Community Columnists

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- General gun season is now open in the Central Zone, which is where we are located, through January. It is legal to take deer having one or more antler at least 5 inches in length visible above the hair line, wild hogs, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, nutrias, skunks and beavers. All legal rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders, crossbows, bows, and handguns may be used.

If using a center-fire, semi-automatic rifle, it cannot have a magazine capacity exceeding five rounds. Fully automatic or silencer equipped rifles are illegal as are non-expanding, full metal case ammunition for the taking of deer. Using rim-fire ammunition is illegal to hunt deer. Antlerless deer season started Saturday and runs through Nov. 21. Limit is two deer daily regardless of sex. Shooting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.

On this Veterans Day we pay tribute to all military servicemen and women who have served to protect the freedom we enjoy -- freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of opportunity and justice for all. Some have made the supreme sacrifice in defense of our freedoms. Many millions more have been wounded and suffer physical disabilities.

Throughout the years, families of veterans have also endured many hardships,physically, emotionally and financially.

I lost a friend and a mentor this weekend. She “was a pistol” as they used to say and from what she told me used to carry one, too.

During my lifetime I have always had friends of all ages, but especially people much older than me. Mrs. H was almost 30 years my senior, but we were great friends.

Just the way she lived her life was an inspiration. Any time you asker her how she was she answered, “as ornery as ever.”

Her tough exterior hid a caring, loving person who was a nurse for many years not retiring until she was 85.

Well its less than a week to election day so who are we going to choose?

Here it is the baseball game of politics the Democrats versus the Republicans. We are in the 7th inning and the Democrats are leading
3 to 1 in the top of the 8th.

The Democrats score 1 run the Democratic fans go wild making the score 4 to 1. Then it's the bottom of the 8th inning Republicans score 1 run
to make the score 4 to 2 as the fans twirl their white towels.

Can you imagine actively applying for a job every day for more than 700 days?

That is what John McCain and Barack Obama are doing. It has to be a tremendous stress and strain, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Just imagine traveling throughout the entire country day in and day out, making speeches, shaking hands, kissing babies, and eating on the run.

Imagine the amount of planning for all these appearances, the amount of supporters involved, the incredible million of dollars for publicity. It is amazing that a campaign can be organized and conducted so efficiently.

I wonder how many Americans realize that if George Bush had gotten his way with privatizing social security the Bush Administration would already have gambled away a large vestige of its citizens’ economic survival. The stock market would have gobbled it up in the last few weeks.

Unlike the unregulated profiteers being bailed out, the private citizen would be left to the mercy of whatever soup kitchen would keep him plodding along until he dropped dead from lack of everyday necessities.

A big Atta Girl goes out to Volusia School Superintendent Margaret Smith for her voluntarily taking a 2 percent pay cut to help balance the board’s budget.

She said she wouldn’t ask the others to take a pay cut if she didn’t take one, too.

School board chairwoman Judy Conte is quoted as saying that her doing this “is sending the wrong message.“

No Karenia brevis, the Florida red-tide organism, was detected this week in water samples collected from the Indian River Lagoon (Brevard and Indian River counties) nor were there any evidence of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, detected this week in water samples collected alongshore between Pinellas and Monroe counties. Offshore samples collected north of the Florida Keys also contained no K. brevis.