Rant & Rave - June 19

June 18, 2009 06:40 am

— Suwannee Countians, it's time to speak your mind! How? By calling the Suwannee Democrat Rant and Rave hotline. The hotline never closes and is your way to let it out. You can let everyone know how you feel -- as long as you express yourself in a respectful way.
Note: In written entries to Rant and Rave, errors in spelling, grammar or punctuation are those of the authors.
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1st, keep printing Rants & Raves forever! 2nd, it is not "one lonely person", but the vast majority of letters are for changing this repressive law. 3rd, tea is an import, US Sugar Corp. is owned by Venezuelans who pollute the Everglades & diabetes is an epidemic in this country, especially in the South. It is a matter of freedom of choice & costs our residents MILLIONS of $$ in lost investments, tax revenue, & jobs. Which choice makes better sense??
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My husband and I went to Sheryl's the other day for lunch. In the parking lot were at least 6-8 vehicles with Department of Corrections plates. Do we as taxpayers pay for those people to drive those vehicles around town? I would think they would only be used for Department business. Why can't they drive their OWN cars, on their OWN time, with their OWN gas??
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I would like to note that I find it funny that someone complain about printing the rant and rave while using it. Obviously you read it and write to it so why would the Democrat wish to discontinue? I think it is a great way for the community to find out what is going on in our area. Thank you for printing this weekly!
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I had the good fortune to be born and raised in Live Oak and enjoy all the beautiful surrounding little towns in Suwannee County, especially the enjoyment of Camp Suwannee, the Suwannee River and the beautiful springs to swim in as a kid. The Navy has taken me away for the last 27 years and I have lived in places that are as beautiful as Live Oak and also been all over the world and seen things that are beautiful and not so beautiful. Recently my mama had a medical emergency and as I knew would happen, her neighbors, fellow Church members, friends and family stepped up to help her through this time. I was able to come home, and no matter where I might currently live, which is now in the Northeast, Live Oak will always be home, to visit with her and help her out. Every time I come back to Live Oak I realize how lucky I was to have been raised in such an idyllic community. Yes, there are things for people to complain about, I do as well as the next person. But I think if everyone really stepped back and took a moment to think about how great it is for one to live in the greatest Country in the world and also realize that living in Live Oak is really not as bad as some seem it to be and once again enjoy the tranquil lifestyle and that home town feeling that Suwannee County has to offer, you would enjoy life so much more. Just a thought!
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Let's see if my sad lonely mind got this right, we should all have to drink tea grown in countries often hostile to us. We should also censor the press so folks can't speak their minds freely, which is already limited in this area. This is America, we are still dying to defend our unique freedoms! The issue is not alcohol, it's attitudes like this. I am not telling you what to drink or read, but we should be able to choose, so spare me your hypocrisy please. I personally can't stand sweet tea.
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It is annoying when you are in the library and some patrons seem to think that this is the place NOT only to socialize but to bad mouth the local people and area. Saying such things as "When we moved here it was like going back in time 120 years" or other comments to make it seem like they are somehow above the native people of this area. It was so annoying that at least one man got up from his table, glared at the elderly people and moved to another table muttering about them. They were oblivious of how loud their conversation was, I could hear them from three tables away and with headphones on. Maybe they think it is okay for them to behave this way since the local people here are beneath them or maybe they were brought up without manners.
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Councilmen you did not listen to the residents on the golf cart issue. You should have voted no. We can vote no too, for you during election time!
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I wonder why we have sites that are inconvenient to the Suwannee County citizens; that only encourages them to dump trash along the road or on other people's vacant land.
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I don't understand the open hours of the sites being while most people are at their jobs, In fact, I don't understand why in today's world they are locked at all. Cameras are cheaper than County employees sitting in an air conditioned shed watching TV.
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People can walk in, but not drive in. Makes no sense to me. It discourages people from even driving to the site knowing the vehicle gate will probably be closed. We have a lot of elderly and handicapped people that can't haul their trash through the gate to a dumpster that is probably full and they have to go to the rear of the site. I am sure that is why a lot of trash is left at the locked gate.
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Even if you are not handicapped it makes no sense to have recycling at the rear of the site. I am sure most people find it easier to throw the recycling away knowing the site is most probably locked when they get there and have to walk to the back. Same with oil. It's easier to dump it in a hole than drive across the county to the main land fill.
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Are the waste sites locked to keep people from stealing trash? They can walk in if they need to steal trash that bad. Are the vehicle gates locked to keep contractors from dumping? Again a camera solves that.
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Does the City's Public Works director ok the out of scope OMI projects, or does OMI just do what they want and then tell the city how much.
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Can anyone tell me how much our school board has paid to outside attorneys the past 4 years losing legal cases?
I'll bet it's enough to hire a lot of football coaches.
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Our council sure seems to have a lot of time for the Florida League of Cities. Perhaps they could spend more time at home watching our tax dollars.
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To the very educated individual's who write in about the City of Live Oak Fire Dept. If they were so smart they would see that there is no fire assessment for the city. We respond to calls lights and sirens for a rapid response. This level of response is for the citizens, seconds count. As for seeing firefighters jogging and playing basketball, we work out to stay in shape to do our job. It's easy for people to point fingers, and run there mouth about stuff they have no clue about. When they need help they have no problem with the job we do. When did Suwannee County get a fire marshal??? Paul Haas is not a fire marshal, he is a fire investigator. There is a big difference between investigating a fire and making an arrest. As far as patient care on accident scenes, that is Suwannee County EMS's job. The ISO rating in the city is a 4 not 9 like in the county. This saves every citizen in the city and 5 miles out of the city on there insurance. A higher rating means higher cost for insurance. People like to call in and complain, at least have the guts to put your name. Let's see if this makes publication. Thank You Jerry Sullivan
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Callers to 386-208-8314 may express their thoughts, good or bad, 24/7 about community issues and politics, but not about private individuals or businesses. If you prefer, you may email your comments to nf.editorial@gaflnews.com. You don't have to give your name, and please, keep submissions to less than 45 seconds (that's about 150 words). We want everybody to have a chance to be heard. Submissions that are overly long will be discarded. If 45 seconds isn't enough time, write a Letter to the Editor. (Guidelines for letters appear on Page 6A of our print edition.)