- May 7, 2024
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‘We all miss and love Meredith very much’
Dear Editor:
My Meredith's life was taken by Louis Prinzo. He was charged with 2 DUIs that caused death. The DUI was not alcohol, but prescription drugs and marijuana. Prinzo’s defense attorney went to great lengths to explain his stressful life of running the family business and parents that are in very bad health. Isn't that called "life"?
Apparently the parents have a lot of prescription pain medication all over the house — described as a "mini pharmacy." What bothers me is that why the parents aren't held in any way accountable, not that our justice system works that way. But, I think these (and other) parents are not aware of the impact they have on their children’s lives.
Most importantly — Meredith was not drinking and driving!
Meredith, Lane and Tuesday were caught up in a horrible crash on Interstate 95 at speeds of 70-plus mph, and the direct result of a person that made a really bad decision to drive when he shouldn't have.
Another thing that has always bothered me is that it is assumed that if Meredith had her seatbelt on she would have survived. What killed her was the trailer hitch of the Chevy Blazer that first hit Prinzo's Mercury. Their collision caused the Blazer to go airborne, its trailer hitch came through the windshield, and its impact killed Meredith. She died instantly, seatbelt or not.
We all miss and love Meredith very much; she was a remarkable child. Let us not measure her life by its length, but by the depth of joy she brought us. She jumped into life with both feet and never touched bottom. We will never laugh the same again. She will be in our hearts forever.
Kathleen Smith
Palm Coast
Special election is evidence of politicians putting more value on power than on the people
Dear Editor:
The well worn political satire quote, “A million here, a million there and pretty soon you are talking real money” (I think it was billion in the original quote) comes home to roost in Flagler County.
So here we go again, Sen. John Thrasher moves to become president of Florida State University, then resigns his state Senate seat for District 6, which he just won as an incumbent in the Nov. 4 general election. With his resignation, a special election to fill his seat will be conducted between now and April 7, with a primary election, general election, early voting, canvassing boards, and all the associated costs involved.
Not only that, but two currently elected state representatives, Ronald Renaurt (District 17) and Travis Hutson (District 24) have now resigned their House seats to run for Thrasher’s Senate seat. That gives us two more multicounty offices to fill in this upcoming special election.
The cost to the taxpayers of these counties will be at least an estimated million dollars, plus the cost to the candidates to run for these offices at least another million.
These costs to the taxpayers could easily have been avoided with a process authorized in state election law and Republican Party of Florida rules.
Prior to the Nov. 4 election and even after the absentee ballots had gone out, Sen. Thrasher could have resigned his Senate seat knowing that he would be the FSU president. If he had done this the three Republican State Committee representatives from the four counties involved (St. Johns, Flagler, Volusia and Putnam) could have selected a replacement for Sen. Thrasher on the ballot. These 12 Republicans (REC chairs and state committee man and woman), weighted by the number of registered Republicans per county, meet and vote their selection. The selected person, whether or not their name makes it on to the ballot, then goes forward in the general election as the Republican candidate.
In that case, no matter who wins the election (Republican, Democrat, or NPA) a state senator is elected, and there is no need for the special election, thereby saving the taxpayers over a million dollars. Reps. Travis Hutson and Doc Renaurt would not have been able to be selected for the Senate seat so their House seats would not have changed, with them remaining in place.
In summary, a simple no-cost selection for a Republican to fill the Senate District 6 candidate slot could have been easily done. The person getting this nomination would have been chosen from a few candidates, many of whom will now be running in the special election. Politicians love to speak about how they are strict cost cutters and fiscal conservatives, but, when political power comes into the process, those goals seem easily to be put aside at the expense of the taxpayers.
Dave Sullivan
Palm Coast
