Letters

Letters to the editor, May 10

Hernando Today
Published: May 10, 2012

Festival improvements needed

It was reported in Wednesday's Hernando Today that the festival organizers were feeling success because of the turnout over the weekend at the Florida Blueberry Festival in Brooksville.

I realize this was a first-year event but unless those organizers were walking around with ear plugs the conversations I overheard were not very positive. There were many things in my opinion that need to be addressed before the next event in 2013.

Pat Crowley president of the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce may have seen a lot of people descending on downtown Brooksville but for that to take place again organizers need to heed what makes the Strawberry Festival such a success in Plant City.

The theme, "Blueberries" were harder to find than hens teeth. Here we are surrounded in the area by Blueberry farms yet cities like Tampa and Lakeland who also had festivals on the same weekend offered flats of blueberries for $10 and Brooksville price $25.

I understand vendors have there place and add to the interest at these types of events but lets not forget why people come to a "Blueberry Festival." There were good features too. The entertainment and car show were highlights but the disappointments took away from the positives.

Handicap and reasonable parking with shuttles are a must especially for seniors. Cash not "Blueberry Bucks" for purchases and last but not least rethink the date so you're not competing with Tampa and Lakeland for attendees.

Another question bantered about was why not use the fairgrounds. It's flat, has plenty of parking and cover to get out of the heat. So there are lots of things for organizers to look at and hopefully make improvements to before next year's festivities.

James Woods

Brooksville

U.S. Suicide

Controlling the long-term hemorrhaging of our national entitlement programs, as well as balancing our budget, would send a powerful signal to the world, that the U.S. is not committing suicide and that our credit will be good and our dollar will still be the choice as the world's reserve currency; that investments in our country are safe and attractive; that we have taken control of our destiny and that we are in fact a people capable of self-discipline. I hope so.

To accomplish this, we must immediately reduce the unprecedented, alarming, inconsumable deficit to which the government has become addicted to during the last three years of the Obama administration.

Because of big contributors of money given to our congressmen for re-election costs, then threes congressmen must return the favor by giving away billions to the gift givers. Congressmen who are frugal with the government's money do not receive these gifts. By reducing the size of government, by reducing each agency's budget by 20 percent, offers no pain to us taxpayers.

If massive spending by this present administration was used to prevent pain to the public, how come we are having so much pain during the last three years?

All government's unfilled jobs should be canceled and a freeze on hiring until the economy recovers. Reduction in the head count should be followed by a federal pay reduction including our congressmen, as well as a reduction in amounts of pensions.

Emphasis should be placed on developing jobs in the private sector. A severe degree of financial surgery will be necessary to bring back financial balance and to hold off massive desertion by the worlds inventors.

So it's up to you, the public, to demand and make sure our legislators do the right thing for our country; that is cut the debt entirely.

Norman Pallot

Weeki Wachee