Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Re: Water utility realities come as surprise, June 3 Times article by Will Van Sant.
Good grief! I have been planning for some time now to express my opinion on the water supply in Spring Hill, or more correctly, the lack of it. Mr. Van Sant's article is well written and certainly brings this issue of water to the forefront once again.
However, I find the necessity for an article such as this to be mind-boggling.
All one has to do is look up and down the street where you live in Spring Hill and see the bulldozers at work and the new houses springing up like mushrooms. If that doesn't do it for you, look at the property deed transfers as reported in the Times. One Saturday alone, I counted no less than 50 deed transfers from builders to individuals. One recent Saturday, there were so many, I didn't bother to count; there had to be at least 100. You also can check at the Property Appraiser's Office to find these figures.
My point is new houses and businesses are exploding into reality here, folks, and nothing I have read to date has said one word about new supplies of water, specifically new wells or water brought into the area by some other means.
Gordon Richardson, in his May 27 letter to the editor (Florida Water Purchase to cost taxpayers much), refers to the request in 1996 by Florida Water for more wells to alleviate the supply and pressure problems in Spring Hill. The main issue at the time that Mr. Richardson referred to, according to my recollection, was the attitude, and perhaps rightfully so, of "no wells in my back yard." The Hernando County commissioners, however, took the easy way out, yielded to the pressure from those people of Spring Hill and dumped the issue without, to my knowledge, exploring alternative locations for the then-needed wells. Sites that would have been viable and would have filled the existing and future needs could have been looked into then.
Well, guess what? It should be no surprise that the issue of water to put into these pipes has to come from somewhere.
At the rate of new construction going on now, with all of these new lawns, which may be watered every day for 60 days, and the commercial units that can water any time and as much as they want, we have a big problem coming soon.
Do Utilities Department Director Kay Adams, County Attorney Garth Coller and the commissioners expect the Water Fairy to come and put water into our pipes at night?
One final thought: Where is the money going from the impact fees collected for all of this new construction? Is not ample water supply and sewer service, as well as other infrastructure requirements, considered to be a major use of impact fee monies collected by the county?
Editor: Have you ever seen the huge, white cloud that follows the school buses on many of Hernando's unpaved roads? Ever wonder what it is? It is a cloud of limestone dust that descends over the bus, the children and the driver like an atomic cloud. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out it can't be healthy.
I realize that a building boom is opening up much of the county's previously unused acreage. But the road surfaces leading into these developments are lagging seriously behind the homes that are being built. Soft spots in the limestone bedrock from heavy equipment make driving dangerous for average family vehicles. The coming rainy season will not be an improvement as the limerock becomes a slippery surface and the potholes just get bigger.
Let's look at our priorities. There is no health hazard on Mariner Boulevard. Why are we spending money widening that stretch of road when those funds could be used to put down a base coat on these unpaved roads and cut down on the dust and road surface problems?
OSHA might be interested in this matter, considering the number of children, bus drivers, county employees, delivery personnel and residents who have to navigate these dusty roads every day.
Let's do something about this problem. It has gone on far too long.
Re: Spring Hill firefighters miss the point; cost is the real issue, June 2 letter to the editor.
Editor: I am a Spring Hill resident concerned about the merging of our Spring Hill Fire Rescue with the Hernando County Fire Department. It seems the major concern of the residents opposed to this is the flat fee tax (which, by the way, can always be increased and probably will be). No one seems concerned with the change in service we will experience in Spring Hill.
I understand the issues of money, especially for our elderly citizens. I personally feel my life and the lives of those I care about are priceless. If I am in need of assistance, I want to know my department will respond quickly and efficiently, as they do now. I believe the facts should speak for themselves.
Asking our veterans and senior citizens to stand behind fire Commissioner Richard Martin solely because he serves in the military reserve is an insult to them.
I want the residents to know the facts and know they will make informed decisions based on those facts. I must remind everyone that paying less money usually always means sacrificing quality.
I stand behind our chief and our fire and rescue personnel. Unfortunately, there are some ex-residents and ex-commissioners who seem to still have an agenda of their own and are still pulling the strings of other people. I do not believe anyone is "missing the point." I believe the people who "get it" far outnumber the ones who don't.
Re: Political wrangling should come to end, June 3 letter to the editor from Cindy Parker.
Editor: With all due respect, I have no idea where Ms. Parker is getting her information. It is evident that someone is funneling her some very poor statistics.
I never applied for Spring Hill Fire Rescue District Commissioner Richard Martin's position when he left for the military. If anyone can find any information to the contrary, I would be more than willing to speak to you about it. In fact, when Commissioner Martin was sent to serve his country, I no longer lived in Spring Hill. Therefore, legally, I could not apply for the position.
Please, Ms. Parker, in the future get your facts straight before writing a letter to the editor.
Editor: Thank you for the Hurricane Guide inserted in Sunday's paper. I find this information very helpful for other events (fires, accidents, etc.), as well as storms.
I believe, however, that the evacuation levels C, D and E need to be changed. Level C should read "Evacuate purple and green (not blue) areas.... " Levels D and E should read "Evacuate purple, green and yellow (not blue and green) areas."
Thank you again.
EDITOR'S NOTE: You are correct; there was a problem with the map's color coding.
Editor: As coordinator of the Christmas Angel Program, we became aware that children in need have another need throughout the year.
This past Christmas, we were privileged to have donated more than 12 working, used computers and accessories that had their hard drives reformatted, and placed them with kids from fifth grade through high school. Since Christmas, we have placed more than six used, working computers for those who would be without.
Those students can now do their school papers and surf the Internet for required projects and research.
I am hopeful that those who have computers and haven't sent them to the dump will be aware we can use them. Please call 596-1552, and we will arrange pickup of these computers.
Our technician reformats the hard drives so that sensitive, confidential information is removed. No computer is sent out without this vital protection for you, the consumer. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
We welcome letters from readers for publication. To send a letter from your computer, go to www.sptimes.com/letters and fill in the required information. Type your letter in the space provided on the form, specify that you are writing the Hernando section of the newspaper, and then click "submit." You also may cut and paste a letter that you have prepared elsewhere in your computer.
If you prefer, you may fax your letter to (352) 754-6133, or mail it to: Letters to the Editor, Hernando Times, 15365 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville, FL 34613.
All letters should be brief and must include the writer's name, city of residence, mailing address and telephone number. When possible, letters should include a handwritten signature. Addresses and telephone numbers will not be printed. The Times does not publish anonymous letters.
Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length. We regret that not all letters can be printed.