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Today's Letters: Video of teen fight appalling

Re: Teenage fights on Web: disturbing, demeaning March 7 column by Greg Hamilton

I attend Crystal River High School. I heard about this incident, and I was appalled. This was the most petty and stupid thing I have ever heard, and this is ridiculous.

It was none of their business if (the victim) was cheating on her boyfriend. They had no right to beat her up, and I feel so sorry for this poor girl. These girls need to grow up and get a life because once they get to high school and try the same stuff they may find themselves in the same shoes as the victim.

This video just leaves me speechless and disgusted at the thought that someone could do this.

Desiree Crocker, Homosassa

Work to benefit all schoolchildren 

Re: Voting for exclusion at cost of community March 11 Times editorial

It saddens me that in a time when everyone should work together to solve the problem of overcrowding in Hernando County schools, there are still those who believe their school should be exempt from the equation. All schools should equally share the load. Magnet schools are great, but not on the backs of other students in the county.

My son was in a class last year at a magnet school with only eight other students, while my daughter was in a class at a nonmagnet school where there weren't enough desks if everyone showed up that day.

All schools should be at the same percentage capacity or overcapacity. This constant arguing over whether or not magnet schools are included in the rezoning problem is not a positive front to the community, our students and especially the business partners we need so desperately to help with our programs. It is a numbers game that anyone with a child in the system contributes to.

With a directive from our School Board and school representatives committed to rezoning, we can move forward to a solution. More schools will be opening soon to help ease the overcrowding problem. Until that happens, could all involved in the rezoning process please work together to redraw the lines with all our children's best interests taken into consideration?

We all need to remember that our schools are public schools supported by public funds, and we need to seek equitable solutions that serve all of our children, regardless of where they attend school. I am trusting our School Board of elected officials to look at this situation in terms of serving all of our students and not just the most vocal stakeholders who are trying to preserve a very favorable and inequitable situation that benefits their children. I do not fault any parent for trying to provide the best for his or her child as long as what is provided does not mean deprivation for other children with less-vocal parents.

It is instances such as this where public officials have the opportunity to do real and lasting good. If your term ended with the next election cycle, would you really want your legacy to be one of pandering to special interests and serving only the most privileged, or a legacy of leveling the playing field by increasing access to space and facilities for all of our children, regardless of race, income or level of parent advocacy for those children?

There is no way the final outcome will make everyone happy. But I believe children are stronger than we can imagine and all students benefit from us giving the very best we have to offer.

Karen MacSweeney, Brooksville

Focus on water usage outdoors 

Re: Water saving tips March 5 and March 11 picture stories

Why do county commissioners and the Southwest Florida Water Management District continue to lie to the public about Florida's water shortage? Why do they focus on in-house water usage when the problem lies in outside irrigation of endless subdivision lawns (some are forced to have) and golf courses?

Your endless articles regarding leaky faucets and running toilets are so totally ludicrous that it is clear you truly believe we are all a bunch of idiots. Did you ever compare household usage only vs. household use with irrigation? Oh, yeah, wait a minute - we can do that ourselves! It's on our water bill every month. Do you see the difference? It's huge. It's massive. It would make Al Gore cry.

Why don't you address the real problem, which is unchecked growth of subdivisions and golf courses in the state? Apparently, everybody who moves to Florida needs to have their own personal golf course on the subdivision grounds. This is the water usage that needs to be addressed, not our toilet water.

Lucretia Sarge, Brooksville

Limit growth to solve water issue

We, as many others, came to Spring Hill because it was not crowded. Had we wanted to live in a big city, we would have stayed where we were.

Water does not seem to be important to those who grant permission to build hundreds of new homes. It's a good thing I like the color brown, because that's all we are going to see from now on.

Wake up, people, and limit growth here, please. No one can live without water.

E.R. Newbury, Spring Hill

Ask builders to redesign homes

I wish I could afford all the water- and energy-saving devices.

But nobody blames the builders and how they design homes. They place the hot water tank in the garage and then the master bath on the opposite side of the house. If you take a shower it wastes water to get hot water to the shower. Yes, normally there are two bathrooms in a house, and you can shower in the other one. But in reality, who does?

How about getting after the builders to redesign their homes?

William Hamm, Spring Hill

Do not allow new development

When I open the paper most days I see one of two headlines: Conserve water or Approval for new development sought. There is something wrong with this picture.

We have been told that our once-a-week watering schedule will be permanent. I can live with that. But how, in good conscience, can we continue to approve high-density new development in the county when we do not have enough water to service the current population without restrictions?

Shirley L. Jordan, Hernando Beach

Your voice counts

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[Last modified March 13, 2007, 23:02:08]