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Today's Letters: Unheralded heroes fill gaps

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published April 4, 2007

Re: No way out of closing for rundown halfway house, March 29

I was heartbroken to read the article about the closing of This House in Clearwater.

As a volunteer for Tampa Bay Harvest, I've had the opportunity to deliver donated food to This House many times over the years. The first time I delivered there, it occurred to me to be apprehensive about delivering to a men's halfway house alone. My fears were totally unfounded. The men at This House were complete gentlemen. They were friendly, helpful and, above all, grateful.

Steve Kautz would always bring a smile to my face because, if you asked him how he was, his reply, delivered with a giant grin, was inevitably, "Grateful for another day above ground!"

We read stories in the newspaper about religious people who purport to know what Jesus would be doing, and then behave in very un-Christlike ways. But every day in our community there are heroes who act out their faith in real, concrete ways who never receive glory or recognition.

Our county has many agencies that revive the broken and lost souls in our own midst through the efforts of people like Sandy and Diane Culla of Attention Home and Clayton Buell of Helping Hands. There are real angels who run the Haven, United Family Outreach, Feast and dozens of other small agencies that are simply the combined efforts of real people, doing real work, to help real individuals rebuild their fractured lives.

One need look no further than This House for a worthy agency to support. Steve has acted out his gratitude by helping men recover from crime and crippling addictions to become responsible, productive gentlemen. The repairs to This House would run around $150,000, but can that price tag be put on the many stories of resurrected lives This House represents?

I salute the everyday, unrecognized heroes of our community. I wish Steve and the displaced men of This House every blessing. And I pray there will be angels in our community who can see the value of lives beyond the dollar sign and will come to the aid of This House.

Janine L. Byrd, Dunedin

Re: What would a Penny buy? March 12 story

Fire station fixes lack specifics

I realize I sound like a poor loser, but the Clearwater Penny for Pinellas sales tax project list included the renovation of various fire stations for around $4.5-million each.

I wondered how the small Countryside fire station could possibly be renovated for that amount, so I called the fire department downtown. I got an answer that the powers-that-be had "extrapolated" data to get that multimillion-dollar amount. Specifics were not given.

Personally, I don't think any specifics exist; it was clearly a ballpark figure.

I then visited the fire station, which is 30 years old. One firefighter clearly indicated it did not need any renovation; in fact, he said he had voted against the Penny tax.

So I'll ask again: Why are the fire stations to be renovated and at a cost of nearly $4.5-million each? City and county administrators, please respond.

With planning like that, it is a wonder that 57 percent of the voters agreed to extend the tax.

By the way, administrators, when it comes time to renovate your homes, I will bet you come a lot closer to reality than when you play with the public's money.

John E. Jacobsen, Clearwater

Re: A happy ending for the Biltmore March 9 story

Biltmore full of happy memories

I've only known the Belleview Biltmore for 60 of its 110-year history, but I feel it was always a rewarding friendship.

I had my first view of the "Queen" in 1947. At this time she was capable of supplying her own electricity or water and even had her own firetruck. My dad was the paint contractor to help restore her once again to her original beauty after the Army had just vacated the hotel and had spray-painted almost everything pink. My first job was to paint the strips along the sides of the carpeted halls. I didn't know there are 71/2 miles of halls!

I was with the Belleview Biltmore from 1947 until 1961 - with two years off in the Army and two years away to start my family. All of these years were in the service department as a doorman.

The hotel was only open during the winter months. The rest of the year was spent keeping her beautiful. I spent two summers with the painting crew - the halls, the suites of rooms, the dining room ceilings, the many dormers, the vast porches and even the elevator shafts above the six-story roofs - all had to be painted. At that time all of the sidings were wood. Many times we were the only ones there, and to put rumors to rest, I never saw a ghost.

What a wonderful life the Belleview provided, not only for its guests, but for all the employees who came back year after year.

We were privileged to use the golf courses (two at that time surrounding the hotel), the tennis courts, the Tiffany Ballroom for dances and movies and even go to the private beach. Bernie Powell and Don Church took wonderful care of their employees.

Over the years many important people visited the Queen, including Norman Vincent Peale, the Duke of Windsor, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, the Lennon sisters and movie stars galore.

Each year my friend Lois Cormier of Clearwater - her husband and I worked together - and as many of my family as I can get together visit the hotel. This year a friend who had not been back there in 40 years called and we took a tour.

The kitchen is still as big and useful as before. We toured the dining room where so many well-dressed guests had great meals prepared by Andy Spence, the chef.

What a joy it was to read that once again the Belleview will survive with the glory it deserves. We thousands of employees say thank you. It deserves the respect.

Don Audibert, Largo

Your voice counts

You may submit a letter to the editor for possible publication through our Web site at www.tampabay.com/letters, or by faxing it to (727) 445-4119, or by mailing it to Letters, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. You must include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length.

[Last modified April 3, 2007, 20:57:02]