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Port Richey campaign promises forgotten

I am perplexed by the Port Richey City Council. I spoke extensively with Dale Massad and Nancy Britton at the election polls in April.

I explained to them that my vote for them was in fact a vote for the petition I signed giving the people the right to vote on a city dissolution. They both assured me that they stood firmly behind the citizens right.

So where is my right to vote? The subject has not been remotely addressed by this council. Campaign promises again forgotten.

I am also dismayed by the council hiring Britton's boyfriend as our city attorney. This is nearly appearing as the same type power play of the old council.

I feel let down once again by the system I try to believe in. Help!

Elaine McConkey, Port Richey

Photo was not suited for use in newspapers in classroom

I am writing to express my disappointment in your choice of cover story for Aug. 28. I am a social studies teacher who has participated in the newspapers in the classroom program for several years. I review current events and headlines with my students to enrich their knowledge of the world around them.

Imagine my surprise when I received my class set of newspapers and found a topless woman kissing a stranger in the name of charity as the headline. Needless to say, I did not expose my students to this image and 35 Pasco sections were trashed. I am sure that there were great intentions behind the event, however, I cannot imagine that this was the only image available. Most of the Relay for Life events are at schools and involve school children. The Relay for Life at Trinity raised more than $150,000 in May and was the largest in a five-county area but did not warrant front page coverage.

The use of a salacious image on the front page has made me lose a tremendous amount of respect for your paper. Please remember your audience not only includes adults but also thousands of children who your newspaper has openly solicited to have read your paper.

Unfortunately, the integrity of the American Cancer Society also has been compromised and I, for one, am concerned that it will be hard to overcome the damage of the image provided the next time that my students are asked to raise money for what I thought was a worthwhile organization.

Tracie Hand, New Port Richey

Kissing booth could be seen as bordering on prostitution

Fundraising is a needed community event including the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, a most popular fundraiser that also brings cancer awareness.

I was surprised to see a front-page picture of a topless lady in the Aug. 28 Pasco Times offering a kiss for a $5 donation at the Caliente Nudist Resort.

I understand it is for a good cause, but where do we draw the line? How does it differ from lap dances or a so-called quickie for a donation?

By definition, prostitution is when you pay money for sex, even if it is called tipping or a donation.

A lip-to-lip intimate kiss could be considered as a sexual favor for which money changed hands. Do the organizers or those involved in the event realize that all sexually transmitted diseases can be transmitted by an intimate kiss?

Above all, a respected county commissioner was present at the event as a fully clothed clown, counting the economic impact of nudity.

Did other community members feel anything abnormal or is just me who voiced my concern? Should I shut up and go on with my business?

G.S. Dhaliwal, MD New Port Richey

Girl should be charged with falsifying report of abduction

I am outraged to read that the 11-year-old girl who filed a false report about being abducted this week will not be charged with a crime. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office had to deploy extra deputies in the Meadow Pointe area because of this misinformation, taking those resources away from areas where they were more likely needed. What if the suspect in the first abduction decided to target another area in the county after seeing all the additional cruisers in the Meadow Pointe area? Would there have been sufficient resources available to deal with that?

This lie caused additional undue stress to those who live in the area already dealing with one abduction attempt, yet the Sheriff's Office obviously feels it is not important enough to file charges. Had this been an adult, I am certain charges would have been filed. What lesson does this teach the child and her family not to mention all of the other children who have heard about this?

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office should send a strong message to all children, their parents and any adults: "If you file a false police report you will be charged." Perhaps that would help reduce the number of copycat reports the Sheriff's Office has to deal with.

This child needs to learn the consequences of her attention-getting lie and should be required to get counseling to find out why she did this so it does not happen again.

John Honoski, Trinity

[Last modified August 29, 2006, 22:33:40]