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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 13, 2001
Re: Opponent of group home has record, Sept. 6
Editor: I am a provider for the mentally challenged and this article disturbs me as to who is the one that should be booted out of a residential area.
This Joanie Sederquist states that she was "afraid of the mentally retarded people who moved into a group home next door."
As she later retracted her statement of fear after her and her husband's arrest records are exploited and she finds that "the mentally retarded next door" are of no harm to her or her children.
As for her wanting the neighborhood to petition this group home out of the residential area, maybe it is the residential group home that should have filed that petition!
I applaud County Commissioner Peter Altman for his response to this situation. And I also respect his comments of "it was my belief that the state of Florida encourages and requires these types of facilities in residential areas." This is one of the areas of our community that is so misunderstood by community members such as Joanie Sederquist.
The mentally challenged that live next door have to overcome a lot of hurdles to be at the level of living in a group home. It has taken them years to get to that level of independence.
It angers me that someone like Joanie Sederquist, who cannot comprehend the challenges find efforts the mentally challenged make, can even think to try and petition them for the neighborhood.
-- Anna Golletz, Spring Hill
Editor: I have a handicapped daughter and I won't live forever.
The people in Embassy Hills must think they'll never be disabled and need a caregiver. They won't want a cold and crowded facility. They'll want the comfort of their home. They have no tolerance for people who are different and no compassion for any handicaps.
-- Carol Wassum, Hamilton, Ohio
Editor: Once again I am saddened and appalled by the story in last Saturday's Pasco Times of another child's face being disfigured by the family dog. When will dog owners learn that dogs are not little furry humans? They are animals! They do not think like humans nor can we think like they do! They do not react like humans!
Dogs bite almost 5-million Americans every year; 800,000 bites per year require medical treatment. Most of the bite victims are children and most of them are bitten on the face. How can people not feel the horror a child experiences in a dog attack! Most dog owners will say, "My dog would never hurt a child." Are they sure? The parents of that little boy probably said the same thing as did the other parents last year!
If the thought of the mutilated face of a child doesn't touch the hearts of dog owners perhaps the fact that dog bites cost the dog owners or their insurance companies over $1-billion dollars a year will.
The answer? Have a dog if you must. They have their place in the world. But, please parents, never leave a child alone with a dog, not even a trusted pet. Most of the children are bitten by the family dog or the dog of a relative If the dog owners who read this doubt the statistics, they can be easily verified on the Internet under dog bite laws or dog bite statistics.
-- Charles T. Cyphert, Hudson
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