Letters to the Editor — June 23, 2022

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  • A ‘Thank You’; Central Florida Non-profit CEO; Poinciana sacrificed
    A ‘Thank You’; Central Florida Non-profit CEO; Poinciana sacrificed
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A ‘Thank You’ for something good

Dear Editor:

I would like to thank the Osceola County commissioners. I think it’s wonderful what they have done to help all graduates of Osceola schools be able to go to Valencia college for two years or the county technical school (the Osceola Prospers program). Thank you Commission Chairman Brandon Arrington and all the commissioners for getting the funds through the CARES Act.

I no longer have any children or grandchildren in Osceola County schools only Orange County, and I sure wish they would have done this as well. Thanks commissioners for caring about all grads of Osceola County and their futures.

Education is the backbone of our country. I think people forget how important is to help young people to have some kind of education college or trade school.

Teri Stonebreaker
Kissimmee

 

Central Florida Non-profit CEO making over $700,000 salary

Dear Editor:

Please consider investigating One Blood’s CEO and vice presidents who are earning over a half million dollars in annual salary for a non-profit company right here in our backyard.

No one will dispute the immediate need for blood donations throughout our nation including our own Central Florida region. There is a real need for this service, but for a non-profit company, their Board Members to have the audacity to employ and pay a half-dozen or so executives this kind of salary when they are attempting to persuade people to freely give of their time — and blood — is incredibly insensitive and irresponsible.

Keep in mind, there is a critical for people to give blood. I did recently and began to think about the cost to process our blood, the facilities, the Big Red Bus, staff, etc. I researched the company and discovered their published annual salaried for their top-level executives and was appalled. I think the only way to get the board to

I think the only way to get the board to remove these people and change the way this “non-profit” company does business, is to make local residents aware of this incredible lack of trust that the public places in companies like One Blood. Make people aware of this inappropriate salary and benefit packages that are given to these people. It’s the Board members who need to be held accountable and “we” the people need you, the media to make others aware of these actions.

At a time when many people in our community cannot even afford rent, gas, health care and groceries, this issue must come to light and hopefully non-profit companies and their board members will be sensitive to what an appropriate salary might be in light of the objective of these companies which are to “serve” the community in a “not for profit” environment. A $700,000+ salary is criminal and shows the greed that people in these positions have.

Carl Francis
St. Cloud

 

Poinciana: the sacrificial community

Dear Editor:

We all need to be are aware of the devastation and destruction highways have created throughout the history of this country as illustrated in recent articles. A journal focused on race, poverty and the Environment recently published an article titled “Removing the Poor through Land Use and Planning” and others all over the country highlight how communities were ripped apart. The results created ghettos and pockets of poverty.

Across this country, small centers that were left to decay become shining centers of smart urban planning. Communities become revitalized as bridges and expressways are removed and relocated to non-destructive locations. But not here in Florida. Our land

But not here in Florida. Our land use planning and highway construction barrels through communities, with complete disregard for the outcome created for those lives forever shattered.

In Poinciana, a community of low income, hardworking employees, many of migrant heritage struggling to make a life in this country, the Central Florida Expressway Authority plans to construct a 30-foot elevated, limited access, high-speed, tolled expressway through the middle of Poinciana’s town center. The proposed route would completely eradicate what is now Cypress Parkway, creating only two frontage lanes for local commerce on either side of this monstrosity.

Local lives and livelihoods are in jeopardy. Businesses will suffer, some may not recover, workers will lose employment. Our collection of local entrepreneurs such as nail salons, restaurants, dry cleaners, bakeries, restaurants, and other service providers will suffer greatly throughout this entire construction fiasco — just to connect I-4 to Florida’s Turnpike. We will all be exposed to 24-hour days of vehicle exhaustion and noise pollution as 18-wheel truckers and midnight delivery vehicles roar along the tolled expressway.

Some will try to convince us the Southport connector will relieve the traffic congestion of our local streets by the year 2045. But those numbers make no sense. This isn’t about just a means of diverting traffic from I-4 to the turnpike, nor is it about traffic relief for Poinciana residents. It is a means to create a transportation corridor for the undeveloped ranch land of Southport.

CFX is ready and willing to sacrifice Poinciana, our town center businesses, the shops at The Promenade, and all of Cypress Parkway to create a transportation corridor for mixed-use zoning and entitlements for nearly 6,500 homes platted on what is now the 3,229 acre Bronson South Lake Toho ranch lands, as well as other ranch lands along Southport Road.

There are alternate locations where this Southport Connector can be located which will accomplish CFX traffic goals, provide the connection for Southport’s future development, and not destroy the lives and livelihood of Poinciana residents.

Please help expose this tragedy, before it’s too late to save Cypress Parkway and Poinciana from the fate of those communities sacrificed by highway construction.

William Dalton
Kissimmee

Do you have a Letter to the Editor? Send it to Editor Ken Jackson, editor@osceolanewsgazette.com.