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Letters to the Editor

Status of fire station is most shameful

Re: Fire station still short on documents, July 20 Times:

I have a few questions to ask the governing powers of Hernando County:

This is positively the most disgraceful thing this county has done this century - so far.

There used to be a saying that the county takes good care of firefighters and law enforcement personnel. What happened here?

I am so ashamed of this county right now, I can't even admit I live here.

Shirley Saxton, Brooksville

Tragedy should not result in loss of cave access

Re: Man who drowned should not have been in cave, experts say, July 19 Times:

My deepest sympathy goes out to family and friends of Jason Boyette, the young man who lost his life in a small underwater cave recently. I would like to comment on the Times coverage and "expert" advice on cave diving.

First, I have enjoyed snorkeling through the small cave system where this tragedy occurred. While I do have a basic open-water certification for scuba, I am not cave certified.

As noted by the "experts," this cave is not large enough for scuba. Therefore, I am not sure how scuba diving is related to this story.

Many people are skilled at snorkeling but have no desire to learn scuba. I just don't feel like the lack of cave certification is the main cause of this tragedy, and readers may associate this small cave system as a deadly place that should be enjoyed only by cave divers.

While I don't want to discount the dangers of entering any underwater cave system, this particular cave is one of the few that can be enjoyed safely by those who are experienced swimmers with no scuba experience, provided it is done during daylight hours.

I think most people who have explored this cave during daylight hours would agree that going through this cave at night would be very risky. I would like to hear from others who have experienced this cave.

Finally, I am concerned that the next article I read will be titled, "Access to cave grated off." I think that would be a tragedy for generations to come.

Patrick Foley, Spring Hill

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[Last modified July 23, 2006, 07:27:53]