Name recognition alone...

Bless Commissioner Jeff Stabins heart! Mr. Stabins said we need a sponsor for Hernando County Government's tax woes, like Coca Cola or Wal Mart. He estimates that $10 to $12 million "cuts" will be necessary to make up for the state's property tax package.

Just a few loose ends need to be cleared up before the county marches out into the corporate world looking for sponsorship for the county. What criteria will be used to choose a corporate sponsor and who will be in charge of negotiating the deal? Maybe we could have a contest, with the winner being chosen from by citizens. Would the winning sponsor be chosen from the highest bidder or on name recognition alone?

Just imagine if the World Wrestling Federation were chosen as the county sponsor. We could blend this corporate sponsor's slogan into the framework of our county government with a snappy phrase like, "The World Wrestling Federation proudly sponsors Hernando County Government where politics are locally known as a contact sport!"

If you are not excited with a sports aspect, possibly an over the counter medication, with national name recognition, is more to your liking for county sponsorship. This slogan should ease everyone's mind, "Preparation H proudly presents the Board of County Commissioners, where they hope to sooth and cool your approach to local government."

The possibilities are endless for corporate sponsorship and so are the outlandish slogans. Do we really need to sell our county to the highest corporate sponsor when the answer is sitting right in the commissioner's backyard?

One suggestion to save $4 million right now would be to freeze all expenditures for new county vehicles for one year. Try dusting off a copy of the 2002-03 budget to refresh your memories of how it was before the county was flush with all this "new money" from the building boom, commissioners...

Entergetic voice

Ernie Holzhauer, the energetic voice of Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, has retired after 37 years on the job. Ernie has been the long time spokesman of WREC as their director of Public Relations. He will be missed by all of us for his conscientious approach during hurricane season, with his reassuring voice on the radio, during disasters to guide us through the darkness.

Ernie Holzhauer will be missed by many of us. His positive, upbeat attitude has been an inspiration to many of us in the community over the years. Good wishes go out to Ernie as he pursues that dream of finishing his master degree. Enjoy your retirement, you deserved it, Ernie!

Breathtaking views...

Our safari to South Africa was a thrilling and exhilarating experience, from the safari to the sightseeing in Cape Town. The 22 hour airline flight to reach South Africa is always grueling but well worth the experience of visiting this gorgeous country. The area where we hunted on safari vaguely resembled the state of Arizona, with its mountains and cactus. It was really amazing to see Aloe Vera plants, with brilliant orange blossoms, growing 8 to 10 feet high on the mountain side.

Our safari was action packed with my husband darting a White Rhino from about 20 yards, while I bagged a Black Wildebeest, Kudu, Impala, Gemsbuck and a white Spring Buck. Our great room at home has long since been re-named as our game room. Needless to say, our taxidermist also looks forward to our vacations!

The Kudu has been nicknamed the gray ghost for a reason. This large animal hides in treed areas, with only the tips of its horns peeking over the tree tops. My hunt for the Kudu could only be described as spiritual in nature. While hunting Kudu, it was necessary to climb down a mountainside in pursuit of this magnificent creature, only to have it allude us early in the day. This was a frightening experience since I am not particularly keen on climbing anything higher that a step ladder. Later in the afternoon, I was able to sight-in another Kudu with success. This animal weighed approximately 1,000 pounds and had 46 inch horns.

Each hunt required running, and climbing the landscape but was well worth the experience. It was eerie to stand on rocky elevations, listening to baboons bark like dogs, and see the rhinos roam the countryside. The impression of this countryside, from its wild animals to its uncomplicated people, is like taking a step back in time.

Our sightseeing trip to Cape Town was well worth the trip even though the weather was less that perfect. We visited a nature preserve to see the beautiful penguin population. These birds mate for life so it was interesting to see the family structures from mom and pop, to the babies in their nests. We were even fortunate to observe a seal doing the back stroke in the harbor near our hotel.

One of the most spectacular sights was seeing the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, simultaneously, as we stood on a cliff of Cape Point. This view of the Cape of Good Hope took our breath away while the cold winter wind blew in our face.

The most reassuring feeling came when we touched down at Tampa International Airport. In the words of Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, "There's No Place Like Home!"

Brief note

Just a brief note to let everyone know that I have temporarily disconnected the comment portion on my blog due to actions of a few individuals. Although I welcome all comments, pro and con, there is no place on this blog where profanity will be permitted...

So great...

I am off to South Africa again in search of the mighty Black Wildebeest. It is so great to be blessed with such a wonderful son, daughter-in-law and super employees that will tend to business while off we are off seeing the world. I'm just as excited about the prospect of seeing penguins in Cape Town as I am anticipating our safari. I will talk to you when I return from vacation on June 12, 2007.

Good-hearted souls

Do you remember the graffiti that was spray-painted on the old railroad car at the old Brooksville Train Station? Well, some really good-hearted souls cleaned up this mess with a coat of paint. These same good Samaritans also mow the grass and work as handymen to make necessary repairs for the train station. These generous individuals are members of the American Legion Post at High Point. These men even volunteered for security detail for the Brooksville Raid in Janaury which helped ease the burden for Jan Knowles. It sure is great to have individuals of this caliber in our community.

Possible replacements...

Yesterday, a radio report listed possible replacements for Paul Wolfowitz, the head of the World Bank. One name that was mentioned was Robert Zoellick who was the former Ambassador of Finance and former Deputy Secretary of State under Condoleeza Rice. Robert Zoellick is the son of Gladys Zoellick, a resident of Timber Pines.

GOP will punish Florida

Did anyone catch the small article in today's metro section of the Times about Senator Mel Martinez? It was titled, Martinez says GOP will punish Florida. Seems Mr. Martinez intends to impose sanctions for the 2008 Presidential Preference Primary if Governor Crist signs the legislation to hold the election on January 29th. The Florida Legislature made this law for an earlier election and it is projected to be signed by the Governor next week. Doesn't the republican party have enough problems with credibility without the RNC chairman threatening a loss of delegates?

Hit a few snags...

From the information in this morning's Hernando Today, it looks like the second pick for the new city manager position of Brooksville has hit a few snags. It appears that Ms. Norman-Vacha has made demands the mayor, David Pugh, Jr. is not willing to accept into her contract. Mr. Pugh is right to thoroughly scrutinize these unreasonable details of this contract for new city manager.

It seems that Ms. Norman-Vacha wants her starting pay to be $83,500 a year which is $8,500 over the amount offered to Mr. Bobowski. Why should the second choice for city manager be worth more than the first?

The city attorney brought into question her credit history which has some flaws in payments history . The city council should stipulate that Ms. Norman-Vacha be required to pay for her own bonding as a condition of her contract if it exceeds that of her predecessor, Richard Anderson. This would be the only fair way to make sure the taxpayers are not burdened by anything that may, or may not, be in her credit history.

Ms. Norman-Vacha does not want to be held to the same standards as rank and file employees with the city of Brooksville under their personnel policy. She does not want to be held accountable for misfeasance, malfeasance of nonfeasance. Does the city council realize that if these items are granted, the dismissal of Ms. Norman-Vacha from her contract would be very difficult, if not impossible? Who is going to determine "just cause" if she does not have to follow standard protocols?

One item that was not discussed in these contract negotiations was the residency of the new city manager. It was a stipulation for the city manager to live in Brooksville when Richard Anderson held the position. Will Ms. Norman-Vacha be moving into the city?

Ms. Norman-Vacha has indicated that she wants to continue with her personal business venture when hired as city manager. Isn't the city manager position a full time position?

It will be interesting to see if the city council votes to contact their third choice, Mr. Lester Baird at Monday night's meeting if this contract cannot be ironed out with Ms. Norman-Vacha.

eLert system

If you haven't signed up for the Hernando Sheriff's Department's eLert system, I highly recommend it. The Hernando County Sheriff's Department developed a system to automatically send out alerts via email to all that have subscribed to the service. I signed up for this service several months ago and have been notified of all the major crimes before they reach the local media. For instance, an eLert was sent out for the suspects in the armed robbery and shooting at Boyette Groves within hours of the crime. This week I received an eLert that included photos of bank robbery suspect who was apprehended the next day. If you want to sign up for this service, here is the link: http://www.hernandosheriff.org/eLert/

Offensive behavior...

The article in this morning's Hernando Times, in reference to the criminal complaint filed against David Pugh, Sr., by city councilman Richard Lewis caused me real concern. It appears that the content of this article was based on the comments of the friends of Mr. Pugh, Sr. and they have attempted to paint Mr. Lewis in a negative light.

The city attorney stated in this article that Mr. Lewis had "completely embellished" the incident and fabricated information. It must be noted that Mr. Lewis had attempted to have the city attorney dismissed from his position at the council meeting earlier in the evening and possibly that is the reason why the city attorney made such outlandish statements to the newspaper reporter.

I had a similar incident happen to me with Mr. David Pugh, Sr. Several months ago, before a Brooksville City council meeting, Mr. Pugh, Sr. came at me in a very hostile fashion, attempting to bully me. I did not agree with the actions of his son, the mayor, and thank goodness my husband was there to intercede on my behalf to stop this aggressive behavior by Mr. Pugh, Sr.

Another incident occurred not long ago with two elderly ladies at city hall. These ladies were in a conference room at city hall listening to recordings of prior city council meetings when Mr. Pugh, Sr. barged into the room screaming at them. These poor ladies had to call for help to have him removed from the room.

This offensive behavior of Mr. David Pugh, Sr. has reached a point that it can no longer be ignored by anyone. Councilman Richard Lewis needs to be commended for having the foresight to walk away from this incident with Mr. Pugh, Sr. and file the proper complaint with authorities.

Fabrication of her friends...

Excuses for delaying Mitchell Bobowski's contract until the city council meeting are becoming very clear. Council members Bradburn and Bernardini wanted to sway Mr. Pugh into changing his mind for the new city manager choice. Too bad Mr. Pugh acted on bad advice by his cohorts on the council who also convinced Mr. Burnett to change his mind and enter into contract negotiations with T. Jenenne Norman-Vacha.

I telephoned the city of Hazel Park, Michigan about an hour ago and spoke with their city manager, Ed Klobucher. Mr. Klobucher was quite cordial and stated emphatically that, yes, Mr. Mitchell Bobowski was their city manager during the late 1980's and earlier 1990's. Mr. Klobucher stated that he was on the zoning board appeal commission when Mr. Bobowski was their city manager and remembers his tenure quite vividly. Mr. Klobucher even said the Mitch Bobowski was responsibile for many economic developments projects that the city still utilizes today.

Seems like it is just another chapter in this sad, sorted history of this new council which has been commandeered by Mr. Bernardini and Ms. Bradburn. They side-stepped their own procedures to get a second bit of the apple for the new city manager position. Too bad Ms. Vacha will enter the city manager position based on the fabrication of her friends...

Nit-Picking

Turn out the lights, the party is over in the city of Brooksville for Mitch Bobowski, the first choice for new manager. Last night at the city council meeting, a 4-1 vote was taken to proceed with contract negotiations with T. Jenenne Norma-Vacha. It seems that the term nit-picking took on a new meaning with 4 of the 5 of the city council members.

Mr. Bernardini's was overheard making a comment last Tuesday evening saying, "It ain't over yet", in reference to the new city manager position. Those who heard the comment took it as a threat to Mr. Bobowski's contract negotiations. It looks like they were right.

It will be interesting to see how long the remaining department heads stay in their positions after Ms. Vacha becomes city manager. Several names come to mind but they will be left unsaid today. Those that crossed her over the years may be looking for employment elsewhere after this new tsunami sweeps over the city...

A big thanks...

I attended the Hernando County Fine Arts Council annual "Arts in the Park", art festival over the weekend at Tom Varn Park. The festival turnout was good even though a few in the community were a little confused about the changing of the date. Previous festivals have taken place over Memorial Day weekend but the festival community decided last year it was just too hot to be enjoyable on that date. It rained late Saturday afternoon but thank goodness no one had their art projects damaged in the down pour. The rain held off on Sunday until the end of the day so everyone had the opportunity to leisurely visit the park.

The "Art in the Park" festival was put on by some very hard working volunteers in our community. These people worked for at least six months behind the scenes to be able to present this wonderful festival for our community, from lining up the exhibitors, to making sure the porta-potties were ready on opening day. The festival committee consisted of Linda Anderson, Kathleen Wilson, Patti Cotter, Lois Hall, Tony Covell, Mikel Hannnigan, Jan Knowles, MJ Russel and Lee Parent.

Besides the festival committee, many other people assisted in making this festival a success this year. The young adults of Navy JROTC from Central High School volunteered as parking assistants and the Scouts manned the Coke wagons, selling cold drinks to the thirsty crowds. Many retired, semi-retired, and just plain working folks donated a few hours over the weekend to help the festival committee. Each of these hard working volunteers worked to make this festival a success and really deserve "a big thanks" from all of us in the community!

What a difference

Did anyone watch the first republican presidential debate on MSNBC last night? It was conducted in the Ronald Reagan facility in California. Nancy Reagan was in attendance with the Governor of California as her escort. Mrs. Reagan looked frail but elegant just the same as she entered the hall. The most amazing part about this debate last night was the emphasis placed on "greatness" for the former President Ronald Reagan by all the personnel at MSNBC. What a difference a few years makes in their praise for President Reagan by the media.

Most of the candidates were equal in this first debate. In my opinion, none of the candidates made a home run, so to speak, with any profound platform statements. In fact, the republican party has been sorely lacking when it comes to developing any new ideas during this primary season. The moderator asked the candidates several questions which were meant to be a one-line answers by the candidates. This gave MSNBC a method to collect sound bite information for later in the election.

Rudy Giuliani was the only candidate to answer the question about the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade in direct opposition his opponents, stating he believed it should be a woman's choice even though he personally did not agree with abortions. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Giuliani prevails with his centrist opinions in the Presidential Primary. This will be a litmus test to gauge the far right wing's actual power compared to the moderate wing of the republican party in this election...

Be careful

For those of you waiting for a decision on property tax reduction from the Florida Legislature, you will have to wait a few more weeks. The Florida House, Senate and Governor cannot agree on the language necessary to give Floridians relief from high property taxes in the last few days of this Legislative session. In fact, the term rancorous has been used by the media to describe this stand-off by by House Speaker, Marcio Rubio, Governor Charlie Crist and Senate president Ken Pruitt. All talks have been suspended on property tax reduction in the Florida Legislature until a special session is held for June 5-15, 2007.

Many groups have expressed concerns about the impact that these proposed reductions could have on our economy. One main item of concern that has not been fully addressed is non-homesteaded properties that include commercial property. If your first thought is so what, businesses make enough money, think again. Commercial property owners already pay a lion's share of the property taxes in this state and without proper oversight by our Legislature on carefully structured property tax reduction, the economy could come to a screeching halt. The business community, which includes the tourist related property, cannot bear the burden of increased property taxes.

The term "be careful what you wish for" should be the motto of our House, Senate and Governor when they bang the gavel on June 5th, the first day of the special session...

"Art in the Park"

The Hernando County Fines Arts Council will host their annual arts and crafts festival this weekend, titled "Art in the Park". Over 150 exhibitors will display their works that range from water color, oil,graphics, acrylic, mixed media, photography, pen and ink, and fine crafts on the walking trails of beautiful Tom Varn Park. Come out on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to enjoy the art festival which will also include live entertainment and many food vendors for your pleasure. See you all this weekend!

New city manager...

Congratulations go out to Mitchell Bobowski, the final choice for new city manager of the City of Brooksville. Mr. Bobowski has many years of public service ranging from Hazel Park, Michigan to the city of Seminole in Pinellas County. He has government management experience which includes being a general services director and city manager.

Mitchell Bobowski served as General Services Director in city of Seminole from 1999 to 2006. He served over a population of 18,500 in the city of Seminole and is very familiar with economic development which will be beneficial to our community. As a added plus, he supervised planning and community development, building and code enforcement and public works departments in Seminole. Mr. Bobowski was the city manager of Hazel Park, Michigan, from 1987 to 1994, who responsible for an annual budget of $12 million, with 135 full time employees.

Many of us in the city of Brooksville are looking forward to having this new city manager come on board. Congratulations, Mitchell Bobowski!

Gray-murky waters...

Last Friday's editorial opinion by Jeff Webb of the Hernando Times hit the nail on the head. The title said it all which was "All fun, no work? No way." This editorial highlighted the gray-murky waters that the city council member will swim in tomorrow night at the Brooksville Country Club, to wine and dine the applicants for the new city manager position. Mr. Webb's said that this gathering will take place in a dimly lit spot of the Sunshine Law in his article. Everyone in the city who is interested in this none-city meeting, labeled a social gathering, should make a reservation at the country club to watch this non-public meeting in action.

Too Bad Jeff Webb was not aware that Councilman Richard Lewis had notified the city clerk over a week ago that he would not be attending this function. Mr. Lewis did not want taxpayers money spent on this event but this was not his main concern about the gathering. Mr. Lewis felt the mere appearance of impropriety was reason enough not to attend this dinner that had questionable connotations in reference to the Sunshine Law.

Fishing

Lawyers usually don't arbitrarily go on fishing expeditions without the direction of their superiors in Hernando County government. I wonder who asked county attorney, Jon Joubin, to request the billing records of Andy Saltzman, attorney for the Spring Hill Fire Commission? It would be interesting to know...

So much

"I would not be in favor of voting to approve the comprehensive plan amendment for Hickory Hill because I think it is premature," stated Rose Rocco during her campaign in 2006. So much for campaign commitments...

Posthumous pardon

Just one quick question, please. "Doesn't Governor Charlie Crist have anything better to do with our tax payer money than to have his staff research the feasibility of a posthumous pardon of Jim Morrison, the deceased lead singers from the Doors? Jim Morrison was charged with indecent exposure and using profanity during a concert in the 1970's. Governor Crist was quoted as saying about Jim Morrison, "if you have a heart pounding in your chest, that tugs on you" in reference to the death of this singer attempting to clear his name from the incident in the 1970's. If Governor Crist thinks this is a pressing issue then he should also consider the pardon of Janis Joplin for using profanity at Curtis Hixon Hall in the 1970's...

***Please be advised that I have one rule on this sight which is no profanity so I have blocked the comments to this post. To those that replied earlier, this case is approximately 35 years old and happened at a time when profanity was not permitted in public. Our tax money is being wasted at the hands of Charlie Crist with his attempt to pardon a rock and roll star that clearly set out to shock the public of that era and in my opinion, is a clear case of pandering on the governor's part.

Good sports

Saturday night, my husband and I attended the Enrichment Center's fundraiser to roast Rich Nugent, John Druzbick and Mickey Smith. This fun evening was to raise money for the Enrichment Center which is located on the campus of Oak Hill Hospital.

Debbie Druzbick did a wonderful job coordinating this event with all her volunteers from the Enrichment Center. She looked pretty snazzy, too, in her black, palazzo pant suit. Nick Morana served as the Master of Ceremonies to the delight of the crowd while Anthony Palmieri tended bar. The ladies of the Enrichment Center deserve a round of applause from all of us that attended this event. They worked tirelessly serving the crowd a dinner of spaghetti, salad, desert and coffee. The tables were all beautifully decorated with center pieces, and individual servings of roast nuts to munch on during the evening. The chef that made the roasted nuts gets my personal thanks. They were mmm, mmm, good!

Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite squeezed time into her busy schedule to briefly stop in and wish the Enrichment Center every success with their fundraiser. Although all the county commissioners, Rep. Robert Schenck and Senator Fasano purchased tickets, none of them attended this event. They could all take a lesson from Congreswoman Brown-Waite on what it takes to be a true public servant.

Robert Nolte, editor of the Hernando Today and Jeff Webb, editor of editorials for the Hernando Times, roasted John Druzbick. Mr. Nolte had the Hernando Today staff print a funny article on John's obsession with the big yellow school buses. Mr. Webb did a hilarious slide show presentation of John, using photos from his birth to present time.

Walter Dry, president of the Human Rights Coalition, and Anna Liisa Covell (me) roasted Mickey Smith, the CEO of Oak Hill Hospital. Although Walter's remarks about Mickey were quite gentle, he managed to get in some very humorous zingers about Mickey. My presentation was a spoof about Mickey which brought laughs from the crowd.

Sheriff Nugent was roasted by Leo Jacobs, Spring Hill Fire Commissioner, and Nick Morana, member of the Enrichment Center board of directors. Mr. Jacob's remarks started out funny and then became very complementary to the Nugent family. Nick Morana's comments were a play on some well, worn jokes but hilarious, just the same. Nick should have had a second job as a stand-up comic. He would have put Henny Youngman to shame with his quick wit.

Sheriff Nugent, John Druzbick, and Mickey Smith certainly were good sports for lending themselves to this wonderful organization all in the name of raising money.

Honor his contract

This should be under the heading, "You're not going to believe this one" with the Brooksville city attorney citing provisions of the city charter for reneging on the contract with Chief Tincher. Its ironic that the city charter is now being dusted off after being blatantly violated numerous times since January 8, 2007, and the city attorney is grasping for a legal maneuvers to violate the rights of Chief Tincher once again. Incidentally, this same contract provision under the city charter was discussed about a month ago at a city council meeting.

Do you remember when city council member Richard Lewis questioned the interim city manager, and the city attorney, about the lack of a written contract for Mr. James Farley? This is the same James Farley that conducted the outside investigation of Chief Tincher. The city attorney stated in this public meeting that Mr. Farley did not need a written contract under the provisions of the city charter. Imagine that, the city paid Mr. Farley approximately $11,000 without a contract and now the city attorney is screaming foul when it comes to paying Chief Tincher with a fully executed the legal document.

Chief Tincher and his family have been through enough mental anquish and the city of Brooksville needs to step up to the plate and honor his contract now.

Roast

The Enrichment Center of Hernando County will be having a fundraising event this Saturday, April 21, 2007. This fundraiser will include dinner, entertainment, a silent auction and a special roast of three local dignitaries of our community. John Druzbick, Richard Nugent and Mickey Smith have willingly volunteered to be roasted for this fundraising event. It should be a fun evening to raise funds for this most worthwhile organization. The event begins at 5 p.m. at the SNPJ Hall located at 13383 County Line Road in Spring Hill. Contact 597-6631 for any questions.

Dispatch at fault

This morning's headline in the Hernando Times "Dispatch at fault for death" brought to light a very real problem in our county with emergency dispatch calls to 911. Let me first say, my deepest sympathy goes out the family that lost their family member on Tuesday in this 911 mix up.

This is not an isolated incident of a 911 mishap though and I can speak from experience. About a year and a half ago I had to call 911 for my husband who was in distress. When he began choking on food lodged in his windpipe so I immediately called for help on the 911 line. Thank goodness my husband did not panic and was getting limited air to his lungs or my family would have been in the same position of the family written about in the newspaper this morning.

After waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, I called 911 a second time and was told to be patient it had only been seven minutes from my last call. At this point, my husband's fatigue from gasping for air was becoming more than he could handle so I screamed into the phone to have someone help me. I, then dropped the phone and began beating my husband on the back with both of my fists when he could no longer breath on his own. He finally able to dislodge the food in his wind pipe from me beating on his back. I picked up the phone again to speak to the 911 dispatcher and he asked if I still needed an ambulance. My response was no but please get the rescue squad to our home as soon as possible to check my husband who was still clearly in distress from the incident.

To make a long story short, it took the rescue squad 11.5 minutes to arrive at our home due to human errors in the 911 dispatch system. My first call was logged as an emergency at the sheriff's department, then transferred to the Spring Hill Fire Rescue, who dispatched the Hernando County Fire Rescue instead of Tri-County Volunteer Fire Rescue. Our first responders, Tri-County Volunteer Fire Rescue, who cover the Nobleton area were never notified of my call for help. On arriving at our home, the first comment from the EMS personnel of the Hernando County Fire Rescue was what happened to Tri-County?

The next morning, I telephoned the Sheriff's Department and Spring Hill Fire Rescue for the dispatch logs to find out why Tri-county never made it to our home. It was human error combined, with an outdated method of dispatch in our area. Thank God our family had a second chance but unfortunately this gentleman that died Tuesday did not have the same opportunity. My prayers go out to this family in their time of loss...

Winners and losers...

Today proved to be a stressful day for the Hernando County Commissioners. The county commission chamber was packed all day with angry residents. These angry residents came for a fight to keep their fire commissioners in Spring Hill and they won this round.

Chief J.J. Morrison was the biggest winner today with his professional behavior at the podium. He had to defend his department in a game of gotcha with the county administrator, Gary Kuhl. Chief Morrison was very professional in his demeanor throughout his presentation and the residents of Spring Hill should be proud to call him their fire chief.

The biggest loser category today came in as a tie with Commissioner Russell and Commissioner Kingsley. It was hard to tell which commissioner was more self-absorbed in their own ego. Somehow the term representative government went out the window with these two commissioners today when they voted for what they deemed best for the county instead of listening to the public that placed them in office.

The prize for pandering went to Commissioners Rowden and Rocco. Last week they were going to vote to dissolve the Spring Hill Fire Commissioner saying it was the best for the county. The public outcry changed their minds after they were called names in the newspaper last week and at the podium today. Ms. Rowden"s grandstanding this morning had "re-election campaign" written all over it. Did they make the right choice? Yes, but it should have been done for the right reasons in the first place and not from the arm twisting they received at the hands of the residents today.

Commissioner Stabins should be named old reliable for his consistent position of the fire commission. He wanted to wait for the consultant's report and use diplomacy from the very beginning of this debacle created by Commissioner Russell. Jeff Stabins came off today looking like the elder statesman who had the wisdom to lead this county into the future.

County Fair

Mark your calendars for the 56th Annual Hernando County Fair and Youth Livestock Show which begins on Friday, April 20th and runs through April 29th. For those new to the area, the fairgrounds are located on US 41, about a mile south of the SR 5o intersection. See you there!

Congressional Art Competition

On Friday, April 27, 2007 Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite will host the 5th Annual Congressional Art Competition Awards Ceremony and Reception. This event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Brooksville City Hall, located at 201 Howell Avenue. This is always an exciting event for the young artists in our community.

Beatle's Bash

The Bandshell Bash on Saturday, April 14th, will feature the entertainment group, Live and Let Die. This Beatle's Bash is will bring back the memories of the 1960's with the sounds of the Fab Four.

The Cruise-In of classic cars will also be on hand along with several food vendors.

The event takes place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hernando Park Bandshell on Ft. Dade in downtown Brooksville. This event is family friendly and best of all, it is free. Bring your lawn chairs and groove to the sounds of Live and Let Die.

Never Mind

A special meeting of the Brooksville City Council this evening, the final three applicants for the new city manager were announced by the city clerk, after she tallied the votes. The top three candidates are Lester B. Baird, Mitchell N. Bobowski and Jennene Norman-Vacha.

Guidelines for the interview process were also voted on this evening by council. In this interview process, the Brooksville City Council members will treat the three applicants and their spouses to dinner at the Brooksville Country Club at taxpayer expense. Council Richard Lewis was the only one that objected to using tax money to have dinner with the applicants.

When city attorney, David LaCroix was questioned about the Sunshine Law and publicly advertising this dinner, he said it was not necessary. The only thing the the city council had to do was not talk to each other at this dinner about city business. How does that work? City council members carrying on a conversation with potential candidates for the new city manager position at dinner and this doesn't violate the Sunshine Law? Isn't it the city council's primarily responsible for the hiring of the new city manager under the city charter?

Oh well, never mind. The city council has violated the city charter three or four times already, why should they worry if the Sunshine Laws are violated with this purely social dinner?

Easter

Happy Easter to everyone!

Oak Hill's Heart Institute

This past week has really been hectic but I was able to attend the anniversary V.I.P. tour of Oak Hill Hospital's Heart Institute. I must say, remarkable improvements have been made since the grand opening tour of December 2005 which include the latest in technological equipment on the market.

Although the operating room was not on the tour this year, we were able to view some of the new equipment coming on board over the last year. We viewed the cardiac cath lab which has complete digital cardiac system, with outstanding Fluoroscopy image technology. This enhanced cath lab technology has an estimated cost of over $1 million.

Oak Hill has new Picture Archive Communication that replaces traditional X-ray films. This P.A.C. system enables faster diagnosis, and facilitates ease of consultation with specialist, via computer link-up. This system provides immediate access to diagnostic images and reports for increased efficiency with the hospital, and the doctor's office through a link-up. This P.A.C. system technology enhancement cost approximately $1.4 million.

A new cardiac nuclear medicine camera has been implemented at Oak Hill Hospital. This equipment produces a digital image of the body that has been injected with a radioactive isotope to pinpoint the area of study. This equipment provides the highest quality images available in today's technology. This cardiac nuclear medicine camera cost $500,000.

At the end of the tour , we viewed the cardiovascular intensive care unit that has state of the art capabilities for monitoring the heart patients. A cardiac rehabilitation program is planned for future expansion which will include three phases, from inpatient monitoring, to the planned outpatient phase(s) to incorporate behavior modification and education for lifestyle changes in nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation, etc. The outpatient services is being planned in two phases, with the second providing a more personalized approach with physiologist, cardiovascular nurses and clinical dieticians.

Oak Hill Hospital is on the cutting edge of new technology with their futuristic equipment relating to heart and stroke care for patients. Hernando County is truly blessed to have this outstanding medical facility within our community.

Stabins is 100% correct...

Hernando County Commission Chairman, Jeff Stabins should be commended for his cautious approach to the pending vote to dismantle the Spring Hill Fire Commission Board. Mr. Stabins is 100% correct is his statement saying that diplomacy is necessary before the nuclear option is used to dissolve this board. This ordinance change to dissolve the Spring Hill Fire Commission Board, promoted by David Russell, has not had sufficient public discussion. This first step in the dismantling of the Spring Hill Fire District is certainly premature and unwarranted at this time. The public would be much better served by waiting for the paid consultant's review of the entire county fire structure before implementing any drastic changes.

Even though Commission Stabins has done a superb job using diplomacy in his first few months as chairman, Commissioner Russell has taken advantage of many situations to act unilaterally to control public opinion by floating his ideas first to the media, to gain the upper hand over the entire commission. Protocol for the Hernando County Board of Commissioners placing items on their agenda is done by a clear majority of their board, then the issue is placed on the regular agenda for discussion, prior to any action taken by county staff. This method allows the public, as well as the rest of the commissions, the ability to discuss critical issues before rushing to judgement that may, or may not be in the best interest of those involved in the issue at hand.

Thanks, Mr. Stabins, for your ability to respect the public interests in this community with your professional guidance as our county commission chairman.

Chat-time...

This evening I attended the workshop conducted by the Brooksville City Council to discuss the applicants for the new city manager position. The agenda only included two items. One item was to review of the top ten qualified candidates, with the other to set procedures and process for the interview of applicants.

No discussion of the individual applicants took place by the city council. Nothing firm was resolved in reference to the type of procedure to interview the applicants was decided either. The council did narrow down their search to six individuals, mostly by attrition or withdrawal by the applicants. The individuals left in the running are Lester B. Baird, Mitchell Bobowski, Susan Roper, Jennene Norman-Vacha, Patricia Quigley and John Zakian. The only firm decision by council tonight was to narrow the search to three for the final interview process.

The entire workshop centered around the method the council would use for interview of the final applicants. Ms. Bradburn is insisting on personal time with each applicant to drive them around town for chat-time. This chat-time suggested by Ms. Bradburn could be perceived as a touchy-feely and not very professional in nature. Mayor Pugh had a more business like approach suggesting that the council follow the procedures in place to interview professionals, like consultants and engineers, so it would treat each applicant in a fair manner.

Mr. Lewis made a very profound statement by saying that the council members should reframe from meeting one on one with the candidates to eliminate any appearance of impropriety. Mr. Lewis stated that since this was a Human Resource matter, all applicants should receive equal treatment in the interview process. Mr. Bernardini had nothing to add to the throughout the entire conversation. Mr. Burnett was quite insistent that clear guidelines be established for a fair interview process.

Even though the council batted ideas around for more than an hour on the interview process, no one asked the Interim Human Resource director her opinion even though she had presentation listed on the agenda to assist city council. Instead of speaking with the human resource director, the council took direction from the interim police chief. The council directed the interim city manager, interim police chief and the city clerk to come back with a plan on Monday for another workshop.

One idea that this interim police chief suggested still has me scratching my head. His suggestion was to have the entire city council take all three applicants out to dinner for a relaxed chat. It was not discussed how they plan to accomplish this dinner and still comply with the Sunshine Laws of the state of Florida. Even if this dinner is noticed to the public, what restaurant has a sound system and seating to accommodate this type of chat session and still be open to the public?

At the end of the meeting Mr. Burnett stated that the public needed to be involved in the process even though he thoroughly rejected the self-appointed citizens review committee on Monday night, saying it was irrelevant to the process. Funny thing is though, if the council really wanted the public to be a part of process in this city manager choice why didn't they ask for public comment at the end of the workshop tonight?

***It was brought to my attention late yesterday afternoon that Councilman Burnett approached Ernie Weaver, member of the self-appointed citizens review committee, to voice his overwhelming approval of our efforts to assist the city council in the selection of the next city manager.

***Councilman Richard Lewis telephone all the members of the committee to personally thank them for participating in the public process of reviewing the choices for a new city manager.

Self-Appointed Citizen Review Committee

At last night's Brooksville City Council meeting, the following information was presented during citizen's input by Paul Neuhann. The following information is self-explanatory:

Self-Appointed Citizen Review Committee
To review Applications for New
Brooksville City Manager

March 26, 2007

Brooksville City Council
201 Howell Avenue
Brooksville, FL 34601

Honorable Mayor and City Council Members:

As members of a self appointed citizen review committee, we respectfully request your consideration of our top choices for the new city manager position.

Committee members Gail Samples, Ernie Weaver, Anna Liisa Covell and myself, Paul Neuhann thoroughly reviewed all applicants for the new city manager position and we recommend the following top three “ranked” individuals for your consideration:

1. Lester B Baird, Sr.
2. Thomas F. Christie
3. James Patrick Gallagher


Our number one choice was Lester B. Baird, Sr. who had the unanimous approval of our committee based on his 32 years of experience as a government administrator. Mr. Baird was very open and honest in his application, emphasizing his strong points, as well as his weak points. His last job was ten years in duration as the administrator for Hendry County where he managed a budget of $60 million, with 200 full time employees.

Our second choice was Mr. Thomas F. Christie who had majority approval of our board. Mr. Christie was the city manager for Talladega, Alabama, with 225 full time employees. He was instrumental in the re-organization of departmental structures to improve efficiency and accountability. Mr. Christie upgraded the police department with improved technology and communications under his tenure as city manager.

Our third choice was James Patrick Gallagher who had majority approval of our committee. Mr. Gallagher has twelve years of government experience that included smart growth management, strategic planning and economic development. Mr. Gallagher participated in several urban research projects, studies and publications.

Our committee met several times to discuss at length all the applicants that had applied for the city manager position. There were seven other applicants seriously considered but none gained majority approval by our committee.

The members of our committee respectfully request the Honorable Mayor and City Council members seriously consider of the results of our city manager applicant review. As members of this self-appointed committee, we would like to encourage all others within the city of Brooksville to review the applicants for city manager and present them for city council consideration, too.

Respectfully Submitted,

Paul Neuhann
Gail Samples
Anna Liisa Covell
Ernie Weaver

Vandalism

Driving to work this morning, I viewed a very disturbing site. As I rounded the corner onto Brooksville Avenue, by Brooksville's Department of Public Works, the upcoming view left me feeling ill. All I could see was the graffiti at the Old Train Depot.

The old train car that was just completely restored for the old train station was a target of vandals over the weekend. This beautiful old train car, recently restored by fine folks at Southern Hills Plantation, has been spray painted with graffiti across the entire backside of the structure.

There is no excuse for this type of behavior. The culprits of this vandalism need to be brought justice and punished to the fullest extent of the law. So many people have volunteered to make the restoration of the railroad station a reality and to have this happen is sad, very sad...

Regressive tax

County tax collector Juanita Sikes has asked the Hernando County Board of Commissioners to repeal the ordinance for collecting the occupational license tax. Ms. Sikes statement that this ordinance is outdated is an understatement. Hopefully, Ms. Sikes will be asking the city of Brooksville to also repeal this regression taxing method on business.

The occupational license tax has give the public a false sense of security. Some people have assumed that if a company has an occupational license, they (the company) are qualified to be conduct business. A majority of businesses are required to be licensed through the state of Florida or through their county development department so the occupational license fee amounts to nothing more than an additional tax to conduct business.

Thanks, Juanita for being forward thinking to put the brakes on this regressive taxation method!

$9.32 a square foot

In today's standards, does $9.32 a square foot sound like a low selling price for a commercial building? It should because this deal was struck by the Hernando County Commissioners and the lucky recipients were the buyers of the old hospital building on Ponce de Leon Boulevard. Mind you, this square foot price does not even take into consideration the ten+ acres of prime real estate the building sits on in the city of Brooksville. The sale of this county taxpayer asset for $1.1 million, on ten acres, has left many of us scratching our heads. Will this really be a step forward for our county government space-needs crunch?

Last year, the Committee of 25 spent many months reviewing the long term capital needs for our county and the results of their review were ignored by the Hernando County Commissioners. Their advice was to remodel the old hospital for government office space. The commissioners sold this major asset even though they do not have a viable long term capital facilities plan to meet the future needs of the county. Why didn't the commissioners wait until they had the results of their consultant report before rushing in to sell this valuable asset?

Many test balloons have been floated by Commissioner Russell is his zeal to sell the public on his aspiration to rebuild the major functions of our local government. He has suggested a judicial wing in the existing government building, or maybe leased land space in a yet-to-be-built facility next to the jail. Nothing has been finalized yet but Mr. Russell has advocated the moving of all the government services back under one roof. Which roof would that be Mr. Russell? With all this speculation of space needs, the Supervisor of Elections, Annie Williams, is still storing election equipment at the old hazardous DPW site.

Hopefully, the county commissioners are not planning on using the proceeds from this hospital sale as a down payment to put our county further in debt with bonding. Look at it this way, in today's dollars, the average price for a new residential home is going for approximately $110.00 per square foot on the owners lot. Just image how high the construction costs per square foot would be for a new government facility.

Maybe the commissioners need to take a deep breath and formulate a plan, any plan, before moving forward...

Water consumption

The photograph on the front page of the Hernando Times this morning should be a grime reminder to all of us to practice water conservation. This photo shows Highlands Lake in Pasco county as a mere mud puddle. The very dry conditions in our area are really putting a strain on our local environment.

As an example of drought conditions, the canal behind my house has almost completely dried up and it is disturbing to see the wildlife struggling to survive without water. Even though the egrets have had a feast picking through the mud, all the other wildlife in our area are having a hard time surviving with these drought like conditions. The gators that are usually in abundance in this canal have left the area in search of water. This is the driest our area has been since 1992 when the neighborhood children picked bass out of the mud in the canal with their bare hands. As a small tributary off the Withlacoochee River, this canal is only one example for all of us to really watch our water consumption.

The Withlacoochee River rises and falls at the whims of the Hillsborough River Basin area. When they need water, we are shut out and when they have excessive rain, we flood from the change in their lock system. The officials have denied for years that this has happened but we, river people, can watch the changes almost like clockwork as the water levels rise and fall in the Withlacoochee river. For an example when high rains occur, we can watch the water level change in the Withlacoochee rise, sometimes more than two feet, in a twenty-four hour period.

In the last two weeks, I have watched our canal completely dry up. Maybe if the people downstream of us in Hillsborough and Pasco Counties would stop over-watering their lawns, our wildlife would not be struggling to survive this morning. Are they going to drain our area completely causing our wildlife die off? Who will come to our assistance when our wells dry up?

Drought conditions are happening here at home and everyone needs to be on board to watch their water consumption. Please, everyone, make it a good practice to turn off the faucet, we all depend on it...

Wise beyond her years

The report by Mr. James Farley, in reference to Chief Tincher, is making the rounds throughout the employees in the city of Brooksville. Most employees are anger, upset, and basically afraid of their future with this current climate within the city. This report by Mr. Farley reads like a cheap dime store novel. It is tawdry fiction, at its worst.

Thank goodness police officer Krystal Nix has taken a stand in defense of Chief Tincher and exposed a small portion of the discrepancies in this piece of fiction by Mr. Farley. She braved the under current to speak out about the errors in this report and needs to be commended for having the intestinal fortitude to take a stand on Chief Tincher's behalf.

Officer Nix is a brave individual that clearly understands the consequences of speaking up with the current tone in the city. She did what was right, decent, but most of all, what was needed to show team support for her boss.

Officer Nix stated that what the council is doing doesn't just affect the chief and his family but the department, too. She stated that the department is part of Chief Tincher's family. Officer Nix is wise beyond her years and is a shining example of our bravest that serve this community.

Color of Friendship

Congratulations to the young adults of the Hernando High School African American Brain Bowl! These seven young people came in first place in this year's state competition brain bowl and they all won full "paid" scholarships. The members of the Color of Friendship team really are a shinning example of the dedicated, young adults we have in our community.

Last Mercer study...

One question begs to be asked after reading this morning's Hernando Today. What comparison counties were used to judge pay increases for the last Mercer Study done in Hernando County?

Hernando County Fire Rescue's beginning salary for firefighters is over $3,000.00 higher that the starting salaries in Citrus County, Polk County, Pasco County and Port Richey. In fact, HCFR is just $1,500.00 less that the starting salary of firefighters in the City of Tampa. Why?

Shoe to drop...

For those of you waiting for the other shoe to drop, be advised that it hit the floor with a thud at 1 p.m. Chief Tincher was summoned to Steven Baumgartner's office this afternoon to have the city attorney, David LaCroix hand him his head on a platter.

Ed Tincher, our thirty year veteran of the Brooksville Police Department was put on unpaid administrative leave this afternoon with the information acquired by the unlicensed private investigator hired by the city. It bears repeating again that Mr. LaCroix equated the lack of a license for Mr. James Farley to that of a taxi driver entering into the city, saying it was not necessary he (Mr. Farley) be licensed to work for the city. It has never been mentioned that Mr. Farley is also a current city council member for the city of Crystal River and may be in violation of the dual office holder provision of the state constitution for working for the city of Brooksville, too.

Apparently too much controversy swirled around the hiring of Eddie McConnell to be interim police chief so Steve Baumgartner hired someone else for the position. Mr. Frank Ross, a 63 year old retired police officer from Titusville was hired to oversee the police department. I wonder if a written contract was drawn up for Mr. Ross since Mr. Farley has been working freelance for the city without the benefit of a written contract. Did I mention that the verbal contract with Mr. Farley also violates the city charter.

The city of Brooksville's "new direction" is a disgrace beyond words. The city of Brooksville now has an Interim city manager, interim police chief, and no human resource director. As a play on words from the former mayor of New York City, Ed Koch, "How are we doing now?"

Community Summit

This morning, I attended the Hernando County Community Summit at Silverthorn Country Club. This Summit was sponsored, in part, by Duane Chichester, publisher of the Hernando Today and the local business group, Hernando Progress. Even though I was only able to stay at this event for several hours because of limited duty from a recent surgery, it was well worth the effort to attend this morning.

I have served on the Growth Community for the past two years with Dudley Hampton serving as chairman. Dudley's leadership is the glue that held our committee together for the past two years while investigating details of smart growth in our community. I was flattered that Dudley asked me to be one of his presenters at this morning's Summit. My task(s) were to detail the progress in affordable and workforce initiatives in our county, along with information on rural clustering. Two others members of our growth committee also gave presentations. Sindra Ridge spoke on the necessity of green space preservation and compact building design. Tommy Bronson spoke on viable uses for agricultural lands in our county.

Mr. Dix from our local MPO also gave some very interesting information for the Transportation Committee in reference to the 5 and 25 year road programs in Hernando County. Stanley Giannet gave a stirring presentation about new programs at PHCC to train future teachers in our county during the Education Committee reports.

Many leaders from Hernando County were in attendance at this Summit. It was a mixed audience of business leaders and elected officials from the city, county and school board. The regret was that I was unable to attend the entire Summit. My thanks go out to Mr. Chichester and his staff for my invitation to attend this worthwhile event!

Dedicating her time

After some good-natured ribbing of Hernando County Human Resource Director, Barbara Dupre, several weeks ago I felt she need a round of applause. I had a tongue in cheek post about her bringing her dog to work. Subsequently, someone had attached a comment to my post saying Ms. Dupre had the dog at work because it was a puppy in training to become a service animal. The confusion came because her dog did not have on it's in-training service identification.

The Hernando Times ran an article on Tuesday about Ms. Dupre and her dog, named Mr. Bear. My hat goes off to Barbara Dupre for dedicating her time and energy to train a puppy that will some day guide a person with visual impairment.

Honest and forthright

Last Sunday, in Jeff Webb's opinion column titled, "Integrity isn't optional for our school leaders" one paragraph stood out and bears repeating again. According to Mr. Webb, we should expect the person who is superintendent of schools to be smart, efficient, accessible, open-minded, unbiased, stingy, generous, perceptive, observant, even-keeled, tolerant of some things and intolerant of others, articulate, well-groomed and a good listener. He indicated that this is just for starters . Mr. Webb then emphasized that above everything else, the next superintendent needs to to honest and forthright, no "ifs, ands or buts" about it.

I read that column twice and realized that Jeff Webb had described one of the local applicants to a tee. Is the grass some how greener outside our county with more qualified applicants for school board superintendent? The answer is no. The school board only needs to look in it's own back yard to find a well-rounded respected individual for the next school superintendent and his name is Ken Pritz.

Silence the public

Brooksville City Council member, Joe Bernardini, has asked that a proposed civility code be placed on Monday night's agenda to help guide discourse for the city council members and the public at large. Mr. Bernardini was quoted in the Hernando Today as saying, "I think that's just a professional way of trying to alleviate a problem." What problem is that Mr. Bernardini? The little problem of masking any criticism for your actions, or those of your two peers, on the city council over the last several months? Aren't you actually trying to eliminate any scrutiny by the public for your abuse of city government since taking office in November?

Yes, the days of civility have gone by the wayside and somehow elected officials and government workers have forgotten they are, in an essence, civil servants with their primary purpose to serve the people in a civil, courteous manner. The city of Brooksville has come a long way, with most of us that assume a more mature, polite manner of communication is possible, but there is always room for improvement for everyone. Speaking as a community in general, it should be every one's common goal to be gracious and respectful of others, even in the heat of a debate, discussion or dispute.

Having said that, a resolution for a civility code within the city is only as good as the paper it written on, just like the city charter. This same city charter that has been violated twice in the past two months by Council members Bernardini, Bradburn and Pugh with the blessing of the city attorney, David LaCroix, to push their "new direction" for the city. Please keep in mind that Bernardini, Bradburn and Pugh originally voted to place Chief Tincher, Lt. Hankins and Ron Baker on administrative leave which was in direct violation of the city charter. The second violation of the charter occurred when Bernardini, Pugh, and Bradburn voted to underwrite any liability that may arise from the internal investigation by Mr. Farley, an unlicensed investigator, hired by the city. Their actions were in direct violation of the city charter which has a clause to indemnify the city against possible damage or loss, as a result of one's actions.

The question is, who will be in charge of instituting this civility code anyway? What happens when there is a perceived violation of this civility code? Will Ms Bradburn call Hernando County Sheriff's Department to have a deputy sit in on all future meetings to silence the public...

Donating a mammogram

Shirley Anderson, Administrative Assistant for Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, send out this very important message regarding available mammograms for low income patients:

Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "donating a mammogram" for free (pink window in the middle). This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know. http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

Thanks, Shirley for taking the time to get this message out!

Undercurrent...

Rumor has it that we may see some action very soon to install an interim police chief in the city of Brooksville to replace Chief Tincher. The word out on the street is that Mr. Farley, the private investigator hired by the city, and city attorney David LaCroix, have negotiated the hiring of Eddie McConnell as an interium police chief. If this rumor is correct it would virtually sidestep Lt. Rick Hankins who is next in line for position of chief.

Apparently Mr. Farley and David LaCroix have arranged this interim appointment of Eddie McConnell as police chief saying that Lt. Rick Hankins would be too controversial in that position. If any thinks that an appointment of Mr. McConnell would not create controversy in Brooksville then they have obviously been on another planet for the last several years.

Even though the Brooksville City Charter prevents the city council from intervening in personnel matters, it sure looks like a little manipulation is going on behind the scenes. Maybe Richard Lewis was right when he indicated that Mr. Steve Baumgartener was a puppet for a few members of the city council at the last council meeting. It has been rumored that Councilman Joe Bernardini is suggesting the city hire Mr. Phil Wood, a former lieutenant with the Hernando County Sheriff's Department to be the next chief of police for the city of Brooksville. Incidentally, Mr. Woods is Councilman Bernardini's cousin. Convenient, huh?

The problem with this verbal undercurrent sweeping throughout Brooksville today is that the final word has not been issued on the fate of Ed Tincher or Ron Baker. If you think either of these individuals will have a fair hearing before Brooksville's Personnel Board, please understand that Councilman Bernardini was instrumental in having his neighbor and his daughter appointed to this board last month...

Mildly Enthusiastic

My husband and I attended the Lincoln Day Dinner at the Palace Grand in Spring Hill last night. This annual republican fundraising event played host to Florida's Attorney General, Bill McCollum who was the featured guest speaker. The dynamic presentation by Mr. McCollum included a list of his duties as our newly elected Attorney General and his perspective on the crucial need to pull the party together for the 2008 election season. Mr. McCollum spoke with ease and excitement during his presentation to the delight of the audience.

Karen Nicolai, Hernando County Clerk of Court, added some good-natured comic relief as she performed her duties as the Mistress of Ceremonies during her introductions of elected officials in attendance at the event. Among some of those elected officials in attendance were Representation Rob Schenck and Hernando County Commissioner Jeff Stabins. Jay and Diane Rowden were also in attendance for this year's event.

A straw poll was conducted with the moderate crowd to determine the local republican choice for president in 2008. Rudy Giuliani overwhelming was the clear choice over the field of candidates by the approximately 165 republicans in attendance.

Gary Schruat was presented with the Free Enterprise Award. Believe it, or not, Gary was almost speechless when he accepted this coveted award.

The atmosphere for this 37th Annual Lincoln Day Dinner was pleasant and mildly enthusiastic in this off election year. It was nice to see a lot of old friends, and for a political rubber chicken dinner, the Palace Grand put a on a very nice spread of food...

Unsung hero

Kudos go out to Hernando County attorney, Garth Coller, for his advice to our county commissioners in reference to holding meetings with developers and citizens that are considered to be quasi-judicial. While representing his clients, the Hernando County Commissioners, Mr. Coller informed them that preliminary meetings before quasi-judicial hearings take place is against the law. Mr. Coller was quoted in this morning's Hernando Times as saying, "That statute speaks for itself and it is very clear."

Mr. Coller advice was to protect the interests of his clients, the commissioners, but also protects the very system of fairness and Sunshine in re-zoning and Comprehensive Plans changes that are heard under quasi-judicial process.

It is really a shame the county commissioners need to be told this very basic information. The lax rules of engagement for developers, or citizens, with county commissioners prior to quasi-judicial hearing has become common place. It seems that our commissioners has somehow forgotten that Sunshine is the best policy of representation for the electorate, at large.

Thank your Garth Coller for all your hard work protecting county interests. You are the unsung hero of the day!

Keep your fingers crossed

Ye of little faith! It sure looks like our freshman representation to the Florida Legislature has hit the running on issues near, and dear, to our hearts, and pocketbooks. As vice chairman of the Committee on State Affairs, Robert Schenck has been able to craft legislation to ease the burden of property taxes throughout the state.

Robert Schenck's bill could reduce Hernando County millage from 9.3 to 6.7 which is a 28% cut of roughly $25 million in savings the first year. This legislation would also limit annual budget increases by county governments to the consumer price index. This means county governments would have to start living within their means just like you and I do when we balance our household budgets.

When presented with the loss of local revenue to Hernando County this bill would create, Representative Schenck was quoted as saying, "If I could vote for it twice, I would." Keep your fingers crossed that this bill passes muster all the way through the House and the Senate to Governor Crist's desk!

Centrist chord

In Governor Charlie Crist's State of the State address earlier this week, he made a remarkable statement which underscores what appears to be a new tone for Tallahassee politics. Governor Crist said, "In public service, it is always important to remember that we serve the people---our boss."

Governor Crist's centrist chord has won him praise from Republicans and Democrats, alike, wishing him every success over the next four years. State Senator Dave Aronberg (D) called Crist "one of the best Democratic governors Florida has ever had." Hopefully this love-fest for Governor Crist will sustain throughout this first legislative session with meaningful tax relief for Florida property owners, along with real insurance reform to to help the citizens of this state.

House Democratic leader, Dan Gelber, was quoted in reference to Governor Crist, "We can't lose our job as the honest opposition, but it he's going to offer centrist, progressive policies, we certainly can't reject that just because of his party." It will be interesting to watch over the next 60 days to see if Governor Crist will face more opposition from his own Republican party or that of the Democrats. Hopefully, this new tone will prevail throughout this Legislative session...

Doo Wop Bash!

I received the following information via email from Linda Anderson who is the treasurer for the the Hernando County Fine Arts Council. This information is about the super entertainment scheduled for this month's Bandshell Bash in downtown Brooksville:

Hope you can join us this Saturday at the Doo Wop Bash featuring The Coasters! In the late 50's The Coasters had two block-buster hits, "Yakety Yak" and "Charlie Brown". The group continues to maintain the same style and quality of the 50's under the leadership of Carl Gardner, the original lead singer and founder of The Coasters. Also featured is special guest, Alfred Nickoles formerly of the Buck Ram Platters!

We are expecting a good crowd, so plan to get to the park early. The Cruise-In Car and Motorcycle Show will be rockin' and we will have food vendors and various other vendors on hand for the fun.

See you in downtown Brooksville this Saturday, Hernando Park Bandshell, 4pm-8pm. Follow the signs! It's Free!

Furry friends

Good News! It looks like we may be able to bring our pets to all the Hernando County government buildings when we attend meetings in the near future. Why would I make such a statement? Well, Commissioner Stabins attended a county planning workshop at the Utility Department last month with his dog, Rusty. You may recall the workshop where everyone got sick including Mr. Stabins' dog. This week, the Hernando County Resource Director, Barbara DuPree attended a meeting with the Spring Hill Fire Commission with her dog. It appears that the "no animals allowed" policy has been relaxed with the upper management and elected officials of Hernando County government. If this is the case, it should not be long before our pets are free to roam the hallowed halls of the many government buildings throughout the county

The current signage at county buildings prohibits any animals except approved "service animals" but says nothing about allowing pets of county employees. I'll let you know when the signage changes to include our pets so you, too, can attend meetings with your favorite furry friend. I can hardly wait to bring my dog named Bear to public meetings. He's really lovable and only weighs about 150 pounds so he would only take up one seat at a public meeting!

Humanitarian award...

Commissioner Rowden should have been given a humanitarian award this week for attempting to protect the interests of the public over government interests. Ms. Rowden refused to vote to raze the homes along Elgin Boulevard in an eminent domain issue, stating that all avenues had not been explored by Charles Mixson's office to save these homes. The other four commissioners should have indulged Commissioner Rowden in her quest to save these homes by asking for any available alternatives to save these homes. Without the government demonstrating that they had exhausted all others options, a cloud of doubt will forever linger on the entire issue for these homeowners along Elgin Boulevard.