Who Bothered Whom First?

Re: Controlled burns and wild pigs.

Mr. Quehl must be new to Florida since he doesn't know what a "controlled burn" is and how it will benefit him in the future. He certainly needs to contact the phone number the editor provided him to gain this knowledge, along with the reason why the helicopters dropped water at the end of the day.

I don't live in a "nice gated community." I live in a nice open, wooded area adjacent to Glen Lakes' southern gate called Evans Lakeside Estates. I have lived here for 21 years, way before Glen Lakes was developed. I moved here to "commune" with nature, not run away from it. My family used to enjoy the sights and the sounds of nature, including hawks, quail, raccoons, whippoorwills, an occasion bear, deer and, yes, wild pigs. The sounds of these animals at night used to make me go outdoors and just listen to their wonderful voices.

Glen Lakes changed all that. Down came the trees and lakes were dredged. The wildlife became almost non-existent. Then to put salt in our wounds, they created "the gate" that let the construction workers come in and exit from Glen Lakes through our streets so they wouldn't have to go through their subdivision. Then the gate became "official" for all the residents in the back parts of Glen Lakes to have easier access to U.S. 19.

The county commissioners still haven't admitted that this gate was illegal and that our roads (which were lime rock at the time) are sub-standard for the traffic. The county has counted up to 250 cars a day going down our street, some at unbelievable speeds. No wonder why in the summer there is at least one turtle a day dead on our roads.

Mr. Quehl, I would much rather have wild pigs munching on my lawn, hawks flying overhead, frogs singing from the lakes, raccoons digging in my trash, deer eating the corn I am trying to grow and uncontrolled burns in my area that will protect my family in times of drought than having hundreds of residents speeding past our homes every day.

I am sorry our wildlife "bothers" you and your dream of moving to Florida. You think it is the job of the county to remove these animals that are bothering you. Tell me, sir, who bothered whom first?

Patricia Mann

Brooksville