Letters

Letters to the editor

TBO.com
Published: January 6, 2012

State park fences

I bought a lot and had my home built in order to be near nature.

I have been a supporter of state parks all across the United States. Just today, I have counted the seventh baby deer killed since January 2011. In all of my travels, I have never seen a fence along the state park property beside a highway. The fence serves no good purpose but to trap the baby deer. A person can easily climb the fence. "No Trespassing" signs would do more good.

I have seen work crews clearing weeds from the fence — wasted labor. I have to stop several times because the mother deer jumped the fence but the baby deer was in a panic and just ran back and forth across the road.

State park: preserve nature, take down the fence.

Joseph Oros

Sebring

Tobacco woes

You see signs everywhere you go. Drive the interstates and you are inundated with gigantic billboards exalting the faults of smoking: "Live free in Florida, kick out tobacco," "Three months of smoking could pay for three months of electricity," "Two months of smoking could pay to feed a family of four for a month."

How many of you have arisen in the morning and kissed a full ashtray left sitting overnight? How many of you have visited your favorite establishment only to arrive home, having to remove all your clothing and take a quick shower in order not to have your home reek of cigarette smoke?

"Don't go there," you say. Do you know that some of us are so endeared to an establishment's goals or so gratified that we are alive and have the opportunity to support many who are not in as lucky a position as we are that the privilege, much less the honor, to provide support and say thank you for the freedom that we are able to enjoy as a result of what the many have given is often an overwhelming compassion.

It is agreed that time served deserves respect. It's also agreed that those of us who served in the military were indoctrinated with the inalienable right to smoke. Cigarettes were put into our flight lunches, given to us after an arduous ammo on-load or a grueling, filthy tank muck-out. We used to be able to buy cigarettes for the paltry sum of 80 cents per carton. We were practically pushed into addiction.

We can assume that the majority of you nursed prior to being weaned. We'll bet you were able to break that habit.

But let us not think of only ourselves. Does anyone out there have any idea as to the effects of second-hand smoke?

OK, so perhaps a lot of individuals are actually not capable of convincing themselves that they can be stronger than a little piece of paper stuffed with tars, bad odors, carcinogens and tobacco. Go ahead and stay committed to your unconquerable habit.

Bill Glenn

Sebring