 It was a Friday, late in the day, when I walked into your office and brazenly asked you on a date.
“Sure!” you said, then wrote out your phone number on a sticky note, with your name in case I’d forget: Deb. And so, our story began.  How it all started, condensed version:
It was the 11th grade at Stevenson High School and I still hadn’t found my footing. Quite shy, difficult to make friends, afraid of everything. Two things happened that year to place me on the trajectory of success: I joined debate and took a speech class. Before long, this quiet, introverted kid was in front of people, at first in a classroom, and later on an auditorium stage.  And then there was Tuesday.
If you expect a blog gloating about the sales tax vote or gearing for that conversation, think again. Or, if readers expect a congratulations to Commissioner Jeff Kinnard for getting Pirates Cove across the finish line, not today.  OK. Let’s try this again.
A vote, commissioners. We need a vote for the 2026 sales tax referendum. This is the commissioner’s job. Not to attend meetings, answer emails, or make speeches. His or her job is to participate in the policy-making process and that occurs with each vote.  Welcome to Monday! Let’s chat about Whispering Pines Park.
At nearly 300 acres, it’s roughly the same size as both of Citrus County’s district parks combined. It has walking trails, ball fields, splash pad, pool, tennis courts, covered picnic areas, playground, and a whole lot more. It’s way spread out.  Happy Friday! Let’s tee it up.
Decided to pull the golf clubs out of mothballs Thursday for a 9-hole run at Zenwoods Golf Club, formerly known as Point O’Woods. I haven’t played in quite some time, and wouldn’t be playing Thursday if not for the inaugural Old Schoolhouse Community Center golf tournament at Zenwoods on Nov. 8.  Took a little drive Wednesday for a nice walk.
The Dunnellon Trail, which crosses the Withlacoochee River, is a favorite destination when I need to slow down and ponder. Been thinking a lot lately about open spaces in our community. It’s part of the sales tax discussion, and Commissioner Holly Davis is calling for the county to hire a nonprofit consultant to lead the way.  A memory long forgotten showed up Tuesday.
It was right after a reader sent me a note saying that teachers and classroom support workers would be protesting outside the Citrus County School Board meeting over a collective bargaining dispute. Wow. Been quite a few years since teachers and the district administration bickered over contract language or pay raises. While Just Wright Citrus isn’t really the forum for teacher contract debates, I decided to check it out.  A little truth:
I subscribe to a daily newspaper. I do not read it daily. You may have read we’ve moved into a new Just Wright Citrus World Headquarters III. In the moving process, some habits went to the sidelines. Such as reading the daily Chronicle.  My favorite Roller Barn story would, of course, involve politics.
It was well after I had performed my Citrus County parental duty of having my daughter’s 7-year-old birthday party at the Roller Barn. I do not skate, so I was on parental watch duty. The late Hal Porter, longtime manager at the Roller Barn, saw me standing along the outer rink. I told him I’m not a skater. |
AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 37 years. 
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