EYEONCITRUS.COM

By Guest Editorialist: Jeff Doolittle

Four out of Five Citrus County Commissioners again stretch the realm of rationality by voting to obtain a loan of 3 million dollars to hire an out of state firm to tell them how to economize the county government buildings in order to save energy! The premise that this firm guarantees that county will save over 200,000 a year in costs again indicates that these Commissioners still believe in the Tooth Fairy and Never Never Land. Even if true, which is highly unlikely, the 200,000.00 a year saving, if possible, would still take 15 years to recoup 3 million dollars, not counting the interest that would be owed on that amount. The county just finished the renovation of the building on State Road 44, in Crystal River, which is officially the West Citrus Government Center, which opened in 2012. This building has the latest in technology in respect to efficient heating and cooling, lights that turn off automatically, when no one is in the area, bathroom fixtures, and other advances that would not be found in the county’s older buildings. The county could use the same people that renovated this old commercial property that was leased from the Olsen family, to repair and renovate the older buildings in question.

Dennis Damato, Rebecca Bays, J. J. Kenny, Joe Meek all voted for this proposition and that is exactly what it is, much like the quick rich schemes that abound on the net, too good to be true. Scott Adams seems to be the only one on the commission who hasn’t lost touch of reality.

Port Citrus, another waste of money in schemes that would be too good to be true realm, this has been talked about for the last forty years, the feasibility firm hired to analyze this deem that it would only be practical for barges to transport lumber and such to this area, where non-existent warehouses would store these goods to be freighted across the rest of the state. The ports in Jacksonville and Tampa don’t come to mind? With all the hype that these GOP commissioners espouse concerning the use of private industry development in the county, would not this be the course of action? But, of course, if private industry really thought this would be a viable course of action, wouldn’t they have tried this over the many years? One wonders about the reach of the long and powerful arms of the wealthy, such as Dixie Hollins, and others in these many aims of the commissioners?

Lest we forget that the county has been making cuts because of the shortfall from Duke’s Energy failure to pay their property taxes. Apparently these Commissioners have fleeting memories in their apparent spending spree which they will lay on the backs of the Citrus County Taxpayers, through property taxes, with an expected increase in the millage rate of 8 to 10 mills and the addition of an MSBU fee of $60.00 that will hit everyone, to cover the services of the fire department and by the time you read this, most of you will have received the notice in the mail advising you of this new expense. Dennis Damato was out and about, gloating how this will ere the backs of the taxpayers and how the county government offices will be slammed this year with angry citizens? Makes you really wonder what is wrong with an individual when there is absolutely nothing funny about families encountering another expense along with all the others they have to face just to survive in this economy and the devaluation of the dollar?

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Dear Editor,

Blink and you've missed it: Hungary is no longer a democracy.

President János Áder has just signed away the rights of all that was left of Hungary's opposition parties after years of gutting legislative powers, crippling the free press, and eliminating all mention of a "republic" in the country's constitution.

If this trend doesn't sound familiar, here's something to jog your memory: along with criminalization of the homeless and attacks on women and the LGBT community, Hungary's seen a horrific spike in state-sanctioned antisemitism and racism, including the decoration of three men known for their connection to the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party.

We've seen the steps Áder's taken before. We know these signs. And while the European Union continues to stay silent, the situation for women, ethnic minorities and religious groups in Hungary becomes deadlier by the second.

Please, join us in calling on the member states to act on Article VII of the EU Treaty, which demands they intervene to prevent any state from being robbed of its democratic freedoms. We still have time to stop Áder's men from stripping Hungary's people of more rights and protections -- but we cannot afford to stay silent for long!

PETITION TO EU MEMBER STATES: We cannot afford to sit by while another European country represses state protections, targets minorities, and spreads anti-Semitism while eliminating free speech. Don't let Hungary go the way of Nazi Germany -- act on Article VII to ensure Hungarians' rights and freedoms!

Click here to sign -- it just takes a second.

Thanks,
-- The folks at Watchdog.net

Dear Editor, 
Thank you for the 5/20/13 article "What makes America strong". It 
covered what we -as a "national family" 
have heard about: the dramatic escape and rescue of three young women 
in Cleveland, Ohio - who were held captive 
for a decade and of their self-reliance, courage and survival instincts - that tell us that we have it within us to 
endure what might appear to be the "impossible". 
These three young girls were horribly abused by a cruel captor for 10 years in his home but now they are free! 
Their freedom came because a concerned neighbor named Charles Ramsey 
saw one of the girls "trying to get out of the house" he kicked in the 
locked door allowing an escape of the girls including a daughter of one of the girls born in captivity. 
Charles Ramsey was the epitome of "A Good Neighbor" And he made sure 
that these poor abused souls were taken away from the Ohio house of horrors. 
They Survived And We Can Learn From Their 
Fight for Freedom to have Courage: Knowing That Good Always 
Triumphs Over Evil As We Hold Firm To Faith For What Is Good - Being 
Good Neighbors! 
Renee Christopher-McPheeters 
Citrus County

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