Letters to the Editors

Police, remember you are servants, not bosses

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 19, 2001

My wife and I are visiting your beautiful state from Oregon. On Sunday, June 10, we went to the public beach at Clearwater. I was delighted to observe a young man asking people if they would be willing to sign a petition. How American! He was very polite; and nobody seemed to mind what he was doing, even those who were not interested in signing this particular petition.

Then a Clearwater police officer arrived. He informed the young man that canvassing was an illegal activity at the beach and told him he had to stop or face a citation and possible arrest. This didn't sound right to me, so I asked the officer if he would please tell me the ordinance number, so that I could read the language of the law for myself.

At first the officer totally ignored me. I had to ask him several times before he finally acknowledged my existence. Then he curtly told me that he didn't know the ordinance number, but the activity was illegal nonetheless, and I would have to go to City Hall and look it up.

Meanwhile the young man insisted that he was within his First Amendment rights and refused to leave. The officer took identification from the young man and retired to his police vehicle. When he emerged several minutes later he had a copy of the ordinance book in his hand, from which he read the ordinance to the young man.

The ordinance specifically defined canvassing as distributing literature, or taking a poll or a survey. It said nothing about petitioning. When I pointed this out to the officer, he became ruder still, informing me that I was now engaging in an illegal obstruction of his duties. When I refused to be intimidated and asked him if I could speak with him after he was finished with the young man, he told me, "No." Amazing.

What a shame that our peaceful day at the beach was disturbed, not by criminals, but by the local police. What a shame that this particular officer tainted our opinion of your local law enforcement with his discourteous and unprofessional behavior. And what a shame that, right here in America, one is apparently expected to sit down, shut up and do whatever the police say.

I respectfully insist that the City of Clearwater remind its officers that they are our servants, not our bosses.
-- Jeff Jarvis, Bend, Oregon

Teachers should budget for summer

Re: School's out: It's time for teachers to struggle financially, letter, June 11.

I'm tired of teachers bemoaning the fact that they are not paid during the 10 weeks of summer vacation. I may be wrong, but it is my understanding that teachers are paid on a yearly basis.

If it is so difficult for teachers to divide their yearly salaries by 12 and budget their incomes accordingly, perhaps the school administrators could do it for them.
-- Phyllis Dietsch, Largo

Teachers not the only ones underpaid

Re: School's out: It's time for teachers to struggle financially, letter, June 11.

I feel that I need to comment on the letter from the teacher who complained that some teachers cannot afford $15 for a luncheon.

I also work for the school system, and I don't make close to a teacher's salary. For some reason I manage! Maybe "manage" is the key word.

Teachers only work 10 months a year, 198 days. Let's face it, they know what is coming when June rolls around. They know they are going to be out of work for 10 weeks. What about the support personnel that work only 10 months, 196 days? The majority of the support personnel don't earn one-third as much as a teacher does.

Teachers are offered a payroll type called Twelve Month Option. It allows for teachers to receive pay during the summer. Every two weeks, teachers will receive a payroll direct deposit right into their checking account.

Let's also talk about the rest of the money that most of these teachers get throughout the year. If they do training outside the classroom, they get paid a supplement. If they cover another teacher's class, they get paid a supplement. What about the bonuses that the state wants to give them of $880, or another called Pay for Performance of $100?

I agree that teachers are underpaid here in Florida, but I also feel that goes for all personnel in the school system. Let's not forget about the people behind the scenes. If it wasn't for support personnel, how would teachers function? Let's think about that.
-- Kelly Bowlin, Clearwater

Bus, trolley need to eliminate redundancy

Is the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority wasting taxpayers' money? You decide.

On May 23, I asked the PSTA board to stop the redundancy of buses on route 80, which serves North Clearwater Beach. The answer, which came from executive director Roger Sweeney, was a resounding, "No."

The redundancy I refer to is the duplicated service by PSTA and the Jolly Trolley. The PSTA bus visits North Clearwater Beach 18 times daily, which means it passes our house on Mandalay Avenue 36 times each day except Sunday. Fifty percent of the time, it's empty.

The Jolly Trolley people say that PSTA regulates their scheduling. The trolley visits North Clearwater Beach 24 times daily, which means the trolley passes our house 48 times each day. Fifty percent of the time it is empty.

Combine the two, and a public conveyance passes our house 84 times daily except Sunday. They are both scheduled to go north on the hour and sometimes the half-hour, which mean they both appear at 880 Mandalay at the same time every hour from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and after that every half-hour until 9:30 p.m. Redundancy?

The property taxpayers of the county contribute $19,682,520 annually to the operation of the PSTA (0.6501 mills), and the property taxpayers of Clearwater contribute $300,000 annually to the operation of the Jolly Trolley. That is our money that PSTA and Jolly Trolley are throwing away. It is time for them to get together and eliminate this duplication.

How many other routes are being operated the same way? The PSTA board was totally mute on the subject. So much for politicians. The hard-working taxpayers of this county deserve better. They deserve to have their hard-earned money spent wisely. It is time for the PSTA board members to get their feet wet.
-- Charles F. Shank, Clearwater

Beach traffic a matter of timing

I hear and read a lot of comments about getting to and parking at Clearwater Beach. Sometimes I just don't get it.

At 12:46 p.m. Saturday, June 9, I left the Checkers at Drew Street and Ft. Harrison Avenue to head back to the beach. I had to wait while the drawbridge was up for the Starlight Majesty and a sailboat. I went through the roundabout and drove past the Clearwater Beach Hotel at 12:56 p.m. Ten minutes. Early afternoon on a Saturday, 10 minutes.

Just for the heck of it, I then drove past the parking lot at the rec center on Bay Esplanade. About a third of the parking spaces were empty -- early afternoon on a Saturday. One block from the sand.

Yeah, I know. This isn't spring break, and it wasn't a holiday. But the point is there are only a few holidays, and spring break doesn't last that long.

Folks, the glass really is only half full. Come to the beach other than at peak times, and you'll find you can get here quickly and find a place to park. Come at peak times, and you'll sit in traffic and have a hard time finding a place to park. That's just the way it is. Live with it.
-- John Doran, Clearwater

Voters uninformed about annexation

Re: Two neighborhoods vote to join Seminole, story, June 13.

After reflecting on the referendum vote, I am convinced that the unincorporated citizens of Pinellas County are not thinking when they go to the polls and vote for more government and taxes.

I and another citizen of an unincorporated area visited every home in both the Orangewood and Forest subdivisions. It took us two days a week for three weeks to visit each home and deliver a flier with information about being in the city of Seminole.

We told them that the important thing was to vote to have a voice because no matter how many people vote, the majority rules.

People told us that they would get free garbage collection, that they would be assured that their children would go to Seminole schools, that the code enforcement was better, that their homes would increase in value and that they would get free street lights if they would join the city.

We know that these are not truths; but even when explained, these citizens still did not believe the truth as we explained it. Just the franchise fees and utility fees would persuade most citizens not to join.

I hope that some of these people kept the flier and will reflect on their decision in the coming months and let us know which of these myths came true for them.
-- Dorothy Book, Pinellas County

Road improvement vs. new stadium

I read in the paper where seven county road improvement projects have been delayed so the county can deal with overextended funds. This is the same county that has budgeted several million dollars toward the new Phillies stadium in Clearwater.

The picture seems distorted when millions are spent for the possible benefit of thousands of people a year, when the millions could be spent to improve our roads and benefit thousands of Pinellas County residents a day.
-- Terril Fisher, Clearwater

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