Looks a little fishy...

After reading both local newspapers this morning, I am a little confused about the way Spring Hill Fire Rescue charges for their services. It states in the Hernando Times that the Spring Hill Fire Rescue is based on an MSBU. A MSBU, municipal service benefit unit, is based on a set fee which appears on the non-ad valorem portion of the property tax bill. Or is SPFR on a MSTU which is a municipal service taxing unit based on set millage rate which appears on the ad-valorem portion of the property tax bill? I was under the assumption that Spring Hill Fire Rescue was a MSTU. Which one is it? Was the newspaper incorrect or is the attorney for the clerk of court confused about the Spring Hill Fire Rescue District? Or is it just me?

Derrill McAteer, attorney for the Hernando County Clerk of Court, stated that he had been contacted by Jon Jouban, assistant county attorney, about a discovery that the MSBU for Spring Hill Fire Rescue District had been dissolved in "1993 or 1994". Which is it, 1993 or 1994? If this is an actual record from Karen Nicolai's office it would have a specific date on the document, wouldn't it? If it was a court document, it would also have a time the hearing took place included in the document. What day was it?

Garth Coller stated in the same article that the matter was still "deep in litigation" and would not get specific about how Mr. Jouban discovered the SPFR's dissolved status. Wouldn't these documents be matter of public records if they were discovered in the files the Clerk of Court since Karen Nicolai is the official "keeper" of all records for Hernando County? Why did it take Mr. Jouban so long to notify the Clerk of Court's attorney about the discovery he made earlier in the month?

Mr. McAteer stated in the newspaper that this situation about the Spring Hill Fire Rescue is very bizarre? Bizarre is an understatement with all these unanswered questions. Is it a MSBU or MSTU for Spring Hill Fire Rescue? What is the actual date of this "discovery" document? Is it a public record? If so, why did the assistant county attorney wait for weeks to reveal his "discovery" document? If this is an accurate record, then why wasn't it brought forward earlier by the Clerk of Court?

This really looks a little fishy, in light of the fact that Commissioner David Russell recently advocated dissolving the Spring Hill Fire Rescue District board by a proposed county ordinance he pushed to the table. Is this the beginning of the end of Spring Hill Fire Rescue District to implement a countywide fire service by the county commissioners?

The upcoming discussions by Hernando County County Commissioners, and their ability to provide adequate fire service for the public, looks like it will be a real "Whodunit" type of mystery... Too bad we can't read the last chapter first in this mystery to reveal the "top secret discovery documents" that supposedly dissolves the SPFR. Maybe then we would find out who is really driving this fire engine...

Sweet deal

A column in yesterday's edition of the Hernando Today carried a story about the Brooksville Housing Authority's Interim Director, Ronnie McLean, considering Jay Rowden, the Democratic Executive Committee Chairman as his first pick for a community coordinator position. If Jay Rowden is hired, it could turn out to be a real sweet deal for his wife Diane who is up for re-election for county commission. What a great way to gain face time for his wife, the county commissioner, in the area known as "the sub" while he is working with the residents that live in HUD housing?

Fair tax discussion...

There has been considerable hullabaloo about the possibility of enacting "Fair Tax" for our country. National radio talk show hosts are advocating it, along with our own hometown talk guru on the local AM station. A handful of individuals in our community who are quietly being backed by members of HCREC are pushing for passage of H.R. 25, Section 101(b)(1) which states the rate of tax is 23 percent of the gross payments for the taxable property or service.” Please note the phrase “of the gross payment” and not the actual inclusive rate.

Last August, Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite hosted a Small Business Advisory Council meeting at the Jerome Brown Center in Brooksville. Guest speakers for this meeting were Bob Carroll, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, United States Treasury and Tom Wright, Executive Director for Americans for Fair Tax. A large number of individuals and business owners were invited to attend this informational forum, including our local talk show host. I was privileged to attend this event and came away with some very interesting information on the pros and cons of the Fair Tax. I might add that the local talk show host did not attend this meeting.

So far the discussion locally on the Fair Tax has been one-sided with those having questions being drummed down by the local roar of the radio show audience, driven by their host. Even though the talk show host advertised their event last Saturday as being open to everyone, pro or con, that concept fell on death ears after he attacked Mayor Rudy Guilliani on the air for having doubts about the Fair Tax.

Do we need open, honest, debate about the IRS and the way we are currently taxed in this country? You bet we do but the debate needs to be balanced on both sides to insure this is the right approach for our future. For example, these are a few of the things that the local discussion has not included in their push for their Fair Tax legislation:

• Here's how it works: You buy a candy bar for a total price, including tax, of $1.30. One dollar of that price pays for the candy bar, $.30 goes to the federal government.
  One dollar purchase + $.30 in tax sounds like 30 percent to you and me (and to every state that currently has a sales tax). But the “Fair Taxers” don't calculate it that way. They say: $1.30 total price. $.30 = 23 percent of $1.30, therefore the tax is 23 percent.
• The 23 percent number in H.R. 25 is the equivalent of the 4.8 percent. To calculate the real rate of the sales tax, determine the original purchase price of an item. Begin with a $100 item, keeping in mind that a price tag that reads $100 has sales tax already built in. If our tax rate is 23 percent of the tax-inclusive sales price, then of the $100 final price, $23 of those dollars will be for taxes, meaning that the original pre-tax price of the item is $77. To get $23 in taxes on a $77 item, one must impose a 30 percent tax. In other words, a 23 percent sales tax on the tax-inclusive sales price is equivalent to a 30 percent tax on the actual price of the item.
• With the Fair Tax's 100 percent base, consumers would pay taxes on a great many things that may not intuitively seem like consumption. The list would include:
  **Purchases of new homes
  **Rent
  **Interest on credit cards, mortgages and car loans
  **Doctor bills
  **Utilities
  **Gasoline (30 percent in addition to current taxes, which would not be repealed)
  **Legal fees
  (At today's prices, gasoline would cost almost $1 per gallon more. A $150,000 new home would run $195,000 – plus the 30 percent tax that the buyer would pay on the interest on the mortgage. In short, the Fair Tax taxes everything that one buys, with the one notable exception of education).
• Fair Tax advocate state that you can regulate how much tax you pay with their system, by choosing to buy new items that are taxed, or used items which are not taxed which would have a dramatic effect on our economy.

The information listed above is only the tip of the iceberg for the concerns those the opposing of the Fair Tax issue. For a starting point to look at this Fair Tax issue realistically, try logging onto this link: http://www.factcheck.org/

Congresswoman Ginny Brown Waite has consistently stated that she is willing to listen to both sides of the debate without passing judgement on HB 25. Our congresswoman has stated on local talk radio her desire to wait until Congress holds hearings on the Fair Tax where both sides of the debate are heard by the public. Unfortunately, Ginny Brown-Waite has been unfairly criticized by the local talk show host, along with his army of callers that support this Fair Tax issue. Some very familiar voices of the local republican party have also been heard on this program voicing their discontent with Congresswoman Brown-Waite, or her assistants, for not attending last Saturday's Fair Tax Rally. I can't say as I blame Ginny Brown-Waite for not attending this event because she would have become the target of their debate.

***Some of the information listed above was obtained from Factcheck.org

OSHA to sharpen pencils

Safari Club International (SCI) just sent out an update about the proposed OSHA regulations regarding ammunition being listed for "explosives safety". After a barrage of emails from gun owners, gun shops owners, retailers and legislators, OSHA has decided to sharpen their pencils and go back to work on this issue. The July 17 Federal Register will include a notice from the Labor Department announcing a new rule will be drafted for public comment. I will keep you posted...

Dept. of Veterans Affairs resigns...

I received this press release a few minutes ago from the office of Congresswoman Ginny Brown Waite. This may of interest to all the veterans in our community:

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) today released the following statement regarding the resignation announcement of Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson. Rep. Brown-Waite is the Ranking member on the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and represents the second highest number of veterans of any Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Secretary Nicholson has a long and distinguished history of service to our nation, beginning with his time in Vietnam, and culminating with his tenure at the VA. He led the VA with honor and distinction during his two plus years at the Department. While Secretary Nicholson’s legacy will include significant advances in health care services for veterans, it will also be diminished by the serious lapses in information security and the dangerous budget projection shortfalls that took place during his tenure. I would like to thank the Secretary for his service to our veterans and wish him luck as he moves into the next stage in his career. I trust that President Bush will conduct a thoughtful search for the next Secretary, someone who will continue to carry forward the mission of service to American veterans and work in a bi-partisan fashion to ensure they receive the benefits and care they deserve.”

Bring it on...

Several years ago, Commissioner Stabins wrote to the newspaper and used the quote, "Bring it On!" I don't remember what topic of his editorial rebuttal was but that slogan could have been used again this morning on Judge Merritt. I'm referring to the article in the Hernando Times about Chief Circuit Judge Daniel Merritt ordering Hernando judges to recuse themselves from hearing civil cases involving our county.

Judge Merritt said his order was not meant to put pressure on the county commissioners to provide funding for new judicial space but did not give any reason for imposing the order in the first place. This sure appears to be a tactic to force our county commissioners to spend money they do not have on a new judicial complex. In this era of tax reduction for the citizens, imposed by the Florida Legislature, everyone in local government needs to hold the line when it comes to the budget including Judge Merritt.

Commissioner Stabins was quoted in this morning's article as saying, "If the judges want to order us to put a new tax on the ballot for them, I'd be more than happy to let the voters decide if they want to pay for the new judicial complex." I will say it for Mr. Stabins, "Bring it on!" Let the voters decide by referendum if we want to a new multi-million dollar judicial center and place it on the Presidential Preference Ballot right next to the one by the Florida Legislature that will provide for the largest tax cut in this state's history!

The entire state of Florida is undergoing a process of tax reduction to the citizens, including here at home in Hernando County. Judge Merritt needs to just suck it up, so to speak, like everyone else is in government. His order to have Hernando judges recuse themselves from all cases involving the county appears to read like the classic Webster definition of misfeasance: the doing of a lawful act in an improper manner so that there is an infringement on the rights of another or others. If it isn't misfeasance, it is a complete failure to do what his duties require to be done equating to nonfeasance.

Hernando County Commission Chairman, Jeff Stabins needs to be commended for standing up to these type transparent intimidation tactics being used by our local judges!

Back door method

Yesterday, I received my weekly newsletter from Safari Club International, Inc. This newsletter is always jammed packed with national and international news related to hunting and firearms. In this issue was a link to the National Rifle Association asking for help in stopping OSHA from passing rules that will all but eliminate the use of firearms in our country. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed new rules that would have a dramatic effect on the storage and transportation of ammunition and hand loading components such as primers or black and smokeless powder.

This new OSHA regulation appears to be a back door method to eliminate our rights under the Second Amendment of our Constitution. If ammunition is not available at your local gun dealer then having a gun is virtually worthless except to use as a paper weight. If you are interested in voicing your opinion before July 12, 2007, here is the link :

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3145

National level

Yesterday, I received an interesting survey in the mail from The Heritage Foundation. This survey was titled, Tax Increase Impact Survey. This survey is based at the national level to address tax increases looming in the near future for all of us. Lately the focus on tax reduction has been aimed at our county and state officials, rightfully so, but I thought you might need a break to read what's on tap at the national level. Here are a few of the impacts listed in the Heritage Foundation's newsletter:

• $2.4 Trillion: The overall tax increase faced by American families, seniors and business if President Bush's tax cuts expire.
• $1,716: The average tax increase for over 100 million Americans if tax cuts are allowed to expire.
• $2,034: The average tax increase that will hit 17 million seniors in President Bush's tax cuts expire.
• 6.24 Million: The number of jobs that will be created over the next decade by making President Bush's tax cuts permanent.
• $69 Billion: The cost of reinstating the death tax.
• $29 Billion: The amount spent in 2006 by Congress on frivolous "pork" projects that use taxpayers funds to reward local special interest and pressure groups.
• 44 Million: The number of married couples affected by the Marriage Penalty before it was reduced by President Bush. These families will be hit hard once again if the marriage Penalty is reinstated.
• $1,480: The average cost in 2000 for couples punished by the Marriage Penalty.

The Heritage Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan foundation looking out for the American taxpayers. You may want to check out their website which is: MyHeritage.org

"Fees, Fees, Fees" has become synonymous with "increases, increases, increases" when it comes to local government. The 74% increase in the Hernando County General Fund budget does not seem to be enough for local officials pocketbook because we are now being faced with another increase in our fire rates for the Hernando County Fire Rescue service. This does not even take into consideration the 34% increase in our garbage rates that just took effect at the blessing our our county commissioners.

Hernando County Commissioners, past and present, have never scrutinized the budget expenditures made by the administration of the HCFR to the degree necessary to be good stewards of our tax money. How could they? Our fire rates increased 77% since 2001 with nary a blink of the eye by our local officials. HCFR is even asking that an annual inflationary rate increase of 5.5% be included in this request so they do not have to come back to ask for our tax money again. The annual inflationary rate for senior citizens has never come close to 5.5%.

Last year during budget discussions, Chief Nickerson was asked by the public why he had so many vehicles parked outside the various fire stations and the county commissioners did not even investigate the issue when they raised our rates last year. It is interesting to note that highest number of under-used vehicles in the county was attributed to the Hernando County Fire Rescue District. These under-used vehicles by the HCFR totaled 12 in all and ranged from tankers, to trucks, to sport utility vehicles and other related equipment. By the way, this information was available in an outside audit conducted in 2005, at taxpayer expense. All the county commissioners had to do in 2005 was read the audit to see the taxpayers have not been crying wolf.

As for the 34% increase in garbage rates, the county commissioners took away our freedom of choice in the free market to choose our garbage haulers in 2001. Even though it is not mandatory in the rural areas for garbage pick-up,we have no choice of haulers to choose from in the open market. No competitive bidding for private consumers exists because we are forced to use the companies chosen for us by the county commissioners, at structured rates for our service. It amazes me how local government can create a monopoly in the garbage industry without violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The term collusion seems to be only reserved for private industry since the local government finds nothing wrong in setting prices for local private garbage services and creating a private monopoly the citizens are forced to use for garbage services

With all these fee, fees, fees, please do not forget that our Emergency Medical Services will increase again this year by another 3%. This 3% annual increase was built into the county ordinance when it was approved in 2002. If you are keeping track of these fees, fees, fees, it should be noted that our EMS fees have increased 21% since the enactment of this MSTU.

The Hernando County motto on budgetary matters should be "Keep your eye on our right hand so you won't know what our other hand it doing". What part of tax relief don't the county commissions fathom...

In closing, I will leave you with this quote from President Ronald Reagan, "Balancing the budget is a little like protecting your virtue: You just have to learn to say no".

***

Have a safe, enjoyable, Fourth of July.

Happy Birthday, America!

Overly abrasive

Over the last several weeks, the Hernando Today has published some very blunt articles about the budget crisis in Hernando County government. Is this budget information necessary for public opinion? Yes it is, but the Hernando Today staff has gone over board with their comments about county employees in the process. In my opinion, the Hernando Today has been overly abrasive in their language with their coverage of this budget issue.

Take a look at the headline in this morning's edition of Hernando Today and judge for yourself. It reads, "Layoffs begin; county dumps 5 workers". Even though layoffs are inevitable in any organization facing a budget crisis, these 5 workers are living, breathing, human beings that have families to support in our community. This headline underscored the glee of the staff writer, with the approval of the editorial board, to allow this crude headline. Yes, lay-offs are necessary but to say the county "dumps" 5 workers is very tasteless for this paper.

In my opinion, the Hernando Times coverage of this budget crisis has far surpassed that of its competitor, the Hernando Today. The Hernando Times articles have included hard facts, without the accusatory tone of the other local newspaper. The opinions in the Hernando Times on this budget crisis have been voiced in the proper perspective in their editorial columns, not in the foundation of the their articles.

Search for new police chief...

The headline reads, "City to begin search for new police chief" with the new city manager, Jennene Norman-Vacha, planning to form a selection committee. This selection committee will include Interium Chief Frank Ross, Sheriff Rich Nugent, along with input from local citizens. With this selection committee, officials will review the job requirements and then begin advertising with the Florida Police Chiefs Association.

Interim Chief Ross stated that one of the applicants could come from within the department. The logical choice would be Lt. Rick Hankins who has given his heart and soul to the Brooksville Police Department but that appears to be uncertain at this time. Lt. Hankins is waiting for the final version of the job requirements before making a decision to apply for this position.

It appears that Interim Chief Ross has already jumped the gun, so-to-speak, in the search for the new chief of police for the city of Brooksville. Mr. Ross has already taken the liberty of having lunch with a few of the interested candidates, even though the city manager just gave the go-ahead to advertise the position at Monday night's city council meeting. These interviews of prospective candidates by the Interim Chief Ross appear to defeat the very purpose of the selection committee currently being formed by the city manager. How can Mr. Ross serve on this selection committee, with an unbiased opinion, when he has already involved himself outside the purview of other prospective (committee) members? Is this selection committee being formed by Jennene Norman-Vacha merely facade to imitate a fair selection process of the next chief of police for the city of Brooksville?

Blunt analysis

I just finished reading Bernard Goldberg's new book titled, 'Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right'. Mr. Goldberg's book was about his interpretation of current politics in Washington DC. His frank discussion spoke for many of us that have been scratching our heads and wondering if the entire world has gone mad. Mr. Goldberg's book explains the shortcomings in both political parties, describing his interpretation of what he calls the far left lunatics to gutless wonders called republicans.

Bernard Goldberg was equally as critical about democrats as he was for the republicans. He describes liberals as hating George W. Bush for standing up for values and principals they grew up hating. He even listed a name for this condition, which is called Bush derangement syndrome. This 'BDS syndrome' was named by Charles Krauthammer, as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to policies, and the very existence of George W. Bush". Mr. Goldberg goes on to state that Mr. Krauthammer trained at Harvard to be psychiatrist before becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist.

Mr. Goldberg's view of republicans was as equally unflattering, with him calling them gutless wonders in Washington who sold out their principals for power. He said he's had it with hypocritical republicans who say they are for small government but then spend our hard-earned tax money like Imelda Marcos in a shoe store. He stated that he has had it with weak and timid republicans who will not stand up and fight for conservative principals.

The descriptions of party politics, from the far left to the far right, in Mr. Goldberg's book were very blunt but necessary in today's climate. Even though Bernard Goldberg's book was a littler redundant it has become the feeling of many of us. The only major drawback of reading Mr. Goldberg's critical analysis of today's politics was it offered no positive feedback on how we should get back on track, politically speaking...

Art reception...

Last night, I was privileged to the Spring/Summer Art Exhibit and receptionist Brooksville City Hall. Elaine Carnette gave a presentation on her collection of African art from Nigeria. I must say, Ms. Carnette has an impressive collection.

Poetry readings were given by Rosa Leah Addington, Rosalie Lo Curcio and Piero Braggiotti. A duet poem was read with Mr. Braggiotti giving his version in French, as Ms. Lo Curcio read the piece in English.

The city clerk, Karen Phillips, then introduced each artist. She gave a virtual walk through city hall, listing all the artworks on display for the audience. Each audience member was then invited to stroll the halls and enjoy the refreshments provided by Hernando County Fine Arts Council.

I encourage anyone interested in the arts to visit Brooksville City Hall to casually view the current collection on display. There is something there for everyone from wood carvings, to quilts, to paintings and poetry. We have some really talented individuals in our community. Check it out for yourself!

Where' all the money...

The Hernando County Commissioners have really taken a beating lately on the issue of lowering taxes. To be completely fair to the commissioners, the Ad Valorem has not risen dramatically in the past 15 years for those of us that fall under the protection of Save Our Homes. Yes, we have newcomers to the county that were unaware of the property tax structure in Florida and are now feeling the pinch of taxes because of higher property values. We have individuals that jumped into the housing bubble over the last several years that lost their protection under Save Our Homes and are extremely upset because they cannot afford the taxes on their higher assessed properties. Thank goodness the Florida Legislature got the last minute message from those of us that insisted on retaining Save Our Homes in their special session.

Getting back to the local level on tax relief, is it necessary to keep the pressure on the county commissioners during upcoming public hearings on the budget? You bet it is, after reviewing the last seven years of General Fund budgets for the county. The General Fund budget increased a whopping 74% since 2001, with a 27% increase in the population base. How do they justify this increase of expenditures without the citizens asking questions. One question that begs to be asked is what have you gained, personally, from any this new influx of county money in your neighborhood? If the answer was, nothing new, it was the same as my answer.

For those of us that remained in our homes under the protection of "Save Our Homes", the major increases on our personal property tax bill has come in the way of increased fees, not increased millage rates. What we have endured for the last seven years is increased fees for fire service, increased fees for emergency medical services, and increased fees at every turn in the road. The county commissioners have been relentless in approving fee increases even when those on fixed incomes cry out for relief.

The 74% increase in General Funds, along with fee increases, over the past seven years, is not justified with a 27% increase in population in this county over the past seven years. All we want to know is, Where has all this money gone...

No truth to it...

After listening to the term "failed road program" on local talk radio for the past week, I decided to make several inquiries at the Hernando County Department of Public Works. The local talk radio show host stated on Tuesday that the money for the expensive computer system had been wasted and not spent on its intended purpose of road maintenance. Even though I knew that this statement had no truth to it, I decided to contact the county to verify the program was implemented, as promised by the county engineer.

My question was, "Did the computer system ever get implemented into a viable maintenance reporting tool for the county road system? "

This morning I received a very informative email from Pavement Management Coordinator, William Busch. Here is a portion of the text from his email:

The county's Pavement Management System, was implemented in 2000 and has been used to complete the task of repaving and repairing 695 miles of neglected roadway. This was accomplished on time and within budget. A remarkable feat considering the funding ($.03 gas tax) increased 28% between 1999 and 2007, and the price of asphalt increased 129% during the same time period.
A little about our system; PAVER™ is a pavement management system beneficial to all organizations responsible for managing their pavement network. It provides easy access to pavement inventory and inspection information, accurate analysis of current and future conditions, graphical presentations of reports through GIS, and optimization of work planning even with budget restraints.
Funding for Micro PAVER™ is provided by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The American Public Works Association (APWA) and the University of Illinois have contributed significantly to the further development of Micro PAVER™, constituting its worldwide use by cities, counties, airports, planning commissions and universities.

Nobleton was one of the first areas to benefit from the residential road paving management system in Hernando County. Our tiny little community had our roads completely repaved in 2000. Even though Nobleton only has 13 paved streets, counting the intersections, this repaving effort by the county really improved our property values as a community. The residents in Nobleton were so impressed because our roads had not been repaved since 1956.

The Hernando County Board of Commissioners will vote on the extension of the $0.03 gas tax for the Road Paving and Maintenance System for the residential road system. Although I dread paying any increases at the gas pump, the use of gas tax money over the last seven years has dramatically improved our county to increase our property values as homeowners. Everyone paid this tax, including visitors to our county. By including the collector roadway network into the Road Paving and Maintenance System, it would enable the continued free flow of traffic, from the residential communities, for work, shop and leisure activities. I urge the commissioners to vote in favor of the continuation of this gas tax, with the inclusion of the collector roadway network, on Tuesday.

*****Please note that I received an email from the radio talk show host this morning (6-18-07) requesting clarification to this post for accuracy. The following is a portion of the text of that email from the talk show host:

I know your concern for accuracy, so therefore I hope you'll correct your blog entry, "No truth To It..." While a listener did make such a statement on my show, I made no such assertion. And, in fact, made a statement concerning how I didn't even know they had such a thing as he and you describe. In fact, I'm not completely sure you and he are talking about the same thing, but regardless, please let your readers know that the statement was by a listener, not the host.

Retain the decorum...

Hernando County Administrator, Gary Kuhl, should be commended for directing all questions about upcoming budget concerns with their Community Relations Director, Brenda Frazier. Budget Director, George Zoettlein will be extremely pressed to meet the one week schedule to implement state-mandated tax cuts from the Florida Legislature's new property tax bill into the county budget for the county commission meeting on June 26, 2007.

Curbing the tide of incomplete information, or just plain misinformation, during this critical period is just common sense. The public is already extremely concerned with the budget process but does not need inflammatory articles in the newspaper, driven by anti-tax crusaders. In that same token, the public would be much better served if the Clerk of Court, Karen Nicolai and County Commissioner David Russell went through the proper chain of command to request information be placed on county commission agendas instead of upstaging the county administrator and Jeff Stabins, our county commission chairman in the media.

Funneling budget information through the Community Relations Director will allow Gary Kuhl the ability to retain the decorum necessary for the budget director to complete his work by next Tuesday. Pray that the decisions made by the Hernando County Board of Commissioners will be in the best interest of all of us that live in this community.

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.