Allow me to raise my voice as one of the concerned citizens of Jefferson County who is aghast at the possibility of a toll road ruining this beautiful place.
I have only had the pleasure of living here since July 2018; prior to that my husband and I lived in Fort Myers, which was, once upon a time, a small and lovely village on the banks of the Caloosahatchee river. It was a balm and respite from the hustle and bustle of the Miami/Fort Lauderdale megalopolis, a small town bursting with charm. That is to say it was, before out of state developers and special interests decided that in the interests of "economic development" the county would be better buried under a sea of pavement and Dollar Generals. Nowadays all of Southwestern Florida is a traffic choked mess, the water is poisoned and the wildlife is dying off in droves as development relentlessly creeps across the entire bottom of the state of Florida.
Now those same special interests have set their eyes on our pristine county and are hawking the same snake oil used to justify ruining Southwest Florida with the meaningless refrain of "economic development" which really just means ruining our water and paving over our land so the shareholders can buy a third jet. Let's not fall for it. Let's continue to hold the commissioners' feet to the fire. Let's not accept this carpetbagger nonsense as inevitable. We don't need another Fort Myers, or Orlando, or Miami. Our rural way of life deserves to be protected and our commissioners need to stand and fight for it. I stand in admiration of the county officials who have thus far taken affirmative action against this boondoggle and I pray that those who have not yet done so join them in this fight. We don't need another Cracker Barrel of Flying J truck stop. We need leadership that will stand and fight for us and this blessed and beautiful home of ours. 2020 is an election year and this voter is watching.
-Katie Turner