New Palm Trees

Did you all see the new palm trees at the intersection of US 41 and SR 50 last week? Well, there gone, temporally that is, until the landscaper under contract makes plans to have them properly planted to the city specifications. Thanks to the conscientious thinking by Bill Geiger, Brooksville's Community Development Director, the trees may have now have a good chance of surviving since he has insisted a good top soil be installed before re-planting the palm trees. Originally, the landscaper just dug holes into existing limestone and then plugged the trees into position. Its a good thing that Mr. Geiger would not accept this method because the trees would not have survived in this type of element. It must be noted that these trees being planted are not the expensive date palms, as originally planned, but native, sable palms. Mr. Geiger went back to the Brooksville City Council to have these sable-type palm trees approved because FDOT would not accept the date palms due to sight limitations at this intersection. Thanks, Bill, for all your hard work and we will look forward to a beautiful entrance corridor leading into downtown Brooksville when the landscaping job is complete.

Fair Housing Workshop

The Hernando County Housing Authority will host a Fair Housing Workshop On May 25, 2006 from 9 a.m. to noon at 20 N. Main Street in downtown Brooksville. This informational workshop will provide information for the tenants and the landlords, with agenda items that include the general laws and rules. The Community Legal Services, Inc will be giving a presentation, along with information being provided by Donald Singer, the executive director of the Hernando County Housing Authority. The general public is invited, along with realtors and landlords, for this informational workshop. For additional information, contact the Hernando County Housing Authority at 754-4160.

Wait Another Year

The proposed, affordable housing units planned for the elderly on Barnett Road will have to wait another year, according to Donald Singer, the executive director of the Hernando County Housing Authority, as reported at yesterday's meeting. Mr. Singer reported to the board that the application to the state was fairly low on the funding list so this project would be re-submitted next year. Mr. Singer also indicated several items that help move the project up in funding order and would be discussing these with the project developer. One item included site improvements on the property, with the possible removal of an old house with a scheduled burn by the Brooksville Fire department as a training exercise. Hopefully, next year the Hernando county will have a better opportunity for state funding with this needed housing project for the low income elderly in our community.

Ho-hum So Far...

Are you worried about excessive taxes, high homeowner's insurance premiums, overcrowded classrooms, high-priced gasoline, health insurance costs, etc. Well, now is the time to start thinking about who will best represent you, and your family's interests, in the future since it is election year again. Some of the offices up for election include congressional seats, the state house, the governor, to the local county commission and school board races. This year has been ho-hum so far, with very little coverage in the local media about pre-qualified candidates, except for the opinions from the two major newspaper editors about the field of candidates. These editors comments were quite candid in expressing their opinions on the qualifications, or lack thereof, for the incumbent candidates. The public, in general, has been calling for an upheaval of all incumbents due to distrust and have expressed their opinion in many of the media outlets such as local talk radio and letters to the editors of the newspapers. Before you decide to check off candidates merely because they are incumbent, check out their voting records. Do they do what they say, and say what they mean, or are they merely pandering to the public for votes to keep their jobs? Some of the incumbents have had their nose to the grindstone, like Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite. She has represented the senior population of our community well, along with actively supporting our veterans by her actions, not just mere words. Other incumbents have merely existed in office, from year to year, without any significant contributions to our community except when it personally serves them. Now's the time to do your homework about the open seats for election and the slate of candidates vying for the particular position. Is three terms enough for a school board candidate or county commission candidate? Should a one term county commission candidate be advanced to the Florida House? Do we need a long term state house representative as a county commission candidate? It all depends on the performance of the incumbent and whether they deserve our vote of confidence again in 2006.

Emergency Reserve Fund

A controversial 3-2 vote took place by the Hernando County School Board last Tuesday night which was not to create an emergency reserve fund policy, even though this was the recommendation of school finance director. The Hernando County School Board chose not to pass this reserve policy even though a three to eight percent reserve fund is recommended by the Florida Auditor General's Office. It has been reported that Hernando County schools have been reprimanded in the past by the Florida Auditor General for not having this 3 to 8% reserve policy. The Hernando County School Board has only set aside 1.5 percent for emergency funds this year even though this amount would only cover approximately 1 month of operating costs for the school system, according to the school district's finance department. This current short-funded reserve account for the school system does not appear to be a fiscally prudent measure in light of cash flow problems being felt within in the school system. This current cash crunch might be caused by the lack of oversight on borrowing money for construction costs and costs related to the use of the half cent sales tax money. In January of this year it was reported that over $6.3 million brought in by the half-cent sales tax increase cannot be touched because the ballot referendum had not been publicly noticed according to the Florida Statutes. In order to use this tax money for new school construction special approval is needed by the state Legislature and then approval must be granted by a judge. School board members Pat Fagan and Robert Wiggins need to be commended for voicing their concerns regarding the creation of a minimum reserve policy but unfortunately they were on the losing end of the vote at last Tuesday night's meeting.

First Hand Account

If you would like a first hand account about the story of America's ongoing war on terrorism go to the source of the information. As the American Legion magazine likes to state it, first hand accounts come from those whose boots are on the ground. Check out the National American Legion website http://www.legion.org/ and then click on Letters to America from the front. Get the real side of the story that does not appear in the mainstream media outlets from our men and women currently serving in harm's way. This modern day website by the American Legion gives a real view of a war correspondent. God Bless all our troops worldwide to their service for our country!

Survey on Citizen's Bailout

Tampa Bay Business Journal is currently conducting a survey titled, How would you deal with the financial crisis of Citizens Insurance? This survey's content is based on the pending bills in the Florida State Legislature and the use of this year's $960 million windfall, along with the $5.6 billion in surplus at the state level. Coming in on top in this survey with 36% is for the entire deficit of Citizen's Insurance to be covered by this year's tax surplus so homeowners will not have to face higher premiums. Coming in at a distant second is the Florida House bailout of the proposed $920 million, with the third place going to withholding all funding to Citizen's until ethical standards are upgraded, with 16 % of the vote. At fourth place, with 15 %, is the option not to give any money for this bailout, based on the feeling that this is the cost of living in Florida. The Florida Senate's plan comes in next to last for the $750 million bailout of Citizen's Insurance. Representative Joe Negron was right when he said that the Citizen's assessment is really a back-door tax increase on all Floridians. Hopefully, the Florida Legislature is listening to the low rumble of discontent among all Florida homeowners struggling with the debacle of this Citizen's Insurance bailout while facing increases in their own premiums. Just look at the Tampa Bay Business Journal's survey, and see that by a 2 to 1 margin, the consensus is for a complete bailout of Citizen's Insurance, not just a half-hearted attempt by the Florida Legislature to ease our pain in the wallet.

Oak Hill's Primary Care Stroke Facility

Did you know that Oak Hill Hospital recently earned national certification as a primary stroke center from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations? This is great news for local healthcare in Hernando County. This newly accredited stroke facility at Oak Hill is the only hospital in this area to offer such cutting edge technology in (stroke) treatment of the patient. The only stroke facility of this stature outside of Hernando County is in Tampa but this really is not an option when time is of the essence in quickly accessing and treating the stroke patient. For example, one type of stroke occurs when a clot within your arteries cuts off the blood supply to the brain. With this type of stroke, or brain attack, it is critical that a person with (stroke) symptoms be accessed within 3 hours. If this type of stroke occurs, a clot busting drug can be administered within the 3 hour window to help prevent permanent disabilities, such as speech disorders, paralyses or even death.

Some symptoms of stroke include the following:

• numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg especially on one side of the body
• confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• severe headache with no known cause

We now have a very viable choice for survival, not only for ourselves but our loved ones, in the event of a stroke. First, call 911 if symptoms begin, and then demand the ambulance take you directly to Oak Hill hospital for assessment at the only certified stroke facility in 70 squares mile radius. Secondly, call your county medical director, Dr. Robert Blackburn, and request that he set up directives and training for all Hernando County EMS personnel in recognizing the symptoms of a stroke patient. For example, Dr. Blackburn already has a directive to air lift head trauma patients to a Tampa Trauma Unit for assessment/treatment by his EMS staff based strictly on the the safety of the patient. Hopefully, Dr. Blackburn will put the safety of the public first for possible stroke patients and direct his EMS staff to transport them to the Stroke Center at Oak Hill Hospital. Check out Oak Hill's website for more information at www.OakHillHosptial.com or call 352-596-6632.

Burn Ban

This morning the Hernando County Commissioners voted on a "burn ban" at the request of fire chief, Mike Nickerson. This "burn ban" is county-wide and is in full effect until further notice. Be advised that if you violate this order written warnings will be issued, followed by tickets. It is so dry with the lack of rain so please be careful!

Growing Frustration

Everyone is talking about the problem with illegal immigration in the United States. From the talking heads of television, to radio, many have voiced their opinions on the subject, in light of the many protests over the last several weeks. It seems everyone's has an opinion on this subject and it should prove to be a hot topic this election year. Last week, Congresswoman Ginny Brown Waite was on a local radio station where she stood firmly behind her position of completing the wall between Mexico and the United States, as a first step measure to get a handle on illegal immigration into this country. A website link is also being passed by email that emphasizes the completion of the wall by sending a brick to your elected representatives and senators in Washington DC which is http://www.send-a-brick.com/index.htm This link is just a sign of the growing frustration we all feel while watching the United States Senate haggle over this topic while they appear to be oblivious to the concerns of the citizens of this country. No one is against immigration into the United States but for goodness sake we just want it to be legal. A suggestion that may solve the problem for a guest worker program would to be get the business community on board. Much has been said about the need for these illegal immigrants to do the work United States citizens will not do, like pick vegetables and clean hotel rooms. With this good economy, and tight labor market, these type of labor needs may very well be required by some business owners. With this being said, these business owners need to step up to the plate by contacting their members of Congress to create a sponsorship program to oversee, and hire these illegal immigrants. Bear in mind though that all costs associated with a sponsorship program/guest worker program of this type should be that of the business owners. Business owners need to be required to pay for all the housing, food, medical assistance, etc. so these workers do not become a burden on our tax dollars and society. These business owners would also need to take on the responsibility for any legal costs associated with this program and guarantee that these workers return to their own countries upon termination of their employment. Along with this stringent set of enforcement rules, these business owners should also be required to the collect, and make payment, for the withholding taxes and workers compensation of these workers. One item that should not be taken into account is Social Security for these workers since this is a program designed to assist the citizens of the United States. Being realistic, the businesses that use illegal immigrants need to start playing by the same rules of all other legitimate businesses and stop the scare tactics of higher prices. These miniscule promises of price increases for produce are slight in comparison to the overburden we all have felt with the cost health care increases, and the overcrowding of schools, being impacted by the approximately 12.5 million in illegal aliens now in our country.

Two Art Events at PHCC

The community is invited to attend two events hosted a PHCC this week, list below:

• 4th Annual Celebration of Poetry / Friday, April 21st from 7-9 p.m. / North Campus, Room A139. Open-mike poetry reading will take place by the staff, students and community members. Call Richard Downing at 797-5132 for details.
• Transdendance, A Mixed Abilities Dance Exhibition / Tuesday evening, April 18th / New Port Richey Campus. 15 Dancers, some who use wheel chairs, will perform a choreography based on the creative work of PHCC students.

Happy Easter to you and your family! Anna Liisa

Which would you prefer?

Our Florida Legislature learned this week that they have a windfall of $960-million this year which is in addition to the $5.6 billion surplus previously reported in the news earlier. Taking into consideration that this is our money, how would you like to see this windfall of $960-million spent by our Legislature? Would you like more tax cuts? Or possibly help with skyrocketing homeowners insurance premiums? Maybe pay down part of Florida's $17.5 billion in tax-supported debt? Or neatly tuck away this windfall in reserve for more lean times? My first choice is for a tax cut. If the Legislature decides on tax cut, please find some other way to return our money besides a sales tax holiday. Why should we have to spent more money to see a refund of this tax windfall. Yes, I know, supply- side economics requires the spending of money to continue to generate this good economy so the sales tax holiday is technically a good idea. But why should we have to spend more of our hard earned money just to receive a few tax dollars back from the legislature? My second choice would be to pump the money into the failing Citizens Insurance fund to ease the pain to homeowners who are struggling with massive increases in premiums, do, in part, by the bail out (of Citizen's). I'm sure every property owner in this state would be delighted to have a portion of this Citizen's bailout be removed from their homeowner's insurance premium. Hopefully our Legislature will think hard before acting on this windfall so it will benefit the majority of us in this state and not just look like an approach to pander to the public during an election year.

Marine Corp Reunion

The 2006 Florida All Marine Corps Reunion, hosted by the Northeast Chapter of the 1st Marine Division, will be held May 5-7, 2006 at the Radisson Riverwalk Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida. Check out www.1stMarDivAssnNEFL.org for the details and registration forms. Open to all Marines past and present.

DD 214 Online

For any veterans that have misplaced their DD 214, please do not despair. There is a new website at the National Personnel Records Center which is vetrecs.archives.gov where veterans gain access to their DD 214 online. You will be asked to supply all the essential information to process the request but this new web-based design was created to provide better service.

Please excuse my sparse postings on this sight over the several last weeks . I was in Oak Hill Hospital having surgery and haven't been focused on community events. Check back in a week or so & I'm sure my energy level will be restored to normal... Anna Liisa