Isn't a knee-jerk reaction wonderful? Just like the county's employee firings, Ms. Allwood's response to my (and other) letters shows more reaction than understanding. At no point in my letter did I condone the actions of any of the employees. What I and others have tried to point out is that "all" these employees broke the "same rule" but each was treated differently. Although I have not seen the actual wording of the rule I can bet that it does not say that it's OK to have content of one type but not content of another type. It would be impossible to write such a rule that would define everything one might or might not include in a message so rules are made to be general. Most likely it says it's wrong to use the county's equipment for personal use – period, that covers it all. But now we have county administrators, after the fact, rewriting the rule to fit their own agenda (or cover their own past actions) and to protect a higher-up employee while firing lower-level employees. That's wrong, and shows poor management skills. There's an old saying: "You can't be almost pregnant." Apparently you can in Highlands County. ...more

February 8, 2008

I was sorry to see that three county employees were fired for what amounts to a minor infraction. As a taxpayer I think it's a waste of money to have to hire and train replacements for this type of infraction. I'm sure that now that it's been revealed that there are actually 22 employees, including some high level employees, who broke the same rule, that the powers that be will do the right thing, give them a reprimand and give these people back their jobs. To pick and choose who gets disciplined and who doesn't for breaking the "same rule" would be hypocritical. ...more

February 2, 2008

I have two favorite radio stations. One is the local '50s channel, 10:50 AM, which, with the exception of the occasional "These Boots are Made for Walking," plays great "cruising music" from my youth. My other favorite station is from the University of Michigan. It's called "Michigan radio for my Michigan and Northern Ohio snowbird friends and anyone else who likes to hear intelligent discussions and civil debate of issues with both sides presented" as well as many of the other wide variety of programs they produce. I welcome you to give them a listen. ...more

January 14, 2008

Can this so called "War on Drugs" get any more stupid? ...more

November 28, 2007

Already done shopping for the day? You're not alone. Black Friday - the all-American, post-Thanksgiving shop-fest - launched long before sunrise today. Retailers across the country scrambled to be consumers' first stop. Some opened doors at midnight or launched special Internet sales Thursday night. ...more

November 23, 2007