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Animals, kids can coexist just fine

Re: Animal habitat needs to be saved Feb. 16 letter

Poor abused animals? I would invite letter writer Fran Bockiaro to come out to the East Lake Youth Sports Complex early in the morning to see the dozens of wild turkeys and other birds grazing on our baseball outfields.

Bockiaro should be sure to look at the osprey nest on top of our girls softball light pole. If Bockiaro is there after sundown, he or she will notice the owls perched on our outfield fences watching the kids play ball and the armadillos waiting until we leave to burrow into our fields.

If Bockiaro volunteers time during a workday to paint, line fields or clean the toilets, he or she may run into any number of "poor abused animals" that pass through our complex.

I am insulted by the letter writer's tone and would make a guess that Bockiaro does not have "precious little children" living in our community.

And finally, I couldn't agree more with letter writer Jane Williams (Compromise is answer to dispute, Feb. 16 letter) that there is room for both sides - those who want to protect the environment and those who want to provide necessary services for the youngest residents of our community.

The East Lake Youth Sports Association has never been slinging mud toward the environmentalists. If you read e-mails that have been sent to the Pinellas County Commission, you will see that the mudslinging is one-sided and not from the association.

Nobody involved in the association wants to displace "poor abused animals." We believe there is room for compromise. Just give our children room to play.

Mary Romary, Palm Harbor

Open space is for kids' well-being 

Re: Young athletes need more fields Feb. 8 letter

In supporting construction of ballfields in the Brooker Creek Preserve, the letter writer argues that children do not have sufficient space for recreation, and "our children are worth more than preserving and developing a small patch of tree farm."

However, it is precisely for our children and future generations that open spaces like Brooker Creek must be saved.

This issue is larger than the 38 acres in question. It is about allowing the county to chip away at an area it has designated as a preserve to serve humans. Unfortunately, developers of the East Lake area did not provide sufficient recreational facilities to serve future residents, and our government did not require them to do so. This does not mean the county should now sacrifice what little open space remains to make up for this lack of planning.

Preservation of green space and natural habitat is just as important for our children's well-being as sports fields. Nature provides opportunities for recreation and relaxation for humans, habitat for wildlife, and environmental benefits like removal of carbon from the atmosphere.

As the population grows, there is increasing pressure to pave over nature to serve human needs. Population density continues to increase, buildings get taller and remaining open spaces disappear. This is not only harmful to wildlife whose habitat is destroyed, but it also puts increasing strain on our municipal services and creates pollution and flooding problems.

If we don't turn things around, the paradise that was once Florida will be gone.

We need to recognize that environment is not an issue separate from the well-being of humans; it is integral to our well-being. If we don't protect the natural environment, it is our children who will suffer and ask themselves why their parents were so shortsighted.

Elizabeth Drayer, Clearwater

What's one more piece of preserve? 

Re: Bus compound talks don't assuage the neighbors Feb. 17 story

As I read the article regarding the need for a school bus compound in North Pinellas, I realized that there was only one logical choice for this facility: the Brooker Creek Preserve.

Current plans for the preserve include golf course irrigation, a youth sports complex, a therapeutic house riding facility and a water blending facility. Why not a school bus compound?

County officials have not been bashful in dissecting portions of the preserve for every far-reaching project that comes along, so why not? Where is the line going to be drawn?

Nick Donadio, Tarpon Springs

Dunedin leaders deserve praise 

Re: Yes on one project; no to other Feb. 17 story

How proud we are of the Dunedin City Commission and city staffers, particularly Kevin Campbell, director of community services.

On Thursday night, they endured seven hours of bashing by the attorney for the Porte Royale developers proposing to replace Bon Appetit, a world-renowned restaurant, and the adjoining hotel with a 75-unit luxury condominium residence.

Bravo!

F.L. Gus Cooper, Dunedin

[Last modified February 20, 2007, 07:05:47]