LETTERS: water supply, George Floyd, voting on merit not gender, microchips

Here's what your neighbors are talking about.


  • By
  • | 8:40 a.m. June 10, 2020
  • Palm Coast Observer
  • Opinion
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Why our future water supply is in danger

Dear Editor:

The water supply will not be a problem for my generation or perhaps my children's generation but could adversely effect my grandchildren’s generation. The water supply is in danger for three reasons.

First, some of the older homes like the home I live in have a serious situation with hot water. I determined that 2 1/2 gallons of water was being wasted in the master bedroom when turning on the hot water faucet.

This problem was resolved by the purchase of a piece of equipment that attaches to the outflow of the hot water tank. The part is approximately $200 and installation by a plumber is approximately $200. This device provides almost instant hot water to the master bedroom and saves me money on my water bill.

Second, the increasing population, not only in Flagler County but also in the rest of Florida.

Household water is provided buy a giant underground lake call the aquifer, which gets recharged by the rain, filtered through the soil. As homes are being built, concrete foundations are put in place, often 2,500 square feet or more. The concrete foundations prevent water from being filtering through to the aquifer.

The third reason is the intrusion of the ocean saltwater into the aquifer. As the ocean level rises not only above ground but underneath the ground level, the salt water will intrude into the fresh water of the aquifer.

The combination these three reasons may require Florida to ban residents moving here in 50 years or so. This information is provided so the reader is aware and may do something about water usage, as the other reasons are beyond our individual control.

John Brady

Palm Coast

Editor’s Note: Brady is campaigning to become mayor.

 

Don’t vote for someone just because of her gender

Dear Editor:

The only letter to the editor this last week was blatantly sexist and discriminating. He begged us to vote for Corinne Hermle, because she is a woman!

I am a woman and would say to the letter writer, that’s like saying to vote for Hillary because she is a woman. Being a woman has nothing to do with being capable enough to do a job well!

I would say probably anyone over the age of 18 knows the commissioners are male.  I have read John Brady’s letters to the editor for several years, and he hits the nail on the head when he talks about the present administration. Here is a man who would make a great mayor, if he follows through on what he writes.

Carol Propper

Palm Coast

 

Proud of Palm Coast's peaceful protests after murder of George Floyd

Dear Editor:

Like many, it has been a struggle to find any real words of value in response to the terrible murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis or the nationwide protests which took place in Palm Coast this week as well. I am also sensitive to the fact that — as a middle-class, white, male politician — there are words of mine that will always ring hollow because I lack anything resembling true understanding on what communities of color are going through today.

Here is what I do know: My natural inclination is to want to fix things, and these are problems bigger than I alone can fix. I’ve also learned (thanks to over a decade of marriage) that my inclination to fix is almost always wrong. Instead, I’ve learned to listen and to pray and to quietly sit next to those who are hurting.

This is my prayer for all of us right now.

I was proud watching the local, peaceful protests, but I also hope it opened eyes to see that a large part of our community is hurting in the same ways protesters are hurting nationwide.  There are systems that assure those in power keep their power. Many are struggling with an economy that wasn’t working for them before — certainly not now after coronavirus. People in any minority group feel marginalized. There is anger. There is division. There is uncertainty. There is fear.

And, if any part of our community is hurting, we should all be looking for solutions.

The President Kennedy quote, “What unites us is far greater than what divides us,” has been on my mind a lot lately. I pray we can all take those words to heart.

So, take a moment today to love one another. Listen more than you speak. Sit quietly next to the person you see that is hurting in a way you can’t understand. You may never understand, but you can still be a friend to that person.

Pray for healing, yes, but also pray for the kinds of systemic change (in our community and elsewhere) that assure murders like George Floyd’s and the protests we are seeing need not happen ever again.

Michael Schottey

Palm Coast

Editor’s Note: Michael Schottey is a candidate for Palm Coast mayor.

 

Check stray animals for microchips before adopting

Dear Editor:

This is a reminder to all people who have a cat or dog show up at their door not to assume the animal is a stray and adopt it. Our white cat, Blanche, escaped the house this morning and has been gone for days. We live on Fleming Court in Palm Coast, and Blanche is very friendly. She wears no external IID as she is an indoor cat. Please, please check if what you assume is a stray has a microchip implanted (which Blanche has) and that will identify her owner’s name and address. Call your animal control agency or Humane Society, and they can give you help for checking for a microchip.

Thanks from many pet lovers who are missing their beloved pet(s).

John Flannery

Palm Coast

 

 

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