Letters to the Editor: Jan. 26, 2022
Children need better schools more than they need a water park
After reading the Jan. 22 article regarding a proposed water park in Port St. Lucie, I have some really viable viewpoints. We live here in a community surrounded by lakes, swimming pools, and of course, the ocean.
As a retired educator, I have personally visited a few of the schools in Port St. Lucie, both high school, and elementary. Our students deserve better.
Better buildings, better books and computers, better programs in the arts, and certainly higher-paid teachers. This is where taxpayer money should go. Our kids are our future. Special Education programs certainly need funding so no child will be left behind.
New programs can be initiated in the academic areas. All of our children need the exposure to playing instruments, voice programs, and art experiences. All of the above cost money. Money that would attract more families to our area because of superior schools. Money better spent on education than on a frivolous water park at the present time. Water parks can certainly be fun, but right now, after a stressful two years of remote learning and mask wearing, let’s give our children what they need for a more successful and productive future.
Bonnie Ax, St. Lucie West
Thanks for a random act of generosity: May it echo over and over
Who were those strangers? At Scampi Grill on my birthday, Jan. 19, along with my husband, a girlfriend whose birthday is one week after mine, and friends that we hadn’t seen forever … . We laughed and caught up with each other’s lives. We also ate delicious food and drank our share. Plenty!
It came time to pay up and I told the waitress that my husband was buying the “birthday girls” dinner and our friends had a separate check. What happened next was amazing. She said our bill had been paid by the couple at the next table, who were walking out the door. Excuse me! She was kidding, right? No, she was not. The whole table? Five of us?
I still get goosebumps thinking about that act of generosity. Why did they do it? Who knows. I guess we don’t need to know, but let me tell you it had a big impact. Inspiring and caring and hopeful are all emotions rolled into a single act with a profound message.
People are good. May this act boomerang a thousandfold.
Thank you again to those strangers.
Karen Ernsberger, Vero Beach
Dear so-called leaders: Our voting system does its job; now do yours
Question: Why are our so-called leaders messing around with our voting system?
Is it our education system that is not doing its job? Our voting system has worked for decades. If it isn't broke, don't try to "fix it" or it will be broken. Our leaders have gotten so self-centered and full of themselves that they don't seem to see what's right in front of them. They are leading this country down that black hole of no return and they think their words are the magic elixir.
Foolishness and nonsense gibberish make the present politicians not like politicians of just a few years ago who were moral and ethical. Not what we have today. Do what's right and do your job and quit feeding your egos.
Patricia Boddy, Fort Pierce
The perfect anthem for elected Republicans
If we are going to mandate which anthems are played where (and to honor whom), I'd like to mandate that for the elected GOP officials, at all state and federal levels, we blast out (at full volume): Stephen Sondheim's "Send In The Clowns” as sung by Judy Collins.
"Don't bother, they're here.”
Wayne Whitson, Jensen Beach
It’s been a long road to recovery from an active-duty injury long ago
I had a right knee revision performed by Dr. Jason Stack of Vero Orthopaedics at Sebastian Medical Center on Jan. 19. This was my fifth knee surgery stemming from a parachute malfunction while on active duty almost 50 years ago. The revision involved removing the prosthetics from an earlier total knee replacement and revision surgery. The entire experience from admission to discharge was outstanding.
Sebastian Medical Center security staff welcomed me to their hospital with a warm greeting and a comfortable waiting room environment. A short time later and after the requisite paperwork was completed I was prepped and ready for surgery. The pre-op nurses and techs exemplify professionalism in healthcare. The operating room staff were reassuring and competent, and I enjoyed their humor before the anesthesia did its job.
I was fortunate to have a clean, quiet private room (I cannot recall the recovery room at all). Again, the nursing staff were efficient, competent and comforting. I had the pleasure of meeting the hospitalist, one of the physician associates. as well as Dr. Stack’s physician assistant, all of whom displayed a high level of pride in their work. Home care (visiting nurse and physical therapy) is similarly excellent. I look forward to the next few months of healing and physical therapy on the road to recovery.
My sincere appreciation and a hearty “Well done” to everyone.
Charles R. Quesenberry, Vero Beach
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Letters to the Editor: Jan. 26, 2022
