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I have to address what I feel are deplorable conditions the Clearwater firefighters are subjected to work under. What is this about gag orders, intimidation, retaliation and no reasonable contract? These men and women have worked for more than a year without a contract with the city. Their loyalty and dedication have never wavered. All they are asking is a fair and decent wage, like everyone who works in today's society.
They should not have to picket to be heard. Where is their chief in all these negotiations? Is he a puppet whose strings are controlled by City Manager Bill Horne? Is he so afraid for his job that he cannot or will not stand behind the men and women that work directly under him?
I am a retired New York City firefighter with 30 years of service, and if I were able, I would be out there picketing for the men and women and backing their union 100 percent. Their union and union leadership, so often criticized in the paper, as I see it are the only ones doing their job and doing it well. They are ruffling feathers and getting their message across.
How many more heads are going to roll before this gestapo, militaristic leadership is seen for what it is? Mr. Horne, you should look in the mirror and treat these firefighters the way you expect them to treat you. Mr. Horne, work three shifts in a firefighter's shoes and you will have a change of attitude and give them the respect they are due.
When two firefighters from the Clearwater Beach station recently provided assistance to a member of our biking group, I realized the importance of our Clearwater Fire Department. It doesn't make sense to me that our firefighters have been working without a contract for over a year. We have a professional Fire Department. Shouldn't they be treated professionally?
I believe my tax dollars are well spent in paying our firefighters what they are worth.
Re: Mistakes resulted in fatal fight, Oct. 9, and Deaths spark public hearing, Sept. 29.
The top officials of the Department of Juvenile Justice showed their true ignorance at the Oct. 8 public hearing of the Legislative Select Committee on Juvenile Detention Facilities.
Bill Bankhead, Frank Alarcon and Larry Lumpee appeared foolish, incompetent and insensitive. They couldn't answer most policy questions asked by legislators, nor could they relate many of the details of the deaths of three youths who died in the care of DJJ in the past two years. If they had even one ounce of sympathy or compassion toward those families whose children suffered abuse and neglect while detained at DJJ facilities, it did not show.
Shame on them! People who lack moral standing and integrity should not be in control of a department designed for the rehabilitation of our youth. The DJJ administration has thus far succeeded in operating its facilities under a veil of secrecy. A corner of that veil has been lifted by the Select Committee and I have confidence that state Rep. Gus Barreiro and his legislative team will remove the veil and expose the corruption throughout DJJ.
As an advocate with www.justice4kids.org I believe the top administration needs to be replaced with honorable people. It is essential that an independent review board serve as a watchdog over the new administration. If they have nothing to hide, they will welcome the scrutiny.
Clearwater Roundabout Syndrome has blossomed once again in the demise of the Clearwater Players, an arts program that for 30 years has delighted thousands of people and granted aspiring youngsters the opportunity to further their careers, all at no cost to the taxpayers.
You fund a baseball stadium for millions of dollars that will never return the monies invested in it. (You spend) hundreds of thousands of dollars for a beach fiasco that needed major surgery to get traffic moving properly. You order the destruction of props, costumes and backdrops that took years of imagination and loving volunteer labor to produce. Then, to make ends meet, you use an ax for what you perceive to be an unnecessary city program that's revered by residents, who were never informed or asked what they thought of your action.
Restore a priceless community asset immediately, or as they say in baseball parlance, "Three strikes and you're out!"
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