CITRUS WAR
Dear Neighbor,
We need to get together on a most important issue. Our citrus trees. If we don’t act now we will loose years, even decades of growth from our homes. Our citrus fruits. (Causing us to buy.) Our homes will depreciate. And our first amendment rights will be trampled.
Because of the way the state is handling different areas differently, it leads one to wonder what the real motives are. Example: People in rural areas (Closest to the citrus groves.) are asked to police themselves, while urban areas are attacked strategically. Urban areas have the highest number of easily and efficiently accessible consumers. Some of these scenarios may seem outlandish at first glance, however, when the dollar value and number of people affected “Country Wide” and even “Internationally” is considered, all avenues must be scrutinized. The Stock Market, The Trucking Industry, California and South American Farmers, Subsidized Florida Farmers, and the taxes generated by all these industries, just to scrape the surface! We’re talking many billions of dollars!
The Fl. Dept. of Agriculture. & Consumer Services is, no matter what they tell you, the governmental department designed to provide the strongest possible consumer base to the Agricultural Industry. Their job is to create and maintain the highest possible financial yield for their industry. Right now the fox is watching the hen house!
Heres how it works: One day you are visited by a couple of “Fl. Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Service” people. They walk you through your property (They’d rather you leave them alone.). If they say anything to you about your trees it will be positive. You will never be told “ It looks like your tree has or your tree definitely has Citrus Canker.” If there is something visibly wrong with your tree, you will be informed not to worry it because it is from some other natural occurrence. *(Diseases do cycle naturally through our ecosystem, this one just happens to have a monumental price tag!!! See “Natural Selection”)
Time will pass. Weeks, even months. You will have forgotten. You will go to work as usual. Or worse, be home and see them coming. No warning. No advanced notice. They come into your neighborhood, in a convoy. Vans carrying the men, pickup trucks towing stump grinders, big trucks towing chippers. They come down your street. They position their trucks. Then comes the foot patrol.
1) First, with no permission from you or any advance warning (Now it is said you will have a 10 day warning), are the guys with the chain saws. Normally, when you cut down a tree, you cut the branches and work your way down the trunk. Their first cut is as close as safely possible to the ground. This way, by the time you realize what happened, it’s all over. Then the guy saws it into big, drag able pieces.
2) Next, guys come in and grab the big branches and drag them over to the chipper.
3) The chipper guys throw them in the chipper while the other guys go back for more. (If your tree was healthy, there goes the evidence!)
4) Then the stump grinder guy comes in and grinds the stump.
5) After him comes the rake crew.
6) And finally the spray guy makes sure it can’t grow back. (The news broadcast where this spray sickened people, pets and even killed pets.)
Now your yard is devoid of all your citrus trees. It only took a few minutes. Only holes where they used to be. If you try to stop them you will be arrested. If your dog bites them you will be sued. From the time they came around the corner until they left your block is only a couple hours. They wipe out your whole neighborhood in a day or two. Imagine driving all around your neighborhood and not seeing even one citrus tree!
Drive through any neighborhood near you where they’ve been and try to find a citrus tree.
No more Oranges (several types), Tangerines, Grape fruits, Cumquats, Key Limes. No Lemons or any Limes. No more fragrance of the blossoms sweetening the air. All gone. (Did you have any stag horns in them? Bye, Bye!)
There you stand. It’s all over.
The perfect Crime.
First you hire the perfect army. The Tree Nazis. (ASPLUND!!!) Then you put them to work. You pay them by the tree to give the highest possible incentive to manipulate data and cause the most efficient eradication possible. They just have to “LIST” one infected tree every 1900 feet or less.(lets watch the new moratorium on cutting healthy trees.) Can you check on them? No, they then come through the neighborhood as explained previously and destroy all the evidence with the chipper and haul it away. (You’ll probably see them change to lower profile crews!)
The proper method to remove infected trees would be to burn them in place. This is the only way to not spread this bacterium. Instead, they chain saw the trees down. This spreads the bacteria in the air. Then they drag the pieces out to the trucks. Again spreading the disease. Then, and this is very bad, they run all the trees through a shredder. This is an incredible way to make the bacteria air-bourn.
Then to top it off they drive these trucks many miles through our communities!
Scientific data was presented to present to The State of Florida Department of Agriculture at a public wok shop in Ft. Lauderdale on 07/25/01 that stated that The Citrus Canker Bacteria can be eradicated by simply spraying oxidants on our trees. On property owner claimed to have removed the bacteria on his trees by simply spraying oxygenated water on his trees. Since doing so the State Officials have been unable to detect any signs of it since on his trees. Also presented was the option of creating a 1900-foot protective swath around all commercial Citrus Groves. At the very least, if their data is correct, the swath concept would definitely solve the whole problem. They just want us to buy fruit!!!!!!!!
One other very important thing to consider is, if we are allowed to keep our trees there is a very strong possibility that some trees will develop immunity to these bacteria. Mother nature has incredible ways to protect herself. These trees would then be able to be used to create a genetic strain that would be unaffected in the future!
The State of Florida says that their war on “Citrus Canker” is to eradicate the disease to protect the Eighty Billion Dollar Citrus Industry. It’s really a “Citrus Eradication” program to stop us from producing our own fruit, forcing us to buy! But what is the property value depreciation of the Florida Home Owners where these trees are removed? Florida has some of the most expensive properties in the country. In comparison, Eighty Billion Dollars State-wide is a small number. The Citrus Industry has it’s own lobbyists in Tallahassee that are putting pressure on our elected officials. The Home Owners of Florida, up to this point, have not been able to compete. We need to organize and unite! As a whole our tax dollars far exceed that of the Citrus Industry, and that is the only way we will be heard. Also when you take into consideration the number of registered voters in question, our clout will far exceed that of the citrus industry.
TAX REDUCTION FOR DEPRECIATION
If the state is going to remove our Citrus Trees then they must realize the “Property Depreciation” caused by this action. This is real and not imagined. Therefore it is only fair that each individual homeowner is given a tax break based on their individual amount of depreciation. Also, we should receive “Fair and Reasonable Compensation” for our lost trees. The formula should be fair to all parties. For example, based on:
| Nursery market price. (Price to have matching tree or trees delivered and planted.) |
| + |
| Citrus Growers of Florida formula on trees life expectancy, yield per tree for its size, fruit production, total fruit production per tree for its remaining life expectancy and the dollar value of the fruit over that period. |
| + |
| Home appraisers formula for added value per tree, per property. |
| + |
| Collateral damage done by tree removal, such as additional sun exposure to surrounding vegetation (. increased household energy consumption due to loss of canopy, interior fading (carpets, furniture fabrics, wall coverings.) |
| + |
| etcetera, etcetera, etcetera ... |
|
|
| TOTAL $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |
To stop all cutting until studies have been done and mutual agreements have been made.
To give the necessary and justifiable tax breaks to those homeowners that have already been affected.
DEBATE “THE PERFECT CRIME & CONSPERICY ISSUE”
All these things above are our ammunition to save our trees and fruits, our home values, all collateral damages and our rights as Americans.
Now is the time to act!
Get organized fast!
Band together now!
Please pass this on to as many homeowners & associations as possible. The purpose of this action is to slow and/or stop all cutting of citrus trees with out the express permission of the property owner. Or by their direct request. This must be done from every conceivable angle if we are to even stand a chance. Some of these angles may seem extreme but, the end justifies the means. Right now if they say they need to cut your trees you have ten days to appeal. A lot of people are comfortable with that. Please keep in mind that by that time it’s just you against them. And you better believe that they put all their ducks in a row BEFORE THEY EVER CAME TO YOUR HOME! The only way we stand a chance is to unite and take control now. The only way bad people can take over is when good people sit and do nothing!
They resume the madness of cutting our trees on August 5th. Today is the time to act! E-mail Governor Bush Today at: www.jeb@myflorida.com Mention that a stay must immediately be put into effect until further studies are done. Mention all points mentioned in this letter and any others you may have. Make your personal goal to get “AT LEAST” 10 other people to do the same. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WHEN WE UNITE AND WORK TOGETHER!!!!
YOU ARE IMPORTANT!
TOGETHER WE WILL WIN!
Please E-Mail me @: leesideinc@aol.com with any comments or ideas you might have.
Thank you for your time,
Dan Dawson Sr.
P.S. Also at the work shop, an attorney named “Barry Silver” attended. He has already filed a class action suit. Help him unite “ALL” homeowner associations.
His phone number is (561) 483-6900. He seems to have all the right stuff. Please show your support and do your share. Again thank you! You are one of our community heroes!!!!!!!!