October 9th,2009

Dear Editor;

I have read the reasons why they have cut back on the PalmTran Transportation for citizens that live west of the Turnpike, and I would like to voice my concerns.

My husband & I are both in our 50's, live in Jupiter Farms, and both work full time. We also take care of my mother who is 77 yearsold, almost completely blind, diabetic and walks with a cane. As you know,living in Jupiter Farms is pretty isolated. We do the best we can to get my mother to & from places, but with both of us working full time it's a very hard thing to do most days. She has enjoyed being able to go to her Senior Citizen's meetings every other Monday at the Jupiter Parks & Recreation building (Jupiterdoes not have a "Senior Citizen Center") and most Thursdays she goes to Church Bingo. Now she cannot get her usual Palm Tran ride to these places because of"budget cuts". About the only places she can get Palm Tran to take her is the grocery store & medical appointments. That pretty much ends any "activities" in my mom's world.

It seems to me that there should be a way to figure out how to supplement the costs for these people that live in such isolation. Have they(the county commissioners) even considered raising the price per ride for activities other than medical & groceries? And is there a "watchdog committee" to make sure that people that have themeans & the money are not taking advantage of this service?

These senior citizens that are on Social Security and limited incomes are left with so little, and yet most of them have worked hard all of their lives. I truly think that our government should take a hard look at how they are handling these situations. After all we are all going to be there one day.

Sincerely;

Suzie Williams Flournoy