Can’t understand

To the editor:

There are a few things I’d like to get off my chest. First of all, I wish to loudly express the anger I feel at the way the trees of Neptune Road have been recently “trimmed” in order to protect the electrical lines they have been growing on. I am not stupid. I understand that this is a necessary process in order to protect the lines and hopefully keep the electricity flowing during any upcoming storms. However, it seems to me there has to be a better way to solve this problem.  

Next, I can’t for the life of me understand why the county commissioners insist on pushing forward on a program to build some sort of amateur athletic venue when there is no way it can be paid for and no guarantee of profitability once it is. We’ve been sold this bill of goods before. They believe if they build it, they will come and play at a location that is to be used for sports supported by the parents and families of amateur athletics. Why didn’t Disney succeed at that one?  

Why is it that when someone calls 9-1-1, they are asked, “What is your emergency?” and when they state they need an ambulance or medical help, a fire truck is dispatched, too? I recently saw an article that tried to address that question, but I still don’t get it. If someone needs medical attention only, why is an expensive piece of equipment like a fire truck dispatched, too?  

Finally, is the one-cent raise in sales tax for Osceola County? They are truly nuts on this one. If the people we elected and the people they hired can’t figure out how to do what’s needed and place priorities better than what they seem to be doing, I suggest it’s time to make changes across the board. Hey, here’s an idea. How about throwing them all out and hiring the rocket scientist who will be laid off from Kennedy Space Center? It’s obviously a real job for a rocket scientist because the people who are there now can’t seem to think their way out of their paper bags.

Carol Byron
Kissimmee

Backs Gemskie

To the editor:

I would like to encourage our family, friends and neighbors in district 1 to vote for Nancy Gemskie for School Board. I have known Nancy for several years and regard her as definite asset within Osceola County.

I will not break my own cardinal rule of “bad mouthing” one candidate in favor of another.... but.... I would like to mention the incumbent’s statement of “the majority of politics consists of P.T. Barnum...etc.”

Well, I chose not to participate in his circus, but I can suggest he devotes some time on Fridays to attend the clown school, which is offered at the Senior Center on Mark Street in Orlando.

Frank G. Clark
Kissimmee

Response to Kinney

To the editor:

This letter is in response to Mr. Kinney’s letter published Aug. 7 in this newspaper. First off, Mr. Kinney is correct that my remarks about Ms. Carr’s previous attempt at political office were callous and uncalled for. To that end, Ms. Carr I publicly apologize right here and now. Ms. Carr is a hard working community volunteer, and I do regret my comments. The heat of a political campaign got the better of me. Again Ms. Carr, I am very sorry for remarks made at your expense, it was wrong of me to do so.

Insofar as the Boys and Girls Club voting me in as chairman of the Osceola Board: I have worked to raise well over $1 million dollars in funding and pro bono professional services for our brand new Tupperware Brands Club that just opened in Kissimmee on Dyer Boulevard across from Kissimmee Middle School. Additionally, I have been recognized by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America for my service to the Boys and Girls Clubs. I am a previous volunteer of the year recipient by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

Since first being elected in 2002, many have tried to intimidate me, browbeat me, threaten me and downright bully me. Most of them tend to pop up in an election year, and this election season is no different. They want me to panic or run for cover. Instead, I choose to stand up to those who will not take me head on with real issues.  

These are the people who choose to try any tactic they can think of to get their way. To all of them, I will not back down. Which is not to say that I do not make mistakes, something that these armchair quarterbacks live to point out. Keep in mind that the people who do the most will make the most mistakes. Conversely, those who do the least will make fewer mistakes.

The most regrettable mistake I have made since being elected was when in 2004 the School Board needed to have make-up days from days lost from hurricanes Charlie, Frances and Jean. I was among the majority who voted to use Veterans Day as a make-up day. To their credit, the veterans of Osceola County called me out on that vote and they were right to do so. The board met to reverse that vote, and keep Veterans Day intact as the holiday it deserves to be.

Clearly the media are aware of how I conduct myself as a school board member. To that end I have been endorsed for this election by the Orlando Sentinel, Celebration Independent and Four Corners Independent.

If Mr. Kinney or anyone else has any questions about this I can be reached on my cell phone at 407-973-4141, or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Jay Wheeler, Osceola County School Board

district 1 candidate for re-election   

The choice is yours

To the editor:

On Aug. 24 you’ll have a choice to vote for the Osceola School Board district 1 seat. Are things better now than they were four years ago? I don’t think they are. Our “A schools” were the lowest in Central Florida’s five county areas, Seminole 80 percent, Orange 65 percent, Lake 64 percent, Volusia 46 percent, Osceola, the lowest, at 41 percent. At the high school level, only 31 percent of our students are reading at or above grade level. That equates to 69 percent of our local high school students below the basic standard and falling behind.

The morale among our employees and teachers is at an all time low. They are looking for a candidate who will listen and someone they can trust. The incumbent has served eight years and has little to show for the time in office. He will take credit for much, such as uniforms. He voted and pushed for uniforms at our charter schools. It is mandatory that they are purchased solely from Ibily Uniforms of Miami, the same company that donated funds to his campaign. This could have been an economic help to our local vendors, small business owners, jobs and recycling dollars in our community.

Jay Wheeler collected over $78,000, the majority from outside Osceola County, from special interest groups and contractors doing business with the School District. The bulk of this campaign money has been spent on gas, telephone, advertisements and attorney fees. $78,000 in Osceola is probably the annual income for two and a half small families. I don’t believe this type of spending indicates someone that is fiscally responsible. The 2010-11 Osceola County School Budget is $854 million. This is a tremendous amount of money and we should demand all board members be prudent and conservative as they oversee the spending habits.

Wheeler is currently under investigation regarding ethics, campaign law violations, campaign spending, also for violating schools rules and regulations. These are facts. I firmly believe the children, teachers and employees of the School District deserve better for our children’s future. We need a person who will bring integrity back to district 1. I’m a consensus builder with an extensive business background and after 15 years of volunteering in our local community, I’m prepared to represent you. I believe that I’m the right choice for the next four years on your behalf. My name is Nancy Gemskie and the choice is yours.

Nancy Gemskie
candidate

Osceola County School Board district 1

A day to remember

To the editor:

Citizens of the state of Florida and the United States, the day of Aug. 7, 2010, has gone by and yet no one has remembered to honor the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Navy. They landed on a beach on Guadalcanal; it was here that the long road back to victory began against Japan.

Everyone celebrates June 6 at D-Day, but who honors this day, Aug. 7? History and the world have a lot to be thankful for due to the bravery of those men. After all, people remember the names of those five beaches at Normandy, but what are the names of the beaches at Guadalcanal? Everyone knows that General Omar Bradley was the commanding general at Normandy. Who was the general in charge at Guadalcanal? Alexander A. Vandergrift was the name of the Marine general who led the fighting at Guadalcanal.

I believe for too long people have honored the soldiers and sailors at Normandy, rightfully so. Now isn’t it time to give the honor due to these marines and sailors who began the long road back against the Japanese in the Pacific?

Wade H. Keefer
St. Cloud

Taxes are going up

To the editor:

Osceola County commissioners are about to ask us for 1 percent increase in our current 7 percent sales tax. Recently, they voted to raise the general tax fund rate from $6.34 per $1,000 to $6.90 per $1,000. Their claim that property taxes will still be less than last year due to falling property values may be correct but I don’t believe for a minute that assessed value will be in line with real market value, so we’re still being overtaxed.

Even after having to dip into reserves and furlough some workers for a two-week period, the commissioners don’t seem to understand the severity of our financial situation. The only proven way to end a depression or recession is to cut or eliminate as many taxes as possible and to slash spending. At the federal or local level, that means making the real tough choices. Unfortunately, politicians are unwilling to make the tough calls as it makes getting re-elected difficult. It seems that no one in elected government is there to serve anymore. They are only there for the political power and, of course, the money available there.

The commissioners are openly discussing the right wording of their sales tax increase, hoping as the federal government does, that we’re so stupid, that we’ll buy anything they tell us. These sales tax increases always come with a limited number of years to give the taxpayers the impression that the increase will eventually drop off. They seldom do. There’s always a new pressing need to retain them.

Now is not the time to raise the property tax, the sales tax or any other tax. Commissioners need to start making the necessary budget cuts to live within county government means like we in the private sector have to do. And by the way, don’t bother threatening us with a loss of fire and police protection like you usually do. Let’s start the cuts with county administration costs.

William Ross Coughtry
St. Cloud