The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 160

Opi nion The Lake Sentinel, Wednesday, October 1 1 997 4 OTHER VIEWS SHIRLEY M. RENARD, Advertising Manager ADVERTISING OFFICE TAVARES 720 W. Burleigh Tavares (352)742-5900 DISPLAY-(352) 742-5900 CLASSIFIED (352) 343-5550 Reports on LRMC mislead public The Lake Sentinel An edition of The Orlando Sentinel LAUREN RITCHIE, County Editor JERRY FALLSTROM, Assistant County Editor EDITORIAL OFFICES TAVARES 720 W. Burleigh 32778 (352 742-5920 LEESBURG 605 W. Main 34748, (352) 742-5920 CIRCULATION 1-800-359-5353 I wish to add information so the public may have a more complete picture of the business the board members did with LRMC.

The newspaper reported that M. Benson O'Kel-ley's firm, Prudential Securties, handled some of the hospital's, invest SPECIAL TO THE SENTINEL OUR VIEWS Let safety shine for pupils' sake Delaying school starting times might inconvenience some, but lives are what count. Recent articles in The Lake Sentinel about Leesburg Regional Medical Center's board of directors and the business they do with the hospital have been irresponsible and have left the public with misconceptions. Shame on The Lake Sentinel for mounting a character assassination on the hard-working, concerned board members who are looking out for the community's interest. Contrary to what was implied in the stories, LRMC does indeed have a conflict of interest policy.

The policy, in keeping with current IRS standards for nonprofits, allows board members to conduct business with the hospital as long as: There is full financial disclosure. Board members abstain from voting on issues in which there might be a conflict of interest. The terms and conditions of the business transaction are "commercially reasonable." Every board member who serves LRMC as an unpaid volunteer makes such disclosure and signs an LRMC statement of financial interest form. Although the stories stated otherwise, you would be hard pressed to find a private nonprofit hospital in the United States that prohibits board members from doing business with the hospital, including Orlando Regional Healthcare System, with which LRMC is considering affiliating. Such a policy would most definitely prevent our brightest and hardest working from volunteering their time to improve local health care.

One article incorrectly stated that $700,000 of business went to board members last year. LRMC board members did approximately $492,562 in business last year with the hospital, which has a total expense budget of $82 million. This figure excludes board members who did business indirectly in a capacity such as a subcontractor, for instance, with the hospital. Each member who did business with the hospital followed its conflict of interest policy. The hospital inadvertently gave the newspaper the figure of 38 percent, which included work i for the hospital foundation, which is a separate entity.

The value of the printing business to Ford Press was $198,075 out of a total printing business of $637,795. Any hospital with its printing spread among at least five different vendors as LRMC has has taken care qf any possibility of conflict of interest. The Lake Sentinel reported that Lake I Glass Mirror, owned by board member Ri- chard Boliek, provided between $150,000 and $200,000 of glazing services on the new intei)-sive-care unit. Readers may have been left with the impression that Mr. Boliek's company obtained the business because he was on the board.

I want to make it clear that that is nqt the case. Mr. Boliek was the low bid with the general contractor in December 1993 when he won the business. He was elected to the boaid s5 in January 1994. .1 Robert Meade followed the LRMC conflict of interest policy appropriately when a contract with his company, Mid Florida Renal Applications, L.R, came before the board.

The newspaper reported that his firm won the contract, but the articles did not say that Dr. Meade declared a conflict, left the room, did '-not take part in the discussion and did not vote on the issue. LRMC paid Mid Florida Re-1 nal Applications $116,850 in 1997 for services, Since then, Dr. Meade has sold his interest in the business. It should also be noted that Dr.

Meade serves as medical director of the hospi- tal's dialysis program at no expense to LRMC, Other medical directors are paid. In the future, I would urge The Lake Sentj-. nel to stop attacking the personal integrity of respected community leaders. i- I would also urge reporters to focus on the real issue: how to assure area residents full, unrestricted access to our outstanding hospital, now and in the future. I i i i.

i Tim Sullivan is a member of the LRMC board. nother student walking in the pre-dawn darkness to her school bus stop was ments and Mr. O'Kelley profited. Prudential held 12 percent of the LRMC investments at June 1997, Those were certificates of deposit. No commissions or fees were paid to Mr.

O'Kelley by LRMC. Banks with which the deposits were invested paid the fees. Two members of the local Prudential office handle the hospital's account, and Mr. O'Kelley, who manages the operation, does not have day-to-day oversight of the hospital's account. Board President Ted Ostrander's firm, Lassiter-Ware, bought out Professional Administrators the administrator of LRMC's workers compensation program in October 1996.

LRMC took bids for the workers compen-. sation program in 1997, and Professional Administrators was the lowest bidder and so won the business. The premium paid to the insurer through the company was $177,637. Though this figure may look high at first glance, readers should know that, typically, the administrator of such a 'program would charge only about 2 percent of the premium in this case less than $4,000. The year before Mr.

Ostrander's firm bought Professional Administrators, the cost to the hospital was $218,172. So the hospital saved $40,000 after Mr. Ostrander's firm bought Professional Administrators. Board member William Bowersox, president of Ford Press, received about 31 percent of LRMC's printing business, not 38 percent. Pity the children some may i become lawyers one day do much for schoolchildren who live outside the city limits, for students who live in rural areas or for children who live in other Lake County cities.

There are, after all, more than 2,500 school bus stops in Lake County stretching from Astor in the north to the Green Swamp in remote south Lake County. All need help, and Mr. Smith should aggressively work to expand the lighting program in all areas of the county. At the same time, other options should be considered. For example, a committee of parents and school administrators, headed by Conner, during the summer recommended later starting times for middle and high schools.

Middle and high school students how begin classes at 7:30 a.m. As a result, some students must get to the bus stops as early as 6 a.m. That idea was rejected by the School Board, which reasoned that later starting times would cut into after-school jobs and the social lives of students. Mr. Conner, though, has wisely revived the committee to re-examine the issue of later starting times.

In light of last week's accident, the School Board would be well-advised to follow Mr. Conner's lead. Pushing back school starting times to 8 a.m. might be inconvenient for some, but student safety, not after-school jobs or social activities, should carry the most weight in the board's decision-making "don't have many prejudices. I admit I don't like snakes, drivers who won't go struck by a car last week, proving once again the danger of leaving students to wander about on their own in the dark before school.

Luckily, 13-year-old Joanna Clark of Eustis suffered only a broken leg. It could have been much more serious. Police said they aren't going to charge the driver of the car, which was traveling about 15 mph when Joanna started across the dark street about 15 minutes before sunrise. School Board member Jimmy Conner was right on the money when he said the accident is further proof that dark streets and students are a dangerous Only last spring, 16-year-old Ticey Rawls of Stuckey was struck and killed by a car while dashing to catch her school bus in the pre-dawn hours. In 1995, 15-year-old Jonathan Eubanks was killed in another early-morning accident at a Leesburg bus stop.

This cannot continue. School officials know something must be done to prevent future tragedies and near-tragedies. The question is what? To his credit, Lake County Schools Superintendent Jerry Smith has pushed for a program to light school bus stops. That's a good idea that should be applauded. Earlier this year, for example, the city of Leesburg began lighting school bus stops within its boundaries.

That's a nice start, but lighted bus stops in Leesburg don't few of my favorite lawyer jokes: Q. What is black and brown and looks good on a lawyer? A. A Do-berman. Q. What Shakespeare showed a similar inclination when one of his characters in Henry VI suggested the first thing that needed to be done to make the world a better place was to "kill all the lawyers." MUDDY WATERS i Share your thoughts Every Wednesday and Sunday we present our views on the editorial page of The Lake Sentinel.

This page also gives you an opportunity to express your opinions through Letters to the Editor and essays of up to 500 words in the My Word column. We encourage you to submit letters of community interest and essays to The Lake Sentinel, 720 Burleigh Tavares, 32778. Please include your full name, address and daytime telephone number. Letters also may be sent online to Please follow these rules: Letters should deal with a specific issue. The Sentinel does not print letters in which the author attempts to make unfounded allegations about an individual, business or group.

Letters may be no more than 300 words in length. Letters must be original, signed by the writer, and have a return address (not published) and a phone number if available. Letters should be typed if possible. The Sentinel does not publish letters endorsing a particular candidate running for office. Letters submitted to other publications will not be considered for The Lake Sentinel.

faster than 40 mph when I'm stuck behind them in the 55 mph zone, Brussels sprouts, or country music. Or lawyers. Admittedly, there are a few decent attorneys out there, folks who somehow have developed a sense of ethics and justice to go along with their law degrees. But they are exceptions to the rule. I've never had any personal dealings with lawyers, but I've certainly seen enough of them in action while covering county government, the School Board, the cities and other public bodies over the years.

Their passion for nit-picking, squabbling over fees, and tiptoeing around ethical issues is legendary. What is right rarely is an issue. I always assumed my prejudice was the result of the bad impressions I came away with after spending so much time watching lawyers in action in public forums. Shakespeare showed a similar inclination when one of his characters in Henry VI suggested the first thing that needed to be done to make the world a better place was to "kill all the lawyers." Then the other day I was cruising along the Internet and found out the Bard and I are not alone in our disdain for the legal profession. There are more than 8 million sites with jokes about lawyers! Some of them are funny in nature; all of them are delightfully nasty in tone.

In contrast, the same search engine I used could come up with fewer than 700 pages of mother-in-law jokes. So, I thought I would share a do you have when 100 lawyers are buried up to their necks in sand? A Not enough sand. Q. What's the difference between a dead dog in the road and a dead lawyer in the road? A. There are skid marks in front of the dog.

Q. Why are lawyers like nuclear weapons? A. If one side has one, the other side has to get one. Once launched, they cannot be recalled. When they land, they screw up everything forever.

Q. What's the difference between a tick and a lawyer? A. A tick falls off of you when you die. Q. What do lawyers use for birth control? A.

Their personalities. Your attorney and your mother-in-law are trapped in a burning building. You have time to save only one of them. Do you have lunch or go to a movie? Q. What's the difference between a lawyer on a Harley and a vacuum cleaner? A.

The vacuum cleaner has the dirt bag on the inside. Q. What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer? A An offer you can't understand. Diogenes went to look for an honest lawyer. "How's it going?" someone asked.

"Not too bad," said Diogenes. "I still have my lantern." Q. Why does California have the most lawyers while New Jersey has the most toxic-waslfe dumps? A. New Jersey got the first pick. If you see a lawyer on a bicycle, why don't you swerve to hit him? A.

It might be your bicycle. 2 God decided to take the devil to court and settle their differences once and for all. When Satan heard this, he laughed and said, "And just where do you think you're going to find a lawyer?" It has been seriously suggested that a special statute be enacted to require that all deceased lawyers be buried at a depth no less than 100 feet because deep down all lawyers are really nice. i In spite of all the mearj-tempered jokes and lawyer bashing that abounds, you have to give the legal profession some measure of sympathy. Perhaps the English writer Charles Lamb, 1775-1834, said It best: I "Lawyers, I suppose, were children once." jf- 1 j.

SENTINEL RLE Tree-lined sidewalks set the scene for visitors to Clermont's business district at Eighth and Montrose streets around 1920. LETTERS FROM READERS victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. It also provides education to help prevent this ever-increasing problem. Haven is a healing place for these victims, to mend not only broken bones, but broken hearts and broken spirits. Haven also provides a safe haven for those victims being stalked and threatened it is a life-or-death issue.

What price tag can you put on the life of these victims? I ask the County Commission to seriously reconsider the funding for Haven. Georgtfanne V. Reed Haven deserves funds I WAS extremely disheartened to read, in a recent edition of The Lake Sentinel, of the county commissioners' decision not to provide adequate funding for Haven of Lake and Sumter Counties. As a member of the volunteer board of directors for this agency, it is my personal desire not only to ask for continuance of funding provided in past years, but to ask for an increase. Instead, Haven's allocation fell by 75 percent Haven is the only shelter in Lake and Sumter counties for TAVARES Let people vote on tax I APPEAL to the School Board to reconsider its stand against allowing the half-cent sales tax proposal to be placed on the ballot.

No one will accuse them of voting for a tax increase that might jeopardize their political future; rather they're just allowing constituents to decide this tax issue for themselves. Homeowners, the backbone of the taxpaying and voting public, are afraid of huge bond issues, because it puts their tax rate on the line to cover the" bond pay ments. Most homeowners are also aware of the extreme costs of bonding and interest payments, resulting in 50 cents' worth of construction for every dollar borrowed. The sales tax is the most equitable way to build a long-term financial foundation for our school system. Please, let the citizens of Lake County vote on this issue.

Don Viel SORRENTO Treat businesses fairly I wish to object to the reporting in the Lake Sentinel story "Unhealthy Business." If reporters feel something is wrong, then report it, but without the innuen-dos of evil suggested in your paper. Our church has done business with all three of the businessmen covered in the article, and one has been on our governing body while doing so. These men expect fair competition in business practices and ought to be given fair consideration. Quality, service and price are all to be considered. These men have demonstrated over years of business in Leesburg that thqy provide that If the paper has facts to the contrary, it should let them be known.

Otherwise, the paper should stop casting shadows on these men and their motives with no facts to back it up. If it was such a sweet, selfish deal these men were getting in the current hospital situation, they certainly would never suggest that anything change. Could it be they just may care for the whole community and our health-care delivery system in the future? William M. Birdsall New Life Presbyterian Church, FRUITLAND PARK 1.