VIEWPOINT FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2008 Rants 4 Got something to say? Call the Hometown Rants & Raves line at (561) 575-5140 or e-mail Callers are asked to refrain from making slanderous statements. Statements of fact will be checked for accuracy. Police cars are always on duty I would like to respond to the person who wrote in his let- ter that cops should share cars. I agree that in these tough economic times, we should all do our part to save money. The police "take-home" car pro- gram does just that. The writer claims to contribute time to law enforcement. If he did, he would know that having police officers take their cars home saves a lot of money, because it lengthens the life of the car in that it cuts down on the amount of miles the car is driven. Before, a car would be driven 24 hours a day (all three shifts), and would cost the city much more in replacement costs, because the cars would have to be replaced every two years on average, not to mention repairs, tires, etc.; all more for a car "shared" by many officers. The "take-homes" last an average of seven years now, and the attendant cost for tires and repairs is much less. The writer also gives only lip service to the added benefit of having marked patrol cars in neighborhoods. It does, indeed, keep neighborhoods safer. The writer also is obvi- ously not aware of the added benefit of having off duty offi- cers driving around the city in marked units, and that they respond to calls for service all the time. The officers often respond to in-progress calls. They han- dle calls such as broken-down vehicles, so that on-duty offi- cers are free to handle more serious calls. At any given time, off-duty officers driving around town in marked units adds as many as half a dozen officers to the city. Tell me that isn't a benefit to citizens. The council in my city did its homework and saw the benefits, both in money savings and added police protection, otherwise they would not have approved the program. A wise man once said "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Maybe the writer who claims sharing cars would save money should attempt to learn more about the subject before passing judgment. Who needs leprechauns? In case you're wondering why more and more people are home schooling, just look at Hometown News front page article "Students learn lessons from leprechauns" (March 21, Jupiter/Tequesta/Juno Beach). Is learning about leprechauns a life skill you really need? I think I'm going to home school, too. Neighbors should be more considerate Maybe someone can tell me what happened to the loud noise law we supposedly have. I can't sleep or watch a TV program these days because my neighbor is playing the music so loud that the walls and HOMETOWN NEWS WWW.HOMETOWNNEWSOL.COM "OwfABoUT-.- NO ? floors shake and things fall down. Then when I call 911 to have the police come'to quiet them down, they don't show up at all. The police are so lazy. It took me calling three times before they finally showed up. I just got home from work; it's 1 a.m. There was nowhere to park because of the party going on down stairs. It didn't stop until 2:30 a.m. They are bad neighbors. One man's trash... I will be telling this story for the rest of my life. I've lived here for 24 years and just don't understand how some people think nothing of throwing their garbage out the car window while driving down a residential street. When I have to pick it up I often think what slobs they must be and their house is probably a pigpen, too. Last week I was at Publix, and as I returned to my parked car, I saw a scratch-off lottery ticket lying nearby. I never buy scratch-off tickets, but was curious to see what kind of game was on it. It was a hold'em poker $5 ticket. As I reviewed the card I couldn't believe my eyes. I had three-of-a-kind and they had a pair. Last time I played poker, three-of-a-kind beats a pair. The prize amount wasn't scratched off because apparently the moron who threw it on the ground thought he lost. I was shocked to see a prize of $500. As the old saying goes, "I laughed all the way to the bank." So, to the slob who thought nothing of throwing his garbage on the ground, thanks for your ignorance. You couldn't even figure out that three-of-a-kind beats a pair. You threw away $500 cash. Thanks, dummy! What goes around really does come around. Nobody is qualified I'm curious about the state of politics. Hillary Clinton feels she is qualified to be president because she was mar- ried to one. John McCain feels he's qualified because he was a pilot and Barack Obama is not qualified because the most he's done is be a law professor at Harvard. You figure it out. Five miles over is still speeding In regard to be courteous while driving, if the person is going 5 miles over the speed limit in the right hand lane, they are still speeding. If someone wants to pass them, they have to go over the speed limit, too. Both are breaking the law. It's not a case of being courteous. More on driving In response to, 'When is it time to stop driving?' all I can say is watch out, he's one out of 5,000. Think about the animals The Jupiter shelter fire was a-tragedy that could have been prevented. We are not told the whole story about shelters and their indifference to the animals. Bible or Koran? If Obama wins the presidency, will he place his hand on the Bible or the Koran? More on Obama I wonder if anyone reads the New York papers that say that Barack Obama isn't going to change the church he attends. His family in Africa still practices the Koran. He has a girlfriend that he made a sexy tape with. He refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance. He wants to raise taxes. He says a good speech, but one really has to listen to what he says. Commercials seem silly It seems commercials don't make sense anymore. It seems like they are an insult to intelligence. I can't stand the voice of Kaboom. I'd never buy that product. We welcome your opinion To send your letters to the editor, e-mail to or FAX us at (561) 575-5474. Or you can send letters to: Letters to the editor, 840 Jupiter Park Drive Suite 102 Jupiter, FL 33458 Letters must include a phone number and home address for verification. Letters sent without phone numbers and addresses will be published in the Rants & Raves section. o10metown News Published weekly by Hometown News, L.C., 840 Jupiter Park Drive, Jupiter, FL 33458 Copyright 2008, Hometown News, L.C. Phone (561) 575-5454 Fax (561) 575-5474 Classified (800) 823-0466 Rants & Raves (561) 575-5140 Circulation Inquiries: 1-866-913-6397 or Steven E. Erlanger Linda Dover Publisher and C.O.O. Sales Manager Vernon D. Smith Managing Partner Philip J. Galdys VP/Director of operations and production Tammy A. Raits VP/Managing Editor Lee Mooty General Manager/CFO Jim Kendall C.E.O. Dolan Hoggatt Circulation Manager Advertising Consultants Renee Piccitto June Oenbrink Tracey Byers Kristina Rhodes Office Manager Mercedes Lee-Paquette Production Manager Rita Zeblin Pagination Manager Anne Checkosky Deputy Managing Editor Staff Writers Sarah Stover Purvi Desai Hobie Hiler Staff Photographer Adrienne Harris Paginator Janet Sichel News Clerk -fpj Voted # I Community Newspaper in America a. : 2005, 2006, 2007 .'.. Patricia Snyder Classified Advertising Director Classified Consultants Carol Deprey-Zelenak Heather Sorensen Christine lannotti Eileen Huneycutt Linda Hedges Tiffany Noel Patrice Kubik Kim Jenks District Circulation Manager CIRCULATION AUDIT BY VERIFICATION * .M'*1 Call the Hometown Rants & Raves line at (561) 575-5454 Friday, April 4, 2008 A6 Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, Singer Island Hometown News A^kec