Today's Letters: Don't base case solely on video

Re: What's important is what you can't see Oct. 26 column by Andrew Skerritt

Skerritt stated the case against Hernando High School coach Shawn Bingham regarding the $75 missing from a student's wallet and that he should be cleared based on the school's videotape. Okay, let's take this onestep at a time.

Did school officials or the deputy ask Mr. Bingham if he ever touched the wallet before advising him there was a video? If he said "no," then was shown the video, case closed. But that wasn't done.

Skerritt goes on to say the video doesn't show if, in fact, there was $75 in the wallet. Is he casting a shadow on the alleged victim's claim?

He also states the video shows another student who sat on the wallet for nine seconds before leaving. If this kid was able to sit on a wallet for nine seconds and without the use of his hands remove $75, I want to enter him on the next America's Got Talent.

The video also shows Mr. Bingham pick up the wallet and disappear from the camera's view for 24 seconds, then return and place the wallet where he found it. Why? Many years ago my 20-year-old son, while working in the shoe department of a large store, found a wallet under a chair with more than $300 in it. He took it right to his supervisor.

I'm not saying Mr. Bingham is guilty or innocent. All I'm saying is Skerritt is leaning too heavily on just dropping the case based on the video.

In this situation, doesn't it make sense to pick up the wallet look for identification, then bring it to the principal's office? What sense does it make to take the wallet and come back 24 seconds later to place it backwhere it was?

Almost 40 years ago when I received my bachelor's degree, my father told me "congratulations, but don't get a big head because you're the first one in the family to do so. Sometimes the more education you get seems to take away some people's good old common sense."

Gene Huber, Spring Hill

Thanks for help with mentoring

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. In celebration of Disability Mentoring Day, Hernando County's featured event was the annual Disability Mentoring Day Career Fair held at Career Central on Oct. 17. More than 70 students from our four public high schools participated.

More than 30 representatives from the local business community, school system and educational institutions attended to share information about their areas of expertise. Businesses sponsored lunch, as well as door prizes.

In addition to thanking our presenters and sponsors for the information and donations they provided, I would like to thank them for remembering a key concept of the event. Despite the name, we are not mentoring disabilities; we are mentoring students. As I watched the interaction between the young people and the adults, that could not have been more evident.

Margaret Timmerman, Brooksville

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[Last modified October 29, 2007, 19:45:43]