The following letter is from the WALTON SUN.
October 1, 2007
Letters to the Editor
"Where?s the beach?
As a frequent tourist of South Walton last week I sent the following e-mail to the Walton County Tourism office and the county commissioners requesting clarification on beach access as it relates to our vacation plans for next year.
?My family and I are starting the process of deciding where we will go on vacation next summer. Over the past 10-plus years we have rented the same house in Seagrove, but last year my family and I were removed from the beach by a Walton County deputy after an irate man, identifying himself as a property owner, decided he did not like children playing on ?his? beach.
Prior to this incident we have wonderful memories of Seagrove, but obviously we do not want to set our family up for such a humiliating incident again.
Before committing to a Walton County vacation I have three questions I need answered:
1) Has Walton County addressed the beach access/ trespassing issue and if so how?
2) Is Walton County still defining the public beach as only the ?wet portion of the beach??
3) How far to either side of the Pelayo beach access steps can we legally lay a towel on dry sand without the possibility of having a deputy called to remove us for trespassing?
We look forward to hearing from you so we can decide if Walton County and Seagrove are where we want to spend our summer vacation next year.?
Neither the Walton County tourism office nor the commissioners even acknowledged receipt of my questions. At a minimum, I at least expected the tourism office to respond. Seems like they would have stock answers to my questions by now, no mater how convoluted and disingenuous the answers likely would be. My questions must not be important.
Could it be the county?s approach to address beach access questions from tourist is to just avoid addressing the questions altogether?
Also, maybe they hope to entrap more unsuspecting beach going tourists and fine them $200 for trespassing. Collecting trespassing fines from tourist is a little more sophisticated form of county revenue generation than speed traps. We so underestimate our leaders? creativity. A tourist family of five could net the county a $1,000 in fi nes.
I?ll mention to the owners of the house we rented for more than 10 years that they should ask for a reduced tax assessment since the property value and rental rate are based on beach access that apparently does not exist.
Tom Beisel
Atlanta, Georgia
Editor?s note: As a preface to his letter to The Sun, Tom Beisel wrote, ?Print my letter if you want but the frustration of rehashing last summers incident makes me realize we just need to move on and vacation somewhere else. We really love our pre 2007 memories of South Walton but as a tourist its not worth the effort to have to ask county officials for clarification on where we can lay a towel other than in the surf. We hear there are family friendly beaches elsewhere where deputies don?t remove children from sand castles.?
Neither the Walton County tourism offi ce nor the commissioners even acknowledged receipt of my questions. At a minimum, I at least expected the tourism offi ce to respond. Seems like they would have stock answers to my questions by now, no mater how convoluted and disingenuous the answers likely would be. My questions must not be important.
Could it be the county?s approach to address beach access questions from tourists is to just avoid addressing the questions altogether?
Also, maybe they hope to entrap more unsuspecting beach-going tourists and fine them $200 for trespassing. Collecting trespassing fi nes from tourists is a little more sophisticated form of county revenue generation than speed traps. We so underestimate our leaders? creativity. A tourist family of five could net the county $1,000 in fi nes.
I?ll mention to the owners of the house we rented for more than 10 years that they should ask for a reduced tax assessment since the property value and rental rate are based on beach access that apparently does not exist."
Tom Beisel
Atlanta, Georgia
Editor?s note: As a preface to his letter to The Sun, Tom Beisel wrote, ?Print my letter if you want but the frustration of rehashing last summer?s incident makes me realize we just need to move on and vacation somewhere else. We really love our pre 2007 memories of South Walton but as a tourist it?s not worth the effort to have to ask county offi cials for clarification on where we can lay a towel other than in the surf. We hear there are family friendly beaches elsewhere where deputies don?t remove children from sand castles.?
Quacking it up
Would you like to experience passing through the mirror with ?Alice in Wonderland??
Then join Gulf Pines residents who attended a Sept. 18 meeting with Walton County Planning Director, Pat Blackshear. Also in attendance was Jim Cockran, a developer of a commercial enterprise in a single-family, residential subdivision.
After hearing from both sides of the issue, a council member stated, ?If it walks like a duck, it is a duck.? In other words, the pre-construction advertising of Mr. Cockran?s plan reeked of commercialism and was not compatible with a single-family, residential entity.
Gulf Pines? residents left the meeting encouraged that their small, 52-year-old, pristine, beachfront, nature-friendly community was safe.
Then, with the front page of the (Northwest Florida) Daily News article, ?Plan to Build,? on Sept. 26, Gulf Pines residents learn the county will probably approve a permit for Cockran?s construction.
This smacks of what happened when Okaloosa County permitted a certain developer to divert a portion of Old U.S. Highway 98.
What?s going on here?
Beverly Sulli
Miramar Beach
Dog fly economics
The control of dog flies is not merely for the purpose of enjoying our leisure pastimes.
People employed in outdoor service industries and construction depend on dog fly control measures in order to be able to perform their jobs and earn their living.
No brand of personal insect repellant is 100 percent effective against dog fl ies.
Please, everyone, consider this fact before terminating a program that has marginal environmental impact, especially considering all of the other things we can do which would make a much more signifi cant contribution towards improving the global condition.
I own a swimming pool service company, which provides full-time employment to 12 county residents and seasonal employment to fi ve more. We provide routine weekly service at 330 pools along the beaches of South Walton.
My business is just one of the many that is nearly paralyzed when dog fl ies cover the area along the beaches.
Joan Vienot
Santa Rosa Beach
Biking is good
I?m not a Lance Armstrong wannabe, but I sure do love to ride my bike. I?m not quite brave enough to wear those cute tight pants yet, and I only ride on the 30A path, but one could say that being able to walk and bike here has changed my life.
Three years ago I couldn?t ride around the block without moaning and groaning and quitting. But, we moved here and I started taking advantage of the path and got hooked.
Now I can ride all day. It makes me feel like a kid again, as well as helping me to lose a few pounds.
With that being said, I?d like to defend those bikers that are serious and ride on the road. They have put a lot into getting to where they are and I for one admire them.
Wanting to be like Lance Armstrong is a wonderful goal to have. We should all strive to do better at what we do and go to the next level in our fitness goals whenever possible.
Our kids ride with us and love it, so, who knows, maybe one day they?ll be in the Tour de France. Just remember that when you?re in your car and going too fast and being impatient with bikers on 30A, those bikers might just be thinking you?re a Jeff Gordon wannabe!
Let?s all be more patient with each other and enjoy this place we call paradise.
Lastly, the way I feel about it is until you?ve biked on 30A, you really haven?t ?lived? in paradise!
Teresa Kelly
Santa Rosa Beach
October 1, 2007
Letters to the Editor
"Where?s the beach?
As a frequent tourist of South Walton last week I sent the following e-mail to the Walton County Tourism office and the county commissioners requesting clarification on beach access as it relates to our vacation plans for next year.
?My family and I are starting the process of deciding where we will go on vacation next summer. Over the past 10-plus years we have rented the same house in Seagrove, but last year my family and I were removed from the beach by a Walton County deputy after an irate man, identifying himself as a property owner, decided he did not like children playing on ?his? beach.
Prior to this incident we have wonderful memories of Seagrove, but obviously we do not want to set our family up for such a humiliating incident again.
Before committing to a Walton County vacation I have three questions I need answered:
1) Has Walton County addressed the beach access/ trespassing issue and if so how?
2) Is Walton County still defining the public beach as only the ?wet portion of the beach??
3) How far to either side of the Pelayo beach access steps can we legally lay a towel on dry sand without the possibility of having a deputy called to remove us for trespassing?
We look forward to hearing from you so we can decide if Walton County and Seagrove are where we want to spend our summer vacation next year.?
Neither the Walton County tourism office nor the commissioners even acknowledged receipt of my questions. At a minimum, I at least expected the tourism office to respond. Seems like they would have stock answers to my questions by now, no mater how convoluted and disingenuous the answers likely would be. My questions must not be important.
Could it be the county?s approach to address beach access questions from tourist is to just avoid addressing the questions altogether?
Also, maybe they hope to entrap more unsuspecting beach going tourists and fine them $200 for trespassing. Collecting trespassing fines from tourist is a little more sophisticated form of county revenue generation than speed traps. We so underestimate our leaders? creativity. A tourist family of five could net the county a $1,000 in fi nes.
I?ll mention to the owners of the house we rented for more than 10 years that they should ask for a reduced tax assessment since the property value and rental rate are based on beach access that apparently does not exist.
Tom Beisel
Atlanta, Georgia
Editor?s note: As a preface to his letter to The Sun, Tom Beisel wrote, ?Print my letter if you want but the frustration of rehashing last summers incident makes me realize we just need to move on and vacation somewhere else. We really love our pre 2007 memories of South Walton but as a tourist its not worth the effort to have to ask county officials for clarification on where we can lay a towel other than in the surf. We hear there are family friendly beaches elsewhere where deputies don?t remove children from sand castles.?
Neither the Walton County tourism offi ce nor the commissioners even acknowledged receipt of my questions. At a minimum, I at least expected the tourism offi ce to respond. Seems like they would have stock answers to my questions by now, no mater how convoluted and disingenuous the answers likely would be. My questions must not be important.
Could it be the county?s approach to address beach access questions from tourists is to just avoid addressing the questions altogether?
Also, maybe they hope to entrap more unsuspecting beach-going tourists and fine them $200 for trespassing. Collecting trespassing fi nes from tourists is a little more sophisticated form of county revenue generation than speed traps. We so underestimate our leaders? creativity. A tourist family of five could net the county $1,000 in fi nes.
I?ll mention to the owners of the house we rented for more than 10 years that they should ask for a reduced tax assessment since the property value and rental rate are based on beach access that apparently does not exist."
Tom Beisel
Atlanta, Georgia
Editor?s note: As a preface to his letter to The Sun, Tom Beisel wrote, ?Print my letter if you want but the frustration of rehashing last summer?s incident makes me realize we just need to move on and vacation somewhere else. We really love our pre 2007 memories of South Walton but as a tourist it?s not worth the effort to have to ask county offi cials for clarification on where we can lay a towel other than in the surf. We hear there are family friendly beaches elsewhere where deputies don?t remove children from sand castles.?
Quacking it up
Would you like to experience passing through the mirror with ?Alice in Wonderland??
Then join Gulf Pines residents who attended a Sept. 18 meeting with Walton County Planning Director, Pat Blackshear. Also in attendance was Jim Cockran, a developer of a commercial enterprise in a single-family, residential subdivision.
After hearing from both sides of the issue, a council member stated, ?If it walks like a duck, it is a duck.? In other words, the pre-construction advertising of Mr. Cockran?s plan reeked of commercialism and was not compatible with a single-family, residential entity.
Gulf Pines? residents left the meeting encouraged that their small, 52-year-old, pristine, beachfront, nature-friendly community was safe.
Then, with the front page of the (Northwest Florida) Daily News article, ?Plan to Build,? on Sept. 26, Gulf Pines residents learn the county will probably approve a permit for Cockran?s construction.
This smacks of what happened when Okaloosa County permitted a certain developer to divert a portion of Old U.S. Highway 98.
What?s going on here?
Beverly Sulli
Miramar Beach
Dog fly economics
The control of dog flies is not merely for the purpose of enjoying our leisure pastimes.
People employed in outdoor service industries and construction depend on dog fly control measures in order to be able to perform their jobs and earn their living.
No brand of personal insect repellant is 100 percent effective against dog fl ies.
Please, everyone, consider this fact before terminating a program that has marginal environmental impact, especially considering all of the other things we can do which would make a much more signifi cant contribution towards improving the global condition.
I own a swimming pool service company, which provides full-time employment to 12 county residents and seasonal employment to fi ve more. We provide routine weekly service at 330 pools along the beaches of South Walton.
My business is just one of the many that is nearly paralyzed when dog fl ies cover the area along the beaches.
Joan Vienot
Santa Rosa Beach
Biking is good
I?m not a Lance Armstrong wannabe, but I sure do love to ride my bike. I?m not quite brave enough to wear those cute tight pants yet, and I only ride on the 30A path, but one could say that being able to walk and bike here has changed my life.
Three years ago I couldn?t ride around the block without moaning and groaning and quitting. But, we moved here and I started taking advantage of the path and got hooked.
Now I can ride all day. It makes me feel like a kid again, as well as helping me to lose a few pounds.
With that being said, I?d like to defend those bikers that are serious and ride on the road. They have put a lot into getting to where they are and I for one admire them.
Wanting to be like Lance Armstrong is a wonderful goal to have. We should all strive to do better at what we do and go to the next level in our fitness goals whenever possible.
Our kids ride with us and love it, so, who knows, maybe one day they?ll be in the Tour de France. Just remember that when you?re in your car and going too fast and being impatient with bikers on 30A, those bikers might just be thinking you?re a Jeff Gordon wannabe!
Let?s all be more patient with each other and enjoy this place we call paradise.
Lastly, the way I feel about it is until you?ve biked on 30A, you really haven?t ?lived? in paradise!
Teresa Kelly
Santa Rosa Beach