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Rayonier offers alternate sludge site |
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Written by Mike Anderson
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Thursday, 23 May 2013 10:42 |
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ShareWithin a couple of days after he was named Macclenny’s new city manager, Phil Rhoden already had a top-priority mission in sight: End a legal battle with Rayonier over a land dispute and move forward with the city’s plan to acquire a site for wastewater sludge disposal.
That was in early April. Now, the city’s new chief executive officer is considerably closer to achieving his goal after Rayonier offered an alternative site in exchange for the city abandoning its lawsuit aimed at forcing the giant timber company and cellulose manufacturer to proceed with the sale of a previous site.
“On the surface it looks good,” Mr. Rhoden told city commissioners during a board meeting on May 14 when he presented an update on the ongoing dispute with Rayonier. “If it turns out not to be a viable site we’ll proceed with our litigation. We’re hopeful we’re not going to have to do that.”
Engineering tests, including soil samples, first must be completed to determine if the ground meets state environmental standards for the weekly disposal of up to 50,000 gallons of treated wastewater, otherwise known as “sludge.”
The legal conflict with Rayonier had its origins in a decision by the city 11 months ago to buy 114 acres of timberland the company owned north of Steel Bridge Road in an area known as Trail Ridge. The decision was controversial from the start because nearby homeowners voiced opposition to the plans at a commission meeting, which may have tipped off Rayonier to the company’s plans.
Rayonier, through its property management subsidiary TerraPointe Services Inc., had entered into a contract to sell the parcel for $399,000 to Macclenny real estate agent Lewyn Boyette, who unbeknownst to Rayonier was actually serving as an intermediary for the city to acquire the land. The city later spent about $20,000 on site tests, including engineering and soil sampling.
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Two injured in single ATV flipping |
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Written by Joel Addington
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Monday, 20 May 2013 21:52 |
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Share Two Glen St. Mary teens were seriously injured early Monday evening when the 1994 Polaris they were on flipped on CR 139B.
The Florida Highway Patrol could not identify the driver, but the victims, both 14, were Parker Holman and Cole Cushman.
According to Trooper Justin Smatt's report of the 5:35 pm incident west of CR 125, the driver lost control of the eastbound ATV after it left the roadway and veered back before overturning. The two youths were ejected.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 May 2013 10:23 |
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Sheriff: Listen to me, not The Press |
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Written by Mike Anderson
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Thursday, 16 May 2013 11:13 |
Share Sheriff Dobson at a press conference in January. He suggested during the May 7 board meeting that commissioners disregard a recent article in the newspaper that focused on sharp drops in federal detainees housed in the county jail during the first quarter of this year, which created a loss of nearly $500,000 in revenue.
That’s the amount the Baker Correctional Development Corporation, which owes about $40 million to bondholders who funded the facility, lost in housing fees because of the inmate reduction, according to the article written by managing editor Joel Addington. BCDC gets paid about $85 daily for housing prisoners, including detainees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the Bureau of Prisons.
The sheriff, an elected constitutional officer, basically accused Mr. Addington and Press publisher Jim McGauley of stirring up controversy and trying to pit his office against the county commission.
“Mr. McGauley and Joel Addington do not like the project…” the sheriff declared. “They have opposed the project ever since we started it.” A few minutes later, he said the newspaper was trying to “get us cross ways with one another.”
The article stated that from January through March the average daily number of detainees from ICE, which accounts for most of the federal inmates, dropped 26 percent to 183. By comparison, the jail reported about 39 fewer inmates from the Marshal’s Service and about two fewer inmates from the Bureau of Prisons.
Meanwhile, the number of inmates coming from Baker County grew by some 19 prisoners, or about 17 percent, during the same period. That increase cost the Baker County Commission about $145,000.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 May 2013 13:11 |
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