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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  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 cheap 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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