Letters to the Editor for Saturday, Feb. 26

Last Modified: Friday, February 25, 2011 at 7:04 p.m.

Winning coverage

My compliments to the Ocala Star-Banner for its thorough coverage of the 2010-2011 FHSAA State Wrestling Championships in Lakeland. Correspondent Richard Burton not only did a fine job reporting the details but also did a first-class job of capturing the emotions of the moment for Marion County's three new wrestling state champs.

Dennis Kane

Wrestling coach

Trinity Catholic High School


No deposit

I find it incredulous that "the law" allows private entrepreneurs to pump millions of gallons of water out of our Florida aquifer.

Wealthy landowners historically have been allowed to extract oil and minerals from their properties, regardless of their neighbors' concerns. Oil and minerals are deposits, though. That is, they are natural accumulations.

Water is not a deposit. It comes from our aquifer, which is a river flowing underground.

I commend the Marion County commissioners for opposing the Moody family's plan to pump 90,000 gallons of water a day from its property. Can you see the horror of it all? Sinkholes appearing, majestic oak trees dying, private water wells drying up, homes with "settlement cracks" or worse, and other problems associated with that business.

The Moodys probably are very nice people. If they were extremely generous people, they would donate their land for future generations to enjoy. Marion County could lead the state in ecotourism.

Bonnie Carolyn Goulard


Missing the mark

It appears that you also shoot from the hip in your editorial "Scott shoots from the hip." However, unlike Gov. Rick Scott, you missed the mark.

Please explain to me how can you get 24,000 jobs on 80 miles of railroad? The $2.7 billion comes from us, the taxpayers.

The government has no money that it doesn't first take from its citizens. Who are the companies bidding on this? If it was a profitable project, it already would have been built. Name for me one passenger rail or public transportation system that makes a profit. Would some of you like to take your children out of private schools so you can pay more taxes to subsidize travel in Tampa and Orlando? I think not.

Jim Brady


Riding the rails

Regarding the letter "Beware a railroad job" (Thursday), the writer is misinformed about the high-speed rail proposal.

Yes, the $2.4 billion refused by Gov. Rick Scott would have been used to pay for building the tracks and purchasing rolling stock. But, one of the eight consortiums made up of various companies bidding on the project would, as the writer wants, design, build and operate the system, and all eight already have agreed to assume any cost overruns and/or operating losses.

The writer also dismisses trains as "19th century technology." I would like to point out the automobile also is 19th century technology. That aside, steel wheels on steel rails is still the most cost-effective, fuel-efficient way of moving people we've ever devised. I'm confident high-speed rail is in Florida's future. The question for the writer and Scott is: Do we take advantage of this opportunity to build it now with the federal money offered to us, or do we wait 10 years, when gas is $10 a gallon and the cost of building a rail system will be billions more?

Bill Hirschi


Scott's work plan

Gov. Rick Scott's campaign slogan was, "Let's get Florida back to work." I guess the $2 billion the state would have received wouldn't have created any jobs. Or, I guess he figured that he couldn't get his hands on some of the money for his own use.

I was shocked that the voters put a criminal in the governor's mansion. Maybe now they just might think differently.

Leonard Miller


Yes to the Youth Fair

Today's Topic in Tuesday's edition was, "Have you been to the Southeastern Youth Fair?" As a parent of a former Youth Fair participant, I find it hard to believe that more than 80 percent of those responding answered "no." Agriculture is the No. 2 industry in Florida. The Youth Fair showcases the youth of our county who have an interest in the agriculture industry. These students are the future of our state. It takes months of preparation for them to be ready for the fair. They learn the basic care of their animals, plus the record-keeping and time-management requirements for whatever project(s) they undertake. For non-animal projects, the preparations can be just as structured.

If you have not been to the fair this week, take the time to go before Sunday. Go to the fair website for more details: Remember, no farms, no food.

Hilda Grant



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