The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 274

Opinion SE3 The Orlando Sentinel, Sunday, October 7. 1990 K-11 MMiiimniuw.iiiMMwwMinni rn iiririijixiTifrrfiiliCTTj iiiir n- i rt.Mfln mnn l.Ufi.-,iiBil1lillHililllllil i Don't scrap trash system give it time, then fine-tune it After winning a fourth term last week, County Commissioner Bob Sturm immediately turned his attention to garbage. And rightly so. Rarely has something so inflamed the people of Seminole as the county's new trash collection system. The danger, however, is overreaction, such as in suggestions by some people to dismantle the system.

Give the trash program some time. Any plan involving such dramatic change will have kinks. Then after, say, six months, fine-tune it. Until this month, residents in unincorporated Seminole County about 55 percent of the population selected their own trash haulers, lit any, from among 23 licensed operators. Rates and service were negotiable.

buy equipment for picking up recyclable items, were concerned about profits. But it was not lost on customers that the haulers down to nine now work in compact areas, thus cutting expenses. Scorn that has been heaped on them was, in part, invited. But consider as well the potential benefits. In time, the system should reflect efficiencies from operating in compact, franchised areas.

Of course, lower rates won't come automatically. Some form of competition might be necessary, such as bidding for zones. Ideally, the final system also would recognize that some households generate very little trash, others quite a lot. When mandatory service starts next year, fairness must be a part of it. But the state has passed a law requiring a 30-percent reduction in waste going into landfills by 1995 and has banned certain items from dumps.

Such action was necessary. The dumps are filling up; most of them are leaky threats to underground water resources. The most practical way to comply is to assign haulers to zones. And there's the rub. No one wants government to dictate, especially when it costs more.

Most haulers ratcheted their rates up to the maximum set by the county. An additional $2.15 monthly charge to cover possible losses in a recycling program was salt in the wounds. It is understandable that haulers, having to Nor should the county casually toss aside the idea of individual recycling. Many worthwhile community groups exist on income from col-; lecting newspapers, cans and glass. What a shame if they would now turn to the county for a handout from taxpayers.

And one other point: A sincere effort needs tq be made to make the final system Zigzag city limit lines and county islands within cities cry out for the efficiency of consolidated services. Where better and when better to give life to that notion than when reorganizing a basic service? But for now, let's see what the system does. Experience is the only way to learn what will be best for the entire community. Mystery of tower cleared up Structure held water supply for home in Depression By Jim Robison OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Don Boyett SEMINOLE COUNTY EDITOR In politics, new face guarantees nothing It stands as an odd landmark at south Locust Street and Second Avenue east of downtown Sanford. The faded white tower near Town and Lake Garden Apartments looks like a squat lighthouse or a miniature castle.

Its origin might have remained a mystery if not for the passing comments of an elderly visitor to the Henry Shelton Sanford Memorial Library and Museum. Scanning a display that included a panoramic photograph of Sanford's lakefront from the 1920s or 1930s, the visitor pointed with excitement to a large two-story house near the distinctive tower. She told museum staffers she had lived in the home during the Depression years. The landmark, the only structure that remains, was a water tower, the centerpiece of the home's self-contained water system. The bottom floor of the tower was a laundry.

A maid's room was on the second floor. Water from an artesian well or a cistern that collected rainwater was pumped into a tank on top. A ladder led to the top that included a metal, walk-around railing. Decades ago, before the bulkhead was built, Lake Monroe's shoreline was much higher. It reached to within a block of the structure.

Built in the early 1900s for Dr. Cyril Marshall, the gray stucco house with wood paneling indoors fronted on what then was known as Union Avenue (now Second Street). A rose garden was surrounded by Seminole's past THE EARLY YEARS celery fields. The doctor, who owned all the land between the house and the lake, had a boathouse, a two-car garage with an apartment and a tool house, vegetable garden and chicken coop. The house, said the visitor, had all the modern conveniences, including indoor plumbing and running water.

The museum visitor, one of the doctor's relatives, said he had been an early pioneer in the medical uses of X-rays. He had a downtown office on the second floor of the Meisch Building on East First Street. The home later became a funeral parlor. After the funeral business moved out, the home was vacant for years. Some say it was tainted.

No one seemed to want to live in a house that for so long had been used as a funeral parlor. "Hippies," as the visitor called them, took over the house in the 1960s. It was destroyed by a fire that left only the odd-looking tower as a curious landmark. Jim Robison is Seminole County coordinatoror The Orlando Sentinel. 'tw 1 a JIM I Meg Greenfield, writing in Newsweek, questions if there is anything new about the "new cynicism" in American politics, or for that matter, if it is really cynicism.

That attitude being ascribed to 1990 voters, she notes, came over with the first American colonists. Indeed, the feeling was shared by the likes of Thomas Paine, Mark Twain and Will Rogers. All were in search of something better. She's right. Those "Re-elect No One" bumper stickers are merely a new twist on an older "Throw the Rascals Out" theme.

The electorate, one is told, is hell-bent on change. But, I wonder. Are voters really restless, or is it merely talk? I must confess that I too yearn for wholesale changes among the elected, especially in Congress. The crop of elected leaders we have now at all levels isn't making things better, our rationale goes. Perhaps new faces would do better.

You hear a lot about this not being a year for incumbents. True, there have been a few startling upsets. John Silber, the Democrats' upset choice for governor of Massachusetts, will assure an inter-. esting fall campaign and, if elected, create a lot of news. The contest for a new mayor in Washington, D.C., promises to be interesting.

Both signify de- sire for change. 1 But elsewhere, I see little real change, including here. Why, if there is so mt- 'iL much yearning for Why, If there IS SO change, is there so lit- much yearning for tleofit? rhannp it there last y'iai'yc) uicifs week second primary, MICHELE HILLSfcNIINKL The tower's bottom floor was a laundry room. On 2nd floor, a maid had her quarters. Water from well was pumped into tank on the top.

so little of it? Dick Fess tried to toy with me on my yearn- When politics, trash mix, we get lots of garbage DON BOYETT'S comments on the high cost of, trash hauling strike home at our house. too, be-; lieve recycling is necessary. Through March of this year we paid $7.50 per" month for trash service. During March we received notice from Industrial Waste Service that our April, May, June bill would be $46.35, including a one-time charge for hauling the freeze debris. Never mind that' we had no freeze debris.

I realize that it is mere coincidence that IWS has now found it necessary to increase our monthly charge to $11.65 per month. And it is amazing that" when the $2.15 county fee for recycling is the total is $13.80, the maximum haulers can now" charge under the new franchise system. Of course, only we skeptics believe that Dick Har-1 ris' task force will make its audit in six months and find that the trash haulers deserve an increase in or-; der to get a fair return. When politicians involve themselves, we find strange economies of size and scale. In addition the larger trash bill, the County Commission is in- creasing our tax bill by 13 percent, not to mention an increase from the school board.

Great managers, these. -I'V Walter Hosea WINTER SPRINGS of new candidates have courageously stepped forward at the local level to challenge incumbents. It is in our best interests to listen to what these challengers say, and not dismiss their candidacies just because they may lack governing experience. Bob Witmer CHULUOTA Pro politicians could use an election day message SOME OBSERVATIONS political, and perhaps a plan of action: I find it interesting that Orange County's school board proposes something like $290 million to build 30-some new schools. Though voters defeated the proposal, Seminole County wanted $520 million to build several fewer schools.

Even discounting the cost of an administration building, it is curious that a school in Seminole County is so much more expensive than one in Orange. While it galls me to consider not voting for a particularly decent, if not good, incumbent, that is what I propose to do this year. It is a small price to pay to send a message to professional politicians. Suppose every incumbent facing a challenge is turned out of office. Does that not send messages to all those facing re-election in the next several years? In regard to voting against an incumbent I may perceive as relatively good, am I not cutting my own specific political wishes to spite a situation I consider onerous generally? Of course.

But when I consider that politicians do the same to me, what do I really lose? A complacent incumbent at best, a sane voice in an insane situation at worst. What I gain is a much broader message to the next batch of politicians at best, and a new politician of dubious quality at worst. To these ends, I propose that like-minded voters consider their options and design their own message-sending devices come election day. J. Kirk Richards SANFORD Let's save our children for the sake of society THE LEAGUE of Women Voters of Seminole County recognizes the excellent report of the Citizens' Commission on Children in identifying urgent and unmet needs of our county's children.

In the best of worlds, these needs would be met by family. But we don't live in the best of worlds. Experience shows that meeting the needs of young children is four to sue times less expensive than dealing with the problems created when these needs are neglected until the children become adults. The citizens' commission made a detailed list of children's programs that are underfinanced, and the County Commission has allocated some money in the upcoming budget to correct that problem. The league recognized the demands for limited money, yet urged a strong response to those needs.

Many of the still-underfinanced programs could benefit from private contributions as well, and efforts should be made to solicit personal, civic and corporate sources. The citizens' commission has spent many volunteer hours compiling its list. It is up to all of us to support these programs for the sake of the children, and all of us. Mary Ostrander ALTAMONTE SPRINGS Ostrander is president of the League of Women Voters of Seminole County. Political challengers deserve opportunity, endorsements I AM EXASPERATED by your endorsements of incumbents seeking returns to office.

After years in office, incumbents may become smug and self-assured concerning their abilities to run the business of the city or county. Based on previous successes, they may even begin to feel they, more than anyone else, know what is best for the area. At the same time, they gradually lose touch with the people they are supposed to serve. for one, would prefer an inexperienced non-incumbent. While endorsing incumbents, you urge them to change their thinking on critical issues, such as urban sprawl and protection of the Econlockhatchee River.

What you fail to realize is that a leopard cannot change its spots. And, even if they could change, why should they when they are endorsed despite these spots? While it is tempting to stick with the tried-and-true, we voters must have the courage to try someone new when the tried-and-true have lost touch and no longer represent our interests. For the first time in nearly a decade, a large field MHHBHi ing for change. He was, after all, going up Against an incumbent with 12 years as a county pommissioner. I have long advocated a limit on terms for all levels of government, so why was I supporting Bob Sturm? While I find a certain appeal in the slogan "Reelect No One," I don't subscribe to it.

Rational people must still look at the choice at hand. Much as I would have preferred for Sturm to step aside, Fess was not the desired change. His support base was more suspect than Sturm's. The truth is, most of us look at Congress and Jay, throw the rascals out except, of course, our own rascal. Many times, alas, it's only because the alternative is worse.

I For a variety of reasons, better alternatives are not surfacing. Consider: There will be no election in Altamonte Springs this year; the incumbents had no challengers. Two Lake Mary commissioners are automatically re-elected; there was no opposition. One Winter Springs candidate, not an incumbent, wins without opposition. It is my belief that a cap on terms of all elective offices would bring out more quality candidates.

As it is, they are discouraged because, a) they are friendly with the incumbent, b) most money goes to incumbents, or c) the many other advantages of the incumbency. I was encouraged to see that my native Oklahoma has placed a limit on terms in its Legislature. And here at home, Casselberry voters will vote on such a restriction next month for their City Council. Would a limit on terms generate more voter interest? Perhaps. But not likely much.

Most people having voter rights in this country have never exercised them, and never will. That's a fact. No sense in wringing hands over it. New cynicism? Restlessness among the electorate, maybe; yearning for something better, certainly. But just any old face, so long as it is different, won't cut the mustard.

More than new, the need is for ability. i That's what those sloffans should be about. v- J- The Orlando Sentinel DON BOYETT, County Editor GREGORY MILLER, Assistant Metro Editor-Seminole JIM ROBISON, County Coordinator EDITORIAL OFFICES CASSELBERRY 4580 S. U.S. Hwy.

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