Re: Parking ticket showed poor judgment, Oct. 3 letter
Editor: I was appalled to read the retired sergeant's letter regarding his receiving a parking ticket on the eve of Frances. I, too, have insight as to the ethics of law enforcement and have the ability to use good discretion, having been in law enforcement more than 12 years. The retired sergeant stated there was some ethical issue of writing trivial parking tickets during an emergency situation.
I have to point out that the retired sergeant parked a motorcycle in the lines of a van-accessible handicap parking space during an emergency situation. How did the handicapped person who couldn't get into Wal-Mart during the emergency situation feel when he saw the motorcycle in the only space he could park? The white striped area on the left side of the parking space is there so a person driving a handicap van can have "a wider access aisle (96 inches) to accommodate a wheelchair lift; vertical clearance to accommodate van height at the parking space, the adjacent access aisle, and on the vehicular route to and from the van-accessible space," according to the Americans With Disabilities Act. In other words, the writer's thoughtfulness of allowing someone else to have access to a parking space by parking in a handicap van access zone blocked someone who really needs to have easy access. The writer used poor judgment.
The volunteers who give parking tickets should be praised for giving to their community and making Pasco a better place without expectation of anything in return. I feel the male and female parking enforcement volunteers were helping the public during the impending crisis by continuing to enforce the parking regulations in order to allow those handicapped persons to have as easy access as possible. It is very confusing to me that he couldn't find another place to park a motorcycle even with every parking space taken up in the Wal-Mart parking lot. These handicap parking spaces are critical to helping disabled people access places that would otherwise be beyond their reach.
It is apparent that the retired sergeant does not feel he should abide by the parking laws and he wanted to discuss his displeasure with anyone who would listen. Might I suggest he take the parking ticket to court and have a hearing officer hear the lame excuses he has as to the reason he placed his own selfishness over a handicapped person's needs?
-- James Mallo, Elfers
Keep pressure on utility notorious for no pressure
Re: Utility needs to keep customers informed, Oct. 1 editorial
Editor: Kudos for the editorial taking Joe Borda and Lindrick Service Corp. to task, and not a minute too soon. Have any of those state or local agencies that refused to come to his rescue offered an explanation? If there were one iota of truth in Mr. Borda's claim, it would serve him right because he would have an idea of what it is like to be a Lindrick customer.
There were, however, two points in the editorial that needed to be clarified - points that have been addressed in subsequent articles. My neighbors and I in Gulf Harbors didn't experience low water pressure in the midst of Hurricane Jeanne. For 24 hours or so, we had no pressure (and no water) at all. I suspect that the same was true for most of Lindrick's other customers.
Then, I had a bit of trouble with the number of Lindrick customers quoted in the editorial: 2,700 didn't sound quite right, so I did the math. There are, give or take, 1,700 homes in Gulf Harbors alone, not to mention the hundreds of families in Sea Forest, Sea Colony and the Woodlands. Throw in the condos at Mariner's Way and Heather Cove ( there are a bunch more along Marine Parkway), and the apartment dwellers at Sea Forest Landings and the Landings at St. Andrews, and the good folks across the road in Shamrock Heights and you get where I'm going.
The style of your editorial made me chuckle for a moment. But the situation with Lindrick Service Corp. has been going on too long and affects people and the environment too much to be funny. This latest incident, precipitated by the storm, is just one in a series of years of interrupted water and sewer service for which Lindrick customers pay the proverbial arm and a leg. Unexplained loss of pressure or no water at all from the faucets, streets dug up to repair broken lines, lift station failures which result in sewage spills into canals directly connected to the Gulf of Mexico are the unfortunate norm rather than the exception.
Of equal concern is the fact that since Mr. Borda quit buying his water from New Port Richey, his thousands of customers rely on their potable water from a very finite source: four wells. It should be quite a challenge to shower and flush once Egret's Place and Sea Forest Town Homes are completely on line, not to mention hundreds of potential new customers once homes are constructed on all the vacant land along Sea Forest Drive. Woe is the day firefighters arrive on the scene of a fire expecting to hook up to hydrants that have enough pressure in them to make their hoses functional.
Scarier still is the location of Mr. Borda's wells, which are adjacent to Shamrock Heights, a subdivision that relies on septic systems. I shudder every time there is a deluge, wondering if all those nasty little pathogens found in sewage have managed to overflow their drain fields and leach into the wells. Guess who's responsible for testing the water and warning customers if the bacteria count exceeds safe levels? Comforting, isn't it?
If it's true that most of the county's privately owned and operated water and sewer utilities are headaches, then in my opinion, Lindrick is a migraine. Can I back up my claims? You bet! Check out the Hartman study from a few years ago that was commissioned by Pasco County.
I was happy to read that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has initiated action against Lindrick. It is my fervent hope that there is followup. It's not the first time Lindrick has been in hot water with state authorities, but somehow things never really seem to change for the better, for any length of time, anyway. Keep up the pressure and maybe, just maybe, this time Mr. Borda will be required to operate his utility in a responsible manner. If he can't or won't, then he should start thinking about selling his utility to the county at a reasonable price. Hope floats!
-- Sherri Hubach, New Port Richey
Knowing basics of behavior can prevent dog attacks
Re: Toddler bitten in the face, Oct. 2
Editor: This incident doesn't surprise me at all. Not because Deuce is a pit bull but the factors involved. You have a young dog chewing his bone. You have a small child coming up to him while he is chewing the bone. Deuce's growl was a warning to stay away. Cheyenne didn't understand the warning and she was nipped. This attack happened within seconds.
If Deuce would have wanted to hurt Cheyenne, it would have taken a second for him to kill her. Pit bulls will not let go as quickly as he did either. Their jaws are incredibly strong, and it is very difficult to even pry them off their prey.
This is a sad situation for everyone involved. Ignorance is not bliss, and everyone who owns or is near dogs should know a bit about basic animal behavior. The American Kennel Club (www.akc.org) has a Web site that can direct people to national breed clubs, rescue organizations and other sites that will educate a dog owner.
Reputable breeders within the national organizations are a valuable tool who will be there long after you receive your new family member. It is always better to go into a situation with your eyes wide open.
-- Marcia Goldfarb, Wesley Chapel
Teenage bicycle thief needs to get a life
Editor: To the midnight thief on Sept. 29 who appeared to be a teenager wearing a baseball cap: Shame on you for taking a bicycle from the porch on Woodsville Drive in the Gardens of Beacon Square.
The little boy it belonged to is very upset; he does not have his bicycle he loved and was so proud of. The little boy's father chased the thief in his bare feet but was not able to catch him.
Please, parents, help your children get a life before it's too late for them.
-- Leah Green, New Port Richey
East-west divide clear along sides of U.S. 19
Editor: Why are Port Richey street workers cleaning up only on the south and west side of U.S. 19? We have brush on the east side too. Or, could it be that the south and west sides are getting cleaned up because that is where council members live?
We pay taxes on the east side too. I don't think there are any council members asking for special treatment. I think it's more like someone trying to kiss up to the council. Wake up, Port Richey taxpayers!
I feel like I'm being taken advantage of. There are a few of the men that really do work and there are a couple who don't earn their pay. If the city has money it wants to throw away, I could use some.
-- Paula Palmer, Port Richey
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