Sawgrass Rebellion Too Big
For Collier County Fairgrounds
by Danny E. Meek, Esquire
PFNS, Naples, FL - 8/23/02 - The Collier
County Fairgrounds on the outskirts of Naples,
Florida can hold rodeos, boat shows, Latin
music festivals, rock music
festivals, country music festivals and,
obviously, huge crowds of people,
machinery, and animals for the yearly county
fair.
However, the facility is apparently not big
enough to hold the members of
"The Sawgrass Rebellion."
The Sawgrass Rebellion, which now includes
over seven hundred groups
pledging their support, is an umbrella
organization founded to protect the
property rights of South Florida residents
through legislation, litigation,
and public education. A national forum and
property rights rally in support
of the Rebellion will include at least four
caravans from across the United
States, which will converge at Naples on
October 17 and 18. On October 19
the participants will caravan across the
Everglades to Homestead, Florida.
The Rebellion reflects growing opposition to
unlawful and unwarranted taking
of property by local, state, and federal
governments and agencies.
Don Lester of Naples is one of the local
organizers of the event. He said
that for more than six weeks he had been
negotiating with Collier County
Fair Manager Ann Ward to hold the event at the
Collier County Fairgrounds
and thought there were only a few minor
details to resolve. Lester said he
talked with fairground officials and the fire
marshal, and secured
agreements for the necessary liability
insurance to conduct the event.
"At four P.M. on Monday, August 19, I
thought we had a deal. Two days later,
I received a call around noon and was told
that it was a no go," explained a
bewildered Lester.
Lester said he then contacted Lou Hoegsted,
president of the Collier County
Fair Board. Hoegsted verified that the
Executive Committee of the Board had
denied the request for the event.
"At first he (Hoegsted) said that he
didn't have enough people to make it
go. Then he said that the people were
scheduled to be on vacation during
that time frame," explained Lester, who
said he offered to pay for
additional workers or security to help advance
the rally.
"Finally Hoegsted told me that it was
just too big - that there were going
to be too many people," stated Lester.
"He said that it was just too big and
there would be a lot of people from out of
town we don't know and are not
letting in there."
When contacted for an interview to discuss the
proposed rally and
negotiations, Hoegsted responded with a voice
mail message. "I have no
comment," Hoegsted said in the voice
mail. "The only comment that I have is
that The Sawgrass Rebellion never had a
contract with the Collier County
Fairgrounds."
Additional attempts to speak with Hoegsted
were unsuccessful.
The Paragon Foundation of Alamogordo, New
Mexico recently agreed to help
South Florida residents in their stand against
"unwarranted taking" of their
properties. Paragon is the largest property
rights advocate group in the
United States.
"It doesn't really surprise me,"
said Jay Walley, a Paragon volunteer who is
in South Florida to assist The Sawgrass
Rebellion. "I fully expect 20,000 to
30,000 people to attend this event. I think it
may be the largest property
rights rally ever staged in the United
States." Walley said The Sawgrass
Rebellion is gaining momentum and support
daily and he believes that county
officials simply think that the event outgrew
the venue.
"It is much bigger that they
expected," said Walley. "It is a
groundswell of
support from landowners, farmers, and the
common folk who have decided that
they have had enough and are fighting back
together in big numbers."
According to Ward, the fairgrounds are owned
by Collier County and leased
for fifty years to the Fair Board. The Fair
Board consists of twenty
members, with officers elected each year. Ward
said the grounds cover
approximately eighty acres and the largest
event she could recall was the
Latin Music Festival with 3,000 to 4,000 in
attendance. "It certainly
couldn't hold 10,000 or 20,000 people in one
day," she said.
When Ward was told that the information was
for background on a story about
The Sawgrass Rebellion, she said she had been
told "not to talk about that
issue." She directed further inquiries to
Fair Board attorney Toni A. Horne
of Naples.
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PFNS is a public service of the Paragon
Foundation, Alamogordo, NM
1-877-847-3443