights up in a restaurant should face not only jail time, but also should buy everybody's meal due to the spoiling, nauseating effects of second-hand smoke.
Smoking is offensive, disgusting and deadly. If you want to smoke everywhere, go to Europe where it is still accommodated publicly. Otherwise, respect the will of the people, obey the law, and show some deference to those who want to live a lot longer than the smokers out there who have no problem cutting others' lives short with their filthy habit.
Editor: There were two items in the Times recently I wish to comment briefly upon. The first is the story School Board rejects private tutoring deal. It appears to me that the teachers union wants to protect its turf even at the expense of providing badly needed help for students. I regret that the Hernando County School Board supported this position. The needs of the students should come ahead of the political clout of any special interest group.
Secondly, in the article Peace comes to embattled Southern Hills, mention is made that the project promoted urban sprawl and did not fully consider its impact on local roads. If these are major concerns, how in the world did the giant suburban sprawl called Spring Hill ever come into being?
Another recent article described the complexity of the roads in that area, and then there are the problems in providing potable water for existing areas there, problems with flooding, and sinkholes, the difficulty in locating schools to serve that area, etc. I suggest the Hernando County Commission evaluate issues based on the needs of the residents in the less-developed parts of the county even if they do not have the voting clout of Spring Hill.
Editor: The county engineer is unable to cobble together enough funds to address the flooding problems in the county.
The county sheriff found a quarter-million dollars tucked away and went to an electronic gadgets catalog to see how quickly it could be spent.
I believe all such "found" money, from all agencies, should be returned to the county treasury so it might be spent in the taxpayers' best interest.
Editor: I cannot see how the county can force a resident to pay for recycling when it is not being utilized. I have been recycling since I moved here in 1988. Then, we had disabled people picking up recyclable items. After the County Commission stopped that practice, I took the stuff directly to a recycling center.
I would pay this fee if the county picked up everything that is recyclable. But with their limit of items, I still have to go to the recycling center. Therefore, I don't plan on paying for something I'm doing myself.
Editor: A portion of County Line Road between Hernando and Pasco counties has been flooded for two weeks. The oil and grease from all the cars can be seen floating and covers quite a bit of land.
Where is the Environmental Protection Agency now? Why is the road not shut down? This ground will be forever ruined.
The Hernando Times welcomes letters from readers for publication.
Because of space limitations, letters should be of reasonable length.
Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length.
All letters must be signed and must contain the writer's address and telephone number. Addresses and telephone numbers will not be printed.
Send your letter to Hernando Times, 15365 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville, FL 34613. To fax a letter call 754-6133. Send letters by e-mail in text-only format to hernando@sptimes.com