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Editorial: What Have We Learned?
September 3rd, 2005

Editorial: Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
August 17th, 2005

Editorial: What Is a Consultant to Do?
July 5th, 2005

Editorial: Six Land Use Petitions in Play
June 25th, 2005

Editorial: Poaching & Plagiarism
June 13th, 2005

Editorial: Upward and Onward in 2005
May 24th, 2005

Editorial: Farewell Maureen
May 17th, 2005

Editorial: Speaking About Speak Out
May 10th, 2005

Editorial: Informed Voters Wanted
March 26th, 2005

Editorial: Health Needs Survey Well Received
February 12th, 2005

Editorial: Fire Protection, Fire Insurance and Tax Justice
January 25th, 2005

Editorial: Cedar Key Health Service Survey
January 14th, 2005

Editorial: New Year`s Resolution
December 31st, 2004

Editorial: Do We Need Better Healthcare in Cedar Key?
December 16th, 2004

Editorial: Help Defend Us
October 29th, 2004

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A Fable: The Great Guano Concord

A Fable: The Great Guano Concord

Editorial

On Seahorse Key the pelican rookery was thriving. Nests in the trees, nests on the ground, plenty of fish in the Gulf, and the guano got deeper each day. True, there were two classes of the small society. The tree nesters looked down on the ground-nesters, and the ground-nesters grumbled about the fallout from the trees. But there were no complaints from the dung beetles. Their economy hadn`t been so good in years.


As in any society, the classes do a bit of sniping. The tree-nesters pointed out to their nestlings that the ground-nesters walked around in their own guano. And the ground-nesters groused about the fallout. And the guano got a little deeper. The beetles began to believe in manna from heaven.


On the feeding grounds the classes mixed, thanks to the schooling of the fish. Undiplomatic remarks about the guano problem led to serious pecking and flapping. The conflicts escalated to the point that the Elders Commission could no longer ignore the fighting.


The Elders Commission met each week on a nearby island where they could avoid interruptions by the younger pelicans. The oldest bird in the group opened the discussion with the observation that the guano was at the root of the conflicts. All agreed, with the exception of one elder who always squawked about the tyranny of the majority. Another elder, who spent a lot of time on the Cedar Key town dock said that he had watched humans for many years, and that they threw their waste into the Gulf rather than having it pile up where they lived. The solution to the guano problem was obvious, but would require community support. The Council decided on a morning retreat on neutral ground to present the solution to all adult pelicans.


The retreat was a big success. Everyone agreed to dump his or her waste over the Gulf. Once that was the policy, someone remarked that it should cut down on the complaints from the heron rookery that was down wind from the pelican rookery. The dung- beetles had not been invited to the retreat.


Moral: Every reformation must have its victims.

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