River Lovers,
Stop Ichetucknee Cement Kiln is, of course, only one group which is
fighting the cement kiln at the Ichetucknee. Ichetucknee Mobilization,
Music
of the Rivers, SOS, Sierra Club, and individuals continue to work, even
as
the trees are cleared from the Suwannee/American site. S/A has NOT begun
construction of the kiln, only of the batch plant, on site, as they
desired.
Of utmost importance, of course, are the court cases pending. SICK's
lawyer, Bill Ogle, has asked that concerned river lovers be present at
the
oral argument in the Appeals Court in Tallahassee January 24. Lawyers
Bill
Ogle and John Rimes, of the Attorney General's office, will argue that
cement
is not a "resource based activity," and that the Suwannee County
Commission
erred when it did not change the zoning from agriculture to
manufacturing.
SICK's efforts to import cheaper, green cement continue.
Tom Bronokowski of PBS in Jacksonville is completing an hour long
documentary on the entire Ichetucknee drama, to be aired early this
spring.
The following is a press release sent to newspapers around the world
at
this precipitous time, when Florida and Jeb Bush are in the news.
Virginia Seacrist
SICK, Chairperson
This press release was sent out on Dec, 8, 2000. I wrote a book, Path of
the
Feather with Mary Rockwood Lane, our publisher, Putnam hired Planned
Television Arts a public relations firm to publicize the book, they sent
this
release out. I am mentioned in it because of these circumstances, the
publisher made it happen because of our book. Since Mary Rockwood Lane
and I
wrote Path of the Feather we have been doing all we can to fight the
cement
plant and save the sacred Ichetucknee River, that is why we built
www.ichytucknee.org. We hope this helps, We pray and make medicine
wheels
and do ritual to help this release reach people who can and will help.
We
will stop this cement plant and save this river. We will.
Michael Samuels, M.D. webmaster, www.ichytucknee.org
The animals wrote the Path of the Feather, the Ichetucknee wrote Path of
the
Feather. They sung to us, they wanted the spirit animals to be heard
again,
the rivers to be saved, the earth to be healed. We dedicate this work to
the
Ichetucknee, we will donate part of the Path of the Feather sales to save
this sacred river and the bear habitats in Florida. We do. In the next
days, do all you can to make the press release reach all the people on
the
list below, sing, call people, act. Mary Rockwood Lane and Michael Jay
Samuels.
Florida Republican Politics is Destroying a Crystal Clear River
The same cast of characters that is involved in the Presidential election
battle- Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris, House speaker Feeney, and the Florida
legislature and courts- will decide the fate of the crystal clear,
pristine,
Ichetucknee river. Legal battles, corruption, convictions, huge
political
contributions, and bribery, surround Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida, and
David
Struhs, head of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Agency, in
their secret decision to permit a tire burning cement plant 3.8 miles
from
the Ichetucknee. Ironically, Struhs is rumored to be on George W. Bush's
short list to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
The proposed plant by Suwannee American Company (an organization already
convicted of pollution and involved in bribery) will release mercury,
dioxin,
and hundreds of other toxic pollutants into the environment of the
unspoiled
Ichetucknee river, one of the last clear rivers in the south. The beauty
of
this river makes it the second most visited Florida state park.
Breathtaking
and beloved, the river and its animals are a sacred part of the lives of
the
people and are the soul of the area.
Leading the fight against the despoiling of this great national
resource
is a remarkable man. Michael Samuels, M.D., a formally trained medical
doctor and immunogeneticist, was profiled this week on ABC's Good Morning
America for his work in bringing shamanic healing to the desperately ill.
Samuels, a contemporary Shaman, has brought ancient Native American
healing
practices to the public in his new book THE PATH OF THE FEATHER. "The
full
role of the Shaman," Samuels says, "is not just the healing of individual
people. No, a true shaman invests as much of himself in healing the
community and the earth. My quest to save the Ichetucknee River mirrors
my
work in healing a terribly ill woman of cancer. The corruption and
secrecy
surrounding the building of this plant is like a cancer on the earth."
The fight over the Ichetucknee River mirrors the national tempest
over
Florida's 25 electoral votes. Like that saga, it is replete with
back-room
politicking, secret meetings, corrupt officials, overt
conflicts-of-interest,
huge political contributions, and bitter court battles. Jeb Bush's
administration is at the center of another violent storm - one they don't
want anyone to find out about.