Could the media please give us a break with endless grisly accounts of the Aurora killings? I understand it was a tragedy, and our sympathies lie with the 70 innocent victims. But, we also need to appreciate that 86 Americans are killed by firearms every day, and nearly 4,000 are killed prematurely by chronic diseases linked with consumption of animal products and lack of exercise.

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So, let's replace the vacuous hand-wringing over the Aurora tragedy with constructive personal steps to lessen the greater tragedies facing us every day.

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During this election season I have shared my positions on a wide range of issues such as over-regulation and managing our vital water needs, and now I focus on our future.  On Primary Day, Aug. 14, you will choose opponents who will face off in the General Election on Nov. 6.  While there are several officials to select and issues to decide, I believe the biggest issue we face is whether or not citizens will actually go to the polls.  The question I have for you is will you “rise up?”

Since the fate of Alachua County as well as the nation rests in the hands of citizens such as you, I ask you: Will you “rise up?”

Travels around the county have convinced me the founding values and principals of our nation such as liberty, freedom, private property rights and personal responsibility are especially embedded in our rural communities. The protection of these values requires us to “rise up” and stand for what we know to be true.

While growing up in Hawthorne during this time of year I would hear many citizens ask my father, “Who I should vote for?”

They knew he was both informed and a man to be trusted. Many people now ask me that same question; I pray it is for the same reasons. Citizens, I ask that you join me in “rising up” and become a voter in the forthcoming elections.

Remember, at the time of the Revolutionary War most wanted no part of it and only became involved when it came to their door. Today, we are at war with apathy. Will you stand and keep that “shining light on the hill” burning or stand by and watch it continue to dim?  “Rise up” and bring your family, friends and neighbors with you to the polls.

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Vice-Mayor Bob Barnas has sent out a community wide blog and a Letter to the Editor in discount cialis slandering the actions and character of High Springs City Clerk, Jenny Parham. Mrs. Parham has more than buy discount cialis online years of service to the City of High Springs and served as Interim City Manager for 22 months. She ran this City with intelligence, hard work, high moral standards and total attention to each detail of the City Charter.

In her many years of service to High Springs she has received accolades from all who know her. Suddenly, freshman commissioner, Vice Mayor Barnas, claims she “circumvented a process that would have allowed voters…to make a choice for debt.”  His blog remarks are much more insidious – a fact that moved Commissioner Scott Jamison to come out of his seat at the Tuesday, July 17 meeting.

Let’s break this down.  Mr. Barnas has had a death wish for the city’s sewer system since the idea first appeared.  He even declared to the commissioners at the time that the sewer was against his first amendment rights.

Now this commission, led in fact by Barnas, has decided that despite our proximity to the Floridan aquifer, they will not complete phases 4 or 5 of the sewer.

So, how could he ensure for all time that no sewer project can ever be completed?

That would be Charter Amendment 2012-13 that would require a two-thirds vote by the commission and a referendum approved by the voters for the commission to even temporarily borrow more than $1 million.

Commissioner Sue Weller pointed out that this could keep High Springs from using transportation tax dollars to pave roads. Former City Attorney Tom DePeters said this would squelch any chance of improving our very aged water systems, adding additional highway projects, or any other infrastructure needed for substantial growth.

How does this tie in to Mrs. Parham?

Step 1) There was a commission meeting on July 12 in which the charter amendment was proposed, but the majority of commissioners voted it down;

Step 2) Barnas ordered Parham to publish public hearing notices for the discount cialis amendment in the newspapers.  This, despite the fact that the city attorney has repeatedly told Barnas that he may not direct the activities of City staff (in fact there are more than 600 Charter and Sunshine violations submitted for legal action to the State against Barnas);

Step 3) Because the commission did not pass the amendment, Parham did not publish it, as per legal advice from the city attorney;

Step 4) The commission met in an emergency meeting on July 17 and voted to pass the amendment.  Now Parham puts the ad into discount cialis but discount cialis with Barnas’ dates for public hearings, but with the dates as legally required for notices.

The city manager, at the beginning of the July 17 commission meeting, explained to everyone in the room the exact steps Parham had followed regarding publishing Charter Amendment 2012-13 and explained why. Nevertheless, Barnas put out the letter slamming Parham on July 19.

Barnas has repeatedly proven to be unwilling to follow the High Springs Charter. This document must be the guide for the city manager and all commissioners. Parham knows it well, and abides by it as it is her legal (and moral) obligation.

Apparently, if a Charter Officer is unwilling to follow the individual direction of one commissioner the result is a public lashing.  Commissioner Jamison asked Mayor Davis if the mayor condoned such verbal public abuse of an employee and Mayor Davis said he could not stop commissioners from saying whatever they want.

Jamison also pointed out that Davis has been on the commission for three years, and Barnas and Gestrin have been on the commission for seven months. If this charter amendment is such an important matter, why are we just hearing about it now? Why does lack of planning by Barnas result in an emergency for everyone else?

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  Thank you to retired High Springs Police Department Chief of Police Jim Troiano for his thoughtful and intelligent open letter to the High Springs Commission in last week’s paper of July 19, 2012.

He gives a valid and realistic scenario of what might happen. I simply do not understand how three commissioners can think that having one dispatcher is high quality public safety and  can only hope that one of the three commissioners really discount cialis to realistic evidence and changes their mind.

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Dear Commissioners,

As your former chief of police of the High Springs Police Department (HSPD) and advocate for quality law enforcement, I must bring to your attention an issue that will have great impact on the department and community if allowed to continue.

With your recent action of taking back the dispatch services, something in my professional opinion is one of the worst decisions ever made, your inept police chief under the leadership of an inexperienced city manager is now considering hiring people to assume the duties of police dispatcher at the HSPD.

Two of the applicants who are at the top of the list were former HSPD employees and were either dismissed for just cause or left in lieu of termination. The names of these people have been provided to me by very concerned HSPD employees who are afraid to voice their concern for fear of retaliation from the chief, manager, mayor and vice mayor.

I would like you to direct the manager to ensure only well qualified and unsullied applicants are selected and that the existing policies to hire these employees be followed. That would include a formal application process, interviews, drug test, background check, polygraph, psychological and physical exam.

It is unfortunate that the first acts of the chief and manager concerning the dispatch center are to go backwards and fill the vacancies with cronies, ones who are unqualified and who will never be able to provide the same level of service or professionalism that you are currently receiving from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Combined Communication Center (ACSO CCC).

I must admit that I still cannot believe Mayor Davis, Vice Mayor Barnas and Commissioner Gestrin voted to allow the change after being presented with all of the testimony, documented increased costs and pleas from your officers not to change the services.

What is most troubling is why the three aforementioned commissioners are so bound and determined to have a subpar and unprofessional level of service in High Springs?

One may understand if there was going to be a huge cost savings, but in this case it is much more expensive, maybe even double the cost of what you are paying now.  By the way, where is the extra money going to come from to fund this new section?

One may understand, if in addition to a great cost savings, that the employees would have state-of-the-art equipment and the ability to electronically handle calls like the ACSO CCC, but as you all know that is not the case as you are going to have a fraction of the equipment and will never have the E911 software and hardware to increase your operational efficiency.

Finally, one should consider that you are going to be paying much more and will not have more than one dispatcher working per shift.  When you contracted services at the ACSO CCC, staffing was never an issue as they had lots of employees and supervisors working every shift.

All you have to do is look at the documentation I have generated, the testimony from your officers, not the chief who still has yet to answer Commissioner Jamison’s question if he believes the staffing he proposed is adequate, and the actual failures of the center during the High Springs Community School shooting, the beating of retired HSPD Sergeant Hines, and countless other incidents where the HSPD was unable to provide services to more than one caller.

If you truly believe the newly proposed plan of action is going to work, I ask you to publically hold a demonstration and use a scenario that I have developed to test your system.

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With one dispatcher and two officers at their disposal, a car crash with obvious injuries and road block occurs at Main Street and U.S. 441 at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. It is clear and relatively warm. One witness and one driver make 911 calls to the ACSO CCC. At the same time, one driver and another witness make calls to 454-1415, the line most citizens use to call for emergency and non-emergency matters. One minute after the first crash call is made to 911, a physical fight breaks out in the Winn Dixie parking lot between a man and a woman. Two people call 911 and one person calls 454-1415 to report that the woman is being beaten and needs immediate law enforcement assistance.

If this outcome does not change your mind, nothing will, and I urge the citizens of High Springs to vote out the three commissioners who permitted the change and allowed such a dangerous service to be used in the City of High Springs.

Although it would be easy for me to join the majority of the community and begin laughing at the comedy of errors, actions and decisions made by the majority of the commission, city manager and police chief, I must remain above the fray and once again urge Commissioners Barnas, Gestrin and Mayor Davis to reconsider your vote (only one of you need to do this) and do what is right for our community, our officers and the reputation of High Springs. Please do not allow the necessity of changing addresses, something that needs to be accomplished anyway, cloud your judgment and responsibilities.

Lives and the effective operation of law enforcement services in High Springs depend on someone stepping up to the plate and hitting the ball out of the park. I know each of you can do this, but will you set an example and help the community before it is too late?

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High Springs has gone through a commission change in the last election. Why, because previous commissioners have raised rates and fees. Took on $15 million is sewer debt and lost close to $500,000 in bad transactions, and the lack of supervision of the City’s daily operations and money.

Attending meetings would have made you aware that the current majority of commissioners favor a balanced budget without raising taxes, fees or taking on any more major debt.

Last week a commissioner suggested in a workshop to have a charter amendment that would require the commission to have any additional debt over $1,000,000 go before the voters of the city of High Springs for approval. Some commissioners did not support this. They want the power to add millions more in debt to be approved only by a majority vote of the commission.

As commissioners moved and approved an ordinance to place this referendum on the ballot go forward, we had deadlines to meet to get this ordinance approved with an ad in the paper and hold two commission meetings. Last week our city clerk, who was responsible for placing the ad, placed the wrong wording in the paper. This action all but killed our chances to move this forward. Emails sent to us by this clerk left us with the impression that this was all but dead. The result was that one lone city clerk circumvented a process that would have allowed the voters of High Springs to make a choice for debt at the ballot box. This was and is not acceptable.

On Friday, July 13, I then discovered that the information for the deadlines was wrong.

On Monday July 16, I asked for an emergency meeting on Tuesday, July 17 at 5:30 p.m. to fix the mess and make a last minute attempt to get this referendum to the voters. As you read this today it is my hope that we have moved this forward to a vote of the full commission. The voters of High Springs must be given the chance to make a ballot box decision in November to limit its future debt of the City of High Springs.

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Vice Mayor

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While we have been discussing the changeover of the dispatch, I have become concerned about the situation with the sewer system. These two projects seem to go "hand in hand" because they represent two of the largest capital projects facing the City of High Springs. I would like to offer my support for the expansion of the sewer system through Phases Four and Five of the grant.

When I moved forward on promoting the saving of the railroad, it was under the assurance from your body that you desired to encourage and develop industry. I am concerned that any alteration of the present plans for the expansion of the sewer system will stop any chance of attracting industry; and possibly, end any economic activity in the City.

As you know, it was the fact of Alachua's striding out to invest in a proper waste management system that led to the development of the distribution center off of Peggy Road. That center has been a boon to Alachua; and has provided many tax dollars that have improved the overall quality of life in that town. As the demand for logistical distribution through Florida grows, that type of industry could be drawn to High Springs. As you recall, one of the core concepts for saving the railroad is its ability to assist logistical distribution. Not having the proper sewer capacity will discourage any relocation to our city. Without that, the rail line will be lost.

Further, as a concerned citizen, I am alarmed at the potential environmental damage to the aquifer and the springs we rely on for attracting tourists and for our recreational needs if we go down the road of falling back on septic systems as the major solution to waste management. Here we are in a long-term drought, with algae blooms having arisen in the Santa Fe River; and there is talk of delaying the expansion of the sewer system?

To date, the developers have succeeded in having zoned four homes per acre. How can the quality of our aquifer and the springs be sustained with that level of development if the City can only offer septic systems and not expand the system?

Why on one hand, was Commissioner Barnes promoting the City taking over management of Poe Springs Park for the benefit of the City, while on the other, the overall policy has the potential of undermining the long-term sustainability of those same springs? With the stress from development, you risk the overall viability of the quality of our water, a key, finite; yet very valuable asset.

I understand that the purpose of the Phase Four and Five grant was to connect more users to the system, and with Phase Four grant, expand the waste water treatment plant. With the present home vacancy issues, along with the grinder and capacity questions for the system, why would the Commission question the expansion of the system?

How can the system gain some kind of economy of scale for covering its expense without an increase in the number of users? The only alternative would be to raise the rates. Contractually, the City has a limited timeframe to install the system and to have enough capacity to manage the already approved development. The engineering, at $500,000, is done.  Why the delay?

The contractors have made expensive investments to upgrade the capacity of the systems within their developments on the promise that the City will have sufficient capacity for their developments. If 80 percent capacity is reached because the Phase Four and Phase Five grants have not gone in, then the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) could shut the system down. Septic tanks for a 4:1 acre capacity would not be allowed. With a DEP restriction, all economic development for the City would come to a halt. The City will lose whatever credibility it has with the USDA; and the 50 percent or so grant funding would go away, with any plans to increase the capacity of the sewer system having to be borne 100 percent by the City.

The City has a $5 million bond issue outstanding using the good faith and authority of the City to guarantee it. Further, the contractors who made investments on the strength of an understanding with the City would see their hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of investments made worthless.

A negative policy jeopardizes the financial ability of the City to attract future funding because you could potentially dishonor the terms of your agreement with the USDA and the bond holders. You risk the financial health of the City through the limited number of users, thus creating a higher expense for the current users, and creating a "fait accompli" for the remaining residences having to remain on septic.

Additionally, you risk the ability of future Commissions in seeking funding for worthy projects because a negative policy telegraphs a message that the City fails to fulfill its commitments.

And, finally, you risk the City being the subject of possible litigation from contractors seeking to recover their lost investments due to your policy.

The City needs to keep open its options for attracting industry, or other forms of business, that will require access to waste management.

I ask the Commission to put aside any past reasons or judgments for delaying the expansion of the sewer system. It is a reality. And the current direction of environmental regulation will influence the City's policy. But, importantly, please consider the overall long-term strategy for managing the City's growth.

John P Manley III

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"Hats off" to you and your dedicated staff(s), as well as the planning committee, for adiscount cialisjobdiscount cialiswell done.

As usual, "The Good Life Community's" Independence Day celebration was a huge success due to the untiring efforts of so many people that it is impossible to recognize each person individually by name.

Suffice it to say that all of the fine folks who contributed to the tremendous success of "America's" birthday celebration in Alachua should be immensely proud of the fine job they all did. I met a Korean War veteran, his wife, and daughter, during the festivities and watched the fireworks show with them.

They reside in Gainesville and this was their first visit to our unprecedented event. Each of them kept repeating over and over again what a beautiful and exciting spectacle it was discount cialisdiscount cialis

This veteran and I shared several "war stories" since I am a retired military veteran and both of us were cryptanalysts during our careers. We were both humbled by the show of patriotism displayed during the entire event.

It was heartwarming to have speaker after speaker thank our veterans for their past service and to recognize in word and song – Antoinette (Hunt) hit another vocalist "home run" as usual – the tremendous sacrifice our courageous men and women in uniform are currently making.

Please thank everyone involved in our unprecedented celebration for their untiring efforts. They truly did a magnificent job!

I am immeasurably proud to be one of your city commissioners.

Robert Wilford

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