Private well installation should be allowed

Ban on wells may be lifted Oct. 15 article

Options needed, not a monopoly

This caught my interest because our association is currently considering well installation. We are in the New Port Richey area and not under Dade City's jurisdiction. Their ruling does not affect us, but it could very well set a precedent.

Although the majority of commissioners approved the right to appeal the ban, it seems Commissioner Curtis Beebe and Mayor Scott Black took the position that it's okay to have a monopoly — especially when funds keep city people and the system working. Such a position is certainly not in the best interest of the constituents, who have no other recourse than to be captive customers of the city water utility. Private companies have to adjust to business conditions. Why shouldn't government facilities be held to the same criteria?

Installing wells is an option and if someone wants to do so, it should be their right. The fact that they and many other locales don't have reclaimed water is the city utility's fault.

Commissioner Beebe followed up with a letter to drum up support for his way of thinking. Would Beebe like it if he were only allowed to shop in one store for his necessities?

Does he indeed care at all that people are struggling in these hard times? I think not. All his arguments were self-serving. Laying out the estimated $3,000 for installation of a well would be worth it, if a homeowner can save money in the long run.

Tony Marchese, New Port Richey

Paying the price of her protection Oct. 16 article

It's a parent's natural instinct

I think it is a sad day when a parent is convicted of protecting her child from someone who hurts her daughter. Can the judge honestly say he wouldn't have done the same thing if his or her child was molested by someone who was bragging about it? I don't think so.

We, as parents, protect our children at all cost. When an animal kills another animal to protect its offspring, it isn't considered murder, is it?

I know animals are not people, but I think animals have the right idea. You hurt my child, I will hurt you back. Even the Bible calls for an eye for an eye.

I would not have sent this parent to prison. Instead, I would have offered my sympathy and gotten the family the psychological help they need to heal from this horrific ordeal. How can you expect her daughter to heal when they take the one person in her life who has protected her?

Elisa Harness, Creve Coeur, Mo.

Scouts to pick up food donations

On Halloween morning, thousands of young boys will canvass Pinellas and west Pasco counties. They will not be collecting candy but canned food and other non-perishable foodstuffs for area food banks.

Boy Scouts will introduce themselves to their neighbors and distribute food collection bags throughout our communities. The Scouting for Food program is part of the annual National Good Turn for America of the Boy Scouts of America.

On the following Saturday, Nov. 7, these same scouts will return in hopes of collecting filled bags that will then be sorted and distributed to the various food pantries throughout Pinellas and west Pasco counties. Please place your filled bags by your front door no later than 9 a.m. on Nov. 7 for the Boy Scouts to collect. More than ever, the food pantries will be looking forward to the Boy Scouts' efforts in order to replenish and stock up the supplies that they will provide to their clients.

Please help the Scouts do a good turn. For more information, contact the West Central Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America, at (727) 391-3800.

John O'Neil, New Port Richey