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Keep distance when looking at manatees

By (Letters)
Published April 28, 2006

Re: Excess of affection for manatee bad for business, April 25 column by Andrew Skerritt:

Skerritt refers to a "long-running feud between two groups who are passionate about manatees." He cites a video taken by former Manatee Watch volunteers, a video that reveals people feeding manatees and boats blocking the manatees' movement.

How can one group (the tour operators) have passion for manatees when they allow humans to break the rules? I think it is more about their passion for money.

Referring to the 80 manatees killed by boats last year, Skerritt writes, "Despite those deaths, the manatee population in Citrus County seems to be doing well." However, when any manatee is killed by a boat, neither the manatee nor the human population is doing well.

I am an advocate of small business, but the "purists" are right: Observe the manatees from a distance, especially when the tour operators are not good stewards of the ocean and its inhabitants. The manatee is not, in Skerritt's words, "too friendly for its own good." The tour operators are too irresponsible for their own good.

I just moved here from Colorado and bought a house in Spring Hill. Although I had been to Florida numerous times, living here has made me more aware than ever of just how much humans have destroyed the environment. Litter is one thing - I cannot believe that government, business leaders and residents tolerate the amount of litter that is strewn everywhere, including the ocean, in a beautiful state like Florida - and the manatee population is another.

I took my kayak to Crystal River a few weeks ago to view the manatees, and when I saw the human activity - some people in tour boats, some on their own - a few adults smoking cigarettes and tossing the butts in the water and kids jumping in the water and screaming "I want to touch a manatee," I thought I was going to be sick.

I viewed the manatees from my kayak and watched as they gracefully glided through the water. And I also viewed the propeller scars on the back of one manatee. That was enough for me.

It should be enough for everyone. A boat tour - preferably a kayak or canoe tour - will bring in your money, too. Leave it at that. We can't have it all, and there is no freedom and no recreation without responsibility.

Analysis of building is needed

Re: Leaders consider old hospital for offices, April 26 Times:

Since the Hernando County Commission had a "walk-through" of the old Brooksville Regional Hospital on Tuesday, I think it is extremely important that the newspapers and the commissioners understand the code conditions that the hospital was originally designed under, and the code conditions that will be required for office buildings.

Therefore, please refer to Table 4-1: Minimum Uniformly Distributed Live Loads and Minimum Concentrated Live Loads, American Society of Civil Engineers 7-02.

The original design criterion for the private rooms and wards was a uniform per square foot (PSF) of 40 pounds, with a concentrated live load of 1,000 pounds. For an office building, the uniform PSF is 50 pounds and the concentrated load is double the original design, or 2,000 pounds.

It is obvious from this table that there would have to be an extensive analysis of the structures with some type of destructive analysis being done to determine what is in place. A walk-through of these facilities cannot, in any way, determine if these buildings can be used for offices.

As a resident of Hernando County, I am letting the newspapers and the commissioners know, because it is extremely important to protect the taxpayers and not waste time looking at a facility until there has been a detailed analysis done.

[Last modified April 28, 2006, 01:16:18]