[OKC] [ok-sus] We need to rally to defend April Harrington

[Christine Patton]

For anyone who plans to contact your representatives or spread the word to 
support the work that April and Earth Elements are doing in local food / 
sustainability / local economic resilience, the following statistics and 
information may be useful:

How would our community be affected?
	* Earth Elements has 8 - 14 employees depending on the season
	* They buy betwen 5,000 - 6,000 pounds of produce yearly from local farmers
	* They use 44% local food in their line of 300+ products
	* A yearly average of 7 local food entrepreneurs depend on her certified 
kitchen to process their products for higher resale value
April is asking for:
"Fair compensation for the building and the work having to be done for ODOT to 
settle this matter, also fair time allowance to rebuild or at least compensation 
for the time we are shut down."

FYI - April is this year's winner of an Oklahoma Sustainability Network (OSN) 
award for her work to grow and support the local food movement!  


Here is a way to find your State Senator and Rep: 
http://www.capitolconnect.com/demoassoc1/legislatorsearch.aspx. 

 
Christine Patton
Co-Chair, Transition OKC
www.goinglocalokc.org 




________________________________
From: Grace Klinger <monkeyfritzsis at yahoo.com>
To: Sustainability Issues in Oklahoma <ok-sus at lists.oksustainability.org>
Sent: Tue, July 13, 2010 8:25:48 PM
Subject: Re: [ok-sus] We need to rally to defend April Harrington


Can anyone get the media out on this? That would be the best way to
expose the situation. 



________________________________
From: Christine Patton <tryishmael at yahoo.com>
To: Sustainability Issues in Oklahoma <ok-sus at lists.oksustainability.org>; 
Sustainble OKC <okc at sustainableokc.org>
Sent: Tue, July 13, 2010 10:14:32 AM
Subject: Re: [ok-sus] We need to rally to defend April Harrington


Here is a way to find your State Senator and Rep: 
http://www.capitolconnect.com/demoassoc1/legislatorsearch.aspx.

Christine Patton
Co-Chair, Transition OKC
www.goinglocalokc.org 




________________________________
From: Robert Waldrop <bwaldrop at cox.net>
To: Sustainability Issues in Oklahoma <ok-sus at lists.oksustainability.org>
Sent: Mon, July 12, 2010 2:13:59 PM
Subject: [ok-sus] We need to rally to defend April Harrington

April Harrington is one of the most innovative local food entrepreneurs in the 
nation.

She buys excess produce from farmers and turns it into delicious food products 
which she sells to customers.  Other local food entrepreneurs rent her facility 
to make their products.  She has employees.

She is also being threatened with the loss of her business.

ODOT wants to widen highway 77 and take her property for that project.  They are 
talking low-ball offers and want her out of there by January 1 or sooner.  They 
are not offering business relocation assistance nor compensation for the time 
she would be out of business.  And of course, there's nothing on ODOT's table 
for her employees, for the entrepreneurs who use her facilities, or for the 
farmers whose produce she buys.

This is a terrible crime of social and economic injustice.

It's time to swarm the barricades in her defense.  I encourage everyone to call, 
email, or write their state rep and senator, and the governor's office, and 
rally to the defense of April Harrington.  She has worked hard and smart, and 
does not deserve what ODOT is doing to her.

Bob Waldrop
http://bobaganda.blogspot.com 


      
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