Life jackets save lives on the water
A boating accident off the southwest coast of Florida in June highlighted the importance of wearing life jackets.
Seven adults and one child were found clinging to a cooler after a 28-foot boat capsized near Boca Grande. Luckily, all were wearing life jackets and were rescued by the Coast Guard, but that’s not always the case.
According to the most recent USCG boating statistics, three out of four boaters killed in boating accidents drown, and 87% of those boaters were not wearing a life jacket.
Many of these people considered themselves experienced boaters who knew how to swim, but an accident could leave them unconscious.
You wouldn’t try to put on a seat belt during a car accident, just as it’s impossible to put on a life jacket during a boating emergency.
When out on the water, make sure everyone on board is wearing a properly fitting life jacket. If you need to borrow one, visit one of the Sea Tow Foundation’s life jacket loaner stations. You never know how much a life jacket can save a life.
Gail R. Culp, Executive Director, Shi Tau Foundation, Montoursville, Pennsylvania
Voters can’t hold Furst accountable.
Bill Furst was expected to face an opponent in his bid for reelection as Sarasota County property appraiser.
He did a disservice to homeowners like me by deciding that replacing an aging roof isn’t maintenance, but somehow an addition or improvement.
Mr. Furst made us pay more taxes because the assessments had gone up, but no other property appraiser in the state agreed.
Dana A. Saia, Sarasota
(Editor’s note: Two homeowners have successfully challenged the property assessor’s policy and will no longer be charged high taxes for roof replacements.)
Biden puts country before himself
Becoming president of the United States must be the most intense drug imaginable for people with the ego required to achieve this honor. President Joe Biden’s decision to step down and pass the baton, as he did just now, required reaching a conclusion that no one wants to consider.
Biden had to accept his age and his declining physical and mental abilities, and understand that no one is irreplaceable and nothing lasts forever.
Whatever our political views, we must acknowledge that Biden has put country before himself, a major culmination of a long career of public service.
Norman Vaughn Birch, Sarasota
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