The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 347

County showed courage on tax plan 3 cities wimped out 't's not often Seminole County commissioners can be cited for showing courage. That's whv it approve the tax in July. But, no. Fearing they would be connected with a tax, they denied the plan, citing their opposition to a tax. That's not facing responsibilities.

No question, the county transportation system is a mess. The county's growth plan implies that the system will be improved to meet demands stemming from new development. New growth is supposed to pay its way through fees. Now money must be found to cure the mistakes of old growth. That's where the sales tax 1 cent for 10 years came in.

It must be approved by voters, and because it would be collected countywide, cities must have a voice in the spending. ers to decide, city commissioners should at least have had the courage to address a spending plan. Now, should voters approve the tax, those commissioners won't have a leg to stand on should they not like the roads it is spent on. They had a chance to voice an opinion, ignored it and opted to showboat instead. Whether the proposed sales tax is the solution to this problem, we're not ready to say at this point.

It's something voters will decide July 9. We should hope they approach it with more courage and thought than did those knee-jerk city commissioners. was especially sad to see such shabby treatment meted out to commission-: ers after they had the courage to head-on the county's sorry transportation system. This doesn't imply a position on the upcoming sales tax referendum; we 'continue to wrestle with that question. But in some cities, commission action was a disgrace, not only by the unseemly treatment of county commissioners and their representatives, but by the ignorance shown in their votes.

The cities had been asked to approve a spending plan, should voters on the regressiveness of the sales tax; another pointed to alleged shabby county treatment of Oviedo in the past. The question on the table was ignored. With only three commissioners present, a motion in Longwood to approve the plan failed to get a second. Again, fear of a tax. The question was ignored.

In Casselberry, commissioners didn't like the tax or didn't think voters would approve it. If county commissioners had the courage to advance a tax plan for vot The only way the tax has a chance with voters is if spending is kept simple and everyone can benefit. Seminole's population lives in a compact area, half in and half out of cities. Everyone uses major county roads that wend in and out of the cities; ergo, a simple, everyone-bene-fits spending target. Four cities representing a majority of city populations agreed on the county's list of 34 roads to be improved.

But three cities let politics take the day and wimped out. At Oviedo, one councilman lectured 5ACK TO 436 OUT KEEP FbLL0W(M6- THE PETOUfc Sk5NS Ever-rising taxes made U.S. great Don Boyett SEMINOLE COUNTY EDITOR I HEAR some indecision in the air on the proposed 1-cent sales tax referendum. Myself, I'm all for the regressive tax that will be used to build roads. Hear, hear.

It was ever-rising taxes that made America great; and a new tax to invest $300 million in concrete is just what our local economy needs to stay healthy. Still undecided? When in doubt, spend it out. By now the informed voter should realize this: There is no economic problem that cannot be solved by taxation and government spending. Don't be an indecisive wimp. Vote yes to the tax.

An investment in concrete is an investment in the future of Our County. People talk about investments in stocks, bonds and real estate, but concrete and asphalt are two investment alternatives that too often get neglected. With the stock market so high and CD rates so low, now is the time for prudent investors to consider the investment potential of pavement. It's a rock-solid opportunity. And should you need another reason, the Central Florida Business Economic Index says that gasoline consumption in Seminole County fell by 13 percent in February.

What we need is more roads to encourage healthy hydrocarbon consumption. Kevin Kelly WINTER PARK Church is a constant name, places change By Jim Robison From Longwood Baptist to First Baptist of Longwood, jour OF THE SENTINEL STAFF ney takes 100 years. Seminole's past LONGWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH Sea of signs shows law not working i eminole County got tough on signs last year. "Good show," was the response from a public wearied by the ever-rising roadside din. But was it? I can't honestly say I've noticed.

Laws are one thing, enforcing them another. "We're doing what we can," said Herb Hardin, whose county land management department is charged with policing the code. Two problems, he adds: Just one inspector, who has duties other than reining in ambitious sign displayers, and lack of an effective legal mechanism to enforce the code. Pity. Pity that so many people must be forced to obey a community standard, and even take advantage of loopholes.

What happened to respect? What's that you say? Good laws are respected; bad laws don't deserve respect? The county commission passed that code because of public concern that signs were out of control. People who violate that code do so because of greed. They don't know what will draw people, so they're I not going to pass up possibility, never mind if it trashes the community. A seller of Japanese cars flies 24 American flags, a thumb-of-the-nose to the sign code's limiting one such item at each business. In fairness, he's not the only car dealer who flaunts our national emblem.

At the shopping center once known as Zayre's Pla-; za, businesses place signs on trucks parked out near the street. Again, a violation of the code. A neighbor stops as I'm working in the yard to ask why I don't write about the sea of snipe signs he faces en route to the golf course. "I thought that was against the law." It is, of course. But the person who does moving or mowing either doesn't know it's illegal or knows there's little chance of being caught.

And it's not just the little guy who takes advantage of the situation. Weekends find a sea of small signs 'stuck alongside roads leading to new subdivisions, luring prospects to new homes or apartments. What's so wrong with one little sign? you might ask. Why not let these little guys make a buck? The problem isn't one sign. The problem is thou-( sands of signs.

Hardin's inspector fills a pickup with snipe signs on a Saturday morning along just one stretch of road. One sign on a vehicle sprouts at a shopping center; soon there is a sea of them. A national ad agency working for a burger outlet 'designs large, blaring posters hyping lower prices. fThey are eye-catching, yes; but other businesses in the neighborhood put up signs of their own. Soon, a decent roadway has become a cheap strip.

Every property in the county is denigrated. A new legal mechanism is in the works. It will imove sign violations from the code enforcement board to county court. Of course, it could further clog the courts and no doubt end in costing the public more money. Sad.

Sad that so many people think so little of their neighbors. 1958-1980 II II I Id II guy 4-H 1980- Thank you, Gooding's Few, if any, settlers lived in the Longwood area in the early 1870s. However, a history of the First South Missionary Baptist Association says the Corinth Baptist Church was founded in 1883 by three black settlers on land donated by Longwood founder E.W. Henck near the railroad through downtown. Later, white settlers built around the church, and complained about noise from night services.

A new church was built at another site and the name was changed to Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church. This month, the more than member congregation of the First Baptist Church of Longwood marks a milestone in the church's history. On May 31, 1891, 15 people organized Longwood Baptist Church as it was known until 1957. The minutes of the small Wekiva Baptist Association at the time include this brief note about the church's founding, letter was read and favorably acted upon, and the right hand of fellowship was extended to the delegates by the moderator That first year, church donations totaled $10 with $9.98 used for mission gifts. Nearly a century later, during the late 1970s and the 1980s, the congregation pledged to retire $750,000 in bonds to build a new sanctuary on State Road 434 west of U.S.

Highway 17-92 its third. It also built an $860,000 education and office complex and a $360,000 Family Life Center. It also helped establish other churches, including the First Baptist Church of Casselberry, which expects to begin services this month. Last Thanksgiving, the church's community outreach work included serving 800 holiday meals. Its missionary work has helped families in Ecuador and India, as well as Hurricane Hugo victims in South Carolina.

Some Sundays during the last decade, the church has grown by 20 members. Those successes, though, must be compared with the church's early struggles. Its 90-year history traces the ups and downs of the community and the early days of Seminole County. The church's past is intertwined with the history of Longwood, the oldest city in south Seminole. Before the church was founded, a scattering of Baptist groups were meeting in the Longwood area, where Southerners and Northerners began settling immediately after the Civil War.

One settler was E.W. Henck, who arrived in 1873 with others to settle at Myrtle Lake. As postmaster in 1876, Henck chose the name Longwood after a Boston suburb. He would start the South Florida Railroad in the 1880s with money invested by the owners of the Boston Daily Herald. The community he helped create catered to winter visitors who came by train to stay at the city's resort hotel and later built winter homes.

A church history says Henck changed the community's name to Longwood because he feared "upper crust New Engenders" would be skeptical of the rustic sounding "Myrtle Lake." Henck's role as a railroad worker, hotel owner and real estate promoter has won him recognition as the city founder, but P.A. Demens ard lumbering also played major roles in the city's begin- WHEN TUSKAWILLA Middle School burned, a 15-year collection of computer software, along with at least 35 computers and printers, were lost. The pupils and staff had earned 17 of these pieces of equipment through collection of cash register receipts from Gooding's, Albert-sons and Publix supermarkets. Nearly $3 million worth of those receipts were collected. That made their loss even more painful.

Now a representative from Gooding's has contacted the school and offered to replace the three computers earned through its stores. It will take a long time to replace the finest student computer lab in Seminole County, but this generous offer will help tremendously. Thank you, Gooding's. Wynn Pickelsimer computer resource teacher, Tuskawilla Middle School CASSELBERRY SPECIAL TO THE SENTINEL who traveled each Sunday to a different regional congregation. When the congregation outgrew its small sanctuary, it met for Sunday school and services at Lyman High School, today's Milwee Middle School, and the old city library.

During the Great Depression, the church voted to have preaching every Sunday. Membership grew from 60 during the 1930s to 172 in 1940, 224 during the 1950s and 700 during the 1960s. During the 1940s and 1950s, missions were sponsored in Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary and Deltona. The late 1950s, though, brought controversy. The church moved from Warren Street to a new site on Church Street.

Still, many Sunday school classes continued to meet at the original Warren Street site, which the church wanted to keep. Trouble was, the land, which had been donated by city founder Henck, had passed to his heir. The heir was willing to let the church keep the building but wanted it moved off the property. The congregation later decided the building was not worth moving and dropped its claim to the land. Troubles continued into the 1960s, when differing opinions prompted a small group to split from the church and hold services at the city library as the Longwood Baptist Chapel.

Despite the dissension, the church's membership continues to grow, with missions reaching out to area jails and the Orlando Rescue Mission. New churches were also added in Deltona and Chuluota. In the mid-1960s, the church bought IVi acres on S.R. 434 for a new sanctuary, completed in 1980. Church members have recently finished an undated version of their church's history, The Bones of Joseph.

Jim RobisonJ'S Seminole County coordinator for The Orlando Sentinel. The Orlando Sentinel DON BOYETT, County Editor GREGORY MILLER, Assistant Metro Editor-Seminoie JIM ROBISON, County Coordinator nings. Demens, a count who came to Long-wood in 1881 when he was in exile from czarist Russia, bought 30 acres of groves and a sawmill. Soon, he started P.A. Demens Co.

a sash, door and blind factory. In those days, it was the major supplier of lumber and building materials for much of the area. By the mid-1800s more than 1,000 people lived in Longwood, many working in area lumbering operations. Soon, though, lumbering ravaged the land and many people left as logging companies moved to more luscious forests. Even worse times were approaching.

Just after the new Baptist Church was organized, Longwood and all of Central Florida fell on hard times. Back-to-back hard freezes in the winter of 1894-95' wiped out most of the citrus groves. Not only was that year's crop lost, nearly every citrus tree died to the ground. Family after family in Longwood and throughout the region left. "The fledging congregation of Long-wood Baptist Church did not escape the crisis," according to a church history.

"With the possible exception of informal gatherings for prayer and fellowship, the church ceased to function." No church records for the next decade survive. By 1906, though, 16 members renewed their participation in the Wekiva Association, fueled in part by the rebirth of Longwood with the opening of a turpentine distillery. Church membership prospered, The church was served by a minister EDITORIAL OFFICES CASSELBERRY 4580 S. U.S. Hwy.

17-92, 32707; 830-2450 i SANFORD I 541 N. Palmetto Suite 105, 32771; 322-3513 OVIEDO Square, 21 Alafaya Woods 32765; 365-f 8696 CARALYN BESS, Advertising Manager Have a complaint about public officials or government policy? Got a gripe about your school or concerned about a burning issue in your community? Seminole Extra wants to hear from readers. Keep letters brief and limited to a single topic. They must be signed and include the writer's name, address and phone number. Mail letters to The Orlando Sentinel, 4580 S.

U.S. Highway 17-92, Casselberry 32707. Letters may be edited for space and legal considerations. 830-2400 ADVERTISING OFFICES 4580 S. U.S.

Hwy. 17-92, Casselberry, CLASSIFIED-WANT ADS 1-800-669-5757 CIRCULATION i South Seminole, 420-5353 SanfSrd, 628-5164.