IRC School District Celebration Recognized Community Support

On December 15th, I had the privilege of attending “The Strength in Our Community,” an event hosted by the Indian River County School District to report on the state of the district and celebrate community partners.

Each seat of the Indian River County Commission Chambers was occupied by representatives of local charities, businesses and other civic organizations nominated by district schools for making a positive contribution to supporting students and teachers. For example, I counted at least two dozen literacy champions from the Moonshot Community Action Network in the room.

Guests received appreciation prizes and were treated to refreshments as a jazz quartet of students from Vero Beach High School performed. The atmosphere was sublime.

After another year facing the pandemic and a growing list of unfortunate distractions, SDIRC Board Chairman Brian Barefoot and Superintendent Dr David Moore have their work cut out for them if they are to reach the ambitious goals they set for our community.

From my perspective, the positive tone and heartfelt appreciation shown at this event is a great example of what is possible when our community comes together to support our schools.

Here are more in 2022.

Jeff Pickering, Vero Beach

New WaWa on US 1: a traffic nuisance

The WaWa gas station on US 1 and Virginia is finally complete, after many months of construction, obstructing traffic on US 1, cutting trees and blocking the entrance to PNC Bank

I thought, well, great, now I can go to my bank because the WaWa is over.

Wrong!

They are building it to block all possible entrances to the bank from KMart Square. Now, bank customers must exit the plaza, north of WaWa, and enter the bank through a very narrow entrance, or challenge the “One way only” sign at the bank and drive that way.

I’m not sure if the CEOs of the bank accepted this or if it was overlooked by the gas station or whatever, but it’s definitely a nuisance and even a risk for people walking out of the plaza to the US 1 occupied and enter it a few feet further on the access ramp to the bank.

I’m definitely not going to frequent this WaWa.

Percy Kepfer, Fort Pierce

Justice is not meant to be a revolving door

Living near a big city and traveling across the country, I knew revolving doors existed in many places – banks, office buildings, airport terminals, hotels, etc. Sometimes they were slow, sometimes too fast, but they always hit their million mark, you went in, and when your task was done, you went out.

Now, however, it looks like revolving doors only accomplish one thing – one person walks in, stays inside for a bit, and exits in one simple action. Confuses? I am talking about the justice system in several of our large cities. A criminal, for that is what he is, commits a crime, the police arrest him, and we are waiting for justice to be done. Oh no. Within days, hours in some cases, the criminal posts nearly zero bail, determined by a woefully inadequate prosecutor, and is out on the streets again ready to commit another crime.

We read what’s happening every day in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and more. Surprisingly, these cities and others are all ruled by Democrats. Go figure it out. Residents of these cities voice their opinions with their feet and move to Texas, Florida and other pro-justice states.

Personally, I am so happy to live in Florida, where our governor has put her cards on the table. There is no tolerance for this type of non-justice. You do the crime, you make the time.

Keep it up, DeSantis.

Ray Mancari, Vero beach

Tying GOP Senators to pro-slavery John C. Calhoun is a new low

I got pretty used to left-wing opinion pieces and political cartoons from TCPalm, but Jamie Stiehm’s December 18 column was at a new low. Basically, labeling seven Republican senators as pro-slavery and linking them to John C. Calhoun, who was a Democrat by the way, is so far-fetched that I think your editors would have the common sense to throw it in the trash. can.

During the Civil War, the Democratic Party opposed Republican President Lincoln’s war effort to end slavery, and Democrats instigated decades of heinous racial violence against freed slaves in the south. The Republicans sent troops to protect these new citizens. I haven’t noticed any columnist reporting it.

The divide in our country is largely about two views on the role of government, not the racial politics of the civil war era. To suggest otherwise is misinformed, insulting (especially to residents of states that have joined Confederation) and childish. And very divisive.

Harold A. Ofstie, Orchid