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Letters To The Editor

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 14, 2008

Program Is Working

Regarding "Chastity Is The Ideal, But School Sex Ed Must Recognize Reality" (Our Opinion Jan. 2):

It's important to note that, in the first five years of this administration, fewer teenage girls became mothers than in the years before. That's welcome progress and a goal we will continue to support through hard work.

It is indeed unfortunate that new findings show that 2006 was an exception to the steady decline of teen birth rates. No one yet knows what triggered this, and we should all work together to ensure it is short-lived.

Abstinence education is part of that solution. In fact, data shows that 10- to 14-year-olds, the primary group targeted by abstinence education programs, saw a decrease in birth rates. That means that the youngest teens are increasingly hearing the message that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Parents, families, teachers and government leaders all must help young people make responsible decisions that are in their best long-term interest. That work is important now more than ever.

STAN KOUTSTAAL

Washington, D.C.

Schools Must Play Role

Regarding "Doesn't Belong In School" (Letters, Jan. 9):

Perhaps Mr. Livingston of Clearwater is living in a utopian world where all children are taught at home the values they need to be successful. This is not the case for all children. Many are taught nothing at home about sex, manners, and life. They become disruptive and make it impossible for others to get their education. Yes, children should be taught sex at home along with respect for others, including teachers. In the real world this is not happening.

Arm your children with the truth. Basic knowledge about sex will not, in any way interfere with what you teach you child at home. Children need basic truth, more than ever. No teacher is going to teach your child to try out sex.

Parents and teachers are both needed to educate our children. Knowledge always will trump ignorance.

DONALD FLOYD SR.

Tampa

Pain, Suffering Earned

Regarding "Supreme Court To Examine Lawsuit Against Lethal Injections" (Metro, January 7):

When is someone going to get the stones to say no one cares if a certain technique is "cruel and unusual?" Doesn't the very nature of knowing you are going to die come across as slightly painful, and might even induce a little stress?

The bottom line is the people who even qualify for the death penalty have committed crimes that have created far more pain and suffering in others, and maybe the price they pay should be a little more inconvenient for them.

JAMES JONES

Tampa

Let Punishment Fit Crime

What would happen if the form of execution more nearly fit the crime? If the criminal killed by shooting, let them face a firing squad. If by dismemberment, let them be guillotined. Well, you get the idea.

KATHERINE CLAPP

Tampa

Compensation Warranted

Regarding "City Is Called Home Wrecker" (Metro, Jan. 7):

The Smiths have a good case against the city over the stormwater drain thing. True, it was all done before they moved there and they were informed, but:

1. When the city annexed that area they took over the drain and its responsibilities.

2. It appears to me there is precedent, i.e. the case where the people bought houses at the end of the TIA airport runways, complained of noise made by the airplanes, and got their houses insulated by the government at no charge.

3. The city is responsible for maintaining those drains, and if the drain is crumbling (as it is at my house also), the onus is on the city. There are many precedents of the city giving away assistance.

David and Irene Smith should be compensated.

JERRY C. HIERS

Tampa

Instill Trust In City

All I see is that the city of Tampa is trying to avoid their responsibilities to their people who live in the city. Pushing the blame of a city problem to a family that simply wanted to buy a place to call their home is just wrong.

The city of Tampa needs to show the Smith family that they can trust the city in which they live.

K.T. NICOTRA

Tampa

Dog Park Getting Nasty

We who are dog owners should be ashamed of the Al Lopez dog park. The other day I saw owners watch their dogs leave large piles of waste and do absolutely nothing. Worst, it was common among most all the owners that day.

When I offered one man a plastic bag to pick up after his large dog, he said, "I have one," then walked away from the large pile. One man with three very large and very well-fed dogs told me that it was the park's fault, as there were never any waste bags in the holder there. Another man yelled at his dog to go over to the fence line, where the dog left a pile and the man never picked it up. What do these people do when they walk their dogs in their own neighborhoods?

It is our responsibility as dog owners to clean up after our furry friends. When a dog park is properly taken care of, it is a joy for the pet and the pet owner to walk around. A once beautiful place where dogs and owners can walk around without leashes is now so filled with feces that you have to throw away your shoes when you leave there.

DEANNA TOBEY

Tampa

The writer is acting deputy associate commissioner of the Family and Youth Service Bureau Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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