Posted on 11/23/2005 8:26:13 AM PST by Osage Orange
A sad display by OSU
By Tamara Colbert Maschino
My mother recently received a letter that has shattered her belief in the justice of the world. For more than 50 years, my family has owned a home in Stillwater that has been the center of my mom's universe, a home where she raised children, a home that has provided shelter and comfort in our family's lives. A home she has recently completed remodeling and lovingly cared for with the hopes of staying in it for the rest of her life.
A short paragraph in a cryptic certified letter stated, "The Oklahoma State University Foundation has hired Cinnabar Service Company to assist them in acquiring land, and improvements for the proposed Master Plan, expansion of the existing campus." My mother, a senior citizen, called me with questions. She didn't understand what the letter meant. She was justifiably upset. The letter didn't contain any information on what was happening to her neighborhood.
I began to research and discovered that our beloved home was on a list to be acquired to build a sports complex. Is this how the city of Stillwater and Oklahoma State University reward its longtime residents and senior citizens, by depriving them of the homes they have worked hard for? How callous a method of informing residents. It's appalling.
The speed of the acquisition timeline is truly frightening to our family. Is OSU in the business of tossing seniors out of their homes? My mother purchased this home with my father when she was 21. She is now 77. She has lived in that house for 56 years and raised three children there. She had tears in her voice when she asked me how could they condemn her home when it's so well maintained.
My family was in Stillwater for the OSU homecoming activities and the football game. My mother prepared an early Thanksgiving dinner for my brother and me and we had a wonderful family weekend. I couldn't have believed that could have been the last Thanksgiving meal our family would ever enjoy in our home. Will this also be our last Christmas in our family home?
An official with Cinnabar Services told me the timeline for taking my mother's home and her neighbors' would be by June 1, and that OSU has this right because of eminent domain.
Where is my mother going to move? She's a senior citizen, she never expected to be forced from her home at this stage in her life. I am disgusted by this. Shame on you, city of Stillwater, and shame on you Oklahoma State University. If you're a homeowner in this large affected area, now is the time to say no, we will not be leaving our homes.
Thank a liberal or a nanny stater.
Every time I see something done for "the public good," I cringe. It means that someone is profiting at the expense of other individuals using the government as a weapon to do so.
They are organizing, at least from what I've heard on local news. It does no good to organize, though, without getting the word out, and that means going public with their woes. In my opinion, these are NOT "whiners," but people who want to be left alone in their homes. I'm furious with OSU.
ping
Isn't Sandra Day O'Connor from Ok. I bet you her homestead is not in jeopardy from Kelo. I pray daily to keep Chief Justice Roberts and Candidate Alito wholesome from the creeping rot in DC.
Perhaps Grandma didn't realise that any homes had been previously taken in this manner. I hate the Eminent Domain right. She has lived in this home for 56 years. I don't believe it's right to take it, even if they pay her fair market value. Why work all your life for your piece of the American Dream when, in your golden years, it can be taken from you so easily? Very sad commentary on the state of our culture today.
No. She's from Arizona.
And therein lies the warning to us all. Until there are constitutional protections, anyone with property within bulldozer distance from a public or quasi-public facility had best pay attention to the planning process and raise their objections early. For example, I wonder for how many years was this neighborhood targeted in this plan or previous versions? Conversely, if the plan was recently altered, you might find the basis to object to the taking by asking why was it changed?
I tend to think that those effected have organized...and this letter was just part of the process.
I could be wrong....and will try and follow this story.
FWIW-
Construction of freeways, or airports and even schools are often legitimate reasons for eminent domain.
But the use of e.d. for a private development (as in Conneticutt) is not. This case seems to combine questionable tactics and methodology with what may or may not be a legitimate use of e.d. But anyone who lives near a major University should be aware that expansion is highly probable.
Good post.........
Of course that's an originalist POV, not a Republican or Democrat one.
There is PLENTY of open, empty land around Stillwater for the dorks running the university to build anything they want, sports facilities included.
Since when do OSU athletics justify eminent domain anyway? Didn't they just modify their rickety stadium and Gallagher Iba Arena? Is T. Boone Pickens behind all this???
This news steams me.
I wouldn't move. Put an old woman out of her home? Let them try. I personally would not budge. This is NOT America this is SOCIALISM. Plain and simple. Follow the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
She dissented in that case. Check your facts.
Sure...I can agree with that. But...it should be done fairly...and it should be done rarely.
But the use of e.d. for a private development (as in Conneticutt) is not. This case seems to combine questionable tactics and methodology with what may or may not be a legitimate use of e.d. But anyone who lives near a major University should be aware that expansion is highly probable.
For crying out loud, it's not for a research lab to cure DemoMarxistLeftishSocialistLiberalism..It's for a sports complex.
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