LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Welcome Home

I had to write in with yet another in the long list of great events that will be seen by the election of Barack Obama as our 44th president.

I want to welcome back to the United States Alec Baldwin, Rosie O'Donnell, George Clooney and Barbra Streisand, who all moved out of the country, as they vowed, when George W. Bush was elected as our 43rd president.

Welcome home, fellow patriots, we've missed you!

Russ Colombo

Spring Hill

Veteran Thanks Golden Corral

As an American veteran, I would like to take this time to thank the Golden Corral restaurants in welcoming all U.S. veterans on Monday evening. I enjoyed this meal along with other veterans at their Brooksville location.

The entire staff were most humble, courteous and helpful, not to mention their delicious menu.

Hats-off to the restaurants and their staff!

God bless America.

Paul Coriaty

Spring Hill

Reader Can Relate

I, too, would like to thank Gary Joseph LeBlanc for his recent article entitled "Keeping It Simple" pertaining to life with his father who has Alzheimer's.

I am a full-time caregiver to my mom, who also suffers from dementia. I could really relate to just about everything he said in his article. It is nice to hear from someone else going through some of the same things, and I hope he continues writing regularly in Hernando Today.

Laurie Eubanks

Brooksville

Leopard Pride

I want to thank Hernando Today for the picture coverage you gave Hernando High School's Homecoming Parade. I have attended many, many Homecoming Parades through the years, and it is always so refreshing to see these young people display their school pride.

It is a great learning experience, working together, having fun together and showing our community that our students at Hernando High School continue to uphold the traditions that make Hernando High so special. Go Leopards!

Teresa Timmons

Brooksville

Give Thanks

This Thanksgiving Day, as we gather with family and friends to count our blessings, let's give thanks for the bounty we enjoy not just on this holiday, but every day. The safe, plentiful food that is available to us, and the products used to produce the clothing, housing, medicines, fuel and other products we use on a daily basis, didn't just appear in a store. They got there thanks to a tremendous partnership of farmers and ranchers, processors, brokers, truckers, shippers, advertisers, wholesalers and retailers.

In appreciation of this farm-city partnership, the president of the United States annually proclaims the week leading up to and including Thanksgiving Day as National Farm-City Week. On the seven days leading to and including Thanksgiving Day, Farm-City Week is celebrated nationwide. What are we celebrating? The American economy is strong thanks to the interdependence of farms and cities.

As the president of the Hernando-Citrus Farm Bureau, I would like to encourage local residents to take a moment this holiday season to appreciate the partnership that makes our food supply safe, affordable and abundant.

Rural and urban residents are "Partners in Progress," who produce the products, consume the products, and make them readily available through an efficient production and marketing chain. Farmers and ranchers are just the beginning of that chain. Farm workers, researchers, processors, shippers, truck drivers, inspectors, wholesalers, agribusinesses, marketers, advertisers, retailers and consumers all play important roles in the incredible productivity that has made our nation's food and fiber system the envy of the world.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let's remember the vital farm-city partnerships that have done so much to improve the quality of our lives. Rural and urban communities working together have made the most of our rich agricultural resources and have made significant contributions to our health and well-being and to the strength of our nation's economy. For this, we can give thanks.

Ken Smith, president

Hernando-Citrus

Farm Bureau

Brooksville