LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Not Exactly

Re: Jim Gibson's "Feedback" letter to the editor in the July 23 edition of Hernando Today.

Mr. Gibson's letter does not have all the facts concerning this state initiative on affordable housing that requires the county to reduce impact fees by 25 percent for 18 months. He implies that there are "numerous programs available for assistance to first-time home buyers." Well, not exactly numerous. SHIP with the Housing Authority is one of the main areas low-income people go to, to get down payment assistance and the program only has $1.4 million this year to help those who qualify.

Did you know that a first-year teacher or firefighter makes too much to qualify for SHIP? Those funds typically are gone after the first week of qualifying and applying for it. They then go on a waiting list for next year. Yes, there is FHA and a few other programs that are getting tougher and tougher to get financing for, but numerous, I do not think so.

As far as schools needing more money for building, well, the last several years the school board has over-estimated the number of students and found out after counting that they did not get the student population they had expected. Hernando County is currently losing families due to no jobs, low economic activity and unfriendly business environment. The county has not diversified its business portfolio, so we are dependent on the housing industry and retail.

Pinellas County is closing schools this fall. Hillsborough County has stopped building new schools. Do you see a trend for a while? To say that impact fees from current construction are bringing in much would be absurd.

To qualify for a portion of this $20 million, the impact fee reduction is for 18 months only. We do not expect to make much in the next couple of years from construction, so why not try to tap into money allocated to help people get into existing homes and new homes? At least it would bring some kind of badly needed stimulus to this county until things turn around and we make changes in attracting other forms of business.

Not a bad trade off.

Ana Trinque

Realtor

Brooksville

Low Class, Insulting

Re: Doug Patton's column, "Rules for Democrats, Republicans," in the July 22 edition of Hernando Today.

Mr. Patton used the word "Muslim" nine times while he was complaining about the Democrats distorting things. As we all know by now, Sen. Barack Obama is not Muslim, he is a Christian. I think the Republicans are steamed that the Democrats have caught onto their own dirty tactics over the years, including swiftboating and other rotten tricks pulled on other good people to smear their good names.

Republicans have a candidate that is "older than dirt," according to his own words, that no one likes, including his fellow Republicans. They admit he is a hothead and not well thought of among his peers. Mr. Patton should focus his efforts on reality and not his own pathetic attempt at smear campaigns against Obama, a Christian man. The press is not hammering him because there is nothing there to hammer. While the old hot head has a divorce in his background that no one talks about. What were the reasons for his divorce? Spousal abuse? Of course, this is just a good guess. Do you see how these kind of statements can hurt people?

Anyway, I can't believe you actually let this guy Patton get this awful piece printed in your paper. It was very low class, caustic and insulting.

Teresa A. Karas

Weeki Wachee

Same Sorry Song

Re: "Cover-Up Claims Unfounded, Sheriff Says," by Kyle Martin in the July 23 edition of Hernando Today.

The people of Hernando County are only looking at what Hernando Today printed in the paper in the past week to come to a different conclusion. If this is not a cover-up gone bad and a "Johnny-come-lately" bad decision by two well-trained law enforcement officers, are they both rookies?

This one is hard to swallow, and it is unacceptable like the one that was unfounded several years ago at Disney World. Or has the sheriff forgotten about that one? I haven't. When the lieutenant on the SWAT team and another employee at the sheriff's office were at Disney World, the lieutenant had a .22 caliber weapon in his pocket that accidentally discharged. Didn't he read, "No Firearms Allowed?" When the weapon went off it shot another person next to him in the foot. The lieutenant and the other person left Disney World without reporting it to anybody, not even the county sheriff's office until they got back to Hernando County. Too late, the crime happened at Disney World. It became a crime when he entered Disney World with the weapon and to shoot someone accidentally or not, it was and still is a crime. But he is a sheriff's deputy. He is above the law.

There was an internal investigation by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, and nothing happened. I have seen deputies in this county terminated for much less than that. I guess this was not a cover-up either. I guess I would have to agree with what I read in a letter to the editor the other day that the "good old boy syndrome" is still at large in the sheriff's office.

The sheriff and his department have their own set of rules, depending on who you are and that is pretty evident in the past performances of that department or since Sheriff Richard Nugent took command.

Yes, we have a lot of good law enforcement employee's at the Sheriff's Office, but it appears that some of the good ones are gone - by choice or terminated. It also appears there are still some bad ones left. In the end, the sheriff says who goes and who stays. As long as he remains in that position, it will be as it is.

Gary Mercer

Spring Hill

Managing The

Iraq War Folly

I've had it. I am so tired of our soldiers being victims of greed and lack of concern by our administration. It is bad enough that we entered the Iraq war folly under false and misleading pretenses.

It is time to bring our troops home safely and as soon as possible. If this administration was serious about this war, it would not allow companies formerly associated to Vice President Dick Cheney to kill our soldiers by faulty electrical wiring. How patriotic is that?

The tales of horror and abuse go on without this administration caring about our troops. All we get are those smirks from both the president and vice president. I cannot believe anyone sticking up for these characters. There is nothing wrong with being a conservative, but to be led by your noses by the smirkers tells us that the conservatives must be the same as their leaders -- uncaring for our soldiers.

It is all unreal to stand there and accept the malarkey fed to us by our congresswoman, self-serving Rush Limbaugh and the great Fox News Channel's fair and unbiased reporting. We cannot deny your rights to believing and accepting what you believe, but please use your common sense.

As a dear friend told me years ago prior to his death, America will get its just desserts for what it has done to itself. He was not referring to terrorist attacks, but the self-destruction of this great nation. He left this world with a sadden heart.

Now, back to my point: It is over for this folly. We want our troops home from Iraq now, not in a hundred years from now nor in body bags.

Now!

Fred Peters

Brooksville