Knowing that most of these things won’t happen overnight, here’s what we want for Christmas – next year.



Animal control

Stray and vicious animals – dogs, mostly – roam Live Oak and Suwannee County at will. It’s not unusual to hear police calls from residents trapped within their homes by good-sized beasts snarling just outside the door.

Some of these creatures are strays, some just poorly supervised pets. Either way, it’s an embarrassment that must be remedied. We live in the country, not on the frontier.



Better cooperation among local officials

Politics is a rough-and-tumble sport, and it’s hardly unusual for someone to get hurt. We’re not making a plea for a kinder, gentler way of doing business here. But let’s not let our individual differences get in the way of the common good. County commissioners, take note: Every major debate needn’t end in a 3-2 vote.



Downtown renovation

Main Street Florida is a fine program with a proven record of success. Live Oak business leaders have embraced it. Let’s all be sure we follow through. It’s not a quick fix, but could be just the thing to turn downtown around.



A more courageous state legislature

Call it guts, intellectual honesty, whatever you like. The Florida Legislature has shown a lack of it in recent years. Amendment 1, which we warned about in a January editorial, has proven to be a disappointment, based on the calls we’ve gotten from folks wondering why their property taxes didn’t go down this year.

No one expects state lawmakers to perform miracles. Do us a favor, though, and stop making unrealistic promises then using a popular, charismatic governor to sell them to us. That’s a trick voters are finally onto, we suspect.



That’s what we want, folks. How about you? As always, we welcome your input.



Merry Christmas from the entire staff at the Suwannee Democrat.