To the Editor:
I was born here in Ocala in 1959. I’ve watched the growth here over the years and it sickens me. What once was pristine horse farms and pasture land has turned into mega home sites. A Sheriff’s department and Police department that once knew the people they protected by name on a casual basis has now turned into a police state that oftentimes rushes to lock up innocent people because they don’t have the time to properly investigate the crimes.
The traffic has become horrible. A simple trip often times turned into traffic jams where it once was an enjoyable ride. The mom and pop stores have just about vanished.
Then you have the transplants that oppose things like bringing commercial flights to Ocala because they are opposed to the noise that a jet makes coming and going, with absolutely no regard to us senior citizens that don’t drive. They should have thought about that when they bought up property along the flight paths. They knew they were there.
The city of Ocala doesn’t even have a city bus system that has enough routes to accommodate the people here in a timely manner. I’ll be honest, I’ve lived in big cities and came back here because I got tired of the chaos. Now it’s here. If someone offered me $150,000 for my property, I’d relocate as fast as the money hit my bank account. It’s progress I know, but this kind of progress does not appeal to me. It’s truly sad. The growth has driven up property value.
Martin Marszalek
Ocala