The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-04-13

Ocala, Fla, April etn, l9Il.
DR. w NJ. Griffith. Chairman Citizens
Committee, Dunnellon, Fla:
Dear Sir-I am in receipt of your
communication of the 2nd inst. rela-
tive to the creation of a new county
out of the western part of Marion
county and including the town and
neig borhood of Dunnellon. and por-
tion of Levy county, and expressing
your discomfort at the manner in
which you have been treated in the
matter of appropriations for public i'm
provements at the hands of the board
of county commissioners of Marion
county. In reply will say that l am
not surprised that you and the good
citizens of Dunnel1on are dissatisfied
at the manner in which the public
| funds of this county have been eX-
| pended in the last four or five years.
| In this connection I will call your at
| tention to the fact that great partial
| ity, in my opinion, has been shown in
! favor of certain localities in the ex-
penditure of public funds For in
stance:
District three. Shady Grove road,
| other than that which has heretofore
| been hard surface has been extended
| by strawing same for a great many
miles. This road leads to very small
community
| Orange avenue or Proctor road
hard surfaced ten miles, leads to a
very small community. The road from
Pedro to Dallas. two very small COM
munities, strawed.
! Bellevfew road, hard surfaced ten
miles, extended six miles under the
| two-third rule, and the one third has
| Road known as r. l. Martin road
has been opened Right of way, etc.
| paid out of public funds.
| District four, Sharps Ferry Road
has been hard surfaced for a distance
of 10 miles. 1 have been informed that
| there is so miles of strawed road in
this district paid out of the countys
money.
Silver Springs road, hard surfaced
five and a half miles.
District five, Anthony road hard
surfaced to Citra, a distance of about
Is miles A branch road has been hard
surfaced leading west from Sparr. \
branch road hard surfaced leading
east from Citra. A branch road has
been hard surfaced leading west from
Citra. Also short road from An
thony to Fort Mccoy, built out of the
public funds.
Ocala and Orange Lake road This
road is hard surfaced ten miles. and
the county teams, etc, are on this
same road now near Orange Lake
hardening an extension of same.
Blitchton road. This road has beer
hard surfaced about seven miles.
| Martel road. This road has beer
hard surfaced about nine miles.
| Ocala, Tampa and Dunnellon roaC
has about five and one-quarter mile:
hard surfaced This road was survey
ed and cut out by private money. NJ
doubt you will remember this as yol
and DR.. Baskin and others assisted
, in this work. The grading and straw
ing on this road was done under tn.
two-third rule. citizens one-third an,
county two-thirds. We find that all o
the other straw roads have been bull
out of county funds.
This is only mentioning a few of tn
roads that have been well looked after
. and l mention these because grea
deal more than the ordinary proper
ton of labor has been put on thes
roads,
Now as to the Ocala -Dunnellon road
the road that you citizens of Dunnel1ol
are most interested in. Dunnellon i
the largest town beside Ocala in Ma
rion county, and contributes more fl
taxes and otherwise than any othe
town in the county except Ocala, We
this road is hardly passable, but
Scant five and a quarter miles fror
. Ocala has been surfaced. Part of tn
balance of the road has been partl
graded. but the grading has not bee
completed nor is the road strawed a
the present time. nor surfaced. eXcep
for the district has been mentione
and the part on the Dunnellon branc
surfaced some years ago.
If the same amount Of work wer