Letters to the Editors

U.S. 19 work imperils safety

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 6, 2000

Editor: Re: Construction along U.S. 19 bad for business, July 25 letter to the editor:

I will have to agree with the writer about the progress on U.S. 19. Not only is it bad for business, it is bad for safety.

Construction work has all but stopped. Look at the projects that DAB construction has been on:

Look at Mariner Avenue; how long did it take them to do that? You would see 20 employees standing around leaning on shovels smoking and talking.

Look at State Road 50; that was working for how many years before they finished? Now look at U.S. 19. It is a hazard to anyone who drives on that road. I ask the same question: Who is overlooking this project for the state or the county? It is apparent no one is.

Look at Spring Hill Drive when Overstreet Construction did the work. They went in, got the job done and got out; that is the way it should be. (No, I don't work for Overstreet. I work in a store on U.S. 19 and have to drive through the crap every day.)

When will someone in the state Department of Transportation wake up and smell the roses? I think DAB has overextended itself. Maybe the state should give the work to someone else.

Please do something about the unsafe, potholed, barrier-cluttered, cramped conditions of the highway. Get on the Internet and let Gov. Bush and the DOT know how you feel. The Web address is: www.flgov.com
-- Bill Luecke, Spring Hill

Waterfall soap threatens drivers and landscaping

Editor: Re: A soapy situation, July 24 Hernando Times photograph by Olie Stonerook:

Everyone was fascinated to see the photo of the Hernando County deputy pushing the soap suds coming from the Spring Hill waterfall at the intersection of Spring Hill Drive and U.S. 19. However, the soap does create a danger for the drivers.

This last application also has caused a problem for the Spring Hill Garden Club committee that maintains the landscaping at the waterfall entrance. So much soap was put into the water that it caused the flowers to stop blooming and caused severe damage to the back side of the boxwood hedge. If the flowers and hedge need to be replaced, it will be a financial strain to the Garden Club, as well as extra work for the committee.

The landscape committee of four works two days a week to plant, mow, weed and pick up your garbage to try to make the entrance to Spring Hill attractive. It is discouraging to us when members of the community soap the waterfall, drop waste on the grass, drive across the lawn and steal equipment and sprinklers.

Please, residents of Spring Hill, try to help us keep your waterfall entrance attractive.
-- James Erickson, Jean Erickson, Charles DeTurk, Dee DeTurk, Spring Hill

Defacing campaign signs highly improper behavior

Editor: I see election time is here and the political signs are proliferating faster than morning glories in a cornfield. I was very disappointed to see that at least one county commissioner's signs had been vandalized with graffiti.

Even though I am not a supporter of this candidate, I sure want to make my feelings known that this is highly improper behavior. People can ultimately express themselves in the voting booth, but in the meantime they can support their candidate financially or physically by doing the many jobs necessary to run a campaign. It is not proper to deface or destroy candidates' signs just because you are for the opposition, or any other reason. The only reason I can think of for removing a candidate's sign is if it is put up without the landowner's permission.

I urge all the candidates to run positive campaigns and urge the public to respect candidates' opinions and the candidates' personal property, their signs.
-- Chuck Morton, Weeki Wachee

Why does commission put up with defiance?

Editor: I can't believe the Hernando County Commission puts up with the defiant people of Hernando County.

The junkyard on U.S. 19 was given 20 days to clean up. It is well over 20 weeks and counting. Bayport Inn continues not to clean up the inn, which was cited some years ago for health violations. And, last but not least, those who water whenever they want, including Saturday, Sunday, in downpours and during the hottest parts of the day.

Oh, happy day when the voting polls open. Get with it or your days are numbered.
-- Clem Johnson, Spring Hill

Another heard Russell's "wet-behind-ears' words

Editor: Re: Contest escalates to billboards, July 28 Hernando Times:

I was surprised to read that state Rep. David Russell Jr. told the Times he had never referred to himself as "wet behind the ears." That's untrue; I heard him.

House District 44 candidate Sabato DeVito says Russell made the admission at a legislative forum in 1999. I wasn't at that forum, but I did attend a meeting of the United Communities at Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville earlier this year. Rep. Russell was the featured speaker on the issue of greenbelting. Most of us attending were interested in learning why some landowners pay little or no property taxes, while others shoulder a disproportionate burden.

During the question-and-answer period, a resident asked Rep. Russell why he hadn't done more for Hernando County. He replied he may have been a bit wet behind the ears and a bit naive when he first arrived in Tallahassee. Now he is assigned to some important committees and expects to have an easier time getting needed laws passed. He then went into a lengthy discourse on the legislative process and how difficult it is to get bills through the House and Senate to the governor for signing.

I called a United Communities officer to verify my recollection of the "wet behind the ears" comment before writing this letter. Rep. Russell said it, all right, apparently more than once.
-- Nina Vaznelis, Spring Hill

Seniors urged to write leaders to save HMOs

Editor: After the debacle organized by the Enrichment Center of Hernando County, which raised great hopes but delivered nothing pertaining to the exodus of HMOs in the county, I hope the senior citizens affected have not lost hope.

As a group, they have immense power, which they must manifest. That can only be accomplished by working in concert and sending an avalanche of letters to our elected representatives. Believe it or not, it is the job of those representatives to resolve these problems. Since this is an election year, it helps to know this is a voting bloc that can elect or defeat a candidate.

For your information, the Humana HMO will not leave Pasco and Pinellas counties. They offer two plans for those counties. Those are the value plan, which costs nothing per month, and the premium plan, which costs $19 per month. The same plan in Hernando County is $49 a month. Hernando is one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation. Residents are entitled to parity, not discrimination.

Remember when insurance companies tried to abandon Florida coverage for homeowners after Hurricane Andrew? They were compelled to change that decision after pressure was put upon them. Hernando County seniors can do that again by writing to their representatives. Write, even if you only say, "Help, I've lost my HMO and I can't survive."

Contact these people immediately: Karen Thurman, congresswoman, 5th District, Fla., Sen. Connie Mack, Sen. Bob Graham, Gov. Jeb Bush and Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson.

Their addresses are all in the telephone book. Time is of the essence. The exodus of HMOs is December 2000. After that, it is too late.
-- Joseph Tomaselli, Spring Hill

Investigate School Board over portable classrooms

Editor: I believe the Hernando County School Board should be investigated, for it seems that some schools in the wealthiest neighborhoods are the emptiest and have the least portable classrooms, and I would bet the best student-teacher ratios.

For example, I live two miles from Deltona Elementary School and more than three miles from Westside Elementary, but my kids are bused to Westside. I requested that my kids be allowed to attend Deltona Elementary and was turned down because it is a "closed school."

I was willing to drive them myself but was shot down, and I can't see why the bus does not run in this area anyway. It is not like a river or interstate highway separates me from Deltona Elementary.

I believe all elementary schools should have an almost equal amount of portables.
-- Kenneth Sanden, Spring Hill

Elect commissioners who look out for taxpayers

Editor: The commissioners have now decided they can do the swimming pool feasibility study for $15,000. If they can do it for that now, why the original request for $50,000?

We saved $35,000, but wait: We are now adding a third waterways maintenance technician. That even sounds expensive. Two weren't enough? What are we? The Panama Canal?

Okay! That cost us $30,500. We now have $4,500, which enables us to replace the picnic shelters at Pine Island, which were fine. I'm sure the sea gulls will appreciate the new shelters to deposit their droppings.

So, instead of saving anything, we have just moved it around.

We have to change this spend-spend-spend mentality on election day. We need an entirely new commission with the taxpayers' welfare at heart, instead of their own personal agendas.
-- Charles Miller, Spring Hill

Boosting pay of county's poorly paid is a noble act

Editor: Re: Timing of wage plan is suspect, July 30 Hernando Times editorial:

There are a lot of commission votes that might be called suspect: cement plants, mines, impact fees, etc. It is doubtful, however, that attempting to increase the wages of 56 of the county's working poor employees who probably qualify for food stamps, is one of them.

Fairness or budgetary considerations didn't seem to matter when the board approved upper management positions; the only criterion was what these people were getting or could get somewhere else. When these salaries are compared to the low-paying jobs at the other end of the scale, they appear to be obscenely bloated for our area.

One of our high-paid county employees is the director of Human Resources whose expertise in personnel matters should enable her to find a way to revise the wages of only those hourly employees on the low end of the pay scale; and even using new math there is no way it would cost $2.5-millionbecause salaried management jobs would not be considered. Her recent admission that there also are employees earning only $8 an hour after 12 years with the county reveals there are other inequities that need investigating. Even burger flippers would be in management after that long.

Your statement that workers accept low wages because they want less responsibility is patently ridiculous. The county has a code of rules and regulations that apply to all employees. Minimum-wage and salaried workers have to consistently dress properly, show up on time, treat co-workers and the public courteously, and perform their tasks efficiently and in a timely manner. Basic transportation, food and day-care costs are the same for employees on both ends of the pay scale.

It has been overlooked that the employment picture will soon change when the new expressway becomes a reality. Both government and private sector employers are in for a rude awakening as workers become more scarce. The road will provide the means for many in our local work force to quickly commute to the Tampa Bay area where living wages are available. Granted, new people will be moving in, but they are likely to be more retirees and those already working in the bay area.

I'm sure Commissioners Pat Novy and Paul Sullivan welcome every vote they can get in their upcoming races for re-election, but to accuse them of pandering for all of 56 votes is ludicrous. Out of character as it may seem, politicians are occasionally motivated to do the right thing.
-- Mary L. Wright, Brooksville

Name confusion comment not directed at any group

Editor: Re: Short list splits fire board members and Dispute over list left unsettled at meeting, July 25 and July 28 Hernando Times, respectively:

Please understand that when I stated people were confusing my name with Al Kroner's name, I did not, under any conditions, direct this statement toward any specific group of people, nor did I intend to insinuate anyone is stupid. I was simply stating that in general it is human to make an error; that is why erasers are placed on pencils.

To prove the credence of my statements, you will find that a reporter from Hernando Today made the exact error I am speaking of in his story on July 28. That error can be found on the front page next to the last paragraph. It reads, "Rodriguez called Kroner's actions dirty politics, a charge Kanner denies."

Anyone can make a mistake. Most important, please don't turn this into a racial issue. That was not the intent.
-- Robert Kanner, commissioner Spring Hill Fire and Rescue District

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