- April 24, 2024
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It’s great to live in a city where the citizens care about the trees
Dear Editor:
Mr. Butler, the city’s landscape architect, discussed the removal of the trees for the widening of Palm Coast Parkway at the Feb. 28 meeting of the Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee. He showed our committee the construction plans and the surveyed information provided by a certified arborist on each tree to be effected by this project.
Laurel oaks do not age as gracefully as live oaks even in optimum growing conditions, and these trees are not growing in the most favorable conditions. I have volunteered on this committee for the past six years, and many tree issues have been discussed. The city has always been on “team trees” and is very proud to be a Tree City USA. The decision to remove these trees was not done on a whim but was thoroughly researched, and all possible ways to limit the impact on the existing trees were considered.
I would be one of the first people to speak out in defense of the senseless removal of healthy trees, but in this instance that is not the case. At the end of the day, by replacing the existing trees the city will get healthier trees growing in more favorable conditions. This will benefit future generations of Palm Coast citizens.
Speak up for what you believe in, but make sure you have the correct information before you go to battle. Words have a lasting impact.
Celena Chalkley
Palm Coast
Save the planet: City should regulate lawn chemicals
Dear Editor:
In case you missed it, national news outlets such as The New York Times (on its front page, Aug. 7) have recently reported the mysterious and totally upsetting deaths along 50 miles of the northern estuary waters off Brevard County and the Kennedy space complex of about 280 manatees, dozens of dolphins, and hundreds of pelicans in the last 12 months. That’s a lot of manatees, considering there are fewer than 4,000 them in North American waters. The chief suspect: explosive blooms of algae from fertilizer runoff, as in the nitrogen and phosphates we use as fertilizer on our yards. Experts fear the estuary is at a “tipping point.” The same could be said of many of our creeks, rivers, and springs.
It’s time for all of us — and our officials — to take action.
Stop using so many chemicals on your lawn. I halted the use of any herbicides and pesticides two years ago, save for the bare minimum of basic fertilizer, and my lawn is as good or better than ever. Spread hardier types of grass like bahia. Forget what the guy with the green tank truck tells you. When will our officials mandate controls of all these chemicals that get swept into swales and then the canals and estuaries, and when will they consider the effects of over-development?
The city of Palm Coast has done many intelligent things. This should be acknowledged. True, we have a mayor who actually fought against restrictions on the speed of boats that damage manatees (he has a boat). But overall, it is a city that is both aware and progressive. Look at the way it has enhanced home values by maintaining and expanding beautiful bike paths and road medians. This is the trend of the future. It is what propelled Hilton Head, S.C., and Ponte Vedra as resorts and retirement centers.
But we still have a ways to go, and from lawn care to litter (South Carolina has a $1,000 fine) to feral cats (which are decimating the bird life), all of us have a role, and the role is in a drama that is starkly playing out in the real life around us.
Michael H. Brown
Palm Coast
The center of town is certainly not Town Center
Dear Editor:
I am so confused! It seems all we hear about is how hard our city officials are working to attract businesses to the Town Center. That seems reasonable, particularly when you go to the Town Center and you see the tumbleweeds blowing through the big empty spaces.
What confuses me, though, is that in recent years it seems most of the new stores have been built in the area that most people consider the actual center. For example, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Belk, Kohl’s, Carrabba’s, Golden Corral, Outback, Zaxby’s, ABC Liquors, etc. Now I hear that more big box stores may be coming to the same general area to be built on the site of the "old" Publix. If you add that to the fact that Walmart, Bealls, the post office and the library were already in that same area, well, you can understand my confusion.
Apparently I have misunderstood the functions performed by city planners. I thought they usually developed a long-term plan to guide the growth and expansion of a community in the most appropriate way. In our case, it seems the planners must be suffering from multiple personality disorder.
Edith Campins
Palm Coast
Get on the bus to honor the March on Washington
Dear Editor:
I am a Facebook subscriber. I do what a lot of folks do: post pics of the family, see what my friends and acquaintances are talking about. I also use it to measure what folks think is important. At any time I can go online and see where thousands of subscribers have “liked” a music video, high-end clothing, a joke, or where someone just had to tell us exactly where they were chewing their food and with whom.
Post something relevant and see how few “likes” you receive. People will comment on almost anything, yet posts that challenge you to do, rather than say remain unanswered.
One month ago, I posted a flyer asking the Flagler community to “Get on the Bus,” and join the NAACP in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington. The flyer was not limited to Facebook; it was sent to other local community and civic organizations, churches, etc. How many “likes” did I receive? Fewer than six. How many individuals requested a seat on the bus? Very few. Given the climate of politics and civil rights, I was amazed at the lack of commitment to civic responsibility. Should I be surprised? Probably not. Every two years, the polls prove the increased amount of apathy that citizens display toward anything relevant and impactful.
It has become evident that courage has skipped a couple of generations. When those that went before us were hosed down, set upon by dogs, shed blood, and lynched to protect the very freedoms that we are attempting to preserve, and we cannot fill one bus to honor the martyrs, the freedom fighters, the dream of Dr. King and others, we are not deserving of the privileges we have inherited.
The bus leaves Palm Coast on Friday, Aug. 23, for a cost of $160 per person. For more info, contact [email protected] or call 446-7822.
Linda Sharpe Haywood, president
Flagler County NAACP
School bus theft raises big concerns for parents
Dear Editor:
I am concerned about the report I recently read about two school buses just disappearing from the Flagler County bus lot. Who steals a school bus? With the constant rise of violence in our national public school systems and violence against our innocent children, it really concerns me as a parent of three children who attend our schools here in our community.
I have observed the buses over the years doing the practice runs before the actual school year begins annually. It's not hard to figure out a bus route. Who's to say some disgruntled citizens or terrorists don't have a plan to go a couple a minutes in advance and pick up our children and create a nightmare here in Flagler County? It seems to always occur in sleepy little towns that no one expects.
The School District owes us an explanation! I cannot stress enough to the parents to define your child’s pick-up schedule and bus driver’s identity before your child boards the bus. I pray for our sake I am wrong and just being an over protective parent. But we live in a new world of sickos, and you can never be to careful these days when it comes to your child’s safety.
Michael Estes
Palm Coast
Crossword puzzles have become too hard! No fun
Dear Editor:
I used to look forward to the Palm Coast Observer crossword puzzle very much. It was not too easy, but not too hard either. All of a sudden, in the last few months, it has become impossible for the average person to complete. We have the Sunday paper for the extra difficult crosswords. Please go back to the fun, but challenging puzzles of the past!
Annette Engel
Palm Coast
Thanks to the supporters of the arts in Flagler County
Dear Editor:
After reading Tom Gargiulo’s letter pronouncing his reasons for the need of support to the arts, I am compelled to add a few words of my own. First of all, a big bravo to Tom and everyone in the arts community here in Flagler County. Without the Flagler County Art League, Hollingsworth Gallery and Curator J.J. Graham, the City Repertory Theatre led by John Sbordonne, The Gargiulo Foundation led by Tom Gargiulo and Arlene Volpe — and too many gifted artists to mention here — the arts would have little or no representation, and residents and visitors would have to drive to Jacksonville, Orlando or perhaps hop on an airplane to some other place that has museums, music and galleries that invite the viewer to see the beauty in our world.
The Arts, where we get our much-needed soul food, creates a community with the ability to draw people to one of its very best assets. The arts also help educate young people to the best the world has to offer, and Palm Coast would be bereft without these venues — they are a gift to one and all — and do not cost anything in many cases. Let us never lose sight of the beauty in the world. This becomes more and more necessary as time passes.
Thank you to all who contribute to the arts in our community.
Dana Williams
Palm Coast
Where am I supposed to drive the safe?
Dear Editor:
An electronic traffic sign near Buddy Taylor Middle School reminds drivers that the school year is starting and that they should be careful of the children walking to and from school:
“PLEASE DRIVE SAFE.”
Reminder to students: “Please use correct grammar.”
Deborah Susswein
Palm Coast
