Stuart mental health, Vero Beach council; SEALs opportunity; Florida free? Trump

Sheriff’s event shows efficiency, professionalism of agency

My wife and I, along with a couple neighbors had the pleasure of attending the Indian River County Sheriff’s 31^st Annual BBQ, the proceeds of which benefit The Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches.

Among the various tours and demonstrations we viewed, the mobile command center, the emergency response vehicle, and the boat were all donated by the military to the county and refurbished by the members of the sheriff’s office, saving taxpayers countless dollars.

I found all the deputies hosting the various tours and displays to be quite affable and informative with a conspicuous zeal and pride to educate the public they serve.

I was impressed by the advanced technology the sheriff’s office utilizes, as well as its frugality regarding acquiring and modifying it. The deputies all seemed very dedicated to their mission.

Then I heard Sheriff Eric Flowers say on the Bob Soos radio program that this year’s BBQ raised $90,000 for the Youth Ranches, a very worthy cause, which I support.

The entire experience left me as proud as I was grateful to be in the jurisdiction of our sheriff’s office. It is truly quite impressive, and the food was pretty good, too. I look forward to attending the BBQ again next year and I highly recommend it for any county resident.

Kudos to Sheriff Flowers and all his staff.

Douglas Wrenn, Vero Beach

Vero Beach council, management must learn roles

I just read Laurence Reisman’s column on changes needed at Vero Beach City Hall. It was a well-done masterpiece and an important message city civil servants need to fully digest.

Some thoughts:

The City Council is in the governance business. Its key responsibilities are:

1) Assure it has an effective CEO.

2) Approve the strategic direction of the organization.

3) Assure the fiscal and ethical integrity of the organization while abiding by the duty of care and duty of loyalty and duty of obedience.

Full stop. Period.

The City Council is not management and is not allowed to cross the red line of being involved the day-to-day operations of the city.

The city staff is in the management business. It creates and drafts the strategic plan, sets the annual operating objectives and recommends annual budget funding in line with the stated priorities. It then works diligently to accomplish the stated objectives.

However, from an organization effectiveness perspective, it is clear Vero Beach does not operating according to the above model. The council gets its hands on everything, and the city manager is like the guy spinning plates at the circus. And we wonder why the plates fall and crash to the ground.

Some smart guy once said: Management is cause and all else is effect. I believe that. And I am not convinced our city manager is an effective leader. Why didn’t he push back and concentrate his resources on the vital few activities?

The axiom that, “the more you limit yourself, the more resourceful you become,” is absolutely true. Reisman’s column points out the pitfall of ignoring that wisdom.

Joe Smith, Vero Beach

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Cooperation needed to find places for mental health facilities

Your recent editorial on health care misses the point entirely.

There are at least a dozen empty buildings around Stuart better suited for Suncoast Mental Health. The East Ocean Mall in Stuart is mainly unoccupied. Harbour Bay Plaza, lots of empty space; the old Cowboys restaurant on U.S. 1 south, empty for years.

The NIMBY (not in my backyard) argument doesn’t hold water (like Costco). The building at 500 SE Indian Street was a state-of-the art memory care facility, specifically built for senior residents with cognitive and physical health issues and had wheelchair-equipped rooms with wide doors and wheel-in showers. The rooms were bright with sunlight.

We need more memory care facilities. There are dementia patients diagnosed every day.

Perhaps we need less finger-pointing and more cooperation.

Jean Taylor, Stuart

How about bigger, bolder idea for SEAL Museum expansion?

The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum has an under-roof footprint of around 13,000 square feet. The museum will soon unveil expansion plans. The goal is to expand its under-roof footprint on the St. Lucie County-owned land by 20,000 or 30,000 square feet. 

The present area, which shares parking with Pepper Park, is inappropriate for such an expansion. But there is an alternative.

Considering the backing and support the SEALs enjoy, it should be fairly easy to raise funds to purchase the roughly 12-acre former Radisson property to the south. The asking price is in the range of $12 million ― a drop in the bucket for such a well-supported organization.

A groundswell of support from the island would undoubtedly be behind the organization for rezoning if the museum plans included a building to accommodate weddings, meetings, conferences, etc., and if it incorporated a full-service kitchen and dining room that could be leased to a restaurateur. There is ample room on the 12 acres to fulfill all of these goals and much more.

What about the museum’s current location? No need to move its indoor and outdoor exhibits, which have always been compatible with beach activities at Pepper Park. Surely, the county would allow the SEALs to stay with the same terms of agreement, considering what a draw the museum is for tourism and the attendant dollars it brings the county.

The current location is perfect for occasional events, including the very popular annual muster.

The first airing of plans will likely take place on the island. The next airing will be before the board of county commissioners.

Elizabeth Kay Gibson, Hutchinson Island

Mast’s lack of face-to-face town halls a bad sign

As a sitting member of Congress, Rep. Brian Mast has a responsibility to engage directly with the people he represents.

One of the most effective ways to do this is by holding regular town hall meetings when he is in our district. Unfortunately, his reluctance to do so raises concerns about transparency and accountability.

Constituents deserve the opportunity to voice our concerns, ask questions and hear directly from our elected representative. Town halls foster open dialogue, which would allow Mast to better understand the challenges facing our community and advocate for our needs in Washington. Avoiding these forums sends the message he is not interested in hearing from the people he serves.

The residents of our district should expect accessible and responsive leadership. Mast owes it to us to hold public town hall meetings regularly. If he truly represents the people, he should not shy away from engaging with us face-to-face.

Margaret Schorr, Port St. Lucie

We live in ‘free’ state of Florida except that …

I find it interesting that our governor, who claims we are lucky to live in “The Free State of Florida,” wants to restrict our right to petition for constitutional amendments.

How does that fit in with “free”?

Jack Siplak, Vero Beach

What’s wrong with DEI? It yields best and brightest

Should businesses hire and schools admit students based on merit? Of course.

DEI seems to be the antithesis of merit-based hiring. However, when you look at the alternatives, it is clear DEI helps ensure the most qualified candidates are interviewed and hired.

When your office has a position with growth potential available, is there a search for the most qualified candidate in the market? Or does the candidate often come from references from social networks for people who will fit in?

When I walk into a bank, is the bank manager the most qualified person in the building? Or was he moved up to that position because of who he golfed with?

When a law firm hires a graduate from a prestigious school, did it hire the best attorney available, or was that new hire a legacy graduate whose father and grandfather went to that school? Were better candidates overlooked because their fathers were blue-collar laborers?

When a school admits a student with the highest test scores, was the brightest person admitted, or were there brighter applicants who couldn’t afford expensive test prep courses, tutors and private schools through the years?

Donald Trump has made a huge negative out of DEI, but has he hired on merit instead?  Was Robert Kennedy Jr. the most qualified medical professional to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services?

Did Pete Hegseth’s 11 years in the National Guard make him the most qualified military leader? Did the years Linda McMahon spent as a professional wrestling promoter make her the most qualified to wisely trim the Department of Education?

Without DEI, there is not merit hiring. The best candidates are often not even considered. DEI offers outreach to find candidates without inside connections, and ensures the best qualified candidates are at the interview table.

Steven Schlitt, Vero Beach

President must represent all Americans

Wow! The MAGA ostrich hypocrites are already aligned.

During the short period I watched the Trump pep rally, a friend pointed out the Democrats remaining seated were disrespectful. I would call it more like civil protest. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, did go over the line.

Compare this to two MAGA representatives in nasty T-shirts during Joe Biden’s State of the Union addresses. I will take the direct public fact checking of Donald Trump and his claims over two unqualified MAGAs performing their act. There is plenty of other fact-checking done after these charades.

With Trump receiving less than 50% (a technicality at about 49.8%) and about 22% support of all citizens, not just active voters, it’s clear has has no “mandate” as he claims. Perhaps Trump should remember he is supposed to represent all of us, not just his zealots.

Jeff Hamilton, Sebastian

Trump speech: Democrats’ behavior shocking

The behavior by Democrats at the president’s State of the Union address was only a little better than the time when Nancy Pelosi ripped up Donald Trump’s speech on the podium behind his back. Not once, but four times. It was disgraceful and showed a complete lack of respect for the office of the president and for all Americans who voted for him.

This year, the Democrats acted like spoiled children, scowling, smirking, holding up nasty signs or looking down at their phones. Debbie Wasserman Schultz shamefully “sat on her hands” as the Republicans cheered for the child with cancer, DJ Daniels. Apparently, Schultz’s Trump Derangement Syndrome knows no bounds.

If the Democrats want to act like children, they should be treated as such. Perhaps they should be made to check their phones before taking their seats. It works for children, but all children have the capacity to learn. We see that this isn’t true for Democrats in Congress who have learned nothing from the past election.

My only hope is their constituents took notice and will vote them out. Their behavior was an embarrassment to both their party and their country.

Patricia A. Perrone, Stuart

Trump epitomizes old accounting saw

President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress contained so many lies it reminded me of what my first college accounting teacher preached to our class: Figures often lie, and liars often figure.

We heard the president of the Liars Club and the USA reiterate that mantra.

Al Dlott, Stuart

Congress must hold Trump, Vance accountable

Donald Trump and JD Vance need to be impeached and convicted. Their unconscionable treatment Feb. 28 of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was an embarrassing betrayal to American democracy.

We can’t possibly allow these two men to represent us to the rest of the world. There should have already been enough to impeach/convict both for:

• Schmoozing up to the monster, murderous dictator Vladimir Putin

• Using a playbook employed by dictators to dismantle our government

• Subverting our free press

• Further degrading our education system

• Signaling that hatred and lying are virtues

It’s time for Congress to serve Americans, not members’ parties.

Dick Landrum, Palm City

How can anyone side with Zelenskyy vs. Trump?

A recent letters package included pro and con Trump/Zelenskyy comments, with the usual Democrats and a “registered Republican” voicing comments of resentment for the new president in his recent dealings with a Ukrainian head of state some have labeled an “unelected dictator.”

Perhaps folks should remember America voted a landslide for Donald Trump. It is “our turn” now, and after watching the childish behavior of some Democrats during the president’s address to Congress, I think the Democratic Party is, at this time, toast.

Democrats should look in the mirror and figure out the true origin of where their misguidance came from.

Charles Sprauer, Stuart

GOP members of Congress show no backbone

I can’t remember another person like Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Who berates the president of a sovereign country like he berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vance also did)?

What is this “love affair” Trump has with Russia’s Vladimir Putin? No other Western nation has anything good to say about Putin.

Now, the United States is also aligned with the dictators of China, North Korea and Hungary. Is this the group we feel most comfortable with, and not NATO? Does this group also believe Ukraine raided Russia first?

GOP members in the Senate and House seem so afraid of Trump. They won’t speak out. They certainly don’t put country first. They are such cowards. They disagree with Trump privately, but not publicly.

Do they also believe tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will benefit us? Look at the stock market now, and people’s 401ks?

Do MAGA people really believe Trump will lower prices.? Also, did they elect Elon Musk as co-president?

Rita Wolper, Stuart

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida free? Stuart, Vero Beach challenges; Trump efforts | Letters