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Raise your voice to get case solved

Raise your voice to get case solved 

It has been more than 30 days and still there is no arrest in the DePalma homicides. When two people ages 84 and 79 are slaughtered in their home and the crime is not solved, then it is time for the Sheriff's Office to get outside help and solve it.

Did everyone in this community have a nice Thanksgiving? Are you looking forward to a nice Christmas? I bet Evelyn and Patrick DePalma were.

Pick up your phone, contact your elected officials and yell for justice, because Mr. and Mrs. DePalma can't.

This case is getting colder by the day.

Kevin O'Neil, Spring Hill

Re: For county taxpayers, bus is a necessary evil Nov. 28 column

Growth will kill THE Bus funding

Andrew Skerritt writes, "The best reason to keep THE Bus running today is about tomorrow, the future. As the county grows, ridership grows."

Mr. Skerritt failed to mention that when the population hits a certain number, the federal grant money will stop. Then Hernando taxpayers will pay the entire cost.

Bob Cooper, Spring Hill

Re: Struggling readers get some high-tech help, Nov. 23 Times

Program benefits struggling, gifted

I am a teacher at Westside Elementary School, and I am heading the Fast ForWord lab at our school. I have 80 children (two are gifted children who also benefit from the program) who use the program daily.

I was a little disappointed I was not able to contribute to your article the success we have been making with the program here at our school. This is the third year we have been using the Fast ForWord program and the second we have been using it in the ideal setting, a lab. We have been lucky enough to have the room for a lab that is only for the use of the Fast ForWord program.

I have worked hard with the teachers here to find 50 minutes each day to help these struggling and accelerated children. The teachers and the Fast ForWord company all have noticed remarkable gains in the children already this year and anticipate seeing these gains the next time the DIBELS test is administered.

I am lucky to have the opportunity to see this program in action and look forward to seeing its continued success. I am a strong supporter of the program and plan to continue working with these children in the years to follow.

Julie Dibble, Spring Hill

Controversy is a waste of our time

I am fed up reading in the daily newspapers about the Nancy Robinson, Rose Rocco and company controversy. Hernando County has bigger problems to worry about, and this controversy is not doing the county and its people any good. We do not need this kind of publicity.

To top it off, many letters to the editor convey the wrong message to the public. First, the law does not require a candidate to reside in the district while running for county commissioner. The law requires the candidate to reside in the district "when elected." The question is: When is a candidate duly elected? Is he or she elected on Election Day or on the day the results of the elections are certified?

Second, the results of the election, which are announced on Election Day, or on the next day, are "unofficial results" until the county's canvassing board certifies the results and declares the winner. That is the job and responsibility of the canvassing board.

Now it is up to the court to determine when a candidate is duly elected, which may take months, while the county's business goes down the drain.

I urge Robinson and company to withdraw the suit so the county can go on with the people's business.

Meanwhile, happy holidays to all.

Anthony Palmieri, Spring Hill

Rocco tries to bend the rules

I voted for Rose Rocco. I wish I could take my vote back!

I expect that when a person runs for an elected office he or she should be knowledgeable of the requirements and laws governing the eligibility of that position. Rocco ran for county commissioner of a particular district. That means she lives in the area and is familiar with the needs of the area and people of that area. I believe Rocco had tried several previous times to be elected to the commission. Did she live outside the district then?

I guess her position is, "If I get elected, I will move into the area." This is wrong. She never should have been allowed to seek election for that position because she does not live in the district she wanted to represent.

I am really tired of individuals always trying to bend the rules.

Janet Wright, Brooksville

Your voice counts

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[Last modified December 1, 2006, 06:44:56]