Choice clear between Kemp, Russell
Editor, The Sun:
Thank you Wakulla Sun for facilitating the political forums and to Legion Taylor for the excellent recounting of the county commissioners forum in the Aug. 8th edition. The forum clearly brought out the differences between District 3’s incumbent Mike Kemp and challenger Valerie Russell. My take on those most important to me are as follows.
Concerning new development: Kemp believes we have no choice but to “embrace growth” and says laws limit what he can do about it. Russell believes the commission should consider ways to slow and better manage development.
Impact fees (lessen the tax burden on current residents by paying for infrastructure expansions needed to serve new development): Kemp seems to be neutral on this issue, but he is ok if citizens want it. Russell supports impact fees and a study to determine development’s impact on infrastructure and the environment.
Plans to attract new business and industry: Kemp believes the location of Wakulla County makes it hard to attract new businesses, and will be further impeded if development slows. Russell will consider new ways to incentivize new business and mentions an exemption that was previously voted down by citizens that could be a solution.
My final takeaways: If you are pleased with the county’s status quo, then Kemp is the right person for the county commission. If you believe the county should consider ways to slow and manage new development, attract new businesses, and make new development pay its way, then Russell is the right person for the county commission.
John Parks
Crawfordville
Supporting Kemp
Editor, The Sun:
Mike Kemp listens. He listened and said he was going to listen to others as well. Though the outcome was not as I would have preferred, he did what he decided was best for the larger good, even if unpopular. That’s what a statesman does,… a trait sorely missed in today’s political arena. Mike has earned the respect he carries.
L. James “Jim” Parham
Panacea
Is this ‘demon bird’ an omen?
Editor, The Sun:
Several days ago I was on Fiddler’s Point (Bottoms Road) at sunset, and I saw this “demon bird” cloud formation appear in the sky. I hope it’s not a bad omen, a punishment due for the wanton destruction of the woods and waters by developers, county officials and commissioners for their attacks on trees. One smiling commissioner’s signs and ads, Mike Kemp’s say, “Trust me!”
I do, even though he has called me “Crazy Jack Rudloe” I trust him to continue to grant subdivision after subdivision, and to choke the highways with traffic and overburden the infrastructure that citizens have paid for all these years. Like the others, Mike says he “loves Wakulla County.” So does Commissioner Ralph Thomas who has long been an enemy of wetlands and tree protection for decades and is running unopposed. Why unopposed? It is because apathy that has befallen our voting public? Or because they suspect that deep down that the game is rigged and totally controlled by the puppet masters, the wealthy families that own the land, the children of which are happily counting their money. Or perhaps people really don’t give a damn, listen to hate radio and deny global warming, rising sea level and now come to consider environmentalists as enemies.
They too say they love Wakulla County, but ignore the fact that oysters no longer grow on the sea floor, that the marine soils that once supported oyster bars in our bays and waterway may still be contaminated from the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil spill. Or they’re simply ecstatic that the county has built a golf course at our expense, while infrastructure is over burden, which makes no sense, but over time will saturate the ground with nitrates and contaminate our drinking water and the marine life offshore. But forget wildlife, birds and wetland, keep clearing away the trees, it’s a new time, change is coming to Wakulla County. Make way for the new Real Estate god. Away with blue crab, oyster and mullet festivals, make way for the Real Estate Festival with parades of bulldozes, cranes, tree chopper rolling down the highway with happy, smiling friendly realtors throwing candy and waving to the crowds, while the marching band plays “More, More, More!”
I confess, we’ve had to cut down some trees at Gulf Specimen, some because professional tree experts that I trust said they were old, truly had disease and were a danger to the public and ourselves. But there were other big pines and a beautiful magnolias that were in the way of our new greenhouse that will be growing edible seaweed to clean the water and hopefully create new industry for Wakulla County. There is always an excuse, that is mine. Usually the excuse of the real estate speculators and house flippers is that it makes their speculator property more salable.
We have all sinned against nature. So I pray that with another hurricane approaching, with far less trees to protect the coast, that the Demon Bird Cloud I saw on Fiddler’s Point, came only to deliver a warning, and not to rain down havoc upon us.
Jack Rudloe
President
Gulf Specimen Marine Lab
Panacea
