Memphis Democrat
September 1, 2005

Dancing Rabbit members have been gradually trickling back from their various vacations--Tony on Monday, Amy and Juan Tuesday, Ted, Sara,Tamar and Rachel on Thursday, Andrew on Friday. They went various places but a large group converged in New York for a visit with Vito and Johari, the couple who came to stay with us for 30 days. They had a good time going out to a vegan diner in New York and talking till the wee hours.

We had to say goodbye to Jeffrey on Thursday. He is now in San Francisco, staying with the Milkweeds in Fremont while he looks for an apartment. We miss him so much already. Good luck Jeffrey!

Wednesday night Kathy Mosier, a folk singer and a friend of Nathan's, came to visit and treated folks to a concert in the common house. I missed it but heard it was really enjoyable. That's what happens when you forget to check the calendar around here.

It's been a musical week--Penn went to LaBelle to jam with some musicians he met at the Bluegrass festival. He had a really good time and is looking forward to playing with the group about once a week. Penn, Cecil and Tamar got together Saturday night to play some music in the common house. Even when they are just practicing it is a treat to listen to.

The big news of the week was the public hearing Friday morning about a proposed hog facility near our property. Several of us headed into Memphis to find out more and to air our concerns. The proposed operation is fairly small and an independent farm, and we want to be able to support all of our neighbors in their endeavors. However, it seems clear that this could pave the way for large corporate farming operations to move into our area in a big way--and this does concern many of us.

I was pleased to see that the courthouse was packed and that many of our neighbors have similar concerns. I was also impressed by how responsive the county commissioners were to the issues raised. There will be a second hearing coming up the third week of September--keep your eyes open for information about the exact date and time.

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