Old Homosassa – Page 38

And YES, we will have sidewalks……in maybe like 2016 or so….

July 31, 2014 by KTgreen

New Sidewalk Map

I’ve been posting about our NEW SIDEWALKS for a few months now and was so excited when I saw the surveyors out there along Yulee Drive. We just had a public town hall meeting at the Homosassa Library. Led by Commissioner JJ Kenney. And I was there as an concerned resident. There were probably at least 30 other concerned residents there. Questions, we had questions…..

Sidewalk Meeting

So let me give you my observations…cause that’s what I do.

There’s a study going on which will lead to a sidewalk design by Fall 2015, and then there will be federal funding and maybe construction in 2016. And there will be a new president, a new county commission and I might be too old to ride my bike. Heavy sigh.

Anyhow, the plan sounds pretty good. The sidewalk will start where the current one ends. Terry pointed out that was a pretty dangerous spot and the engineer said that they will be moving it further away from the road.

Where the Sidewalk Ends — Where the sidewalk ends….You can see tire marks on the existing sidewalk. The new sidewalk will start right here!

The sidewalk will meander along the left side of the road until it gets to the Sugarmill Ruin and then it will go to the right side of the road and then when it gets to the Museum Cafe, it goes back to the other side of the road. I think it stays there until it gets to the turnoff from Fishbowl Drive. Then it stays on the right side of the road until it gets to Bluebird Springs and goes to the left side of the road until it meets up with the sidewalk at Sunflower Springs. That sidewalk will be upgraded and the new sidewalk will end at US 19. Which, we found out in the meeting. will be completely redesigned in Fall of 2015. Confused? Just look at it this way–so many opportunities for me to meet death in my motorized wheelchair. Oh, and by the way, there will be an extension to Tradewind Resort on Fishbowl. What? Does anyone live there?

Okay, that’s more than slightly sarcastic, but I really am thrilled that we will eventually be getting a sidewalk. And it will be 5 to 6 feet wide to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists. The sidewalk will go around the large trees in the area rather than having the trees removed which is a very big issue in Old Homosassa. Hey, we like our massive trees that canopy the streets. Yes, we are a bunch of tree huggers. That’s why we moved here!

Several participants asked why we couldn’t have a sidewalk from the elementary school to the river. I’ve always wondered about that since it’s not all that long of an area that’s missing. Well, that’s a different issue. Doesn’t have anything to do with the current federally funded sidewalk. I’m okay with that. But our new Citrus County Interim Administrator Jeff Rogers was willing to look into other sources to complete this short section of sidewalk. I was impressed with our new interim adminstrator that just started his job TODAY. He listened to us and came up with some good suggestions. All and all it was a good meeting. Happy we are getting a sidewalk.

Our friend Rosie having a very serious discussion with an engineer.

Interim County Administrator Jeff Rogers saying that there might be other ways to get that sidewalk to the river!

Commissioner JJ Kenney talking to a concerned local resident.

That’s our friend Clyde not having a serious discussion.

And here’s a flower just to brighten your weekend…

Zinnia — And this lovely zinnia is growing down by the river–right where we need another sidewalk!

An Update to the Tampa Times Article, “Shucking, It’s a Living”

July 20, 2014July 20, 2014 by KTgreen

Last Monday I posted that I was angry about the article on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Tampa Bay Times.

Rather than continue fuming over the issue, I sent an email to the writer, John Woodrow Cox, and he responded very quickly and sent me where he got his statistics. I also sent the same email to the letters page of The Tampa Bay Times but received no reply. I’ve had several people ask me about this issue and rather then forwarding, I’m putting both emails below and making a few comments to close….

My email:

Dear Mr. Cox,

I am a resident of Old Homosassa and was dismayed with the article you wrote in the July 13 edition of the Tampa Bay Times. It appeared on the front page and featured stereotypical images that this community has worked hard to change. You would have better served your readership and newspaper by noting a few of the many positive items taking place in our small town on the river. I’ve listed just a few:

Recently our local paper announced that the Homosassa Elementary School received an “A” rating according to the Florida Department of Education. The Homosassa Civic Club, a group of local volunteers, awards college scholarships to students in the area. The Old Mill Tavern holds the mullet toss and a golf tournament to raise funds for the school. The old fire department has been renovated and will be the Homosassa Learning Center—benefitting both children and adults– when it opens later this year.

Concerned residents are creating a non-profit organization to save the water tower from demolition—this could be an interesting report since most waterfront communities in Florida have a water tower as a landmark.

Responding to complaints about the overcrowded public boat ramp, the county has two park employees directing traffic and monitoring the situation on weekends and holidays during scallop season. Sheriff Deputies are on site within a few minutes when called for assistance.

We are getting a desperately needed sidewalk along Yulee drive from Central Ave to US 19, so residents can use the Public Library in Homosassa Springs. In addition we now have bus service in the area.

The River Alliance, a local organization, and Senator Charlie Dean have been working to save our river and the springs in the county.

Referring to Old Homosassa as a “mostly poor” town and streets known for drug addiction was a low blow. I looked for data from the Census bureau but it didn’t break the information down to just our area. They did list Homosassa Springs, a much larger region, as having 13,791 with a median annual income of $31,893. City-Data.com listed similar statistics for Homosassa Springs plus listed in 2010 that Homosassa had 2,578 residents and in 2012 the median income was $49,991, almost $5000 more than the FL median income. City-Data does not list where they get their data, just that “By collecting and analyzing data from numerous sources, we’re able to create detailed, informative profiles of all cities in the United States.” If I was a reporter I would not use this site since it doesn’t provide references, but I’m not, I’m just an observer. I’m questioning where you received your data to rate us as a “mostly poor” town

We are a community of people, some poor, some rich, mostly middle-class. We do have issues, number one—too many boats in our little community and on our river during scallop season. Perhaps your article referring to our streets known for drug addiction will eliminate a few of those visitors.

Sincerely,

Kathy A. Green

And Mr. Cox’s response:

Hi Ms. Green,

Thank you for your note and for reading the Times. I sincerely appreciate your feedback. The story was written without any malicious intent, and it certainly was not meant to harm residents’ feelings or the local economy.

Per the numbers you referenced, I hope what I’ve written below helps clarify. I also attached copies of the pages from which the data comes:

In Homosassa, according to the US Census, 24.3 percent of the population lives below poverty level. In the more populated area of Homosassa Springs, 22.4 percent of the population lives below the poverty level. The median household incomes are more difficult to determine because the latest census estimates have margins of error in excess of $20,000. The latest hard data from the census was on Homosassa Springs from the years 2008-2012. That indicated the median household income was just below $32,000 a year, which is $15,000 less than the state average. That is not to say the area is without beautiful homes and nice neighborhoods.

The additional descriptions and characterizations in the story came from interviews with people from Homosassa (including those quoted) and from my own experience of reporting in the area while I was a staff writer in Hernando. I have since confirmed the validity of these descriptions with a colleague who frequently visits the area and two reporters who live in Citrus and have reported in the area for decades.

Again, I do appreciate your feedback, and please do not hesitate to reach out again with any other questions or thoughts.

Best,

John

He attached a pdf file with data from the Census Bureau, http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml#none which does list the poverty rate as 24.3% and lists the median income as $49,625. In the same table, the margin of error for household median income is +/-$7,922. Mr. Cox used the median income of $32,000 for Homosassa Springs for Old Homosassa. According to the same table, that margin of error is +/- $3,439 for the median income. He did not sent me data indicating where he came up with the error rate being more than $20,000. I also question how he can use different areas statistics to justify his reporting.

Since I’m certainly not an expert on these numbers, I emailed Commissioner JJ Kenney the following:

Dear Commissioner Kenney,

My husband and I attended the “meet and greet” at the Homosassa Civic Club last Wednesday night. We were the couple that didn’t belong to the River Alliance and left early. It was a very interesting meeting and I do plan to become more involved in our community.

On Sunday there was an article in the Tampa Bay Times by John Woodrow Cox titled “Shucking: It’s a Living”. It was very unpleasant regarding our community. Mr Cox said that we were a “mainly poor town” and known for it’s “streets of drug addiction”.

I emailed Mr. Cox expressing my dismay and asking for his data. He sent me a sheet from the Census bureau with the statistic of 24.3% below the poverty level. Yet, when I went out to the same page, it shows that the median income is $49,625 in 2012. One of these statistics has to be wrong and Mr. Cox says it is the median income, that it could be off as much as $20,000.

I thought you might have more insight into this issue. Perhaps you have a better source that I could base my discussion on with Mr. Cox.

Sincerely,

Kathy A. Green

After almost a week, I have had no response from Commissioner JJ Kenney. Guess he’s working on my sidewalk.

I agree with Mr. Cox that there are poor people here and there is a drug issue. But I think that’s the situation in most communities across the country.

And it continues!

Old Homosassa Boat Ramp

July 31, 2014July 14, 2014 by KTgreen

“Homosassa is a mostly poor town of 2,600. Regionally, its waters are know for manatees and its streets for drug addiction.” Yeah, that was on the front page of the Tampa Bay Times yesterday. A nationally respected newspaper. Ouch.

The article was about the Huggins family that shuck scallops for the rich people that come into town. While Cletis, “the first of his siblings to graduate from high school”, sits at the bar swigging his Bud Light after a day of shucking, “in the lawn of MacRae’s motel, three broad-shouldered men played bocccee with their children…..their wives smiled and sipped glasses of white wine.”

Okay, I’m possibly taking this a little too personally, but I totally love living here. I’ve not felt endangered by all of the drug addicts or the poor that are referenced in the article. I have to admit that the whole article totally PISSED me off. The Times Staff Writer, John Woodrow Cox, would serve the area better by coming in and writing an article about the impact that those scallopers and their boats are making on the river and on the community.

This is an update to the above mentioned article. I did send an email to the writer. Click here for the letter and his response.

And on a better note, our local newspaper, The Citrus Chronicle also ran a story on the front page about Old Homosassa but that one was about the “Ramp Rangers”. First time I heard that term, but it’s apt. Many of the Old Homosassa residents have been asking the county to help out during scalloping season with boat traffic at the county boat ramp, additional sheriff patrols in the area plus the presence of the State Fish and Wildlife department on the water.

The Parks Department has been here with two men every weekend and holiday–directing traffic at the boat ramp. Unless you have been here, you will not believe how much these two guys have helped us. They are the “Ramp Rangers” and we saw them in action on Saturday morning.

So here’s the two rangers on patrol, first time for the green safety jackets….

Parks Guys

This truck, trailer and boat had Boulevard blocked when we arrived on our bikes so we zipped up the sidewalk. Then they backed down from the intersection to the front of the line of boats waiting to use the ramp. Kind of weird to have “professional” fishermen out on a Saturday morning with all the “amateurs”–they typically try to avoid the chaos.

Old Homosassa Boat Ramp

When the fisherman brought the boat to the other side of the dock, the Ramp Ranger went over to talk to him. Don’t know what he said, but the fisherman was a bit angry. Okay REALLY ANGRY! The only word I heard out of the captain’s mouth that wasn’t a curse, was YANKEE! (which could be considered a curse around here) The Parks guy just walked away.

And in a heartbeat, we had one,

Old Homosassa Boat Ramp two,

Old Homosassa Boat Ramp and three Sheriff Deputies on site!

Sheriff's deputies

The people with the boat were a father and his two sons well known for their bad attitudes. I heard the deputies mentioning handcuffs.

Deputies And then the boat was gone. Which I thought was odd since it usually takes the deputy longer than that to write me up for “pausing” at the stop sign instead of stopping.

Chatter from our neighbors at the “coffee club” at MacRae’s is that the deputies called the Fish and Wildlife Patrol to arrest them on the water. Guess that these guys just decided to leave without permission.

We hung around awhile but didn’t get to see the end of it. We did thank the Ramp Ranger for being here. And Terry thanked the deputies.

Parks Department

And that’s why we don’t have our boat on the water during scallop season! Love me some Homosassa entertainment.

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?