Message posted by Joerg (Webmaster) on September 12, 2008 at 1:12:43 PST:
The end of Rachel as we know it has been sealed today. Greed and ignorance once again triumphed over common sense. The Rachel prison was approved by the Lincoln County planning commission today. The developer, Jim Toreson, and his mini-me, county planning director Clint Wertz, who have both publicly declared that they do not care about the people of Rachel, did not even have to try very hard. The prospect of $1M in tax revenue for the county was all the comission heard. Not the pleas of 15 concerned residents of Rachel, not the warnings that the county is taken for a ride by an unscrupulous developer, not the concerns voiced by a representative of Nellis AFB, not even the safety concerns of their own Sheriff. Money rules, and so this insanity will become a reality. Over the next 18 months, a 100-acre, 1500-inmate medium security prison will be built only 4 miles from Rachel. And those of you who like to visit the area because of its dark night skies, the safe and unspoiled environment, the remote-ness, the friendly people around here or for whatever other reasen, might as well start looking for new places to visit.
That is, if this madness is not stopped. We, the residents of Rachel, who settled here looking forward to retire in a safe and unspoiled environment, will not give up without a fight. We will appeal today's decision, hoping that eventually resaon will win.
Replies: