NOTE TO READERS
There will be a - hopefully - short hiatus in The Westerner.
Those who are long time readers know I have multiple sclerosis. On Tuesday I will have surgery to implant a baclofen pump to help with the spasticity and clonus in my legs.
The surgery will be in El Paso, and then I will spend an undetermined amount of time at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Southern New Mexico. I've been there before, I will have my laptop, and they do have WiFi. The kicker is though, the farther you are from the nurses station the slower the connection. So we will see how lucky I am in the room I draw.
I'm fairly confident I'll be back posting next week and possibly before, so check back in.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Adios Wayne, save us a seat up yonder
Cowgirl Sass And Savvy
By Julie Carter
Recently, I was told the way to recognize a cowboy funeral is when you pull up to the church or funeral home, the parking lot is full of pickup trucks.
If times are good, they'll be muddy, some will have hay loaded in the back and others will have a patient cowdog waiting for the return of his cowboy.
Most of the folks are dressed in Wranglers, boots and hats. A branding iron is likely to be standing by the door where they branded the casket - a final brand for the old cowboy.
All the talk, when folks are talking, is about grass and rain and this time of year, mention will be made of calf prices and shipping dates.
In circles over a meal served to family and friends, wonderful stories will be told about the cowboy they'd come to honor and lay to rest.
This week, we lost an icon of the true West - cowboy, rancher, husband, father, grandfather and pioneer.
Wayne Withers proved just how tough he was right to the end, against all odds.
He was 95 when he made the crossover to the big corral up yonder, and for 73 of those years, he'd been teasing and loving his bride, Annie.
I sat with the couple just before their 70th anniversary, and the love between them could have swallowed me up.
They verbally sparred over the stories they told me about an era of hard times that forged their grit and character.
"Do you want to know about the girls I danced with or the broncs I rode?" he would say with a twinkle in his eyes.
Their life's tale exposed the heartbreak of living in a country where the government took not one, but two ranches from them to create what we know today as the White Sands Missile Range.
Wayne was 5 years old when his dad left him and his brothers alone, ages 7 and 10, to tend 700 head of cattle and a herd of horses while he went in search of a new ranch.
By the time he was 11, Wayne had already hired out on a couple of different wagons and worked cattle for other people.
He recalled during one of his $1-a-day jobs down by Three Rivers, he got drug by a horse. He was so skinned up and sore, the only place he could sit that didn't hurt was in the kitchen sink. He took his meals there.
Wayne was in a small plane crash in 1955 and scored a broken leg that laid him up for a year.
His dad, who had a legendary streak of orneriness, was good about putting the boys on horses that would buck. "We'd be leaving out at three in the morning and I'll tell ya, it's a trick to ride a bucking horse you can't see in the dark," Wayne recalled.
And then there was dancing. Next to riding bucking horses, Wayne loved to dance.
He and Annie danced for 60 years. They met at a dance and country dances were their passion for all of those years.
To them, dancing made all the hard times worth living.
When we catch up with Wayne in Heaven, he will, no doubt, be telling stories about horses that bucked, pretty girls that danced and "it was darn sure worth a 9-mile ride to a dance, stay until 2 a.m. and then ride back home, ready to work."
Adios Wayne. When your tales are retold, it will always be with the memory of you with that big grin that just never did hide how ornery you were.
And Wayne, you left the world a better place having been in it.
Visit Julie’s website at www.julie-carter.com
Cowgirl Sass And Savvy
By Julie Carter
Recently, I was told the way to recognize a cowboy funeral is when you pull up to the church or funeral home, the parking lot is full of pickup trucks.
If times are good, they'll be muddy, some will have hay loaded in the back and others will have a patient cowdog waiting for the return of his cowboy.
Most of the folks are dressed in Wranglers, boots and hats. A branding iron is likely to be standing by the door where they branded the casket - a final brand for the old cowboy.
All the talk, when folks are talking, is about grass and rain and this time of year, mention will be made of calf prices and shipping dates.
In circles over a meal served to family and friends, wonderful stories will be told about the cowboy they'd come to honor and lay to rest.
This week, we lost an icon of the true West - cowboy, rancher, husband, father, grandfather and pioneer.
Wayne Withers proved just how tough he was right to the end, against all odds.
He was 95 when he made the crossover to the big corral up yonder, and for 73 of those years, he'd been teasing and loving his bride, Annie.
I sat with the couple just before their 70th anniversary, and the love between them could have swallowed me up.
They verbally sparred over the stories they told me about an era of hard times that forged their grit and character.
"Do you want to know about the girls I danced with or the broncs I rode?" he would say with a twinkle in his eyes.
Their life's tale exposed the heartbreak of living in a country where the government took not one, but two ranches from them to create what we know today as the White Sands Missile Range.
Wayne was 5 years old when his dad left him and his brothers alone, ages 7 and 10, to tend 700 head of cattle and a herd of horses while he went in search of a new ranch.
By the time he was 11, Wayne had already hired out on a couple of different wagons and worked cattle for other people.
He recalled during one of his $1-a-day jobs down by Three Rivers, he got drug by a horse. He was so skinned up and sore, the only place he could sit that didn't hurt was in the kitchen sink. He took his meals there.
Wayne was in a small plane crash in 1955 and scored a broken leg that laid him up for a year.
His dad, who had a legendary streak of orneriness, was good about putting the boys on horses that would buck. "We'd be leaving out at three in the morning and I'll tell ya, it's a trick to ride a bucking horse you can't see in the dark," Wayne recalled.
And then there was dancing. Next to riding bucking horses, Wayne loved to dance.
He and Annie danced for 60 years. They met at a dance and country dances were their passion for all of those years.
To them, dancing made all the hard times worth living.
When we catch up with Wayne in Heaven, he will, no doubt, be telling stories about horses that bucked, pretty girls that danced and "it was darn sure worth a 9-mile ride to a dance, stay until 2 a.m. and then ride back home, ready to work."
Adios Wayne. When your tales are retold, it will always be with the memory of you with that big grin that just never did hide how ornery you were.
And Wayne, you left the world a better place having been in it.
Visit Julie’s website at www.julie-carter.com
BUILD IT AND THEY WILL TAKE IT
County forest district ready to seize Klein Fen DuPage County Forest Preserve District leaders are poised to vote on dusting off a power they haven't exerted in recent years: condemnation. Commissioners are expected to decide Tuesday whether to take to court owners of a property next to fragile wetlands. The 200-acre site is owned by the Jemsek-Hinckley family, who operate nearby St. Andrew's Golf and Country Club. Forest preserve ecologists have recommended the district buy the land because water from it flows into unusual wetlands known as the Klein fen in the West Branch Forest Preserve. Negotiations between both sides have stalled, and the family has criticized the district for trying to take their property....
Condemnation Could Set Grim Precedent Farmland preservation advocates in Lehigh County have just 60 days to come up with 100 acres of open land suitable for a regional park — or face the historic total condemnation of a conservation easement on a preserved farm. The action came Sept. 6 at a stormy meeting of the Lower Macungie Township supervisors. The supervisors had been scheduled to vote to condemn the easement placed on a 104-acre farm through the private, non-profit Wildlands Conservancy by the late Mary Leister in 1996. The township acquired the farm specifically for recreation by eminent domain in 2005 from farmer-developer David Jaindl, even though officials knew the easement allowed only agricultural uses. Jaindl was paid $700,000. He could sue to buy the land back if it is not used for the purpose it was taken. If an alternate site for a park is not agreed on in 60 days, both sides indicated they are prepared to take the case to court and fight all the way to the state Supreme Court, if necessary....
Branford dealt $12.8M setback A Superior Court jury delivered a $12.8 million verdict against the town Wednesday, finding that officials improperly seized through eminent domain 77 acres on which a developer had sought to build 354 condominiums. Town officials vowed to appeal. The six-person jury in Waterbury needed less than a day of deliberations before it awarded developer New England Estates LLC $12.4 million for lost profits and investments costs and the original property owners about $340,000. Town officials, current and former, reacted to the verdict with a mixture of resignation and disgust. The town is already on the hook for another $4.6 million the judge ruled the land was worth when the town acquired it in 2004, well above the $1.7 million Branford set aside for the purchase. Attorney fees could push that total up by another $1.5 million, driving up the town’s costs — not including its own legal fees — to close to $19 million. The key question at trial was whether the town had a legal right to seize the property by eminent domain. Town officials have maintained that they took the land to protect the interests of Branford, since the property on Tabor Drive abutted the town dump, raising concerns about possible soil contamination and long-term liability for the town. Attorneys for the developer and original owners characterized the town’s intentions as nothing nearly so noble. Rather, they said, the town was dead set against the proposed large-scale development, so its leaders conspired to take the land....
Local government bodies get quick-take powers A new state law gives three local governments the power to purchase property for the Curtis Road project quickly, even if the owners aren't ready to sell. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed SB 1042 on Tuesday evening, granting quick-take power to Savoy, Champaign and Champaign County. That means they can seize the land needed for the project and move forward with construction while the courts decide how much an owner should be paid for the property. Local governments can already force an owner to sell through eminent domain, but that can take two years or more of negotiations and court hearings. If the communities want to take advantage of a $5.6 million federal grant for the Curtis Road project, they need to move faster than that. Construction has to begin in spring 2009, so the rights of way must be obtained by the fall of 2008....
Kohl's coming to Grand? The Town of Hempstead received proposals last month from three developers vying for a redevelopment project on Grand Avenue and Merrick Road, in what town officials said is a major step toward revitalizing downtown Baldwin. "What we'll do next is determine which bidder will be best for the community," Murray said, adding that the project should get under way in 2008. "Then we'll adopt an urban renewal plan and go right into condemnation proceedings. We're very excited because the project has gone along very smoothly." The redevelopment project was announced early last year, after the town released the results of a blight study conducted in 2005, which found that 50 percent of stores along the west side of Grand Avenue and Merrick Road - south of Prospect Street and ending at Gale Avenue - were empty and in poor condition, and that the area was in need of an economic overhaul. Town officials said they would acquire the roughly five-acre property through eminent domain and turn it over to a developer, who would assume the entire cost of the project, with none of that cost falling to taxpayers, according to Murray and others. ...
Board presses owner to sell land The Blackman Township Downtown Development Authority unanimously voted Wednesday to take "any and all action necessary" to begin the condemnation process on a portion of the property needed for the proposed Northpointe Town Center. Township Supervisor and board Chairman Raymond Snell said discussion has been at a standstill about the property owned by the North family adjacent to Springport Road. "We are sending property owners our last, best offer based on appraisals," he said. "If we get no response or a negative response, at that time we will go to court and ask for the property through condemnation." Family member Doug North declined to comment and referred questions to Flip Reynolds, the family's spokesman. Efforts to contact Reynolds were unsuccessful. The property is needed to build a road to the shopping center. The land for the shopping center is former Jackson County Airport property being sold by the county to developer Ramco-Gershenson....
Ousted Brooklyn Arts Venue Wants Spot In Its Replacement Building Three Brooklyn entrepreneurs were busy preparing to host the November grand opening of their arts and music venue in Fort Greene, until they received notice two weeks ago that the city plans to seize the building they’re leasing via eminent domain. Now, they’re vying for a spot in the high rise slated to take its place. “All we want is to be treated fairly and equitably, and this would be compensating us. Somewhat,” said Todd Triplett, chief marketing officer of Amber Art and Music Space, which leased the vacant three-story building at the corner of Ashland Place and Fulton Street two years ago and have been renovating ever since. The three partners didn’t realize when they signed their 10-year lease that the city had the site earmarked for a project as part of the “BAM Cultural District,” eight blocks in Fort Greene dedicated to cultural programming and mixed-income housing anchored by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Nearly two years after the lease was signed, last February, the city officially began seeking developers to build a tower on the site that would house Danspace Project, a Manhattan-based dance troupe, and 5,500 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, and 150 units of mixed-income housing. The official request lists the three-story building as vacant, even though at the time of publication, Triplett and his partners Philip McKenzie and Shaun Jenkins were toiling away inside building their dream....
MPEA votes to acquire land for further development of McCormick Place The board of Chicago's Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) has voted to exercise its right of eminent domain, granted by the Illinois legislature, to acquire a piece of land located on 21st to 22nd Streets and Cermak Road, across the street and to the north of McCormick Place. MPEA will file a condemnation action in court before it is able to gain title to the property. Currently, there is not a master plan in place for the property. However, some of the options under consideration include additional hotel expansion or other mixed-use development, more amenities for the convention center, parking or green space....
And there are many more...but you get the picture.
County forest district ready to seize Klein Fen DuPage County Forest Preserve District leaders are poised to vote on dusting off a power they haven't exerted in recent years: condemnation. Commissioners are expected to decide Tuesday whether to take to court owners of a property next to fragile wetlands. The 200-acre site is owned by the Jemsek-Hinckley family, who operate nearby St. Andrew's Golf and Country Club. Forest preserve ecologists have recommended the district buy the land because water from it flows into unusual wetlands known as the Klein fen in the West Branch Forest Preserve. Negotiations between both sides have stalled, and the family has criticized the district for trying to take their property....
Condemnation Could Set Grim Precedent Farmland preservation advocates in Lehigh County have just 60 days to come up with 100 acres of open land suitable for a regional park — or face the historic total condemnation of a conservation easement on a preserved farm. The action came Sept. 6 at a stormy meeting of the Lower Macungie Township supervisors. The supervisors had been scheduled to vote to condemn the easement placed on a 104-acre farm through the private, non-profit Wildlands Conservancy by the late Mary Leister in 1996. The township acquired the farm specifically for recreation by eminent domain in 2005 from farmer-developer David Jaindl, even though officials knew the easement allowed only agricultural uses. Jaindl was paid $700,000. He could sue to buy the land back if it is not used for the purpose it was taken. If an alternate site for a park is not agreed on in 60 days, both sides indicated they are prepared to take the case to court and fight all the way to the state Supreme Court, if necessary....
Branford dealt $12.8M setback A Superior Court jury delivered a $12.8 million verdict against the town Wednesday, finding that officials improperly seized through eminent domain 77 acres on which a developer had sought to build 354 condominiums. Town officials vowed to appeal. The six-person jury in Waterbury needed less than a day of deliberations before it awarded developer New England Estates LLC $12.4 million for lost profits and investments costs and the original property owners about $340,000. Town officials, current and former, reacted to the verdict with a mixture of resignation and disgust. The town is already on the hook for another $4.6 million the judge ruled the land was worth when the town acquired it in 2004, well above the $1.7 million Branford set aside for the purchase. Attorney fees could push that total up by another $1.5 million, driving up the town’s costs — not including its own legal fees — to close to $19 million. The key question at trial was whether the town had a legal right to seize the property by eminent domain. Town officials have maintained that they took the land to protect the interests of Branford, since the property on Tabor Drive abutted the town dump, raising concerns about possible soil contamination and long-term liability for the town. Attorneys for the developer and original owners characterized the town’s intentions as nothing nearly so noble. Rather, they said, the town was dead set against the proposed large-scale development, so its leaders conspired to take the land....
Local government bodies get quick-take powers A new state law gives three local governments the power to purchase property for the Curtis Road project quickly, even if the owners aren't ready to sell. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed SB 1042 on Tuesday evening, granting quick-take power to Savoy, Champaign and Champaign County. That means they can seize the land needed for the project and move forward with construction while the courts decide how much an owner should be paid for the property. Local governments can already force an owner to sell through eminent domain, but that can take two years or more of negotiations and court hearings. If the communities want to take advantage of a $5.6 million federal grant for the Curtis Road project, they need to move faster than that. Construction has to begin in spring 2009, so the rights of way must be obtained by the fall of 2008....
Kohl's coming to Grand? The Town of Hempstead received proposals last month from three developers vying for a redevelopment project on Grand Avenue and Merrick Road, in what town officials said is a major step toward revitalizing downtown Baldwin. "What we'll do next is determine which bidder will be best for the community," Murray said, adding that the project should get under way in 2008. "Then we'll adopt an urban renewal plan and go right into condemnation proceedings. We're very excited because the project has gone along very smoothly." The redevelopment project was announced early last year, after the town released the results of a blight study conducted in 2005, which found that 50 percent of stores along the west side of Grand Avenue and Merrick Road - south of Prospect Street and ending at Gale Avenue - were empty and in poor condition, and that the area was in need of an economic overhaul. Town officials said they would acquire the roughly five-acre property through eminent domain and turn it over to a developer, who would assume the entire cost of the project, with none of that cost falling to taxpayers, according to Murray and others. ...
Board presses owner to sell land The Blackman Township Downtown Development Authority unanimously voted Wednesday to take "any and all action necessary" to begin the condemnation process on a portion of the property needed for the proposed Northpointe Town Center. Township Supervisor and board Chairman Raymond Snell said discussion has been at a standstill about the property owned by the North family adjacent to Springport Road. "We are sending property owners our last, best offer based on appraisals," he said. "If we get no response or a negative response, at that time we will go to court and ask for the property through condemnation." Family member Doug North declined to comment and referred questions to Flip Reynolds, the family's spokesman. Efforts to contact Reynolds were unsuccessful. The property is needed to build a road to the shopping center. The land for the shopping center is former Jackson County Airport property being sold by the county to developer Ramco-Gershenson....
Ousted Brooklyn Arts Venue Wants Spot In Its Replacement Building Three Brooklyn entrepreneurs were busy preparing to host the November grand opening of their arts and music venue in Fort Greene, until they received notice two weeks ago that the city plans to seize the building they’re leasing via eminent domain. Now, they’re vying for a spot in the high rise slated to take its place. “All we want is to be treated fairly and equitably, and this would be compensating us. Somewhat,” said Todd Triplett, chief marketing officer of Amber Art and Music Space, which leased the vacant three-story building at the corner of Ashland Place and Fulton Street two years ago and have been renovating ever since. The three partners didn’t realize when they signed their 10-year lease that the city had the site earmarked for a project as part of the “BAM Cultural District,” eight blocks in Fort Greene dedicated to cultural programming and mixed-income housing anchored by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Nearly two years after the lease was signed, last February, the city officially began seeking developers to build a tower on the site that would house Danspace Project, a Manhattan-based dance troupe, and 5,500 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, and 150 units of mixed-income housing. The official request lists the three-story building as vacant, even though at the time of publication, Triplett and his partners Philip McKenzie and Shaun Jenkins were toiling away inside building their dream....
MPEA votes to acquire land for further development of McCormick Place The board of Chicago's Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) has voted to exercise its right of eminent domain, granted by the Illinois legislature, to acquire a piece of land located on 21st to 22nd Streets and Cermak Road, across the street and to the north of McCormick Place. MPEA will file a condemnation action in court before it is able to gain title to the property. Currently, there is not a master plan in place for the property. However, some of the options under consideration include additional hotel expansion or other mixed-use development, more amenities for the convention center, parking or green space....
And there are many more...but you get the picture.
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