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Dunedin can vow to develop well

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published November 27, 2006

In the past year or so, the word "developer" has developed some really bad press.

Some Dunedin residents and the media have characterized these business people as demons from another world, landing upon Dunedin to pour concrete into our very souls - madmen whose job it is to quickly swoop in, like vultures picking apart roadkill, then, when only the carcass is left, flying away weighted down with their big profits.

Not so! Check out who these people are. They are your neighbors, people who have been around town for years. They are people who are committed to Dunedin, to seeing a better and more vibrant city.

They're not the bad guys. They are our future - forward-thinking business people who are willing to risk their money and reputations.

It's up to our building department and city government to set the ground rules. Dunedin is experiencing the growing pains of progress. Maybe it came too fast for us. Maybe the city flirted a little too much. Now the courtship has developed a little too fast for our comfort level.

Dunedin is nervously putting on its wedding dress, for the marriage is about to happen. We're standing before the altar of progress. Let's take the vows and make the commitment. The citizens need to stand up and see that this marriage works and bears fruit.

Bill Coleman, Dunedin

Re: Clearwater Beach and the real estate bust

Incompetence ruined the beach

What financial projections did the Clearwater city leadership use to justify the spending of $30-million for a beach promenade?

Is this decision being re-examined given the negative impact of the changes on the beach ?

The only people talking positively about Clearwater Beach are the people who helped create the mess and the people still hoping to make money or at least not lose their shirts.

I was going to Clearwater Beach a couple of times a month. Not anymore. Many local people I talk with feel the same way I do.

I first moved to this area in the early 1970s. Since then, it is absolutely appalling what Clearwater politicians have done to the beach. It really is staggering, the level of gross incompetence.

Carl J. Babnik, Dunedin

State siphons off local school funds

While looking over our real estate tax bill, I decided to do some math.

I discovered that my wife and I spend a total of 44 percent for real estate taxes devoted to the schools. Twenty-seven percent is spent on the "state law" and 17 percent for the local board.

Are we top-heavy with state oversight? From this analysis, I would think so.

I can remember the day when we didn't have a "Department of Education." We seemed to get along just fine, with local folks running our affairs. Why do we need a bloated, top-heavy state bureaucracy now?

Robert M. Tharin Sr., Dunedin

Re: Inmate's death apparently natural, story, Nov. 10.

Nothing natural about jail death

Calling the death of 48-year-old Frederick Davidson, an inmate at the Pinellas County Jail, "natural" seems highly unnatural to me.

Since when, in the 21st century, does a 48-year-old die of natural causes?

The autopsy report should be interesting, because the cause of death just doesn't sound kosher to me.

JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater

Re: Roundabouts are not worth the cost, letter, Nov. 10.

Cleveland Street needs the circles

I felt as though I were in a time warp after this letter from Randal and Dorothy Standley.

This plan has been hashed and rehashed so many times over the past several years, with this couple always complaining.

My neighbors and I eagerly await the implementation of traffic calming in Skycrest, and we were disappointed that two traffic circles from the original plan were deleted.

Living on Cleveland Street, we know firsthand the dangers from speeding vehicles using the center turn lane to pass other vehicles. As a 32-year resident on Cleveland Street in Skycrest, I must refute the Standleys' letter.

First, they do not live on Cleveland Street; secondly, they are grossly misinformed and are spreading inaccurate information.

Obviously, they did not listen to Public Works engineer Mike Quillen, who spoke at the City Council meeting they attended. He debunked their irrational fears and also clarified many of the advantages of traffic calming.

The traffic calming program and its circles will reduce speeding and reduce accidents. We also want to see a reduction in cut-through, north-south traffic. Vehicles run red lights and stop signs, not uncommon along Cleveland.

My only request of the mayor, City Council and city manager is: Please don't delay. Get started on the installation of traffic circles and other features in Skycrest as soon as possible because costs continue to rise the longer we wait.

Elizabeth France, Clearwater

Coach Ed Wells fondly recalled

I was very saddened by the recent passing of Ed Wells Jr. (Oct. 15). Those of us who attended Clearwater High School in the 1960s will always remember Coach Wells.

He had the worst pair of bowlegs anyone had ever seen, and the sight of Coach Wells wearing shorts at football practice or a track meet was a sight to behold!

Back then, his wife, Deloris, used to call him "Tom," referring to his college nickname of "Tom Thumb" earned by his swiftness on his college track team in Kentucky (or "God's Country," as he liked to tell us).

He coached football and track, and taught driver's education at Clearwater High, making sure all the girls knew how to change a tire.

In more recent years, through the Springtime City Kiwanis Club, he raised funds to resurface the track at Clearwater High several times.

As a solicitor of funds, he was tireless. He would continue calling, several times a day if necessary, until he received a commitment for what he considered to be an acceptable donation.

When I was a teenager, he was something of a father figure to me. He helped me learn to drive. I babysat for his kids, Eddie, Debbie and Beth, while I was in high school. In my senior year, I was his student assistant and he took great delight in offering me (unsolicited) advice about teenage boys.

One summer, my brother and his friend painted the entire Wells house for $50.

I believe the St. Petersburg Times misquoted Jim Sever's reference to Coach Wells' favorite name for his players when expressing frustration. It wasn't "you darn devil," or even "You dern devil." My brother and his friends, all former CHS athletes, have reminded me that it was "you DURN devil."

Rest in peace, coach!

Margaret Sue Dobson, Clearwater

Let noises of joy beat out jostling

Has anyone else noticed? It's not as noisy. In fact, it's quiet.

The political circus has left town.

No more jabbering by politicians on television and radio.

No more intrusions by their recorded phone messages.

No more clusters of their lawn signs that seem to jostle for our attention. Sweet peace. Not for long, though.

We are beginning the noisiest time of the year.

Unlike the time before election that was painful and seemed endless, this time of Thanksgiving and Christmas is, like the song says, "the most wonderful time of the year."

Happily, the noise we hear during this wonderful time will be made mostly by the singing of carols and by the laughing of friends and family.

Unfortunately, some of the noise will be made by the crowds shopping for Christmas presents. The madness has already begun. Buying gifts for giving at Christmas to those we love should be a heartwarming experience, but for many, it is a chore, and at some stores, an experience of pushing, shoving and - ye, gads! - in some cases, fistfights.

So I say, let the days ahead be noisy.

We should sing and laugh as loud and as much as anyone. But we should not noisily obsess over gift buying. The gifts we exchange do not matter. It is the love they represent that does.

Rum-pa-pum-pum.

Jack Bray, Dunedin

[Last modified November 26, 2006, 22:07:49]