Editor: The sign lobby met with Pasco County administrators last week to push its plan to eviscerate the sign ordinance implemented earlier this year.
Pasco signmakers and the Pasco sign ordinance are similar to the telemarketing industry and the do-not-call list. Neither one gets it!
The telemarketers won't accept the fact that people don't want to be subjected to unsolicited calls; and the sign lobby won't accept the fact that the people of Pasco do not want their roadsides blighted by snipe signs, portable signs, advertising balloons and unnecessarily large business signs.
We really are not moved by the fact that sign business is down as a result of the ordinance. Instead of hiring lawyers to attempt to overturn the will of the people of Pasco County, their efforts should be redirected to producing a product or service that is harmonious with the desires of the citizens of Pasco to improve the visual appearance of our roadsides.
The commissioners and the code enforcement officials are to be congratulated for the improvements they have accomplished with the sign ordinance. The county is all the better for their efforts and they should hold firm in the face of pressure from those who profit from defacing our county.
-- William F. Humphrey, New Port Richey
Help save an endangered species - school teachers
Re: Spend FCAT reward on schools, not bonuses, Oct. 6 letter
Editor: Teachers are an endangered breed, heavily relied upon during any feeding season by practically every frenzied legislative organization, bargaining power and partisan subgroup imaginable. Yet they endure and thrive.
It's hard to believe in this day and age such a hearty group cannot be annihilated. Every so often they get thwarted and subdued by tremendous rhetoric that implicates this rare breed in what is considered selfish behavior. It's amazing this small population is preyed upon by so many. Each group wants a piece of their professional hide, but all of them are so unwilling to do what they do so well. This teaching species has been bred to sacrifice, to counsel, to motivate, to do without, to never tire, and to ignore personal needs. My what a wonderful and mysterious breed teachers are! They even come back for more.
And maybe after returning year after year, they might earn some meritorious pay. An amount they will feed back to their young charges by extending their education, putting additional materials into their schools, and renewing their spirits. Hopefully for the good of this country and that of the children they serve, this rare endangered breed will continue and not be eradicated by the feeding frenzy.
Please advise your state representative to protect this rare native species - a teacher.
-- Sharon Pelchat
Dana Levy
Sharon Carlisle
Dunedin
Roads need county's help to make them passable
Editor: I am furious it was never disclosed by the seller of my house that we, being residents of Moon Lake, are responsible for our own roads. These roads are such a travesty that Pasco County should do all of the 40 roads that the postal service and garbage pick-up company deemed impassable.
I must commend my Times carrier, though. I never missed a day's delivery throughout the entire time that our roads were flooded. Why do these other servicers feel it is such a problem?
-- Jo Grabow, New Port Richey
Running a dance studio a labor of love, not profit
Re: Hip-hop dance lessons draw teens to the floor, Sept. 22
Editor: The Central Florida Performing Arts Association is greatly offended at the comment "there's no heart in it anymore, I try to keep everything affordable." How dare the instructor make such a comment.
The Centre for Dance, Music and Drama, the Dance Workshop, Boston Dance Connection and a Dancer's Place owners definitely put their hearts in their work. They have competition teams, do outside community shows, annual recitals, conventions, and workshops. One of the above studios puts on a children's musical every 10 to 12 weeks in addition to their normal dance studio routine. Another of the above studios does at least three nonprofit shows for the benefit of the community.
As far as the latter comment "you try to keep everything affordable." Well, our prices are competitive to hers. She's the new kid on the block and she needs to keep her rates lower to attract business. She has to pay rent and overhead as we all do.
Nobody is in the business of the arts unless they really love it because as she already knows there is no real money in the business. You have to give of yourself and love the art to survive.
We feel that the staff writer should have further researched her sources and other studios in the area to make a fair comparison.
