Promote New Port Richey as the small town it is

Editor: I can tell you in two words what the problem is in New Port Richey: Tom Finn.

Never in all the years that I have lived in downtown New Port Richey have I seen such an embarrassment to the city and to the other council members. They are trying to get people to come and live here and spend their money in our town, and he tells people, if you don't like it here, leave. That's a great way to handle the people of your community and to promote business.

This was a lovely and quaint town at one time, and it has always had a lot of potential. The only thing I see happening here is people, including myself, wanting to leave this town more and more.

Instead of doing the projects that would better the city and attract people, the council is trying too hard to make this city something it is not and never will be. The council would have been better off leaving things alone and just doing a fixup in the areas needed.

Someone at City Hall needs to sit back and look at the whole picture here and come up with something better before pretty little New Port Richey becomes a legend or a ghost town.

Better pumping could fix flooding mess

Editor: I think it's awful that some Hudson residents have to live with water still around their houses. I think Pasco could do something better than just putting pumps out there to pump water. I don't know why they can't hire some of these septic companies to pump the water and dump it in other areas like watering the new grass or trees that they have put in the common area along the highway. By hiring septic trucks, the areas with water would be pumped out faster than it is now.

Come on, Pasco County, do something better for your people. These people need to get on with their lives, and they can't with water around their house or in their houses. No, I'm not one of the wet ones, but I was there in 1988 when the bridge broke on Little Road. And I don't work for a septic company, I'm just a concerned person who has been there.

New vote system needs verifiable ballots

Editor: The proposal by Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning to change voting locations from 151 neighborhood precincts to 20 or 30 "super" precincts appears to be an idea that deserves further consideration with one very important addition.

I urge the supervisor to use some of Pasco County's share of the federal government's "Help America Vote Act" funds to outfit our touch-screen voting machines with a ballot printer so that an immediate, verifiable ballot is available to voters.

Critics of electronic voting have now demonstrated that the system can be tampered with; a verifiable ballot will prevent such potential tampering from changing voting results.

Help out group that helps with vet bills

Editor: The day my previous letter to the editor ran, I was contacted by a lady named Marge who runs an organization named PASS, which stands for Pet Aid Service Society. Due to her help (she contacted and made an appointment for my cat at Country Oaks Animal Hospital), my cat was diagnosed with severe liver problems. She was also badly dehydrated.

The prognosis for her is not good, even with the excellent care she received from the staff at the hospital, including rehydration, medication and special food. Too much damage has taken place to her liver.

Perhaps if my regular vet had agreed to see her when I first called her and explained the symptoms, the outlook might be brighter. However, her main concern was how was I going to pay the cost, which was about $300 to $600.

PASS is an organization that depends on donations from people who care and love animals. It is dedicated to the well-being of animals and helping their owners with financial assistance when they need it.

All donations are greatly appreciated and always needed. So to all people who have and love pets, if you can find it in your hearts to help PASS with any donation you can spare, it will be put to great use. Pet Aid Service Society Inc. is at 9458 U.S. 19, Embassy Plaza, Port Richey. Call (727) 817-1812.

Thank you again to the editor and the St Petersburg Times.

Neuter pets instead of dumping offspring

Editor: On Sept. 1, I found a box dumped on the side of the road near Chasco Middle and Elementary School. The box contained eight very young kittens.

To the person who just threw these beautiful kittens on the side of the road to die, you should not be allowed to walk free or be allowed to own pets again. Haven't you ever heard of spaying or neutering your pets?

I wish to extend a sincere thank-you to the seven wonderful human beings who gave these eight kittens a better chance at life than the heartless person who dumped them did. Your kindness in adopting these beautiful babies will be rewarded with the love, affection and happiness that your new family member will return to you for your kindness. Thank you also to those who offered other humane suggestions for adopting any of the kittens that I could not find homes for.

You can always find a home for a kitten. It only took two hours to find homes for eight kittens. Please think before you resort to such a harsh decision concerning a living, breathing creature. Animals feel pain and suffer the same as we would without shelter, food or water. Spay or neuter your pets to prevent situations like this from happening ever again.

Proposed school site doesn't measure up

Re: Proposed elementary school in Bayonet Point.

Editor: I am a retired homeowner and taxpayer living in the Gulf Highlands subdivision. School district official Mike Rapp has said, "it's either that one or none," referring to the 22 acres behind St. Michaels that belongs to the Diocese of St. Petersburg. That land is landlocked.

The proposed school will house 725 students. Mr. Rapp has said they need a school for 1,000 students. What does he plan on doing with the other 275 students?

The diocese wants $50,000 an acre, and some of those acres are unbuildable because of a historic sinkhole. Depending on how many acres the School Board purchases, the cost will be more than $1-million. Is that a practical way to use taxpayers' money? Why not buy other, cheaper land and build a school that will house 1,200 to 1,500 students. Plan ahead and build adequately.

When senior citizens in Gulf Highlands sell their homes to families with small children, where will Mr. Rapp put all those children?

Gulf Highlands Road will be the only entrance and exit for the buses and parents, and our roads are narrow, with very small curbs and sidewalks right next to the roads. It's no place for small children to be walking. Some roads have no sidewalks.

Plan ahead and build a big enough school and have the entrance on a main road like State Road or Little Road.

Foreigners fly in, yakking nonstop

Editor: A few weeks ago, while looking at the sunset at Hudson Beach, I noticed a pair of foreign visitors making a loud nuisance of themselves.

There was total disregard for fellow sunset watchers. These two were consistent in yakking, and when one got close, they increased their yakking. The question arises: Where did these two come from? What are their intentions? Will they stay and for how long?

So I did a little investigation.

I submitted what small information I had on these two on the Internet. I was able to ascertain that they are primarily companions who are very choosy in who they become emotionally involved with. They are extremely demanding and want to eat as much as possible. They have very poor table manners and have been known to relieve themselves at very inappropriate times. They are related to the swan and officially are called "white chinas," of the Chinese goose family. They welcome any food contributions with several yak-yaks. They are eager to greet anyone who has the nerve to approach them.

I have a name to suggest of these quests to our beach, that is Ollie and Stanley. Welcome to Hudson Beach, wherever you came from.

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