VOL. 83, NO. 23 INSIDE : a BY CAROLYN RISNER MANAGING EpIToR Hoping to keep up with the growth that is inundating the state of Florida, Progess ‘Energy announced Tuesday THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006 1 SECTION: 20 PAGES Nuclear plant may come to S. Levy provide reliable and afford- able energy to more than 1.6 million customers every day,” said Jeff Lyash, Progress En-~ ergy’s president and CEO. The preferred site is only Will it or won't it2 Page 2 OBITUARIES Ss Helen Carver Flauda Key Patricia Merrow. . Barbara Robinson HOME OF... ohh John Tyler Nilsen of Bronson CONTENTS... Around Levy 2-3,5, 6, 14-15 Opinion | 4, Law & Courts 5 Obituaries s Z Sports 2 B13) Tides 11 Classified 16 Legals 17: Marketplace 19 the candidates... its plans to possibly build a nuclear power plant in South Levy County. Some 3,000 acres, located: seven miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, was cho- sen from over 35 other sites around the state for the com- pany’s next phase | of develop- ment. “Our commitment eight miles from the compa- ny’s Crystal River Nuclear Plant. While another unit could have been added at the Crystal River site, Lyash said putting it on another location reduced risk factors like hur- ricanes and tornadoes. “Eight miles makes a huge difference in terms of liabil- is to ity,” Lyash said Tuesday. Race card played at BY CASSIE JOURNIGAN STAFF WRITER CHIEFLAND-One local resident is so dissatisfied with city leaders that he turned up at Monday’s commission meeting to tell them about it. Local business owner and resident Robert “Bob” Williams read a statement to commissioners shortly before the conclusion of Monday’s regular meeting. A copy of the letter was given to the Levy County Journal after the meeting. Williams read, “I feel that this commission is a poor - | example of leadership when it comes to the long-term effects on decisions made for our city. Race is obvious and that needs to be terminated... “My comment is to the actions of the commission to hire a city manager and the decision made. It’s evident that as commissioners homework has not been done as it relates to did not come with excess baggage such as bankruptcies...” “Of the two, that didn’t Mr. Bonner and Mr. Brock, I received an unsolicited visit from Mr. Bonner’at'my office in Bronson. inquiring about the city. Some things were said i in confidence and will remain, but the one thing that stood out which was not in confidence was the fact that he clearly stated that if hired, he had contacts outside Chiefland that could offer the city better banking.” Chiefland city commissioners had two special meetings last week to hear from several candidates applying for the city manager vacancy. At the conclusion of the second meeting, commissioners requested background investigations be made of two. - Williams spoke in favor of interim city manager Matt Brock, who was: not among the two short-listed candidates. He said, “You had an interim city manager with the education and ability to negotiate with Tallahassee, willing to move to this city and live, who had done more for the city during his whole time he was here...” \ Williams said the local newspapers failed to perform their duty: “No one is above the law; the paper need to let the people know what’s going on'so that they can make informed are afraid to print the real news.’ Williams also said commissioner Teal Pomeroy had “over charges that one of the commissioners’ children was involved in criminal activity. See Chiefland Page 20 BY CASSIE JOURNIGAN STAFF WRITER CHIEFLAND-Three Chiefland homeowners seeking to turn 270 acres of If DCA _ approves the comprehensive plan change, residents in the vicinity of Manatee Springs Road could find themselves in commission meeting Of the candidates listed in the paper, only two couple months as interim than his predecessor had done the decisions,” adding, “oh, maybe that’ s the problem, our papers seven criminal misdemeanor charges. ” He also leveled agricultural zoned land into residential—thus clearing the way for a potential large-scale subdivision—received good news from commissioners Monday. Commissioners voted to allowanapplicationforalarge- scale rezoning amendment to the comprehensive plan to be resubmitted to the state’s Department of Community Affairs (DCA). LL9ze 1d ATUASANIVD AYOLSIH VGINO1s SO Adve REACH US Managing Editor Carolyn Risner Phone (352) 490-4462 a neighborhood with 675 additional homes. However, according to — building and zoning manager Bill Hammond, there are currently no plans for a development on the drawing board. The proposed site, an approximate mile-long strip of land, runs roughly parallel to Highway 19. Northwest 110 Street lays directly to its south. It crosses County Route Fax (352) 490-4490 Chiefland (352) 486-5042 Bronson Email é editor@levyjournal.com Address PO. Box 159 Bronson, FL 32621-0159 PO. Box 2990 Chiefland, FL 32644-2990 ' x He added that “security around such facilities are only second to that of military in- _ stallations. A decision to build a plant will not be made for at least a year, the company announced through a press release, but site selection is critical to ensure that nuclear power re- mains open and viable for the future. Lyash said his company is in agreement with state and federal leaders that nuclear power must be a part of a bal- anced approach, along with gas and coal, to meet the de- mands of the state’s growth. — Nuclear power is the least costly energy and the least volatile, Lyash explained. It is also the best for the environ- ment, he added, since it does not. emit any greenhouses gases that are associated with global climate change. The preferred site, and sub- sequent plant, if it comes to pass, will allow the company to do long-range planning, Lyash said. If construction is approved, as many as 2,000 construction Safe Under Santa’s Watch 50 cents per copy workers will be needed to build the $2.5 billion facility and it will employ about 500 people, the CEO said. Progress Energy plans to document the need for anoth- er power plant to the Florida Public Service Commission in late 2007 and the next year file an operating license. If everything goes accord- ing to plan, Progress Energy will then decide if it will build the South Levy plant. If it is feasible, construction could begin in 2010-2011 and be completed in 2016. Journal photo by Carolyn Risner THE MCMILLANS of Williston are thrilled with their early Christmas present, a new daughter, who was snug in her brother’s arms and watched over by Santa himself during festivities at Linear Park Saturday night. For more photos of the night’s activities, see pages 14 and 15. , 320 and ends at the northern boundary of Strickland Park. The land owned by Chris Hardee, Faunita Hardee and Gene Roe is currently zoned for one dwelling per 10 acres. The rezoning must receive approval from DCA since changes will need to be made to the city’s comprehensive land use plan. The DCA has stated three objections to the amendment request already submitted by the city. The objections pertain to impacts that would occur in the areas of transportation, SUBSCRIBE Levy, Dixie and aa counties in-state. $22 Out of state $21 Locally owned and operated! potable water and _ public schools. The city must respond to these objections to the satisfaction of the DCA in order for its. comprehensive plan’ amendment to take effect. The city hopes the DCA’s objections to the transportation issue will be solved by reducing the maximum proposed development in their original plan from four units per acre to 2.5. To answer the objection to the potable water impacts, the city says it now has a recently DCA Rezoning requires comp plan amendment approved water capacity — permit from Suwannee River Water Management District. The city’s resubmitted response also says that the existing comprehensive plan anticipates a 2020 population of 3,255, .reflecting an approximate growth rate of about 43 persons per year. The city believes that given this growth rate, the water supply as is will be adequate. Regarding impacts to the school, the city’s answer to the DCA is that it is already See Plan Page 20 Was The Levy County Journal RECYCLE believes in good stewardship of the land. That's why we print on 100 percent recycled newsprint. Protecting our future TODAY!