Page 4 - ° YOUR VIEW a prubdivison chosen for privacy es + ¥ ¥ + - Editor's Note: The following letter was sent Ms. Nancy "Bell The authors asked it run in this forum as an open letter. ‘! Dear Ms. Bell: We recently bought a Fox Grove Farms parcel at the inter- section of SE 123rd and 117th and plan to build a home there soon. Incidentally, Levy County last month approved our pe- tition to vacate that undeveloped part of 117th beside our lot, which ends at the Bower properties that front on Rte. 121. We truly appreciate the County’s approving our vacate petition. ., However, this past weekend we learned of the neighbor- chood i issue in Fox Grove Farms and Shamrock Acres regard- ,ing the proposed Living Waters Life Center’s access via the morhem end of our Fox Grove Farms’ county road, SE 123. We find this access by Living Waters strange and inconsid- rate of us in Fox Grove Farms, since that acreage proposed for the Center is wholly inside Shamrock Acres and has more direct and proper access to Rte. 121, which is far better suited to handle the Center’s traffic. Perhaps directing traffic through Fox Grove Farms is a cheap way out and just one part of an ill-conceived plan by the developer. Shamrock Acres has the chore to defend its deed restric- ‘tions, and we know the County cannot interfere. However, we “would like our comments to go on record with the Commis- -Sioners and be relayed to the developer of the Center if you have further interaction with him. Perhaps you would give ‘him a copy of this letter. Surely a “man of God” does not ‘want to create lasting animosity from the people living near ‘his church. We certainly would not want to join his church if ‘he thinks he is righteous in turning our quiet neighborhood ‘into just another roadway into his place of business. It ap- ‘pears Fox Grove Farms is at the mercy of the Living Waters developer. “" The horse-friendly area and relative remoteness from the “commercialism of cities and towns sold us on this Levy ‘County jewel of Fox Grove Farms. Heavy traffic going to ‘any type of “center” is not something we ever guessed would ‘be our problem. We specifically chose a parcel at the back ‘portion of the subdivision, which we thought would give us ‘added privacy. The limestone roads in Fox Grove, as opposed to paved roads, were a huge selling point for us when we ‘selected our future home site. We are horseback riders and now worry that the Center’s traffic could make riding our pets ‘along Fox Grove’s roads much more hazardous. There is no ‘guarantee that drivers from outside of the area going to and ‘from the Center would be considerate of horseback riders re- ‘garding car speed and driver courtesy — as well as the dust we ‘tiders‘and’ pedestrians’ would swallow’ from that' traffic. We are leaving a pristine 30 acre, remote, rural homestead in Up- state New York, so we thought long and hard about'living in a Florida subdivision — smaller parcel of land, many and closer neighbors, deed restrictions, etc. Now what we pictured we would be moving to in Levy County appears to be drastically changing. We may not be opposed to a traditional country church of- fering weekly spiritual services being sited in the area with proper access roads but the Center’s scope seems to be much more than this, which we see as more of a country club and conference center (tennis court, pool, perhaps continuous in- gress/egress by a number of non-residents, and who knows, maybe future plans for day care facilities and other “com- mercialism”). A Center offering these things to its congrega- tion or the public does not fit the intent of Shamrock Acres’ residential community. As we stated above, this Center is not in our subdivision, but we seem to be expected to host and endure the Center’s traffic. It looks like the Center will indeed “be in” Fox Grove Farms. This is what we oppose. What we propose is that Living Waters be realistic about what is a proper, straightforward roadway into its facility from Rte. 121, not just what is economical for them. Up here in “congested New York,” even a brand new, huge Lowe’s store has just one access from the highway. Under the name of a “church,” the proposed Center looks more like a commercial enterprise, whose access should not be through a residential subdivision, let alone a non-participating subdivision. By us- _ ing SE 123rd, it appears Fox Grove Farms will have provided ay the developer traffic access, while Living Waters is spared the personal expense for a suitable Shamrock Acres roadway onto Rte. 121 and spared total ire from Shamrock landowners. We thought we would only be dealing with our own subdivision’s restrictions, not catering to neighboring subdivisions’ errant and inconsiderate developers. Sincerely, Bill and Judy Brooks dseuka Park, NY ‘Fox Grove Farms Parcel 20773 TE The Levy County Journal is published to serve the people of Levy County as the leading information source that empowers the community while never compromising our principles. We: *reflect our community in everything we do. | *provide leadership that contributes to the betterment of our community, *record the history of our county and make a difference in the quality of life for our residents and merchants. *promote readership of community events that foster better citizens. *promote readership of advertising thereby fostering a healthy economic environment. ae COUNTY PAPER «- ES Our Mission LEVY COUNTY JOURNAL THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 “Copyrighted Material Syndicated Content Available from Commercial News Providers” am 4 collector of [== especially those that.promise to be cholesterol laden, artery- clogging sweet. I was delighted last month when I saw an old fashioned caramel cake recipe in a local publication: I immedi-: ately tore it out and vowed to make it at my first oppor- tunity. Two weeks ago, I knew the time had come and even told Wilma Jean, our typeset-: ter, that if I had time Sunday afternoon, I planned to make the cake and send her a piece on Monday. She was as thrilled as I was and we took a few minutes to reflect on caramel cakes we have sampled in ane past. One of my favorites was” Mrs: Larry. Warnock’s.2: Mrs. Warnock was a reader of a paper I worked at the early ‘90s and every Christmas she would delight the newspaper staff with one of her homebaked confec- tions. The caramel cake was my favorite of her wares. Six thin layers, each shellacked with the gooey caramel, was a bit of heaven in your mouth. Armed with my ingredient list, I headed to the grocery... a pound of butter, three cups of sugar, 10 eggs. Oh, yeah, bring. it on, I thought. With the magazine recipe at my side, I started the cake portion of the recipe Sunday morning. “That’s odd,” I said out loud. “It never says to add the sugar at all.” No indeed, you went straight from the butter to the eggs with no mention of the sugar. But since I am an ad- ept, experienced baker, I added the sugar as the butter creamed under the mixer. “Four cups of flour!” I shouted to the butter. That is going to be one heavy cake. I poured the golden batter into three 9-inch pans and 'Y COUNTY JOURNA sr. ‘L Who We Are Managing Editor Carolyn Risner 1923 Office Manager/Chiefland Robin Heath Photographer/Production Miriam Blitch Staff Writers Cassie Journigan Neal Fisher Sales Representative/Bronson Laura Catlow Typesetter Wilma Jean Asbell ; a +34. ee eee Caramel-covered Carolyn chaos put them in a preheated 325- degree oven for 45 minutes per the recipe’s directions. When I checked on them at the end of the cycle, I put ° my finger on top of one of the layers. No indentation. No bounce back. Using a toothpick, I tested for done- ness and no gooey batter came back. They were the most beautiful layers‘of afiy cake 'T have ever baked. Perfectly round: Perfectly golden: I set them aside to cool. That evening I started the . frosting, the caramel, the good part. Brown 1/2 cup of the sugar in heavy skillet until caramelized, the recipe read. Does that mean in the 1/4 cup of butter or does that mean by itself until it scorches? I mused. Well, I am no fan of scorched sugar so I made an executive decision to cara- melize it in the butter. In no time | had.the begin- nings of the caramel. I then followed the directions and added the remaining ingre- dients. Mistake. Instead of hav- ' ing bubbly frosting, I had a Sugar Daddy on the wooden spoon. Working quickly I traded it for a wire whisk and for the next five minutes frantically whipped that puppy into shape. The'next direction was once the mixture reached a heavy boil, remove from heat and whip until. of a spreading consistency. That’s when the fun began. I quickly poured the mixture into the bowl but the “mixer never came on. Look- Quote of the Week: Most people are ‘bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those | do un- derstand. Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) Carolyn Risner THINKING OUT. LOUD ing, I saw it was un- plugged. I leaned across the counter, plugged it in and in a flash, four cups of hot, boiling caramel was slung across my little kitchen. I did not know the mixer was set on high! Thinking quickly I turned the mixer off and in doing so touched the glass bowl to steady its frenetic movement on the whirligig. Ouch! Pain. The palm of my right;/hand-wasion:fires: < I rushed to the sink, turned ithe cold-water on arid-stuck my entire bosom and hand in the water. Two minutes passed and I turned to see the havoc I had wrought. Caramel covered a four- foot swathe on the floor, and as it had started to cool, little bitty Sugar Babies had begun to form. Raising my eyes I saw caramel covered countertops, cabinets, the stove and look- ing down, Carolyn. From the neck down to the toes, I was covered in hot, sticky caramel that was set- ting up chewies all over me. My hand still burning, I grabbed one of those cool pack thingies from the freezer, held it in my burn- ing palm, wrapped a towel around my hand and tried futilely for the next 45 min- utes to get some of the mess under control—left handed. I learned in about 15 sec- onds, I am not ambidextrous and without my right hand, I was not making progress. I opened the sink to get a scrub pad to work on the tile floor and there I discovered a major leak where the drain See Carolyn Page 5 your thoughts: publication). publication every 21 days. mitted for consideration. Letters to the Editor The Levy County Journal welcomes Letters to the Edi- tor. Please keep these things in mind when submitting 1) Letters should be 500 words or less. Letters over the word limit may be edited for space and clarity. Letters longer than 500 words that are difficult to edit, may be considered for guest columns. 2) Letters must be signed and bear the signature of the author. Please include a daytime phone number (not for 4) Submit your letter by noon Monday. You may email it to editor@levyjournal.com, bring it by either of our offices or mail it to either address on the front page. 5) Letters by the same author will be considered for 6) We reserve the right to reject any and all letters sub- Whats love got to do with it? en the lovebug bites, you don’t know where to scratch...” I first heard of lovebugs while in my home state of Virginia. My husband Wayne, a Florida native, not only sang the song about an adorable little cupid-type CASSIE JOURNIGAN creature, but also told atale of the — lovebug’s beginnings. He said they were the product of mad genetic engineering, a Frankenstein- like animal originally * intended to combat the mosquito. I didn’t know. what to think, whether they were cuter-than-life, larger- than-life or not a part of real life at all. Then we moved to Florida. That first spring brought an especially heavy infestation of the bugs. They got all over our car hood and windshield, and worse, every time we were outside the things would land on me and crawl on every inch of bare flesh. Oh, they were plenty easy to squash—they must have been love-drunk from flying united—but their close gentle touch was enough to leave me completely atiseous:: GIB Zavvi FC Since that first spring, T’ve seen some seasons with very little lovebug activity. Other times their presence is so pervasive that I find I can drive nowhere unless armed with window cleaner and newspaper to wipe down the car’s windshield. They are not too bad this month, yet still I’d love to see them gone. In utter frustration, or from a perverse need to learn all about them if I can’t wish them away, I turn to the Internet. I “Google” lovebug: Snopes.com and University of Florida links are in the top 10 hit list. At Snopes I find my husband’s rumor as well as two or three others. One looks like it may have been written after a Gators victory over the Seminoles: “Back when I was a student at Florida State, I was told that love bugs were accidentally released from a biological experiment station at the University of Florida.” Snopes also displayed a shortened version my husband told: “Supposedly, the lovebug was “created” See Cassie Page 5 “>