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Fire workers need trust of community

In the past several weeks, you have read or heard about several occasions where the men and women who are supposed to be upstanding citizens and who are entrusted with public safety have done some dishonest and immoral acts. Is this the norm? No.

How do I know? I am one of those people you trust every day to serve and protect the community from fire and assist in the event of an emergency, big or small. Our job relies heavily on public opinion. If the general public cannot trust the men and women of Fire Rescue to be honest, upstanding, law-abiding people, then we have failed the very people who pay our salaries. Are these isolated incidents? We would like to believe so. Ninety-nine percent of the men and women of the fire service are dedicated professionals. As is the case with any large group, we have our few bad apples. Unfortunately, these are incidents that bring discredit to all the good we do and embarrass us.

Residents should know that in their time of need, they can call and trust the people who arrive to help.

Do not judge an entire profession by the acts of a few.

The Pasco County Fire Rescue mission statement says "commited to excellence," and we are committed to the residents of Pasco County.

Judge's identity unclear in '02 election campaign

The most blatant sin of omission in the 2002 election campaign of Judge John Renke III was the lack of the use of his legal name in campaign literature and advertisements. The name John Renke is well known in Pasco County by a large percentage of the residents, and I'm sure many assumed the former representative to the state Legislature was running for judge, not his son.

John Renke III, the legal name of the candidate, was not indicated on the large advertisements or distributed literature. John Renke II allowed the public to assume it was he and not another family member running for office. This is just another of the shady tactics he felt he could get away with in order to get his son into the judgeship.

The Golden Rule doesn't exclude retail personnel

I am a retail manager for a very large and successful company that prides itself on great customer service. We all learned at one time or another that human beings are not perfect and we all know that companies are run by human beings.

I've learned that a very large percentage of the public inadvertently forgot that retail workers and people in the service industry have feelings and are willing to help solve any problem you have within reason.

When we are out of stock on something we always offer a comparable item (when possible) or give a rain check. I've had customers yell, cuss, push, and threaten my life for reasons as meaningless as not having the brand of toilet paper they like to use. Is it really worth it? One customer actually yelled at me for being out of his favorite soda and in the next breath he said he has high blood pressure. Is that worth the risk of suffering a heart attack?

When did people start treating each other so poorly? Sometimes I feel like I am not viewed as a human. I think it's very ironic that in Florida we have a church on practically every corner, but I get treated worse here then when I lived in New York, and people say New Yorkers are bad. I am an easygoing 31-year-old who enjoys life. I am very good at my job, and I have won many customer service awards. I hope this might remind the public that every person you encounter has feelings. Every person is someone that only wants to be treated with the same dignity you expect.

Society can do without freedom to run red lights

Editor: I read that state Sen. Mike Fasano and state Rep. John Legg, both Republicans from New Port Richey, were against putting cameras on U.S. 19 in Pasco County. These cameras would activate after a vehicle has passed through a red light and snap an image of the vehicle's license plate. Then officials would mail a notice to the address listed on the vehicle registration address records. The system typically records the date, time, speed, location and tag number.

Their objection was that every time we turn around, we lose one more freedom. When was going through red lights, causing terrible accidents, maiming and worse than that, killing others, a freedom?

I think it is a great idea. Maybe getting a notice like this would make the person think twice next time. Kenneth C. Johnson Jr., Holiday

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[Last modified February 27, 2005, 00:13:19]