Letters to the editor for Saturday, October 14, 2023

Letters to the editor should be 250 words or less. Include your name and city or community of residence. Guest opinions should be 600 words or less and include a brief summary of the author’s credentials relevant to the topic. Guest opinions may include a head shot of the author. For the Fort Myers News-Press, email submissions to mailbag@news-press.com and for the Naples Daily News to letters@naplesnews.com

Reconsider conservation decision

The decision by the Collier County commissioners to raid the Conservation Collier trust fund is a matter of great concern and one that deserves strong admonishment. The Conservation Collier trust fund was established with a specific purpose in mind – to protect and preserve the natural beauty and ecological diversity of Collier County. Raiding this fund not only goes against the principles of responsible fiscal management but also jeopardizes the environmental integrity of the region.

What makes this decision even more disconcerting is the fact that the Board of Commissioners altered the law to make this raiding of the trust fund legal. This underhanded move raises serious questions about transparency and accountability in the decision-making process. It circumvents the intended purpose of the trust fund, essentially rendering it vulnerable to misuse.

First and foremost, the Conservation Collier trust fund was created through the will of the people. It was established with the understanding that it would be utilized for conservation efforts, such as acquiring and maintaining vital lands and habitats. The decision to divert these funds for other purposes disregards the wishes of the community and undermines the trust placed in the county commissioners.

Furthermore, the environment is a non-renewable resource. Once natural habitats are lost or degraded, it is often impossible to fully restore them. The Conservation Collier trust fund was meant to ensure the preservation of these invaluable areas for future generations. Raiding the fund for short-term financial gain not only jeopardizes the environment but also deprives future residents of Collier County of the natural beauty and resources that make the region so special.

Additionally, this decision sets a dangerous precedent. If trust funds established for a specific purpose can be readily diverted for other needs, it erodes the trust that citizens have in their government. It discourages individuals and organizations from contributing to similar funds in the future, fearing that their donations will not be used for their intended purposes.

It is crucial for the Collier County commissioners to reconsider their decision, especially the underhanded change to the law, and find alternative means to address their financial concerns without undermining the conservation efforts that the community holds dear. Responsible fiscal management should not come at the expense of environmental preservation and the trust of the citizens. The commissioners have a moral and ethical obligation to honor the purpose of the Conservation Collier trust fund, and their actions should reflect this commitment to the long-term well-being of the county and its natural treasures.

Jane Schlechtweg, Marco Island

Bocce court repairs delayed

The bocce courts at Veterans Park in North Naples have been closed since Sept. 1 for repairs, there has been little or no work on them for weeks. All of the materials and tools are laying on the ground. Tried to contact Collier County Parks and got nowhere, they had no idea when the courts would open for play. There are many groups using the courts and season is beginning. Very disappointed in Collier County parks for this delay.

Kenneth Gordon, Naples

What, no tennis!

The recent decision by the City of Marco Island to convert The Racquet Center to all pickleball removes an excellent exercise opportunity for seniors. Tennis keeps one fit and growing older healthfully.Now comes the issue nobody is talking about. Seniors are being discriminated against.I and many of my tennis friends have supported the Racquet Center for decades with our dues and taxes. We don't feel it is right to remove all tennis courts.We recognize pickleball is riding a wave of popularity, but tennis has existed for centuries and it's wonderful how long we can play as we age.Also, it is quite common to see visitors to the Island playing tennis on our "Public Courts."Please save our courts.John R. Rasmussen M.D., Marco Island

Donalds a Trump sycophant

As an 80-year-old lifelong registered Independent, Vietnam veteran born in the Everglades (that makes me Florida Man!), I was disappointed to see Amy Bennett Williams' fluff piece on Byron Donalds on the front page of my favorite newspaper.

On December 3, 2021, I had a letter published in The News-Press where I stated: Congressman Donalds is unfit to serve. It is clear to us old Florida hands that have followed his short but mediocre career. Donalds is on a very short leash controlled by Gov. DeSantis and ex-President Trump.

Donalds still believes in the Big Lie and so voted. Unforgivable.

If one parses Williams' article, one notes that Donalds calls himself a "Trump supporting, liberty loving, (an oxymoron?) pro-life, pro-Second Amendment Black man. Isn't that special!

Canine fealty to an orange, obese, draft-dodging seditionist. Oh yes, Trump is a draft dodger! Bone spurs. Seditionist? January 6. Need I say more?

Wouldn't we in the 19th prefer a congressperson who is an independent thinker who applies cogent analysis to our national and international problems?

What the congressman is, is a Trump sycophant. We in the 19th can do better than this. Republican or Democrat.

Maybe more pictures with Marjorie Taylor Greene or Lauren Opal Boebert would help Donalds with his gravitas issue. I doubt if he knows that he has one.

Wright B. George, Captain USAF, 1966 -1977, Fort Myers

Dangerous lack of judgment

In the Naples News recent article featuring Representative Donalds, Joe Biden is called an idiot and Mr. Trump, we are told, is a completely different person when you get to rub elbows with him. Mr. Donalds really needs to read any of the 11 books written by former White House staffers, all appointed by Mr. Trump, who rubbed elbows with Mr. Trump every day of his administration. They all beg to differ. Mr. Donalds goes on to label as “BS” all the legally brought indictments against Mr. Trump, indictments brought by legally empaneled jurors of his peers (although Mr. Trump would dispute that he has any peers, anywhere), supervised by judges duly appointed by both Democrat and Republican governors and presidents and carried out under the rules and regulations of the various state and federal laws. Mr. Donalds would have all of us subscribe to the Groucho Marx philosophy of “who you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?” To briefly recap, Mr. Biden has never stood at the White House press podium and advised citizens to drink disinfectant or beam a light into their bodies to cure themselves of COVID-19, has never prostrated himself before the leader of Russia on an international stage by taking Mr. Putin’s word over those of the U.S. intelligence services that work diligently every day to keep this nation safe, has never denigrated the service of American servicemen who lost their lives in combat and called them “suckers and losers,” has never called Nazis “fine people,” has never endangered the lives of his own Secret Service detail so he could parade before his MAGA admirers while infected with COVID-19, has never  directed the Justice Department to lock up protesters without due process or tell the police to shoot protesters in the legs. Mr. Biden has repeatedly told the country that working together as a nation, there is no challenge we cannot overcome. Perhaps Mr. Donalds seeks to redefine the meaning of idiot, similar to what Mr. DeSantis has tried to do with the word “freedom” here in Florida. As regards Mr. Donalds’ defense of Mr. Trump’s legal troubles, consider that 17 of Mr. Trump’s lawyers have been sanctioned in state and federal courts for putting forth frivolous and unsupported claims on his behalf. Judgment is the ability to process relevant facts and reach logical, sensible conclusions, unaffected by personal biases. It is unfortunate the article highlights Mr. Donalds’ lack of judgment, which, in my experience, tends to permeate throughout one’s decision making and should cause real concern for all of his constituents.

Thomas Minor, Bonita Springs

Preserving the public trust

To our Collier County commissioners: We understand that you want more development to gain more taxes, BUT you have not created the infrastructure to support the additional growth. We do not have major roads to accommodate more traffic. We are short of medical personnel as more of us become seniors needing more services. Worst of all, you are not protecting those of us who have been here for many years. Your commission meeting this week was the perfect example of this.Many citizens in District 2 signed petitions asking the commissioners to please not open the Settlement Agreement. This agreement protected us from over-building in Cocohatchee Bay. It had been a hard-fought document that had stood for a decade plus. In spite of so many who urged keeping the agreement intact, our commissioner led his fellow commissioners into capitulation to the developers.

Questions to think about: Why would Detroit residents make large financial contributions to candidates running for the office of commissioner? Why did these developers wait until we had a change of commissioners to bring this up? Why didn’t the commissioners close the Settlement Agreement back up? Why wouldn’t our commissioner even look at us when we were addressing him? Why were we told that it was a done deal even before the BCC meeting? Why didn’t they listen to the residents who elected them?The vote of the commissioners to open the Settlement Agreement was not in the best interests of the voters, especially in District 2. You are responsible for not preserving the public trust.

Judi Palay, Naples

Hamas intent on killing Jews

The News-Press, in describing the growth of Hamas through turbulent times, appears to assign a merely responsive role to its obsession in destroying Israel, as if it couldn't help it. This was not a response to Israel's treatment of the Palestinian question, which is unfortunately suggested in your title using the misleading word "resistance." Hamas' only reason for being is to recapture lands that were once controlled by Islam. The reference to a blockage is based upon Israel attempting to prevent armaments from reaching Hamas. Perhaps it would have been more informative to state that Gaza's ravaged economy is due to Hamas directing funds for weapons of destruction, rather than building it up. After all, when Israel unilaterally left Gaza in 2005, it had hoped that Gaza would prosper. Instead, Hamas quickly destroyed temples and greenhouses, as it quickly turned to its one overriding mission, destroying the Jewish state.

News-Press also makes several references to "occupied territories." The West Bank never contained a sovereign, independent nation. Israel only took over this territory following the Six-Day War (1967), following its occupation by Jordan for 19 years (1948-1967). Did The News-Press ever show concern, during that time, for Jordan's occupation, when there wasn't even any thought about an independent Palestinian nation? The News-Press also doesn't mention the numerous opportunities provided to the Palestinians, since before 1948, when they could have readily formed an independent nation, minus any settlements and in a much larger area. In 2000, Prime Minister Barak offered the Palestinians all of Gaza and 97% of the West Bank. The response was no. In 2008, Prime Minister Olmert again offered almost the entire West Bank and half of Jerusalem. Again the answer was no.

Even if there was a sovereign Palestinian nation, Hamas will forever remain intent on killing Jews.

Samuel Frazer, Fort Myers

Stand with Israelis

In June of 1963, President John F. Kennedy, stood before a crowd of West Berliners and issued one of the most iconic phrases of the last century. “Ich bin ein Berliner,” he stated. It was a ringing phrase that ignited the German people. This short phrase expressed the support of America for the German people in Berlin, who were then besieged by communist forces on all sides.In an era before him, Dutch citizens had all work worn yellow armbands, after the Nazis had issued a directive that Jews wear them. The courageous Dutch people were saying “We are all Jews.” It was an inspirational message to its citizenry that they were all one people and no one had the right to single out or treat badly any of their own.This latest invasion of Israel, by forces of a terrorist group named Hamas, has me feeling that we in America ought to do likewise.“Ich bin Jude” or “I am Jewish” ought to come automatically to our lips in support of those Israelis and Americans slaughtered in the recent assault.America stands tall as an ally and supporter of Israel, before, now and after this assault. We stand with our Israeli brethren and offer whatever help and assistance that they need.It is a moral imperative that we stand behind these admirable people, who are just like us. “Ich bin ein Jude” should come just as easily to our lips as “I am an American.”

Joseph Xavier Martin, Estero

Racist censorship

According to an article in the latest newsletter of the Southern Poverty Law Center, when students at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama tried to organize an event for Black History Month that included the use of dance, song and the spoken word to present a timeline running from enslavement to the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to the present, school administrators killed the idea and told the students to sing “happy songs” by Beyonce and the Jackson 5.

This kind of blatantly racist censorship is taking place all over the country right now.  The Florida State Board of Education’s new standards include instructions that students be taught that some slaves benefited from their enslavement. Textbook companies are eager to jump on this bandwagon of whitewashing Black history. One company produced a textbook that completely alters the story of Rosa Parks, describing her as a woman who was simply asked to give up her seat on a city bus; racial discrimination had nothing to do with the incident.  Rosa and MLK are inspirational figures, not in some fight for racial justice, but simply because they encourage us to stand up for ourselves and be better people.

We teach our children that emotional growth involves learning from mistakes.  We can’t grow and prosper as a country without owning our mistakes and learning from them.  Our students must be taught the truth about our history, not some “Don’t worry, be happy” version that makes the racists among us feel good.  Are the horrific incidents of racism at Babcock High School to become commonplace?

Ray Clasen, North Fort Myers

Grateful for Honor Flight

I was recently privileged to go on the Collier-Lee Honor Flight – Mission #25 flight to Washington, D.C. The purpose of the national Honor Flight Network is to “Safely transport our veterans to Washington, D.C. to be honored at their memorials and receive the welcome here they deserve.” The veterans can visit the memorials built in their honor and have time to reflect on their service.

Our flight was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience. We were escorted to RSW Airport in the wee hours of the morning by police escort, and had our own airliner fly us to D.C. Each vet had a personal “guardian” assigned to him for the entire day. These volunteers made it possible for us to maneuver around the monuments with our personal mobile ground transporters (wheelchairs!) Without this individual service we would never have been able to do this, what with our shape at this stage of the game. All vets were 80 or older, and served during WW II, Korea, or Vietnam.

Not enough can be said to thank the selfless “guardians” and the other volunteers that made this trip possible. There was also great community support, particularly from Collier County Sheriff Rambosk and Lee County Sheriff Marceno.

Many veterans did not receive the homecoming reception they deserved after they returned from their service. Thus, it was heartwarming to see the reception we received upon returning from D.C. There were hundreds of well wishers waiting for us when we arrived with our wheelchair brigade. There was not a veteran with a dry eye!

Thanks again to all who helped make this special day for many grateful veterans.

Frank Crotty, Naples

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Saturday, October 14, 2023