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No Charges In Grand Jury Probe Of I-10 Tree Removal, Evers’ Emails
January 18, 2012
No charges will be filed by a Tallahassee grand jury that looked into the removal 2,094 state-owned trees along Interstate 10 without paying the usual fees .
The trees were cut down by Bill Salter Outdoor Advertising and conservationists had alleged Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, then a member of the House, had influenced the state Department of Transportation to allow the billboard company to remove them.
Part of the investigation included emails to Evers in which the Bill Salter asked for help on the issue. Evers in turn lobbied then-Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Kopelousos on behalf of the company.
Evers has said publicly that he was simply helping a constituent.
Comments
11 Responses to “No Charges In Grand Jury Probe Of I-10 Tree Removal, Evers’ Emails”
I agree Everett, we would have had to pay for each tree and have to pay someone go replace the trees that were cut down. Come On People what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Companies should have to pay as if they were any other resident of Florida. Maybe Bill Salter will do the right thing and pay for the replacement of the trees. Yeah I know in my dreams………….
I drove I-10 to Tallahassee and back this week and tried to see where the trees were cut. I did not see anything unusual. What I did notice as I drove that alarmed me and made me think about what should be the #1 priority on our highways, it is safety, not beauty. A highspeed roadway is not a park. I saw way to many trees with crosses by them. Many of these people would still be alive if the tree line was closer to or at the fence, thus allowing drivers more room and time to regain control or slow down before impact. In the name of safety we need less trees beside our highways not more. The billboards are not the hazard, it is the trees. Cut them back to the fence and save some lives! Think about it!
I can’t believe somebody actually counted the trees. What’s the problem? People cut the grass and trim hedges. If trees were blocking the Salter signs and they have a right to put up those signs then they also have the right to keep them visible. What good is a billboard on the woods? If you have an issue with Bill Salter billboards then you should campaign to have the billboards removed. It’s just stupid to imply that it’s ok to put up the signs but you must allow trees to grow up in front of it.
If you or I cut down a state owned tree, especially 2000 of them we would still be in jail.
Will the sign company do the right thing and replant the trees?
This outcome was expected to those of us who know Sen. Evers. He is an asset to our area and continues to propose bills that matter to the common man , ie..repeal of the septic tank inspection bill and also bills that stiffen our 2nd amendment rights here in Florida. Sen, Evers has my vote as well as my family’s .
They got our left leg and arm. they are looking for a way to get our next born,it’s all about them and forget about you and I. except when they want more MONEY
Bill Salter, and the NRA, Ever’s pocket change. HE needs to go.
As Gomer would say—SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE.
huh, you hit the nail on the head.
Vote evers OUT. He has become a fixture in the good ole boy network!
Lobbied = Bribed