Letters to the editor: Point Pleasant fence fight, Carol Whitmore and greyhound racing | Bradenton Herald

Don’t fence in Point Pleasant

Re: Fence at end of Point Pleasant Avenue West.

I really cannot believe where we are at this point, 11 months since fence was put up.

Mr. Synder, who put up the fence, talks about finding dozens of syringes (presumably from drug addicts) and prostitution and illicit activity at Point Pleasant Point.

I have been a seasonal resident at River Oaks Condominiums on First Ave West since 2002.

I enjoy fishing and in general being in, on and around water. I have easily been to Point Pleasant Point 300 times; very often wading and fishing in the water and also often looking for small crabs underneath rocks to use for bait.

I have been there at dawn, midday, dusk and dark to the extent I need a flashlight to see where and on what I am stepping. I have never seen a syringe. I am a retired family/emergency room physician so I do know what a syringe looks like . I have never seen any sort of activity to suggest prostitution. I cannot claim any expertise in this area. I have never observed any illicit or noisy activity.

I have seen many people at Point Pleasant Point. From our walkway on the fourth floor we look directly down Point Pleasant Avenue. The only thing these many people are doing is enjoying themselves.

I do not see any reason why this fence and other obstructions should be allowed to continue.

Jim Izzard

Bradenton

‘Piece of heaven’ lost

My name is Cherie, my boyfriend and I have been here in Point Pleasant condo for five years now. We live in a small quiet area in Bradenton and enjoy taking walks on the riverwalk.

We use to enjoy setting on the seawall and watching the sunset with our dog and friends at the end of our street, until a new home was built and the owner purchased our little piece of heaven next to his place and closed it off to us and my neighbors. Our new neighbors said he had problems with homeless and others taking bath and doing drugs so he put a fence up so now no one can enjoy it. In all of the five years I have lived here I have never seen anyone take a bath or do drugs in this little piece of heaven at the end of our street and none of my neighbors have seen this act . We never have any problem with any of our neighbors until now.

We would like to have our piece of heaven back so that we can enjoy taking a walk and sitting on the seawall in the evening and watching the sunsets again with out furry friends and our love ones or fish off the wall. You wouldn’t think a piece of land would make a big iimpact on so many peoples lives as this land. Please give our little piece of heaven back to your neighbors, please.

Cherie Bjaland

Bradenton

A possible vote for Whitmore

I live in District 4 and I do not know anything about Melton Little. I know Carol Whitmore and I have my disagreements with her.

My first problem is allowing radical groups to control her thinking with the fear of violence in the streets. What I mean by that is when the subject came up about removing the southern statue from the courthouse the public was not allowed to vote on it. Why? Carol was afraid of the Black Lives Matter violence threats. We as a community living in Manatee County with law enforcement to protect us cannot allow any group whether it be Black Lives Matter or Antifa to control what we do. The public should have been allowed to vote on the southern monument to either stay or go. Well, 70 percent of the citizens here in Manatee County wanted to vote on it but Carol and county commissioners would not let us.

Then we have the problem of the builders running our county in the ground. We do not have enough streets, highways or bridges to handle more and more housing projects that will overload our electric needs, water and garbage. Manatee County used to be a nice place to live as long as we allowed modest growth. Modest growth is a thing of the past! You cannot get out of your subdivision in the morning unless you force your way out and make someone mad. It takes me approximately 30 minutes to get across the Green Bridge from the Palmetto Post Office to Manatee Avenue. All of this has to stop! Our county commissioners need to tell the builders NO! Stop the building for a while and rebuild the infrastructure. Put a five-year hold on certain permits for building.

If Carol changes her thinking I still will vote for her.

Mike McLeod

Palmetto

Vote ‘No’ on Amendment 13

Many people have no clue about the racing greyhound industry. Who is Grey 2 K, a group from Arlington, Mass., to tell the citizens of Florida how they should spend their time.

A number of things have been said about trainers that are simply not true. I have never seen a greyhound suffer at the hands of a trainer. I certainly have never seen a greyhound “forced” to race. They may encourage their natural instinct but, you certainly DO NOT force a greyhound to do something they DO NOT want to do. Trainers a gentle and care very deeply for their dogs.

Greyhounds crates are nicely constructed and very roomy. Beds are cleaned, changed, and fluffed daily. The kennel area where these crates are kept is climate controlled, heated, and air conditioned just like a house. All kennels are equipped with heat sensors.

Track greyhounds are turned out four to five times a day to do what they need to do. They are exercised daily in sprint pens or on the track. Greyhounds are athletes and are treated as such. I guarantee you that these dogs are in great physical shape.

When racing greyhounds are retired they go to pet adoption agencies or no-kill shelters and 98 percent of them are adopted out to their forever homes across the nation. If retired race horses can’t be used for breeding, polo ponies, or jumpers they are sent overseas to be slaughtered. The meat is used for food and some is sent back here to be used for dog food. Where is the outrage?

If Amendment 13 passes what do you think will happen to 8,000+ greyhounds? Grey 2 K, step up and help these greyhounds that you and your cause claim to care so much about.

Donna Trapasso

Bradenton

Save the republic

This great country was founded on the principle that no one person nor any one group shall have all the power. Our Founding Fathers brilliantly established three separate but equal governmental divisions; the Executive Branch (president), the Legislative Branch (Congress) and the Judicial Branch (courts). The key words here being separate and equal. Each of those divisions was to act as a check and a balance over the other two, guaranteeing that our government would always be a democratic republic, serving at the will of the people.

It’s clear that the executive branch is now led by someone who doesn’t hold the Constitution, people’s rights, U.S. sovereignty and the importance of a free press in high esteem. And it’s been proven over and over again that the current legislative branch will not protect our form of government by restricting this president, even following his capitulation to, and support of, Russia! And now the third branch is set to fall in line with the chief executive’s agenda, as he’s sworn in another Supreme Court justice.

We can’t vote to change the executive branch for over two years, and the judicial branch’s makeup might not be altered for generations, but we do have the power to redefine the legislative branch in less than three weeks. Unless those up for election in November who march in lock-step with this president’s questionable policies are replaced, the checks and balances established 230 years ago will remain ineffective. Voters, please don’t let the government of the people, by the people and for the people perish from the earth.

Robert Kushner

Bradenton

Trump condones murder

On the murder of the Saudi journalist who was a resident of the United States: Trump will choose to believe whatever alibi the Saudis concoct, just like he believes Putin saying just like there was no Russian meddling in our elections.

In effect, Trump is condoning the murder of journalists, stoking hate by calling the media “ the enemy of the people,” and slowly desensitizing us to the murder of anyone who criticizes him. To Trump the means justify the ends — Trump’s ends — as long as he “wins.”

Judith Albert

Bradenton Beach

Fair journalism?

When porn star Stormy Daniels accused President Trump of misconduct, and filed a lawsuit against him, it was front-page, headline, nation-wide news.

Now that lawsuit has been thrown out by the judge. In your October 16 newspaper you ran an article entitled, “Judge tosses Daniels suit against Trump.” It was a small article, three short paragraphs, on page seven.

Is this fair journalism?

Bruce L. Benson

Bradenton