PAGE 4 September 24, 2008
The Newscaster/Nature Coast News
Real Estate Today
Car In Water - Continued from page 1
A Guest Commentary by Darryl Diamond
Cool Under Fire
in a boat and helped pull him in before they left.
About 6:45 AM Russ Kennedy of Inglis, a certified dive rescuer, was on scene and SE
The football ball game that was held in Indianapolis this past Sunday gave us an
James of the Dept. of Agriculture heard the call on his scanner while fueling in Inglis.
exciting nail biter between the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Colts. With the two minute
Concerned with the environment, the two men made the decision to get the car out of the
warning coming up, the Jags kicked a field goal giving them the lead 20 to 14.
water after they observed the 10' x 1/4 mile slick from the fuel growing. Russ spotted the
With very little time left, the Colts star quarter back Peyton Manning marches
white trunk 4 feet under the water in 10 to 12 feet of water and said he and James stood on
his team down the field. The announcer says "that Peyton Manning is sure
the trunk and hood underwater with safety ropes and hooked a chain thru the doors. Yankee-
cool under fire". On the next play, with less than 2 minutes left on the clock,
town Fire pulled the car from the water. Losapio stood by and appeared to be calm having
his team gets the touchdown they needed to gain the lead, bringing the score
survived the near tragedy as Florida Highway Patrol surveyed the scene. .
to 21 Colts/ 20 Jags.
Public Responds to Citrus County
After 28 years of plying my trade in the real estate profession, I find
myself encountering new challenges in almost every transaction these days. Being knowl-
Empty Food Banks
edgeable, flexible, intuitive, and "Cool Under Fire" seems to be necessary to close most
deals today. A home sale written by one of my team members in the Orlando area this past
week had a problem in that the buyers were getting a divorce in the middle of the transac-
The "Have a Heart" food drive initiated by county employees,supported by the pub-
tion. They called my agent to say that they may back out, and my agent then called me all
lic last week, collected more than 5 1/4 tons of food for the area's larger food banks. Em-
panicky. I thought about how I handled similar situations in the past, and then formulated
ployees of the Citrus County Board of County Commission, the Supervisor of Elections,
what my agent needed to say to the buyers. He was "Cool Under Fire", and it got back on
the Court Clerk, the Property Appraiser, and the Tax Collector collected donations in their
track for a closing this week.
offices last week and invited the public to participate.
Another example is a local home on Butler Rd in Inglis. I recently listed and wrote
The county libraries also took donations. The public responded to the invitation in
a contract on this property. First the price was negotiated, then my commission was nego-
a big way, as individuals, organizations and businesses swamped the government offices
tiated, then there was a title problem, and then there was a lien placed on the property the
with food and checks. The drive raised almost $10,000 in cash donations for the food banks,
last minute. As I was out of town last week, my wife Vicki handled the end of this transac-
thanks much in part to the foundation for the Black Diamond home owners association,
tion. With the multitude of challenges thrown at her, she was "Cool Under Fire", and it
which donated $2,000 each to Citrus United Basket, The Family Resource Center, Daystar
closed last Friday at Security Title's office here in town. With the Fannie Mae, and Freddie
and the Homosassa Civic Club’s We Care Food Bank.
Mac situation, you can bet that each and every loan package will be scrutinized carefully.
Citrus County Administrator Anthony Schembri had suggested the food drive and
This means that the buyer, needs a real estate agent, a mortgage broker, and a title company
had challenged county employees two weeks ago after a representative of one of the food
that have a lot of experience, and are "Cool Under Fire" if not, I believe most transactions in
banks told the county commission that county’s the food bank pantries were very low on
this present national financial situation, will fall through. What this means for you sellers is
food -- just as the demand was growing dramatically. Schembri said Friday he was very
that if your property has been on the market for a long time, then finally goes under con-
impressed with the response of employees and the public. "I am proud to live in a county
tract, believe me you do not want that transaction to fall through. Getting back to the ball
where government shows it can have a heart as well as a head," he said of the employees’
game, our Jags marched back up the field the last few seconds of the game with Josh Scobee
effort that quickly caught on with the public and resulted in the outpouring.
kicking a 51 yard beauty for the 23 to 21 win. That's what I call "Cool Under Fire". Way to
go Jags. Darryl and Vicki Diamond and the entire "Diamond Team" have the many years of
email your news to: newscast@atlantic.net
experience required to handle all of your professional real estate needs. Please call us
anytime at 352-447-4442. I'll see you around "The Campus".
TARMAC AMERICA: INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF LEVY COUNTY
King Road Mine will boost local economy with new jobs
From recent high school graduates to former construction
TARMAC AMERICA’S JOB PICTURE
workers, across Levy County more than 1,200 residents are
looking for work.
The King Road Mine would bring jobs and about $100 million
They are not alone. Florida’s unemployment rate spiked this
annually in local spending.
summer above 6 percent – the highest level since 1995.
• 60 jobs during construction
In neighboring Citrus County, the unemployed exceed
4,700 – and in Marion County, some 11,000 residents are
• 35 jobs for mining operations
without a regular paycheck.
The region is among the hardest hit in the state, with all
• 340 spinoff jobs throughout the region
three counties seeing unemployment go up significantly in
just 12 months.
In Levy, Tarmac America is making plans to invest millions in
the economy and create new jobs with the proposed King
Road Mine.
Tarmac America, a leading supplier of Florida construction
annual salary of $30,000 plus ben-
tion-grade aggregate, a vital product that is in short supply
materials since the 1980s, has a solid reputation for being
efits, with the top positions earning
around the state.
a good employer and a responsible corporate citizen. The
an average of $50,000 annually plus benefits.
The timing of Tarmac America’s new enterprise couldn’t be
company employs about 1,200 people in quarries, concrete-
The Levy County economy will benefit in ways beyond the
better – for the region and the state.
block, ready-mix concrete, sand and transportation facilities
paychecks to the new Tarmac America work force. The gains
Gov. Charlie Crist announced in August “Accelerate
across the state.
include taxes paid to Levy County and local spending.
Florida”, an economic stimulus plan that would speed up
The proposed King Road Mine would mine the special type
Combined, Tarmac jobs and investments could mean
billions of dollars in construction and transportation projects
of limerock found in southern Levy and turn it into construc-
a $1 billion boost to the local economy in the first decade of
around the state – meaning even greater demand for aggre-
operations.
gate needed to build highways, bridges schools, and other
LOCAL UNEMPLOYMENT RISES
public construction projects
Estimated unemployment rates for Levy, Citrus and
If Tarmac America is successful in getting the required
Marion counties exceed the state average.
permits, the aggregate mine could be open by 2010.
County
July 2008
July 2007
Increase
The project will create a number of good paying jobs.
Tarmac expects to hire a work force of 60 people during the
Citrus
7.9
5.4
46 %
construction phase of the King Road Mine. Once operations
To learn more about Tarmac America’s
Marion
7.9
5.1
55 %
begin, Tarmac will fill 35 full-time positions, including
plans for bringing jobs to Levy County,
Levy
7.3
4.7
55 %
administrative staff, front-end loader drivers, plant operators
visit us at www.kingroadmine.com
FLORIDA
6.4
4.4
45 %
and supervisors. The majority of positions will earn an average
or call 352-447-2074.
Source: State of Florida Agency For Workforce Innovation