The Newscaster/Nature Coast News
PAGE 11 - October 8, 2008
Lock Closing Meeting - Continued from page 3
be funded and built it would be 100 feet long, 40 feet wide, 30 feet deep and flush 1 million
Yankeetown: "If we don't stop this nonsen
Editorial - Opinion - Commentary
se, now..."gallons of water per locking. The current estimate was given of $20,725,000 to build the
smaller lock by Morales. He said the funding would have to come from the legislature as
Guest Commentary by Sally Price
DEP does not have the funding. This action would also require the hiring of a lock master to
This will come as a major shock to many citizens on both sides of the fight to "Save
man the lock. The fill in funding was $4 million which started this process. Morales said
Yankeetown," but long before Izaak Walton Investors, LLC (IWI) came on the scene, I knew
that in the case of a drought the lock could not be operated if the level of Lake Rousseau
some things were wrong in the Yankeetown government under the leadership of then-Mayor
could not be maintained at the mandated level of 27.5 feet or if the bypass could not be
Jimmie Wall.
supplied the adequate amount of water to feed the lower Withlacoochee.
I was asked, by many, to run for Yankeetown Town Council to help straighten this
The bypass spillway lock was built to handle 1540 cubic feet per second (CFS) of flow
out. I ran, I won, and after the second meeting (or so), I received a warning at the post office
from Lake Rousseau which is the only way the lower Withlacoochee River receives it's
and resigned that day. I wasn't the first to resign for this reason.
flow after being dissected when the barge
By resigning, I didn't give up on the request to help right things at town hall. When
canal was built in the 60's. At that time
the attorney bills turned up, months later, showing that developers had been working with
the flow to maintain the health of the
the town attorney and Mayor Wall, others at town hall knew it, but citizens didn't. I was
lower river was 1540 CFS. A decrease
irrate with Wall's response, that if we had asked she would have told us. My anger was with
in flow brings the salt water intrusion
the appearance of secrecy. Along comes IWI (but it could have been anyone), and it ap-
further up the river. According to Mike
peared to be part of a cover-up.
Holtkamp, SW Water Management Dis-
With the majority of the town wanting to keep Yankeetown's charm, it was easy to
trict Director of Operations, the flow
get involved in a fight to save the town. Like a lot of folks, I was thinking IWI were the bad
goal to the lower Withlacoochee River
guys, because I had not been told by Mayor Wall that IWI was here working on their plans.
is 600 CFS. If a smaller lock was con-
My part in all of this was to expose what was going on in town government, not to start a war
structed inside the present lock to give
with the developers. Writing for the paper, and having many people who did not want the
Lake Rousseau folks access to the Gulf,
change constantly feeding me information and encouraging me to keep the fire burning, I
each opening would take away 1 million
did just that.
gallons of water from the lower
Over time, the players changed, the direction changed and my opinion of what and
Withlacoochee River.
how things were being done changed. Many folks had personal agendas I did not agree with,
Comments must be submitted by
nor did I agree with the way things were being done. I removed myself from the fight.
email
to
Jim
Wolfe
at Jena Brooks, Director, Greenways and Trails, and
Instead of extending moratoriums, changing rules and manipulating things to de-
jim.d.wolfe@dep.state.fl.us. All com- Mickey Thomason, Central Region Manager, rep-
feat IWI, we should meet with an independent, unbiased third party who will evaluate IWI's
ments must be received by October 8, resented the DEP during the public meeting on the
development plans by the rules in place when they were submitted, and give up on this war
2008. For more information, call toll Inglis Lock-Photo by Sally Price.
that has nearly destroyed this town. If we don't stop this nonsense, now, we are on the path to
free: (877) 822-5208.
financially devastating what's left. If the rules were not in place, that's the town's problem.
The town needs to live with it, not set the town up for more lawsuits and Bert Harris Act
Camp House
Restaurant
violations.
I will, over the next several weeks, address my feelings and reasonsing, and I truly
believe that many of you will follow me in the belief that IWI may not have made folks
491 Hwy. 40E Inglis Inglis Across from VFW (352) 447-4050
happy with the way they did some things, but the town is at fault for going on the warpath
Formerly Aunt Winnies New
Menu New Management
instead of going to the table and working with the rights IWI had, coming in here.
I apologize to IWI for my part in all this and will work through the same means to,
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hopefully, find a peaceful solution to something that never should have happened.
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