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Ducks are making the neighborhood an unpleasant place

If Hudson Beach can be closed due to high bacteria and is not safe for the community, then I would suggest that the same be done to Jasmine Lakes subdivision. It is not safe healthwise.

As a frequent visitor to Jasmine Lakes, I could not agree more with the recent letter to the editor from Pamela Boccaccio regarding the Muscovy ducks and their feces. Every time I visit with a friend of mine and pull up into her driveway, I am welcomed by duck feces that cover not only my tires, but also my shoes. My friend, who is a senior citizen, has to rinse off her driveway every day, and it has become a real hardship pulling the hose to do this.

What is wrong with the people who insist on feeding these ducks? First of all, the food is not what they should be eating and probably causes the ducks to have diarrhea. The area around my friend's house smells like a cesspool because her neighbors are harboring these ducks in the area with children's pools and food for them to congregate.

I have seen female ducks and their offspring (approximately 40 chicks) hold up traffic as they waddle across Jasmine Boulevard. (It will probably cause a very serious accident one day.) The feces from Muscovy ducks not only stink to high heaven, but also can cause a health problem for the elderly and children. It is not uncommon for these feces to cause respiratory problems.

I hesitate visiting my friend in Jasmine duck land because it is so intolerable. Please stop feeding the ducks!

Law is designed for people's protection

Re: Bunting should worry about crime costs, Aug. 9 letter.

Once again Art Hayhoe and his organization of one spews his vile venom at Bill Bunting and the NRA. This man has no problem distorting the truth in order to further his antigun agenda. This new self-defense law is designed to protect the law-abiding gun owners of Florida from lawsuits in the event they have to use a firearm for self-defense. Hayhoe states that this law legalizes aggressive use of firearms. Nonsense; this law will help protect law-abiding citizens from being victims of violent crime by the criminals who walk our streets.

Hayhoe says that Florida has one of the highest crime rates in the nation. If that's true, maybe he should spend more of his time pushing for tougher laws like the NRA does to lock up criminals instead of trying to disarm the law-abiding citizens of this state. If crime rates are so high as he states, then where is the logic to disarm the law-abiding gun owner? What does this man have against a citizen's right to self-defense?

The cost of crime has nothing to do with gun owners; it has everything to do with our justice system, which lets criminals out time and time again to prey on our citizens. The sad thing is that there are some people who believe the lies that Hayhoe spews about firearms. Every year more than 2-million citizens protect themselves and their families with a firearm. The NRA promotes gun safety and responsible gun ownership and Hayhoe knows it.

What has his organization done to promote gun safety? Nothing. But Bill Bunting, myself and about 10 members of my organization devoted the weekend of July 30-31 to teaching a class to about 10 children on firearm safety, and we plan to do this every couple of months. Check out our Web site at www.secondamendmentclub.org.John DiGaetano, Vice President, Second Amendment Club of America, Wesley Chapel

With support, sex offenders can change

Re: Sex offenders' habits can never be changed, Aug. 5 guest column.

The writer says she does not believe all lawyers are jerks. Being one myself - a lawyer, that is, not a jerk - I take some comfort in that small concession. As for the rest of her column, I respectfully object.

Sex offenders can be rehabilitated. I know of a case in which counseling had a definite, positive effect over a long period of time. About 25 years ago, during a rehearsal for a Christmas show in a university auditorium, two boys aged 7 and 8 went to a basement soda machine where a man was lurking with felonious intent. He sexually fondled the boys and was interrupted by a parent. He managed to escape and evaded a helicopter search.

He knew enough to seek the advice of an attorney before turning himself in to the police. He asked me to negotiate his surrender. I first referred him to a psychiatrist colleague of mine for counseling.

As a professional, and also as a trusted friend, the doctor kept me informed, step by step, of a life-changing situation he established on my client's behalf. With my client's consent, I received periodic reports as recently as five years ago. That man was never turned in to police and has never committed a similar act again.

This was the plan: The client received regular counseling and voluntarily agreed to call the psychiatrist, day or night, if he ever entertained a fantasy involving a minor. The doctor also set guidelines so that my client would never put himself into a situation where he was alone with a child. It was not all smooth sailing. The psychiatrist tried to get me to be the control, but I could foresee the role would be in conflict with my role as his attorney.

The client never spent a night in jail, nor was he charged with a crime. He is now a productive person in the banking field. I am personally able to tell you that this man has suffered and has been punished enough. He kept it from his family all these years, has led an isolated life and has had no one but the two of us to confide in. One New Year's Eve he called me in distress and threatened suicide. I removed a loaded shotgun from his house.

Over the years he learned to handle the stress. With rigid outer controls he has learned not to put himself in a situation like that again.

The same rigid, 24-hour-per-day mind control applies as well to any addiction. Whenever possible, society must treat these problems for what they are - illnesses. And never say never to curing a person.

Environment should be a priority

How long must we wait for our officials and government employees to fulfill their responsibilities with regard to the custodial care of our environment? Must we accept that our wetlands and waterways are polluted more than half of every year in west Pasco?

Does the pollution resulting from uncontrolled surface water feed the Red Tide? Could proper control give us the proper answer? Should all surface water be directed into settlement ponds before allowing it to enter our waterways or wetlands?

How long must we wait?

If you don't like Port Richey, then move

Everyone who wants to dissolve Port Richey: I think that the people who feel this way should all get together and move out of Port Richey. I moved here 14 years ago. If I wanted to live in New Port Richey or the county, then that is where I would have moved.

You don't have a right to get rid of our city, but you do have the right to move. I'm not unhappy here, and there are probably a lot of other people who feel the same way. If everything that goes on in this city really bugs you, then pack up and go. I won't try to tell you where to live. Port Richey - Love it or leave it.

I have a few phone numbers of movers if you need them, and I'm sure I could get you some help to load the truck.

Firefighters fundraising for Jerry's Kids

Over the past 51 years, the International Association of Fire Fighters has become the largest national sponsor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. It has become a traditional sight every fall to see local firefighters out on the street corners of their communities, with boots in hand, raising millions of dollars for Jerry's Kids. The "Fill the Boot" campaign is a key event in raising both donations and awareness for this great cause, as well as highlighting progress made and the research still needed to find cures for children stricken with neuromuscular diseases.

For the first time in the 30-year history of Pasco County Fire Rescue, its firefighters will be participating in the IAFF/MDA annual Fill the Boot campaign. With the recent IAFF affiliation, members of the Pasco County Professional Fire Fighters, Local 4420 will extend their pledge to saving lives, both as firefighters and paramedics and now as campaigners for the worldwide research efforts of MDA to eradicate 40 neuromuscular diseases. The contributions will also go toward MDA's summer camps for children, professional and public health education, and other MDA programs.

On three consecutive Fridays in August (today, Aug. 19 and 26) between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Pasco County Professional Fire Fighters will be on street corners, with boots in hand, asking for the community's support in raising funds for the MDA's 2005 Labor Day Telethon and making their inaugural boot drive a successful one. The locations will be: State Road 54 and Little Road; SR 54 and U.S. 41; SR 54 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard; and Little and Ridge roads.

Please drive by and help us help Jerry by filling the boots. If you miss us and would like to contribute, contact the MDA at 1-888-435-7632.

[Last modified August 12, 2005, 15:20:30]