~Letters
To The Editor~
Hello,
I am the mother of a very seriously
injured wounded soldier from Iraq. Our son, Spc.
Kevin Hardin, was seriously wounded on 9/30/07 in Samarra,
Iraq. My husband and I reside in a rental home
in the Heights in Jupiter. We have
two other young children. My
husband, Charles Hardin, lost his job to be by our sons' side 24/7 while
recovering from his injuries at Walter
Reed Hospital
in Washington, D.C. Our son was on his 13th month of
deployment to Iraq,
and due to come home on November 20th.
There was an article in the Palm
Beach Post about our son just recently (October 26th I believe). You can locate the article by doing a
search for our son's name (Kevin Hardin).
It was about the Limestone
Creek Elementary
School children wishing our son well by sending
him notes and cards. It was an
extremely nice gesture, and we greatly appreciate everyone's support for our
son and our family.
Is there any help you could provide
us as the Town of Jupiter
community? I would greatly appreciate any help or assistance you could possibly
provide.
Thank you for your support, and
please know how much we appreciate any support and guidance you could provide.
Warm regards,
Terry Hardin
(Proud Army Mom of Spc. Kevin Hardin)
Michael
Street
Terry,
Thanks for sharing your sons situation with
us. Certainly if there is something we can do as a neighborhood to help- we
want to try and find it for you. Please let me know what specific needs he (or
you) has and we will try and help find ways to address them. Please also keep
us informed on his progress. All our best to you and your
family.
Katie
*
Note- Kevin’s story was also shared on the front page of The Palm Beach
Post, Dec 2, 2007
edition. It is a heart wrenching story that reminds us how fortunate we are to
have those willing to fight for our freedom.
________________________________________________________________________
Katie,
I didn't adequately express myself
when we were discussing Specialist Kevin Hardin's reasons for wanting to return
to Iraq.
From what I have experienced, it is not Army doctrine that is the reason, but
rather a love of his immediate circle of fighting soldiers. This is a brotherly
love that evolves from the shared
experiences of the close proximity of Army life. Spec. Hardin feels a need to
be with and "cover the back" of his buddies that are still in harm's way. He probably feels
guilty being home, even with the wounds, while his buddies are still over there. I've seen
this during my active duty time (1969-1972), in the Viet Nam Era and I feel
strongly that it very much alive in today's conflicts.
One positive change the Army has
made since the Viet Nam Conflict, is that entire units are now rotated in and out of
war zones on a fixed time basis, and not just individual soldiers. While
this adds to the troubles today's individual, wounded soldier may have, it
is healthier for the majority of the unit's troops. It provides closure
knowing that there is nobody in the close circle of friends, still "over
there".
Tom
Thanks Tom
I can’t begin to imagine the anxiety
these young men must go through when dealing with the causalities of war.
Certainly they deserve all the respect and help we can offer.
Thanks again for providing me with a more
enlightening take on Kevin’s state of mind.
Katie
Hi,
I would like to submit a picture of
our house for the holiday decoration pictures but can't find anything on the
website as to who to submit them to.
Tina
Tina—
I would love for you to submit a picture for
the Heights paper of your house decorated. All pictures used in the paper will
also be viewed on the web site. We try to get as many of them as possible to
share with not only our neighbors but others admiring the
spirit of our neighborhood as well.
Please send
them to NPBHeights@bellsouth.net at
your earliest convenience so that I
might include them in the next issue. (Please encourage your friends and
neighbors to share their as well!!)
Thanks again-
Katie
______________________________________________________________________
Gina,
I was wondering if
you could help me. I have heard several versions of the
sound wall going up along 95. Do you have any information
that may help me? Thanks for your help
John Carr
Hello John,
The sound wall is to be built before the widening of
I-95 actually starts. The wall will begin at the on ramp of Donald Ross Road to
I-95 and run all the way up to the Indian Creek Golf Course. I have
attached the summary that we printed
in our paper after the meeting that FDOT held. I hope this helps to answer your
questions, but please let me know if it does not.
Happy Holidays
Gina
*Editors
note—for those that missed it the first time – please look for the
FDOT meeting elsewhere in the paper.
_____________________________________________________________________
Dear Katie,
I am writing you
this email in hopes that you can publish this message in our NPB Heights
paper. This is one of those stories
that you don't always pay much attention to it, until it happens to you, and
when it does you just want everyone to stop what their doing and help
you.............................My cat, Chester, is missing, he has been
gone since October 11th, and our family is crushed, mostly me! he is an indoor cat and not used to being outside.
He is 10 years old, greyish/blackish/brownish
tiger colors with all white belly and a partially white face, He is fixed so no
need to worry about little Chester's running around one day. I live on Linton
street and have been walking, biking, and driving through our neighborhood
everyday since he has been gone, I have put up flyers and gone to all the shelters as well as put flyers up at our local
vets.......................at this point he is either dead, hiding out somewhere,
taken up residence with another family, or wadering
around somewhere trying to find home...............................please,
please, please help me get the message out to our neighbors, perhaps someone
has seen him.
Since this has
happened in my life, it made me really think long and hard about the whole lost
and found issue. Did you know that animal control of WPB takes in between 50-60
animals a day, yes thats right a day, they only hold
the animal for about 5 days then, kaput!, the Peggy Adams place will keep their
pets for about the same time but
then will put the animal up for adoption, Safe Harbor, here in Jupiter is
crowded with animals and I don't know what they do once they are full but they
can't keep every animal.................There has to be a better way to match
those that lost a pet with those that found a pet, yes the microchip sounds
like a great step in the right direction, but it only works if someone takes
the time to bring in a found animal..................I think it boils down to
being more attentive to what and who is around us, how my times have you walked
by or driven by a dog or a cat that you know looks lost, but you just didn't
take the time to stop and help the little guy out.....................over my
lifetime I have rescued a few including one here in my neighborhood, and
thankfully found his home, but there have been many more over the years that I
have ignored so I'm guilty as charged for putting the blinders on. Dogs seem to
be a little easier as they usually will approach you first, but
cats usually will only approach you if you move quickly and look like a
lizard..........................I don't have the ultimately answer to this
problem but sure wish I did. I know it has something to do with how deeply we
love and how deeply we value life.
Hope you can help
me get the message out about Chester,
as he is trully loved, and we just want him
to come home. If anyone sees or even thinks they see him, please
give me a call at 561-252-1973.
Jeanne
PS. over the past
month I have met many kindhearted souls that have called me as they sighted a
cat they weren't used to seeing, which didn't turn out to be Chester, but perhaps there is someone else
with a lost cat that is searching just like me. I have heard a number of lost
pet stories where the cat or dog never finds its way home and I have heard many
stories about a dog or cat ending up on someone doorstep and they end up
keeping the animal because they can't find the
owner..........................
Jeanne,
I am more than happy to publish your plea
for help regarding Chester—unfortunately
my Dec issue has already gone to the publishers and the next one out will be
Jan. I will however forward this request to our webmaster and ask that in the
meantime she put something up on the
web to help you in your efforts.
There is no doubt that you truly love your
cat. I know how difficult this can be on you and your family..
Years ago (before I95 was complete) we lived in Palm Beach Country Estates (out on 154th Ct. N.).
While on vacation we left our dog with my in-laws in Lake Park.
We were gone for three weeks total. In any case about two weeks into the trip
we called them to check in only to find out that our dog ran away two days
earlier. They knew how devastated we would be and like you checked everywhere.
When we arrived home a week later they sadly told us that the dog was not to be
found. We resigned ourselves to the fact that she was gone for good. Amazingly
a week later, as my husband was leaving for work, he
saw this scrawny looking dog coming down the street- he looked again and realized it was our
long lost dog. She had taken off from Lake Park
to find her way home- it took her over two weeks but she did it!
I do hope in your case- you too have a happy
ending. We are glad to help you get this message out and please let us know if
he turns up along the way. Good luck in your search.
Katie
______________________________________________________________________
Note from the editor- We
welcome your questions and comment. Should you have an issue that you would
like addressed, just send your Letter to the Editor to NPBHeights@bellsouth.net. We will try
and print as many as possible.