Letters to the Editors

There are many reasons to rename Legion Hall for Mayor McIntosh

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 16, 2000

Re: Renaming Legion Hall isn't best way to honor mayor, C.T. Bowen column, Feb. 13

Editor: Insulting people you disagree with damages your own credibility. I believe you have hit a new low with your column. Your suggestion that having Mayor McIntosh wait for the Crescent Theatre to be renovated in order to name that after him instead of the Legion hall was only an opportunistic way for you to drag the Crescent Theatre, CARES project and Area Agency on Aging into the public eye.

Mayor McIntosh is a retired colonel, and because he is a veteran, he has held offices in Dade City American Legion Post 15 from commander to chaplain. McIntosh was instrumental in getting the approval of Post 15 Legion members to sign the center over to Dade City so that it could be renovated with handicapped accessible ramps and new bathrooms to better serve the community. Several members of the Legion Auxiliary, including myself, were opposed at the time to donating the building to the city. We were wrong to fear its loss. It has been greatly improved thanks to the city and the influence of Charles McIntosh.
-- Kathy Lambert, Dade City

Widow asks why government eliminated VA burial benefit

Editor: My husband, a Marine, died recently and he had listed me to receive VA burial expenses of $450. I went to the government office, and after some time, they told me that President Reagan, in 1985, cut expenses and this was one of them.

I can't understand how someone who served the country was denied this benefit. I just don't understand.
-- Eleanor Childs, New Port Richey

Bottle deposits could lead to profit and beautification

Editor: So many people are trying to cope with everyday living. A lot of our young people are out of work, and others are trying to make a buck in these flea markets. If the state was to put a price on return of our bottles, there would be some bucks in the making for young and old. And, wherever one went, it would also enhance our state. Our streets, neighborhoods, parks, malls and other places of interest would look beautiful.

Most states now charge 5-cent deposits and by doing likewise, we can make the state look beautiful while putting a few bucks in the hands of the beholders.
-- Jerry Maccagnone, Zephyrhills

Commission dumping county's dollars in all the wrong places

Editor: Residents of Pasco County, please note your commissioners are at it again. The first week of January, it was a loss of $52,000 for 2,000 customers of ABC disposal when its contract was terminated after seven months of study of unlawful dumping by its employees. Now, there are 8-by-10 pictures of county parks that cost $132 to develop, plus 50 hours of work? Then suddenly they require $1,000 to have three more sets to be made and placed in three government buildings? Why such a high cost?

Maybe the $1,000 could better be spent for help for Commissioner Steve Simon to go through his 35 pounds of paperwork for his water board, which he states will probably not be able to meet its deadline. He could take a rapid reading course if no other help is available.

As for the failed gift of property worth about $500,000, it seems to hinge on personal problems rather than the welfare of the county. According to one commissioner who said, "Mr. Adair did not have a permit to remove land from the property for sale as fill dirt." If someone offered me property worth thousands of dollars and needed a permit, I would have gotten one and given it to them on a silver platter.

Do our commissioners need a refresher course in arithmetic?

As least I know that my garbage bill for pickup for January through March will be $50.88 instead of $26.31, the usual amount.
-- Mildred Gareau, Port Richey

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