Dear Editor,
I've heard it said that the two nuclear power plants slated for Levy County will bring more jobs to the area. I've heard it said that Levy County residents need more jobs, that these jobs will increase the annual income of the Levy County residents who are lucky enough to get one of these jobs in the new nuclear power plants, thereby increasing the living standard for everyone that lives in Levy County. I've heard it said that the power demands in the state of Florida have increased the need for this "necessary" evil. As far as what these new power plants will bring to Levy County, we need to look no further than Spring Hill, Florida. Levy County can expect to have its rural areas swallowed up by one story, brick ranch style houses with attached garages, more Wal-Marts, Home Depots, Lowes, less wooded areas, fishing holes, and hunting grounds. We will still have a few nature trails so visitors will be able to see what natural Florida used to look like. And the people these new power plants will draw, won't be Levy County people (who tend to think for themselves), they will be trained automatons lured by the prospect of not having to shovel snow this winter. Quality of Life must be considered, and if you do not know what I mean by Quality of Life, spend some time in Spring Hill. And while you`re there jog over to little Aripeka, which is just a mile away, and witness that little community holding fast to what little bit of Florida they have left. I understand that the Levy County Commissioners had an "Informational Meeting" for the benefit of the public on these two nuclear power plants, and that the public had no say whether or not these plants would be built. It strikes me as foreign that the people of Levy County would have no say in a decision as monumental as two nuclear power plants being built in their backyard. Especially since there hasn't been a nuclear power plant built in this country since Three Mile Island. Could this be the results of Dick Cheney meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission? Could it be the results of our trusted elected officials behind the scenes meetings with Progress Energy? There are far too many questions than there are answers. I understand that the question of nuclear waste came up at this "Informational Meeting" and Progress Energy's response was a simple deflection: "the Government takes care of the waste". To fall over with such a simple brush of the hand, these are not the people I know of Levy County.
Daniel Thomas Williams |
