Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Now that we are ready to turn the old firehouse into the new library, I want to publicly thank our former mayor, Heath Davis, and acknowledge his efforts in bringing us to this happy point in time.

It was at his suggestion that the firehouse was made available for the library upon the completion of a new firehouse. He helped to secure $150,000 from The Felburn Foundation and provided the services of attorney John McPherson to write two grants applying for state funds for the library project. One grant was for $27,428 and the other $194,500 for historic preservation. He also traveled to Tallahassee to personally support the applications.

In a couple of weeks, the first grant from the State of Florida will be used to put a cedar shake roof on the building as a first step toward preserving and restoring the original appearance of the Schlemmer House.

Many thanks to you, Heath, for your foresight and vision. The people of Cedar Key will be forever grateful for your efforts to preserve Cedar Key history and to provide a much-needed larger library.

Janice Coupe, Librarian

[Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I think that we are going to miss Heath Davis and his vision for Cedar Key more and more as time goes by...Ed.]