Just give 'em time, Roger Buzzard; just give 'em time.

Buzzard Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #30 42 min ago On September 29, the following quote was posted on St. Marys city council candidate Roger Rillo’s blog by Jay Moreno. It was in response to Mr. Rillo’s assertion that we should leave the airport where it is and strive for industrial development in the existing industrial park. “Realistically, do you think that the St. Marys EarthKeepers would actually allow ANY business that takes raw materials or semi-finished product in one door and ships finished product out the other to locate in the heart of St. Marys? I'm sure you know exactly who recruited the couple of extreme leftist organizations who will fight the new airport, regardless of where it is built. She will do just exactly the same thing with any "manufacturing" concern, no matter how "light," that might be recruited to St. Marys (or Camden at large, for that matter). It's the nature of the leftist beast.” This is not the first time that the St. Marys Earth Keepers have been attacked with the allegation that they are a radical, anti progress group and part of a larger organization whose goal is the disruption of anything non-natural. Earth Keepers president, Alex Kearns, has been singled out repeatedly and accused of being a one-woman force of evil, bent on sending St. Marys back into the industrial dark ages. A little investigation reveals that the St. Marys Earth Keepers are in no way affiliated with, or connected to, any other organization of that name. The group was founded about 3 years ago by Barbara Ryan and Alex Kearns to promote recycling and to urge the city council to allow Advanced Disposal to take over garbage collection and recycling. The two founders chose the name simply because they liked it. The group grew and the campaign for citywide recycling was hugely successful. Today St. Marys recycles at twice the "compliance rate" of the USA (30%). The organization now has about 60 dues-paying 150 non-paying associate members. The roster includes members from diverse age groups, professions and political affiliation and includes city council members and ministers, teachers and teens. Other projects sponsored by the Earth Keepers include the Memory Garden that was proposed as an alternative to clearing and paving the lot next to the cemetery and which was constructed at no cost to the city. They also sponsored the Earth Hour, which was received enthusiastically and will become a yearly event. The city co-sponsored this event and initiated a joint proclamation with Kingston and Woodbine. It is ironic that some of the same people who now attack the Earth Keepers praised them before the publication of their resolution condemning airport relocation to the Billyville Road site. Their stated goal in adopting this proclamation was their perceived responsibility to draw awareness to potentially environmentally harmful actions before they are carried out and become irreversible. The environmental dangers of construction on the site are real and have been previously pointed out by several agencies and the city’s own engineering firm. So can we please stop demonizing St. Marys Earth Keepers just because they don’t agree with us on this one issue? If you have a valid argument, pro or con, concerning the environmental consequences of building an airport on the proposed site, bring it on and lets all discuss it. A suggested Rev. A. K. primer. Don't miss the piece about dove hunting. http://www.alexkearns.com/