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Our Christmas list

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Friday, 25 November 2011 13:20

We’ve already made our Christmas list and checked it twice here at the Osceola News-Gazette, just to make sure it reaches Santa in time.
Here’s the list with items not in any order of importance:
• We want unemployment in Osceola County to continue to drop, thereby reducing hunger and homelessness due to the Great Recession. We have seen enough lay-offs over the last few years and the hardship that follows to last a lifetime. We have had a number of layoffs here at the newspaper since the recession began, some in the last few months, and we hope an improved economy will prevent any additional cuts for us.
• We want housing and commercial construction to rebound, which will translate into more construction jobs, higher home values and new assessment added to the county tax roll, making future property tax increases less likely.
• We’d like to see Osceola Library System operations remain under the purview of county government, which means county jobs would not be outsourced.
• County residents and businesses in past holiday seasons during these trying financial times have been generous in terms of helping to organize toy drives and feeding homeless or needy families. We hope residents and businesses – if they are able – are just as generous this year as before since the need hasn’t gone away.
• We want both the owners of the large retail stores and Black Friday shoppers to realize that requiring workers to report on Thanksgiving evening at 10 p.m. or midnight – as was the case this year for the first time and just so the stores can open early – is not something we want repeated. This holiday should be set aside for family and friends and should not be cut short in pursuit of the retail dollar. We hope that during the better economic times ahead store owners will not feel the need to open on Thanksgiving.
• We want crime to continue to drop in our community, and that residents do not pick up a lethal weapon as a way to resolve any argument. We have seen far too many lives snuffed out this past year in Osceola County.
• Please pass along a reminder to voters (along with their gifts) reminding them to turn out for the 2012 elections in respectable numbers.
• And finally, help us all find a way to help businesses along West U.S. Highway 192 tourist corridor survive.
That should keep Santa busy.