'It's about enforcing a curfew'

[rick]

By WHITEY MARKLE

Several important issues were left out of the article "Making less of a splash," on Feb. 23.

Rob Avery, Alachua County Director of Recreation, stated that some people are dogmatic rather than reasonable on some of the issues. "Some people have taken the stance of 'No airboats.'"

I just wonder who is saying that. I have been the point man on the airboat noise issue in this county since 1995, and I have yet to hear anyone say, "No airboats." Is Avery using scare tactics? Through the research done during two years on the Alachua County Water Use Zoning Team, and now the work done by the UF research team, no one has suggested a ban on airboats. I have, as many other citizens, suggested a curfew on them after 11 p.m. until 7 a.m.

In the same article, Jerry Weatherington, of United Sportsmen (an airboaters association) said, "We told them we don't want them (the UF team) to discriminate against airboats...We are asking that if they make a recommendation, it needs to be on all boats."

This is the same propaganda the group has been spewing all along, and it's very erroneous. When the city of Lakeland banned airboats, in the early 1990s, the association hired some big-time lawyers to sue Lakeland. The case, Quintin Moore vs. Lakeland, was appealed twice, and the verdict was "airboats are, by definition, a nuisance" so...

The rest: http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070312/EDITORIALS0101/703120320

 

[bondsman]

this person does not like airboats,and it all probably stems back to the ramp loading issue.which was not courtious at all.(imo) and he slightly was trying to imply there was neglect of the five year old child.even though it was a bad choice to leeve a child unattended with a running boat, but we only know the writers side of the story,not the boaters side so i will not judge anyone.

 

[Anonymous]

So, who is going to write a rebuttal to the paper?

Mr. Markle leaves many areas open to another opinion. If this article was published in the Gainesville Sun's full run, up to 250,000 readers may have read it. Remember that if there is no response, silence is acceptance.

If you need help with talking points, please contact me.
PW

 

[woodswoman]

First time I've heard of a curfew in Lake County. I've forwarded the article on to the Lake Club president. I agree this needs a rebuttal.

 

[Whitebear]

The case, Quintin Moore vs. Lakeland, was appealed twice, and the verdict was "airboats are, by definition, a nuisance" so...

If the court has already decided that, whats the point in a rebuttal. I say we need to have a one on one with a judge somewhere. Either change HIS mind or change his employment. Judges are appointed and can be un-appointed as well.

I also suspect their lack of literacy is showing and their definition of nuisance is not in accord with any unabridged lexicon of the English Lanuguage.

I personally feel it should be cause for summary dismissal for an elected or appointed public official to redefine or even stretch the valid definition of any English word. Thats WHY we have LEXICONS. We didn't elect them to define terms, they are neither an authority on the language nor competant to articulate it in any manner except with valid academic terms and academically established definitions. How many times have you seen...."For the purpose of this statute BLAH shall mean....this or that. It only shows ignorance and illiteracy for them to make a statement like that.

Scotty