Megasite, already changing Jefferson County

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Submitted by David Seal, Dandridge

Considering how the world has changed over the past few years, it is obvious that people have a different outlook on everything. When I was a child, it would have been considered rude to display a “no trespassing” sign on your property. Everyone in my rural community of Chestnut Grove felt safe and free to walk across neighbor’s hay fields and pastures, visit, trick-or-treat at Halloween, Christmas Carroll during the holiday season, and participate in many other neighborly activities. Hiring an attorney was considered extreme. No one felt the need to be an activist, crusader, or community organizer. Jefferson County was a great place to live because people had few concerns about their neighbors or local government. Crime was rare; doors were unlocked (even at night); farms were farms; and friends were friends. These things have changed dramatically.

Now, with the threat of a megasite looming over the property owners, it is common to see signs in nearly every driveway in the Chestnut Grove, Sager, Kansas-Talbott, and Spring Creek Communities. Farmers have become activists; neighbors have been forced to band together to fight a common threat; attorneys have been hired to represent a quiet class of property owners that wish to be left alone. Signs read “Save our Farms and Homes”, “Farm Not for Sale”, “Stop the Megasite” and “No Trespassing”. By the way, the signs mean exactly what they say – trust me on this. All of this is a clear indication that someone, or some entity, has a different outlook on the above mentioned communities. By chance, farms and homes were located in proximity to a major interstate intersection, making them a target for developers that are completely insulated from the lives of land owners. The promoters of the megasite see the farmland as a spot on the map to be exploited for their own financial gain, the land owners as garbage to be swept aside, and the task of public relations as a trick for unsuspecting tax payers. These people are able to sleep at night because they have no concern for community, no respect for people, and no motive other than profit – it is just what they do. McCallum-Sweeney Consulting has sprinkled stardust in the eyes of some county commissioners, promising jobs and economic progress. Moxley-Carmichael Public Relations is being paid with taxpayer money to make land owners, citizens, and local leaders think about “the big factory on the hill”, and forget the high cost of changing the face of Jefferson County. Few of the above are looking at the actual set of grim facts; they just sip on the snake oil and spout the party-line.

Megasite promoters have made several gross mis-calculations; this is a message to the promoters. The people in the above mentioned communities are not stupid. They are intelligent, resourceful, and determined to meet any challenge to the ownership of their hard-earned property. Farmers that you have targeted have dealt with lots of different predators before; you are just another type. The good people of Jefferson County deserve answers to their questions about the actual cost of a megasite and respectful treatment of their lives, community, and property. Why don’t you attend one of our open meetings and answer our questions? My guess is that you have no real answers, just another box of stardust, a case of snake oil and a book of tricks. I double-dog dare you to show up and prove me wrong.

David Seal

Dandridge