The Newscaster/Nature Coast News
PAGE 11 - May 28, 2008
Editorial - Opinion - Commentary
Letter to the Editor:
Re: Inglis Police Dept.
Four years ago we were going to eliminate the entire department, three years ago the
Yankeetown Mayor's Report
same, two years ago Roy Smith run on the platform of virtually eliminating the department(
until he studied the workings) a bad political mistake, and then last year was an open cam-
A Guest Commentary by Mayor Dawn Clary
paign to eliminate the chief and his second in command at the time, Captain Bible. There were
The Yankeetown Council held a public hearing Tuesday the 20th, on the remedial
serious rumors and allegations thrown around to the point that I know of 2 lawsuits filed on
changes to our Comprehensive Plan needed to bring it in line with requirements from the
behalf of (not against) Chief Bible, against those perpetrating the inaccuracies. To this date
Department of Community Affairs. Public input was taken. Since the problem with the comp
one was settled and the other still remains in limbo.
Plan mostly concerns our Capital Improvements Element, there were a significant number of
I
listened as each of
the critics of the department spoke and wondered what their per-
comments concerning our water distribution system, and why we had no projects concerning
sonal agenda was or why people with such colorful backgrounds would be the ones that
it
in the CIE. At this time we do not have any capital improvements slated, as is no surprise,
everyone was listening to. Traffic tickets, bullying, personal difference issues are matters that
the major stumbling block for placing projects into the Capital Improvements Plan is money.
should have been handled with a meeting between the Police commissioner, the Police Chief
The capital improvements plan can no longer be a wish list where the planned funding is a
and maybe an independent moderator instead of airing all of the supposed dirty laundry in
grant which is only hoped for and not secured. While we do apparently have more leeway in
public.
the outer years of the plan than we thought, the rules are now much more stringent. Although,
Of
course there are always two sides to each developing story but we only seem to hear
as
one councilman stated in the hearing, just because we have not put something in our plan
from the negative sides of the issues. Over the years, either the commission or the town has
doesn't mean that we will not do anything, funding may become available.
run off or eliminated every chief and quite a few of the older , more mature seasoned officers
However our distribution system seems to be functioning fairly well at this time. We
that we have had. The young officers we have are doing a thankless job for a substantially
have been rehabilitating isolation valves which will reduce outages when repairs are needed.
inadequate salary. Why would anyone carry a gun, deal with things that some of us could
Council just approved some money to update our drawings to facilitate repairs. Florida Rural
only imagine in nightmares, subject themselves to a phenomenal amount of stress and pres-
Water is starting to evaluate the engineering on an interconnect with Inglis. We have a leak
sure from an uncaring community? The only answer is because they care whether we do or
rate problem which staff has been diligently pursuing. We are ensuring that all known leaks
not. Eliminate the department, why would anyone want to be subjected to waiting for a
are repaired. We have an important modification scheduled for June to isolate a very large
deputy to respond, with the response time of 40 plus minutes when we have our own cover-
section of pipe in Sherwood Forest which was abandoned years ago. At that time we will
age
here? When we have an issue here it usually means medical critical or life or death.
reevaluate the leakage problem. The leak rate has been essentially the same for many years
Delayed time waiting for a roving deputy covering from Cedar Key to Yankeetown isn't
all
though the numerical percentage has gone up because our total consumption has dropped.
acceptable. Only those committed to illegal activities would be happy with a seriously de-
One
individual stated that they had iron in their water. We have tested the distribu-
layed response time.
tion system and found that we do not have an iron problem in the town's lines. However it
The other argument is that only 15 percent of the people are footing the bill for the entire
appears that many home owners have very old lines that are not corrosion resistant, which
community. That mentality is ridiculous. Property taxes are paid on rental properties by the
run from the town's system to their house. If you have an iron problem in your home, then it
owner. Large rental properties that are commercial also pay property taxes. Anyone that
appears that you have a problem with the line that runs from the town's meter to your house
thinks that the property owner is not going to recover his tax liability thru the rents paid is
and you may be surprised how much your water would improve if you replaced your line.
living in a different reality. Fact is rental properties and commercial rentals aren't privy to the
However, if you do have an excessive iron problem PLEASE CALL TOWN HALL at 447 2511.
homestead and tax reductions given to individual home owners
We
will come and test the water for you at the main and then inside your home. This will
Is
eliminating Chief Bible the answer? Did he break his contract? That again is up to the
definitely answer the question as to whether or not you could get improvement by replacing
legal experts to decide not us. Given the history of this community and their tireless efforts to
your pipe.
eliminate the department, who could blame any of the officers including the chief for seeking
The remedial changes to the Comp Plan were approved by the council and have been
other employment options. When you have no peace of mind or job security it would be
forwarded to the DCA. Good Night and Good Luck, Dawn Marie Clary, Mayor of Yankeetown
impractical not to investigate additional options for employment in the future
Citrus citizens can now sign up for
I
am thankful for the support and service that the Inglis Police Department provides
us
and I thank God every day for the department and ask that he keeps these young officers safe
and under his protection while they are performing their duties and protecting us from our-
Code RED Weather Warnings!
selves.
Dale E Gandee U.S. Army Retired, Inglis
The Citrus County Sheriff's Office is the first sheriff's office in the state of Florida to
Letter to the Editor:
offer CodeRED Weather Warning to its citizens. CodeRED Weather Warning, also known as
Re: Thank You!
Reverse 911 Calling, notifies citizens, by phone, of dangerous weather conditions, within
The Ladies Auxiliary of Gilley-Long-Osteen VFW Post #8698 would like to say THANK
seconds of a weather warning being issued for the area, due to the dialing speed of the
YOU to the businesses in town that helped out our cause. This is extended to the many
CodeRED Weather Warning conbined with its state-of-the-art banding technology. CodeRED
individuals that also helped make this a success.
weather warnings are issued for tornadoes, flash floods and severe thunderstorms, but don't
Donations were made to the LAVFW Veterans and Family Services program. This program
include hurricane warnings, since communities usually have several days advance warning
helps Female Deployed Troops that are overseas fighting for our country. Due to Your Help,
to
prepare for them.
we
were able to raise approximately $1,422.00 worth of supplies to take to our State Spring
However, this FREE weather warning service is not provided unless a citizen sub-
Round-up held in Ocala. This could not have been done without the help from this commu-
scribes for the service. To subscribe, citizens should either call (352) 746-6555, or sign up
nity.
online at www.sheriffcitrus.org - then click on the CodeRED link; fill in the blanks, (name,
We
had such a
success that
the LAVFW would like to continue this program. The only
address, primary and alternate phone numbers, etc.), then click on the box that says CodeRED
difference being is that we would find a Local Deployed Female that we could adopt her troop
Weather Warning; hit "Continue" and follow the rest of the instructions. "I truly believe this
and send care packages straight to someone from this area that needs it. If any of your readers
new service has the potential to save lives," said Sheriff Dawsy. "I urge everyone to sign up
know of any such deployed female - please , feel free to contact me, Debbie McDuffie at the
and take full advantage of this extra-critical time to take precautions."
VFW Post#8698 located on Hwy 40 Inglis, so that we can make this happen. Thank you.
In
late April, CodeRED changed its phone number from 999-911-9999 to 866-419-
We
are fortunate to live in a
town with so many caring people.
5000 (toll-free). If you sign up for the service and currently have "call blocking" on your
Debbie McDuffie,LAVFW #8698.
phone, you should contact your phone service provider and allow this new number to con-
12th Annual Freedom Celebration
nect. The phone number was changed, in order to allow subscribers the option of hearing the
Announcing the South Levy recreation park 12th annual freedom celebration to be
message replayed by calling back the new phone number.
held at the Buddy Risher sports complex at So. Levy Park on Saturday, July 5th,2008.We
e-mail your news to: newscast@atlantic.net
would like to invite everyone to attend our Independence Day celebration. Contests, games,
waterslides, etc will begin at 3:00 PM. We encourage everyone to attend.
NAPA Auto &
The Newscaster by Mail
Shannon Adams,Realtor
Truck Parts
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