- April 23, 2024
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+ Hispanic festival canceled; Big city: 2, Little clubs, 0
Dear Editor:
I was saddened to read in the local newspaper that the Hispanic Festival will not take place this year (see Page 4 and www.PalmCoastObserver.com for details). High fees and lack of help from the city government is partially responsible for this non-event.
I have attended several functions at the Hispanic American Club. The members of this association are great residents and hard-working people. Carlos Pinto is a valued asset to this community.
I’m sorry he has lost this opportunity to bring some badly needed diversity to our community. Our neighbors, in a smaller city like Bunnell, will benefit from this trend because clubs and associations from Palm Coast will find a more attractive venue there.
In the recent past, the Caribbean Festival was held at the Black Cloud for similar reasons. I can only hope that the City Council works to reverse this situation and stops driving our residents out of town.
The City Council should ask the city attorney to draft a common-sense ordinance that could be applied when needed to prevent duplication of services (e.g. Flagler County Fire Rescue vs. Palm Coast Fire Rescue. The citizens pay for both with tax dollars).
Joe Cunnane
Palm Coast
+ Administrator pay raises would hurt Flagler seniors
Dear Editor:
A July 7 article reported that school administrators want a pay increase.
School Board members Trevor Tucker and Colleen Conklin seem to understand the situation all governments are in right now. Others, like Chairwoman Sue Dickson, share the same views as those in Washington; she called the pay raises “peanuts.” Since the state had to have educators contribute 3% to their retirement benefits, she thinks the county taxpayers should help make that up in raises.
All of us are suffering. Seniors have not received a cost-of-living raise in two years. Many Flagler County taxpayers are seniors or work in the service sector.
Taxpayers should keep a record of which elected officials are looking out for us. We don’t want to forget that information when it is needed.
Jean Sbertoli
Flagler Beach
CHILDREN’S MEMORIAL GARDEN
Children’s Memorial Garden, which was intended to memorialize children who died at young ages, is turning into something more like a cemetery, according to Ed Caroe, because 50-year-old children are being memorialized there. He recently asked the city to eliminate dates from the stones. Read the full story on www.PalmCoastObserver.com.
Readers responded this way on The Observer’s Facebook page:
Carrie Wood Tygrest: The hurt is still there when someone loses his or her child, no matter how old or young ... What does he think, your heart just stops loving after your child turns 18?
Kathi Darbi: The loss of any child is a deep pain that never goes away. Ever. Why not let the parents (or grandparents) place a stone ... and write whatever they wish? They are paying for it, not the city. And if all the stones are different, so were the children. It’s a memorial, not a competition.
