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Opinion

  • Legislature, Scott give us short...

    Residents of Dixie, Gilchrist and Levy county cannot be blamed if they just shake their heads at what happens with our Legislature in Tallahassee.

    Nor can they be blamed if their heads are spinning about our governor as well. Scott went off in a room with his staff and whacked over $400 million from his $79 billion “Keep Florida Working” budget.

    But first, consider what happened with the state budget in the past two weeks: 

  • How much can happen in a decade

    I was down in my back and experiencing excruciating pain no matter how I positioned myself. Sitting required extra cushions. Lying down required 20 minutes of positioning before finding the sweet spot – and if I awakened in the middle of the night, well, it started all over again. Walking was unbearable, but standing, well, standing I could do without much difficulty.

    That was the prelude to the summer of 2005, and while it was bad enough, the worst part was I was in the throes of packing my apartment to begin a new chapter of my life in Levy County, Fla.

  • Tebow gift of gowns appreciated

    Thank you Tim Tebow for your thoughtful kindness to the people of Levy County recently and more particularly to the young lady prom goers. Because of you, hearts were so pleased and happy.

    You’re one in a million!

    Judith Abel

    Trenton

  • Standing up for Christianity

    I just read the letter from Mike Owens (Bronson) concerning graduation, and thank you.

    Isn’t it odd how many rules and regulations there seems to be where Christianity is concerned?

    If we dare speak out against another religion — we are hate mongers.

    And as for our inalienable rights, hadn’t you noticed, since the President took office — we haven’t had any?

    We now have Freedom From Religion, ACLU and religions who are ready to kill infidels (Christians) and how many are even standing up for our beliefs?

  •
    Person(s) of the Week

    Sometimes you don’t realize just how much a person did until they are no longer there.

    This week’s person of the week is just such a person, or should I say, just such people. Our people of the week are Charlotte and Jimmy Dunford.

    
The Dunfords are just what you would want in people of the week. They are hard working, fun loving, decent people. They are loving parents and grandparents, they support young people, are active in the local AMVETS, and are always willing to lend a helping hand anywhere they can.

  • Ruling on judicial campaigns...

    By Mark Ferrulo

    Special to the Citizen

    Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a decision in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar that will impact future judicial campaigns across the country. The court upheld a Florida rule that helps keep courts fair and impartial by prohibiting judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions.

  • May is Juror Appreciation Month

    On behalf of the judges and staff of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, I’d like to express my appreciation to those who have answered the call for jury duty.  I understand it’s not always a convenient or welcome duty, but it is a critical part of our court system. Since the birth of our great nation, the right of an individual to be heard by a jury of their peers, has been considered an essential element of our democracy.

  • A little sunshine, please

    By Jerry Lawrence

    Guest Columnist

    To the Superintendent and Board Members:

    I would like to bring to your attention a series of recurring discrepancies between board meetings and board meeting minutes, which are supposed to be an unbiased, official account of board meetings.

    Example 1 – Reporting only half the details

  • Counting on strangers to help get...

    Folks who know me well know I like to shop. Clothes are kind of my thing and I enjoy a good thrift store or Goodwill. You just never know what you might find. And while I’ve been trying to curb the habit a bit here lately, I tend to get a little spring fever and want something fresh and new - new to me anyway.

    Well, the other day, I got off of work early and decided to check out a thrift store that’s been here in town for a few years, somehow one I had yet to shop.

  • Adventures with chickens, Part II

    I arrived home late Friday afternoon and started my usual routine of making sure everyone on my small farm had plenty of food and water. And by small and farm, I mean one acre in the middle of farm country – one wild acre I share with a few cats, a dog and a coop full of hens.

  • Our View: Jim Crow of another form

    It was just a short time ago that an appeals court in Florida ruled that the Sunshine clause in the state Constitution did not require councils and commissions of counties and municipalities to take public comment during meetings that were required to be open to the public.

    The Legislature stepped in and in 2013 told local governing bodies they had to take public comment and to formulate a policy to address the issue.

  • "Man Fear" riles the roost

    I admit it. I can stir up trouble. The particular variety I have been engaging in is “Man Fear.”

    It begins when I say things like:

    “We need a weed trimmer.”

    “We need a riding lawn mower and I want one with a Z-turn.”

    “I need a hedge trimmer so the azalea bushes can be cut by July.”

    “I would like to have one of those small handheld cordless drill/screwdrivers to hang things around the house.”

  • Letters to the Editor for January 29

    Let's outsmart the state

    In a report by the University of Florida, the white-tailed deer is identified as the most economically important big game mammal in North America and Florida.

    In 2011, over $50 billion was spent on deer hunting in the United States. That is a lot of money.

    In an effort to keep increasing the one spent on hunting, the state of Florida continues to increase the number of days doe deer can be killed.

  • Our View: Off the table ... finally

    Readers rejoice: you’ll no longer to have read about the ongoing controversy over which newspaper in this county should be running the county’s legal notices and Delinquent Tax Notices.

    Go ahead, take your time, rejoice. I’ll be here when you’re finished.

    Done? Good. Now you can read on to find out why.

  • Bag ban to face hurdles in The...

    By Bruce Ritchie

    ContextFlorida

    Florida won’t follow California on bag ban because of a 2008 law requiring a study.

    California became the first state in the nation recently to ban disposable single-use plastic shopping bags.

    The ban is needed, supporters said, to reduce litter and protect birds and sea life from becoming entangled in bags. The ban also prevents bags from clogging storm drains or winding up in landfills.

  • Don’t let seasonal spikes become...

    Dr. J. Robert McClure

    ContextFlorida

    Floridians aren’t surprised when they see seasonal spikes on their utility bills. A lengthy cold snap in January or lingering summer heat can send their energy bills soaring like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

    Fortunately, in a state blessed by ocean breezes and a climate ranging from temperate to subtropical, there’s welcome relief in the months when temperatures — and utility bills — remain in the moderate range.

  • How the First District Court of...

    Martin Dyckman

    ContexTFlorida

    Voters across Florida cast ballots in November 2000 to say whether they wanted to continue electing most of their circuit and county court judges or would let the governor appoint them.

    Election was the overwhelming favorite everywhere. In Duval, Nassau and Clay counties, which comprise the Fourth Circuit, it was the choice of 69.3 percent of the voters.

    This week, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal had a message for them:

    Drop dead.

  • Amendment 2 not needed; we already...

    Barney Bishop

    ContexTFlorida

    As time goes by, it appears that Amendment 2 is facing serious opposition from likely voters.

    Though the press has loved quoting a flawed Quinnipiac Poll that showed 88 percent of voters were in support, once pollsters began asking the question as it would appear on the ballot, support has dropped significantly to somewhere between 56 percent and 61 percent.

  •
    Voters aren’t apathetic; They’re...

    By Stephen L. Goldstein

    ContexTFlorida

    Post-primary punditry about low voter turnout in Florida (especially in Democrat-rich Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties) is as predictable and prolific as it is paltry.

    Adding up the numbers, analysts–I use the term loosely–have come to the unremarkable conclusion that Charlie Crist’s chances of defeating Rick Scott are in doubt.

    Henny Penny’s sky is alleged to be falling down.

  • Mass murder exposes dysfunction in...

    By Andrew Skerritt

    ContexTFlorida

    The state’s Department of Children and Families Northeast Region, which was responsible for the safety of the six children massacred by their grandfather in the rural town of Bell, drastically needs new leadership.