Category Archives: News

Marjorie K. Rawlings: Invasion of Privacy Trial continues to fascinate

June 15, 2015NewsCross Creek, Deborah Dickey, Fred Mullen, Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Invasion of Privacy, J.T. Glisson, Judith Chapman, Larry Parr, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Michael Gannon, Rip Torn, Santa Fe College, Sigsbee Scruggs, Zelma CasonDonna Green-Townsend

Unknown-2-300x199 — Scene from the “Invasion of Privacy” play

The cast of the play at Santa Fe College takes a bow

The 1946 Invasion of Privacy Trial of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings vs. Zelma Cason has captivated lawyers and literary experts alike. On June 18th thru June 20th, 2015 the public got a flavor of the famous trial when the award-winning play by Larry Parr, “Invasion of Privacy,” took to the stage of the Fine Arts Hall at Santa Fe College.

It was after Marjorie Rawlings won the Pulitizer Prize for “The Yearling” that she continued her success with her book, “Cross Creek,” a book which captured what her life was like as well as her neighbors in the small fishing community. But one friend of Rawlings, Zelma Cason, didn’t take “too kindly” to the way Rawlings described her in her book and decided to sue the famous author.

Invasion-300x202 — Actors in scene from “Invasion of Privacy”

Rawlings described Cason in her book as an “ageless spinster resembling an angry and efficient canary” and someone that Rawlings couldn’t decide if she should have “been a man or a mother” since she had the “violent characteristics of both.” Rawlings also talked of Cason carrying a gun and her penchant for profanity. The lawsuit brought by Cason was based on a person’s right of privacy against an author’s constitutional guarantee of free speech.

The 1946 five-day trial held in Gainesville’s old courthouse attracted many spectators and drew international attention. At least one book and several plays have been written about the famous trial.

The public had the opportunity to meet the director of the play, soap-opera star Judith Chapman, and the cast of characters for the play at “The Invasion of Privacy” preview party which was held on Friday, June 12th at the Matheson Museum in Gainesville.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings on her front porch in Cross Creek

The Invasion of Privacy Trial between Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Zelma Cason has also been the basis for other plays, including “My Friend Zelma: The Trial of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings,” written by retired University of Florida Distinguished History Professor Michael Gannon. Gannon’s play was presented at the Limelight Studio Theatre in St. Augustine in 2010.

Deborah Dickey, who directed “My Friend Zelma,” says Professor Gannon was a friend of Marjorie Rawling’s husband Norton Baskin, both of whom lived in St. Augustine. She says Gannon consulted with Baskin on the play when it was written and that his mother worked for Zelma Cason.

Dickey adds there were performances of the play in the historic Fernandina Beach Courthouse where the jury consisted of an entire group of Jacksonville lawyers and a sitting judge. There was also a performance for the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society during a meeting in St. Augustine.

Dickey has also written her own play called, “Cross Roads: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Norton S. Baskin in Unguarded Moments.” The play premiered at Flagler College in 2012 and was presented again in March of 2013. Her play, based on the letters of Rawlings and her husband Norton Baskin, chronicles the couple’s courtship, marriage, and long separation during World War II when Baskin served as a volunteer ambulance driver for the American Field Service in India.

Sigsbee Scruggs cover0001 — Cover of J.T. Glisson’s play, “Sigsbee Scruggs”

Another popular play about the famous “Invasion of Privacy Trial” is called “Sigsbee” written by Evinston artist and author, J.T. Glisson. The play had sold-out performances at the Ocala Civic Theatre in 2001. Sigsbee Scruggs served as one of Marjorie Rawlings defense attorneys in the 1946 trial. Sigsbee was one of Gainesville’s more colorful lawyers. Playwright J.T. Glisson had the opportunity to interview Scruggs to gather the material for his book which takes a close look at several of the more interesting legal cases handled by the late Gainesville attorney, known for not only the cases he won, but for how he won.

Sigsbee Scruggs cover0004 — Writer and artist J.T. Glisson

Playwright Glisson recalls how his father Tom Glisson encouraged Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings to hire Sigsbee Scruggs to represent her in the Invasion of Privacy case

Glisson says anyone sitting in the courtroom during a trial with Sigsbee Scruggs was never bored

Fred Mullen was the actor who portrayed Scruggs not only in Ocala, but also when the play was presented in Gainesville in 2002. Mullen says the one-man play gives the audience real insight into the famous Gainesville attorney

Actor Rip Torn portraying Marsh Turner in the film, “Cross Creek”

When the play “Sigsbee” was presented on stage on the University of Florida campus in University Auditorium it featured a special guest director. Internationally acclaimed actor, Rip Torn, a good friend of Glisson, spent the week in Gainesville assisting with the play. Torn, who received an Oscar nomination for his role in the movie “Cross Creek” filmed in the area, is also known for a noted acting career including “Men in Black I and II.” Donna Green-Townsend talked with the actor about his decision to direct the play.

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Transcript of feature produced by Donna Green-Townsend on March 19, 1997 about J.T. Glisson’s play, “SIGSBEE” just after it was published.

Actor Fred Mullen reading from play script “Sigsbee,”— “In the trial of the case Cason v. Rawlings, it was our last chance to persuade them of the innocence of our client and their time to decide if Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Baskin was guilty or not guilty of “invading the privacy and slandering Zelma Cason.”

Defense attorney “Sigsbee Scruggs” spoke to a standing-room only crowd in the Gainesville courthouse in May of 1946. Throughout the trial of Zelma Cason vs. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings a packed courthouse turned out each day to listen to a colorful cast of characters called upon from Cross Creek to defend the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author who was being sued for 100-thousand dollars by her close friend Zelma Cason. The suit was over Rawlings description of Cason in the book “Cross Creek.” Evinston author and first time playwright J. T. Glisson has retained a fascination for the trial and defense attorney “Sigsbee Scruggs” for 50 years….a fascination which lead him to interview Scruggs in the 1970s ….an interview now turned into a one-man play simply entitled “Sigsbee.”

J.T. Glisson said, “ I was away in service when the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Zelma Cason trial happened which was the biggest thing that happened in Gainesville up until that time. And I thought I’m going to stop by and see Mr. Scruggs and let him tell me, because he was a wonderful storyteller anyway, and so he lived out on South Main Street in Gainesville and I went by his house and he knew my father well and he was polite enough to say he remembered me but, what he really remembered was me trailing along after my dad I’m sure, but he invited me in.”

Glisson fondly recalls Scruggs colorful play by play account of the Cason-Rawlings trial, “..and then he told me who was sitting where. How many people were there. He gave me a brief description of the judge. He described Zelma whom he was very, unfriendly towards. Said she was a great lady and wonderful person, interesting, real fine lady and then he desribed Mrs. Rawlings. Of course in the description though he said Mrs. Cason was a fine lady and interesting person and as good as anyone you ever knew, helped anybody out that she could but, profane. He said Mrs. Rawlings, he pronounced Mrs. Rawwwwlings and he said Mrs. Rawwwwlings, a profane person also. ….”

Glisson remembers how his own father, Tom Glisson, a good friend of Rawlings, encouraged her to select Sigsbee Scruggs as part of her famous defense team, most of which came from out of town,

“He said, “yes, you’re going to have a local jury and you bring in all that high-powered out-of-town stuff and it’s not going to go well and he said if you do that you ought to lose. She said well who would you suggest and my dad said “You’re guilty, I would suggest Sigsbee Scruggs”

Cason vs. Rawlings was just one of the more interesting cases involving Scruggs. In his half century law practice in North Central Florida Glisson writes that Scruggs, a 1922 graduate of the University of Florida Law School, became notorious for his defense in a very unpopular murder trial and his defense of local fisherman against state game wardens. Besides Alachua and Gilchrist, this son of a Baptist deacon frequently defended clients from Dixie, Lafayette, Taylor and Suwannee counties. Even though a family lawyer, Sigsbee Scruggs hated divorce cases. Glisson writes he considered them the most unpleasant part of his practice. Glisson includes in his play one of the more unique divorce cases Scruggs turned around. It was the divorce case of Sam Hemings vs. Beth Hemings.

Actor Fred Mullen performing a scene from the play, “I said I see you folks come into town nearly every Saturday and after you finish buying groceries I see your wife sitting in your pickup, waiting while you swig down three or four bottles of beer in that juke joint out on the High Springs road. I think it is called the Heatwave.”

His ears turned red and his face went white. He shouted, “You just hold on there, Sigsbee Scruggs! What the hell does that have to do with a de’vorce?”

I said, “Before I answer that, Mr. Hemings when was the last time you took your wife to a picture show or treated her to a meal she didn’t cook.”

“Sigsbee” is J. T. Glisson’s first play. He’s already achieved recognition for his artistic abilities and most recently for authoring the book “The Creek” written about his early recollections of Cross Creek from an insider’s point of view. “Sigsbee” is a new endeavor for the artist and is geared as a one-man play in two acts,

“I thoroughly enjoyed “Give ‘em Hell Harry.” I saw the Will Rogers play which are both the same types of plays where you have one person who comes on the stage and they are that person. And I envisioned it with only the props around him and one person who had to captivate an audience from the moment they walked out there and do it which can be done. If they can be Sigsbee Scruggs, Sigsbee Scruggs could have held an audience for six hours.

Local playwright J. T. Glisson has high hopes for “Sigsbee.” Already nationally acclaimed actor/director Rip Torn is considering bringing the production to stage in New York. For Florida Public Radio, I’m Donna Green-Townsend.

Remembering Singer Songwriter Jesse Winchester

April 18, 2015Arts, News, SpecialsBooker T. & the MGs, Brand New Tennessee Waltz, Defying Gravity, Donna Green-Townsend, Elvis Costello, Gentleman of Leisure, James Taylor, Jesse Winchester, Jesse Winchester dies\, Jimmy Buffett, Just Like New, Little Glass of Wine, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, Mississippi You're On My Mind, My Songbird, Reba McEntire, singer songwriter, Steve Cropper, That's What Makes You Strong, The Band, The Brand New Tennessee Waltz, Vince Gill, Wynona Judd, You Remember MeDonna Green-Townsend

Jesse Winchester performing at the Butterfly Festival in Gainesville in 2007

Editor’s note: It’s been just a little more than a year since the Memphis-bred songwriter Jesse Winchester died from cancer. Since that time a variety of artists have released a tribute album to the beloved songwriter called “Quiet About It: Tribute to Jesse Winchester.” The album includes such artists as Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, Vince Gill, Elvis Costello, Roseanne Cash, Lyle Lovett and Lucinda Williams to name a few.

I personally fell in love with Jesse’s music long before I ever had the opportunity to interview him just before the 2007 Butterfly Festival in Gainesville. It was such a memorable interview for me as Jesse truly opened up about growing up in Mississippi and his early musical influences in Memphis. Below you can listen to the one-hour radio special that was a result of that interview, including many of his most popular songs. The program re-aired in 2009 just before the Gamble Rogers Festival in St. Augustine where Jesse also performed.

In 2009, Jesse Winchester experienced a career renaissance. He gave several concerts and released the crtically acclaimed album, “Love Filling Station.” He also was a guest on the Elvis Costello television show, “Spectacle.” Elvis Costello remembers how the audience and the other performers on the program were moved to tears by Jesse’s performance.

Just at the height of his comeback Jesse was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2011. It was during his recovery from the first diagnosis of cancer that his fellow friends and artists decided to record the tribute album to show their love and support. He eventually received a clean bill of health and went back to performing and finished a new album called, “A Reasonable Amount of Trouble.” Sadly, in February of 2014, he was diagnosed with inoperable bladder cancer and he spent his final days at home under hospice care. Below is a live performance of Jesse singing one of the more poignant songs from that album, “Just So Much The Lord Can Do,” at the Bow Valley Music Club in Calgary, AB on March 23rd, 2013

Original Story posted April 11, 2014

Singer/songwriter jesse Winchester died Friday morning at his Charlottesville, Va., home. Winchester had been suffering from cancer. He was 69.

Winchester’s music blended folk, country and blues. Some of his best known songs included Say What, The Brand New Tennessee Waltz, Yankee Lady, Gentleman of Leisure, Just Like New, That’s What Makes You Strong, My Songbird, Just ‘Cause I’m In Love With You, You Remember Me, Defying Gravity, Little Glass of Wine and Mississippi You’re on My Mind, among many others.

Many of his songs were covered by such popular artists as Wynonna Judd, Bonnie Raitt, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris, the Everly Brothers, Joan Baez, Jimmy Buffett, Claire Lynch, Patti Page, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Nicolette Larson and others.

Winchester was born in Louisiana but grew up on farms in Mississippi and also lived in Memphis. When he received his draft notice in 1967 he fled to Canada to avoid being sent to fight in Vietnam. In Montreal he met Robbie Robertson of The Band, who produced his first album, Jesse Winchester in 1970. He received amnesty along with other draft evaders from President Jimmy Carter in 1976. Winchester did not return to live in the U.S., however, until 2002 after he had married his second wife.

Last fall, artists including James Taylor, Buffett, Elvis Costello, Lyle Lovett, Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams and Vince Gill recorded his songs for a tribute album called Quiet About It. Before his death, he had completed a new album, A Reasonable Amount of Trouble, with producer Mac McAnally. That album is expected to be released later this year.

In October of 2007 Jesse Winchester performed at the Butterfly Festival in Gainesville. In advance of the concert he talked with Donna Green-Townsend and was featured in an hour long special. In the interview he talks about his early years in Missisippi and Memphis, the inspiration for many of his songs and his thoughts about the music industry today. The special was rebroadcast on WUFT prior to Winchester’s performance at the 2009 Gamble Rogers Festival in St. Augustine. You can hear that special below:

(editor’s personal note: As a young reporter in Kansas I conducted interviews with all of the musicians, songwriters and top contestants at the Walnut Valley Festival for a 26-part national music series of programs in both 1981 and again in 1982. It was during one of those years that I first became acquainted with Jesse Winchester when I heard another singer, Cathy Barton, sing one of his songs, “Mississippi You’re On My Mind.” Jesse Winchester wasn’t there, but I fell in love with the song. I’ve been singing it for more than 25 years. That’s how many years it took to finally meet the man who wrote the song when he performed at the 2007 Butterfly Festival in Gainesville (see picture below). As you can see from my smile, it was indeed a highlight for me. He had the most gentle spirit. I remember watching him perform that day with just his guitar and looking around seeing tears running down the faces of grown men in the audience during his song, “Little Glass of Wine.” He had that kind of power. RIP Jesse.)

Jesse Winchester with Donna Green-Townsend in 2007

Jesse Winchester performing at the Butterfly Festival in Gainesville in 2007

The Winner and Finishers of the 2015 Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest Named

February 9, 2015Arts, Features, NewsBluer Skies, Dana and Sue Robinson, Hank Mattson, John R. Butler, Lauren Heintz, O Miami, When This Old Hat Was New, Will McLean, Will McLean Folk Festival, Will McLean Song Contest 2015Donna Green-Townsend

The first place award for the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest goes to poet Hank Mattson from Lake Placid, FL and musician Dana Robinson from Cabot, VT for the song, “When This Old Hat Was New.” Mattson says the poem depicts the dogged determination of Jacob Summerlin, a famous Florida Cracker of the 1800’s, to preserve a culture that for over 400 years has been raising cattle.

Mattson is a working cowboy and poet specializing in Florida’s Cracker Cow Hunter History. He has performed at poetry gatherings and pioneer events across the state and beyond. In 2011 he won the Laura Rider Award for excellence in folk poetry. Mattson is a member of the Florida Cattleman’s Association, the Pro-Rodeo Hall Of Fame Society and the Friends Of Florida Folk and says it’s his mission to chronicle and preserve the life and times of the myriad of Florida Folks who for more than 400 years have been “working’ cattle.”

The two musicians who perform on “When This Old Hat Was New,” Dana and Susan Robinson, describe themselves as “two guitar-playing, banjo-frailing, fiddle-sawing, and harmony-singing interpreters of the American experience.” They perform a unique blend of contemporary songwriting and traditional Appalachian music. A few months ago poet Mattson met the Robinson couple at the Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring, FL. The result was magical. Within a month Dana and Sue created a melody for Mattson’s poem.

Here’s Hank Mattson saying a few words at the Will McLean Festival on March 14th, 2015 about winning the contest.

The second place finisher of the 2015 Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest is John R. Butler from Estero, FL with his song, “O Miami.” Butler describes his song as “a musical series of snapshots of the great city, taken through the decades.”

Here’s John Butler and his band performing his song on March 14th, 2015 at the Will McLean Festival

Butler has played in a number of bands and as a solo performer throughout high school, college and beyond. His songwriting achievements include a first place finish in the 2011 North Florida Folk Festival Americana songwriting contest, a first place award in the 2014 “Hope by Song” songwriting competition in southwest Florida, and a win (as one of three co-equal winners) in the 2015 South Florida Folk Festival. One of Butler’s songs was included in the soundtrack of the 2013 feature film, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3-D.” Butler says these days he spends most of his performing time as a member of The Honey Creepers, a southwest-Florida based trio.

The third place finisher of the song contest is Lauren Heintz from Winter Park, FL. Heintz describes her song, “Bluer Skies,” as “a lifelong search for a home, and the exultation that results when it is discovered Florida is that place.”

On Saturday, March 14th, 2015, Lauren performed her song on the Magnolia Stage at the 2015 Will McLean Festival

Lauren is the recipient of many songwriting awards including the 2014 South Florida Folk Festival Singer/Songwriter (live) competition and recipient of the Vic Heyman songwriting award, the 2013 Walnut Valley Festival Song Contest, and has won fourth place in the 2013 and 2014 Will McLean Song Contest. She also received honorable mention in the 2014 Woody Guthrie Song Contest.

Lauren’s original music has been compared to Gordan Lightfoot, Jim Croce and John Denver. In 2012 she released the album, “Feels Like A Miracle” and has another project in the works with Gatorbone Studios.

There were 42 entries in the competition for 2015. The winning songs from the top three contestants were all featured at the 2015 Will McLean Folk Festival the weekend of March 13th-15th at the Sertoma Youth Ranch, 7 miles West of Dade City. Will McLean is considered to be the Father of Florida Folk. McLean who wanted to save Florida through music was the first folk artist inducted into Florida’s Artists Hall of Fame.

Back to the list of winners by year

or

Click here to go to the Will McLean Festival website

Manatees and Tourists: Citrus County’s Balancing Act

February 5, 2015NewsCarl Gresbian, Chassahowitzka NWR, crystal river, Donna Green-Townsend, Gary Maidof, Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park, Josh Wooten, manatee sanctuaries, manatees, Michael Lusk, snorkeling with manatees, Three Sisters Springs, trent kellyDonna Green-Townsend

Manatees in Three Sisters Springs (photo courtesy of USFWS) — Manatees in Three Sisters Springs Sanctuary (photo courtesy of USFWS

Temperatures in Florida’s Panhandle and North Central Florida reached into the lower 30s on several days during the past few weeks. During these cold snaps hundreds of manatees head to the warm spring waters of the state. It’s not unusual to see more than 300 manatees in Kings Bay in Crystal River, Florida. In recent years the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has added new sanctuaries and reduced speed zones around the state, particularly around the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, to provide protection for the endangered sea cow. But swimming with manatees has become a big business in Florida. As Donna Green-Townsend reports, ecotourism continues to force environmental planners on Florida’s Nature Coast to perform a precarious balancing act. (From my audio archives: produced for the national show “Marketplace” in 1997. See the full script under the followup video story below)

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In 2010 WUFT reporter Trent Kelly and videographer Donna Green-Townsend followed up the original report above to see what progress was being made to protect Florida’s endangered sea cow.

(Full script of the 1997 “Marketplace” radio feature above)

(Snd of airplane gearing up) Viewing Citrus County from the air makes it easy to see why business people are smiling. On the coldest days this past winter in Florida spotters for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service counted more than 300 manatees in the waterways North of Tampa on Florida’s west coast. And manatees mean big bucks to Citrus County. Manatee watchers spend about 20-million a year at hotels, restaurants and dive shops.

“We’re the original Florida,” says County Environmental Planner Gary Maidhof. “The Walt Disneys and Sea Worlds and Bush Gardens are important for tourism and beaches are important tourism, but people are looking for alternatives and what they want to see is the old time Florida.”

(Nat sound under of boating activity with snorkelers/divers)

In the absence of a major theme park, Citrus County’s banking on manatee watching. But last year a record number of the huge gray, air-breathing mammals died. Manatees, which often weigh in over 3,000 pounds, frequently collide with boats while surfacing for air. Fish and Wildlife experts estimate only about 2,600 are left in Florida, so these docile creatures receive protection under the Endangered Species Act. In 1994 the Citrus County Commission appointed an ecotourism committee to promote manatee watching on the county’s 7 rivers.

(Nat sound of boat activity with snorkelers/divers)

The group’s done well, so well tourists may be loving the manatee to death. It’s against the law to kill, capture or pursue endangered species. But it’s hard to draw the line

Montage of Tourists: “You can’t really describe it, it’s just wonderful. You pet them and they roll over and they’ll even follow you around. They’re very sweet.”

“oh, I’ll never forget it. I’ve been lookin’ forward to it for years.”

“You dream about places like this at night.”

“I mean I dove last year with sharks and it’s not the same. You can get right up close to these and look them right in the face and they’re so gentle.”

Citrus County Ecotourism member James Blount, “We’ve been in business over three years. We haven’t done much protecting and enhancing, mostly advertising.”

Blount says while the group’s done a good job of promoting the “manatee experience” now they need to protect their natural resource. “If you destroy something and particularly if it’s an endangered species, once it’s gone, it’s gone forever and we have a responsibility as well,” he says.

Blount points to a recent national scuba diving magazine featuring a cover with divers swimming after and petting manatees which he says breaks a federal law.

“Oh it’s real circusy here on a winter weekend,” says Cameron Shaw, the Refuge Manager for the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Crystal River.

“We have typically manatees will be outnumbered 20 to 1 by divers and snorkelers in the water.”

To try and reduce the number of manatee deaths and harassment cases, the Fish and Wildlife Service produced a short educational video outlining the does and don’ts for people sharing waterways with manatees.

(sound from video)

Port Paradise Dive Shop Manager Tanna Edge says, “They are required to see a nine minute video before they a boat out and we give them maps and rules and regulations and tell them what they can and cannot do.”

But talk to the out of state snorkelers renting boats from Edge, and it’s hard to find one who’s seen the required video:

“No, they didn’t offer a video.”

“No I haven’t”

“No I wasn’t aware they had that, I read the pamphlets on them but I didn’t know they had a video out.”

Refuge Manager Cameron Shaw says, “I was a little surprised that none of the divers that we talked to that came out of commercial dive shops have seen the video.”

It’s Shaw’s job to protect the Endangered Species like manatees. Violations can result in fines of up to 20-thousand dollars and/or up to one year in prison

“If we went by the letter of the law we’d be writing thousands of tickets out here,” Shaw says.

Shaw plans to push the dive shops to do a better job of educating their customers. If they don’t fish and wildlife officials have the authority to revoke the dive shops special use permits to use the main spring. There’s some talk officials may restrict the number of divers and snorkelers in the waterways . Already the number of sanctuaries has increased to give manatees a chance to get away from humans. Ecotourism committee member Blount supports such actions to protect not only the manatee but the manatee industry.

“Because the people rent hotels, they eat in restaurants, they rent cars, they shop.”

Officials here know they’re facing Florida’s classic dilemma. The tourists that are Citrus County’s bread and butter also have the potential to wipe-out the very attraction they came for. From Citrus County I’m Donna Green-Townsend for Marketplace.

Looking Back at Hurricane Andrew

August 24, 2014NewsDonna Green-Townsend, Homestead, Hurricane Andrew, Steve BatemanDonna Green-Townsend

On August 24th, 1992 the catastrophic storm Hurricane Andrew struck Homestead and South Florida with winds of 150 miles an hour with gusts up to 175 miles an hour. Andrew is listed as the 4th worst hurricane to hit the United States with a damage total of more than 25-billion dollars. Nearly four dozen people were killed. In 2011 Homestead resident (and former mayor) Steve Bateman, talked with Donna Green-Townsend about living through Hurricane Andrew. At the time of the interview, Hurricane Irene was churning in the Atlantic. (from Donna’s audio archives).

(short version)

(long version)

Karen Ahlers named Executive Director of Florida Defenders of the Environment

June 14, 2014NewsAdena Springs Ranch protest, Cross Florida Barge Canal, Florida Defenders of the Environment, Karen Ahlers, Marjorie Harris Carr, Ocklawaha RiverDonna Green-Townsend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 12, 2014

Melrose, FL – Florida Defenders of the Environment has named Karen Ahlers Executive Director of the non-profit research organization. FDE board president Steve Robitaille has been interim executive director since October 2013.

Robitaille noted Ahlers is a life long champion of Ocklawaha River restoration since witnessing as a child the destruction wrought by the Cross Florida Barge Canal project. FDE was founded in Gainesville in 1969 by Marjorie Harris Carr in an effort to halt the canal project.

Former Florida governor Buddy MacKay said, “Like Marjorie Carr, Karen is knowledgeable, totally fearless, with a passionate concern for Florida’s environment. Her selection is great news. I look forward to a revitalization of FDE.”

As FDE’s Ocklawaha Restoration Coordinator Ahlers has led the charge to protect the river from massive water withdrawals and to minimize nutrient pollution from the proposed 30,000 acre Adena Springs Ranch grass fed beef operation in the Ocklawaha Basin and Silver Springs springshed.

“Florida’s water resources are under tremendous pressure and I can think of no better place to fight for their protection and restoration than FDE,” Ahlers said. “The foundation laid by Marjorie Harris Carr is still strong with many seasoned environmental warriors ready to step up and be counted.”

A Putnam County native, Ahlers earned statewide recognition for the Putnam County Environmental Council where she served nine terms as president. Her Rally for the Rivers events brought participants from all over Florida to celebrate the state’s natural resources and focus on the continued existence of the detrimental dam on the Ocklawaha. Sandra Kokernoot, founder of Putnam County Environmental Council and former FDE board member, praised Ahlers for her organizing skills and her will to take on enormous challenges. “She made Putnam County Environmental Council one of the leading voices for protecting water resources in Florida,” Kokernoot said.

“Karen has been a long time and effective advocate for restoring the free flowing Ocklawaha River and preserving the purity and quantities of Florida’s natural water sheds,” said Joseph Little, FDE vice president. “She knows and is respected by all the players on both sides of the issues and assumes the role of executive director with no need for orientation. FDE’s executive committee is pleased that she has agreed to undertake this role.”

“It has been a privilege to serve as interim executive director, and in that capacity my respect and trust in Karen Ahlers as an environmental leader and steward continued to grow,” Robitaille said.

She is the ideal person to carry on the legacy entrusted to us by Marjorie Carr, and I look forward to working with her, the board and our members in the months and years ahead,” he added.

Kids and moms on “Mother’s Day”

May 11, 2014NewsAlexa Elliott, Donna Green-Townsend, Mother's Day, P.K. YongeDonna Green-Townsend

There’s nothing sweeter than attending a special “Mother’s Day Program” at your child’s elementary school. In 2001 I attended such an event in Ms. Stephanie Warmouth’s 2nd grade class at P.K. Yonge Elementary School in Gainesville. With the help of reporter Alexa (Woell) Elliott we put together this musical montage of the program highlights mixed with actual comments from the moms and kids themselves about the meaning of “Mother’s Day.” This particular feature won “Best Use of Sound” from the Florida Associated Press Broadcasters in 2002. Enjoy this special tribute from my audio archives from WUFT and Happy Mother’s Day!

Water levels improving on Alachua County lakes

March 23, 2014NewsCross Creek, Cross Creek Lodge, Dale Crider, Donna Green-Townsend, Gary Palmeter, Lochloosa Lake, Newnan's Lake, Orange Lake, Yearling RestaurantDonna Green-Townsend

2013-09-10_15-31-30_459 — Boat ramp at MKR Park in September, 2013

Business has picked up in the Cross Creek area in the past few weeks thanks to heavy rainfall during the first three months of this year. Lake levels are up in Orange and Lochloosa Lakes in Alachua County resulting in more boat traffic in recent weeks. People are fishing and airboating once again.

For many months boaters couldn’t navigate Cross Creek to get in to either lake because of dense plant growth due to low rainfall. According to the St. John’s River Water Management District, Alachua County received 14.28 inches of rain between January 1st and March 18th. That’s 11.33 inches more than the same period last year. The Keystone Heights area has received 14.35 inches since January 1st, which is 12.02 inches more than the same period last year.

Local residents in Cross Creek say that in the past week they observed the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission releasing 125,000 fingerling bass in Orange Lake. Area residents are calling this a positive move to help recreational fishing for the near future.

Original Story in September, 2013

2013-09-10_15-50-48_978 — Cross Creek Lodge owner Gary Palmeter stands near grass-filled boat slips

By Donna Green-Townsend and Amanda Jackson

Cross Creek Lodge once catered to fishermen, hunters, and people with a love for the great outdoors. But with lake levels staying low for many years it seems the lodge will never thrive as it did in the past. Owner and operator of the Cross Creek Lodge Gary Palmeter opened the doors to his business, which sits on the creek between Orange and Lochloosa Lakes, more than three decades ago. With lake levels constantly rising and falling he has only been able to operate for 12 of the 33 years he’s been in business. (Video below includes interviews with Dale Crider on Newnans Lake and with Gary Palmeter on the Cross Creek area)

“I’m losing a lot of money every year, we used to have a cafe, that’s gone,” says Gary Palmeter, “Had we had enough water we could have probably maintained that. If the state would do something about the hunter permits that they allow people to use we could have hunters here. Right now we have hunters, a few of them for maybe like 2 months. We used to have a number of people that stayed here through the hunting season, but if they don’t get a permit, which is a lottery type thing, they don’t come. That’s a loss to not only the community but the county because that’s tourist dollars, out the window!”

Palmeter says he feels there’s more to this problem than just rain. A sinkhole under Orange Lake, which is a major source of contention between Marion and Alachua counties, is also thought to be draining a large amount of water from the lake.

“So that’s you know the crux of the problem besides the rain. I mean yeah, we get water levels and I understand that we’re not going to maintain a high level, but with the water continually flowing out of the lakes there’s nothing that’s ever going to be done to help stabilize them.”

But for those who think that large amounts of rain that accompany Florida summers can refill the extremely low lakes, Palmeter knows the reprieve is only temporary.

“Even when we got the two hurricanes that came late in 2004 if I remember right, that water only held for 18 months. It was up sufficiently so that we could have boats here launch. We had boat and motor rentals again. And we’re not going to go through that again I don’t think.”

For now, boats slips at the Cross Creek Lodge are filled with grass instead of boats. Other local businesses have been suffering as well. Although it is still open for business, the Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek, is up for sale. With continued limited lake access Palmeter says its hard to keep these businesses running.

2013-09-10_16-03-46_764 — Though the business is still open, there’s a for sale sign in front of the Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek

“We still keep the motel going and we try to keep the campground going the best we can, but the motel hasn’t done anything because most of the people that want to come here to stay are fishermen. The first thing when they call I explain the situation. And I like to be up front with people, and as a result it probably in some way hurts our business. But I kept thinking in the long term it would improve but it hasn’t. We’ve lost our base of business, the fishermen that used to come here. They call and sometimes want to bring their son to where they used to fish. Well, they can’t do that anymore. So you’ve really lost your whole base of business.”

Alachua County Environmental Protection Director Chris Bird says that no matter how much it has been debated over the past 50 years there isn’t anything that can be done to the Orange Lake sinkhole without causing even more damage.

“The geology of that lake is such that if you did try to plug them up, the sinks in the bottom of the lake, assuming you thought it was a good idea, most likely what would happen is that there would just be other sinks that would open up other places because there’s just a lot of pressure,” says Bird. “And the way that system naturally flows is that actually the southern part of Orange Lake is recharge. They’ve actually done dive trace studies that suggest that that water is draining back into the aquifer. And it’s part of the Silver springshed, so again, there’s just a lot of important relationships. And because of that, at least in my opinion, it would not be wise to start trying to mess with mother nature.”

To see a music video highlighting lake levels click below:

Orange and Lochloosa lakes are not the only lakes experiencing low levels in Alachua County. Newnans Lake has also felt these water fluctuations. Retired wetlands and wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Dale Crider has seen the level changes while living by the lake. Crider says the situation is not much different from the water level issues in Keystone Heights.

“I think it’s like most north Florida lakes that it’s tied in to the Floridan aquifer which is overpumped and underfed right now because we’re not getting the rains we used to,” says Crider, “and it’s overpumped from all sources from municipal to agriculture to you name it. It seems like there’s such a capacity for this water to be soaked up and disappear through sinkholes and underground terrain. You know there’s not this capacity to fill up the aquifer so that it bubbles above the surface anymore.”

Cypress tree water line — Water line on a cypress tree on the shore of Newnans Lake shows how much the water level has dropped in just a couple of weeks

Crider pointed to a tree where the water level line was three weeks ago which showed how far it had decreased in a short time. He says it demonstrates the lakes still aren’t healthy

“There’s still this suction kind of thing and I don’t think this flood that we’ve had made that big of an impression for that long that it would have filled up the aquifer to where we can go back to using water normally. I don’t think we’ll ever reach that point where what we used to call normal use of water for watering our lawn or just filling our swimming pool more frequently or whatever we do with it, I think those days are past.”

Something Crider and Palmeter both agree on is that county officials and water regulators will need to do a better job of overseeing Florida’s water resources.

Feeling ‘One With Nature’ In Cross Creek Update

March 18, 2014Blog, NewsDonna Green-Townsend

Frog Blog Update: Listen to the latest frog sounds from a swamp after the heavy rain on St. Patrick’s Day:

“My frog blog”… So I start this blog paragraph by saying first, that it’s not easy for me to step out of my comfort zone to talk about myself. For four decades as a journalist I have always tried to keep the word “I” out of my stories. I (smile here) was trained to write in “third person objective.” So when the popularity of blogging took off, it wasn’t something I jumped into. Since retirement I have decided to share a few personal thoughts from time to time…but they won’t be editorial thoughts on politics…. just observations or experiences I want to share. So here I go (again, feels funny to say “I”)

Since I don’t have to punch a time clock in a newsroom now, I had the luxury this week of hopping in my car at 3:00 a.m. with tape recorder in hand to capture the sounds of the LOUD chorus of frogs down the road who obviously knew it was about to rain. I must say, I don’t know much about the mating rituals of frogs but maybe that’s partially what the frog symphony was really all about. Here’s a short excerpt of what it sounded like this week: I always feel it’s special to hear that kind of frog chorus around the lakes here. It doesn’t happen every night around Cross Creek. I have plenty of recordings of the sounds the little peepers and tree frogs make that can lull you to sleep. No…this was a cacaphony of frogs on every pond, in every ditch and all around Orange and Lochloosa Lakes.

I love the sounds the frogs make when communicating this way. What sets it apart from the usual nights of frogs chirping is that the sound seems to start from one side of the lake or pond and then continues to the opposite direction and then back again as if there is a special message being passed from frogs on either side of the lake or pond. I still don’t know what that message is and have had plenty of people laugh at me when I try to imitate what it sounds like. Oh well. I enjoy it and that’s all that matters to me. Here’s a version (longer) of another frog chorus on Orange Lake a few years ago on New Year’s Eve before a big rain:

And here is another favorite recording of frogs croaking before a thunderstorm:

Turtle edited — Though this isn’t the “actual” gopher tortoise I saw that day, it looked just like this one my daughter is holding from an earlier tortoise encounter

The next morning after capturing the frog chorus at 3 a.m. this past week I had to head to “town” to go to an appointment. That’s when my next “nature encounter” appeared. As most “Creek folks” do, when I spotted a large gopher tortoise in my lane on the highway I pulled my car off to the side of the road to go and move it. She was one of the largest tortoises I’d seen in a while. I’m assuming it was a female wanting to lay eggs somewhere across the road. Apparently they always remember their favorite spots to lay their eggs because they don’t seem to care that they have to cross busy county highways to get there. I picked her up and jumped across the ditch and put her under the fence line and returned to my car. As I pulled away I hoped I wouldn’t see her splattered on the road when I returned home…assuming I was right about her desire to travel across the highway just to lay eggs. Heck, it might not be egg-laying season and the tortoise may have simply wanted to just see what was on the other side of the road…kind of like the “why did the chicken cross the road” question. Nonetheless, I felt my 24 hour nature experience with frogs and the tortoise reminded me of just why I love Cross Creek.

Guitarists Walter Parks and Sam Pacetti to perform Sunday in Gainesville

March 1, 2014NewsSam Pacetti, Walter ParksDonna Green-Townsend

Swamp blues guitarist Walter Parks to perform with Florida’s Sam Pacetti on Sunday at the historic Thomas Center

Veteran blues guitarist Walter Parks with Florida's 89.1, WUFT-FM's Donna Green-Townsend. — Veteran blues guitarist Walter Parks with Donna Green-Townsend.

Veteran blues guitarist Walter Parks who built an international career as the lead guitarist for Woodstock legend Richie Havens will bring his unique style to the historic Thomas Center in Gainesville Sunday night, March 2nd in Gainesville. Parks is the leader of the southern swamp blues group Swamp Cabbage. From her audio archives, here is an interview he did with Donna Green-Townsend in June of 2012.

Also performing Sunday night will be acoustic guitar master Sam Pacetti from St. Augustine. From her audio archives here’s an interview Donna Green-Townsend had with Sam Pacetti from December of 2010.

The Historic Thomas Center is located at 302 NE 6th Ave. in Gainesville. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 p.m.