Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • P2

2 ednesday Marc 13, 20 13 ampa ay imes PSC ta mpab ay om pinion Gues column Rao usun uru Squirrels can teach us a lesson Whenever I ind a lit tle free time, I sit on the back porch appreciating the sight and sounds of nature. I especially enjoy the squirrels running around outside climbing the trees and hasin each other playfully They take a break, see me through the screen, sit straight, munch on the nuts between their front legs and smile in between showing of their small and sharp teeth. One day my wife brought to my at tention a small hole at the bottom of the pool creen made by the senior squirrel so is family and friends can come in and pla y. After a few weeks, I caught the senior squirrel jumping down five to six feet on to the top of the big hibisc us plant by the pool through a metic ulously crafted circ ular hole at the top of the screen, right above the plant. The rest of the family came through the bot tom hole.

I was astonished after a few more weeks to see he senior squirrel climbing up the hibis- cu plant and jumping up several feet through the air and get- ting out through the same hole at the top of the screen. I could not believe his acrobatic skills. My wife was ver worried about his safety and had the hole at the top of the screen sealed by a handyman several times. he materials were no match for the squirrel sharp teeth. Then, the squirrels learned to make their way into the irst floor at tic, jumping from tree branches and cr aw ling through the gable vent to play in the insulated at tic any time of the day or night.

wife reached her threshold. She called the handyman again and had screens put up covering both sides of the gable vents. Right after the handyman left we were about to lea ve for the airport to at tend a family function out of state. As we were pull- i ng the car out of the garage, heard the squirrels running in the at tic. They must ha ve hidden or played dead while the handyman worked on the vents.

We looked at each other We knew what we had to do. We canceled the trip and called the handyman back to let the squirrels out. He then reinforced the screens for the vents. After a few days, while my wife was a way I received a call at th of ice from the sec urity company that our house alarm had been tripped and they called the police. As I pulled into my driveway I was gree ted by the senior squirrel with what I thought was a mischievous smile.

I kne what it meant. He climbed about 20 feet of the bare wall and crafted a similar small circ ular hole in the screen covering the vent on the secon floor Th at tripped the alarm ven though he could not ge in. wife was not happy These animals are trespassing she said. Really who owned the land before us? I asked. Originally the land belonged to he squirrels, even before a tive I dians, I pointed out.

We decided to be tolerant. After all, they tolerated us all these years. In a place where most of the people come from omewhere else, the squirrel existed for a long time and they will be here after we xit. They are well-known for ood qualities like working hard, sa v- ing for the future, playing for fun and displaying community spirit. They show the essentials fo long-term sur vival.

They are also ood at accommodating adjusting and adopting If only we humans could learn. Dr Rao usunuru is a Bayonet oint cardiologist. Musunuru Yo ur etters Share our opinions go to tampabay ters Me di a spec ia lists play ru ci al ol es School media specialists play a vital role i developing both literacy and technolog skills in our students. To ut these positions is shortsighted and dangerous, endangering ur academic learning and future lives as productive and responsible citizens. Studies ha ve shown tha access to high-quality librar programs has a trong impact on student achievement, especially for those tudents who do not ha ve access to print-rich environments in their homes.

any of the students in asco County come from homes that lack print resources It is not enough to have a room with books to which they ha ve access. It akes a ained and xperienced media specialist to create a tivities and program that help to foster a love of reading and instruct them in the areas of research and technolog that will be required in the future. he cu rrent proposal is ha ve assistants be responsible for the media centers. While our assistants are xtreme- ly aluable to us, they ha ve neither the training nor xpertise to perform our jobs. he argument stated by superintendent Ku rt Browning is that our emphasis should be on the students, so it is bet ter for trained media specialists to be employed as classroom teachers, rather than provide programs from the media centers.

In a classroom I can impact roughly 125 students. The literac training that I just held for seven of our teachers will af fect hundreds of students. The book talks that I hold for our language arts and reading teachers allow me to encourage all of their students to read and to re turn to me for more books, which they do. he professional development that I hold for the entire fac ult helps to familiarize ur teachers with the changing technol- og av ailable for them to use with their students and to learn how to adapt their teaching to the changing needs of their stu- dents. In urrent position I ha ve an ef fect on the education of over 1 400 tudents.

We are also moving toward sing he Common Core Stat Standards as a basis for cu r- ric ulum development in Florida. hese tandards require our tu- dents to read and write at a much higher level than ever before. Our teachers will need the assistance of their media specialists to identify and gather the complex texts required of the standards, and help in developing urric ula tha will ensure that our literacy skills improve. edia specialists are uniquely qualified to help with both of these tasks, and the asco County School Distric is poised to take these resources aw ay from teachers. edia specialists are a crucial ingredient for schools that want to prepare students for the 21 st entur and all of its technological and literacy demands.

Do not shor change our educations or their futures with what seems to be an easy fix to he urrent under-funding education in Florida. elly Anderson, Zephyrhills Ba nd al en ts mu ch a ppreciat ed The entire audience as blown aw ay by the music, the professionalism and joy that the jazz band of the udson Middle School played with onda y. We were entertained to the heights. The young women and men displayed such xpertise as they enthralled us. The Spartan anor was the venue and we ere the volunteers of west asco.

What an honor and wha a da y. he band deser ved, and got, a tanding ovation. hank you to a ll, especially those al ented young people and their charming director Lilyan V. ayton, ew ort Richey Sheriff double tandar ar ch 8 ett er De pu ty i gi vi ng of fi ce a la ck ye Th at et ter sure rang a bell with me. he writer said a deputy told her ou know this isn ollywood.

Th at sure seems like the same deputy who responded to my call for help to the Sherif fs Of fice a couple of weeks prior It concerned my request about whether deputies were able to check if my 25 -year-old son had a valid license. The reason being he as driving my wife car that was insured and registered in both our names. wife and I are separated and are working on our marriag e. son lives with her and has had his license revoked numerous times. I had called my insurance agent to check on the status of his license and was told they no longer could do that.

I was also informed that if he was driving with no license I was liable. After informing the deputy of this he scolded me and said, wo do your job for you. Be a man and go take the car I informed him my wife is disabled and needs her car and tha a 100 percent disabled Vie t- nam-era veteran. jokingly said we can tell ou if is license is alid, but if we top him and it isn alid we will be glad to tak him to ail and impound my wife car Anywa he informed me he had more impor tant things to take care of and that I was wasting his time. I was furious and hung up on him.

I think this person is giving the Sherif Of fice a black eye and I also think the department needs monitor this gu responses to folks who call for help, not for sarcasm. Stephen Kinn, ew Po rt Richey YO UR OICE UNT Yo may submit a letter to the editor or possible publication through our website at tampabay.com/letters, or by faxing it to (7 27) 869-6233, or by mailing it asco Times 11321 U.S. 19, Po rt Richey, FL 34668. ou must include your name, address and phone number. tters may be edited or clarity, taste and length..