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Rural town anxious about nuclear plant

Early edition

By JOHN FRANK
Published December 12, 2006

INGLIS — At the Mousetrap Saloon, known for its Friday night mouse races, Bob Hammond and Dan Hembree sat at the bar and lamented about developers taking over sleepy Levy County, population 35,000.

The despair deepened Tuesday when Progress Energy announced it might build a new nuclear plant not far from their watering hole.

That would move their rural county a step toward becoming another Clearwater — seen here as an icon of over-development.

“I would just hate to see good, wild country up here spoiled,” Hembree said. “This is the last refuge, so to speak.”

Whether they liked the idea or not, much of Levy County was abuzz Tuesday that a nuclear plant could be moving in. Some residents expressed concerns about a plant’s environmental impact on an area that bills itself as a “glimpse of what was.” Others worried about their safety living in the shadow of nuclear power.

“I just don’t like the word,’’ said Mary McKay, a volunteer at VFW Post 8698 in Inglis. “I’ve always been nervous about 'nuclear.’ ”

Chuck Lilley, on the other hand, is not concerned about safety, even though he lives in between the nuclear plant in Crystal River and the proposed site in southern Levy.

And he should know. As he sipped coffee outside the Port Inglis Restaurant, he told the story about what it was like living in Middleton, Pa., just miles from the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, site of a partial reactor meltdown in 1979.

“It was scary,” he said. “But they’ve learned their lesson.”

If anything, he argues, Levy’s remoteness is a plus. “There’s thousands and thousands of acres up here,” he said. “There’s plenty of open land.”

Many supporters of the nuclear plant cite the potential for economic development, which could help bolster an area where Wal-Mart is one of the biggest employers and the average income lags behind the rest of the state.

“It’s going to boost the economy tremendously, especially for the construction people,” said David Murkerson, 69, who helped build the Crystal River nuclear plant.

“The only industry you have around here right now is house building. Now the economy in the next five years is going to continue to grow.”

Despite its rural nature, Levy has plenty of attractions.

Touristsm, and reporters tracking hurricanes , know all about Cedar Key, the nature lover’s haven that juts out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Occasionally, Levy County makes headlines for other reasons.

Rosewood, site of the 1923 massacre of African-Americans, is in Levy. So is Inglis, which made national news a few years ago when the mayor banned Satan.

More recently, nearby Yankeetown’s contentious battle with a developer, which prompted action from the governor’s office, attracted plenty of attention.

With Progress Energy’s announcement, Levy County is sure to spawn headlines, and debate, in the months ahead.

 But change is the one certainty, residents say.

“It’s Old Florida,” said Hammond, gripping his beer at the Mousetrap. “Or it was Old Florida.”

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (352) 860-7312.

[Last modified December 12, 2006, 21:14:46]