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Safety Harbor acted quickly to keep things rolling

Re: Safety Harbor board fills vacancies curiously fast, editorial, July 27.

Safety Harbor residents are fortunate to have commissioners that can act quickly and responsibly when situations arise, as in the mayor's resignation on July 19, effective immediately.

Appointing Claude Rigsby to fill the seat vacated by Commissioner Andy Steingold (when he was named interim mayor) was an excellent choice. He attends commission meetings, so he is up on what is current with the city. Plus, having served as mayor and commissioner for many years, he is well aware of the past and present problems.

We will soon have a new city manager, and having someone with Claude's knowledge and experience on the board will prove invaluable.

Going through the process of advertising for anyone who would like to be considered to serve out Commissioner Steingold's term, doing the interviews, and then having to get someone up to speed on what is going on would have taken too much time.

Claude is just an interim commissioner until March, and at that time we the people will put into office a person of our choice.

Right after Andy and Claude were sworn in, the commission got down to business and completed the 2007 budget. The city is running smoothly and problems are being addressed. This is the way government is supposed to run, and Safety Harbor's does.

George Costage, Safety Harbor

County can't make money on wild animals

I am really sad to find that Pinellas County is so low on funds that it must resort to fining.

My new neighbor, who just moved in two months ago, has a cat. The cat loves its home but once in a while wants to see the outdoors After looking around and taking a short walk, it goes back to its new home and waits for its owner to let it in at the back door.

It seems Pinellas County needs some extra money, so they follow the cat home and harass the owner, who admits it is her cat. Now, she doesn't have to admit this, because there are a lot of cats roaming this neighborhood, many that have no true owner. But, of course, the cat went to this house, so it must be its home.

The Pinellas County employee wrote up a ticket against this honest woman, asking her to pay the county a large fee because her cat got out of the house for a few minutes, then went back to its home. Several neighbors came forward to talk to the officer, saying this cat never went far from home and, if out, went right back home, and also that there were many cats running loose in the area that seemed to have no home.

Oh, no! Pinellas County only wants to get cats with owners so they can fine them and make money for the county to pay its employees.

Pinellas County has a law that says if you own a cat and it goes outdoors, it has to be on a leash. Never mind that it goes right back home, where its food and owner are.

About a year ago, there were some new apartments built north of Lime Street, and we had raccoons, rats and other wild animals running through our alleys. This should have been taken care of by these "officers" of Pinellas County, not removing the owner-owned cats and tame house pets. But, of course, the county could not make any money or fine anyone because the wild animals didn't have any owners!

If I had to pay a high fine because of a cat or other pet I owned, I would not be able to buy its food for quite some time, not having the $93 for food because it went for a fine to the county.

Shame on Pinellas County for finding the owners who take good care of these animals. Make your money some other "honest" way instead of punishing the good people who become owners of stray pets - people like one I know who took in a small dog that was abused by its owners. Pet owners who love and care for their pets are the best, most honest and caring citizens. They are what makes a town a good place to live. They are not criminals.

This lady should have gotten a warning, not a fine.

Madalene Joynes, Tarpon Springs

Be sure pet's microchip is registered to you

Re: Microchipping your pets for identification.

It is not only important to have your pet microchipped, but to make sure the microchip is registered to you.

There are different types of microchips and they are registered differently. Some chips are registered automatically to the owner, but some are registered to the place doing the microchipping and it is up to the owner to then pay a fee to have the chip registered to them.

This was a problem with some of the animals from Hurricane Katrina. Microchips were registered to vet clinics and such that were badly damaged in the storm, so the owner records were lost forever.

So please check with your pet's microchip manufacturer to see how the chip is registered. Do it now before your pet is lost forever, and remember to include your pets in your disaster plan. It's the only way to insure your whole family is safe in the event of a natural disaster.

Kimberly Trimmer, Seminole

Dunedin library happy to take magazines

I went to my local recycling place on Michigan Boulevard in Dunedin. It made me very happy to see the two overflowing trash bins of cardboard (although, please remember to unfold the cardboard and don't leave big and small boxes piled up).

The magazine bin was very full, but please keep in mind that the Dunedin Library on Douglas Avenue sells magazines in its new, renovated bookstore.

The other day I saw a woman lugging a big, heavy box of magazines to the library, and I politely informed her that next time she could drive her car around to the back (actually, the north side) of the library and drop the items off at Text Services. There, Steve or Kim will gladly bring out a cart and help you unload your goodies from your trunk.

So, please remember, before you recycle your magazines, think of the library. Your copy may be missing from their rack, and someone else would love to read one but can't afford the $6.99 price of a PC World or $3.50 for Child, or $4.50 for Food & Wine. You could pick up a magazine for under 50 cents!

P.S. The library takes catalogs, too!

Nancy M. Eggert, Dunedin

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[Last modified August 3, 2006, 06:46:03]